"The ship was locked, Cadet Manning!" said a voice in back of them. The
three cadets whirled around to face a tall, wiry man with dark hair,
dressed in civilian clothes and holding a cup of coffee. He smiled at
the three startled cadets and casually drained the cup. "I opened her,"
he continued in a deep voice. "Governor Hardy gave me the key."

"Who are you?" asked Tom, almost indignant at the man's self-assurance.
And then he stopped, frowning, "Say, haven't I seen you before?"

"You're right, Tom," cried Astro. "I've seen him too!"

"Who are you, mister?" demanded Roger.

The man turned back to the messroom just off the control deck, put the
coffee cup down on the table, and returned to face the three cadets. "My
name is Paul Vidac. I'm the new lieutenant governor of Roald."

"You're what?" gasped Tom.

"You're space happy!" exclaimed Roger. "Your application was refused.
Captain Strong rejected it himself."

"Fortunately for the project of Roald," said Vidac with a half-smile
playing at his lips, "Captain Strong has been taken off the Roald
project." He paused and lounged against the bulkhead to announce, "I
have replaced him."

"You couldn't replace Captain Strong digging a hole in the ground,
mister!" snapped Roger sarcastically.