entered the enlisted Solar Guard. "I heard what Captain Miles said about
Cadet Manning being asleep and--" He hesitated.

"Well, what about it?" prompted Walters.

"Well, sir, I don't know if it means anything or not," replied the boy
nervously. "But just before the ship blasted off, I saw Cadet Manning
standing inside the air lock. He looked as if he wanted to get out. But
you were counting the blast-off time, sir. And he disappeared a few
seconds before you hit zero."

Strong looked at Walters. "Are you sure?" he asked the boy.

"I'm positive, sir. I know Cadet Manning well, and he looked as though
he was scared."

Strong clenched his fists. "Asleep, huh?" he growled. "Get me the _Space
Knight_!"

The boy returned to the audioceiver and began calling Miles, but there
was no reply. After a few minutes Walters interrupted, "We can't waste
any more time here, Steve. We've got to blast off!"

"Get hold of Corbett on the _Space Lance_," said Strong to the spaceman.
"Tell him I said to get in touch with Manning on the _Space Knight_. Ask
him to find out what's going on."

"Yes, sir."

"And then tell him to contact me on the _Polaris_. We're blasting off
immediately."

"Very well, sir."

Walters turned to Captain Strong. "What do you think it means, Steve?"
he asked.

"I can't figure it, sir. Knowing Manning as I do, it could be a crazy
stunt or it could be serious."

"It had better be serious," said Walters grimly, "for Manning's sake.
One more slip, and I'm bouncing him right out of the Academy!"

The two officers left the control tower, leaving young Oliver Muffin
alone, droning his monotonous call to Tom Corbett, somewhere between
Earth and Mars--a call that was to be the young cadet's first warning of
treachery in deep space!

[Illustration]

CHAPTER 8

"All clear ahead, Bill!"

Tom Corbett stood at the radarscope and watched the thin white line
sweep around the face of the instrument. "Nothing in space but us!" he
announced.

The veteran spaceman grunted and grinned at the curly-haired cadet he
had grown to like and respect in the short time they had been together.
Not only did Tom know how to handle a ship, spelling the pilot for a few
moments to have a walk around the control deck, but he was good company
as well. More than once, Tom had surprised the Martian spaceman with his
sober judgment of the minor decisions Sticoon had to make in flight.

"Why don't you try to contact Manni