Surprisingly, there were no claims of American sabotage. Then Blane wondered whether it was so surprising. With the level of fear in Russia as high as elsewhere, it would probably have been a grave mistake for the leaders to suggest that any American sabotage of territory so far inside Russia was possible. The people had to count on the invulnerability of their station for what little hope they had; how that worked when the supply ships were already ruined was more than he could guess, but he had long since given up trying to understand the devious game of propaganda being played on Earth. At least for the moment, the disaster was not being turned into another excuse to push the seemingly inevitable war another millimeter closer to the brink. Maybe the whole affair might result in some decline of tension. Once the American ships were sent up to supply the _Sulky_ on an emergency basis, there might be a little good will from Russia and self-satisfaction at a good deed in America. That could give a breathing spell. Blane had almost forgotten Manners and the worry over the strange increase in radioactivity. He had sent Manners' latest figures down with a query for instructions at the first chance to do so by tight-beam radio that would not leak security, and then had let the matter drop from his mind. It was several hours later when his secretary announced that Peal and Manners were in the outer office. Manners looked both more worried and strangely satisfied, as if he were bursting to cry his I-told-you-so. But Peal's face was drained of any emotion except surprise. The scientist nodded. "Captain Manners' figures were quite accurate. We've got to evacuate nearby sections of the station. In a way, we're lucky--radiation travels in straight lines, and the hull curves away from it here. There is about three hundred times normal radiation in there, and it's coming from inside the warheads. It isn't lethal yet--men can work there for a few hours at a time; but at the rate it's increasing, it soon will be. Any word from Earth?" Blane dug through his in basket, and finally located a blue slip. It was in code, but Devlin's instructions included the location of the code book. He riffled through it for phrases each decagraph covered. _Situation within normal expectations--results being studied here--continue as at present--will apprise if new procedure advisable--regard as utmost top secret--invoke maximum security measures over affected personnel._ * * * * * "No word," he said bitterly. Probably he wasn't even supposed to say that much, or to discuss it with the other two. But he chose to interpret the part about continuing as at present to permit the discussion to continue. He tried to focus his mind on what facts he knew. "I thought the radiation rate of the stuff in the warheads was constant, and that the casings were adequate shielding."