"He's the only one working on his ship," replied Roger. "Not one helper."
Tom snorted. "You're beginning to suspect everything, Roger. He might be going to get a part or grab a bite to eat."
"Where? In Atom City?" asked Roger. "That's the slidewalk to the monorail station." He pointed to the black-suited figure as he hopped on another moving belt that angled away from theirs.
"Oh, forget it," groaned Tom. "I'm too tired to think about it now. Let's just report to Captain Strong and get some sack time. I'm all out of reactant."
"I suppose Astro will spend half the night trying to figure out what it took Kit Barnard years to build," mused Roger.
"And if I know Astro," chuckled Tom, "he'll get it figured out too!"
As the two weary cadets continued their ride into the Academy grounds, on another slidewalk going in the opposite direction, Quent Miles watched the darkening countryside closely. It was several miles from the Academy to the monorail station, and the moving belt dipped and turned through the rugged country that surrounded Space Academy. Suddenly Quent straightened, and making certain no one was watching him, he jumped off the slidewalk and hurried to a clump of bushes a few hundred yards away. He disappeared into the thick foliage and then reached inside his tunic and pulled out a paralo-ray gun.
"You in here, Charley?" Miles whispered.
There was a movement to his left and he leveled the gun. "All right! Come out of there!"
The bushes parted and Charley Brett stepped out. "Put that thing away!" he snarled. "What's that for?"