traced him or what kind of
trail he left behind. _Why?_

He jerked open the door of the pilot's cabin, and, not bothering to
use the rail, launched himself toward the rear of the ship, flipping
himself halfway down to land with his feet against the baggage room
door. He pulled the door open and pushed inside.

Brittain was still groggy, so Karnes began slapping his face
methodically, rocking his head from side to side.

"Okay! Okay! Stop it!" Brittain yelled, fully awake.

Karnes stopped, and Brittain blinked, owlishly. Karnes' hunch factory
was still operating at full blast; he was fairly sure that the lie he
was about to tell would have all of the desired effect.

"You didn't really think you could get away, did you, bud?" he asked,
nastily. "We're headed back for New York now, and you'll stand trial
for murder as well as sabotage and espionage."

Brittain's eyes widened in horror.

"What did that mind impressor tell you?" Karnes went on.

* * * * *

Brittain was trying to keep his mouth shut, but at that moment there
was a glare of light which flashed bluely through the hard quartz of a
nearby window.

From somewhere far to the north, another interceptor rocket had found
the atomic warhead of an enemy bomb.

Brittain knew and recognized that flash. He screamed wordlessly and
then began to sob like a hysterical child.

Karnes began to slap him again. "Come on, what was it?"

"Don't--don't let them go back to New York! It said--it said--" he
gasped and took a deep breath "--WE'LL ALL BE KILLED!" he screamed.

"Why?" Karnes's voice was cold.

"BOMB!" Brittain screamed again.

After a few more minutes of questioning, Karnes finally got the rest
of the story from him.

The Galactics had found that on this date a nuclear bomb would get
through the UN screen and completely destroy most of Greater New York.
Only one other bomb would get through, but it would be thrown off
course and land somewhere in the Pacific, having missed Los Angeles
entirely.

"Anything else?" asked Karnes after a few seconds of silence from
Brittain. "Didn't it say they would have to prevent that?"

Brittain's voice was dull now. "All it said was that the records would
have to be preserved. It said that things must go on exactly as
before. It said that nothing must interfere with the complete
development, whatever that means."

Karnes pushed his way out of the room and back towards the pilot's