Project Gutenberg's Wanted--7 Fearless Engineers!, by Warner Van Lorne

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Title: Wanted--7 Fearless Engineers!

Author: Warner Van Lorne

Release Date: October 17, 2008 [EBook #26941]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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[Illustration: This civilization was advanced far beyond any the Terrans
had ever seen.]

_Wanted--
7 Fearless Engineers!_

By WARNER VAN LORNE

_A great civilization's fate lay in Dick Barrow's hands as he led
his courageous fellow engineers into a strange and unknown land.
None of them knew what lay ahead--what dangers awaited them--or what
rewards. But they did not hesitate because the first question asked
them had been: "Are you a brave man?"_

CHAPTER I

_Opportunity_

From where Dick Barrow sat, hundreds of men were visible, occupying
benches in every manner of position. Some stretched at full length,
sleeping in the morning sun after a night in the park. Others sat with
heads hanging; thinking thoughts of their own.

Depression or recession, it meant the same to all of them. Some didn't
care, but others tried to find any kind of work that would fill their
stomachs with food.

For three days Dick hadn't eaten a good meal, and felt almost as low as
the derelicts whom he had for companions. He would have enjoyed a smoke,
but turned away as two men dove for a cigarette-butt; discarded by a
passerby.

Anyone who could afford to buy a newspaper was an aristocrat, and Dick
watched until he saw one discarded. For three days he had been reading
them secondhand, but the only jobs were too far to walk and apply for.

His eyes stopped at one item in the column and a puzzled frown slowly
puckered his forehead.

_Wanted: An Engineer. Young man with love for electrical and
mechanical work, who is not afraid of isolation. Have some knowledge
of engineering, but general experience more desirable than
specialized training. Must be willing to leave country, never to
retur