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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/19526-h.zip b/19526-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..6ce94cd --- /dev/null +++ b/19526-h.zip diff --git a/19526-h/19526-h.htm b/19526-h/19526-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4e350af --- /dev/null +++ b/19526-h/19526-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,9989 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> + <head> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1" /> + +<title> +The Project Gutenberg eBook of Stand by for Mars, by Carey Rockwell +</title> +<style type="text/css"> + +<!-- + p { margin-top: .75em; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .75em; + } + h1,h2,h3 { + text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ + clear: both; + } + hr { width: 33%; + margin-top: 2em; + margin-bottom: 2em; + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; + clear: both; + } + body{margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; + } + div.centered {text-align: center;} /* work around for IE centering with CSS problem part 1 */ + table {margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;} + .pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */ + visibility: hidden; + position: absolute; + left: 92%; + font-size: smaller; + text-align: right; + } /* page numbers */ + + + .br {border-right: solid 2px;} + .bbox {border: solid 2px;} + .center {text-align: center;} + + .caption {font-weight: bold;} + .figcenter {margin: auto; text-align: center;} + .poem {margin-left:10%; margin-right:10%; text-align: left;} + + .poem .stanza {margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em;} + + .poem span.i4 {display: block; margin-left: 4em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + + //--> + </style> + </head> +<body> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Stand by for Mars!, by Carey Rockwell + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Stand by for Mars! + +Author: Carey Rockwell + +Illustrator: Louis Glanzman + +Release Date: October 11, 2006 [EBook #19526] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STAND BY FOR MARS! *** + + + + +Produced by Greg Weeks, Ross Wilburn and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<h1>STAND BY</h1> +<h1>FOR MARS!</h1> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"><a name="frontispiece" id="frontispiece"></a> +<img src="images/im003.png" width="400" height="483" alt="im003" title="" /> +</div> + +<h2>A TOM CORBETT Space Cadet Adventure</h2> + +<h1>STAND BY</h1> +<h1>FOR MARS!</h1> + +<h2>By CAREY ROCKWELL</h2> + +<h3>WILLY LEY <i>Technical Adviser</i></h3> + +<h3>GROSSET & DUNLAP <i>Publishers</i> New York</h3> + +<h3>COPYRIGHT, 1952, BY<br /> +ROCKHILL RADIO +<br /> +<br /></h3> +<h3>ALL RIGHTS RESERVED +<br /> +<br /> +PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA</h3> + +<div class="bbox"><h3>Transcriber's Note</h3> +<p class="center">Extensive search has failed to uncover any evidence of +renewal of copyright of this work.Transcriber made minor context and +grammatical changes for the sake of clarity.</p></div> + +<h1><big>STAND BY</big></h1> +<h1><big>FOR MARS!</big></h1> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"><a name="Pg_0" id="Pg_0"></a> +<img src="images/im007.png" width="300" height="443" +alt="The scarlet-clad figure stood before them" title="" /> +<span class= "caption"> The scarlet-clad figure stood before them</span></div> + +<p><br /><br /></p> +<h2><a name="Contents" id="Contents"></a>Contents.</h2> + + + + +<div class='center'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="Contents"> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#CHAPTER_1"><b>CHAPTER 1</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#CHAPTER_2"><b>CHAPTER 2</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#CHAPTER_3"><b>CHAPTER 3</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#CHAPTER_4"><b>CHAPTER 4</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#CHAPTER_5"><b>CHAPTER 5</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#CHAPTER_6"><b>CHAPTER 6</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#CHAPTER_7"><b>CHAPTER 7</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#CHAPTER_8"><b>CHAPTER 8</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#CHAPTER_9"><b>CHAPTER 9</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#CHAPTER_10"><b>CHAPTER 10</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#CHAPTER_11"><b>CHAPTER 11</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#CHAPTER_12"><b>CHAPTER 12</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#CHAPTER_13"><b>CHAPTER 13</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#CHAPTER_14"><b>CHAPTER 14</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#CHAPTER_15"><b>CHAPTER 15</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#CHAPTER_16"><b>CHAPTER 16</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#CHAPTER_17"><b>CHAPTER 17</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#CHAPTER_18"><b>CHAPTER 18</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#CHAPTER_19"><b>CHAPTER 19</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#CHAPTER_20"><b>CHAPTER 20</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#CHAPTER_21"><b>CHAPTER 21</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><a href="#CHAPTER_22"><b>CHAPTER 22</b></a></td></tr> +</table></div> + + +<p><br /><br /></p> + +<h2><a name="List_of_Illustrations" id="List_of_Illustrations"></a>List of Illustrations.</h2> + +<div class='center'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="List of Illustrations"> +<tr><td align='left'>FRONTISPIECE</td><td align='right'><i><a href="#frontispiece">frontispiece</a></i></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>The Scarlet-clad Figure Stood Before Them</td><td align='right'><i><a href="#Pg_0">vignette</a></i></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>"I was unable to get a sight on Alpha-Centauri"</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_60">60</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Roger was still standing in front of the Space Queen</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_77">77</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>"Attention Squadrons D and F - Proceed to Luna City"</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_125">125</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>A low muted roar pulsed through the ship</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_155">155</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>"You lead the way, Tom. I'll carry him"</td><td align='right'><a href="#im212">204</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Back Cover</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_216">216</a></td></tr> +</table></div> +<p><br /><br /></p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_1" id="CHAPTER_1"></a>CHAPTER 1</h2> + +<p>"Stand to, you rocket wash!"</p> + +<p>A harsh, bull-throated roar thundered over the platform +of the monorail station at Space Academy and suddenly +the lively chatter and laughter of more than a +hundred boys was stilled. Tumbling out of the gleaming +monorail cars, they froze to quick attention, their eyes +turned to the main exit ramp.</p> + +<p>They saw a short, squat, heavily built man, wearing +the scarlet uniform of the enlisted Solar Guard, staring +down at them, his fists jammed into his hips and his feet +spread wide apart. He stood there a moment, his sharp +eyes flicking over the silent clusters, then slowly sauntered +down the ramp toward them with a strangely +light, catfooted tread.</p> + +<p>"Form up! Column of fours!"</p> + +<p>Almost before the echoes of the thunderous voice +died down, the scattered groups of boys had formed +themselves into four ragged lines along the platform.</p> + +<p>The scarlet-clad figure stood before them, his seamed +and weather-beaten face set in stern lines. But there was +a glint of laughter in his eyes as he noticed the grotesque +and sometimes tortuous positions of some of the +boys as they braced themselves in what they considered +a military pose.</p> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</a></span></p> + +<p>Every year, for the last ten years, he had met the +trains at the monorail station. Every year, he had seen +boys in their late teens, gathered from Earth, Mars and +Venus, three planets millions of miles apart. They were +dressed in many different styles of clothes; the loose +flowing robes of the lads from the Martian deserts; the +knee-length shorts and high stockings of the boys from +the Venusian jungles; the vari-colored jacket and trouser +combinations of the boys from the magnificent Earth +cities. But they all had one thing in common—a dream. +All had visions of becoming Space Cadets, and later, +officers in the Solar Guard. Each dreamed of the day +when he would command rocket ships that patrolled +the space lanes from the outer edges of Pluto to the twilight +zone of Mercury. They were all the same.</p> + +<p>"All right now! Let's get squared away!" His voice +was a little more friendly now. "My name's McKenny—Mike +McKenny. Warrant Officer—Solar Guard. See +these hash marks?"</p> + +<p>He suddenly held out a thick arm that bulged against +the tight red sleeve. From the wrists to the elbow, the +lines of boys could see a solid corrugation of white V-shaped +stripes.</p> + +<p>"Each one of these marks represents four years in +space," he continued. "There's ten marks here and I intend +making it an even dozen! And no bunch of Earthworms +is going to make me lose the chance to get those +last two by trying to make a space monkey out of me!"</p> + +<p>McKenny sauntered along the line of boys with that +same strange catlike step and looked squarely into the +eyes of each boy in turn.</p> + +<p>"Just to keep the record straight, I'm your cadet supervisor. +I handle you until you either wash out and go +home, or you finally blast off and become spacemen. If +you stub your toe or cut your finger, come to me. If you +get homesick, come to me. And if you get into trouble"—he +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</a></span>paused momentarily—"don't bother because +I'll be looking for <i>you</i>, with a fist full of demerits!"</p> + +<p>McKenny continued his slow inspection of the ranks, +then suddenly stopped short. At the far end of the line, +a tall, ruggedly built boy of about eighteen, with curly +brown hair and a pleasant, open face, was stirring uncomfortably. +He slowly reached down toward his right +boot and held it, while he wriggled his foot into it. McKenny +quickly strode over and planted himself firmly in +front of the boy.</p> + +<p>"When I say stand to, I mean stand to!" he roared.</p> + +<p>The boy jerked himself erect and snapped to attention.</p> + +<p>"I—I'm sorry, sir," he stammered. "But my boot—it +was coming off and—"</p> + +<p>"I don't care if your pants are falling down, an order's +an order!"</p> + +<p>The boy gulped and reddened as a nervous titter rippled +through the ranks. McKenny spun around and +glared. There was immediate silence.</p> + +<p>"What's your name?" He turned back to the boy.</p> + +<p>"Corbett, sir. Cadet Candidate Tom Corbett," answered +the boy.</p> + +<p>"Wanta be a spaceman, do ya?" asked Mike, pushing +his jaw out another inch.</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir!"</p> + +<p>"Been studying long hard hours in primary school, eh? +Talked your mother and father deaf in the ears to let +you come to Space Academy and be a spaceman! You +want to feel those rockets bucking in your back out in +the stars? <i>EH?</i>"</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir," replied Tom, wondering how this man he +didn't even know could know so much about him.</p> + +<p>"<i>Well, you won't make it</i> if I ever catch you disobeying +orders again!"</p> + +<p>McKenny turned quickly to see what effect he had +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span>created on the others. The lines of bewildered faces satisfied +him that his old trick of using one of the cadets as +an example was a success. He turned back to Corbett.</p> + +<p>"The only reason I'm not logging you now is because +you're not a Space Cadet yet—and won't be, until +you've taken the Academy oath!"</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir!"</p> + +<p>McKenny walked down the line and across the platform +to an open teleceiver booth. The ranks were quiet +and motionless, and as he made his call, McKenny +smiled. Finally, when the tension seemed unbearable, +he roared, "At ease!" and closed the door of the +booth.</p> + +<p>The ranks melted immediately and the boys fell into +chattering clusters, their voices low, and they occasionally +peered over their shoulders at Corbett as if he had +suddenly been stricken with a horrible plague.</p> + +<p>Brooding over the seeming ill-fortune that had called +McKenny's attention to him at the wrong time, Tom sat +down on his suitcase to adjust his boot. He shook his +head slowly. He had heard Space Academy was tough, +tougher than any other school in the world, but he +didn't expect the stern discipline to begin so soon.</p> + +<p>"This could be the beginning of the end," drawled a +lazy voice in back of Tom, "for some of the more enthusiastic +cadets." Someone laughed.</p> + +<p>Tom turned to see a boy about his own age, weight +and height, with close-cropped blond hair that stood up +brushlike all over his head. He was lounging idly +against a pillar, luggage piled high around his feet. Tom +recognized him immediately as Roger Manning, and his +pleasant features twisted into a scowl.</p> + +<p>"About what I'd expect from that character," he +thought, "after the trick he pulled on Astro, that big +fellow from Venus."</p> + +<p>Tom's thoughts were of the night before, when the +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span> +connecting links of transportation from all over the +Solar Alliance had deposited the boys in the Central +Station at Atom City where they were to board the +monorail express for the final lap to Space Academy.</p> + +<p>Manning, as Tom remembered it, had taken advantage +of the huge Venusian by tricking him into carrying +his luggage. Reasoning that since the gravity of +Venus was considerably less than that of Earth, he convinced +Astro that he needed the extra weight to maintain +his balance. It had been a cheap trick, but no one +had wanted to challenge the sharpness of Manning's +tongue and come to Astro's rescue. Tom had wanted +to, but refrained when he saw that Astro didn't mind.</p> + +<p>Finishing his conversation on the teleceiver, McKenny +stepped out of the booth and faced the boys +again.</p> + +<p>"All right," he bawled. "They're all set for you at the +Academy! Pick up your gear and follow me!" With a +quick light step, he hopped on the rolling slidewalk at +the edge of the platform and started moving away.</p> + +<p>"Hey, Astro!" Roger Manning stopped the huge boy +about to step over. "Going to carry my bags?"</p> + +<p>The Venusian, a full head taller, hesitated and looked +doubtfully at the four suitcases at Roger's feet.</p> + +<p>"Come on," prodded Roger in a tone of mock good +nature. "The gravity around here is the same as in +Atom City. It's the same all over the face of the Earth. +Wouldn't want you to just fly away." He snickered and +looked around, winking broadly.</p> + +<p>Astro still hesitated, "I don't know, Manning. I—uhh—"</p> + +<p>"By the rings of Saturn! What's going on here?" Suddenly +from outside the ring of boys that had gathered +around, McKenny came roaring in, bulling his way to +the center of the group to face Roger and Astro.</p> + +<p>"I have a strained wrist, sir," began Roger smoothly.</p> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span></p> +<p>"And this cadet candidate"—he nodded casually toward +Astro—"offered to carry my luggage. Now he refuses."</p> + +<p>Mike glared at Astro. "Did you agree to carry this +man's luggage?"</p> + +<p>"Well—I—ah—" fumbled Astro.</p> + +<p>"Well? Did you or didn't you?"</p> + +<p>"I guess I sorta did, sir," replied Astro, his face turning +a slow red.</p> + +<p>"I don't hold with anyone doing another man's work, +but if a Solar Guard officer, a Space Cadet, or even a +cadet candidate gives his word he'll do something, he +does it!" McKenny shook a finger in Astro's face, reaching +up to do it. "Is that clear?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir," was the embarrassed reply.</p> + +<p>McKenny turned to Manning who stood listening, a +faint smile playing on his lips.</p> + +<p>"What's your name, Mister?"</p> + +<p>"Manning. Roger Manning," he answered easily.</p> + +<p>"So you've got a strained wrist, have you?" asked +Mike mockingly while sending a sweeping glance from +top to bottom of the gaudy colored clothes.</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir."</p> + +<p>"Can't carry your own luggage, eh?"</p> + +<p>"Yes," answered Roger evenly. "I could carry my own +luggage. I thought the candidate from Venus might +give me a helping hand. Nothing more. I certainly +didn't intend for him to become a marked man for a +simple gesture of comradeship." He glanced past McKenny +toward the other boys and added softly, "And +comradeship <i>is</i> the spirit of Space Academy, isn't it, +sir?"</p> + +<p>His face suddenly crimson, McKenny spluttered, +searching for a ready answer, then turned away abruptly.</p> + +<p>"What are you all standing around for?" he roared. +"Get your gear and yourselves over on that slidewalk! +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span>Blast!" He turned once again to the rolling platform. +Manning smiled at Astro and hopped nimbly onto the +slidewalk after McKenny, leaving his luggage in a heap +in front of Astro.</p> + +<p>"And be careful with that small case, Astro," he +called as he drifted away.</p> + +<p>"Here, Astro," said Tom. "I'll give you a hand."</p> + +<p>"Never mind," replied Astro grimly. "I can carry +'em."</p> + +<p>"No, let me help." Tom bent over—then suddenly +straightened. "By the way, we haven't introduced ourselves. +My name's Corbett—Tom Corbett." He stuck +out his hand. Astro hesitated, sizing up the curly-headed +boy in front of him, who stood smiling and offering +friendship. Finally he pushed out his own hand +and smiled back at Tom.</p> + +<p>"Astro, but you know that by now."</p> + +<p>"That sure was a dirty deal Manning gave you."</p> + +<p>"Ah, I don't mind carrying his bags. It's just that I +wanted to tell him he's going to have to send it all back. +They don't allow a candidate to keep more than a +toothbrush at the Academy."</p> + +<p>"Guess he'll find out the hard way."</p> + +<p>Carrying Manning's luggage as well as their own, +they finally stepped on the slidewalk and began the +smooth easy ride from the monorail station to the +Academy. Both having felt the sharpness of Manning's +tongue, and both having been dressed down by Warrant +Officer McKenny, they seemed to be linked by a +bond of trouble and they stood close together for mutual +comfort.</p> + +<p>As the slidewalk whisked them silently past the few +remaining buildings and credit exchanges that nestled +around the monorail station, Tom gave thought to his +new life.</p> + +<p>Ever since Jon Builker, the space explorer, returning +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span> +from the first successful flight to a distant galaxy, came +through his home town near New Chicago twelve years +before, Tom had wanted to be a spaceman. Through +high school and the New Chicago Primary Space +School where he had taken his first flight above Earth's +atmosphere, he had waited for the day when he would +pass his entrance exams and be accepted as a cadet +candidate in Space Academy. For no reason at all, a +lump rose in his throat, as the slidewalk rounded a +curve and he saw for the first time, the gleaming white +magnificence of the Tower of Galileo. He recognized it +immediately from the hundreds of books he had read +about the Academy and stared wordlessly.</p> + +<p>"Sure is pretty, isn't it?" asked Astro, his voice +strangely husky.</p> + +<p>"Yeah," breathed Tom in reply. "It sure is." He could +only stare at the shimmering tower ahead.</p> + +<p>"It's all I've ever wanted to do," said Tom at length. +"Just get out there and—be <i>free</i>!"</p> + +<p>"I know what you mean. It's the greatest feeling in +the world."</p> + +<p>"You say that as if you've already been up there."</p> + +<p>Astro grinned. "Yup. Used to be an enlisted space +sailor. Bucked rockets in an old freighter on the Luna +City—Venusport run."</p> + +<p>"Well, what are you doing here?" Tom was amazed +and impressed.</p> + +<p>"Simple. I want to be an officer. I want to get into +the Solar Guard and handle the power-push in one of +those cruisers."</p> + +<p>Tom's eyes glowed with renewed admiration for his +new friend. "I've been out four or five times but only in +jet boats five hundred miles out. Nothing like a jump +to Luna City or Venusport."</p> + +<p>By now the slidewalk had carried them past the base +of the Tower of Galileo to a large building facing the +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span>Academy quadrangle and the spell was broken by McKenny's +bull-throated roar.</p> + +<p>"Haul off, you blasted polliwogs!"</p> + +<p>As the boys jumped off the slidewalk, a cadet, dressed +in the vivid blue that Tom recognized as the official +dress of the Senior Cadet Corps, walked up to McKenny +and spoke to him quietly. The warrant officer turned +back to the waiting group and gave rapid orders.</p> + +<p>"By twos, follow Cadet Herbert inside and he'll assign +you to your quarters. Shower, shave if you have to +and can find anything to shave, and dress in the uniform +that'll be supplied you. Be ready to take the Academy +oath at"—he paused and glanced at the senior +cadet who held up three fingers—"fifteen hundred +hours. That's three o'clock. All clear? Blast off!"</p> + +<p>Just as the boys began to move, there was a sudden +blasting roar in the distance. The noise expanded and +rolled across the hills surrounding Space Academy. It +thundered over the grassy quadrangle, vibrating waves +of sound one on top of the other, until the very air quivered +under the impact.</p> + +<p>Mouths open, eyes popping, the cadet candidates +stood rooted in their tracks and stared as, in the distance, +a long, thin, needlelike ship seemed to balance +delicately on a column of flame, then suddenly shoot +skyward and disappear.</p> + +<p>"Pull in your eyeballs!" McKenny's voice crackled +over the receding thunder. "You'll fly one of those firecrackers +some day. But right now you're <i>Earthworms</i>, +the lowest form of animal life in the Academy!"</p> + +<p>As the boys snapped to attention again, Tom thought +he caught a faint smile on Cadet Herbert's face as he +stood to one side waiting for McKenny to finish his +tirade. Suddenly he snapped his back straight, turned +sharply and stepped through the wide doors of the +building. Quickly the double line of boys followed.</p> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span></p> +<p>"Did you see that, Astro?" asked Tom excitedly. +"That was a Solar Guard patrol ship!"</p> + +<p>"Yeah, I know," replied Astro. The big candidate +from Venus scratched his chin and eyed Tom bashfully. +"Say, Tom—ah, since we sort of know each other, how +about us trying to get in the same quarters?"</p> + +<p>"O.K. by me, Astro, if we can," said Tom, grinning +back at his friend.</p> + +<p>The line pressed forward to Cadet Herbert, who was +now waiting at the bottom of the slidestairs, a mesh +belt that spiraled upward in a narrow well to the upper +stories of the building. Speaking into an audioscriber, +a machine that transmitted his spoken words into typescript, +he repeated the names of the candidates as they +passed.</p> + +<p>"Cadet Candidate Tom Corbett," announced Tom, +and Herbert repeated it into the audioscriber.</p> + +<p>"Cadet Candidate Astro!" The big Venusian stepped +forward.</p> + +<p>"What's the rest of it, Mister?" inquired Herbert.</p> + +<p>"That's all. Just Astro."</p> + +<p>"No other names?"</p> + +<p>"No, sir," replied Astro. "You see—"</p> + +<p>"You don't say 'sir' to a senior cadet, Mister. And +we're not interested in why you have only one name!" +Herbert snapped.</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir—uhh—Mister." Astro flushed and joined +Tom.</p> + +<p>"Cadet Candidate Philip Morgan," announced the +next boy.</p> + +<p>Herbert repeated the name into the machine, then +announced, "Cadet Candidates Tom Corbett, Astro, and +Philip Morgan assigned to Section 42-D."</p> + +<p>Turning to the three boys, he indicated the spiraling +slidestairs. "Forty-second floor. You'll find Section D in +the starboard wing."</p> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span></p> +<p>Astro and Tom immediately began to pile Manning's +luggage to one side of the slidestairs.</p> + +<p>"Take your luggage with you, Misters!" snapped Herbert.</p> + +<p>"It isn't ours," replied Tom.</p> + +<p>"Isn't yours?" Herbert glanced over the pile of suitcases +and turned back to Tom. "Whose is it then?"</p> + +<p>"Belongs to Cadet Candidate Roger Manning," replied +Tom.</p> + +<p>"What are you doing with it?"</p> + +<p>"We were carrying it for him."</p> + +<p>"Do we have a candidate in the group who finds it +necessary to provide himself with valet service?"</p> + +<p>Herbert moved along the line of boys.</p> + +<p>"Will Cadet Candidate Roger Manning please step +forward?"</p> + +<p>Roger slid from behind a group of boys to face the +senior cadet's cold stare.</p> + +<p>"Roger Manning here," he presented himself +smoothly.</p> + +<p>"Is that your luggage?" Herbert jerked his thumb +over his shoulder.</p> + +<p>"It is."</p> + +<p>Roger smiled confidently, but Herbert merely stared +coldly.</p> + +<p>"You have a peculiar attitude for a candidate, Manning."</p> + +<p>"Is there a prescribed attitude, Mr. Herbert?" Roger +asked, his smile broadening. "If there is, I'll be only +too glad to conform to it."</p> + +<p>Herbert's face twitched almost imperceptibly. Then +he nodded, made a notation on a pad and returned to +his post at the head of the gaping line of boys. "From +now on, Candidate Manning, you will be responsible +for your own belongings."</p> + +<p>Tom, Astro, and Philip Morgan stepped on the slidestairs +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span> +and began their spiraling ascent to the forty-second floor.</p> + +<p>"I saw what happened at the monorail station," +drawled the third member of Section 42-D, leaning +against the bannister of the moving belt. "By the craters +of Luna, that Manning felluh sure is a hot operator."</p> + +<p>"We found out for ourselves," grunted Astro.</p> + +<p>"Say, since we're all bunkin' togethuh, let's get to +knowin' each othuh. My name's Phil Morgan, come +from Georgia. Where you all from?"</p> + +<p>"New Chicago," replied Tom. "Name's Tom Corbett. +And this is Astro."</p> + +<p>"Hiya." Astro stuck out a big paw and grinned his +wide grin. "I guess you heard. Astro's all the name I've +got."</p> + +<p>"How come?" inquired the Southerner.</p> + +<p>"I'm from Venus and it's a custom from way back +when Venus was first colonized to just hand out one +name."</p> + +<p>"Funny custom," drawled Phil.</p> + +<p>Astro started to say something and then stopped, +clamping his lips together. Tom could see his face turn +a slow pink. Phil saw it too, and hastily added:</p> + +<p>"Oh—I didn't mean anything. I—ah—" he broke off, +embarrassed.</p> + +<p>"Forget it, Phil." Astro grinned again.</p> + +<p>"Say," interjected Tom. "Look at that!"</p> + +<p>They all turned to look at the floor they were passing. +Near the edge of the step-off platform on the fourth +floor was an oaken panel, inscribed with silver lettering +in relief. As they drew even with the plaque, they +caught sight of someone behind them. They turned to +see Manning, the pile of suitcases in front of him, +reading aloud.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span></p> +<p>" ... to the brave men who sacrificed their lives +in the conquest of space, this Galaxy Hall is dedicated...."</p> + +<p>"Say, this must be the museum," said Tom. "Here's +where they have all the original gear used in the first +space hops."</p> + +<p>"Absolutely right," said Manning with a smile.</p> + +<p>"I wonder if we could get off and take a look?" Astro +asked.</p> + +<p>"Sure you can," said Roger. "In fact, the Academy +regs say every cadet must inspect the exhibits in the +space museum within the first week."</p> + +<p>The members of Section 42-D looked at Roger questioningly.</p> + +<p>"I don't know if we have time." Tom was dubious.</p> + +<p>"Sure you have—plenty. I'd hop off and take a look +myself but I've got to get this junk ready to ship home." +He indicated the pile of bags in front of him.</p> + +<p>"Aw, come on, Tom, let's take a look!" urged Astro. +"They have the old <i>Space Queen</i> in here, the first ship +to clear Earth's gravity. Boy, I'd sure like to see her!" +Without waiting for the others to agree, the huge candidate +stepped off the slidestairs.</p> + +<p>"Hey, Astro!" yelled Tom. "Wait! I don't think—" +His voice trailed off as the moving stair carried him +up to the next floor.</p> + +<p>But then a curious thing happened. As other boys +came abreast of the museum floor and saw Astro they +began to get off and follow him, wandering around +gazing at the relics of the past.</p> + +<p>Soon nearly half of the cadet candidates were standing +in silent awe in front of the battered hull of the +<i>Space Queen</i>, the first atomic-powered rocket ship allowed +on exhibition only fifty years before because of +the deadly radioactivity in her hull, created when a +lead baffle melted in midspace and flooded the ship +with murderous gamma rays.</p> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span></p> +<p>They stood in front of the spaceship and listened +while Astro, in a hushed voice, read the inscription on +the bronze tablet.</p> + +<p>"—Earth to Luna and return. 7th March 2051. In +honor of the brave men of the first atomic-powered +spaceship to land successfully on the planet Moon, only +to perish on return to Earth...."</p> + +<p>"Candidates—staaaaaaaaannnnnd <i>too</i>!"</p> + +<p>Like a clap of thunder Warrant Officer McKenny's +voice jarred the boys out of their silence. He stepped +forward like a bantam rooster and faced the startled +group of boys.</p> + +<p>"I wanna know just <i>one</i> thing! Who stepped off that +slidestairs <i>first</i>?"</p> + +<p>The boys all hesitated.</p> + +<p>"I guess I was the first, sir," said Astro, stepping forward.</p> + +<p>"Oh, you guess you were, eh?" roared McKenny.</p> + +<p>Taking a deep breath McKenny launched into a +blistering tirade. His choice of words were to be long +remembered by the group and repeated to succeeding +classes. Storming against the huge Venusian like a +pygmy attacking an elephant, McKenny roared, berated +and blasted.</p> + +<p>Later, when Astro finally reached his quarters and +changed into the green coveralls of the cadet candidates, +Tom and Phil crowded around him.</p> + +<p>"It was Roger, blast him!" said Tom angrily. "He was +getting back at you because Cadet Herbert made him +carry his own gear."</p> + +<p>"I asked for it," grumbled Astro. "Ah, I should've +known better. But I just couldn't wait to see the +<i>Queen</i>." He balled his huge hands into tight knots and +stared at the floor.</p> + +<p>"Now hear this!!!"</p> + +<p>A voice suddenly rasped over the PA system loud-speaker +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span> +above the door. "All cadet candidates will +come to attention to receive the Space Academy oath +from Commander Walters." The voice paused. "<i>AT-TENT-SHUN!</i> +Cadet candidates—Staaaaannnnd <i>TO</i>!"</p> + +<p>"This is Commander Walters speaking!" A deep, +powerful voice purred through the speaker. "The Academy +oath is taken individually.</p> + +<p>"It is something each candidate locks in his spirit, +his mind and his heart. That is why it is taken in your +quarters. The oath is not a show of color, it is a way +of life. Each candidate will face as closely as possible +in the direction of his home and swear by his own +individual God as he repeats after me."</p> + +<p>Astro stepped quickly to the window port and gazed +into the blue heavens, eyes searching out the misty +planet Venus. Phil Morgan thought a moment, and +faced toward the wall with the inlaid star chart of the +sky, thinking of sun-bathed Georgia. Tom Corbett +stared straight at a blank wall.</p> + +<p>Each boy did not see what was in front of him yet +he saw further, perhaps, than he had ever seen before. +He looked into a future which held the limitlessness of +the universe and new worlds and planets to be lifted +out of the oblivion of uncharted depths of space to +come.</p> + +<p>They repeated slowly....</p> + +<p>" ... I solemnly swear to uphold the Constitution +of the Solar Alliance, to obey interplanetary law, to +protect the liberties of the planets, to safeguard the +freedom of space and to uphold the cause of peace +throughout the universe ... to this end, I dedicate +my life!" +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span></p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_2" id="CHAPTER_2"></a>CHAPTER 2</h2> + + +<p>Tom Corbett's first day at Space Academy began at +0530 hours with the blaring of the <i>Cadet Corps Song</i> +over the central communicators:</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i4">"<i>From the rocket fields of the Academy</i><br /></span> +<span class="i4"><i>To the far-flung stars of outer space,</i><br /></span> +<span class="i4"><i>We're Space Cadets training to be</i><br /></span> +<span class="i4"><i>Ready for dangers we may face.</i><br /></span></div> +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i4"><i>Up in the sky, rocketing past</i><br /></span> +<span class="i4"><i>Higher than high, faster than fast,</i><br /></span> +<span class="i4"><i>Out into space, into the sun</i><br /></span> +<span class="i4"><i>Look at her go when we give her the gun.</i><br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i4"><i>From the rocket fields of the</i>...."<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>Within sixty seconds, the buildings of the Academy +rocked with the impact of three thousand voices singing +the last stanza. Lights flashed on in every window. +Cadets raced through the halls and across the quadrangle. +The central communicator began the incessant +mustering of cadets, and the never-ending orders of +the day.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span> +" ... Unit 38-Z report to Captain Edwards for astrogation. +Unit 68-E report to Commander Walters for +special assignments."</p> + +<p>On and on, down the list of senior cadets, watch officers, +and the newly arrived Earthworms. Units and +individuals to report for training or study in everything +from ground assembly of an atomic rocket motor, to +the history of the founding of the Solar Alliance, the +governing body of the tri-planet civilization.</p> + +<p>Tom Corbett stepped out of the shower in Section +42-D and bellowed at the top of his voice.</p> + +<p>"Hit the deck, Astro! Make use of the gravity!" He +tugged at an outsized foot dangling over the side of an +upper bunk.</p> + +<p>"Uhhhh-ahhhh-hummmmm," groaned the cadet +from Venus and tried to go back to sleep.</p> + +<p>Philip Morgan stepped into the shower, turned on +the cold water, screeched at the top of his voice, gradually +trailing off into countless repetitions of the last +verse of the Academy song.</p> + +<p>"Damp your tubes, you blasted space monkey," +roared Astro, sitting up bleary-eyed.</p> + +<p>"What time do we eat?" asked Tom, pulling on the +green one-piece coverall of the Earthworm cadet candidates.</p> + +<p>"I don't know," replied Astro, opening his mouth in +a cavernous yawn. "But it'd better be soon. I like space, +but not between my backbone and my stomach!"</p> + +<p>Warrant Officer McKenny burst into the room and +began to compete with the rest of the noise outside the +buildings.</p> + +<p>"Five minutes to the dining hall and you'd better not +be late! Take the slidestairs down to the twenty-eighth +floor. Tell the mess cadet in charge of the hall your unit +number and he'll show you to the right table. Remember +where it is, because you'll have to find it yourself +after that, or not eat. Finish your breakfast and report +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span> +to the ninety-ninth floor to Dr. Dale at seven hundred +hours!"</p> + +<p>And as fast as he had arrived, he was gone, a flash of +red color with rasping voice trailing behind.</p> + +<p>Exactly one hour and ten minutes later, promptly +at seven o'clock, the three members of Unit 42-D stood +at attention in front of Dr. Joan Dale, along with the +rest of the green-clad cadets.</p> + +<p>When the catcalls and wolf whistles had died away, +Dr. Dale, pretty, trim, and dressed in the gold and +black uniform of the Solar Guard, held up her hand and +motioned for the cadets to sit down.</p> + +<p>"My answer to your—" she paused, smiled and continued, +"your enthusiastic welcome is simply—thank +you. But we'll have no further repetitions. This is Space +Academy—not a primary school!"</p> + +<p>Turning abruptly, she stood beside a round desk in +the well of an amphitheater, and held up a thin tube +about an inch in diameter and twelve inches long.</p> + +<p>"We will now begin your classification tests," she +said. "You will receive one of these tubes. Inside, you +will find four sheets of paper. You are to answer all the +questions on each paper and place them back in the +tube. Take the tube and drop it in the green outline +slot in this wall."</p> + +<p>She indicated a four-inch-round hole to her left, outlined +with green paint. Beside it, was another slot +outlined with red paint. "Remain there until the +tube is returned to you in the red slot. Take it back +to your desk." She paused and glanced down at her +desk.</p> + +<p>"Now, there are four possible classifications for a +cadet. Control-deck officer, which includes leadership +and command. Astrogation officer, which includes radar +and communications. And power-deck officer for +engine-room operations. The fourth classification is for +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span> +advanced scientific study here at the Academy. Your +papers are studied by an electronic calculator that has +proven infallible. You must make at least a passing +grade on each of the four classifications."</p> + +<p>Dr. Dale looked up at the rows of upturned, unsmiling +faces and stepped from the dais, coming to a +halt near the first desk.</p> + +<p>"I know that all of you here have your hearts set on +becoming spacemen, officers in the Solar Guard. Most +of you want to be space pilots. But there must be astrogators, +radar engineers, communication officers and +power-deck operators on each ship, and," she paused, +braced her shoulders and added, "some of you will not +be accepted for any of these. Some of you will wash +out."</p> + +<p>Dr. Dale turned her back on the cadets, not wanting +to look at the sudden pallor that washed over their +faces. It was brutal, she thought, this test. Why bring +them all the way to the Academy and then give the +tests? Why not start the entrance exams at the beginning +with the classification and aptitude? But she +knew the answer even before the thoughtful question +was completed. Under the fear of being washed out, +the weaker ones would not pass. The Solar Guard +could not afford to have cadets and later Solar Guard +officers who could not function under pressure.</p> + +<p>She began handing out the tubes and, one by one, +the green-clad candidates stepped to the front of the +room to receive them.</p> + +<p>"Excuse me, Ma'am," said one cadet falteringly. +"If—if—I wash out as a cadet—as a Solar Guard officer +cadet"—he gulped several times—"does that mean there +isn't any chance of becoming a spaceman?"</p> + +<p>"No," she answered kindly. "You can become a member +of the enlisted Solar Guard, if you can pass the +acceleration tests." +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span></p> +<p>"Thank you, Ma'am," replied the boy and turned +away nervously.</p> + +<p>Tom Corbett accepted the tube and hurried back to +his seat. He knew that this was the last hurdle. He did +not know that the papers had been prepared individually, +the tests given on the basis of the entrance exams +he had taken back at New Chicago Primary Space +School.</p> + +<p>He opened the tube, pulling out the four sheets, +printed on both sides of the paper, and read the heading +on the first: ASTROGATION, COMMUNICATIONS, +SIGNALS (<i>Radar</i>)</p> + +<p>He studied the first question.</p> + +<p>" ... What is the range of the Mark Nine radar-scope, +and how far can a spaceship be successfully distinguished +from other objects in space?..."</p> + +<p>He read the question four times, then pulled out a +pencil and began to write.</p> + +<p>Only the rustle of the papers, or the occasional sigh +of a cadet over a problem, disturbed the silence in the +high-ceilinged room, as the hundred-odd cadets fought +the questions.</p> + +<p>There was a sudden stir in the room and Tom looked +up to see Roger Manning walk to the slot and casually +deposit his tube in the green-bordered slot. Then he +leaned idly against the wall waiting for it to be returned. +As he stood there, he spoke to Dr. Dale, who +smiled and replied. There was something about his +attitude that made Tom boil. So fast? He glanced at +his own papers. He had hardly finished two sheets +and thought he was doing fine. He clenched his teeth +and bent over the paper again, redoubling his efforts +to triangulate a fix on Regulus by using dead reckoning +as a basis for his computations.</p> + +<p>Suddenly a tall man, wearing the uniform of a Solar +Guard officer, appeared in the back of the room. As +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span>Dr. Dale looked up and smiled a greeting, he placed +his finger on his lips. Steve Strong, Captain in the Solar +Guard, gazed around the room at the backs bent over +busy pencils. He did not smile, remembering how, only +fifteen years before, he had gone through the same torture, +racking his brains trying to adjust the measurements +of a magnascope prism. He was joined by a thin +handsome young man, Lieutenant Judson Saminsky, +and finally, Warrant Officer McKenny. They nodded +silently in greeting. It would be over soon. Strong +glanced at the clock over the desk. Another ten minutes +to go.</p> + +<p>The line of boys at the slots grew until more than +twenty stood there, each waiting patiently, nervously, +for his turn to drop the tube in the slot and receive in +return the sealed cylinder that held his fate.</p> + +<p>Still at his desk, his face wet with sweat, Astro looked +at the question in front of him for the fifteenth time.</p> + +<p>" ... Estimate the time it would take a 300-ton +rocket ship with half-filled tanks, cruising at the most +economical speed to make a trip from Titan to Venusport. +(a) Estimate size and maximum capacity of fuel +tanks. (b) Give estimate of speed ship would utilize...."</p> + +<p>He thought. He slumped in his chair. He stared at +the ceiling. He chewed his pencil....</p> + +<p>Five seats away, Tom stacked his examination sheets +neatly, twisted them into a cylinder and inserted them +in the tube. As he passed the line of desks and headed +for the slot, a hand caught his arm. Tom turned to see +Roger Manning grinning at him.</p> + +<p>"Worried, spaceboy?" asked Roger easily. Tom didn't +answer. He simply withdrew his arm.</p> + +<p>"You know," said Roger, "you're really a nice kid. +It's a shame you won't make it. But the rules specifically +say 'no cabbageheads.'"</p> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span></p> +<p>"No talking!" Dr. Dale called sharply from her desk.</p> + +<p>Tom walked away and stood in the line at the slots. +He found himself wanting to pass more than anything +in the world. "Please," he breathed, "please, just let me +pass—"</p> + +<p>A soft gong began to sound. Dr. Dale stood up.</p> + +<p>"Time's up," she announced. "Please put your papers +in the tubes and drop them in the slot."</p> + +<p>Tom turned to see Astro stuffing his papers in the +thin cylinder disgustedly. Phil Morgan came up and +stood in back of Tom. His face was flushed.</p> + +<p>"Everything O.K., Phil?" inquired Tom.</p> + +<p>"Easy as free falling in space," replied the other +cadet, his soft Georgian drawl full of confidence. "How +about you?"</p> + +<p>"I'm just hoping against hope."</p> + +<p>The few remaining stragglers hurried up to the line.</p> + +<p>"Think Astro'll make it?" asked Phil.</p> + +<p>"I don't know," answered Tom, "I saw him sweating +over there like a man facing death."</p> + +<p>"I guess he is—in a way."</p> + +<p>Astro took his place in line and shrugged his shoulders +when Tom leaned forward to give him a questioning +look.</p> + +<p>"Go ahead, Tom," urged Phil. Tom turned and +dropped his tube into the green-bordered slot and +waited. He stared straight at the wall in front of him, +hardly daring to breathe. Presently, the tube was returned +in the red slot. He took it, turned it over in his +hands and walked slowly back to his desk.</p> + +<p>"You're washed out, cabbagehead!" Manning's whisper +followed him. "Let's see if you can take it without +bawling!"</p> + +<p>Tom's face burned and he fought an impulse to answer +Manning with a stiff belt in the jaw. But he kept +walking, reached his desk and sat down. +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span></p> + +<p>Astro, the last to return to his desk, held the tube out +in front of him as if it were alive. The room was silent +as Dr. Dale rose from her desk.</p> + +<p>"All right now, boys," she announced. "Inside the +tubes you will find colored slips of paper. Those of you +who have red slips will remain here. Those who find +green slips will return to their quarters. Blue will go +with Captain Strong, orange with Lieutenant Saminsky, +and purple with Warrant Officer McKenny. Now—please +open the tubes."</p> + +<p>There was a tinkling of metal caps and then the +slight rustle of paper as each boy withdrew the contents +of the tube before him.</p> + +<p>Tom took a deep breath and felt inside for the paper. +He held his breath and pulled it out. It was green. +He didn't know what it meant. He looked around. Phil +was signaling to him, holding up a blue slip. Tom's +heart skipped a beat. Whatever the colors meant, he +and Phil were apart. He quickly turned around and +caught Astro's eye. The big Venusian held up a green +slip. Tom's heart then nearly stopped beating. Phil, +who had breezed through with such confidence, held +a blue slip, and Astro, who hadn't even finished the +test, held up the same color that he had. It could only +mean one thing. Failure. He felt the tears welling in +his eyes, but had no strength left to fight them back.</p> + +<p>He looked up, his eyes meeting the insolent stare of +Roger Manning who was half turned in his seat. Remembering +the caustic warning of the confident cadet, +Tom fought back the flood in his eyes and glared +back.</p> + +<p>What would he tell his mother? And his father? And +Billy, his brother, five years younger than himself, +whom he had promised to bring a flask of water from +the Grand Canal on Mars. And his sister! Tom remembered +the shining pride in her eyes when she kissed +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span> +him good-bye at the Stratoport as he left for Atom City.</p> + +<p>From the front of the room, McKenny's rasping voice +jarred him back to the present.</p> + +<p>"Cadets—staaaaaaaand <i>to</i>!"</p> + +<p>There was a shuffle of feet as the boys rose as one.</p> + +<p>"All the purple slips follow me," he roared and +turned toward the door. The cadets with purple slips +marched after him.</p> + +<p>Lieutenant Saminsky stepped briskly to the front of +the room.</p> + +<p>"Cadets with orange slips will please come with me," +he said casually, and another group of cadets left the +room.</p> + +<p>From the rear of the room Captain Strong snapped +out an order.</p> + +<p>"Blue slips will come with me!"</p> + +<p>He turned smartly and followed the last of Lieutenant +Saminsky's cadets out of the room.</p> + +<p>Tom looked around. The room was nearly empty +now. He looked over at Astro and saw his big friend +slumped moodily over against his desk. Then, suddenly, +he noticed Roger Manning. The arrogant cadet was not +smiling any longer. He was staring straight ahead. Before +him on the desk, Tom could see a green slip. So he +had failed too, thought Tom grimly. It was poor solace +for the misery he felt.</p> + +<p>Dr. Dale stepped forward again.</p> + +<p>"Will the cadets holding green slips return to their +quarters. Those with red slips will remain in their +seats," she announced.</p> + +<p>Tom found himself moving with difficulty. As he +walked through the door, Astro joined him. A look more +eloquent than words passed between them and they +made their way silently up the slidestairs back to their +quarters. +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span></p> +<p>Lying in his bunk, hands under his head, eyes staring +into space, Tom asked, "What happens now?"</p> + +<p>Sprawled on his bunk, Astro didn't answer right +away. He merely gulped and swallowed hard.</p> + +<p>"I—I don't know," he finally stammered. "I just don't +know."</p> + +<p>"What'll you do?"</p> + +<p>"It's back to the hold of a Venusport freighter, I +guess. I don't know." Astro paused and looked at Tom. +"What'll you do?"</p> + +<p>"Go home," said Tom simply. "Go home and—and +find a job."</p> + +<p>"Ever think about the enlisted Solar Guard? Look at +McKenny—"</p> + +<p>"Yeah—but—"</p> + +<p>"I know how you feel," sighed Astro. "Being in the +enlisted section—is like—well, being a passenger—almost."</p> + +<p>The door was suddenly flung open.</p> + +<p>"Haul off them bunks, you blasted Earthworms!"</p> + +<p>McKenny stood in the doorway in his usual aggressive +pose, and Tom and Astro hit the floor together to +stand at attention.</p> + +<p>"Where's the other cadet?"</p> + +<p>"He went with Captain Strong, sir." answered Tom.</p> + +<p>"Oh?" said Mike. And in a surprisingly soft tone he +added, "You two pulled green slips, eh?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir," they replied together.</p> + +<p>"Well, I don't know how you did it, but congratulations. +You passed the classification tests. Both of you."</p> + +<p>Tom just looked at the scarlet-clad, stumpy warrant +officer. He couldn't believe his ears. Suddenly he felt +as if he had been lifted off his feet. And then he realized +that he <i>was</i> off his feet. Astro was holding him +over his head. Then he dumped him in his bunk as +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span> +easily as if he had been a child. And at the same time, +the big Venusian let out a loud, long, earsplitting yell.</p> + +<p>McKenny matched him with his bull-like roar.</p> + +<p>"Plug that foghorn, you blasted Earthworm. You'll +have the whole Academy in here thinking there's a +murder."</p> + +<p>By this time Tom was on his feet again, standing in +front of McKenny.</p> + +<p>"You mean, we made it? We're really in? We're cadets?"</p> + +<p>"That's right." McKenny looked at a clip board in his +hand and read, "Cadet Corbett, Tom. Qualified for control +deck. Cadet Astro. Power deck."</p> + +<p>Astro took a deep breath and started another yell, +but before he could let go, McKenny clamped a big +hand over his mouth.</p> + +<p>"You bellow like that again and I'll make meteor dust +out of you!"</p> + +<p>Astro gulped and then matched Tom's grin with one +that spread from ear to ear.</p> + +<p>"What happened to Philip Morgan?" asked Tom.</p> + +<p>"What color slip did he have?"</p> + +<p>"Blue."</p> + +<p>"Anything besides green washed out," replied Mike +quickly. "Now let's see, you have a replacement for +Morgan in this unit. An astrogator."</p> + +<p>"Greetings, gentlemen," drawled a voice that Tom +recognized without even looking. "Allow me to introduce +myself to my new unit-mates. My name is Manning—Roger +Manning. But then, we're old friends, +aren't we?"</p> + +<p>"Stow that rocket wash, Manning," snapped Mike. +He glanced at the clock over the door. "You have an +hour and forty-five minutes until lunch time. I suggest +you take a walk around the Academy and familiarize +yourselves with the arrangement of the buildings." +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span></p> +<p>And then, for the first time, Tom saw the hard little +spaceman smile.</p> + +<p>"I'm glad you made it, boys. All three of you." He +paused and looked at each of them in turn. "And I can +honestly say I'm looking forward to the day when I +can serve under you!"</p> + +<p>He snapped his back straight, gave the three startled +boys a crisp salute, executed a perfect about-face and +marched out of the room.</p> + +<p>"And that," drawled Roger, strolling to the bunk +nearest the window, "is the corniest bit of space gas I've +ever heard."</p> + +<p>"Listen, Manning!" growled Astro, spinning around +quickly to face him.</p> + +<p>"Yeah," purred Roger, his eyes drawn to fine points, +hands hanging loosely at his sides. "What would you +like me to listen to, Cadet Astro?"</p> + +<p>The hulking cadet lunged at Manning, but Tom +quickly stepped between them.</p> + +<p>"Stow it, both of you!" he shouted. "We're in this +room together, so we might as well make the best of it."</p> + +<p>"Of course, Corbett—of course," replied Manning +easily. He turned his back on Astro, who stood, feet +wide apart, neck muscles tight and hands clenched in +hamlike fists.</p> + +<p>"One of these days I'll break you in two, Manning. +I'll close that fast-talking mouth of yours for good!"</p> + +<p>Astro's voice was a low growl. Roger stood near the +window port and appeared to have forgotten the incident.</p> + +<p>The light shining in from the hallway darkened, and +Tom turned to see three blue-clad senior cadets arranged +in a row just inside the door.</p> + +<p>"Congratulations, gentlemen. You're now qualified +cadets of Space Academy," said a redheaded lad about +twenty-one. "My name is Al Dixon," he turned to his +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span> +left and right, "and these are cadets Bill Houseman and +Rodney Withrop."</p> + +<p>"Hiya," replied Tom. "Glad to know you. I'm Tom +Corbett. This is Astro—and Roger Manning."</p> + +<p>Astro shook hands, the three senior cadets giving +a long glance at the size of the hand he offered. +Roger came forward smartly and shook hands with a +smile.</p> + +<p>"We're sorta like a committee," began Dixon. "We've +come to sign you up for the Academy sports program."</p> + +<p>They made themselves comfortable in the room.</p> + +<p>"You have a chance to take part in three sports. Free-fall +wrestling, mercuryball and space chess." Dixon +glanced at Houseman and Withrop. "From the looks of +Cadet Astro, free-fall wrestling should be child's play +for him!"</p> + +<p>Astro merely grinned.</p> + +<p>"Mercuryball is pretty much like the old game of +soccer," explained Houseman. "But inside the ball is a +smaller ball filled with mercury, making it take crazy +dips and turns. You have to be pretty fast even to +touch it."</p> + +<p>"Sounds like you have to be a little Mercurian yourself," +smiled Tom.</p> + +<p>"You do," replied Dixon. "Oh, yes, you three play as +a unit. Competition starts in a few days. So if you've +never played before, you might go down to the gym +and start practicing."</p> + +<p>"You mentioned space chess," asked Roger. "What's +that?"</p> + +<p>"It's really nothing more than maneuvers. Space +maneuvers," said Dixon. "A glass case, a seven-foot +cube, is divided by light shafts into smaller cubes of +equal shape and size. Each man has a complete space +squadron. Three model rocket cruisers, six destroyers +and ten scouts. The ships are filled with gas to make +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span> +them float, and your power is derived from magnetic +force. The problem is to get a combination of cruisers +and destroyers and scouts into a space section where it +could knock out your opponent's ships."</p> + +<p>"You mean," interrupted Astro, "you've got to keep +track of all those ships at once?"</p> + +<p>"Don't worry, Astro," commented Roger quickly. +"You use your muscles to win for dear old 42-D in free-fall +wrestling. Corbett here can pound down the grassy +field for a goal in mercuryball, and I'll do the brainwork +of space chess."</p> + +<p>The three visiting cadets exchanged sharp glances.</p> + +<p>"Everybody plays together, Manning," said Dixon. +"You three take part in each sport as a unit."</p> + +<p>"Of course," nodded Roger. "Of course—as a unit."</p> + +<p>The three cadets stood up, shook hands all around +and left. Tom immediately turned to Manning.</p> + +<p>"What was the idea of that crack about brains?"</p> + +<p>Manning slouched over to the window port and said +over his shoulder, "I don't know how you and your +king-sized friend here passed the classifications test, +Corbett, and I don't care. But, as you say, we're a unit. +So we might as well make adjustments."</p> + +<p>He turned to face them with a cold stare.</p> + +<p>"I know this Academy like the palm of my hand," he +went on. "Never mind how, just take it for granted. <i>I +know it.</i> I'm here for the ride. For a special reason I +wouldn't care to have you know. I'll get my training +and then pull out."</p> + +<p>He took a step forward, his face a mask of bitterness.</p> + +<p>"So from now on, you two guys leave me alone. You +bore me to death with your emotional childish allegiance +to this—this"—he paused and spit the last out +cynically—"space kindergarten!" +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span></p> +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_3" id="CHAPTER_3"></a>CHAPTER 3</h2> + + +<p>"I just can't understand it, Joan," said Captain Steve +Strong, tossing the paper on his circular desk. "The +psychographs of Corbett, Manning and Astro fit together +like gears. And yet—"</p> + +<p>The Solar Guard officer suddenly rose and walked +over to a huge window that filled the entire north wall +of his office, a solid sheet of glass that extended from +the high domed ceiling to the translucent flooring. +Through the window, he stared down moodily toward +the grassy quadrangle, where at the moment several +hundred cadets were marching in formation under a +hot sun.</p> + +<p>"—And yet," continued Strong, "every morning for +the last three weeks I've got a report from McKenny +about some sort of friction between them!"</p> + +<p>"I think it'll work out, Steve," answered the pretty +girl in the uniform of the Solar Guard, seated in an +easy chair on the other side of the desk.</p> + +<p>Joan Dale held the distinction of being the first +woman ever admitted into the Solar Guard, in a capacity +other than administrative work. Her experiments in +atomic fissionables was the subject of a recent scientific +symposium held on Mars. Over fifty of the leading +scientists of the Solar Alliance had gathered to study +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span> +her latest theory on hyperdrive, and had unanimously +declared her ideas valid. She had been offered the chair +as Master of Physics at the Academy as a result, giving +her access to the finest laboratory in the tri-planet society.</p> + +<p>Now facing the problem of personality adjustment in +Unit 42-D, she sat across the desk from her childhood +friend, Steve Strong, and frowned.</p> + +<p>"What's happened this time?"</p> + +<p>"Manning." He paused. "It seems to be all Manning!"</p> + +<p>"You mean he's the more aggressive of the three?"</p> + +<p>"No—not necessarily. Corbett shows signs of being +a number-one spaceman. And that big cadet, Astro"—Strong +flashed a white smile that contrasted with his +deep space tan—"I don't think he could make a manual +mistake on the power deck if he tried. You know, I +actually saw him put an auxiliary rocket motor together +blindfolded!"</p> + +<p>The pretty scientist smiled. "I could have told you +that after one look at his classification tests."</p> + +<p>"How?"</p> + +<p>"On questions concerning the power-deck operations, +he was letter perfect—"</p> + +<p>"And on the others? Astrogation and control deck?"</p> + +<p>"He just skimmed by. But even where the problem +involved fuel, power, supply of energy, he offered some +very practical answer to the problem." She smiled. +"Astro is as much an artist on that power deck as Liddy +Tamal doing Juliet in the stereos."</p> + +<p>"Yes," mused Strong. "And Corbett is the same on +the control deck. Good instinctive intelligence. That +boy soaks up knowledge like a sponge."</p> + +<p>"Facile mind—quick to grasp the essentials." She +smiled again. "Seems to me I remember a few years +back when a young lieutenant successfully put down a +mutiny in space, and at his promotion to captain, the +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span> +citation included the fact that he was quick to grasp +the essentials."</p> + +<p>Strong grinned sheepishly. A routine flight to Titan +had misfired into open rebellion by the crew. Using a +trick picked up in ancient history books of sea-roving +pirates in the seventeenth century, he had joined the +mutiny, gained control of the ship, sought out the ring-leaders +and restored discipline.</p> + +<p>"And Manning," asked Strong. "What about Manning?"</p> + +<p>"One of the hardest, brightest minds I've come across +in the Academy. He has a brain like a steel trap. He +never misses."</p> + +<p>"Then, do you think he's acting up because Corbett +is the nominal head of the unit? Does he feel that he +should be the command cadet in the control deck instead +of Corbett?"</p> + +<p>"No," replied Dr. Dale. "Not at all. I'm sure he +intentionally missed problems about control deck and +command in his classification test. He concentrated +on astrogation, communications and signal radar. He +wanted to be assigned to the radar deck. And he turned +in the best paper I've ever read from a cadet to get the +post."</p> + +<p>Strong threw up his hands. "Then what is it? Here +we have a unit, on paper at least, that could be number +one. A good combination of brains, experience and +knowledge. Everything that's needed. And what is the +result? Friction!"</p> + +<p>Suddenly a buzzer sounded, and on Steve Strong's +desk a small teleceiver screen glowed into life. Gradually +the stern face of Commander Walters emerged.</p> + +<p>"Sorry to disturb you, Steve. Can you spare me a +minute?"</p> + +<p>"Of course, Commander," replied Strong. "Is anything +wrong?" +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span></p> +<p>"Very wrong, Steve. I've been looking over the +daily performance reports on Unit 42-D."</p> + +<p>"Dr. Dale and I have just been discussing that situation, +sir." A relieved expression passed over the commander's +face.</p> + +<p>"Good! I wanted to get your opinions before I broke +up the unit."</p> + +<p>"No, sir!" said Strong quickly. "Don't do that!"</p> + +<p>"Oh?" replied the commander. On the screen he +could be seen settling back in his chair.</p> + +<p>"And why not?"</p> + +<p>"Well, Joan—er—Dr. Dale and myself feel that the +boys of Unit 42-D make it potentially the best in +the Academy—if they stay together, sir."</p> + +<p>Walters considered this for a moment and then asked +thoughtfully, "Give me one good reason why the unit +shouldn't be washed out."</p> + +<p>"The academy needs boys like this, sir," Steve answered +flatly. "Needs their intelligence, their experience. +They may be a problem now, but if they're handled +right, they'll turn out to be ace spacemen, +they'll—"</p> + +<p>The commander interrupted. "You're pretty sold on +them, aren't you, Steve?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir, I am."</p> + +<p>"You know, tomorrow all the units will be assigned +to their personal instructors."</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir. And I've selected Lieutenant Wolcheck for +this unit. He's tough and smart. I think he's just the +man for the job."</p> + +<p>"I don't agree, Steve. Wolcheck is a fine officer and +with any other unit there'd be no question. But I think +we have a better man for the job."</p> + +<p>"Whom do you suggest, sir?"</p> + +<p>The commander leaned forward in his chair.</p> + +<p>"You, Steve." +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span></p> +<p>"Me?"</p> + +<p>"What do you think, Joan?"</p> + +<p>"I wanted to make the same suggestion, Commander," +smiled Joan. "But I didn't know if Steve really +would want the assignment."</p> + +<p>"Well, what about it, Steve?" asked the commander. +"This is no reflection on your present work. But if you're +so convinced that 42-D is worth the trouble, then take +them over and mold them into spacemen. Otherwise, I'll +have to wash them out."</p> + +<p>Strong hesitated a moment. "All right, sir. I'll do my +best."</p> + +<p>On the screen the stern lines in Commander Walters' +face relaxed and he smiled approvingly.</p> + +<p>"Thanks, Steve," he said softly. "I was hoping you'd +say that. Keep me posted."</p> + +<p>The screen blacked out abruptly and Captain Strong +turned to Joan Dale, a troubled frown wrinkling his +brow.</p> + +<p>"Huh. I really walked into that one, didn't I?" he +muttered.</p> + +<p>"It isn't going to be easy, Steve," she replied.</p> + +<p>"Easy!" He snorted and walked over to the window +to stare blankly at the quadrangle below. "I'd almost +rather try a landing on the hot side of Mercury. It +would be icy compared to this situation!"</p> + +<p>"You can do it, Steve. I know you can." Joan moved +to his side to place a reassuring hand on his arm.</p> + +<p>The Solar Guard officer didn't answer immediately. +He kept on staring at the Academy grounds and buildings +spread out before him. When he finally spoke, his +voice rang with determination.</p> + +<p>"I've got to do it, Joan. I've got to whip those boys +into a unit. Not only for their sakes—but for the sake of +the Academy!" +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span></p> +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_4" id="CHAPTER_4"></a>CHAPTER 4</h2> + + +<p>The first three weeks of an Earthworm's life at Space +Academy are filled with never-ending physical training +and conditioning to meet the rigors of rocket flight +and life on distant planets. And under the grueling +pressure of fourteen-hour days, filled with backbreaking +exercises and long forced marches, very few of the +boys can find anything more desirable than sleep—and +more sleep.</p> + +<p>Under this pressure the friction in Unit 42-D became +greater and greater. Roger and Astro continually needled +each other with insults, and Tom gradually +slipped into the role of arbiter.</p> + +<p>Returning from a difficult afternoon of endless +marching in the hot sun with the prospect of an evening +of free-fall wrestling before them, the three cadets +dragged themselves wearily onto the slidestairs leading +to their quarters, their muscles screaming for rest.</p> + +<p>"Another day like this," began Astro listlessly, "and +I'm going to melt down to nothing. Doesn't McKenny +have a heart?"</p> + +<p>"No, just an asteroid," Tom grumbled. "He'll never +know how close he came to getting a space boot in the +face when he woke us up this morning. Oh, man! Was +I tired!"</p> + +<p>"Stop complaining, will you?" snarled Roger. "All +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span> +I've heard from you two space crawlers is gripes and +complaints."</p> + +<p>"If I wasn't so tired, Roger," said Astro, "I'd give you +something to gripe about. A flat lip!"</p> + +<p>"Knock it off, Astro," said Tom wearily. The role of +keeping them apart was getting tiresome.</p> + +<p>"The trouble with you, Astro," pursued Roger, "is +that you think with your muscles instead of your head."</p> + +<p>"Yeah, I know. And you've got an electronic calculator +for a brain. All you have to do is push a button +and you get the answers all laid out for you."</p> + +<p>They had reached their quarters now and were stripping +off their sweat-soaked uniforms in preparation for +a cool shower.</p> + +<p>"You know, Roger," continued Astro, "you've got a +real problem ahead of you."</p> + +<p>"Any problem you think I have is no problem at all," +was the cool reply.</p> + +<p>"Yes, it is," insisted Astro. "When you're ready for +your first hop in space, you won't be able to make it!"</p> + +<p>"Why not?"</p> + +<p>"They don't have a space helmet in the Academy +large enough to fit that overinflated head of yours!"</p> + +<p>Roger turned slowly and spoke to Tom without looking +at him. "Close the door, Corbett!"</p> + +<p>"Why?" asked Tom, puzzled.</p> + +<p>"Because I don't want any interruptions. I'm going to +take that big hunk of Venusian space junk apart."</p> + +<p>"Anything you say, you bigmouthed squirt!" roared +Astro.</p> + +<p>"Hey—knock it off!" yelled Tom, jumping between +them and grabbing Astro's arm. "If you guys don't lay +off each other, you're going to be thrown out of the +Academy, and I'll be thrown out with you! I'll be +blasted if I'll suffer for your mistakes!"</p> + +<p>"That's a very interesting statement, Corbett!" A deep +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span> +voice purred from the doorway and the three boys +whirled to see Captain Strong walk into the room, +his black and gold uniform fitting snugly across the +shoulders betraying their latent strength. "Stand to—all +of you!"</p> + +<p>As the boys quickly snapped to attention, Strong +eyed them slowly and then moved casually around the +room. He picked up a book, looked out of the window +port, pushed a boot to one side and, finally, removed +Tom's sweat-stained uniform from a chair and sat +down. The cadets held their rigid poses, backs stiff, +eyes looking straight ahead.</p> + +<p>"Corbett?" snapped Strong.</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir?"</p> + +<p>"What was the meaning of that little speech I heard +a moment ago?"</p> + +<p>"I—ah—don't quite understand what you mean, sir," +stumbled Tom.</p> + +<p>"I think you do," said Strong. "I want to know what +provoked you to make such a statement."</p> + +<p>"I'd rather not answer that, sir."</p> + +<p>"Don't get cute, Corbett!" barked Strong. "I know +what's going on in this unit. Were Manning and Astro +squaring off to fight?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir," replied Tom slowly.</p> + +<p>"All right. At ease all of you," said Strong. The three +boys relaxed and faced the officer.</p> + +<p>"Manning, do you want to be a successful cadet here +at Space Academy?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir," answered Roger.</p> + +<p>"Then why don't you act like it?" asked Strong.</p> + +<p>"Is there something wrong with my work, sir?" Tom +recognized the smooth Manning confidence begin to +appear, and he wondered if Captain Strong would be +taken in.</p> + +<p>"Everything's wrong with your work," barked Strong. +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span> +"You're too smart! Know too much!" He stopped short +and then added softly with biting sarcasm, "Why do +you know so much, Cadet Manning?"</p> + +<p>Roger hesitated. "I've studied very hard. Studied for +years to become a Space Cadet," he replied.</p> + +<p>"Just to be a cadet or a successful cadet <i>and</i> a Solar +Guard officer?"</p> + +<p>"To be successful at both, sir."</p> + +<p>"Tell me, Manning, do you have any ideas on life?"</p> + +<p>"That's a pretty general question, sir. Do you mean +life as a whole or a specific part of life?" They're fencing +with each other, thought Tom. He held his breath +as Strong eyed the relaxed, confident cadet.</p> + +<p>"A spaceman is supposed to have but one idea in life, +Manning. And that idea is <i>space</i>!"</p> + +<p>"I see, sir," replied Roger, as a faraway look came +into his eyes.</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir, I have some ideas about life in space."</p> + +<p>"I'd like to hear them!" requested Strong coldly.</p> + +<p>"Very well, sir." Roger relaxed his shoulders and +leaned against the bunk. "I believe space is the last +frontier of man—Earthman. It's the last place for man to +conquer. It is the greatest adventure of all time and I +want to be a part of that adventure."</p> + +<p>"Thank you, Manning." Strong's voice was even +colder than before. "But as it happens, I can read too. +That was a direct quote from the closing paragraph of +Jon Builker's book on his trip to the stars!" He paused. +"Couldn't you think of anything original to say?"</p> + +<p>Roger flushed and gritted his teeth. Tom could +hardly keep himself from laughing. Captain Strong had +scored heavily!</p> + +<p>The Solar Guard officer then turned his attention to +Astro.</p> + +<p>"Astro, where in the name of the universe did you get +the idea you could be an officer in the Solar Guard?" +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span></p> +<p>"I can handle anything with push in it, sir!" Astro +smiled his confidence.</p> + +<p>"Know anything about hyperdrive?"</p> + +<p>"Uhh—no, sir."</p> + +<p>"Then you can't handle everything with, as you say, +push in it!" snapped Strong.</p> + +<p>"Er—no, sir," answered Astro, his face clouding over.</p> + +<p>There was a long moment of silence while Strong +lifted one knee, swung it over the arm of his chair, and +looked steadily at the two half-naked boys in front of +him. He smiled lazily.</p> + +<p>"Well, for two Earthworms, you've certainly been +acting like a couple of space aces!"</p> + +<p>He let that soak in while he toyed with the gleaming +Academy ring on his finger. He allowed it to flash in +the light of the window port, then slipped it off and +flipped it over to Corbett.</p> + +<p>"Know what that is?" he asked the curly-haired cadet.</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir," replied Tom. "Your Academy graduation +ring."</p> + +<p>"Uh-huh. Now give it to our friend from Venus." +Tom gingerly handed Astro the ring.</p> + +<p>"Try it on, Astro," invited Strong.</p> + +<p>The big cadet tried it on all of his fingers but couldn't +get it past the first joint.</p> + +<p>"Give it to Manning."</p> + +<p>Roger accepted the ring and held it in the palm of +his hand. He looked at it with a hard stare, then +dropped it in the outstretched hand of the Solar Guard +officer. Replacing it on his finger, Strong spoke casually.</p> + +<p>"All units design their own rings. There are only +three like this in the universe. One is drifting around +in space on the finger of Sam Jones. Another is blasting +a trail to the stars on the finger of Addy Garcia." +He held up his finger. "This is the third one." +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span></p> +<p>Strong got up and began to pace in front of the boys.</p> + +<p>"Addy Garcia couldn't speak a word of English +when he first came to the Academy. And for eight +weeks Sam and I sweated to figure out what he was +talking about. I think we spent over a hundred hours +in the galley doing KP because Addy kept getting us +fouled up. But that didn't bother us because we were +a unit. Unit 33-V. Class of 2338."</p> + +<p>Strong turned to face the silent cadets.</p> + +<p>"Sam Jones was pretty much like you, Astro. Not as +big, but with the same love for that power deck. He +could always squeeze a few extra pounds of thrust out +of those rockets. What he knew about astrogation and +control, you could stick on the head of a pin. On long +flights he wouldn't even come up to the control deck. +He just sat in the power hole singing loud corny songs +about the Arkansas mountains to those atomic motors. +He was a real power-deck man. But he was a <i>unit</i> man +first! The only reason I'm here to tell you about it is +because he never forgot the unit. He died saving Addy +and myself."</p> + +<p>The room was still. Down the long hall, the lively +chatter of other cadets could be heard as they +showered and prepared for dinner. In the distance, the +rumble of the slidewalks and test firing of rockets at +the spaceport was dim, subdued, powerful.</p> + +<p>"The unit is the backbone of the Academy," continued +Strong. "It was set up to develop three men to handle +a Solar Guard rocket cruiser. Three men who could +be taught to think, feel and act as one intelligent brain. +Three men who would respect each other and who +could depend on each other. Tomorrow you begin your +real education. You will be supervised and instructed +personally.</p> + +<p>"Many men have contributed to the knowledge that +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span> +will be placed in front of you—brave, intelligent men, +who blasted through the atmosphere with a piece of +metal under them for a spaceship and a fire in their +tail for rockets. But everything they accomplished goes +to waste if the unit can't become a single personality. +It must be a single personality, or it doesn't exist. The +unit is the ultimate of hundreds of years of research +and progress. But you have to fight to create it and +keep it living. Either you want it, or you get out of the +Academy!"</p> + +<p>Captain Strong turned away momentarily and Tom +and Astro looked at Roger significantly.</p> + +<p>"Stand to!"</p> + +<p>The three boys snapped to attention as the wide-shouldered +captain addressed them again.</p> + +<p>"Tomorrow you begin to learn how to think as a +single brain. To act with combined intelligence as +one person. You either make up your minds to start +tomorrow or you report to Commander Walters and +resign. There isn't any room here for individuals."</p> + +<p>He stepped to the door and paused.</p> + +<p>"One more thing. I've been given the job of making +you over into spacemen. I'm your unit commander. If +you're still here in the morning, I'll accept that as your +answer. If you think you can't take"—he paused—"what +I'm going to dish out, then you know what you +can do. And if you stay, you'll <i>be</i> the best unit, or +I'll break you in two in the attempt. Unit dis ... +missed!" And he was gone.</p> + +<p>The three cadets stood still, not knowing quite what +to do or say. Finally Tom stepped before Astro and +Roger.</p> + +<p>"Well," he said quietly, "how about it, you guys? Are +you going to lay off each other now?"</p> + +<p>Astro flushed, but Roger eyed Corbett coolly. +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span></p> +<p>"Were you really taken in with that space gas, Tom?" +He turned to the shower room. "If you were, then +you're more childish than I thought."</p> + +<p>"A man died to save another man's life, Roger. Sam +Jones. I never knew him. But I've met Captain Strong, +and I believe that he would have done the same thing +for Jones."</p> + +<p>"Very noble," commented Roger from the doorway.</p> + +<p>"But I'll tell you this, Manning," said Tom, following +him, fighting for self-control, "I wouldn't want to have +to depend on you to save my life. And I wouldn't want +to be faced with the situation where I would have to +sacrifice mine to save yours!"</p> + +<p>Roger turned and glared at Tom.</p> + +<p>"The Academy regs say that the man on the control +deck is the boss of the unit. But I have my private opinion +of the man who has that job now!"</p> + +<p>"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Tom.</p> + +<p>"Just this, spaceboy. There's a gym below where I'll +take you <i>or</i> your big friend on—together—or one at a +time." He paused, a cold smile twisting his lips. "And +that offer is good as of right now!"</p> + +<p>Tom and Astro looked at each other.</p> + +<p>"I'm afraid," began Astro slowly, "that you wouldn't +stand much of a chance with me, Manning. So if Tom +wants the chore of buttoning your lip, he's welcome +to it."</p> + +<p>"Thanks, Astro," said Tom evenly. "It'll be my pleasure."</p> + +<p>Without another word, the three cadets walked out +of the door. +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span></p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_5" id="CHAPTER_5"></a>CHAPTER 5</h2> + + +<p>"Will this do, Manning?" asked Tom.</p> + +<p>The three boys were in a secluded corner of the gym, +a large hall on the fourteenth floor of the dormitory +building. At the far end of the gym, a group of cadets +had just finished a game of mercuryball and were sauntering +to the showers. When the last boy had disappeared, +the floor was deserted except for Tom, Roger +and Astro.</p> + +<p>"This will do fine, Corbett," said Roger.</p> + +<p>The boxing ring had been taken down the week before +to make room for drills and the physical exercises +of the Earthworms, so the three boys had to improvise +a ring. They dragged four large tumbling mats together, +spreading them side by side to form a square +close to the size of an actual ring. Astro went to one of +the small lockers under the balcony and returned with +two pairs of boxing gloves.</p> + +<p>"Here," offered Astro, "put these on."</p> + +<p>"Gloves?" asked Roger, in a voice of mock surprise. +"I thought this was going to be a battle of blood."</p> + +<p>"Any way you want it, Manning. Any way at all," said +Tom.</p> + +<p>"You're going to use gloves," growled Astro. "I don't +want anybody killed." He threw a pair at each of them.</p> + +<p>"There'll be three-minute rounds, with one minute +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span> +rest," he continued. "Go off the mats and you'll be +counted out. Usual rules otherwise. Any questions?"</p> + +<p>"Clear to me, Astro," said Tom.</p> + +<p>"Let's go," nodded Roger.</p> + +<p>"One more thing," said Astro. "I hope Tom pins your +ears back, Manning. But I'm going to see that both of +you get a fair deal. So keep the punches up—and fight +it out. All right—time!"</p> + +<p>The two boys moved carefully to the center of the +improvised ring, their guards up, while Astro stood off +the edge of the mat and watched the sweeping second +hand of his wrist chronograph.</p> + +<p>Shuffling forward Tom pushed out a probing left and +then tried to cross his right, but Manning stepped back +easily, countering with a hard left to Tom's heart.</p> + +<p>"I forgot to tell you, Corbett," he called out, "I'm +considered a counterpuncher. I always—"</p> + +<p>He was cut off with a sharp left to the face that +snapped his head back, and his lips curled in a smile +of condescension.</p> + +<p>"Good—very good, Corbett."</p> + +<p>Then with lightning speed and the grace of a cat, +Roger slipped inside Tom's guard, punching hard and +true. A left, a right and a left pounded into Tom's mid-section, +and as he gave way momentarily Tom's face +clouded over.</p> + +<p>They circled. Tom kept leading with sharp lefts that +popped in and out like a piston, always connecting and +keeping Roger off balance. Roger concentrated on penetrating +Tom's defense, methodically pounding his ribs +and heart and trying to wear him down.</p> + +<p>"Time!" bawled Astro.</p> + +<p>The two boys dropped their hands and turned back +to their corners. They squatted on the floor breathing +slowly and easily. Astro stood in the middle of the ring, +glaring at both of them in turn and shaking his head. +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span></p> +<p>"Huh. I expected to see you two try to wallop each +other into meteor dust! Keep fighting like that and we'll +be here all night!"</p> + +<p>"Talk to Corbett," sneered Roger. "Looks like he's +afraid to mix it up!"</p> + +<p>"You fight your way, Roger, and I'll fight mine," replied +Tom, his voice cold and impersonal.</p> + +<p>"Time!" suddenly yelled Astro and stepped back off +the mat.