e that cigar after all, if you don't mind, Hockley."

With savage energy he chewed the end and ignited the cigar, then blew a
mammoth cloud of smoke ceilingward. "I think the trouble must be in our
lecturer," he said. "He's crazy. He couldn't possibly represent the
conventional attitude of the Rykes. They promised to give answers to our
problems--and this is the kind of nonsense I get. I'm going to see
somebody higher up and find out why we can't have a lecturer who knows
what he's talking about. Or maybe you or Markham would rather take it
up--through official channels, as it were?"

"The Ryke was correct," said Hockley. "He _did_ give you an answer."

"He could answer _all_ our questions that way!"

"You're perfectly right," said Hockley soberly. "He could do exactly
that."

"They won't of course," said Silvers, defensively. "Even if this
particular character isn't just playing the screwball, my question is
just a special case. It's just one particular thing they consider to be
valueless. Perhaps in the end I'll find they're right--but I'm going to
develop a solution to these Equations if it takes the rest of my life!

"After all, they admit they have no solution, that they have not
bothered to go down this particular side path, as they put it. If we
don't go down it how can we ever know whether it's worthwhile or not?
How can the Rykes know what they may have missed by not doing so?"

"I can't answer that," said Hockley. "For us or for them, I know of no
other way to predict the outcome of a specific line of research except
to carry it through and find out what lies at the end of the road."

* * * * *

Hockley didn't sleep very well after he finally went to bed that night.
Silvers had presented him with the break he had been expecting and
hoping for. The first chink in the armor of sanctity surrounding the
Rykes. Now he wondered what would follow, if this would build up to the
impassable barrier he wanted, or if it would merely remain a sore
obstacle in their way but eventually be bypassed and forgotten.

He did not believe it would be the only incident of its kind. There
would be others as the Earthmen's stunned, blind acceptance gave way
completely to sound, critical evaluation. And in any case there was one
delegate who would never be the same again. No matter how he eventually
rationalized it Dr. Forman K. Silvers would never feel quite the same
about the Rykes as he did b