some of his men;
stay behind and send some men over to receive the remains of the
Hawk--for either of which variations he was prepared; or, a third, and
more dangerous, direct that the remains of Carse be brought over to his
ship, without showing himself or any of his crew.

Whatever variations their contacting took, there was another
consideration, Carse's celestial charts revealed, and that was the
proximity of the rendezvous to Jupiter's Satellite III, less than three
hundred thousand miles. Satellite III harbored Port o' Porno, main
refuge and home of the scavengers, the hi-jackers, and out-and-out
pirates of space, so many of whom were under Ku Sui's thumb. Several
brigand ships were sure to be somewhere in the vicinity, and one might
easily intrude, destroying the hairbreadth balance in Carse's favor....

There was peril on every side. The Hawk considered that it would be wise
to make provision against the odds proving too great. So, his gray eyes
reflective, he strode to the _Scorpion's_ radio panel and a moment later
was saying over and over in a toneless voice:

"XX-1 calling XX-2--XX-1 calling XX-2--XX-1 calling XX-2...."

* * * * *

After a full two minutes there was still no answer from the loudspeaker.
He kept calling: "XX-1 calling XX-2--XX-1 calling XX-2--XX-1
calling----"

He broke off as words in English came softly from the loudspeaker:

"XX-2 answering XX-1. Do you hear me?"

"Yes. Give me protected connection. Highly important no outsider
overhears."

"All right," the gentle voice answered. "Protected. Go ahead, old man."

The Hawk relaxed and his face softened. "How are you, Eliot?" he asked
almost tenderly.

"Just fine, Carse," came in the clear, cultured voice of Master
Scientist Eliot Leithgow, probably the greatest scientific mind in the
solar system, Ku Sui being the only possible exception. He spoke now
from his secret laboratory on Jupiter's Satellite III, near Porno, this
transcendent genius who, with Friday, was one of Carse's two trusted
comrades-in-arms. "I've been expecting you," he went on. "Has something
happened?"

"I'm concerned with Ku Sui again," the Hawk told him swiftly. "Please
excuse me; I have to be brief. I can't take any chances of his hearing
any of this." He related the events of the last two days: Judd's attack
on the Iapetus ranch, the subsequent fight and outcome, and finally his
present position and intention of