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."But that's beside the point168 THE MYSTERY OF THE INVISIBLE ENEMYat this moment.What we want you to tell us now, Jennings, is the name of yourinformant.""I don't know who it was," Jennings muttered."The voice was muffled-a kind ofwhisper.""The man is a criminal, Jennings," Collins said sharply."Are you willing tobe regarded as his accomplice for shielding him?""Blast it, Collins!" Jennings had gone red again and now he looked Collins inthe eye."You and I don't agree-never have.You think I shouldn't have sold mystock to those two young men.Well, go ahead and think so.You can't recognizea stroke of smart business when you see it.Your idea of a good businessman isa sentimental idiot who worries more about the welfare of his employees thanmaking money for the stockholders.I have more sense.But if you think I'dshield a man who tried to collect a hundred thousand dollars by outrighttheft, you're mistaken, that's all."Ken felt his heart sink.They had counted on Jennings being able to point anaccusing finger at one of the men in the room, once Jennings was convincedthat the person who gave him information about Collins was also guilty ofactual crimes."Now I want to know what all this wild talk is about assault," Jennings washurrying on, as if eager to shift interest from himself."Who were assaulted-and why?""We are coming to that right now," Collins said quietly."Ben Kurowski wasassaulted, for one.""Kurowski assaulted!" Bascom sounded incredulous."But I thought it wasunderstood his ladder accidentally slipped."TELLTALE FINGERPRINTS 169"That's what the guilty party hoped we would think," Collins said."And wedid-until Kurowski became conscious."Delman, the production manager, leaned forward."You mean he told you whotried to kill him?"Ken, watching the man closely, was also aware out the corner of his eye thatAndy Kane's hand was directly over the open holster flap of his pistol.AndChief Kane now spoke, for the first time since he had entered the room."If Kurowski had told us," he said grimly, "we wouldn't be putting you allthrough this unorthodox session this morning.We'd have the guilty man underlock and key right now.Unfortunately the old chap didn't see anything but astick pushing against the bottom rung of his ladder-pushing hard enough totopple the ladder over and bring Kurowski down with it.""But why Kurowski?" The question was from Tal-bot, the purchasing agent."Because," Collins said, "Kurowski announced, the night before last, that hewas going to start his regular fall checkup of the air ducts over this part ofthe building yesterday."Jennings snorted."This whole thing simply doesn't make sense.What have airducts got to do with anything? And I thought you said originally that threepeople were assaulted.Who are the other two?""Ken Holt and Sandy Allen," Collins answered, gesturing toward the boys."They'll explain to you what air ducts have to do with this situation.It'stheir story.They're the ones who figured it out.Go ahead, Ken."170 THE MYSTERY OF THE INVISIBLE ENEMYKen cleared his throat, conscious of what his choice of words during the nextfew minutes would mean.He started slowly, feeling his way, presenting onlythe most pertinent facts-the discovery of the microphone in Collins' office,the tracing of the wires that led so disappointingly to a transmitter, theconclusion that the guilty man must be someone who had a private office in theplant, where he could eavesdrop on Collins in safety.Page 64 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlEveryone in the room had listened in rigid silence up to that point.ButGibbons, the chief estimator, spoke up suddenly when Ken paused for breath."Lew," he said desperately to Collins, "this is all nonsensel You must know itis.Thinking one of us could have done this thing-why, it's incredible! In thefirst place, not a one of us is in his office long enough every day, alone, tobe able to use this radio receiver stunt young Holt here has been describing.Take me, for example.You know yourself that I'm out in the plant hours everyday-have to be, to make up my estimates."His words released a flood of similar declarations."I'm certainly not in my office much," pointed out Golding, the sales manager."We wouldn't have an order a month if I were.""And I'm in the foundry more than I'm in my office," Delman the productionmanager said
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