Sawtelle jerked a thumb at Hilton, who followed him out into the corridor. "I _have_ been a Navy mule," he said. "I admit now that I'm out-maneuvered, out-manned, and out-gunned." "I'm just as baffled--at present--as you are, sir. But my training has been aimed specifically at the unexpected, while yours has not." "That's letting me down easy, Jarve." Sawtelle smiled--the first time the startled Hilton had known that the hard, tough old spacehound _could_ smile. "What I wanted to say is, lead on. I'll follow you through force-field and space-warps." "Thanks, skipper. And by the way, I erased that record yesterday." The two gripped hands; and there came into being a relationship that was to become a lifelong friendship. * * * * * "We will start for Ardry immediately," Hilton said. "How do we make that jump without charts, Laro?" "Very easily, Master. Kedo, as Master Captain Sawtelle's Oman, will give the orders. Nito will serve Master Snowden and supply the knowledge he says he has forgotten." "Okay. We'll go up to the control room and get started." And in the control room, Kedo's voice rasped into the captain's microphone. "Attention, all personnel! Master Captain Sawtelle orders take-off in two minutes. The countdown will begin at five seconds.... Five! Four! Three! Two! One! Lift!" Nito, not Snowden, handled the controls. As perfectly as the human pilot had ever done it, at the top of his finest form, he picked the immense spaceship up and slipped it silkily into subspace. "Well, I'll be a ..." Snowden gasped. "That's a better job than I _ever_ did!" "Not at all, Master, as you know," Nito said. "It was you who did this. I merely performed the labor." A few minutes later, in the main lounge, Navy and BuSci personnel were mingling as they had never done before. Whatever had caused this relaxation of tension--the friendship of captain and director? The position in which they all were? Or what?--they all began to get acquainted with each other. "Silence, please, and be seated," Hilton said. "While this is not exactly a formal meeting, it will be recorded for future reference. First, I will ask Laro a question. Were books or records left on Ardry by the race you call the Masters?" "You know there are, Master. They are exactly as you left them. Undisturbed for over two hundred seventy-one thousand years." "Therefore we will not question the Omans. We do not know what questions to ask. We have seen many things hitherto thought impossible. Hence, we must discard all preconceived opinions which conflict with facts. I will mention a few of the problems we face."