g to borrow a surface jet but a
space-cruiser...!"

"A cruiser, yes--not an old cargo ship. And you can handle that
without a crew."

"It can't be done, Paul." Dirrul held his Glo-Wave nervously to the
end of a cigarette. "Besides, I want to think this through carefully
before I make up my mind."

"A merchant ship made a crash landing at Barney's emergency field
yesterday," said Paul. "The damage was slight, but the pilot--unfortunately
the pilot is dead." Sorgel smiled enigmatically. "Barney's one of our best
men. He's been on the lookout for a chance like this for weeks.

"You'll leave tonight. Avoid the regular space lanes. I'm guessing
you'll be on Vinin in a hundred days at the outside. On the fiftieth
day after that--exactly one hundred and fifty days from now--our
Vininese space-fleet must make a landing on Agron."

"I'll be missed, Paul--they'll make inquiries."

"And get no satisfactory answers."

Pacing the floor, Dirrul asked tensely, "Does everyone in the Movement
know about this?"

"The vote was made unanimously yesterday."

"One of the others must have a vacation leave coming up. Send him.
We're not at war with Vinin. He could take one of the regular space
excursions."

"I can't send a message in writing. It would be picked up by the
customs police. And you're the only one who can carry it verbally,
Eddie. You know the whole background because you worked with Glenna
and Hurd. You've been in the Movement longer than any of the others."

"Why not go yourself, Paul?"

"I can do more for the liberation if I stay here."

"I wish I'd been at the meeting yesterday when the vote was taken. I'd
have liked to discuss it with the others before--"

"Why so many questions, Eddie? Why so many doubts all of a sudden?"
Sorgel stood and faced Dirrul, holding his shoulders in a grip that
hurt. "Are you trying to back out? Maybe it wasn't a good thing to let
you play around with the science boys after all. Be honest with me,
Eddie. If you're not sure where you stand, say so. There's no room in
the Movement for traitors."

When Dirrul said nothing Sorgel added in a voice that rang with
fervor, "You're the only man in the Movement who has had any training
as a space-pilot. It depends on you now--everything you've ever
dreamed of, everything Glenna and Hurd wanted. Can you forget what the
Agronian police did to Glenna? Is your courage any less than hers?"
Again Sorgel paused but still Dirrul said nothing. "T