"No, sir," replied Tom. "At least I don't think so. And this is the
first time I've had a chance to tell you."

"Well," said Hardy, "there's a lot to be done now that we've arrived,
Corbett. I'll take this matter up with Vidac as soon as I get a chance."
He turned and walked off the control deck.

"Well, I'll be a space monkey!" exclaimed Roger.

"Yeah," agreed Tom, "I'll be two of them!"

[Illustration]

CHAPTER 11

"Of the thousand ships that blasted off from Earth there are only six
hundred thirteen left that can be used in the construction of the first
colony of Roald."

Governor Hardy's voice was firm as he addressed the assembled colonists
and spacemen from the air lock of a space freighter.

There was a murmur among the colonists at this news. They knew that the
landings on the satellite had been costly; that many ships had crashed
as a result of the unexplained interference with the ships' instruments.
And since each ship had been designed to be cannibalized into houses,
workshops, and power plants, they realized the plans for the settlement
would have to be radically revised.

Once the _Polaris_ had landed safely, the other ships of the fleet had
followed, each trying to find the delicate balance between the pull of
the satellite and the thrust of their rockets. And since many of Vidac's
hand-picked crewmen were in control, a large number of the valuable and
irreplaceable ships and their supplies had been lost. They didn't burn
when they crashed. Fire could have been easily extinguished. Instead,
deadly radiation from the cracked firing chambers flooded the ships and
their cargo, rendering them useless.

Tom, Roger, and Astro stood with Jeff Marshall and the Logan family as
the governor outlined their initial objectives on the satellite.

"First," declared Hardy, "we have to build atmosphere booster stations.
We can't live without oxygen and there isn't enough oxygen in the
atmosphere to sustain us very long. Second, we have to establish our
ownership boundaries and begin planting our crops. We can't live without
food. Third, we have to live more frugally than ever before in order to
maintain our reserves of food and essential items. The nearest supply
center is fifty billion miles from here." He paused and surveyed the sea
of grim faces before him.

"We've had a hard blow," he continued, "in losing so many ships and
their supplies, but it will not defeat us. We all came here with the