ssor's work journal!"

"Think he'd record it in there?" asked Tom. "It's pretty valuable
information."

"Yes," said Jeff. "He even logs the amount of coffee he drinks in the
morning! He puts down everything!"

"You think the journal is still in the lab?" asked Tom.

"Sure it is. I saw it before I left."

"Then we've got Vidac right where we want him!" exclaimed Roger.

"No, we haven't," said Tom. "We haven't got the professor to prove it!
Vidac's still the boss on this hunk of space rock, and we're still
wanted for murder!"

The door burst open and Billy raced into the room. "A jet car just
turned off the highway! It's coming here!"

"We've got to get out of here!" said Tom. He turned to Jeff. "If it's
Vidac, tell him you've come to take Jane out on a date. That should
explain your presence. Then get the professor's journal and give it to
Captain Strong. He'll know what to do!"

Roger and Astro were cramming food in their pockets. "Come on, Tom,"
said Roger. "I can hear the jets."

"What are you boys going to do?" asked Jane.

"Try to get to the _Polaris_," replied Tom. "Then we'll hunt for the
professor. If we don't find him, we're sunk. He's the key to the whole
thing."

Astro and Roger had tumbled out the window and were racing toward the
safety of the near-by hills. Tom gave Jeff a final handshake and dived
out the window after them. Running toward the clump of bushes where
Astro and Roger had just disappeared, he dived for cover, just as
Vidac's car roared into the clearing. The boys saw Vidac and Bush get
out of the car, and after inspecting Jeff's, turn and stride into the
house.

"Come on," said Tom. "We've got to get to the _Polaris!_"

The three boys turned away and hurried from the farm. In a few minutes,
after scrambling to the top of the nearest hill, they turned back to
look down on the farmhouse and saw Jeff escorting Jane to his car.

"So far so good," said Tom. "Let's go."

They walked off and were soon lost in the tangle of scrub grass and dry
gullies, their destination the _Polaris_ and the solution to the mystery
of Professor Sykes's disappearance.

CHAPTER 19

Strong's plan to follow Vidac in order to locate Hardy had paid off.
While Vidac and Bush were rounding up citizens of Roald City and sending
them out to search for the Space Cadets, the Solar Guard captain had
checked the frequency setting on the communicator in the lieutenant
governor's jet car. Then hiding in