cken. He had to
risk a short burst of the jets. The odds were against anyone seeing the
flash now.

At his present low speed, it would be a while before he was out of range
of detection apparatus. He had time to wonder whether he ought to buzz
Karin on the telecast. Better not; there was always the chance his call
might be picked up.

He was sorry now that he hadn't thought to shoot cross-country to get
Karin. Who knew for certain where the next blast would hit? He could
have dropped her off at the moon base.

The moon was full in his vision plates now. He was close enough to tune
in their local telecast to the moon colonies. The machine was ticking
away and Case switched it onto the pitted satellite's local beam.

They had the news all right, and they were making preparations for an
attack. The fleet base was assuring all colonists that it would furnish
them all possible protection.

A fat lot of good that was going to do! Case had had enough time now to
think this over, and he was beginning to see the ramifications of the
thing.

Someone on Earth, someone _inside the Council_, wanted to take over. But
with Earth supervision of military manufacture so thorough, he hadn't a
chance to get started. So he must have enlisted the aid of some power
from outer space.

But how? And what power? And who was the traitor inside the Council?

Case wasn't going at this blindly. That first question, for instance.
There had been in the last year several strange disappearances. Two
space liners from Mars to Venus had utterly vanished, without a trace.
Smaller ships, too, had never reported back. They had last been heard
from in that same area.

But space liners just didn't vanish. They had equipment for any
emergency, were able to contact Earth at a moment's notice.

A hole in the sky, observers of the flash had said. Between Mars and
Venus, Cranly had told him. It was beginning to add up. It was Case
Damon's job to figure the total.

* * * * *

Now the moon was far behind. Case looked at his watch and saw that he
was making real time. Another couple of hours was all he'd need.

He got out the chart Cranly had given him, set it up alongside his own
navigation map, figured the time element and aimed his ship at a
blankness in space. He would hit that empty space at exactly the right
time.

After that? Case didn't know. But he wasn't the kind to cross bridges
before he got to them.

What