Astounding Science Fiction (British Edition) — page 32: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

30° ASTOUNDING SCIENCE FICTION for ‘Ill on schedule’-—we could only take that to mean that the person guilty of sabotaging the drive controls would pretend to be ill on the day of the ship’s take-off—too ill to be in the ship when its drive exploded.” Whitney turned his eyes on Connie again. “As I say, an anonymous phone call tipped us off. This person sug- gested we look at the monument and we found the message in a crevice in- side the monument. That, Mrs. Miles, was only a few minutes after you had left there.” There was a moment of dead silence, then Whitney’s voice lashed at Connie like the crack of a whip. ““What do you know about that mes- sage?” June reacted then, and in a manner typical of her. She shoved herself away from the card table with a violence that sent it crashing to the floor and advanced on Whitney with her eyes blazing. “‘Nothing, you fool!” The words came like the spitting of an infuriated cat. “My sister isn’t a spy and she doesn’t know anything about that message, you. . . you—” Her small hand flashed out to rip her nails down Whitney’s face and Knight moved quickly to stop her, catching her wrist, then the other hand as she tried to whirl away from him, bringing her arms down tight against her stomach. She struggled furiously to tear loose, her heart pounding against his arm like that of a small, wild animal. ““June—don’t!” Connie was beside them, to lay her hand on June’s shoul- der. “Quit spitting and fighting, kit- ten—he’s only trying to do his job.” June ceased struggling but the hate still blazed in her eyes. ““He called you a spy—nobody is going to call my sister a spy!” ““He didn’t call me a spy, honey— he just asked me what I knew about that message.” = understand your problem, Whit- ney,’ Knight said, releasing June but keeping a wary eye on her, lest she should renew her attack. “Someone is guilty of sabotage and it’s your job to find who that person is. But aren’t you jumping to conclusions on flimsy evi- dence?’ (COMIC NOK KSa(EC) im