‘test run’
conduit. But then, in a few minutes, we had plenty! They showed the rogue had tested the projector, knew he could handle it, knew he’d reestablished himself as king of the world—and this time for good! And then he walked off into the conduit with his wonderful stolen weapon. . . .”
Arlene said, “He was trying to get Dr. Ben and me to open the project exit for him again. We couldn’t of course. I never imagined anyone could experience the terror he felt.”
“There was some reason for it,” Harding said. “Physical action is impossible in nonspace, so he couldn’t use the projector. He was helpless while he was in the conduit. And he knew we couldn’t compromise when we let him out.
“We switched the conduit exit to a point eight hundred feet above the surface of Cleaver Interplanetary Spaceport—the project he’s kept us from completing for the past twenty-odd years—and opened it there. We still weren’t completely certain, you know, that the rogue mightn’t turn out to be a genuine superman who would whisk himself away and out of our reach just before he hit the marblite paving.said, “Norm Vaughn just crashed in here with something he claims was found in the diggings. Sanford saw it, and obviously recognized it. We might be able to keep him quiet. But now some questions. Was that item actually dug up just now?”
“Apparently it was,” Jackson said. “I didn’t see it happen—I was talking to Black at the moment. But there are over a dozen witnesses who claim they did see it happen, including five or six of the new agency men.”
“And they knew what it was?”
“Enough of them did.”
Thayer cursed softly. “No chance that one of them pitched the thing into the diggings for an Earthside sensation?”
“I’m afraid not,” Jackson said. “It was lying in the sifter after most of the sand and dust had been blown away.”
“Why didn’t you call me at once?”
“I’ve been holding down something like a mutiny here, Silas. Vaughn got away before I could stop him, but I grounded the other aircars till you could decide what to do. Our visitors don’t like that. Neither do r