</p> + +<p>The two cadets jumped to their feet and met in the +center of the ring again. With a bull-like rush, Roger +changed tactics and began to rain punches all over +Tom's body, but the curly-haired cadet stood his +ground coolly, picking some off in mid-air with his +gloves and sliding under the others. Then, as Roger +slowed down, Tom took the offensive, popping his left +into his opponent's face steadily and methodically, +while keeping his right cocked for a clear opening to +the chin.</p> + +<p>Roger danced in and out, watching Tom's left as +though it was a snake and trying unsuccessfully to get +through his guard. But the sharp lefts kept snapping his +head back and his face began to redden, not only from +the sting of the blows but with the mounting fury of his +frustration.</p> + +<p>Suddenly, as Astro raised his arm to call time for the +end of the round, Roger jumped forward and rained +another series of harmless blows on Tom's shoulders +and arms. But then, as the big Venusian called time, +he stepped back and Tom dropped his guard. Instantly, +Roger threw a right with all his weight behind it. It +landed flush on Tom's jaw and he dropped, sprawling +full length on the mats and lying still.</p> + +<p>Smiling, Roger sauntered to his corner while Astro +charged in and bent over the fallen cadet.</p> + +<p>"None of that, Astro!" snapped Roger. "Since when +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span> +does a referee take sides? Leave him alone! If he +doesn't come out for the next round, you have to count +him out!"</p> + +<p>The big Venusian straightened and walked menacingly +toward Roger's corner. "You hit him after I called +time," he growled.</p> + +<p>"So I have to take you on too, huh?" Roger jumped +to his feet. "All right—come on, you big blast of space +gas!"</p> + +<p>"Wait, Astro ... wait!"</p> + +<p>Astro suddenly wheeled around to see Tom shaking +his head weakly and trying to rise up on his elbows. +He rushed back to the fallen boy's side.</p> + +<p>Roger shouted at him angrily, "Leave him alone!"</p> + +<p>"Ahhh—go blow your jets!" was Astro's snarling +reply as he bent over Tom, who was now sitting up. +"Tom, are you O.K.?"</p> + +<p>"Yeah—yeah," he replied weakly. "But stay out of +this. You're the referee. How much time left?"</p> + +<p>"Twenty seconds," said Astro. "Roger smacked you +after I called time."</p> + +<p>"If he did, I didn't know a thing about it. I was out." +Tom managed a cold smile. "Nice punch, Roger."</p> + +<p>"Ten seconds," said Astro, stepping back off the mat.</p> + +<p>"Thanks for the compliment, Corbett." Roger eyed +the other cadet speculatively. "But are you sure you +want to go on?"</p> + +<p>"I was saved by the bell, wasn't I?"</p> + +<p>"Yeah—sure—but if you'd rather quit—"</p> + +<p>"Time!" cried Astro.</p> + +<p>Tom rose to his feet—shook his head—and brought +up his hands. He wasn't a moment too soon. Roger had +rushed across the mat, trying to land another murderous +right. Tom brought up his shoulder just in time, +slipping with the punch, and at the same time, bringing +up a terrific left to Roger's open mid-section. Manning +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span> +let out a grunt and clinched. Tom pursued his advantage, +pumping rights and lefts to the body, and he +could feel the arrogant cadet weakening. Suddenly, +Roger crowded in close, wrestling Tom around so that +Astro was on the opposite side of the mat, then brought +up his head under Tom's chin. The pop of Tom's teeth +could be heard all over the great hall. Roger quickly +stepped back, and back-pedaled until Astro called time.</p> + +<p>"Thanks for teaching me that one, Roger. Learned +two tricks from you today," said Tom, breathing heavily, +but with the same cold smile on his face.</p> + +<p>"That's all right, Corbett. Any time," said Manning.</p> + +<p>"What tricks?" asked Astro. He looked suspiciously +at Manning, who was doubled over, finding it hard to +breath.</p> + +<p>"Nothing I can't handle in time," said Tom, looking at +Roger.</p> + +<p>"Time!" called Astro and stepped off the mat.</p> + +<p>The two boys got to their feet slowly. The pace was +beginning to show on them and they boxed carefully.</p> + +<p>The boys were perfectly matched, Tom constantly +snapping Roger's head back with the jolting left jabs +and following to the head or heart with a right cross. +And Roger counterpunching, slipping hooks and body +punches in under Tom's long leads. It was a savage +fight. The three weeks of hard physical training had +conditioned the boys perfectly.</p> + +<p>At the end of the twelfth round, both boys showed +many signs of wear. Roger's cheeks were as red as the +glow of a jet blast deflector from the hundreds of lefts +Tom had pumped into his face, while Tom's ribs and +mid-section were bruised and raw where Roger's +punches had landed successfully.</p> + +<p>It couldn't last much longer, thought Astro, as he +called time for the beginning of the thirteenth round.</p> + +<p>Roger quickened his pace, dancing in and out, trying +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span>to move in under Tom's lefts, but suddenly Tom +caught him with a right hand that was cocked and +ready. It staggered him and he fell back, covering up. +Tom pressed his advantage, showering rights and lefts +everywhere he could find an opening. In desperation, +his knees buckling, Roger clinched tightly, quickly +brought up his open glove and gouged his thumb into +Tom's eyes. Tom pulled back, instinctively pawing at +his eye with his right glove. Roger, spotting the opening, +took immediate advantage of it, shooting a hard +looping right that landed flush on Tom's jaw. Tom went +down.</p> + +<p>Unaware of Roger's tactics, Astro jumped into the +ring and his arm pumped the deadly count.</p> + +<p>"One—two—three—four—"</p> + +<p>It was going to be tough if Roger won, Astro thought, +as he counted.</p> + +<p>"Five—six—"</p> + +<p>Arrogant enough now, he would be impossible to live +with.</p> + +<p>"Seven—eight—"</p> + +<p>Tom struggled up to a sitting position and stared angrily +at his opponent in the far corner.</p> + +<p>"Nine—"</p> + +<p>With one convulsive effort, Tom regained his feet. +His left eye was closed and swollen, his right bleary +with fatigue. He wobbled drunkenly on his feet. But +he pressed forward. This was one fight he had to win.</p> + +<p>Roger moved in for the finish. He slammed a left +into Tom's shell, trying to find an opening for the last +finishing blow. But Tom remained in his shell, forearms +picking off the smashes that even hurt his arms, as he +waited for the strength to return to his legs and arms +and his head to clear. He knew that he couldn't go another +round. He wouldn't be able to see. It would have +to be this round, and he had to <i>beat</i> Roger. <i>Not</i> because +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span>he wanted to, but because Roger was a member +of the unit. And he had to keep the unit together.</p> + +<p>He circled his unit-mate with care, shielding himself +from the shower of rights and lefts that rained around +him. He waited—waited for the one perfect opening.</p> + +<p>"Come on! Open up and fight, Corbett," panted +Roger.</p> + +<p>Tom snapped his right in reply. He noticed that +Roger moved in with a hook every time he tried to +cross his right. He waited—his legs began to shake. +Roger circled and Tom shot out the left again, dropped +into a semicrouch and feinted with the right cross. +Roger moved in, cocking his fist for the left hook and +Tom was ready for him. He threw the right, threw it +with every ounce of strength left in his body. Roger +was caught moving in and took the blow flush on the +chin. He stopped as if poleaxed. His eyes turned glassy +and then he dropped to the mat. He was out cold.</p> + +<p>Astro didn't even bother to count.</p> + +<p>Tom squatted on the mat beside Roger and rubbed +the blond head with his glove.</p> + +<p>"Get some water, Astro," he said, gasping for breath. +"I'm glad I don't have to fight this guy again. And I'll +tell you something else—"</p> + +<p>"What?" asked Astro.</p> + +<p>"Anybody that wants to win as much as this guy +does, is going to win, and I want to have him on my +side!"</p> + +<p>Astro merely grunted as he turned toward the water +cooler.</p> + +<p>"Maybe," he called back. "But he ought to read a +book of rules first!"</p> + +<p>When he came back to the mat with the water, Roger +was sitting up, biting the knots of the laces on his +gloves. Tom helped him, and when the soggy leather +was finally discarded, he stuck out his hand. "Well, +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span>Roger, I'm ready to forget everything we've said and +start all over again."</p> + +<p>Roger looked at the extended hand for a moment, his +eyes blank and expressionless. Then, with a quick +movement, he slapped it away and lurched to his feet.</p> + +<p>"Go blow your jets," he snarled, and turning his back +on them, stumbled across the gym.</p> + +<p>Tom watched him go, bewilderment and pain mirrored +on his face.</p> + +<p>"I thought sure this would work, Astro," he sighed. +"I thought he'd come to his senses if—"</p> + +<p>"Nothing'll make that space creep come to his senses," +Astro broke in disgustedly. "At least, nothing short +of an atomic war head! Come on. Let's get you +cleaned up!"</p> + +<p>Putting his arm around Tom's shoulder, the big Venusian +led him across the floor of the deserted gym, and +as they disappeared through the automatic sliding +doors, a tall figure in the uniform of the Solar Guard +stepped out of the shadows on the balcony above. It +was Captain Strong.</p> + +<p>He stood silently at the rail, looking down at the +mats and the soggy discarded boxing gloves. Tom had +won the fight, he thought, but he had lost the war. The +unit was now farther apart than it had ever been.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> +<img src="images/im057.png" width="400" height="115" alt="im057.png" title="" /></div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span></p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_6" id="CHAPTER_6"></a>CHAPTER 6</h2> + +<p>"Well, Steve, how's everything going?"</p> + +<p>Captain Steve Strong didn't answer right away. He +returned the salute of a Space Cadet passing on the opposite +slidewalk and then faced Commander Walters +who stood beside him, eyeing him quizzically.</p> + +<p>"Things are shaping up pretty well, Commander," he +replied, finally, with an air of unconcern.</p> + +<p>"The Earthworm units buckling down to business?" +Commander Walters' voice matched Strong's in nonchalance.</p> + +<p>"Yes, I'd say so, sir. Speaking generally, of course." +Strong felt the back of his neck begin to flush as Walters +kept eyeing him.</p> + +<p>"And—speaking specifically, Steve?"</p> + +<p>"Why—ah—what do you mean, sir?"</p> + +<p>"Let's stop fencing with each other, Steve." Walters +spoke kindly but firmly. "What about Manning and +Unit 42-D? Are those boys learning to work together +or not? And I want facts, not hopes!"</p> + +<p>Strong hesitated, trying to word his reply. In these +weeks that had followed Tom's fight with Roger in the +gym, there had been no further incidents of open warfare. +Roger's attitude, once openly defiant, had now +subsided into a stream of never-ending sarcasm. The +sting had been taken out of his attack and he seemed +satisfied merely to annoy. Astro had withdrawn into a +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span>shell, refusing to allow Roger to bother him and only +an occasional rumble of anger indicated his true feelings +toward his troublesome unit-mate. Tom maintained +his role of peacemaker and daily, in many ways, +showed his capacity for leadership by steering his unit-mates +away from any storm-provoking activities.</p> + +<p>Strong finally broke the silence. "It's difficult to answer +that question with facts, Commander Walters."</p> + +<p>"Why?" insisted Walters.</p> + +<p>"Well, nothing's really happened," answered Steve.</p> + +<p>"You mean, nothing since the fight in the gym?"</p> + +<p>"Oh—" Strong flushed. "You know about that?"</p> + +<p>Commander Walters smiled. "Black eyes and faces +that looked like raw beef don't go unnoticed, Steve."</p> + +<p>"Uhh—no, sir," was Strong's lame reply.</p> + +<p>"What I want to know is," pursued Walters, "did the +fight prove anything? Did the boys get it out of their +systems and are they concentrating on becoming a +unit?"</p> + +<p>"Right now, Commander, they're concentrating on +passing their manuals. They realize that they have to +work together to get through this series of tests. Why, +Dr. Dale told me the other day that she's sure Tom's +been giving Roger a few pointers on control-deck operation. +And one night I found Manning giving Astro a +lecture in compression ratios. Of course, Manning's way +of talking is a way that would confuse the Venusian +more than it would help him, but at least they weren't +snarling at each other."</p> + +<p>"Hmm," Walters nodded. "Sounds hopeful, but still +not conclusive. After all, they have to help each other +in the manuals. If one member of the unit fails, it will +reflect on the marks of the other two and they might +be washed out too. Even the deadliest enemies will +unite to save their lives."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps, sir," replied Strong. "But we're not dealing +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span>with deadly enemies now. These are three boys, with +three distinct personalities who've been lumped together +in strange surroundings. It takes time and patience +to make a team that will last for years."</p> + +<p>"You may have the patience, Steve, but the Academy +hasn't the time." Commander Walters was suddenly +curt. "When does Unit 42-D take its manuals?"</p> + +<p>"This afternoon, sir," replied Strong. "I'm on my way +over to the examination hall right now."</p> + +<p>"Very well. I won't take any action yet. I'll wait for +the results of the tests. Perhaps they will solve both our +problems. See you later, Steve." Turning abruptly, +Commander Walters stepped off the slidewalk onto the +steps of the Administration Building and rapidly disappeared +from view.</p> + +<p>Left alone, Strong pondered the commander's parting +statement. The implication was clear. If the unit +failed to make a grade high enough to warrant the +trouble it took keeping it together, it would be broken +up. Or even worse, one or more of the boys would be +dismissed from the Academy.</p> + +<p>A few minutes later Strong arrived in the examination +hall, a large, barren room with a small door in +each of the three walls other than the one containing +the entrance. Tom Corbett was waiting in the center of +the hall and saluted smartly as Strong approached.</p> + +<p>"Cadet Corbett reporting for manual examination, +sir!"</p> + +<p>"Stand easy, Corbett," replied Strong, returning the +salute. "This is going to be a rough one. Are you fully +prepared?"</p> + +<p>"I believe so, sir." Tom's voice wasn't too steady.</p> + +<p>A fleeting smile passed over Strong's lips, then he +continued. "You'll take the control-deck examination +first. Manning will be next on the radar bridge and +Astro last on the power deck."</p> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span></p> +<p>"They'll be here according to schedule, sir."</p> + +<p>"Very well. Follow me."</p> + +<p>Strong walked quickly to the small door in the left +wall, Tom staying a respectful step behind. When they +reached the door, the officer pressed a button in the +wall beside it and the door slid open.</p> + +<p>"All right, Corbett. Inside." Strong nodded toward +the interior of the room.</p> + +<p>The boy stepped in quickly, then stopped in amazement. +All around him was a maze of instruments and +controls. And in the center, twin pilot's chairs.</p> + +<p>"Captain Strong!" Tom was so surprised that he +could hardly get the words out. "It's—it's a real control +deck!"</p> + +<p>Strong smiled. "As real as we can make it, Corbett, +without allowing the building to blast off." He gestured +toward the pilot's chairs. "Take your place and +strap in."</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir." His eyes still wide with wonder, Tom +stepped over to the indicated chair and Strong followed +him, leaning casually against the other.</p> + +<p>He watched the young cadet nervously adjust his +seat strap and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. +"Nervous, Corbett?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir—just a little," replied Tom.</p> + +<p>"Don't worry," said Strong. "You should have seen +the way I came into this room fifteen years ago. My +cadet officer had to help me into the control pilot's +seat."</p> + +<p>Tom managed a fleeting smile.</p> + +<p>"Now, Corbett"—Strong's voice became businesslike—"as +you know, these manual tests are the last tests before +actually blasting off. In the past weeks, you cadets +have been subjected to every possible examination, to +discover any flaw in your work that might later crop up +in space. This manual operations test of the control +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span>board, like Manning's on the radar bridge and Astro's +on the power deck, is designed to test you under simulated +space conditions. If you pass this test, your next +step is real space."</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir."</p> + +<p>"I warn you, it isn't easy. And if you fail, you personally +will wash out, and if other members of the unit do +not get a high enough mark to average out to a passing +grade for all of you, you fail as a unit."</p> + +<p>"I understand, sir," said Tom.</p> + +<p>"All right, then we'll begin. Your crew is aboard, the +air lock is closed. What is the first thing you do?"</p> + +<p>"Adjust the air circulating system to ensure standard +Earth conditions."</p> + +<p>"How do you do that?"</p> + +<p>"By pressing this button which will activate the servo +units. They automatically keep the circulating pumps +in operation, based on thermostatic readings from the +main gauge." Tom pointed to a black clock face, with a +luminous white hand and numbers.</p> + +<p>"All right, carry on," said Strong.</p> + +<p>Tom reached over the huge control board that extended +around him for some two feet on three sides. He +placed a nervous finger on a small button, waited for +the gauge below to register with a swing of the hand, +and then released it. "All pressures steady, sir."</p> + +<p>"What next?"</p> + +<p>"Check the crew, sir—all departments—" replied +Tom.</p> + +<p>"Carry on," said Strong.</p> + +<p>Tom reached out and pulled a microphone toward +him.</p> + +<p>"All hands! Station check!" said Tom, and then was +startled to hear a metallic voice answer him.</p> + +<p>"Power deck, ready for blast-off!" And then another +voice: "Radar deck, ready for blast-off!"</p> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span></p> +<p>Tom leaned back in the pilot's seat and turned to the +captain. "All stations ready, sir."</p> + +<p>"Good! What next?" asked Strong.</p> + +<p>"Ask spaceport tower for blast-off clearance—"</p> + +<p>Strong nodded. Tom turned back to the microphone, +and without looking, punched a button in front of him.</p> + +<p>"Rocket cruiser—" He paused and turned back to +Strong. "What name do I give, sir?"</p> + +<p>Strong smiled. "<i>Noah's Ark</i>—"</p> + +<p>"Rocket cruiser <i>Noah's Ark</i> to spaceport control! Request +blast-off clearance and orbit."</p> + +<p>Once again a thin metallic voice answered him and +gave the necessary instructions.</p> + +<p>On and on, through every possible command, condition +or decision that would be placed in front of him, +Tom guided his imaginary ship on its imaginary flight +through space. For two hours he pushed buttons, +snapped switches and jockeyed controls. He gave orders +and received them from the thin metallic voices. +They answered him with such accuracy, and sometimes +with seeming hesitation, that Tom found it difficult to +believe that they were only electronically controlled +recording devices. Once, when supposedly blasting +through space at three-quarters space speed, he received +a warning from the radar bridge of an approaching +asteroid. He asked for a course change, but in reply +received only static. Believing the recording to have +broken down, he turned inquiringly to Captain Strong, +but received only a blank stare in return. Tom hesitated +for a split second, then turned back to the controls. He +quickly flipped the teleceiver button on and began plotting +the course of the approaching asteroid, ignoring +for the moment his other duties on the control deck. +When he had finished, he gave the course shift to the +power deck and ordered a blast on the starboard jet. He +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span>waited for the course change, saw it register on the +gauges in front of him, then continued his work.</p> + +<p>Strong suddenly leaned over and clapped him on the +back enthusiastically.</p> + +<p>"Good work, Corbett. That broken recording was put +there intentionally to trap you. Not one cadet in twenty +would have had the presence of mind you showed in +plotting the course of that asteroid yourself."</p> + +<p>"Thank you, sir," stammered Tom.</p> + +<p>"That's all—the test is over. Return to your quarters." +He came over and laid a hand on Tom's shoulder. +"And don't worry, Corbett. While it isn't customary to +tell a cadet, I think you deserve it. You've passed with +a perfect score!"</p> + +<p>"I have, sir? You mean—<i>I really passed?</i>"</p> + +<p>"Next step is Manning," said Strong. "You've done as +much as one cadet can do."</p> + +<p>"Thank you, sir"—Tom could only repeat it over and +over—"thank you, sir—thank you."</p> + +<p>Dazed, he saluted his superior and turned to the +door. Two hours in the pilot's chair had made him +dizzy. But he was happy.</p> + +<p>Five minutes later he slammed back the sliding door +and entered the quarters of 42-D with a lusty shout.</p> + +<p>"Meet Space Cadet Corbett—an Earthworm who's +just passed his control-deck manual operations exam!"</p> + +<p>Astro looked up from a book of tables on astrogation +and gave Tom a wan smile.</p> + +<p>"Congratulations, Tom," he said, and turned back to +his book, adding bitterly, "but if I don't get these tables +down by this afternoon for my power-deck manual, +you're sunk."</p> + +<p>"Say—what's going on here?" asked Tom. "Where's +Roger? Didn't he help you with them?"</p> + +<p>"He left. Said he had to see someone before taking +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span>his radar-bridge manual. He helped me a little. But +when I'd ask him a question, he'd just rattle the answer +off so fast—well, I just couldn't follow him."</p> + +<p>Suddenly slamming the book shut, he got up. "Me +and these tables"—he indicated the book—"just don't +mix!"</p> + +<p>"What's the trouble?"</p> + +<p>"Ah—I can get the easy ones about astrogation. +They're simple. But it's the ones where I have to <i>combine</i> +it with the power deck."</p> + +<p>"Well—I mean—what specifically?" asked Tom +softly.</p> + +<p>"For instance, I've got to find the ratio for compression +on the main firing tubes, using a given amount of +fuel, heading for a given destination, and taking a +given time for the passage."</p> + +<p>"But that's control-deck operations—as well as astrogation +and power!" exclaimed Tom.</p> + +<p>"Yeah—I know," answered Astro, "but I've still got +to be able to do it. If anything happened to you two +guys and I didn't know how to get you home, then +what?"</p> + +<p>Tom hesitated. Astro was right. Each member of the +unit had to depend on the other in any emergency. And +if one of them failed ...? Tom saw why the ground +manuals were so important now.</p> + +<p>"Look," offered Tom. "Suppose we go over the whole +thing again together. Maybe you're fouled up on the +basic concept."</p> + +<p>Tom grabbed a chair, hitched it close to the desk and +pulled Astro down beside him. He opened the book and +began studying the problem.</p> + +<p>"Now look—you have twenty-two tons of fuel—and +considering the position of your ship in space—"</p> + +<p>As the two boys, their shoulders hunched over the +table, began reviewing the table of ratios, across the +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span>quadrangle in the examination hall Roger Manning +stood in a replica of a rocket ship's radar bridge and +faced Captain Strong.</p> + +<p>"Cadet Manning reporting for manual examination, +sir." Roger brought up his arm in a crisp salute to Captain +Strong, who returned it casually.</p> + +<p>"Stand easy, Manning," replied Strong. "Do you recognize +this room?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir. It's a mock-up of a radar bridge."</p> + +<p>"A workable mock-up, cadet!" Strong was vaguely +irritated by Roger's nonchalance in accepting a situation +that Tom had marveled at. "You will take your +manuals here!"</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir."</p> + +<p>"On these tests you will be timed for both efficiency +and speed and you'll use all the tables, charts and astrogation +equipment that you'd find in a spaceship. Your +problems are purely mathematical. There are no decisions +to make. Just use your head."</p> + +<p>Strong handed Roger several sheets of paper containing +written problems. Roger shuffled them around in +his fingers, giving each a quick glance.</p> + +<p>"You may begin any time you are ready, Manning," +said Strong.</p> + +<p>"I'm ready now, sir," replied Roger calmly. He +turned to the swivel chair located between the huge +communications board, the adjustable chart table and +the astrogation prism. Directly in front of him was the +huge radar scanner, and to one side and overhead was a +tube mounted on a swivel joint that looked like a small +telescope, but which was actually an astrogation prism +for taking sights on the celestial bodies in space.</p> + +<p>Roger concentrated on the first problem.</p> + +<p>" ... you are now in the northwest quadrant of +Mars, chart M, area twenty-eight. You have been notified +by the control deck that it has been necessary to +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span>jettison three quarters of your fuel supply. For the last +five hundred and seventy-nine seconds you have been +blasting at one-quarter space speed. The four main +drive rockets were cut out at thirty-second intervals. +Making adjustment for degree of slip on each successive +rocket cutout, find present position by using cross-fix +with Regulus as your starboard fix, Alpha Centauri +as your port fix."</p> + +<p>Suddenly a bell began to ring in front of Roger. Without +hesitation he adjusted a dial that brought the radar +scanner into focus. When the screen remained blank, +he made a second adjustment, and then a third and +fourth, until the bright white flash of a meteor was seen +on the scanner. He quickly grabbed two knobs, one in +each hand, and twisted them to move two thin, plotting +lines, one horizontal and one vertical, across the surface +of the scanner. Setting the vertical line, he fingered a +tabulating machine with his right hand, as he adjusted +the second line with his left, thus cross-fixing the meteor. +Then he turned his whole attention to the tabulator, +ripped off the answer with lightning moves of his +fingers and began talking rapidly into the microphone.</p> + +<p>"Radar bridge to control deck! Alien body bearing +zero-one-five, one-point-seven degrees over plane of the +ecliptic. On intersecting orbit. Change course two degrees, +hold for fifteen seconds, then resume original +heading. Will compensate for change nearer destination!"</p> + +<p>Roger watched the scanner a moment longer. When +the rumbling blast of the steering jets sounded in the +chamber and the meteor flash shifted on the scanner +screen, he returned to the problem in his hand.</p> + +<p>Seven minutes later he turned to Strong and handed +him the answer.</p> + +<p>"Present position by dead reckoning is northwest +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span>quadrant of Mars, chart O, area thirty-nine, sir," he +announced confidently.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 389px;"> +<img src="images/im068.png" width="389" height="480" alt=""I was unable to get a sight on Alpha Centauri"" title="" /> +<span class="caption">"I was unable to get a sight on Alpha Centauri"</span> +</div> + +<p>Strong tried to mask his surprise, but a lifted eyebrow +gave him away. "And how did you arrive at this +conclusion, Manning?"</p> + +<p>"I was unable to get a sight on Alpha Centauri due +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span>to the present position of Jupiter, sir," replied Roger +easily. "So I took a fix on Earth, allowed for its rotational +speed around the sun and took the cross-fix with +Regulus as ordered in the problem. Of course, I included +all the other factors of the speed and heading +of our ship. That was routine."</p> + +<p>Strong accepted the answer with a curt nod, motioning +for Roger to continue. It would not do, thought +Strong, to let Manning know that he was the first cadet +in thirty-nine years to make the correct selection of +Earth in working up the fix with Regulus, and still have +the presence of mind to plot a meteor without so much +as a half-degree error. Of course the problem varied +with each cadet, but it remained essentially the same.</p> + +<p>"Seven-and-a-half minutes. Commander Walters will +be surprised, to say the least," thought Steve.</p> + +<p>Forty-five minutes later, Roger, as unruffled as if he +had been sitting listening to a lecture from a sound +slide, handed in the rest of his papers, executed a sharp +salute and walked out.</p> + +<p>"Two down and one to go," thought Strong, and the +toughest one of them all coming up. Astro. The big Venusian +was unable to understand anything that couldn't +be turned with a wrench. The only thing that would +prevent Unit 42-D from taking Academy unit honors +over Unit 77-K, the unit assigned to Lieutenant Wolcheck, +would be Astro. While none of the members of +the other units could come up to the individual brilliance +of Corbett or Manning, they worked together as +a unit, helping one another. They might make a higher +unit rating, simply because they were better balanced.</p> + +<p>He shrugged his shoulders and collected the papers. +It was as much torture for him, as it was for any cadet, +he thought, and turned to the door. "All right, Astro," +he said to himself, "in ten minutes it'll be your turn and +I'm going to make it tough!"</p> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span></p> +<p>Back in the quarters of Unit 42-D, Tom and Astro still +pored over the books and papers on the desk.</p> + +<p>"Let's try again, Astro," sighed Tom as he hitched his +chair closer to the desk. "You've got thirty tons of fuel—you +want to find the compression ratio of the number-one +firing-tube chamber—so what do you do?"</p> + +<p>"Start up the auxiliary, burn a little of the stuff and +judge what it'll be," the big cadet replied. "That's the +way I did it on the space freighters."</p> + +<p>"But you're not on a space freighter now!" exclaimed +Tom. "You've got to do things the way they want it +done here at the Academy. By the book! These tables +have been figured out by great minds to help you, and +you just want to burn a little of the stuff and guess at +what it'll be!" Tom threw up his hands in disgust.</p> + +<p>"Seems to me I heard of an old saying back in the +teen centuries about leading a horse to water, but not +being able to make him drink!" drawled Roger from the +doorway. He strolled in and kicked at the crumpled +sheets of paper that littered the floor, stark evidence of +Tom's efforts with Astro.</p> + +<p>"All right, wise guy," said Tom, "suppose you explain +it to him!"</p> + +<p>"No can do," replied Roger. "I tried. I explained it to +him twenty times this morning while you were taking +your control-deck manual." He tapped his head delicately +with his forefinger. "Can't get through—too +thick!"</p> + +<p>Astro turned to the window to hide the mist in his +eyes.</p> + +<p>"Lay off, Roger," snapped Tom. He got up and +walked over to the big cadet. "Come on, Astro, we +haven't got much time. You're due in the examination +hall in a few minutes."</p> + +<p>"It's no good, Tom, I just can't understand that +stuff." Astro turned and faced his unit-mates, his voice +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span>charged with sudden emotion. "Just fifteen minutes on +the power deck of anything with rockets in her and I'll +run her from here to the next galaxy. I—I can't explain +it, but when I look at those motors, I can read 'em like +you read an astrogation chart, Roger, or you the gauges +on the control deck, Tom. But I just can't get those ratios +out of a book. I gotta put my hands on those motors—touch +'em—I mean really <i>touch 'em</i>—then I know +what to do!"</p> + +<p>As suddenly as he had started, he stopped and +turned, leaving Tom and Roger staring at him, startled +by this unusual outburst.</p> + +<p>"Cadets—stand <i>to</i>!" roared a voice from the doorway.</p> + +<p>The three cadets snapped to attention and faced the +entrance.</p> + +<p>"Take it easy, Earthworms!" said Tony Richards. A +tall cadet with closely cut black hair and a lazy, smiling +face stood in the doorway.</p> + +<p>"Lay off, Richards," said Tom. "We haven't time for +gags now. Astro's going to take his power-deck manual +in a few minutes and we're cramming with him."</p> + +<p>"O.K.—O.K.—don't blow your jets," said Richards. "I +just wanted to see if there were any bets on which unit +would cop honors in the manuals this afternoon."</p> + +<p>"I suppose you think your Unit 77-K will finish on +top?" drawled Roger.</p> + +<p>"I'd like to bet all the galley demerits we have in +77-K against yours."</p> + +<p>"With Astro on our team?" complained Roger.</p> + +<p>"What's the matter with Astro?" asked Richards. +"From what I hear, he's hot stuff!" It wasn't a compliment, +but a sharp dig made with a sly smile. Astro +balled his huge hands into fists.</p> + +<p>"Astro," said Roger, "is the type that can smell out +trouble on any power deck. But today he came down +with a cold. No, I'm afraid it's no bet, Richards."</p> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span></p> +<p>"I'll give you two to one," Richards offered.</p> + +<p>"Nothing doing," replied Roger. "Not even at five to +one. Not with Astro."</p> + +<p>Richards grinned, nodded and disappeared.</p> + +<p>Roger turned to face the hard stare of Tom.</p> + +<p>"That was the dirtiest sellout I've ever heard, Manning," +Tom growled.</p> + +<p>"Sorry, Corbett," said Roger. "I only bet on sure +things."</p> + +<p>"That's O.K. with me, Manning," said Astro, "but I'm +afraid you sold yourself a hot rocket, because I'm going +to pass!"</p> + +<p>"Who are you kidding?" Roger laughed and sprawled +on his bunk.</p> + +<p>Astro took a quick step forward, his fists clenched, +his face a mask of burning anger, but Tom quickly +jumped in front of him.</p> + +<p>"You'll be late for the exam, Astro!" he shouted. "Get +going or it'll count against your mark!"</p> + +<p>"Huh. What's a few points more or less when you're +going to fail anyway," snorted Roger from the bunk.</p> + +<p>Again, Astro started to lunge forward and Tom +braced himself against the Venusian's charge, but suddenly +the burly cadet stopped. Disengaging Tom's restraining +arms, he spoke coldly to the sneering boy on +the bed.</p> + +<p>"I'm going to pass the exam, Manning. Get that? I'm +going to pass and then come back and beat your head +off!" Turning on his heel, he stalked out of the room.</p> + +<p>Tom immediately wheeled to face Roger, fire in his +eyes, and the arrogant cadet, sensing trouble, jumped +to his feet to meet him.</p> + +<p>"What's the idea of giving Astro a hard time?" demanded +Tom.</p> + +<p>"Cool off, Corbett," replied Roger warily. "You're fusing +your tubes you're so hot."</p> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span></p> +<p>"You bet I'm hot! Hot enough to blast you—again!" +Tom deliberately spat out the last word.</p> + +<p>Roger flushed and brought his fists up quickly as +though to charge in, then suddenly dropped them +again. He turned to the door and slowly walked out.</p> + +<p>"Go blow your jets," his voice drifted back to Tom as +he disappeared.</p> + +<p>Tom stood there, looking at the empty door, almost +blind with rage and frustration. He was failing in the +main job assigned to him, that of keeping the unit on +an even keel and working together. How could he command +a crew out in space if he couldn't keep the friction +of his own unit under control?</p> + +<p>Slowly, he left the room to wait for Astro in the recreation +hall where the results of the manuals would be +announced. He thought of Astro, now probably deep in +his exam, and wondered how bad it would be for him. +Then another thought crossed his mind. Roger had +said nothing of his own test and neither he nor Astro +had even inquired.</p> + +<p>He shook his head. No matter where the unit placed +in the manuals, it just couldn't stay together.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> +<img src="images/im073.png" width="400" height="113" alt="Splash" title="" /></div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span></p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_7" id="CHAPTER_7"></a>CHAPTER 7</h2> + + +<p>It was customary for all Earthworm cadets to gather in +the main recreation hall to wait for the results of the +manuals which would be announced on the huge teleceiver +screen. Since all the units were taking their tests +that afternoon, the hall was crowded with green-clad +cadets, talking in low murmurs and waiting tensely for +the outcome of the exam.</p> + +<p>Tom entered the huge room, looked around and then +drifted toward Al Dixon, the senior cadet who had +greeted them as a unit after passing classification tests. +The blue-clad cadet was listening to a story spool, a device +that told a story, rather than let the person read it +from a book.</p> + +<p>"Hiya, Corbett," said Dixon, smiling. "Drag up a chair. +Listening to a terrific yarn about a guy stranded on an +asteroid and then he finds—" The redheaded cadet's +voice trailed off when he noticed that Tom wasn't listening.</p> + +<p>"Say, what's the matter with you? You look like you +just lost your best friend."</p> + +<p>"Not yet, but it won't be long now," commented +Tom, a trace of bitterness creeping into his voice. "Astro's +taking his power-deck manual. What he knows +about those compression ratios just isn't known. But he +just can't get it on paper."</p> + +<p>"Don't sell your unit-mate short," said Dixon, sensing +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span>something beneath Tom's comment. "I've heard that +big fellow knows more about a rocket deck than McKenny."</p> + +<p>"Yeah, that's true," said Tom, "but—"</p> + +<p>"You know, Corbett," said Dixon, switching off the +story spool, "there's something screwy in that outfit of +yours."</p> + +<p>"You can say that again," agreed Tom bitterly.</p> + +<p>"You come in here with a face dragging on the floor, +and Manning—"</p> + +<p>Tom's head jerked up. "Manning! What about that +space-gassing hot-shot?"</p> + +<p>"—Manning just tore through the rec hall trying to +get some of the other Earthworm units to bet their galley +demerits against your outfit."</p> + +<p>Tom's mouth sagged open. "You mean, he actually +wanted to bet that Astro would pass?"</p> + +<p>"Not just pass, Corbett, but he wanted to bet that +your unit would be top rocket of the Earthworms! The +head of the list!"</p> + +<p>"But he told Astro that—" he stopped.</p> + +<p>"Told him what?" Dixon asked.</p> + +<p>"Ah—nothing—nothing—" said Tom. He jumped up +and headed for the door.</p> + +<p>"Hey, where are you going?"</p> + +<p>"To find Manning. There are a couple of things I +want to clear up."</p> + +<p>Tom left Dixon shaking his head in bewilderment +and jumped on the slidestairs. He was going to have it +out with Roger once and for all. Hopping off the slidestairs +onto the forty-second floor, he started down the +long hall to his quarters.</p> + +<p>Nearing the door, he heard Roger's laugh, and then +his lazy voice talking to someone inside.</p> + +<p>"Sure, they're dumb, but they're not bad guys," said +Roger.</p> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span></p> +<p>Tom walked into the room. Roger was sitting on the +side of his bunk facing Tony Richards.</p> + +<p>"Hiya, Corbett," said Roger, "did you hear how Astro +made out yet?"</p> + +<p>Tom ignored the question.</p> + +<p>"I want to talk to you, Roger."</p> + +<p>Roger eyed him suspiciously. "Sure, Corbett, go +ahead."</p> + +<p>"Well, I'll be going along," said Richards. He had +heard about the previous fight between Manning and +Corbett and didn't want to be hauled up as a witness +later if they started again. "Remember, Manning," he +called from the doorway, "the bet is two to one, and are +you going to get tired of washing pots and pans!" He +waved his hand at Corbett and disappeared.</p> + +<p>"All right, Corbett," Roger turned to Tom. "What's +frying you?"</p> + +<p>"I just saw Al Dixon down in the rec hall," answered +Tom. "He told me you were looking for bets on the unit +ratings. Is that why Richards was here?"</p> + +<p>"That's right," nodded Roger.</p> + +<p>"What made you say the things you did to Astro before +he went for his manual?"</p> + +<p>"Very simple. I wanted to make him pass and that +was the only way."</p> + +<p>"You're pretty sure of yourself, Roger."</p> + +<p>"I'm always sure of myself, Corbett. And the sooner +you learn that, the easier it'll be for all of us. I never bet +unless it's in the bag. I know Astro's going to pass. Some +guys have to have a fire built under them before they +get moving. Astro's one of them."</p> + +<p>"That doesn't answer my question," said Tom. "Why +did you say the things you did before a guy goes to take +an exam?"</p> + +<p>"I said what I did to make Tony Richards give me +odds. <i>And</i> to make Astro mad enough to pass. We're a +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span>cinch to win and Richards' outfit will be indebted to us +for a year's worth of galley demerits." He smiled easily. +"Smooth, huh?"</p> + +<p>"I think it's rotten," said Tom. "Astro left here feeling +like a plugged credit! And if he does fail, it'll be because +you made him think he was the dumbest guy in +the universe!"</p> + +<p>"He probably is," mused Roger, "but he still won't +fail that manual."</p> + +<p>From the hallway behind them, a loud blasting yell +was suddenly heard, echoing from somewhere on the +lower floors. Tom and Roger waited, their eyes wide +and hopeful. There was only one person at Space Academy +capable of making such a noise.</p> + +<p>"He made it!" Tom exclaimed.</p> + +<p>"Of course he made it," said Roger casually.</p> + +<p>Astro tore into 42-D with a mad rush.</p> + +<p>"Yeeeoooooowwww!" He grabbed the two cadets and +picked them up, one in each hand. "I made it—hands +down—I handled those rocket motors like they were +babes in arms! I told you that all I had to do was touch +them and I'd know! I told you!"</p> + +<p>"Congratulations, Astro," said Tom with a wide grin. +"I knew you'd do it."</p> + +<p>"Put me down, you oversized Venusian jerk," said +Roger, almost good-naturedly. Astro released the +smaller cadet and faced him.</p> + +<p>"Well, hot-shot, I promised you something when I +got back, didn't I?"</p> + +<p>"Make it later, will you, and I'll be glad to oblige." +He walked toward the door. "I've got to go down and +collect a bet."</p> + +<p>"What bet?" asked Astro.</p> + +<p>"With Tony Richards."</p> + +<p>"But I thought you were afraid to bet on me!"</p> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span></p> +<p>"Not at all, Astro. I just wanted to make you mad +enough to ensure my winning."</p> + +<p>"That sounds like you were more worried about your +bet than you were about Astro passing," snapped Tom.</p> + +<p>"You're exactly right, spaceboy," purred Roger, +standing in the doorway.</p> + +<p>"That's our boy, Manning," growled Astro. "The +great team man!"</p> + +<p>"Team?" Roger took a step back into the room. +"Don't make me laugh, Astro. For your information, tomorrow +morning I'm putting in for a transfer to another +unit!"</p> + +<p>"What!" exclaimed Tom. "You can't trans—"</p> + +<p>"Yes, I can," interrupted Roger. "Read your Academy +regs. Anyone can request a transfer once the unit has +passed its manuals."</p> + +<p>"And what excuse are you going to use," snapped Astro +bitterly. "That you can't take it?"</p> + +<p>"A personality difference, Astro, my boy. You hate +me and I hate you. It's a good enough reason, I think."</p> + +<p>"It's just as well, hot-shot," replied Astro. "Because if +you don't transfer, we will!"</p> + +<p>Roger merely smiled, flipped his fingers to his forehead +in an arrogant gesture of farewell and turned to +leave again. But his path was blocked by the sudden +appearance of Captain Steve Strong. The three cadets +quickly braced.</p> + +<p>The Solar Guard officer strode into the room, his face +beaming. He looked at each of the boys, pride shining +out of his eyes, and then brought his hand up and held +it in salute.</p> + +<p>"I just want to tell you boys one thing," he said solemnly. +"It's the highest compliment I can pay you, or +anyone." He paused. "All three of you are real spacemen!"</p> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span></p> +<p>Tom and Astro couldn't repress smiles, but Roger's +expression never changed.</p> + +<p>"Then we passed as a unit, sir?" asked Tom eagerly.</p> + +<p>"Not only passed, Corbett"—Strong's voice boomed in +the small room—"but with honors. You're the top rockets +of this Earthworm group! I'm proud to be your commanding +officer!"</p> + +<p>Again Tom and Astro fought back smiles of happiness +and even Roger managed a small grin.</p> + +<p>"This is the fightingest group of cadets I've ever +seen," Strong continued. "Frankly, I was a little worried +about your ability to pull together but the results of the +manuals showed that you have. You couldn't have made +it without working as a unit."</p> + +<p>Strong failed to notice Roger's face darken, and Tom +and Astro look at each other meaningfully.</p> + +<p>"My congratulations for having solved that problem +too!" Strong saluted them again and walked toward the +door, where he paused. "By the way, I want you to report +to the Academy spaceport tomorrow at eight hundred +hours. Warrant Officer McKenny has something +out there he wants to show you."</p> + +<p>Tom's eyes bugged out and he stepped forward.</p> + +<p>"Sir," he gasped, scarcely able to get the question +past his lips, "you don't mean we're—we're going to—"</p> + +<p>"You're absolutely right, Corbett. There's a brand-new +rocket cruiser out there. Your ship. Your future +classroom. You'll report to her in the blues of the Space +Cadets! And from now on your unit identification is the +name of your ship! The rocket cruiser <i>Polaris</i>!"</p> + +<p>A second later, Strong had vanished down the corridor, +leaving Tom and Astro hugging each other and +clapping each other on the back in delirious joy.</p> + +<p>Roger merely stood to one side, a sarcastic smile on +his face.</p> + +<p>"And now, as we prepare to face the unknown dangers +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span>of space," he said bitingly, "let us unite our voices +and sing the Academy hymn together! Huh!" He strode +toward the door. "Don't they ever get tired of waving +that flag around here?"</p> + +<p>Before Tom and Astro could reply, he had disappeared. +The big Venusian shrugged his shoulders. "I +just don't understand that guy!"</p> + +<p>But Tom failed to reply. He had turned toward the +window and was staring out past the gleaming white +Tower of Galileo into the slowly darkening skies of evening +to the east. For the moment, the problems of Roger +Manning and the unit were far away. He was thinking +of the coming morning when he would dress in the +blues of a Space Cadet for the first time and step into +his own ship as command pilot. He was thinking of the +morning when he would be a real spaceman!</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> +<img src="images/im080.png" width="400" height="114" alt="im080" title="" /></div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span></p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_8" id="CHAPTER_8"></a>CHAPTER 8</h2> + + +<p>The campus of Space Academy was quiet that evening. +Only a few cadets were still out on the quadrangle, +lounging around in the open before returning to their +quarters for bed-check.</p> + +<p>On the forty-second floor of the dormitory building, +two thirds of the newly formed <i>Polaris</i> unit, Tom and +Astro, were in heated argument.</p> + +<p>"All right, all right, so the guy is brilliant," said Astro. +"But who can live with him? Not even himself!"</p> + +<p>"Maybe he is a little difficult," replied Tom, "but +somehow, we've got to adjust to him!"</p> + +<p>"How about him adjusting to us? It's two against +one!" Astro shambled to the window and looked out +moodily. "Besides, he's putting in for a transfer and +there's nothing we can do about it!"</p> + +<p>"Maybe he won't now—not after that little speech +Captain Strong made this afternoon."</p> + +<p>"If he doesn't, then, blast it, I will!"</p> + +<p>"Aw, now take it easy, Astro!"</p> + +<p>"Take it easy, nothing!" Astro was building up a big +head of steam. "Where is that space crawler right now?"</p> + +<p>"I don't know. He never came back. Wasn't even +down at mess tonight."</p> + +<p>"There, that's just what I mean!" Astro turned to +Tom to press his point. "It's close to bed-check and he +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span>isn't in quarters yet. If the MP's catch him outside after +hours, the whole unit will be logged and there goes our +chance of blasting off tomorrow!"</p> + +<p>"But there's still time, Astro," replied Tom lamely.</p> + +<p>"Not much there isn't. It just shows you what he +thinks of the unit! He just doesn't care!" Astro paced +the floor angrily. "There's only one thing to do! He gets +his transfer—or we do! Or—" he paused and looked at +Tom meaningfully, "or I do."</p> + +<p>"You're not thinking, Astro," argued Tom. "How will +that look on your record? Every time there's a trip into +deep space, they yank out your file to see how you operate +under pressure with other guys. When they see +that you asked for a transfer from your unit, that's it!"</p> + +<p>"Yeah—yeah—I know—incompatible—but honest, +Tom—"</p> + +<p>The curly-haired cadet felt his big friend weaken and +he pressed his advantage.</p> + +<p>"It isn't every day that a unit gets a ship right after +finishing ground manuals. Captain Strong said he +waited for four months after manuals before getting his +first hop into space."</p> + +<p>"Yeah—but what do you think it's going to be like +out in space with Manning making sour cracks all the +time?"</p> + +<p>Tom hesitated before answering his Venusian friend. +He was fully aware that Roger was going to play a lone +hand. And that they would never really have unity +among them until some drastic measure was taken. +After all, Tom thought, some guys don't have good +hearts, or eyes, a defect to prevent them from becoming +spacemen. Roger is just mixed up inside. And the +handicap is just as real as if he had a physical flaw.</p> + +<p>"Well, what do you want to do?" asked Tom finally.</p> + +<p>"Go see Captain Strong. Give it to him straight. Tell +him we want a transfer."</p> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span></p> +<p>"But tomorrow we blast off. We might not have another +chance for months! Certainly not until we get a +new astrogator."</p> + +<p>"I'd rather wait and have a guy on the radar bridge +I know isn't going to pull something behind my back," +said Astro, "than blast off tomorrow with Manning +aboard."</p> + +<p>Again Tom hesitated. He knew what Astro was saying +was the truth. Life, so far, at the Academy had been +tough enough, but with mutual dependence and security +even more important out in space, the danger of +their constant friction was obvious.</p> + +<p>"O.K.," he relented, "if that's the way you really want +it. Come on. We'll go see Captain Strong now."</p> + +<p>"You go," said Astro. "You know how I feel. Whatever +you say goes for me too."</p> + +<p>"Are you sure you want to do it?" asked Tom. He +knew what such a request would mean. A black mark +against Roger for being rejected by his unit-mates and +a black mark against Astro and himself for not being +able to adjust. Regardless of who was right and who +was wrong, there would always be a mark on their records.</p> + +<p>"Look, Tom," said Astro, "if I thought it was only me +I'd keep my mouth shut. But you'd let Manning get +away with murder because you wouldn't want to be the +one to get him into trouble."</p> + +<p>"No, I wouldn't," said Tom. "I think Roger would +make a fine spaceman; he's certainly smart enough, and +a good unit-mate if he'd only snap out of it. But I can't +let him or anyone else stop me from becoming a spaceman +or a member of the Solar Guard."</p> + +<p>"Then you'll go see Captain Strong?"</p> + +<p>"Yes," said Tom. If he had been in doubt before, now +that he had made the decision, he felt relieved. He +slipped on his space boots and stood up. The two boys +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span>looked at each other, each realizing the question in the +other's mind.</p> + +<p>"No!" said Tom decisively. "It's better for everyone. +Even Roger. He might find two other guys that will fit +him better." He walked from the room.</p> + +<p>The halls were silent as he strode toward the slidestairs +that would take him to the nineteenth floor and +Captain Strong's quarters. Passing one room after another, +he glanced in and saw other units studying, preparing +for bed, or just sitting around talking. There +weren't many units left. The tests had taken a toll of the +Earthworms. But those that remained were solidly +built. Already friendships had taken deep root. Tom +found himself wishing he had become a member of another +unit. Where the comradeship was taken for +granted in other units, he was about to make a request +to dissolve his because of friction.</p> + +<p>Completely discouraged, Tom stepped on the slidestairs +and started down.</p> + +<p>As he left the dormitory floors, the noise of young +cadet life was soon lost and he passed floors containing +offices and apartments of the administration staff of the +Solar Guard.</p> + +<p>As he drew level with the floor that was Galaxy Hall, +he glanced at the lighted plaque and for the hundredth +time reread the inscription—</p> + +<p>" ... to the brave men who sacrificed their lives in +the conquest of space, this Galaxy Hall is dedicated...."</p> + +<p>Something moved in the darkness of the hall. Tom +strained his eyes for a closer look and just managed to +distinguish the figure of a cadet standing before the +wreckage of the <i>Space Queen</i>. Funny, thought Tom. +Why should anyone be wandering around the hall at +this time of night? And then, as the floor slipped past, +the figure turned slightly and was illuminated by the +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span>dim light that came from the slidestairs. Tom recognized +the sharp features and close-cropped blond hair +of Roger Manning!</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 382px;"> +<img src="images/im085.png" width="382" height="480" alt="Roger was still standing in front of the Space Queen!" title="" /> +<span class="caption">Roger was still standing in front of the Space Queen!</span> +</div> + +<p>Quickly changing over to the slidestairs going up, +Tom slipped back to the hall floor and stepped off. +Roger was still standing in front of the <i>Space Queen</i>! +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span></p> + +<p>Tom started to speak, but stopped when he saw +Roger take out a handkerchief and dab at his eyes.</p> + +<p>The movements of the other boy were crystal-clear to +Tom. Roger was crying! Standing in front of the <i>Space +Queen</i> and crying!</p> + +<p>He kept watching as Roger put away the handkerchief, +saluted sharply and turned toward the slidestairs. +Ducking behind a glass case that held the first space +suit ever used, Tom held his breath as Roger passed +him. He could hear Roger mumble.</p> + +<p>"They got you—but they won't get me with any of +that glory stuff!"</p> + +<p>Tom waited, heart racing, trying to figure out what +Roger meant, and why he was here alone in Galaxy +Hall. Finally the blond cadet disappeared up the moving +stair.</p> + +<p>Tom didn't go to see Captain Strong. Instead, he returned +to his room.</p> + +<p>"So quick?" asked Astro.</p> + +<p>Tom shook his head. "Where's Roger?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"In the shower." Astro gestured to the bathroom, +where Tom could hear the sound of running water. +"What made you change your mind about seeing Captain +Strong?" asked Astro.</p> + +<p>"I think we've misjudged Roger, Astro," said Tom +slowly. And then related what he had seen and heard.</p> + +<p>"Well, blast my jets!" exclaimed Astro, when Tom +had finished. "What's behind it, do you think?"</p> + +<p>"I don't know, Astro. But I'm convinced that any guy +that'll visit Galaxy Hall by himself late at night—and +<i>cry</i>—well, he couldn't be entirely off base, regardless +of what he does."</p> + +<p>Astro studied his work-hardened palms.</p> + +<p>"You wanta keep it this way for a while?" he asked. +"I mean, forget about talking to Captain Strong?"</p> + +<p>"Roger's the best astrogator and radar man in the +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span>Academy, Astro. There's something bothering him. But +I'm willing to bet that whatever it is, Roger will work +it out. And if we're really unit-mates, then we won't sell +him out now, when he may need us most."</p> + +<p>"That's it, then," said Astro. "I'll kill him with kindness. +Come on. Let's turn in. We've got a big day ahead +of us tomorrow!"</p> + +<p>The two boys began to prepare for bed. Roger came +out of the shower wearing pajamas.</p> + +<p>"All excited, spacemen?" he drawled, leaning against +the wall, brushing his short hair.</p> + +<p>"About as excited as we can get, Roger," smiled Tom.</p> + +<p>"Yeah, you space-blasting jerk!" growled Astro good-naturedly. +"Turn out the lights before I introduce you +to my space boot."</p> + +<p>Roger eyed the two cadets quizzically, puzzled by +the strange good humor of both boys. He shrugged his +shoulders, flipped out the light and crawled into bed.</p> + +<p>But if he could have seen the satisfied smile of Tom +Corbett, Roger would have been even more puzzled.</p> + +<p>"We'll just kill him with kindness," thought Tom, and +fell fast asleep.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> +<img src="images/im087.png" width="400" height="116" alt="im087" title="" /></div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span></p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_9" id="CHAPTER_9"></a>CHAPTER 9</h2> + + +<p>The three members of the <i>Polaris</i> unit stepped off the +slidewalk at the Academy spaceport and stood before +Warrant Officer McKenny.</p> + +<p>"There she is," said the stubby spaceman, pointing to +the gleaming spaceship resting not two hundred feet +away. "Rocket cruiser <i>Polaris</i>. The newest and fastest +ship in space."</p> + +<p>He faced the three boys with a smile. "And she's all +yours. You earned her!"</p> + +<p>Mouths open, Tom, Roger and Astro stood gaping in +fascination at the mighty spaceship resting on the concrete +ramp. Her long two-hundred-foot polished beryllium +steel hull mirrored the spaceport scene around +them. The tall buildings of the Academy, the "ready" +line of space destroyers and scouts, and the hundreds of +maintenance noncoms of the enlisted Solar Guard, +their scarlet uniforms spotted with grime, were all reflected +back to the <i>Polaris</i> unit as they eyed the sleek +ship from the needlelike nose of her bow to the stubby +opening of her rocket exhausts. Not a seam or rivet +could be seen in her hull. At the top of the ship, near +her nose, a large blister made of six-inch clear crystal +indicated the radar bridge. Twelve feet below it, six +round window ports showed the position of the control +deck. Surrounding the base of the ship was an aluminum +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span>scaffold with a ladder over a hundred feet high +anchored to it. The top rung of the ladder just reached +the power-deck emergency hatch which was swung +open, like a giant plug, revealing the thickness of the +hull, nearly a foot.</p> + +<p>"Well," roared the red-clad spaceman, "don't you +want to climb aboard and see what your ship looks like +inside?"</p> + +<p>"Do we!" cried Tom, and made a headlong dash for +the scaffold. Astro let out one of his famous yells and +followed right at his heels. Roger watched them running +ahead and started off at a slow walk, but suddenly, +no longer able to resist, he broke into a dead run. Those +around the <i>Polaris</i> stopped their work to watch the +three cadets scramble up the ladder. Most of the ground +crew were ex-spacemen like McKenny, no longer able +to blast off because of acceleration reaction. And they +smiled knowingly, remembering their reactions to their +first spaceship.</p> + +<p>Inside the massive cruiser, the boys roamed over every +deck, examining the ship excitedly.</p> + +<p>"Say look at this!" cried Tom. He stood in front of the +control board and ran his hands over the buttons and +switches. "This board makes the manual we worked on +at the Academy look like it's ready for Galaxy Hall!"</p> + +<p>"Yeeeooooooww!" Three decks below, Astro had discovered +the rocket motors. Four of the most powerful +ever installed on a spaceship, enabling the <i>Polaris</i> to +outrace any ship in space.</p> + +<p>Roger stuck his head through the radar-bridge hatch +and gazed in awe at the array of electronic communicators, +detection radar and astrogation gear. With lips +pulled into a thin line, he mumbled to himself: "Too +bad they didn't give <i>you</i> this kind of equipment."</p> + +<p>"What'd you say, Roger?" asked Astro, climbing +alongside to peer into the radar bridge. +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span></p> + +<p>Startled, Roger turned and stammered, "Ah—nothing—nothing."</p> + +<p>Looking around, Astro commented, "This place looks +almost as good as that power deck."</p> + +<p>"Of course," said Roger, "they could have placed that +astrogation prism a little closer to the chart table. Now +I'll have to get up every time I want to take sights on +stars!"</p> + +<p>"Don't you ever get tired of complaining?" asked +Astro.</p> + +<p>"Ah—rocket off," snarled Roger.</p> + +<p>"Hey, you guys," yelled Tom from below, "better get +down here! Captain Strong's coming aboard."</p> + +<p>Climbing back down the ladder to the control deck, +Astro leaned over his shoulder and asked Roger, "Do +you really think he'll let us take this baby up for a hop, +Manning?"</p> + +<p>"Get your head out of that cloud, Astro. You'll pull +about three weeks of dry runs before this baby gets five +inches off the ground."</p> + +<p>"I wouldn't be too sure of that, Manning!" Strong's +voice boomed out as he climbed up through the control-deck +hatch. The three boys immediately snapped to +attention.</p> + +<p>Strong walked around the control deck, fingering the +controls lightly.</p> + +<p>"This is a fine ship," he mused aloud. "One of the finest +that scientific brains can build. She's yours. The day +you graduate from the Academy, <i>IF</i> you graduate, and +I can think of about a thousand reasons why you won't, +you'll command an armed rocket cruiser similar to this. +As a matter of fact, the only difference between this +ship and those that patrol the space lanes now is in the +armament."</p> + +<p>"Don't we have any arms aboard at all, sir?" asked +Tom.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Small arms, like paralo-ray pistols and paralo-ray rifles. +Plus four atomic war heads for emergency use," replied +Strong.</p> + +<p>Seeing a puzzled expression cross Astro's face, the +Solar Guard officer continued, "You haven't studied armament +yet, Astro, but paralo rays are the only weapons +used by law-enforcement agencies in the Solar Alliance. +They work on a principle of controlled energy, +sending out a ray with an effective range of fifty yards +that can paralyze the nervous system of any beast or +human."</p> + +<p>"And it doesn't kill, sir?" inquired Astro.</p> + +<p>"No, Astro." replied Strong. "Paralyzing a man is just +as effective as killing him. The Solar Alliance doesn't +believe you have to kill anyone, not even the most vicious +criminal. Freeze him and capture him, and you +still have the opportunity of making him a useful citizen."</p> + +<p>"But if you can't?" inquired Roger dryly.</p> + +<p>"Then he's kept on the prison asteroid where he can't +harm anyone." Strong turned away abruptly. "But this +isn't the time for a general discussion. We've got work +to do!"</p> + +<p>He walked over to the master control panel and +switched the teleceiver screen. There was a slight buzz, +and a view of the spaceport outside the ship suddenly +came into focus, filling the screen. Strong flipped a +switch and a view aft on the <i>Polaris</i> filled the glowing +square. The aluminum scaffolding was being hauled +away by a jet truck. Again the view changed as Strong +twisted the dials in front of him.</p> + +<p>"Just scanning the outside, boys," he commented. +"Have to make sure there isn't anyone near the ship +when we blast off. The rocket exhaust is powerful +enough to blow a man two hundred feet, to say nothing +of burning him to death." +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span></p> + +<p>"You mean, sir—" began Tom, not daring to hope.</p> + +<p>"Of course, Corbett," smiled Strong. "Take your stations +for blast-off. We raise ship as soon as we get orbital +clearance from spaceport control!"</p> + +<p>Without waiting for further orders, the three boys +scurried to their stations.</p> + +<p>Soon the muffled whine of the energizing pumps on +the power deck began to ring through the ship, along +with the steady beep of the radar scanner on the radar +bridge. Tom checked the maze of gauges and dials on +the control board. Air locks, hatches, oxygen supply, +circulating system, circuits, and feeds. In five minutes +the two-hundred-foot shining steel hull was a living +thing as her rocket motors purred, warming up for the +initial thrust.</p> + +<p>Tom made a last sweeping check of the complicated +board and turned to Captain Strong who stood to one +side watching.</p> + +<p>"Ship ready to blast off, sir," he announced. "Shall I +check stations and proceed to raise ship?"</p> + +<p>"Carry on, Cadet Corbett," Strong replied. "Log +yourself in as skipper with me along as supercargo. I'll +ride in the second pilot's chair."</p> + +<p>Tom snapped a sharp salute and added vocally, +"Aye, aye, sir!"</p> + +<p>He turned back to the control board, strapped himself +into the command pilot's seat and opened the circuit +to the spaceport control tower.</p> + +<p>"Rocket cruiser <i>Polaris</i> to spaceport control," he +droned into the microphone. "Check in!"</p> + +<p>"Spaceport control to <i>Polaris</i>," the voice of the tower +operator replied. "You are cleared for blast-off in two +minutes. Take out—orbit 75 ... repeat ... 75...."</p> + +<p>"<i>Polaris</i> to spaceport control. Orders received and +understood. End transmission!"</p> + +<p>Tom then turned his attention to the station check. +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Control deck to radar deck. Check in."</p> + +<p>"Radar deck, aye! Ready to raise ship." Roger's voice +was relaxed, easy.</p> + +<p>Tom turned to the board to adjust the teleceiver +screen for a clear picture of the stern of the ship. Gradually +it came up in as sharp detail as if he had been +standing on the ground.</p> + +<p>He checked the electric timing device in front of him +that ticked off the seconds, as a red hand crawled +around to <i>zero</i>, and when it swept down to the thirty-second +mark, Tom pulled the microphone to his lips +again. "Control deck to power deck. Check in!"</p> + +<p>"Power deck, aye?"</p> + +<p>"Energize the cooling pumps!"</p> + +<p>"Cooling pumps, aye!" repeated Astro.</p> + +<p>"Feed reactant!"</p> + +<p>"Reactant at D-9 rate."</p> + +<p>From seventy feet below them, Strong and Tom +heard the hiss of the reactant mass feeding into the +rocket motors, and the screeching whine of the mighty +pumps that kept the mass from building too rapidly +and exploding.</p> + +<p>The second hand swept up to the twenty-second +mark.</p> + +<p>"Control deck to radar deck," called Tom. "Do we +have a clear trajectory forward?"</p> + +<p>"All clear forward and overhead," replied Roger.</p> + +<p>Tom placed his hand on the master switch that +would throw the combined circuits, instruments and +gauges into the single act of blasting the mighty ship +into space. His eyes glued to the sweeping hand, he +counted past the twelve-second mark—eleven—ten—nine—</p> + +<p>"Stand by to raise ship," he bawled into the microphone. +"Minus—five—four—three—two—one—<i>zero</i>!"</p> + +<p>Tom threw the master switch. +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span></p> + +<p>There was a split-second pause and then the great +ship roared into life. Slowly at first, she lifted her tail +full of roaring jets free of the ground. Ten feet—twenty—fifty—a +hundred—five hundred—a thousand—picking +up speed at an incredible rate.</p> + +<p>Tom felt himself being pushed deeper and deeper +into the softness of the acceleration cushions. He had +been worried about not being able to keep his eyes +open to see the dwindling Earth in the teleceiver over +his head, but the tremendous force of the rockets pushing +him against gravity to tear the two hundred tons of +steel away from the Earth's grip held his eyelids open +for him. As the powerful rockets tore deeper into the +gap that separated the ship from Earth, he saw the +spaceport gradually grow smaller. The rolling hills +around the Academy closed in, and then the Academy +itself, with the Tower of Galileo shrinking to a white +stick, was lost in the brown and green that was Earth. +The rockets pushed harder and harder and he saw the +needle of the acceleration gauge creep slowly up. +Four—five—six—seven—eight—nine—ten +miles a second!</p> + +<p>When the awful crushing weight on his body seemed +unbearable, when he felt as though he would never be +able to draw another breath, suddenly the pressure +lifted and Tom felt amazingly and wonderfully buoyant. +He seemed to be floating in mid-air, his body rising +against the webbed straps of his chair! With a start and +a momentary wave of panic, he realized that he <i>was</i> +floating! Only the straps kept him from rising to the +ceiling of the control room!</p> + +<p>Recovering quickly, he realized that he was in free +fall. The ship had cleared the pull of earth's gravity and +was out in space where everything was weightless. +Reaching toward the control panel, he flipped the +switch for the synthetic-gravity generator and, seconds +later, felt the familiar and reassuring sensation of the +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span>chair under him as the generator supplied an artificial-gravity +field to the ship.</p> + +<p>As he loosened the straps in his chair, he noticed +Captain Strong rising from his position beside him and +he grinned sheepishly in answer to the twinkle in +Strong's eye.</p> + +<p>"It's all right, Tom," reassured Strong. "Happens to +everyone the first time. Carry on."</p> + +<p>"Aye, aye, sir," replied Tom and he turned to the microphone. +"Control deck to all stations! We are in +space! Observe standard cruise procedure!"</p> + +<p>"Power deck, aye!" was Astro's blasting answer over +the loud-speaker. "Yeeeoooww! Out where we belong at +last."</p> + +<p>"Radar bridge here," Roger's voice chimed in softly +on the speaker. "Everything under control. And, Astro, +you belong in a zoo if you're going to bellow like that!"</p> + +<p>"Ahhh—rocket off, bubblehead!" The big Venusian's +reply was good-natured. He was too happy to let Roger +get under his skin.</p> + +<p>"All right, you two," interrupted Tom. "Knock it off. +We're on a ship now. Let's cut the kindergarten stuff!"</p> + +<p>"Aye, aye, skipper!" Astro was irrepressible.</p> + +<p>"Yes, <i>sir</i>!" Roger's voice was soft but Tom recognized +the biting edge to the last word.</p> + +<p>Turning away from the controls, he faced Captain +Strong who had been watching quietly.</p> + +<p>"<i>Polaris</i> space-borne at nine hundred thirty-three +hours, Captain Strong. All stations operating efficiently."</p> + +<p>"Very competent job, Corbett," nodded Strong in approval. +"You handled the ship as if you'd been doing it +for years."</p> + +<p>"Thank you, sir."</p> + +<p>"We'll just cruise for a while on this orbit so you boys +can get the feel of the ship and of space." The Solar +Guard officer took Tom's place in the command pilot's +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span>chair. "You knock off for a while. Go up to the radar +bridge and have a look around. I'll take over here."</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir." Tom turned and had to restrain himself +from racing up the ladder to the radar bridge. When he +climbed through the hatch to Roger's station, he found +his unit-mate tilted back in his chair, staring through +the crystal blister over his head.</p> + +<p>"Hiya, spaceboy," smiled Roger. He indicated the +blister. "Take a look at the wide, deep and high."</p> + +<p>Tom looked up and saw the deep blackness that was +space.</p> + +<p>"It's like looking into a mirror, Roger," he breathed +in awe. "Only there isn't any other side—no reflection. +It just doesn't stop, does it?"</p> + +<p>"Nope," commented Roger, "it just goes on and on +and on. And no one knows where it stops. And no one +can even guess."</p> + +<p>"Ah—you've got a touch of space fever," laughed Astro. +"You'd better take it easy, pal."</p> + +<p>Tom suppressed a smile. Now, for the first time, he +felt that there was a chance to achieve unity among +them. Kill him with kindness, he thought, that's the +way to do it.</p> + +<p>"All right, boys!" Captain Strong's voice crackled +over the speaker. "Time to pull in your eyeballs and get +to work again. We're heading back to the spaceport! +Take your stations for landing!"</p> + +<p>Tom and Astro immediately jumped toward the open +hatch and started scrambling down the ladder toward +their respective stations while Roger strapped himself +into his chair in front of the astrogation panel.</p> + +<p>Within sixty seconds the ship was ready for landing +procedure and at a nod from Captain Strong, who again +strapped himself into the second pilot's chair, Tom began +the delicate operation.</p> + +<p>Entering Earth's atmosphere, Tom gave a series of +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span>rapid orders for course changes and power adjustments, +and then, depressing the master turn control, spun the +ship around so that she would settle stern first toward +her ramp at the Academy spaceport.</p> + +<p>"Radar deck to control deck," called Roger over the +intercom. "One thousand feet to touchdown!"</p> + +<p>"Control deck, aye," answered Tom. "Control deck +to power deck. Check in."</p> + +<p>"Power deck, aye," replied Astro.</p> + +<p>"Stand by to adjust thrust to maximum drive at my +command," ordered Tom.</p> + +<p>"Power deck, aye."</p> + +<p>The great ship, balanced perfectly on the hot exhaust, +slowly slipped toward the ground.</p> + +<p>"Five hundred feet to touchdown," warned Roger.</p> + +<p>"Main rockets full blast," ordered Tom.</p> + +<p>The sudden blast of the powerful jets slowed the descent +of the ship, and finally, fifty feet above the ground, +Tom snapped out another order.</p> + +<p>"Cut main rockets! Hold auxiliary!"</p> + +<p>A moment later there was a gentle bump and the +<i>Polaris</i> rested on the ramp, her nose pointed to the +heavens.</p> + +<p>"<i>Touchdown!</i>" yelled Tom. "Cut everything, fellas, +and come up and sign the log. We made it—our first +hop into space! We're spacemen!" +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span></p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_10" id="CHAPTER_10"></a>CHAPTER 10</h2> + +<p>"The next event will be," Warrant Officer McKenny's +voice boomed over the loud-speaker and echoed over +the Academy stadium, "the last semifinal round of mercuryball. +<i>Polaris</i> unit versus <i>Arcturus</i> unit."</p> + +<p>As two thousand space cadets, crowded in the grandstands +watching the annual academy tournament, rose +to their feet and cheered lustily, Tom Corbett turned to +his unit-mates Astro and Roger and called enthusiastically, +"O.K., fellas. Let's go out there and show them +how to play this game!"</p> + +<p>During the two days of the tournament, Tom, Roger +and Astro, competing as a unit against all the other +academy units, had piled up a tremendous amount of +points in all the events. But so had Unit 77-K, now +known as the <i>Capella</i> unit. Now with the <i>Capella</i> unit +already in the finals, the <i>Polaris</i> crew had to win their +semifinal round against the <i>Arcturus</i>, in order to meet +the <i>Capella</i> in the final round for Academy honors.</p> + +<p>"This is going to be a cinch," boasted Astro. "I'm going +to burn 'em up!"</p> + +<p>"Save it for the field," said Tom with a smile.</p> + +<p>"Yeah, you big Venusian ape," added Roger. "Make +points instead of space gas."</p> + +<p>Stripped to the waist, wearing shorts and soft, three-quarter-length +space boots, the three boys walked onto +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span>the sun-baked field amid the rousing cheers from the +stands. Across the field, the cadets of the <i>Arcturus</i> unit +walked out to meet them, stopping beside McKenny at +the mid-field line. Mike waited for the six boys to form +a circle around him, while he held the mercuryball, a +twelve-inch plastic sphere, filled with air and the tricky +tube of mercury.</p> + +<p>"You all know the rules," announced McKenny +abruptly. "Head, shoulders, feet, knees, or any part of +your body except your hands, can touch the ball. <i>Polaris</i> +unit will defend the north goal," he said, pointing +to a white chalk line fifty yards away, "<i>Arcturus</i> the +south," and he pointed to a line equally distant in the +opposite direction. "Five-minute periods, with one-minute +rest between. All clear?"</p> + +<p>As captain of the <i>Polaris</i> unit, Tom nodded, while +smiling at the captain of the <i>Arcturus</i> team, a tow-headed +boy with short chunky legs named Schohari.</p> + +<p>"All clear, Mike," said Tom.</p> + +<p>"All clear here, Mike," responded Schohari.</p> + +<p>"All right, shake hands and take your places."</p> + +<p>The six boys shook hands and jogged toward respective +opposite lines. Mike waited for them to reach their +goal lines, and then placed the ball in the middle of a +chalk-drawn circle.</p> + +<p>Toeing the line, Tom, Roger and Astro eyed the <i>Arcturus</i> +crew and prepared for the dash to the ball.</p> + +<p>"All right, fellas," urged Tom, "let's show them something!"</p> + +<p>"Yeah," breathed Astro, "just let me get my size thirteens +on that pumpkin before it starts twisting around!"</p> + +<p>Astro wanted the advantage of the first kick at the +ball while the mercury tube inside was still quiet. Once +the mercury was agitated, the ball would be as easy to +kick as a well-greased eel.</p> + +<p>"We'll block for you, Astro," said Tom, "and you put +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span>every ounce of beef you've got into that first kick. If +we're lucky, we might be able to get the jump on them!"</p> + +<p>"Cut the chatter," snapped Roger nervously. "Baldy's +ready to give us the go ahead!"</p> + +<p>Standing on the side lines, Warrant Officer McKenny +slowly raised his hand, and the crowd in the grandstand +hushed in eager anticipation. A second passed and then +there was a tremendous roar as he brought his hand +down and blew heavily on the whistle.</p> + +<p>Running as if their lives depended on it, the six cadets +of the two units raced headlong toward the ball. Tom, +just a little faster than Roger or Astro, flashed down the +field and veered off to block the advancing Schohari. +Roger, following him, charged into Swift, the second +member of the <i>Arcturus</i> crew. Astro, a few feet in back +of them, running with surprising speed for his size, saw +that it was going to be a close race between himself and +Allen, the third member of the <i>Arcturus</i> unit. He +bowed his head and drove himself harder, the roar of +the crowd filling his ears.</p> + +<p>" ... Go Astro!... Go Astro!..."</p> + +<p>Pounding down for the kick, Astro gauged his stride +perfectly and with one last, mighty leap swung his +right foot at the ball.</p> + +<p>There was a loud thud drowned by a roar from the +crowd as the ball sailed off the ground with terrific +force. And then almost immediately there was another +thud as Allen rose in a desperate leap to block the ball +with his shoulder. It caromed off at a crazy angle, wobbling +in its flight as the mercury within rolled from side +to side. Swift, of the <i>Arcturus</i> crew, reached the ball first +and sent it sailing at an angle over Tom's head to bounce +thirty feet away. Seeing Astro charge the ball, Tom +threw a block on Allen to knock him out of the play. +The big Venusian, judging his stride to be a little off, +shortened his steps to move in for the kick. But just as +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span>he brought his foot forward to make contact, the ball +spun away to the left. Astro's foot continued in a perfect +arc over his head, throwing him in a heap on the +ground.</p> + +<p>Two thousand voices from the stands roared in one +peal of laughter.</p> + +<p>While Astro lay on the ground with the wind +knocked out of him, Schohari and Swift converged on +the ball. With Astro down and Tom out of position, the +<i>Arcturus</i> unit seemed certain of scoring. But again the +ball rolled crazily, this time straight to Roger, the last +defender. He nudged it between his opponents toward +Tom, who, in turn, kicked it obliquely past Allen back +to Roger again. Running with the grace and speed of an +antelope, the blond cadet met the ball in mid-field, and +when it dropped to the ground in front of him, sent it +soaring across the goal with one powerful kick!</p> + +<p>As the cadets in the stands sent up a tumultuous +cheer for the perfectly executed play, the whistle blew, +ending the period and the <i>Polaris</i> unit led, one to nothing.</p> + +<p>Breathing deeply, Astro and Roger flopped down +near Tom and stretched full length on the grass.</p> + +<p>"That was a beautiful shot, Roger," said Tom. "Perfectly +timed!"</p> + +<p>"Yeah, hot-shot," agreed Astro, "I'm glad to see that +big head of yours is good for something!"</p> + +<p>"Listen, fellas," said Roger eagerly, ignoring Astro, +"to go into the finals against Richards and the <i>Capella</i> +unit, we've got to beat the <i>Arcturus</i> crew, right?"</p> + +<p>"Yeah," agreed Tom, "and it won't be easy. We just +happened to get the breaks."</p> + +<p>"Then why don't we put the game on ice?" said +Roger. "Freeze the ball! We got 'em one to nothing, +that's enough to beat them. When the whistle blows +and it's over, we win!"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span></p> + +<p>Astro looked at Tom, who frowned and replied, "But +we've still got three periods left, Roger. It isn't fair to +freeze this early in the game. If it was the last minute +or so, sure. But not so early. It just isn't fair."