"If we look at it long enough, maybe we'll get inspiration," she said.
Professor Julius Weiss, the only one of the three staff scientists who was at home at the moment, picked up the cable and examined it.
"A cipher, eh?" He adjusted his glasses. "It certainly looks complicated."
"Any ideas?" Rick asked hopefully.
The little mathematician shook his head. "No, Rick. I could give you the cube root of the square of the sum of the numbers, or anything like that, but I'm afraid I wouldn't even know how to start breaking the code." He added, "John probably could. He had some experience with codes while in the Navy, I believe."
John was Professor John Gordon. He was on an extended trip to New Mexico, serving as a consultant to the Navy's guided missiles projects. The third scientist, Professor Hobart Zircon, was giving a five-week series of lectures in nuclear physics at Yale.
"I'm afraid Professor Gordon is too far away to help us on this," Rick said.
Mrs. Brant came in, bringing a heavily laden dish of fresh corn on the cob. Behind her trotted a shaggy little dog.
Rick snapped his fingers. "Here, Diz."
Dismal ran over and barked at his young master, then he rolled over on his back and played dead, his only trick. Rick grinned. "Did you bring him along as an adviser, Mom? I'll bet he'd be as good at solving this as any of us."