* * * * *

Their tour completed, the three cadets returned to the _Polaris_. They
quickly audioscribed their report to Vidac and then hurried to the
observatory to find Jeff Marshall. Luckily the sergeant was alone and
they were able to give him all the reasons for their suspicions of Vidac
and tell him what they wanted him to do.

"But what can I say I'm looking for in the logbook?" Jeff Marshall
protested.

"We passed through a cloud of meteor dust the other day, didn't we?"
asked Tom.

"Yeah," replied Jeff, "but what's that got to do--"

"You had to report it to central weather control," said Tom. "Tell the
pilot you lost your own copy of the report and want to get the official
path out of the log. Tell him the professor wants it."

Jeff thought a moment, then nodded his head. "O.K. I'll see you later."

The three cadets returned to their quarters to wait while Jeff went up
to the control deck. He walked in with a smile, chatted with the pilot a
few moments, and then made his request.

"I want to take a look at the log a minute, Johnny," he said casually.
"The professor lost his notes on the meteor dust we passed through the
other day."