Astounding Science Fiction, British Edition — page 11: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

. AND A STAR drink,” Angus remarked. ‘“Dinna want to waste it, even though it was bourbon.” Grinning, Garver told him, ‘Forget it, Mac. I'll buy us both one tonight.” “The call was no mistake?’ “Right! I’m signed as jetman for Terra! I’m going home, Mac!’ Garver was jubilant. ‘“‘What’s the ship, lad?’ “The Fafnir under Vanderhoff.”’ Angus regarded him silently for a moment. “‘Oh, so you’re the one.’ “What do you mean?” Garver’s grin faded. “Did it ever occur to ye, mon, why Vanderhoff signed you on?” Garver hadn’t thought about it. ‘TI hate to be brutal about it,” Angus sighed, “‘but I take it you know what happened to O’Conner, his former jetman?.”’ Garver told him he’d seen the power room. “Mon, you're the only one he could get for the job. Everyone else turned it down flat in the dispatch room.” Angus lit his pipe, making quite a ceremony of it, then went on, “The Fafnir’s a coffin with jets. O’Conner’s the second jetman Vander- hoff’s lost. Ridin’ the Fafnir’s like sittin’ on an armed fission bomb, mon!” In spite of McBee’s warning, Garver took over the duties of the Fafnir’s jetman. The ship wasn’t in too bad shape. It was old, yes;.but it was sound. Garver could fix it, and he could keep it going—at least until she dropped into Terra. As far as he was concerned, it was probably the only way he’d ever work his way home. He went to work on the Fajnir’s power room with a vengeance. It had been years since he’d had his hands dirty in a power room, and he enjoyed it immensely. It was his work, and he TO STEER HER BY” 9 liked his work; he always had. Within a week, he had the floor plates back ‘in and the shielding tight. He put a coat of paint over the whole works and installed a new pad on the ac- celeration cot. When he got to the fuel pumps, he had trouble. His left hand. simply did not have the necessary strength, but he jury-rigged a number of hasty gadgets and got the bad pump unfrozen. The bearings and the impeller were shot, and he couldn’t find new bearings. He got away with makeshift ones by filing and cutting and filling until they worked. Over in the spaceport’s graveyard he scrounged other parts until he had enough to rebuild the entire pump. ‘ Vanderhoff was surprised one night when he came aboard after some papers to find Garver still in the power room. He dropped through the hatch and looked around. Garver was tight- ening lug nuts on the pump casing. “Say, this looks good, Garv,” the skipper commented. Garver grunted a few times as he tightened the last lug, then racked the wrench and sat down on the couch. “Skipper, a neat power room is just as important as a clean control room.” “I wish you’d been aboard for the last few years,” Vanderhoff sighed. ‘*‘A man like you is- hard to find on what I can offer.’? He looked around, ‘““How’s it coming?” : ““Can’t complain. I couldn’t find a lot of parts, but I made out O.K. anyway.” ‘““How’d you manage?”’ Garver grinned and wiped his hands on a piece of waste. ““You’ve heard of the old jetman’s rules of thumb? If you can’t buy it, botrow it. If you can’t borrow it, steal it. If it doesn’t fit, force it. If you’ve got to hide it, paint it.” He turned to a group of controls over the couch. ‘You're just in time to watch me check out the fuel pumps.” ¢ / CORNIE OOOKS com