Barlow waited, watching Valnar. Somehow he was impressed by the other. He no longer considered him merely a liar; there _was_ something strange about the newcomer. And the circumstances surrounding the discovery of the Mental Ray had never been explained. Dodson was no scientist, and yet he and no other knew the more complicated parts of the powerful electrical broadcaster that matched the thought waves of the people and heterodyned those he considered undesirable. "I'll have to acquaint myself with the circumstances," said Valnar. "Okay, what do you want to know?" Barlow offered. Valnar looked at him slyly. "It would be much more pleasant to learn from that girl you were with. I always try to make my work pleasant." Barlow made a wry face. "_I'll_ help you," he repeated, and wondered why he so instantly rejected Valnar's suggestion. Valnar shrugged. "Oh, all right. If you insist. But she sure lit out of here in a hurry. Where was she headed?" "She knew I could run faster than she could, and wanted a headstart," Barlow grinned. "She's probably at headquarters now, getting a bunch to help me." "Let's go to headquarters," said Valnar. Barlow looked at him sharply, frowning with suspicion. "You promised to help," he reminded. "Oh, you may be sure that I shall," Valnar assured airily. "Lead on, MacBarlow!" Barlow grunted and started toward the headquarters that he was never supposed to approach. The organization believed in never establishing a personal trail between the various headquarters, and Barlow was a runner. But he considered that the circumstances warranted disobedience. "Your education was evidently quite sketchy," he grumbled as he led the way. "Dodson didn't give you your money's worth." * * * * * Two blocks from headquarters, Barlow halted suddenly. He was staring at two patrol wagons drawn up in front of the suspiciously unimpressive building that the organization used. "It's a raid!" he snapped to Valnar. Two guards came out of the building with a young girl between them. They helped her into the nearest car, even though she fought against it. "They've got Laurine," Barlow cried, starting forward. Valnar caught his arm and held him back. "Is that her name?" he asked easily. Barlow fought to free his arm from Valnar's grasp, but the newcomer was much too strong. "Come, don't be childish," Valnar reprimanded. "There are too many of them. Don't worry about your friends. We'll free them as soon as possible." Barlow was undetermined. "In the meantime, we'll go to see Dodson," Valnar continued. That settled Barlow's mind. To get near the Director was something that every member of the organization hoped to do. Besides, Laurine and the others would be safe for a while. The "questioning" of the guards always started on a gentle note. "How will we get to him?" he asked.