"Fine business, Doc. Keep 'em patched!" "That's my business," said Caldwell. McBride could hear him muttering as the doctor hung up. * * * * * McBride's flitter landed at 10, and inside of the lock, he was met by a picturesque red-headed woman of extreme beauty. There was green fire in her eyes, and her anger possibly made her more beautiful. McBride took everything from her expensively-shod feet to her exquisitely coiffed hair in one sweeping glance and decided immediately that it was a shame that a woman like Sandra Drake should have been a stinker. "Mr. McBride, I assume?" she said in that contralto voice. "Dr. McBride," he corrected, standing upon his dignity for the first time in seven years. "Doctor?" said Sandra scornfully. "Doctor of what?" "Doctor of Philosophy, major in sublevel energies including the gravitic spectrums; electro, magnetic, and mechanical. Master of Mathematics, Bachelor of Arts, and Doctor of Language and Literature Honorary. Is that sufficient weight to gain me a modicum of respect?" "I have no respect for someone who stands in my way!" "I see that. Nor anything, either. Do you know what stopped you?" "No, but--" "Your precious Dr. Holmann is an old goat who is still living in the past. But even he should have known that you can't ram a space-ship made of cupralum alloy through a magneto-gravitic space warp. Permalloy, or alnico, or anything diamagnetic will zip through such a warp and pick up velocity on the way--probably enough in this case to crush you flat against the bottom of your ship. But a paramagnetic alloy such as cupralum has about as much penetrative power as a forty-five caliber slug of wet soap against tungsten-carballoy. But at your velocity, not only did you stop in something short of nothing flat--God knows what your deceleration added up to--but you fractured the space warp, too." "A man will do anything to prove his point," snapped Sandra. "And I have no doubt that you would do anything, too. What did you use on the _Lady Luck_?" "Nothing." "I don't believe you." "I don't give a care! You want to go to Station 1? Then come along!" "You lead in your ship, I'll drive the _Lady Luck_," said Sandra. "Not on your life. You're going to leave the _Lady Luck_ right here." "I don't see why--or do you intend to steal my ship?"