"
"Well, they did, sir," declared Rush. "They left about four hours before
they were to be relieved. I was making the rounds when I discovered that
they were gone. I put two other men on guard right away, but the doors
were unguarded for at least an hour. Anyone could have walked in without
the slightest trouble."
Connel turned back to Walters. "This is the end! Those two cadets are
going up before a general court-martial."
"Commander," protested Strong, "you can't--!"
"Shut up, Steve!" barked Connel. "There's a limit to how long you can
defend your unit. Face it, man, those three boys have gone off their
rockers. They're too cocky. This is the last straw." He turned away
from the young Solar Guard officer and faced the others. "Let's get on
with the interrogation. Firehouse! What have you got to say about this?"
The tough little enlisted guard stepped up and reported clearly and
rapidly and without pause. When he was finished, Connel turned to the
guards that had replaced Roger and Astro and each one repeated the story
told by Firehouse Tim.
Over and over, Connel heard the same story. No one seemed to have been
around the ship when the explosion took place. And it seemed that the
only time when a saboteur could have gotten into the hangar and planted
the bomb was during the hour the doors were unguarded.
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