are thousands of
veterans in the prisons now. Their offenses are mostly trivial, but the
Prison Authority can't let them go, because they have no jobs, no homes,
no money.

"The valleys here are fertile. There are mines rich in copper and
pitchblende. The men have a chance for a home and a job, a part in
building a new world. We hope to make Mercury an independent,
self-governing member of the League of Worlds."

"With the Moultons as rulers, of course," Gray murmured.

"If they want us," answered Jill, deliberately missing the point. "Do
you think you have the right to destroy all we've worked for?"

Gray was silent. Rather grimly, she went on.

"Caron of Mars would like to see us defeated. He didn't care about
Mercury before radium was discovered. But now he'd like to turn it into
a prison mining community, with convict labor, leasing mine grants to
corporations and cleaning up big fortunes for himself and his
associates.

"Any trouble here will give him an excuse to say that we've failed, that
the Project is a menace to the Solar System. If you try to escape, you
wreck everything we've done. If you don't tell the truth, you may cost
thousands of men their futures.

"Do you understand? Will you cooperate?"

Gray said evenly, "I'm my own keeper, now. My brother will have to take
care of himself."

It was ridiculously easy, she was so earnest, so close to him. He had a
brief kaleidoscope of impressions--Ward's sullen bewilderment, Moulton's
angry roar, Dio's jerky rise to his feet as the guards grabbed for their
guns.

Then he had his hands around her slim, firm throat, her body pressed
close to his, serving as a shield against bullets.

"Don't be rash," he told them all quietly. "I can break her neck quite
easily, if I have to. Ward, unlock that door."

In utter silence, Ward darted over and began to spin the dial. At last
he said, "Okay, c'mon."

Gray realized that he was sweating. Jill was like warm, rigid marble in
his hands. And he had another idea.

"I'm going to take the girl as a hostage," he announced. "If I get
safely away, she'll be turned loose, her health and virtue still intact.
Good night."

The clang of the heavy door had a comforting sound behind them.

* * * * *

The ship was a commercial job, fairly slow but sturdy. Gray strapped
Jill Moulton into one of the bucket seats in the control room and then
checked the fuel and air gauges. The tanks were