u say so."

"Thanks." Miller turned and walked out.

The design engineer was polite enough after that, and Rick discounted
the few times when he appeared too curt. So, with pleasant working
conditions all around, the work fell into an exciting routine. The days
passed and the drone control began to shape up as a complete unit.
Meanwhile, other sections of the big rocket were readied, and the first
two stages, now completely assembled, were loaded on their special
trucks and taken to the firing area.

In the next shed, Orion was almost ready. The rocket stages were trucked
to the firing pad assigned to the project and the staff vanished from
next door. They had moved their base of operation to the blockhouse and
the pad. Time for the Orion shoot was only two days off.

Rick saw little of Scotty. His pal was at work in the vehicle
maintenance shed, and making friends of his own. The two met only at
night, usually at bedtime, because the entire base was working overtime.

The work was so absorbing that Rick actually forgot for long periods the
reason for his presence on the base. To be sure, he heard much about the
mysterious Earthman, but it was all a rehash of the earlier sabotage
attempts, mixed with pretty wild speculation. Scotty reported that among
the mechanics, machinists, and housekeeping staffs, the Earthman was
regarded with considerable fear and superstition.

Then, with shattering impact, the Earthman returned from the realm of
legend to stark reality!

CHAPTER VI

Sign of the Earthman

Dick Earle handed Rick a series of requisition forms. "We're running out
of parts. Take this to Warehouse Eight and get the requisitions filled.
The clerk will lend you a hand truck to bring the stuff back."

Rick found the warehouse, handed the forms to a clerk, and waited at the
counter for the supplies. The clerk moved from bin to bin, collecting
the variety of electronic parts. The pile in front of Rick grew.

The clerk returned the last two sheets and scanned them. "All
transistors. And not the cheap kind, either. Just a minute and I'll have
them for you." He vanished behind the tiers of shelves. Rick waited.

The wait grew longer and the boy fidgeted. Couldn't the clerk find them?
Rick hoped the base hadn't run out, because that would mean a delay on
his project. Already he thought of it as "his," and he was impatient as
any of the project staff to push the work to completion.

The clerk reappeared,