s on the outside of the hull. Ahead of him, a hatch was partially
open and he could see light streaking through the opening. He gripped
his rifle tightly, finger on the trigger, and moved forward.

At the hatch he paused and looked into the next compartment. From the
opposite side, he saw another hatch partially open and the outline of
Roger's head and shoulders. Between them, a man was bending over a
makeshift desk, copying information from a calculator and a set of
blueprints. Tom nodded across to Roger and they both stepped into the
compartment at the same time.

"Put up your hands, mister, or I'll freeze you so hard it'll take a
summer on the Venus equator to warm you up," Roger drawled.

The man jerked upright, stumbled back from the desk, and moved toward
Tom, keeping his eyes on Roger. He backed into the barrel of Tom's ray
gun and stopped, terrified. He threw up his hands.

"What--wh--" he stammered and then caught himself. "How dare you do this
to me?" he demanded.

"Shut up!" snapped Tom. "What are you doing here?"

"None of your business," the man replied.

"I'm making it my business," snapped Tom, pressing the gun into the
man's back. "Who are you and how did you get in here?"

The man turned and looked Tom in the eye. "I have a right to be here,"
he stated coldly. "I'll show you my identification--" He brought his
hands down and reached into his jacket, but Roger stepped over quickly
and brought the barrel of his gun down sharply on the man's head. He
slumped to the floor with a groan and was still.

"What did you do that for?" growled Tom.

Roger didn't reply. He reached down into the unconscious man's jacket
and pulled out a small paralo-ray gun stuck in the top of his waistband.
"Some identification," Roger drawled.

"Thanks, pal," said Tom sheepishly. "Let's search him. Maybe we can find
out who he is."

As Roger bent over the fallen man, there was a commotion in the hangar
outside the ship, followed by the sound of footsteps clattering up the
ladders to the ports. Seconds later, Astro, followed by Tim Rush and a
squad of enlisted spacemen, surged into the compartment. Rush stopped
short when he saw the man on the floor.

"Great jumping Jupiter," gasped the petty officer, then whirled on Tom
and Roger. "You space-blasted idiots!" he shouted. "You good-for-nothing
harebrained, moronic dumbbells! Do you know what you've done?"

Tom and Roger stared at each other in amazement. Astro, standi