f at the control board.

"Four--three--two--one--fire!"

* * * * *

Somers activated the engines. Acceleration pressed the three men back
into their couches, and more acceleration, and--shockingly--still more
acceleration.

"The fuel!" Watkins yelped, watching his indicators spinning.

"The course!" Rajcik gasped, fighting for breath.

Captain Somers cut the engine switch. The engines continued firing,
pressing the men deeper into their couches. The cabin lights flickered,
went out, came on again.

And still the acceleration mounted and _Dierdre's_ engines howled in
agony, thrusting the ship forward. Somers raised one leaden hand and
inched it toward the emergency cut-off switch. With a fantastic
expenditure of energy, he reached the switch, depressed it.

The engines stopped with dramatic suddenness, while tortured metal
creaked and groaned. The lights flickered rapidly, as though _Dierdre_
were blinking in pain. They steadied and then there was silence.

Watkins hurried to the engine room. He returned morosely.

"Of all the damn things," he muttered.

"What was it?" Captain Somers asked.

"Main firing circuit. It fused on us." He shook his head. "Metal
fatigue, I'd say. It must have been flawed for years."

"When was it last checked out?"

"Well, it's a sealed unit. Supposed to outlast the ship. Absolutely
foolproof, unless--"

"Unless it's flawed."

"Don't blame it on me! Those circuits are supposed to be X-rayed,
heat-treated, fluoroscoped--you just can't trust machinery!"

At last Watkins believed that engineering axiom.

"How are we on fuel?" Captain Somers asked.

"Not enough left to push a kiddy car down Main Street," Watkins said
gloomily. "If I could get my hands on that factory inspector ..."

Captain Somers turned to Rajcik, who was seated at the navigator's desk,
hunched over his charts. "How does this affect our course?"

Rajcik finished the computation he was working on and gnawed
thoughtfully at his pencil.

"It kills us. We're going to cross the orbit of Mars before Mars gets
there."

"How long before?"

"Too long. Captain, we're flying out of the Solar System like the
proverbial bat out of hell."

* * * * *

Rajcik smiled, a courageous, devil-may-care smile which Watkins found
singularly inappropriate.

"Damn it, man," he roared, "don't just leave it there. We've got a
little fuel left. We can turn her, ca