e apparently saw himself as a shining knight in armor,
setting to rights the earth's wrongs--of course he meant the wrongs
supposedly done to him. Being a design engineer he was naturally
something of an artist, although his record didn't show any special
talent."

"But," Scotty objected, "if he doesn't know right from wrong, why should
he break up when he found Rick was in the rocket?"

Gordon shrugged. "Again, we can't be sure. My own opinion is that he had
a shock reaction. The reaction was partly physical, and he was in poor
physical condition. For another thing, Rick spoiled his beautiful design
for destruction."

"Where is he now?" Rick asked.

"In custody at Nellis Air Force Base, awaiting trial."

There was still much Rick wanted to know, but his conversation with
Scotty and John Gordon was interrupted. Gee-Gee Gould, Dick Earle, Dr.
Bond, and others from the project stopped by. Gee-Gee brought him a
medal, which he presented with proper ceremony. The staff had made it
from a scrap of ribbon and the name plate of Pegasus.

"We salute you, young Brant," Gee-Gee proclaimed. "You will be forever
recorded in our annals as the first, involuntary spaceman."

"Involuntary is right," Rick said, grinning.

"But, nevertheless, the first. Young Brant, we wish to bestow this small
token of our esteem. We regret only that the world can never cheer you
with us, on account of this being a classified project."

Dr. Bond shook hands with him. "Now that our hearts have come down out
of our throats, Rick, we're pretty proud of you."

Dick Earle shook hands, too. "You certainly saved the project, Rick,
even if by accident. If you hadn't been locked in, and able to get the
control operating, Pegasus would have crashed."

Later, when he had a chance to talk with Scotty alone, Rick asked, "How
about Mac and Pancho? Was anything stolen?"

"Mac and Pancho are still at large. Tom Preston hasn't let them know
they're in any way under suspicion. And, yes, stuff was stolen. This
time it was ionization chambers and photon counters."

Scotty had stayed in his position in the maintenance shop, where he
could watch the warehouses. Luis Hermosa had also watched, from the
firehouse. The janitor, Dusty Rhoads, had wandered casually into a
warehouse, pushing his cart. On orders from Preston the clerks were on
the job, instead of watching the shoot.

Then, fire had suddenly broken out in a small tool shed across from the
warehouse a