he tall man finally spoke. "Yes, I saved your life. You missed the hottest part of the exhaust. I pumped you full of oxygen."
"Then why tie me up like this?" Jerry Foster was frankly puzzled.
"You are lucky to be alive. Spies are not always allowed—" He interrupted himself abruptly. "You are a reporter," he stated.
"Wrong," said Jerry Foster.
"Who sent you?"
"Nobody sent me. I heard the noise of your infernal blast-furnace and came down to have a look."
"Who sent you?" repeated the man. "Goodwin? The Stillwater crowd? Who was it?"
"I don't know what you are talking about," protested Jerry. "I don't know who your Goodwin or Stillwater people are. I don't know who you are—I don't give a damn. Take these ropes off and cut out the melodrama. I'll go on my way, and I don't care if I never see you again."
"That's a lie." The tall figure leaned over to shake a bony fist. "You'd report to Goodwin. He stole my last invention. He'll not get this."
Jerry considered the wild figure carefully. "He's a nut," he thought. When he spoke, his voice was controlled.