They both relaxed. Parrish smiled feebly, with less than normal display of his fine teeth. Westervelt contented himself with passing a hand across his forehead. It came away damp. "Well," said Parrish, "where was he?" Westervelt closed his eyes and groaned. "You're kidding," he said. "Please say you're kidding! It's too late in the day to fool around, Pete." Parrish looked alarmed. He strode forward, letting the door close behind him. Westervelt, finding himself shivering in a draft, went to meet him. "I'm not kidding at all," said Parrish. "Did you look everywhere? Are you sure?" "I even poked into the power shaft," retorted Westervelt. "Were you in his office?" "Naturally. I checked everything, even the men's room." They had wandered back to the corridor door, peering about the laboratory to make sure no one could have concealed himself on the floor under a workbench, or behind a pile of cartons. Parrish opened the door, and they stood puzzling at the empty hall. "He wasn't even taking a shower," said the elder man. Westervelt brooded for a moment. "Did you say _everywhere_?" he insisted. "Well ... everywhere he would have any call to go." They stood there, passing the buck silently back and forth between them. At length, Parrish said, "I'll just look again in his office and the other two rooms, in case he _was_, and slipped out behind me." Westervelt watched him run lightly up the hall to each of the doors. Parrish's expression, as he returned slowly, was something to behold. "I'll go," said Westervelt grouchily. Parrish put a hand on his arm. "No, that wouldn't look natural. I'll phone Smitty to send one of the girls down." "Better phone him to send two," suggested Westervelt. "Yeah," agreed Parrish. "That's even more natural. Watch the hall while I buzz them." He went into Lydman's office. Westervelt leaned in the laboratory doorway, feeling depressed. After some delay, he sighted Simonetta and Beryl turning the far corner with their pocketbooks in hand. Neither one looked particularly pleased, but their expressions lightened a bit at the sight of him. "You there, Pete?" murmured Westervelt. "Right at the door," whispered Parrish from inside Lydman's office. The girls clicked in muffled unison along the hall. Beryl paused at the entrance to the ladies' rest room. She raised her eyebrows uncertainly at Simonetta. The dark girl threw Westervelt a puzzled shrug, then pushed past Beryl and went inside. The blonde followed almost on her heels. Westervelt waited. When he thought he could no longer stand it, Parrish hissed, "How long are they in there, Willie?" "I don't know," said the youth, "but maybe we'd better--" The door opened. Simonetta and Beryl walked out, staring quizzically at the two men, who had taken a few steps toward them. "What is this gag?" asked Simonetta. "There's no one in there. Who would be in there?" Parrish swore luridly, and none of them seemed to notice.