me he's asleep."

"Asleep!" cried Walters. "But I thought you weren't going to put Manning
with Miles."

"Astro wanted to go with Kit, sir. And Tom was anxious to go with Wild
Bill Sticoon. Roger didn't seem to mind."

"Did Miles object?"

"Yes, sir. But I think he would object to anyone going with him."

"And he told you Roger is asleep?"

Strong nodded. Walters pushed past him to the intercom and took the
microphone. "This is Commander Walters calling rocket ship _Space
Knight_. Come in, _Space Knight_."

There was a flutter of static and then Quent Miles' voice again. There
was a little more respect in his tone but his story was the same. Roger
was sleeping.

Walters slammed the microphone down. "By the craters of Luna, this is
the last time I'll take this nonsense from Manning!" He jerked around
and stood facing the viewport. "I'm sorry, Steve, but there have been
more reports from Titan. The situation is serious. I've had to start
evacuation. And then to get this smart-alecky behavior out of Manning.
Well, you know what I mean."

Strong nodded, now more concerned about the emergency on Mars. "Shall I