box an affectionate pat,
rose to his feet to begin the next step in his plan to escape.

The young cadet examined the entire surface of the inside paneling of
the van with his finger tips. He could find no opening other than the
back door, which he knew was locked by an electronic beam. Without the
proper light-key adjustment, the door could not be opened. And the vent
high in the wall was much too small to help him.

He sat down, disheartened. He was still no better off than before. And
there was no way of telling where he was, whether it was day or night,
and how long he had been riding in the jet truck.

He rested on the floor of the van, the bumpy ride cushioned by the soft
blankets, and tried to recall the events that had led him into this
trap. He remembered the two men, Cag and Monty, and grimly vowed to
repay them if he ever met them again.

Suddenly remembering something more immediate, Tom sat bolt upright. He
got up and went to the front of the huge van. There he knelt down in one
corner and felt the floor with his hands. He found exactly what he had
been hoping for. A large grate, and it was cool! He jumped up, grinning,
grabbed the heavy toolbox and carried it back to the corner where he let
it drop on the grate. It sagged slightly, near the corner. He picked up
the box and dropped it again. The grate sagged a little more. Tom got
down on his knees and felt along the edge of the floor. The grate was
giving way.

He really began to hammer in earnest then. And each time the heavy box
thudded on the grate, he thanked his lucky stars that he had lived near
a garage when he was a boy back in New Chicago. Time and time again, he
had slipped inside the huge vans after the produce had been taken out,
to find a piece of fruit. He had gotten into the sealed vans, through
the refrigerating compartment, a huge unit beneath the van and connected
to the cab. Opening the outside hatch to the unit, he had squeezed
inside and then unscrewed the grate from the bottom.

With a final hard smash, the grate gave way, clattering into the
recesses of the refrigerating unit. Now Tom was grateful for the roar of
the jets. It covered the sound of his escape.

Quickly reaching down into the unit, Tom began tearing the mechanism
apart; ripping out coils of copper tubing and rubber connections.
Disconnecting a pipe, he used it to pry apart the rest of the unit, and
finally, after removing the broken parts, there was room enough f