"What would you want me to do?"
"Vannevan tells me that your people are in possession of a certain probe-ray record that was taken from our man. We'd want that back."
"That's impossible," Birrel said. "The President himself couldn't get at it."
Wolt shrugged. "In that case, you would have to supply us with similar information."
There was a long silence. Then Birrel said, with just the right lack of conviction,
"No, I can't do it."
Vannevan stood up. "I think we'd better show him the cavern, Wolt. I don't believe he understands yet just how much the safety of Earth depends on him."
Wolt nodded. He rose, too, and walked to the wall. It appeared perfectly blank and solid, but under the pressure of his hand a segment of it swung in, revealing a tiny lift. The three men got in, the door closed, and the lift plunged down.
Birrel tried to keep his excitement well hidden. His act was already paying off—apparently they were about to show him something that even the Ruunites didn't know about.
Just how he might use that knowledge to help himself and his two friends he could not figure yet. But his stretch in the OSS had taught him well. Keep your mind alert and flexible, play it by ear, and wait for the break which may come in a hundred ways and from the most unexpected sources.