s annoyed to find that his hands were shaking as he
leafed through the pages, and he paused a few seconds, trying to control
his excitement. His black hair had begun to turn gray above his ears,
and there were a few white hairs in his bushy eyebrows. But a healthy
pink glowed under the skin of his well-fleshed cheeks, and the jut of
his chin showed the confidence of one used to receiving immediate,
unquestioning obedience. When his long fingers had stopped their
trembling, he found the entry he had been looking for, and a triumphant
smile lighted his heavy features as he settled deeper in his chair and
read the first paragraph.

"_Star Lord: newest model in space-ships of the famed Star Line. Vital
Statistics: Construction begun February 2418, on Satellite Y.
Christened, October, 2420. Maiden voyage to Almazin III scheduled
spring, 2421._"

He looked up at the diagram of the ship which hung on the wall at his
right, then glanced at the zodiometer on his desk. May 3, late spring.

"_Powered by twenty-four total conversion Piles. Passenger capacity
1250. Crew and maintenance 250. Six life boats, capacity 1500. Captain.
Josiah Evans._"

His throat swelling, he was almost choked with pride as he read the
final Statistic. This, he thought was the climax of his career, the
place he had been working towards all his life. It had been a long road
from his lonely boyhood in a Kansas orphanage, to Captain of the earth's
finest spaceship.

The _Star Lord_ was the perfection of modern space craft, the creation
of the earth's most skilled designers and builders, the largest ship
ever launched. Protected by every safety device the ingenuity of man had
been able to contrive, she was a palace to glide among the stars.

His heart beat more rapidly as he read the next section.

"_Prediction: her maiden voyage will break all previous speed records,
and regain for her backers the coveted Blue Ribbon, lost ten years ago
to the Light Lines._"

No question of that, he thought. No faster ship had ever been built. But
he frowned as he read the final paragraph:

"_Sidelights: Reviving a long obsolete custom, certain astrologers in
London have cast the horoscope of the Star Lord and pronounced the
auguries to be unfavorable. This verdict, plus the incident at the
christening, has caused some head-shaking among the superstitious
fringe, and some twittering about 'cosmic arrogance'. But few of the
lords of the earth, we imagine, will ther