you have to act like a crook!" He smiled and added, "I bought my way in
here!"

"You mean that Vidac doesn't know you're here?" asked Astro.

"No," said Jane. "But we had to come. Vidac was going to--" She stopped
and turned to her father. "Maybe you'd better tell them, Father."

"Well," said Logan slowly, "we just heard that Vidac is going to hold
trial for you three boys right here on Roald."

"Trial!" exclaimed Astro.

"How'd you find that out?" asked Tom.

"They called all the colonists together and gave us pieces of paper with
numbers on them," said Logan. "Then they put all the numbers into a bowl
and picked twelve of them out again. The people that held those numbers
were told that they were going to be the jury at your trial for the
murder of Professor Sykes!"

"Murder?" exclaimed Roger.

"Blast my jets!" roared Astro. "They can't do that! We're under Solar
Guard jurisdiction!"

"That's what I told them," snorted Logan. "You see, my number was
pulled. I got up and opened my big mouth. I should have kept quiet and
sat on the jury, and then had my say where it would have meant
something!"