"E. E. Doc Smith - Skylark 1 - Skylark of Space " - читать интересную книгу автора (Smith E. E. Doc)

`Hold on, Dick. Let me finish. They are worth much more than that, of course, and will be
revalued later, but that will do for a start...тАЩ

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`Hold on yourself for a minute. Why tie up all that cash when a few thousand bucks is all
we'll need?'

`A few thousand? Think a minute, Dick. How much testing equipment will you need? How
about salaries and wages? How much of a spaceship can you build for a million dollars?
And power-plants run from a hundred million up. Convinced?'

`Well, maybe . . . except, right at first, I thought...'

`You will see that this is a very small start, the way it is. Now to call the meeting.'

He called McQueen, the president of the great trust company in whose care the bulk of
his fortune was. Seaton, listening to the brief conversation, realized as never before what
power was wielded by his friend.

In a surprisingly short time the men were assembled in Crane's library. Crane called the
meeting to order; outlined the nature and scope of the proposed corporation; and The
SeatonCrane Company, Engineers began to come into being.

After the visitors had gone, Seaton asked, `Do you know what kind of a rental agent to
call to get hold of a laboratory?'

`For a while at least, the best place for you to work is right here.'

`Here! You don't want stuff like that loose around here do you?'

`Yes. The reasons are: first, privacy; second, convenience. We have much of the
material and equipment you will need already on hand, out in the hangar and the shops,
and plenty of room to install anything new you may need. Third, no curiosity. The Cranes
have been inventors, tinkerers, and mechanics so long, that no planning board has ever
been able to zone our shops out; and our nearest neighbors - and none are very near, as
you know, since I own over forty acres here - are so used to peculiar happenings that
they no longer pay any attention to anything that goes on here.'

'Fine! If that's the way you want it, it suits me down to the ground. Let's get busy!'




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Chapter Five

Dr. Marc C. DuQuesne was a tall, powerful man, built very much like Richard Seaton. His
thick, slightly wavy hair was intensely black. His eyes, only a trifle lighter in shade, were
surmounted by thick black eyebrows, which grew together above his aquiline, finely
chiseled nose. His face, although not pale, appeared so because of the heavy black