the most powerful," Cleveland supplemented. "And very few
men could use his power as fairly--but he's welcome to it, as far as I'm
concerned. I'd have the pink fantods for a month if I had to do only
once what he's just done--and to him it's just part of a day's work."

"You mean the _Endymion_? What else could he do?"

"Nothing--that's the hell of it. It had to be done, since bringing them
to trial would mean killing half the people of Morseca; but at the same
time it's a ghastly thing to order a job of deliberate, cold-blooded,
and illegal murder."

"You're right, of course, but you would ..." he broke off, unable to put
his thoughts into words. For while inarticulate, man-like, concerning
their deepest emotions, in both men was ingrained the code of the
organization; both knew that to every man chosen for it THE SERVICE was
everything, himself nothing.

"But enough of that, we'll have plenty of grief of our own right here."
Rodebush changed the subject abruptly as they stepped into a vast room,
almost filled by the immense bulk of the _Boise_--the sinister
space-ship which, although never flown, had already lined with black so
many pages of Triplanetary's roster. She was now, however, the center of
a furious activity. Men swarmed over her and through her, in the orderly
confusion of a fiercely driven but carefully planned program of
reconstruction.

"I hope your dope is right, Fritz!" Cleveland called, as the two
scientists separated to go to their respective laboratories. "If it is,
we'll make a perfect lady out of this unmanageable man-killer yet!"

CHAPTER 14

THE SUPER-SHIP IS LAUNCHED

After weeks of ceaseless work, during which was lavished upon her every
resource of mind and material afforded by three planets, the _Boise_ was
ready for her maiden flight. As nearly ready, that is, as the thought
and labor of man could make her. Rodebush and Cleveland had finished
their last rigid inspection of the aircraft and, standing beside the
center door of the main airlock, were talking with their chief.

"You say that you think that it's safe, and yet you won't take a crew,"
Samms argued. "In that case it isn't safe enough for you two, either. We
need you too badly to permit you to take such chances."

"You've _got_ to let us go, because we are the only ones who are at all
familiar with her theory," Rodebush insisted. "I said, and I still say,
that I _think_ it is safe. I can't prove it, however, even