"Received," came the laconic reply, and then the less formal: "What's in the sky, Ben?"
"Whether you know it or not, that signal was Guy Maynard's private sign."
"I thought so," said the communications officer. "I wasn't certain."
"We'll not court-martial you for that," laughed Ben. "After all, you didn't know Maynard personally."
"Right. I didn't know him at all. But this fix—I've got it."
"Can you get range and possible track?"
"Fairly well." There was silence for several minutes and then the communications officer announced the figures concerning the distance and probable course constants of the emitting source.
"Executive to Technician: Jimmy, have you got the cards on the Mardinex or did we put them in the morgue after we slipped her the slug?"
"Still got 'em. BuSI thought we should keep 'em a bit just in case. After all, the Mardinex was a secret proposition and to remove her cards from the Terran cardexes would be like the guy in that story."
"Which guy in what story."