ew as the last of them
received his share of the stolen credits.

Tom raced down the companionway toward the jet-boat deck. He made the
first deck safely and was about to climb down to the next when he was
spotted by Attardi, the scar-faced spaceman, who stood at the bottom of
the ladder.

"Hey, Kid!" Attardi shouted. "The skipper's been looking for ya. You got
the biggest cut. Three thousand credits for that fancy shooting you
did!"

Tom noticed the gleam of the knife at the man's side. The young cadet
could imagine the criminal sinking the knife in his back without
hesitation, if he suspected anything.

"Well," demanded Attardi, "are you going to collect or not? The skipper
sent me to look for you."

Tom smiled, and while still smiling, whipped the paralo-ray gun into
sight and fired. His aim was true. Attardi froze, every nerve in his
body paralyzed. He could still breathe and his heart continued to beat,
but otherwise, he was a living statue, unable to even blink his eyes.

Tom jumped past the spaceman and dashed for the jet-boat deck. He had to
hurry now. Attardi would be discovered any moment and be neutralized.
When neutralized, the victim returned to normal, with only violent
muscle soreness remaining.

Tom reached the jet-boat deck, opened the hatch, and raced for the
nearest small craft. Suddenly from behind he could hear the buzz of a
paralo-ray on neutralizing charge. Attardi had been discovered.

Tom jumped into the nearest jet boat, closed the hatch, and pressed the
button releasing the sliding side of the ship's hull. Slowly, the great
wall of metal slid back exposing the cold black velvet of deep space. As
soon as the opening was wide enough, Tom pressed the acceleration lever
and the small ship shot out, its jets roaring.

Tom quickly glanced around to locate his position by the stars and saw
that he was close to the asteroid belt. He opened up to full
acceleration, and since there was nothing else to do but wait for time
to pass and hope for escape, he began to examine the contents of the
small ship. He opened the emergency food locker and was relieved to see
it fully stocked with synthetics and water. Every second carried him
farther away from the _Avenger_, and when he looked back, Tom saw no
evidence of pursuit. The cadet smiled. They would depend on the radar to
find him, instead of sending out the other jet boats. Tom almost laughed
out loud. With the radar jammed, he was safe. He would