</p> + +<p>"What do you want to do?" snarled Roger. "Win, or +play fair?"</p> + +<p>"Win, of course, but I want to win the right way," +said Tom.</p> + +<p>"How about you, Astro?" asked Roger.</p> + +<p>"I feel the same way that Tom does," said the big +cadet. "We can beat these guys easily—and on the +square."</p> + +<p>"You guys make it sound like I was cheating," +snapped Roger.</p> + +<p>"Well," said Tom, "it sure isn't giving the <i>Arcturus</i> +guys a break."</p> + +<p>The whistle blew for them to return to the goal line.</p> + +<p>"Well," asked Roger, "do we freeze or don't we?"</p> + +<p>"I don't want to. But majority always rules in this +unit, Roger." Tom glanced at Astro. "How about it, +Astro?"</p> + +<p>"We can beat 'em fair and square. We play all out!" +answered Astro.</p> + +<p>Roger didn't say anything. He moved to one side and +took his position for the dash down field.</p> + +<p>The whistle blew again and the crowd roared as the +two teams charged toward the ball. The cadets were +eager to see if the <i>Arcturus</i> crew could tie the score or +if the crew of the <i>Polaris</i> would increase its lead. But +after a few moments of play, their cries of encouragement +subsided into rumbles of discontent. In its eagerness +to score, the <i>Arcturus</i> unit kept making errors and +lost the ball constantly but the crew of the <i>Polaris</i> +failed to capitalize. The second period ended with the +score unchanged.</p> + +<p>As he slumped to the ground for the rest period, +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span>Astro turned on Roger bitterly. "What's the idea, Manning? +You're dogging it!"</p> + +<p>"You play your game, Astro," replied Roger calmly, +"I'll play mine."</p> + +<p>"We're playing this game as a team, Roger," chimed +in Tom heatedly. "You're kicking the ball all over the +lot!"</p> + +<p>"Yeah," added Astro. "In every direction except the +goal!"</p> + +<p>"I was never clear," defended Roger. "I didn't want +to lose possession of the ball!"</p> + +<p>"You sure didn't," said Tom. "You acted as if it was +your best friend and you never wanted to be separated +from it!"</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> +<img src="images/im103.png" width="400" height="330" alt="im103" title="" /></div> + +<p>"We said we didn't want to freeze this game, Roger, +and we meant it!" Astro glowered at his unit-mate. +"Next period you show us some action! If you don't +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span> +want to score, feed it to us and we'll save you the trouble!"</p> + +<p>But the third period was the same. While Tom and +Astro dashed up and down the field, blocking out the +members of the <i>Arcturus</i> crew to give Roger a clear +shot, he simply nudged the ball back and forth between +the side lines, ignoring his teammates' pleas to drive +forward. As the whistle sounded for the end of the period, +boos and catcalls from the grandstand filled the +air.</p> + +<p>Tom's face was an angry red as he faced Roger again +on the side lines during the rest period.</p> + +<p>"You hear that, Roger?" he growled, nodding his +head toward the stands. "That's what they think of your +smart playing!"</p> + +<p>"What do I care?" replied the blond cadet arrogantly. +"They're not playing this game! I am!"</p> + +<p>"And we are too!" Astro's voice was a low rumble as +he came up behind Manning. "If you don't give us a +chance, so help me, I'll use your head for a ball!"</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> +<img src="images/im104.png" width="400" height="319" alt="im104" title="" /></div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span></p> + +<p>"If you're so interested in scoring, why don't you go +after the ball yourselves then?" said Roger.</p> + +<p>"Because we're too busy trying to be a team!" snapped +Tom. "We're trying to clear shots for you!"</p> + +<p>"Don't be so generous," sneered Roger.</p> + +<p>"I'm warning you, Roger"—Astro glared at the arrogant +cadet—"if you don't straighten out and fly right—"</p> + +<p>McKenny's whistle from the far side lines suddenly +sounded, interrupting the big cadet, and the three boys +trooped back out on the field again. Again the air was +filled with boos and shouts of derision and Tom's face +flushed with shame.</p> + +<p>This time, when McKenny's hand flashed downward, +Tom streaked for the ball, instead of Schohari, his usual +opponent. He measured his stride carefully and +reached the ball in perfect kicking position.</p> + +<p>He felt the satisfying thud against his foot, and saw +the ball shoot out high in front of him and head for the +goal line. It was a beautiful kick. But then, the ball suddenly +sank, its flight altered by the action of the mercury. +Running down field, Tom saw Swift and Allen +meet the ball together. Allen blocked it with his chest +and caromed it over to Swift. Swift let the ball drop to +the ground, drawing his foot back to kick. But again, +the mercury changed the ball's action, twisting it to one +side and Swift's kick caught it on the side. Instead of +the ball going down field, it veered to the left, in the +path of Astro. Quickly getting his head under it, he +shifted it to Roger, who streaked in and stopped it with +his hip. But then, instead of passing ahead to Tom, who +by now was down field and in the open, Roger prepared +to kick for the goal himself.</p> + +<p>Tom shouted a warning but it was too late. Schohari +came rushing in behind him, and at running stride, met +the ball squarely with his right foot. It sailed high in +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span>the air and over the <i>Polaris</i> goal line just as the whistle +blew. The game was tied.</p> + +<p>"That was some play, Manning," said Astro, when +they were lined up waiting for the next period to begin.</p> + +<p>"You asked for it," snapped Roger, "you were yapping +at me to play, and now look what's happened!"</p> + +<p>"Listen, you loudmouthed punk!" said Astro, advancing +toward the smaller cadet, but just then the +whistle blew and the three boys ran out onto the field.</p> + +<p>The <i>Arcturus</i> crew swept down the field quickly, +heading for the ball and seemingly ignoring the <i>Polaris</i> +unit. But Schohari slipped and fell on the grass which +gave Tom a clear shot at the ball. He caught it with the +side of his boot and passed it toward Roger. But Allen, +at full speed, came in and intercepted, sending the ball +in a crazy succession of twists, turns and bounces. The +crowd came to its feet as all six cadets made desperate +attempts to clear the skittering ball with none of them +so much as touching it. This was the part of mercuryball +that pleased the spectator. Finally, Schohari managed +to get a toe on it and he sent it down field, but +Astro had moved out to play defense. He stopped the +ball on his shoulder and dropped it to the ground. +Steadying it there, he waited until Tom was in the clear +and kicked it forty yards to the mid-field stripe.</p> + +<p>The crowd came to its feet, sensing this final drive +might mean victory for the <i>Polaris</i> crew. The boys of +the <i>Arcturus</i> swarmed in—trying to keep Tom from +scoring. With a tremendous burst of speed, Tom +reached the ball ahead of Schohari, and with the +strength of desperation, he slammed his foot against it. +The whistle blew ending the game as the ball rose in an +arc down the field and fell short of the goal by ten feet. +There was a groan from the crowd.</p> + +<p>But suddenly the ball, still reacting to the mercury +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span>inside, spun like a top, rolled sideways, and as if it were +being blown by a breeze, rolled toward the goal line +and stopped six inches inside the white chalk line.</p> + +<p>There was a moment's pause as the crowd and +the players, stunned by the play, grasped what +had happened. Then swelling into a roar, there was +one word chanted over and over—"<i>Polaris—Polaris—Polaris</i>...."</p> + +<p>The <i>Polaris</i> unit had reached the finals of the Academy +tournament.</p> + +<hr></hr> + +<p>During the intermission Charlie Wolcheck, unit commander +of the <i>Capella</i> crew, walked over to the refreshment +unit behind the grandstand where Steve Strong, +Dr. Dale and Commander Walters were drinking Martian +water and eating spaceburgers.</p> + +<p>"Afternoon, Commander," saluted Wolcheck. "Hello, +Joan, Steve. Looks as though your boys on the <i>Polaris</i> +are going to meet their match this afternoon. I've got to +admit they're good, but with Tony Richards feeding +passes to Al Davison and with the blocking of Scott +McAvoy—" The young officer broke off with a grin.</p> + +<p>"I don't know, Charlie," Commander Walters said +with a wink to Dr. Dale. "From the looks of Cadet +Astro, if he ever gets his foot on the ball, your <i>Capella</i> +unit will have to go after it with a jet boat."</p> + +<p>"Why, Commander," replied Wolcheck, laughing +good-naturedly, "Tony Richards is one of the finest +booters I've ever seen. Saw him make a goal from the +sixty-yard line from a standstill."</p> + +<p>Steve Strong waved a Martian water pop bottle at +young Wolcheck in a gesture of friendly derision.</p> + +<p>"Did you happen to see the play in the first period?" +he boasted. "Manning took a perfect pass from Astro +and scored. You're finished, Wolcheck, you and your +<i>Capella</i> unit won't even come close. +"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span></p> + +<p>"From what I hear and see, Manning seems to be a +little sore that he can't make all the scores himself," +grinned Wolcheck slyly. "He wants to be the whole +show!"</p> + +<p>Strong reddened and turned to put the empty bottle +on the counter, using it as an excuse to hide his feelings +from the commander and Joan. So Wolcheck had +observed Manning's attitude and play on the field too.</p> + +<p>Before Strong could reply, a bugle sounded from the +field and the group of Solar Guard officers returned to +their seats for the final game of the tournament between +the <i>Capella</i> and the <i>Polaris</i> units.</p> + +<p>Out on the field Mike made his usual speech about +playing fair and gave the cadets the routine instructions +of the game, reminding them that they were spacemen +first, unit-members second, and individuals third and +last. The six boys shook hands and jogged down the field +to take up their positions.</p> + +<p>"How about concentrating on the passes Richards is +going to feed to Davison," Tom asked his unit-mates. +"Never mind blocking out Richards and McAvoy."</p> + +<p>"Yeah," agreed Astro, "play for the ball. Sounds good +to me."</p> + +<p>"How about it, Roger?" asked Tom.</p> + +<p>"Just play the game," said Roger. And then added +sarcastically, "And don't forget to give them every +chance to score. Let's play fair and square, the way we +did with the <i>Arcturus</i> unit."</p> + +<p>"If you feel that way, Manning," answered Astro +coldly, "you can quit right now! We'll handle the <i>Capella</i> +guys ourselves!"</p> + +<p>Before Roger could answer, McKenny blew the +ready whistle and the three boys lined up along the +white chalk line preparing for the dash to the waiting +ball.</p> + +<p>The cadets in the stands were hushed. McKenny's +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span>hand swept up and then quickly down as he blew the +whistle. The crowd came to its feet, roaring, as Tom, +five steps from his own goal line, tripped and fell headlong +to the grass, putting him out of the first play. Astro +and Roger charged down the field, with Astro +reaching the ball first. He managed a good kick, but +Richards, three feet away, took the ball squarely on his +chest. The mercuryball fell to the ground, spun in a +dizzy circle and with a gentle tap by Richards, rolled +to Davison, who took it in stride and sent it soaring for +a forty-five-yard goal.</p> + +<p>The <i>Capella</i> unit had drawn first blood.</p> + +<p>"Well, hot-shot," snarled Roger back on the starting +line, "what happened to the big pass-stealing idea?"</p> + +<p>"I tripped, Manning," said Tom through clenched +teeth.</p> + +<p>"Yeah! Tripped!" sneered Roger.</p> + +<p>The whistle blew for the next goal.</p> + +<p>Tom, with an amazing burst of speed, swept down the +field, broke stride to bring him in perfect line with +the ball and with a kick that seemed almost lazy, sent +the ball from a dead standstill, fifty yards over the <i>Capella</i> +goal before any of the remaining players were +within five feet of it, and the score was tied.</p> + +<p>The crowd sprang to its feet again and roared his +name.</p> + +<p>"That was terrific!" said Astro, slapping Tom on the +back as they lined up again. "It looked as though you +hardly kicked that ball at all."</p> + +<p>"Yeah," muttered Roger, "you really made yourself +the grandstand's delight!"</p> + +<p>"What's that supposed to mean, Manning?" asked +Astro.</p> + +<p>"Superman Corbett probably burned himself out! +Let's see him keep up that speed for the next ten minutes!" +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span></p> + +<p>The whistle blew for the next goal, and again the +three boys moved forward to meet the onrushing <i>Capella</i> +unit.</p> + +<p>Richards blocked Astro with a twist of his body, and +without stopping his forward motion, kicked the ball +squarely toward the goal. It stopped ten feet short, took +a dizzying spin and rolled away from the goal line. In a +flash, the six boys were around the ball, blocking, shoving, +and yelling instructions to each other while at the +same time kicking at the unsteady ball. With each +grazing kick, the ball went into even more maddening +spins and gyrations.</p> + +<p>At last Richards caught it with the side of his foot, +flipped it to McAvoy who dropped back, and with +twenty feet between him and the nearest <i>Polaris</i> member, +calmly booted it over the goal. The whistle blew +ending the first period, and the <i>Capella</i> unit led two to +one.</p> + +<p>During the next three periods, the <i>Capella</i> unit +worked like a well-oiled machine. Richards passed to +Davison or McAvoy, and when they were too well +guarded, played brilliantly alone. The <i>Polaris</i> unit, on +the other hand, appeared to be hopelessly outclassed. +Tom and Astro fought like demons but Roger's lack of +interest gave the <i>Capella</i> unit the edge in play. At the +end of the fourth period, the <i>Capella</i> team led by three +points, seven to four.</p> + +<p>While the boys rested before the fifth and final period, +Captain Strong, having watched the play with +keen interest, realized that Roger was not playing up to +his fullest capabilities. Suddenly he summoned a +near-by Earthworm cadet, scribbled a message on a slip +of paper and instructed the cadet to take it directly to +Roger.</p> + +<p>"Orders from the coach on the side lines?" asked Wolcheck +as he noticed Strong's action. +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span></p> + +<p>"You might call it that, Charlie," answered Steve +blandly.</p> + +<p>On the field, the cadet messenger handed Roger the +slip of paper, not mentioning that it was from Strong, +and hurried back to the stands.</p> + +<p>"Getting fan mail already?" asked Astro.</p> + +<p>Roger ignored the comment and opened the slip of +paper to read:</p> + +<p>" ... It might interest you to know that the winning +team of the mercuryball finals is to be awarded a first +prize of three days' liberty in Atom City...." There +was no signature.</p> + +<p>Roger stared up into the stands and searched vainly +for some indication of the person who might have sent +him the note. The crowd hushed as McKenny stepped +forward for the starting of the last period.</p> + +<p>"What was in the note, Roger?" asked Tom.</p> + +<p>"The winning combination," smiled Roger lazily. +"Get set for the fastest game of mercuryball you've ever +played, Corbett! We've got to pull this mess out of the +fire!"</p> + +<p>Bewildered, Tom looked at Astro who merely +shrugged his shoulders and took his place ready for the +whistle. Roger tucked the note into his shorts and +stepped up to the line.</p> + +<p>"Listen, Corbett," said Roger, "every time Richards +gets the ball, he kicks it to his left, and then McAvoy +feints as if to get it, leaving Davison in the open. When +you go to block Davison, you leave Richards in the +clear. He just keeps the ball. He's scored three times +that way!"</p> + +<p>"Yeah," said Tom, "I noticed that, but there was +nothing I could do about it, the way you've been playing."</p> + +<p>"Kinda late in the game for any new ideas, Manning," +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span>growled Astro. "Just get the ball and pass it +to me."</p> + +<p>"That's my whole idea! Play back, Astro. Move like +you're very tired, see? Then they'll forget about you +and play three on two. You just be ready to kick and +kick hard!"</p> + +<p>"What's happened to you, Roger?" asked Tom. "What +was in that note?"</p> + +<p>Before Roger could answer, the whistle and the roar +from the crowd signaled the beginning of the last period. +The cadets raced down the field, Roger swerving +to the left and making a feint at blocking Richards. He +missed intentionally and allowed Richards to get the +ball, who immediately passed to the left. McAvoy raced +in on the ball, Tom made a move as if to block him, reversed, +and startled the onrushing Richards with a perfect +block. The ball was in the clear. Roger gave it a +half kick and the ball landed two feet in front of Astro. +The big cadet caught it perfectly on the first bounce +and kicked it on a line across the goal, seventy yards +away.</p> + +<p>Up in the stands, Steve Strong smiled as he watched +the score change on the board: "<i>Capella</i> seven—<i>Polaris</i> +five!"</p> + +<p>In rapid succession, the <i>Polaris</i> unit succeeded in intercepting +the play of the <i>Capella</i> unit and rolling up +two goals to an even score. Now, there were only fifty-five +seconds left to play.</p> + +<p>The cadets in the stands roared their approval of the +gallant effort made by the three members of the <i>Polaris</i> +crew. It had been a long time since mercuryball had +been played with such deadly accuracy at Space Academy +and everyone who attended the game was to remember +for years to come the last play of the game.</p> + +<p>McKenny blew the whistle again and the boys +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span>charged forward, but by now, aware of the sudden flash +of unity on the part of the opposing team, the <i>Capella</i> +unit fought desperately to salvage at least a tie.</p> + +<p>Tom managed to block a kick by Richards, and the +ball took a dizzy hop to the left, landing in front of Astro. +He was in the clear. The stands were in an uproar +as the cadets saw that the game was nearly over. Astro +paused a split second, judged the ball and stepped forward +to kick. But the ball spun away, just as Astro +swung his leg. And at that instant, McAvoy came +charging in from the left, only to be blocked by Roger. +But the force of McAvoy's charge knocked Roger back +into Astro. Instead of kicking the ball, Astro caught +Roger on the side of the head. Roger fell to the ground +and lay still. He was knocked cold. Astro lost his balance, +twisted on one leg unsteadily, and then fell to the +ground. When he tried to get up, he couldn't walk. He +had twisted his ankle.</p> + +<p>The <i>Capella</i> unit members stood still, confused and +momentarily unable to take advantage of their opportunity. +Without a moment's hesitation, Tom swept in and +kicked the ball before his opponents realized what had +happened. The ball drifted up in a high arc and landed +with several bounces, stopping five feet from the goal.</p> + +<p>Suddenly Richards, McAvoy and Davison came alive +and charged after Tom, who was running for the ball as +fast as his weary legs would carry him. He saw Richards +pull up alongside of him, then pass him. Then Davison +and McAvoy closed in on either side to block and +give Richards a clear shot back down the field and a +certain score.</p> + +<p>Richards reached the ball, stopped and carefully +lined up his kick, certain that his teammates could +block out Tom. But the young cadet, in a last desperate +spurt, outraced both McAvoy and Davison. Then, as +Richards cocked his foot to kick, Tom jumped. With a +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span>mighty leaping dive, he sent his body hurtling headlong +toward Richards just as he kicked. Tom's body +crashed into the ball and Richards. The two boys went +down in a heap but the ball caromed off his chest and +rolled over the goal line.</p> + +<p>The whistle blew ending the game.</p> + +<p>In an instant, two thousand officers, cadets and enlisted +men went wild as the ball rolled across the goal +line.</p> + +<p>The <i>Polaris</i> crew had won eight goals to seven!</p> + +<p>From every corner of the field, the crowd cheered +the cadets who had finished the game, had won it in +the final seconds with two of them sprawled on the +field unconscious and a third unable to stand on his +feet.</p> + +<p>Up in the stands, Captain Strong turned to Commander +Walters. He found it hard to keep his eyes from +filling up as he saluted briskly.</p> + +<p>"Captain Strong reporting, sir, on the success of the +<i>Polaris</i> unit to overcome their differences and become +a fighting unit! And I mean <i>fight</i>!"</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> +<img src="images/im114.png" width="400" height="114" alt="im114" title="" /> +</div +><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span></p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_11" id="CHAPTER_11"></a>CHAPTER 11</h2> + +<p>"Atom City Express now arriving on track two!" The +voice boomed over the loud-speaker system; and as the +long, gleaming line of monorail cars eased to a stop +with a soft hissing of brakes, the three cadets of the +<i>Polaris</i> unit moved eagerly in that direction.</p> + +<p>"Atom City, here we come," cried Astro.</p> + +<p>"We and a lot of others with the same idea," said +Tom. And, in fact, there were only a few civilians in the +crowd pressing toward the car doors. Uniforms predominated—the +blue of the cadets, enlisted men in +scarlet, even a few in the black and gold uniforms which +identified the officers of the Solar Guard.</p> + +<p>"Personally," whispered Tom to his friends, "the first +thing I want to do at Atom City is take a long walk—somewhere +where I won't see a single uniform."</p> + +<p>"As for me," drawled Roger, "I'm going to find a +stereo studio where they're showing a Liddy Tamal +feature. I'll sit down in a front-row seat and just watch +that girl act for about six hours."</p> + +<p>He turned to Astro. "And how about you?"</p> + +<p>"Why ... why ... I'll string along with you, +Roger," said the cadet from Venus. "It's been a long +time since I've seen a—a—"</p> + +<p>Tom and Roger laughed.</p> + +<p>"A what?" teased Tom +.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span></p> + +<p>"A—a—girl," sputtered Astro, blushing.</p> + +<p>"I don't believe it," said Roger in mock surprise. "I +never—"</p> + +<p>"Come on," interrupted Tom. "Time to get aboard."</p> + +<p>They hurried across the platform and entered the +sleek car. Inside they found seats together and sank +into the luxurious chairs.</p> + +<p>Astro sighed gently, stretched out his long legs and +closed his eyes blissfully for a few moments.</p> + +<p>"Don't wake me till we get started," he said.</p> + +<p>"We already have," returned Tom. "Take a look."</p> + +<p>Astro's eyes popped open. He glanced through the +clear crystal glass at the rapidly moving landscape.</p> + +<p>"These express jobs move on supercushioned ball +bearings," explained Tom. "You can't even feel it when +you pull out of the station."</p> + +<p>"Blast my jets!" marveled Astro. "I'd sure like to take +a look at the power unit on this baby."</p> + +<p>"Even on a vacation, all this guy can think about is +power!" grumbled Roger.</p> + +<p>"How about building up our own power," suggested +Tom. "It's a long haul to Atom City. Let's get a bite to +eat."</p> + +<p>"O.K. with me, spaceboy!" Astro grinned. "I could +swallow a whole steer!"</p> + +<p>"That's a great idea, cadet," said a voice from behind +them.</p> + +<p>It came from a gray-haired man, neatly dressed in +the black one-piece stylon suit currently in fashion, and +with a wide red sash around his waist.</p> + +<p>"Beg pardon, sir," said Tom, "were you speaking +to us?"</p> + +<p>"I certainly was," replied the stranger. "I'm asking +you to be my guests at dinner. And while I may not be +able to buy your friend a whole steer, I'll gladly get +him a piece of one." +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Hey," said Astro, "do you think he means it?"</p> + +<p>"He seems to," replied Tom. He turned to the stranger. +"Thanks very much, sir, but don't think Astro was +just kidding about his appetite."</p> + +<p>"I'm sure he wasn't." The gray-haired man smiled, +and came over and stretched out his hand. "Then it's a +deal," he said. "My name's Joe Bernard."</p> + +<p>"Bernard!" exclaimed Roger. He paled and glanced +quickly at his two friends, but they were too busy looking +over their new friend to notice.</p> + +<p>"Glad to know you, sir," said Tom. "I'm Tom Corbett. +This is Astro, from Venus. And over here is—"</p> + +<p>"Roger's my name," the third cadet said quickly. +"Won't you sit down, sir?"</p> + +<p>"No use wasting time," said Bernard. "Let's go right +into the dining car." The cadets were in no mood to argue +with him. They picked up the small microphones +beside their chairs and sent food orders to the kitchen; +and by the time they were seated in the dining car, +their orders were ready on the table.</p> + +<p>Mr. Bernard, with a twinkle in his eye, watched them +enjoy their food. In particular, he watched Astro.</p> + +<p>"I warned you, sir," whispered Tom, as the Venusian +went to work on his second steak.</p> + +<p>"I wouldn't have missed this for anything," said Bernard. +He smiled, lit a cigar of fine Mercurian leaf tobacco +and settled back comfortably.</p> + +<p>"And now," he said, "let me explain why I was so +anxious to have dinner with you. I'm in the import-export +business. Ship to Mars, mostly. But all my life +I've wanted to be a spaceman."</p> + +<p>"Well, what was the trouble, Mr. Bernard?" asked +Roger.</p> + +<p>The man in black sighed. "Couldn't take the acceleration, +boys. Bad heart. I send out more than five hundred +cargoes a year, to all parts of the solar system; but +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span>myself, I've never been more than a mile off the surface +of the earth."</p> + +<p>"It sure must be disappointing—to want to blast off, +and know that you can't," said Tom.</p> + +<p>"I tried, once," said Bernard, with a rueful smile. +"Yup! I tried." He gazed thoughtfully out the window.</p> + +<p>"When I was your age, about twenty, I wanted to get +into Space Academy worse than anybody I'd ever met." +He paused. "Except for one person. A boyhood buddy +of mine—named Kenneth—"</p> + +<p>"Excuse me, sir," cut in Roger quickly, "but I think +we'd better get back to our car. With this big liberty in +front of us, we need a lot of rest."</p> + +<p>"But, Roger!" exclaimed Tom.</p> + +<p>Bernard smiled. "I understand, Roger. Sometimes I +forget that I'm an old man. And when you've already +tasted the excitement of space travel, talk like mine +must seem rather dull." He stood up and faced the three +cadets. "It's been very pleasant, Corbett, Astro, Roger. +Now run along and get your rest. I'll just sit here for a +while and watch the scenery."</p> + +<p>"Thank you, sir," said Tom, "for the dinner—your +company—and everything," he finished lamely.</p> + +<p>There was a chorus of good-byes and the boys returned +to their car. But there was little conversation +now. Gradually, the lights in the cars dimmed to permit +sleep. But Tom kept listening to the subdued click of +the monorail—and kept wondering. Finally Roger, +sleeping next to him, wakened for a moment.</p> + +<p>"Roger," said Tom, "I want to ask you something."</p> + +<p>"Wait'll the mornin'," mumbled Roger. "Wanta +sleep."</p> + +<p>"The way you acted with Bernard," Tom persisted. +"You ate his dinner and then acted like he was poison. +Why was that, Roger?"</p> + +<p>The other sat bolt upright. "Listen," he said. "Listen!" +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span>Then he slumped back in his chair and closed his +eyes. "Lemme sleep, Corbett. Lemme sleep, I tell you." +He turned his back and in a moment was making +sounds of deep slumber, but Tom felt sure that Roger +was not asleep—that he was wide awake, with something +seriously bothering him.</p> + +<p>Tom leaned back and gazed out over the passing +plains and up into the deep black of space. The Moon +was full, large and round. He could distinguish <i>Mare +Imbrium</i>, the largest of Luna's flat plains visible from +Earth, where men had built the great metropolis of +Luna City. Farther out in the deep blackness, he could +see Mars, glowing like a pale ruby. Before long he +would be up there again. Before long he would be +blasting off in the <i>Polaris</i> with Astro and with Roger—</p> + +<p>Roger! Why had he acted so strangely at dinner?</p> + +<p>Tom remembered the night he saw Roger in Galaxy +Hall alone at night, and the sudden flash on the field a +few days before when they had won the mercuryball +game. Was there some reason behind his companion's +strange actions? In vain, Tom racked his brain to find +the answer. There had to be some explanation. Yet +what could it possibly be? He tossed and turned and +worried and finally—comfortable as the monorail car +was—he fell asleep from sheer exhaustion.</p> + +<hr></hr> + +<p>Atom City! Built of the clear crystal mined so +cheaply on Titan, moon of Saturn, Atom City had risen +from a barren North American wasteland to become a +show place of the universe. Here was the center of all +space communications—a proud city of giant crystal +buildings. Here had been developed the first slidewalks, +air cars, three-dimensional stereos and hundreds of +other ideas for better living.</p> + +<p>And here at Atom City was the seat of the great +Solar Alliance, housed in a structure which covered a +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span>quarter of a mile at its base and which towered three +thousand noble feet into the sky.</p> + +<p>The three cadets stepped out of the monorail and +walked across the platform to a waiting air car—jet-powered, +shaped like a teardrop and with a clear crystal +top.</p> + +<p>"We want the best hotel in town," said Astro grandly +to the driver.</p> + +<p>"And get this speed bug outa here in a hurry," Roger +told him. "There's a lot we want to do."</p> + +<p>The driver couldn't help smiling at the three cadets +so obviously enjoying their first leave.</p> + +<p>"We've got three top hotels," he said. "One's as good +as the other. They're the Earth, the Mars and the +Venus."</p> + +<p>"The Earth," voted Tom.</p> + +<p>"The Mars," shouted Roger.</p> + +<p>"The <i>Venus</i>!" roared Astro.</p> + +<p>"All right," said the driver with a laugh, "make up +your minds."</p> + +<p>"Which of 'em is nearest the center of the city?" Tom +asked.</p> + +<p>"The Mars."</p> + +<p>"Then blast off for Mars!" ordered Tom, and the air +car shot away from the station and moved up into the +stream of expressway traffic fifty feet above the +ground.</p> + +<p>As the little car sped along the broad avenue, Tom +remembered how often, as a boy, he'd envied the Space +Cadets who'd come to his home town of New Chicago +on leave. Now here <i>he</i> was—in uniform, with a three-day +pass, and all of Atom City to enjoy it in.</p> + +<p>A few minutes later the air car stopped in front of +the Mars Hotel. The cadets saw the entrance loom before +them—a huge opening, with ornate glass and crystal +in many different colors. +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span></p> + +<p>They walked across the high-ceilinged lobby toward +the desk. All around them, the columns that supported +the ceiling were made of the clearest crystal. Their feet +sank into soft, lustrous deep-pile rugs made of Venusian +jungle grass.</p> + +<p>The boys advanced toward the huge circular reception +desk where a pretty girl with red hair waited to +greet them.</p> + +<p>"May I help you?" she asked. She flashed a dazzling +smile.</p> + +<p>"You're a lucky girl," said Roger. "It just so happens +you <i>can</i> help me. We'll have dinner together—just the +two of us—and then we'll go to the stereos. After which +we'll—"</p> + +<p>The girl shook her head sadly. "I can see your friend's +got a bad case of rocket shock," she said to Tom.</p> + +<p>"That's right," Tom admitted. "But if you'll give us a +triple room, we'll make sure he doesn't disturb anybody."</p> + +<p>"Ah," said Roger, "go blow your jets!"</p> + +<p>"I have a nice selection of rooms here on photo-slides +if you'd care to look at them," the girl suggested.</p> + +<p>"How many rooms in this hotel, Beautiful?" asked +Roger.</p> + +<p>"Nearly two thousand," answered the girl.</p> + +<p>"And you have photo-slides of all two thousand?"</p> + +<p>"Why, yes," answered the girl. "Why do you ask?"</p> + +<p>"You and Astro go take a walk, Corbett," said Roger +with a grin. "I'll select our quarters!"</p> + +<p>"You mean," asked the girl, a little flustered, "you +want to look at all the slides?"</p> + +<p>"Sure thing, Lovely!" said Roger with a lazy smile.</p> + +<p>"But—but that would take three hours!"</p> + +<p>"Exactly my idea!" said Roger.</p> + +<p>"Just give us a nice room, Miss," said Tom, cutting in. +"And please excuse Manning. He's so smart, he gets a +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span>little dizzy now and then. Have to take him over to a +corner and revive him." He glanced at Astro, who +picked Roger up in his arms and walked away with him +as though he were a baby.</p> + +<p>"Come on, you space Romeo!" said Astro.</p> + +<p>"Hey—ouch—hey—lemme go, ya big ape. You're +killing your best friend!" Roger twisted around in Astro's +viselike grasp, to no avail.</p> + +<p>"Space fever," explained Tom. "He'll be O.K. soon."</p> + +<p>"I think I understand," said the girl with a nervous +smile.</p> + +<p>She handed Tom a small flashlight. "Here's your +photoelectric light key for room 2305 F. That's on the +two hundred thirtieth floor."</p> + +<p>Tom took the light key and turned toward the slidestairs +where Astro was holding Roger firmly, despite his +frantic squirming.</p> + +<p>"Hey, Tom," cried Roger, "tell this Venusian ape to +let me go!"</p> + +<p>"Promise to behave yourself?" asked Tom.</p> + +<p>"We came here to have fun, didn't we?" demanded +Roger.</p> + +<p>"That doesn't mean getting thrown out of the hotel +because you've got to make passes at every beautiful +girl."</p> + +<p>"What's the matter with beautiful girls?" growled +Roger. "They're official equipment, like a radar scanner. +You can't get along without them!"</p> + +<p>Tom and Astro looked at each other and burst out +laughing.</p> + +<p>"Come on, you jerk," said Astro, "let's get washed +up. I wanta take a walk and get something to eat. I'm +hungry again!"</p> + +<p>An hour later, showered and dressed in fresh uniforms, +the <i>Polaris</i> crew began a tour of the city. They +went to the zoo and saw dinosaurs, a tyrannosaurus, +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span>and many other monsters extinct on Earth millions of +years ago, but still breeding in the jungles of Tara. +They visited the council chamber of the Solar Alliance +where delegates from the major planets and from the +larger satellites, such as Titan of Saturn, Ganymede +of Jupiter, and Luna of Earth made the laws for the +tri-planetary league. The boys walked through the long +halls of the Alliance building, looking at the great documents +which had unified the solar system.</p> + +<p>They reverently inspected original documents of the +Universal Bill of Rights and the Solar Constitution, +which guaranteed basic freedoms of speech, press, religion, +peaceful assembly and representative government. +And even brash, irrepressible Roger Manning +was awestruck as they tiptoed into the great Chamber +of the Galactic Court, where the supreme judicial +body of the entire universe sat in solemn dignity.</p> + +<p>Later, the boys visited the Plaza de Olympia—a huge +fountain, filled with water taken from the Martian +Canals, the lakes of Venus and the oceans of Earth, +and ringed by a hundred large statues, each one +symbolizing a step in mankind's march through +space.</p> + +<p>But then, for the Space Cadets, came the greatest +thrill of all—a trip through the mighty Hall of Science, +at once a museum of past progress and a laboratory for +the development of future wonders.</p> + +<p>Thousands of experiments were being conducted +within this crystal palace, and as Space Cadets, the +boys were allowed to witness a few of them. They +watched a project which sought to harness the solar +rays more effectively; another which aimed to create a +new type of fertilizer for Mars, so people of that planet +would be able to grow their own food in their arid +deserts instead of importing it all from other worlds. +Other scientists were trying to adapt Venusian jungle +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span>plants to grow on other planets with a low oxygen supply; +while still others, in the medical field, sought for a +universal antibody to combat all diseases.</p> + +<p>Evening finally came and with it time for fun and +entertainment. Tired and leg weary, the cadets stepped +on a slidewalk and allowed themselves to be carried to +a huge restaurant in the heart of Atom City.</p> + +<p>"Food," exulted Astro as the crystal doors swung +open before them. "Smell it! Real, honest-to-gosh +food!" He rushed for a table.</p> + +<p>"Hold it, Astro," shouted Tom. "Take it easy."</p> + +<p>"Yeah," added Roger. "It's been five hours since +your last meal—not five weeks!"</p> + +<p>"Meal!" snorted the Venusian cadet. "Call four +spaceburgers a meal? And anyway, it's been six hours, +not five."</p> + +<p>Laughing, Tom and Roger followed their friend inside. +Luckily, they found a table not far from the door, +where Astro grabbed the microphone and ordered his +usual tremendous dinner.</p> + +<p>The three boys ate hungrily as course after course +appeared on the middle of the table, via the direct +shaft from the kitchen. So absorbed was Manning that +he did not notice the approach of a tall dark young +man of about his own age, dressed in the red-brown +uniform of the Passenger Space Service. But the young +man, who wore a captain's high-billed hat, suddenly +caught sight of Roger.</p> + +<p>"Manning," he called, "what brings you here?"</p> + +<p>"Al James!" cried Roger and quickly got up to shake +hands. "Of all the guys in the universe to show up! Sit +down and have a bite with us."</p> + +<p>The space skipper sat down. Roger introduced him +to Tom and Astro. There was a round of small talk.</p> + +<p>"Whatever made you become a Space Cadet, Roger?" +asked James finally. +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Oh, you know how it is," said Roger. "You can get +used to anything."</p> + +<p>Astro almost choked on a mouthful of food. He shot +a glance at Tom, who shook his head as though warning +him not to speak.</p> + +<p>James grinned broadly. "I remember how you used +to talk back home. The Space Cadets were a bunch of +tin soldiers trying to feel important. The Academy was +a lot of space gas. I guess, now, you've changed your +mind."</p> + +<p>"Maybe I have," said Roger. He glanced uneasily +at his two friends, but they pretended to be busy eating. +"Maybe I have." Roger's eyes narrowed, his voice +became a lazy drawl. "At that it's better'n being a man +in a monkey suit, with nothing to do but impress the +passengers and order around the crew."</p> + +<p>"Wait a minute," said James. "What kind of a crack +is that?"</p> + +<p>"No crack at all. Just the way I feel about you passenger +gents who don't know a rocket tube from a ray-gun +nozzle."</p> + +<p>"Look, Manning," returned James. "No need to get +sore, just because you couldn't do any better than the +Space Cadets."</p> + +<p>"Blast off," shouted Roger, "before I fuse your jets."</p> + +<p>Tom spoke up. "I think you'd better go, Captain."</p> + +<p>"I've got six men outside," sneered the other. "I'll +go when I'm ready."</p> + +<p>"You're ready now," spoke up Astro. He stood up to +his full height. "We don't want any trouble," the cadet +from Venus said, "but we're not braking our jets to get +away from it, either."</p> + +<p>James took a good look at Astro's powerful frame. +Without another word he walked away.</p> + +<p>Tom shook his head. "That pal of yours is a real +Space Cadet fan, isn't he, Roger?" +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Yeah," said Astro. "Just like Manning is himself."</p> + +<p>"Look," said Roger. "Look, you guys—" He hesitated, +as though intending to say something more, but then +he turned back to his dinner. "Go on—finish your +food," he growled. He bent over his plate and ate without +lifting his eyes. And not another word was spoken +at the table until a young man approached, carrying a +portable teleceiver screen.</p> + +<p>"Pardon me," he said. "Is one of you Cadet Tom +Corbett?"</p> + +<p>"Why—I am," acknowledged Tom.</p> + +<p>"There's a call for you. Seems they've been trying +to reach you all over Atom City." He placed the teleceiver +screen on the table, plugged it into a floor socket +and set the dials.</p> + +<p>"Hope's there's nothing wrong at home," said Tom to +his friends. "My last letter from Mom said Billy was +messing around with a portable atom reactor and she +was afraid he might blow himself up."</p> + +<p>A picture began to take shape on the screen. +"Migosh," said Astro. "It's Captain Strong."</p> + +<p>"It certainly is," said the captain's image. "Having +dinner, eh, boys? Ummmm—those baked shrimps look +good."</p> + +<p>"They're terrific," said Astro. "Wish you were here."</p> + +<p>"Wish you could stay there," said Captain Strong.</p> + +<p>"Oh, no!" moaned Astro. "Don't tell me!"</p> + +<p>"Sorry, boys," came the voice from the teleceiver. +"But that's it. You've got to return to the Academy +immediately. The whole cadet corps has been ordered +into space for special maneuvers. We blast off tomorrow +morning at six hundred."</p> + +<p>"But, sir," objected Tom, "we can't get a monorail +until morning!"</p> + +<p>"This is an official order, Corbett. So you have priority +over all civilian transportation." The Solar Guard +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span>captain smiled. "I've tied up a whole bank of teleceivers +in Atom City searching for you. Get back to Space +Academy fast—commandeer an air car if you must, but +be here by six hundred hours!" The captain waved a +cheery good-bye and the screen went dark.</p> + +<p>"Space maneuvers," breathed Astro. "The real +thing."</p> + +<p>"Yeah," agreed Tom. "Here we go!"</p> + +<p>"Our first hop into deep space!" said Roger. "Let's +get out of here!"</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> +<img src="images/im127.png" width="400" height="117" alt="im127" title="" /> + +</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span></p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_12" id="CHAPTER_12"></a>CHAPTER 12</h2> + +<p>"The following ships in Squadron A will blast off immediately," +roared Commander Walters over the teleceiver. +He looked up alertly from a chart before him +in the Academy spaceport control tower. He began to +name the ships. "<i>Capella</i>, orbital tangent—09834, <i>Arcturus</i>, +orbital tangent—09835, <i>Centauri</i>, orbital tangent—09836, +<i>Polaris</i>, orbital tangent—09837!"</p> + +<p>Aboard the space cruiser <i>Polaris</i>, Tom Corbett +turned away from the control board. "That's us, sir," +he said to Captain Strong.</p> + +<p>"Very well, Corbett." The Solar Guard captain +walked to the ship's intercom and flipped on the switch.</p> + +<p>"Astro, Roger, stand by!"</p> + +<p>Astro and Roger reported in. Strong began to speak. +"The cadet corps has been divided into squadrons of +four ships each. We are command ship of Squadron A. +When we reach free-fall space, we are to proceed as a +group until eight hundred hours, when we are to open +sealed orders. Each of the other seven squadrons will +open their orders at the same time. Two of the squadrons +will then act as invaders while the remaining six +will be the defending fleet. It will be the invaders' job to +reach their objective and the defenders' job to stop +them."</p> + +<p>"Spaceport control to rocket cruiser <i>Polaris</i>, your orbit +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span>has been cleared for blast-off...." The voice of +Commander Walters interrupted Strong in his instructions +and he turned back to Tom.</p> + +<p>"Take over, Corbett."</p> + +<p>Tom turned to the teleceiver. "Rocket cruiser <i>Polaris</i> +to spaceport control."</p> + +<p>" ... Blast off minus two—six hundred forty-eight...."</p> + +<p>"I read you clear," said Tom. He clicked off the teleceiver +and turned back to the intercom. "Stand by to +raise ship! Control deck to radar deck. Do we have +clear trajectory forward and up, Roger?"</p> + +<p>"All clear forward and up," replied Roger.</p> + +<p>"Control deck to power deck ... energize the cooling +pumps!"</p> + +<p>"Cooling pumps, aye," came from Astro.</p> + +<p>The giant ship began to shudder as the mighty +pumps on the power deck started their build.</p> + +<p>Tom strapped himself into the pilot's seat and began +checking the dials in front of him. Satisfied, he fastened +his eyes on the sweep hand of the time clock. Above +his head, the teleceiver screen brought him a clear +picture of the Academy spaceport. He watched the +giant cruisers take to the air one by one and rocket into +the vastness of space.</p> + +<p>The clock hand reached the ten-second mark.</p> + +<p>"Stand by to raise ship!" Tom called into the intercom. +The red hand moved steadily, inexorably. Tom +reached for the master switch.</p> + +<p>"Blast off minus—five—four—three—two—one—<i>zero</i>!"</p> + +<p>Tom threw the switch.</p> + +<p>The great ship hovered above the ground for a few +moments. Then it heaved itself skyward, faster and +ever faster, pushing the Earthmen deep into their acceleration +cushions.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span></p> + +<p>Reaching free-fall space, Tom flipped on the artificial-gravity +generator. He felt its pull on his body, quickly +checked all the instruments and turned to Captain +Strong.</p> + +<p>"Ship space-borne at six hundred fifty-three, sir."</p> + +<p>"Very well, Corbett," replied Strong. "Check in with +the <i>Arcturus</i>, <i>Capella</i> and the <i>Centauri</i>, form up on +one another and assume a course that will bring you +back over Academy spaceport at eight hundred hours, +when we will open orders."</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir," said Tom, turning back eagerly to the control +board.</p> + +<p>For nearly two hours the four rocket ships of Squadron +A moved through space in a perfect arc, shaping +up for the 0800 deadline. Strong made use of the time +to check a new astrogation prism perfected by Dr. +Dale for use at hyperspace speeds. Tom rechecked his +instruments, then prepared hot tea and sandwiches in +the galley for his shipmates.</p> + +<p>"This is what I call service," said Astro. He stood +stripped to the waist, a wide leather belt studded with +assorted wrenches of various shapes and sizes strapped +around his hips. In one hand he carried a wad of waste +cotton with which he continually polished the surfaces +of the atomic motors, while his eyes constantly +searched the many gauges in front of him for the slightest +sign of engine failure.</p> + +<p>"Never mind bringing anything up to Manning. I'll +eat his share."</p> + +<p>Astro had deliberately turned the intercom on so +Roger on the radar deck might hear. The response from +that corner was immediate and emphatic.</p> + +<p>"Listen, you rocket-headed grease monkey," yelled +Roger. "If you so much as smell that grub, I'll come +down and feed you into the reactant chamber!"</p> + +<p>Tom smiled at Astro and turned to the ladder leading +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span>up from the power deck. Passing through the control +deck on the way to the radar bridge, he glanced at the +clock. It was ten minutes to eight.</p> + +<p>"Only one thing I'm worried about, Corbett," said +Roger through a mouthful of sandwich.</p> + +<p>"What's that?" asked Tom.</p> + +<p>"Collision!" said Roger. "Some of these space-happy +cadets might get excited, and I for one don't want to +wind up as a flash in Earth's atmosphere!"</p> + +<p>"Why, you have radar, to see anything that goes on."</p> + +<p>"Oh, sure," said Roger, "I can keep this wagon outa +their way, but will they stay outa mine? Why my +father told me once—" Roger choked on his food and +turned away to the radar screen.</p> + +<p>"Well," said Tom after a moment, "what <i>did</i> your +father tell you?"</p> + +<p>"Ah—nothing—not important. But I've got to get a +cross-fix on Regulus before we start our little games."</p> + +<p>Tom looked puzzled. Here was another of Roger's +quick changes of attitude. What was it all about? But +there was work to do, so Tom shrugged his shoulders +and returned to the control deck. He couldn't forget +what Roger had said about a collision, though.</p> + +<p>"Excuse me, Captain," said Tom, "but have there +been any serious collisions in space between ships?"</p> + +<p>"Sure have, Tom," replied Strong. "About twenty +years ago, maybe less, there was a whole wave of them. +That was before we developed superrebound pulse +radar. The ships were faster than the radar at close +range."</p> + +<p>Strong paused. "Why do you ask?"</p> + +<p>Before Tom could answer, there was a sharp warning +from the captain.</p> + +<p>"Eight o'clock, Corbett!"</p> + +<p>Tom ripped open the envelope containing the sealed +orders. "Congratulations," he read. "You are in command +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span>of the defenders. You have under your command, +Squadrons A—B—C—D—E—F. Squadrons G and H are +your enemies, and at this moment are on their way to +attack Luna City. It is your job to protect it and destroy +the enemy fleet. Spaceman's luck! Walters, Commander +Space Academy, Senior Officer Solar Guard."</p> + +<p>"Roger," yelled Tom, "we've been selected as flagship +for the defenders! Get me a course to Luna City!"</p> + +<p>"Good for us, spaceboy. I'll give you that course in a +jiffy!"</p> + +<p>" ... <i>Capella</i> to <i>Polaris</i>—am standing by for your +orders...." Tony Richards' voice crackled over the +teleceiver. One by one the twenty-three ships that +made up the defender's fleet checked in for orders.</p> + +<p>"Astro," shouted Tom, "stand by for maneuver—and +be prepared to give me every ounce of thrust you can +get!"</p> + +<p>"Ready, willing and able, Tom," replied Astro. "Just +be sure those other space jockeys can keep up with me, +that's all!"</p> + +<p>Tom turned to Captain Strong.</p> + +<p>"What do you think of approaching—"</p> + +<p>Strong cut him off. "Corbett, you are in complete +command. Take over—you're losing time talking +to me!"</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir!" said Tom. He turned back to the control +board, his face flushed with excitement. Twenty-four +ships to maneuver and the responsibility all his own. +Via a chart projected on a screen, he studied various +approaches to the Moon and Luna City. What would +he do if he were in command of the invading fleet? He +noticed the Moon was nearing a point where it would +be in eclipse on Luna City itself. He studied the chart +further, made several notations and turned to the teleceiver.</p> + +<p>"Attention—attention—flagship <i>Polaris</i> to Squadrons +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span> +B and C—proceed to chart seven—sectors eight and +nine. You will patrol those sectors. Attention Squadrons +D and F—proceed to Luna City at emergency space +speed, hover at one hundred thousand feet above Luna +City spaceport and wait for further orders. Attention, +ships three and four of Squadron F—you will proceed +to chart six—sectors sixty-eight through seventy-five.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 395px;"> +<img src="images/im133.png" width="395" height="480" alt=""Attention Squadrons D and F—proceed to Luna City"" title="" /> +<span class="caption">"Attention Squadrons D and F—proceed to Luna City"</span> +</div> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span></p> + +<p>Cut all rockets and remain there until further orders. +The remainder of Squadron F—ships one and two—will +join Squadron A. Squadron A will stand by for +further orders." Tom glanced at the clock and punched +the intercom button.</p> + +<p>"Have you got that course, Roger?"</p> + +<p>"Three degrees on the starboard rockets, seventy-eight +degrees on the up-plane of the ecliptic will put +you at the corner of Luna Drive and Moonset Land in +the heart of Luna City, spaceboy!" answered Roger.</p> + +<p>"Get that, Astro?" asked Tom on the intercom.</p> + +<p>"All set," replied Astro.</p> + +<p>"Attention all ships in Squadron A—this is flagship—code +name Starlight—am changing course. Stand by +to form up on me!"</p> + +<p>Tom turned back to the intercom.</p> + +<p>"Power deck, execute!"</p> + +<p>At more than five thousand miles an hour, the <i>Polaris</i> +hurtled toward its destination. One by one the remaining +ships moved alongside until all six had their needlelike +noses pointed toward the pale satellite of the +Moon.</p> + +<p>"I'd like to know what your plans are, Tom," said +Strong, when the long haul toward the Moon had settled +down to a routine. "Just idle curiosity, nothing +more. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."</p> + +<p>"Golly, yes," said Tom, "I'd be very grateful for your +opinion."</p> + +<p>"Well, let's have it," said the captain. "But as for my +opinion—I'll listen, but I won't say anything."</p> + +<p>Tom grinned sheepishly.</p> + +<p>"Well," he began, "if I were in command of the invading +fleet, I would strike in force—I'd have to, to do +damage with only eight ships. There are three possible +approaches to Luna City. One is from the Earth side, +using the eclipse corridor of darkness as protection. To +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span>meet that, I've stationed two ships at different levels +and distances in that corridor so that it would be impossible +for an invasion to pass unnoticed."</p> + +<p>"You mean, you'd be willing to give up two ships to +the invader to have him betray his position. Is that +right?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir. But I've also sent Squadrons B and C to +sectors eight and nine on chart seven. So I have a roving +squadron to go to their aid, should the invader +strike there. And on the other hand, should he manage +to get through my outer defense, I have Squadrons D +and E over Luna City itself as an inner defense. As for +Squadron A, we'll try to engage the enemy first and +maybe weaken him; at least reduce the full force of his +attack. And then have Squadrons B, C, D and E finish +him off, by attack from three different points."</p> + +<p>Strong nodded silently. The young cadet was shaping +up a defensive strategy with great skill. If he could +only follow through on his plans, the invaders of Luna +City wouldn't have much chance of success—even if +willing to take heavy losses.</p> + +<p>Roger's voice came on. "Got a report for you, Tom. +From command ship, Squadron B. They've sighted the +invaders and are advancing to meet them."</p> + +<p>Tom checked his charts and turned to the intercom.</p> + +<p>"Send them this message, Roger," he said. "From +Starlight, to command ship, Squadrons B and C—approach +enemy ships from position of chart nineteen, +sections one through ten."</p> + +<p>"Right!" said Roger.</p> + +<p>Strong smiled. Tom was driving his heaviest force +between the invading fleet and its objective—forcing +the aggressors into a trap.</p> + +<p>Tom gave more crisp orders to his squadrons. He +asked Roger for an estimated range, and then, rechecking +his position, turned again to the intercom. +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Astro, how much could you get out of this baby by +opening the by-pass between the cooling pumps and +the reactant chamber? That'd mean feeding the stuff +into the motors only half cooled."</p> + +<p>Strong turned, started to speak, then clamped his +lips together.</p> + +<p>"Another quarter space speed, roughly," replied +Astro, "about fifteen hundred miles more an hour. Do +you want me to do that?"</p> + +<p>"No, not now," replied Tom. "Just wanted to know +what I could depend on, if I get stuck."</p> + +<p>"O.K.," said Astro. "Let me know!"</p> + +<p>"Why use emergency speed, Corbett?" asked Strong. +"You seem to have your enemy right where you want +him now."</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir," replied Tom. "And the enemy knows I +have him. He can't possibly attack Luna City now. But +he can still run away. He can make his escape by this +one route."</p> + +<p>Tom walked to the chart and ran his finger on a line +away from the invader's position into the asteroid belt.</p> + +<p>"I don't want him to get away," Tom explained. +"And with the extra speed, we can cut him off, force +him to turn into a position where the remainder of my +fleet would finish him off."</p> + +<p>"You'll do this with just the <i>Polaris</i>?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, no, sir," said Tom. "I'd use the <i>Arcturus</i>, <i>Capella</i> +and the <i>Centauri</i>, as well."</p> + +<p>"Are you sure those other ships can equal your +speed?"</p> + +<p>"They've got exactly the same type engines as we +have here on the <i>Polaris</i>, sir. I'm sure they could—and +with perfect safety."</p> + +<p>Strong hesitated a moment, started to ask a question, +then stopped and walked to the chart screen. He +checked the figures. He checked them four times, then +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span> +turned to Tom with a grin and an outstretched hand.</p> + +<p>"I've got to offer my congratulations, Tom. This +maneuver would wipe them out. And I've got a notion +that you'd come off without the loss of a single ship, +plus, and it is a big plus, keeping the invaders more +than fifty thousand miles away from their objective!"</p> + +<p>The captain turned to the teleceiver. "Rocket cruiser +<i>Polaris</i> to control tower at Space Academy—"</p> + +<p>There was a crackle of static and then the deep voice +of Commander Walters boomed from the speaker.</p> + +<p>"Spaceport control to <i>Polaris</i>. Come in, Steve."</p> + +<p>In a few brief sentences, Strong outlined Tom's plan +of action to the Academy commander. The commander's +face on the teleceiver widened into a grin, +then broke out in a hearty laugh.</p> + +<p>"What's that, sir?" asked Captain Strong.</p> + +<p>"Very simple, Steve. All of us—all the Academy top +brass—develop a foolproof test for cadet maneuvers. +And then your young Corbett makes us look like amateurs."</p> + +<p>"But didn't you expect one side or the other to win?" +asked Strong.</p> + +<p>"Of course, but not like this. We've been expecting +a couple of days of maneuver, with both sides making +plenty of mistakes that we could call them on. But here +Corbett wraps the whole thing up before we can get +our pencils sharpened."</p> + +<p>"Better stuff cotton in Corbett's ears before he hears +all this," rasped Roger Manning over the intercom. "Or +his head'll be too big to go through the hatch."</p> + +<p>"Quiet, Manning," came Astro's voice from the +power deck. "Your mouth alone is bigger than Tom's +head'll ever be."</p> + +<p>"Look, you Venusian ape—" began Roger, but Commander +Walters' voice boomed out again. His face on +the teleceiver screen was serious now. +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Attention! Attention all units! The battle has been +fought and won on the chart screen of the rocket +cruiser <i>Polaris</i>. The Luna City attack has been repelled +and the invading fleet wiped out. All units and ships +will return to Space Academy at once. Congratulations +to all and end transmission."</p> + +<p>The commander's face faded from the screen. Captain +Strong turned to Tom. "Good work," he said.</p> + +<p>He was interrupted by a crackle of static from the +teleceiver. A face suddenly appeared on the screen—a +man's face, frightened and tense.</p> + +<p>"S O S." The voice rang out through the control deck.</p> + +<p>"This is an S O S. Space passenger ship <i>Lady Venus</i> requests +assistance immediately. Position is sector two, +chart one hundred three. Emergency. We must +have—"</p> + +<p>The screen went blank, the voice stopped as though +cut off by a knife. Strong frantically worked the teleceiver +dials to re-establish contact.</p> + +<p>"<i>Polaris</i> to <i>Lady Venus</i>," he called. "Come in <i>Lady +Venus</i>. Rocket cruiser <i>Polaris</i> calling <i>Lady Venus</i>. +Come in! Come in!"</p> + +<p>There was no answer. The passenger ship's instruments +had gone dead. +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span></p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_13" id="CHAPTER_13"></a>CHAPTER 13</h2> + +<p>"<i>Polaris</i> to Commander Walters at Space Academy—Come +in, Commander Walters!" Captain Strong's voice +was urgent in the teleceiver.</p> + +<p>"Just worked up an assumed position on the <i>Lady +Venus</i>," said Roger over the intercom. "I think she's +bearing about seventeen degrees to port of us, and +about one-twenty-eight on the down-plane of the ecliptic."</p> + +<p>"O.K., Roger," said Tom. "Captain Strong's trying to +reach Commander Walters now." He made a quick +mental calculation. "Golly, Roger—if you've figured it +right, we're closer to the <i>Lady Venus</i> than anyone +else!"</p> + +<p>The teleceiver audio crackled.</p> + +<p>"Commander Walters at Space Academy to Captain +Strong on the <i>Polaris</i>. Come in, Steve!"</p> + +<p>"Commander!" Strong's voice sounded relieved. "Did +you get that emergency from the <i>Lady Venus</i>—the +S O S?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, we did, Steve," said the commander. "How far +away from her are you?"</p> + +<p>Without a word, Tom handed Strong the position +that Roger had computed. Strong relayed the information +to the commander.</p> + +<p>"If you're that close, go to her aid in the <i>Polaris</i>. +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span>You're nearer than any Solar Guard patrol ship and +you can do just as much."</p> + +<p>"Right, sir," replied Steve. "I'll report as soon as I +get any news. End transmission!"</p> + +<p>"Spaceman's luck, end transmission!" said the commander.</p> + +<p>"Have you got a course for us, Roger?" asked Strong.</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir!"</p> + +<p>"Then let's get out of here. I have a feeling there's +something more than just the usual emergency attached +to that S O S from the <i>Lady Venus</i>."</p> + +<p>In twenty seconds the mighty cruiser was blasting +through space to the aid of the stricken passenger ship.</p> + +<p>"Better get the emergency equipment ready, Tom," +said Strong. "Space suits for the four of us and every +spare space suit you have on the ship. Never can tell +what we might run into. Also the first-aid surgical kit +and every spare oxygen bottle. Oh, yeah, and have +Astro get both jet boats ready to blast off immediately. +I'll keep trying to pick them up again on the teleceiver."</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir," replied Tom sharply.</p> + +<p>"What's going on up there?" asked Astro, when Tom +had relayed the orders from Captain Strong. Tom +quickly told him of the emergency signal from the +<i>Lady Venus</i>.</p> + +<p>"<i>Lady—Venus—</i>" said the big cadet, rolling the +name on his tongue, "I know her. She's one of the +Martian City—Venusport jobs—an old-timer. Converted +from a chemical burner to atomic reaction about three +years ago!"</p> + +<p>"Any ideas what the trouble might be?" asked Tom.</p> + +<p>"I don't know," replied Astro. "There are a hundred +and fifty things that could go wrong—even on this +wagon and she's brand new. But I wouldn't be surprised +if it was on the power deck!" +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span></p> + +<p>"And what makes you think so?" asked Tom.</p> + +<p>"I knew a spaceman once that was on a converted +tub just like the <i>Lady Venus</i> and he had trouble with +the reaction chamber."</p> + +<p>"Wow!" exclaimed Tom. "Let's hope it isn't that +now!"</p> + +<p>"You can say that again," said Astro grimly. "When +this stuff gets out of control, there's very little you can +do with it, except leave it alone and pile out!"</p> + +<p>The <i>Polaris</i>, rocketing through space at full space +speed, plunged like a silver bullet through the vastness +of the black void, heading for what Strong hoped to be +the <i>Lady Venus</i>. Tom prepared the emergency equipment, +doubling all the reserves on the oxygen bottles by +refilling the empties he found on the ship and making +sure that all space suits were in perfect working order. +Then he opened the emergency surgical kit and began +the laborious task of examining every vial and drug in +the kit to acquaint himself with what there was to work +with just in case. He brought all the stores of jelly out +for radiation burns and finally opened a bottle of +special sterilization liquid with which to wipe all the +instruments and vials clean. He checked the contents +of the kit once more, and, satisfied that everything was +as ready as he could make it, he went up to the control +deck.</p> + +<p>"Any other message from them yet, sir?" asked Tom.</p> + +<p>"Nothing yet," answered Strong. "If I could pick +them up on the teleceiver, maybe they could tell us +what the trouble is and then we could more or less +be prepared to help them." He bent over the teleceiver +screen and added grimly, "If there is anything left to +help!"</p> + +<p>"Radar deck to control deck!" Roger's voice was +tense. "I think I've picked them up on the radar scanner, +Captain Strong!" +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Relay it down here to control-deck scanner, Manning," +ordered Strong.</p> + +<p>"Ummmh!" murmured the captain when the screen +began to glow. "I'm pretty sure that's her. Here's that +assumed position Roger worked up, Tom. Check it +against this one here on the scanner."</p> + +<p>Tom quickly computed the position of the object on +the scanner and compared it to the position Roger had +given them previously.</p> + +<p>"If Roger's positioning was correct, sir," said Tom, +"then that's the <i>Lady Venus</i>. They both check out perfectly!"</p> + +<p>Strong, bent over the radar scanner, didn't answer. +Finally he turned around and flipped off the scanner. +"That's her," he announced. "Congratulations, Roger. +You hit it right on the nose!"</p> + +<p>"How shall we approach her, sir?" asked Tom.</p> + +<p>"We'd better wait until she sends up her flares."</p> + +<p>"You mean the identification flares for safety factors?"</p> + +<p>"That's right," replied Strong. "A white flare means +it's all right to come alongside and couple air locks. A +red one means to stand off and wait for instructions." +Strong turned to the intercom.</p> + +<p>"Control deck to power deck. Reduce thrust to one +quarter space speed!"</p> + +<p>"Power deck, aye," answered Astro.</p> + +<p>"We'll wait until we're about two miles away from +her and then use our braking jets in the bow of the ship +to bring us within a few thousand feet of her," commented +Strong.</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir," said Tom.</p> + +<p>"Work up an estimated range, Roger," said Strong, +"and give me a distance on our approach."</p> + +<p>"Aye, aye, sir," Roger replied. "Objective four miles +away now, sir." +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span></p> + +<p>"When we hit three miles," said Strong to Tom, +"have Astro stand by the forward braking jets."</p> + +<p>"Aye, sir," said Tom.</p> + +<p>"Three-and-a-half miles," said Roger a few moments +later. "Closing in fast. <i>Lady Venus</i> looks like a dead +ship."</p> + +<p>"That could only mean one thing," said Strong bitterly. +"There has been a power-deck failure of some +sort."</p> + +<p>"Three miles to objective, sir," reported Roger. "I +think I can pick her up on the teleceiver now, but only +one way, from us to her."</p> + +<p>"All right," said Strong, "see what you can do."</p> + +<p>In a few moments the teleceiver screen glowed and +then the silver outline of the <i>Lady Venus</i> appeared on +the screen.</p> + +<p>"I don't see any damage to her hull," said Strong half +to himself. "So if it was an explosion, it wasn't a bad +one."</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir," said Tom. "Shall I stand by with the flares?"</p> + +<p>"Better send up a yellow identification flare, identifying +us as the Solar Guard. Let them know who we +are!"</p> + +<p>Tom turned to the yellow button on his left and +pressed it. Immediately a white flash resembling a meteor +appeared on the teleceiver screen.</p> + +<p>"There should be an answer soon," said Strong.</p> + +<p>"Three thousand yards to objective," reported Roger.</p> + +<p>"Fire braking rockets one half," ordered Strong.</p> + +<p>Tom relayed the order to Astro and made the necessary +adjustments on the control panel.</p> + +<p>"Stern drive rockets out," ordered Strong.</p> + +<p>Once again Tom relayed the message to Astro and +turned to the control board.</p> + +<p>"Cut all rockets!" ordered Strong sharply.</p> + +<p>The great ship, slowed by the force of the braking +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span>rockets, became motionless in space a bare five hundred +yards from the <i>Lady Venus</i>.</p> + +<p>"They should be sending up their safety-factor flare +soon," said Strong. "Keep trying to raise them on the +teleceiver, Roger."</p> + +<p>Strong was peering through a crystal port directly at +the ship hanging dead in space opposite them. There +wasn't any sign of life. Tom stepped to the side of Steve +Strong and looked out at the crippled passenger ship.</p> + +<p>"Why don't we go aboard, sir?" asked Tom.</p> + +<p>"We'll wait a little longer for the flare. If we don't +get it soon—"</p> + +<p>"There it is, sir!" shouted Tom at Strong's side.</p> + +<p>From the flare port near the nose of the commercial +ship, a ball of fire streaked out.</p> + +<p>"Red!" said Strong grimly, "That means we can't go +alongside. We'll have to use jet boats."</p> + +<p>"Captain Strong," shouted Roger from the radar +deck, "they're signaling us with a small light from the +upper port on the starboard side!"</p> + +<p>"Can you read it?" asked Strong quickly.</p> + +<p>"I think so, sir. They're using standard space code, +but the light is very dim."</p> + +<p>"What do they say?"</p> + +<p>" ... reaction ... chamber—" said Roger slowly +as he read the blinking light, " ... radiation ... leaking +around ... baffle ... all ... safe...." Roger +stopped. "That's all, sir. I couldn't get the rest of it."</p> + +<p>Strong turned to the intercom. "Astro, get the jet +boats ready to blast off immediately. Roger, send this +message. 'Am coming aboard. Stand by to receive me +on your number-one starboard jet-boat catapult deck, +signed, Strong, Captain, Solar Guard.'"</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir!" replied Roger.</p> + +<p>"Get into your space suit, Tom, and give Astro a +hand with the jet boats. I have to get a message back to +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span> +Space Academy and tell them to send out help right +away."</p> + +<p>"Aye, sir," said Tom.</p> + +<p>"Roger," said Strong, "stand by to record this message +for the teleceiver in case Space Academy should +call our circuit while we're off the ship."</p> + +<p>"All set, sir," came the reply from the radar deck.</p> + +<p>"O.K.—here goes—Captain Steve Strong—Solar +Guard—am boarding passenger ship <i>Lady Venus</i>. Secondary +communications signal message received indicates +it is power-deck failure. Am taking cadets Corbett, +Manning and Astro and boarding same at"—he +paused and glanced at the clock—"thirteen hundred +fifty one hours!"</p> + +<p>"That all, sir?" asked Roger.</p> + +<p>"That's it. Get that set on the open circuit for any +one calling us, then climb into your space suit!"</p> + +<p>In a matter of minutes, the four spacemen of the +<i>Polaris</i> crew were making last-minute adjustments on +their space suits. Astro picked up his heavy belt of tools +and strapped them around his waist.</p> + +<p>"What's that for, Astro?" asked Strong. "They'll have +tools aboard the ship if we need them."</p> + +<p>"If that lead baffle in the reaction chamber has +worked loose, sir, the odds are ten to one that the control +chamber is flooded with radiation. And if it is, the +tools are probably so hot you couldn't use them."</p> + +<p>"That's good thinking, Astro," complimented Strong. +He turned to Tom and Roger and checked their suits +and the oxygen supply and feeder valves on their +backs. He then turned his back while Tom checked his, +and Roger adjusted Astro's.</p> + +<p>"All right, turn on your communicators and test +them," ordered Strong.</p> + +<p>One by one the boys flipped on the switch of the portable +spacephones in their fish-bowl helmets and spoke +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span>to each other. Strong indicated that he was satisfied +and turned toward the jet-boat catapult deck, the three +boys following him in single file.</p> + +<p>"Astro, you and Roger take number-one boat," said +Strong. "Tom and I will take number two." His voice +had a harsh metallic tone through the headset spacephones.</p> + +<p>Roger hurried along with Astro to the number-one +boat and climbed inside.</p> + +<p>"Jet boat has its own oxygen system," said Astro to +Roger. "Better make use of it while we're in here and +save our suits' supplies."</p> + +<p>"Good idea," said Roger. He locked the clear plastic +airtight covering of the jet boat and began flicking at +the control buttons.</p> + +<p>"Strap in, you Venusian hick. Here we go!" Roger +shoved a lever at his side, making the jet-boat deck airtight +from the rest of the <i>Polaris</i>, and then, by pressing a +button on the simple control board, a section of the +<i>Polaris</i>' hull slipped back, exposing them to empty +space.</p> + +<p>The controls of a jet boat were simplicity itself. A +half-moon wheel for guiding, up, down and either side, +and two pedals on the floor, one for going and one for +stopping. Roger stepped on the "Go" pedal and the +small ship flashed out into the darkness of space.</p> + +<p>Almost immediately on the opposite side of the <i>Polaris</i>, +Captain Strong and Tom in the second boat shot +away from the rocket cruiser and both boats headed +for the stricken spaceship. +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span></p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_14" id="CHAPTER_14"></a>CHAPTER 14</h2> + +<p>The hatch clanked shut behind them. Inside the huge +air lock of the <i>Lady Venus</i>, Tom, Roger, Astro and Captain +Strong waited for the oxygen to equal the pressure +in their space suits before removing their fish-bowl +space helmets.</p> + +<p>"O.K., sir," said Tom, "pressure's equal."</p> + +<p>Strong stepped to the hatch leading to the inside of +the ship and pushed hard. It slid to one side.</p> + +<p>"How many jet boats do you have?" was the first +thing Strong heard as he stepped through the door to +the interior of the passenger ship.</p> + +<p>"Al James!" cried Manning. "So this is your tub?"</p> + +<p>The startled young skipper, whom Tom, Roger and +Astro had met in Atom City, turned to face the blond-headed +cadet.</p> + +<p>"Manning!" he gasped.</p> + +<p>"What's your trouble, skipper?" asked Strong of the +young spaceship captain.</p> + +<p>Before James could answer there was a sudden +clamor from beyond the next hatch leading to the main +passenger cabin. Suddenly the hatch was jerked open +and a group of frightened men and women poured +through. The first to reach Strong, a short fat man with +a moonface and wearing glasses, began to jabber hysterically, +while clinging to Strong's arm. +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Sir, this ship is going to blow up any moment. +You've got to save us!" He turned to face Al James. +"And he refused to allow us to escape in the jet boats!" +He pointed an accusing finger at the young skipper as +the other passengers loudly backed him up.</p> + +<p>"Just a moment," snapped Strong. "There's a Solar +Guard rocket cruiser only five hundred yards away, so +take it easy and don't get hysterical. No one is going to +get hurt if you keep calm and obey orders!" He turned +to James. "What's the trouble, skipper?"</p> + +<p>"It's the reaction chamber. The lead baffle around +the chamber worked loose and flooded everything with +radiation. Now the mass in number-three rocket is +building and wildcatting itself. If it gets any higher, +it'll explode."</p> + +<p>"Why didn't your power-deck man dump the mass?" +asked Strong.</p> + +<p>"We didn't know it was wildcatting until after he +had tried to repair it. And he didn't tighten the bolts +enough to keep it from leaking radiation." The young +skipper paused. "He lived long enough to warn us, +though."</p> + +<p>"What's the Geiger count on the radiation?" asked +Strong.</p> + +<p>"Up to twelve thirty-two—about ten minutes ago," +answered James. "I pulled everybody out of the power +deck and cut all energy circuits, including the energizing +pumps. We didn't have any power so I had to use +the combined juice of the three jet boats to send out the +emergency signal that you picked up." He turned to +face the little man with the glasses. "I had a choice of +either saving about fifteen passengers on the jet boats, +and leaving the others, or take a chance on saving everybody +by using the power to send out a message."</p> + +<p>"Ummmmh," said Strong to himself. He felt confidence +in a young spaceman who would take a decision +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span>like that on himself. "What was that Geiger count +again?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"Must be better than fourteen hundred by now," answered +James.</p> + +<p>Strong made a quick decision.</p> + +<p>"All right," he said, tight-lipped, "abandon ship! How +many passengers?"</p> + +<p>"Seventeen women and twenty-three men including +the crew," replied James.</p> + +<p>"Does that include yourself?" asked Strong.</p> + +<p>"No," came the reply.</p> + +<p>Strong felt better. Any man who would not count +himself on a list to survive could be counted on in any +emergency.</p> + +<p>"We'll take four women at a time in each jet boat +first," said Strong. "James, you and I will operate the +jet boats and ferry the passengers to the <i>Polaris</i>. Tom, +you and Roger and Astro get everybody aboard the +ship ready to leave."</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir," said Tom.</p> + +<p>"We haven't much time. The reaction mass is building +fast. Come on, James, we have to rip out the seats +in the jet boats to get five people in them." Strong +turned back into the jet-boat launching well.</p> + +<p>"May I have the passenger lists, Captain?" asked +Tom, turning to James. The young skipper handed him +a clip board with the names of the passengers and crew +and followed Strong.</p> + +<p>"We will abandon ship in alphabetical order," announced +Tom. "Miss Nancy Anderson?"</p> + +<p>A young girl about sixteen stepped forward.</p> + +<p>"Just stand there by the hatch, Miss," said Tom. He +glanced at the next name. "Miss Elizabeth Anderson?" +Another girl, looking very much like the first, stepped +forward and stood beside her sister.</p> + +<p>"Mrs. John Bailey?" called Tom. +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span></p> + +<p>A gray-haired woman of about sixty stepped forward.</p> + +<p>"Pardon me, sir, but I would rather remain with my +husband, and go later with him."</p> + +<p>"No—no, Mary," pleaded an elderly man, holding his +arm around her shoulder. "Go now. I'll be all right. +Won't I, sir?" He looked at Tom anxiously.</p> + +<p>"I can't be sure, sir," said Tom. He found it difficult +to control his voice as he looked down at the old couple, +who couldn't weigh more than two hundred +pounds between them.</p> + +<p>"I'm going to stay," said the woman firmly.</p> + +<p>"As you wish, Madam," said Tom. He looked at the +list again. "Mrs. Helen Carson?"</p> + +<p>A woman about thirty-five, carrying a young boy +about four years old, stepped out and took her place beside +the two sisters.</p> + +<p>In a moment, the first eight passengers were assembled +into two groups, helped into space suits, with a +special portable suit for the little boy, and loaded in +the jet boats. The red light over the hatch glowed, then +went out. The first load of passengers had left the <i>Lady +Venus</i>.</p> + +<p>"They're pretty jumpy," Roger whispered, nodding +toward the remaining passengers.</p> + +<p>"Yeah," answered Tom. "Say, where's Astro?"</p> + +<p>"I don't know. Probably went to take a look at the +jet boats to see if one could be repaired so we'd have a +third ferry running."</p> + +<p>"Good idea," said Tom. "See if you can't cheer these +people up, Roger. Tell them stories or sing songs—or +better yet, get them to sing. Try to make them forget +they're sitting on an atom bomb!"</p> + +<p>"I can't forget it myself," said Roger. "How can I +make them forget it?"</p> + +<p>"Try anything. I'll go see if I can't give Astro a hand!"</p> + +<p>Roger turned to face the assembled passengers and +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span>smiled. All around him in the main passenger lounge, +the frightened men and women sat huddled together in +small groups, staring at him, terror in their eyes.</p> + +<p>"Ladieeees and Gentlemen," began Roger. "You are +now going to be entertained by the loudest, corniest +and most miserable voice in the universe. I'm going to +<i>sing</i>!"</p> + +<p>He waited for a laugh, but there was only a slight +stir as the passengers shifted nervously in their seats.</p> + +<p>Shrugging his shoulders, Roger took a deep breath +and began to sing. He only knew one song and he sang +it with gusto.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"From the rocket fields of the Academy<br /></span> +<span class="i0">To the far-flung stars of outer space,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">We're Space Cadets training to be...."<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>On the lower deck of the passenger ship, Tom smiled +as he faintly heard his unit-mate's voice. He made his +way to the jet-boat deck of the <i>Lady Venus</i> and opened +the hatch.</p> + +<p>"Hey, Astro," he called. There wasn't any answer.</p> + +<p>He stepped inside and looked around the empty deck. +Walking over to one of the jet boats, he saw evidence +of Al James's attempts to send out emergency signal +messages. He called again. "Hey, Astro—where are +you?" Still no answer. He noticed that one of the jet +boats was missing. There were three still on the deck, +but an empty catapult for the fourth made Tom think +that Astro might have repaired the fourth and taken it +out in space for a test. The light over the escape hatch +indicated that someone had gone out. It was odd, +thought Tom, for Astro to go out alone. But then he +shrugged, remembering how Astro could lose himself +in his work and forget everything but the job at +hand. He climbed back to the passenger deck.