"_What? Why?_"
Hale shook his head slowly. "You just aren't very bright, Hinrik. Not
bright at all. See here; what would have happened if my name had never
come into this at all?"
"I should think--"
"I agree. You should. But you don't." Hale dropped the remains of the
cigar in an ashtray. "Just suppose that no one knew I was here on
Apfahl. On the day the time capsule is due to open, the Nordapfahlians
find no original Dachboden in it. The next day, you open a capsule that
no one has ever heard of before, and you find a Dachboden. Wouldn't
that look rather suspicious? It certainly would."
Fonshliezen considered that point, then asked: "And how do you propose
to do it?"
"It's all set up, Hinrik. Now they know that I am here. They know that
I will try to steal the carving. If I succeed, why should they suspect
you? You will demand a troop of I.P. men to guard your own capsule,
too. You will issue a statement saying that all national differences
must be submerged in order to capture Leland Hale. And, in the end, you
will have the carving, and Nordapfahl will not--which will prove that
Sudapfahlians are better guards than the northerners."
Hinrik Fonshliezen nodded slowly, and a faint smile crossed his pointed
face. "I see. Yes--I see. Very clever, Mr. Hale, very clever." Then the
smile vanished again. "But I don't see how you're going to get at the
capsule with that guard around it."
"I managed to plant that capsule of mine under your capitol building
without being detected by the local citizens. Don't worry, I'll manage."
Hinrik snorted. "There was no guard around the capitol when you planted
your bogus time capsule; there most definitely is a guard around the
one in Grosstat."
"Let me worry about that," said Hale. "All you have to do is have that
half million ready. And remember, I can always sell the Dachboden
elsewhere. I won't get as much, I grant you, but I'll still make a tidy
profit."
Hinrik Fonshliezen grimaced. "Suppose--just suppose--that you don't get
the carving. Where will that leave me?"
Hale shrugged. "No better off, and no worse. You'll simply have a time
capsule of no importance. After all, you haven't claimed that there
actually is a Dachboden in it, while Dr. Mier has definitely made the
claim that there is one in _his_ capsule."
"Such a thing would not make me popular with the people of Sudapfahl,
however," Fonshliezen pointed out. "And that is what this whole thing
is supposed to do."
"It wouldn't make you unpopular, either," Hale said. "And neither would
it cost you five hundred thousand stellors. You'd come out even." Hale
stretched elaborately. "But you don't need to worry; you'll get your
statue."
"When?"
"On the day the capsule is due to open. Not a minute before. Meanwhile,
I shall make myself comfortable here in your home, where the I.P. won't
look for me, and I'll go on making myself comfortable until I'm ready
to pull off my little job. Mix me a drink, Hinrik; there's a good
fellow."
* * * * *
The Museum of Cultural History in Grosstat, Nordapfahl, positively
bristled with arms and men. Its stone walls looked like those of a
fortress instead of a museum.
Captain Whitter had taken every precaution. No guard over six feet
in height was allowed within a block of the building; Hale couldn't
disguise his height. Inside the building, technicians with sensitive
equipment hovered over dials and meters.
"It's possible that he may try to tunnel under the building," the
captain explained. "It wouldn't be too difficult with modern equipment.
But if he tries it, we'll have him."
Around the capsule itself stood an honor guard of a dozen picked I.P.
men; around them stood a second ring of Lieutenant-Marshal Dilon's men.
All through the building, lights blazed brightly as the guard kept on a
round-the-clock watch.
Precision detectors scanned the skies for any sign of flying craft
after a State Police order grounded all aircraft within five miles of
the Museum. Special illumination projectors were set up all over the
area to pick out anyone wearing an invisibility suit, although the I.P.
didn't mention anything about that, since at that time the invisibility
suit was supposed to be an official I.P. secret. Nevertheless, Captain
Whitter didn't bypass the possibility that Leland Hale might have laid
his hands on one of them.
Captain Whitter surveyed his work and found it good.
"We're ready for him," he said. "All we have to do is wait for him to
come."
They waited.
And waited.
Eventually, the spaceship _Quinsen_, out of Denebola arrived and
several genuine staff members of the Interstellar Museum disembarked,
followed by reporters of a score of news services. They were carefully
checked and kept well beyond the outer perimeter of the guard.
And the guard went on waiting.
Came the eve of the day of the Grand Opening, the day when the
radio-decay clock would release the lock on the time capsule. Captain
Whitter was in a nervous sweat by this time, as were the others.
"He'll have to try it tonight," the captain stated positively. "We'll
double the guard and sweat him out."
But only the guard did any sweating. The night passed peacefully, if
somewhat tensely, and the sun rose on the most jittery bunch of men
this side of the Lesser Magellanic Cloud.
And still nothing happened.
When the hour came for the lock to open, the representatives of the
Galactic Museum demanded to be let in, but Captain Whitter was as
adamant as cast tungsten. No one would be allowed near the capsule
until Leland Hale had been captured.
At the final hour, the guards stood nervously around the big
metallic cylinder. Within the ring of armed men, Captain Whitter,
Lieutenant-Marshal Dilon, and Dr. Rudolf Mier stood, looking at the
capsule and waiting.
Something inside the time capsule clicked softly. A door in its side
slid neatly open.