of Saturn, she is!" exclaimed Connel. "Go on, Tom,
give this baby the gun! If we have to die, let's die like spacemen, in
space, fighting with spaceman's weapons, not crawling around here in the
jungle like worms!"

The three boys smiled at their skipper's rousing statement. "This is the
time," thought Tom, "when I'd rather have Major Connel in command than
anyone else in the Solar Guard." If there was to be a fight, then they
certainly had found the man who knew how to do just that! Fight!

[Illustration]

Tom swooped over the treetops recklessly, and fearing the blast had
damaged the jet-boat air lock, brought the small craft to rest in the
blinding dust a few yards away from the _Polaris_.

Three minutes later the four spacemen had separated and were standing by
their respective posts. Hasty but thorough checks were made to determine
the damage, and finding none, they prepared to raise ship.

"All clear forward and up," Alfie reported in a high squeaking voice.

"Energize the cooling pumps," shouted Tom.

Astro had already started the mighty pumps, their vibrations rocking the
ship, and Tom began counting the seconds.

"Stand by to raise ship. Minus
five--four--three--two--one--_zeeroooooo!_"

Paying scant attention to the crush of sudden acceleration, Tom gave the
ship all the power she could take for the climb out of Tara's
atmosphere, and soon they were rocketing through the airless void of
space. Alfie and Connel hurriedly swept the area with the radar scanner
for the attacking intruder.

"There she is!" roared Connel. "There!" He placed a finger on a white
blip on the scanner. "By the craters of Luna, that's an Earth ship!" The
fear of an outer-space invasion by hostile people from another world had
been in the back of his mind, but he had been reluctant to voice his
fears in front of the cadets. "And she's an old one at that!" he
exclaimed. "Not even armed. I know that class vessel. Corbett!" he
shouted.

"Aye, aye, sir," replied Tom.

"Put the ship on automatic flight, attack-approach pattern number three.
Then stand by to send a message to whoever's manning that ship!"

"Aye, aye, sir!" replied Tom. He hurriedly set the delicate device that
would fly the ship in a preplanned course of zigzag maneuvers and opened
the circuits of the teleceivers.

"All set for the message, sir," reported Tom.

"Tell them," said Connel heavily, his voice cold, "whoever they are,
that I'll give them two minute