Excerpt: Destination: Venus

Bendix watched, puzzled, as Gumm opened the jar and spread honey all over his lab -- on the table, the top of his dresser. He covered every flat surface in his room with the sticky substance. Satisfied, he sat down. "And now, we wait."
"May I ask what we are waiting for, Sir?"
"We are waiting for one of those infernal flies to land. That one will do." Gumm leaned forward in his chair, pressed his glasses up on his nose. The fly buzzed around his head, in what appeared to be slow circles, but Gumm knew that the fly's speed was deceptive. He had tried hundreds of times to snatch one out of the air, and had failed every time. But once it landed, and got stuck in the sweet honey trap that Gumm had set, then he would have him.
"May I ask to what purpose, Sir?"
"What? Oh yes, of course. I want to study the little imp, my dear Bendix. I want to see what makes him tick."
"I see."
They both watched the fly now, as it climbed up into the air, then dove back down again, tantalizingly close to the honey, but never quite touching it.
"Damn him! Crafty devil!"
"Indeed, Sir. Shall I --"
"Shh! There he goes. He's about to . . . Damn!" The fly, having dived to within inches of the honey, seemed to stop in mid-air, hover for an instant and then rise back up. Was the thing ever going to land? Gumm tried to recall whether he had actually seen any of the flies on board the Ruttherford land. He could not recall, though he assumed that they must. He assumed, but had never actually observed a fly landing. "Bad science!" he scolded himself. But could it be that they stayed aloft perpetually? Impossible. They had to rest sometime.
"Sir, if I may --"
"What? What is it, Bendix? You interrupted my train of thought."
"My apologies, Sir." Bendix suddenly, and with extraordinary speed and dexterity, reached out his hand and snatched the fly out of the air.
"My god, Bendix. How on Earth --?"
"It is simply a matter of knowing what the thing is about to do, Sir. An indispensable skill in my line of work. Shall I put it in the honey?"