o withhold information which might help save
the professor's life!" He turned to Vidac. "I want them arrested and
held for investigation of their activities last night. Confine them to
their quarters."

Vidac stood up and nodded his head to Bush. "Take them away. Keep a
guard outside their quarters at all times."

"Yes, sir," said Bush. He pulled a paralo-ray gun from his belt and
cocked it. "All right, march!"

The cadets of the _Polaris_ unit spun on their heels in unison and
marched from the room in perfect order.

* * * * *

"Attention! Attention! This is Captain Strong in rocket cruiser _Orion_
calling central communications control, Roald! Come in, Roald! _Orion_
to Roald! Come in!"

Aboard the space cruiser, Captain Steve Strong tried again and again to
contact the star colony. For nearly five days, blasting through space at
emergency speed, the Solar Guard captain had tried to contact the
satellite, but to no avail. He snapped off the audioceiver and slumped
back in his chair, a worried frown on his face.

When the second report from the _Polaris_ unit had failed to come in,
Strong had received permission from Commander Walters to blast off
immediately for Roald. Walters agreed that it would be better for the
captain to go alone, since the uranium discovery must be kept an
absolute secret. Working by remote control relays from the control deck,
Captain Strong handled the ship as easily as a jet boat and he kept the
atomic reactors wide open.

He stared into the astrogation prism and sighted on the cold light of
the sun star Wolf 359. Still unable to see the satellite circling the
star, the captain's thoughts were on the past rather than the future. He
still couldn't find any reasonable explanation for his suddenly having
been taken off the Roald colony project and sent on the minor mission to
Pluto. He had often thought about the man who had replaced him, Paul
Vidac. Strong had heard the name before and associated it with something
unpleasant. He couldn't put his finger on what it was, since he had
never met the man. Certainly there was nothing illegal about him. His
record had been carefully checked, or he would never have been put in
the position of trust he held now. Still there was a persistent notion
in Strong's head that something was wrong.

The young captain turned and walked the deck of the huge empty ship,
still deep in thought. He considered the fact that no r