information that would lead them to Wallace and Simms.
Each night they returned to the freighter to exchange, sift, and analyze
the bits of information gathered, but for three nights they had come up
with a total of nothing. Finally, Strong had decided that this would be
the last night they would spend in Luna City. It was after making this
decision that he and Tom spotted the scar-faced man sitting alone in one
corner.

[Illustration: _The scar-faced man obviously wanted something from Tom_]

Strong saw Tom stop at the table, say a few words, then sit down and
order drinks. Tom and the scar-faced man continued their conversation,
now leaning across the table talking in whispers, stopping only long
enough for the waiter to serve the drinks. Strong noticed that the
scar-faced man paid for them and smiled to himself. That was a step in
the right direction. He obviously wanted something from Tom.

Suddenly the young cadet looked up and motioned for him to come over to
the table. Strong merely lounged against the bar and nodded carelessly.
Taking his time, he finished his glass of Martian water, then swaggered
across the crowded room to the table.

Tom glanced up casually and then turned to his companion at the table.
"This is my skipper," he said. "Name's Steve. You gotta job to do,
Steve'll do it. Anything, anywhere, any time," he paused, and then added
with a smirk, "for a _price_!"

The scar-faced man looked up at Steve. His eyes traced a pattern over
the tall man, noting the broad shoulders, the piercing eyes, and the
bulge of a paralo-ray gun in his jacket. He pushed a chair back with a
foot and managed a smile in spite of the scar that twisted his features
into an ugly mask. "Sit down, Steve. My name's Pete."

Strong accepted the invitation silently. At close range, he saw the man
was more disfigured than he had noticed from the bar. The scar on his
face reached from his left ear across his cheek and down to his neck.
Pete saw him looking at the scar and smiled again. "Funny thing about
scars. I got one, but I don't have to look at it. I just stay away from
mirrors and I remember myself as I was before I got it. So look all you
want. You're the one that's got to suffer for it."

Ignoring the man's bitter tone of voice, Strong growled, "I'm not
interested in what you look like. You got something to haul; we got a
ship to haul it. Name your cargo and destination, and we'll name a
price."

"Ain't as simple as t