impatiently, smiled grimly. "Mr. Stone, I think we all owe you an apology. This has been a gross miscarriage of justice." He was wide awake now. He turned to one of the guards.

"Fallon, get the Warden on the phone right away. Tell him the sentence of death on Galth of Rastol has been commuted. Tell him that the real murderer will be punished."

The guard returned a moment later.

"Well?" the Governor demanded.

"They were just leading him into the death cell when the message arrived," the guard said. "They've returned him to confinement pending the written pardon."

Kendall Stone sank down limply on a chair.

He glanced at his watch. 0545.

Outside the window, the first rays of dawn were breaking through the murky night. He thought of his family awakening light years away. The sun would be coming up too on Rastol....

 Prev. P 11/11