"By doing some looting of our own," Ashe answered. "Those tapes we brought back are going to be a big help. More than one derelict was located. We were right in our surmise that the Reds first discovered the remains of one in Siberia, but it was in no condition to be explored. They already had the basic idea of the time traveler, so they applied it to the hunting down of other ships, with several way stops to throw people like us off the scent. So they found an intact ship, and also several others. At least three are on _this_ side of the Atlantic where they couldn't get at them very well. Those we can deal with now----" "Won't the aliens be waiting for us to try that?" "As far as we can discover they don't know where any of these ships crashed. Either there were no survivors, or passengers and crew took off in lifeboats while they were still in space. They might never have known of the Reds' activities if you hadn't triggered that communicator on the derelict." Ross was reduced to a small boy who badly needed an alibi for some piece of juvenile mischief. "I didn't mean to." That excuse sounded so feeble that he was surprised into a laugh, only to see Ashe grinning back at him. "Seeing as how your action also put a very effective spike in the opposition's wheel, you are freely forgiven. Anyway, you have also provided us with a pretty good idea of what we may be up against with the aliens, and we'll be prepared for that next time." "Then there will be a next time?" "We are calling in all time agents, concentrating our forces in the right period. Yes, there will be a next time. We have to learn just what they are trying so hard to protect." "What do you think it is?" "Space!" Ashe spoke the word softly as if he relished the promise it held. "Space?" "That ship you explored was a derelict from a galactic fleet, but it was a ship and it used the principle of space flight. Do you understand now? In these lost ships lies the secret which will make us free of all the stars! We must claim it." "Can we----?" "Can _we_?" Ashe was laughing at Ross again with his eyes, though his face remained sober. "Then _you_ still want to be counted in on this game?" Ross looked down again at his bandaged hand and remembered swiftly so many things--the coast of Britain on a misty morning, the excitement of prowling the alien ship, the fight with Ennar, even the long nightmare of his flight down the river, and lastly, the exultation he had tasted when he had faced the alien and had locked wills--to hold steady. He knew that he could not, would not, give up what he had found here in the service of the project as long as it was in his power to cling to it. "Yes." It was a very simple answer, but when his eyes met Ashe's, Ross knew that it would serve better than any solemn oath. SECOND PRINTING $3.00 The Time Traders by ANDRE NORTON