sel under an assumed name, and taxied it down the
runway. Then he pointed the nose west, and radioed ahead to his
destination at Washington, D. C.

* * * * *

Colonel Grady Mordigan had the thoughtful air of a scholar and the body
of a college wrestler. When Tom Blacker's name was announced to him, his
mouth turned down grimly. He was commanding officer of the Space Flight
Commission of the UN Air Force, and he had good reason to frown at the
sound of the PR man's name.

But he invited him into his office.

"So you're Tom Blacker," he said, pinching his jaw. "I've heard a lot
about you, Mr. Blacker."

"I'm sure," Tom said. "Only I want to tell you this, Colonel. I've
broken my connection with Homelovers. I'm on your side now."

"Side? There are no sides in this issue, Mr. Blacker. As far as I'm
concerned, Homelovers is nothing but a flea on the lip of a lion. A
damned annoying flea, maybe--but nothing more than that. Now what do you
want?"

"I have to talk to you about something. Something I just found out. Will
you listen to me?"

The colonel leaned back, looking at his watch.

"Five minutes," he snapped.

* * * * *

Tom talked for fifteen. Mordigan didn't call a halt until he was
finished, listening without a change of expression. When Tom ran out of
words, he merely tapped his fingers on the desk.

"And that's your whole story?" he said gently.

"Yes, sir. I know it's a wild one. That's one of the things they're
counting on. It's just wild enough to get me put into a laughing
academy, where I can't do them any mischief. But I had to take that
chance, Colonel."

"I see. And this--man you killed. What's happening about that?"

"I don't know," Tom said. "The way I figure it, Andrusco and the girl
have told the police that I was embezzling money from the firm--that I
killed the treasurer for my own protection. But it's not true! He's one
of _them_--one of those creatures--"

"But you have no real proof?"

Tom's back stiffened. "No," he said grimly. "If I had proof, I'd have
gone to the police. But I came here instead. Now you can tell me if I
did the right thing."

Mordigan grimaced. "I don't know, damn it! I don't have any love for the
Homelovers. To me, they've always been a bunch of greedy businessmen,
intent on salvaging their franchises at any expense. But it's not easy to
think of them as a bunch of--" His mouth twisted. "Loathsom