ide by these
terms?"

Nelsen was wary for a second. "Yes--I promise," he said.

"Good. I am glad you paused to think, Nelsen. I am not fabulously rich.
But having more or less money hardly matters to me at this late date, so
I am not likely to try to trap you. Yet there is still a game to play,
and an outcome to watch--the future. Now get out of here before you
become ridiculous by saying more than a casual thanks."

"All right--thanks. Thank you, sir..."

Nelsen felt somewhat numb. But a faint, golden glow was increasing
inside his mind.

Tiflin hadn't gone up to Tech. He was still waiting on the street
corner. "What the hell, Frank?" he said.

"I think we've got the loan, Tif. But he wants to see all of us. Can you
go in there, be polite, say you're a Bunch member, make a promise,
and--above all--avoid blowing your top? Boy--if you queer this...!"

Tiflin's mouth was open. "You kidding?"

"No!"

Tiflin gulped, and actually looked subdued. "Okay, Frank. Be cavalier.
Hell, I'd croak before I'd mess this up...!"

By evening, everybody had visited J. John Reynolds, including Charlie
Reynolds and Jig Hollins. Nelsen got the backslapping treatment.

Charlie sighed, rubbed his head, then grinned with immense relief.
"That's a load off," he said. "Glad to have somebody else fix it.
Congrats, Frank. I wonder if Otto has got any champagne to go with the
hotdogs...?"

Otto had a bottle--enough for a taste, all around. Eileen kissed Frank
impulsively. "You ought to get _real_ smart," she said.

"Uh-huh," he answered. "Now let's get some beer--more our speed."

But none of them overdid the beer either...

Just after New Year's they had eight bubbs completed, tested, folded
carefully according to government manuals, and stowed in an attic they
had rented over Otto's place. They had seven ionics finished and stored.
More parts and materials were arriving. The air-restorers were going to
be the toughest and most expensive to make. They were the really vital
things to a spaceman. Every detail had to be carefully fitted and
assembled. The chlorophane contained costly catalytic agents.

A winter of hard work was ahead, but they figured on a stretch of clear
sailing, now. They didn't expect anyone to shake their morale, least of
all a nice, soft-spoken guy in U.S.S.F. greys. Harv Diamond was the one
man from Jarviston who had gotten into the Space Force. He used to hang
around Hendricks'.

He dropped in on a Sunday