"My aides will present to you the requirements of the Bureau of Warfare as soon as they can be pulled from the files. You will break the news," he said to Kane, "immediately, and in headline form only. Mere mention, in this case, of the new planet, and Guy Maynard, the discoverer. Meanwhile I'll have the Bureau of Propaganda prepare a news-campaign for you, which you will follow within reason." "With nothing to print but the mere discovery of Mephisto," smiled Kane, "I'll be forced to play up Patrol Marshal Maynard. That all right?" "Oh certainly. After all, he's fairly well-known and it will seem only right that a well-known figure gets the limelight. I see your problem; you can't break a lonely headline." "I must at least fill up one column, and even with eighteen point type it takes words. We'll prepare the way, though." "I want Maynard," said Donigan suddenly. "The Bureau of Warfare runs this show," nodded Mantley. "May I ask what for?" "He'll command one phase of the attack. And it will look well that the discoverer leads the battle. It implies that we have implicit confidence in him, in spite of his youth." "Will he require an increase in rank?" "Not at the present time. That will come as necessary. But let's close this. Time is important; Mephisto will be mobilizing even as we are." "May I use the official wire?" asked Kane. "And one more item. What about secrecy?" "A thing this big can not be kept a secret," answered Donigan. "We haven't enough men and materiel to successfully attack a militant planet. Therefore we must recruit men, and get the manufacturers to produce supplies. Mars--I believe--will sit tight and wait until we take the initiative. A move on their part will hinge upon our success or failure on Mephisto. Break it wide and big, Kane. And send it out on the interplanetary service. Mars may as well have something to think of. We know she will never attack Terra as long as the Terran Space Patrol maintains a fleet. Mars is too small and, therefore, too easy to cover compared to Terra. Go ahead and break your story, Kane." * * * * * Kane was as good as his word. It hit the newsstands that evening, in three-inch headlines. They said nothing more than the hourly news-broadcasts for news, but Kane's writers had done an excellent job in building Maynard up as the man of the hour. And then the report of the attack followed. Guy Maynard, commanding the _Orionad_, had been fired upon without provocation as he attempted to run in close to the new planet for photographic records. The bursting of the torpedoes was pictured in the newscasts in all their blasting flame, and the pictures suffered nothing from the film record.