Disguised by his Martian mask, Starr confronts Hennes, who blinds himself firing a blaster at the protective field. Starr searches Hennes and finds incriminating evidence. The next day, at a meeting with Silvers, Makian, Hennes and Benson, Starr again appears as the masked Space Ranger. He reveals that it was Benson who poisoned the food while pretending to take samples of it, while Hennes was his accomplice in contact with criminal syndicates in the Asteroid Belt; the distraught Benson confesses. Afterward, Bigman confides to Starr that despite the disguise, he recognized him by his black-and-white boots, too plain for any Martian.