</p> + +<p>When Tom opened the hatch to the main lounge, the +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span>sight that filled his eyes was so funny that, even in the +face of danger, he had to laugh. Roger, with his hands +clasped behind his back, was down on his knees trying +to push a food pellet across the deck with his nose. The +whole passenger lounge echoed with hysterical laughter.</p> + +<p>Suddenly the laughter was stopped by the sound of +the bell over the air-lock hatch. Strong and James had +returned to ferry more passengers to the <i>Polaris</i>. Immediately +the fun was forgotten and the passengers +crowded around for the roll call.</p> + +<p>"Where's Astro?" asked Strong, as he reappeared in +the lounge.</p> + +<p>"He's down on the jet-boat deck, sir, trying to fix another +one," replied Tom. "I think he's out testing one +now."</p> + +<p>"Good," said Strong. "How're they taking it?" He indicated +the passengers.</p> + +<p>"Roger's been keeping them amused with games and +songs, sir," said Tom proudly.</p> + +<p>"They'll need it. I don't mind telling you, Corbett," +said Strong, "it's a wonder to me this tub hasn't blown +up already."</p> + +<p>In less than a half hour, the forty passengers and +crewmen of the <i>Lady Venus</i> were transferred in alphabetical +order to the waiting <i>Polaris</i>. Roger kept up a +continual line of patter and jokes and stories, making a +fool of himself, but keeping the remaining passengers +amused and their minds off the dangers of the rapidly +building reaction mass.</p> + +<p>"Just one passenger left," said Strong, "with myself +and you three. I think we can squeeze five in that jet +boat and get off here."</p> + +<p>"That's for me," said Roger. "I'm the only man in the +whole universe that's ever played to a packed house sitting +on top of an atomic bomb!" +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span></p> + +<p>"All right, Barrymore," said Strong, "get aboard!"</p> + +<p>"Say," asked Tom, "where's Astro?"</p> + +<p>"I don't know," replied Roger. "I thought you went +to find him half an hour ago!"</p> + +<p>"I did," said Tom, "but when I went to the jet-boat +deck, one was missing. So I figured he had fixed one +and taken it out for a test."</p> + +<p>"Then he's probably outside in space now!" said +Strong. Suddenly the Solar Guard captain caught himself. +"Wait a minute! How many jet boats were on the +deck, Corbett?"</p> + +<p>"Three, sir."</p> + +<p>"Then Astro is still aboard the ship," said Strong. "He +couldn't have taken a boat. James told me he couldn't +repeat the message he sent out because he only had the +power of <i>three</i> jet boats. One was damaged and left behind +at Atom City!"</p> + +<p>"By the rings of Saturn," said Roger, "a coupla million +miles from home, sitting on an atomic bomb and +that big Venusian hick decides to play hide-and-seek!"</p> + +<p>"Never mind the cracks," said Strong. "We've got to +find him!"</p> + +<p>"Captain," said the little man with the round face +and glasses who had first spoken to Strong when he +came aboard, "just because my name happens to be +Zewbriski, and I have to be the very last to get on a jet +boat, I don't see why I have to wait any longer. I demand +to be taken off this ship immediately! I refuse to +risk my life waiting around for some foolish cadet!"</p> + +<p>"That foolish cadet, Mr. Zewbriski," said Strong +coldly, "is a human being like you and we don't budge +until we find him!"</p> + +<p>At that moment the bell began to ring, indicating that +the outer hatch to the air lock was opening.</p> + +<p>"By the craters of Luna," said Tom, "that must be +Astro now!" +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span></p> + +<p>"But if it is," said Roger, "how did he get out there?"</p> + +<p>From behind them, the hatch to the inner air lock +opened and Al James stepped through.</p> + +<p>"Captain Strong," he said excitedly, "you've got to +come quickly. Some of the crewmen have broken into +your arms locker and taken paralo-ray guns. They +threaten to leave you here if you don't return to the +ship within five minutes. They're afraid the <i>Venus</i> +might blow up and damage the <i>Polaris</i> at this close +range." The young skipper, his red-brown uniform torn +and dirty, looked at the Solar Guard captain with wild-eyed +desperation.</p> + +<p>"They can't leave us here," whimpered Zewbriski. +"We'll all be blown to bits!"</p> + +<p>"Shut up!" barked Strong. He turned to Tom and +Roger. "I can do one of two things," he said. "I can order +you to return to the <i>Polaris</i> now, with James and +myself, or you can volunteer to stay behind and search +for Astro."</p> + +<p>Without looking at Roger, Tom answered, "We'll +stay, sir. And we won't have to search for him. I think +I know where he is."</p> + +<p>"Now that I think about it," replied Strong, "I guess +there is only one place he could be."</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir," said Tom, "down on the power deck trying +to save this wagon! Come on, Roger! Let's get him!" +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span></p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_15" id="CHAPTER_15"></a>CHAPTER 15</h2> + +<p>"What's the reading on the Geiger counter now?" asked +Tom.</p> + +<p>Roger looked down at the face of the radioactive +measuring device and answered, "She's been dropping +for the last five minutes, Tom. Looks like the mass in +number three is cooling off. Fourteen hundred and ten +now."</p> + +<p>"That's not fast enough," said Astro, straightening up +from tightening a nut on the lead baffle. "She's still +plenty hot. That mass should have been dumped out of +the rocket exhaust right away. Now the whole tube control +box is so hot with radiation, it'd burn you to a crisp +if you opened the hatch."</p> + +<p>"Good thing you brought along those tools from the +<i>Polaris</i>," said Tom.</p> + +<p>"Yeah, greaseball," said Roger, "you used your head +for once. Now let's see you use it again and pile out of +this hunk of junk!"</p> + +<p>"Fifteen hundred on the counter is the danger mark, +Roger, and as long as we keep it under that, I'm going +to try and save this wagon!" replied Astro.</p> + +<p>"Why? To get yourself a Solar Medal?" asked Roger +sarcastically.</p> + +<p>"What do you think made this tub act up like this, +Astro?" asked Tom, ignoring Roger's remark. +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Using special reactant feed, Tom," replied Astro. +"This is a converted chemical burner—with an old-type +cooling pump. It's touchy stuff."</p> + +<p>"Well, couldn't we drive boron rods into the mass +and slow down the reaction?" asked Tom.</p> + +<p>"No, Tom," answered Astro, "the control for the rods +are inside the tube control box. We can't reach it."</p> + +<p>There was a sudden loud ticking from the Geiger +counter.</p> + +<p>"Astro!" cried Roger. "The mass is building!"</p> + +<p>"Here, lemme see!" shouted Astro. He took the instrument +in his big hand and watched the clocklike +face intently.</p> + +<p>" ... fourteen hundred thirty—fourteen hundred +fifty—fourteen hundred seventy—" He faced his unit-mates. +"Well, that does it. The mass is maintaining a +steady reaction without the energizing pumps. It's sustaining +itself!"</p> + +<p>"But how is that possible?" asked Tom.</p> + +<p>"It's one of those freaks, Tom. It's been known to +happen before. The fuel is just hot enough to sustain a +steady reaction because of its high intensity. Once that +baffle worked loose, the mass started wildcatting itself."</p> + +<p>"And if it doesn't stop?" asked Roger tensely.</p> + +<p>"It'll reach a point where the reaction comes so fast +it'll explode!"</p> + +<p>"Let's pile out of here!" said Roger.</p> + +<p>The three boys made a dash for their space suits and +the jet boat. Inside the air lock, they adjusted their oxygen +valves and waited for pressure to equalize so they +could blast off.</p> + +<p>"Blast it," said Astro, "there must be some way to get +to that rocket tube and dump that stuff!"</p> + +<p>"Impossible, Astro," said Roger. "The release controls +are in the control box, and with all that radiation loose, +you wouldn't last half a minute!" +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span></p> + +<p>Tom walked over to the valve that would open the +outside hatch.</p> + +<p>"Wonder how Captain Strong is making out with +those tough babies on the <i>Polaris</i>?" asked Tom.</p> + +<p>"I don't know," replied Roger, "but anything would +be better than sitting around waiting for this thing to +blow up!"</p> + +<p>"Ah—stop griping," said Astro, "or I'll shove you up +a rocket tube and blast you from here all the way back +to Atom City!"</p> + +<p>"Hey, wait a minute!" shouted Tom. "Astro, remember +the time we were on the ground crew as extra duty +and we had to overhaul the <i>Polaris</i>?"</p> + +<p>"Yeah, why?"</p> + +<p>"There was one place you couldn't go. You were too +big, so I went in, remember?"</p> + +<p>"Yeah, the space between the rocket tubes and the +hull of the ship. It was when we were putting in the +new tube. So what?"</p> + +<p>"So this!" said Tom. "When they converted this tub, +they had standard exhausts, so it must have the same +layout as the <i>Polaris</i>. Suppose I climb in the main exhaust, +between the tube and the outer hull, and cut +away the cleats that hold the tube to the ship?"</p> + +<p>"Why, then everything would come out in one +piece!" Astro's face lit up. "Reactant mass, tube, control +box—the works!"</p> + +<p>"Say, what are you two guys talking about?" asked +Roger.</p> + +<p>"Saving a ship, Roger," said Tom. "Dumping the +whole assembly of the number-three rocket!"</p> + +<p>"Ah—you're space happy!"</p> + +<p>"Maybe," said Tom, "but I think it's worth trying. +How about it, Astro?"</p> + +<p>"O.K. by me, Tom," replied Astro.</p> + +<p>"Good. You get the cutting torches rigged, Astro. +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span>Roger, you give him a hand and keep your eye on the +counter. Then feed the torches to me when I get inside +the tube. I'm going outside to get rid of a bad rocket +and save a five-million-credit spaceship!"</p> + +<p>Before Astro or Roger could protest, Tom opened +the hatch and began to climb out on the steel hull toward +the rocket tubes, main exhaust.</p> + +<p>His magnetic-soled shoes gripping the smooth steel +hull, the cadet made his way aft to the stern of the ship +and began the climb down around the huge firing +tubes and into the tubes themselves.</p> + +<p>"Hey, Astro," he yelled into the spacephone, "I'm inside +the tubes. How about those torches?" The cadets +had adjusted the wave length so that all could hear +what was said.</p> + +<p>"Take it easy, spaceboy," said Roger, "I'm leaving the +hatch now. You and your fatheaded friend from Venus +are so hopped up for getting a Solar Medal—"</p> + +<p>"Knock it off, Manning!" said Astro from inside the +ship. "And for your information, I don't want a medal. +I don't want anything except for you to stop griping!"</p> + +<p>Roger reached the end of the ship and began to +climb down inside the tube where Tom was waiting +for him.</p> + +<p>"O.K., spaceboy," said Roger, "here're your cutting +torches." He started moving back. "I'll see you around. +I don't mind being a little hero for saving people and +all that stuff. But not for any ship. And the odds against +a big hero staying alive are too big!"</p> + +<p>"Roger, wait," shouted Tom. "I'll need...." And +then the curly-headed cadet clamped his teeth together +and turned back to the task at hand.</p> + +<p>He made adjustments on the nozzle of the cutting +torch, and then, focusing his chest light, called to Astro.</p> + +<p>"O.K., Astro," he said, "shoot me the juice!"</p> + +<p>"Coming up, Tom!" answered Astro. "And wait till I +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span>get my hands on that Manning! I'm going to smear that +yellow space crawler from one corner of the universe to +another!"</p> + +<p>"Never mind the talk," snarled Roger, who at the +moment was re-entering the tube. "Just get that juice +down to this torch and make it fast!"</p> + +<p>Tom turned to see Roger crawling back into the tube +and adjusting a cutting torch.</p> + +<p>"Glad to have you aboard, Roger," said Tom with a +smile that Roger could not see in the darkness of the +tube. The two boys went to work.</p> + +<p>Suddenly the torches came to life. And immediately +Tom and Roger began to cut away at the cleats that +held the tube lining to the skin of the ship. Steadily, +the cadets worked their way up toward the center of +the ship, cutting anything that looked as though it +might hold the giant tube to the ship.</p> + +<p>"Boy," said Tom, "it's getting hot in here!"</p> + +<p>From inside the ship, Astro's reassuring voice came +back in answer. "You're getting close to the reactant-mass +chamber. The last cleat is up by one of the exhaust +gratings. Think you can last it?"</p> + +<p>"Well, if he can't," snarled Roger, "he's sure to get +that medal anyway!" He inched up a little. "Move over, +Corbett, I'm skinnier than you are, and I can reach that +cleat easier than you can."</p> + +<p>Roger slipped past Tom and inched his way toward +the last cleat. He pulled his torch up alongside and +pulled the trigger. The flame shot out and began eating +the steel. In a moment the last cleat was cut and +the two boys started their long haul down the tube to +the outside of the ship.</p> + +<p>As they walked across the steel surface, back to the +air lock, Tom stuck out his hand.</p> + +<p>"I'm glad you came back, Roger."</p> + +<p>"Save it for the boys that fall for that stuff, Corbett," +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span>said Roger sarcastically. "I came back because I didn't +want you and that Venusian hick to think you're the +only ones with guts around here!"</p> + +<p>"No one has ever accused you of not having guts, +Roger."</p> + +<p>"Ah—go blast your jets," snarled Roger.</p> + +<p>They went directly to the power deck where Astro +was waiting for them, the Geiger counter in his hand.</p> + +<p>"All set to get rid of the rotten apple?" he asked with +a smile.</p> + +<p>"All set, Astro," said Tom. "What's the count?"</p> + +<p>"She seems to have steadied around fourteen hundred +ninety—and believe me, the ten points to the official +danger mark of fifteen hundred is so small that we +could find out where the angels live any moment now!"</p> + +<p>"Then what're we waiting for," said Tom. "Let's dump +that thing!"</p> + +<p>"How?" snarled Roger.</p> + +<p>Tom and Astro looked at him bewilderedly. "What do +you mean 'how'?" asked Astro.</p> + +<p>"I mean how are you going to get the tube out of +the ship?"</p> + +<p>"Why," started Tom, "there's nothing holding that +tube assembly to the ship now. We cut all the cleats, +remember? We can jettison the whole unit!"</p> + +<p>"It seems to me," drawled Roger lazily, "that the +two great heroes in their mad rush for the Solar Medal +have forgotten an unwritten law of space. There's no +gravity out here—no natural force to pull or push the +tube. The only way it could be moved is by the power +of thrust, either forward or backward!"</p> + +<p>"O.K. Then let's push it out, just that way," said Astro.</p> + +<p>"How?" asked Roger cynically.</p> + +<p>"Simple, Roger," said Tom, "Newton's Laws of motion. +Everything in motion tends to keep going at the +same speed unless influenced by an outside force. So if +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span>we blasted our nose rockets and started going backward, +everything on the ship would go backward too, +then if we reversed—"</p> + +<p>Astro cut in, "Yeah—if we blasted the stern rockets, +the ship would go forward, but the tube, being loose, +would keep going the other way!"</p> + +<p>"There's only one thing wrong," said Roger. "That +mass is so hot now, if any booster energy hit it, it would +be like a trigger on a bomb. It'd blow us from here to +the next galaxy!"</p> + +<p>"I'm willing to try it," said Tom. "How about you, +Astro?"</p> + +<p>"I've gone this far, and I'm not quitting now."</p> + +<p>They turned to face Roger.</p> + +<p>"Well, how about it, Roger?" asked Tom. "No one +will think you're yellow if you take the jet boat and +leave now."</p> + +<p>"Ah—talk again!" grumbled Roger. "We always have +to talk. Let's be original for a change and just do our +jobs!"</p> + +<p>"All right," said Tom. "Take an emergency light and +signal Captain Strong. Tell him what we're going to do. +Warn him to stay away—about two hundred miles off. +He'll know if we're successful or not within a half +hour!"</p> + +<p>"Yeah," said Roger, "then we'll send him one big +flash to mean we failed! <i>Bon voyage!</i>"</p> + +<p>Fifteen minutes later, as the <i>Lady Venus</i> drifted in +her silent but deadly orbit, Tom, Roger and Astro still +worked feverishly as the Geiger counter ticked off the +increasing radioactivity of the wildcatting reaction +mass in number-three rocket tube.</p> + +<p>"Reading on the counter still's going up, Astro," +warned Roger. "Fifteen-O-five."</p> + +<p>"Hurry it up, Astro," urged Tom.</p> + +<p>"Hand me that wrench, Tom," ordered Astro. The +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span>big cadet, stripped to the waist, his thick arms and +chest splattered with grease and sweat, fitted the +wrench to the nut and applied pressure. Tom and +Roger watched the muscles ripple along his back, as +the big Venusian pitted all of his great strength against +the metal.</p> + +<p>"Give it all you've got," said Tom. "If we do manage +to jettison that tube, we've got to keep this part of the +power deck airtight!"</p> + +<p>Astro pulled harder. The veins standing out on his +neck. At last, easing off, he stood up and looked down +at the nut.</p> + +<p>"That's as tight as I can get it," he said, breathing +heavily.</p> + +<p>"Or anyone else," said Tom.</p> + +<p>"All the valve connections broken?" asked Astro.</p> + +<p>"Yep," replied Roger. "We're sealed tight."</p> + +<p>"That's it, then," said Tom. "Let's get to the control +deck and start blasting!"</p> + +<p>Astro turned to the power-deck control board and +checked the gauges for the last time. From above his +head, he heard Tom's voice over the intercom.</p> + +<p>"All your relays to the power deck working, Astro?"</p> + +<p>"Ready, Tom," answered Astro.</p> + +<p>"Then stand by," said Tom on the control deck. He +had made a hasty check of the controls and found them +to be similar enough to those on the <i>Polaris</i> so that he +could handle the ship. He flipped the switch to the +radar deck and spoke into the intercom.</p> + +<p>"Do we have a clear trajectory fore and aft, Roger?"</p> + +<p>"All clear," replied Roger. "I sent Captain Strong the +message."</p> + +<p>"What'd he say?"</p> + +<p>"The rebellion wasn't anything more than a bunch of +badly scared old men. Al James just got hysterical, +that's all." +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 315px;"> +<img src="images/im163.png" width="315" height="480" alt="A low muted roar pulsed through the ship" title="" /> +<span class="caption">A low muted roar pulsed through the ship</span> +</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span></p> + +<p>"What did he have to say about this operation?"</p> + +<p>"I can't repeat it for your young ears," said Roger.</p> + +<p>"So bad, huh?"</p> + +<p>"Yeah, but not because we're trying to save the ship."</p> + +<p>"Then why?" asked Tom.</p> + +<p>"He's afraid of losing a good unit!"</p> + +<p>Tom smiled and turned to the control board. "Energize +the cooling pumps!" he bawled to Astro over the +intercom.</p> + +<p>The slow whine of the pumps began to build to a +shrieking pitch.</p> + +<p>"Pumps in operation, Tom," said Astro.</p> + +<p>"Cut in nose braking rockets," ordered Tom.</p> + +<p>A low muted roar pulsed through the ship.</p> + +<p>"Rockets on—we're moving backward, Tom," reported +Astro.</p> + +<p>And then suddenly Astro let out a roar. "Tom, the +Geiger counter is going wild!"</p> + +<p>"Never mind that now," answered Tom. "Sound off, +Roger!" he yelled.</p> + +<p>"Ship moving astern—one thousand feet a second—two +thousand—four thousand—"</p> + +<p>"I'm going to let her build to ten, Roger," yelled +Tom. "We've only got one chance and we might as well +make it a good one!"</p> + +<p>"Six thousand!" yelled Roger. "Seven thousand!"</p> + +<p>"Astro," bellowed Tom, "stand by to fire stern rockets!"</p> + +<p>"Ready, Tom," was Astro's reply.</p> + +<p>"Eight thousand," warned Roger. "Spaceman's luck, +fellas!"</p> + +<p>The silver ship moved through space away from the +<i>Polaris</i>.</p> + +<p>"Nine thousand," reported Roger. "And, Astro, I really +love ya!"</p> + +<p>"Cut nose braking rockets!" ordered Tom. +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span></p> + +<p>There was a sudden hush that seemed to be as loud +as the noise of the rockets. The huge passenger ship, +<i>Lady Venus</i>, was traveling through space as silent as a +ghost.</p> + +<p>"Nine thousand five hundred feet a second," yelled +Roger.</p> + +<p>"Stand by, Astro, Roger! Hang on tight, and spaceman's +luck!"</p> + +<p>"Ten thousand feet a second!" Roger's voice was a +hoarse scream.</p> + +<p>"<i>Fire stern rockets!</i>" bawled Tom.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> +<img src="images/im165.png" width="400" height="115" alt="im165" title="" /> + +</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span></p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_16" id="CHAPTER_16"></a>CHAPTER 16</h2> + +<p>Under the tremendous drive of the stern rockets, the +silver ship suddenly hurtled forward as if shot out of a +cannon. The dangerous tube slid out of the stern of the +ship and was quickly left behind as the <i>Lady Venus</i> +sped in the opposite direction.</p> + +<p>"That's it," yelled Tom, "hold full space speed! We +dumped the tube, but we're still close enough for it to +blow us from here to Pluto!"</p> + +<p>"I tracked it on the radar, Tom," yelled Roger. "I +think we're far enough away to miss—"</p> + +<p>At that moment a tremendous flash of light filled the +radar scanner as the mass exploded miles to the rear of +the <i>Lady Venus</i>.</p> + +<p>"There it goes!" shouted Roger.</p> + +<p>"Great jumping Jupiter," yelled Tom, "and we're still +in one piece! We did it!"</p> + +<p>From the power deck, Astro's bull-like roar could be +heard through the whole ship.</p> + +<p>"Gimme an open circuit, Tom," said Astro. "I want +to operate the air blowers down here and try to get rid +of some of that radiation. I have to get into the control +chamber and see what's going on."</p> + +<p>Tom flipped a switch on the board and set the ship +on automatic flight. Then, turning to the teleceiver, he +switched the set on. +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span></p> + +<p>"<i>Lady Venus</i> to <i>Polaris</i>—" said Tom, "come in, <i>Polaris</i>—come +in!"</p> + +<p>" ... Strong here on the <i>Polaris</i>!" the officer's voice +crackled over the speaker. "By the rings of Saturn, I +should log you three space-brained idiots for everything +in the book!" Strong's face gradually focused on +the teleceiver screen and he stared at Tom coldly. +"That was the most foolish bit of heroics I've ever seen +and if I had my way I'd—I'll—well—" The captain's +glare melted into a smile. "I'll spend the rest of my life +being known as the skipper of the three heroes! Well +done, Corbett, it was foolish and dangerous, but well +done!"</p> + +<p>Tom, his face changing visibly with each change in +Strong's attitude, finally broke out into a grin.</p> + +<p>"Thank you, sir," said Tom, "but Astro and Roger did +as much as I did."</p> + +<p>"I'm sure they did," replied Strong. "Tell them I +think it was one of the—the—" he thought a moment +and then added, "darndest, most foolish things—most—"</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir," said Tom, trying hard to control his face. +He knew the moment for disciplining had passed, and +that Captain Strong was just overwhelmed with concern +for their safety.</p> + +<p>"Stand by the air locks, Corbett, we're coming +aboard again. We're pretty cramped for space here on +the <i>Polaris</i>."</p> + +<p>Just then Astro yelled up from the power deck.</p> + +<p>"Hey, Tom!" he called. "If Captain Strong is thinking +about putting those passengers back aboard, I think +you'd better tell him about the radiation. I haven't +been able to flush it all out yet. And since we only have +three lead-lined suits...." He left the statement unfinished.</p> + +<p>"I get you, Astro," replied Tom. He turned back to +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span>the teleceiver and faced Strong. "Astro says the ship is +still hot from radiation, sir. And that he hasn't been +able to flush it out with the blowers."</p> + +<p>"Ummmmh," mused Strong thoughtfully. "Well, in +that case, stand by, Corbett. I'll get in touch with Commander +Walters right away."</p> + +<p>"Very well, sir," replied Tom. He turned from the +teleceiver and climbed up to the radar deck.</p> + +<p>"Well, hot-shot," said Roger, "looks like you've made +yourself a hero this trip."</p> + +<p>"What do you mean by that, Roger?"</p> + +<p>"First, you run off with top honors on the space maneuvers, +and now you save the ship and have Strong +eating out of your hand!"</p> + +<p>"That's not very funny, Roger," said Tom.</p> + +<p>"I think it is," drawled Roger.</p> + +<p>Tom studied the blond cadet for a moment.</p> + +<p>"What's eating you, Roger? Since the day you came +into the Academy, you've acted like you hated every +minute of it. And yet, on the other hand, I've seen you +act like it was the most important thing in your life. +Why?"</p> + +<p>"I told you once, Corbett," said Roger with the +sneering air which Tom knew he used when he was on +the defensive, "that I had my own special reasons for +being here. I'm <i>not</i> a hero, Corbett! Never was and +never will be. You're strictly the hero type. Tried and +true, a thousand just like you all through the Academy +and the Solar Guard. Strong is a hero type!"</p> + +<p>"Then what about Al James?" asked Tom. "What +about that time in Atom City when you defended the +Academy?"</p> + +<p>"Uh-uh," grunted Roger, "I wasn't defending the +Academy. I was just avoiding a fight." He paused and +eyed Tom between half-closed lids. "You'll never do +anything I can't, or won't do, just as well, Tom. The +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span>difference between us is simple. I'm in the Academy +for a reason, a special reason. You're here, like most of +the other cadets, because you believe in it. That's the +difference between you, me and Astro. You believe in +it. I don't—I don't believe in anything but Roger +Manning!"</p> + +<p>Tom faced him squarely. "I'm not going to buy that, +Roger! I don't think that's true. And the reasons I don't +believe it are many. You have a chip on your shoulder, +yes. But I don't think you're selfish or that you only believe +in Manning. If you did, you wouldn't be here on +the <i>Lady Venus</i>. You had your chance to escape back +in the rocket tube, but you <i>came back</i>, Roger, and you +made a liar out of yourself!"</p> + +<p>"Hey, you guys!" yelled Astro, coming up behind +them. "I thought we left that stuff back at the Academy?"</p> + +<p>Tom turned to face the power-deck cadet. "What's +cooking below, Astro? Were you able to get rid of the +radiation?"</p> + +<p>"Naw!" replied the cadet from Venus. "Too hot! +Couldn't even open the hatch. It'll take a special job +with the big equipment at the space shipyards. We +need their big blowers and antiradiation flushers to +clean this baby up."</p> + +<p>"Then I'd better tell Captain Strong right away. He's +going to get in touch with Commander Walters at the +Academy for orders."</p> + +<p>"Yeah, you're right," said Astro. "There isn't a chance +of getting those people back aboard here now. Once +we opened up that outer control deck to dump that +tube, the whole joint started buzzing with radioactive +electrons."</p> + +<p>Tom turned to the ladder leading to the control deck +and disappeared through the hatch, leaving Astro and +Roger alone. +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span></p> + +<p>"What was that little bit of space gas about, Roger?"</p> + +<p>"Ah—nothing," replied Roger. "Just a little argument +on who was the biggest hero." Roger smiled and waved +a hand in a friendly gesture. "Tom won, two to +one!"</p> + +<p>"He sure handled that control deck like he had been +born here, all right," said Astro. "Well, I've got to take +a look at those motors. We'll be doing something soon, +and whatever it is, we'll need those power boxes to get +us where we want to go."</p> + +<p>"Yeah," said Roger, "and I've got to get a course and +a position." He turned to the chart screen and began +plotting rapidly. Down on the control deck, Strong was +listening to Tom.</p> + +<p>" ... and Astro said we'd need the special equipment +at the space shipyards to clean out the radiation, +sir. If we took passengers aboard and it suddenly shot +up—well, we only have the three lead-lined suits to protect +us."</p> + +<p>"Very well, Corbett," replied Strong. "I've just received +orders from Commander Walters to proceed to +Mars with both ships. I'll blast off now and you three +follow along on the <i>Lady Venus</i>. Any questions?"</p> + +<p>"I don't have any, sir," Tom said, "but I'll check with +Roger and Astro to see if they have any."</p> + +<p>Tom turned to the intercom and informed the radar +and power-deck cadets of their orders, and asked if +there were any questions. Both replied that everything +on the ship was ready to blast off immediately. Tom +turned back to the teleceiver.</p> + +<p>"No questions, sir," reported Tom. "We're all set to +blast off."</p> + +<p>"Very well, Corbett," said Strong. "I'm going to make +as much speed as possible to get these people on Mars. +The crew of the <i>Lady Venus</i> will take over the radar +and power decks." +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span></p> + +<p>"O.K., sir, and spaceman's luck!" said Tom. "We'll see +you on Mars!"</p> + +<p>Tom stood beside the crystal port on the control deck +and watched the rocket cruiser <i>Polaris</i>' stern glow red +from her jets, and then quickly disappear into the vastness +of space, visible only as a white blip on the radar +scanner.</p> + +<p>"Get me a course to Mars, Roger," said Tom. "Astro, +stand by to blast off with as much speed as you can +safely get out of this old wagon, and stand by for +Mars!"</p> + +<p>The two cadets quickly reported their departments +ready, and following the course Roger plotted, Astro +soon had the <i>Lady Venus</i> blasting through space, heading +for Mars!</p> + +<p>Mars, fourth planet in order from the Sun, loomed +like a giant red gem against a perfect backdrop of deep-black +space. The <i>Lady Venus</i>, rocketing through the +inky blackness, a dull red glow from her three remaining +rockets, blasted steadily ahead to the planet that +was crisscrossed with wide spacious canals.</p> + +<p>"Last time I was on Mars," said Astro to Tom and +Roger over a cup of tea, "was about two years ago. I +was bucking rockets on an old tub called the <i>Space +Plunger</i>. It was on a shuttle run from the Martian south +pole to Venusport, hauling vegetables. What a life! +Burning up on Venus and then freezing half to death +at the south pole on Mars." Astro shook his head as the +vivid memory took him back for a moment.</p> + +<p>"From what I hear," said Tom, "there isn't much to +see but the few cities, the mountains, the deserts and +the canals."</p> + +<p>"Yeah," commented Roger, "big deal! Rocket into the +wild depths of space and see the greatest hunk of +wasteland in the universe!" +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span></p> + +<p>The three boys were silent, listening to the steady +hum of the rockets, driving them forward toward +Mars. For four days they had traveled on the <i>Lady +Venus</i>, enjoying the many luxuries found on the passenger +ship. Now, with their destination only a few +hours away, they were having a light snack before +making a touchdown on Mars.</p> + +<p>"You know," said Tom quietly, "I've been thinking. +As far back as the twentieth century, Earthmen have +wanted to get to Mars. And finally they did. And what +have they found? Nothing but a planet full of dry sand, +a few canals and dwarf mountains."</p> + +<p>"That's exactly what I've been saying!" said Roger. +"The only man who ever got anything out of all this +was the first man to make it to Mars and return. He got +the name, the glory, and a paragraph in a history book! +And after that, nothing!" He got up and climbed the +ladder to the radar deck, leaving Astro and Tom alone.</p> + +<p>Suddenly the ship lurched to one side.</p> + +<p>"What's that?" cried Tom.</p> + +<p>A bell began to ring. Then another—and then three +more. Finally the entire ship was vibrating with the +clanging of emergency bells.</p> + +<p>Astro made a diving leap for the ladder leading down +to the power deck, with Tom lunging for the control +board.</p> + +<p>Quickly Tom glanced about the huge board with its +many different gauges and dials, searching for the one +that would indicate the trouble. His eye spotted a huge +gauge. A small light beside it flashed off and on. "By +the moons of Jupiter, we've run out of reactant fuel!"</p> + +<p>"Tom!—Tom!" shouted Astro from the power deck. +"We're smack out of reactant feed!"</p> + +<p>"Isn't there any left at all?" asked Tom. "Not even +enough to get us into Marsopolis?" +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span></p> + +<p>"We haven't enough left to keep the generator going!" +said Astro. "Everything, including the lights and +the teleceiver, will go any minute!"</p> + +<p>"Then we can't change course!"</p> + +<p>"Right," drawled Roger. "And if we can't change +course, the one we're on now will take us straight into +Mars's gravity and we crash!"</p> + +<p>"Send out an emergency call right away, Roger," +said Tom.</p> + +<p>"Can't, spaceboy," replied Roger in his lazy drawl. +"Not enough juice to call for help. Or haven't you noticed +you're standing in the dark?"</p> + +<p>"But how—how could this happen?" asked Tom, puzzled. +"We were only going at half speed and using just +three rockets!"</p> + +<p>"When we got rid of that hot tube back in space," +explained Astro grimly, "we dumped the main reactant +mass. There isn't a thing we can do!"</p> + +<p>"We've got one choice," said Tom hollowly. "We can +either pile out now, in space suits and use the jet boat, +and hope for someone to pick us up before the oxygen +gives out, or we can ride this space wagon right on in. +Make up your minds quick, we're already inside Mars's +gravity pull!"</p> + +<p>There was a pause, then Astro's voice filled the control +deck. "I'll ride this baby right to the bottom. If I'm +going to splash in, I'll take it on solid ground, even if it +is Mars and not Venus. I don't want to wash out in +space!"</p> + +<p>"That goes for me, too," said Roger.</p> + +<p>"O.K.," said Tom. "Here we go. Just keep your fingers +crossed that we hit the desert instead of the mountains, +or we'll be smeared across those rocks like applesauce. +Spaceman's luck, fellas!"</p> + +<p>"Spaceman's luck, both of you," said Astro. +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Just plain ordinary luck," commented Roger, "and +plenty of it!"</p> + +<p>The three boys quickly strapped themselves into acceleration +seats, with Tom hooking up an emergency +relay switch that he could hold in his hand. He hoped +he would remain conscious long enough to throw the +switch and start the water sprinkler in case the ship +caught fire.</p> + +<p>The <i>Lady Venus</i> flashed into the thin atmosphere +from the void of space and the three cadets imagined +that they could hear the shriek of the ship as it cut +through the thin air. Tom figured his speed rapidly, +and counting on the thinness of the atmosphere, he estimated +that it would take eleven seconds for the ship +to crash. He began to count.</p> + +<p>" ... One—two—three—four—five—" he thought +briefly of his family and how nice they had been to him +" ... six—seven—eight—nine—ten—"</p> + +<p>The ship crashed.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> +<img src="images/im174.png" width="400" height="117" alt="im174" title="" /> + +</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span></p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_17" id="CHAPTER_17"></a>CHAPTER 17</h2> + +<p>"Astro! Roger!" yelled Tom. He opened his eyes and +then felt the weight on his chest. A section of the control +board had fallen across him pinning his left arm to +his side. He reached for the railing around the acceleration +chair with his right and discovered he still held +the switch for the water sprinkler. He started to flip it +on, then sniffed the air, and smelling no trace of smoke, +dropped the switch. He unstrapped himself from the +acceleration chair with his right hand and then slowly, +with great effort, pushed the section of the control +board off him. He stood up rubbing his left arm.</p> + +<p>"Astro? Roger?!" he called again, and scrambled over +the broken equipment that was strewn over the deck. +He stumbled over more rubble that was once a precision +instrument panel and climbed the ladder leading +to the radar deck.</p> + +<p>"Roger!" he yelled. "Roger, are you all right?" He +pushed several shattered instruments out of the way +and looked around the shambles that once had been a +room. He didn't see Roger.</p> + +<p>He began to scramble through the litter on the deck, +kicking aside instruments that were nearly priceless, +so delicately were they made. Suddenly a wave of cold +fear gripped him and he began tearing through the +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span>rubble desperately. From beneath a heavy tube casing, +he could see the outstretched arm of Roger.</p> + +<p>He squatted down, bending his legs and keeping his +back straight. Then gripping the heavy casing on one +side, he tried to stand up. It was too much for him. He +lifted it three inches and then had to let go.</p> + +<p>"Tom! Roger!" Tom heard the bull-like roar of Astro +below him and stumbled over to the head of the ladder.</p> + +<p>"Up here, Astro," he yelled, "on the radar deck. Roger's +pinned under the radar scanner casing!"</p> + +<p>Tom turned back to the casing, and looking around +the littered deck desperately, grabbed an eight-foot +length of steel pipe that had been snapped off like a +twig by the force of the crash.</p> + +<p>Barely able to lift it, he shoved it with all his strength +to get the end of the pipe beneath the casing.</p> + +<p>"Here, let me get at that thing," growled Astro from +behind. Tom stepped back, half falling out of the Venusian's +way, and watched as Astro got down on his +hands and knees, putting his shoulder against the case. +He lifted it about three inches, then slowly, still balancing +the weight on his shoulder, shifted his position, +braced it with his hands and began to straighten up. +The casing came up from the floor as the huge cadet +strained against it.</p> + +<p>"All—right—Tom—" he gasped, "see if you can get +a hold on Roger and pull him out!"</p> + +<p>Tom scrambled back and grabbed Roger's uniform. +He pulled, and slowly the cadet's form slid from beneath +the casing.</p> + +<p>"All right, Astro," said Tom, "I've got 'im."</p> + +<p>Astro began to lower the casing in the same manner +in which he had lifted it. He eased it back down to the +floor on his knees and dropped it the last few inches. +He sat on the floor beside it and hung his head between +his knees.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Are you all right, Astro?" asked Tom.</p> + +<p>"Never mind me," panted Astro between deep gasps +for breath, "just see if hot-shot is O.K."</p> + +<p>Tom quickly ran his hands up and down Roger's +arms and legs, his chest, collarbone and at last, with +gently probing fingers, his head.</p> + +<p>"No broken bones," he said, still looking at Roger, +"but I don't know about internal injuries."</p> + +<p>"He wasn't pinned under that thing," said Astro at +last. "It was resting on a beam. No weight was on him."</p> + +<p>"Uh—huh—ahhh—uhhhh," moaned Roger.</p> + +<p>"Roger," said Tom gently, "Roger, are you all right?"</p> + +<p>"Uh—huh?—Ohhhh! My head!"</p> + +<p>"Take it easy, hot-shot," said Astro, "that head of +yours is O.K. Nothing—but <i>nothing</i> could hurt it!"</p> + +<p>"Ooohhhh!" groaned Roger, sitting up. "I don't know +which is worse, feeling the way I do, or waking up and +listening to you again!"</p> + +<p>Tom sat back with a smile. Roger's remark clinched +it. No one was hurt.</p> + +<p>"Well," said Astro at last, "where do we go from +here?"</p> + +<p>"First thing I suggest we do is take a survey and see +what's left," said Tom.</p> + +<p>"I came up from the power deck," said Astro, "all the +way through the ship. You see this radar deck?" He +made a sweeping gesture around the room that looked +like a junk heap. "Well, it's in good shape, compared to +the rest of the ship. The power deck has the rocket motors +where the master panel should be and the panel is +ready to go into what's left of the reactant chamber. +The jet boat is nothing but a worthless piece of junk!"</p> + +<p>The three boys considered the fate of the jet boat +soberly. Finally Astro broke the silence with a question. +"Where do you think we are?"</p> + +<p>"Somewhere in the New Sahara desert," answered +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span>Tom. "I had the chart projector on just before we +splashed in, but I can't tell you any more than that."</p> + +<p>"Well, at least we have plenty of water," sighed +Roger.</p> + +<p>"You <i>had</i> plenty of water. The tanks were smashed +when we came in. Not even a puddle left in a corner."</p> + +<p>"Of course it might rain," said Roger.</p> + +<p>Tom gave a short laugh. "The last time it rained in +this place dinosaurs were roaming around on Earth!"</p> + +<p>"How about food?" asked Roger.</p> + +<p>"Plenty of that," answered Astro. "This is a passenger +ship, remember! They have everything you could ask +for, including smoked Venusian fatfish!"</p> + +<p>"Then let's get out of here and take a look," said Tom.</p> + +<p>The three bruised but otherwise healthy cadets +climbed slowly down to the control deck and headed +for the galley, where Tom found six plastic containers +of Martian water.</p> + +<p>"Spaceman, this is the biggest hunk of luck we've +had in the last two hours," said Roger, taking one of the +containers.</p> + +<p>"Why two hours, Roger?" asked Astro, puzzled.</p> + +<p>"Two hours ago we were still in space expecting to +splash in," said Tom. He opened one of the containers +and offered it to Astro. "Take it easy, Astro," said Tom. +"Unless we find something else to drink, this might have +to last a long time."</p> + +<p>"Yeah," said Roger, "a <i>long</i> time. I've been thinking +about our chances of getting out of this mess."</p> + +<p>"Well," asked Astro, "what has the great Manning +brain figured out?"</p> + +<p>"There's no chance at all," said Roger slowly. "You're +wrong, Corbett, about this being midday. It's early +morning!" He pointed to a chronometer on the bulkhead +behind Astro. "It's still running. I made a mental +note before we splashed in, it was eight-O-seven. That +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span>clock says nine-O-three. It doesn't begin to get hot here +until three o'clock in the afternoon."</p> + +<p>"I think you're wrong two ways," said Tom. "In the +first place, Captain Strong probably has a unit out looking +for us right now. And in the second place, as long +as we stay with the ship, we've got shade. That sun is +only bad because the atmosphere is thinner here on +Mars, and easier to burn through. But if we stay out of +the sun, we're O.K. Just sit back and wait for Strong!"</p> + +<p>Roger shrugged his shoulders.</p> + +<p>"Well," commented Astro with a grin, "I'm not going +to sit around waiting for Strong without eating!" He +tore open a plastic package of roast-beef sandwiches +and began eating. Tom measured out three small cups +of Martian water.</p> + +<p>"After we eat," suggested Roger, "I think we ought +to take a look around outside and try to set up an identification +signal."</p> + +<p>"That's a good idea," said Tom, "but don't you think +the ship itself is big enough for that?"</p> + +<p>"Yeah," answered Roger, "I guess you're right."</p> + +<p>"Boy!" said Astro. "We sure are lucky to still be able +to argue."</p> + +<p>"That's about all you can call it. Luck! Spaceman's +luck!" said Tom. "The only reason I can figure why we +didn't wind up as permanent part of the scenery +around here is because of the course we were on."</p> + +<p>"How do you figure that?" asked Astro.</p> + +<p>"Luckily—and I <i>mean</i> luckily, we were on a course +that took us smack onto the surface of Mars. And our +speed was great enough to resist the gravity pull of the +planet, keeping us horizontal with the surface of the +desert. We skidded in like a kid does on a sled, instead +of coming in on our nose!"</p> + +<p>"Well, blast my jets!" said Astro softly. +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span></p> + +<p>"In that case," said Roger, "we must have left a +pretty long skid mark in back of us!"</p> + +<p>"That should be easy to see when the jet scouts come +looking for us," commented Astro.</p> + +<p>"I wonder if we could rig up some sort of emergency +signal so we could send out a relative position?"</p> + +<p>"How are you going to get the position?" asked +Astro.</p> + +<p>"I can give you some sort of position as soon as I get +outside and take a sight on the sun," replied Roger.</p> + +<p>"Can you do it without your astrogation prism?" +asked Astro.</p> + +<p>"Navigation, not astrogation, Astro," said Roger. +"Like the ancient sailors used on the oceans back on +Earth hundreds of years ago. Only thing is, I'll have to +work up the logarithms by hand, instead of using the +computer. Might be a little rough, but it'll be close +enough for what we want."</p> + +<p>The three cadets finished the remaining sandwiches +and then picked their way back through the ship to the +control deck. There, they rummaged through the pile +of broken and shattered instruments.</p> + +<p>"If we could find just one tube that hasn't been damaged, +I think I might be able to rig up some sort of one-lung +communications set," said Roger. "It might have +enough range to get a message to the nearest atmosphere +booster station."</p> + +<p>"Nothing but a pile of junk here, Roger," said Tom. +"We might find something on the radar deck."</p> + +<p>The three members of the <i>Polaris</i> unit climbed over +the rubble and made their way to the radar deck, and +started their search for an undamaged tube. After +forty-five minutes of searching, Roger stood up in disgust.</p> + +<p>"Nothing!" he said sourly. +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span></p> + +<p>"That kills any hope of getting a message out," said +Tom.</p> + +<p>"By the craters of Luna," said Astro, wiping his forehead. +"I didn't notice it before, but it's getting hotter +here than on the power deck on a trip to Mercury!"</p> + +<p>"Do we have any flares?" asked Roger.</p> + +<p>"Naw. Al James used them all," answered Tom.</p> + +<p>"That does it," said Roger. "In another couple of +hours, when and if anyone shows up, all they'll find is +three space cadets fried on the half shell of a spaceship!"</p> + +<p>"Listen, Roger," said Tom, "as soon as we fail to check +in, the whole Mars Solar Guard fleet will be out looking +for us. Our last report will show them we were heading +in this direction. It won't take Captain Strong long to +figure out that we might have run out of fuel, and, with +that skid mark in the sand trailing back for twenty +miles, all we have to do is stick with the ship and wait +for them to show up!"</p> + +<p>"What's that?" asked Astro sharply.</p> + +<p>From a distance, the three cadets could hear a low +moaning and wailing. They rushed to the crystal port +and looked out on the endless miles of brown sand, +stretching as far as the horizon and meeting the cloudless +blue sky. Shimmering in the heat, the New Sahara +desert of Mars was just beginning to warm up for the +day under the bleaching sun. The thin atmosphere offered +little protection against the blazing heat rays.</p> + +<p>"Nothing but sand," said Tom. "Maybe something is +still hot on the power deck." He looked at Astro.</p> + +<p>"I checked it before I came topside," said Astro. "I've +heard that noise before. It can only mean one thing."</p> + +<p>"What's that?" asked Roger.</p> + +<p>Astro turned quickly and walked to the opposite side +of the littered control deck. He pushed a pile of junk +out of the way for a clear view of the outside. +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span></p> + +<p>"There's your answer," said Astro, pointing at the +port.</p> + +<p>"By the rings of Saturn, look at that!" cried Tom.</p> + +<p>"Yeah," said Roger, "black as the fingernails of a +Titan miner!"</p> + +<p>"That's a sandstorm," Astro said finally. "It blows as +long as a week and can pile up sand for two hundred +feet. Sometimes the velocity reaches as much as a hundred +and sixty miles an hour. Once, in the south, we +got caught in one, and it was so bad we had to blast off. +And it took all the power we had to do it!"</p> + +<p>The three cadets stood transfixed as they gazed +through the crystal port at the oncoming storm. The +tremendous black cloud rolled toward the spaceship in +huge folds that billowed upward and back in three-thousand-foot +waves. The roar and wail of the wind +grew louder, rising in pitch until it was a shrill scream.</p> + +<p>"We'd better get down to the power deck," said Tom, +"and take some oxygen bottles along with us, just in +case. Astro, bring the rest of the Martian water and +you grab several of those containers of food, Roger. +We might be holed in for a long time."</p> + +<p>"Why go down to the power deck?" asked Roger.</p> + +<p>"There's a huge hole in the upper part of the ship's +hull. That sand will come in here by the ton and there's +nothing to stop it," Tom answered Roger, but kept his +eyes on the churning black cloud. Already, the first +gusts of wind were lashing at the stricken <i>Lady Venus</i>.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> +<img src="images/im182.png" width="400" height="117" alt="im182" title="" /> +</div> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span></p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_18" id="CHAPTER_18"></a>CHAPTER 18</h2> + +<p>"You think it'll last much longer?" asked Astro.</p> + +<p>"I don't know, old fellow," replied Tom.</p> + +<p>"You know, sometimes you can hear the wind even +through the skin of the ship," commented Roger.</p> + +<p>For two days the cadets of the <i>Polaris</i> unit had been +held prisoner in the power deck while the violence of +the New Sahara sandstorm raged around them outside +the ship. For a thousand square miles the desert was a +black cloud of churning sand, sweeping across the surface +of Mars like a giant shroud.</p> + +<p>After many attempts to repair a small generator, Astro +finally succeeded, only to discover that he had no +means of running the unit. His plan was to relieve the +rapidly weakening emergency batteries with a more +steady source of power.</p> + +<p>While Astro occupied himself repairing the generator, +Tom and Roger had slept, but after the first day, +when sleep would no longer come, they resorted to +playing checkers with washers and nuts on a board +scratched on the deck.</p> + +<p>"Think it's going to let up soon?" asked Roger.</p> + +<p>"They've been known to last for a week or more," +said Astro.</p> + +<p>"Wonder if Strong has discovered we're missing?" +mused Roger. +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Sure he has," replied Tom. "He's a real spaceman. +Can smell out trouble like a telemetered alarm system."</p> + +<p>Astro got up and stretched. "I'll bet we're out of this +five hours after the sand settles down."</p> + +<p>The big Venusian walked to the side of the power +deck and pressed his ear against the hull, listening for +the sound of the wind.</p> + +<p>After a few seconds he turned back. "I can't hear a +thing, fellas. I have a feeling it's about played itself +out."</p> + +<p>"Of course," reasoned Tom, "we have no real way of +knowing when it's stopped and when it hasn't."</p> + +<p>"Want to open the hatch and take a look?" asked +Astro.</p> + +<p>Tom looked questioningly at Roger, who nodded his +head in agreement.</p> + +<p>Tom walked over to the hatch and began undogging +the heavy door. As the last of the heavy metal bars +were raised, sand began to trickle inside around the +edges. Astro bent down and sifted a handful through +his fingers. "It's so fine, it's like powder," he said as it +fell to the deck in a fine cloud.</p> + +<p>"Come on," said Tom, "give me a hand with this +hatch. It's probably jammed up against sand on the +other side."</p> + +<p>Tom, Roger and Astro braced their shoulders against +the door, but when they tried to push, they lost their +footing and slipped down. Astro dragged over a section +of lead baffle, jammed it between the rocket motors and +placed his feet up against it. Tom and Roger got on either +side of him and pressed their shoulders against the +door.</p> + +<p>"All right," said Tom. "When I give the word, let's all +push together. Ready?"</p> + +<p>"All set," said Astro.</p> + +<p>"Let's go," said Roger. +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span></p> + +<p>"O.K.—then—one—two—three—<i>push</i>!"</p> + +<p>Together, the three cadets strained against the heavy +steel hatch. The muscles in Astro's legs bulged into +knots as he applied his great weight and strength +against the door. Roger, his face twisted into a grimace +from the effort, finally slumped to the floor, gasping +for breath.</p> + +<p>"Roger," asked Tom quickly, "are you all right?"</p> + +<p>Roger nodded his head but stayed where he was, +breathing deeply. Finally recovering his strength, he +rose and stood up against the hatch with his two unit-mates.</p> + +<p>"You and Roger just give a steady pressure, Tom," +said Astro. "Don't try to push it all at once. Slow and +steady does it! That way you get more out of your +effort."</p> + +<p>"O.K.," said Tom. Roger nodded. Again they braced +themselves against the hatch.</p> + +<p>"One—two—three—<i>push</i>!" counted Tom.</p> + +<p>Slowly, applying the pressure evenly, they heaved +against the steel hatch. Tom's head swam dizzily, as the +blood raced through his veins.</p> + +<p>"Keep going," gasped Astro. "I think it's giving a +little!"</p> + +<p>Tom and Roger pushed with the last ounce of +strength in their bodies, and after a final desperate effort, +slumped to the floor breathless. Astro continued to +push, but a moment later, relaxed and slipped down +beside Tom and Roger.</p> + +<p>They sat on the deck for nearly five minutes gasping +for air.</p> + +<p>"Like—" began Roger, "like father—like son!" He +blurted the words out bitterly.</p> + +<p>"Like who?" asked Astro.</p> + +<p>"Like my father," said Roger in a hard voice. He got +up and walked unsteadily over to the oxygen bottle and +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span>kicked it. "Empty!" he said with a harsh laugh. "Empty +and we only have one more bottle. Empty as my head +the day I got into this space-happy outfit!"</p> + +<p>"You going to start that again!" growled Astro. "I +thought you had grown out of your childish bellyaching +about the Academy." Astro eyed the blond cadet +with a cold eye. "And now, just because you're in a +tough spot, you start whining again!"</p> + +<p>"Knock it off, Astro," snapped Tom. "Come on. Let's +give this hatch another try. I think it gave a little on +that last push."</p> + +<p>"Never-say-die Corbett!" snarled Roger. "Let's +give it the old try for dear old Space Academy!"</p> + +<p>Tom whirled around and stood face to face with +Manning.</p> + +<p>"I think maybe Astro's right, Roger," he said coldly. +"I think you're a foul ball, a space-gassing hot-shot that +can't take it when the chips are down!"</p> + +<p>"That's right," said Roger coldly. "I'm just what you +say! Go ahead, push against that hatch until your insides +drop out and see if you can open it!" He paused +and looked directly at Tom. "If that sand has penetrated +inside the ship far enough and heavily enough to jam +that hatch, you can imagine what is on top, outside! A +mountain of sand! And we're buried under it with +about eight hours of oxygen left!"</p> + +<p>Tom and Astro were silent, thinking about the truth +in Roger's words. Roger walked slowly across the deck +and stood in front of them defiantly.</p> + +<p>"You were counting on the ship being spotted by +Captain Strong or part of a supposed searching party! +Ha! What makes you think three cadets are so important +that the Solar Guard will take time out to look for +us? And if they <i>do</i> come looking for us, the only thing +left up there now"—he pointed his finger over his head—"is +a pile of sand like any other sand dune on this +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span>crummy planet. We're stuck, Corbett, so lay off that +last chance, do-or-die routine. I've been eating glory +all my life. If I do have to splash in now, I want it to be +on my own terms. And that's to just sit here and wait +for it to come. And if they pin the Medal—the Solar +Medal—on me, I'm going to be up there where all good +spacemen go, having the last laugh, when they put my +name alongside my father's!"</p> + +<p>"Your father's?" asked Tom bewilderedly.</p> + +<p>"Yeah, my father. Kenneth Rogers Manning, Captain +in the Solar Guard. Graduate of Space Academy, class +of 2329, killed while on duty in space, June 2335. +Awarded the Solar Medal <i>posthumously</i>. Leaving a +widow and one son, <i>me</i>!"</p> + +<p>Astro and Tom looked at each other dumfounded.</p> + +<p>"Surprised, huh?" Roger's voice grew bitter. "Maybe +that clears up a few things for you. Like why I never +missed on an exam. I never missed because I've lived +with Academy textbooks since I was old enough to +read. Or why I wanted the radar deck instead of the +control deck. I didn't want to have to make a decision! +My father had to make a decision once. As skipper and +pilot of the ship he decided to save a crewman's life. +He died saving a bum, a no good space-crawling rat!"</p> + +<p>Tom and Astro sat stupefied at Roger's bitter tirade. +He turned away from them and gave a short laugh.</p> + +<p>"I've lived with only one idea in my head since I was +big enough to know why other kids had fathers to play +ball with them and I didn't. To get into the Academy, +get the training and then get out and cash in! Other +kids had fathers. All I had was a lousy hunk of gold, +worth exactly five hundred credits! A Solar Medal. And +my mother! Trying to scrape by on a lousy pension that +was only enough to keep us going, but not enough to +get me the extra things other kids had. It couldn't bring +back my father!" +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span></p> + +<p>"That night—in Galaxy Hall, when you were crying—?" +asked Tom.</p> + +<p>"So eavesdropping is one of your talents too, eh, Corbett?" +asked Roger sarcastically.</p> + +<p>"Now, wait a minute, Roger," said Astro, getting up.</p> + +<p>"Stay out of this, Astro!" snapped Roger. He paused +and looked back at Tom. "Remember that night on the +monorail going into Atom City? That man Bernard +who bought dinner for us? He was a boyhood friend of +my father's. He didn't recognize me, and I didn't tell +him who I was because I didn't want you space creeps +to know that much about me. And remember, when I +gave Al James the brush in that restaurant in Atom +City? He was talking about the old days, and he might +have spilled the beans too. It all adds up, doesn't it? +I had a reason I told you and it's just this! To make +Space Academy pay me back! To train me to be one of +the best astrogators in the universe so I could go into +commercial ships and pile up credits! Plenty of credits +and have a good life, and be sure my mother had a +good life—what's left of it. And the whole thing goes +right back to when my father made the decision to let +a space rat live, and die in his place! So leave me alone +with your last big efforts—and grandstand play for +glory. From now on, keep your big fat mouth shut!"</p> + +<p>"I—I don't know what to say, Roger," began Tom.</p> + +<p>"Don't try to say anything, Tom," said Astro. There +was a coldness in his voice that made Tom turn around +and stare questioningly at the big Venusian.</p> + +<p>"You can't answer him because you came from a +good home. With a mom and pop and brother and sister. +You had it good. You were lucky, but I don't hold +it against you because you had a nice life and I didn't." +Astro continued softly, "You can't answer Mr. Hot-shot +Manning, but I can!"</p> + +<p>"What do you mean?" asked Tom. +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span></p> + +<p>"I mean that Manning doesn't know what it is to +really have it tough!"</p> + +<p>"You got a <i>real</i> hard luck story, eh, big boy?" snarled +Roger.</p> + +<p>"Yeah, I have!" growled Astro. "I got one that'll make +your life look like a spaceman's dream. At least you +<i>know</i> about your father. And you lived with your +mother. I didn't have <i>anything—nothing</i>! Did you hear +that, Manning? I didn't even have a pair of shoes, until +I found a kid at the Venusport spaceport one day and +figured his shoes would fit me. I beat the space gas out +of him and took his shoes. And then they were so tight, +they hurt my feet. I don't know who my father was, +nothing about him, except that he was a spaceman. A +rocket buster, like me. And my mother? She died when +I was born. Since I can remember, I've been on my +own. When I was twelve, I was hanging around the +spaceport day and night. I learned to buck rockets by +going aboard when the ships were cradled for repairs, +running dry runs, going through the motions, I talked +to spacemen—all who would listen to me. I lied about +my age, and because I was a big kid, I was blasting off +when I was fifteen. What little education I've got, I +picked up listening to the crew talk on long hops and +listening to every audioslide I could get my hands on. +I've had it tough. And because I <i>have</i> had it tough, I +want to forget about it. I don't want to be reminded +what it's like to be so hungry that I'd go out into jungles +and trap small animals and take a chance on meeting +a tyrannosaurus. So lay off that stuff about feeling +sorry for yourself. And about Tom being a hero, because +with all your space gas you still can't take it! And +if you don't want to fight to live, then go lie down in +the corner and just keep your big mouth shut!"</p> + +<p>Tom stood staring at the big cadet. His head jutted +forward from his shoulders, the veins in his neck standing +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span>out like thick cords. He knew Astro had been an +orphan, but he had never suspected the big cadet's life +had been anything like that which he had just described.</p> + +<p>Roger had stood perfectly still while Astro spoke. +Now, as the big cadet walked back to the hatch and +nervously began to examine the edges with his finger +tips, Roger walked over and stood behind him.</p> + +<p>"Well, you knuckle-headed orphan," said Roger, "are +you going to get us out of here, or not?"</p> + +<p>Astro whirled around, his face grim, his hands balled +into fists, ready to fight. "What's that, Mann—?" He +stopped. Roger was smiling and holding out his hand.</p> + +<p>"Whether you like it or not, you poor little waif, +you've just made yourself a friend."</p> + +<p>Tom came up to them and leaned against the door +casually. "When you two stop gawking at each other +like long-lost brothers," he said lazily, "suppose we try +to figure a way out of this dungeon."</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> +<img src="images/im190.png" width="400" height="114" alt="im190" title="" /> + +</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span></p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_19" id="CHAPTER_19"></a>CHAPTER 19</h2> + +<p>"Tom—Roger!" shouted Astro. "I think I've got it!"</p> + +<p>Astro, on his knees, pulled a long file blade away +from the hatch and jumped to his feet.</p> + +<p>"Did you cut all the way through?" asked Tom.</p> + +<p>"I don't know—at least I'm not sure," Astro replied, +looking down at the hole he had made in the hatch. +"But let's give it a try!"</p> + +<p>"Think we can force it back enough to get a good +hold on it?" asked Roger.</p> + +<p>"We'll know in a minute, Roger," said Astro. "Get +that steel bar over there and I'll try to slip it in between +the hatch and the bulkhead."</p> + +<p>Roger rummaged around in the jumble of broken +parts and tools on the opposite side of the power deck +and found the steel bar Astro wanted. After several +attempts to force the hatch open had proven futile, +Tom suggested that they try to file the hinges off the +hatch, and then attempt to slide it sideways. After +much effort, and working in shifts, they had filed +through the three hinges, and now were ready to make +a last desperate attempt to escape. Astro took the steel +bar from Roger and jammed it between the bulkhead +wall and the hatch.</p> + +<p>"No telling what we'll find on the other side," said +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span>Astro. "If the sand has covered up the ship all the way +down to here, then we'll never get out!"</p> + +<p>"Couldn't we tunnel through it to the top, if it has +filled the ship down as far as here?" asked Roger.</p> + +<p>"Not through this stuff," said Tom. "It's just like +powder."</p> + +<p>"Tom's right," said Astro. "As soon as you dig into it, +it'll fall right back in on you." He paused and looked +at the hatch thoughtfully. "No. The only way we can +get out of here is if the sand was only blown into the +deck outside and hasn't filled the rest of the ship."</p> + +<p>"Only one way to find out," said Tom.</p> + +<p>"Yeah," agreed Roger. "Let's get that hatch shoved +aside and take a look."</p> + +<p>Astro jammed the heavy steel bar farther into the +space between the hatch and the bulkhead, and then +turned back to his unit-mates.</p> + +<p>"Get that piece of pipe over there," he said. "We'll +slip it over the end of the bar and that'll give us more +leverage."</p> + +<p>Tom and Roger scrambled after the length of pipe, +slipped it over the end of the bar, and then, holding it +at either end, began to apply even pressure against the +hatch.</p> + +<p>Gradually, a half inch at a time, the heavy steel +hatch began to move sideways, sliding out and behind +the bulkhead. And as the opening grew larger the fine +powderlike sand began to fall into the power deck.</p> + +<p>"Let's move it back about a foot and a half," said +Tom. "That'll give us plenty of room to get through +and see what's on the other side."</p> + +<p>Astro and Roger nodded in agreement.</p> + +<p>Once more the three boys exerted their strength +against the pipe and applied pressure to the hatch. +Slowly, grudgingly it moved back, until there was an +eighteen-inch opening, exposing a solid wall of the desert +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span>sand. Suddenly, as if released by a hidden switch, +the sand began to pour into the power deck.</p> + +<p>"Watch out!" shouted Tom. The three boys jumped +back and looked on in dismay as the sand came rushing +through the opening. Gradually it slowed to a stop and +the pile in front of the opening rose as high as the +hatch itself.</p> + +<p>"That does it," said Tom. "Now we've got to dig +through and find out how deep that stuff is. And spacemen, +between you and me, I hope it doesn't prove too +deep!"</p> + +<p>"I've been thinking, Tom," said Roger, "suppose it's +as high as the upper decks outside? All we have to do +is keep digging it out and spreading it around the +power deck here until we can get through."</p> + +<p>"Only one thing wrong with that idea, Roger," said +Tom. "If the whole upper part of the ship is flooded +with that stuff, we won't have enough room to spread +it around."</p> + +<p>"We could always open the reaction chamber and +fill that," suggested Astro, indicating the hatch in the +floor of the power deck that lead to the reactant chamber.</p> + +<p>"I'd just as soon take my chances with sand," said +Roger, "as risk opening that hatch. The chamber is still +hot from the wildcatting reaction mass we had to +dump back in space."</p> + +<p>"Well, then, let's start digging," said Tom. He picked +up an empty grease bucket and began filling it with +sand.</p> + +<p>"You two get busy loading them, and I'll dump," +said Astro.</p> + +<p>"O.K.," replied Tom and continued digging into the +sand with his hands.</p> + +<p>"Here, use this, Tom," said Roger, offering an empty +Martian water container. +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span></p> + +<p>Slowly, the three cadets worked their way through +the pile on the deck in front of the hatch opening and +then started on the main pile in the opening itself. But +as soon as they made a little progress on the main pile, +the sand would fall right in again from the open hatch, +and after two hours of steady work, the sand in front +of the hatch still filled the entire opening. Their work +had been all for nothing. They sat down for a rest.</p> + +<p>"Let's try it a little higher up, Tom," suggested +Roger. "Maybe this stuff isn't as deep as we think."</p> + +<p>Tom nodded and stepped up, feeling around the top +of the opening. He began clawing at the sand overhead. +The sand still came pouring through the opening.</p> + +<p>"See anything?" asked Astro.</p> + +<p>"I—don't—know—" spluttered Tom as the sand slid +down burying him to his waist.</p> + +<p>"Better back up, Tom," warned Roger. "Might be a +cave-in and you'll get buried."</p> + +<p>"Wait a minute!" shouted Tom. "I think I see something!"</p> + +<p>"A light?" asked Astro eagerly.</p> + +<p>"Careful, Tom," warned Roger again.</p> + +<p>Tom clawed at the top of the pile, ignoring the sand +that was heaped around him.</p> + +<p>"I've got it," shouted Tom, struggling back into the +power deck just in time to avoid being buried under a +sudden avalanche. "There's another hatch up there, +just behind the ladder that leads into the passenger +lounge. That's the side facing the storm! And as soon as +we dig a little, the sand falls from that pile. But the +opposite side, leading to the jet-boat deck, is free and +clear!"</p> + +<p>"Then all we have to do is force our way through to +the top," said Astro.</p> + +<p>"That's all," said Tom. "We'd be here until doomsday +digging our way clear." +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span></p> + +<p>"I get it!" said Roger. "The storm filled up the side +of the ship facing that way, and that is where the passenger +lounge is. I remember now. I left the hatch open +when we came down here to the power deck, so the +sand just kept pouring in." He smiled sheepishly. "I +guess it's all my fault."</p> + +<p>"Never mind that now!" said Tom. "Take this hose +and stick it in your mouth, Astro. Breath through your +mouth and plug up your nose so you won't get it all +stopped up with sand while you pull your way +through."</p> + +<p>"I'll take this rope with me too," said Astro. "That +way I can help pull you guys up after me."</p> + +<p>"Good idea," said Roger.</p> + +<p>"As soon as you get outside the hatch here," said +Tom, "turn back this way. Keep your face up against +the bulkhead until you get to the top. Right above you +is the ladder. You can grab it to pull yourself up."</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> +<img src="images/im195.png" width="400" height="300" alt="im195" title="" /></div> + +<p>"O.K.," said Astro and took the length of hose and put +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span> +it in his mouth. Then, taking a piece of waste cotton, +he stopped up his nose and tested the hose.</p> + +<p>"Can you breathe O.K.?" asked Tom.</p> + +<p>Astro signaled that he could and stepped through the +hatch. He turned, and facing backward, began clawing +his way upward.</p> + +<p>"Keep that hose clear, Roger!" ordered Tom. "There's +about five feet of sand that he has to dig through and if +any of it gets into the hose—well—"</p> + +<p>"Don't worry, Tom," interrupted Roger. "I've got the +end of the hose right next to the oxygen bottle. He's +getting pure stuff!"</p> + +<p>Soon the big cadet was lost to view. Only the slow +movement of the hose and rope indicated that Astro was +all right. Finally the hose and rope stopped moving.</p> + +<p>Tom and Roger looked at each other, worried.</p> + +<p>"You think something might be wrong?" asked Tom.</p> + +<p>"I don't know—" Roger caught himself. "Say, look—the +rope! It's jerking—Astro's signaling!"</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> +<img src="images/im196.png" width="400" height="301" alt="im196" title="" /> + +</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span></p> + +<p>"He made it!" cried Tom.</p> + +<p>"I wonder if—" Roger suddenly picked up the end +of the hose and spoke into it. "Astro? Hey, Astro, can +you hear me?"</p> + +<p>"Sure I can." Astro's voice came back through the +hose. "Don't shout so loud! I'm not on Earth, you know. +I'm just ten feet above you!"</p> + +<p>Roger and Tom clapped each other on the shoulders +in glee.</p> + +<p>"All set down there?" called Astro, through the hose.</p> + +<p>"O.K." replied Tom.</p> + +<p>"Listen," said Astro, "when you get outside the +hatch, you'll find a pipe running along the bulkhead +right over your head. Grab that and pull yourself up. +Tie the rope around your shoulder, but leave enough of +it so the next guy can come up. We don't have any way +of getting it back down there!" he warned. "Who's +coming up first?"</p> + +<p>Tom looked at Roger.</p> + +<p>"You're stronger, Tom," said Roger. "You go up now +and then you can give Astro a hand pulling me +through."</p> + +<p>"All right," agreed Tom. He began pulling the hose +back through the sand. He took the end, cleared it out +with a few blasts from the oxygen bottle and put it in +his mouth. Then, after Roger had helped him tie the +rope around his shoulders, he stuffed his nose with the +waste cotton. He stepped to the opening. Roger gave +three quick jerks on the rope and Astro started hauling +in.</p> + +<p>With Astro's help, Tom was soon free and clear, +standing beside Astro on the jet-boat deck.</p> + +<p>"Phoooeeeey!" said Tom, spitting out the sand that +had filtered into his mouth. "I never want to do that +again!" He dusted himself off and flashed his emergency +light around the deck. "Look at that!" he said in +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span>amazement. "If we'd kept on digging, we'd have been +trapped down there for—" he paused and looked at +Astro who was grinning—"a long, long time!" He held +the light on the sand that was flowing out of the open +hatch of the passenger lounge.</p> + +<p>"Come on," urged Astro. "Let's get Roger out of +there!"</p> + +<p>They called to Roger through the hose and told him +to bring two more emergency lights and the remainder +of the Martian water. Three minutes later the <i>Polaris</i> +unit was together again.</p> + +<p>Standing on the deck beside his two unit-mates, +Roger brushed himself off and smiled. "Well," he said, +"looks like we made it!"</p> + +<p>"Yeah," said Tom, "but take a look at this!" He +walked across the jet-boat deck to the nearest window +port. What should have been a clear view of the desert +was a mass of solidly packed sand.</p> + +<p>"Oh, no!" cried Roger. "Don't tell me we have to go +through that again?"</p> + +<p>"I don't think it'll be so bad this time," said Astro.</p> + +<p>"Why not?" asked Tom.</p> + +<p>"The sand is banked the heaviest on the port side of +the ship. And the window ports on the starboard side +of the control deck were pretty high off the ground."</p> + +<p>"Well, let's not just stand here and talk about it," said +Roger. "Let's take a look!" He turned and walked +through the jet-boat deck.</p> + +<p>Tom and Astro followed the blond cadet through the +darkened passages of the dead ship, and after digging a +small pile of sand away from the control-deck hatch, +found themselves once more amid the jumble of the +wrecked instruments.</p> + +<p>For the first time in three days, the boys saw sunlight +streaking through the crystal port.</p> + +<p>"I told you," cried Astro triumphantly. +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span></p> + +<p>"But there still isn't any way out of this place!" said +Roger. "We can't break that port. It's six inches thick!"</p> + +<p>"Find me a wrench," said Astro. "I can take the +whole window port apart from inside. How do you +think they replace these things when they get +cracked?"</p> + +<p>Hurriedly searching through the rubble, Tom finally +produced a wrench and handed it to Astro. In a half +hour Astro had taken the whole section down and had +pushed the crystal outward. The air of the desert +rushed into the control room in a hot blast.</p> + +<p>"Whew!" cried Roger. "It must be at least a hundred +and twenty-five degrees out there!"</p> + +<p>"Come on. Let's take a look," said Tom. "And keep +your fingers crossed!"</p> + +<p>"Why?" asked Roger.</p> + +<p>"That we can dig enough of the sand away from the +ship to make it recognizable from the air."</p> + +<p>Following Tom's lead, Roger and Astro climbed +through the open port and out onto the sand.</p> + +<p>"Well, blast my jets!" said Astro. "You can't even tell +there was a storm."</p> + +<p>"You can't if you don't look at the ship," said Tom +bitterly. "That was the only thing around here of any +size that would offer resistance to the sand and make +it pile up. And, spaceman, look at that pile!"</p> + +<p>Astro and Roger turned to look at the spaceship. Instead +of seeing the ship, they saw a small mountain of +sand, well over a hundred feet high. They walked +around it and soon discovered that the window port in +the control deck had been the only possible way out.</p> + +<p>"Call it what you want," said Roger, "but I think it's +just plain dumb luck that we were able to get out!" He +eyed the mound of sand. Unless one knew there was a +spaceship beneath it, it would have been impossible +to distinguish it from the rest of the desert. +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span></p> + +<p>"We're not in the clear yet!" commented Astro +grimly. "It would take a hundred men at least a week +to clear away enough of that sand so search parties +could recognize it." He glanced toward the horizon. +"There isn't anything but sand here, fellows, sand that +stretches for a thousand miles in every direction."</p> + +<p>"And we've got to walk it," said Tom.</p> + +<p>"Either that or sit here and die of thirst," said Roger.</p> + +<p>"Any canals around here, Tom?" asked Astro softly.</p> + +<p>"There better be," replied Tom thoughtfully. He +turned to Roger. "If you can estimate our position, +Roger, I'll go back inside and see if I can find a chart +to plot it on. That way, we might get a direction to +start on at least."</p> + +<p>Astro glanced up at the pale-blue sky. "It's going to +be a hot day," he said softly, looking out over the flat +plain of the desert, "an awful hot day!"</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> +<img src="images/im200.png" width="400" height="117" alt="im280" title="" /> + +</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span></p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_20" id="CHAPTER_20"></a>CHAPTER 20</h2> + +<p>"Got everything we need?" asked Tom.</p> + +<p>"Everything we'll need—and about all we can safely +carry without weighing ourselves down too much," answered +Roger. "Enough food for a week, the rest of the +Martian water, space goggles to protect our eyes from +the sun and emergency lights for each of us."</p> + +<p>"Not much to walk a hundred and fifty miles on," +offered Astro. "Too bad the sand got in the galley and +messed up the rest of that good food."</p> + +<p>"We'll have plenty to get us by—if my calculations +are right," said Tom. "One hundred and fifty-four miles +to be exact."</p> + +<p>"<i>Exact</i> only as far as my sun sight told me," said +Roger.</p> + +<p>"Do you think it's right?" asked Tom.</p> + +<p>"I'll answer you this way," Roger replied. "I took +that sight six times in a half hour and got a mean average +on all of them that came out within a few miles of +each other. If I'm wrong, I'm very wrong, but if I'm +right, we're within three to five miles of the position I +gave you."</p> + +<p>"That's good enough for me," said Astro. "If we're +going out there"—he pointed toward the desert—"instead +of sitting around here waiting for Strong or someone +to show up, then I'd just as soon go now!" +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Wait a minute, fellas. Let's get this straight," said +Tom. "We're all agreed that the odds on Captain +Strong's showing up here before our water runs out +are too great to risk it, and that we'll try to reach the +nearest canal. The most important thing in this place +is water. If we stay and the water we have runs out, +we're done for. If we go, we might not reach the canal—and +the chance of being spotted in the desert is even +smaller than if we wait here at the ship." He paused. +"So we move on?" He looked at the others. Astro +nodded and looked at Roger, who bobbed his head in +agreement.</p> + +<p>"O.K., then," said Tom, "it's settled. We'll move at +night when it's cool, and try to rest during the day +when it's the hottest."</p> + +<p>Roger looked up at the blazing white sphere in the +pale-blue sky that burned down relentlessly. "I figure +we have about six hours before she drops for the day," +he said.</p> + +<p>"Then let's go back inside the ship and get some +rest," he said.</p> + +<p>Without another word, the three cadets climbed +back inside the ship and made places for themselves +amid the littered deck of the control room. A hot wind +blew out of the New Sahara through the open port like +a breath of fire. Stripped to their shorts, the three boys +lay around the deck unable to sleep, each thinking +quietly about the task ahead, each remembering stories +of the early pioneers who first reached Mars. In the +mad rush for the uranium-yielding pitchblende, they +had swarmed over the deserts toward the dwarf +mountains by the thousands. Greedy, thinking only of +the fortunes that could be torn from the rugged little +mountains, they had come unprepared for the heat of +the Martian deserts and nine out of ten had never returned. +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span></p> + +<p>Each boy thought, too, of the dangers they had just +faced. This new danger was different. This was something +that couldn't be defeated with an idea or a sudden +lucky break. This danger was ever present—a fight +against nature, man against the elements on an alien +planet. It was a battle of endurance that would wring +the last drop of moisture mercilessly from the body, until +it became a dry, brittle husk.</p> + +<p>"Getting pretty close to sundown," said Tom finally. +He stood beside the open port and shielded his eyes +from the glare of the sun, now slowly sinking below the +Martian horizon.</p> + +<p>"I guess we'd better get going," said Roger. "All set, +Astro?"</p> + +<p>"Ready, Roger," answered the Venusian.