ve downward.

Gorham's eyes widened, then glazed. He gave a half-choked squawk. Feet
and body jerked convulsively. Then the hard, taut strength was gone and
the man lay limply. Don raised his hand and put his entire weight
behind the stroke which drove his extended fingers into the soft part
of the man's throat. Then he felt carefully, to be sure there was no
vestige of a pulse.

* * * * *

He got to his feet and stood for a moment, looking down at the crumpled
figure on the stones. Then he brought his hands up, to look at them
appraisingly. He was suddenly aware of a feeling of lightness, of an
uncontrollable desire to go into rapid motion. Any motion would do. His
muscles simply demanded some sort of violent action. It seemed to him
as if he almost floated as he walked over to the book he had thrown as
he whirled on Gorham. He bent over and picked it up, then looked about
the courtyard.

He turned and looked at the flier.

It was warmed up by this time. He moved swiftly over to it, his body
jerking in a peculiar, off-beat cadence as he walked.

As he sat down before the controls, a calm voice echoed in his memory,
going through his mind like a cold breeze.

"Let yourself get emotionally involved in a problem and it'll turn
around and bite you."

He forced himself to sit back, his hands away from the controls.

Then he looked back at the body on the courtyard paving.

[Illustration]

Gorham had implied that he was the power behind the whole present
regime. Maybe he'd been bragging. But again, maybe he hadn't. There had
been a queer, hard force about the man. There had been an aura which
Don had sensed, but could not analyze. One thing was certain. This man
had never been able to work under someone else's orders.

He looked around the interior of the flier.

"It's a Royal Guard job," he told himself.

He could see painted legends, giving cautions and instructions to
whomever should pilot the ship. He felt under the dash.

There was a light board snapped into clips. He pulled it out and turned
on the cabin lights.

Yes, it was all there. Instructions for the identification
devices--description of the identification and warning lights. It gave
the location of switches--the settings for communications. There was
even a small card inserted in a pocket. It gave the communications code
used by patrol fliers in routine communication. Don smiled happily.

Now, he cou