THE COSMIC COMPUTER

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equipment loaded and lifted off from Koshchei, Conn had been
overoptimistic about the speed with which the top of the mesa could be
stripped off. Digging away the rubble with which the pit had been
filled, and even the solid rock around it, was easier than getting the
stuff out of the way. Farm-scows came in from all over, as fast as they
and pilots for them could be found; the rush to get brandy and tobacco
to Storisende had caused an acute shortage of vehicles.

One by one, the members of the old Fawzi's Office gang came drifting
in?Lorenzo Menardes, Morgan Gatworth, Lester Dawes. None of them had any
skills to contribute, but they brought plenty of enthusiasm. Rodney
Maxwell came whizzing out from Storisende now and then to watch the
progress of the work. Of all the crowd, he and Conn watched the two
steel giants strip away the tableland with apprehension instead of hope.
No, there was a third. Carl Leibert had stopped secluding himself in his
quarters; he still talked rapturously about the miracles Merlin would
work, but now and then Conn saw him when he thought he was unobserved.