Tom worked his big knuckled long fingers together. "Maybe it won't amount to anything. The brass will just put you on another ship." "Not if he puts in that report," Willie said, his voice muffled against the wall. Tom sat there. There was nothing more to say. Willie was right. "Well, I'll see you on the morning." He got up. "Maybe we can go for a hike or something." When Willie didn't answer, he went out and carefully shut the door behind him. In his own bunk, he tried to think of something else, but the problem of Willie bothered him for a long, restless time. Then it was morning and the clock was chiming. Pudge came in to the table where Tom and Bart were waiting for breakfast. "Some one's been in the stores. A couple of cases of emergency rations are missing. It must have been in the night." "What the hell," Bart said, jumping up. "In the stores?" "Where's Willie?" Tom said, getting up. "Who cares," Bart said. "There's no one on this planet but us. Who'd get into our stores? Or what?" "That's what I mean," Tom said angrily. "Where's Willie?" Bart gave him a startled glance, then led the way to Willie's cabin. He wasn't there. They went through the ship. They dropped out of the lock, one after the other, into the blinding sunlight and looked around. Willie was gone. "We'd better find him before he gets too far," Tom said. "I've got a hunch he's not coming back. That's why the food." "I'll wring the little coward's neck," Bart said as he led the way along the one trail of footprints they had all made to the sand by the sea. They scattered out, calling and looking. Tom, on a hunch, headed for the shoulder of the mountain that jutted out in the sea, while Bart and Pudge went the other way. * * * * * The sun was high in the clear blue sky when Tom at last came around the point to the little cove a stream had made in the side of the mountain. He walked up the narrow sandy bank between the red cliffs until a short way in, he found the cases of food and a pile of blankets. His yell echoed off the red cliffs several times before he looked up to see Willie standing on top of the cliff twenty feet above him. "Come on back to the ship, Willie," Tom called as though Willie was just out for a walk. "We're going to blast off this afternoon. Got to head home." "I'm not coming back," Willie said. "I'm staying here." "Be reasonable," Tom shouted, "you can't stay here. Come on back to the ship." "I'm going to live here. I'm going to colonize," Willie said. "What?" Tom's voice was unbelieving. "I'm going to live here," Willie repeated. "Tom, give me your word you won't force me to go back and I'll come down so we can talk." "O.K.," Tom said, "you have my word." "Bart isn't around, is he?" Willie slid down the cliff in a shower of loose rock and dirt. "You can't stay here, Willie," Tom began, "how are you going to live, to eat?"