I have information here in this journal that will prove what I
just said! Read it for yourself. It's in the professor's own
handwriting."

"I can read it," said a small man in front of Strong. "Gimme that
thing!" Strong handed him the black book and told the man where to look.
The man considered it for five minutes, then turned to the crowd. "He's
right! We're sitting on the hottest uranium rock in this galaxy!"

"Where is it?" cried someone from the crowd. "Tell us where the uranium
is!"

The mob of men, forgetting all about the cadets, were now seized with
the greed for riches. Strong took the journal back and tucked it under
his arm.

"I'll tell you where it is," said Strong, "when we put Vidac where he
belongs! Behind bars!"

"What are we waiting for?" cried the colonists. "Let's get that
murdering space crawler!"

The deputy pushed his way through the crowd and raced for his car.
Others followed and once more the Plaza echoed to the roar of jets.

Strong turned to Jeff. "You'll find Winters up in Vidac's quarters. I
had to freeze him." He handed over the paralo-ray gun. "Get him and
follow us to the spaceport. Tell him we know everything, and if he
doesn't talk, he'll get life on a prison rock."

"Right," said Jeff. "I'll get a confession out of him if I have to wring
his neck--and I'll get it on a soundscriber!"

"Good. Come on, Jane," said Strong. "This is the finish of a would-be
tyrant!"

Jeff turned and dashed back into the building, while Strong and Jane
climbed into the jet car and roared off toward the spaceport.

"If we only had a paralo-ray gun," muttered Roger as he and Tom sped
after Vidac's powerful jet car.

"Yes," agreed Tom. "This could be a trap, but what can we do?"

Roger was silent. They had moved out of the cave as soon as Astro had
been taken down the hill and they knew exactly what Vidac had in mind.
But their need for information about Professor Sykes and their concern
for Astro forced them to follow the powerful jet car into what they were
certain was a trap.

"We'll ditch the jet car after we find out where they're going," said
Tom, "and figure out something afterward."

"You think they'll go to Sykes?" asked Roger.

[Illustration]

"It's a pretty safe bet, Roger. The professor's been well hidden, so why
not hide Astro in the same place, hoping in the meantime to get us
also."

"But I can't see walking into a trap, simply because we know it's
there!"

"Roger--lo