Norvis stilled the Captain's rising flood of objections by raising his hand. "I'll prove that I know the right formula by making some for you. We'll try it on some peych and see.
"As for building a producing plant, I've got a new idea, as I said. A different way of doing things."
"How?'' The Captain seemed a little more interested now. His hard, keen eyes were wide open.
"The trouble with the Gelusar plant is that it produces the stuff in big lots, which ties up all their equipment for weeks at a time. They use what's called a 'batch process' to turn it out. Now, if you can get the men on the ship to chip in with us, we can build the right kind of plant—one that will produce the stuff in a steady stream."
The Captain blinked. "The men chip in? But they haven't much money! It's unheard of!"
"They don't have much individually, but they have a lot collectively. We'll promise each man a share according to the amount he puts in, you see. That way, we'll get enough money, and if they have an interest in profits, they won't be likely to give our secret away."
"That makes sense,'' the Captain agreed."But what about this new process? I don't see—"
Norvis pulled out a sheaf of papers covered with sketches and with explanatory notes in a large, scrawling hand. "See here; we make the process continuous instead of whipping up batches. Instead of making one big glob at a time, we'll start the process at this end and feed in the various ingredients at different points along the line. Then we—"
He spent the better part of the afternoon explaining it, and when he was through, he looked up at the Captain. "Well, what do you say?"
Del peFenn scowled. "To be honest, there was an awful lot that I didn't understand. But it sounds as though you know what you're talking about." He paused while Norvis anxiously watched him chew over the idea in his mind. Finally, Del said: "What you want is a sort of regular contract. You supply the brains, and the men and I supply the money. Fifty-fifty."
Norvis nodded.
"I'm sorry," said the Captain, "I just can't risk—'' Norvis stopped him. "Now, wait a minute. You're the one who's taking the risk; I'll grant that. So I tell you what you do; you take control, too." "What's that?"
"You see to the buying of the equipment and everything. I'll just tell you what I want and how much I'll need. For my part of it, you can pay me a salary— whatever you think I'm worth. I trust you."
The Captain chewed that over, too. Hesitatingly, he said: "Well-1-1—I don't know. It sounds good, but— well, how much would it take?"
"Better than half a manweight," Norvis admitted.
Captain Del peFenn winced and shook his head. "More than forty thousand weights! I don't know. Let me think about it for a while."
It took Norvis better than a week to talk the sea officer into investing his money and recommending to his men that they put their own savings into it, but during that time he bought some small flasks and a few other things and ran off a batch of the hormone right under the Captain's eyes. The process worked just as Norvis had theoretically constructed it, back at Bel-rogas.
There were only a few drops, but it was enough. Norvis bought two potted peych seedlings and sprayed the stuff over the leaves of one, where it was absorbed by the stomata and went into the circulatory system of the plant.
"One thing we'll have to warn our customers about," Norvis said, "is using too much of the hormone. They'll tend to overdose at first, and if they do, they'll not only waste it, but probably ruin the plants.''
"You've got this stuff figured out pretty well,'' Del peFenn said. "I knew you were sharp, but I didn't think you were as good as all that."
"Hold it," Norvis admonished. "Let's wait and see how sharp I am before you go passing out compliments like that. We'll know, one way or another, in a few days."
When, within a space of five days, the treated plant was noticeably different from its twin, Captain Del peFenn decided it was time to sink his money into the new project.
Three months later, the first substantial yield from the new process came through the factory hidden in the foothills of the Ancestral Mountains near one of the smaller rivers in Pelvash Province. Norvis and Del were confronted with the stuff early one morning, when Drosh peDrang Hebylla, the tall, thin young man who was the foreman of the factory, came dashing up the end of the dock and hailed the nearby Balthar.
"Here it is!" he cried enthusiastically, after the dinghy had conveyed him from shore to ship. He leaped out and held up a small wooden box.
Norvis took it, lifted the lid, sniffed, and replaced the lid. "Ugh,'' he grunted, "it's not going to be its lovely odor that'll be the selling point, I'm afraid."
"You should come out and spend some time at the factory," said Drosh peDrang. "If you think this sample has a bad smell, you ought to hover around the end of the feed line for a while."
"That's all right," Del peFenn boomed. "There must be something in the Scripture someplace about being able to put up with nasty smells for the sake of turning an honest few weights."
Norvis thought for a moment. "No; I can't think of any."
"Nor can I," said Drosh peDrang. "Nevertheless," the Captain maintained, "there must be something, something in that wonderful book to cover everything!"
"Well," said Norvis, "There's that part of the Fifteenth Section where Bel-rogas is lecturing against phony piety. He says: 'Appearances are nothing; it is the thoughts behind them that count. Often a sweet-smelling savor disguises a rotten evil beneath.' Well, if that's so, why not the other way round?"
The others laughed. "Why not, indeed?" said Del peFenn. "I think we have Scriptural backing for our project right there; we could probably find others."
"I wonder how the Elders are going to hide their red faces when we get our stuff out to the common people," Norvis said.
"They 're not going to like it much,'' said Del. "But I think we'll be able to step on their toes so hard that it'll hurt for a long time." He turned to Drosh peDrang. "How long will it be before that 'sweet-smelling savor' is ready to ship?"
"The men should be packing the first load now," the foreman told him. "The barges will start down river to here as soon as they're loaded."
"Good. We'll take the Balthar to Lidacor as soon as we get her loaded; we might as well start distributing it at once. The people up there are so hungry they'll hail us as saviors."
"Fine," said Norvis. "Lidacor's a good place to begin. Besides, it'll be pleasant to get away from the eternal fish odor here in Vashcor. I like Lidacor."
"Oh, I forgot to tell you," Captain Del said. "You're not going with us, Norvis."
"How so?'' Norvis asked, puzzled and a little disappointed.
"You're heading in the other direction, taking a cargo of the stuff to Molcor and Sundacor—and Tammulcor as well, I guess. You'll be aboard the Krand."
"The Krand? That's Captain Prannt peDel Kovnish's ship, isn't it?"
"It was," Del corrected. "It's now Captain Norvis peKrin Dmorno's. I entered your name on the Roll of Captains this morning. It's my new ship. I've decided to expand operations, now that there's the prospect of good business ahead. I'm now a two-ship man, and I couldn't think of a better captain for my new one than you, Norvis."
"I'm very grateful," said Norvis sincerely. He was tempted to add something of the Great Light, but decided against it; it wouldn't carry much weight in thanking Del, who didn't seem to set much store by the Scripture.