He grinned. "I thought another plane'd attack and try to rescue her but you, my weak-lunged friend, were melodramatic enough. Also, when the Patrol gets through with you maybe we'll know where those plans are."

The woman started, perceptibly. "I burned the plans!" she flared.

"That's what the police thought," said Ricker. "But they thought you were working alone, too, and your Martian chum here has rather disproved that. No, Molly Borden. There's more to the Adison case than came out in the trial. There're others involved. I'm going to find out who if it's my last story."

"You blundering imbecile—!" the woman broke suddenly. But quickly she stopped, clinched her teeth and lowered her eyes. Since Ricker had known her, this was the first time she'd lost that notorious composure and he made a mental note of it. He had the telenews man's objectivity about murderers, millionaires and chorus girls. Molly Borden wasn't a cold-blooded killer to him, nor a most lovely woman. To Ricker she was just a good telenews yarn....

He waved the pistol toward the boat's little air lock. "Get in there, both of you," he ordered. "It'll keep you out of mischief while I contact the Times."

The lock was slightly larger than a closet, about one quarter the size of the whole boat. Standing well away from any sudden move, Ricker forced them in, sullen and tight-lipped. He spun a wheel giving them enough air and slid the door on the hissing chamber. Then hands on his hips, he surveyed the interior of the cabin.

From about waist-high on all sides and sloping overhead, the walls were transparent—glassite, a foot thick. At the nose of the triangular shaped room was a control box, instrument panel and a small radio outfit. Ricker stepped over quickly, his pulse pounding with glee.

He checked the auto-pilot; it was idling the boat correctly in its wide driftless circle. Then he clicked on the transmitter, found the New York beam and sat down.

"Ricker calling Times, Ricker calling Planetary Times...." As he waited, he glanced through the glass, saw the huge ball of Neptune circle beneath him. The planet glowed like a weak green light bulb in the lonely darkness and he shivered to think twelve inches of glassite was all that stood between him and the vacuum of stellar night, the long dead fall to those snows far below....

"Planetary Times. What is it—?"

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