"What the devil?" Arch felt a gulp of fear. It was irrational he told himself. The FBI was no Gestapo; on the whole, he approved of it. Maybe some friend had given his name as a security reference. "All right. We'll see what they want." "I'm going to start some coffee," said Elizabeth. "Lucky we've got a cake too." "Huh?" "You'll see." She patted his cheek and managed a smile. "You're too innocent, sweetheart." Sagdahl and Horrisford turned out to be hard young men with carefully expressionless faces. They introduced themselves very politely, and Arch led the way into the living room. Horrisford took out a notebook. "Well," said Arch a little huskily, "what can I do for you?" "You can answer some questions, if you please," said Sagdahl tonelessly. "You don't have to answer any, and whatever you say can be used in evidence." "I haven't broken any laws that I know of," said Arch feebly. "That remains to be seen. This is an investigation." "Whatever _for_?" "Dr. Arch," said Sagdahl patiently, "yesterday you published an article on a discovery of potential military importance. It has upset a great many plans. Worse, it has been released with no discretion whatsoever, and the consequences aren't easy to foresee. If we'd had any inkling, it would never have been published openly. As it is, you went outside regular channels and--" "I didn't have to go through channels," said Arch. "I've never gotten any confidential data, or even applied for a clearance. I work for myself and--" He saw Horrisford busily writing, and his words dried up. The realization was appalling. The military applications of capacitite had crossed his mind only vaguely and been dismissed with an escapist shrug. "Let's get down to business," said Sagdahl. "Everything will be a lot easier if you cooperate. Now, where were you born?" Arch hadn't imagined anyone could be so thorough about tracking down a man's entire life. He answered frankly, feeling he had nothing to hide. Of course, there _had_ been his roommate at M.I.T., and the roommate had had a girl friend one of whose other friends was a Communist, and... "I see. Now, when you graduated--" Elizabeth entered from the kitchen with a tray. "Pardon me," she smiled. "I think refreshments are in order." Sagdahl's face didn't change, but his eyes bugged slightly. Elizabeth put a coffee cup in his hand and a plate of cake on one knee. He looked unhappy, but mumbled dutiful thanks. "Oh, it's a pleasure," said Elizabeth blandly. "You boys are doing your duty, and really, this is very exciting." Sagdahl got down a mouthful of cake. Valiantly, he tried to resume the staccato flow: "Now, when you graduated, Dr. Arch, you took a vacation, you say. Where was that?" "Up in Quebec. About three months. Just driving around and--" "I see. Then you returned to school for a master's degree, right? Did you at this time know a Joseph Barrett?" "Well, yes, I shared an office with him." "Did you ever discuss politics with him?"