Evening star., 1941-03-09
Il Short Story Complete in This Issue

w mouse he has only one interest in
life, and that is to study the antics of Alexan-
der the frustrated mouse. The Navy, how
ever, is our first line of defense, and if an
honest citizen signs up to build twenty hit
and-run torpedo boats and later finds him.
self in hot water -
The doorbell rang" say to Doc.
Answer it"
II did,"
Hand me the cheese, he says.
He puts it at one end of the cage and waits
for Alexander to make dive for it. Then he
drops glass slide and all the mouse gets for
its trouble is a bump on the nose. Seems very
silly to me, but Doc claims he is trying to
find out how long it will be before Alexander
gets sore, gives up, or goes plain nuts in a
mousey way. 1t still seems silly
Remember the job you did last week."
say. Doc mods vaguely and I'm not at all
sure he's remembering the right case, the
one where he untangles a production snarl
on dashboard clocks and as result enables
the instrument factory to land big order
with the air corps.
well, anyway" say, they recommended
boats. He's waiting outside
More cheese" says Doc.
wait until Alexander bumps his nose once
more on the glass and then repeat all have
said, beginning with the doorbell and ending
by saving that Doc ought to see this guy
who's waiting because his problem is one
which concerns the national defense and that
should come first even before making notes
on frustrated mouse.
National defense?" says Doc. why did
mt you say so?"
Doc has a great mind. He knows more
about people and why they do or don't do
things than the people themselves. He has
funny ways, though, and sometimes | think
if it wasn't for me Doc would be considered
just balmy old eccentric.
In the next room our prospective client
is pacing back and forth like the first day in
iail. Otherwise he is well-fed gent, with
white piping around his vest and purple bags
under his eyes; and like everybody else who's
seeing Doc for the first time he can't believe
that Doc is the famous Hoopinsta of whom
he has heard so much. This is mainly because
Doc never remembers to get his hair cut.
As a result it runs wild and sticks out from
his head in all directions; and since Doc also
has a straggly beard there is very little room
left for his face.
LIN Johnathan j. Midgeley - Midgeley
Sea Sleds, Incorporated our caller says,
extending hand Importantly. He goes on
to explain in a dignifed manner how he is
building these twenty motor torpedo boats
for the u S. Navy and has to turn them over
by certain date. There's stiff penalty if
they're not ready on time, and if the Navy
saps on this penalty Mr.. Midgeley is finan-
cially ruined.
For myself don't care - believe me,
he says. But the Navy needs these boats -
needs swarms of them, all up and down both
coasts. They're not just speed boats. They've
got four torpedoes; it takes only one torpedo
to sink an invading battleship!'
'Pootch, get the cards, says Doc.
I'm PootCh. | reach for stack of 3x5 S.
In all the years I've been breeding mice
for the great Hoopinstall, guess I've written
on thousands of these filing cards, sometimes
Just questions. sometimes questions and
answers When he is on problem like this,
put down everything he sees and hears,
and after all the facts are in, Doc looks at
the cards and somehow he gets the right
apeuer It'c ,Incannv