"That quake," Tom replied, "wasn't in a patterned zone any more than the
Faber one was!"

Chow's jaw dropped open in a comic look of dismay. "You mean this here
ole earth we live on is gettin' all busted up an' twisted around
inside?"

"I wish I knew, Chow!" Tom paced worriedly about the office. "It just
seems queer to me that both of those quakes should have destroyed vital
defense factories!"

On a sudden impulse, Tom snatched up the telephone. His two companions
listened as he put through a call to the FBI in Washington. Within
moments, a friend at the Bureau, Wes Norris, came on the line.

"Look, Wes," Tom said, "is there any chance this quake that just
happened at Medfield and the earlier one at Faber Electronics might have
been caused by underground H-bomb blasts?"

"As a matter of fact, we're checking on that very possibility," Norris
replied. "In other words, sabotage. Things are pretty hot around here
since that news on Medfield came in, so I can't talk much right now,
Tom. But I can tell you this," Wes concluded, "we _are_ investigating,
and I do mean thoroughly!"

Bud and Chow were shocked when Tom reported his conversation with the
FBI agent.

"Brand my rattlesnake stew!" Chow exploded. "Any ornery varmint that'd