</p> + +<p>The three boys dressed and arranged the food packs +on their backs. Tom carried the remainder of the Martian +water, two quart plastic containers, and a six-yard +square of space cloth, an extremely durable flyweight +fabric that would serve as protection from the sun during +the rest stop of the day. Roger and Astro carried +the food in compact packs on their backs. Each boy +wore a makeshift hat of space cloth, along with space +goggles, a clear sheet of colored plastic that fitted +snugly across the face. All three carried emergency +lights salvaged from the wrecked ship.</p> + +<p>Tom walked out away from the ship several hundred +yards and studied his pocket compass. He held it +steady for a moment, watching the needle swing +around. He turned and walked slowly still watching +the needle of the compass. He waited for it to steady +again, then turned back to Roger and Astro who stood +watching from the window port.</p> + +<p>"This is the way." Tom pointed away from the ship. +"Three degrees south of east, one hundred and fifty-four +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span>miles away, if everything is correct, should bring +us smack on top of a major canal."</p> + +<p>"So long, <i>Lady Venus</i>," said Astro, as he left the ship.</p> + +<p>"Don't think it hasn't been fun," added Roger, "because +it hasn't!"</p> + +<p>Astro fell in behind Roger, who in turn followed +Tom who walked some ten feet ahead. A light breeze +sprang up and blew across the surface of the powdery +sand. Ten minutes later, when they stopped to adjust +their shoulder packs, they looked back. The breeze had +obliterated their tracks and the mountain of sand covering +the spaceship appeared to be no different from any +of the other small dunes on the desert. The New Sahara +desert of Mars had claimed another Earth-ship victim.</p> + +<p>"If we can't see the <i>Lady Venus</i> standing still, and +knowing where to look," said Astro, "how could a man +in a rocket scout ever find it?"</p> + +<p>"He wouldn't," said Roger flatly. "And when the +water ran out, we'd just be sitting there."</p> + +<p>"We're losing time," said Tom. "Let's move." He +lengthened his stride through the soft sand that sucked +at his high space boots and faced the already dimming +horizon. The light breeze felt good on his face.</p> + +<hr></hr> + +<p>The three cadets had no fear of running into anything +in their march through the darkness across the +shifting sands. And only an occasional flash of the +emergency light to check the compass was necessary +to keep them moving in the right direction.</p> + +<p>There wasn't much talk. There wasn't much to talk +about. About nine o'clock the boys stopped and opened +one of the containers of food and ate a quick meal of +sandwiches. This was followed by a carefully measured +ounce of water, and fifteen minutes later they resumed +their march across the New Sahara. +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span></p> + +<p>About ten o'clock, Deimos, one of the small twin +moons of Mars, swung up overhead, washing the desert +with a pale cold light. By morning, when the cherry-red +sun broke the line of the horizon, Tom estimated +that they had walked about twenty miles.</p> + +<p>"Think we ought to camp here?" asked Astro.</p> + +<p>"If you can show me a better spot," said Roger with +a laugh, "I'll be happy to use it!" He swung his arm in +a wide circle, indicating a wasteland of sand that +spread as far as the eyes could see.</p> + +<p>"I could go for another hour or so," said Astro, "before +it gets too hot."</p> + +<p>"And wait for the heat to reach the top of the thermometer? +Uh-huh, not me," said Roger. "I'll take as +much sleep as I can get now—while it's still a little +cool."</p> + +<p>"Roger's right," said Tom. "We'd better take it easy +now. We won't be able to get much sleep after noon."</p> + +<p>"What do we do from noon until evening?" asked +Astro.</p> + +<p>"Aside from just sitting under this hunk of space +cloth, I guess we'll come as close to being roasted alive +as a human can get."</p> + +<p>"You want to eat now?" asked Astro.</p> + +<p>Tom and Roger laughed. "I'm not hungry, but you +go ahead," said Tom. "I know that appetite of yours +won't wait."</p> + +<p>"I'm not too hungry either," said Roger. "Go ahead, +you clobber-headed juice jockey."</p> + +<p>Astro grinned sheepishly, and opening one of the +containers of food, quickly wolfed down a breakfast of +smoked Venusian fatfish.</p> + +<p>Tom and Roger began spreading the space cloth on +the sand that was already hot to the touch. Anchoring +the four corners in the sand with the emergency lights +and one of Tom's boots, they propped up the center with +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span>the food packs, one on top of the other. A crude tent +was the result and both boys crawled in under, sprawling +on the sand. Astro finished eating, lay down beside +his two unit-mates, and in a moment the three cadets +were sound asleep.</p> + +<p>The sun climbed steadily over the desert while the +<i>Polaris</i> unit slept. With each hour, the heat of the desert +rose, climbing past the hundred mark, reaching one +hundred and twenty, then one hundred and thirty-five +degrees.</p> + +<p>Tom woke up with a start. He felt as if he were inside +a blazing furnace. He rolled over and saw Astro +and Roger still asleep, sweat pouring off them in +small rivulets. He started to wake them, but decided +against it and just lay still under the thin sheet of space +cloth that protected him from the sun. As light as the +fabric square was, weighing no more than a pound, +under the intense heat of the sun it felt like a woolen +blanket where it touched him. Astro rolled over and +opened his eyes.</p> + +<p>"What time is it, Tom?"</p> + +<p>"Must be about noon. How do you feel?"</p> + +<p>"I'm not sure yet. I had a dream." The big cadet +rubbed his eyes and wiped the sweat from his forehead. +"I dreamed I was being shoved into an oven—like +Hansel and Gretel in that old fairy tale."</p> + +<p>"Personally," mumbled Roger, without opening his +eyes, "I'll take Hansel and Gretel. They might be a little +more tender."</p> + +<p>"I could do with a drink," said Astro, looking at Tom.</p> + +<p>Tom hesitated. He felt that as hot as it was, it would +get still hotter and there had to be strict control of the +remainder of the water.</p> + +<p>"Try to hold out a little longer, Astro," said Tom. +"This heat hasn't really begun yet. You could drink the +whole thing and still want more." +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span></p> + +<p>"That's right, Astro," said Roger, sitting up. "Best +thing to do is just wet your tongue and lips a little. +Drinking won't do much good now."</p> + +<p>"O.K. by me," said Astro. "Well, what do we do +now?"</p> + +<p>"We sit here and we wait," answered Tom. He sat +up and held the space cloth up on his side.</p> + +<p>"You get in the middle, Astro," suggested Roger. +"Your head is up higher than mine and Tom's. You can +be the tent pole under this big top."</p> + +<p>Astro grunted and changed places with the smaller +cadet.</p> + +<p>"Think there might be a breeze if we opened up one +side of this thing?" asked Roger.</p> + +<p>"If there was a breeze," answered Tom, "it'd be so +hot, it'd be worse than what we've got inside."</p> + +<p>"It sure is going to be a hot day," said Astro softly.</p> + +<p>The thin fabric of the space cloth was enough to protect +them from the direct rays of the sun, but offered +very little protection against the heat. Soon the inside +of the tent was boiling under the relentless sun.</p> + +<p>They sat far apart, their knees pulled up, heads +bowed. Once when the heat seemed unbearable, Tom +opened one side of the cloth in a desperate hope that +it might be a little cooler outside. A blast of hot air +entered the makeshift tent and he quickly closed the +opening.</p> + +<p>About three o'clock Roger suddenly slipped backward +and lay sprawled on the sand.</p> + +<p>Tom opened one of the containers of water and +dipped his shirttail into it. Astro watched him moisten +Roger's lips and wipe his temples. In a few moments +the cadet stirred and opened his eyes.</p> + +<p>"I—I—don't know what happened," he said slowly. +"Everything started swimming and then went black."</p> + +<p>"You fainted," said Tom simply. +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span></p> + +<p>"What time is it?" asked Astro.</p> + +<p>"Sun should be dropping soon now, in another +couple of hours."</p> + +<p>They were silent again. The sun continued its journey +across the sky and at last began to slip behind the +horizon. When the last red rays stretched across the +sandy desert, the three cadets folded back the space-cloth +covering and stood up. A soft evening breeze +sprang up, refreshing them a little, and though none of +them was hungry, each boy ate a light meal.</p> + +<p>Tom opened the container of water again and measured +out about an ounce apiece.</p> + +<p>"Moisten your tongue, and sip it slowly," ordered +Tom.</p> + +<p>Roger and Astro took their share of the water and +dipped fingers in it, wiping their lips and eyelids. They +continued to do this until finally, no longer able to resist, +they took the precious water and swished it around +in their mouths before swallowing it.</p> + +<p>They folded the space cloth, shouldered their packs, +and after Tom had checked the compass, started their +long march toward their plotted destination.</p> + +<p>They had survived their first twenty-four hours in +the barren wastes of the New Sahara, with each boy +acutely aware that there was at least a week more of +the same in front of them. The sky blackened, and soon +after Deimos rose and started climbing across the +dark sky. +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span></p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_21" id="CHAPTER_21"></a>CHAPTER 21</h2> + +<p>"How much water left?" asked Astro thickly.</p> + +<p>"Enough for one more drink apiece," Tom replied.</p> + +<p>"And then what happens?" mumbled Roger through +his cracked lips.</p> + +<p>"You know what will happen, Roger—you know and +I know and Tom knows," muttered Astro grimly.</p> + +<p>For eight days they had been struggling across the +blistering shifting sands, walking by night, sweltering +under the thin space cloth during the day. Their +tongues were swollen. Scraggly beards covered their +chins and jaws. Roger's lips were cracked. The back of +Tom's neck had suffered ten minutes of direct sun and +turned into a large swollen blister. Only Astro appeared +to be bearing up under the ordeal. There was no sign +of their being close to the canal.</p> + +<p>"Wanta try marching during the day?" asked Astro. +They had broken camp on the evening of the eighth +day and were preparing to move on into the never-changing +desert.</p> + +<p>"If we don't hit the canal sometime during the night, +there might be a chance it's close enough to reach in a +couple of hours," replied Tom. "Either that, or we've +miscalculated altogether."</p> + +<p>"How about you, Roger?" asked Astro.</p> + +<p>"Whatever you guys decide, I'll be right in back of +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span>you." Roger had grown steadily weaker during the last +three days and found it difficult to sleep during the +hours of rest.</p> + +<p>"Then we'll keep marching tomorrow," said Astro.</p> + +<p>"Let's move out," said Tom. Roger and Astro shouldered +the remaining slender food packs, with Tom carrying +the water and space cloth, and they started out +into the rapidly darkening desert.</p> + +<p>Once again, as on the previous eight nights, the little +moon, Deimos, swung across the sky, casting dim shadows +ahead of the three marching boys. Tom found it +necessary to look at the compass more often. He +couldn't trust his sense of direction as much as he had +earlier. Once, he had gone for two hours in a direction +that was fifty degrees off course. The rest stops also +were more frequent now, with each boy throwing his +pack to the ground and lying flat on his back, to enjoy +the cool breeze that never failed to soothe their +scorched faces.</p> + +<p>When the sun rose out of the desert on the morning +of the ninth day, they stopped, ate a light breakfast of +preserved figs, divided the juice evenly among them, +and, ripping the space cloth into three sections, +wrapped it around themselves like Arabs and continued +to walk.</p> + +<p>By noon, with the sun directly overhead, they were +staggering. At two-thirty the sun and the heat were so +overpowering that they stopped involuntarily and tried +to sit on the hot sand only to find that they couldn't and +so they stumbled on.</p> + +<p>Neither Roger nor Astro asked for water. Finally +Tom stopped and faced his two unit-mates wobbling +on unsteady legs.</p> + +<p>"I've gone as far as I can without water. I—I don't +think I can go another step. So come on, we'll finish +what we've got." +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span></p> + +<p>Astro and Roger nodded in quiet agreement. They +watched with dull eyes as Tom carefully opened the +plastic container of water. He gave each a cup and +slowly, cautiously, measured out the remaining water +into three equal parts. He held the container up for a +full minute allowing the last drop to run out before +tossing the empty bottle to one side.</p> + +<p>"Here goes," said Tom. He wet his lips, placed a wet +finger on his temples and sipped the liquid slowly, allowing +it to trickle down his parched throat.</p> + +<p>Roger and Astro did the same. After he had wet his +lips, Astro took the full amount in his mouth and washed +it around, before swallowing it. Roger brought the cup +up slowly to his mouth with trembling hands, tipped it +shakily, and then before Astro or Tom could catch him, +fell to the ground. The precious water spilled into the +sand.</p> + +<p>Tom and Astro watched dumfounded as the dry +sand sucked away the water until nothing remained +but a damp spot six inches wide.</p> + +<p>"I guess—" began Tom, "I guess that about does it!"</p> + +<p>"We'll have to carry him," said Astro simply.</p> + +<p>Tom looked up into the eyes of his unit-mate. There +he saw a determination that would not be defeated. He +nodded his head and stooped over to grapple with Roger's +legs. He got one leg under each arm and then tried +to straighten up. He fell to the sand and rolled to one +side. Astro watched him get up slowly, wearily, his +space-cloth covering remaining on the ground, and +then, with gritted teeth, try once more to pick Roger's +legs up.</p> + +<p>Astro put out his hand and touched Tom on the +shoulder. His voice was low, hardly above a whisper. +"You lead the way, Tom. I'll carry him."</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 313px;"> +<a name="im212" id="im212"></a> +<img src="images/im212.png" width="313" height="480" +alt=""You lead the way, Tom. I'll carry him."" title="" /> +<span class="caption">"You lead the way, Tom. I'll carry him."</span> +</div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span></p> + +<p>Tom looked up at the big Venusian. Their eyes +locked for a moment and then he nodded his head and +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span> +turned away. He pulled out the pocket compass and +through blurred vision read the course beneath its wavering +needle. He waved an arm in a direction to the +right of them and staggered off.</p> + +<p>Astro stooped down, picked Roger up in his arms and +slowly got him across his shoulders. Then steadying +himself, he walked after Tom.</p> + +<p>Suddenly a blast of wind, hot as fire, swept across the +sandy plains, whipping the sand up and around the two +walking figures, biting into exposed hands and faces. +Tom tried to adjust his goggles when the sand began to +penetrate around the edges but his fingers shook and +he dropped them. In a flash, the sand drove into his +eyes, blinding him.</p> + +<p>"I can't see, Astro," said Tom in a hoarse whisper +when Astro staggered up. "You'll have to guide."</p> + +<p>Astro took the compass out of Tom's hand and then +placed his unit-mate's hand on his back. Tom gripped +the loose folds of the space cloth and uniform beneath +and struggled blindly after the big cadet.</p> + +<p>The hot sun bore down. The wind kept blowing and +Astro, with Roger slung across his back like a sack of +potatoes and Tom clinging blindly to his uniform, +walked steadily on.</p> + +<p>He felt each step would be his last, but with each +step he told himself through gritted teeth that he +could do ten more—and then ten more—ten more.</p> + +<p>He walked, he staggered, and once he fell to the +ground, Tom slumping behind him and Roger being +tossed limply to the scorching sand. Slowly Astro recovered, +helped Tom to his feet, then with the last of +his great strength, picked up Roger again. This time, +he was unable to get him to his shoulder so he carried +him like a baby in his arms.</p> + +<p>At last the sun began to drop in the red sky. Astro +felt Roger's limp body slipping from his grip. By now, +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span>Tom had lost all but the very last ounce of his strength +and was simply being pulled along.</p> + +<p>"Tom—" gasped Astro with great effort, "I'm going +to count to a thousand and then—I'm going to stop."</p> + +<p>Tom didn't answer.</p> + +<p>Astro began to count. "One—two—three—four—five—six—" +He tried to make each number become a +step forward. He closed his eyes. It wasn't important +which way he went. It was only important that he walk +those thousand steps, "five hundred eleven—five +hundred twelve—five hundred thirteen—"</p> + +<p>Involuntarily he opened his eyes when he felt himself +climbing up a small rise in the sand. He opened his +eyes and ten feet away was the flat blue surface of the +canal they had been searching for.</p> + +<p>"You can let go now, Tom," said Astro in a voice +hardly above a whisper. "We made it. We're on the +bank of the canal."</p> + +<hr></hr> + +<p>"Hey, Roger," yelled Astro from the middle of the +canal, "ever see a guy make like a submarine?"</p> + +<p>Tom and Roger sat on the top of the low bank of the +canal drying off from a swim, while Astro still splashed +around luxuriating in the cool water.</p> + +<p>"Go on," yelled Roger, "let's see you drown yourself!"</p> + +<p>"Not me, hot-shot," yelled Astro. "After that walk, all +I'd have to do is open my mouth and start drinking."</p> + +<p>Finally tiring of his sport, the big Venusian pulled +himself up onto the bank of the canal and quickly +dressed. Pulling on his space boots, he turned to Tom +and Roger, who were breaking out the last two containers +of food.</p> + +<p>"You know, Astro," said Roger quietly, "I'll never be +able to repay you for carrying me."</p> + +<p>Tom was quiet for a moment, and then added, "Same +here, Astro."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span></p> + +<p>Astro grinned from ear to ear. "Answer me this one +question, both of you. Would you have done it for me?"</p> + +<p>The two boys nodded.</p> + +<p>"Then you paid me. As long as I know I'm backed +up by two guys like you, then I'm paid. Carrying you, +Roger, was just something I could do for you at that +particular time. One of these days, when we get out of +this oven, there'll come a time when you or Tom will +do something for me—and that's the way it should be."</p> + +<p>"Thanks, Astro," said Roger. He reached over and +put his hand on top of Astro's, and then Tom placed +his hand on top of theirs. The three boys were quiet for +a moment. There was an understanding in each of them +that they had accomplished more than just survival in +a desert. They had learned to respect each other. They +were a unit at last.</p> + +<p>"What do we do next?" asked Roger.</p> + +<p>"Start walking that way," said Tom, pointing to his +left along the bank of the canal that stretched off in a +straight line to the very horizon. "If we're lucky, we +might be able to find something to use as a raft and +then we can ride."</p> + +<p>"Think there are any fish in this canal?" asked Astro, +gazing out over the cool blue water.</p> + +<p>"Doubt it. At least I've never heard of there being +any," replied Tom.</p> + +<p>"Well," said Roger, standing up, "you can go a lot +farther without food than you can without water. And +we still have that big container of ham left."</p> + +<p>"Yeah, as soon as it gets hot, we just swim instead of +walk," said Astro. "And, believe me, there's going to be +a lot of swimming done!"</p> + +<p>"Think we might strike anything down that way," +asked Roger. He looked down the canal in the direction +Tom had indicated.</p> + +<p>"That's the direction of the nearest atmosphere +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</a></span>booster station. At least that was the way it looked on +the chart. All of them were built near the canals."</p> + +<p>"How far away do you think it is?" asked Astro.</p> + +<p>"Must be at least three hundred miles."</p> + +<p>"Let's start moving," said Roger, "and hope we can +find something that'll float us on the canal."</p> + +<p>Single file, wearing the space cloths once more as +protection against the sun, they walked along the bank +of the canal. When the heat became unbearable, they +dipped the squares of space cloths into the water and +wrapped themselves in them. When they began to dry +out, they would repeat the process. At noon, when the +sun dried the fabric nearly as fast as they could wet it, +they stopped and slipped over the edge of the bank into +the cool water. Covering their heads with the cloths they +remained partly submerged until the late afternoon. +When the sun had lost some of its power, again they +climbed out and continued walking.</p> + +<p>Marching late into the night, they made camp beside +the canal, finished the last container of food, and, for the +first time since leaving the ship, slept during the night. +By the time Deimos had risen in the sky, they were +sound asleep.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> +<img src="images/im216.png" width="400" height="116" alt="im216" title="" /> +</div> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span></p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_22" id="CHAPTER_22"></a>CHAPTER 22</h2> + +<p>"Eeeeeeoooooooow!" Astro's bull-like roar shattered the +silence of the desert. "There—up ahead, Tom—Roger—a +building!"</p> + +<p>Tom and Roger stopped and strained their eyes in +the bright sunshine.</p> + +<p>"I think you're right," said Tom at last. "But I doubt +if anyone's there. Looks like an abandoned mining +shack to me."</p> + +<p>"Who wants to stand here and debate the question?" +asked Roger, and started off down the side of the canal +at a lope, with Astro and Tom right behind him.</p> + +<p>During the last three days the boys had been living +off the contents of the last remaining food container +and the few lichens they found growing along the canal. +Their strength was weakening, but with an abundant +supply of water near at hand and able to combat +the sun's heat with frequent swims, they were still in +fair condition.</p> + +<p>Tom was the first to reach the building, a one-story +structure made of dried mud from the canal. The shutters +and the door had long since been torn away by +countless sandstorms.</p> + +<p>The three boys entered the one-room building cautiously. +The floor was covered with sand, and sand was +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</a></span>piled in heaping drifts in front of the open windows +and door.</p> + +<p>"Nothing—not a thing," said Roger disgustedly. +"This place must be at least a hundred and fifty years +old."</p> + +<p>"Probably built by a miner," commented Tom.</p> + +<p>"What do you mean 'nothing'?" said Astro. "Look!"</p> + +<p>They followed Astro's pointing finger to the ceiling. +Crisscrossed, from wall to wall, were heavy wooden +beams.</p> + +<p>"Raft!" Tom cried.</p> + +<p>"That's right, spaceman," said Astro, "a raft. There's +enough wood up there to float the <i>Polaris</i>. Come +on!"</p> + +<p>Astro hurried outside, with Tom and Roger following +at his heels. They quickly climbed to the roof of the old +building and soon were ripping the beams from the +crumbling mud. Fortunately the beams had been +joined by notching the ends of the crosspieces. Astro +explained that this was necessary because of the premium +on nails when the house was built. Everything at +that time had to be hauled from Earth, and no one +wanted to pay the price heavy nails and bolts demanded.</p> + +<p>One by one, they removed the heavy beams, until +they had eight of them lined up alongside the edge of +the canal.</p> + +<p>"How do we keep them together?" asked Roger.</p> + +<p>"With this!" said Tom. He began ripping his space +cloth into long strips. Astro and Roger tugged at the +first beam. At last they had it in the water.</p> + +<p>"It floats," cried Astro. Tom and Roger couldn't help +but shout for joy. They quickly hauled the remaining +beams into the water and lashed them together. Without +hesitation, they shoved the raft into the canal, +climbing aboard and standing like conquering heroes, +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span>as the raft moved out into the main flow of the canal +and began to drift forward.</p> + +<p>"I dub thee—<i>Polaris the Second</i>," said Tom in formal +tones and gave the nearest beam a kick.</p> + +<p>Astro and Roger gave a lusty cheer.</p> + +<p>Steadily, silently, the raft bore them through the +never-changing scene of the canal's muddy banks and +the endlessness of the desert beyond.</p> + +<p>Protecting themselves from the sun during the day +by repeated dunkings in the water, they traveled day +and night in a straight course down the center of the +canal. At night, the tiny moon, Deimos, climbed across +the desert and reflected light upon the satin-smooth +water.</p> + +<p>The third day on the raft they began to feel the +pangs of hunger. And where during their march +through the desert, their thoughts were of water, now +visions of endless tables of food occupied their +thoughts. At first, they talked of their hunger, dreaming +up wild combinations of dishes and giving even +wilder estimates of how much each could consume. Finally, +discovering that talking about it only intensified +their desire, they kept a stolid silence. When the heat +became unbearable, they simply took to the water. Once +Tom's grip on the raft slipped and Roger plunged in +after him without a moment's hesitation, only to have +Astro go in to save both of them.</p> + +<p>On and on—down the canal, the three boys floated. +Days turned into nights, and nights, cooling and refreshing, +gave way to the blazing sun of the next day. +The silent desert swept past them.</p> + +<p>One night, when Astro, unable to sleep, was staring +ahead into the darkness, he heard a rustling in the water +alongside the raft. He moved slowly to the edge of +the raft and peered down into the clear water. +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span></p> + +<p>He saw a fish!</p> + +<p>The big cadet watched it dart around the raft. He +waited, his body tense. Once the fish came to the edge +of the raft, but before Astro could move his arm, it +darted off in another direction.</p> + +<p>At last the fish disappeared and Astro sank back on +the timbers. He trailed one hand over the side in the water, +and suddenly, felt the rough scales of the fish brush +his fingers. In a flash, Astro closed his hand and +snatched the wriggling creature out of the water.</p> + +<p>"Tom—Roger—" he shouted. "Look—look—a fish—I +caught a fish with my bare hands!"</p> + +<p>Tom rolled over and opened his eyes. Roger sat in +bewilderment.</p> + +<p>"I watched him—I was watching him and then he +went away. And then I held my hand over the side of +the raft and he came snooping around and—well, I just +grabbed him!"</p> + +<p>He held the fish in the viselike grip of his right hand +until it stopped moving.</p> + +<p>"You know," said Tom weakly, "I just remembered. +When we were in the Science Building in Atom City, +one of their projects was to breed both Earth and Venus +fish in the canals."</p> + +<p>"I am going to shake, personally, the hand of the man +who started this project when we get back to Atom +City," said Astro.</p> + +<p>Suddenly Roger gripped Tom's arms. He was staring +in the direction the raft was going. "Tom—" he +breathed, "Astro—look!"</p> + +<p>They turned and peered into the dusk. In the distance, +not a mile away, was the huge crystal-clear +dome of the atmosphere booster station, its roaring +atomic motors sending a steady purring sound out +across the desert. +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span></p> + +<p>"We made it," said Tom, choking back the tears. "We +made it!"</p> + +<p>"Well, blast my jets," said Astro. "We sure did!"</p> + +<hr></hr> + +<p>"And you mean to tell me, you <i>walked</i> across that +desert?" asked Captain Strong.</p> + +<p>Tom glanced over at Astro and Roger. "We sure did, +sir."</p> + +<p>"With Astro doing the last stretch to the canal carrying +me and dragging Tom," said Roger as he sipped his +hot broth.</p> + +<p>The room in the chief engineer's quarters at the atmosphere +station was crowded with workers, enlisted +Solar Guardsmen and officers of the Solar Guard. They +stood around staring in disbelief at the three disheveled +cadets.</p> + +<p>"But how did you ever survive?" asked Strong. "By +the craters of Luna, that blasted desert was hotter this +past month than it has ever been since Mars was first +colonized by Earthmen. Why—why—you were walking +through temperatures that reached a hundred and +fifty degrees!"</p> + +<p>"You don't have to convince us, sir," said Roger with +a smile. "We'll never forget it as long as we live."</p> + +<p>Later, when Tom, Roger and Astro had taken a +shower and dressed in fresh uniforms, Strong came in +with an audioscriber and the three cadets gave the full +version of their adventure for the official report back to +the Academy. When they had finished, Strong told +them of his efforts to find them.</p> + +<p>"We knew you were in trouble right away," said +Strong, "and we tracked you on radar. But that blasted +storm fouled us all up. We figured that the sand would +have covered up the ship, and that the chances of finding +you in a scout were very small, so I got permission +from Commander Walters to organize this ground +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span>search for you." He paused. "Frankly we had just about +given up hope. Took us three weeks finally to locate the +section of desert you landed in."</p> + +<p>"We knew you would come, sir," said Tom, "but we +didn't have enough water to wait for you—and we had +to leave."</p> + +<p>"Boys," said Strong slowly, "I've had a lot of wonderful +things happen to me in the Solar Guard. But I have +to confess that seeing you three space-brained idiots +clinging to that raft, ready to eat a raw fish—well, that +was just about the happiest moment of my life."</p> + +<p>"Thank you, sir," said Roger, "and I think I can speak +for Tom and Astro when I say that seeing you here +with over a hundred men, and all this equipment, +ready to start searching for us in that desert—well, it +makes us feel pretty proud to be members of an outfit +where the skipper feels that way about his crew!"</p> + +<p>"What happens now, sir?" asked Tom.</p> + +<p>"Aside from getting a well-deserved liberty, it's back +to the old grind at the Academy. The <i>Polaris</i> is at the +spaceport at Marsopolis, waiting for us." He paused +and eyed the three cadets with a smile. "I guess the +routine at Space Academy will seem a little dull now, +after what you've been through."</p> + +<p>"Captain Strong," said Astro formally, "I <i>know</i> I +speak for Tom and Roger when I say that <i>routine</i> +is all we want for a long time to come!"</p> + +<p>"Amen!" added Tom and Roger in unison.</p> + +<p>"Very well," said Strong. "<i>Polaris</i> unit—Staaaaand +<i>TO</i>!"</p> + +<p>The three boys snapped to attention.</p> + +<p>"You are hereby ordered to report aboard the <i>Polaris</i> +at fifteen hundred hours and stand by to raise ship!"</p> + +<p>He returned their salutes, turned sharply and walked +from the room.</p> + +<p>Outside, Steve Strong leaned against the wall and +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</a></span>stared through the crystal shell of the atmosphere station +into the endless desert.</p> + +<p>"Thank you, Mars," he said softly, "for making spacemen +out of the <i>Polaris</i> crew!" He saluted sharply and +walked away.</p> + +<p>Tom suddenly burst from the room with Roger and +Astro yelling after him.</p> + +<p>"Hey, Tom, where you going?" yelled Roger.</p> + +<p>"I've got to get a bottle of that water out of the canal +for my kid brother Billy!" shouted Tom and disappeared +down a slidestairs.</p> + +<p>Roger turned to Astro and said, "That's what I call a +real spaceman."</p> + +<p>"What do you mean?" asked Astro.</p> + +<p>"After what we've been through, he still remembers +that his kid brother wants a bottle of water from a canal +as a souvenir!"</p> + +<p>"Yeah," breathed Astro, "Tom Corbett is—is—a real +spaceman!"</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> +<img src="images/im223.png" width="400" height="120" alt="im223" title="" /></div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</a></span></p> +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> +<img src="images/im224.png" width="400" height="299" alt="Back Cover" title="" /></div> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Stand by for Mars!, by Carey Rockwell + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STAND BY FOR MARS! *** + +***** This file should be named 19526-h.htm or 19526-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/1/9/5/2/19526/ + +Produced by Greg Weeks, Ross Wilburn and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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Gutenberg EBook of Stand by for Mars!, by Carey Rockwell + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Stand by for Mars! + +Author: Carey Rockwell + +Illustrator: Louis Glanzman + +Release Date: October 11, 2006 [EBook #19526] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STAND BY FOR MARS! *** + + + + +Produced by Greg Weeks, Ross Wilburn and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + +STAND BY +FOR MARS! + + +[Illustration] + + + +A TOM CORBETT Space Cadet Adventure + +STAND BY +FOR MARS! + +By CAREY ROCKWELL + +WILLY LEY _Technical Adviser_ + +GROSSET & DUNLAP _Publishers_ New York + + + +COPYRIGHT, 1952, BY +ROCKHILL RADIO + +ALL RIGHTS RESERVED + +PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA + + + STAND BY FOR MARS! + +[Illustration: _The scarlet-clad figure stood before them_] + + + + +CHAPTER 1 + + +"Stand to, you rocket wash!" + +A harsh, bull-throated roar thundered over the platform of the monorail +station at Space Academy and suddenly the lively chatter and laughter of +more than a hundred boys was stilled. Tumbling out of the gleaming +monorail cars, they froze to quick attention, their eyes turned to the +main exit ramp. + +They saw a short, squat, heavily built man, wearing the scarlet uniform +of the enlisted Solar Guard, staring down at them, his fists jammed into +his hips and his feet spread wide apart. He stood there a moment, his +sharp eyes flicking over the silent clusters, then slowly sauntered down +the ramp toward them with a strangely light, catfooted tread. + +"Form up! Column of fours!" + +Almost before the echoes of the thunderous voice died down, the +scattered groups of boys had formed themselves into four ragged lines +along the platform. + +The scarlet-clad figure stood before them, his seamed and weather-beaten +face set in stern lines. But there was a glint of laughter in his eyes +as he noticed the grotesque and sometimes tortuous positions of some of +the boys as they braced themselves in what they considered a military +pose. + +Every year, for the last ten years, he had met the trains at the +monorail station. Every year, he had seen boys in their late teens, +gathered from Earth, Mars and Venus, three planets millions of miles +apart. They were dressed in many different styles of clothes; the loose +flowing robes of the lads from the Martian deserts; the knee-length +shorts and high stockings of the boys from the Venusian jungles; the +vari-colored jacket and trouser combinations of the boys from the +magnificent Earth cities. But they all had one thing in common--a dream. +All had visions of becoming Space Cadets, and later, officers in the +Solar Guard. Each dreamed of the day when he would command rocket ships +that patrolled the space lanes from the outer edges of Pluto to the +twilight zone of Mercury. They were all the same. + +"All right now! Let's get squared away!" His voice was a little more +friendly now. "My name's McKenny--Mike McKenny. Warrant Officer--Solar +Guard. See these hash marks?" + +He suddenly held out a thick arm that bulged against the tight red +sleeve. From the wrists to the elbow, the lines of boys could see a +solid corrugation of white V-shaped stripes. + +"Each one of these marks represents four years in space," he continued. +"There's ten marks here and I intend making it an even dozen! And no +bunch of Earthworms is going to make me lose the chance to get those +last two by trying to make a space monkey out of me!" + +McKenny sauntered along the line of boys with that same strange catlike +step and looked squarely into the eyes of each boy in turn. + +"Just to keep the record straight, I'm your cadet supervisor. I handle +you until you either wash out and go home, or you finally blast off and +become spacemen. If you stub your toe or cut your finger, come to me. If +you get homesick, come to me. And if you get into trouble"--he paused +momentarily--"don't bother because I'll be looking for _you_, with a +fist full of demerits!" + +McKenny continued his slow inspection of the ranks, then suddenly +stopped short. At the far end of the line, a tall, ruggedly built boy of +about eighteen, with curly brown hair and a pleasant, open face, was +stirring uncomfortably. He slowly reached down toward his right boot and +held it, while he wriggled his foot into it. McKenny quickly strode over +and planted himself firmly in front of the boy. + +"When I say stand to, I mean stand to!" he roared. + +The boy jerked himself erect and snapped to attention. + +"I--I'm sorry, sir," he stammered. "But my boot--it was coming off +and--" + +"I don't care if your pants are falling down, an order's an order!" + +The boy gulped and reddened as a nervous titter rippled through the +ranks. McKenny spun around and glared. There was immediate silence. + +"What's your name?" He turned back to the boy. + +"Corbett, sir. Cadet Candidate Tom Corbett," answered the boy. + +"Wanta be a spaceman, do ya?" asked Mike, pushing his jaw out another +inch. + +"Yes, sir!" + +"Been studying long hard hours in primary school, eh? Talked your mother +and father deaf in the ears to let you come to Space Academy and be a +spaceman! You want to feel those rockets bucking in your back out in the +stars? _EH?_" + +"Yes, sir," replied Tom, wondering how this man he didn't even know +could know so much about him. + +"_Well, you won't make it_ if I ever catch you disobeying orders again!" + +McKenny turned quickly to see what effect he had created on the others. +The lines of bewildered faces satisfied him that his old trick of using +one of the cadets as an example was a success. He turned back to +Corbett. + +"The only reason I'm not logging you now is because you're not a Space +Cadet yet--and won't be, until you've taken the Academy oath!" + +"Yes, sir!" + +McKenny walked down the line and across the platform to an open +teleceiver booth. The ranks were quiet and motionless, and as he made +his call, McKenny smiled. Finally, when the tension seemed unbearable, +he roared, "At ease!" and closed the door of the booth. + +The ranks melted immediately and the boys fell into chattering clusters, +their voices low, and they occasionally peered over their shoulders at +Corbett as if he had suddenly been stricken with a horrible plague. + +Brooding over the seeming ill-fortune that had called McKenny's +attention to him at the wrong time, Tom sat down on his suitcase to +adjust his boot. He shook his head slowly. He had heard Space Academy +was tough, tougher than any other school in the world, but he didn't +expect the stern discipline to begin so soon. + +"This could be the beginning of the end," drawled a lazy voice in back +of Tom, "for some of the more enthusiastic cadets." Someone laughed. + +Tom turned to see a boy about his own age, weight and height, with +close-cropped blond hair that stood up brushlike all over his head. He +was lounging idly against a pillar, luggage piled high around his feet. +Tom recognized him immediately as Roger Manning, and his pleasant +features twisted into a scowl. + +"About what I'd expect from that character," he thought, "after the +trick he pulled on Astro, that big fellow from Venus." + +Tom's thoughts were of the night before, when the connecting links of +transportation from all over the Solar Alliance had deposited the boys +in the Central Station at Atom City where they were to board the +monorail express for the final lap to Space Academy. + +Manning, as Tom remembered it, had taken advantage of the huge Venusian +by tricking him into carrying his luggage. Reasoning that since the +gravity of Venus was considerably less than that of Earth, he convinced +Astro that he needed the extra weight to maintain his balance. It had +been a cheap trick, but no one had wanted to challenge the sharpness of +Manning's tongue and come to Astro's rescue. Tom had wanted to, but +refrained when he saw that Astro didn't mind. + +Finishing his conversation on the teleceiver, McKenny stepped out of the +booth and faced the boys again. + +"All right," he bawled. "They're all set for you at the Academy! Pick up +your gear and follow me!" With a quick light step, he hopped on the +rolling slidewalk at the edge of the platform and started moving away. + +"Hey, Astro!" Roger Manning stopped the huge boy about to step over. +"Going to carry my bags?" + +The Venusian, a full head taller, hesitated and looked doubtfully at the +four suitcases at Roger's feet. + +"Come on," prodded Roger in a tone of mock good nature. "The gravity +around here is the same as in Atom City. It's the same all over the face +of the Earth. Wouldn't want you to just fly away." He snickered and +looked around, winking broadly. + +Astro still hesitated, "I don't know, Manning. I--uhh--" + +"By the rings of Saturn! What's going on here?" Suddenly from outside +the ring of boys that had gathered around, McKenny came roaring in, +bulling his way to the center of the group to face Roger and Astro. + +"I have a strained wrist, sir," began Roger smoothly. + +"And this cadet candidate"--he nodded casually toward Astro--"offered to +carry my luggage. Now he refuses." + +Mike glared at Astro. "Did you agree to carry this man's luggage?" + +"Well--I--ah--" fumbled Astro. + +"Well? Did you or didn't you?" + +"I guess I sorta did, sir," replied Astro, his face turning a slow red. + +"I don't hold with anyone doing another man's work, but if a Solar Guard +officer, a Space Cadet, or even a cadet candidate gives his word he'll +do something, he does it!" McKenny shook a finger in Astro's face, +reaching up to do it. "Is that clear?" + +"Yes, sir," was the embarrassed reply. + +McKenny turned to Manning who stood listening, a faint smile playing on +his lips. + +"What's your name, Mister?" + +"Manning. Roger Manning," he answered easily. + +"So you've got a strained wrist, have you?" asked Mike mockingly while +sending a sweeping glance from top to bottom of the gaudy colored +clothes. + +"Yes, sir." + +"Can't carry your own luggage, eh?" + +"Yes," answered Roger evenly. "I could carry my own luggage. I thought +the candidate from Venus might give me a helping hand. Nothing more. I +certainly didn't intend for him to become a marked man for a simple +gesture of comradeship." He glanced past McKenny toward the other boys +and added softly, "And comradeship _is_ the spirit of Space Academy, +isn't it, sir?" + +His face suddenly crimson, McKenny spluttered, searching for a ready +answer, then turned away abruptly. + +"What are you all standing around for?" he roared. "Get your gear and +yourselves over on that slidewalk! Blast!" He turned once again to the +rolling platform. Manning smiled at Astro and hopped nimbly onto the +slidewalk after McKenny, leaving his luggage in a heap in front of +Astro. + +"And be careful with that small case, Astro," he called as he drifted +away. + +"Here, Astro," said Tom. "I'll give you a hand." + +"Never mind," replied Astro grimly. "I can carry 'em." + +"No, let me help." Tom bent over--then suddenly straightened. "By the +way, we haven't introduced ourselves. My name's Corbett--Tom Corbett." +He stuck out his hand. Astro hesitated, sizing up the curly-headed boy +in front of him, who stood smiling and offering friendship. Finally he +pushed out his own hand and smiled back at Tom. + +"Astro, but you know that by now." + +"That sure was a dirty deal Manning gave you." + +"Ah, I don't mind carrying his bags. It's just that I wanted to tell him +he's going to have to send it all back. They don't allow a candidate to +keep more than a toothbrush at the Academy." + +"Guess he'll find out the hard way." + +Carrying Manning's luggage as well as their own, they finally stepped on +the slidewalk and began the smooth easy ride from the monorail station +to the Academy. Both having felt the sharpness of Manning's tongue, and +both having been dressed down by Warrant Officer McKenny, they seemed to +be linked by a bond of trouble and they stood close together for mutual +comfort. + +As the slidewalk whisked them silently past the few remaining buildings +and credit exchanges that nestled around the monorail station, Tom gave +thought to his new life. + +Ever since Jon Builker, the space explorer, returning from the first +successful flight to a distant galaxy, came through his home town near +New Chicago twelve years before, Tom had wanted to be a spaceman. +Through high school and the New Chicago Primary Space School where he +had taken his first flight above Earth's atmosphere, he had waited for +the day when he would pass his entrance exams and be accepted as a cadet +candidate in Space Academy. For no reason at all, a lump rose in his +throat, as the slidewalk rounded a curve and he saw for the first time, +the gleaming white magnificence of the Tower of Galileo. He recognized +it immediately from the hundreds of books he had read about the Academy +and stared wordlessly. + +"Sure is pretty, isn't it?" asked Astro, his voice strangely husky. + +"Yeah," breathed Tom in reply. "It sure is." He could only stare at the +shimmering tower ahead. + +"It's all I've ever wanted to do," said Tom at length. "Just get out +there and--be _free_!" + +"I know what you mean. It's the greatest feeling in the world." + +"You say that as if you've already been up there." + +Astro grinned. "Yup. Used to be an enlisted space sailor. Bucked rockets +in an old freighter on the Luna City--Venusport run." + +"Well, what are you doing here?" Tom was amazed and impressed. + +"Simple. I want to be an officer. I want to get into the Solar Guard and +handle the power-push in one of those cruisers." + +Tom's eyes glowed with renewed admiration for his new friend. "I've been +out four or five times but only in jet boats five hundred miles out. +Nothing like a jump to Luna City or Venusport." + +By now the slidewalk had carried them past the base of the Tower of +Galileo to a large building facing the Academy quadrangle and the spell +was broken by McKenny's bull-throated roar. + +"Haul off, you blasted polliwogs!" + +As the boys jumped off the slidewalk, a cadet, dressed in the vivid blue +that Tom recognized as the official dress of the Senior Cadet Corps, +walked up to McKenny and spoke to him quietly. The warrant officer +turned back to the waiting group and gave rapid orders. + +"By twos, follow Cadet Herbert inside and he'll assign you to your +quarters. Shower, shave if you have to and can find anything to shave, +and dress in the uniform that'll be supplied you. Be ready to take the +Academy oath at"--he paused and glanced at the senior cadet who held up +three fingers--"fifteen hundred hours. That's three o'clock. All clear? +Blast off!" + +Just as the boys began to move, there was a sudden blasting roar in the +distance. The noise expanded and rolled across the hills surrounding +Space Academy. It thundered over the grassy quadrangle, vibrating waves +of sound one on top of the other, until the very air quivered under the +impact. + +Mouths open, eyes popping, the cadet candidates stood rooted in their +tracks and stared as, in the distance, a long, thin, needlelike ship +seemed to balance delicately on a column of flame, then suddenly shoot +skyward and disappear. + +"Pull in your eyeballs!" McKenny's voice crackled over the receding +thunder. "You'll fly one of those firecrackers some day. But right now +you're _Earthworms_, the lowest form of animal life in the Academy!" + +As the boys snapped to attention again, Tom thought he caught a faint +smile on Cadet Herbert's face as he stood to one side waiting for +McKenny to finish his tirade. Suddenly he snapped his back straight, +turned sharply and stepped through the wide doors of the building. +Quickly the double line of boys followed. + +"Did you see that, Astro?" asked Tom excitedly. "That was a Solar Guard +patrol ship!" + +"Yeah, I know," replied Astro. The big candidate from Venus scratched +his chin and eyed Tom bashfully. "Say, Tom--ah, since we sort of know +each other, how about us trying to get in the same quarters?" + +"O.K. by me, Astro, if we can," said Tom, grinning back at his friend. + +The line pressed forward to Cadet Herbert, who was now waiting at the +bottom of the slidestairs, a mesh belt that spiraled upward in a narrow +well to the upper stories of the building. Speaking into an +audioscriber, a machine that transmitted his spoken words into +typescript, he repeated the names of the candidates as they passed. + +"Cadet Candidate Tom Corbett," announced Tom, and Herbert repeated it +into the audioscriber. + +"Cadet Candidate Astro!" The big Venusian stepped forward. + +"What's the rest of it, Mister?" inquired Herbert. + +"That's all. Just Astro." + +"No other names?" + +"No, sir," replied Astro. "You see--" + +"You don't say 'sir' to a senior cadet, Mister. And we're not interested +in why you have only one name!" Herbert snapped. + +"Yes, sir--uhh--Mister." Astro flushed and joined Tom. + +"Cadet Candidate Philip Morgan," announced the next boy. + +Herbert repeated the name into the machine, then announced, "Cadet +Candidates Tom Corbett, Astro, and Philip Morgan assigned to Section +42-D." + +Turning to the three boys, he indicated the spiraling slidestairs. +"Forty-second floor. You'll find Section D in the starboard wing." + +Astro and Tom immediately began to pile Manning's luggage to one side of +the slidestairs. + +"Take your luggage with you, Misters!" snapped Herbert. + +"It isn't ours," replied Tom. + +"Isn't yours?" Herbert glanced over the pile of suitcases and turned +back to Tom. "Whose is it then?" + +"Belongs to Cadet Candidate Roger Manning," replied Tom. + +"What are you doing with it?" + +"We were carrying it for him." + +"Do we have a candidate in the group who finds it necessary to provide +himself with valet service?" + +Herbert moved along the line of boys. + +"Will Cadet Candidate Roger Manning please step forward?" + +Roger slid from behind a group of boys to face the senior cadet's cold +stare. + +"Roger Manning here," he presented himself smoothly. + +"Is that your luggage?" Herbert jerked his thumb over his shoulder. + +"It is." + +Roger smiled confidently, but Herbert merely stared coldly. + +"You have a peculiar attitude for a candidate, Manning." + +"Is there a prescribed attitude, Mr. Herbert?" Roger asked, his smile +broadening. "If there is, I'll be only too glad to conform to it." + +Herbert's face twitched almost imperceptibly. Then he nodded, made a +notation on a pad and returned to his post at the head of the gaping +line of boys. "From now on, Candidate Manning, you will be responsible +for your own belongings." + +Tom, Astro, and Philip Morgan stepped on the slidestairs and began +their spiraling ascent to the forty-second floor. + +"I saw what happened at the monorail station," drawled the third member +of Section 42-D, leaning against the bannister of the moving belt. "By +the craters of Luna, that Manning felluh sure is a hot operator." + +"We found out for ourselves," grunted Astro. + +"Say, since we're all bunkin' togethuh, let's get to knowin' each othuh. +My name's Phil Morgan, come from Georgia. Where you all from?" + +"New Chicago," replied Tom. "Name's Tom Corbett. And this is Astro." + +"Hiya." Astro stuck out a big paw and grinned his wide grin. "I guess +you heard. Astro's all the name I've got." + +"How come?" inquired the Southerner. + +"I'm from Venus and it's a custom from way back when Venus was first +colonized to just hand out one name." + +"Funny custom," drawled Phil. + +Astro started to say something and then stopped, clamping his lips +together. Tom could see his face turn a slow pink. Phil saw it too, and +hastily added: + +"Oh--I didn't mean anything. I--ah--" he broke off, embarrassed. + +"Forget it, Phil." Astro grinned again. + +"Say," interjected Tom. "Look at that!" + +They all turned to look at the floor they were passing. Near the edge of +the step-off platform on the fourth floor was an oaken panel, inscribed +with silver lettering in relief. As they drew even with the plaque, they +caught sight of someone behind them. They turned to see Manning, the +pile of suitcases in front of him, reading aloud. + +" ... to the brave men who sacrificed their lives in the conquest of +space, this Galaxy Hall is dedicated...." + +"Say, this must be the museum," said Tom. "Here's where they have all +the original gear used in the first space hops." + +"Absolutely right," said Manning with a smile. + +"I wonder if we could get off and take a look?" Astro asked. + +"Sure you can," said Roger. "In fact, the Academy regs say every cadet +must inspect the exhibits in the space museum within the first week." + +The members of Section 42-D looked at Roger questioningly. + +"I don't know if we have time." Tom was dubious. + +"Sure you have--plenty. I'd hop off and take a look myself but I've got +to get this junk ready to ship home." He indicated the pile of bags in +front of him. + +"Aw, come on, Tom, let's take a look!" urged Astro. "They have the old +_Space Queen_ in here, the first ship to clear Earth's gravity. Boy, I'd +sure like to see her!" Without waiting for the others to agree, the huge +candidate stepped off the slidestairs. + +"Hey, Astro!" yelled Tom. "Wait! I don't think--" His voice trailed off +as the moving stair carried him up to the next floor. + +But then a curious thing happened. As other boys came abreast of the +museum floor and saw Astro they began to get off and follow him, +wandering around gazing at the relics of the past. + +Soon nearly half of the cadet candidates were standing in silent awe in +front of the battered hull of the _Space Queen_, the first +atomic-powered rocket ship allowed on exhibition only fifty years before +because of the deadly radioactivity in her hull, created when a lead +baffle melted in midspace and flooded the ship with murderous gamma +rays. + +They stood in front of the spaceship and listened while Astro, in a +hushed voice, read the inscription on the bronze tablet. + +"--Earth to Luna and return. 7th March 2051. In honor of the brave men +of the first atomic-powered spaceship to land successfully on the planet +Moon, only to perish on return to Earth...." + +"Candidates--staaaaaaaaannnnnd _too_!" + +Like a clap of thunder Warrant Officer McKenny's voice jarred the boys +out of their silence. He stepped forward like a bantam rooster and faced +the startled group of boys. + +"I wanna know just _one_ thing! Who stepped off that slidestairs +_first_?" + +The boys all hesitated. + +"I guess I was the first, sir," said Astro, stepping forward. + +"Oh, you guess you were, eh?" roared McKenny. + +Taking a deep breath McKenny launched into a blistering tirade. His +choice of words were to be long remembered by the group and repeated to +succeeding classes. Storming against the huge Venusian like a pygmy +attacking an elephant, McKenny roared, berated and blasted. + +Later, when Astro finally reached his quarters and changed into the +green coveralls of the cadet candidates, Tom and Phil crowded around +him. + +"It was Roger, blast him!" said Tom angrily. "He was getting back at you +because Cadet Herbert made him carry his own gear." + +"I asked for it," grumbled Astro. "Ah, I should've known better. But I +just couldn't wait to see the _Queen_." He balled his huge hands into +tight knots and stared at the floor. + +"Now hear this!!!" + +A voice suddenly rasped over the PA system loud-speaker above the door. +"All cadet candidates will come to attention to receive the Space +Academy oath from Commander Walters." The voice paused. "_AT-TENT-SHUN!_ +Cadet candidates--Staaaaannnnd _TO_!" + +"This is Commander Walters speaking!" A deep, powerful voice purred +through the speaker. "The Academy oath is taken individually. + +"It is something each candidate locks in his spirit, his mind and his +heart. That is why it is taken in your quarters. The oath is not a show +of color, it is a way of life. Each candidate will face as closely as +possible in the direction of his home and swear by his own individual +God as he repeats after me." + +Astro stepped quickly to the window port and gazed into the blue +heavens, eyes searching out the misty planet Venus. Phil Morgan thought +a moment, and faced toward the wall with the inlaid star chart of the +sky, thinking of sun-bathed Georgia. Tom Corbett stared straight at a +blank wall. + +Each boy did not see what was in front of him yet he saw further, +perhaps, than he had ever seen before. He looked into a future which +held the limitlessness of the universe and new worlds and planets to be +lifted out of the oblivion of uncharted depths of space to come. + +They repeated slowly.... + +" ... I solemnly swear to uphold the Constitution of the Solar Alliance, +to obey interplanetary law, to protect the liberties of the planets, to +safeguard the freedom of space and to uphold the cause of peace +throughout the universe ... to this end, I dedicate my life!" + + + + +CHAPTER 2 + + +Tom Corbett's first day at Space Academy began at 0530 hours with the +blaring of the _Cadet Corps Song_ over the central communicators: + + "_From the rocket fields of the Academy + To the far-flung stars of outer space, + We're Space Cadets training to be + Ready for dangers we may face._ + + _Up in the sky, rocketing past + Higher than high, faster than fast, + Out into space, into the sun + Look at her go when we give her the gun._ + + _From the rocket fields of the_...." + +Within sixty seconds, the buildings of the Academy rocked with the +impact of three thousand voices singing the last stanza. Lights flashed +on in every window. Cadets raced through the halls and across the +quadrangle. The central communicator began the incessant mustering of +cadets, and the never-ending orders of the day. + +" ... Unit 38-Z report to Captain Edwards for astrogation. Unit 68-E +report to Commander Walters for special assignments." + +On and on, down the list of senior cadets, watch officers, and the newly +arrived Earthworms. Units and individuals to report for training or +study in everything from ground assembly of an atomic rocket motor, to +the history of the founding of the Solar Alliance, the governing body of +the tri-planet civilization. + +Tom Corbett stepped out of the shower in Section 42-D and bellowed at +the top of his voice. + +"Hit the deck, Astro! Make use of the gravity!" He tugged at an outsized +foot dangling over the side of an upper bunk. + +"Uhhhh-ahhhh-hummmmm," groaned the cadet from Venus and tried to go back +to sleep. + +Philip Morgan stepped into the shower, turned on the cold water, +screeched at the top of his voice, gradually trailing off into countless +repetitions of the last verse of the Academy song. + +"Damp your tubes, you blasted space monkey," roared Astro, sitting up +bleary-eyed. + +"What time do we eat?" asked Tom, pulling on the green one-piece +coverall of the Earthworm cadet candidates. + +"I don't know," replied Astro, opening his mouth in a cavernous yawn. +"But it'd better be soon. I like space, but not between my backbone and +my stomach!" + +Warrant Officer McKenny burst into the room and began to compete with +the rest of the noise outside the buildings. + +"Five minutes to the dining hall and you'd better not be late! Take the +slidestairs down to the twenty-eighth floor. Tell the mess cadet in +charge of the hall your unit number and he'll show you to the right +table. Remember where it is, because you'll have to find it yourself +after that, or not eat. Finish your breakfast and report to the +ninety-ninth floor to Dr. Dale at seven hundred hours!" + +And as fast as he had arrived, he was gone, a flash of red color with +rasping voice trailing behind. + +Exactly one hour and ten minutes later, promptly at seven o'clock, the +three members of Unit 42-D stood at attention in front of Dr. Joan Dale, +along with the rest of the green-clad cadets. + +When the catcalls and wolf whistles had died away, Dr. Dale, pretty, +trim, and dressed in the gold and black uniform of the Solar Guard, held +up her hand and motioned for the cadets to sit down. + +"My answer to your--" she paused, smiled and continued, "your +enthusiastic welcome is simply--thank you. But we'll have no further +repetitions. This is Space Academy--not a primary school!" + +Turning abruptly, she stood beside a round desk in the well of an +amphitheater, and held up a thin tube about an inch in diameter and +twelve inches long. + +"We will now begin your classification tests," she said. "You will +receive one of these tubes. Inside, you will find four sheets of paper. +You are to answer all the questions on each paper and place them back in +the tube. Take the tube and drop it in the green outline slot in this +wall." + +She indicated a four-inch-round hole to her left, outlined with green +paint. Beside it, was another slot outlined with red paint. "Remain +there until the tube is returned to you in the red slot. Take it back to +your desk." She paused and glanced down at her desk. + +"Now, there are four possible classifications for a cadet. Control-deck +officer, which includes leadership and command. Astrogation officer, +which includes radar and communications. And power-deck officer for +engine-room operations. The fourth classification is for advanced +scientific study here at the Academy. Your papers are studied by an +electronic calculator that has proven infallible. You must make at least +a passing grade on each of the four classifications." + +Dr. Dale looked up at the rows of upturned, unsmiling faces and stepped +from the dais, coming to a halt near the first desk. + +"I know that all of you here have your hearts set on becoming spacemen, +officers in the Solar Guard. Most of you want to be space pilots. But +there must be astrogators, radar engineers, communication officers and +power-deck operators on each ship, and," she paused, braced her +shoulders and added, "some of you will not be accepted for any of these. +Some of you will wash out." + +Dr. Dale turned her back on the cadets, not wanting to look at the +sudden pallor that washed over their faces. It was brutal, she thought, +this test. Why bring them all the way to the Academy and then give the +tests? Why not start the entrance exams at the beginning with the +classification and aptitude? But she knew the answer even before the +thoughtful question was completed. Under the fear of being washed out, +the weaker ones would not pass. The Solar Guard could not afford to have +cadets and later Solar Guard officers who could not function under +pressure. + +She began handing out the tubes and, one by one, the green-clad +candidates stepped to the front of the room to receive them. + +"Excuse me, Ma'am," said one cadet falteringly. "If--if--I wash out as a +cadet--as a Solar Guard officer cadet"--he gulped several times--"does +that mean there isn't any chance of becoming a spaceman?" + +"No," she answered kindly. "You can become a member of the enlisted +Solar Guard, if you can pass the acceleration tests." + +"Thank you, Ma'am," replied the boy and turned away nervously. + +Tom Corbett accepted the tube and hurried back to his seat. He knew that +this was the last hurdle. He did not know that the papers had been +prepared individually, the tests given on the basis of the entrance +exams he had taken back at New Chicago Primary Space School. + +He opened the tube, pulling out the four sheets, printed on both sides +of the paper, and read the heading on the first: ASTROGATION, +COMMUNICATIONS, SIGNALS (_Radar_) + +He studied the first question. + +" ... What is the range of the Mark Nine radar-scope, and how far can a +spaceship be successfully distinguished from other objects in space?..." + +He read the question four times, then pulled out a pencil and began to +write. + +Only the rustle of the papers, or the occasional sigh of a cadet over a +problem, disturbed the silence in the high-ceilinged room, as the +hundred-odd cadets fought the questions. + +There was a sudden stir in the room and Tom looked up to see Roger +Manning walk to the slot and casually deposit his tube in the +green-bordered slot. Then he leaned idly against the wall waiting for it +to be returned. As he stood there, he spoke to Dr. Dale, who smiled and +replied. There was something about his attitude that made Tom boil. So +fast? He glanced at his own papers. He had hardly finished two sheets +and thought he was doing fine. He clenched his teeth and bent over the +paper again, redoubling his efforts to triangulate a fix on Regulus by +using dead reckoning as a basis for his computations. + +Suddenly a tall man, wearing the uniform of a Solar Guard officer, +appeared in the back of the room. As Dr. Dale looked up and smiled a +greeting, he placed his finger on his lips. Steve Strong, Captain in the +Solar Guard, gazed around the room at the backs bent over busy pencils. +He did not smile, remembering how, only fifteen years before, he had +gone through the same torture, racking his brains trying to adjust the +measurements of a magnascope prism. He was joined by a thin handsome +young man, Lieutenant Judson Saminsky, and finally, Warrant Officer +McKenny. They nodded silently in greeting. It would be over soon. Strong +glanced at the clock over the desk. Another ten minutes to go. + +The line of boys at the slots grew until more than twenty stood there, +each waiting patiently, nervously, for his turn to drop the tube in the +slot and receive in return the sealed cylinder that held his fate. + +Still at his desk, his face wet with sweat, Astro looked at the question +in front of him for the fifteenth time. + +" ... Estimate the time it would take a 300-ton rocket ship with +half-filled tanks, cruising at the most economical speed to make a trip +from Titan to Venusport. (a) Estimate size and maximum capacity of fuel +tanks. (b) Give estimate of speed ship would utilize...." + +He thought. He slumped in his chair. He stared at the ceiling. He chewed +his pencil.... + +Five seats away, Tom stacked his examination sheets neatly, twisted them +into a cylinder and inserted them in the tube. As he passed the line of +desks and headed for the slot, a hand caught his arm. Tom turned to see +Roger Manning grinning at him. + +"Worried, spaceboy?" asked Roger easily. Tom didn't answer. He simply +withdrew his arm. + +"You know," said Roger, "you're really a nice kid. It's a shame you +won't make it. But the rules specifically say 'no cabbageheads.'" + +"No talking!" Dr. Dale called sharply from her desk. + +Tom walked away and stood in the line at the slots. He found himself +wanting to pass more than anything in the world. "Please," he breathed, +"please, just let me pass--" + +A soft gong began to sound. Dr. Dale stood up. + +"Time's up," she announced. "Please put your papers in the tubes and +drop them in the slot." + +Tom turned to see Astro stuffing his papers in the thin cylinder +disgustedly. Phil Morgan came up and stood in back of Tom. His face was +flushed. + +"Everything O.K., Phil?" inquired Tom. + +"Easy as free falling in space," replied the other cadet, his soft +Georgian drawl full of confidence. "How about you?" + +"I'm just hoping against hope." + +The few remaining stragglers hurried up to the line. + +"Think Astro'll make it?" asked Phil. + +"I don't know," answered Tom, "I saw him sweating over there like a man +facing death." + +"I guess he is--in a way." + +Astro took his place in line and shrugged his shoulders when Tom leaned +forward to give him a questioning look. + +"Go ahead, Tom," urged Phil. Tom turned and dropped his tube into the +green-bordered slot and waited. He stared straight at the wall in front +of him, hardly daring to breathe. Presently, the tube was returned in +the red slot. He took it, turned it over in his hands and walked slowly +back to his desk. + +"You're washed out, cabbagehead!" Manning's whisper followed him. "Let's +see if you can take it without bawling!" + +Tom's face burned and he fought an impulse to answer Manning with a +stiff belt in the jaw. But he kept walking, reached his desk and sat +down. + +Astro, the last to return to his desk, held the tube out in front of him +as if it were alive. The room was silent as Dr. Dale rose from her desk. + +"All right now, boys," she announced. "Inside the tubes you will find +colored slips of paper. Those of you who have red slips will remain +here. Those who find green slips will return to their quarters. Blue +will go with Captain Strong, orange with Lieutenant Saminsky, and purple +with Warrant Officer McKenny. Now--please open the tubes." + +There was a tinkling of metal caps and then the slight rustle of paper +as each boy withdrew the contents of the tube before him. + +Tom took a deep breath and felt inside for the paper. He held his breath +and pulled it out. It was green. He didn't know what it meant. He looked +around. Phil was signaling to him, holding up a blue slip. Tom's heart +skipped a beat. Whatever the colors meant, he and Phil were apart. He +quickly turned around and caught Astro's eye. The big Venusian held up a +green slip. Tom's heart then nearly stopped beating. Phil, who had +breezed through with such confidence, held a blue slip, and Astro, who +hadn't even finished the test, held up the same color that he had. It +could only mean one thing. Failure. He felt the tears welling in his +eyes, but had no strength left to fight them back. + +He looked up, his eyes meeting the insolent stare of Roger Manning who +was half turned in his seat. Remembering the caustic warning of the +confident cadet, Tom fought back the flood in his eyes and glared back. + +What would he tell his mother? And his father? And Billy, his brother, +five years younger than himself, whom he had promised to bring a flask +of water from the Grand Canal on Mars. And his sister! Tom remembered +the shining pride in her eyes when she kissed him good-bye at the +Stratoport as he left for Atom City. + +From the front of the room, McKenny's rasping voice jarred him back to +the present. + +"Cadets--staaaaaaaand _to!