O’Neal, I can’t let you kill yourself with that ship!” Lucky Martin said it earnestly and loyally and, as he always did, he meant just exactly what he said. And, as Number One test pilot in the United States, Lucky Martin’s opinions on the subject of ships was not commonly thrust aside. But the instant he uttered those words he knew that he could have said nothing worse. No profanity could have goaded O’Neal into the rage which swelled him out to the red bursting point. “So, you too!” roared Big Tom O’Neal. “And I thought you were my friend. I know now. You’ve been talking about it, you’re the one that started it.… Who the hell built this ship, anyway?” “You did,” said Lucky Martin, in despair. “Who tested the first bomber the Navy ever bought?” “You did,” gulped Lucky Martin. “Of course I did, but you and all the others are yammering about how old I’m getting.
