ing, never for themselves."

"The principle was entirely different," Cooper told him. "Nobody
ever did anything for himself in those days. Everyone was always
under someone else's protection. The explorers either were
financed by their governments or were sponsored by them or
operated under a royal charter or a patent. With us, it's
different. Ours is a private enterprise. You dreamed up the time
unit and built it. The three of us chipped in to buy the
helicopter. We've paid all of our expenses out of our own pockets.
We never got a dime from anyone. What we found is ours."

"I hope you're right," said Adams uneasily.

Old Buster had moved out from the grove and was shuffling warily
toward the camp. Adams picked up the rifle that lay across his
knees.

"Wait," said Cooper sharply. "Maybe he's just bluffing. It would
be a shame to plaster him; he's such a nice old guy."

Adams half raised the rifle.

"I'll give him three steps more," he announced. "I've had enough
of him."

Suddenly a roar burst out of the air just above their heads. The
two leaped to their feet.

"It's Chuck!" Cooper yelled. "He's back!"

The helicopter made a half-turn of the camp and came rapidly to
Earth.

Trumpeting with terror, Old Buster was a dwindling dot far down
the grassy ridge.

III

They built the nightly fires circling the camp to keep out the
animals.

"It'll be the death of me yet," said Adams wearily, "cutting all
this wood."

"We have to get to work on that stockade," Cooper said. "We've
fooled around too long. Some night, fire or no fire, a herd of
mastodon will come busting in here and if they ever hit the
helicopter, we'll be dead ducks. It wouldn't take more than just
five seconds to turn us into Robinson Crusoes of the Pleistocene."

"Well, now that this recognition thing has petered out on us,"
said Adams, "maybe we can get down to business."

"Trouble is," Cooper answered, "we spent about the last of our
money on the chain saw to cut this wood and on Chuck's trip to
Washington. To build a stockade, we need a tractor. We'd kill
ourselves if we tried to rassle that many logs bare-handed."

"Maybe we could catch some of those horses running around out
there."

"Have you ever broken a horse?"

"No, that's one thing I never tried."

"Me, either. How about you, Chuck?"

"Not me," said the ex-ambassador extraordinary bluntly.

Cooper squatted down beside the coals of the cooking fire and
twirle