_" + +There was a shuffle of feet as the boys rose as one. + +"All the purple slips follow me," he roared and turned toward the door. +The cadets with purple slips marched after him. + +Lieutenant Saminsky stepped briskly to the front of the room. + +"Cadets with orange slips will please come with me," he said casually, +and another group of cadets left the room. + +From the rear of the room Captain Strong snapped out an order. + +"Blue slips will come with me!" + +He turned smartly and followed the last of Lieutenant Saminsky's cadets +out of the room. + +Tom looked around. The room was nearly empty now. He looked over at +Astro and saw his big friend slumped moodily over against his desk. +Then, suddenly, he noticed Roger Manning. The arrogant cadet was not +smiling any longer. He was staring straight ahead. Before him on the +desk, Tom could see a green slip. So he had failed too, thought Tom +grimly. It was poor solace for the misery he felt. + +Dr. Dale stepped forward again. + +"Will the cadets holding green slips return to their quarters. Those +with red slips will remain in their seats," she announced. + +Tom found himself moving with difficulty. As he walked through the door, +Astro joined him. A look more eloquent than words passed between them +and they made their way silently up the slidestairs back to their +quarters. + +Lying in his bunk, hands under his head, eyes staring into space, Tom +asked, "What happens now?" + +Sprawled on his bunk, Astro didn't answer right away. He merely gulped +and swallowed hard. + +"I--I don't know," he finally stammered. "I just don't know." + +"What'll you do?" + +"It's back to the hold of a Venusport freighter, I guess. I don't know." +Astro paused and looked at Tom. "What'll you do?" + +"Go home," said Tom simply. "Go home and--and find a job." + +"Ever think about the enlisted Solar Guard? Look at McKenny--" + +"Yeah--but--" + +"I know how you feel," sighed Astro. "Being in the enlisted section--is +like--well, being a passenger--almost." + +The door was suddenly flung open. + +"Haul off them bunks, you blasted Earthworms!" + +McKenny stood in the doorway in his usual aggressive pose, and Tom and +Astro hit the floor together to stand at attention. + +"Where's the other cadet?" + +"He went with Captain Strong, sir," answered Tom. + +"Oh?" said Mike. And in a surprisingly soft tone he added, "You two +pulled green slips, eh?" + +"Yes, sir," they replied together. + +"Well, I don't know how you did it, but congratulations. You passed the +classification tests. Both of you." + +Tom just looked at the scarlet-clad, stumpy warrant officer. He couldn't +believe his ears. Suddenly he felt as if he had been lifted off his +feet. And then he realized that he _was_ off his feet. Astro was holding +him over his head. Then he dumped him in his bunk as easily as if he +had been a child. And at the same time, the big Venusian let out a loud, +long, earsplitting yell. + +McKenny matched him with his bull-like roar. + +"Plug that foghorn, you blasted Earthworm. You'll have the whole Academy +in here thinking there's a murder." + +By this time Tom was on his feet again, standing in front of McKenny. + +"You mean, we made it? We're really in? We're cadets?" + +"That's right." McKenny looked at a clip board in his hand and read, +"Cadet Corbett, Tom. Qualified for control deck. Cadet Astro. Power +deck." + +Astro took a deep breath and started another yell, but before he could +let go, McKenny clamped a big hand over his mouth. + +"You bellow like that again and I'll make meteor dust out of you!" + +Astro gulped and then matched Tom's grin with one that spread from ear +to ear. + +"What happened to Philip Morgan?" asked Tom. + +"What color slip did he have?" + +"Blue." + +"Anything besides green washed out," replied Mike quickly. "Now let's +see, you have a replacement for Morgan in this unit. An astrogator." + +"Greetings, gentlemen," drawled a voice that Tom recognized without even +looking. "Allow me to introduce myself to my new unit-mates. My name is +Manning--Roger Manning. But then, we're old friends, aren't we?" + +"Stow that rocket wash, Manning," snapped Mike. He glanced at the clock +over the door. "You have an hour and forty-five minutes until lunch +time. I suggest you take a walk around the Academy and familiarize +yourselves with the arrangement of the buildings." + +And then, for the first time, Tom saw the hard little spaceman smile. + +"I'm glad you made it, boys. All three of you." He paused and looked at +each of them in turn. "And I can honestly say I'm looking forward to the +day when I can serve under you!" + +He snapped his back straight, gave the three startled boys a crisp +salute, executed a perfect about-face and marched out of the room. + +"And that," drawled Roger, strolling to the bunk nearest the window, "is +the corniest bit of space gas I've ever heard." + +"Listen, Manning!" growled Astro, spinning around quickly to face him. + +"Yeah," purred Roger, his eyes drawn to fine points, hands hanging +loosely at his sides. "What would you like me to listen to, Cadet +Astro?" + +The hulking cadet lunged at Manning, but Tom quickly stepped between +them. + +"Stow it, both of you!" he shouted. "We're in this room together, so we +might as well make the best of it." + +"Of course, Corbett--of course," replied Manning easily. He turned his +back on Astro, who stood, feet wide apart, neck muscles tight and hands +clenched in hamlike fists. + +"One of these days I'll break you in two, Manning. I'll close that +fast-talking mouth of yours for good!" + +Astro's voice was a low growl. Roger stood near the window port and +appeared to have forgotten the incident. + +The light shining in from the hallway darkened, and Tom turned to see +three blue-clad senior cadets arranged in a row just inside the door. + +"Congratulations, gentlemen. You're now qualified cadets of Space +Academy," said a redheaded lad about twenty-one. "My name is Al Dixon," +he turned to his left and right, "and these are cadets Bill Houseman +and Rodney Withrop." + +"Hiya," replied Tom. "Glad to know you. I'm Tom Corbett. This is +Astro--and Roger Manning." + +Astro shook hands, the three senior cadets giving a long glance at the +size of the hand he offered. Roger came forward smartly and shook hands +with a smile. + +"We're sorta like a committee," began Dixon. "We've come to sign you up +for the Academy sports program." + +They made themselves comfortable in the room. + +"You have a chance to take part in three sports. Free-fall wrestling, +mercuryball and space chess." Dixon glanced at Houseman and Withrop. +"From the looks of Cadet Astro, free-fall wrestling should be child's +play for him!" + +Astro merely grinned. + +"Mercuryball is pretty much like the old game of soccer," explained +Houseman. "But inside the ball is a smaller ball filled with mercury, +making it take crazy dips and turns. You have to be pretty fast even to +touch it." + +"Sounds like you have to be a little Mercurian yourself," smiled Tom. + +"You do," replied Dixon. "Oh, yes, you three play as a unit. Competition +starts in a few days. So if you've never played before, you might go +down to the gym and start practicing." + +"You mentioned space chess," asked Roger. "What's that?" + +"It's really nothing more than maneuvers. Space maneuvers," said Dixon. +"A glass case, a seven-foot cube, is divided by light shafts into +smaller cubes of equal shape and size. Each man has a complete space +squadron. Three model rocket cruisers, six destroyers and ten scouts. +The ships are filled with gas to make them float, and your power is +derived from magnetic force. The problem is to get a combination of +cruisers and destroyers and scouts into a space section where it could +knock out your opponent's ships." + +"You mean," interrupted Astro, "you've got to keep track of all those +ships at once?" + +"Don't worry, Astro," commented Roger quickly. "You use your muscles to +win for dear old 42-D in free-fall wrestling. Corbett here can pound +down the grassy field for a goal in mercuryball, and I'll do the +brainwork of space chess." + +The three visiting cadets exchanged sharp glances. + +"Everybody plays together, Manning," said Dixon. "You three take part in +each sport as a unit." + +"Of course," nodded Roger. "Of course--as a unit." + +The three cadets stood up, shook hands all around and left. Tom +immediately turned to Manning. + +"What was the idea of that crack about brains?" + +Manning slouched over to the window port and said over his shoulder, "I +don't know how you and your king-sized friend here passed the +classifications test, Corbett, and I don't care. But, as you say, we're +a unit. So we might as well make adjustments." + +He turned to face them with a cold stare. + +"I know this Academy like the palm of my hand," he went on. "Never mind +how, just take it for granted. _I know it._ I'm here for the ride. For a +special reason I wouldn't care to have you know. I'll get my training +and then pull out." + +He took a step forward, his face a mask of bitterness. + +"So from now on, you two guys leave me alone. You bore me to death with +your emotional childish allegiance to this--this"--he paused and spit +the last out cynically--"space kindergarten!" + + + + +CHAPTER 3 + + +"I just can't understand it, Joan," said Captain Steve Strong, tossing +the paper on his circular desk. "The psychographs of Corbett, Manning +and Astro fit together like gears. And yet--" + +The Solar Guard officer suddenly rose and walked over to a huge window +that filled the entire north wall of his office, a solid sheet of glass +that extended from the high domed ceiling to the translucent flooring. +Through the window, he stared down moodily toward the grassy quadrangle, +where at the moment several hundred cadets were marching in formation +under a hot sun. + +"--And yet," continued Strong, "every morning for the last three weeks +I've got a report from McKenny about some sort of friction between +them!" + +"I think it'll work out, Steve," answered the pretty girl in the uniform +of the Solar Guard, seated in an easy chair on the other side of the +desk. + +Joan Dale held the distinction of being the first woman ever admitted +into the Solar Guard, in a capacity other than administrative work. Her +experiments in atomic fissionables was the subject of a recent +scientific symposium held on Mars. Over fifty of the leading scientists +of the Solar Alliance had gathered to study her latest theory on +hyperdrive, and had unanimously declared her ideas valid. She had been +offered the chair as Master of Physics at the Academy as a result, +giving her access to the finest laboratory in the tri-planet society. + +Now facing the problem of personality adjustment in Unit 42-D, she sat +across the desk from her childhood friend, Steve Strong, and frowned. + +"What's happened this time?" + +"Manning." He paused. "It seems to be all Manning!" + +"You mean he's the more aggressive of the three?" + +"No--not necessarily. Corbett shows signs of being a number-one +spaceman. And that big cadet, Astro"--Strong flashed a white smile that +contrasted with his deep space tan--"I don't think he could make a +manual mistake on the power deck if he tried. You know, I actually saw +him put an auxiliary rocket motor together blindfolded!" + +The pretty scientist smiled. "I could have told you that after one look +at his classification tests." + +"How?" + +"On questions concerning the power-deck operations, he was letter +perfect--" + +"And on the others? Astrogation and control deck?" + +"He just skimmed by. But even where the problem involved fuel, power, +supply of energy, he offered some very practical answer to the problem." +She smiled. "Astro is as much an artist on that power deck as Liddy +Tamal doing Juliet in the stereos." + +"Yes," mused Strong. "And Corbett is the same on the control deck. Good +instinctive intelligence. That boy soaks up knowledge like a sponge." + +"Facile mind--quick to grasp the essentials." She smiled again. "Seems +to me I remember a few years back when a young lieutenant successfully +put down a mutiny in space, and at his promotion to captain, the +citation included the fact that he was quick to grasp the essentials." + +Strong grinned sheepishly. A routine flight to Titan had misfired into +open rebellion by the crew. Using a trick picked up in ancient history +books of sea-roving pirates in the seventeenth century, he had joined +the mutiny, gained control of the ship, sought out the ring-leaders and +restored discipline. + +"And Manning," asked Strong. "What about Manning?" + +"One of the hardest, brightest minds I've come across in the Academy. He +has a brain like a steel trap. He never misses." + +"Then, do you think he's acting up because Corbett is the nominal head +of the unit? Does he feel that he should be the command cadet in the +control deck instead of Corbett?" + +"No," replied Dr. Dale. "Not at all. I'm sure he intentionally missed +problems about control deck and command in his classification test. He +concentrated on astrogation, communications and signal radar. He wanted +to be assigned to the radar deck. And he turned in the best paper I've +ever read from a cadet to get the post." + +Strong threw up his hands. "Then what is it? Here we have a unit, on +paper at least, that could be number one. A good combination of brains, +experience and knowledge. Everything that's needed. And what is the +result? Friction!" + +Suddenly a buzzer sounded, and on Steve Strong's desk a small teleceiver +screen glowed into life. Gradually the stern face of Commander Walters +emerged. + +"Sorry to disturb you, Steve. Can you spare me a minute?" + +"Of course, Commander," replied Strong. "Is anything wrong?" + +"Very wrong, Steve. I've been looking over the daily performance reports +on Unit 42-D." + +"Dr. Dale and I have just been discussing that situation, sir." A +relieved expression passed over the commander's face. + +"Good! I wanted to get your opinions before I broke up the unit." + +"No, sir!" said Strong quickly. "Don't do that!" + +"Oh?" replied the commander. On the screen he could be seen settling +back in his chair. + +"And why not?" + +"Well, Joan--er--Dr. Dale and myself feel that the boys of Unit 42-D +make it potentially the best in the Academy--if they stay together, +sir." + +Walters considered this for a moment and then asked thoughtfully, "Give +me one good reason why the unit shouldn't be washed out." + +"The academy needs boys like this, sir," Steve answered flatly. "Needs +their intelligence, their experience. They may be a problem now, but if +they're handled right, they'll turn out to be ace spacemen, they'll--" + +The commander interrupted. "You're pretty sold on them, aren't you, +Steve?" + +"Yes, sir, I am." + +"You know, tomorrow all the units will be assigned to their personal +instructors." + +"Yes, sir. And I've selected Lieutenant Wolcheck for this unit. He's +tough and smart. I think he's just the man for the job." + +"I don't agree, Steve. Wolcheck is a fine officer and with any other +unit there'd be no question. But I think we have a better man for the +job." + +"Whom do you suggest, sir?" + +The commander leaned forward in his chair. + +"You, Steve." + +"Me?" + +"What do you think, Joan?" + +"I wanted to make the same suggestion, Commander," smiled Joan. "But I +didn't know if Steve really would want the assignment." + +"Well, what about it, Steve?" asked the commander. "This is no +reflection on your present work. But if you're so convinced that 42-D is +worth the trouble, then take them over and mold them into spacemen. +Otherwise, I'll have to wash them out." + +Strong hesitated a moment. "All right, sir. I'll do my best." + +On the screen the stern lines in Commander Walters' face relaxed and he +smiled approvingly. + +"Thanks, Steve," he said softly. "I was hoping you'd say that. Keep me +posted." + +The screen blacked out abruptly and Captain Strong turned to Joan Dale, +a troubled frown wrinkling his brow. + +"Huh. I really walked into that one, didn't I?" he muttered. + +"It isn't going to be easy, Steve," she replied. + +"Easy!" He snorted and walked over to the window to stare blankly at the +quadrangle below. "I'd almost rather try a landing on the hot side of +Mercury. It would be icy compared to this situation!" + +"You can do it, Steve. I know you can." Joan moved to his side to place +a reassuring hand on his arm. + +The Solar Guard officer didn't answer immediately. He kept on staring at +the Academy grounds and buildings spread out before him. When he finally +spoke, his voice rang with determination. + +"I've got to do it, Joan. I've got to whip those boys into a unit. Not +only for their sakes--but for the sake of the Academy!" + + + + +CHAPTER 4 + + +The first three weeks of an Earthworm's life at Space Academy are filled +with never-ending physical training and conditioning to meet the rigors +of rocket flight and life on distant planets. And under the grueling +pressure of fourteen-hour days, filled with backbreaking exercises and +long forced marches, very few of the boys can find anything more +desirable than sleep--and more sleep. + +Under this pressure the friction in Unit 42-D became greater and +greater. Roger and Astro continually needled each other with insults, +and Tom gradually slipped into the role of arbiter. + +Returning from a difficult afternoon of endless marching in the hot sun +with the prospect of an evening of free-fall wrestling before them, the +three cadets dragged themselves wearily onto the slidestairs leading to +their quarters, their muscles screaming for rest. + +"Another day like this," began Astro listlessly, "and I'm going to melt +down to nothing. Doesn't McKenny have a heart?" + +"No, just an asteroid," Tom grumbled. "He'll never know how close he +came to getting a space boot in the face when he woke us up this +morning. Oh, man! Was I tired!" + +"Stop complaining, will you?" snarled Roger. "All I've heard from you +two space crawlers is gripes and complaints." + +"If I wasn't so tired, Roger," said Astro, "I'd give you something to +gripe about. A flat lip!" + +"Knock it off, Astro," said Tom wearily. The role of keeping them apart +was getting tiresome. + +"The trouble with you, Astro," pursued Roger, "is that you think with +your muscles instead of your head." + +"Yeah, I know. And you've got an electronic calculator for a brain. All +you have to do is push a button and you get the answers all laid out for +you." + +They had reached their quarters now and were stripping off their +sweat-soaked uniforms in preparation for a cool shower. + +"You know, Roger," continued Astro, "you've got a real problem ahead of +you." + +"Any problem you think I have is no problem at all," was the cool reply. + +"Yes, it is," insisted Astro. "When you're ready for your first hop in +space, you won't be able to make it!" + +"Why not?" + +"They don't have a space helmet in the Academy large enough to fit that +overinflated head of yours!" + +Roger turned slowly and spoke to Tom without looking at him. "Close the +door, Corbett!" + +"Why?" asked Tom, puzzled. + +"Because I don't want any interruptions. I'm going to take that big hunk +of Venusian space junk apart." + +"Anything you say, you bigmouthed squirt!" roared Astro. + +"Hey--knock it off!" yelled Tom, jumping between them and grabbing +Astro's arm. "If you guys don't lay off each other, you're going to be +thrown out of the Academy, and I'll be thrown out with you! I'll be +blasted if I'll suffer for your mistakes!" + +"That's a very interesting statement, Corbett!" A deep voice purred +from the doorway and the three boys whirled to see Captain Strong walk +into the room, his black and gold uniform fitting snugly across the +shoulders betraying their latent strength. "Stand to--all of you!" + +As the boys quickly snapped to attention, Strong eyed them slowly and +then moved casually around the room. He picked up a book, looked out of +the window port, pushed a boot to one side and, finally, removed Tom's +sweat-stained uniform from a chair and sat down. The cadets held their +rigid poses, backs stiff, eyes looking straight ahead. + +"Corbett?" snapped Strong. + +"Yes, sir?" + +"What was the meaning of that little speech I heard a moment ago?" + +"I--ah--don't quite understand what you mean, sir," stumbled Tom. + +"I think you do," said Strong. "I want to know what provoked you to make +such a statement." + +"I'd rather not answer that, sir." + +"Don't get cute, Corbett!" barked Strong. "I know what's going on in +this unit. Were Manning and Astro squaring off to fight?" + +"Yes, sir," replied Tom slowly. + +"All right. At ease all of you," said Strong. The three boys relaxed and +faced the officer. + +"Manning, do you want to be a successful cadet here at Space Academy?" + +"Yes, sir," answered Roger. + +"Then why don't you act like it?" asked Strong. + +"Is there something wrong with my work, sir?" Tom recognized the smooth +Manning confidence begin to appear, and he wondered if Captain Strong +would be taken in. + +"Everything's wrong with your work," barked Strong. "You're too smart! +Know too much!" He stopped short and then added softly with biting +sarcasm, "Why do you know so much, Cadet Manning?" + +Roger hesitated. "I've studied very hard. Studied for years to become a +Space Cadet," he replied. + +"Just to be a cadet or a successful cadet _and_ a Solar Guard officer?" + +"To be successful at both, sir." + +"Tell me, Manning, do you have any ideas on life?" + +"That's a pretty general question, sir. Do you mean life as a whole or a +specific part of life?" They're fencing with each other, thought Tom. He +held his breath as Strong eyed the relaxed, confident cadet. + +"A spaceman is supposed to have but one idea in life, Manning. And that +idea is _space_!" + +"I see, sir," replied Roger, as a faraway look came into his eyes. + +"Yes, sir, I have some ideas about life in space." + +"I'd like to hear them!" requested Strong coldly. + +"Very well, sir." Roger relaxed his shoulders and leaned against the +bunk. "I believe space is the last frontier of man--Earthman. It's the +last place for man to conquer. It is the greatest adventure of all time +and I want to be a part of that adventure." + +"Thank you, Manning." Strong's voice was even colder than before. "But +as it happens, I can read too. That was a direct quote from the closing +paragraph of Jon Builker's book on his trip to the stars!" He paused. +"Couldn't you think of anything original to say?" + +Roger flushed and gritted his teeth. Tom could hardly keep himself from +laughing. Captain Strong had scored heavily! + +The Solar Guard officer then turned his attention to Astro. + +"Astro, where in the name of the universe did you get the idea you could +be an officer in the Solar Guard?" + +"I can handle anything with push in it, sir!" Astro smiled his +confidence. + +"Know anything about hyperdrive?" + +"Uhh--no, sir." + +"Then you can't handle everything with, as you say, push in it!" snapped +Strong. + +"Er--no, sir," answered Astro, his face clouding over. + +There was a long moment of silence while Strong lifted one knee, swung +it over the arm of his chair, and looked steadily at the two half-naked +boys in front of him. He smiled lazily. + +"Well, for two Earthworms, you've certainly been acting like a couple of +space aces!" + +He let that soak in while he toyed with the gleaming Academy ring on his +finger. He allowed it to flash in the light of the window port, then +slipped it off and flipped it over to Corbett. + +"Know what that is?" he asked the curly-haired cadet. + +"Yes, sir," replied Tom. "Your Academy graduation ring." + +"Uh-huh. Now give it to our friend from Venus." Tom gingerly handed +Astro the ring. + +"Try it on, Astro," invited Strong. + +The big cadet tried it on all of his fingers but couldn't get it past +the first joint. + +"Give it to Manning." + +Roger accepted the ring and held it in the palm of his hand. He looked +at it with a hard stare, then dropped it in the outstretched hand of the +Solar Guard officer. Replacing it on his finger, Strong spoke casually. + +"All units design their own rings. There are only three like this in the +universe. One is drifting around in space on the finger of Sam Jones. +Another is blasting a trail to the stars on the finger of Addy Garcia." +He held up his finger. "This is the third one." + +Strong got up and began to pace in front of the boys. + +"Addy Garcia couldn't speak a word of English when he first came to the +Academy. And for eight weeks Sam and I sweated to figure out what he was +talking about. I think we spent over a hundred hours in the galley doing +KP because Addy kept getting us fouled up. But that didn't bother us +because we were a unit. Unit 33-V. Class of 2338." + +Strong turned to face the silent cadets. + +"Sam Jones was pretty much like you, Astro. Not as big, but with the +same love for that power deck. He could always squeeze a few extra +pounds of thrust out of those rockets. What he knew about astrogation +and control, you could stick on the head of a pin. On long flights he +wouldn't even come up to the control deck. He just sat in the power hole +singing loud corny songs about the Arkansas mountains to those atomic +motors. He was a real power-deck man. But he was a _unit_ man first! The +only reason I'm here to tell you about it is because he never forgot the +unit. He died saving Addy and myself." + +The room was still. Down the long hall, the lively chatter of other +cadets could be heard as they showered and prepared for dinner. In the +distance, the rumble of the slidewalks and test firing of rockets at the +spaceport was dim, subdued, powerful. + +"The unit is the backbone of the Academy," continued Strong. "It was set +up to develop three men to handle a Solar Guard rocket cruiser. Three +men who could be taught to think, feel and act as one intelligent brain. +Three men who would respect each other and who could depend on each +other. Tomorrow you begin your real education. You will be supervised +and instructed personally. + +"Many men have contributed to the knowledge that will be placed in +front of you--brave, intelligent men, who blasted through the atmosphere +with a piece of metal under them for a spaceship and a fire in their +tail for rockets. But everything they accomplished goes to waste if the +unit can't become a single personality. It must be a single personality, +or it doesn't exist. The unit is the ultimate of hundreds of years of +research and progress. But you have to fight to create it and keep it +living. Either you want it, or you get out of the Academy!" + +Captain Strong turned away momentarily and Tom and Astro looked at Roger +significantly. + +"Stand to!" + +The three boys snapped to attention as the wide-shouldered captain +addressed them again. + +"Tomorrow you begin to learn how to think as a single brain. To act with +combined intelligence as one person. You either make up your minds to +start tomorrow or you report to Commander Walters and resign. There +isn't any room here for individuals." + +He stepped to the door and paused. + +"One more thing. I've been given the job of making you over into +spacemen. I'm your unit commander. If you're still here in the morning, +I'll accept that as your answer. If you think you can't take"--he +paused--"what I'm going to dish out, then you know what you can do. And +if you stay, you'll _be_ the best unit, or I'll break you in two in the +attempt. Unit dis ... missed!" And he was gone. + +The three cadets stood still, not knowing quite what to do or say. +Finally Tom stepped before Astro and Roger. + +"Well," he said quietly, "how about it, you guys? Are you going to lay +off each other now?" + +Astro flushed, but Roger eyed Corbett coolly. + +"Were you really taken in with that space gas, Tom?" He turned to the +shower room. "If you were, then you're more childish than I thought." + +"A man died to save another man's life, Roger. Sam Jones. I never knew +him. But I've met Captain Strong, and I believe that he would have done +the same thing for Jones." + +"Very noble," commented Roger from the doorway. + +"But I'll tell you this, Manning," said Tom, following him, fighting for +self-control, "I wouldn't want to have to depend on you to save my life. +And I wouldn't want to be faced with the situation where I would have to +sacrifice mine to save yours!" + +Roger turned and glared at Tom. + +"The Academy regs say that the man on the control deck is the boss of +the unit. But I have my private opinion of the man who has that job +now!" + +"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Tom. + +"Just this, spaceboy. There's a gym below where I'll take you _or_ your +big friend on--together--or one at a time." He paused, a cold smile +twisting his lips. "And that offer is good as of right now!" + +Tom and Astro looked at each other. + +"I'm afraid," began Astro slowly, "that you wouldn't stand much of a +chance with me, Manning. So if Tom wants the chore of buttoning your +lip, he's welcome to it." + +"Thanks, Astro," said Tom evenly. "It'll be my pleasure." + +Without another word, the three cadets walked out of the door. + + + + +CHAPTER 5 + + +"Will this do, Manning?" asked Tom. + +The three boys were in a secluded corner of the gym, a large hall on the +fourteenth floor of the dormitory building. At the far end of the gym, a +group of cadets had just finished a game of mercuryball and were +sauntering to the showers. When the last boy had disappeared, the floor +was deserted except for Tom, Roger and Astro. + +"This will do fine, Corbett," said Roger. + +The boxing ring had been taken down the week before to make room for +drills and the physical exercises of the Earthworms, so the three boys +had to improvise a ring. They dragged four large tumbling mats together, +spreading them side by side to form a square close to the size of an +actual ring. Astro went to one of the small lockers under the balcony +and returned with two pairs of boxing gloves. + +"Here," offered Astro, "put these on." + +"Gloves?" asked Roger, in a voice of mock surprise. "I thought this was +going to be a battle of blood." + +"Any way you want it, Manning. Any way at all," said Tom. + +"You're going to use gloves," growled Astro. "I don't want anybody +killed." He threw a pair at each of them. + +"There'll be three-minute rounds, with one minute rest," he continued. +"Go off the mats and you'll be counted out. Usual rules otherwise. Any +questions?" + +"Clear to me, Astro," said Tom. + +"Let's go," nodded Roger. + +"One more thing," said Astro. "I hope Tom pins your ears back, Manning. +But I'm going to see that both of you get a fair deal. So keep the +punches up--and fight it out. All right--time!" + +The two boys moved carefully to the center of the improvised ring, their +guards up, while Astro stood off the edge of the mat and watched the +sweeping second hand of his wrist chronograph. + +Shuffling forward Tom pushed out a probing left and then tried to cross +his right, but Manning stepped back easily, countering with a hard left +to Tom's heart. + +"I forgot to tell you, Corbett," he called out, "I'm considered a +counterpuncher. I always--" + +He was cut off with a sharp left to the face that snapped his head back, +and his lips curled in a smile of condescension. + +"Good--very good, Corbett." + +Then with lightning speed and the grace of a cat, Roger slipped inside +Tom's guard, punching hard and true. A left, a right and a left pounded +into Tom's mid-section, and as he gave way momentarily Tom's face +clouded over. + +They circled. Tom kept leading with sharp lefts that popped in and out +like a piston, always connecting and keeping Roger off balance. Roger +concentrated on penetrating Tom's defense, methodically pounding his +ribs and heart and trying to wear him down. + +"Time!" bawled Astro. + +The two boys dropped their hands and turned back to their corners. They +squatted on the floor breathing slowly and easily. Astro stood in the +middle of the ring, glaring at both of them in turn and shaking his +head. + +"Huh. I expected to see you two try to wallop each other into meteor +dust! Keep fighting like that and we'll be here all night!" + +"Talk to Corbett," sneered Roger. "Looks like he's afraid to mix it up!" + +"You fight your way, Roger, and I'll fight mine," replied Tom, his voice +cold and impersonal. + +"Time!" suddenly yelled Astro and stepped back off the mat. + +The two cadets jumped to their feet and met in the center of the ring +again. With a bull-like rush, Roger changed tactics and began to rain +punches all over Tom's body, but the curly-haired cadet stood his ground +coolly, picking some off in mid-air with his gloves and sliding under +the others. Then, as Roger slowed down, Tom took the offensive, popping +his left into his opponent's face steadily and methodically, while +keeping his right cocked for a clear opening to the chin. + +Roger danced in and out, watching Tom's left as though it was a snake +and trying unsuccessfully to get through his guard. But the sharp lefts +kept snapping his head back and his face began to redden, not only from +the sting of the blows but with the mounting fury of his frustration. + +Suddenly, as Astro raised his arm to call time for the end of the round, +Roger jumped forward and rained another series of harmless blows on +Tom's shoulders and arms. But then, as the big Venusian called time, he +stepped back and Tom dropped his guard. Instantly, Roger threw a right +with all his weight behind it. It landed flush on Tom's jaw and he +dropped, sprawling full length on the mats and lying still. + +Smiling, Roger sauntered to his corner while Astro charged in and bent +over the fallen cadet. + +"None of that, Astro!" snapped Roger. "Since when does a referee take +sides? Leave him alone! If he doesn't come out for the next round, you +have to count him out!" + +The big Venusian straightened and walked menacingly toward Roger's +corner. "You hit him after I called time," he growled. + +"So I have to take you on too, huh?" Roger jumped to his feet. "All +right--come on, you big blast of space gas!" + +"Wait, Astro ... wait!" + +Astro suddenly wheeled around to see Tom shaking his head weakly and +trying to rise up on his elbows. He rushed back to the fallen boy's +side. + +Roger shouted at him angrily, "Leave him alone!" + +"Ahhh--go blow your jets!" was Astro's snarling reply as he bent over +Tom, who was now sitting up. "Tom, are you O.K.?" + +"Yeah--yeah," he replied weakly. "But stay out of this. You're the +referee. How much time left?" + +"Twenty seconds," said Astro. "Roger smacked you after I called time." + +"If he did, I didn't know a thing about it. I was out." Tom managed a +cold smile. "Nice punch, Roger." + +"Ten seconds," said Astro, stepping back off the mat. + +"Thanks for the compliment, Corbett." Roger eyed the other cadet +speculatively. "But are you sure you want to go on?" + +"I was saved by the bell, wasn't I?" + +"Yeah--sure--but if you'd rather quit--" + +"Time!" cried Astro. + +Tom rose to his feet--shook his head--and brought up his hands. He +wasn't a moment too soon. Roger had rushed across the mat, trying to +land another murderous right. Tom brought up his shoulder just in time, +slipping with the punch, and at the same time, bringing up a terrific +left to Roger's open mid-section. Manning let out a grunt and clinched. +Tom pursued his advantage, pumping rights and lefts to the body, and he +could feel the arrogant cadet weakening. Suddenly, Roger crowded in +close, wrestling Tom around so that Astro was on the opposite side of +the mat, then brought up his head under Tom's chin. The pop of Tom's +teeth could be heard all over the great hall. Roger quickly stepped +back, and back-pedaled until Astro called time. + +"Thanks for teaching me that one, Roger. Learned two tricks from you +today," said Tom, breathing heavily, but with the same cold smile on his +face. + +"That's all right, Corbett. Any time," said Manning. + +"What tricks?" asked Astro. He looked suspiciously at Manning, who was +doubled over, finding it hard to breath. + +"Nothing I can't handle in time," said Tom, looking at Roger. + +"Time!" called Astro and stepped off the mat. + +The two boys got to their feet slowly. The pace was beginning to show on +them and they boxed carefully. + +The boys were perfectly matched, Tom constantly snapping Roger's head +back with the jolting left jabs and following to the head or heart with +a right cross. And Roger counterpunching, slipping hooks and body +punches in under Tom's long leads. It was a savage fight. The three +weeks of hard physical training had conditioned the boys perfectly. + +At the end of the twelfth round, both boys showed many signs of wear. +Roger's cheeks were as red as the glow of a jet blast deflector from the +hundreds of lefts Tom had pumped into his face, while Tom's ribs and +mid-section were bruised and raw where Roger's punches had landed +successfully. + +It couldn't last much longer, thought Astro, as he called time for the +beginning of the thirteenth round. + +Roger quickened his pace, dancing in and out, trying to move in under +Tom's lefts, but suddenly Tom caught him with a right hand that was +cocked and ready. It staggered him and he fell back, covering up. Tom +pressed his advantage, showering rights and lefts everywhere he could +find an opening. In desperation, his knees buckling, Roger clinched +tightly, quickly brought up his open glove and gouged his thumb into +Tom's eyes. Tom pulled back, instinctively pawing at his eye with his +right glove. Roger, spotting the opening, took immediate advantage of +it, shooting a hard looping right that landed flush on Tom's jaw. Tom +went down. + +Unaware of Roger's tactics, Astro jumped into the ring and his arm +pumped the deadly count. + +"One--two--three--four--" + +It was going to be tough if Roger won, Astro thought, as he counted. + +"Five--six--" + +Arrogant enough now, he would be impossible to live with. + +"Seven--eight--" + +Tom struggled up to a sitting position and stared angrily at his +opponent in the far corner. + +"Nine--" + +With one convulsive effort, Tom regained his feet. His left eye was +closed and swollen, his right bleary with fatigue. He wobbled drunkenly +on his feet. But he pressed forward. This was one fight he had to win. + +Roger moved in for the finish. He slammed a left into Tom's shell, +trying to find an opening for the last finishing blow. But Tom remained +in his shell, forearms picking off the smashes that even hurt his arms, +as he waited for the strength to return to his legs and arms and his +head to clear. He knew that he couldn't go another round. He wouldn't be +able to see. It would have to be this round, and he had to _beat_ Roger. +_Not_ because he wanted to, but because Roger was a member of the unit. +And he had to keep the unit together. + +He circled his unit-mate with care, shielding himself from the shower of +rights and lefts that rained around him. He waited--waited for the one +perfect opening. + +"Come on! Open up and fight, Corbett," panted Roger. + +Tom snapped his right in reply. He noticed that Roger moved in with a +hook every time he tried to cross his right. He waited--his legs began +to shake. Roger circled and Tom shot out the left again, dropped into a +semicrouch and feinted with the right cross. Roger moved in, cocking his +fist for the left hook and Tom was ready for him. He threw the right, +threw it with every ounce of strength left in his body. Roger was caught +moving in and took the blow flush on the chin. He stopped as if +poleaxed. His eyes turned glassy and then he dropped to the mat. He was +out cold. + +Astro didn't even bother to count. + +Tom squatted on the mat beside Roger and rubbed the blond head with his +glove. + +"Get some water, Astro," he said, gasping for breath. "I'm glad I don't +have to fight this guy again. And I'll tell you something else--" + +"What?" asked Astro. + +"Anybody that wants to win as much as this guy does, is going to win, +and I want to have him on my side!" + +Astro merely grunted as he turned toward the water cooler. + +"Maybe," he called back. "But he ought to read a book of rules first!" + +When he came back to the mat with the water, Roger was sitting up, +biting the knots of the laces on his gloves. Tom helped him, and when +the soggy leather was finally discarded, he stuck out his hand. "Well, +Roger, I'm ready to forget everything we've said and start all over +again." + +Roger looked at the extended hand for a moment, his eyes blank and +expressionless. Then, with a quick movement, he slapped it away and +lurched to his feet. + +"Go blow your jets," he snarled, and turning his back on them, stumbled +across the gym. + +Tom watched him go, bewilderment and pain mirrored on his face. + +"I thought sure this would work, Astro," he sighed. "I thought he'd come +to his senses if--" + +"Nothing'll make that space creep come to his senses," Astro broke in +disgustedly. "At least, nothing short of an atomic war head! Come on. +Let's get you cleaned up!" + +Putting his arm around Tom's shoulder, the big Venusian led him across +the floor of the deserted gym, and as they disappeared through the +automatic sliding doors, a tall figure in the uniform of the Solar Guard +stepped out of the shadows on the balcony above. It was Captain Strong. + +He stood silently at the rail, looking down at the mats and the soggy +discarded boxing gloves. Tom had won the fight, he thought, but he had +lost the war. The unit was now farther apart than it had ever been. + +[Illustration] + + + + +CHAPTER 6 + + +"Well, Steve, how's everything going?" + +Captain Steve Strong didn't answer right away. He returned the salute of +a Space Cadet passing on the opposite slidewalk and then faced Commander +Walters who stood beside him, eyeing him quizzically. + +"Things are shaping up pretty well, Commander," he replied, finally, +with an air of unconcern. + +"The Earthworm units buckling down to business?" Commander Walters' +voice matched Strong's in nonchalance. + +"Yes, I'd say so, sir. Speaking generally, of course." Strong felt the +back of his neck begin to flush as Walters kept eyeing him. + +"And--speaking specifically, Steve?" + +"Why--ah--what do you mean, sir?" + +"Let's stop fencing with each other, Steve." Walters spoke kindly but +firmly. "What about Manning and Unit 42-D? Are those boys learning to +work together or not? And I want facts, not hopes!" + +Strong hesitated, trying to word his reply. In these weeks that had +followed Tom's fight with Roger in the gym, there had been no further +incidents of open warfare. Roger's attitude, once openly defiant, had +now subsided into a stream of never-ending sarcasm. The sting had been +taken out of his attack and he seemed satisfied merely to annoy. Astro +had withdrawn into a shell, refusing to allow Roger to bother him and +only an occasional rumble of anger indicated his true feelings toward +his troublesome unit-mate. Tom maintained his role of peacemaker and +daily, in many ways, showed his capacity for leadership by steering his +unit-mates away from any storm-provoking activities. + +Strong finally broke the silence. "It's difficult to answer that +question with facts, Commander Walters." + +"Why?" insisted Walters. + +"Well, nothing's really happened," answered Steve. + +"You mean, nothing since the fight in the gym?" + +"Oh--" Strong flushed. "You know about that?" + +Commander Walters smiled. "Black eyes and faces that looked like raw +beef don't go unnoticed, Steve." + +"Uhh--no, sir," was Strong's lame reply. + +"What I want to know is," pursued Walters, "did the fight prove +anything? Did the boys get it out of their systems and are they +concentrating on becoming a unit?" + +"Right now, Commander, they're concentrating on passing their manuals. +They realize that they have to work together to get through this series +of tests. Why, Dr. Dale told me the other day that she's sure Tom's been +giving Roger a few pointers on control-deck operation. And one night I +found Manning giving Astro a lecture in compression ratios. Of course, +Manning's way of talking is a way that would confuse the Venusian more +than it would help him, but at least they weren't snarling at each +other." + +"Hmm," Walters nodded. "Sounds hopeful, but still not conclusive. After +all, they have to help each other in the manuals. If one member of the +unit fails, it will reflect on the marks of the other two and they might +be washed out too. Even the deadliest enemies will unite to save their +lives." + +"Perhaps, sir," replied Strong. "But we're not dealing with deadly +enemies now. These are three boys, with three distinct personalities +who've been lumped together in strange surroundings. It takes time and +patience to make a team that will last for years." + +"You may have the patience, Steve, but the Academy hasn't the time." +Commander Walters was suddenly curt. "When does Unit 42-D take its +manuals?" + +"This afternoon, sir," replied Strong. "I'm on my way over to the +examination hall right now." + +"Very well. I won't take any action yet. I'll wait for the results of +the tests. Perhaps they will solve both our problems. See you later, +Steve." Turning abruptly, Commander Walters stepped off the slidewalk +onto the steps of the Administration Building and rapidly disappeared +from view. + +Left alone, Strong pondered the commander's parting statement. The +implication was clear. If the unit failed to make a grade high enough to +warrant the trouble it took keeping it together, it would be broken up. +Or even worse, one or more of the boys would be dismissed from the +Academy. + +A few minutes later Strong arrived in the examination hall, a large, +barren room with a small door in each of the three walls other than the +one containing the entrance. Tom Corbett was waiting in the center of +the hall and saluted smartly as Strong approached. + +"Cadet Corbett reporting for manual examination, sir!" + +"Stand easy, Corbett," replied Strong, returning the salute. "This is +going to be a rough one. Are you fully prepared?" + +"I believe so, sir." Tom's voice wasn't too steady. + +A fleeting smile passed over Strong's lips, then he continued. "You'll +take the control-deck examination first. Manning will be next on the +radar bridge and Astro last on the power deck." + +"They'll be here according to schedule, sir." + +"Very well. Follow me." + +Strong walked quickly to the small door in the left wall, Tom staying a +respectful step behind. When they reached the door, the officer pressed +a button in the wall beside it and the door slid open. + +"All right, Corbett. Inside." Strong nodded toward the interior of the +room. + +The boy stepped in quickly, then stopped in amazement. All around him +was a maze of instruments and controls. And in the center, twin pilot's +chairs. + +"Captain Strong!" Tom was so surprised that he could hardly get the +words out. "It's--it's a real control deck!" + +Strong smiled. "As real as we can make it, Corbett, without allowing the +building to blast off." He gestured toward the pilot's chairs. "Take +your place and strap in." + +"Yes, sir." His eyes still wide with wonder, Tom stepped over to the +indicated chair and Strong followed him, leaning casually against the +other. + +He watched the young cadet nervously adjust his seat strap and put a +comforting hand on his shoulder. "Nervous, Corbett?" + +"Yes, sir--just a little," replied Tom. + +"Don't worry," said Strong. "You should have seen the way I came into +this room fifteen years ago. My cadet officer had to help me into the +control pilot's seat." + +Tom managed a fleeting smile. + +"Now, Corbett"--Strong's voice became businesslike--"as you know, these +manual tests are the last tests before actually blasting off. In the +past weeks, you cadets have been subjected to every possible +examination, to discover any flaw in your work that might later crop up +in space. This manual operations test of the control board, like +Manning's on the radar bridge and Astro's on the power deck, is designed +to test you under simulated space conditions. If you pass this test, +your next step is real space." + +"Yes, sir." + +"I warn you, it isn't easy. And if you fail, you personally will wash +out, and if other members of the unit do not get a high enough mark to +average out to a passing grade for all of you, you fail as a unit." + +"I understand, sir," said Tom. + +"All right, then we'll begin. Your crew is aboard, the air lock is +closed. What is the first thing you do?" + +"Adjust the air circulating system to ensure standard Earth conditions." + +"How do you do that?" + +"By pressing this button which will activate the servo units. They +automatically keep the circulating pumps in operation, based on +thermostatic readings from the main gauge." Tom pointed to a black clock +face, with a luminous white hand and numbers. + +"All right, carry on," said Strong. + +Tom reached over the huge control board that extended around him for +some two feet on three sides. He placed a nervous finger on a small +button, waited for the gauge below to register with a swing of the hand, +and then released it. "All pressures steady, sir." + +"What next?" + +"Check the crew, sir--all departments--" replied Tom. + +"Carry on," said Strong. + +Tom reached out and pulled a microphone toward him. + +"All hands! Station check!" said Tom, and then was startled to hear a +metallic voice answer him. + +"Power deck, ready for blast-off!" And then another voice: "Radar deck, +ready for blast-off!" + +Tom leaned back in the pilot's seat and turned to the captain. "All +stations ready, sir." + +"Good! What next?" asked Strong. + +"Ask spaceport tower for blast-off clearance--" + +Strong nodded. Tom turned back to the microphone, and without looking, +punched a button in front of him. + +"Rocket cruiser--" He paused and turned back to Strong. "What name do I +give, sir?" + +Strong smiled. "_Noah's Ark_--" + +"Rocket cruiser _Noah's Ark_ to spaceport control! Request blast-off +clearance and orbit." + +Once again a thin metallic voice answered him and gave the necessary +instructions. + +On and on, through every possible command, condition or decision that +would be placed in front of him, Tom guided his imaginary ship on its +imaginary flight through space. For two hours he pushed buttons, snapped +switches and jockeyed controls. He gave orders and received them from +the thin metallic voices. They answered him with such accuracy, and +sometimes with seeming hesitation, that Tom found it difficult to +believe that they were only electronically controlled recording devices. +Once, when supposedly blasting through space at three-quarters space +speed, he received a warning from the radar bridge of an approaching +asteroid. He asked for a course change, but in reply received only +static. Believing the recording to have broken down, he turned +inquiringly to Captain Strong, but received only a blank stare in +return. Tom hesitated for a split second, then turned back to the +controls. He quickly flipped the teleceiver button on and began plotting +the course of the approaching asteroid, ignoring for the moment his +other duties on the control deck. When he had finished, he gave the +course shift to the power deck and ordered a blast on the starboard jet. +He waited for the course change, saw it register on the gauges in front +of him, then continued his work. + +Strong suddenly leaned over and clapped him on the back +enthusiastically. + +"Good work, Corbett. That broken recording was put there intentionally +to trap you. Not one cadet in twenty would have had the presence of mind +you showed in plotting the course of that asteroid yourself." + +"Thank you, sir," stammered Tom. + +"That's all--the test is over. Return to your quarters." He came over +and laid a hand on Tom's shoulder. "And don't worry, Corbett. While it +isn't customary to tell a cadet, I think you deserve it. You've passed +with a perfect score!" + +"I have, sir? You mean--_I really passed?_" + +"Next step is Manning," said Strong. "You've done as much as one cadet +can do." + +"Thank you, sir"--Tom could only repeat it over and over--"thank you, +sir--thank you." + +Dazed, he saluted his superior and turned to the door. Two hours in the +pilot's chair had made him dizzy. But he was happy. + +Five minutes later he slammed back the sliding door and entered the +quarters of 42-D with a lusty shout. + +"Meet Space Cadet Corbett--an Earthworm who's just passed his +control-deck manual operations exam!" + +Astro looked up from a book of tables on astrogation and gave Tom a wan +smile. + +"Congratulations, Tom," he said, and turned back to his book, adding +bitterly, "but if I don't get these tables down by this afternoon for my +power-deck manual, you're sunk." + +"Say--what's going on here?" asked Tom. "Where's Roger? Didn't he help +you with them?" + +"He left. Said he had to see someone before taking his radar-bridge +manual. He helped me a little. But when I'd ask him a question, he'd +just rattle the answer off so fast--well, I just couldn't follow him." + +Suddenly slamming the book shut, he got up. "Me and these tables"--he +indicated the book--"just don't mix!" + +"What's the trouble?" + +"Ah--I can get the easy ones about astrogation. They're simple. But it's +the ones where I have to _combine_ it with the power deck." + +"Well--I mean--what specifically?" asked Tom softly. + +"For instance, I've got to find the ratio for compression on the main +firing tubes, using a given amount of fuel, heading for a given +destination, and taking a given time for the passage." + +"But that's control-deck operations--as well as astrogation and power!" +exclaimed Tom. + +"Yeah--I know," answered Astro, "but I've still got to be able to do it. +If anything happened to you two guys and I didn't know how to get you +home, then what?" + +Tom hesitated. Astro was right. Each member of the unit had to depend on +the other in any emergency. And if one of them failed...? Tom saw why +the ground manuals were so important now. + +"Look," offered Tom. "Suppose we go over the whole thing again together. +Maybe you're fouled up on the basic concept." + +Tom grabbed a chair, hitched it close to the desk and pulled Astro down +beside him. He opened the book and began studying the problem. + +"Now look--you have twenty-two tons of fuel--and considering the +position of your ship in space--" + +As the two boys, their shoulders hunched over the table, began reviewing +the table of ratios, across the quadrangle in the examination hall +Roger Manning stood in a replica of a rocket ship's radar bridge and +faced Captain Strong. + +"Cadet Manning reporting for manual examination, sir." Roger brought up +his arm in a crisp salute to Captain Strong, who returned it casually. + +"Stand easy, Manning," replied Strong. "Do you recognize this room?" + +"Yes, sir. It's a mock-up of a radar bridge." + +"A workable mock-up, cadet!" Strong was vaguely irritated by Roger's +nonchalance in accepting a situation that Tom had marveled at. "You will +take your manuals here!" + +"Yes, sir." + +"On these tests you will be timed for both efficiency and speed and +you'll use all the tables, charts and astrogation equipment that you'd +find in a spaceship. Your problems are purely mathematical. There are no +decisions to make. Just use your head." + +Strong handed Roger several sheets of paper containing written problems. +Roger shuffled them around in his fingers, giving each a quick glance. + +"You may begin any time you are ready, Manning," said Strong. + +"I'm ready now, sir," replied Roger calmly. He turned to the swivel +chair located between the huge communications board, the adjustable +chart table and the astrogation prism. Directly in front of him was the +huge radar scanner, and to one side and overhead was a tube mounted on a +swivel joint that looked like a small telescope, but which was actually +an astrogation prism for taking sights on the celestial bodies in space. + +Roger concentrated on the first problem. + +" ... you are now in the northwest quadrant of Mars, chart M, area +twenty-eight. You have been notified by the control deck that it has +been necessary to jettison three quarters of your fuel supply. For the +last five hundred and seventy-nine seconds you have been blasting at +one-quarter space speed. The four main drive rockets were cut out at +thirty-second intervals. Making adjustment for degree of slip on each +successive rocket cutout, find present position by using cross-fix with +Regulus as your starboard fix, Alpha Centauri as your port fix." + +Suddenly a bell began to ring in front of Roger. Without hesitation he +adjusted a dial that brought the radar scanner into focus. When the +screen remained blank, he made a second adjustment, and then a third and +fourth, until the bright white flash of a meteor was seen on the +scanner. He quickly grabbed two knobs, one in each hand, and twisted +them to move two thin, plotting lines, one horizontal and one vertical, +across the surface of the scanner. Setting the vertical line, he +fingered a tabulating machine with his right hand, as he adjusted the +second line with his left, thus cross-fixing the meteor. Then he turned +his whole attention to the tabulator, ripped off the answer with +lightning moves of his fingers and began talking rapidly into the +microphone. + +"Radar bridge to control deck! Alien body bearing zero-one-five, +one-point-seven degrees over plane of the ecliptic. On intersecting +orbit. Change course two degrees, hold for fifteen seconds, then resume +original heading. Will compensate for change nearer destination!" + +Roger watched the scanner a moment longer. When the rumbling blast of +the steering jets sounded in the chamber and the meteor flash shifted on +the scanner screen, he returned to the problem in his hand. + +Seven minutes later he turned to Strong and handed him the answer. + +"Present position by dead reckoning is northwest quadrant of Mars, +chart O, area thirty-nine, sir," he announced confidently. + +[Illustration: "_I was unable to get a sight on Alpha Centauri_"] + +Strong tried to mask his surprise, but a lifted eyebrow gave him away. +"And how did you arrive at this conclusion, Manning?" + +"I was unable to get a sight on Alpha Centauri due to the present +position of Jupiter, sir," replied Roger easily. "So I took a fix on +Earth, allowed for its rotational speed around the sun and took the +cross-fix with Regulus as ordered in the problem. Of course, I included +all the other factors of the speed and heading of our ship. That was +routine." + +Strong accepted the answer with a curt nod, motioning for Roger to +continue. It would not do, thought Strong, to let Manning know that he +was the first cadet in thirty-nine years to make the correct selection +of Earth in working up the fix with Regulus, and still have the presence +of mind to plot a meteor without so much as a half-degree error. Of +course the problem varied with each cadet, but it remained essentially +the same. + +"Seven-and-a-half minutes. Commander Walters will be surprised, to say +the least," thought Steve. + +Forty-five minutes later, Roger, as unruffled as if he had been sitting +listening to a lecture from a sound slide, handed in the rest of his +papers, executed a sharp salute and walked out. + +"Two down and one to go," thought Strong, and the toughest one of them +all coming up. Astro. The big Venusian was unable to understand anything +that couldn't be turned with a wrench. The only thing that would prevent +Unit 42-D from taking Academy unit honors over Unit 77-K, the unit +assigned to Lieutenant Wolcheck, would be Astro. While none of the +members of the other units could come up to the individual brilliance of +Corbett or Manning, they worked together as a unit, helping one another. +They might make a higher unit rating, simply because they were better +balanced. + +He shrugged his shoulders and collected the papers. It was as much +torture for him, as it was for any cadet, he thought, and turned to the +door. "All right, Astro," he said to himself, "in ten minutes it'll be +your turn and I'm going to make it tough!" + +Back in the quarters of Unit 42-D, Tom and Astro still pored over the +books and papers on the desk. + +"Let's try again, Astro," sighed Tom as he hitched his chair closer to +the desk. "You've got thirty tons of fuel--you want to find the +compression ratio of the number-one firing-tube chamber--so what do you +do?" + +"Start up the auxiliary, burn a little of the stuff and judge what it'll +be," the big cadet replied. "That's the way I did it on the space +freighters." + +"But you're not on a space freighter now!" exclaimed Tom. "You've got to +do things the way they want it done here at the Academy. By the book! +These tables have been figured out by great minds to help you, and you +just want to burn a little of the stuff and guess at what it'll be!" Tom +threw up his hands in disgust. + +"Seems to me I heard of an old saying back in the teen centuries about +leading a horse to water, but not being able to make him drink!" drawled +Roger from the doorway. He strolled in and kicked at the crumpled sheets +of paper that littered the floor, stark evidence of Tom's efforts with +Astro. + +"All right, wise guy," said Tom, "suppose you explain it to him!" + +"No can do," replied Roger. "I tried. I explained it to him twenty times +this morning while you were taking your control-deck manual." He tapped +his head delicately with his forefinger. "Can't get through--too thick!" + +Astro turned to the window to hide the mist in his eyes. + +"Lay off, Roger," snapped Tom. He got up and walked over to the big +cadet. "Come on, Astro, we haven't got much time. You're due in the +examination hall in a few minutes." + +"It's no good, Tom, I just can't understand that stuff." Astro turned +and faced his unit-mates, his voice charged with sudden emotion. "Just +fifteen minutes on the power deck of anything with rockets in her and +I'll run her from here to the next galaxy. I--I can't explain it, but +when I look at those motors, I can read 'em like you read an astrogation +chart, Roger, or you the gauges on the control deck, Tom. But I just +can't get those ratios out of a book. I gotta put my hands on those +motors--touch 'em--I mean really _touch 'em_--then I know what to do!" + +As suddenly as he had started, he stopped and turned, leaving Tom and +Roger staring at him, startled by this unusual outburst. + +"Cadets--stand _to!_" roared a voice from the doorway. + +The three cadets snapped to attention and faced the entrance. + +"Take it easy, Earthworms!" said Tony Richards. A tall cadet with +closely cut black hair and a lazy, smiling face stood in the doorway. + +"Lay off, Richards," said Tom. "We haven't time for gags now. Astro's +going to take his power-deck manual in a few minutes and we're cramming +with him." + +"O.K.--O.K.--don't blow your jets," said Richards. "I just wanted to see +if there were any bets on which unit would cop honors in the manuals +this afternoon." + +"I suppose you think your Unit 77-K will finish on top?" drawled Roger. + +"I'd like to bet all the galley demerits we have in 77-K against yours." + +"With Astro on our team?" complained Roger. + +"What's the matter with Astro?" asked Richards. "From what I hear, he's +hot stuff!" It wasn't a compliment, but a sharp dig made with a sly +smile. Astro balled his huge hands into fists. + +"Astro," said Roger, "is the type that can smell out trouble on any +power deck. But today he came down with a cold. No, I'm afraid it's no +bet, Richards." + +"I'll give you two to one," Richards offered. + +"Nothing doing," replied Roger. "Not even at five to one. Not with +Astro." + +Richards grinned, nodded and disappeared. + +Roger turned to face the hard stare of Tom. + +"That was the dirtiest sellout I've ever heard, Manning," Tom growled. + +"Sorry, Corbett," said Roger. "I only bet on sure things." + +"That's O.K. with me, Manning," said Astro, "but I'm afraid you sold +yourself a hot rocket, because I'm going to pass!" + +"Who are you kidding?" Roger laughed and sprawled on his bunk. + +Astro took a quick step forward, his fists clenched, his face a mask of +burning anger, but Tom quickly jumped in front of him. + +"You'll be late for the exam, Astro!" he shouted. "Get going or it'll +count against your mark!" + +"Huh. What's a few points more or less when you're going to fail +anyway," snorted Roger from the bunk. + +Again, Astro started to lunge forward and Tom braced himself against the +Venusian's charge, but suddenly the burly cadet stopped. Disengaging +Tom's restraining arms, he spoke coldly to the sneering boy on the bed. + +"I'm going to pass the exam, Manning. Get that? I'm going to pass and +then come back and beat your head off!" Turning on his heel, he stalked +out of the room. + +Tom immediately wheeled to face Roger, fire in his eyes, and the +arrogant cadet, sensing trouble, jumped to his feet to meet him. + +"What's the idea of giving Astro a hard time?" demanded Tom. + +"Cool off, Corbett," replied Roger warily. "You're fusing your tubes +you're so hot." + +"You bet I'm hot! Hot enough to blast you--again!" Tom deliberately spat +out the last word. + +Roger flushed and brought his fists up quickly as though to charge in, +then suddenly dropped them again. He turned to the door and slowly +walked out. + +"Go blow your jets," his voice drifted back to Tom as he disappeared. + +Tom stood there, looking at the empty door, almost blind with rage and +frustration. He was failing in the main job assigned to him, that of +keeping the unit on an even keel and working together. How could he +command a crew out in space if he couldn't keep the friction of his own +unit under control? + +Slowly, he left the room to wait for Astro in the recreation hall where +the results of the manuals would be announced. He thought of Astro, now +probably deep in his exam, and wondered how bad it would be for him. +Then another thought crossed his mind. Roger had said nothing of his own +test and neither he nor Astro had even inquired. + +He shook his head. No matter where the unit placed in the manuals, it +just couldn't stay together. + +[Illustration] + + + + +CHAPTER 7 + + +It was customary for all Earthworm cadets to gather in the main +recreation hall to wait for the results of the manuals which would be +announced on the huge teleceiver screen. Since all the units were taking +their tests that afternoon, the hall was crowded with green-clad cadets, +talking in low murmurs and waiting tensely for the outcome of the exam. + +Tom entered the huge room, looked around and then drifted toward Al +Dixon, the senior cadet who had greeted them as a unit after passing +classification tests. The blue-clad cadet was listening to a story +spool, a device that told a story, rather than let the person read it +from a book. + +"Hiya, Corbett," said Dixon, smiling. "Drag up a chair. Listening to a +terrific yarn about a guy stranded on an asteroid and then he finds--" +The redheaded cadet's voice trailed off when he noticed that Tom wasn't +listening. + +"Say, what's the matter with you? You look like you just lost your best +friend." + +"Not yet, but it won't be long now," commented Tom, a trace of +bitterness creeping into his voice. "Astro's taking his power-deck +manual. What he knows about those compression ratios just isn't known. +But he just can't get it on paper." + +"Don't sell your unit-mate short," said Dixon, sensing something +beneath Tom's comment. "I've heard that big fellow knows more about a +rocket deck than McKenny." + +"Yeah, that's true," said Tom, "but--" + +"You know, Corbett," said Dixon, switching off the story spool, "there's +something screwy in that outfit of yours." + +"You can say that again," agreed Tom bitterly. + +"You come in here with a face dragging on the floor, and Manning--" + +Tom's head jerked up. "Manning! What about that space-gassing hot-shot?" + +"--Manning just tore through the rec hall trying to get some of the +other Earthworm units to bet their galley demerits against your outfit." + +Tom's mouth sagged open. "You mean, he actually wanted to bet that Astro +would pass?" + +"Not just pass, Corbett, but he wanted to bet that your unit would be +top rocket of the Earthworms! The head of the list!" + +"But he told Astro that--" he stopped. + +"Told him what?" Dixon asked. + +"Ah--nothing--nothing--" said Tom. He jumped up and headed for the door. + +"Hey, where are you going?" + +"To find Manning. There are a couple of things I want to clear up." + +Tom left Dixon shaking his head in bewilderment and jumped on the +slidestairs. He was going to have it out with Roger once and for all. +Hopping off the slidestairs onto the forty-second floor, he started down +the long hall to his quarters. + +Nearing the door, he heard Roger's laugh, and then his lazy voice +talking to someone inside. + +"Sure, they're dumb, but they're not bad guys," said Roger. + +Tom walked into the room. Roger was sitting on the side of his bunk +facing Tony Richards. + +"Hiya, Corbett," said Roger, "did you hear how Astro made out yet?" + +Tom ignored the question. + +"I want to talk to you, Roger." + +Roger eyed him suspiciously. "Sure, Corbett, go ahead." + +"Well, I'll be going along," said Richards. He had heard about the +previous fight between Manning and Corbett and didn't want to be hauled +up as a witness later if they started again. "Remember, Manning," he +called from the doorway, "the bet is two to one, and are you going to +get tired of washing pots and pans!" He waved his hand at Corbett and +disappeared. + +"All right, Corbett," Roger turned to Tom. "What's frying you?" + +"I just saw Al Dixon down in the rec hall," answered Tom. "He told me +you were looking for bets on the unit ratings. Is that why Richards was +here?" + +"That's right," nodded Roger. + +"What made you say the things you did to Astro before he went for his +manual?" + +"Very simple. I wanted to make him pass and that was the only way." + +"You're pretty sure of yourself, Roger." + +"I'm always sure of myself, Corbett. And the sooner you learn that, the +easier it'll be for all of us. I never bet unless it's in the bag. I +know Astro's going to pass. Some guys have to have a fire built under +them before they get moving. Astro's one of them." + +"That doesn't answer my question," said Tom. "Why did you say the things +you did before a guy goes to take an exam?" + +"I said what I did to make Tony Richards give me odds. _And_ to make +Astro mad enough to pass. We're a cinch to win and Richards' outfit +will be indebted to us for a year's worth of galley demerits." He smiled +easily. "Smooth, huh?" + +"I think it's rotten," said Tom. "Astro left here feeling like a plugged +credit! And if he does fail, it'll be because you made him think he was +the dumbest guy in the universe!" + +"He probably is," mused Roger, "but he still won't fail that manual." + +From the hallway behind them, a loud blasting yell was suddenly heard, +echoing from somewhere on the lower floors. Tom and Roger waited, their +eyes wide and hopeful. There was only one person at Space Academy +capable of making such a noise. + +"He made it!" Tom exclaimed. + +"Of course he made it," said Roger casually. + +Astro tore into 42-D with a mad rush. + +"Yeeeoooooowwww!" He grabbed the two cadets and picked them up, one in +each hand. "I made it--hands down--I handled those rocket motors like +they were babes in arms! I told you that all I had to do was touch them +and I'd know! I told you!" + +"Congratulations, Astro," said Tom with a wide grin. "I knew you'd do +it." + +"Put me down, you oversized Venusian jerk," said Roger, almost +good-naturedly. Astro released the smaller cadet and faced him. + +"Well, hot-shot, I promised you something when I got back, didn't I?" + +"Make it later, will you, and I'll be glad to oblige." He walked toward +the door. "I've got to go down and collect a bet." + +"What bet?" asked Astro. + +"With Tony Richards." + +"But I thought you were afraid to bet on me!" + +"Not at all, Astro. I just wanted to make you mad enough to ensure my +winning." + +"That sounds like you were more worried about your bet than you were +about Astro passing," snapped Tom. + +"You're exactly right, spaceboy," purred Roger, standing in the doorway. + +"That's our boy, Manning," growled Astro. "The great team man!" + +"Team?" Roger took a step back into the room. "Don't make me laugh, +Astro. For your information, tomorrow morning I'm putting in for a +transfer to another unit!" + +"What!" exclaimed Tom. "You can't trans--" + +"Yes, I can," interrupted Roger. "Read your Academy regs. Anyone can +request a transfer once the unit has passed its manuals." + +"And what excuse are you going to use," snapped Astro bitterly. "That +you can't take it?" + +"A personality difference, Astro, my boy. You hate me and I hate you. +It's a good enough reason, I think." + +"It's just as well, hot-shot," replied Astro. "Because if you don't +transfer, we will!" + +Roger merely smiled, flipped his fingers to his forehead in an arrogant +gesture of farewell and turned to leave again. But his path was blocked +by the sudden appearance of Captain Steve Strong. The three cadets +quickly braced. + +The Solar Guard officer strode into the room, his face beaming. He +looked at each of the boys, pride shining out of his eyes, and then +brought his hand up and held it in salute. + +"I just want to tell you boys one thing," he said solemnly. "It's the +highest compliment I can pay you, or anyone." He paused. "All three of +you are real spacemen!" + +Tom and Astro couldn't repress smiles, but Roger's expression never +changed. + +"Then we passed as a unit, sir?" asked Tom eagerly. + +"Not only passed, Corbett"--Strong's voice boomed in the small +room--"but with honors. You're the top rockets of this Earthworm group! +I'm proud to be your commanding officer!" + +Again Tom and Astro fought back smiles of happiness and even Roger +managed a small grin. + +"This is the fightingest group of cadets I've ever seen," Strong +continued. "Frankly, I was a little worried about your ability to pull +together but the results of the manuals showed that you have. You +couldn't have made it without working as a unit." + +Strong failed to notice Roger's face darken, and Tom and Astro look at +each other meaningfully. + +"My congratulations for having solved that problem too!" Strong saluted +them again and walked toward the door, where he paused. "By the way, I +want you to report to the Academy spaceport tomorrow at eight hundred +hours. Warrant Officer McKenny has something out there he wants to show +you." + +Tom's eyes bugged out and he stepped forward. + +"Sir," he gasped, scarcely able to get the question past his lips, "you +don't mean we're--we're going to--" + +"You're absolutely right, Corbett. There's a brand-new rocket cruiser +out there. Your ship. Your future classroom. You'll report to her in the +blues of the Space Cadets! And from now on your unit identification is +the name of your ship! The rocket cruiser _Polaris_!" + +A second later, Strong had vanished down the corridor, leaving Tom and +Astro hugging each other and clapping each other on the back in +delirious joy. + +Roger merely stood to one side, a sarcastic smile on his face. + +"And now, as we prepare to face the unknown dangers of space," he said +bitingly, "let us unite our voices and sing the Academy hymn together! +Huh!" He strode toward the door. "Don't they ever get tired of waving +that flag around here?" + +Before Tom and Astro could reply, he had disappeared. The big Venusian +shrugged his shoulders. "I just don't understand that guy!" + +But Tom failed to reply. He had turned toward the window and was staring +out past the gleaming white Tower of Galileo into the slowly darkening +skies of evening to the east. For the moment, the problems of Roger +Manning and the unit were far away. He was thinking of the coming +morning when he would dress in the blues of a Space Cadet for the first +time and step into his own ship as command pilot. He was thinking of the +morning when he would be a real spaceman! + +[Illustration] + + + + +CHAPTER 8 + + +The campus of Space Academy was quiet that evening. Only a few cadets +were still out on the quadrangle, lounging around in the open before +returning to their quarters for bed-check. + +On the forty-second floor of the dormitory building, two thirds of the +newly formed _Polaris_ unit, Tom and Astro, were in heated argument. + +"All right, all right, so the guy is brilliant," said Astro. "But who +can live with him? Not even himself!" + +"Maybe he is a little difficult," replied Tom, "but somehow, we've got +to adjust to him!" + +"How about him adjusting to us? It's two against one!" Astro shambled to +the window and looked out moodily. "Besides, he's putting in for a +transfer and there's nothing we can do about it!" + +"Maybe he won't now--not after that little speech Captain Strong made +this afternoon." + +"If he doesn't, then, blast it, I will!" + +"Aw, now take it easy, Astro!" + +"Take it easy, nothing!" Astro was building up a big head of steam. +"Where is that space crawler right now?" + +"I don't know. He never came back. Wasn't even down at mess tonight." + +"There, that's just what I mean!" Astro turned to Tom to press his +point. "It's close to bed-check and he isn't in quarters yet. If the +MP's catch him outside after hours, the whole unit will be logged and +there goes our chance of blasting off tomorrow!" + +"But there's still time, Astro," replied Tom lamely. + +"Not much there isn't. It just shows you what he thinks of the unit! He +just doesn't care!" Astro paced the floor angrily. "There's only one +thing to do! He gets his transfer--or we do! Or--" he paused and looked +at Tom meaningfully, "or I do." + +"You're not thinking, Astro," argued Tom. "How will that look on your +record? Every time there's a trip into deep space, they yank out your +file to see how you operate under pressure with other guys. When they +see that you asked for a transfer from your unit, that's it!" + +"Yeah--yeah--I know--incompatible--but honest, Tom--" + +The curly-haired cadet felt his big friend weaken and he pressed his +advantage. + +"It isn't every day that a unit gets a ship right after finishing ground +manuals. Captain Strong said he waited for four months after manuals +before getting his first hop into space." + +"Yeah--but what do you think it's going to be like out in space with +Manning making sour cracks all the time?" + +Tom hesitated before answering his Venusian friend. He was fully aware +that Roger was going to play a lone hand. And that they would never +really have unity among them until some drastic measure was taken. After +all, Tom thought, some guys don't have good hearts, or eyes, a defect to +prevent them from becoming spacemen. Roger is just mixed up inside. And +the handicap is just as real as if he had a physical flaw. + +"Well, what do you want to do?" asked Tom finally. + +"Go see Captain Strong. Give it to him straight. Tell him we want a +transfer." + +"But tomorrow we blast off. We might not have another chance for months! +Certainly not until we get a new astrogator." + +"I'd rather wait and have a guy on the radar bridge I know isn't going +to pull something behind my back," said Astro, "than blast off tomorrow +with Manning aboard." + +Again Tom hesitated. He knew what Astro was saying was the truth. Life, +so far, at the Academy had been tough enough, but with mutual dependence +and security even more important out in space, the danger of their +constant friction was obvious. + +"O.K.," he relented, "if that's the way you really want it. Come on. +We'll go see Captain Strong now." + +"You go," said Astro. "You know how I feel. Whatever you say goes for me +too." + +"Are you sure you want to do it?" asked Tom. He knew what such a request +would mean. A black mark against Roger for being rejected by his +unit-mates and a black mark against Astro and himself for not being able +to adjust. Regardless of who was right and who was wrong, there would +always be a mark on their records. + +"Look, Tom," said Astro, "if I thought it was only me I'd keep my mouth +shut. But you'd let Manning get away with murder because you wouldn't +want to be the one to get him into trouble." + +"No, I wouldn't," said Tom. "I think Roger would make a fine spaceman; +he's certainly smart enough, and a good unit-mate if he'd only snap out +of it. But I can't let him or anyone else stop me from becoming a +spaceman or a member of the Solar Guard." + +"Then you'll go see Captain Strong?" + +"Yes," said Tom. If he had been in doubt before, now that he had made +the decision, he felt relieved. He slipped on his space boots and stood +up. The two boys looked at each other, each realizing the question in +the other's mind. + +"No!" said Tom decisively. "It's better for everyone. Even Roger. He +might find two other guys that will fit him better." He walked from the +room. + +The halls were silent as he strode toward the slidestairs that would +take him to the nineteenth floor and Captain Strong's quarters. Passing +one room after another, he glanced in and saw other units studying, +preparing for bed, or just sitting around talking. There weren't many +units left. The tests had taken a toll of the Earthworms. But those that +remained were solidly built. Already friendships had taken deep root. +Tom found himself wishing he had become a member of another unit. Where +the comradeship was taken for granted in other units, he was about to +make a request to dissolve his because of friction. + +Completely discouraged, Tom stepped on the slidestairs and started down. + +As he left the dormitory floors, the noise of young cadet life was soon +lost and he passed floors containing offices and apartments of the +administration staff of the Solar Guard. + +As he drew level with the floor that was Galaxy Hall, he glanced at the +lighted plaque and for the hundredth time reread the inscription-- + +" ... to the brave men who sacrificed their lives in the conquest of +space, this Galaxy Hall is dedicated...." + +Something moved in the darkness of the hall. Tom strained his eyes for a +closer look and just managed to distinguish the figure of a cadet +standing before the wreckage of the _Space Queen_. Funny, thought Tom. +Why should anyone be wandering around the hall at this time of night? +And then, as the floor slipped past, the figure turned slightly and was +illuminated by the dim light that came from the slidestairs. Tom +recognized the sharp features and close-cropped blond hair of Roger +Manning! + +[Illustration: _Roger was still standing in front of the_ Space Queen!] + +Quickly changing over to the slidestairs going up, Tom slipped back to +the hall floor and stepped off. Roger was still standing in front of the +_Space Queen_! + +Tom started to speak, but stopped when he saw Roger take out a +handkerchief and dab at his eyes. + +The movements of the other boy were crystal-clear to Tom. Roger was +crying! Standing in front of the _Space Queen_ and crying! + +He kept watching as Roger put away the handkerchief, saluted sharply and +turned toward the slidestairs. Ducking behind a glass case that held the +first space suit ever used, Tom held his breath as Roger passed him. He +could hear Roger mumble. + +"They got you--but they won't get me with any of that glory stuff!" + +Tom waited, heart racing, trying to figure out what Roger meant, and why +he was here alone in Galaxy Hall. Finally the blond cadet disappeared up +the moving stair. + +Tom didn't go to see Captain Strong. Instead, he returned to his room. + +"So quick?" asked Astro. + +Tom shook his head. "Where's Roger?" he asked. + +"In the shower." Astro gestured to the bathroom, where Tom could hear +the sound of running water. "What made you change your mind about seeing +Captain Strong?" asked Astro. + +"I think we've misjudged Roger, Astro," said Tom slowly. And then +related what he had seen and heard. + +"Well, blast my jets!" exclaimed Astro, when Tom had finished. "What's +behind it, do you think?" + +"I don't know, Astro. But I'm convinced that any guy that'll visit +Galaxy Hall by himself late at night--and _cry_--well, he couldn't be +entirely off base, regardless of what he does." + +Astro studied his work-hardened palms. + +"You wanta keep it this way for a while?" he asked. "I mean, forget +about talking to Captain Strong?" + +"Roger's the best astrogator and radar man in the Academy, Astro. +There's something bothering him. But I'm willing to bet that whatever it +is, Roger will work it out. And if we're really unit-mates, then we +won't sell him out now, when he may need us most." + +"That's it, then," said Astro. "I'll kill him with kindness. Come on. +Let's turn in. We've got a big day ahead of us tomorrow!" + +The two boys began to prepare for bed. Roger came out of the shower +wearing pajamas. + +"All excited, spacemen?" he drawled, leaning against the wall, brushing +his short hair. + +"About as excited as we can get, Roger," smiled Tom. + +"Yeah, you space-blasting jerk!" growled Astro good-naturedly. "Turn +out the lights before I introduce you to my space boot." + +Roger eyed the two cadets quizzically, puzzled by the strange good humor +of both boys. He shrugged his shoulders, flipped out the light and +crawled into bed. + +But if he could have seen the satisfied smile of Tom Corbett, Roger +would have been even more puzzled. + +"We'll just kill him with kindness," thought Tom, and fell fast asleep. + +[Illustration] + + + + +CHAPTER 9 + + +The three members of the _Polaris_ unit stepped off the slidewalk at the +Academy spaceport and stood before Warrant Officer McKenny. + +"There she is," said the stubby spaceman, pointing to the gleaming +spaceship resting not two hundred feet away. "Rocket cruiser _Polaris_. +The newest and fastest ship in space." + +He faced the three boys with a smile. "And she's all yours. You earned +her!" + +Mouths open, Tom, Roger and Astro stood gaping in fascination at the +mighty spaceship resting on the concrete ramp. Her long two-hundred-foot +polished beryllium steel hull mirrored the spaceport scene around them. +The tall buildings of the Academy, the "ready" line of space destroyers +and scouts, and the hundreds of maintenance noncoms of the enlisted +Solar Guard, their scarlet uniforms spotted with grime, were all +reflected back to the _Polaris_ unit as they eyed the sleek ship from +the needlelike nose of her bow to the stubby opening of her rocket +exhausts. Not a seam or rivet could be seen in her hull. At the top of +the ship, near her nose, a large blister made of six-inch clear crystal +indicated the radar bridge. Twelve feet below it, six round window ports +showed the position of the control deck. Surrounding the base of the +ship was an aluminum scaffold with a ladder over a hundred feet high +anchored to it. The top rung of the ladder just reached the power-deck +emergency hatch which was swung open, like a giant plug, revealing the +thickness of the hull, nearly a foot. + +"Well," roared the red-clad spaceman, "don't you want to climb aboard +and see what your ship looks like inside?" + +"Do we!" cried Tom, and made a headlong dash for the scaffold. Astro let +out one of his famous yells and followed right at his heels. Roger +watched them running ahead and started off at a slow walk, but suddenly, +no longer able to resist, he broke into a dead run. Those around the +_Polaris_ stopped their work to watch the three cadets scramble up the +ladder. Most of the ground crew were ex-spacemen like McKenny, no longer +able to blast off because of acceleration reaction. And they smiled +knowingly, remembering their reactions to their first spaceship. + +Inside the massive cruiser, the boys roamed over every deck, examining +the ship excitedly. + +"Say look at this!" cried Tom. He stood in front of the control board +and ran his hands over the buttons and switches. "This board makes the +manual we worked on at the Academy look like it's ready for Galaxy +Hall!" + +"Yeeeooooooww!" Three decks below, Astro had discovered the rocket +motors. Four of the most powerful ever installed on a spaceship, +enabling the _Polaris_ to outrace any ship in space. + +Roger stuck his head through the radar-bridge hatch and gazed in awe at +the array of electronic communicators, detection radar and astrogation +gear. With lips pulled into a thin line, he mumbled to himself: "Too bad +they didn't give _you_ this kind of equipment." + +"What'd you say, Roger?" asked Astro, climbing alongside to peer into +the radar bridge. + +Startled, Roger turned and stammered, "Ah--nothing--nothing." + +Looking around, Astro commented, "This place looks almost as good as +that power deck." + +"Of course," said Roger, "they could have placed that astrogation prism +a little closer to the chart table. Now I'll have to get up every time I +want to take sights on stars!" + +"Don't you ever get tired of complaining?" asked Astro. + +"Ah--rocket off," snarled Roger. + +"Hey, you guys," yelled Tom from below, "better get down here! Captain +Strong's coming aboard." + +Climbing back down the ladder to the control deck, Astro leaned over his +shoulder and asked Roger, "Do you really think he'll let us take this +baby up for a hop, Manning?" + +"Get your head out of that cloud, Astro. You'll pull about three weeks +of dry runs before this baby gets five inches off the ground." + +"I wouldn't be too sure of that, Manning!" Strong's voice boomed out as +he climbed up through the control-deck hatch. The three boys immediately +snapped to attention. + +Strong walked around the control deck, fingering the controls lightly. + +"This is a fine ship," he mused aloud. "One of the finest that +scientific brains can build. She's yours. The day you graduate from the +Academy, _IF_ you graduate, and I can think of about a thousand reasons +why you won't, you'll command an armed rocket cruiser similar to this. +As a matter of fact, the only difference between this ship and those +that patrol the space lanes now is in the armament." + +"Don't we have any arms aboard at all, sir?" asked Tom. + +"Small arms, like paralo-ray pistols and paralo-ray rifles. Plus four +atomic war heads for emergency use," replied Strong. + +Seeing a puzzled expression cross Astro's face, the Solar Guard officer +continued, "You haven't studied armament yet, Astro, but paralo rays are +the only weapons used by law-enforcement agencies in the Solar Alliance. +They work on a principle of controlled energy, sending out a ray with an +effective range of fifty yards that can paralyze the nervous system of +any beast or human." + +"And it doesn't kill, sir?" inquired Astro. + +"No, Astro," replied Strong. "Paralyzing a man is just as effective as +killing him. The Solar Alliance doesn't believe you have to kill anyone, +not even the most vicious criminal. Freeze him and capture him, and you +still have the opportunity of making him a useful citizen." + +"But if you can't?" inquired Roger dryly. + +"Then he's kept on the prison asteroid where he can't harm anyone." +Strong turned away abruptly. "But this isn't the time for a general +discussion. We've got work to do!" + +He walked over to the master control panel and switched the teleceiver +screen. There was a slight buzz, and a view of the spaceport outside the +ship suddenly came into focus, filling the screen. Strong flipped a +switch and a view aft on the _Polaris_ filled the glowing square. The +aluminum scaffolding was being hauled away by a jet truck. Again the +view changed as Strong twisted the dials in front of him. + +"Just scanning the outside, boys," he commented. "Have to make sure +there isn't anyone near the ship when we blast off. The rocket exhaust +is powerful enough to blow a man two hundred feet, to say nothing of +burning him to death." + +"You mean, sir--" began Tom, not daring to hope. + +"Of course, Corbett," smiled Strong. "Take your stations for blast-off. +We raise ship as soon as we get orbital clearance from spaceport +control!" + +Without waiting for further orders, the three boys scurried to their +stations. + +Soon the muffled whine of the energizing pumps on the power deck began +to ring through the ship, along with the steady beep of the radar +scanner on the radar bridge. Tom checked the maze of gauges and dials on +the control board. Air locks, hatches, oxygen supply, circulating +system, circuits, and feeds. In five minutes the two-hundred-foot +shining steel hull was a living thing as her rocket motors purred, +warming up for the initial thrust. + +Tom made a last sweeping check of the complicated board and turned to +Captain Strong who stood to one side watching. + +"Ship ready to blast off, sir," he announced. "Shall I check stations +and proceed to raise ship?" + +"Carry on, Cadet Corbett," Strong replied. "Log yourself in as skipper +with me along as supercargo. I'll ride in the second pilot's chair." + +Tom snapped a sharp salute and added vocally, "Aye, aye, sir!" + +He turned back to the control board, strapped himself into the command +pilot's seat and opened the circuit to the spaceport control tower. + +"Rocket cruiser _Polaris_ to spaceport control," he droned into the +microphone. "Check in!" + +"Spaceport control to _Polaris_," the voice of the tower operator +replied. "You are cleared for blast-off in two minutes. Take out--orbit +75 ... repeat ... 