"A very good possibility, but here too they have to evade customs and harbor police, and with the occasional seaman jumping ship to claim political asylum, the RCMP must keep a close watch on the movements of the crew. I think we have to rule this out." "Then the only other way is agents coming overland; but that doesn't make sense," she objected. "Why would they come all the way out west, or if they sneaked in from Mexico, why start the epidemic up here in the north where we are so much stricter?" "I don't believe these agents came by land, for the reasons you've mentioned. I believe they come in by sea." "You mean by submarine?" "No, although that would seem likely at first thought. There have been too many reports, in the last few years, of unidentified submarines off the coast. The Royal Canadian Navy and the United States Coastguard and Navy are watching all the time. It would be too big a risk." I stopped for emphasis. "You must remember Dr. Hallam's second postulate. The first was that this is a war. The second, that it is a hidden war. The presence of submarines along the coast would almost certainly cause suspicion ... and that must not be, if the war is to succeed." "Then I give up, John. How else could it be done?" "By deep sea fishing boats." "You mean Russian ships?" "No, that would be obvious." "Gracious, John, you are being obscure," she complained. "Then they must be communist Chinese." "Wrong again! Still too obvious; and with the measlepox raising Hell in China we wouldn't let any Chinese boat near the coast right now." "For Goodness sake, stop being so mysterious. You sound like a murder mystery where the hero turns out to be the murderer." "Not that either," I smiled and patted her silky knee. * * * * * She laid her head on my shoulder and sighed. "Sometimes, darling, I just give up on you. I'd be real annoyed if you weren't so sweet." "All right, I'll tell you. It's Japanese fishing boats." She lifted her head again to look at me in amazement. "Japanese! You mean the Japs are helping the Russians?" "No, I mean the Russians are using Japs." "Dear Lord," she murmured, "the man's gone nuts." She turned to face me. "And you were accusing the Chief of being fantastic." "The whole thing is fantastic, but if we start by believing Dr. Hallam's assumption, incredible though it may seem, then we arrive, by elimination, at the solution I've just stated." "You may have arrived," she said. "I haven't even started." I butted my cigarette and threw it out. "Here's how it works," I said.