rong quickly released Sharkey from the paralo-ray effects and the man
shuddered so violently from the reaction that Astro had to grab him to
keep him from falling down.

"Where are Corbett and Manning?" demanded Connel.

"Lactu ... he took them both in there ... through a secret passageway."
Sharkey pointed to the closet with a trembling finger.

Strong jumped for the closet door and jerked it open. He saw the open
wall and the stairs leading down. "Come on! This way!"

Connel ran wildly into the closet, followed by Astro. Suddenly the big
cadet stopped, turned, and fired point-blank at the figurehead of the
Nationalist rebellion. Sharkey once again grew rigid.

The two Solar Guard officers raced down the stairs into the tunnel and
ran headlong through the darkness. Time was precious now. The lives of
Tom and Roger might be lost by a wasted second.

[Illustration]

CHAPTER 20

"What's that noise, Tom?"

The two cadets were walking through the tunnel when they heard the
strange booming roar. Behind them, Sinclair overheard Roger's whispered
question and laughed. "That is the sound of the slaves being fed their
lunch. They do not know yet that there has been a battle and soon
they'll be free!"

"Slaves!" gasped Roger. "What kind of slaves?"

"You shall see. Keep going!" Sinclair prodded the cadets with his ray
gun. The tunnel had grown larger and the downward slant of the floor
lessened as they pressed forward. The noise ahead of them grew louder
and stronger and now they could distinguish occasional words above the
din.

"We must pass through the big vault where the slaves are working," said
Sinclair. "I would advise you to keep your mouths shut and do as I say!"

Neither Tom nor Roger answered, keeping their eyes straight ahead.

The tunnel suddenly cut sharply to the right and they could see a blaze
of light in front of them. The two boys stopped involuntarily, and then
were nudged forward by Sinclair's guns. Before them was a huge cavern
nearly a thousand yards high and three thousand yards across,
illuminated by hundreds of torches. Along one side of the cave a line of
men were waiting to have battered tin plates filled from a huge pot at
the head of the line. The men were in rags, and every one of them was
hardly more than skin and bones. At strategic places around the cavern,
Nationalist guards kept their guns trained and ready to fire. They
brought up their guns quickly as Tom and Roger en