75...." + +"_Polaris_ to spaceport control. Orders received and understood. End +transmission!" + +Tom then turned his attention to the station check. + +"Control deck to radar deck. Check in." + +"Radar deck, aye! Ready to raise ship." Roger's voice was relaxed, easy. + +Tom turned to the board to adjust the teleceiver screen for a clear +picture of the stern of the ship. Gradually it came up in as sharp +detail as if he had been standing on the ground. + +He checked the electric timing device in front of him that ticked off +the seconds, as a red hand crawled around to _zero_, and when it swept +down to the thirty-second mark, Tom pulled the microphone to his lips +again. "Control deck to power deck. Check in!" + +"Power deck, aye?" + +"Energize the cooling pumps!" + +"Cooling pumps, aye!" repeated Astro. + +"Feed reactant!" + +"Reactant at D-9 rate." + +From seventy feet below them, Strong and Tom heard the hiss of the +reactant mass feeding into the rocket motors, and the screeching whine +of the mighty pumps that kept the mass from building too rapidly and +exploding. + +The second hand swept up to the twenty-second mark. + +"Control deck to radar deck," called Tom. "Do we have a clear trajectory +forward?" + +"All clear forward and overhead," replied Roger. + +Tom placed his hand on the master switch that would throw the combined +circuits, instruments and gauges into the single act of blasting the +mighty ship into space. His eyes glued to the sweeping hand, he counted +past the twelve-second mark--eleven--ten--nine-- + +"Stand by to raise ship," he bawled into the microphone. +"Minus--five--four--three--two--one--_zero_!" + +Tom threw the master switch. + +There was a split-second pause and then the great ship roared into life. +Slowly at first, she lifted her tail full of roaring jets free of the +ground. Ten feet--twenty--fifty--a hundred--five hundred--a +thousand--picking up speed at an incredible rate. + +Tom felt himself being pushed deeper and deeper into the softness of the +acceleration cushions. He had been worried about not being able to keep +his eyes open to see the dwindling Earth in the teleceiver over his +head, but the tremendous force of the rockets pushing him against +gravity to tear the two hundred tons of steel away from the Earth's grip +held his eyelids open for him. As the powerful rockets tore deeper into +the gap that separated the ship from Earth, he saw the spaceport +gradually grow smaller. The rolling hills around the Academy closed in, +and then the Academy itself, with the Tower of Galileo shrinking to a +white stick, was lost in the brown and green that was Earth. The rockets +pushed harder and harder and he saw the needle of the acceleration gauge +creep slowly up. Four--five--six--seven--eight--nine--ten miles a +second! + +When the awful crushing weight on his body seemed unbearable, when he +felt as though he would never be able to draw another breath, suddenly +the pressure lifted and Tom felt amazingly and wonderfully buoyant. He +seemed to be floating in mid-air, his body rising against the webbed +straps of his chair! With a start and a momentary wave of panic, he +realized that he _was_ floating! Only the straps kept him from rising to +the ceiling of the control room! + +Recovering quickly, he realized that he was in free fall. The ship had +cleared the pull of earth's gravity and was out in space where +everything was weightless. Reaching toward the control panel, he flipped +the switch for the synthetic-gravity generator and, seconds later, felt +the familiar and reassuring sensation of the chair under him as the +generator supplied an artificial-gravity field to the ship. + +As he loosened the straps in his chair, he noticed Captain Strong rising +from his position beside him and he grinned sheepishly in answer to the +twinkle in Strong's eye. + +"It's all right, Tom," reassured Strong. "Happens to everyone the first +time. Carry on." + +"Aye, aye, sir," replied Tom and he turned to the microphone. "Control +deck to all stations! We are in space! Observe standard cruise +procedure!" + +"Power deck, aye!" was Astro's blasting answer over the loud-speaker. +"Yeeeoooww! Out where we belong at last." + +"Radar bridge here," Roger's voice chimed in softly on the speaker. +"Everything under control. And, Astro, you belong in a zoo if you're +going to bellow like that!" + +"Ahhh--rocket off, bubblehead!" The big Venusian's reply was +good-natured. He was too happy to let Roger get under his skin. + +"All right, you two," interrupted Tom. "Knock it off. We're on a ship +now. Let's cut the kindergarten stuff!" + +"Aye, aye, skipper!" Astro was irrepressible. + +"Yes, _sir_!" Roger's voice was soft but Tom recognized the biting edge +to the last word. + +Turning away from the controls, he faced Captain Strong who had been +watching quietly. + +"_Polaris_ space-borne at nine hundred thirty-three hours, Captain +Strong. All stations operating efficiently." + +"Very competent job, Corbett," nodded Strong in approval. "You handled +the ship as if you'd been doing it for years." + +"Thank you, sir." + +"We'll just cruise for a while on this orbit so you boys can get the +feel of the ship and of space." The Solar Guard officer took Tom's place +in the command pilot's chair. "You knock off for a while. Go up to the +radar bridge and have a look around. I'll take over here." + +"Yes, sir." Tom turned and had to restrain himself from racing up the +ladder to the radar bridge. When he climbed through the hatch to Roger's +station, he found his unit-mate tilted back in his chair, staring +through the crystal blister over his head. + +"Hiya, spaceboy," smiled Roger. He indicated the blister. "Take a look +at the wide, deep and high." + +Tom looked up and saw the deep blackness that was space. + +"It's like looking into a mirror, Roger," he breathed in awe. "Only +there isn't any other side--no reflection. It just doesn't stop, does +it?" + +"Nope," commented Roger, "it just goes on and on and on. And no one +knows where it stops. And no one can even guess." + +"Ah--you've got a touch of space fever," laughed Astro. "You'd better +take it easy, pal." + +Tom suppressed a smile. Now, for the first time, he felt that there was +a chance to achieve unity among them. Kill him with kindness, he +thought, that's the way to do it. + +"All right, boys!" Captain Strong's voice crackled over the speaker. +"Time to pull in your eyeballs and get to work again. We're heading back +to the spaceport! Take your stations for landing!" + +Tom and Astro immediately jumped toward the open hatch and started +scrambling down the ladder toward their respective stations while Roger +strapped himself into his chair in front of the astrogation panel. + +Within sixty seconds the ship was ready for landing procedure and at a +nod from Captain Strong, who again strapped himself into the second +pilot's chair, Tom began the delicate operation. + +Entering Earth's atmosphere, Tom gave a series of rapid orders for +course changes and power adjustments, and then, depressing the master +turn control, spun the ship around so that she would settle stern first +toward her ramp at the Academy spaceport. + +"Radar deck to control deck," called Roger over the intercom. "One +thousand feet to touchdown!" + +"Control deck, aye," answered Tom. "Control deck to power deck. Check +in." + +"Power deck, aye," replied Astro. + +"Stand by to adjust thrust to maximum drive at my command," ordered Tom. + +"Power deck, aye." + +The great ship, balanced perfectly on the hot exhaust, slowly slipped +toward the ground. + +"Five hundred feet to touchdown," warned Roger. + +"Main rockets full blast," ordered Tom. + +The sudden blast of the powerful jets slowed the descent of the ship, +and finally, fifty feet above the ground, Tom snapped out another order. + +"Cut main rockets! Hold auxiliary!" + +A moment later there was a gentle bump and the _Polaris_ rested on the +ramp, her nose pointed to the heavens. + +"_Touchdown!_" yelled Tom. "Cut everything, fellas, and come up and sign +the log. We made it--our first hop into space! We're spacemen!" + + + + +CHAPTER 10 + + +"The next event will be," Warrant Officer McKenny's voice boomed over +the loud-speaker and echoed over the Academy stadium, "the last +semifinal round of mercuryball. _Polaris_ unit versus _Arcturus_ unit." + +As two thousand space cadets, crowded in the grandstands watching the +annual academy tournament, rose to their feet and cheered lustily, Tom +Corbett turned to his unit-mates Astro and Roger and called +enthusiastically, "O.K., fellas. Let's go out there and show them how to +play this game!" + +During the two days of the tournament, Tom, Roger and Astro, competing +as a unit against all the other academy units, had piled up a tremendous +amount of points in all the events. But so had Unit 77-K, now known as +the _Capella_ unit. Now with the _Capella_ unit already in the finals, +the _Polaris_ crew had to win their semifinal round against the +_Arcturus_, in order to meet the _Capella_ in the final round for +Academy honors. + +"This is going to be a cinch," boasted Astro. "I'm going to burn 'em +up!" + +"Save it for the field," said Tom with a smile. + +"Yeah, you big Venusian ape," added Roger. "Make points instead of space +gas." + +Stripped to the waist, wearing shorts and soft, three-quarter-length +space boots, the three boys walked onto the sun-baked field amid the +rousing cheers from the stands. Across the field, the cadets of the +_Arcturus_ unit walked out to meet them, stopping beside McKenny at the +mid-field line. Mike waited for the six boys to form a circle around +him, while he held the mercuryball, a twelve-inch plastic sphere, filled +with air and the tricky tube of mercury. + +"You all know the rules," announced McKenny abruptly. "Head, shoulders, +feet, knees, or any part of your body except your hands, can touch the +ball. _Polaris_ unit will defend the north goal," he said, pointing to a +white chalk line fifty yards away, "_Arcturus_ the south," and he +pointed to a line equally distant in the opposite direction. +"Five-minute periods, with one-minute rest between. All clear?" + +As captain of the _Polaris_ unit, Tom nodded, while smiling at the +captain of the _Arcturus_ team, a tow-headed boy with short chunky legs +named Schohari. + +"All clear, Mike," said Tom. + +"All clear here, Mike," responded Schohari. + +"All right, shake hands and take your places." + +The six boys shook hands and jogged toward respective opposite lines. +Mike waited for them to reach their goal lines, and then placed the ball +in the middle of a chalk-drawn circle. + +Toeing the line, Tom, Roger and Astro eyed the _Arcturus_ crew and +prepared for the dash to the ball. + +"All right, fellas," urged Tom, "let's show them something!" + +"Yeah," breathed Astro, "just let me get my size thirteens on that +pumpkin before it starts twisting around!" + +Astro wanted the advantage of the first kick at the ball while the +mercury tube inside was still quiet. Once the mercury was agitated, the +ball would be as easy to kick as a well-greased eel. + +"We'll block for you, Astro," said Tom, "and you put every ounce of +beef you've got into that first kick. If we're lucky, we might be able +to get the jump on them!" + +"Cut the chatter," snapped Roger nervously. "Baldy's ready to give us +the go ahead!" + +Standing on the side lines, Warrant Officer McKenny slowly raised his +hand, and the crowd in the grandstand hushed in eager anticipation. A +second passed and then there was a tremendous roar as he brought his +hand down and blew heavily on the whistle. + +Running as if their lives depended on it, the six cadets of the two +units raced headlong toward the ball. Tom, just a little faster than +Roger or Astro, flashed down the field and veered off to block the +advancing Schohari. Roger, following him, charged into Swift, the second +member of the _Arcturus_ crew. Astro, a few feet in back of them, +running with surprising speed for his size, saw that it was going to be +a close race between himself and Allen, the third member of the +_Arcturus_ unit. He bowed his head and drove himself harder, the roar of +the crowd filling his ears. + +" ... Go Astro!... Go Astro!..." + +Pounding down for the kick, Astro gauged his stride perfectly and with +one last, mighty leap swung his right foot at the ball. + +There was a loud thud drowned by a roar from the crowd as the ball +sailed off the ground with terrific force. And then almost immediately +there was another thud as Allen rose in a desperate leap to block the +ball with his shoulder. It caromed off at a crazy angle, wobbling in its +flight as the mercury within rolled from side to side. Swift, of the +_Arcturus_ crew, reached the ball first and sent it sailing at an angle +over Tom's head to bounce thirty feet away. Seeing Astro charge the +ball, Tom threw a block on Allen to knock him out of the play. The big +Venusian, judging his stride to be a little off, shortened his steps to +move in for the kick. But just as he brought his foot forward to make +contact, the ball spun away to the left. Astro's foot continued in a +perfect arc over his head, throwing him in a heap on the ground. + +Two thousand voices from the stands roared in one peal of laughter. + +While Astro lay on the ground with the wind knocked out of him, Schohari +and Swift converged on the ball. With Astro down and Tom out of +position, the _Arcturus_ unit seemed certain of scoring. But again the +ball rolled crazily, this time straight to Roger, the last defender. He +nudged it between his opponents toward Tom, who, in turn, kicked it +obliquely past Allen back to Roger again. Running with the grace and +speed of an antelope, the blond cadet met the ball in mid-field, and +when it dropped to the ground in front of him, sent it soaring across +the goal with one powerful kick! + +As the cadets in the stands sent up a tumultuous cheer for the perfectly +executed play, the whistle blew, ending the period and the _Polaris_ +unit led, one to nothing. + +Breathing deeply, Astro and Roger flopped down near Tom and stretched +full length on the grass. + +"That was a beautiful shot, Roger," said Tom. "Perfectly timed!" + +"Yeah, hot-shot," agreed Astro, "I'm glad to see that big head of yours +is good for something!" + +"Listen, fellas," said Roger eagerly, ignoring Astro, "to go into the +finals against Richards and the _Capella_ unit, we've got to beat the +_Arcturus_ crew, right?" + +"Yeah," agreed Tom, "and it won't be easy. We just happened to get the +breaks." + +"Then why don't we put the game on ice?" said Roger. "Freeze the ball! +We got 'em one to nothing, that's enough to beat them. When the whistle +blows and it's over, we win!" + +Astro looked at Tom, who frowned and replied, "But we've still got three +periods left, Roger. It isn't fair to freeze this early in the game. If +it was the last minute or so, sure. But not so early. It just isn't +fair." + +"What do you want to do?" snarled Roger. "Win, or play fair?" + +"Win, of course, but I want to win the right way," said Tom. + +"How about you, Astro?" asked Roger. + +"I feel the same way that Tom does," said the big cadet. "We can beat +these guys easily--and on the square." + +"You guys make it sound like I was cheating," snapped Roger. + +"Well," said Tom, "it sure isn't giving the _Arcturus_ guys a break." + +The whistle blew for them to return to the goal line. + +"Well," asked Roger, "do we freeze or don't we?" + +"I don't want to. But majority always rules in this unit, Roger." Tom +glanced at Astro. "How about it, Astro?" + +"We can beat 'em fair and square. We play all out!" answered Astro. + +Roger didn't say anything. He moved to one side and took his position +for the dash down field. + +The whistle blew again and the crowd roared as the two teams charged +toward the ball. The cadets were eager to see if the _Arcturus_ crew +could tie the score or if the crew of the _Polaris_ would increase its +lead. But after a few moments of play, their cries of encouragement +subsided into rumbles of discontent. In its eagerness to score, the +_Arcturus_ unit kept making errors and lost the ball constantly but the +crew of the _Polaris_ failed to capitalize. The second period ended with +the score unchanged. + +As he slumped to the ground for the rest period, Astro turned on Roger +bitterly. "What's the idea, Manning? You're dogging it!" + +"You play your game, Astro," replied Roger calmly, "I'll play mine." + +"We're playing this game as a team, Roger," chimed in Tom heatedly. +"You're kicking the ball all over the lot!" + +"Yeah," added Astro. "In every direction except the goal!" + +"I was never clear," defended Roger. "I didn't want to lose possession +of the ball!" + +"You sure didn't," said Tom. "You acted as if it was your best friend +and you never wanted to be separated from it!" + +[Illustration] + +"We said we didn't want to freeze this game, Roger, and we meant it!" +Astro glowered at his unit-mate. "Next period you show us some action! +If you don't want to score, feed it to us and we'll save you the +trouble!" + +But the third period was the same. While Tom and Astro dashed up and +down the field, blocking out the members of the _Arcturus_ crew to give +Roger a clear shot, he simply nudged the ball back and forth between the +side lines, ignoring his teammates' pleas to drive forward. As the +whistle sounded for the end of the period, boos and catcalls from the +grandstand filled the air. + +Tom's face was an angry red as he faced Roger again on the side lines +during the rest period. + +"You hear that, Roger?" he growled, nodding his head toward the stands. +"That's what they think of your smart playing!" + +"What do I care?" replied the blond cadet arrogantly. "They're not +playing this game! I am!" + +"And we are too!" Astro's voice was a low rumble as he came up behind +Manning. "If you don't give us a chance, so help me, I'll use your head +for a ball!" + +[Illustration] + + +"If you're so interested in scoring, why don't you go after the ball +yourselves then?" said Roger. + +"Because we're too busy trying to be a team!" snapped Tom. "We're trying +to clear shots for you!" + +"Don't be so generous," sneered Roger. + +"I'm warning you, Roger"--Astro glared at the arrogant cadet--"if you +don't straighten out and fly right--" + +McKenny's whistle from the far side lines suddenly sounded, interrupting +the big cadet, and the three boys trooped back out on the field again. +Again the air was filled with boos and shouts of derision and Tom's face +flushed with shame. + +This time, when McKenny's hand flashed downward, Tom streaked for the +ball, instead of Schohari, his usual opponent. He measured his stride +carefully and reached the ball in perfect kicking position. + +He felt the satisfying thud against his foot, and saw the ball shoot out +high in front of him and head for the goal line. It was a beautiful +kick. But then, the ball suddenly sank, its flight altered by the action +of the mercury. Running down field, Tom saw Swift and Allen meet the +ball together. Allen blocked it with his chest and caromed it over to +Swift. Swift let the ball drop to the ground, drawing his foot back to +kick. But again, the mercury changed the ball's action, twisting it to +one side and Swift's kick caught it on the side. Instead of the ball +going down field, it veered to the left, in the path of Astro. Quickly +getting his head under it, he shifted it to Roger, who streaked in and +stopped it with his hip. But then, instead of passing ahead to Tom, who +by now was down field and in the open, Roger prepared to kick for the +goal himself. + +Tom shouted a warning but it was too late. Schohari came rushing in +behind him, and at running stride, met the ball squarely with his right +foot. It sailed high in the air and over the _Polaris_ goal line just +as the whistle blew. The game was tied. + +"That was some play, Manning," said Astro, when they were lined up +waiting for the next period to begin. + +"You asked for it," snapped Roger, "you were yapping at me to play, and +now look what's happened!" + +"Listen, you loudmouthed punk!" said Astro, advancing toward the smaller +cadet, but just then the whistle blew and the three boys ran out onto +the field. + +The _Arcturus_ crew swept down the field quickly, heading for the ball +and seemingly ignoring the _Polaris_ unit. But Schohari slipped and fell +on the grass which gave Tom a clear shot at the ball. He caught it with +the side of his boot and passed it toward Roger. But Allen, at full +speed, came in and intercepted, sending the ball in a crazy succession +of twists, turns and bounces. The crowd came to its feet as all six +cadets made desperate attempts to clear the skittering ball with none of +them so much as touching it. This was the part of mercuryball that +pleased the spectator. Finally, Schohari managed to get a toe on it and +he sent it down field, but Astro had moved out to play defense. He +stopped the ball on his shoulder and dropped it to the ground. Steadying +it there, he waited until Tom was in the clear and kicked it forty yards +to the mid-field stripe. + +The crowd came to its feet, sensing this final drive might mean victory +for the _Polaris_ crew. The boys of the _Arcturus_ swarmed in--trying to +keep Tom from scoring. With a tremendous burst of speed, Tom reached the +ball ahead of Schohari, and with the strength of desperation, he slammed +his foot against it. The whistle blew ending the game as the ball rose +in an arc down the field and fell short of the goal by ten feet. There +was a groan from the crowd. + +But suddenly the ball, still reacting to the mercury inside, spun like +a top, rolled sideways, and as if it were being blown by a breeze, +rolled toward the goal line and stopped six inches inside the white +chalk line. + +There was a moment's pause as the crowd and the players, stunned by the +play, grasped what had happened. Then swelling into a roar, there was +one word chanted over and over--"_Polaris--Polaris--Polaris_...." + +The _Polaris_ unit had reached the finals of the Academy tournament. + + * * * * * + +During the intermission Charlie Wolcheck, unit commander of the +_Capella_ crew, walked over to the refreshment unit behind the +grandstand where Steve Strong, Dr. Dale and Commander Walters were +drinking Martian water and eating spaceburgers. + +"Afternoon, Commander," saluted Wolcheck. "Hello, Joan, Steve. Looks as +though your boys on the _Polaris_ are going to meet their match this +afternoon. I've got to admit they're good, but with Tony Richards +feeding passes to Al Davison and with the blocking of Scott McAvoy--" +The young officer broke off with a grin. + +"I don't know, Charlie," Commander Walters said with a wink to Dr. Dale. +"From the looks of Cadet Astro, if he ever gets his foot on the ball, +your _Capella_ unit will have to go after it with a jet boat." + +"Why, Commander," replied Wolcheck, laughing good-naturedly, "Tony +Richards is one of the finest booters I've ever seen. Saw him make a +goal from the sixty-yard line from a standstill." + +Steve Strong waved a Martian water pop bottle at young Wolcheck in a +gesture of friendly derision. + +"Did you happen to see the play in the first period?" he boasted. +"Manning took a perfect pass from Astro and scored. You're finished, +Wolcheck, you and your _Capella_ unit won't even come close." + +"From what I hear and see, Manning seems to be a little sore that he +can't make all the scores himself," grinned Wolcheck slyly. "He wants to +be the whole show!" + +Strong reddened and turned to put the empty bottle on the counter, using +it as an excuse to hide his feelings from the commander and Joan. So +Wolcheck had observed Manning's attitude and play on the field too. + +Before Strong could reply, a bugle sounded from the field and the group +of Solar Guard officers returned to their seats for the final game of +the tournament between the _Capella_ and the _Polaris_ units. + +Out on the field Mike made his usual speech about playing fair and gave +the cadets the routine instructions of the game, reminding them that +they were spacemen first, unit-members second, and individuals third and +last. The six boys shook hands and jogged down the field to take up +their positions. + +"How about concentrating on the passes Richards is going to feed to +Davison," Tom asked his unit-mates. "Never mind blocking out Richards +and McAvoy." + +"Yeah," agreed Astro, "play for the ball. Sounds good to me." + +"How about it, Roger?" asked Tom. + +"Just play the game," said Roger. And then added sarcastically, "And +don't forget to give them every chance to score. Let's play fair and +square, the way we did with the _Arcturus_ unit." + +"If you feel that way, Manning," answered Astro coldly, "you can quit +right now! We'll handle the _Capella_ guys ourselves!" + +Before Roger could answer, McKenny blew the ready whistle and the three +boys lined up along the white chalk line preparing for the dash to the +waiting ball. + +The cadets in the stands were hushed. McKenny's hand swept up and then +quickly down as he blew the whistle. The crowd came to its feet, +roaring, as Tom, five steps from his own goal line, tripped and fell +headlong to the grass, putting him out of the first play. Astro and +Roger charged down the field, with Astro reaching the ball first. He +managed a good kick, but Richards, three feet away, took the ball +squarely on his chest. The mercuryball fell to the ground, spun in a +dizzy circle and with a gentle tap by Richards, rolled to Davison, who +took it in stride and sent it soaring for a forty-five-yard goal. + +The _Capella_ unit had drawn first blood. + +"Well, hot-shot," snarled Roger back on the starting line, "what +happened to the big pass-stealing idea?" + +"I tripped, Manning," said Tom through clenched teeth. + +"Yeah! Tripped!" sneered Roger. + +The whistle blew for the next goal. + +Tom, with an amazing burst of speed, swept down the field, broke stride +to bring him in perfect line with the ball and with a kick that seemed +almost lazy, sent the ball from a dead standstill, fifty yards over the +_Capella_ goal before any of the remaining players were within five feet +of it, and the score was tied. + +The crowd sprang to its feet again and roared his name. + +"That was terrific!" said Astro, slapping Tom on the back as they lined +up again. "It looked as though you hardly kicked that ball at all." + +"Yeah," muttered Roger, "you really made yourself the grandstand's +delight!" + +"What's that supposed to mean, Manning?" asked Astro. + +"Superman Corbett probably burned himself out! Let's see him keep up +that speed for the next ten minutes!" + +The whistle blew for the next goal, and again the three boys moved +forward to meet the onrushing _Capella_ unit. + +Richards blocked Astro with a twist of his body, and without stopping +his forward motion, kicked the ball squarely toward the goal. It stopped +ten feet short, took a dizzying spin and rolled away from the goal line. +In a flash, the six boys were around the ball, blocking, shoving, and +yelling instructions to each other while at the same time kicking at the +unsteady ball. With each grazing kick, the ball went into even more +maddening spins and gyrations. + +At last Richards caught it with the side of his foot, flipped it to +McAvoy who dropped back, and with twenty feet between him and the +nearest _Polaris_ member, calmly booted it over the goal. The whistle +blew ending the first period, and the _Capella_ unit led two to one. + +During the next three periods, the _Capella_ unit worked like a +well-oiled machine. Richards passed to Davison or McAvoy, and when they +were too well guarded, played brilliantly alone. The _Polaris_ unit, on +the other hand, appeared to be hopelessly outclassed. Tom and Astro +fought like demons but Roger's lack of interest gave the _Capella_ unit +the edge in play. At the end of the fourth period, the _Capella_ team +led by three points, seven to four. + +While the boys rested before the fifth and final period, Captain Strong, +having watched the play with keen interest, realized that Roger was not +playing up to his fullest capabilities. Suddenly he summoned a near-by +Earthworm cadet, scribbled a message on a slip of paper and instructed +the cadet to take it directly to Roger. + +"Orders from the coach on the side lines?" asked Wolcheck as he noticed +Strong's action. + +"You might call it that, Charlie," answered Steve blandly. + +On the field, the cadet messenger handed Roger the slip of paper, not +mentioning that it was from Strong, and hurried back to the stands. + +"Getting fan mail already?" asked Astro. + +Roger ignored the comment and opened the slip of paper to read: + +" ... It might interest you to know that the winning team of the +mercuryball finals is to be awarded a first prize of three days' liberty +in Atom City...." There was no signature. + +Roger stared up into the stands and searched vainly for some indication +of the person who might have sent him the note. The crowd hushed as +McKenny stepped forward for the starting of the last period. + +"What was in the note, Roger?" asked Tom. + +"The winning combination," smiled Roger lazily. "Get set for the fastest +game of mercuryball you've ever played, Corbett! We've got to pull this +mess out of the fire!" + +Bewildered, Tom looked at Astro who merely shrugged his shoulders and +took his place ready for the whistle. Roger tucked the note into his +shorts and stepped up to the line. + +"Listen, Corbett," said Roger, "every time Richards gets the ball, he +kicks it to his left, and then McAvoy feints as if to get it, leaving +Davison in the open. When you go to block Davison, you leave Richards in +the clear. He just keeps the ball. He's scored three times that way!" + +"Yeah," said Tom, "I noticed that, but there was nothing I could do +about it, the way you've been playing." + +"Kinda late in the game for any new ideas, Manning," growled Astro. +"Just get the ball and pass it to me." + +"That's my whole idea! Play back, Astro. Move like you're very tired, +see? Then they'll forget about you and play three on two. You just be +ready to kick and kick hard!" + +"What's happened to you, Roger?" asked Tom. "What was in that note?" + +Before Roger could answer, the whistle and the roar from the crowd +signaled the beginning of the last period. The cadets raced down the +field, Roger swerving to the left and making a feint at blocking +Richards. He missed intentionally and allowed Richards to get the ball, +who immediately passed to the left. McAvoy raced in on the ball, Tom +made a move as if to block him, reversed, and startled the onrushing +Richards with a perfect block. The ball was in the clear. Roger gave it +a half kick and the ball landed two feet in front of Astro. The big +cadet caught it perfectly on the first bounce and kicked it on a line +across the goal, seventy yards away. + +Up in the stands, Steve Strong smiled as he watched the score change on +the board: "_Capella_ seven--_Polaris_ five!" + +In rapid succession, the _Polaris_ unit succeeded in intercepting the +play of the _Capella_ unit and rolling up two goals to an even score. +Now, there were only fifty-five seconds left to play. + +The cadets in the stands roared their approval of the gallant effort +made by the three members of the _Polaris_ crew. It had been a long time +since mercuryball had been played with such deadly accuracy at Space +Academy and everyone who attended the game was to remember for years to +come the last play of the game. + +McKenny blew the whistle again and the boys charged forward, but by +now, aware of the sudden flash of unity on the part of the opposing +team, the _Capella_ unit fought desperately to salvage at least a tie. + +Tom managed to block a kick by Richards, and the ball took a dizzy hop +to the left, landing in front of Astro. He was in the clear. The stands +were in an uproar as the cadets saw that the game was nearly over. Astro +paused a split second, judged the ball and stepped forward to kick. But +the ball spun away, just as Astro swung his leg. And at that instant, +McAvoy came charging in from the left, only to be blocked by Roger. But +the force of McAvoy's charge knocked Roger back into Astro. Instead of +kicking the ball, Astro caught Roger on the side of the head. Roger fell +to the ground and lay still. He was knocked cold. Astro lost his +balance, twisted on one leg unsteadily, and then fell to the ground. +When he tried to get up, he couldn't walk. He had twisted his ankle. + +The _Capella_ unit members stood still, confused and momentarily unable +to take advantage of their opportunity. Without a moment's hesitation, +Tom swept in and kicked the ball before his opponents realized what had +happened. The ball drifted up in a high arc and landed with several +bounces, stopping five feet from the goal. + +Suddenly Richards, McAvoy and Davison came alive and charged after Tom, +who was running for the ball as fast as his weary legs would carry him. +He saw Richards pull up alongside of him, then pass him. Then Davison +and McAvoy closed in on either side to block and give Richards a clear +shot back down the field and a certain score. + +Richards reached the ball, stopped and carefully lined up his kick, +certain that his teammates could block out Tom. But the young cadet, in +a last desperate spurt, outraced both McAvoy and Davison. Then, as +Richards cocked his foot to kick, Tom jumped. With a mighty leaping +dive, he sent his body hurtling headlong toward Richards just as he +kicked. Tom's body crashed into the ball and Richards. The two boys went +down in a heap but the ball caromed off his chest and rolled over the +goal line. + +The whistle blew ending the game. + +In an instant, two thousand officers, cadets and enlisted men went wild +as the ball rolled across the goal line. + +The _Polaris_ crew had won eight goals to seven! + +From every corner of the field, the crowd cheered the cadets who had +finished the game, had won it in the final seconds with two of them +sprawled on the field unconscious and a third unable to stand on his +feet. + +Up in the stands, Captain Strong turned to Commander Walters. He found +it hard to keep his eyes from filling up as he saluted briskly. + +"Captain Strong reporting, sir, on the success of the _Polaris_ unit to +overcome their differences and become a fighting unit! And I mean +_fight_!" + +[Illustration] + + + + +CHAPTER 11 + + +"Atom City Express now arriving on track two!" The voice boomed over the +loud-speaker system; and as the long, gleaming line of monorail cars +eased to a stop with a soft hissing of brakes, the three cadets of the +_Polaris_ unit moved eagerly in that direction. + +"Atom City, here we come," cried Astro. + +"We and a lot of others with the same idea," said Tom. And, in fact, +there were only a few civilians in the crowd pressing toward the car +doors. Uniforms predominated--the blue of the cadets, enlisted men in +scarlet, even a few in the black and gold uniforms which identified the +officers of the Solar Guard. + +"Personally," whispered Tom to his friends, "the first thing I want to +do at Atom City is take a long walk--somewhere where I won't see a +single uniform." + +"As for me," drawled Roger, "I'm going to find a stereo studio where +they're showing a Liddy Tamal feature. I'll sit down in a front-row seat +and just watch that girl act for about six hours." + +He turned to Astro. "And how about you?" + +"Why ... why ... I'll string along with you, Roger," said the cadet from +Venus. "It's been a long time since I've seen a--a--" + +Tom and Roger laughed. + +"A what?" teased Tom. + +"A--a--girl," sputtered Astro, blushing. + +"I don't believe it," said Roger in mock surprise. "I never--" + +"Come on," interrupted Tom. "Time to get aboard." + +They hurried across the platform and entered the sleek car. Inside they +found seats together and sank into the luxurious chairs. + +Astro sighed gently, stretched out his long legs and closed his eyes +blissfully for a few moments. + +"Don't wake me till we get started," he said. + +"We already have," returned Tom. "Take a look." + +Astro's eyes popped open. He glanced through the clear crystal glass at +the rapidly moving landscape. + +"These express jobs move on supercushioned ball bearings," explained +Tom. "You can't even feel it when you pull out of the station." + +"Blast my jets!" marveled Astro. "I'd sure like to take a look at the +power unit on this baby." + +"Even on a vacation, all this guy can think about is power!" grumbled +Roger. + +"How about building up our own power," suggested Tom. "It's a long haul +to Atom City. Let's get a bite to eat." + +"O.K. with me, spaceboy!" Astro grinned. "I could swallow a whole +steer!" + +"That's a great idea, cadet," said a voice from behind them. + +It came from a gray-haired man, neatly dressed in the black one-piece +stylon suit currently in fashion, and with a wide red sash around his +waist. + +"Beg pardon, sir," said Tom, "were you speaking to us?" + +"I certainly was," replied the stranger. "I'm asking you to be my guests +at dinner. And while I may not be able to buy your friend a whole steer, +I'll gladly get him a piece of one." + +"Hey," said Astro, "do you think he means it?" + +"He seems to," replied Tom. He turned to the stranger. "Thanks very +much, sir, but don't think Astro was just kidding about his appetite." + +"I'm sure he wasn't." The gray-haired man smiled, and came over and +stretched out his hand. "Then it's a deal," he said. "My name's Joe +Bernard." + +"Bernard!" exclaimed Roger. He paled and glanced quickly at his two +friends, but they were too busy looking over their new friend to notice. + +"Glad to know you, sir," said Tom. "I'm Tom Corbett. This is Astro, from +Venus. And over here is--" + +"Roger's my name," the third cadet said quickly. "Won't you sit down, +sir?" + +"No use wasting time," said Bernard. "Let's go right into the dining +car." The cadets were in no mood to argue with him. They picked up the +small microphones beside their chairs and sent food orders to the +kitchen; and by the time they were seated in the dining car, their +orders were ready on the table. + +Mr. Bernard, with a twinkle in his eye, watched them enjoy their food. +In particular, he watched Astro. + +"I warned you, sir," whispered Tom, as the Venusian went to work on his +second steak. + +"I wouldn't have missed this for anything," said Bernard. He smiled, lit +a cigar of fine Mercurian leaf tobacco and settled back comfortably. + +"And now," he said, "let me explain why I was so anxious to have dinner +with you. I'm in the import-export business. Ship to Mars, mostly. But +all my life I've wanted to be a spaceman." + +"Well, what was the trouble, Mr. Bernard?" asked Roger. + +The man in black sighed. "Couldn't take the acceleration, boys. Bad +heart. I send out more than five hundred cargoes a year, to all parts of +the solar system; but myself, I've never been more than a mile off the +surface of the earth." + +"It sure must be disappointing--to want to blast off, and know that you +can't," said Tom. + +"I tried, once," said Bernard, with a rueful smile. "Yup! I tried." He +gazed thoughtfully out the window. + +"When I was your age, about twenty, I wanted to get into Space Academy +worse than anybody I'd ever met." He paused. "Except for one person. A +boyhood buddy of mine--named Kenneth--" + +"Excuse me, sir," cut in Roger quickly, "but I think we'd better get +back to our car. With this big liberty in front of us, we need a lot of +rest." + +"But, Roger!" exclaimed Tom. + +Bernard smiled. "I understand, Roger. Sometimes I forget that I'm an old +man. And when you've already tasted the excitement of space travel, talk +like mine must seem rather dull." He stood up and faced the three +cadets. "It's been very pleasant, Corbett, Astro, Roger. Now run along +and get your rest. I'll just sit here for a while and watch the +scenery." + +"Thank you, sir," said Tom, "for the dinner--your company--and +everything," he finished lamely. + +There was a chorus of good-byes and the boys returned to their car. But +there was little conversation now. Gradually, the lights in the cars +dimmed to permit sleep. But Tom kept listening to the subdued click of +the monorail--and kept wondering. Finally Roger, sleeping next to him, +wakened for a moment. + +"Roger," said Tom, "I want to ask you something." + +"Wait'll the mornin'," mumbled Roger. "Wanta sleep." + +"The way you acted with Bernard," Tom persisted. "You ate his dinner and +then acted like he was poison. Why was that, Roger?" + +The other sat bolt upright. "Listen," he said. "Listen!" Then he +slumped back in his chair and closed his eyes. "Lemme sleep, Corbett. +Lemme sleep, I tell you." He turned his back and in a moment was making +sounds of deep slumber, but Tom felt sure that Roger was not +asleep--that he was wide awake, with something seriously bothering him. + +Tom leaned back and gazed out over the passing plains and up into the +deep black of space. The Moon was full, large and round. He could +distinguish _Mare Imbrium_, the largest of Luna's flat plains visible +from Earth, where men had built the great metropolis of Luna City. +Farther out in the deep blackness, he could see Mars, glowing like a +pale ruby. Before long he would be up there again. Before long he would +be blasting off in the _Polaris_ with Astro and with Roger-- + +Roger! Why had he acted so strangely at dinner? + +Tom remembered the night he saw Roger in Galaxy Hall alone at night, and +the sudden flash on the field a few days before when they had won the +mercuryball game. Was there some reason behind his companion's strange +actions? In vain, Tom racked his brain to find the answer. There had to +be some explanation. Yet what could it possibly be? He tossed and turned +and worried and finally--comfortable as the monorail car was--he fell +asleep from sheer exhaustion. + + * * * * * + +Atom City! Built of the clear crystal mined so cheaply on Titan, moon of +Saturn, Atom City had risen from a barren North American wasteland to +become a show place of the universe. Here was the center of all space +communications--a proud city of giant crystal buildings. Here had been +developed the first slidewalks, air cars, three-dimensional stereos and +hundreds of other ideas for better living. + +And here at Atom City was the seat of the great Solar Alliance, housed +in a structure which covered a quarter of a mile at its base and which +towered three thousand noble feet into the sky. + +The three cadets stepped out of the monorail and walked across the +platform to a waiting air car--jet-powered, shaped like a teardrop and +with a clear crystal top. + +"We want the best hotel in town," said Astro grandly to the driver. + +"And get this speed bug outa here in a hurry," Roger told him. "There's +a lot we want to do." + +The driver couldn't help smiling at the three cadets so obviously +enjoying their first leave. + +"We've got three top hotels," he said. "One's as good as the other. +They're the Earth, the Mars and the Venus." + +"The Earth," voted Tom. + +"The Mars," shouted Roger. + +"The _Venus_!" roared Astro. + +"All right," said the driver with a laugh, "make up your minds." + +"Which of 'em is nearest the center of the city?" Tom asked. + +"The Mars." + +"Then blast off for Mars!" ordered Tom, and the air car shot away from +the station and moved up into the stream of expressway traffic fifty +feet above the ground. + +As the little car sped along the broad avenue, Tom remembered how often, +as a boy, he'd envied the Space Cadets who'd come to his home town of +New Chicago on leave. Now here _he_ was--in uniform, with a three-day +pass, and all of Atom City to enjoy it in. + +A few minutes later the air car stopped in front of the Mars Hotel. The +cadets saw the entrance loom before them--a huge opening, with ornate +glass and crystal in many different colors. + +They walked across the high-ceilinged lobby toward the desk. All around +them, the columns that supported the ceiling were made of the clearest +crystal. Their feet sank into soft, lustrous deep-pile rugs made of +Venusian jungle grass. + +The boys advanced toward the huge circular reception desk where a pretty +girl with red hair waited to greet them. + +"May I help you?" she asked. She flashed a dazzling smile. + +"You're a lucky girl," said Roger. "It just so happens you _can_ help +me. We'll have dinner together--just the two of us--and then we'll go to +the stereos. After which we'll--" + +The girl shook her head sadly. "I can see your friend's got a bad case +of rocket shock," she said to Tom. + +"That's right," Tom admitted. "But if you'll give us a triple room, +we'll make sure he doesn't disturb anybody." + +"Ah," said Roger, "go blow your jets!" + +"I have a nice selection of rooms here on photo-slides if you'd care to +look at them," the girl suggested. + +"How many rooms in this hotel, Beautiful?" asked Roger. + +"Nearly two thousand," answered the girl. + +"And you have photo-slides of all two thousand?" + +"Why, yes," answered the girl. "Why do you ask?" + +"You and Astro go take a walk, Corbett," said Roger with a grin. "I'll +select our quarters!" + +"You mean," asked the girl, a little flustered, "you want to look at all +the slides?" + +"Sure thing, Lovely!" said Roger with a lazy smile. + +"But--but that would take three hours!" + +"Exactly my idea!" said Roger. + +"Just give us a nice room, Miss," said Tom, cutting in. "And please +excuse Manning. He's so smart, he gets a little dizzy now and then. +Have to take him over to a corner and revive him." He glanced at Astro, +who picked Roger up in his arms and walked away with him as though he +were a baby. + +"Come on, you space Romeo!" said Astro. + +"Hey--ouch--hey--lemme go, ya big ape. You're killing your best friend!" +Roger twisted around in Astro's viselike grasp, to no avail. + +"Space fever," explained Tom. "He'll be O.K. soon." + +"I think I understand," said the girl with a nervous smile. + +She handed Tom a small flashlight. "Here's your photoelectric light key +for room 2305 F. That's on the two hundred thirtieth floor." + +Tom took the light key and turned toward the slidestairs where Astro was +holding Roger firmly, despite his frantic squirming. + +"Hey, Tom," cried Roger, "tell this Venusian ape to let me go!" + +"Promise to behave yourself?" asked Tom. + +"We came here to have fun, didn't we?" demanded Roger. + +"That doesn't mean getting thrown out of the hotel because you've got to +make passes at every beautiful girl." + +"What's the matter with beautiful girls?" growled Roger. "They're +official equipment, like a radar scanner. You can't get along without +them!" + +Tom and Astro looked at each other and burst out laughing. + +"Come on, you jerk," said Astro, "let's get washed up. I wanta take a +walk and get something to eat. I'm hungry again!" + +An hour later, showered and dressed in fresh uniforms, the _Polaris_ +crew began a tour of the city. They went to the zoo and saw dinosaurs, a +tyrannosaurus, and many other monsters extinct on Earth millions of +years ago, but still breeding in the jungles of Tara. They visited the +council chamber of the Solar Alliance where delegates from the major +planets and from the larger satellites, such as Titan of Saturn, +Ganymede of Jupiter, and Luna of Earth made the laws for the +tri-planetary league. The boys walked through the long halls of the +Alliance building, looking at the great documents which had unified the +solar system. + +They reverently inspected original documents of the Universal Bill of +Rights and the Solar Constitution, which guaranteed basic freedoms of +speech, press, religion, peaceful assembly and representative +government. And even brash, irrepressible Roger Manning was awestruck as +they tiptoed into the great Chamber of the Galactic Court, where the +supreme judicial body of the entire universe sat in solemn dignity. + +Later, the boys visited the Plaza de Olympia--a huge fountain, filled +with water taken from the Martian Canals, the lakes of Venus and the +oceans of Earth, and ringed by a hundred large statues, each one +symbolizing a step in mankind's march through space. + +But then, for the Space Cadets, came the greatest thrill of all--a trip +through the mighty Hall of Science, at once a museum of past progress +and a laboratory for the development of future wonders. + +Thousands of experiments were being conducted within this crystal +palace, and as Space Cadets, the boys were allowed to witness a few of +them. They watched a project which sought to harness the solar rays more +effectively; another which aimed to create a new type of fertilizer for +Mars, so people of that planet would be able to grow their own food in +their arid deserts instead of importing it all from other worlds. Other +scientists were trying to adapt Venusian jungle plants to grow on other +planets with a low oxygen supply; while still others, in the medical +field, sought for a universal antibody to combat all diseases. + +Evening finally came and with it time for fun and entertainment. Tired +and leg weary, the cadets stepped on a slidewalk and allowed themselves +to be carried to a huge restaurant in the heart of Atom City. + +"Food," exulted Astro as the crystal doors swung open before them. +"Smell it! Real, honest-to-gosh food!" He rushed for a table. + +"Hold it, Astro," shouted Tom. "Take it easy." + +"Yeah," added Roger. "It's been five hours since your last meal--not +five weeks!" + +"Meal!" snorted the Venusian cadet. "Call four spaceburgers a meal? And +anyway, it's been six hours, not five." + +Laughing, Tom and Roger followed their friend inside. Luckily, they +found a table not far from the door, where Astro grabbed the microphone +and ordered his usual tremendous dinner. + +The three boys ate hungrily as course after course appeared on the +middle of the table, via the direct shaft from the kitchen. So absorbed +was Manning that he did not notice the approach of a tall dark young man +of about his own age, dressed in the red-brown uniform of the Passenger +Space Service. But the young man, who wore a captain's high-billed hat, +suddenly caught sight of Roger. + +"Manning," he called, "what brings you here?" + +"Al James!" cried Roger and quickly got up to shake hands. "Of all the +guys in the universe to show up! Sit down and have a bite with us." + +The space skipper sat down. Roger introduced him to Tom and Astro. There +was a round of small talk. + +"Whatever made you become a Space Cadet, Roger?" asked James finally. + +"Oh, you know how it is," said Roger. "You can get used to anything." + +Astro almost choked on a mouthful of food. He shot a glance at Tom, who +shook his head as though warning him not to speak. + +James grinned broadly. "I remember how you used to talk back home. The +Space Cadets were a bunch of tin soldiers trying to feel important. The +Academy was a lot of space gas. I guess, now, you've changed your mind." + +"Maybe I have," said Roger. He glanced uneasily at his two friends, but +they pretended to be busy eating. "Maybe I have." Roger's eyes narrowed, +his voice became a lazy drawl. "At that it's better'n being a man in a +monkey suit, with nothing to do but impress the passengers and order +around the crew." + +"Wait a minute," said James. "What kind of a crack is that?" + +"No crack at all. Just the way I feel about you passenger gents who +don't know a rocket tube from a ray-gun nozzle." + +"Look, Manning," returned James. "No need to get sore, just because you +couldn't do any better than the Space Cadets." + +"Blast off," shouted Roger, "before I fuse your jets." + +Tom spoke up. "I think you'd better go, Captain." + +"I've got six men outside," sneered the other. "I'll go when I'm ready." + +"You're ready now," spoke up Astro. He stood up to his full height. "We +don't want any trouble," the cadet from Venus said, "but we're not +braking our jets to get away from it, either." + +James took a good look at Astro's powerful frame. Without another word +he walked away. + +Tom shook his head. "That pal of yours is a real Space Cadet fan, isn't +he, Roger?" + +"Yeah," said Astro. "Just like Manning is himself." + +"Look," said Roger. "Look, you guys--" He hesitated, as though intending +to say something more, but then he turned back to his dinner. "Go +on--finish your food," he growled. He bent over his plate and ate +without lifting his eyes. And not another word was spoken at the table +until a young man approached, carrying a portable teleceiver screen. + +"Pardon me," he said. "Is one of you Cadet Tom Corbett?" + +"Why--I am," acknowledged Tom. + +"There's a call for you. Seems they've been trying to reach you all over +Atom City." He placed the teleceiver screen on the table, plugged it +into a floor socket and set the dials. + +"Hope's there's nothing wrong at home," said Tom to his friends. "My +last letter from Mom said Billy was messing around with a portable atom +reactor and she was afraid he might blow himself up." + +A picture began to take shape on the screen. "Migosh," said Astro. "It's +Captain Strong." + +"It certainly is," said the captain's image. "Having dinner, eh, boys? +Ummmm--those baked shrimps look good." + +"They're terrific," said Astro. "Wish you were here." + +"Wish you could stay there," said Captain Strong. + +"Oh, no!" moaned Astro. "Don't tell me!" + +"Sorry, boys," came the voice from the teleceiver. "But that's it. +You've got to return to the Academy immediately. The whole cadet corps +has been ordered into space for special maneuvers. We blast off tomorrow +morning at six hundred." + +"But, sir," objected Tom, "we can't get a monorail until morning!" + +"This is an official order, Corbett. So you have priority over all +civilian transportation." The Solar Guard captain smiled. "I've tied up +a whole bank of teleceivers in Atom City searching for you. Get back to +Space Academy fast--commandeer an air car if you must, but be here by +six hundred hours!" The captain waved a cheery good-bye and the screen +went dark. + +"Space maneuvers," breathed Astro. "The real thing." + +"Yeah," agreed Tom. "Here we go!" + +"Our first hop into deep space!" said Roger. "Let's get out of here!" + +[Illustration] + + + + +CHAPTER 12 + + +"The following ships in Squadron A will blast off immediately," roared +Commander Walters over the teleceiver. He looked up alertly from a chart +before him in the Academy spaceport control tower. He began to name the +ships. "_Capella_, orbital tangent--09834, _Arcturus_, orbital +tangent--09835, _Centauri_, orbital tangent--09836, _Polaris_, orbital +tangent--09837!" + +Aboard the space cruiser _Polaris_, Tom Corbett turned away from the +control board. "That's us, sir," he said to Captain Strong. + +"Very well, Corbett." The Solar Guard captain walked to the ship's +intercom and flipped on the switch. + +"Astro, Roger, stand by!" + +Astro and Roger reported in. Strong began to speak. "The cadet corps has +been divided into squadrons of four ships each. We are command ship of +Squadron A. When we reach free-fall space, we are to proceed as a group +until eight hundred hours, when we are to open sealed orders. Each of +the other seven squadrons will open their orders at the same time. Two +of the squadrons will then act as invaders while the remaining six will +be the defending fleet. It will be the invaders' job to reach their +objective and the defenders' job to stop them." + +"Spaceport control to rocket cruiser _Polaris_, your orbit has been +cleared for blast-off...." The voice of Commander Walters interrupted +Strong in his instructions and he turned back to Tom. + +"Take over, Corbett." + +Tom turned to the teleceiver. "Rocket cruiser _Polaris_ to spaceport +control." + +" ... Blast off minus two--six hundred forty-eight...." + +"I read you clear," said Tom. He clicked off the teleceiver and turned +back to the intercom. "Stand by to raise ship! Control deck to radar +deck. Do we have clear trajectory forward and up, Roger?" + +"All clear forward and up," replied Roger. + +"Control deck to power deck ... energize the cooling pumps!" + +"Cooling pumps, aye," came from Astro. + +The giant ship began to shudder as the mighty pumps on the power deck +started their build. + +Tom strapped himself into the pilot's seat and began checking the dials +in front of him. Satisfied, he fastened his eyes on the sweep hand of +the time clock. Above his head, the teleceiver screen brought him a +clear picture of the Academy spaceport. He watched the giant cruisers +take to the air one by one and rocket into the vastness of space. + +The clock hand reached the ten-second mark. + +"Stand by to raise ship!" Tom called into the intercom. The red hand +moved steadily, inexorably. Tom reached for the master switch. + +"Blast off minus--five--four--three--two--one--_zero_!" + +Tom threw the switch. + +The great ship hovered above the ground for a few moments. Then it +heaved itself skyward, faster and ever faster, pushing the Earthmen deep +into their acceleration cushions. + +Reaching free-fall space, Tom flipped on the artificial-gravity +generator. He felt its pull on his body, quickly checked all the +instruments and turned to Captain Strong. + +"Ship space-borne at six hundred fifty-three, sir." + +"Very well, Corbett," replied Strong. "Check in with the _Arcturus_, +_Capella_ and the _Centauri_, form up on one another and assume a course +that will bring you back over Academy spaceport at eight hundred hours, +when we will open orders." + +"Yes, sir," said Tom, turning back eagerly to the control board. + +For nearly two hours the four rocket ships of Squadron A moved through +space in a perfect arc, shaping up for the 0800 deadline. Strong made +use of the time to check a new astrogation prism perfected by Dr. Dale +for use at hyperspace speeds. Tom rechecked his instruments, then +prepared hot tea and sandwiches in the galley for his shipmates. + +"This is what I call service," said Astro. He stood stripped to the +waist, a wide leather belt studded with assorted wrenches of various +shapes and sizes strapped around his hips. In one hand he carried a wad +of waste cotton with which he continually polished the surfaces of the +atomic motors, while his eyes constantly searched the many gauges in +front of him for the slightest sign of engine failure. + +"Never mind bringing anything up to Manning. I'll eat his share." + +Astro had deliberately turned the intercom on so Roger on the radar deck +might hear. The response from that corner was immediate and emphatic. + +"Listen, you rocket-headed grease monkey," yelled Roger. "If you so much +as smell that grub, I'll come down and feed you into the reactant +chamber!" + +Tom smiled at Astro and turned to the ladder leading up from the power +deck. Passing through the control deck on the way to the radar bridge, +he glanced at the clock. It was ten minutes to eight. + +"Only one thing I'm worried about, Corbett," said Roger through a +mouthful of sandwich. + +"What's that?" asked Tom. + +"Collision!" said Roger. "Some of these space-happy cadets might get +excited, and I for one don't want to wind up as a flash in Earth's +atmosphere!" + +"Why, you have radar, to see anything that goes on." + +"Oh, sure," said Roger, "I can keep this wagon outa their way, but will +they stay outa mine? Why my father told me once--" Roger choked on his +food and turned away to the radar screen. + +"Well," said Tom after a moment, "what _did_ your father tell you?" + +"Ah--nothing--not important. But I've got to get a cross-fix on Regulus +before we start our little games." + +Tom looked puzzled. Here was another of Roger's quick changes of +attitude. What was it all about? But there was work to do, so Tom +shrugged his shoulders and returned to the control deck. He couldn't +forget what Roger had said about a collision, though. + +"Excuse me, Captain," said Tom, "but have there been any serious +collisions in space between ships?" + +"Sure have, Tom," replied Strong. "About twenty years ago, maybe less, +there was a whole wave of them. That was before we developed +superrebound pulse radar. The ships were faster than the radar at close +range." + +Strong paused. "Why do you ask?" + +Before Tom could answer, there was a sharp warning from the captain. + +"Eight o'clock, Corbett!" + +Tom ripped open the envelope containing the sealed orders. +"Congratulations," he read. "You are in command of the defenders. You +have under your command, Squadrons A--B--C--D--E--F. Squadrons G and H +are your enemies, and at this moment are on their way to attack Luna +City. It is your job to protect it and destroy the enemy fleet. +Spaceman's luck! Walters, Commander Space Academy, Senior Officer Solar +Guard." + +"Roger," yelled Tom, "we've been selected as flagship for the defenders! +Get me a course to Luna City!" + +"Good for us, spaceboy. I'll give you that course in a jiffy!" + +" ... _Capella_ to _Polaris_--am standing by for your orders...." Tony +Richards' voice crackled over the teleceiver. One by one the +twenty-three ships that made up the defender's fleet checked in for +orders. + +"Astro," shouted Tom, "stand by for maneuver--and be prepared to give me +every ounce of thrust you can get!" + +"Ready, willing and able, Tom," replied Astro. "Just be sure those other +space jockeys can keep up with me, that's all!" + +Tom turned to Captain Strong. + +"What do you think of approaching--" + +Strong cut him off. "Corbett, you are in complete command. Take +over--you're losing time talking to me!" + +"Yes, sir!" said Tom. He turned back to the control board, his face +flushed with excitement. Twenty-four ships to maneuver and the +responsibility all his own. Via a chart projected on a screen, he +studied various approaches to the Moon and Luna City. What would he do +if he were in command of the invading fleet? He noticed the Moon was +nearing a point where it would be in eclipse on Luna City itself. He +studied the chart further, made several notations and turned to the +teleceiver. + +"Attention--attention--flagship _Polaris_ to Squadrons B and C--proceed +to chart seven--sectors eight and nine. You will patrol those sectors. +Attention Squadrons D and F--proceed to Luna City at emergency space +speed, hover at one hundred thousand feet above Luna City spaceport and +wait for further orders. Attention, ships three and four of Squadron +F--you will proceed to chart six--sectors sixty-eight through +seventy-five. Cut all rockets and remain there until further orders. +The remainder of Squadron F--ships one and two--will join Squadron A. +Squadron A will stand by for further orders." Tom glanced at the clock +and punched the intercom button. + +[Illustration: _"Attention Squadrons D and F--proceed to Luna City"_] + +"Have you got that course, Roger?" + +"Three degrees on the starboard rockets, seventy-eight degrees on the +up-plane of the ecliptic will put you at the corner of Luna Drive and +Moonset Land in the heart of Luna City, spaceboy!" answered Roger. + +"Get that, Astro?" asked Tom on the intercom. + +"All set," replied Astro. + +"Attention all ships in Squadron A--this is flagship--code name +Starlight--am changing course. Stand by to form up on me!" + +Tom turned back to the intercom. + +"Power deck, execute!" + +At more than five thousand miles an hour, the _Polaris_ hurtled toward +its destination. One by one the remaining ships moved alongside until +all six had their needlelike noses pointed toward the pale satellite of +the Moon. + +"I'd like to know what your plans are, Tom," said Strong, when the long +haul toward the Moon had settled down to a routine. "Just idle +curiosity, nothing more. You don't have to tell me if you don't want +to." + +"Golly, yes," said Tom, "I'd be very grateful for your opinion." + +"Well, let's have it," said the captain. "But as for my opinion--I'll +listen, but I won't say anything." + +Tom grinned sheepishly. + +"Well," he began, "if I were in command of the invading fleet, I would +strike in force--I'd have to, to do damage with only eight ships. There +are three possible approaches to Luna City. One is from the Earth side, +using the eclipse corridor of darkness as protection. To meet that, +I've stationed two ships at different levels and distances in that +corridor so that it would be impossible for an invasion to pass +unnoticed." + +"You mean, you'd be willing to give up two ships to the invader to have +him betray his position. Is that right?" + +"Yes, sir. But I've also sent Squadrons B and C to sectors eight and +nine on chart seven. So I have a roving squadron to go to their aid, +should the invader strike there. And on the other hand, should he manage +to get through my outer defense, I have Squadrons D and E over Luna City +itself as an inner defense. As for Squadron A, we'll try to engage the +enemy first and maybe weaken him; at least reduce the full force of his +attack. And then have Squadrons B, C, D and E finish him off, by attack +from three different points." + +Strong nodded silently. The young cadet was shaping up a defensive +strategy with great skill. If he could only follow through on his plans, +the invaders of Luna City wouldn't have much chance of success--even if +willing to take heavy losses. + +Roger's voice came on. "Got a report for you, Tom. From command ship, +Squadron B. They've sighted the invaders and are advancing to meet +them." + +Tom checked his charts and turned to the intercom. + +"Send them this message, Roger," he said. "From Starlight, to command +ship, Squadrons B and C--approach enemy ships from position of chart +nineteen, sections one through ten." + +"Right!" said Roger. + +Strong smiled. Tom was driving his heaviest force between the invading +fleet and its objective--forcing the aggressors into a trap. + +Tom gave more crisp orders to his squadrons. He asked Roger for an +estimated range, and then, rechecking his position, turned again to the +intercom. + +"Astro, how much could you get out of this baby by opening the by-pass +between the cooling pumps and the reactant chamber? That'd mean feeding +the stuff into the motors only half cooled." + +Strong turned, started to speak, then clamped his lips together. + +"Another quarter space speed, roughly," replied Astro, "about fifteen +hundred miles more an hour. Do you want me to do that?" + +"No, not now," replied Tom. "Just wanted to know what I could depend on, +if I get stuck." + +"O.K.," said Astro. "Let me know!" + +"Why use emergency speed, Corbett?" asked Strong. "You seem to have your +enemy right where you want him now." + +"Yes, sir," replied Tom. "And the enemy knows I have him. He can't +possibly attack Luna City now. But he can still run away. He can make +his escape by this one route." + +Tom walked to the chart and ran his finger on a line away from the +invader's position into the asteroid belt. + +"I don't want him to get away," Tom explained. "And with the extra +speed, we can cut him off, force him to turn into a position where the +remainder of my fleet would finish him off." + +"You'll do this with just the _Polaris_?" + +"Oh, no, sir," said Tom. "I'd use the _Arcturus_, _Capella_ and the +_Centauri_, as well." + +"Are you sure those other ships can equal your speed?" + +"They've got exactly the same type engines as we have here on the +_Polaris_, sir. I'm sure they could--and with perfect safety." + +Strong hesitated a moment, started to ask a question, then stopped and +walked to the chart screen. He checked the figures. He checked them four +times, then turned to Tom with a grin and an outstretched hand. + +"I've got to offer my congratulations, Tom. This maneuver would wipe +them out. And I've got a notion that you'd come off without the loss of +a single ship, plus, and it is a big plus, keeping the invaders more +than fifty thousand miles away from their objective!" + +The captain turned to the teleceiver. "Rocket cruiser _Polaris_ to +control tower at Space Academy--" + +There was a crackle of static and then the deep voice of Commander +Walters boomed from the speaker. + +"Spaceport control to _Polaris_. Come in, Steve." + +In a few brief sentences, Strong outlined Tom's plan of action to the +Academy commander. The commander's face on the teleceiver widened into a +grin, then broke out in a hearty laugh. + +"What's that, sir?" asked Captain Strong. + +"Very simple, Steve. All of us--all the Academy top brass--develop a +foolproof test for cadet maneuvers. And then your young Corbett makes us +look like amateurs." + +"But didn't you expect one side or the other to win?" asked Strong. + +"Of course, but not like this. We've been expecting a couple of days of +maneuver, with both sides making plenty of mistakes that we could call +them on. But here Corbett wraps the whole thing up before we can get our +pencils sharpened." + +"Better stuff cotton in Corbett's ears before he hears all this," rasped +Roger Manning over the intercom. "Or his head'll be too big to go +through the hatch." + +"Quiet, Manning," came Astro's voice from the power deck. "Your mouth +alone is bigger than Tom's head'll ever be." + +"Look, you Venusian ape--" began Roger, but Commander Walters' voice +boomed out again. His face on the teleceiver screen was serious now. + +"Attention! Attention all units! The battle has been fought and won on +the chart screen of the rocket cruiser _Polaris_. The Luna City attack +has been repelled and the invading fleet wiped out. All units and ships +will return to Space Academy at once. Congratulations to all and end +transmission." + +The commander's face faded from the screen. Captain Strong turned to Tom. +"Good work," he said. + +He was interrupted by a crackle of static from the teleceiver. A face +suddenly appeared on the screen--a man's face, frightened and tense. + +"S O S." The voice rang out through the control deck. + +"This is an S O S. Space passenger ship _Lady Venus_ requests assistance +immediately. Position is sector two, chart one hundred three. Emergency. +We must have--" + +The screen went blank, the voice stopped as though cut off by a knife. +Strong frantically worked the teleceiver dials to re-establish contact. + +"_Polaris_ to _Lady Venus_," he called. "Come in _Lady Venus_. Rocket +cruiser _Polaris_ calling _Lady Venus_. Come in! Come in!" + +There was no answer. The passenger ship's instruments had gone dead. + + + + +CHAPTER 13 + + +"_Polaris_ to Commander Walters at Space Academy--Come in, Commander +Walters!" Captain Strong's voice was urgent in the teleceiver. + +"Just worked up an assumed position on the _Lady Venus_," said Roger +over the intercom. "I think she's bearing about seventeen degrees to +port of us, and about one-twenty-eight on the down-plane of the +ecliptic." + +"O.K., Roger," said Tom. "Captain Strong's trying to reach Commander +Walters now." He made a quick mental calculation. "Golly, Roger--if +you've figured it right, we're closer to the _Lady Venus_ than anyone +else!" + +The teleceiver audio crackled. + +"Commander Walters at Space Academy to Captain Strong on the _Polaris_. +Come in, Steve!" + +"Commander!" Strong's voice sounded relieved. "Did you get that +emergency from the _Lady Venus_--the S O S?" + +"Yes, we did, Steve," said the commander. "How far away from her are +you?" + +Without a word, Tom handed Strong the position that Roger had computed. +Strong relayed the information to the commander. + +"If you're that close, go to her aid in the _Polaris_. You're nearer +than any Solar Guard patrol ship and you can do just as much." + +"Right, sir," replied Steve. "I'll report as soon as I get any news. End +transmission!" + +"Spaceman's luck, end transmission!" said the commander. + +"Have you got a course for us, Roger?" asked Strong. + +"Yes, sir!" + +"Then let's get out of here. I have a feeling there's something more +than just the usual emergency attached to that S O S from the _Lady +Venus_." + +In twenty seconds the mighty cruiser was blasting through space to the +aid of the stricken passenger ship. + +"Better get the emergency equipment ready, Tom," said Strong. "Space +suits for the four of us and every spare space suit you have on the +ship. Never can tell what we might run into. Also the first-aid surgical +kit and every spare oxygen bottle. Oh, yeah, and have Astro get both jet +boats ready to blast off immediately. I'll keep trying to pick them up +again on the teleceiver." + +"Yes, sir," replied Tom sharply. + +"What's going on up there?" asked Astro, when Tom had relayed the orders +from Captain Strong. Tom quickly told him of the emergency signal from +the _Lady Venus_. + +"_Lady--Venus--_" said the big cadet, rolling the name on his tongue, "I +know her. She's one of the Martian City--Venusport jobs--an old-timer. +Converted from a chemical burner to atomic reaction about three years +ago!" + +"Any ideas what the trouble might be?" asked Tom. + +"I don't know," replied Astro. "There are a hundred and fifty things +that could go wrong--even on this wagon and she's brand new. But I +wouldn't be surprised if it was on the power deck!" + +"And what makes you think so?" asked Tom. + +"I knew a spaceman once that was on a converted tub just like the _Lady +Venus_ and he had trouble with the reaction chamber." + +"Wow!" exclaimed Tom. "Let's hope it isn't that now!" + +"You can say that again," said Astro grimly. "When this stuff gets out +of control, there's very little you can do with it, except leave it +alone and pile out!" + +The _Polaris_, rocketing through space at full space speed, plunged like +a silver bullet through the vastness of the black void, heading for what +Strong hoped to be the _Lady Venus_. Tom prepared the emergency +equipment, doubling all the reserves on the oxygen bottles by refilling +the empties he found on the ship and making sure that all space suits +were in perfect working order. Then he opened the emergency surgical kit +and began the laborious task of examining every vial and drug in the kit +to acquaint himself with what there was to work with just in case. He +brought all the stores of jelly out for radiation burns and finally +opened a bottle of special sterilization liquid with which to wipe all +the instruments and vials clean. He checked the contents of the kit once +more, and, satisfied that everything was as ready as he could make it, +he went up to the control deck. + +"Any other message from them yet, sir?" asked Tom. + +"Nothing yet," answered Strong. "If I could pick them up on the +teleceiver, maybe they could tell us what the trouble is and then we +could more or less be prepared to help them." He bent over the +teleceiver screen and added grimly, "If there is anything left to help!" + +"Radar deck to control deck!" Roger's voice was tense. "I think I've +picked them up on the radar scanner, Captain Strong!" + +"Relay it down here to control-deck scanner, Manning," ordered Strong. + +"Ummmh!" murmured the captain when the screen began to glow. "I'm pretty +sure that's her. Here's that assumed position Roger worked up, Tom. +Check it against this one here on the scanner." + +Tom quickly computed the position of the object on the scanner and +compared it to the position Roger had given them previously. + +"If Roger's positioning was correct, sir," said Tom, "then that's the +_Lady Venus_. They both check out perfectly!" + +Strong, bent over the radar scanner, didn't answer. Finally he turned +around and flipped off the scanner. "That's her," he announced. +"Congratulations, Roger. You hit it right on the nose!" + +"How shall we approach her, sir?" asked Tom. + +"We'd better wait until she sends up her flares." + +"You mean the identification flares for safety factors?" + +"That's right," replied Strong. "A white flare means it's all right to +come alongside and couple air locks. A red one means to stand off and +wait for instructions." Strong turned to the intercom. + +"Control deck to power deck. Reduce thrust to one quarter space speed!" + +"Power deck, aye," answered Astro. + +"We'll wait until we're about two miles away from her and then use our +braking jets in the bow of the ship to bring us within a few thousand +feet of her," commented Strong. + +"Yes, sir," said Tom. + +"Work up an estimated range, Roger," said Strong, "and give me a +distance on our approach." + +"Aye, aye, sir," Roger replied. "Objective four miles away now, sir." + +"When we hit three miles," said Strong to Tom, "have Astro stand by the +forward braking jets." + +"Aye, sir," said Tom. + +"Three-and-a-half miles," said Roger a few moments later. "Closing in +fast. _Lady Venus_ looks like a dead ship." + +"That could only mean one thing," said Strong bitterly. "There has been +a power-deck failure of some sort." + +"Three miles to objective, sir," reported Roger. "I think I can pick her +up on the teleceiver now, but only one way, from us to her." + +"All right," said Strong, "see what you can do." + +In a few moments the teleceiver screen glowed and then the silver +outline of the _Lady Venus_ appeared on the screen. + +"I don't see any damage to her hull," said Strong half to himself. "So +if it was an explosion, it wasn't a bad one." + +"Yes, sir," said Tom. "Shall I stand by with the flares?" + +"Better send up a yellow identification flare, identifying us as the +Solar Guard. Let them know who we are!" + +Tom turned to the yellow button on his left and pressed it. Immediately +a white flash resembling a meteor appeared on the teleceiver screen. + +"There should be an answer soon," said Strong. + +"Three thousand yards to objective," reported Roger. + +"Fire braking rockets one half," ordered Strong. + +Tom relayed the order to Astro and made the necessary adjustments on the +control panel. + +"Stern drive rockets out," ordered Strong. + +Once again Tom relayed the message to Astro and turned to the control +board. + +"Cut all rockets!" ordered Strong sharply. + +The great ship, slowed by the force of the braking rockets, became +motionless in space a bare five hundred yards from the _Lady Venus_. + +"They should be sending up their safety-factor flare soon," said Strong. +"Keep trying to raise them on the teleceiver, Roger." + +Strong was peering through a crystal port directly at the ship hanging +dead in space opposite them. There wasn't any sign of life. Tom stepped +to the side of Steve Strong and looked out at the crippled passenger +ship. + +"Why don't we go aboard, sir?" asked Tom. + +"We'll wait a little longer for the flare. If we don't get it soon--" + +"There it is, sir!" shouted Tom at Strong's side. + +From the flare port near the nose of the commercial ship, a ball of fire +streaked out. + +"Red!" said Strong grimly, "That means we can't go alongside. We'll have +to use jet boats." + +"Captain Strong," shouted Roger from the radar deck, "they're signaling +us with a small light from the upper port on the starboard side!" + +"Can you read it?" asked Strong quickly. + +"I think so, sir. They're using standard space code, but the light is +very dim." + +"What do they say?" + +" ... reaction ... chamber--" said Roger slowly as he read the blinking +light, " ... radiation ... leaking around ... baffle ... all ... +safe...." Roger stopped. "That's all, sir. I couldn't get the rest of +it." + +Strong turned to the intercom. "Astro, get the jet boats ready to blast +off immediately. Roger, send this message. 'Am coming aboard. Stand by +to receive me on your number-one starboard jet-boat catapult deck, +signed, Strong, Captain, Solar Guard.'" + +"Yes, sir!" replied Roger. + +"Get into your space suit, Tom, and give Astro a hand with the jet +boats. I have to get a message back to Space Academy and tell them to +send out help right away." + +"Aye, sir," said Tom. + +"Roger," said Strong, "stand by to record this message for the +teleceiver in case Space Academy should call our circuit while we're off +the ship." + +"All set, sir," came the reply from the radar deck. + +"O.K.