Brett stepped out. "Put that thing away!"
he snarled. "What's that for?"

"After I got your message to meet you out here, I didn't know what was
up, so I brought this along just in case," Quent replied. "What's so
secret that you couldn't come to the spaceport?"

"I've got the stuff for Kit Barnard's reactor."

"What stuff?"

"This." Brett took a small lead container out of his pocket and handed
it to Quent. "This is impure reactant. Dump it into his feeders and we
can count him out of the race."

Quent took the lead container, looked at it, and then stuffed it inside
his tunic. "What'll happen?"

"Nothing. He'll just get out in space and find his pumps won't handle
the heat from his feeders, that's all. He's the only one I'm worried
about."

"Reports are coming in from Luna City. You can worry about Gigi Duarte,
too. He's burning up space."

"Ross is at the Luna spaceport," replied Brett. "He'll take care of any
ship that looks like it's going to be too fast."

"Then why not have him take care of Kit Barnard too?" demanded Quent.
"There will be less chance of getting caught. Remember, I've got those
three Space Cadets and Strong to worry about."

"You can't expect to get what we're after unless you take chances. Now
get back to the spaceport and put this stuff in Barnard's feeders. You
blast off tomorrow morning before he does and won't have much time."

"O.K.," agreed Quent. "When did Ross get to Luna City?"

"Yesterday. I had him come in from the hide-out."

"You think there'll be any cause for suspicion with him on the Moon and
me down here?" asked Quent.

"When you land at Luna City spaceport, he'll disappear. By that time we
should know how the time trials are shaping up."

"O.K. Where are you going now?"

"Back to the office. I've still got some things to check on before the
big race. We're going to use the hide-out for that."

A smile spread across Quent Miles' face. "So that's it, eh? Pretty
clever, Charley. Ross know about it?"

"Yeah. He's leaving as soon as he knows we've won the time trials. Now
get back to the spaceport and take care of Barnard's ship."

Quent slipped his hand inside his tunic and patted the lead container.
"Too bad this isn't a baby bomb," he muttered. "We could be sure Barnard
wouldn't finish."

"He's finished right now, but he doesn't know it." Brett smiled. "He's
borrowed heavily just on this race, and when he loses, the banks will
close him up. Kit Barnard i