The language was cold and stiff. Jeffer and Clave did not trust Kendy, and Kendy clearly knew it. He said, "You need not turn a compliment into a policy statement, Clave. I can't force you to obey my orders. You can't stop me from observing through the CARM's instruments. You know that I know things you do not. Can't we work together?"

"Maybe. Thanks for showing us the Wart."

"You're welcome. Has Booce found a way to confine the pipefire?"

"Not yet."

"Even with sikenwire, the pipefire is dangerous. You do have a source of metal. You can make a firebox from the Wart."

Clave grinned. "What a good idea."

"You probably don't have the facilities to make a smelter-"

"What?"

"A smelter refines metal. It melts metal ore and bums away impurities. You shape the metal by pouring the liquid into forms. Gravity is needed, or tide, or spin. The Admiralty may have such technology, but I gather you do not."

"We do not. You'd set the tree on fire for sure!"

"But you do have a saw. It was moored in the cargo section. Use it to cut slices from the Wart."

"Kendy, you'd ruin the teeth."

"No. That saw was taken from Discipline. Most of the tools aboard Discipline were made to last. Even with trivial items, the major cost was transportation. The chicken wire must have been made in the Admiralty, but your hose is reinforced with hullmetal alloy. The pipe is hullmetal. So is the saw. You won't damage it by sawing slices from a mass of soft iron. Here-"

Kendy's angular visage was replaced by a line drawing of the steam rocket, then another line drawing: a rectangle with tabs at its edges. "Cut three of these. Use the first as a template-"

"How do we hold the parts together? Tethers would bum."

"Set the plates in place and pound on the tabs until they bend down. They'll fold over each other." Three rectangular plates formed a triangular prism. The tabs along the edges blinked green, then bent themselves over to interlock. Logbearer reappeared, and the three-sided box now enclosed the pipe and pipefire.

Clave said, "I'll ask Booce. You won't get much air flow to the coals."

"Mount the rocket two or three kilometers in or out from the center of mass. The wind will keep the coals alight. You couldn't make a completely closed box anyway. It will leak."

"Mmm . . . yeah. You've been thinking hard about this."

"I can solve simple mechanical problems. What will you do with the CARM when you reach the Clump?"

Clave was still studying the diagram. "We'll hide it before we get there. Take the log in with the steam rocket. Take our time selling it."