rs from the Security
Council. The AEC will fly in a 10-KT nuclear charge and a group of
experts. The Secretary of Defense promised that a battalion of Seabees
with full equipment would arrive in San Luz within twenty-four hours.
The Military Air Transport Service will airlift in enough troops to
handle the crowd. Any questions?"

Rick grinned back. "It sounds as though everyone's in the act but the
British."

"Oh, they're in it, too. The Federation's President will represent their
political interests, but we'll also have a British cruiser standing
offshore for help as needed. And I forgot an important addition. Our
President's Assistant for Science and Technology is notifying the proper
committees of the National Academy of Sciences. We'll have a planeload
of geophysicists down here in a few days to get all the scientific data
possible out of this event. So we're well covered."

"I guess we can relax now," Rick said with relief. "The job is out of
our hands."

"Not quite," Hartson Brant corrected. "They all agreed that the
Spindrift Foundation should be placed in over-all charge. So we've got
our work cut out for us!"

CHAPTER XVIII

The Seabees

The sea off the west coast of San Luz was alive with ships. Rick counted
up to twenty-five and then gave up. Some of the ships were moving, and
he was sure he had counted the same one three times. He identified
cruisers, destroyers, one aircraft carrier with a squadron of
helicopters aboard, and landing ships of several kinds.

One huge landing ship was nosed right up to the shore, and
from it rolled tons of heavy equipment. From an attack
transport, the equipment's operators, a U. S. Naval Construction
Battalion--Seabees--were disembarking by the hundreds.

Scotty asked, "How many different kinds of flags can you see? I've
counted six so far. U. S., British, Dutch, Venezuelan, Colombian, and
Panamanian."

"It's an international job, all right," Rick agreed. "And when the UN
observers arrive tonight you can run up a few more flags, too."

"Reminds me of the amphibious exercises we used to have in the
Marines," Scotty commented to Rick.

Nearby, Hartson Brant and the other scientists were deep in conversation
with a group of civilians and Navy officers. The officers were the
engineers, from the Naval Construction Battalion. Last night had been
spent in working with them on the details of the problem. It would be
their job to drive the big hole down into