"We'll catch him, sir, and make him talk. He can't get away."
"You will find that you will not catch him and that he can get away. Blakeslee alone, of course, could not do so, any more than he could have done the things he apparently did do. No, Wolmark, we are not dealing with Blakeslee."
"Who then, sir?"
"Haven't you deduced that yet? The Lensman, fool—the same Lensman who has been thumbing his nose at us ever since he took one of our first-class battleships with a speed boat and a firecracker."
"But—great blinding rockets, how?"
"Again I admit that I do not know—yet. The connection, however, is quite evident—thought. Blakeslee was thinking thoughts utterly beyond him. The Lens comes from Arisia. The Arisians are masters of thought—of mental forces and processes incomprehensible to any of us. These are the elements which, when fitted together, will give us the complete picture."
"Still I don't see how they fit."
"Neither do I—yet. However, it should be clear to you that we do not want that Lensman thinking such thoughts as that into this base."
"We certainly do not. However, surely he can't trace——"
"Just a moment! The time has come when it is no longer safe to say what that Lensman cannot do. Our communicator beams are hard and tight, yes. But any beam can be tapped if enough power be applied to it, and any beam that can be tapped can be traced. I expect him to visit us here, and we shall be prepared for his visit. That is the reason for this conference with you. Here is a device which generates a field through which no thought can penetrate. I have had this device for some time, but for obvious reasons have not released it. Here are the diagrams and complete constructional data. Have a few hundred of them made with all possible speed, and see to it that every being upon this planet wears one continuously. Impress upon every one, and I will also, that it is of the utmost importance that absolutely continuous protection be maintained, even while changing batteries.