The Thinking Machine Affair Read Online Free PDF Page B

electronic beam receiver that set the alarm system in motion," Harris told him. "My theory is supported by the fact that additional gadgets were found on the intruder. It is obvious he was trapped before he had the chance to complete his job."
    "It's dangerous to rely on theories," Waverly grumbled.
    "I know, sir," Harris concurred. "Every single inch of the internal and external communications systems is being examined and so are the surrounding areas and electric supply links. We are not relying on theory alone but are taking every precaution. Still, I believe the search will prove my theory and establish..."
    "Thank you, Mr. Harris, that will be all for now," Waverly again interrupted. He was very impatient. As the man, visibly nettled, turned to leave, Waverly recalled him to say: "There's another thing, though, that puzzles me."
    "Yes, sir?" Harris enquired.
    "How was it possible for the intruder to evade the closed circuit television eyes and other alarm devices and penetrate so deep into our headquarters?"
    "Well, sir," the expert returned, "these little electronic beam receivers can also be used for the interruption of closed circuit television and other alarm and safety devices. This incident has now established that a super-safety circuit, as we call it, must be provided—the same type of safety circuit that set off the alarm system when the beam receiver was fixed..."
    "Thank you, Mr.—ehm—Harris," Waverly said. "I take it you'll put the necessary work in hand without delay?"
    "It is already in hand, sir. It is being carried out as top priority."
    The door closed behind the man as he departed.
    Waverly took the buff foolscap folder from his desk and said:
    "I wonder if this is in any way connected with our THRUSH intruder?"
    Napoleon Solo looked at his superior with blank eyes, although it was obvious that Waverly wanted him to enquire what he meant.
    "I'm referring to a report from Prague which came in only a short while ago," Waverly continued.
    "Yes?" the agent prompted.
    "It's a report on the sudden and mysterious disappearance of a young Czech scientist a woman named Vlasta Novak—who has been engaged in some secret Government research."
    Solo almost blurted out, "The daughter of Professor Karel Novak who's working on some top-secret project," but stopped himself, unwilling to interrupt his superior.
    "This young woman is the only daughter of one of the best scientists the Czechs have, a man called, ehm, Professor Karel Novak, who's engaged in some hush-hush research in his villa in a Prague suburb." Waverly told Solo what the U.N.C.L.E. Chief Enforcement Agent had already discovered. "She left the Research Institute where she worked to return home, but she never arrived there. Czech State Security at once started a nationwide hunt for her, but she seems to have disappeared without trace."
    "Perhaps she managed to slip across the frontier before her disappearance was discovered," Napoleon said. "She wouldn't be the first scientist to slide under the Iron Curtain."
    "Nonsense!" Waverly said rather rudely. "This young woman is so devoted to her father that she wouldn't think of leaving him. No, Mr. Solo, the mysterious disappearance of this person reeks of THRUSH. The alarm on her disappearance was given half-an-hour after she left the Research Institute, and half-an-hour is too short a time for anyone to get from Prague over the frontier. Taking into consideration the effectiveness of Czech State Security, which covers the whole country, and also the fact that the young woman seems to have disappeared from the face of the earth, I would say that she's held at THRUSH European Center, and I'd also say that the Center ought to be somewhere near Prague."
    Waverly paused for a moment and Solo added:
    "And, I think, you'd also bet that our intruder, when eventually handed over to his 'relatives', will lead us to this particular center."
    "Well done, Mr. Solo," his superior said. "There's only one slight