him to find out what's going on."

"Yes, sir."

"And then tell him to contact me on the _Polaris_. We're blasting off
immediately."

"Very well, sir."

Walters turned to Captain Strong. "What do you think it means, Steve?"
he asked.

"I can't figure it, sir. Knowing Manning as I do, it could be a crazy
stunt or it could be serious."

"It had better be serious," said Walters grimly, "for Manning's sake.
One more slip, and I'm bouncing him right out of the Academy!"

The two officers left the control tower, leaving young Oliver Muffin
alone, droning his monotonous call to Tom Corbett, somewhere between
Earth and Mars--a call that was to be the young cadet's first warning of
treachery in deep space!

[Illustration]




CHAPTER 8