Produced by Greg Weeks, dpcfmander, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net [Transcriber's note: This etext was produced from _Amazing Science Fiction Stories_ April 1959. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U. S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] It's amazing how much you can learn about absolute strangers if you just stop to think about the kind of an animal they'll put in a ... TEST ROCKET! By JACK DOUGLAS [Illustration: Cover] Captain Baird stood at the window of the laboratory where the thousand parts of the strange rocket lay strewn in careful order. Small groups worked slowly over the dismantled parts. The captain wanted to ask but something stopped him. Behind him Doctor Johannsen sat at his desk, his gnarled old hand tight about a whiskey bottle, the bottle the doctor always had in his desk but never brought out except when he was alone, and waited for Captain Baird to ask his question. Captain Baird turned at last. "They are our markings?" Captain Baird asked. It was not the question. Captain Baird knew the markings of the Rocket Testing Station as well as the doctor did. "Yes," the doctor said, "they are our markings. Identical. But not our paint." Captain Baird turned back to the window. Six months ago it had happened. Ten minutes after launching, the giant test rocket had been only a speck on the observation screen. Captain Baird had turned away in disgust. "A mouse!" the captain had said, "unfortunate a mouse can't observe, build, report. My men are getting restless, Johannsen." "When we are ready, Captain," the doctor had said. It was twelve hours before the urgent call from Central Control brought the captain running back to the laboratory. The doctor was there before him. Professor Schultz wasted no time, he pointed to the instrument panel. "A sudden shift, see for yourself. We'll miss Mars by a million and a quarter at least." Two hours later the shift in course of the test rocket was apparent to all of them and so was their disappointment. * * * * * "According to the instruments the steering shifted a quarter of an inch. No reason shows up," Professor Schultz said. "Flaw in the metal?" Doctor Johannsen said. "How far can it go?" Captain Baird asked. Professor Schultz shrugged. "Until the fuel runs out, which is probably as good as never, or until the landing mechanism is activated by a planet-sized body." "Course? Did you plot it?" The doctor asked. "Of course I did," Professor Schultz said, "as close as I can calculate it is headed for Alpha Centauri." Captain Baird turned away. The doctor watched him. "Perhaps you will not be quite so hasty with your men's lives in the future, Captain?" the doctor said. Professor Schultz was spinning dials. "No contact," the professor said, "No contact at all."