o emphatically.

"Well, that's exactly the way I feel. But I commend you on your
observations about me, Corbett. I think I would have been a little
suspicious myself."

The three cadets smiled.

"Thank you, sir," said Tom. "And forget what we just said. If Governor
Hardy's okayed you, that's good enough for us."

"Thanks, Corbett," said Vidac. "I appreciate that."

"I guess we'd better turn in now," said Roger. "We have a hard day ahead
of us. Those applicants come at you like dinosaurs."

"Right!" said Vidac. "I'll take over Captain Strong's quarters. See you
in the morning."

The three cadets went to their quarters without saying a word. When the
hatch was closed, Roger turned and faced his unit mates.

"Well, it sure looks like we made a mistake about that spaceman!" he
said. "I think he's all right!"

"Yeah," said Astro, "you can't blame a guy for not wanting to take a
desk job."

Tom merely sat in his bunk, starting to pull off one of his soft leather
space boots. He held it a moment, thinking, and then looked up at his
two unit mates. "You know, I think I'm going to have a talk with the
governor."

"About what?" asked Roger.

"Vidac," said Tom simply.

"What could you say that he doesn't already know?" asked Astro.

"Why--" Tom stopped. After a moment he dropped his boot to the deck,
looked up at Roger and Astro, and smiled. "Nothing, I guess."

"Come on," said Roger, yawning. "Let's turn in. Just the thought of
facing those applicants tomorrow makes me tired."

Astro turned out the light and hopped into bed. Tom lay in his bunk,
hands under his head, wondering about Vidac, and then he began to think
about the colony of Roald. He lay a long time, thinking about the fine
people who were giving up comfortable homes, successful businesses. He
thought of Hyram Logan and family; the shopkeeper from Titan with three
sets of twin boys; the Martian miner who had spent twenty-five futile
years searching for uranium in the asteroid belt. They were all ready to
go over fifty billion miles into deep space and begin their lives again.
Tom shook his head. He wondered if he had a choice whether he would
chance the mystery and danger of deep space.

With the steady hum of the electronic generator on the power deck
droning in his ears the curly-haired cadet soon fell asleep.

* * * * *

"What did you say your name was?" asked Roger of the applicant standing
before him. He was