"Damn," said Russ, "that thing's slipped again."
He glared at the offending nut. "I'll put a lock washer on it this time."
Wilson stepped toward the control board. From his perch on the apparatus, Russ motioned him away.
"Never mind discharging the field," he said. "I can get around it somehow."
Wilson squinted at him. "This tooth is near killing me."
"Still got a toothache?" asked Russ.
"Never got a wink of sleep last night."
"You better run down to Frisco and have it yanked out," suggested the scientist. "Can't have you laid up."
"Yeah, that's right," agreed Wilson. "Maybe I will. We got a lot to do."
Russ reached out and clamped his wrench on the nut, quickly backed it off and slipped on the washer. Viciously he tightened it home. The wrench stuck.