When Edwards came up again, Blane sent for him at once. The pilot had made a superb landing of his ship at Canaveral, and had then been jetted back to the Island. Normally he would have taken a long layover there before making another trip up, though he had senior pilot's right to select or refuse any flight he chose. Blane was curious about his reasons for choosing the first trip he could make. Edwards lost no time in reporting. He hadn't stopped to remove his emergency space suit, though he'd left the helmet and the oxygen tank somewhere. He clumped in, accepted coffee, and began talking even as he shucked off the suit. "It's a wonder they even let me fly up supplies to you," he grumbled. "Jerry, it's rough down there. They've got everything sewed up under controls. I'm surprised they didn't suspect me of plotting an orbit for the _Sulky_ instead of here. Damn all governments that have to mess into space affairs!" Some of the details came out slowly, with more color than clarity. But Blane gathered that they had reacted violently to the news that the government was trying to use the emergency as a means of forcing disarmament on the Russian station. "You mean they actually did refuse help without such an agreement?" Blane asked. He hadn't wanted to believe the rumors. Edwards nodded angrily. "They issued a ban against any efforts to help without such agreement. They most certainly did! And you can guess how that sat with us. Maybe the _Sulky's_ full of Russians, but they're Russian _spacemen_! Hell, when we were building this wheel here and one worker got thrown out into space, three of their pilots came up in ships to help find him--and one did find him. Remember? Sure you do. They hated our building here, but they wouldn't let a man die in space if they could help. So we owe them a few trips." * * * * * Two of the pilots had tried to steal one of the ships fueled and supplied for the _Goddard_, but had been caught before they could take off. Now they were under guard, and the ships were being watched carefully. Edwards had been permitted to make the run only after a session in which it was pointed out that landing rights would be denied any ship contacting the _Sulky_. And the other pilots were almost in a state of revolt, with nearly all of the old-time ground force supporting them. "The government can't stick to such a policy," Blane said doubtfully. "They can't gain anything. The _Sulky_ must have enough supplies for existence until at least one ship can be assembled and sent up. All we'll do by holding them up is to increase the danger. They must be bluffing for a while, hoping Russia will crack, but ready to send supplies in a few days."