“Take it any way you like, sir.” Tom smiled politely. “I think I can promise you a spectacular example of what I mean in a few days.”
He refused to say more, although the audience buzzed with questions.
“Tom Swift is a showman-I’ll grant him that,” Bud overheard the executive say. “He’s already got everyone eaten up with curiosity!”
On the flight back to Shopton, Tom declined to tell even Bud Barclay what he had in mind. “Bear with me, fly-boy,” he said with a chuckle. “I’m hoping to make your eyes pop, too!”
As they landed at Enterprises, Ames came speeding out in a car. “Hop in!”
he told the boys. “The impostor who posed as Dr. Grimsey is ready to talk!”
“What changed his mind?” Tom asked on the way.
140 3-D TELEJECTOR
“Wes Norris convinced him he’d be charged with kidnapping or even murder if the real Dr. Grimsey wasn’t found.”
Norris, an FBI agent, was an old acquaintance of the Swifts. He and Police Chief Slater greeted Ames and the boys when they arrived at headquarters.
Then the prisoner was brought into Slater’s office.
“Tom Swift is here now, so let’s have your story!” the chief barked.
The mystery man, haggard and shaven-headed, asked for pencil and paper.
He wrote something on the paper, then held it up. The paper bore the single letter Q!
CHAPTER XVII
ROUNDUP RAID
TOM’s eyes kindled as the man showed them what he had written. “What does the Q stand for?” Tom demanded tensely.
“It’s a symbol used by a gang of scientific spies,” the prisoner replied, “probably the most dangerous espionage outfit at large. They call themselves Group Q, and are identified by their special lighters.”
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