that we should get this matter settled up and find out if that tailplane failed in fatigue or not.”
“I don’t know that there’s all that rush about it,” he said. “I agree—it’s information that we must have ultimately, and the sooner we get it the better, I suppose. But we’ve still got to go on with the trial here, and I can’t possibly get out even a preliminary report for limited circulation till November.”
“I know,” I said patiently. “But that’s the other aspect of it, Honey—the long-term research. What I’m concerned about now is—have we got to ground the Reindeers that are flying now?”
He said irritably, “Oh, the
ad hoc
trial. Surely, anybody can do that, and leave me free to get on with the stuff that really matters.”
“This is the most important thing of all at the moment, Honey,” I said firmly “Look. You’re an older man than I am, and probably a better scientist. Perhaps I’m better as an administrator than you would be—I don’t know. In any case, here I am sitting in this office and it’s part of my job to decide the priorities of work in this department. I think this trip to Canada is top priority of anything that’s going on at Farnborough today and I want you to drop everything else and go and do it, because I can’t think of anybody who could do it better. It’s not an order, because we don’t work that way. But I hope you’ll accept my decision about priorities, because that’s what I’m here for.”
He smiled, a shy, warm smile that I had never seen before. “Of course,” he said. “I wasn’t trying to be difficult. I only hope I shan’t have to spend too long away from here.”
I thought about that for a moment. “I know it’s important to get you back as soon as ever we can,” I said. “I don’t want to see the basic work held up. I’ll see that you get anair passage home immediately the job is done. I should think you’d probably be away from here for ten days or a fortnight.”
His face fell. “So long as that?”
“I don’t believe you’d do it in much less. First, you’ve got to get from here to Ottawa. Then there’s the flight back from Ottawa to north-east Quebec, and then to reach the site of the accident is a day’s trek on foot. And then the whole thing in reverse again, to get back home.”
“It’s an awful waste of time,” he grumbled.
“It’s not,” I said. “That’s my sphere of decisions, Honey, and I tell you that it’s not a waste of time.”
“It is from the point of view of the basic research.”
“So is eating your breakfast,” I remarked. “But you’ve got to do that, too.”
I went through the various arrangements that would have to be made for carrying on his trials in his absence; he was quite business-like and alert where anything to do with basic trials was concerned, and in ten minutes we were through with that. “Now about your trip,” I said. “It’s going to mean some days of living rough in the Canadian woods, I’m afraid. You’ll be with the R.C.A.F. and they’ll look after you, but I understand that there’s a ten or fifteen mile walk from the lake you land on to the site of the crash, and the same back again. It’ll probably be quite difficult going. Have you got an outfit of clothes that would do for that, Honey?”
“I’ve got some good strong boots. I haven’t looked at them for years, but I think they’re all right.” He paused, and then he said, “We used to do a lot of hiking on Sundays, when my wife was alive.…” He stared out of the window, and was silent for a moment; I did not care to interrupt him. “We used to go in shorts.… I’ve got those somewhere, I think. Do you think shorts would be suitable?”
The thought of Mr. Honey turning up in Ottawa in short hiking pants as a representative of the Royal Aircraft Establishment made me blench. “I wouldn’t take those,” I said. “I don’t believe they wear shorts in the woods, on account of
“I don’t know that there’s all that rush about it,” he said. “I agree—it’s information that we must have ultimately, and the sooner we get it the better, I suppose. But we’ve still got to go on with the trial here, and I can’t possibly get out even a preliminary report for limited circulation till November.”
“I know,” I said patiently. “But that’s the other aspect of it, Honey—the long-term research. What I’m concerned about now is—have we got to ground the Reindeers that are flying now?”
He said irritably, “Oh, the
ad hoc
trial. Surely, anybody can do that, and leave me free to get on with the stuff that really matters.”
“This is the most important thing of all at the moment, Honey,” I said firmly “Look. You’re an older man than I am, and probably a better scientist. Perhaps I’m better as an administrator than you would be—I don’t know. In any case, here I am sitting in this office and it’s part of my job to decide the priorities of work in this department. I think this trip to Canada is top priority of anything that’s going on at Farnborough today and I want you to drop everything else and go and do it, because I can’t think of anybody who could do it better. It’s not an order, because we don’t work that way. But I hope you’ll accept my decision about priorities, because that’s what I’m here for.”
He smiled, a shy, warm smile that I had never seen before. “Of course,” he said. “I wasn’t trying to be difficult. I only hope I shan’t have to spend too long away from here.”
I thought about that for a moment. “I know it’s important to get you back as soon as ever we can,” I said. “I don’t want to see the basic work held up. I’ll see that you get anair passage home immediately the job is done. I should think you’d probably be away from here for ten days or a fortnight.”
His face fell. “So long as that?”
“I don’t believe you’d do it in much less. First, you’ve got to get from here to Ottawa. Then there’s the flight back from Ottawa to north-east Quebec, and then to reach the site of the accident is a day’s trek on foot. And then the whole thing in reverse again, to get back home.”
“It’s an awful waste of time,” he grumbled.
“It’s not,” I said. “That’s my sphere of decisions, Honey, and I tell you that it’s not a waste of time.”
“It is from the point of view of the basic research.”
“So is eating your breakfast,” I remarked. “But you’ve got to do that, too.”
I went through the various arrangements that would have to be made for carrying on his trials in his absence; he was quite business-like and alert where anything to do with basic trials was concerned, and in ten minutes we were through with that. “Now about your trip,” I said. “It’s going to mean some days of living rough in the Canadian woods, I’m afraid. You’ll be with the R.C.A.F. and they’ll look after you, but I understand that there’s a ten or fifteen mile walk from the lake you land on to the site of the crash, and the same back again. It’ll probably be quite difficult going. Have you got an outfit of clothes that would do for that, Honey?”
“I’ve got some good strong boots. I haven’t looked at them for years, but I think they’re all right.” He paused, and then he said, “We used to do a lot of hiking on Sundays, when my wife was alive.…” He stared out of the window, and was silent for a moment; I did not care to interrupt him. “We used to go in shorts.… I’ve got those somewhere, I think. Do you think shorts would be suitable?”
The thought of Mr. Honey turning up in Ottawa in short hiking pants as a representative of the Royal Aircraft Establishment made me blench. “I wouldn’t take those,” I said. “I don’t believe they wear shorts in the woods, on account of
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