No Refuge Could Save, also known as To Spot a Spy, is a mystery short story by Isaac Asimov.
Part of the Union Club series, it was first published in the September 1980 issue of Gallery magazine.
Summary[]
At the Union Club, Griswold recounts a story from his youth during World War II. He worked in a Philadelphia laboratory and was occasionally tasked with informally vetting new employees for loyalty, a role he later understood was part of low-level espionage work.
On one occasion, his commanding officer gave him until 5 p.m. to determine if a new man named Brooke was a "true-blue American" or a German agent. The pressure was intensified with the threat of losing a promotion.
Griswold spent the afternoon engaging Brooke in conversation, testing his knowledge of American politics, sports, and idioms. Finding him flawlessly prepared in all these areas, Griswold proposed a word association game with a monetary wager. During this game, Griswold said the phrase "terror of flight." Brooke immediately responded with "gloom of the grave," the corresponding phrase from the third stanza of "The Star-Spangled Banner."
Griswold identified this as the crucial error. He reasoned that while a German agent would be thoroughly trained and know all the stanzas of the anthem, a typical American would only know the first stanza, certainly not the obscure third. This was the giveaway that confirmed Brooke was a spy. Brooke was subsequently apprehended. Griswold concludes with the ironic note that he never received a raise for his success, only the loss of a ten-dollar bet from the game, which went unpaid.
Characters[]
- Griswold
- Club Member (the narrator)
- Baranov
- Jennings
- Brooke
- The Lieutenant Commander
- The Lab Manager
- The Fellow (who apprehended Brooke)
Organizations / Factions[]
- German Spies / Nazi Agents
- Spy Masters
- The Draft Board