Part 36 (1/2)
”We're looking for the s.p.a.ce Cadets. They murdered old Professor Sykes!”
snapped the man. His eyes narrowed and he looked at Jeff closely. ”You were pretty chummy with them, weren't you?” he asked.
”Sure, I knew them,” replied Jeff calmly. ”But if they've done anything to the professor, I want them caught as badly as you do. I've been the professor's a.s.sistant for years. He's--he's like a father to me.”
Several of the other men had gathered around the car and were listening.
”That's right, Joe,” said a man on the outside of the group. ”This feller's okay. And that's Logan's daughter, all right. They ain't done nothing.”
”When was the last time you saw the cadets?” demanded the man called Joe.
”Why, a couple of days ago,” Jeff replied.
There was a long pause while the man continued to look at Jeff ominously. Finally he stepped back and lowered the paralo-ray gun. ”All right, go on. But if you see those murdering cadets, let us know. We're out to get them, and when we do, we're going to--”
”But what right have you to do this on your own?” cried Jane.
”We ain't,” said Joe. ”Governor Vidac made us all special deputies this morning.”
”But we'd do it, anyway,” cried someone from the rear of the crowd.
”Those s.p.a.ce Cadets are guilty and we're going to see that they get what's coming to them!” There was a roar of agreement.
Jeff nodded, stepped on the accelerator, and eased the car slowly through the group of men. As soon as he was free, he stepped down hard and sent the jet car racing along the highway back toward Roald City.
”Jeff--Jeff,” asked Jane despairingly, ”do you think they'll catch the boys?”
”I don't know,” replied Jeff grimly. ”But if they are caught, the only way we can save them is to find the professor's journal and pray that the uranium report is in it.”
”But you said the information would be there,” said Jane.
”When you need something as badly as we need that report,” replied Jeff, ”you never find it.”
The three s.p.a.ce Cadets were watching their pursuers from a high ridge.
They had been driven back all day, and now they could go no farther.
Caught while climbing down the other side of the hills from the Logan farm, they had narrowly escaped detection at the very beginning and had been racing from cover to cover ever since. Now there was no place to go. It was only a question of time before the colonists would reach the top of the ridge and find them.
”What do you think they'll do?” asked Roger.
”We'll be sent off this satellite so fast,” answered Tom, ”you'll get sick from acceleration.”
”Why?” asked Astro.
”Vidac won't want us hanging around. Not since Captain Strong is here.
He'll give us a trial within an hour, sentence us to life on a prison rock, and delegate some of his boys to take us back. We don't have a chance.”
Astro let out a low animal-like growl. ”If that happens,” said the giant Venusian, ”I'll get off that rock someway, somehow. And I'll find Mr.
Vidac. And when I do--”