t over his head, Carson stepped up close to
Astro and Tom and spoke confidently. "It's very simple."

"Whew!" exclaimed Tom. "I thought we'd have to go fumbling around."

Carson pointed through the darkness. "Follow this lane straight down
until you come to a large repair lock. There's a space freighter on the
maintenance cradle outside. You can't miss it. Turn left and follow a
trail to the base of the canyon wall. There are jungle creepers and
vines growing up the side and you can climb them easily."

Tom nodded and repeated the directions, then turned to Astro. "Maybe
you'd better stay here, Astro. I can make it alone."

"No." Connel spoke sharply from the doorway. "Astro speaks Venusian. If
you're stopped, he can speak for you. You'd give yourself away."

"Very well, sir," said Tom. "I guess that is best. Ready to go, Astro?"

"Ready," replied the big cadet.

"Good-by, Major," said Tom, reaching into the doorway to shake hands
with Connel. "I'll try my best."

"It's a matter of life and death, Tom." Connel's voice was low and
husky. "Not our lives, or the lives of a few people, but the life and
death of the Solar Alliance."

"I understand, sir." Tom turned to Astro and the two cadets marched off
quickly.

They had no difficulty finding the giant ship on the cradles outside the
repair shop and quickly turned toward the base of the cliff. Twenty
minutes later they had left the center of activity and were close to the
canyon wall. They were congratulating themselves on their luck in not
being stopped or questioned when suddenly they saw a guard ahead of them
on sentry duty.

"Ill take care of him," whispered Astro. "You hide here in the shadows,
and when I whistle, you start climbing. Then I'll cover you from there
until you get to the top. Got it?"

"Right!" The two cadets shook hands briefly. Each knew that there was no
need to speak of their feelings. "Take care of Roger," said Tom. "We
don't know how badly he's been injured."

"I'll see to him," said Astro. "Watch me now and wait for my whistle."
He turned away and then paused to call back softly, "Spaceman's luck,
Tom."

"Same to you, Astro," replied Tom, and then crouched tensely in the
shadows.

The big cadet walked casually toward the sentry, who spotted him
immediately and brought his gun up sharply, calling a challenge in the
Venusian tongue.

"A friend," replied Astro in the same dialect.

The sentry lowered the gun slightly. "What are