In minutes there was no part of the island to be seen at all, save only the thin line of the cliffs reaching away between dark water on the one hand and snow-white clouds of vapor on the other. "It can't scald anybody, can it?" asked Barnes uneasily. "Not," said Hardwick, "when it's had to come up through forty feet of soil. It's been pretty well cooled off in taking up some extra moisture. It spread pretty well, didn't it?" * * * * * The Sector Chief's office had tall windows--doors, really--that looked out upon green lawn and many trees. Now a downpour of rain beat down outside. Wind whipped at the trees. There was tumult and roaring and the vibration of gusts of hurricane force. Even the building in which the Sector Chief's office was, vibrated slightly in the wind. The Sector Chief beamed. The brown dog came in uneasily, looked around the room, and walked in leisurely fashion toward Hardwick. He settled with a sigh beside Hardwick's chair. "What I want to know," said Werner tensely, "is, won't this rain put back all the water the ship-fuel boiled away?" Hardwick said uncomfortably: "Two inches of rain would be a heavy fall, Sandringham tells me. It's the lack of heavy rains that made the civilians start irrigating. When you figure the energy-content of ship-fuel, Werner--an appreciable fraction of the energy in atomic explosive--it's sort of deceptive. Turn it into thermal units and it gets to be enlightening. We turned loose, underground, enough heat to boil away two feet of soil-water under the island's whole surface." Werner said sharply: "What'll happen when that heat passes up through the soil? It'll kill the vegetation, won't it?" "No," said Hardwick mildly. "Because there _was_ two feet of water to be turned to steam. The bottom layer of the soil was raised to the temperature of steam at a few pounds pressure. No more. The heat's already escaped. In the steam." The phone-plate lighted. Sandringham snapped it on. A voice made a report in a highly official voice. "Right!" said Sandringham. The highly official voice spoke again. "Right!" said Sandringham again. "You may tell the ships in orbit that they can come down now, if they don't mind getting wet." He turned. "Did you hear that, Hardwick? They have bored new cores. There are a few soggy spots, but the ground's as firm, all over the island, as it was when the Survey first came here. A very good job, Hardwick! A very good job!" Hardwick flushed. He reached down and patted the head of the brown dog. "Look!" said the Sector Chief. "My dog, there, has taken a liking to you. Will you accept him as a present, Hardwick?" Hardwick grinned. * * * * * Young Barnes made ready to rejoin his ship. He was very strictly Service, very stiffly at attention. Hardwick shook hands with him.