screen darkened, Shinny reappeared. He had released
Mason from the effects of the ray charge, and both Mason and Loring were
safe in the storage room. He walked over and slapped Roger on the back.

"Well, it looks like we did it, sonny boy!" he said.

Roger turned to look at the wizened spaceman who still was chewing on
the plug of tobacco. "What made you do this for me, Mr. Shinny?" asked
Roger quietly.

"Tell ya a little secret," said Shinny, with a merry twinkle in his eye.
"I was in the Solar Guard for twenty years. Enlisted man. Got into an
accident and hurt my leg, but it wasn't in the line of duty, so I was
tossed out without a pension. Ever since then I been kinda bitter, you
might say. And, strangely enough, it was Major Connel that kicked me
out."

"But you--you--" gasped Roger.

"Let's just say," said Shinny with a smile, "that once you're a Solar
Guardsman, you're always a Guardsman. Now, how about getting this wagon
down to Tara?"

"Yeah, yeah, sure," said Roger absently, his eyes trailing after the
small limping figure. Once a Solar Guardsman, always a Guardsman, he
thought. Smiling, he turned to the control board. He felt the same way.
He was a Guardsman, and it was good to be back home!

[Illustration]

CHAPTER 14

Major Connel paced nervously in front of the group of spacemen. Tom,
Roger, Astro, Alfie, and Mr. Shinny were lounging around the small
clearing between the _Polaris_ and the _Space Devil_. A piece of thin
space cloth had been stretched between the two ships to shield the men
from the blazing sun. Connel stopped in front of Roger and Shinny.

"And you say the satellite is three-quarters solid copper?" asked
Connel.

"Yes, sir," replied Roger, "at least that's what Loring and Mason told
us."

"Where is it?" asked Connel. "I mean, where exactly?"

"I spotted her coming in, sir," replied Roger. "I'd say she was about
three hundred thousand miles outside of Tara in perfect orbit."

"By the blessed rings of Saturn," exclaimed Connel, "it's almost too
good to be true! The whole Solar Alliance needs copper desperately. And
if what you say is true, that's enough to last for a hundred and fifty
years!"

"Didn't you have any idea they discovered it, sir?" asked Tom. "I mean,
when they took that unauthorized flight on your first trip out here?"

"Didn't suspect a thing, Tom," replied Connel. "I thought they had
gotten a little space rocky on some homemade rocket juice and ju