They were waiting there with Johnny. A moment later the guards herded them through the lock and into the hold of the Ranger ship, stripped off their suits, and searched them. A big man with a heavy face and coarse black hair came into the cabin. He looked at Johnny and Greg and grunted. "You must be Hunter," he said to Greg. "Where's the other one?" "What other one?" Greg said. "Your brother. Where is he?" "How would I know?" Greg said. The man's face darkened. "You'd be smart to watch your tongue," he said. "We know there were three of you, we want the other one." The man turned to a guard. "What about it?" "Don't know, Doc. Nobody's reported him." "Then take a crew and search the ship. We were due back hours ago. He's in there somewhere." "Sure, Doc." The guard disappeared through the lock. The man called Doc motioned Greg and Johnny through into the main cabin. "What are you planning to do with us?" Greg demanded. "You'll find out soon enough." Doc's mouth twisted angrily. A guard burst into the cabin. "Doc, there's just nobody there! We've scoured the ship." "You think he just floated away in his space suit?" Doc growled. "_Find him._ Tawney only needs one of them, but we can't take a chance on the other one getting back...." He broke off, his eyes on the viewscreen. "Did you check those scout ships?" "No, I thought...." "Get down there and check them." Doc turned back to the viewscreen impatiently. Greg caught Johnny's eye, saw the big miner's worried frown. "Where is he?" he whispered. "I don't know. Thought you did...." "All I know is that he had some kind of scheme in mind." "Shut up," Doc said to them. "If you're smart, you'll be strapping down before we...." He broke off in mid sentence, listening. Quite suddenly, the Ranger ship had begun to vibrate. Somewhere, far away, there was the muffled rumble of engines. Doc whirled to the viewscreen. Greg and Johnny looked at the same instant, and Johnny groaned. Below them, the _Scavenger_'s jets were flaring. First the pale starter flame, then a long stream of fire, growing longer as the engines developed thrust. Doc slammed down a switch, roared into a speaker. "That scout ship ... stop it! He's trying to make a break!" Two guards appeared at the lock almost instantly, but it was too late. Already she was straining at her magnetic cable moorings; then the exhaust flared, and the little scout ship leaped away from the orbit-ship, moving out at a tangent to the asteroid's orbit, picking up speed, moving faster and faster.... In toward the orbit of Mars. The man called Doc had gone pale. Now he snapped on the speaker again. "Frank? Stand by on missile control. He's asking for it." "Right," the voice came back. "I'm sighting in." The _Scavenger_ was moving fast now, dwindling in the viewscreen. One panel of the screen went telescopic to track her. "All right," Doc said. "Fire one and two."