"Oh, absolutely." "I'm Mike Eagen--head of the Strato Rovers." "No!" Marden was plainly awed. "The Strato Rovers, eh? I've heard of them, all right." The other nodded complacently. "Yeah. We're about the toughest mob this side of Mars. We don't bother honest people, though. We get ours from the crooks and racketeers. They can't squeal to the Interplanetary Police." "There's a lot in what you say," agreed Marden. "And of course that puts your ... mob in the Robin Hood class." "Robin Hood--nuts! That guy was a dope! Runnin' around with bows and arrows. Why, we got a mystery ray that paralyzes anybody that starts up with us. They're all right when it wears off, but by that time we get away." Marden was properly impressed. "A mystery ray! With a weapon like that, you should be able to walk into a bank and clean it out without any trouble." His passenger's lips curled. "I told you, we don't bother honest people. We even help the S.P. sometimes. Right now we're workin' with the Earth-Mars G-men in roundin' up a gang of fifth-columnists that are plannin' on takin' over the gov'ment. They're led by the Black Hornet. This Black Hornet goes around pretendin' like he's a big business man, but he's really a internatural spy." "A--what?" "A internatural spy," repeated Marden's companion, shortly. "The E-M G-men say he's the most dangerous man in the country. But he won't last long with the Strato Rovers on his trail." Marden nodded. "I can believe that. Tell me, Eagen, what are you doing out here around a small Earth town like Dentonville?" "The gov'ment's buildin' some kind of a ammunition place near here, and I understand the Black Hornet's figurin' on wreckin' everything. 'Course he won't get away with it." Scattered plasticade houses on either side of the road indicated they had reached the outskirts of Dentonville. Mike Eagen pointed ahead to a small white house set back among a cluster of trees. "There's where I'm holed up. Drop me off in front." A young woman in a faded blue satin-glass house-dress was standing at the gate of the white picket fence. She watched in silence as the passenger stepped from the rocket car and lifted his hand to the driver in careless farewell. "Thanks for the lift, chum," said Mike Eagen. "Not at all," replied Marden. "Glad to have been of service to Mike Eagen." The woman smiled to him. "He's told you his name, I see." Marden lifted his hat. "Indeed he has." "Michael is all right," she said. "I do think, though, that he reads too many Buck Gordon Interplanetary comic books for a boy of eleven." THE END Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from _Amazing Stories_ April 1956 and was first published in _Amazing Stories_ November 1942. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed. Minor spelling and typographical errors have been corrected without note.