Astounding Science Fiction, British Edition — page 30: what you’re looking at

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

28 ASTOUNDING SCIENCE FICTION “Move back a little.” Mart did so. Abruptly the desk lifted a foot off the floor and remained hanging in midair. He reached out to touch it. It swung gently aside, but when he pressed downward it resisted all his efforts. “IT see.” He pinched his lips thoughtfully and leaned back in the chair. “And now, naturally, I’m supposed to ask what you're going to do with it.” | Don Wolfe touched the gadget again, and the desk settled gently to the floor. He put the haywire rigging on the desk between them. “I told you. I heard Baird last night.” He reached for a heavy glass paper- weight and began methodically bat- tering the contraption until the lights in the tiny tubes vanished amid an unrecognizable clutter of glass shards and twisted wire. He brushed the debris into the wastebasket. “You don’t really need to apolo- gize,” he said. “I just wanted to prove I'd done it, and tell you I’m with you. “But it was close. If I hadn’t heard Baird last night, it would have been a different story. I didn’t savvy what you were up to until I heard his broad- cast. I was too mad to recognize that you were obviously doing something besides exercising pure cussedness. “I don’t think you’ve got a chance, you understand, but just the same I’m with you. I doubt there’s a development or research engineer in the country who wouldn’t like to personally deliver a knockout blow to the Patent Office. If there is, I don’t know where he’s hiding.” _ He shifted and arose from his seat. “I'm also going to be out of a job when my chief hears I’ve just smashed up this pretty little working model. I burned all notes. I don’t think the model shop people could reconstruct it from clues I might have left. So if you know of any lab that could use a good development man you might let me know.” “I know of just a small job that needs doing—by a very good man. Sit down.” Wolfe resumed his seat and Mart leaned forward. ““You heard Baird,” said Mart. “So you know what kind he is. I want to use him, but I can’t do it directly. He’d balk at anything I even intimated. - “What I want is a congressional investigation—of me, and of the whole Patent System. I believe that Baird could bring it off. He’s just the kind to shake an old bone until every- body is so tired they will agree to anything he says. But he needs to be pushed into it. You’re the man to do the pushing.” “What could I do?” said Wolfe. “Simply tell him your story. You offered me a generous deal on the rocket toy principle, but I refused to turn it over. Tell him the aviation industry has got to have it for vital national defense work. Wave the flag. He’ll go for that. Lay it on thick enough and he'll be braying at congressional doors the same day.” ““He might do it too well.” “We'll take that chance. Will you do it? There will be a little pay, but not much.” “Never mind the pay—if this is the crusade I think it is.” “Thanks. Let me hear from you as soon as you contact Baird.” Mart and Berk expected results from Baird’s broadcast. By noon these began to appear in abundance. There were telegrams from Mart’s former students, who were now respected engineers and physicists in commercial laboratories throughout the country. His colleagues on a half dozen teaching stafis sent messages also. And stran- gers whom he had never known, but whose signatures were over the names Conniclooolkks.c© im