“You took a tumble, all right,” agreed Blatz, “and the match you had in your hand fell into a handful of greasy waste. You’d chased me out of the hangar but if I hadn’t been curious when you failed to follow, the whole thing might have burned up. As it was, I got back in time to put out the fire before it got to you or the Goliath.”
Andy looked at the speaker with incredulous eyes.
“If that’s true,” he said, “I have done you a great wrong.”
Before the observer could reply, Bert burst through the door.
“Big news,” he said. “The Rubanian air force rebelled this afternoon and forced Dictator Reikoff clear out of the country. I just got that bulletin over in the radio shack.”
“You’re sure there’s no mistake?” asked Blatz.
“Positive,” replied Bert. “It was an Associated Press dispatch broadcast through the courtesy of one of the Louisville papers.”
Blatz looked at Andy and they smiled understanding.
“What’s the joke,” demanded Bert.
“There isn’t any joke,” replied Blatz gravely, “and I can now tell you the truth. I am Lieut. Serge Larko of the Rubanian air force. I was assigned to special duty as an agent of the Gerka, our secret police, and my mission was to make a non-stop flight to the United States, make my way to Bellevue and bring about the destruction of the Goliath.”