ing big right now, and if you interrupt it, there is no telling
what will happen."

"We'll find out," Goil said, "for I expect to find out what this is
all about. Now if you'll leave--"

I spun on my heel, angry at Goil's intolerant stupidity. I whipped
open the door and slammed it shut behind me. Then I stormed to my
quarters where I broke open a fresh bottle of Scotch. I downed a
couple of quick shots then nursed a third, thinking about the time out
near Jupiter when Willy had rigged up a still and brewed some powerful
concoction. He had insisted that we all sample it, and everyone had,
just to please Willy (they thought!) and had all gotten roaring drunk.
And had safely passed through one of those plague areas that come up
once in a century out of who knows where to decimate any population
that happens to be in the way.

We had made an emergency landing at another mining station. We had
walked through the corridors and rooms looking for desperately needed
parts and supplies, and had tried to count the dead until the task
became too sickening, exposed in every possible way to the voracious
microorganisms that had killed every being aboard. But none of us had
gotten even a headache. We found our parts and took off again.

Willy never made any more of that brew.

I wondered often what could have been in that stuff to make it such a
powerful antibiotic.

I had been early in the process of studying Willy then and had not had
foresight enough to keep a sample of that brew. I had lost one chance
right then to add materially to the medical knowledge of humanity. And
now that stupid Gar Goil was on the point of interrupting all further
research.

* * * * *

For the next ten minutes I considered ways I could get Goil near an
airlock so I could shove him through, sans suit, and with enough
velocity so that he would end up somewhere in the Coal-sack region.
But I gave up the idea, conceding that it would be impossible;
somewhere along the line Willy would prevent it.

I took one more Scotch and went to bed. All night long I crossed and
recrossed the threshold of sleep, my mind filled with methods of
studying and analyzing the intricacies of Willy's behavior; trying to
discover any common factors so that others of his genre could easily
be discovered and put to work and their by-products salvaged.

The following day was dismal to me. I avoided everybody possible so I
wouldn't take my tr