Gold in the Sky

Greg Hunter. Test pilot—happy only when his life hung in the balance.
Tom Hunter. A pioneer—his frontier was hidden in test tubes.
Johnny Coombs. A prospector—he returned from the asteroids too soon.
Merrill Tawney. An industrialist—he sought plunder even beyond the stars.
Major Briarton. A government man—his creed was law and order.


The sun was glowing dull red as it slipped down behind the curving horizon of Mars, but Gregory Hunter was not able to see it.
There was no viewscreen in the ship's cabin; it was too tiny for that. Greg twisted around in the cockpit that had been built just big enough to hold him, and shifted his long legs against the brace-webbing, trying to get them comfortable.
He knew he was afraid ... but nobody else knew that, not even the captain waiting at the control board on the satellite, and in spite of the fear Greg Hunter would not have traded places at this moment with anyone else in the universe.
He had worked too hard and waited too long for this moment.