"Wait!" interrupted Henry. "Middle High German is a dead language. It came into use in the dark ages before the Renaissance and it died out with Martin Luther in the Sixteenth Century of our own era. The fact that this alien spoke that language indicates that he is a time traveler. He has been in our era before and I'll tell you where, when and why!"
"That is a tall order," put in Dr. Edwards.
Uncle Andy turned to Valerie Roagland and the air hostess. "This is the tallest extrapolating I've ever heard from Henry."
By this time, many other people were gathering around to listen, including servicemen and a number of Tommy Weston's men.
"All right!" said Merman. "Let's have it! Where, when and why?"
"The place?" said Henry. "Westphalia, Germany. The time? Twelve eighty-four A.D. The reason? To kidnap children. Oh, I forgot to mention the town...."
"Hamelin!" exclaimed Dr. Bauml, astounded. "You mean—"
"Yes," said Henry. "The Pied Piper of Hamelin—no legend. An actual fact!"
"What is this?" asked one of Weston's construction stiffs. "A booby hatch? Let's get on with the meeting. Weston'll be here any minute!"
"Wait!" said Henry again. "Analyze it for yourselves. What does pied mean?"