"I've given them two-weeks' notice," Morrow explained. "I'm allowed that. Of course, engineers are scarce--so scarce that by quitting my job here for no good reason, I'm getting myself blackballed out of every other company in the industry. None of 'em will hire me after that." Smitty frowned concernedly. "Did you have to do it that way? I mean--suppose you just disappeared?" Morrow shook his head. "There'd be federal investigators swarming around here three-deep!" he said. "I repeat, chum--engineers are scarce! And they don't like strange things happening to engineers who've been working on top-secret material. They catch more enemy agents that way." "You sure they won't investigate you for quitting?" Smitty's gaze was thoughtful. "I don't think so. In the next two weeks, I think I can convince them that I've simply turned out to be a stinker." Morrow grinned sourly. "They'll be glad to get rid of me, then." "So you'll be ready to leave in two weeks." Smitty's tone was non-committal. "Then I'd better hop the next plane out this morning and start hunting up our base of operations." "Don't you want to come out to Westerton and see the mechanism?" "Uh-uh! Less we do to arouse suspicion, the better. I'll wire you, of course, when I find something. Have you got a gun?" "Gun?" Morrow started. "No. Why should I?" "Good." Smitty grinned lazily. "Don't carry one. They're too damned dangerous." "I agree," Morrow said quietly. "It hadn't even occurred to me." * * * * * The train rattled and squealed through the hot summer afternoon, dust and foul-smelling smoke drifting back through the open coach windows. Morrow huddled in the corner of his seat and stared miserably out at the moving landscape. _Have you got a gun?_ The words echoed through his mind. Of course he didn't have a gun. He had never thought about it. Why should he need a gun? But the answer was obvious. The secret of the gravity-control mechanism was precious. Certain individuals, should they learn about it, would stop at nothing to get it. Including murder. And if the government learned about it, they'd dump him into prison and throw the key away! Thus, anyone who happened to find out about it would do one of two things--try to steal it or inform the authorities about it. Either one would mean catastrophe. And there was only one sure way to keep anyone's mouth shut. Kill them! Morrow knew he couldn't do that--he didn't have that sort of mentality. Nor could he stand by and let anyone else do it, not even Smitty. But that was what Smitty had meant: he wouldn't stand by and let it happen, either. Besides, any murder would bring on an investigation. They couldn't hide from that. So it boiled down to the simple fact that if anyone found out what they were doing, they'd be finished. Dead men don't talk, but they get a lot of other people curious. Somehow, they had to keep it secret. They couldn't afford to let anyone find out about it.