“I’m awfully sorry,” d**k stammered to the guard.
The guard took one baleful look at them both. “Beat it,” he ordered, “and take that confounded thing with you!”
Without another word d**k picked up the now much lighter fire extinguisher and with Jim beat a hasty retreat back to their quarters. He had had enough fire fighting for one night.
Inside the main hangar a powerful and compact little fire truck stood in front of the opened, vaultlike door of the blueprint room. While the fire crew was still coiling hose and restowing the rest of the truck’s gear, a tall, owl-like man arrived on the double. He gave crisp orders to three guards who were standing by, “No one is to go in that room under any circumstances. That includes Osborne himself. Now stand aside.”
Commander Hazard walked care
