[Illustration: _Mason was frozen into a rigid statue, unable to move_]
Loring marched meekly in front of Shinny to the storage room that had
held Roger. The cadet spaceman remained on the control deck. He twisted
the dials of the teleceiver and spoke into the mike.
"_Space Devil_ to Major Connel. Come in! This is Manning on the _Space
Devil_ calling Major Connel ..."
"Manning!" shouted Connel. "I thought you were a prisoner!"
"Ah, it was nothing, skipper," said Roger blandly. "I just took over the
ship--with a little help, of course!"
"A little help?" asked Connel. "From whom?"
Roger then gave the officer a complete review of what had happened to
him since leaving the space station, finishing with Shinny's aid in his
escape.
"Why would he want to help you?" asked Connel.
"I don't know, sir," replied Roger.
"Well, never mind," said Connel. "I suppose you two can handle that ship
all right between you. Land on Tara as soon as you can. I'll get the
details then!"
"Aye, aye, sir," replied Roger. Then, just before breaking contact, he
yelled into the mike, "Hey, Astro--Tom! See ya in a few minutes!"
As the teleceiver screen darkened, Shinny reappeared.
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