158 THE ELECTRONIC HYDROLUNG
The security chief was startled when he realized he had activated the alarm system.
“That’s strange,” he said uneasily. “Tom, I wonder if-”
He broke off to dart a quick glance at his wrist. Then his face relaxed into a look of chagrin.
“Great! I forgot my wrist watch!” he murmured. “Haven’t visited your house in so long I neglected to wear it.”
The other Swifts smiled in amused relief, and Mrs. Swift invited him to join them for dessert. Ames, however, declined politely.
“Thank you, but I just finished dinner myself,” he explained. “I dropped by to-”
Once again Ames’s voice trailed off in midsen-tence, as he reached into the side pocket of his coat.
“My amulet!” he gasped. “It’s gone!”
“Are you sure?” Tom said with quick concern.
Ames nodded as he frantically tried all his other pockets. The electronic amulet to which he referred had been issued to all Enterprises personnel and family visitors who used the private gate. The amulets were contained in slender bracelets and were designed to trap radar impulses. This prevented them from showing up as blips on the giant detector radarscope mounted on the main building. The purpose of the scope was to reveal unauthorized visitors or spies.
“My bracelet broke this afternoon,” Ames
A MISSING AMULET 159
said. “I slipped it into my pocket to have it repaired. But it’s not there now!”
Tom grabbed a flashlight and dashed outside for a hasty check of the walk.
Ames followed, to look inside his black sedan. But the amulet did not come to light.