Billy, Jane, and their father silently watched the two men leave the
house. Even as the roar of the super-charged jet car faded away in the
distance, they still stood in silence.

Finally Logan turned to his son and daughter. "There ain't but one thing
left to do. Go back to Venus as soon as we can get passage. I'm sorry,
Billy, but--"

"That's all right, Pa," said Billy. "I guess I would have done the same
thing--for Jane."

* * * * *

"Can't you get any more out of this jalopy?" asked Roger.

Astro shook his head. "I've got her wide open now!"

The big cadet sat hunched over the steering wheel of the small jet car
Strong had used a short time before, racing along the same smooth
highway toward the spaceport on the other side of the hills. Tom was
wedged in between Astro and Roger, his eyes straight ahead on the road.

"Where do we start first?" asked Roger.

"We've got to get a ship. The _Polaris_, if possible. We can't begin to
look for the professor without one. As soon as Vidac learns that we've
escaped, the whole satellite will be crawling with colonists and his
boys, looking for us."