, you stay aboard and try to pin point
the heading on that flash."

"Very well, sir," replied Roger, and turned to the radar to begin the
complicated task of rewiring the instrument.

Strong went directly to the jet-boat deck where Astro was busily
preparing the jet boats for flight. He looked up when Strong entered the
hatch.

"All ready, sir," he said.

"Very well," said Strong. "I'll take number one, you take number two.
We're in section twenty-three of quadrant B. You take section twenty-two
and I'll take twenty-four."

"Yes, sir," replied Astro. "Do you think there's any chance of finding
Tom?"

"I don't even know if he's out here, Astro. But we can't be sure he
isn't. So we'll search and hope for the best."

"Very well, sir."

"Keep your jet-boat audioceiver open all the time and maintain contact
with me."

"Why not contact Roger here on the _Polaris_, sir?" asked Astro.

"He's busy trying to find out where the flashing static on the radar is
coming from," explained Strong. "We'll make wide circles, starting
outside and working in. Blast in a continuous circle inward, like a
spiral. If there's anything around here, we'll find it that way."

"Yes, sir," said Astro. "I sure hope Tom is O.K."

"Best answer I can give you. Astro, is to blast off and find out."

The two spacemen climbed into the small craft, and while Strong opened
the outer lock, exposing them to the emptiness of space, Astro started
the jets in his boat. With a wave of his hand to Strong, he roared away
from the sleek rocket cruiser. Strong followed right on his tail. They
circled the _Polaris_ twice, establishing their positions, and then
roared away from each other to begin their search.

Astro turned his midget space vessel toward the asteroid belt, ahead and
below him. Choosing a large asteroid that he estimated to be on the
outer edge of section twenty-two, he roared full power toward it. The
tiny space bodies that made up the dangerous path around the sun,
between Mars and Jupiter, loomed ahead ominously. Moving toward them
under full rocket thrust, the Venusian cadet remembered fleetingly
stories of survivors of space wrecks, reaching the airless little
planetoids, only to die when help failed to arrive. He shuddered at the
thought of Tom, a helpless castaway on one of the asteroids, waiting to
be saved. Astro clenched his teeth and concentrated on the search,
determined to investigate every stone large enough to support an