Her answer was tense, vivid.
"No! No, Dan, don't trust him! He won't keep his promise. I know he
won't!"
"We must take that chance." Grimly. "Tell him!"
* * * * *
The audio went dead. Mallory waited impatiently. Somewhere, lost in the
immensity that engulfed them, the _Libra_ surged through space on a
mission now in the hands of the deadlocked three. So near that it was
more sunlike than Sol, Jupiter swung in its titanic orbit about Man's
luminary. The endless night was spangled with an infinitude of stars.
The stars toward which Man, yearning, groped--while Man's feet still
stumbled through the muck and mire of deceit....
And the audio woke to life again. Smith's voice was triumphant. "Very
well, Lieutenant. I am satisfied. I have finished the demolition of
power and arms units in this ship. Its radio, however, still operates.
I think it will sustain life for you until your friends arrive. I am
ready to board your ship."
Lady Alice's cry broke in, "Be careful, Dan! He'll kill you! He--"
There was the sound of flesh upon flesh, a silence. Then, "Well,
Lieutenant?"