put a new
light on the Earthman's activities. It added a profit motive to whatever
else motivated the mysterious saboteur. Or did it?

How Big Mac and Pancho fitted into all this remained to be determined.
Rick could easily imagine that the two would take considerable risk for
big profits, but it was harder to imagine them acting from any other
motive. Somehow, he just couldn't believe that money was the underlying
reason for the Earthman's actions. Sabotaging research rockets just to
provide a diversion that would allow a theft did not make sense.

The Earthman's activities had become more than just a challenging
puzzle, too. Rick's work on Pegasus had become important in its own
right. He was excited at being a part of something so dramatic, and with
such far-reaching consequences for the whole future of space travel and
high-altitude research. He had become a part of Pegasus. Perhaps he
wasn't an important part, but he was making at least a small
contribution to the project's success. That made it _his_ project, and
the Earthman was interfering with it.

Somehow, he and Scotty had to find the Earthman--for personal reasons
now, as well as official ones!

CHAPTER VII

Careless Mesa

The boys climbed in the jeep early the following morning.

Scotty shifted into gear and drove through the base. "The time is now
zero minus twenty-two hours."

Rick looked at him. "What does that mean?"

"Firing time for Orion is tomorrow morning, twenty-two hours from now.
That must be the reason for the balloon that we just saw go up. The
weather group is starting to watch winds and visibility. Something else
I picked up at maintenance, too. There's going to be a dry run today."

"Spell it out," Rick requested.

"As I get it, all hands go through the same procedures they'll follow
tomorrow morning. The Orion group will fire a small weather rocket to
check the circuits, and to allow the tracking and monitoring group to
check their equipment. And do you know what that means?"

Rick saw it at once. "Mac and Pancho will be going to Careless Mesa!"

"Yep. But the dry run doesn't start until ten this morning. That gives
us plenty of time to get there, look around, and shove off before Mac
and Pancho show up."

"Suppose they get there early?" Rick asked.

"They probably will. We won't hang around, though. According to the
control board in the vehicle shop their truck isn't supposed to be ready
until eight, which is a