"Why, it's one of the guards!" he said in shocked surprise.
And it was then that the strange feeling of foreboding hit Fred again. As he knelt beside the groaning guard, it swept over him in a chilling wave. He lifted the man's head from the ground and the guard opened his eyes. He recognized the face of Mathieson as the scientist looked anxiously in his direction.
"Good heavens, man, what happened? You were ordered to leave five minutes before launching time!"
The guard's mouth opened as he struggled to a sitting position. The man's hand reached up and touched the back of his head painfully.
"Sir—Gaddon—Dr. Gaddon attacked me ..."
There was a momentary stunned silence as the soldier's words sunk in on the gathered men.
"What?" Mathieson's voice was incredulous.
And as Trent watched the soldier nod his head, the suspicion he had felt suddenly overwhelmed him in a grim realization. Even as the soldier blurted out pain-filled words, Trent knew somehow what he was going to say.
"Gaddon—he pulled a gun on me ... He forced me to the far side of number two—he said he was going up in the rocket—he said he had plans—then he hit me with the gun ... I came to when the rocket went off—I was away from the blasts, luckily ..."
Then the soldier was standing on his feet again, swaying as he fought to clear his fogged senses.