oping; he found a capsule in his samples
case and popped it in his mouth.

Simpson looked sad and nodded to the orderly who had stopped scrubbing
down the wall. "Louie, you heard the man."

"But boss--"

Simpson scowled. Louie went to the door and whistled. Presently there
was a splashing sound and a short, gray creature padded in. His hind
feet were four-toed webbed paddles; his legs were long and powerful like
a kangaroo's. He was covered with thick gray fur which dripped with
thick black mud. He squeaked at Simpson, wriggling his nose. Simpson
squeaked back sharply.

Suddenly the creature began shaking his head in a slow, rhythmic
undulation. With a cry Simpson dropped behind the desk. The orderly fell
flat on the floor, covering his face with his arm. Kielland's eyes
widened; then he was sitting in a deluge of mud as the little Venusian
shook himself until his fur stood straight out in all directions.

Simpson stood up again with a roar. "I've told them a thousand times if
I've told them once--" He shook his head helplessly as Kielland wiped
mud out of his eyes. "This is the one you wanted to see."

Kielland sputtered. "Can it talk to you?"

"It doesn't talk, it squeaks."

"Then ask it to explain why the platform it built didn't hold the
landing craft."

Simpson began whistling and squeaking at length to the little creature.
Its shaggy tail crept between its legs and it hung its head like a
scolded puppy.

"He says he didn't know a landing craft was supposed to land on the
platform," Simpson reported finally. "He's sorry, he says."

"But hasn't he seen a landing craft before?"

Squeak, squeak. "Oh, yes."

"Wasn't he told what the platform was being made for?"

Squeak, squeak. "Of course."

"Then why didn't the platform stand up?"

Simpson sighed. "Maybe he forgot what it was supposed to be used for in
the course of building it. Maybe he never really did understand in the
first place. I can't get questions like that across to him with this
whistling, and I doubt that you'll ever find out which it was."

"Then fire him," said Kielland. "We'll find some other--"

"Oh, no! I mean, let's not be hasty," said Simpson. "I'd hate to have to
fire this one--for a while yet, at any rate."

"Why?"

"Because we've finally gotten across to him--at least I _think_ we
have--just how to take down a dredge tube." Simpson's voice was almost
tearful. "It's taken us months to teach him. If we fire him, we'll hav