ated with mesquite
and creosote brush.

"Welcome to the wild West," Rick said with a grin.

"Not a cowboy in sight," Scotty commented. "Plenty of dudes, though." He
gestured at a group dressed in loud sports clothes. "What now?"

"Let's take a taxi into town, register at the hotel, and then go to
Lomac."

"Okay." Scotty hailed a cab from the front of the taxi line. They loaded
their baggage and climbed in.

"El Cortez," Rick directed. John Gordon had suggested that hotel, since
it was close to Lomac's office in downtown Las Vegas, and the food was
good and not expensive.

The taxi rolled through the gateway of McCarran Field and turned toward
town. In a few moments they began to pass the fabulous resort hotels on
the famous "Strip."

"Wow!" Scotty exclaimed. "Some bunch of fancy shanties!"

The taxi left The Strip, traversed the long lines of motels on Fifth
Street, and emerged on Fremont a block from the Cortez. A few minutes
later they had checked in and were unpacking their bags in a comfortable
room in the Cortez Annex.

Scotty picked up the telephone directory and leafed through it until he
found Logan and Macklin. "We have to go to Sixth Street and First
Avenue. Any idea where that is?"

"Just a couple of blocks from here." While riding in the taxi, Rick had
watched street signs and quickly figured out the simple street plan of
the town. "Let's go."

The Lomac offices were on the second floor of a building less than five
minutes walk from the hotel. The boys received application forms from a
bored clerk and sat down at a table to fill them out according to
previous plan. In his application Rick emphasized his experience with
electronic equipment and in wiring circuits. Scotty stressed his
mechanical experience with standard machine-shop equipment, and with
motor repair. This had been John Gordon's suggestion, since it would
result in their being placed in different departments at the rocket
base, thus enabling them to cover more ground.

The clerk checked their forms, then nodded. "Okay. We can use both of
you, if you pass the security check. Ever been cleared?"

"We're both cleared for top secret," Rick told him.

"What agency?"

"JANIG."

The clerk glanced up but made no comment. Rick guessed that JANIG
clearances were not common. He was a little surprised that the clerk
knew the agency; not many people did, because JANIG's activities were
never publicized.

"It will take anywhere from a