"We still have to wait for a report from the electronics sections, sir,"
said Howard, rubbing his eyes. He started to get up and then suddenly
slumped to the floor.

"By the craters of Luna!" cried Walters, jumping to the young officer's
side. Howard was picked up and placed on a nearby couch. While Strong
and Kit loosened his clothing, Walters grabbed the nearest oxygen mask
and slipped it over the spaceman's face.

"Funny that he should pass out like that," commented Strong, sniffing
the air. "I _still_ don't smell anything."

Kit looked up at Strong and grinned. "He's not gassed. He's asleep."

"Asleep!" exclaimed Walters.

The enlisted spaceman standing on guard at the door stepped forward and
saluted smartly. "Captain Howard hasn't slept for the last five days,"
he said. "He's been working night and day."

Walters smiled. "All right, Sergeant, take him to his quarters." Then he
held up his hand. "No, let him stay where he is." He turned to Steve.
"Come on, Steve. You too, Kit. Let's see if we can't get a report from
the electronics section before we speculate any further."

The three men left the control-tower office under the watchful eyes of a
squad of Space Marines. Trouble had already started at the spaceport
when a crowd of excited miners had charged a detachment of enlisted men
guarding Solar Guard cruisers. The crowds were growing panicky as the
deadly gas filled the city, unchecked.