"You'll pay for this!" Rage at his own helplessness almost gagged Ray. "When we land on Earth I'm going to have you hunted down like a dog!" "It takes evidence to hang a man." The captain chuckled mirthlessly. "Do you think I'd willingly jettison a valuable cargo? We'll be drifting for a week, at the mercy of any patrol ship that comes along. I had to do it." A sudden thought iced Ray's boiling emotions. Ellenor! He'd have to watch out for the girl. With the Mutes gone, Lodar would have to reckon with the girl. Ray turned to the door. He had to get away from Lodar before he was tempted to shoot the man! "You and I are through, Lodar." He tried to keep his voice steady, to bottle up his fury. He'd need all his wits to get out of this mess! His former grudge against the Company, against Earth justice, was childish and futile. He had been a brainless fool to fall for the romance, the swashbuckling air of the _Vulcan_. "I'll work with you till we land," he said through clenched teeth. "After that we're through!" He slammed the door behind him. He wanted to get as far away from Lodar as possible, to the rear of the ship, where a repair crew was blasphemously patching the hull. Several space-suited figures were outside, welding the plates, while others, inside, used plastic matting to save the air. Jenkins was in command. "Where are we now, Mr. Burk?" he asked Ray. "About halfway to Earth." Ray tried to sound normal. "Is the captain still insisting on going ahead?" Ray nodded, dislike of the other welling in him. "Looky." Jenkins drew him to one side. "The men don't like the idea, see, of going to Earth. Most of us skipped out to space for a good reason, see?" Ray nodded again, and his lips tightened impatiently. Jenkins was a bully. "Well, sir, maybe you could persuade the captain to change his mind, huh? We don't want trouble." "All right, I'll see." Ray started to turn away. "Campora tried to tell the captain." Jenkins' grimy paw rested on Ray's arm, while he peered at him through his glasses. "But Lodar don't like Campora, see?" Ray had paused despite his loathing for the man. "Sure." Jenkins moved closer. "Campora knifed a guy just before he skipped Earth. It was his second offense. Don't let on I told you." He looked anxious. "I was just trying to help, see?" "Yes." Ray turned away disgustedly. "I'll talk to Lodar." He was beginning to hate every man aboard the _Vulcan_. That wasn't good. It was a sign of space hysteria. He'd have to guard against such things. Vigilance was the only safety factor. Stay out in space too long and you begin to brood. Worse still if you are psychologically able to stick it out long enough, you become infected with the deadly space rays that burn you up with febrile energy. Or you go batty with claustrophobia. And they had all been out too long. They were reckless and unstable. He must get Ellenor away safely if it was the last thing he ever did.