"Heinlein, Robert A - Waldo (2)" - читать интересную книгу автора (Heinlein Robert A)

Stevens said bitterly. 'Otherwise I'd be on the beach at Miami,
turning sunshine into vitamin D.'
'I know,' said Gleason, 'and I'm sorry. You deserve that
vacation, Jimmie. But the situation has gotten worse instead
of better. Any ideas?'
'What does Dr Rambeau say?'
Rambeau looked up momentarily. 'The deKalb receptors can't fail,'
he stated.
'But they do.
''They can't. You've operated them improperly.' He sunk back
into his personal prison.
Stevens turned back to Gleason and spread his hands. 'So far
as I know, Dr Rambeau is right, but if the fault lies in the
engineering department, I haven't been able to locate it.
You can have my resignation.'
'I don't want your resignation,' Gleason said gently. 'What I
want is results. We have a responsibility to the public.'
'And to the stockholders,' Harkness put in.
'That will take care of itself if we solve the other,' Gleason
observed. 'How about it, Jimmie? Any suggestions?'
Stevens bit his lip. 'Just one,' he announced, 'and one I don't
like to make. Then I look for a job peddling magazine
subscriptions.'
'So? Well, what is it?'
'We've got to consult Waldo.'
Rambeau suddenly snapped out of his apathy. 'What! That
charlatan? This is a matter of science.'
Harkness said, 'Really, Dr Stevens-'
Gleason held up a hand. 'Dr Stevens's suggestion is logicaL
But I'm afraid it's a little late, Jimmie. I talked with him last week.'
Harkness looked surprised; Stevens looked annoyed as well.
'Without letting me know?'
'Sorry, Jimmie. I was just feeling him out. But it's no good.
His terms, to us, amount to confiscation.'
'Still sore over the Hathaway patents?'
'Still nursing his grudge.'
'You should have let me handle the matter,' Harkness put in.
'He can't do this to us - There is public interest involved.
Retain him, if need be, and let the fee be adjudicated in equity.
I'll arrange the details.'
'I'm afraid you would,' Gleason said dryly. 'Do you think a
court order will make a hen lay an egg?'
Harkness looked indignant, but shut up.
Stevens continued, 'I would not have suggested going to
Waldo if I had not had an idea as to how to approach him.
I know a friend of his-'
'A friend of Waldo? I didn't know he had any.'
'This man is sort of an uncle to him, his first physician.
With his help I might get on Waldo's good side.'
Dr Rambeau stood up. 'This is intolerable,' he announced.