"But do you think you can take the pirate ship that way?" asked the commander, dubiously.
"No. But he will cut down his personnel to such an extent that he will have to head back for base."
"And that's what you want—the base. I see."
He did not see—quite—but the Lensman did not enlighten him further.
There was a brilliant double flare as freighter and mauler lifted into the air. Kinnison showed the ship owner out.
"Hadn't I better be going, too?" asked the commander. "Those orders, you know."
"A couple of minutes yet. I have another message for you—official. Matthews won't need a police escort long—if any. When that ship is attacked it is to be the signal for cleaning out every pirate in Greater New York—the worst pirate hotbed on Tellus. Neither you nor your force will be in on it directly, but you might pass the word around, so that our own men will be informed ahead of the Telenews outfits."
"Good! That has needed doing for a long time."
"Yes. But you know it takes a long time to line up every man in such a big organization. They want to get them all, without getting any innocent by-standers."