he crane was
pulled away. He was locked in! Locked in the rocket! And it was ready to
fire!

CHAPTER XVI

The Board Shows Green

Even through the rocket's walls the sound of motors and the creak of
metal could be heard, and Rick knew that any slight noise he could make
would never be noticed.

Frantic, he ran to the thick port and looked out. Surely there must be
some way he could attract attention! The flashlight in his hand reminded
him. He aimed it through the port and flashed a rapid SOS, SOS, SOS.
Someone would see it! Someone must!

Frantically he flashed his SOS through the port, then ran to the other
port and began flashing there. Why didn't someone respond? Everyone
carried a flashlight. Why didn't someone think of signaling him that he
had been seen?

He knew the answer. He hadn't been seen.

The flashlight picked out his wrist watch. It was now zero minus five!
He stood at the port and kept flashing, his mind racing. Apparently
whoever had closed the door hadn't known he was inside. His light hadn't
been on at that moment. But it didn't make any difference now, because
he was locked in from the outside. There was no way of opening the
hatchway from inside.

Four minutes.

He had to think of something! Everyone was so occupied with last-minute
details that probably no one was even looking at the rocket. Besides, it
was light outdoors. His flashlight would be only a dim glow in the
rising sunlight.

There had to be another way. He forced himself to calmness. Approach it
logically, he told himself sternly. The way to do it is to signal the
blockhouse.

He studied Prince Machiavelli, looking for a clue in the spacemonk's
draping of instruments. He could tap on the bell of the stethoscope. But
then he realized the display would not yet be rolling.

He had a quick vision of Dick Earle and Gee-Gee watching the master
board, checking the circuit lights as they flicked from red to green.
The board must be nearly all green now, he thought--and in the same
instant he knew how he could attract attention.

Rick jumped to the center of the tiny room and crouched over the drone
control. He removed the cover. There was one circuit that served only as
a feed to the board, to show that the control was operative. Break that
and the board would show red.

His flashlight probed the maze of wiring and he located the signal wire.
Fishing into the spaghetti with his fingers, he got thumb and forefinger
o