chance. Seven years is a long
time to get stuck with a misfit, or worse, a--" He didn't finish, but
Tom knew he meant a man not to be trusted.

"Tell Paul Vidac his application has been rejected," said Strong.

[Illustration]

CHAPTER 4

"You mean Captain Strong has been recalled to the Academy?" gasped
Roger.

"That's right," replied Tom. "He had a talk with Governor Hardy last
night and this morning he took the jet liner back to Earth. Special
orders from Commander Walters."

"Well, blast my jets!" exclaimed Astro. "Wonder what's up?"

"I don't know," said Tom. "But it must be something more important than
the Roald project for him to pull out now!"

"It might have something to do with the project, Tom," suggested Roger.

Tom shook his head. "Maybe, but it just isn't like Captain Strong not to
say anything to us before he left. I wouldn't have known about it if one
of the enlisted guardsmen hadn't asked me if we were going with him."

Astro and Roger looked at each other. "You mean," asked Roger, "Captain
Strong didn't tell you he was going?"

"That's just it!" replied Tom. "We've been traveling all over space
together screening the applicants, and then Captain Strong just leaves
when we start the final screening."

The three cadets were seated in a snack shop in Luna City on the Moon,
sipping hot tea and eating spaceburgers. For six weeks they had been
interviewing the applicants for the new satellite colony and were
getting near the end. Their task had gone fairly smoothly except for
some difficulty on Mars when Strong and the cadets had rejected scores
of applicants with shady backgrounds; criminals and gamblers; spacemen
who had had their space papers picked up for violation of the space
code, and men who had been dismissed from the enlisted Solar Guard for
serious misconduct. But now, finally, the quotas of all the colonies and
planets but Luna City on the Moon had been filled. Soon the expedition
would blast off for Roald.

"Well," said Tom, sipping the last of his tea, "we have a heavy day
ahead of us tomorrow. I guess we'd better get back to the _Polaris_ and
sack in."

"Yeah," agreed Astro, tossing some credits on the counter and following
Tom and Roger out into the street. They walked past the shops, their
blue cadet uniforms reflecting the garish colors of the nuanium signs in
the shop windows. At the first corner they hailed a jet cab and were
soon speeding out of the city toward