use stood in the middle of a clearing more than five
thousand yards square. At the edges, like a solid wall of green
vegetation, the Venusian jungle rose more than two hundred feet. It was
noon and the heat was stifling. They were twenty-six million miles
closer to the sun, and on the equator of the misty planet. While Astro,
George, and Sinclair didn't seem to mind the temperature, Tom and Roger
were finding it unbearable.

"Can you imagine what it'll be like in the house with that crystal
roof!" whispered Roger.

"I'll bet," replied Tom. "But as soon as the sun drops out of the
zenith, it should cool off some."

When the group stepped up onto the porch, two house servants met them
and took their gear. Then Sinclair and the foreman ushered the cadets
inside. They were surprised to feel a distinct drop in temperature.

"Your cooling unit must be pretty large, Mr. Sinclair," commented Tom,
looking up at the crystal roof where the sun was clearly visible.

Sinclair smiled. "That's special crystal, mined on Titan at a depth of
ten thousand feet. It's tinted, and shuts out the heat and glare of the
sun."

George then left to lay out their gear for their first hunt the next
morning, and Sinclair took them on a tour of the house. They walked
through long corridors looking into all the rooms, eventually winding up
in the kitchen, and the three boys marveled at the simplicity yet
absolute perfection of the place. Every modern convenience was at hand
for the occupant's comfort. When the sun had dropped a little, they all
put on sunglasses with glareproof eye shields and walked around the
plantation. Sinclair showed them his prize-winning stock and the vast
fields of crops. Aside from the main house, there were only four other
buildings in the clearing. They visited the smallest, a cowshed.

"Where do your field hands live, Mr. Sinclair?" asked Tom, as they
walked through the modern, spotless, milking room.

"I don't have any," replied the planter. "Do most of the work with
machinery, and George and the houseboys do what has to be done by hand."

As they left the shed and started back toward the main house they came
abreast of a small wooden structure. Thinking they were headed there,
Roger started to open the door.

"Close that door!" snapped Sinclair. Roger jerked back. Astro and Tom
looked at the planter, startled by the sharpness in his voice.

Sinclair smiled and explained, "We keep some experiments on different