Wade felt his heart skip a beat. Slowly, ever so slowly, the huge ship began to move. Dust, sand and smoke mingled with the sheets of flame pouring from her stern. The platform disappeared in a puff of smoke. The _Starfrost_ lifted. "Thank God!" the Secretary sighed. "Amen." Wade muttered. He took out another cigarette. He was glad it had begun; the project. Now there was only the long wait. "Ackerson's a brave man." The Secretary said. "Of course he is." Wade never had any doubts about Allen's intestinal fortitude. The man had a good war record. Confidence seemed to ooze out of the man. It was his attitude, damn it. Wade drew deeply on the cigarette. Tomer had been the same type in many ways. Eager, filled with the enthusiasm, unafraid. A small man compared to the blond Ackerson, he seemed to carry himself tall. And his attitude. He felt the same intensity about National defense as Boeman did himself. Perhaps that was another reason he had felt close to the boy. Tomer would have made this trip with no thought whatsoever about the financial rewards or what the history books would have to say about him. "... Sixty thousand ..." someone said. "Start communication," Wade commanded automatically. "Romeo." The commo picked up the small hand mike. All eyes in the room centered on the silent speaker on the wall. "_Starfrost._ This is Mother. How do you read me, over?" The speaker remained silent. "_Starfrost._ Can you read me. Over!" * * * * * The Secretary looked at Wade. His face was tight and drawn. "What do you think, Wade. Are we getting through?" "It's hard to say. He's moving pretty fast. He could outrun the signal. We've never had a practical voice test." Lowe's face had a worried expression covering it. "Didn't you have communications with the test rocket?" "That was unmanned ... remember?" "This silence doesn't worry you?" the Secretary asked with amazement. "Ackerson was trained for this. He knows there is nothing we can do for him. _He's on his own._ Communications would be to our advantage, to be sure. But Ackerson knows that ship like you know the back of your hand. Besides ... perhaps he is too busy to answer right now. He has to be sure there is no wobble." "Wobble!" "Sure. The ship could begin to oscillate. If it does that he is done. He has to keep his eye on the gyro." The Secretary's eyes penetrated. "I can't help but feel that you would be more concerned if Tomer were in the _Starfrost_ instead of Ackerson. Wade ... don't let the fact that you hate Ackerson cloud the issue. He is doing us a great service." "Stop it, Harry!" "After all. The first man to circle the Moon is entitled to a place in the history books. I can share his feelings, in a way. It's a great thing he's doing." "Others have done more," Wade said sharply.