enty-four-hours' leave and
report back here ready to work."

"Yes, sir," replied Tom. He and Astro saluted and turned to leave the
office but were stopped by the sudden appearance of Sid and Kit. Sid's
face was aglow. Kit was scowling.

"You know what we found on the _Space Knight_?" exclaimed Sid, unable to
hold back.

"What?" asked Tom.

"Almost a full tank of reactant!" replied the young engineer. "And the
after burners showed about as much wear as if the ship had jumped from
Earth to Venus."

"What's that, young man?" snapped Walters, stepping forward quickly.
"What are you talking about?"

Kit Barnard faced the commander and began to explain.

"We were both curious about Quent Miles' ship, sir," he said. "We
wondered what kind of equipment he had to get that kind of speed, so we
went aboard and looked her over. She looks as if she just made a routine
flight. Hardly any of her baffling has been eaten away and her motors
are cooling fast, and I'd swear by the stars there isn't anything on
that ship to give her the kind of speed she made out here."

"Hm-m! There's something funny about this," mused Walters.

Strong stepped forward quickly. "Would you like me to investigate, sir?"
he asked eagerly.

"Of course not," snapped Walters. "What's the matter with you? We've got
a whole planet full of people about to lose their homes and you want to
take time off to investigate pure speculation!"

"I'm sorry, sir." Strong's face flushed at the rebuke.

"Carry on! Work with Joe Howard."

"Yes, sir."

Strong saluted and started for the door. He passed Tom, Astro, Sid, and
Kit without so much as a glance. His jaw was set like a rock.

Tom Corbett shuffled uncomfortably, embarrassed at the rebuke Strong had
just suffered from Walters. It was not like the commander to flare up so
quickly. The situation on Titan must be extremely serious. He and Astro
ducked out of the room quickly.

"Come on, Astro," muttered the young cadet. "Let's get a bite to eat.
I'm starved."

"I was," said the giant Venusian. "But I lost my appetite."

"Boy, do I wish I had Roger here now!"

"Yeah, me too!"

[Illustration]

CHAPTER 12

Olympia, the largest colony on Titan, was gripped by a wave of fear. The
broad streets were empty; the shops and stores were deserted; and the
population waited in line at the spaceport, with their most valuable
belongings, for their turn to leave the threatened settlement. Slowly
the sat