he set the glass at his lips and drank. Then he laughed at
No. 1.

"The SP ship will turn your ship into jelly."

No. 1 swept out, chuckling. "Boast if you will, Earthman, it's your last
chance."

There was an exultation in Jon's heart that deadened the hunger and
washed away the nausea.

At last he knew what the hemlock was.

He sat on the pallet adjusting the little power-pack radio. The SP ship
should now be within range of the set. The space patrol was notorious
for its accuracy in keeping to schedule. Seconds counted like years.
They had to be on the nose, or it meant disaster or death.

He sent out the call letters.

"AX to SP-101 ... AX to SP-101 ... AX to SP-101 ..."

Three times he sent the call, then began sending his message, hoping
that his signal was reaching the ship. He couldn't know if they
answered. Though the power pack could get out a message over a vast
distance, it could not pick up messages even when backed by an SP ship's
power unless the ship was only a few hundred miles away.

The power pack was strictly a distress signal.

He didn't know how long he'd been sending, nor how many times his weary
voice had repeated the short but desperate message.

He kept watching the heavens and hoping.

Abruptly he knew the SP ship was coming, for the blue ship of the
Steel-Blues was rising silently from the asteroid.

Up and up it rose, then flames flickered in a circle about its curious
shape. The ship disappeared, suddenly accelerating.

Jon Karyl strained his eyes.

Finally he looked away from the heavens to the two Steel-Blues who stood
negligently outside the goldfish bowl.

Once more, Jon used the stubray pistol. He marched out of the plastic
igloo and ran toward the service station.

He didn't know how weak he was until he stumbled and fell only a few
feet from his prison.

The Steel-Blues just watched him.

He crawled on, around the circular pit in the sward of the asteroid
where one Steel-Blue had shown him the power of his weapon.

He'd been crawling through a nightmare for years when the quiet voice
penetrated his dulled mind.

"Take it easy, Karyl. You're among friends."

He pried open his eyes with his will. He saw the blue and gold of a
space guard's uniform. He sighed and drifted into unconsciousness.

* * * * *

He was still weak days later when Capt. Ron Small of SP-101 said,

"Yes, Karyl, it's ironical. They fed you what they tho