might even pass us on the way back to look for us," Chambers
went on. "He thinks we're still out there. He wouldn't expect to find us
where we are, light years from where we started."

Craven shot him a curious look. "I wouldn't be too sure of that. Manning
has a string of some sort tied to us. He's got us tagged ... good and
proper. He's always been able to find us again, no matter where we were.
I have a hunch he'll find us again, even way out here."

Chambers shrugged his shoulders. "It really doesn't matter. Just so we
get close enough to the Sun so we can load those accumulators and jam
the photo-cells full. With a load like that we can beat him hands down."

The financier fell into a silence. He stared out of the vision plate,
watching the stars. Still far away, but so much nearer than they had
been.

His brain hummed with dreams. Old dreams, revived again, old dreams of
conquest and of empire, dreams of a power that held a solar system in
its grip.

Craven broke his chain of thoughts. "Where's our friend Stutsman? I
haven't seen him around lately."

Chambers chuckled good-naturedly. "He's sulking. He seems to have gotten
the idea neither one of us likes him. He's been spending most of his
time back in the engine room with the crew."

"Were you talking about me?" asked a silky voice.

They spun around to see Stutsman standing in the doorway of the control
room. His face was twisted into a wolfish grin and in his right hand he
held a heat gun.

Chambers' voice was sharp, like the note of a clanging bell. "What's
this?"

Stutsman's face twisted into an even more exaggerated grin. "This," he
said, "is mutiny. I'm taking over!" He laughed at them.

"No use calling the crew. They're with me."

"Damn you!" shouted Chambers, taking a step forward. He halted as
Stutsman jerked the pistol up.

"Forget it, Chambers. You're just second man from now on. Maybe not even
second man. You tried out this dictator business and you bungled it. You
went soft. You're taking orders from me from now on. No questions, no
back talk. You do as I say and maybe you won't get hurt."

"You're mad, Stutsman!" cried Chambers. "You can't get away with this."

Stutsman barked out a brittle laugh. "Who is going to stop me?"

"The people," Chambers shouted at him. "The people will. They won't
allow this. When you get back to the Solar System ..."

Stutsman growled, stepping toward Chambers, pistol leveled. "The people
won't have