am. I can't help but be. Why aren't you?"

"Because Doc isn't, and he knows his stuff, believe me. He can't lie any
better than a three-year-old, and he's _sure_ that all four of you are
just as safe as though you were in God's lefthand hip pocket."

"Oh--that's right. I never thought of it that way. So I _don't_ have
anything to worry about, do I?" She lifted her lips to be kissed; and
the kiss was long and sweet.

* * * * *

Time flew past until, one day a couple of weeks short of arrival, Adams
rushed up to Deston and Jones. "I have it!" he shouted, and began to
spout a torrent of higher--very _much_ higher--mathematics.

"Hold it, Doc!" Deston held up an expostulatory hand. "I read you zero
and ten. Can't you delouse your signal? Whittle the stuff down to our
size?"

"W-e-l-l-," the scientist looked hurt, but did consent to forego the
high math. "The discharge _is_ catastrophic; in energy equivalent
something of the order of magnitude of ten thousand discharges of
lightning. And, unfortunately, I do _not_ know what it is. It is
virtually certain, however, that we will be able to dissipate it in
successive decrements by the use of long, thin leads extending downward
toward a high point of the planet."

"Wire, you mean? What kind?"

"The material is not important except in that it should have sufficient
tensile strength to support as many miles as possible of its own
length."

"We've got dozens of coils of hook-up wire," Deston said, "but not too
many _miles_ and it's soft stuff."

"_Graham_ wire!" Jones snapped his finger.

"Of course," Deston agreed. "Hundreds of miles of it. Float the senser
down on a Hotchkiss----"

"Tear-out." Jones objected.

"Bailey it--spidered out to twenty or so big, flat feet. That'll take
metal, but we can cannibal the whole Middle without weakening the
structure."

"Sure ... surges--backlash. Remote it."

"Check. Remote everything to Baby Two, and----"

"Would you mind delousing _your_ signal?" Adams asked, caustically.

"'Scuse, please, Doc. A guy does talk better in his own lingo, doesn't
he? Well, Graham wire is one-point-three-millimeter-diameter,
ultra-high-tensile steel wire. Used for re-wrapping the Grahams, you
know."

"No, I don't know. What are Grahams?"

"Why, they're the intermediates between the Chaytors ... O. K., O. K.,
they're something like bottles, that have to stand terrifically high
pressures."

"That's what I