to blast off.

Strong nodded and the three cadets gripped their captain's hand again.
Turning, he climbed into the freighter and five minutes later the Solar
Guard officer blasted off from the Academy spaceport while Tom, Roger,
and Astro watched from the traffic-control tower.

"Come on," said Tom. "It'll be two hours before we can blast off. We
might as well get some sleep. We'll need it."

Reluctantly, Roger and Astro followed their unit-mate from the traffic
tower, their eyes full of concern for their skipper. Each was grimly
aware that they might never see their skipper alive again.

* * * * *

"Now shut your traps!" roared Bull Coxine. "The next crawler that opens
his mouth gets taken apart!" He stood on top of a table and faced his
crew of pirates who were sitting about swilling large cups of rocket
juice.

The room in which the giant pirate spaceman had gathered his men was one
of many in a building constructed since their arrival from the prison
asteroid. Hidden from even the closest inspection by the smaller bodies
circling around the main asteroid, Coxine had expanded the small hut
used by Wallace and Simms into a huge rambling building containing
armories, machine shops, and storage rooms packed with everything he and
his murderous crew might need.

Now with a string of successful raids behind them and their personal
pocketbooks bulging with stolen credits and valuables, the crew of
pirates waited attentively while their cruel but brilliant leader
outlined the most daring plan of all.

"Now listen," roared Coxine. "There's a few things I want to say before
we start on the plans of the next strike!"

The big spaceman paused and glared at the men in front of him. "Ever
since that space-crawling cadet pulled a fast one on me there's been
talk about voting for another leader!" He spat the word as if it had
left a foul taste in his mouth. "Well, get this. There'll be no voting!
I'm the boss of this outfit! Any man who thinks he can take over my
job," Coxine's voice dropped to a deadly whisper, "_just let him try!_"

Stony silence greeted the huge spaceman, a silence inspired by fear.

"Now!" roared Coxine, his coarse features changing from a scowl to a
broad grin. "The strike!"

This was greeted with a roar of approval. The men demanded action after
a week of idleness on the asteroid.

"Wallace!" yelled Coxine.

"Yes, sir," answered the spaceman, stepping up to the