track of each mig,
by their watches, although the time pieces were useless for any other
purpose.

One lix, Dick returned the friendly smile of a member of the crew, and
to his amazement the man spoke. "Chickiboo." For a moment Barrow was
stumped, then realized that it must be a greeting.

When he was greeted the same way, by a second and then a third man, he
tried to imitate the words. The man from Jupiter was so pleased that he
almost danced, then spoke again. "Gootmording."

Dick's jaw almost dropped open; the man was trying to speak _English_!

Suddenly Barrow laughed. Morquil had been instructing his crew in the
strange language, as well as telling them to greet the earthmen in their
own tongue. He must speak about holding classes to learn the language.
They would have to understand it, and the sooner they started the easier
it would be.

The following lix, Dick stopped on the ramp to the machinery hold to
listen. McCarthy was humming the tune of a song that had been the rage
at home, but the words were "chicki-boo--chicki-boo--chicki-boo."

Barrow smiled as he approached, but the big Irishman didn't realize the
reason. He was almost bursting with news.

"I've got it, Dick! I've found the key! Don't laugh, but I've discovered
the working principle of this little machine, and it will lead to the
secret of all others. In a month I'll know how this crate runs."

"Don't worry, I'm not laughing, John. I think it's great that you've got
this far. I only wish the others would show as much interest. Not one of
them has been down here for more than a few minutes, and they know
little more than when we started."

"Aw! Don't take it that way, Dick. It isn't their fault. Didn't you ever
see their _wives_? Those women won't let the men out of their sight for
three minutes. Your wife and mine are different--they _trust_ us! If we
tell 'em the ship's okay, it's okay; but _them_--say, they can't tell
their wives anything. The women in their families do _all_ of the
talking."

Dick laughed, but knew that it was close to the truth. The other men in
the party _were_ tied to their wives' apron strings. Aside from Dolores
and Eileen McCarthy, none of the women trusted the space ship. They were
afraid it might fly to pieces at any moment, although they had overcome
their fear enough to find means of entertainment.

Small devices in the cabin showed miniature movies, with words in the
tongue of the dome cities. Discovering