"Spooks like Jupiter Equilateral, maybe," Tom said. "They could make plenty of trouble for Dad." "With the U.N. in the driver's seat here? They wouldn't dare. Why do you think the major rides them so hard with all the claim-filing regulations? He'd give his right arm for a chance to break that outfit into pieces." "I still wish somebody had gone out to the Belt with Dad," Tom said. Just then the door opened. The newcomer was a tall, gray-haired man with U.N. Council stripes on his lapel, and major's rockets on his shoulders. "Sorry I'm late, boys," Major Briarton said. "I'd hoped to be here when you arrived. I'm sorry to pull you in here like this, but I'm afraid I had no choice. When did you boys hear from your father last?" They looked at each other. "I saw him six weeks ago," Tom said. "Just before he left to go out to the Belt again." "Nothing since then?" "Not a word." The major chewed his lip. "Greg?" "I had a note at Christmas, I think. But what...." "What did he say in the note?" "He said Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Dad isn't much of a letter writer." "Nothing at all about what he was doing?" Greg shook his head. "Look, Major, if there's some sort of trouble...." "Yes, I'm afraid there's trouble," the major said. He looked up at them, and spread his hands helplessly. "There isn't any easy way to tell you, but you've got to know. There's been an accident, out in the Belt." "Accident?" Greg said. "A very serious accident. A fuel tank exploded in the scooter your father was riding back to the _Scavenger_. It must have been very sudden, and by the time help arrived...." The major broke off, unable to find words. For a long moment there was utter silence in the room. Outside, an elevator was buzzing, and a typewriter clicked monotonously somewhere in the building. Then Tom Hunter broke the silence. "Who was it, Major?" he said. "Who killed Dad? Tell us, or we'll find out!" 2. Jupiter Equilateral For a moment, Major Briarton just stared at him. Then he was on his feet, shaking his head as he came around the desk. "Tom, use your head," he said. "It's as much of a shock to me as it is to you, but you can't afford to jump to false conclusions...." Tom Hunter looked up bitterly. "He's dead, isn't he?" "Yes, he's dead. He must have died the instant of the explosion...." "You mean you don't know?" "I wasn't there at the time it happened, no." "Then who was?" * * * * * Major Briarton spread his hands helplessly. "Nobody was. Your father was alone. From what we could tell later, he'd left the _Scavenger_ to land on one of his claims, using the ship's scooter for the landing. He was on the way back to the _Scavenger_ when the rear tank exploded. There wasn't enough left of it to tell what went wrong ... but it was an accident, there was no evidence to suggest anything else." Tom looked at him. "You really believe that?" "I can only tell you what we found."