terjected.

And so we acquired a patent attorney, several of them, in fact.

The day that our application on the kite design went to Washington, Mary
wrote a dozen toy manufacturers scattered from New York to Los Angeles,
sent a kite to each one and offered to license the design. Result, one
licensee with a thousand dollar advance against next season's royalties.

* * * * *

It was a rainy morning about three weeks later that I arrived at the
barn. Jeff McCord was there, and the whole team except Tommy. Jeff
lowered his feet from the picnic table and said, "Hi."

"Hi yourself," I told him. "You look pleased."

"I am," he replied, "in a cautious legal sense, of course. Hilary and I
were just going over the situation on his phosphonate detergent. I've
spent the last three nights studying the patent literature and a few
standard texts touching on phosphonates. There are a zillion patents on
synthetic detergents and a good round fifty on phosphonates, but it
looks"--he held up a long admonitory hand--"it just looks as though we
had a clear spot. If we do get protection, you've got a real salable
property."

"That's fine, Mr. McCord," Hilary said, "but it's not very important."

"No?" Jeff tilted an inquiring eyebrow at me, and I handed him a small
bottle. He opened and sniffed at it gingerly. "What gives?"

"Before-shave lotion," Hilary told him. "You've shaved this morning, but
try some anyway."

Jeff looked momentarily dubious, then puddled some in his palm and
moistened his jaw line. "Smells good," he noted, "and feels nice and
cool. Now what?"

"Wipe your face." Jeff located a handkerchief and wiped, looked at the
cloth, wiped again, and stared.

"What is it?"

"A whisker stiffener. It makes each hair brittle enough to break off
right at the surface of your skin."

"So I perceive. What is it?"

"Oh, just a mixture of stuff. Cookbook chemistry. Cysteine thiolactone
and a fat-soluble magnesium compound."

"I see. Just a mixture of stuff. And do your whiskers grow back the next
day?"

"Right on schedule," I said.

McCord unfolded his length and stood staring out into the rain.
Presently he said, "Henderson, Hilary and I are heading for my office.
We can work there better than here, and if we're going to break the
hearts of the razor industry, there's no better time to start than now."

When they had driven off I turned and said, "Let's talk a while. We can
always clea