on."

Mayer shook his head. "No, Baron Leonar. But neither do you disagree
with what I say. The businessman, the merchant, the manufacturer on
Genoa today, is only tolerated. Were it not for the fact that the barons
have no desire to eliminate such a profitable source of income, they
would milk us dry overnight."

Someone shrugged. "That is the way of things. We are lucky to have
wrested, bribed and begged as many favors from the lords as we have. Our
twenty cities all have charters that protect us from complete
despoilation."

Mayer twisted excitedly in his chair. "As of today, things begin to
change. Jerry, that platen press."

Jerry Kennedy left the room momentarily and returned with Martin Gunther
and two of the servants. While the assembled merchants looked on, in
puzzled silence, Mayer's assistants set up the press and a stand holding
two fonts of fourteen-point type. Jerry took up a printer's stick and
gave running instructions as he demonstrated. Gunther handed around
pieces of the type until all had examined it, while his colleague set up
several lines. Kennedy transposed the lines to a chase, locked it up and
placed the form to one side while he demonstrated inking the small
press, which was operated by a foot pedal. He mounted the form in the
press, took a score of sheets of paper and rapidly fed them, one by one.
When they were all printed, he stopped pumping and Gunther handed the
still wet finished product around to the audience.

Olderman stared down at the printed lines, scowled in concentration, wet
his lips in sudden comprehension.

But it was merchant Russ who blurted, "This will revolutionize the
inscribing of books. Why, it can well take it out of the hands of the
Temple! With such a machine I could make a hundred books--"

Mayer was beaming. "Not a hundred, Honorable, but a hundred thousand!"

The others stared at him as though he was demented. "A hundred
thousand," one said. "There are not that many literate persons on the
continent."

"There will be," Mayer crowed. "This is but one of our levers to pry
power from the barons. And here is another." He turned to Russ.
"Honorable Russ, your city is noted for the fine quality of its steel,
of the swords and armor you produce."

Russ nodded. He was a small man fantastically rich in his attire. "This
is true, Honorable Mayer."

Mayer said, tossing a small booklet to the other, "I have here the plans
for a new method of making steel from pi