ou anything about the President's illness."

"Get Bolton, your chief, on the phone and tell him that you have talked
to me when you shouldn't have. He'll blow up, but after he is through
exploding, tell him that I smell a rat and that I want him down here at
once with _carte blanche_ authority to do as I see fit in the White
House. If he makes any fuss about it, remind him of the fact that he has
considered me crazy several times in the past when events showed that I
was right. If he won't play after that, let me talk to him."

"All right, Doctor," replied Carnes as he picked up the scientist's
telephone and gave the number of the home of the Chief of the Secret
Service. "I'll try to bully him out of it. He has a good deal of
confidence in your ability."

* * * * *

Half an hour later the door of Dr. Bird's laboratory opened suddenly to
admit Bolton.

"Hello, Doctor," exclaimed the Chief, "what the dickens have you got on
your mind now? I ought to skin Carnes alive for talking out of turn, but
if you really have an idea, I'll forgive him. What do you suspect?"

"I suspect several things, Bolton, but I haven't time to tell you what
they are. I want to get quietly into the White House as promptly as
possible."

"That's easy," replied Bolton, "but first I want to know what the object
of the visit is."

"The object is to see what I can find out. My ideas are entirely too
nebulous to attempt to lay them out before you just now. You've never
worked directly with me on a case before, but Carnes can tell you that I
have my own methods of working and that I won't spill my ideas until I
have something more definite to go on than I have at present."

"The Doctor is right, Chief," said Carnes. "He has an idea all right,
but wild horses won't drag it out of him until he's ready to talk.
You'll have to take him on faith, as I always do."

Bolton hesitated a moment and then shrugged his shoulders.

"Have it your own way, Doctor," he said. "Your reputation, both as a
scientist and as an unraveller of tangled skeins, is too good for me to
boggle about your methods. Tell me what you want and I'll try to get
it."

* * * * *

"I want to get into the White House without undue prominence being given
to my movements, and listen outside the President's door for a short
time. Later I will want to examine his sleeping quarters carefully and
to make a few tests. I may b