inally of Major Connel's plan
to sabotage the radar at noon the following day. Then, one by one, each
official asked him questions pertinent to their tasks. Fleet commanders
asked about the ships' speed, size, armor; Strong inquired about the
stores and supporting lines of supply; Walters asked for the names of
all people connected with the movement. All of these questions Tom
answered as well as he could.

"Well, gentlemen," said Walters, "thanks to Corbett and the others on
this mission, we have all the information we need to counter the
Nationalists. I propose to follow Major Connel's plan and attack the
base at noon tomorrow. Squadrons A and B will approach from the south
and east at exactly noon. Squadrons C, D, and E will come in from the
north and west as a second wave at 1202. The rest of the fleet will go
in from above at 1205. Supporting squadrons are now on their way from
Earth and Mars. Blast off at six hundred hours. Spaceman's luck!"

"Good work, Tom," said Strong, when the conference broke up.

"Yes, sir," said Tom. "But I can't help worrying about Roger and Astro
and Major Connel. What's going to happen to them, sir?"

Strong hesitated. "I don't know, Tom. I really don't know."

CHAPTER 17

"What time is it, Astro?"

"Exactly eleven o'clock, sir."

"All set?"

"Yes, sir."

"You know what to do. Move out!"

Astro and Major Connel were crouched behind a pile of fuel drums piled
near the communications and radar building in the heart of the
Nationalists' base. Above them, the gigantic tree used as the radar
tower rose straight into the Venusian morning sky.

After helping Tom to escape, Astro had returned to the prison building
for Connel and was surprised to find the place surrounded by green-clad
Nationalist guards. Rather than attempt to release Connel then, Astro
hid and waited for the time set to wreck the radar communications of the
enemy. During the second day, he had successfully eluded the many
patrols looking for him. Once from a hiding place he overheard one of
the men mention Connel. He took a daring chance and approached the
patrol openly. Speaking the Venusian dialect, he learned that Connel had
escaped. That news sent the cadet on a different game of hide-and-seek
as he prowled around the base searching for the Solar Guard officer. He
had found him hiding near the radar tower, and they spent the night
close to the communications building waiting for the time to strike.