r
brought the paralo-ray gun up to his shoulder quickly and was about to
fire when he realized that the light he saw was Tom opening the door on
the opposite side. He breathed easier and waited until he could
distinguish Tom's moving figure clearly, and then walked stealthily
forward on a parallel line.

It was the first time Roger had been inside the hangar since it had been
constructed and he was not sure of his way around, but gradually, the
moonlight filtering in through the frosted plates of Titan crystal
illuminated the huge forms of the machines around him.

He stopped and gasped. Without even realizing it, he emitted a long
whistle of astonishment. Before him, reaching up into the shadows of the
cavernous hangar, was the gleaming hull of a huge rocket ship. Two
hundred feet long, the space vessel stood on its stabilizer fins,
ladders and cables running into the open ports on both sides.

Roger waved to Tom, who had also stopped to stare at the giant
spaceship, and the two of them met beneath the gleaming hull.

"What's the matter?" asked Tom. "Astro said you saw someone."

"_I_ didn't see a blasted thing," said Roger in an exasperated whisper.
"That big goof said _he_ did."

"Wow!" said Tom, looking up at the ship. "This is some baby. I never saw
one with lines like that before. Look at the funny bulges on the lower
side of the hull."

"Sh!" hissed Roger. "I just heard something."

The two cadets stood silently, ears cocked for the slightest sound in
the huge hangar. They heard a distinct tapping sound from somewhere
above them.

"It's coming from inside the ship!" said Tom.

"You climb in the other port," said Roger. "I'll take this one."

"Right," said Tom. "And remember, if there's any trouble, shoot first
and ask questions later."

"Check."

Tom slipped away from Roger and moved to the opposite side of the ship.
Slinging the rifle over his shoulder, he climbed up the ladder silently
toward the open port.

Making his way noiselessly through the air lock, he entered the huge
main deck of the ship and was able to see his way around by the faint
glow of the emergency reflectors in the bulkheads. Tiny, sparkling
gemlike pieces of specially coated Titan crystal, they glowed with
steady intensity for many hours after having been exposed to any form of
light. The deck was a mass of cables, boxes, tools, and equipment. Tom
noticed curious-looking machines behind, what he judged to be, the odd
bulge