this created desire to understand
the language, and they eagerly attended the classes.

One lix Dick found Jerold Brown examining a piece of machinery. A few
lix later Andrew Smith had joined him. Soon every earthman was spending
his time in the machinery hold, with McCarthy acting as instructor. He
would accept no excuse for being late at his classes--and they all
arrived on time!

* * * * *

Weeks slipped by as the ship drove on through space. The earthmen
learned to admire the men from Jupiter for their constant good-nature,
although they were slightly childish.

The crew of engineers were slowly learning the rudiments of Jupiter's
science. Barrow through his study of the domes, and McCarthy through
study of the machines, far surpassed the others. At times both men spent
hours in the model room, at others Dick examined the machines beside the
Irishman. They compared notes until each knew the other's findings.

Dick took all the men into the model room once every third lix, and
spent four hours instructing them in the civilization. Each man had his
own set of maps, and marked down facts about his future location. Dick
copied their notes on a large map, that covered all the cities. They
used numbers to signify different mechanisms, to make it easier to
describe equipment that was duplicated in more than one dome.

In a month they were able to carry on light conversation, and from then
on mastery of the language was faster. The women far surpassed the men,
due to desire for entertainment.

When he was able to question the crew, Dick received a terrible shock.
_They knew less about the ship's operation than his own men!_ They
didn't understand their own equipment!

The people of the domes were content to enjoy the mechanical wonders of
their ancestors--without bothering about how they ran. They used
equipment for every purpose, without the slightest interest in why it
worked. The earthmen suddenly realized what a gigantic task they faced.
_Seven men_--to rebuild a civilization!

The men at the controls knew what reaction would take place by movement
of a lever, but _didn't understand why_! Dick became slightly worried
about reaching their destination--it was beyond all reason. Earthmen
wouldn't have attempted to operate equipment they knew nothing about, by
movement of controls to obtain the proper action.

It was no wonder these people had found it necessary to find engineers
t