are on," he said.

"Of course," Tarnhorst said absently. Then, changing his manner, he said
abruptly: "Have you found anything yet?"

Danley shook his head. "No. It looks to me as though they've done
everything possible to make sure that these men get the best equipment
and the best training. The training instructors have been through the
whole affair themselves--they know the ropes. The equipment, as far as I
can tell, is top grade stuff. From what I have seen so far, the Company
isn't stinting on the equipment or the training."

Tarnhorst nodded. "After nearly three months of investigation, I have
come to the same conclusion myself. The records show that expenditures
on equipment has been steadily increasing. The equipment they have now,
I understand, is almost failure-proof?" He looked questioningly at
Danley.

Danley nodded. "Apparently. Certainly no one is killed because of
equipment failure. It's the finest stuff I've ever seen."

"And yet," Tarnhorst said, "their books show that they are constantly
seeking to improve it."

"I don't suppose there is any chance of juggling the books on you, is
there?"

Tarnhorst smiled a superior smile. "Hardly. In the first place, I know
bookkeeping. In the second, it would be impossible to whip up a complete
set of balancing books--covering a period of nearly eighty
years--overnight.

"I agree," Danley said. "I don't think they set up a special training
course just for me overnight, either. I've seen classes on Vesta, Juno,
and Eros--and they're all the same. There aren't any fancy false fronts
to fool us, Mr. Tarnhorst: I've looked very closely."

"Have you talked to the men?"

"Yes. They have no complaints."

Again Tarnhorst nodded. "I have found the same thing. They all insist
that if a man gets killed in space, it's not the fault of anyone but
himself. Or, as it may be, an act of God."

"One of my instructors ran into an act of God some years ago," Danley
said. "You've met him. Brand--the one with the scarred face." He
explained to Tarnhorst what had caused Brand's disfigurement. "But he
survived," he finished, "because he kept his wits about him even after
he was hit."

"Commendable; very commendable," Tarnhorst said. "If he'd been an
excitable fool, he'd have died."

"True. But what I was trying to point out was that it wasn't equipment
failure that caused the accident."

"No. You're quite right." Tarnhorst was silent for a moment, then he
looked into D