"The aircraft lay on its side, looking fat and very ungainly, I thought, because of its increased girth. Porter Hays seemed tense, but eager to get on with it. He wore no flight garb except his helmet with the earphones. Standing there in slacks and sweater, smoking a final cigarette, he didn't look theatrical enough for such an occasion. I thought of telling him I'd kept my goddam mouth shut, but didn't get a chance. "The plan was to take the ship up a few hundred feet and jockey around to test everything. If the equipment and ship were all right, Hays would whip her up a few hundred miles and cruise at his discretion. There was to be no long flight that day. Since we were far out of the traffic lanes, we didn't expect to attract any attention. "At last the Sun came up full, there was a final conference, and Hays climbed into the ship's rotating cabin by the door at the rear. He waved and shut the door. He could see out with his tele-view of course, but we couldn't see him. "While the radio man checked the ship-to-ground contact, the rest of us moved back out of habit, though there would be no blast here. * * * * * "Very slowly, the ship raised itself to a vertical position. It rose gradually to about ten feet, stopped, then shot up a couple of hundred and stopped again. It was incredible! "'Give me the phone,' said Kane. He was as white as paste and his eyes were fever-bright. 'How's it doing, Hays? Looked good from here. Is she powering right?' "The answer must have been gratifying because Simon Kane's white teeth flashed when he heard it. "After that, the ship bobbed around in swift dashes, stopping, then darting upward till it was only a dot, reaching unbelievable speeds. All this time, Kane was talking with Hays on the phone, asking questions, suggesting new maneuvers. Though he was trembling with excitement, his voice was calm, controlled and persuasive. I realized later that he was egging Hays on to try more and more spectacular tests of the ship. "Suddenly it shot away in a steep climb toward the west and was out of sight in a matter of seconds. Kane laid down the telephone and turned to me. "'He's satisfied the craft works perfectly,' he said. 'He's going to take it straight out for four or five hours and then come back.' "We all stared at him, for Hays wasn't to have stayed up over an hour. I said, 'He can't do that. There's too much he doesn't know about the ship. Tell him to come back!' "Kane didn't look at me. 'The boy knows his business. Leave him alone. He's making history.' "'But the first time--' "'I'm going down the road a few miles to get some breakfast. Take turns talking to him, why don't you?' "He got in his car and drove off." * * * * *