r.
"It was pretty late. After midnight."

Vidac eyed them curiously. "And you're sure you saw no one, and that no
one saw you?"

"We can't be sure that no one saw us, sir," said Tom, "but I doubt it.
As Roger said, it was after midnight."

Vidac whirled and sat down again. He pressed a small button on his desk
and waited, silently considering the cadets, his eyes cool and level.
The door opened and Governor Hardy walked in, followed by several men.

Tom suddenly realized that it was the first time they had seen the
governor in nearly six weeks.

"Have you found Professor Sykes?" he demanded.

Vidac shook his head, then turned to the other men. Tom, with a sudden
sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, recognized them as the
colonists who had been with Ed Bush when Roger had his last argument
with the professor.

"Did you hear Cadet Manning threaten Professor Sykes?" asked Vidac.

"Yes, sir," replied one of the colonists.

"What did he say?" asked Vidac. "Repeat it for Governor Hardy."

The colonist quoted Roger's threat almost word for word and Tom noted
grimly that the witness made the most of the fact that he and Astro had
followed Roger out of the office after the argument. The implication
was clear that they were part of the threat.

Vidac then turned to Ed Bush. "Bush, did you see the cadets last night?"

"Yes, sir," said Bush.

"Where?" demanded Vidac.

"Leaving the swimming pool with the professor."

"With the pro--!" exclaimed Tom.

"Shut up, Corbett!" barked Vidac, and then turned to Astro. "Did you say
you went swimming _alone?_"

"We did!" exclaimed the Venusian. "We left the professor at the office.
We did not see him again after that. He did not go swimming with us."

Vidac turned to Winters. "Did you see the cadets last night, Winters?"

"Yes, sir," replied the spaceman. "I had the graveyard watch and I was
in the galley having a cup of coffee. I saw the cadets enter the galley
just as I was leaving."

"Were they alone?" asked Vidac.

"No, sir," said Winters. "Professor Sykes was with them."

"That's a lie!" shouted Roger. "We were alone!"

Vidac merely looked at Roger and then turned back to Winters. "Then what
happened?"

"Well," said Winters, "they got into an argument, the cadets and Sykes.
It was about the movement of a captive planet, or something like that.
Anyway, there was a scuffle, and all of a sudden the big cadet"--he
indicated Astro--"picked up the professor