Disheveled and still panting, the man was bundled into the jeep and driven off to the security building.
Tom arrived there by motor scooter several minutes later. Harlan Ames, the slim, dark-haired
24 THE VISITOR FROM PLANET X
security chief of Enterprises, had taken charge of the case, and the prisoner was now being fingerprinted and photographed.
“Any leads?” Tom inquired.
Ames shook his head. “He won’t talk and we’ve nothing on him in our files.
His clothes have no tags or laundry marks, but I’d say they’re of foreign make.”
Tom nodded. “He’s definitely foreign. He spoke with an accent and he also muttered something at Chow-I didn’t catch it, but it certainly wasn’t in English.”
Ames frowned. “I don’t like the looks of this, skipper. He may be a spy.”
“Have you notified the police?” Tom asked.
“Right. Also the FBI. They’re on the way right now to pick him up. Maybe they’ll be able to worm something out of him.”
Tom spent the morning in routine work in the big double office which he shared with his father in Enterprises’ main building. It was equipped with huge twin modern desks, deep-pile carpeting, and roomy leather chairs.
Each of the two inventors had his own drawing board, designed to swing out from the wall at the press of a button. Small scale models of some of their most famous inventions were also placed about the office, including a red-and-silver replica of Tom’s first rocket ship, the Star Spear; a blue plastic model of the jetmarine in which he had
REPORT FROM INTERPOL 25
fought a band of undersea pirates; and also a gleaming silvery model of Tom’s latest, unique space craft, the Cosmic Sailer.