nfined to quarters.

The _Magellan_ quietly circled Pluto once every hour and a half and the
ship tried to resume its normal life. Russ studied the surface beneath
them, Haines and Burl at his elbow. Then, after conferring, the three
approached Lockhart.

"We want permission to make a landing," Russ said. "If we take the
four-man rocket plane we can make the ground safely. We've got to
reconnoiter before we can figure out how to put this master Sun-tap
station out of business."

Lockhart agreed. "I was planning as much. Now that we're here, we can't
delay just because we're injured. Go ahead."

The three got ready quickly. They donned their space suits, loaded the
larger rocket plane with equipment, arms, and plenty of extra fuel. Just
before they left, Lockhart gave them a word of caution. "Do not attempt
to communicate with the _Magellan_ by radio. If Pluto is the
Sun-tappers' home world, you may find yourselves surrounded by enemies,
and overheard. Don't reveal our existence or position. If you have to
talk to us, do not expect a reply unless it's an absolute emergency."

Burl strapped himself into his seat within the rocket plane and glanced
through the thick window. Below them was a world the size of Earth--a
world which, if it had air and warmth, could most nearly be Earth's twin
of all the planets in the system. This rocket plane had touched on the
hot surface of Mercury, the first planet, In a little while it would set
down on the frigid surface of the last planet. They had come a long
way.

Chapter 17. _Stronghold of the Lost Planet_

With a jolt that shoved the three men back in their seats, the rocket
plane pushed out the cargo hatch, and slid into the dark of space on its
own power. Behind them, the metallic surface of the _Magellan_ gleamed
briefly, and then swung away on its orbit. Riding the red fire of their
rockets, they headed on a long low dive for the mysterious surface
below.

Pluto was a vast hemisphere, half lighted in the faint, dim glow of the
tiny Sun, half in the total darkness of outer space. Here and there
wound a silent, frozen river of glistening white. They passed over a
gulf of some frigid sea of liquid gases, from which islands of subzero
rock projected, and moved inland over a continent of lifeless grays and
blacks. Haines gently drew the ship lower and lower, and at last the
rocket plane bumped to the ground.

It rolled a few yards and stopped. The three men crowded