an
executive-type female Ph.D. yet that was worth the cyanide it would take
to poison her."

"That's what Sawtelle thinks of you, too, you know."

"I know; and the Board _does_ know its stuff. So I'm really hoping,
Bill, that she surprises me as much as I intend to surprise the Navy."

* * * * *

Alarm bells clanged as the mighty _Perseus_ blinked out of overdrive.
Every crewman sprang to his post.

"Mister Snowden, why did we emerge without orders from me?" Captain
Sawtelle bellowed, storming into the control room three jumps behind
Hilton.

"The automatics took control, sir," he said, quietly.

"Automatics! I _give_ the orders!"

"In this case, Captain Sawtelle, you don't," Hilton said. Eyes locked
and held. To Sawtelle, this was a new and strange co-commander. "I would
suggest that we discuss this matter in private."

"Very well, sir," Sawtelle said; and in the captain's cabin Hilton
opened up.

"For your information, Captain Sawtelle, I set my inter-space coupling
detectors for any objective I choose. When any one of them reacts, it
trips the kickers and we emerge. During any emergency outside the Solar
System I am in command--with the provision that I must relinquish
command to you in case of armed attack on us."

"Where do you think you found any such stuff as that in the directive?
It isn't there and I know my rights."

"It is, and you don't. Here is a semantic chart of the whole directive.
As you will note, it overrides many Navy regulations. Disobedience of my
orders constitutes mutiny and I can--and will--have you put in irons and
sent back to Terra for court-martial. Now let's go back."

In the control room, Hilton said, "The target has a mass of
approximately five hundred metric tons. There is also a significant
amount of radiation characteristic of uranexite. You will please execute
search, Captain Sawtelle."

And Captain Sawtelle ordered the search.

"What did you do to the big jerk, boss?" Sandra whispered.

"What you and Bill suggested," Hilton whispered back. "Thanks to your
analysis of the directive--pure gobbledygook if there ever was any--I
could. Mighty good job, Sandy."

* * * * *

Ten or fifteen more minutes passed. Then:

"Here's the source of radiation, sir," a searchman reported. "It's a
point source, though, not an object at this range."

"And here's the artifact, sir," Pilot Snowden said. "We're coming up