"Is he still out there?" Tom whispered.
"Yeah," growled Astro. "He hasn't moved."
"They're not taking any chances," said Roger. "When they change the
guard, they take out their ray guns, just in case."
The three cadets were crowded around the door of their quarters with
Astro down on his hands and knees, trying to see through a small crack.
The big cadet straightened up and shook his head.
"I guess it's useless," he sighed. "Vidac is making sure we stay here."
"Well," said Roger disgustedly, "if we don't get out pretty soon, we
won't--" He didn't finish the sentence. At that moment the door suddenly
opened and Bush stepped in, two paralo-ray guns in his hands, cocked and
ready to fire. Behind him was Hyram Logan and his daughter, Jane.
"You got ten minutes," said Bush, "and one funny move out of any of you
and I'll blast you silly."
He closed the door and the click of the lock could be heard ominously.
"Mr. Logan!" exclaimed Tom. "How'd you manage to get in here?"
"Sonny," replied the Venusian farmer, "when you're dealing with crooks,
you have to act like a crook!" He smiled and added, "I bought my way in
here!"
"You mean that Vidac doesn't know you're here?" asked Astro.
"No," said Jane. "But we had to come. Vidac was going to--" She stopped
and turned to her father. "Maybe you'd better tell them, Father."
"Well," said Logan slowly, "we just heard that Vidac is going to hold
trial for you three boys right here on Roald."
"Trial!" exclaimed Astro.
"How'd you find that out?" asked Tom.
"They called all the colonists together and gave us pieces of paper with
numbers on them," said Logan. "Then they put all the numbers into a bowl
and picked twelve of them out again. The people that held those numbers
were told that they were going to be the jury at your trial for the
murder of Professor Sykes!"
"Murder?" exclaimed Roger.
"Blast my jets!" roared Astro. "They can't do that! We're under Solar
Guard jurisdiction!"
"That's what I told them," snorted Logan. "You see, my number was
pulled. I got up and opened my big mouth. I should have kept quiet and
sat on the jury, and then had my say where it would have meant
something!"
"Then they took you off the jury?" asked Roger.
"Yep," said Logan. "Me and everyone else they thought might be
prejudiced!"
"We came to tell you," said Jane, "because we wanted you to know what
was going on and to see if there was anything we could do to help."
"We already tried to help in a lot of ways," said Logan. "We tried to
get that space jerk outside to let you escape. I offered him--well, I
offered him a lot, but he wouldn't do it."
"What are you going to do?" asked Jane, looking at Tom.
"I don't know, Jane," said Tom. "But we've certainly got to do
something. If we ever stand trial here on Roald--"
Tom was interrupted by a loud banging on the door, followed by the click
of the lock. Then the door was opened and Bush stepped inside.
"All right, Logan," said Bush. "Time's up!"
"But--but," complained Logan, "we've only been here two minutes!"
"Time's up, I said," sneered Bush. He raised his ray guns threateningly.
"Well, I guess we'd better go," said Logan. He turned and shook hands
with each of the cadets. "Good luck, boys," he said with a smile. "Don't
worry. We'll find someway of getting you out of this mess!"
"Thanks for telling us, sir," said Tom.
"Telling you what?" demanded Bush.
"That the world is round and that you're a square-headed space crawler,"
said Roger casually.
"A real big mouth, eh!" snarled Bush. "Why, I oughta--" He raised his
guns again, but just at the moment Jane walked into the line of fire and
stood there quietly. Bush stepped back. It was just enough to break the
tension.
"Go on!" Bush growled. "Get out of here!"
"Don't get rough," said Logan, "or I might tell your boss you took a
bribe to let us see the cadets!" With a parting wink at the boys, he
followed Jane out.
Just as Bush started to close the door, Tom stepped forward. "How about
something to eat," he demanded, "and some story tapes to pass away the
time?"
"Yeah," said Roger, picking up Tom's cue, "and we don't want anything
you'd select either. It might be too infantile! Send Jeff Marshall up
here so we can get what we want!"
"I'll see about it," sneered Bush, slamming the door behind him.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Roger asked Tom.
"Yes. If there is anyone we can trust, it's Jeff. Let's hope that space
jerk outside comes through!"
"Well," growled Astro, "if worse comes to worse, we can always jump
him."
"Uh--uh," said Tom, shaking his head. "We wouldn't get past the first
corridor. If we escape, and we will, we've got to have help from someone
on the outside!"
"But won't they be watching Jeff too?" asked Astro.
"Sure they will, but we've got to take that chance. If Vidac holds us
for trial here on Roald, and we're convicted, the only place for a
review of the case will be the Solar Council Chamber back on Earth."
"Well, what's wrong with that?" asked Astro.
"I'll tell you what's wrong with it," said Roger. "Before the case would
come up for a review, we would have already spent at least two years on
a prison rock!"
Meanwhile, in his office in the Administration Building, Lieutenant
Governor Vidac listened with mounting apprehension to a report from the
communications control officer of Roald.
"We just received a message from Captain Strong aboard the Solar Guard
cruiser _Orion_ requesting landing data here on Roald," the voice
crackled impersonally over the teleceiver.
