Astounding Science Fiction (British Edition) — page 17: what you’re looking at

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

THE GULF remarkable for its machinelike precision and thoroughness— There was a sudden racket outside, a sputtering and rattling, and he looked up from the paper in time to see an ancient and rusty coupé approaching his driveway. It was June Martin and he sighed instinctively, then flinched as the coupé, without reduction of speed, whipped into his driveway, spraying red petals from the rambler rose at the driveway’s entrance. It slid to a brake-squealing, shivering halt and the driver climbed out with a swirl of blue skirt and a flash of bare legs. She observed the furrows her wheels had plowed in the gravel with evident satisfaction, then shook her head sadly at the sight of the rambler rose trailing from the battered rear fender. Knight opened the door and she came up the walk with an apologetic smile. “Sorry about your rose, Blacky. I had my car’s brakes fixed yesterday and I wanted to try them out.” She looked back at the disreputable coupé and the furrows it had plowed in the gravel of the driveway. “Not bad, eh?” “A matter of opinion,” he growled. “Come on in and have a seat, then tell me where your brain, such as it is, was when you were approaching the driveway. Why didn’t you slow down then?” “Oh, I suppose I should have,” she admitted, entering the cottage. “‘I told you I was sorry.” She picked up the percolator on the table “Any coffee left over?” she asked, pouring herself a cup. “What brings you here so early on the day I’m supposed to go fishing and forget my job and haywire assistant?’ “Haywire assistant, you say?” she asked, setting down the cup and smil- ing with anticipation. ““And you were going fishing, you say?” BETWEEN 15 “All right—get on with it. I see the delight in your sadistic little soul. What’s come up?” “I’m the special messenger of Dr. Clarke this morning. You will go to Lab Four at once, to meet some high brass who wants to see how we’re getting along on our spaceship. And then, my friend, you will spend the rest of the day checking the SD-FA blueprints.” “I will?” He stared gloomily at her from her dark, curly hair to the small foot that swung back and forth from her crossed leg. “That sounds like a lot of fun. If you hadn’t been such an eager-beaver in your role as messenger, I would have been gone from here in another ten-minutes; on my way to the Colorado River and a pleasant day of catfishing. I’ve been looking forward to this day all week, and now you have to throw a monkey wrench in the works.” ** Glad to do it,’’ she assured him. "You needn’t feel so humbly grateful about it. Besides, the day won’t be wasted for the catfish—T’ll be glad to take your new streamlined fish pole and your new streamlined coupé and go fishing in your place.” “Yow ll go with me to Lab Four.” “T? Your haywire assistant? Why should I?” “Because I said so. Checking those blueprints is going to be a long job and I can’t imagine myself doing it alone while you loaf all day and hap- pily reflect upon all the grief you managed to cause me.’ “I can,” she said, eine ‘and it makes pleasant imagining.” “Well, it never will be any more concrete than it is right now. You're going with me and you're lucky I don’t wipe that smile off your face by giving way to the impulse to lay you across my knee. In fact, one of these days I will.” ECoOmMmichooksnco im