Another second and the great craft
was rising from its seat.
Shouts, muffled and faint because of the ship's double windows,
sounded from outside. Reblong saw the sheds sinking rapidly below
him. In thirty seconds the vessel was free of the dock.
"First gear ahead," came the signal; and again Reblong obeyed.
Practically he had no choice. Another man, of nobler training, might
have preferred to be loyal at all costs. But Reblong, the
representative Capellan workman, saw the lights of the sheds shift
slowly to the rear, then go out of sight as the speed increased. He
saw one or two fliers preparing to pursue, but he knew that the
cruiser would easily outstrip the best of them.
The Cobulus had got clear away!
It was an hour later that the four, this time through the doctor and
young Ernol, learned the sequel to Fort's daring feat. The boy was
alone in his cell, awake in the darkness, when one of the guards
marched up to his door and unlocked it.
"Come out," he ordered; and Ernol preceded him down the corridor, up
a flight of stairs, through another corridor and thence into the
exercise grounds.
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