areful as I work on it."

"You can fix it? You know what is wrong with it?" Edipon was vibrating
with joy.

"Not yet, I have barely looked at the thing. In fact one look was
enough to convince that the job will be as easy as stealing _krenoj_
from a blind man. The engine is as inefficient and clumsy in
construction as your petroleum still. If you people put one tenth of
the energy into research and improving your product as you do into
hiding it from the competition, you would all be flying jets."

"I forgive your insult because you have done us a service. You will
now fix this engine and the other engines. A new day is breaking for
us!"

"Right now it is a new night that is breaking for me," Jason yawned.
"I have two days sleep to make up. See if you can talk your sons into
wiping the water off that engine before it rusts away, and when I get
back I'll see what I can do about getting it into running condition."

IX

Edipon's good mood remained and Jason took advantage of it by
extracting as many concessions as possible. By hinting that there
might be more traps in the engine permission was easily gained to do
all the work on the original site instead of inside the sealed and
guarded buildings. A covered shed gave them protection from the
weather and a test stand was constructed to hold the engines when
Jason worked on them. This was of a unique design and built to Jason's
exacting specification, and since no one, including Mikah, had ever
heard of or seen a test stand before Jason had his way.

The first engine proved to have a burnt-out bearing and Jason rebuilt
it by melting down the original bearing metal and casting it in
position. When he unbolted the head of the massive single cylinder he
shuddered at the clearance around the piston; he could fit his fingers
into the opening between the piston and the cylinder wall; by
introducing cylinder rings he doubled the compression and power
output. When Edipon saw the turn of speed the rebuilt engine gave his
_caroj_ he hugged Jason to his bosom and promised him the highest
reward. This turned out to be a small piece of meat every day to
relieve the monotony of the _krenoj_ meals, and a doubled guard to
make sure that his valuable property did not escape.

Jason had his own plans and kept busy manufacturing a number of
pieces of equipment that had nothing at all to do with his
engine-overhauling business. While these were being assembled he went
about lining