The blame, of course, fell primarily upon Mr. Taylor’s shoulders. “Eddie,” Teena said, “you’re not even listening to me.” “I—I’m sorry,” Eddie answered. “What did you say?” “I merely said that some important blueprints are missing from my father’s department at Acme Aircraft,” Teena explained. “Maybe someone put them in the wrong drawer or something,” Eddie suggested. “They’ve looked everywhere, Eddie,” Teena said. “That’s why my father’s been getting home late every day. They’ve searched absolutely everywhere.” “Well, I guess they can always make new blueprints,” Eddie said. He really couldn’t see why it was so important, especially not if you compared it to stolen radioisotopes. “That’s not the point,” Teena said sharply. “They were top-secret blueprints—something to do with guiding a new missile Acme Aircraft is getting ready to make. If the plans were stolen—well, you know what that could mean.” The importance of what Teena was saying struck Eddie suddenly. Could there be any connection between the missing blueprints and the stolen isotope? The idea sent a chill along Eddie’s spine. Perhaps there was a whole spy ring operating around Oceanview! He mentioned it to Teena. “I thought the same thing,” she said. “But, Eddie, we’re not at war or anything. It’s silly to think there are spies and things like that running around. That’s comic-book stuff.” “Not to me, it isn’t,” Eddie said. “There’s plenty of spying going on, war or no war. Every once in a while you hear about it.” “Aw, you’re just trying to scare me,” Teena said. She stopped and picked up a shell, looked it over, then skipped it into the surf. Sandy chased it, yipping happily, but turned and scurried back just ahead of the foaming surf. Eddie smiled. “Maybe I am,” he said. “Maybe I’m scaring myself, too. Anyway, if we’re going to hike all the way to the lighthouse, we’ll have to hurry up.” As they walked on up the coast, the sandy beach gave way to rock formations which jutted out into the ocean. They picked their way carefully over the rocks. Now and then they stopped to inspect some tide pool for small crabs and other sea life left by the receding water. Sandy was beside himself with joy as he chased small crabs into rock crevices. Teena found a starfish which she dropped into a small cloth sack she had brought along. Eddie had never been very interested in gathering shells and other sea souvenirs, but Teena had quite a collection at home. They crossed over the rocks and dropped down into a sandy cove. “There’s someone with a boat,” Teena said, pointing along the curving beach. A rowboat was pulled up on the sand. Two men stood beside it. “Fishermen,” Eddie said. “Let’s see if they caught anything.” There were several other small boats out on Moon Bay. Eddie and his father had fished the bay several times themselves. Although shallow in places, there were spots in the bay where good-sized perch and bass, and occasional halibut were caught.