hey remained; long after
Entwhistle's mud turned into dust. And within the year the Siberians
were to become well and favorably known in every ordnance plant in the
country, to many high executives who had no idea of how the name
originated.

Kinnison became a Siberian as enthusiastically as the youngest man
there. The term "youngest" is used in its exact sense, for not one of
them was a recent graduate. Each had had at least five years of
responsible experience, and "Cappy" Sumner kept on building. He hired
extravagantly and fired ruthlessly--to the minds of some, senselessly.
But he knew what he was doing. He knew explosives, and he knew men. He
was not liked, but he was respected. His building was good.

Being one of the only two "old" men there--and the other did not stay
long--Kinnison, as a Junior Chemical Engineer, was not at first accepted
without reserve. Apparently he did not notice that fact, but went
quietly about his assigned duties. He was meticulously careful with, but
very evidently not in any fear of, the materials with which he worked.
He pelleted and tested tracer, igniter, and incendiary compositions; he
took his turn at burning out rejects. Whenever asked, he went out on the
lines with any one of them.

His experimental tetryls always "miked" to size, his TNT
melt-pours--introductory to loading forty-millimeter on the Three
Line--came out solid, free from checks and cavitations. It became
evident to those young but keen minds that he, alone of them all, was on
familiar ground. They began to discuss their problems with him. Out of
his years of technological experience, and by bringing everyone present
into the discussion, he either helped them directly or helped them to
help themselves. His stature grew.

Black-haired, black-eyed "Tug" Tugwell, two hundred pounds of
ex-football-player in charge of tracer on the Seven Line, called him
"Uncle" Ralph, and the habit spread. And in a couple of weeks--at about
the same time that "Injun" Abernathy was slightly injured by being blown
through a door by a minor explosion of his igniter on the Eight line--he
was promoted to full Chemical Engineer; a promotion which went
unnoticed, since it involved only changes in title and salary.

Three weeks later, however, he was made Senior Chemical Engineer, in
charge of Melt-Pour. At this there was a celebration, led by "Blondie"
Wanacek, a sulphuric-acid expert handling tetryl on the Two. Kinnison
searched minutel