"E. E. Doc Smith - Spacehounds Of IPC" - читать интересную книгу автора (Smith E. E. Doc)

altogether
too big to be accounted for by anything I know about you. Another thingтАФthe
next
station, P6, I think is keeping himself all x. If so, when you corrected for
E2, which was
wrong, it'd throw you all off on P6, which was right, and so onтАФa bad hump at
almost
every check-station. See?"
True to prediction, the pilot ray of P6 came in almost upon the exact
center of the
micrometer screen, and Breckenridge smiled in relief as he began really to
enjoy the
trip.
 "How do we check on chronometers ?" asked P6 when Stevens had been
introduced. "By my time you seem to be about two and a half seconds minus?"
"All xтАФtwo point four I figure itтАФwe're riding on 981.286 centimeters, to
allow for
the reversal and for minor detours. 'Bye."
"All this may have been coincidence, Breck, but we'll find out pretty
quick now,"
the computer remarked when the flying vessel was nearing the third check-
station.
"Unless I'm all out of control we'll check in almost fourteen seconds plus on
W4i, and we
may not even find him on the center block of the screen."
When he plugged in W4i was on the block, but was in the extreme upper
right
corner. They checked in thirteen and eight-tenths seconds late, and a fiery
dialogue
ensued when the computer questioned the accuracy of the location of the
station and
refused point-blank to correct his course.
"Well, Breck, old onion, that tears it," Stevens declared as he
unplugged. "No use
going any further on these lousy reference points. I'm going to report to
NewtonтАФhe'll
rock the observatory on its foundations!" He plugged into the telegraph room.
"Have you
got a free high-power wave? . . . Please put me on Newton, in the main
office."
Moving lights flashed and flickered for an instant upon the communicator
screen,
settling down into a white glow which soon resolved itself into the likeness
of a keen-
eyed, gray-haired man, seated at his desk in the remote office of the Inter-
Planetary
Corporation. Newton smiled as he recognized the likeness of Stevens upon his
own
screen, and greeted him cordially.
"Have you started your investigation, Doctor Stevens ?"