"Eh? Where?"
"Why, on the Moon of course. I'm going back. I'm going back just as soon as I can. We've got to get busy on the new ship."
"Sure, sure! And this time we'll build one big enough for all of us. This time I go, too!"
"You bet."
"Les-" The older man spoke almost diffidently. "What does it look like when you look back and see the Earth?"
"Huh? It looks like- It looks-" LeCroix stopped. "Hell's bells, Boss, there isn't any way to tell you. It's wonderful, that's all. The sky is black and-well, wait until you see the pictures I took. Better .yet, wait and see it yourself."
Harriman nodded. "But it's hard to wait."
CHAPTER ELEVEN
"FIELDS OF DIAMONDS ON THE MOONU!"
"BILLIONAIRE BACKER DENIES DIAMOND STORY Says Jewels Taken Into Space for Science Reasons"
"MOON DIAMONDS: HOAX OR FACT?"
"-but consider this, friends of the invisible audience: why would anyone take diamonds to the moon? Every ounce of that ship and its cargo was calculated; diamonds would not be taken along without reason. Many scientific authorities have pronounced Mr. Harriman's professed reason an absurdity. It is easy to guess that diamonds might be taken along for the purpose of 'salting' the Moon, so to speak, with earthly jewels, with the intention of convincing us that diamonds exist on the Moon-but Mr. Harriman, his pilot Captain LeCroix, and everyone connected with the enterprise have sworn from the beginning that the diamonds did not come from the Moon. But it is an absolute certainty that the diamonds were in the space ship when it landed. Cut it how you will; this reporter is going to try to buy some lunar diamond mining stock-"
Strong was, as usual, already in the office when Harriman came in. Before the partners could speak, the screen called out, "Mr. Harriman, Rotterdam calling."
"Tell them to go plant a tulip."
"Mr. van der Velde is waiting, Mr. Harriman."
"Okay."
Harriman let the Hollander talk, then said, "Mr. van der Velde, the statements attributed to me are absolutely correct. I put those diamonds the reporters saw into the ship before it took off. They were mined right here on Earth. In fact I bought them when I came over to see you; I can prove it."
"But Mr. Harriman-"
"Suit yourself. There may be more diamonds on the Moon than you can run and jump over. I don't guarantee it. But I do guarantee that those diamonds the newspapers are talking about came from Earth."
"Mr. Harriman, why would you send diamonds to the Moon? Perhaps you intended to fool us, no?"
"Have it your own way. But I've said all along that those diamonds came from Earth. Now see here: you took an option-an option on an option, so to speak. If you want to make the second payment on that option and keep it in force, the deadline is nine o'clock Thursday, New York time, as specified in the contract. Make up your mind."
He switched off and found his partner looking at him sourly. "What's eating you?"
"I wondered about those diamonds, too, Delos. So I've been looking through the weight schedule of the Pioneer."
"Didn't know you were interested in engineering."
"I can read figures."
"Well, you found it, didn't you? Schedule F-i 7-c, two ounces, allocated to me personally."
"I found it. It sticks out like a sore thumb. But I didn't find something else."
Harriman felt a 'cold chill in his stomach. "What?"
"I didn't find a schedule for the cancelled covers." Strong stared at him.
"It must be there. Let me see that weight schedule."
"It's not there, Delos. You know, I thought it was funny when you insisted on going to meet Captain LeCroix by yourself. What happened, Delos? Did you sneak them aboard?" He continued to stare while Harriman fidgeted. "We've put over some sharp business deals-but this will be the first time that anyone can say that the firm of Harriman and Strong has cheated."
"George-I would cheat, lie, steal, beg, bribe-do anything to accomplish what we have accomplished."
Harriman got up and paced the room. "We had to have that money, or the ship would never have taken off. We're cleaned out. You know that, don't you?"
Strong nodded. "But those covers should have gone to the Moon. That's what we contracted to do."
"I just forgot it. Then it was too late to figure the weight in. But it doesn't matter. I figured that if the trip was a failure, if LeCroix cracked up, nobody would know or care that the covers hadn't gone. And I knew if he made it, it wouldn't matter; we'd have plenty of money. And we will, George, we will!"
"We've got to pay the money back."
"Now? Give me time, George. Everybody concerned is 'happy the way it is. Wait until we recover our stake; then I'll buy every one of those covers back-out of my own pocket. That's a promise."
Strong continued to sit. Harriman stopped in front of him. "I ask you, George, is it worth while to wreck an enterprise of this size for a purely theoretical point?"
Strong sighed and said, "When the time comes, use the firm's money."
"That's the spirit! But I'll use my own, I promise you."
"No, the firm's money. If we're in it together, we're in it together."
"O.K., if that's the way you want it."
Harriman turned back to his desk. Neither of the two partners had anything to say for a long while. Presently Dixon and Entenza were announced.
"Well, Jack," said Harriman. "Feel better now?"
"No thanks to you. I had to fight for what I did put on the air-and some of it was pirated as it was. Delos, there should have been a television pick-up in the ship."
"Don't fret about it. As I told you, we couldn't spare the weight this time. But there will be the next trip, and the next. Your concession is going to be worth a pile of money."
Dixon cleared his throat. "That's what we came to see you about, Delos. What are your plans?"
"Plans? We go right ahead. Les and Coster and I make the next trip. We set up a permanent base. Maybe Coster stays behind. The third trip we send a real colony-nuclear engineers, miners, hydroponics experts, communications engineers. We'll found Luna City, first city on another planet."
Dixon looked thoughtful. "And when does this begin to pay off?"
"What do you mean by 'pay off'? Do you want your capital back, or do you want to begin to see some return on your investment? I can cut it either way."
Entenza was about to say that he wanted his investment back; Dixon cut in first, "Profits, naturally. The investment is already made."
"Fine!"
"But I don't see how you expect profits. Certainly, LeCroix made the trip and got back safely. There is honor for all of us. But where are the royalties?"
"Give the crop time to ripen, Dan. Do I look worried? What are our assets?" Harriman ticked them off on his fingers. "Royalties on pictures, television, radio-."
"Those things go to Jack."
"Take a look at the agreement. He has the concession, but he pays the firm-that's all of us-for them."
Dixon said, "Shut up, Jack!" before Entenza could speak, then added, "What else? That won't pull us out of the red."
"Endorsements galore. Monty's boys are working on that. Royalties from the greatest best seller yet-I've got a ghost writer and a stenographer following LeCroix around this very minute. A franchise for the first and only space line-"
"From whom?"
"We'll get it. Kamens and Montgomery are in Paris now, working on it. I'm joining them this afternoon. And we'll tie down that franchise with a franchise from the other end, just as soon as we can get a permanent colony there, no matter how small. It will be the autonomous state of Luna, under the protection of the United Nations-and no ship will land or take off in its territory without its permission. Besides that we'll have the right to franchise a dozen other companies for various purposes-and tax them, too-just as soon as we set up the Municipal Corporation of the City of Luna under the laws of the State of Luna. We'll sell everything but vacuum- we'll even sell vacuum, for experimental purposes. And don't forgct-we'll still have a big chunk of real estate, sovereign title in us-as a state-and not yet sold. The Moon is big."