But he couldn't have come all the way from home. "How far is it to Mars?" queried Bull Mike.
"We'll see," said Neil, turning to the television and checking the distance-finding device on it. "H'm, Mars is nearly on the other side of the sun. 'Way out of flight-shot. That little asteroid shows at about a hundred and fifty million miles."
"That asteroid!" repeated the Martian in a frightened voice. All three stared at him in surprise. He recovered himself. "What asteroid?" he queried more calmly.
"Asking, are you?" said Neil. "Well, I think you know. Where does that asteroid come in?"
"I'm not talking," said the Martian doggedly.
"We'll remedy that," announced Sukune grimly. "Get that space-suit off of him, you two."
The prisoner struggled fiercely, but his puny strength was futile against their muscles, attuned to Earth's greater gravity. Quickly they overpowered him and stripped away his armor of metal and insulated fabric.
"Make him lie down on his face—so!" The Japanese had a hard gleam in his eye. "Hold him by the wrists, Neil. And you, Bull Mike, hold his ankles."
They did so. "Will you talk now?" Sukune asked the Martian.
"I'll not!"