"You speak English? We are not skilled with Martian." I wondered if at the next time of sleep this fellow would be on duty here. I hoped not; it would not be easy to trick him and find an opportunity to flash a signal. But that task was some hours away as yet; I would worry about it when the time came. Just now I was concerned with Miko and his little band, who at any moment might arrive in sight. If we could persuade this scowling duty-man to turn the projector on them.... He answered me in ready English: "You are the man Gregg Haljan? And this is the sister of George Prince--what do you want up here?" "I am a navigator. Brotow wants me to pilot the ship when we advance to attack Grantline." "This is not the control room." "No, I know it isn't." I put my helmet carefully on the floor-grid beside Anita's. I straightened to find the brigand gazing at her. He did not speak; he was still scowling. But in the dim blue glow of the cubby I caught the look in his eyes. * * * * * I said hastily, "Grantline knows your ship has landed here on Archimedes. His camp is off there on the Mare Imbrium. He sent up a signal--you saw it, didn't you?--just before Miss Prince and I came aboard. He was trying to pretend that he was your Earth-party, Miko and Coniston." "Why?" The fellow turned his scowl on me, but Anita brought his gaze back to her. She put in quickly: "Grantline, as Brother always said, has no great cunning. I believe he's planning now to creep up on us, catch us unaware by pretending that he is Miko." "If he does that," I said, "we will turn this electronic projector on him and annihilate him. You have its firing mechanism here." "Who told you so?" he shot at me. I gestured. "I see it here. It's obvious. I'm skilled at trajectory-firing. If Grantline appears down there now, I'll help you--" "Is it connected?" Anita demanded boldly. "Yes," he said. "You have on your Erentz suits: are you going to the dome-roof? Then go." But that was what we did not want to do. Anita's glance seemed to tell me to let her handle this. I turned toward one of the cubby windows; she said sweetly: "Are you in charge of this room? Show me how that projector is operated; it will be invincible against the Grantline camp." "Yes." * * * * * I had my back to them for a moment. Through the breast-high oval I could see down across the deck-space and out through the side dome windows. And my heart suddenly leaped into my throat. It seemed that down there in the Earthlit shadows, where the spreading base of the giant crater joined the plains, a light was bobbing. I gazed, stricken. Miko's lights? Was he advancing, preparing to signal? I tried to gauge the distance; it was not over two miles from here. Or was it not a light at all? With the naked eye, I could not be sure. Perhaps there was a telescopic finder here in the cubby....