o broiled monster!"

"By the jumping blazes of the stars!" yelled Roger suddenly. "Look at
the time! We're ten minutes late!"

"Ohhhhh," moaned Tom. "I knew it was too good to be true!"

"Step on it!" said Astro. "Maybe he won't notice."

"Some chance," groaned Roger, running after Tom and Astro. "That old
rocket head wouldn't miss anything!"

The three boys raced back to the electric elevator and were silently
whisked to the air-lock level. They hurried aboard the _Polaris_ and
into the control room. Major Connel was seated in a chair near the chart
screen, studying some papers. The cadets drew themselves to attention.

"Unit reporting for duty, sir," Tom quavered.

Connel spun around in the swivel chair, glanced at the clock, put the
papers to one side, and slowly advanced toward the cadets.

"Thirteen and a half minutes late!" he said, dropping his voice to a
biting growl. "I'll give you five seconds to think up a good excuse.
Every man is entitled to an excuse. Some have good ones, some have
truthful ones, and some have excuses that sound as though they made them
up in five seconds!"

He eyed the cadets speculatively. "Well?" he demanded.

"I'm afraid we were carried away by our enthusiasm for a meal Astro
introduced us to, sir," said Tom honestly.

"All right," snapped Connel, "then here's something else to carry you
all away!" He paused and rocked on the balls of his feet. "I had planned
to give you three liberty of the station while here, whenever you
weren't working on the new transmitter. But since you have shown
yourselves to be carried away so easily, I don't think I can depend on
your completing your regular duties. Therefore, I suggest that each of
you report to the officer in charge of your respective departments and
learn the operation and function of the station while we're here. This
work will be _in addition_ to your assigned duties on the new
transmitter operation!"

The three cadets gulped but were silent.

"Not only that," Connel's voice had risen to an angry bark, "but you
will be logged a demerit apiece for each minute you reported late.
Thirteen and a half minutes, thirteen and a half demerits!"

The gold and black of the Solar Guard uniform never looked more ominous
as the three cadets watched the stern spaceman turn and stomp out the
exit port.

Alone, their liberty taken away from them before they even knew they had
it, the boys sat around on the control deck of the silent sh