The boys stiffened. "What gave you that idea?" Scotty asked quickly. The waiter admired his fingernails. "Easy. You're not local folks and you don't look like tourists. So, you came here to work. Maybe the atomic test site, maybe Nellis, maybe Scarlet Lake. I said Scarlet Lake because a lot of people from there come in to eat when they're in town. Some of 'em here right now." "Where?" Rick asked. "At the tables over against the wall. What are you going to have?" Neither boy wanted any more food at the moment, and said so. They agreed on coffee. "Here or at a table?" "Table," Rick said. "Might as well move in with the people from Scarlet Lake, starting now." He led the way across the room and picked out a table next to two men in loud sports shirts. One man was big, nearly the size of Dr. Zircon of the Spindrift staff. He had red hair and a curly red beard. His eyes were dark and penetrating under bushy red eyebrows. He looked the boys over with slow deliberation, as though memorizing what they looked like. The second man was big, too, although he didn't approach the redhead in size. He was slightly over six feet, Rick guessed. He was dark-complexioned and clean-shaven. His eyes, a light blue, were a surprising contrast to his dark hair and heavily tanned skin. The redhead leaned over as the boys sat down. "I haven't seen you kids before. You from Scarlet Lake?" "We hope to be," Rick replied civilly. "We've applied for jobs at Lomac, but now we have to wait for a security check." The redhead turned to his friend. "Catching 'em kind of young these days, hey, Pancho?" Pancho showed white teeth in a smile. "Looks like it." "We can do a day's work," Scotty said shortly. "Never doubted it for a minute." The redhead thrust out a massive paw. "I'm Mac McCline. Big Mac, they call me. This here is Pancho Kelly." The boys shook hands and gave their names. "Any idea what you're getting into at Scarlet Lake?" Big Mac asked. "Not much," Rick said truthfully. Big Mac guffawed. "Well, I'll tell you. Heat, dirt, sidewinders, and crazy rockets. And if they don't get you, one thing will." "What's that?" Scotty asked. "The Earthman." CHAPTER IV Scarlet Lake Rick and Scotty never found out what Big Mac meant by his crack about the Earthman. He evaded their questions, apparently feeling that he had said too much. Otherwise he was cordial enough. As the days of waiting to hear from Lomac passed by, the boys made the Spaceman Casino their headquarters, hoping to pick up information from the Scarlet Lake people who hung out there. Men came and went, but Mac and Pancho were there every night. Once, Rick commented on their nightly presence at the casino and said jokingly that work on the base seemed to allow plenty of free time. "We don't go back to the base every night," Big Mac said. "Pancho and I do our job when there's work to be done. Other times we do what we want. If anyone at the base needs us, they know where to come."