Alis waited till he had gone in, then tugged at Don's sleeve. "Come on. Let's see the fun."
"Alis," the speaker called to her, "was that really Senator Thebold?"
"Sure was. But what's this Garet-Rubach Axis? What's everybody up to?"
"Not Axis. That was Thebold's propaganda word. It's a movement of—oh, never mind. You don't appreciate your own father."
"You can say that again. Come on, Don."
As Alis closed the door to the bell tower behind them, they heard Professor Garet's voice from above.
"Attention interlopers," it said. "You have come unasked and now you find yourself paralyzed, unable to move a muscle except to breathe."
"Stay down here," Alis whispered. "There's a sort of vestibule one flight up. That's where Thebold must have got it. Father spends all his spare time guarding his holy of holies. Nobody gets past the vestibule." She frowned. "But I didn't know he had a paralysis thing, too."
"He probably swiped it from Hector before he broke with him," Don said.
Professor Garet's voice came again. "I shall now pass among you and relieve you of your weapons. Why, if it isn't Senator Thebold and his strong-arm crew! I'm honored, Senator. Here we are: three archaic .45's disposed of. Very soon now you'll have the pleasure of seeing a scientific weapon in action."