this televised image of George Prince. He stood somber in
the black detention uniform, silhouetted sharply against the
regulation backdrop of vivid scarlet. A dark, almost femininely
handsome fellow, well below medium height--the rod checking him showed
five foot four inches. Slim and slight. Long, wavy black hair, falling
about his ears. A pale, clean-cut, really handsome face, almost
beardless. I regarded it closely. A face that would have been
beautiful without its masculine touch of heavy black brows and firmly
set jaw. His voice as he spoke was low and soft; but at the end, with
the concluding words, "I am innocent!" it flashed into strong
masculinity. His eyes, shaded with long girlish black lashes, by
chance met mine. "I am innocent." His curving sensuous lips drew down
into a grim sneer....

Halsey snapped a button. He turned back to Snap and me as his
attendant drew the curtain, hiding the black grid.

"Well, there he is. We have nothing tangible against him now. But I'll
say this: he's a clever fellow, one to be afraid of. I would not blare
it from the newscasters' stadium, but if he is hatching any plot, he
has been too clever for my agents!"

We talked for another half-hour, and then Captain Carter dismissed us.
We left Halsey's office with Carter's final words ringing in our ears.
"Whatever comes, lads, remember I trust you...."

* * * * *

Snap and I decided to walk part of the way back to the ship. It was
barely more than a mile through this subterranean corridor to where we
could get the vertical lift direct to the landing stage.

We started off on the lower level. Once outside the insulation of
Halsey's office we did not dare talk of this thing. Not only
electrical ears, but every possible eavesdropping device might be upon
us. The corridor was two hundred feet or more below the ground level.
At this hour of the night the business section was comparatively
deserted. The stores and office arcades were all closed.

Our footfall echoed on the metal grids as we hurried along. I felt
depressed and oppressed. As though prying eyes were upon me. We walked
for a time in silence, each of us busy with memory of what had
transpired at Halsey's office.

Suddenly Snap gripped me. "What's that?"

"Where?" I whispered.

We stopped at a corner. An entryway was here. Snap pulled me into it.
I could feel him quivering with excitement.

"What is it?" I demanded in a whisper.