 Why are Quezy and Bob pressed for time?
[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from Planet Stories Summer 1945. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] Queazy discharged their tremendous inertia into the motive-tubes in such a manner that the big, powerful ship was moving at the same rate as the asteroid below—47.05 miles per second. "She checks down to the last dimension," Bob chortled, working with slide-rule and logarithm tables. While Queazy—so called because his full name was Quentin Zuyler—dropped the ship straight down to the smooth surface of the asteroid, and clamped it tight with magnetic grapples, Bob flung open the lazarette, brought out two space-suits. Moments later, they were outside the ship, with star-powdered infinity spread to all sides. Must be in my back yard before 11:30 A.M. my time, for important wedding June 2, else order is void. Bob Parker had received that ethergram three weeks ago. And if The Interplanetary Hauling & Moving Co., hadn't been about to go on the rocks (chiefly due to the activities of Saylor & Saylor, a rival firm) neither Bob nor Queazy would have thought of sending an answering ethergram to Burnside stating that they would fill the order. And yet, if by some chance there was such a rigidly specified asteroid, their financial worries would be over. For there are literally millions of asteroids in the asteroid belt, and they had been out in space only three weeks. Now that he and Queazy had found the asteroid, they were desperate to get it to its destination, for fear that the Saylor brothers might get wind of what was going on, and try to beat them out of their profits. Which was not so far-fetched, because the firm of Saylor & Saylor made no pretense of being scrupulous. Now they scuffed along the smooth-plane topside of the asteroid, the magnets in their shoes keeping them from stepping off into space. A cold, completely disagreeable feminine voice said, "May I ask what you interlopers are doing on my asteroid?" I'll let the Interplanetary Commission know you've infringed the law. Bob awoke from his trance, shouted desperately, "Hey! Wait! He and Queazy caught up with her on the side of the asteroid they hadn't yet examined. But to us—to me and Queazy here—it means our business. The big ship had landed, and little blue sparks crackled between the hull and the asteroid as the magnetic clamps took hold.
 They need to fulfill Burnside's requests quickly in order to make a profit.
 They don't want their competitors getting to the asteroid before them and missing out on the profit.  The Saylor Brothers have been chasing them, and they know they're on their way to the same asteroid.  They need to fulfill Burnside's requests quickly in order to make a profit.  Hauling asteroids is dangerous work, and the quicker they get it done the better.