orologist. He is completely dependable and reliable. The information
he has sent us to date is accurate and thorough. Moreover he is
extremely cautious." The colonel paused and frowned and his thick strong
fingers drummed irritably on the top of his desk.

"Damn it!" he said with sudden explosive impatience. "Sometimes I think
the man is too cautious. He's been there three years now and he still
hasn't sent us a complete report on conditions there. Caution and care
are fine qualities but, like all things, they can be overdone. We're
planning on erecting a large special base in his locality when we
finally get all the information. But we can't make a move until Halliday
comes through."

"Is there any reason why the research might have been delayed?" Ward
asked.

The colonel shook his head.

"Not as far as we know. Now don't get me wrong. I'm not damning any man
until I know all the facts. I'm not a pot-bellied, arm-chair admiral.
I've been in the void myself long enough to realize that you can't pass
judgment on a man's work until you've actually seen the situation he's
up against. You can't get the complete picture from a three hundred word
report. There may be other factors to consider that we here don't know
about. But Halliday's data isn't coming in fast enough and I'm taking
steps to get at the bottom of the trouble. I'm sending you there,
Harrison, because your record indicates that you're a go-getter. Maybe
what Halliday needs is a little more recklessness, a little more
impulsiveness and a lot less caution. I'm hoping that you will act as a
spur to Halliday. Think you're up to the job?"

Ward's eyes were flashing with excitement. His bitter disappointment had
vanished.

"I'll do my absolute best, sir," he said. The colonel's words had
crystallized his swiftly-formed animosity for this Thomas Halliday. The
man was obviously a timid creature without sufficient guts to do a man's
job. Ward felt an itching impatience to get started on this assignment.
He wanted to meet Thomas Halliday. He was very anxious to begin his new
duties as a spur to the man.

"Halliday hasn't given us much information about what he's discovered on
that section of Mars," the colonel said. "He's confined his reports
exclusively to atmospheric data. In his first report he mentioned that
the area was inhabited and I got the impression that he hadn't found the
natives particularly friendly. But since he hasn't mentioned them since,
I gat