w. He nocked the arrow and got
ready to shoot. He looked up at the two pretty girls standing above him.
"Let out a yell if you see a dark blot."

Barby gave him a scornful look. "Of course we'll yell. Did you think we
were standing here waiting for flying saucers to land?"

The houseboat plowed through a patch of sea grass and emerged over sandy
bottom. Rick kept careful watch, but he knew the girls would see the
first sign of a ray before he did, because of their higher vantage
point.

Steve would enjoy this, he thought. The JANIG agent was back in
Washington, his vacation interrupted again because of the work that
remained on the case of Lefty Camillion. Lefty was in jail, too, along
with his friends.

Rick shook his head. He was still amazed at the mobster's stupidity in
creating such an elaborate setup to get data that was his for the
asking. Apparently it just hadn't occurred to Lefty that a rocket range
could be without secrets.

If there _had_ been secrets, though, the system was a good one. By using
the combination of a balloon and a rocket, Lefty got his equipment high
enough to intercept Wallops Island telemetry, and he did it without
anyone suspecting he was launching rockets. The rockets and balloons
dropped into the ocean, unseen--or, if seen, the first thought would be
that they had come from Wallops. The shape of the balloons also kept
anyone from suspecting that the theft of data was the real purpose. It
was a fine scheme, even though it had all been unnecessary.

The girls let out a yell that startled Rick from his reverie. Scotty
immediately throttled back, and the boat's momentum carried it forward.
Rick watched the water, and finally saw a dark blur on the sandy bottom
ahead and to the left. He drew, then waited until he saw the dark patch
move. This time he allowed for the water's refraction. He loosed the
arrow.

The stingaree felt the impact and reacted violently. Its tail lashed up
to strike with sharp barbs at the intruder. The tail lashed the arrow
shaft without effect. The ray's wings moved in a rippling motion like
that of some weird flying carpet. It flashed upward, and into the air,
then crashed back on the surface of the water again. It dived, heading
for the bottom.

Rick kept the drag on his reel, letting the ray fight against the
braking action. The fish didn't give up easily. It had the primitive
nervous system and great vitality of its relatives, the sharks, and it
fought l