. Techniques of brainwashing are a bit out of my line.
Beside, Confusion say those who run from wolf pack have better chance
if they leave some meat behind for the wolves to fight over. I've
already spoken to Captain Nails about it. We _intend_ to dump them
overboard--just twenty minutes before the scuttlebug arrives. In
suits, of course," he added. "Then we'll take off and see whether
Security takes care of its own."

There was a possibility, Mike felt grimly, that perhaps Security
wouldn't take care of its own. But then, he asked himself, did he
really care? And found it very difficult to come up with an answer.
But he realized with vast respect that the master of Confusion was not
himself confused as to the issues involved before them.

"It's lucky for us," Mike said, "that you happened to pick this time
to be aboard. Your work would have gone more smoothly if you'd waited
until the next go-round."

Ishie grinned, for once slightly embarrassed. "Confusion say," he
said, "luck is for those who make it. I expected that with Hot Rod
coming into operation, some such play would be attempted. I've met
Security before."

Millie laid down her soldering iron, and disappeared through the
bulkhead, returning shortly with a tray of sandwiches and coffee.

Coffee in real cups, for there was spin on the satellite, things were
working well, and those bottles--ugh.

"Relax, boys, we've still got three hours," she told them. "Radar
hasn't spotted the scuttlebug yet. But our new communications officer,
Lal, has them on the line. He's apparently convinced them of his
honorable intentions and gotten an exact prediction of arrival time.
They think Major ... uh, General Elbertson has the situation well in
hand. They even think Hot Rod's operational!"

The crew relaxed around the circular room, squatting wherever
convenient, and sipping luxuriously at the cups of coffee, munching
sandwiches, and for the moment content.

Hot Rod had been secured to the ship with extra acceleration cables,
and as soon as practicable a remote-controlled Confusor would be
placed aboard to assist in any fast maneuvers that they might have to
make; but for now there was no acceleration, and the group composed of
the wheel, the big laser, the dump and the pile moved peacefully in
orbit under free-fall conditions.

Millie began to hum a soft tune. Someone else brought forth a
harmonica that had been smuggled aboard, and suddenly Paul Chernov
burst into