k ropes around his wrists and he hoped to
find something under the heap.

Suddenly he felt something hard and boxlike under the last blanket and
he tore it off quickly.

He nearly screamed for joy when he recognized a heavy metal toolbox.
Sitting on the floor of the van, he maneuvered the top open, then spun
around and hopefully looked inside. There was nothing in the box but a
dirty cloth, and Tom slumped back in bitter disappointment.

Suddenly the cadet became aware of the intense heat inside the van. He
was sweating, and he found it difficult to breath. He inched over to the
side of the huge truck and touched the metal paneling. It was
blisteringly hot.

"The New Sahara," he thought, a vision of the desolate sun-baked
wasteland of the Martian desert flashing through his mind.

He looked around again desperately. The only thing in the van that might
cut through the rope was the edge of the toolbox. He inched his way back
to the box and began rubbing the rope across the edge of the box, but it
was too smooth.

Tom knew that he would have to roughen the edge of the box, so that it
would cut the thick fibers of the rope, and in sudden inspiration, he
inspected the floor of the van. The heavy-gauge metal was scarred and
roughened from the many heavy loads dragged across it. He turned the box
over, and with great difficulty, rubbed it back and forth across the
floor. Every few minutes he tested the edge of the box with his finger.
It was losing its slick surface, but there was a long way to go.

It got hotter inside the van and Tom's uniform was soaked with sweat. He
found it difficult to breathe and the continuous roar of the jets
tortured his ears.

He did not know how long he had worked, but eventually, he felt that the
edge of the box was sufficiently rough to try to cut the ropes. He
righted the box, placed the ropes on the edge again and, with a silent
prayer, began scraping them across the metal.

After a few minutes there was a tug at the bonds. The cadet pushed
harder. There was another tug and the rope seemed to give a little.
Working frantically, he sawed back and forth. The sweat poured from his
forehead, his arms and back ached unbearably, and soon he felt
something warm and wet begin to trickle down the palms of his hands. He
knew it was blood, but he kept on grimly, and suddenly he was rewarded.
With a snap, the ropes parted. His hands were free!

Tom hastily untied his feet, and giving the tool