If his action in coming to Ertene to protect them were really known, he didn't think they'd act harshly in his direction. Ertene was one place where the thought-beam would save him at the proper time. * * * * * Maynard strode to the tiny pilot's chamber and charted the course of the _Loki_. When he established the barrier, he did not know that a hundred beam-detectors throughout the system went wandering foolishly; their center-of-urge gone completely. But he suspected, and he searched the _Loki_ with a sensitive detector rigged out of the communications set parts and located twelve separate spotter-generators. If he were to land on Ertene safely, he'd want no detectors on him. And if the barrier failed for the barest instant on his course, Terra would be on the trail in minutes. Once inside the great barrier that covered Ertene, he would be safe--except that he wanted no Ertinian to detect him either. So he combed the _Loki_ free of all emission and then continued to coast toward Pluto, concealed behind the barrier. Ertene was on the far side of Sol. Evasion of the Patrol was going to be a problem. Though he was not undetectable, they knew where he was and how fast he was going and in what direction. Their course-predictors could extrapolate very well indeed, and could predict the position of a barrier-hidden ship since no drive would work behind the barrier. It was a matter of straight-line projection unless the celestial masses caused some deflection, but this could also be calculated. Since his creation of the barrier would be taken as an admission of flight, he was willing to wager his life that a Terran ship would soon take the pursuit. Armed with the course-prediction, the ship would match the _Loki's_ velocity and position to a precision within a few days. He could not hope to drive the _Loki_ under the barrier. Yet he was beyond the negative-detector range that he had devised on the _Orionad_ to predict the positions of sub-ships. His problem, then, was to stay outside of that range, and at the same time change his course. Once the barrier was removed, he would be detected by his drive. He shook his head. Well, there were certain ideas he could give a try. And, luckily, there was no premium put on time. He would make use of the minor errors in all detectors. He could make use of the "angles of confusion" which give areas instead of pinpricks at great distances for the position of a target. And he could hope to win through. Kane's little ship was not a Patrol ship, unluckily, though the publisher had installed just about every attachment that he could get his hands on. Guy's assumption that he would find acceleration garb in the locker was correct, and he strapped the binding, holding suit on tightly and waited while the oxygen-content of the _Loki_ increased.