"How far out is he?" asked Vidac, suddenly growing pale.
"He should arrive within four hours."
"All right," said Vidac, regaining his composure. "Give him all the
information he needs."
"What about the instrument disturbance?"
"Tell him everything."
"Yes, sir," replied the control officer, and the teleceiver screen went
blank.
Vidac got up and began to pace the floor, pondering the reasons for
Strong's sudden unannounced visit. He could be coming to check on the
Space Cadets, he thought. Or it might be a routine check of the progress
of the colony. Or he might know about the uranium. There had been an
investigation of the soil on the satellite by the original expedition.
But if they had known anything about it, reasoned Vidac, it would have
been claimed for the Solar Alliance.
No, Vidac shook his head. He's not here to investigate the uranium, he's
here either to check on the cadets or make a routine inspection of the
colony. And if it's the former, he'd give Strong enough proof to bury
the cadets on a prison rock for life.
Vidac turned to the teleceiver. "Get the spaceport," he ordered. "Tell
the spaceport officer to prepare a welcoming party to blast off in ten
minutes. They will meet Captain Strong of the Solar Guard in the cruiser
_Orion_. Communications control will give them his position." He flipped
off the teleceiver and settled back in his chair, smiling. Nothing in
the world like a big fuss to throw a man off guard, he thought. And
Steve Strong, as the first visitor from Earth since the colony was
founded, would get a tremendous welcome!
* * * * *
" ... Are you sure?" asked Tom, his face brightening. "You heard it
yourself?"
Jeff Marshall smiled. "Roald is going crazy. They're preparing the
biggest welcome for a spaceman since Jon Builker's return from his first
trip in space!"
"Boy," said Astro, "what a break!" He slapped Roger on the back. "We'll
be out of this can an hour after Captain Strong lands!"
"I knew you wanted me to help you try to escape," said Jeff. "I had
already begun to make plans."
"No need for that now," said Tom. "If we tried to escape, we'd be doing
the very thing Vidac would want us to do. He could say it was an
admission of guilt."
Roger agreed with a nod of his head. "There's only one thing that
bothers me now."
"What's that?" asked Astro.
"Professor Sykes," he said. "We've been so worried about our own necks,
we've forgotten about him."
"Well," said Astro, "what about him?"
"What really happened to him," mused Roger, "and why?"
"I wish I knew," said Tom. "But I'll bet Vidac knows."
"Sure," agreed Roger. "But I still say why and what?"
The blond-haired cadet looked around at the faces of his friends. There
was no reply to his question.
* * * * *
Every citizen of Roald, man, woman, and child, was at the spaceport to
watch the giant cruiser _Orion_ settle slowly to the ground. Vidac
watched it through squinting eyes. He had secretly hoped that the
uranium disturbances would cause the ship to crash, thus eliminating his
difficulties before they could begin, but he couldn't help admiring the
way the big cruiser was handled. When the hatch opened and Captain
Strong stepped out, resplendent in his black-and-gold uniform, there was
a spontaneous roar of welcome from the ground. Vidac stepped forward
immediately to greet the Solar Guard officer.
"I'm Paul Vidac, Captain Strong. Lieutenant governor of Roald. Governor
Hardy is very busy and asked me to welcome you and to convey his
apologies for not greeting you personally."
"Thank you," said Strong and shook hands with Vidac. He turned around
and looked over the crowd. "But I seem to be missing several other
welcomers."
"Ah, I presume you mean the Space Cadets," stammered Vidac.
Strong looked at the lieutenant governor. "Yes, I mean the Space Cadets.
Where are they?"
Vidac tried to meet Strong's level gaze, but his eyes fell away. "They
are under arrest!" he said finally.
"Arrest!" cried Strong. "For what?"
"The murder of Professor Sykes."
"Murder? Professor Sykes?" asked Strong. "Explain yourself!"
"This is hardly the place to discuss it. Shall we go to my office?"
asked Vidac.
"Where is the professor's body?" asked Strong.
"It hasn't been found yet," replied Vidac uneasily.
"Then how can the cadets be charged with murder if you can't produce a
body?" demanded Strong.
Vidac paused a moment. He was thrown off guard by Strong's shrewd
observation. "They are also being held for abduction of the professor,"
said Vidac. "We have eyewitnesses."
"Take me to them," said Strong.
"I'm afraid that will be impossible at the moment," said Vidac. "The
colonists are expecting a little show for their enthusiastic welcome."
"Take me to the cadets," Strong demanded. "And that means immediately!"
Vidac wavered under the Solar Guard captain's withering gaze. He nodded
and turned away.
As Strong pushed through the crowd of welcoming colonists, someone
tugged at his sleeve and whispered into his ear.
"Don't believe all you hear!" Strong turned to see the face of Hyram
Logan. Before he could reply, Logan disappeared into the crowd.
"Well, Captain Strong? Are you coming?" asked Vidac.
Strong turned and followed him through the crowd. He could feel danger
on this satellite. He could feel it and he could read it in the faces of
the people around him.
[Illustration]