ot invite attack, but are prepared for it. And we have the power to
counterattack!"

"When we get through with your Solar Guard, Corbett," sneered Sinclair,
"there won't be anything left but smoldering heaps of junk and the dead
bodies of stupid men!"

The buzz of a teleceiver suddenly sounded in another part of the house
and Sinclair left the room quickly. When he was sure the planter was out
of earshot, Tom turned to George and whispered, "I think I can work my
hands loose. Where can I find a ray gun?" George began to mumble
frantically but Tom couldn't understand him, and the sound of returning
footsteps silenced Hill. The planter strode back into the room,
hurriedly putting on the green uniform of the Nationalists. "I've just
received word of a speed-up in the preparations for our attack," he
said. "Soon, Corbett--soon you will see what will happen to the Solar
Guard!"

[Illustration]

CHAPTER 16

"Bring that dirty little space crawler in here!"

Captain Strong had never seen Commander Walters so angry. The cords
stood out in his neck and his face was red with fury as he paced up and
down the Solar Guard office in Venusport. "A spy," he roared. "A spy
right in the heart of our organization!" He shook his head.

The door opened and two burly Solar Guardsmen entered, saluted, and
turned to flank the doorway, hands on their paralo-ray pistols. The
private secretary of E. Philips James shuffled in slowly, followed by
two more guards. Walters stepped up to the thin, intense young man and
glared at him. "If I had my way, I'd send you out to the deepest part of
space and leave you there!"

The man bit his lip but said nothing.

"Where is your secret base?" demanded Walters.

"I don't know," replied the secretary nervously.

"Who told you to intercept this message from Mercury?" Walters tapped a
paper on his desk. "Who gave you your orders?"

"I receive orders on an audioceiver in my home," answered the man, a
slight quaver in his voice. "I have never seen my superior."

"And you followed the Nationalist movement blindly, doing whatever they
told you, without question, is that it?"

"Yes."

"Yes, _sir_!" roared Walters.

"Yes, sir," corrected the secretary.

"Who told you to forge those orders for priority seats on the _Venus
Lark_?"

"My superior," said the man.

"How did you know Major Connel was coming here to investigate the
Nationalists?"

"I read the decoded message sent to the Sola