Biggs said, "A hole in space, Diane. Their exact nature has never been accurately determined. All we know is that space itself, being subject to material warp, ofttimes develops 'empty spots' of super-space within itself. These areas correspond, roughly, to 'air pockets' encountered by planetary aviators; they are even more similar to the curious 'sacs' found in protoplasmic substances like amoebae." Diane faltered, "A--a hole in space! It sounds incredible! Are they dangerous?" "Apparently not," I told her. "Lots of space ships have tumbled into them, and in every case the ship has eventually worked its way out. Sometimes they're carried far off course, though. That's why the _Slipstream_ has to back-drag, and do it fast." I grinned. "Sometime when I'm not too busy I'll draw you a picture of a space vacuole. It looks pretty. A hole full of nothing--in nothing!" Cap Hanson had been peering through the _perilens_ in my turret. Now he let loose a great roar of delight. "I see her! I seen her stern jets flickerin' for a moment. Here she--Nope! She's in again!" Biggs explained to the girl, "She's trying to back out. The only difficulty is, she has to reverse engines and come out with an acceleration built up to match that at which she entered. Which means--" "Which means," I interjected hopefully, "we're not beaten yet, folks! When the _Slipstream_ busts clear of that vacuole, she's going to be hell-bent in the opposite way to Earth. Mr. Biggs, if we can miss the vacuole and keep going, we might--" Still at the _perilens_, Cap Hanson now yelled, "By golly, I just seen her again! But you ought to see where she is! That vacuole's a rip-snorter! Tearin' like a fool--" "Which way?" cried Biggs. "Starboard declension. You never seen anything as fast as that there gallopin' hole. Hey, here comes the old _Slipstream_! Whee! Nice job, Skipper!" I saw it then. It came blasting back toward us like a ray from a needle-gun. I couldn't help admiring the good sportsmanship in Cap Hanson which, even though he had seen his competitor's ship break free of the bondage that might have cost it the race, caused him to commend the navigator's space-skill. Now the Skipper turned to Lancelot Biggs, and there was a battle-light in his eyes. "Mr. Biggs, this gives us a fightin' chance to win the race! The _Slipstream_ will be a day makin' up for this lost time. I'll relieve you of your command now--" But there was a strange, thoughtful look in Biggs' eyes. He said, slowly, "Did you say starboard, Skipper?" "Eh? What's that? Yes, I said starboard. Well--did you hear me, Mr. Biggs? I've decided not to be hard on you. I'll relieve you of your command now ... take the _Saturn_ on into port...." And Lancelot Biggs said, "_No!_" * * * * *