ntly on the
top flat surface. Another tentacle reached out to investigate the body
of the pilot. Jordan welded the joints solid with the toaster. Three
times he repeated the process until the pilot was fastened to the
robot.

"The thing will stay here, repairing itself, until it's completely
sound again," remarked Jordan. "However, that can be fixed." He
adjusted the toaster beam to an imperceptible thickness. Deftly he
sliced through the control case and removed a circular section. He
reached inside and ripped out circuits. "No further self-repair," he
said cheerfully. "Now I'm going to need your help. From a time
stand-point, I think it's a good idea to run the robot around the
main dome a few times before it delivers the pilot to the hospital. No
point in giving ourselves away before we're ready."

Docchi bent over the robot, and with his help the proper sequence was
implanted. The machine scurried erratically away.

Docchi watched it go. "Time for us to be on our way." He bent double
for Jordan. The arms folded around his neck, but Jordan made no effort
to climb up onto his back. For a panic moment Docchi knew how the
pilot felt when strength, where there shouldn't have been strength,
reached out from the darkness and gripped his throat.

He shook the thought from his mind. "Get on my back," he insisted.

[Illustration]

"You're tired," said Jordan. "Half gravity or not, you can't carry me
any farther." His fingers worked swiftly and the carrying harness fell
to the floor. "Stay down," growled Jordan. "Listen."

Docchi listened. "Geepees!"

"Yeah," said Jordan. "Now get to the rocket."

"What can I do when I get there? You'll have to help me."

"You'll figure something out when the time comes. Hurry up!"

"Not without you," said Docchi stubbornly, without moving.

[Illustration]

A huge paw clamped around the back of his skull. "Listen to me,"
whispered Jordan fiercely. "Together we were a better man than the
pilot--your legs and my arms. It's up to us to prove that separately
we are a match for Cameron and his geepees."

"We're not trying to _prove_ anything," said Docchi.

A brilliant light sliced through the darkness and swept around the
rocket dome.

"Maybe we are," said Jordan. Impatiently, he hitched himself along the
ground. "I think I am."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going up. With no legs, that's where I belong."

He grasped the structural steel member in his great hands, and