“Touché, buster,” I said, and set course for the return trip down around the foot of Manhattan, back toward the Queen.
It took a while, but that was all right; it gave everybody a nice long time to get plastered. I sneaked aboard, carrying Arthur, and turned him over to Vern. Then I rejoined the Major. He was making an inspection tour of the ship—what he called an inspection, after his fashion.
He peered into the engine rooms and said: “Ah, fine.”
He stared at the generators that were turning over and nodded when I explained we needed them for power for lights and everything and said: “Ah, of course.”
He opened a couple of stateroom doors at random and said: “Ah, nice.”
And he went up on the flying bridge with me and such of his officers as still could walk and said: “Ah.”
Then he said in a totally different tone: “What the devil’s the matter over there?”
He was staring east through the muggy haze. I saw right away what it was that was bothering him—easy, because I knew where to look. The power plant way over on the East Side was billowing smoke.
“Where’s Vern Engdahl? That gadget of his isn’t working right!”