to see you. Then Vidac told me all about it."

"Was there any special reason why you wanted to see us, sir?" asked Tom.

"Well, as a matter of fact, there was a little reason. Billy, my son,
has been pestering me to get some of your Academy books and audioscripts
so he can study to become a Space Cadet when he gets old enough."

The three cadets grinned at each other and soon the Venusian farmer was
piled high with manuals, audioscripts, tapes, and general information
about the Academy.

"Thank you, boys," said Logan. "That's real nice of you, but--"

"But what, sir?" asked Tom.

"That was the little reason for coming to see you. I have a big reason
too."

"What's that, sir?" asked Roger.

"I don't know how to say it exactly," began Logan, his voice low and
hesitant, "but do you remember when you three came over to inspect
Number Twelve?"

The boys all nodded and Logan continued in a hushed voice.

"Well, I told you then that everything was as nice as it could be. At
that time it was. But now--"

"What's happened, sir?" asked Tom.

"What hasn't happened you mean!" snorted Logan. "The very next day we
had a visit from Vidac himself. He made a routine check of all the
departments, stopped and talked to some of the colonists, and he seemed,
in general, like a nice fellow. Then all of a sudden it started."

"What?" asked Astro.

"Our skipper Winters and another fellow, Ed Bush, began treating us
like--well, like prisoners!"

"Prisoners!" cried Tom.

"Yes!" said Logan. "They began to tell us when we couldn't go to the
workshop and to the stereos, and made us eat our meals together in the
main assembly room, with the wives taking turns doing all the cooking.
And the schooling has been cut altogether."

"Why, why--" Tom was floored by the information. "But how can that be?"

"I don't know," said Logan, "but that's the way it is. I came over to
tell you boys about it, since you were the only ones I knew. You struck
me as being honest and I felt I could trust you."

"What else have Winters and Bush done?" asked Astro tensely.

"I guess the worst of all is the fact that we're having to pay for
everything we eat," said Logan.

"Pay!" exclaimed Roger. "But, but--how can you? You don't have any
credits. The Solar Council decided to let the colony work on a barter
basis--share and share alike--until it could take its place in the
over-all economy of the Solar Alliance."

"I know, I know," said Logan resign