"Vidac could say it was a precautionary measure," said Tom.

"What kind of precaution?" asked Astro.

"Well, Vidac could say that the colonists were using too much of the
supplies simply because it was free. And instead of imposing
rationing, he's making them pay, but that he wouldn't actually take
their profit."

[Illustration: _The speedy little ship shot ahead of the fleet toward
the gigantic mass of asteroids_]

"Yeah," growled Astro. "And there's just enough hokum in that to make
everyone back at the Academy happy."

"I'm afraid we'll have to go on with it," said Tom. "Not only this
exploration of the asteroid belt, but we'll have to wait for Vidac to
really tip his hand."

"From the way he operates," said Roger disgustedly, "that might be
never."

Blasting farther ahead through the unexplored region of outer space, the
cadets, who had seen a great many space phenomena, were awed by the
thickening groups of stars around them. It was Tom who finally realized
that they were getting closer to the inner ring of their galaxy and that
the stars and suns they were unable to see from Earth, or other Solar
Alliance planets, were some fifty to sixty billion miles closer.

Gulping a cup of tea and a few sandwiches, the three cadets continued