Do you mind telling me what you want a high dragon
bump _for_?"

"Blast away hearth," the Cirissin replied unhesitatingly.

Wayne swallowed and found it unnaturally difficult to do so.

"To blast away earth?" he said. "You can do that with just one high
dragon bump?"

"Certificate. Alteration energy maguntoot. Compilated, though. Want
splain?"

Wayne said, "Never mind. I believe you. Just tell me this: Why? Who do
you feel it's necessary to do it?"

"Cause _is_ necessary," the Cirissin explained. "Hearth no good. Whee
dun lake. Godda gut red oft."

Sheilah gasped, "Why the inhuman beasts!"

Wayne expended one sidelong silencing glance on her and then said, "I
see. And just suppose now that I don't give you a high dragon bump? What
do you do then?"

"Use hot tummy ache your arnium fishing bumps. Got them us elves.
Tooking longthier, more hurtful, but can. Few don't gives high dragon
bump tweddy far whores, thin godda."

Wayne was silent for a while, staring at the alien creature, aware of
Sheilah staring at him.

"Twenty-four hours," he muttered. "Then they use uranium fission bombs.
Oh, hell!"

Finally he shrugged. "All right, I'll do it. Anyway, I'll try. I'll do
what I can."

Sheilah said, "Hey, listen mister, you can't ..."

"Shut up!" Wayne snapped. "How do you know what I can do? You just let
me handle this."

"No sea juicing?" the Cirissin asked, waving his eye stem at Sheilah.

"No. No sea juicing, and no torch hair either, please. I just didn't
understand what you wanted at first. Now, if I could talk to your
captain--or, are you the captain?"

The Cirissin replied, "I spoke man. Name Orealgrailbliqu. Capitate nod
sparking merry can languish. I only earning languish. Gut, hah? Tree
whacks."

"Uh, yeah, very good indeed," Wayne said. "And in only three weeks! Now,
Mr.--you don't mind if I call you O'Reilly, do you? Well, then,
O'Reilly, do you have any suggestions as to how I should go about
getting you a high dragon bump? You want me to make you one? Or--"

"Yukon mike?" O'Reilly asked.

Wayne shrugged modestly. "Of course. With proper materials and
equipment--and enough time." He wondered if there was any chance at all
of convincing O'Reilly of that.

"Nod mush timeless," O'Reilly said doubtfully. "God gut lab tarry, few
wand lug."

Wayne hesitated, partly to translate O'Reilly's rumblings and partly to
marvel at an audacious idea taking shape in his mind.

He said, "Uh, yes, b