Scotty finished his coke and banged the bottle on the table for emphasis. "Okay. They couldn't. But why are you so sure they couldn't sabotage a rocket?" "I'm not sure," Rick replied. "But now that I've seen how the base works, it seems to me that only someone who works on the rockets could sabotage one." "Careful," Scotty said with a groan. "You're dumping the only suspects we have." Rick grinned ruefully. "I know it. Anyway, we have to keep moving, even if it means starting all over again. So let's start at Steamboat." "Okay. And just for the fun of it, I'll check the vehicle board. It won't hurt to know how much time Mac and Pancho have spent off the base in their truck. Suppose I gas up the jeep and meet you at the barracks?" "I'll check out with Pegasus. Will you have any trouble?" "No. Everything just about closes down the day of a shoot. I'll be there in ten minutes." The boys parted at the door of the recreation hall and Rick started back to the barracks. As he passed the main administrative building, John Gordon fell in step. "If I knew you two, I'd be mighty proud of both of you," the scientist said whimsically. "You for the job you did with Gee-Gee last night, and Scotty for pulling that fireman out this morning." Rick smiled his thanks. "Anything new?" "Not so far. Tom Preston is having the warehouses checked, just in case. But it's a terrific job going through an inventory item by item." "Can you find out if the clerks leave the warehouses during a shoot?" Rick asked. "Tom has already gone to work on that. I'll find a way to let you know. Keep in touch, Rick." Rick continued on to the barracks, mind churning with confused thoughts. If only they had a few hard facts to work on! There wasn't a single definite clue to anyone. And, after last night, how could he suspect any of the dedicated, hard-working rocketeers? Impossible to imagine that anyone who had worked so hard on one of the projects could deliberately sabotage it. Yet, there was no other answer. No one outside the technical and scientific staff would have the opportunity or knowledge. "At least," he concluded ruefully, "if we assume it's someone with ready access to the projects, we've cut down the size of the haystack. We're looking for one man out of only about five hundred!" CHAPTER X Stranded in Steamboat The road to Steamboat led by Careless Mesa, then through a series of twists and turns down to comparatively level country again. According to the map, the ghost town was in a valley next to a dry lake bed. Rick glanced at his watch. "It's going to be late when we get there." "Maybe that's good," Scotty returned. "If anyone is in the town we'll see lights. This country is so wide open it would be hard to sneak up on the town in daylight." "It would, if there was anything to sneak up for. Haven't you got the feeling this is a wild-goose chase?"