ring, never letting up for a second. The two boys reached
the stairs and had started down when Tom grabbed Roger by the arm.
"There's someone moving around down there!"

They hugged the wall and held their breath. Tom glanced at his watch.
Only forty-five seconds to go before the Marines would stop firing and
retire. They had to get out of the building!

"We'll have to take a chance, Roger," murmured Tom. "We'll try to rush
them and fight our way out."

"Don't bother!" said a harsh voice behind them. The two cadets spun
around and looked back toward the second floor. Standing at the top of
the stairs, Rex Sinclair scowled down at them, ray guns in each hand,
leveled at the two cadets.

"By the craters of Luna!" cried Roger. "You!"

"That's one of the things I forgot to tell you, Roger," said Tom wryly.
"Sinclair belongs to this outfit too!"

"Belongs!" roared Roger. "Look at that white uniform he's wearing! This
yellow rat is Lactu, the head of the whole Nationalist movement!"

Tom gaped at the white-clad figure at the head of the stairs. "The
leader!" he gasped.

"Quite right, Corbett," replied Sinclair quietly. "And if it hadn't been
for three nosy cadets, I would have been the leader of the whole planet.
But it's finished now. All that is left for me is escape. And you two
are going to help me do just that!"

Roger suddenly dropped to one knee and leveled the blaster. But the
Nationalist leader was too quick. His paralo-ray crackled and Roger was
frozen solid.

"Why, you--!" roared Tom.

"Drop your gun, Corbett," warned Sinclair, "and take that blaster away
from him."

"I'll get you, Sinclair," said Tom through clenched teeth, "and when I
do--"

"Stop the talk and get busy!" snapped Sinclair.

Tom took the blaster out of Roger's paralyzed hands and dropped it on
the floor. Still holding one ray gun on Tom, Sinclair flipped on the
neutralizer of the other gun and released Roger again.

"Now get moving down those stairs!" ordered Sinclair. "One more funny
move out of either of you and I'll do more than just freeze you."

"What are you going to do with us?" asked Roger.

"As I said, you are going to help me escape. This time the Solar Guard
has won. But there are other planets, other people who need strong
leadership and who like to put on uniforms and play soldier. People will
always find reason to rebel against authority, and I will be there to
channel their frustrations into my own plans. Perhap