y out of the trap
by using every ounce of strength at his command. If his suit tore, he'd
know it in a hurry.

Gasping for breath, Mac drew himself into a crouch and regarded the
offending wire. His flashlight still operated, and he could see the
heavy insulation which had been scraped away. No charring; then it must
have been the extension rods that had scissored through the insulation.
The wire hung together by a thread, the strands of metal severed
completely. He groped for his tool kit, trying to ignore the voice in
his headset.

"Well, that takes care of the actuators. Now for these dinky motors. The
swivel mounts have to work without any lubricant, so look for
indications of wear and--"

Mac cursed under his breath. He sounded so cocksure, so all-knowing. He
felt like beating himself. His earlier self, who had blithely toured
_Valier_ trailing the microphone wires without any real premonition of
trouble. It always happens to the other guy--Not this time, chum, he
reminded himself.

The gloves were systematically foiling his attempts to withdraw the coil
of wire at his side. The tool kit was the ultimate in maintenance work,
compact and complete with extension handles for the cutters and
wrenches. Everything was there, but practically impossible to use. His
fingers finally closed over the wire; he jerked it out and with it the
splice tool. The little pliers caromed from the brace above him and
sailed out toward the motor, beyond the ship. He watched, horrified, as
the tool slowly cartwheeled away into space.

"All right," he muttered, "scratch one splice tool. It was also my only
pair of pliers, but I'll manage." He knew he could use the wire cutters
in a pinch. "In a pinch," he repeated. "Oh, that's a hot one. That's
about all that's happened this trip, so far. Pinch me, pinch the
wiring--What a pinch!"

* * * * *

Holding the roll of wire tightly in one hand, he grasped the cutters and
pulled them from the kit with utmost care. He unrolled a foot-long
section of wire and clipped it off, laying his flashlight in the tool
kit so that it would shine out in front of him. He managed to attach the
tiny splice lugs by pinching them with the cutters, then moved
cautiously to the wire which still drooped from the jumble of machinery.
"Drooped" wasn't precisely the word; actually the wire had been bent
into its position and stayed that way.

As the harried major reached for the bra