rted
evacuation," said Walters. "Have you discovered anything new?"

Howard shook his head. "Not a thing, Commander," he replied. "We've done
just about everything but take the force-field projectors apart, but so
far we haven't found a thing wrong."

"Any word on the race, Joe?" asked Strong.

Howard looked surprised. "By the stars, I almost forgot. One of the
ships is trying to make it to Ganymede without stopping at Deimos for
refueling. And another blew up."

Strong gasped. "Which one?"

"_Space Lance_," said Howard. "Exploded over Deimos right after
blast-off. _Knight_ is the one that's trying the long solo hop. Haven't
received any word from him yet."

"But what about the crew of the _Space Lance_?" demanded Strong with a
glance at Walters.

"The pilot, Sticoon, was killed, and they haven't found Cadet Corbett
yet." And then understanding flashed in Howard's eyes. "Say, that's one
of the boys in your unit, isn't it, Steve?" he asked.

"Yes," said Strong grimly. He turned to Walters. "Have I your permission
to contact Deimos for the latest details, sir?"

"Of course, Steve. Go ahead."

Strong turned quickly and climbed into a nearby jet boat. The enlisted
spaceman at the controls sent the tiny vessel skimming across the broad
expanse of the spaceport toward the control tower.

Walters and Howard watched him leave. "I hope nothing has happened to
that boy," said Walters. "Corbett is one of the finest cadets we have."

"I'm afraid it doesn't look too good, sir," Howard answered.

"Well, what about the other ship, _Space Knight_?" asked Walters. "Cadet
Manning is on that one. Any report on where they are?"

"Nothing, sir," replied Howard. "We just heard that he was by-passing
Deimos and going on right through to Ganymede, hoping to get a jump on
the other two."

"Did Cadet Manning make that report?" asked Walters.

"No, sir. It was the pilot. Quent Miles. There was no mention of Cadet
Manning, sir."

Walters shook his head. "Certainly is strange," he mused aloud. Then he
barked, in his usual brusque manner, "Well, we've got this problem here
to worry about now. All mining operations have stopped, I suppose?"

"Yes, sir. The men won't work unless they have a guarantee that their
wives and children are safe."

"Can't blame them," said Walters, surveying the quiet spaceport.

The two Solar Guard officers climbed into another waiting jet boat and
shot away from the _Polaris_ toward the tower.

I