"Now, his weakest point," John said, "is his vanity. That, as we know, is immense. Who else would run an Institute for three hundred students with himself as the sole Director? So, if we can arrange something to keep him occupied for a day or two, we may be able to break up into his private labs through the floor. I know for a fact the walls and ceilings are studded with alarms. But we thought of booby-trapping him when we were expelled, and the floor seemed the best way in."
"And the diversion?"
"You'd better take me in now in your pocket. I want to have a word with Dimples' class."
He stepped on the maxima plate. I converted him down, buried the plates as usual and went back to the Institute.
I gave the crystal to Dimples.
"Meet me here in an hour," she said.
An hour later, she was back.
"Here, Morry. This is the power slicer from a shovel. There's one in every stellar-reporter for cutting rock specimens. John says you can come up from the cellar with that. Do you know what he means?"
"Yes. What's he doing with you?"
"You'll see. Just come to our class area tomorrow as if you're delivering specimens. Put the crystal with John in it in your pocket and go and report to the Director exactly what you found in our area—apart from the crystal, of course. You are to release John from that when you get to the cellar, immediately after David Adam Smith goes hurrying out to see what happened to us."