"Thank you. I will resign my position when we reach San Francisco, and will await your orders."
"But, Captain," Holden asked, "how did you know that I was head of the expedition?"
"Oh, the news has been broadcast everywhere, with instructions to give you any aid possible. But no information was given as to the exact nature of the trip. Could I be trusted—?"
"Why certainly. We are going to destroy the moon, wipe it out of existence, so that it will cease to exert the tremendous gravitational pull that has been causing—."
At that moment a petty officer appeared behind the Captain.
"Have you any further orders concerning the cargo to be dumped at New Orleans?"
"No. I thought I gave you to understand that there were to be no more additions to that cargo. Didn't you hear me?"
"I beg your pardon, sir," the man said, and walked away.
"I wonder how much of our conversation he heard?" mused Erickson. "But then, I suppose it makes no difference."
After a few minutes of conversation, Holden asked the Captain if they could be shown their cabins, so that they could get a few hours of rest before reaching their destination. The request was readily granted, and in a few minutes Holden was alone in a neat little room, furnished with a comfortable chair, tables along two walls, and a very pleasant looking berth built into the third side. The professor had a similar place a few doors down the hall.