The Hawk laughed again. "I'm sorry to take the glory of your rescue away from you, Evans, but it was really no rescue at all. You don't understand? It's simple enough. I decided some time ago that the possession of an Earth-Guard rocket would give me very great advantages in my trade of—ah—buccaneering. You see, every rocket in space will stop at the command of an Earth-Guard ship, and since they all look alike we could do just about as we pleased with the rocket-commerce if we had one. Therefore I decided to get one.
"It was easy. I merely embarked in a little one-man ship and when I knew your craft would be on the space-lane returning to earth, I had my crew, in our regular black rocket, stage a faked attack upon me. I called for help, you came; after a brief clash my crew fled as instructed, and you took me aboard. You'd seen the Hawk attacking me, and so believed me implicitly when I told you I was a secret agent whom the Hawk was anxious to capture. Secret agents, you should be aware, are really not so communicative as that. And of course, I couldn't expect you to know that my card was forged.
"Then it was not hard for me to draw out from you the suggestion that I might return to the moon with you on this trip. That was just what I was playing for, of course—the chance to travel back in this rocket. My mission on earth was the purest falsehood—the only thing I did there was to enjoy the witty remarks about the Earth-Guard and the Hawk which I heard all around me. That case I brought with me held enough gas-bombs to paralyze your whole crew. They're all down there now unconscious—I used a mask for myself, of course—but they're not hurt and will be coming to in an hour.
"But I'm afraid that will be a little late. For I waited to make this coup, to gas the crew and stun you, until we were just at this particular position in space. It is the prearranged position, and less than five thousand miles off this space-lane my own rocket and crew are waiting for me. We're heading toward them now, and before your crew wakes, Evans, we'll be with them and this rocket will be in their hands. You and your crew won't be harmed, of course—we can set you loose in a life ship near the moon—but this Earth-Guard craft we'll keep and it should prove highly useful. An ingenious plan, everything considered, don't you think? Nothing overlooked."
Evans' brain was spinning as the Hawk's amusement-filled voice ceased. The great rocket was out of the space-lane by now, he knew—was heading under the Hawk's guiding hands to the prearranged position in space where the black rocket of the corsair waited with its crew to take complete possession of the prize. And the Hawk had captured it, had captured an Earth-Guard rocket, alone!
Evans raged at his bonds in senseless fury. His hands, tied before him, were cut deeply by the cords holding them as he strained to break these. The Hawk looked up from the bank of firing-levers with which he was busy to shake his head in mocking reproof.
"Now, now, Captain Evans," he soothed, "don't take it so hard. Lots of captains have found themselves in your position before this, remember. Though I'll admit this is the first Earth-Guard rocket I've taken."
"No Earth-Guard rocket has ever been taken by an enemy," said Evans thickly.
"Not until now," the Hawk conceded, depressing two more firing-levers. "But there has to be a first time for everything—and from what I heard on earth I don't think the capture of an Earth-Guard rocket will excite any anger."