ter and Eyer went across to him as he was saying his last words into
the microphone before stepping into his sealed cabin for the flight.
Kress saw them coming and his face lighted up.

"Lord," he said, "I'm glad to see you two. I've something I must ask
you."

"Anything you ask will be answered," said Jeter, "if Tema and I can
answer it. Or granted--if it's a favor you wish."

Kress motioned people back in order to speak more or less privately with
his brother scientists. His face became unusually grave.

"You've probably wondered--everybody has--why I insist on making this
flight alone," he said, speaking just loudly enough to be heard above
the purring of the mighty, but almost silent motor behind him. "I'll
tell you, partly. I've had a feeling for the last month that ... well,
that things may not turn out exactly as everybody hopes. Of course I'll
blaze the way to new discoveries; yes, and I'll climb to a height of
around a hundred thousand feet ... and ... and...."

Jeter and Eyer looked at each other. It wasn't like Kress to be gloomy
just before doing something that no man had ever done before. He should
have been smiling and happy--at least for the movietone cameras--but he
wasn't even that. Certainly it must be something unusual to so concern
him.

"Tell us, Kress," said Eyer.

Kress looked at them both for several moments.

"Just this," he said at last: "work on your own high altitude plane with
all possible speed. If I don't come back ... take off and follow me into
the stratosphere at once."

Had Kress, possessor of one of the keenest scientific minds in the
world, taken leave of his senses? "If I don't come back," he had said.
What did he expect to do? Fly off the earth utterly? That was silly.

But when the partners looked again at Kress they both had the same
feeling. It probably wasn't as silly as it sounded. Did Kress know
something he wasn't telling them? Did he really think he might ... well,
might fly off the earth entirely, away beyond her atmosphere, and never
return? How utterly absurd! And yet....

"Of course we'll do it," said Jeter. "We'd do it anyway, without word
from you. We haven't stopped our own work because of your swiftly
approaching conquest of the greater heights. But why shouldn't you come
back?"

* * * * *

For a moment there was a look of positive dread upon Kress' face.

Then he spoke again very quietly:

"You know all the stuff th