now that he's free. Ideas about himself
and the whole Solar Alliance!"

During the weeks following, the activity of Bull Coxine and his pirate
crew justified Captain Strong's fears. Repeatedly, ships were attacked
on the fringe of the asteroid belt and stripped of armor, food supplies,
and valuables. With the secret of the light-key, the vaults of the ships
were opened as easily as though there had been no lock at all. The
totals had reached staggering amounts and the daring of the _Avenger_
was more pronounced, as Coxine struck repeatedly, farther and farther
away from the protection of the asteroid belt. It seemed as though he
were taunting the Solar Guard with his exploits.

All defense measures seemed to be futile. When the space freighters and
jet liners were armed and tried to resist attack, Coxine blasted them
into helpless space junk at a frightful cost of life. When the ships
were escorted by powerful rocket cruisers, the pirate refused to attack,
but the search squadrons were correspondingly depleted. The combinations
of the energy locks were changed every day, but with the adjustable
light-key, Coxine met every change easily. The entire Solar Alliance was
in an uproar, and the citizens of the planets were clamoring for action.

[Illustration: _All Solar Guard defense measures seemed to be futile_]

Finally, the commanding officers of the Solar Guard noticed a change in
Coxine's operations. Instead of merely attacking spaceships and
hijacking their cargoes, he now took over the vessel completely, sending
the passengers and crews drifting helplessly in space in jet boats.
Three large, fast space freighters of the same class as the _Avenger_
were now in the pirates' hands.

Then, one morning, in his headquarters at Space Academy, Captain Strong
received an electrifying report. Coxine had attacked a freighter
escorted by a Solar Guard rocket scout. Outgunned, the scout had been
destroyed, but it had inflicted damage on the _Avenger_. The last report
from a dying communications officer on the scout was that the pirate
ship was drifting helplessly in space!

Strong, his face showing hope for the first time in weeks, burned the
teleceivers, flashing orders to the various elements of the search fleet
to converge on the disabled _Avenger_.

"Attention! All ships in quadrants C through M and Q through B-l!
Proceed full thrust to quadrant A-2, section fifty-nine. On approaching
target you will signal standard su