Jeff thought a moment, then nodded his head. "O.K. I'll see you later."
The three cadets returned to their quarters to wait while Jeff went up to the control deck. He walked in with a smile, chatted with the pilot a few moments, and then made his request.
"I want to take a look at the log a minute, Johnny," he said casually. "The professor lost his notes on the meteor dust we passed through the other day."
"Sure," said the pilot. He tossed the dog-eared book to the sergeant. Jeff flipped through the pages and found the day Tom's report was to have been sent. He checked carefully, continuing through the entries for the succeeding days, ending with the last entry made just an hour before. There was no mention of Tom's report. Jeff turned to give the logbook to the pilot when Vidac and Professor Sykes stepped through the hatch. Seeing Jeff with the log in his hands, Vidac frowned.
"What are you doing here, Marshall?" he snapped.
Jeff was trapped. He came to attention and remained silent. Vidac walked across the control deck and stood in front of him.
"Well, Marshall?" he barked. "Answer me!"
"I needed some information about the meteor dust we passed through recently, sir," said Jeff.
Vidac turned to the professor. "Did you send him up here?"
Sykes merely shook his head.