least he was not completely unarmed. He
still had Dad's revolver at his side.

He smiled to himself. The pirates would have their prisoners,
indeed ... but they would have one factor to deal with that they
had not counted on.

* * * * *

For Greg it was a bitter, lonely trip.

After ten hours they saw the huge Jupiter Equilateral orbit-ship looming
up in the viewscreen like a minor planet. Skilfully Doc maneuvered the
ship into the launching rack. The guards unstrapped the prisoners, and
handed them pressure suits.

Moments later they were in a section in crews' quarters where they
stripped off their suits. This orbit-ship was much larger than Roger
Hunter's; the gravity was almost Mars-normal, and it was comforting just
to stretch and relax their cramped muscles.

As long as they didn't think of what was ahead.

Finally Johnny grinned and slapped Greg's shoulder. "Cheer up," he said.
"We'll be honored guests for a while, you can bet on that."

"For a while," Greg said bitterly.

Just then the hatchway opened. "Well, who do we have here?" a familiar
voice said. "Returning a call, you might say. And maybe this time you'll
be ready for a bit of bargaining."

They turned to see the heavy face and angry eyes of Merrill Tawney.

8. The Scavengers of Space

The casual observer might have been fooled. Tawney's guard was down only
for an instant; then the expression of cold fury and determination on
his face dropped away as though the shutter of a camera had clicked, and
he was all smiles and affability. They were honored guests here, one
would have thought, and this pudgy agent of the Jupiter Equilateral
combine was their genial host, anxious for their welfare, eager to do
anything he could for their comfort....

They were amazed by the luxuriousness of the ship. For the next few
hours they received the best treatment, sumptuous accommodations,
excellent food.

They were finishing their second cup of coffee when Tawney asked,
"Feeling better, gentlemen?"

"You do things in a big way," Johnny said. "This is real coffee, made
from grounds. Must have cost a fortune to ship it out here."

Tawney spread his hands. "We keep it for special occasions. Like when we
have special visitors."

"Even when the visits aren't voluntary," Greg added sourly.

"We have to be realistic," Tawney said. "Would you have come if we
invited you? Of course not. You gentlemen chose to come out