ot. My plans are made
and I intend to carry them out!"

They had reached the far side of the second rocket now, away from view
of the rest of the buildings, out of sight. Away in the distance the
faint outlines of the great wire fence circling the testing grounds
could be seen, and beyond that, the twinkling lights of Tucson, already
visible in the dusk.

"This is far enough," Gaddon said suddenly.

He watched as the soldier halted. Then Gaddon moved up quickly behind
the man. Before the soldier sensed what was about to occur, Gaddon's
hand raised over his head and the butt of the weapon in his hand crashed
against the back of the man's head.

There was a soft groan in the shadows as the soldier crumpled limply to
the ground. In the silence that followed, Gaddon's tense breathing was
the only sound. He looked down at the still body of the unconscious man,
then he quickly turned and retraced his footsteps back the way he had
come.

When he had reached the far side of the first rocket, he stopped before
the metal steps of the cradle leading up to the closed door of the
rocket. He looked quickly about him, making sure that nobody was in
close proximity, then he threw his gun under the rocket beside the rifle
of the soldier, and ran up the steps.

A cool breeze sprang up in the western night and whispered softly around
Gaddon as he fumbled for a moment with a switch set in the smooth side
of the rocket beside the sealed door.

There was a click, finally, and the door slid open.

Gaddon took a last look about him and then quietly slipped through the
opening. A moment later there was the sound of the door sliding shut.

Inside the rocket, Gaddon lit a small pocket flash and looked around
him. A soft sound struck his ears. The mewing sound of a cat. He turned
the flash on the startled animal and a low laughter crept from his
throat.

He moved through the large instrument chamber then and sat on the floor
beside the cat.

Then the flash went out and his laughter came again ...

* * * * *

"All right, gentlemen, the time has come. In a few minutes an automatic
control, synchronized with controls in the rocket will be set off in the
main laboratory building. If we want to watch the launching we'll have
to hurry."

Fred Trent listened to the voice of Mathieson, and saw the famed
American scientist start out of the central lobby toward the launching
site. The gathered newspapermen f