pots became more profuse and the trail was
covered with huge blotches of red. The Venusian cadet grew more
cautious. The tyrannosaurus would be ten times as dangerous now. And it
might be close by, lying in the jungle, licking its wounds.

As the sun began to sink in the western Venusian sky, Astro began to
think about the coming night. He would have to hole up. He couldn't
chance stumbling into the beast in the dark. But it would also mean
taking time to make another sleeping bag. Suddenly he saw a movement in
the brush to his left. He dropped to the ground and aimed the shock
rifle in that direction, eyes probing the green tangle for further
movement.

"Make one move and you'll die!" a harsh voice cut through the jungle.
Astro remained still, his eyes darting to left and right, trying to
locate the owner of the voice.

"Throw down your gun and stand up with your hands over your head!" came
another voice, this one immediately behind him.

[Illustration: _His eyes probed the jungle for further movement_]

A patrol! Astro swore at himself for blindly walking into a trap and
dropped his gun. He stood up and raised his hands over his head, turning
slowly.

"Don't turn around! Stand still!"

Astro stopped.

He could hear the rustle of movement in the underbrush behind him and
then someone called, "Circle around to the right. Spread out and see if
there are any others!"

Off to the side, he could hear the crashing of footsteps moving away in
the jungle.

"All right," continued the unknown voice, "drop that paralo-ray pistol
to the ground. But no smart tricks. We can see you and you can't see us,
so take it easy and do as we say."

Astro lowered his hands and unbuckled the gun belt, letting it fall to
the ground. There was a sudden burst of movement behind him and powerful
arms gripped his wrists. Within seconds his hands were tied quickly and
expertly, and he was spun around to face his captors.

There were ten men, all dressed in the same green uniforms and plastic
headgear he had seen at the Sinclair plantation. They stood in a
semicircle around him, their guns leveled at his naked chest. The leader
of the party nudged the nearest man and commented, "Never thought I'd
see any animal like this in the jungle!" The other men laughed
appreciatively.

"Who are you?" the leader demanded. "What are you doing here?"

"My name is Astro," replied the big cadet boldly. "I'm a Space Cadet,
_Polaris_ unit, Space Acad