Rick Brant moved with infinite care. With one hand he adjusted the focus of his microscope, while with the other he brought the sharp glass tip of the pipette into view. He released his thumb for a fraction of a second and let a drop of blue fluid flow into the field of view.

About the Author

John Blaine is the pen name of Harold Leland Goodwin (1914-1990), an American writer. He was known to his friends as Hal Goodwin. Goodwin wrote popular science books, mostly about space exploration, as Harold L. Goodwin, "Hal Goodwin" and "Harold Leland Goodwin". He also wrote children's books as Blake Savage (Rip Foster Rides the Gray Planet) and John Blaine (the Rick Brant series). In the latter case, he co-wrote (with Peter J. Harkins) the first 3 books in the series and wrote books 4 through 24 by himself.