It's pulled
away from a bracket and looks like it might be charred." Mac twisted
around to view the wiring better.

"Can you fix it?"

"Oh, sure, if that's all there is wrong. But I'd rather do the work with
the motors retracted. Tell you what; retract them about forty-five
degrees when I give the word."

* * * * *

Mac judged the distance the booms would cover during semiretraction and
half floated, half crawled out of the way. He found himself breathing
heavily, despite the freeload conditions. His suit was simply too
cumbersome. The thought came to him that he didn't even know how long
he'd been out of the dome. His breathing oxygen gauge showed half empty,
so he must have been on the job for around a half hour. He rationed his
supply a bit, hoping he could finish the job without a refill.

"O.K., Johnny, you can run the tape again. And retract the motors while
you're at it." He heard the tape start again on its course, watching the
booms.

They leaped inward, then, and Mac felt a crushing blow across his back.
He shook his head groggily and yelled.

He tried to scramble from his place between motor and turbine fuel lines
without success; he was trapped like a wild animal by the heavy actuator
which had swung past his head. He heard himself say, "And be sure to
stay clear of the actuator. It swings through a ninety-degree arc when
it's operated."

"Oh, shut up! I know it; I just judged it wrong." The tape moved on
unperturbedly, reminding him to inspect the actuator bearings and
extension rods.

"Mac," came Logan's voice, "you might try to hurry it. If you can't get
it fixed in an hour or two, we'll have to try rolling _Valier_ down to
the doughnut. But it's up to you, fella. Take your time."

"Well, you might help me a bit by raising this hydraulic unit offa my
shoulders. Lucky it didn't squash me." The actuator stayed where it was.
"Johnny! Carl! Do you read me?" No answer. Obviously, the actuator had
smashed his transmitter, but left the receiver section intact. Then all
he could hope for would be a suspicion from one of the others that all
was not well. If they asked him any questions and he failed to reply,
they'd figure something was wrong. Well, he couldn't count on that.

He struggled with his vulcanized suit, trying to squeeze from under the
actuator. If I'd had them retract it completely, he thought, I'd be a
dead man. It was a tight squeeze, but he inched his wa