--here goes--Captain Steve Strong--Solar Guard--am boarding +passenger ship _Lady Venus_. Secondary communications signal message +received indicates it is power-deck failure. Am taking cadets Corbett, +Manning and Astro and boarding same at"--he paused and glanced at the +clock--"thirteen hundred fifty one hours!" + +"That all, sir?" asked Roger. + +"That's it. Get that set on the open circuit for any one calling us, +then climb into your space suit!" + +In a matter of minutes, the four spacemen of the _Polaris_ crew were +making last-minute adjustments on their space suits. Astro picked up his +heavy belt of tools and strapped them around his waist. + +"What's that for, Astro?" asked Strong. "They'll have tools aboard the +ship if we need them." + +"If that lead baffle in the reaction chamber has worked loose, sir, the +odds are ten to one that the control chamber is flooded with radiation. +And if it is, the tools are probably so hot you couldn't use them." + +"That's good thinking, Astro," complimented Strong. He turned to Tom and +Roger and checked their suits and the oxygen supply and feeder valves on +their backs. He then turned his back while Tom checked his, and Roger +adjusted Astro's. + +"All right, turn on your communicators and test them," ordered Strong. + +One by one the boys flipped on the switch of the portable spacephones in +their fish-bowl helmets and spoke to each other. Strong indicated that +he was satisfied and turned toward the jet-boat catapult deck, the three +boys following him in single file. + +"Astro, you and Roger take number-one boat," said Strong. "Tom and I +will take number two." His voice had a harsh metallic tone through the +headset spacephones. + +Roger hurried along with Astro to the number-one boat and climbed +inside. + +"Jet boat has its own oxygen system," said Astro to Roger. "Better make +use of it while we're in here and save our suits' supplies." + +"Good idea," said Roger. He locked the clear plastic airtight covering +of the jet boat and began flicking at the control buttons. + +"Strap in, you Venusian hick. Here we go!" Roger shoved a lever at his +side, making the jet-boat deck airtight from the rest of the _Polaris_, +and then, by pressing a button on the simple control board, a section of +the _Polaris_' hull slipped back, exposing them to empty space. + +The controls of a jet boat were simplicity itself. A half-moon wheel for +guiding, up, down and either side, and two pedals on the floor, one for +going and one for stopping. Roger stepped on the "Go" pedal and the +small ship flashed out into the darkness of space. + +Almost immediately on the opposite side of the _Polaris_, Captain Strong +and Tom in the second boat shot away from the rocket cruiser and both +boats headed for the stricken spaceship. + + + + +CHAPTER 14 + + +The hatch clanked shut behind them. Inside the huge air lock of the +_Lady Venus_, Tom, Roger, Astro and Captain Strong waited for the oxygen +to equal the pressure in their space suits before removing their +fish-bowl space helmets. + +"O.K., sir," said Tom, "pressure's equal." + +Strong stepped to the hatch leading to the inside of the ship and pushed +hard. It slid to one side. + +"How many jet boats do you have?" was the first thing Strong heard as he +stepped through the door to the interior of the passenger ship. + +"Al James!" cried Manning. "So this is your tub?" + +The startled young skipper, whom Tom, Roger and Astro had met in Atom +City, turned to face the blond-headed cadet. + +"Manning!" he gasped. + +"What's your trouble, skipper?" asked Strong of the young spaceship +captain. + +Before James could answer there was a sudden clamor from beyond the next +hatch leading to the main passenger cabin. Suddenly the hatch was jerked +open and a group of frightened men and women poured through. The first +to reach Strong, a short fat man with a moonface and wearing glasses, +began to jabber hysterically, while clinging to Strong's arm. + +"Sir, this ship is going to blow up any moment. You've got to save us!" +He turned to face Al James. "And he refused to allow us to escape in the +jet boats!" He pointed an accusing finger at the young skipper as the +other passengers loudly backed him up. + +"Just a moment," snapped Strong. "There's a Solar Guard rocket cruiser +only five hundred yards away, so take it easy and don't get hysterical. +No one is going to get hurt if you keep calm and obey orders!" He turned +to James. "What's the trouble, skipper?" + +"It's the reaction chamber. The lead baffle around the chamber worked +loose and flooded everything with radiation. Now the mass in +number-three rocket is building and wildcatting itself. If it gets any +higher, it'll explode." + +"Why didn't your power-deck man dump the mass?" asked Strong. + +"We didn't know it was wildcatting until after he had tried to repair +it. And he didn't tighten the bolts enough to keep it from leaking +radiation." The young skipper paused. "He lived long enough to warn us, +though." + +"What's the Geiger count on the radiation?" asked Strong. + +"Up to twelve thirty-two--about ten minutes ago," answered James. "I +pulled everybody out of the power deck and cut all energy circuits, +including the energizing pumps. We didn't have any power so I had to use +the combined juice of the three jet boats to send out the emergency +signal that you picked up." He turned to face the little man with the +glasses. "I had a choice of either saving about fifteen passengers on +the jet boats, and leaving the others, or take a chance on saving +everybody by using the power to send out a message." + +"Ummmmh," said Strong to himself. He felt confidence in a young spaceman +who would take a decision like that on himself. "What was that Geiger +count again?" he asked. + +"Must be better than fourteen hundred by now," answered James. + +Strong made a quick decision. + +"All right," he said, tight-lipped, "abandon ship! How many passengers?" + +"Seventeen women and twenty-three men including the crew," replied +James. + +"Does that include yourself?" asked Strong. + +"No," came the reply. + +Strong felt better. Any man who would not count himself on a list to +survive could be counted on in any emergency. + +"We'll take four women at a time in each jet boat first," said Strong. +"James, you and I will operate the jet boats and ferry the passengers to +the _Polaris_. Tom, you and Roger and Astro get everybody aboard the +ship ready to leave." + +"Yes, sir," said Tom. + +"We haven't much time. The reaction mass is building fast. Come on, +James, we have to rip out the seats in the jet boats to get five people +in them." Strong turned back into the jet-boat launching well. + +"May I have the passenger lists, Captain?" asked Tom, turning to James. +The young skipper handed him a clip board with the names of the +passengers and crew and followed Strong. + +"We will abandon ship in alphabetical order," announced Tom. "Miss Nancy +Anderson?" + +A young girl about sixteen stepped forward. + +"Just stand there by the hatch, Miss," said Tom. He glanced at the next +name. "Miss Elizabeth Anderson?" Another girl, looking very much like +the first, stepped forward and stood beside her sister. + +"Mrs. John Bailey?" called Tom. + +A gray-haired woman of about sixty stepped forward. + +"Pardon me, sir, but I would rather remain with my husband, and go later +with him." + +"No--no, Mary," pleaded an elderly man, holding his arm around her +shoulder. "Go now. I'll be all right. Won't I, sir?" He looked at Tom +anxiously. + +"I can't be sure, sir," said Tom. He found it difficult to control his +voice as he looked down at the old couple, who couldn't weigh more than +two hundred pounds between them. + +"I'm going to stay," said the woman firmly. + +"As you wish, Madam," said Tom. He looked at the list again. "Mrs. Helen +Carson?" + +A woman about thirty-five, carrying a young boy about four years old, +stepped out and took her place beside the two sisters. + +In a moment, the first eight passengers were assembled into two groups, +helped into space suits, with a special portable suit for the little +boy, and loaded in the jet boats. The red light over the hatch glowed, +then went out. The first load of passengers had left the _Lady Venus_. + +"They're pretty jumpy," Roger whispered, nodding toward the remaining +passengers. + +"Yeah," answered Tom. "Say, where's Astro?" + +"I don't know. Probably went to take a look at the jet boats to see if +one could be repaired so we'd have a third ferry running." + +"Good idea," said Tom. "See if you can't cheer these people up, Roger. +Tell them stories or sing songs--or better yet, get them to sing. Try to +make them forget they're sitting on an atom bomb!" + +"I can't forget it myself," said Roger. "How can I make them forget it?" + +"Try anything. I'll go see if I can't give Astro a hand!" + +Roger turned to face the assembled passengers and smiled. All around +him in the main passenger lounge, the frightened men and women sat +huddled together in small groups, staring at him, terror in their eyes. + +"Ladieeees and Gentlemen," began Roger. "You are now going to be +entertained by the loudest, corniest and most miserable voice in the +universe. I'm going to _sing_!" + +He waited for a laugh, but there was only a slight stir as the +passengers shifted nervously in their seats. + +Shrugging his shoulders, Roger took a deep breath and began to sing. He +only knew one song and he sang it with gusto. + + "From the rocket fields of the Academy + To the far-flung stars of outer space, + We're Space Cadets training to be...." + +On the lower deck of the passenger ship, Tom smiled as he faintly heard +his unit-mate's voice. He made his way to the jet-boat deck of the _Lady +Venus_ and opened the hatch. + +"Hey, Astro," he called. There wasn't any answer. + +He stepped inside and looked around the empty deck. Walking over to one +of the jet boats, he saw evidence of Al James's attempts to send out +emergency signal messages. He called again. "Hey, Astro--where are you?" +Still no answer. He noticed that one of the jet boats was missing. There +were three still on the deck, but an empty catapult for the fourth made +Tom think that Astro might have repaired the fourth and taken it out in +space for a test. The light over the escape hatch indicated that someone +had gone out. It was odd, thought Tom, for Astro to go out alone. But +then he shrugged, remembering how Astro could lose himself in his work +and forget everything but the job at hand. He climbed back to the +passenger deck. + +When Tom opened the hatch to the main lounge, the sight that filled his +eyes was so funny that, even in the face of danger, he had to laugh. +Roger, with his hands clasped behind his back, was down on his knees +trying to push a food pellet across the deck with his nose. The whole +passenger lounge echoed with hysterical laughter. + +Suddenly the laughter was stopped by the sound of the bell over the +air-lock hatch. Strong and James had returned to ferry more passengers +to the _Polaris_. Immediately the fun was forgotten and the passengers +crowded around for the roll call. + +"Where's Astro?" asked Strong, as he reappeared in the lounge. + +"He's down on the jet-boat deck, sir, trying to fix another one," +replied Tom. "I think he's out testing one now." + +"Good," said Strong. "How're they taking it?" He indicated the +passengers. + +"Roger's been keeping them amused with games and songs, sir," said Tom +proudly. + +"They'll need it. I don't mind telling you, Corbett," said Strong, "it's +a wonder to me this tub hasn't blown up already." + +In less than a half hour, the forty passengers and crewmen of the _Lady +Venus_ were transferred in alphabetical order to the waiting _Polaris_. +Roger kept up a continual line of patter and jokes and stories, making a +fool of himself, but keeping the remaining passengers amused and their +minds off the dangers of the rapidly building reaction mass. + +"Just one passenger left," said Strong, "with myself and you three. I +think we can squeeze five in that jet boat and get off here." + +"That's for me," said Roger. "I'm the only man in the whole universe +that's ever played to a packed house sitting on top of an atomic bomb!" + +"All right, Barrymore," said Strong, "get aboard!" + +"Say," asked Tom, "where's Astro?" + +"I don't know," replied Roger. "I thought you went to find him half an +hour ago!" + +"I did," said Tom, "but when I went to the jet-boat deck, one was +missing. So I figured he had fixed one and taken it out for a test." + +"Then he's probably outside in space now!" said Strong. Suddenly the +Solar Guard captain caught himself. "Wait a minute! How many jet boats +were on the deck, Corbett?" + +"Three, sir." + +"Then Astro is still aboard the ship," said Strong. "He couldn't have +taken a boat. James told me he couldn't repeat the message he sent out +because he only had the power of _three_ jet boats. One was damaged and +left behind at Atom City!" + +"By the rings of Saturn," said Roger, "a coupla million miles from home, +sitting on an atomic bomb and that big Venusian hick decides to play +hide-and-seek!" + +"Never mind the cracks," said Strong. "We've got to find him!" + +"Captain," said the little man with the round face and glasses who had +first spoken to Strong when he came aboard, "just because my name +happens to be Zewbriski, and I have to be the very last to get on a jet +boat, I don't see why I have to wait any longer. I demand to be taken +off this ship immediately! I refuse to risk my life waiting around for +some foolish cadet!" + +"That foolish cadet, Mr. Zewbriski," said Strong coldly, "is a human +being like you and we don't budge until we find him!" + +At that moment the bell began to ring, indicating that the outer hatch +to the air lock was opening. + +"By the craters of Luna," said Tom, "that must be Astro now!" + +"But if it is," said Roger, "how did he get out there?" + +From behind them, the hatch to the inner air lock opened and Al James +stepped through. + +"Captain Strong," he said excitedly, "you've got to come quickly. Some +of the crewmen have broken into your arms locker and taken paralo-ray +guns. They threaten to leave you here if you don't return to the ship +within five minutes. They're afraid the _Venus_ might blow up and damage +the _Polaris_ at this close range." The young skipper, his red-brown +uniform torn and dirty, looked at the Solar Guard captain with wild-eyed +desperation. + +"They can't leave us here," whimpered Zewbriski. "We'll all be blown to +bits!" + +"Shut up!" barked Strong. He turned to Tom and Roger. "I can do one of +two things," he said. "I can order you to return to the _Polaris_ now, +with James and myself, or you can volunteer to stay behind and search +for Astro." + +Without looking at Roger, Tom answered, "We'll stay, sir. And we won't +have to search for him. I think I know where he is." + +"Now that I think about it," replied Strong, "I guess there is only one +place he could be." + +"Yes, sir," said Tom, "down on the power deck trying to save this wagon! +Come on, Roger! Let's get him!" + + + + +CHAPTER 15 + + +"What's the reading on the Geiger counter now?" asked Tom. + +Roger looked down at the face of the radioactive measuring device and +answered, "She's been dropping for the last five minutes, Tom. Looks +like the mass in number three is cooling off. Fourteen hundred and ten +now." + +"That's not fast enough," said Astro, straightening up from tightening a +nut on the lead baffle. "She's still plenty hot. That mass should have +been dumped out of the rocket exhaust right away. Now the whole tube +control box is so hot with radiation, it'd burn you to a crisp if you +opened the hatch." + +"Good thing you brought along those tools from the _Polaris_," said Tom. + +"Yeah, greaseball," said Roger, "you used your head for once. Now let's +see you use it again and pile out of this hunk of junk!" + +"Fifteen hundred on the counter is the danger mark, Roger, and as long +as we keep it under that, I'm going to try and save this wagon!" replied +Astro. + +"Why? To get yourself a Solar Medal?" asked Roger sarcastically. + +"What do you think made this tub act up like this, Astro?" asked Tom, +ignoring Roger's remark. + +"Using special reactant feed, Tom," replied Astro. "This is a converted +chemical burner--with an old-type cooling pump. It's touchy stuff." + +"Well, couldn't we drive boron rods into the mass and slow down the +reaction?" asked Tom. + +"No, Tom," answered Astro, "the control for the rods are inside the tube +control box. We can't reach it." + +There was a sudden loud ticking from the Geiger counter. + +"Astro!" cried Roger. "The mass is building!" + +"Here, lemme see!" shouted Astro. He took the instrument in his big hand +and watched the clocklike face intently. + +" ... fourteen hundred thirty--fourteen hundred fifty--fourteen hundred +seventy--" He faced his unit-mates. "Well, that does it. The mass is +maintaining a steady reaction without the energizing pumps. It's +sustaining itself!" + +"But how is that possible?" asked Tom. + +"It's one of those freaks, Tom. It's been known to happen before. The +fuel is just hot enough to sustain a steady reaction because of its high +intensity. Once that baffle worked loose, the mass started wildcatting +itself." + +"And if it doesn't stop?" asked Roger tensely. + +"It'll reach a point where the reaction comes so fast it'll explode!" + +"Let's pile out of here!" said Roger. + +The three boys made a dash for their space suits and the jet boat. +Inside the air lock, they adjusted their oxygen valves and waited for +pressure to equalize so they could blast off. + +"Blast it," said Astro, "there must be some way to get to that rocket +tube and dump that stuff!" + +"Impossible, Astro," said Roger. "The release controls are in the +control box, and with all that radiation loose, you wouldn't last half a +minute!" + +Tom walked over to the valve that would open the outside hatch. + +"Wonder how Captain Strong is making out with those tough babies on the +_Polaris_?" asked Tom. + +"I don't know," replied Roger, "but anything would be better than +sitting around waiting for this thing to blow up!" + +"Ah--stop griping," said Astro, "or I'll shove you up a rocket tube and +blast you from here all the way back to Atom City!" + +"Hey, wait a minute!" shouted Tom. "Astro, remember the time we were on +the ground crew as extra duty and we had to overhaul the _Polaris_?" + +"Yeah, why?" + +"There was one place you couldn't go. You were too big, so I went in, +remember?" + +"Yeah, the space between the rocket tubes and the hull of the ship. It +was when we were putting in the new tube. So what?" + +"So this!" said Tom. "When they converted this tub, they had standard +exhausts, so it must have the same layout as the _Polaris_. Suppose I +climb in the main exhaust, between the tube and the outer hull, and cut +away the cleats that hold the tube to the ship?" + +"Why, then everything would come out in one piece!" Astro's face lit up. +"Reactant mass, tube, control box--the works!" + +"Say, what are you two guys talking about?" asked Roger. + +"Saving a ship, Roger," said Tom. "Dumping the whole assembly of the +number-three rocket!" + +"Ah--you're space happy!" + +"Maybe," said Tom, "but I think it's worth trying. How about it, Astro?" + +"O.K. by me, Tom," replied Astro. + +"Good. You get the cutting torches rigged, Astro. Roger, you give him a +hand and keep your eye on the counter. Then feed the torches to me when +I get inside the tube. I'm going outside to get rid of a bad rocket and +save a five-million-credit spaceship!" + +Before Astro or Roger could protest, Tom opened the hatch and began to +climb out on the steel hull toward the rocket tubes, main exhaust. + +His magnetic-soled shoes gripping the smooth steel hull, the cadet made +his way aft to the stern of the ship and began the climb down around the +huge firing tubes and into the tubes themselves. + +"Hey, Astro," he yelled into the spacephone, "I'm inside the tubes. How +about those torches?" The cadets had adjusted the wave length so that +all could hear what was said. + +"Take it easy, spaceboy," said Roger, "I'm leaving the hatch now. You +and your fatheaded friend from Venus are so hopped up for getting a +Solar Medal--" + +"Knock it off, Manning!" said Astro from inside the ship. "And for your +information, I don't want a medal. I don't want anything except for you +to stop griping!" + +Roger reached the end of the ship and began to climb down inside the +tube where Tom was waiting for him. + +"O.K., spaceboy," said Roger, "here're your cutting torches." He started +moving back. "I'll see you around. I don't mind being a little hero for +saving people and all that stuff. But not for any ship. And the odds +against a big hero staying alive are too big!" + +"Roger, wait," shouted Tom. "I'll need...." And then the curly-headed +cadet clamped his teeth together and turned back to the task at hand. + +He made adjustments on the nozzle of the cutting torch, and then, +focusing his chest light, called to Astro. + +"O.K., Astro," he said, "shoot me the juice!" + +"Coming up, Tom!" answered Astro. "And wait till I get my hands on that +Manning! I'm going to smear that yellow space crawler from one corner of +the universe to another!" + +"Never mind the talk," snarled Roger, who at the moment was re-entering +the tube. "Just get that juice down to this torch and make it fast!" + +Tom turned to see Roger crawling back into the tube and adjusting a +cutting torch. + +"Glad to have you aboard, Roger," said Tom with a smile that Roger could +not see in the darkness of the tube. The two boys went to work. + +Suddenly the torches came to life. And immediately Tom and Roger began +to cut away at the cleats that held the tube lining to the skin of the +ship. Steadily, the cadets worked their way up toward the center of the +ship, cutting anything that looked as though it might hold the giant +tube to the ship. + +"Boy," said Tom, "it's getting hot in here!" + +From inside the ship, Astro's reassuring voice came back in answer. +"You're getting close to the reactant-mass chamber. The last cleat is up +by one of the exhaust gratings. Think you can last it?" + +"Well, if he can't," snarled Roger, "he's sure to get that medal +anyway!" He inched up a little. "Move over, Corbett, I'm skinnier than +you are, and I can reach that cleat easier than you can." + +Roger slipped past Tom and inched his way toward the last cleat. He +pulled his torch up alongside and pulled the trigger. The flame shot out +and began eating the steel. In a moment the last cleat was cut and the +two boys started their long haul down the tube to the outside of the +ship. + +As they walked across the steel surface, back to the air lock, Tom stuck +out his hand. + +"I'm glad you came back, Roger." + +"Save it for the boys that fall for that stuff, Corbett," said Roger +sarcastically. "I came back because I didn't want you and that Venusian +hick to think you're the only ones with guts around here!" + +"No one has ever accused you of not having guts, Roger." + +"Ah--go blast your jets," snarled Roger. + +They went directly to the power deck where Astro was waiting for them, +the Geiger counter in his hand. + +"All set to get rid of the rotten apple?" he asked with a smile. + +"All set, Astro," said Tom. "What's the count?" + +"She seems to have steadied around fourteen hundred ninety--and believe +me, the ten points to the official danger mark of fifteen hundred is so +small that we could find out where the angels live any moment now!" + +"Then what're we waiting for," said Tom. "Let's dump that thing!" + +"How?" snarled Roger. + +Tom and Astro looked at him bewilderedly. "What do you mean 'how'?" +asked Astro. + +"I mean how are you going to get the tube out of the ship?" + +"Why," started Tom, "there's nothing holding that tube assembly to the +ship now. We cut all the cleats, remember? We can jettison the whole +unit!" + +"It seems to me," drawled Roger lazily, "that the two great heroes in +their mad rush for the Solar Medal have forgotten an unwritten law of +space. There's no gravity out here--no natural force to pull or push the +tube. The only way it could be moved is by the power of thrust, either +forward or backward!" + +"O.K. Then let's push it out, just that way," said Astro. + +"How?" asked Roger cynically. + +"Simple, Roger," said Tom, "Newton's Laws of motion. Everything in +motion tends to keep going at the same speed unless influenced by an +outside force. So if we blasted our nose rockets and started going +backward, everything on the ship would go backward too, then if we +reversed--" + +Astro cut in, "Yeah--if we blasted the stern rockets, the ship would go +forward, but the tube, being loose, would keep going the other way!" + +"There's only one thing wrong," said Roger. "That mass is so hot now, if +any booster energy hit it, it would be like a trigger on a bomb. It'd +blow us from here to the next galaxy!" + +"I'm willing to try it," said Tom. "How about you, Astro?" + +"I've gone this far, and I'm not quitting now." + +They turned to face Roger. + +"Well, how about it, Roger?" asked Tom. "No one will think you're yellow +if you take the jet boat and leave now." + +"Ah--talk again!" grumbled Roger. "We always have to talk. Let's be +original for a change and just do our jobs!" + +"All right," said Tom. "Take an emergency light and signal Captain +Strong. Tell him what we're going to do. Warn him to stay away--about +two hundred miles off. He'll know if we're successful or not within a +half hour!" + +"Yeah," said Roger, "then we'll send him one big flash to mean we +failed! _Bon voyage!_" + +Fifteen minutes later, as the _Lady Venus_ drifted in her silent but +deadly orbit, Tom, Roger and Astro still worked feverishly as the Geiger +counter ticked off the increasing radioactivity of the wildcatting +reaction mass in number-three rocket tube. + +"Reading on the counter still's going up, Astro," warned Roger. +"Fifteen-O-five." + +"Hurry it up, Astro," urged Tom. + +"Hand me that wrench, Tom," ordered Astro. The big cadet, stripped to +the waist, his thick arms and chest splattered with grease and sweat, +fitted the wrench to the nut and applied pressure. Tom and Roger watched +the muscles ripple along his back, as the big Venusian pitted all of his +great strength against the metal. + +"Give it all you've got," said Tom. "If we do manage to jettison that +tube, we've got to keep this part of the power deck airtight!" + +Astro pulled harder. The veins standing out on his neck. At last, easing +off, he stood up and looked down at the nut. + +"That's as tight as I can get it," he said, breathing heavily. + +"Or anyone else," said Tom. + +"All the valve connections broken?" asked Astro. + +"Yep," replied Roger. "We're sealed tight." + +"That's it, then," said Tom. "Let's get to the control deck and start +blasting!" + +Astro turned to the power-deck control board and checked the gauges for +the last time. From above his head, he heard Tom's voice over the +intercom. + +"All your relays to the power deck working, Astro?" + +"Ready, Tom," answered Astro. + +"Then stand by," said Tom on the control deck. He had made a hasty check +of the controls and found them to be similar enough to those on the +_Polaris_ so that he could handle the ship. He flipped the switch to the +radar deck and spoke into the intercom. + +"Do we have a clear trajectory fore and aft, Roger?" + +"All clear," replied Roger. "I sent Captain Strong the message." + +"What'd he say?" + +"The rebellion wasn't anything more than a bunch of badly scared old +men. Al James just got hysterical, that's all." + +[Illustration: _A low muted roar pulsed through the ship_] + +"What did he have to say about this operation?" + +"I can't repeat it for your young ears," said Roger. + +"So bad, huh?" + +"Yeah, but not because we're trying to save the ship." + +"Then why?" asked Tom. + +"He's afraid of losing a good unit!" + +Tom smiled and turned to the control board. "Energize the cooling +pumps!" he bawled to Astro over the intercom. + +The slow whine of the pumps began to build to a shrieking pitch. + +"Pumps in operation, Tom," said Astro. + +"Cut in nose braking rockets," ordered Tom. + +A low muted roar pulsed through the ship. + +"Rockets on--we're moving backward, Tom," reported Astro. + +And then suddenly Astro let out a roar. "Tom, the Geiger counter is +going wild!" + +"Never mind that now," answered Tom. "Sound off, Roger!" he yelled. + +"Ship moving astern--one thousand feet a second--two thousand--four +thousand--" + +"I'm going to let her build to ten, Roger," yelled Tom. "We've only got +one chance and we might as well make it a good one!" + +"Six thousand!" yelled Roger. "Seven thousand!" + +"Astro," bellowed Tom, "stand by to fire stern rockets!" + +"Ready, Tom," was Astro's reply. + +"Eight thousand," warned Roger. "Spaceman's luck, fellas!" + +The silver ship moved through space away from the _Polaris_. + +"Nine thousand," reported Roger. "And, Astro, I really love ya!" + +"Cut nose braking rockets!" ordered Tom. + +There was a sudden hush that seemed to be as loud as the noise of the +rockets. The huge passenger ship, _Lady Venus_, was traveling through +space as silent as a ghost. + +"Nine thousand five hundred feet a second," yelled Roger. + +"Stand by, Astro, Roger! Hang on tight, and spaceman's luck!" + +"Ten thousand feet a second!" Roger's voice was a hoarse scream. + +"_Fire stern rockets!_" bawled Tom. + +[Illustration] + + + + +CHAPTER 16 + + +Under the tremendous drive of the stern rockets, the silver ship +suddenly hurtled forward as if shot out of a cannon. The dangerous tube +slid out of the stern of the ship and was quickly left behind as the +_Lady Venus_ sped in the opposite direction. + +"That's it," yelled Tom, "hold full space speed! We dumped the tube, but +we're still close enough for it to blow us from here to Pluto!" + +"I tracked it on the radar, Tom," yelled Roger. "I think we're far +enough away to miss--" + +At that moment a tremendous flash of light filled the radar scanner as +the mass exploded miles to the rear of the _Lady Venus_. + +"There it goes!" shouted Roger. + +"Great jumping Jupiter," yelled Tom, "and we're still in one piece! We +did it!" + +From the power deck, Astro's bull-like roar could be heard through the +whole ship. + +"Gimme an open circuit, Tom," said Astro. "I want to operate the air +blowers down here and try to get rid of some of that radiation. I have +to get into the control chamber and see what's going on." + +Tom flipped a switch on the board and set the ship on automatic flight. +Then, turning to the teleceiver, he switched the set on. + +"_Lady Venus_ to _Polaris_--" said Tom, "come in, _Polaris_--come in!" + +" ... Strong here on the _Polaris_!" the officer's voice crackled over +the speaker. "By the rings of Saturn, I should log you three +space-brained idiots for everything in the book!" Strong's face +gradually focused on the teleceiver screen and he stared at Tom coldly. +"That was the most foolish bit of heroics I've ever seen and if I had my +way I'd--I'll--well--" The captain's glare melted into a smile. "I'll +spend the rest of my life being known as the skipper of the three +heroes! Well done, Corbett, it was foolish and dangerous, but well +done!" + +Tom, his face changing visibly with each change in Strong's attitude, +finally broke out into a grin. + +"Thank you, sir," said Tom, "but Astro and Roger did as much as I did." + +"I'm sure they did," replied Strong. "Tell them I think it was one of +the--the--" he thought a moment and then added, "darndest, most foolish +things--most--" + +"Yes, sir," said Tom, trying hard to control his face. He knew the +moment for disciplining had passed, and that Captain Strong was just +overwhelmed with concern for their safety. + +"Stand by the air locks, Corbett, we're coming aboard again. We're +pretty cramped for space here on the _Polaris_." + +Just then Astro yelled up from the power deck. + +"Hey, Tom!" he called. "If Captain Strong is thinking about putting +those passengers back aboard, I think you'd better tell him about the +radiation. I haven't been able to flush it all out yet. And since we +only have three lead-lined suits...." He left the statement unfinished. + +"I get you, Astro," replied Tom. He turned back to the teleceiver and +faced Strong. "Astro says the ship is still hot from radiation, sir. And +that he hasn't been able to flush it out with the blowers." + +"Ummmmh," mused Strong thoughtfully. "Well, in that case, stand by, +Corbett. I'll get in touch with Commander Walters right away." + +"Very well, sir," replied Tom. He turned from the teleceiver and climbed +up to the radar deck. + +"Well, hot-shot," said Roger, "looks like you've made yourself a hero +this trip." + +"What do you mean by that, Roger?" + +"First, you run off with top honors on the space maneuvers, and now you +save the ship and have Strong eating out of your hand!" + +"That's not very funny, Roger," said Tom. + +"I think it is," drawled Roger. + +Tom studied the blond cadet for a moment. + +"What's eating you, Roger? Since the day you came into the Academy, +you've acted like you hated every minute of it. And yet, on the other +hand, I've seen you act like it was the most important thing in your +life. Why?" + +"I told you once, Corbett," said Roger with the sneering air which Tom +knew he used when he was on the defensive, "that I had my own special +reasons for being here. I'm _not_ a hero, Corbett! Never was and never +will be. You're strictly the hero type. Tried and true, a thousand just +like you all through the Academy and the Solar Guard. Strong is a hero +type!" + +"Then what about Al James?" asked Tom. "What about that time in Atom +City when you defended the Academy?" + +"Uh-uh," grunted Roger, "I wasn't defending the Academy. I was just +avoiding a fight." He paused and eyed Tom between half-closed lids. +"You'll never do anything I can't, or won't do, just as well, Tom. The +difference between us is simple. I'm in the Academy for a reason, a +special reason. You're here, like most of the other cadets, because you +believe in it. That's the difference between you, me and Astro. You +believe in it. I don't--I don't believe in anything but Roger Manning!" + +Tom faced him squarely. "I'm not going to buy that, Roger! I don't think +that's true. And the reasons I don't believe it are many. You have a +chip on your shoulder, yes. But I don't think you're selfish or that you +only believe in Manning. If you did, you wouldn't be here on the _Lady +Venus_. You had your chance to escape back in the rocket tube, but you +_came back_, Roger, and you made a liar out of yourself!" + +"Hey, you guys!" yelled Astro, coming up behind them. "I thought we left +that stuff back at the Academy?" + +Tom turned to face the power-deck cadet. "What's cooking below, Astro? +Were you able to get rid of the radiation?" + +"Naw!" replied the cadet from Venus. "Too hot! Couldn't even open the +hatch. It'll take a special job with the big equipment at the space +shipyards. We need their big blowers and antiradiation flushers to clean +this baby up." + +"Then I'd better tell Captain Strong right away. He's going to get in +touch with Commander Walters at the Academy for orders." + +"Yeah, you're right," said Astro. "There isn't a chance of getting those +people back aboard here now. Once we opened up that outer control deck +to dump that tube, the whole joint started buzzing with radioactive +electrons." + +Tom turned to the ladder leading to the control deck and disappeared +through the hatch, leaving Astro and Roger alone. + +"What was that little bit of space gas about, Roger?" + +"Ah--nothing," replied Roger. "Just a little argument on who was the +biggest hero." Roger smiled and waved a hand in a friendly gesture. "Tom +won, two to one!" + +"He sure handled that control deck like he had been born here, all +right," said Astro. "Well, I've got to take a look at those motors. +We'll be doing something soon, and whatever it is, we'll need those +power boxes to get us where we want to go." + +"Yeah," said Roger, "and I've got to get a course and a position." He +turned to the chart screen and began plotting rapidly. Down on the +control deck, Strong was listening to Tom. + +" ... and Astro said we'd need the special equipment at the space +shipyards to clean out the radiation, sir. If we took passengers aboard +and it suddenly shot up--well, we only have the three lead-lined suits +to protect us." + +"Very well, Corbett," replied Strong. "I've just received orders from +Commander Walters to proceed to Mars with both ships. I'll blast off now +and you three follow along on the _Lady Venus_. Any questions?" + +"I don't have any, sir," Tom said, "but I'll check with Roger and Astro +to see if they have any." + +Tom turned to the intercom and informed the radar and power-deck cadets +of their orders, and asked if there were any questions. Both replied +that everything on the ship was ready to blast off immediately. Tom +turned back to the teleceiver. + +"No questions, sir," reported Tom. "We're all set to blast off." + +"Very well, Corbett," said Strong. "I'm going to make as much speed as +possible to get these people on Mars. The crew of the _Lady Venus_ will +take over the radar and power decks." + +"O.K., sir, and spaceman's luck!" said Tom. "We'll see you on Mars!" + +Tom stood beside the crystal port on the control deck and watched the +rocket cruiser _Polaris_' stern glow red from her jets, and then quickly +disappear into the vastness of space, visible only as a white blip on +the radar scanner. + +"Get me a course to Mars, Roger," said Tom. "Astro, stand by to blast +off with as much speed as you can safely get out of this old wagon, and +stand by for Mars!" + +The two cadets quickly reported their departments ready, and following +the course Roger plotted, Astro soon had the _Lady Venus_ blasting +through space, heading for Mars! + +Mars, fourth planet in order from the Sun, loomed like a giant red gem +against a perfect backdrop of deep-black space. The _Lady Venus_, +rocketing through the inky blackness, a dull red glow from her three +remaining rockets, blasted steadily ahead to the planet that was +crisscrossed with wide spacious canals. + +"Last time I was on Mars," said Astro to Tom and Roger over a cup of +tea, "was about two years ago. I was bucking rockets on an old tub +called the _Space Plunger_. It was on a shuttle run from the Martian +south pole to Venusport, hauling vegetables. What a life! Burning up on +Venus and then freezing half to death at the south pole on Mars." Astro +shook his head as the vivid memory took him back for a moment. + +"From what I hear," said Tom, "there isn't much to see but the few +cities, the mountains, the deserts and the canals." + +"Yeah," commented Roger, "big deal! Rocket into the wild depths of space +and see the greatest hunk of wasteland in the universe!" + +The three boys were silent, listening to the steady hum of the rockets, +driving them forward toward Mars. For four days they had traveled on the +_Lady Venus_, enjoying the many luxuries found on the passenger ship. +Now, with their destination only a few hours away, they were having a +light snack before making a touchdown on Mars. + +"You know," said Tom quietly, "I've been thinking. As far back as the +twentieth century, Earthmen have wanted to get to Mars. And finally they +did. And what have they found? Nothing but a planet full of dry sand, a +few canals and dwarf mountains." + +"That's exactly what I've been saying!" said Roger. "The only man who +ever got anything out of all this was the first man to make it to Mars +and return. He got the name, the glory, and a paragraph in a history +book! And after that, nothing!" He got up and climbed the ladder to the +radar deck, leaving Astro and Tom alone. + +Suddenly the ship lurched to one side. + +"What's that?" cried Tom. + +A bell began to ring. Then another--and then three more. Finally the +entire ship was vibrating with the clanging of emergency bells. + +Astro made a diving leap for the ladder leading down to the power deck, +with Tom lunging for the control board. + +Quickly Tom glanced about the huge board with its many different gauges +and dials, searching for the one that would indicate the trouble. His +eye spotted a huge gauge. A small light beside it flashed off and on. +"By the moons of Jupiter, we've run out of reactant fuel!" + +"Tom!--Tom!" shouted Astro from the power deck. "We're smack out of +reactant feed!" + +"Isn't there any left at all?" asked Tom. "Not even enough to get us +into Marsopolis?" + +"We haven't enough left to keep the generator going!" said Astro. +"Everything, including the lights and the teleceiver, will go any +minute!" + +"Then we can't change course!" + +"Right," drawled Roger. "And if we can't change course, the one we're on +now will take us straight into Mars's gravity and we crash!" + +"Send out an emergency call right away, Roger," said Tom. + +"Can't, spaceboy," replied Roger in his lazy drawl. "Not enough juice to +call for help. Or haven't you noticed you're standing in the dark?" + +"But how--how could this happen?" asked Tom, puzzled. "We were only +going at half speed and using just three rockets!" + +"When we got rid of that hot tube back in space," explained Astro +grimly, "we dumped the main reactant mass. There isn't a thing we can +do!" + +"We've got one choice," said Tom hollowly. "We can either pile out now, +in space suits and use the jet boat, and hope for someone to pick us up +before the oxygen gives out, or we can ride this space wagon right on +in. Make up your minds quick, we're already inside Mars's gravity pull!" + +There was a pause, then Astro's voice filled the control deck. "I'll +ride this baby right to the bottom. If I'm going to splash in, I'll take +it on solid ground, even if it is Mars and not Venus. I don't want to +wash out in space!" + +"That goes for me, too," said Roger. + +"O.K.," said Tom. "Here we go. Just keep your fingers crossed that we +hit the desert instead of the mountains, or we'll be smeared across +those rocks like applesauce. Spaceman's luck, fellas!" + +"Spaceman's luck, both of you," said Astro. + +"Just plain ordinary luck," commented Roger, "and plenty of it!" + +The three boys quickly strapped themselves into acceleration seats, with +Tom hooking up an emergency relay switch that he could hold in his hand. +He hoped he would remain conscious long enough to throw the switch and +start the water sprinkler in case the ship caught fire. + +The _Lady Venus_ flashed into the thin atmosphere from the void of space +and the three cadets imagined that they could hear the shriek of the +ship as it cut through the thin air. Tom figured his speed rapidly, and +counting on the thinness of the atmosphere, he estimated that it would +take eleven seconds for the ship to crash. He began to count. + +" ... One--two--three--four--five--" he thought briefly of his family +and how nice they had been to him " ... six--seven--eight--nine--ten--" + +The ship crashed. + +[Illustration] + + + + +CHAPTER 17 + + +"Astro! Roger!" yelled Tom. He opened his eyes and then felt the weight +on his chest. A section of the control board had fallen across him +pinning his left arm to his side. He reached for the railing around the +acceleration chair with his right and discovered he still held the +switch for the water sprinkler. He started to flip it on, then sniffed +the air, and smelling no trace of smoke, dropped the switch. He +unstrapped himself from the acceleration chair with his right hand and +then slowly, with great effort, pushed the section of the control board +off him. He stood up rubbing his left arm. + +"Astro? Roger?!" he called again, and scrambled over the broken +equipment that was strewn over the deck. He stumbled over more rubble +that was once a precision instrument panel and climbed the ladder +leading to the radar deck. + +"Roger!" he yelled. "Roger, are you all right?" He pushed several +shattered instruments out of the way and looked around the shambles that +once had been a room. He didn't see Roger. + +He began to scramble through the litter on the deck, kicking aside +instruments that were nearly priceless, so delicately were they made. +Suddenly a wave of cold fear gripped him and he began tearing through +the rubble desperately. From beneath a heavy tube casing, he could see +the outstretched arm of Roger. + +He squatted down, bending his legs and keeping his back straight. Then +gripping the heavy casing on one side, he tried to stand up. It was too +much for him. He lifted it three inches and then had to let go. + +"Tom! Roger!" Tom heard the bull-like roar of Astro below him and +stumbled over to the head of the ladder. + +"Up here, Astro," he yelled, "on the radar deck. Roger's pinned under +the radar scanner casing!" + +Tom turned back to the casing, and looking around the littered deck +desperately, grabbed an eight-foot length of steel pipe that had been +snapped off like a twig by the force of the crash. + +Barely able to lift it, he shoved it with all his strength to get the +end of the pipe beneath the casing. + +"Here, let me get at that thing," growled Astro from behind. Tom stepped +back, half falling out of the Venusian's way, and watched as Astro got +down on his hands and knees, putting his shoulder against the case. He +lifted it about three inches, then slowly, still balancing the weight on +his shoulder, shifted his position, braced it with his hands and began +to straighten up. The casing came up from the floor as the huge cadet +strained against it. + +"All--right--Tom--" he gasped, "see if you can get a hold on Roger and +pull him out!" + +Tom scrambled back and grabbed Roger's uniform. He pulled, and slowly +the cadet's form slid from beneath the casing. + +"All right, Astro," said Tom, "I've got 'im." + +Astro began to lower the casing in the same manner in which he had +lifted it. He eased it back down to the floor on his knees and dropped +it the last few inches. He sat on the floor beside it and hung his head +between his knees. + +"Are you all right, Astro?" asked Tom. + +"Never mind me," panted Astro between deep gasps for breath, "just see +if hot-shot is O.K." + +Tom quickly ran his hands up and down Roger's arms and legs, his chest, +collarbone and at last, with gently probing fingers, his head. + +"No broken bones," he said, still looking at Roger, "but I don't know +about internal injuries." + +"He wasn't pinned under that thing," said Astro at last. "It was resting +on a beam. No weight was on him." + +"Uh--huh--ahhh--uhhhh," moaned Roger. + +"Roger," said Tom gently, "Roger, are you all right?" + +"Uh--huh?--Ohhhh! My head!" + +"Take it easy, hot-shot," said Astro, "that head of yours is O.K. +Nothing--but _nothing_ could hurt it!" + +"Ooohhhh!" groaned Roger, sitting up. "I don't know which is worse, +feeling the way I do, or waking up and listening to you again!" + +Tom sat back with a smile. Roger's remark clinched it. No one was hurt. + +"Well," said Astro at last, "where do we go from here?" + +"First thing I suggest we do is take a survey and see what's left," said +Tom. + +"I came up from the power deck," said Astro, "all the way through the +ship. You see this radar deck?" He made a sweeping gesture around the +room that looked like a junk heap. "Well, it's in good shape, compared +to the rest of the ship. The power deck has the rocket motors where the +master panel should be and the panel is ready to go into what's left of +the reactant chamber. The jet boat is nothing but a worthless piece of +junk!" + +The three boys considered the fate of the jet boat soberly. Finally +Astro broke the silence with a question. "Where do you think we are?" + +"Somewhere in the New Sahara desert," answered Tom. "I had the chart +projector on just before we splashed in, but I can't tell you any more +than that." + +"Well, at least we have plenty of water," sighed Roger. + +"You _had_ plenty of water. The tanks were smashed when we came in. Not +even a puddle left in a corner." + +"Of course it might rain," said Roger. + +Tom gave a short laugh. "The last time it rained in this place dinosaurs +were roaming around on Earth!" + +"How about food?" asked Roger. + +"Plenty of that," answered Astro. "This is a passenger ship, remember! +They have everything you could ask for, including smoked Venusian +fatfish!" + +"Then let's get out of here and take a look," said Tom. + +The three bruised but otherwise healthy cadets climbed slowly down to +the control deck and headed for the galley, where Tom found six plastic +containers of Martian water. + +"Spaceman, this is the biggest hunk of luck we've had in the last two +hours," said Roger, taking one of the containers. + +"Why two hours, Roger?" asked Astro, puzzled. + +"Two hours ago we were still in space expecting to splash in," said Tom. +He opened one of the containers and offered it to Astro. "Take it easy, +Astro," said Tom. "Unless we find something else to drink, this might +have to last a long time." + +"Yeah," said Roger, "a _long_ time. I've been thinking about our chances +of getting out of this mess." + +"Well," asked Astro, "what has the great Manning brain figured out?" + +"There's no chance at all," said Roger slowly. "You're wrong, Corbett, +about this being midday. It's early morning!" He pointed to a +chronometer on the bulkhead behind Astro. "It's still running. I made a +mental note before we splashed in, it was eight-O-seven. That clock +says nine-O-three. It doesn't begin to get hot here until three o'clock +in the afternoon." + +"I think you're wrong two ways," said Tom. "In the first place, Captain +Strong probably has a unit out looking for us right now. And in the +second place, as long as we stay with the ship, we've got shade. That +sun is only bad because the atmosphere is thinner here on Mars, and +easier to burn through. But if we stay out of the sun, we're O.K. Just +sit back and wait for Strong!" + +Roger shrugged his shoulders. + +"Well," commented Astro with a grin, "I'm not going to sit around +waiting for Strong without eating!" He tore open a plastic package of +roast-beef sandwiches and began eating. Tom measured out three small +cups of Martian water. + +"After we eat," suggested Roger, "I think we ought to take a look around +outside and try to set up an identification signal." + +"That's a good idea," said Tom, "but don't you think the ship itself is +big enough for that?" + +"Yeah," answered Roger, "I guess you're right." + +"Boy!" said Astro. "We sure are lucky to still be able to argue." + +"That's about all you can call it. Luck! Spaceman's luck!" said Tom. +"The only reason I can figure why we didn't wind up as permanent part of +the scenery around here is because of the course we were on." + +"How do you figure that?" asked Astro. + +"Luckily--and I _mean_ luckily, we were on a course that took us smack +onto the surface of Mars. And our speed was great enough to resist the +gravity pull of the planet, keeping us horizontal with the surface of +the desert. We skidded in like a kid does on a sled, instead of coming +in on our nose!" + +"Well, blast my jets!" said Astro softly. + +"In that case," said Roger, "we must have left a pretty long skid mark +in back of us!" + +"That should be easy to see when the jet scouts come looking for us," +commented Astro. + +"I wonder if we could rig up some sort of emergency signal so we could +send out a relative position?" + +"How are you going to get the position?" asked Astro. + +"I can give you some sort of position as soon as I get outside and take +a sight on the sun," replied Roger. + +"Can you do it without your astrogation prism?" asked Astro. + +"Navigation, not astrogation, Astro," said Roger. "Like the ancient +sailors used on the oceans back on Earth hundreds of years ago. Only +thing is, I'll have to work up the logarithms by hand, instead of using +the computer. Might be a little rough, but it'll be close enough for +what we want." + +The three cadets finished the remaining sandwiches and then picked their +way back through the ship to the control deck. There, they rummaged +through the pile of broken and shattered instruments. + +"If we could find just one tube that hasn't been damaged, I think I +might be able to rig up some sort of one-lung communications set," said +Roger. "It might have enough range to get a message to the nearest +atmosphere booster station." + +"Nothing but a pile of junk here, Roger," said Tom. "We might find +something on the radar deck." + +The three members of the _Polaris_ unit climbed over the rubble and made +their way to the radar deck, and started their search for an undamaged +tube. After forty-five minutes of searching, Roger stood up in disgust. + +"Nothing!" he said sourly. + +"That kills any hope of getting a message out," said Tom. + +"By the craters of Luna," said Astro, wiping his forehead. "I didn't +notice it before, but it's getting hotter here than on the power deck on +a trip to Mercury!" + +"Do we have any flares?" asked Roger. + +"Naw. Al James used them all," answered Tom. + +"That does it," said Roger. "In another couple of hours, when and if +anyone shows up, all they'll find is three space cadets fried on the +half shell of a spaceship!" + +"Listen, Roger," said Tom, "as soon as we fail to check in, the whole +Mars Solar Guard fleet will be out looking for us. Our last report will +show them we were heading in this direction. It won't take Captain +Strong long to figure out that we might have run out of fuel, and, with +that skid mark in the sand trailing back for twenty miles, all we have +to do is stick with the ship and wait for them to show up!" + +"What's that?" asked Astro sharply. + +From a distance, the three cadets could hear a low moaning and wailing. +They rushed to the crystal port and looked out on the endless miles of +brown sand, stretching as far as the horizon and meeting the cloudless +blue sky. Shimmering in the heat, the New Sahara desert of Mars was just +beginning to warm up for the day under the bleaching sun. The thin +atmosphere offered little protection against the blazing heat rays. + +"Nothing but sand," said Tom. "Maybe something is still hot on the power +deck." He looked at Astro. + +"I checked it before I came topside," said Astro. "I've heard that noise +before. It can only mean one thing." + +"What's that?" asked Roger. + +Astro turned quickly and walked to the opposite side of the littered +control deck. He pushed a pile of junk out of the way for a clear view +of the outside. + +"There's your answer," said Astro, pointing at the port. + +"By the rings of Saturn, look at that!" cried Tom. + +"Yeah," said Roger, "black as the fingernails of a Titan miner!" + +"That's a sandstorm," Astro said finally. "It blows as long as a week +and can pile up sand for two hundred feet. Sometimes the velocity +reaches as much as a hundred and sixty miles an hour. Once, in the +south, we got caught in one, and it was so bad we had to blast off. And +it took all the power we had to do it!" + +The three cadets stood transfixed as they gazed through the crystal port +at the oncoming storm. The tremendous black cloud rolled toward the +spaceship in huge folds that billowed upward and back in +three-thousand-foot waves. The roar and wail of the wind grew louder, +rising in pitch until it was a shrill scream. + +"We'd better get down to the power deck," said Tom, "and take some +oxygen bottles along with us, just in case. Astro, bring the rest of the +Martian water and you grab several of those containers of food, Roger. +We might be holed in for a long time." + +"Why go down to the power deck?" asked Roger. + +"There's a huge hole in the upper part of the ship's hull. That sand +will come in here by the ton and there's nothing to stop it," Tom +answered Roger, but kept his eyes on the churning black cloud. Already, +the first gusts of wind were lashing at the stricken _Lady Venus_. + +[Illustration] + + + + +CHAPTER 18 + + +"You think it'll last much longer?" asked Astro. + +"I don't know, old fellow," replied Tom. + +"You know, sometimes you can hear the wind even through the skin of the +ship," commented Roger. + +For two days the cadets of the _Polaris_ unit had been held prisoner in +the power deck while the violence of the New Sahara sandstorm raged +around them outside the ship. For a thousand square miles the desert was +a black cloud of churning sand, sweeping across the surface of Mars like +a giant shroud. + +After many attempts to repair a small generator, Astro finally +succeeded, only to discover that he had no means of running the unit. +His plan was to relieve the rapidly weakening emergency batteries with a +more steady source of power. + +While Astro occupied himself repairing the generator, Tom and Roger had +slept, but after the first day, when sleep would no longer come, they +resorted to playing checkers with washers and nuts on a board scratched +on the deck. + +"Think it's going to let up soon?" asked Roger. + +"They've been known to last for a week or more," said Astro. + +"Wonder if Strong has discovered we're missing?" mused Roger. + +"Sure he has," replied Tom. "He's a real spaceman. Can smell out trouble +like a telemetered alarm system." + +Astro got up and stretched. "I'll bet we're out of this five hours after +the sand settles down." + +The big Venusian walked to the side of the power deck and pressed his +ear against the hull, listening for the sound of the wind. + +After a few seconds he turned back. "I can't hear a thing, fellas. I +have a feeling it's about played itself out." + +"Of course," reasoned Tom, "we have no real way of knowing when it's +stopped and when it hasn't." + +"Want to open the hatch and take a look?" asked Astro. + +Tom looked questioningly at Roger, who nodded his head in agreement. + +Tom walked over to the hatch and began undogging the heavy door. As the +last of the heavy metal bars were raised, sand began to trickle inside +around the edges. Astro bent down and sifted a handful through his +fingers. "It's so fine, it's like powder," he said as it fell to the +deck in a fine cloud. + +"Come on," said Tom, "give me a hand with this hatch. It's probably +jammed up against sand on the other side." + +Tom, Roger and Astro braced their shoulders against the door, but when +they tried to push, they lost their footing and slipped down. Astro +dragged over a section of lead baffle, jammed it between the rocket +motors and placed his feet up against it. Tom and Roger got on either +side of him and pressed their shoulders against the door. + +"All right," said Tom. "When I give the word, let's all push together. +Ready?" + +"All set," said Astro. + +"Let's go," said Roger. + +"O.K.--then--one--two--three--_push_!" + +Together, the three cadets strained against the heavy steel hatch. The +muscles in Astro's legs bulged into knots as he applied his great weight +and strength against the door. Roger, his face twisted into a grimace +from the effort, finally slumped to the floor, gasping for breath. + +"Roger," asked Tom quickly, "are you all right?" + +Roger nodded his head but stayed where he was, breathing deeply. Finally +recovering his strength, he rose and stood up against the hatch with his +two unit-mates. + +"You and Roger just give a steady pressure, Tom," said Astro. "Don't try +to push it all at once. Slow and steady does it! That way you get more +out of your effort." + +"O.K.," said Tom. Roger nodded. Again they braced themselves against the +hatch. + +"One--two--three--_push_!" counted Tom. + +Slowly, applying the pressure evenly, they heaved against the steel +hatch. Tom's head swam dizzily, as the blood raced through his veins. + +"Keep going," gasped Astro. "I think it's giving a little!" + +Tom and Roger pushed with the last ounce of strength in their bodies, +and after a final desperate effort, slumped to the floor breathless. +Astro continued to push, but a moment later, relaxed and slipped down +beside Tom and Roger. + +They sat on the deck for nearly five minutes gasping for air. + +"Like--" began Roger, "like father--like son!" He blurted the words out +bitterly. + +"Like who?" asked Astro. + +"Like my father," said Roger in a hard voice. He got up and walked +unsteadily over to the oxygen bottle and kicked it. "Empty!" he said +with a harsh laugh. "Empty and we only have one more bottle. Empty as my +head the day I got into this space-happy outfit!" + +"You going to start that again!" growled Astro. "I thought you had grown +out of your childish bellyaching about the Academy." Astro eyed the +blond cadet with a cold eye. "And now, just because you're in a tough +spot, you start whining again!" + +"Knock it off, Astro," snapped Tom. "Come on. Let's give this hatch +another try. I think it gave a little on that last push." + +"Never-say-die Corbett!" snarled Roger. "Let's give it the old try for +dear old Space Academy!" + +Tom whirled around and stood face to face with Manning. + +"I think maybe Astro's right, Roger," he said coldly. "I think you're a +foul ball, a space-gassing hot-shot that can't take it when the chips +are down!" + +"That's right," said Roger coldly. "I'm just what you say! Go ahead, +push against that hatch until your insides drop out and see if you can +open it!" He paused and looked directly at Tom. "If that sand has +penetrated inside the ship far enough and heavily enough to jam that +hatch, you can imagine what is on top, outside! A mountain of sand! And +we're buried under it with about eight hours of oxygen left!" + +Tom and Astro were silent, thinking about the truth in Roger's words. +Roger walked slowly across the deck and stood in front of them +defiantly. + +"You were counting on the ship being spotted by Captain Strong or part +of a supposed searching party! Ha! What makes you think three cadets are +so important that the Solar Guard will take time out to look for us? And +if they _do_ come looking for us, the only thing left up there now"--he +pointed his finger over his head--"is a pile of sand like any other sand +dune on this crummy planet. We're stuck, Corbett, so lay off that last +chance, do-or-die routine. I've been eating glory all my life. If I do +have to splash in now, I want it to be on my own terms. And that's to +just sit here and wait for it to come. And if they pin the Medal--the +Solar Medal--on me, I'm going to be up there where all good spacemen go, +having the last laugh, when they put my name alongside my father's!" + +"Your father's?" asked Tom bewilderedly. + +"Yeah, my father. Kenneth Rogers Manning, Captain in the Solar Guard. +Graduate of Space Academy, class of 2329, killed while on duty in space, +June 2335. Awarded the Solar Medal _posthumously_. Leaving a widow and +one son, _me_!" + +Astro and Tom looked at each other dumfounded. + +"Surprised, huh?" Roger's voice grew bitter. "Maybe that clears up a few +things for you. Like why I never missed on an exam. I never missed +because I've lived with Academy textbooks since I was old enough to +read. Or why I wanted the radar deck instead of the control deck. I +didn't want to have to make a decision! My father had to make a decision +once. As skipper and pilot of the ship he decided to save a crewman's +life. He died saving a bum, a no good space-crawling rat!" + +Tom and Astro sat stupefied at Roger's bitter tirade. He turned away +from them and gave a short laugh. + +"I've lived with only one idea in my head since I was big enough to know +why other kids had fathers to play ball with them and I didn't. To get +into the Academy, get the training and then get out and cash in! Other +kids had fathers. All I had was a lousy hunk of gold, worth exactly five +hundred credits! A Solar Medal. And my mother! Trying to scrape by on a +lousy pension that was only enough to keep us going, but not enough to +get me the extra things other kids had. It couldn't bring back my +father!" + +"That night--in Galaxy Hall, when you were crying--?" asked Tom. + +"So eavesdropping is one of your talents too, eh, Corbett?" asked Roger +sarcastically. + +"Now, wait a minute, Roger," said Astro, getting up. + +"Stay out of this, Astro!" snapped Roger. He paused and looked back at +Tom. "Remember that night on the monorail going into Atom City? That man +Bernard who bought dinner for us? He was a boyhood friend of my +father's. He didn't recognize me, and I didn't tell him who I was +because I didn't want you space creeps to know that much about me. And +remember, when I gave Al James the brush in that restaurant in Atom +City? He was talking about the old days, and he might have spilled the +beans too. It all adds up, doesn't it? I had a reason I told you and +it's just this! To make Space Academy pay me back! To train me to be one +of the best astrogators in the universe so I could go into commercial +ships and pile up credits! Plenty of credits and have a good life, and +be sure my mother had a good life--what's left of it. And the whole +thing goes right back to when my father made the decision to let a space +rat live, and die in his place! So leave me alone with your last big +efforts--and grandstand play for glory. From now on, keep your big fat +mouth shut!" + +"I--I don't know what to say, Roger," began Tom. + +"Don't try to say anything, Tom," said Astro. There was a coldness in +his voice that made Tom turn around and stare questioningly at the big +Venusian. + +"You can't answer him because you came from a good home. With a mom and +pop and brother and sister. You had it good. You were lucky, but I don't +hold it against you because you had a nice life and I didn't." Astro +continued softly, "You can't answer Mr. Hot-shot Manning, but I can!" + +"What do you mean?" asked Tom. + +"I mean that Manning doesn't know what it is to really have it tough!" + +"You got a _real_ hard luck story, eh, big boy?" snarled Roger. + +"Yeah, I have!" growled Astro. "I got one that'll make your life look +like a spaceman's dream. At least you _know_ about your father. And you +lived with your mother. I didn't have _anything--nothing_! Did you hear +that, Manning? I didn't even have a pair of shoes, until I found a kid +at the Venusport spaceport one day and figured his shoes would fit me. I +beat the space gas out of him and took his shoes. And then they were so +tight, they hurt my feet. I don't know who my father was, nothing about +him, except that he was a spaceman. A rocket buster, like me. And my +mother? She died when I was born. Since I can remember, I've been on my +own. When I was twelve, I was hanging around the spaceport day and +night. I learned to buck rockets by going aboard when the ships were +cradled for repairs, running dry runs, going through the motions, I +talked to spacemen--all who would listen to me. I lied about my age, and +because I was a big kid, I was blasting off when I was fifteen. What +little education I've got, I picked up listening to the crew talk on +long hops and listening to every audioslide I could get my hands on. +I've had it tough. And because I _have_ had it tough, I want to forget +about it. I don't want to be reminded what it's like to be so hungry +that I'd go out into jungles and trap small animals and take a chance on +meeting a tyrannosaurus. So lay off that stuff about feeling sorry for +yourself. And about Tom being a hero, because with all your space gas +you still can't take it! And if you don't want to fight to live, then go +lie down in the corner and just keep your big mouth shut!" + +Tom stood staring at the big cadet. His head jutted forward from his +shoulders, the veins in his neck standing out like thick cords. He knew +Astro had been an orphan, but he had never suspected the big cadet's +life had been anything like that which he had just described. + +Roger had stood perfectly still while Astro spoke. Now, as the big cadet +walked back to the hatch and nervously began to examine the edges with +his finger tips, Roger walked over and stood behind him. + +"Well, you knuckle-headed orphan," said Roger, "are you going to get us +out of here, or not?" + +Astro whirled around, his face grim, his hands balled into fists, ready +to fight. "What's that, Mann--?" He stopped. Roger was smiling and +holding out his hand. + +"Whether you like it or not, you poor little waif, you've just made +yourself a friend." + +Tom came up to them and leaned against the door casually. "When you two +stop gawking at each other like long-lost brothers," he said lazily, +"suppose we try to figure a way out of this dungeon." + +[Illustration] + + + + +CHAPTER 19 + + +"Tom--Roger!" shouted Astro. "I think I've got it!" + +Astro, on his knees, pulled a long file blade away from the hatch and +jumped to his feet. + +"Did you cut all the way through?" asked Tom. + +"I don't know--at least I'm not sure," Astro replied, looking down at +the hole he had made in the hatch. "But let's give it a try!" + +"Think we can force it back enough to get a good hold on it?" asked +Roger. + +"We'll know in a minute, Roger," said Astro. "Get that steel bar over +there and I'll try to slip it in between the hatch and the bulkhead." + +Roger rummaged around in the jumble of broken parts and tools on the +opposite side of the power deck and found the steel bar Astro wanted. +After several attempts to force the hatch open had proven futile, Tom +suggested that they try to file the hinges off the hatch, and then +attempt to slide it sideways. After much effort, and working in shifts, +they had filed through the three hinges, and now were ready to make a +last desperate attempt to escape. Astro took the steel bar from Roger +and jammed it between the bulkhead wall and the hatch. + +"No telling what we'll find on the other side," said Astro. "If the +sand has covered up the ship all the way down to here, then we'll never +get out!" + +"Couldn't we tunnel through it to the top, if it has filled the ship +down as far as here?" asked Roger. + +"Not through this stuff," said Tom. "It's just like powder." + +"Tom's right," said Astro. "As soon as you dig into it, it'll fall right +back in on you." He paused and looked at the hatch thoughtfully. "No. +The only way we can get out of here is if the sand was only blown into +the deck outside and hasn't filled the rest of the ship." + +"Only one way to find out," said Tom. + +"Yeah," agreed Roger. "Let's get that hatch shoved aside and take a +look." + +Astro jammed the heavy steel bar farther into the space between the +hatch and the bulkhead, and then turned back to his unit-mates. + +"Get that piece of pipe over there," he said. "We'll slip it over the +end of the bar and that'll give us more leverage." + +Tom and Roger scrambled after the length of pipe, slipped it over the +end of the bar, and then, holding it at either end, began to apply even +pressure against the hatch. + +Gradually, a half inch at a time, the heavy steel hatch began to move +sideways, sliding out and behind the bulkhead. And as the opening grew +larger the fine powderlike sand began to fall into the power deck. + +"Let's move it back about a foot and a half," said Tom. "That'll give us +plenty of room to get through and see what's on the other side." + +Astro and Roger nodded in agreement. + +Once more the three boys exerted their strength against the pipe and +applied pressure to the hatch. Slowly, grudgingly it moved back, until +there was an eighteen-inch opening, exposing a solid wall of the desert +sand. Suddenly, as if released by a hidden switch, the sand began to +pour into the power deck. + +"Watch out!" shouted Tom. The three boys jumped back and looked on in +dismay as the sand came rushing through the opening. Gradually it slowed +to a stop and the pile in front of the opening rose as high as the hatch +itself. + +"That does it," said Tom. "Now we've got to dig through and find out how +deep that stuff is. And spacemen, between you and me, I hope it doesn't +prove too deep!" + +"I've been thinking, Tom," said Roger, "suppose it's as high as the +upper decks outside? All we have to do is keep digging it out and +spreading it around the power deck here until we can get through." + +"Only one thing wrong with that idea, Roger," said Tom. "If the whole +upper part of the ship is flooded with that stuff, we won't have enough +room to spread it around." + +"We could always open the reaction chamber and fill that," suggested +Astro, indicating the hatch in the floor of the power deck that lead to +the reactant chamber. + +"I'd just as soon take my chances with sand," said Roger, "as risk +opening that hatch. The chamber is still hot from the wildcatting +reaction mass we had to dump back in space." + +"Well, then, let's start digging," said Tom. He picked up an empty +grease bucket and began filling it with sand. + +"You two get busy loading them, and I'll dump," said Astro. + +"O.K.," replied Tom and continued digging into the sand with his hands. + +"Here, use this, Tom," said Roger, offering an empty Martian water +container. + +Slowly, the three cadets worked their way through the pile on the deck +in front of the hatch opening and then started on the main pile in the +opening itself. But as soon as they made a little progress on the main +pile, the sand would fall right in again from the open hatch, and after +two hours of steady work, the sand in front of the hatch still filled +the entire opening. Their work had been all for nothing. They sat down +for a rest. + +"Let's try it a little higher up, Tom," suggested Roger. "Maybe this +stuff isn't as deep as we think." + +Tom nodded and stepped up, feeling around the top of the opening. He +began clawing at the sand overhead. The sand still came pouring through +the opening. + +"See anything?" asked Astro. + +"I--don't--know--" spluttered Tom as the sand slid down burying him to +his waist. + +"Better back up, Tom," warned Roger. "Might be a cave-in and you'll get +buried." + +"Wait a minute!" shouted Tom. "I think I see something!" + +"A light?" asked Astro eagerly. + +"Careful, Tom," warned Roger again. + +Tom clawed at the top of the pile, ignoring the sand that was heaped +around him. + +"I've got it," shouted Tom, struggling back into the power deck just in +time to avoid being buried under a sudden avalanche. "There's another +hatch up there, just behind the ladder that leads into the passenger +lounge. That's the side facing the storm! And as soon as we dig a +little, the sand falls from that pile. But the opposite side, leading to +the jet-boat deck, is free and clear!" + +"Then all we have to do is force our way through to the top," said +Astro. + +"That's all," said Tom. "We'd be here until doomsday digging our way +clear." + +"I get it!" said Roger. "The storm filled up the side of the ship facing +that way, and that is where the passenger lounge is. I remember now. I +left the hatch open when we came down here to the power deck, so the +sand just kept pouring in." He smiled sheepishly. "I guess it's all my +fault." + +"Never mind that now!" said Tom. "Take this hose and stick it in your +mouth, Astro. Breath through your mouth and plug up your nose so you +won't get it all stopped up with sand while you pull your way through." + +"I'll take this rope with me too," said Astro. "That way I can help pull +you guys up after me." + +"Good idea," said Roger. + +"As soon as you get outside the hatch here," said Tom, "turn back this +way. Keep your face up against the bulkhead until you get to the top. +Right above you is the ladder. You can grab it to pull yourself up." + +[Illustration] + +"O.K.," said Astro and took the length of hose and put it in his mouth. +Then, taking a piece of waste cotton, he stopped up his nose and tested +the hose. + +"Can you breathe O.K.?" asked Tom. + +Astro signaled that he could and stepped through the hatch. He turned, +and facing backward, began clawing his way upward. + +"Keep that hose clear, Roger!" ordered Tom. "There's about five feet of +sand that he has to dig through and if any of it gets into the +hose--well--" + +"Don't worry, Tom," interrupted Roger. "I've got the end of the hose +right next to the oxygen bottle. He's getting pure stuff!" + +Soon the big cadet was lost to view. Only the slow movement of the hose +and rope indicated that Astro was all right. Finally the hose and rope +stopped moving. + +Tom and Roger looked at each other, worried. + +"You think something might be wrong?" asked Tom. + +"I don't know--" Roger caught himself. "Say, look--the rope! It's +jerking--Astro's signaling!" + +[Illustration] + +"He made it!" cried Tom. + +"I wonder if--" Roger suddenly picked up the end of the hose and spoke +into it. "Astro? Hey, Astro, can you hear me?" + +"Sure I can." Astro's voice came back through the hose. "Don't shout so +loud! I'm not on Earth, you know. I'm just ten feet above you!" + +Roger and Tom clapped each other on the shoulders in glee. + +"All set down there?" called Astro, through the hose. + +"O.K." replied Tom. + +"Listen," said Astro, "when you get outside the hatch, you'll find a +pipe running along the bulkhead right over your head. Grab that and pull +yourself up. Tie the rope around your shoulder, but leave enough of it +so the next guy can come up. We don't have any way of getting it back +down there!" he warned. "Who's coming up first?" + +Tom looked at Roger. + +"You're stronger, Tom," said Roger. "You go up now and then you can give +Astro a hand pulling me through." + +"All right," agreed Tom. He began pulling the hose back through the +sand. He took the end, cleared it out with a few blasts from the oxygen +bottle and put it in his mouth. Then, after Roger had helped him tie the +rope around his shoulders, he stuffed his nose with the waste cotton. He +stepped to the opening. Roger gave three quick jerks on the rope and +Astro started hauling in. + +With Astro's help, Tom was soon free and clear, standing beside Astro on +the jet-boat deck. + +"Phoooeeeey!" said Tom, spitting out the sand that had filtered into his +mouth. "I never want to do that again!" He dusted himself off and +flashed his emergency light around the deck. "Look at that!" he said in +amazement. "If we'd kept on digging, we'd have been trapped down there +for--" he paused and looked at Astro who was grinning--"a long, long +time!" He held the light on the sand that was flowing out of the open +hatch of the passenger lounge. + +"Come on," urged Astro. "Let's get Roger out of there!" + +They called to Roger through the hose and told him to bring two more +emergency lights and the remainder of the Martian water. Three minutes +later the _Polaris_ unit was together again. + +Standing on the deck beside his two unit-mates, Roger brushed himself +off and smiled. "Well," he said, "looks like we made it!" + +"Yeah," said Tom, "but take a look at this!" He walked across the +jet-boat deck to the nearest window port. What should have been a clear +view of the desert was a mass of solidly packed sand. + +"Oh, no!" cried Roger. "Don't tell me we have to go through that again?" + +"I don't think it'll be so bad this time," said Astro. + +"Why not?" asked Tom. + +"The sand is banked the heaviest on the port side of the ship. And the +window ports on the starboard side of the control deck were pretty high +off the ground." + +"Well, let's not just stand here and talk about it," said Roger. "Let's +take a look!" He turned and walked through the jet-boat deck. + +Tom and Astro followed the blond cadet through the darkened passages of +the dead ship, and after digging a small pile of sand away from the +control-deck hatch, found themselves once more amid the jumble of the +wrecked instruments. + +For the first time in three days, the boys saw sunlight streaking +through the crystal port. + +"I told you," cried Astro triumphantly. + +"But there still isn't any way out of this place!" said Roger. "We can't +break that port. It's six inches thick!" + +"Find me a wrench," said Astro. "I can take the whole window port apart +from inside. How do you think they replace these things when they get +cracked?" + +Hurriedly searching through the rubble, Tom finally produced a wrench +and handed it to Astro. In a half hour Astro had taken the whole section +down and had pushed the crystal outward. The air of the desert rushed +into the control room in a hot blast. + +"Whew!" cried Roger. "It must be at least a hundred and twenty-five +degrees out there!" + +"Come on. Let's take a look," said Tom. "And keep your fingers crossed!" + +"Why?" asked Roger. + +"That we can dig enough of the sand away from the ship to make it +recognizable from the air." + +Following Tom's lead, Roger and Astro climbed through the open port and +out onto the sand. + +"Well, blast my jets!" said Astro. "You can't even tell there was a +storm." + +"You can't if you don't look at the ship," said Tom bitterly. "That was +the only thing around here of any size that would offer resistance to +the sand and make it pile up. And, spaceman, look at that pile!" + +Astro and Roger turned to look at the spaceship. Instead of seeing the +ship, they saw a small mountain of sand, well over a hundred feet high. +They walked around it and soon discovered that the window port in the +control deck had been the only possible way out. + +"Call it what you want," said Roger, "but I think it's just plain dumb +luck that we were able to get out!" He eyed the mound of sand. Unless +one knew there was a spaceship beneath it, it would have been impossible +to distinguish it from the rest of the desert. + +"We're not in the clear yet!" commented Astro grimly. "It would take a +hundred men at least a week to clear away enough of that sand so search +parties could recognize it." He glanced toward the horizon. "There isn't +anything but sand here, fellows, sand that stretches for a thousand +miles in every direction." + +"And we've got to walk it," said Tom. + +"Either that or sit here and die of thirst," said Roger. + +"Any canals around here, Tom?" asked Astro softly. + +"There better be," replied Tom thoughtfully. He turned to Roger. "If you +can estimate our position, Roger, I'll go back inside and see if I can +find a chart to plot it on. That way, we might get a direction to start +on at least." + +Astro glanced up at the pale-blue sky. "It's going to be a hot day," he +said softly, looking out over the flat plain of the desert, "an awful +hot day!" + +[Illustration] + + + + +CHAPTER 20 + + +"Got everything we need?" asked Tom. + +"Everything we'll need--and about all we can safely carry without +weighing ourselves down too much," answered Roger. "Enough food for a +week, the rest of the Martian water, space goggles to protect our eyes +from the sun and emergency lights for each of us." + +"Not much to walk a hundred and fifty miles on," offered Astro. "Too bad +the sand got in the galley and messed up the rest of that good food." + +"We'll have plenty to get us by--if my calculations are right," said +Tom. "One hundred and fifty-four miles to be exact." + +"_Exact_ only as far as my sun sight told me," said Roger. + +"Do you think it's right?" asked Tom. + +"I'll answer you this way," Roger replied. "I took that sight six times +in a half hour and got a mean average on all of them that came out +within a few miles of each other. If I'm wrong, I'm very wrong, but if +I'm right, we're within three to five miles of the position I gave you." + +"That's good enough for me," said Astro. "If we're going out there"--he +pointed toward the desert--"instead of sitting around here waiting for +Strong or someone to show up, then I'd just as soon go now!" + +"Wait a minute, fellas. Let's get this straight," said Tom. "We're all +agreed that the odds on Captain Strong's showing up here before our +water runs out are too great to risk it, and that we'll try to reach the +nearest canal. The most important thing in this place is water. If we +stay and the water we have runs out, we're done for. If we go, we might +not reach the canal--and the chance of being spotted in the desert is +even smaller than if we wait here at the ship." He paused. "So we move +on?" He looked at the others. Astro nodded and looked at Roger, who +bobbed his head in agreement. + +"O.K., then," said Tom, "it's settled. We'll move at night when it's +cool, and try to rest during the day when it's the hottest." + +Roger looked up at the blazing white sphere in the pale-blue sky that +burned down relentlessly. "I figure we have about six hours before she +drops for the day," he said. + +"Then let's go back inside the ship and get some rest," he said. + +Without another word, the three cadets climbed back inside the ship and +made places for themselves amid the littered deck of the control room. A +hot wind blew out of the New Sahara through the open port like a breath +of fire. Stripped to their shorts, the three boys lay around the deck +unable to sleep, each thinking quietly about the task ahead, each +remembering stories of the early pioneers who first reached Mars. In the +mad rush for the uranium-yielding pitchblende, they had swarmed over the +deserts toward the dwarf mountains by the thousands. Greedy, thinking +only of the fortunes that could be torn from the rugged little +mountains, they had come unprepared for the heat of the Martian deserts +and nine out of ten had never returned. + +Each boy thought, too, of the dangers they had just faced. This new +danger was different. This was something that couldn't be defeated with +an idea or a sudden lucky break. This danger was ever present--a fight +against nature, man against the elements on an alien planet. It was a +battle of endurance that would wring the last drop of moisture +mercilessly from the body, until it became a dry, brittle husk. + +"Getting pretty close to sundown," said Tom finally. He stood beside the +open port and shielded his eyes from the glare of the sun, now slowly +sinking below the Martian horizon. + +"I guess we'd better get going," said Roger. "All set, Astro?" + +"Ready, Roger," answered the Venusian. + +The three boys dressed and arranged the food packs on their backs. Tom +carried the remainder of the Martian water, two quart plastic +containers, and a six-yard square of space cloth, an extremely durable +flyweight fabric that would serve as protection from the sun during the +rest stop of the day. Roger and Astro carried the food in compact packs +on their backs. Each boy wore a makeshift hat of space cloth, along with +space goggles, a clear sheet of colored plastic that fitted snugly +across the face. All three carried emergency lights salvaged from the +wrecked ship. + +Tom walked out away from the ship several hundred yards and studied his +pocket compass. He held it steady for a moment, watching the needle +swing around. He turned and walked slowly still watching the needle of +the compass. He waited for it to steady again, then turned back to Roger +and Astro who stood watching from the window port. + +"This is the way." Tom pointed away from the ship. "Three degrees south +of east, one hundred and fifty-four miles away, if everything is +correct, should bring us smack on top of a major canal." + +"So long, _Lady Venus_," said Astro, as he left the ship. + +"Don't think it hasn't been fun," added Roger, "because it hasn't!" + +Astro fell in behind Roger, who in turn followed Tom who walked some ten +feet ahead. A light breeze sprang up and blew across the surface of the +powdery sand. Ten minutes later, when they stopped to adjust their +shoulder packs, they looked back. The breeze had obliterated their +tracks and the mountain of sand covering the spaceship appeared to be no +different from any of the other small dunes on the desert. The New +Sahara desert of Mars had claimed another Earth-ship victim. + +"If we can't see the _Lady Venus_ standing still, and knowing where to +look," said Astro, "how could a man in a rocket scout ever find it?" + +"He wouldn't," said Roger flatly. "And when the water ran out, we'd just +be sitting there." + +"We're losing time," said Tom. "Let's move." He lengthened his stride +through the soft sand that sucked at his high space boots and faced the +already dimming horizon. The light breeze felt good on his face. + + * * * * * + +The three cadets had no fear of running into anything in their march +through the darkness across the shifting sands. And only an occasional +flash of the emergency light to check the compass was necessary to keep +them moving in the right direction. + +There wasn't much talk. There wasn't much to talk about. About nine +o'clock the boys stopped and opened one of the containers of food and +ate a quick meal of sandwiches. This was followed by a carefully +measured ounce of water, and fifteen minutes later they resumed their +march across the New Sahara. + +About ten o'clock, Deimos, one of the small twin moons of Mars, swung up +overhead, washing the desert with a pale cold light. By morning, when +the cherry-red sun broke the line of the horizon, Tom estimated that +they had walked about twenty miles. + +"Think we ought to camp here?" asked Astro. + +"If you can show me a better spot," said Roger with a laugh, "I'll be +happy to use it!" He swung his arm in a wide circle, indicating a +wasteland of sand that spread as far as the eyes could see. + +"I could go for another hour or so," said Astro, "before it gets too +hot." + +"And wait for the heat to reach the top of the thermometer? Uh-huh, not +me," said Roger. "I'll take as much sleep as I can get now--while it's +still a little cool." + +"Roger's right," said Tom. "We'd better take it easy now. We won't be +able to get much sleep after noon." + +"What do we do from noon until evening?" asked Astro. + +"Aside from just sitting under this hunk of space cloth, I guess we'll +come as close to being roasted alive as a human can get." + +"You want to eat now?" asked Astro. + +Tom and Roger laughed. "I'm not hungry, but you go ahead," said Tom. "I +know that appetite of yours won't wait." + +"I'm not too hungry either," said Roger. "Go ahead, you clobber-headed +juice jockey." + +Astro grinned sheepishly, and opening one of the containers of food, +quickly wolfed down a breakfast of smoked Venusian fatfish. + +Tom and Roger began spreading the space cloth on the sand that was +already hot to the touch. Anchoring the four corners in the sand with +the emergency lights and one of Tom's boots, they propped up the center +with the food packs, one on top of the other. A crude tent was the +result and both boys crawled in under, sprawling on the sand. Astro +finished eating, lay down beside his two unit-mates, and in a moment the +three cadets were sound asleep. + +The sun climbed steadily over the desert while the _Polaris_ unit slept. +With each hour, the heat of the desert rose, climbing past the hundred +mark, reaching one hundred and twenty, then one hundred and thirty-five +degrees. + +Tom woke up with a start. He felt as if he were inside a blazing +furnace. He rolled over and saw Astro and Roger still asleep, sweat +pouring off them in small rivulets. He started to wake them, but decided +against it and just lay still under the thin sheet of space cloth that +protected him from the sun. As light as the fabric square was, weighing +no more than a pound, under the intense heat of the sun it felt like a +woolen blanket where it touched him. Astro rolled over and opened his +eyes. + +"What time is it, Tom?" + +"Must be about noon. How do you feel?" + +"I'm not sure yet. I had a dream." The big cadet rubbed his eyes and +wiped the sweat from his forehead. "I dreamed I was being shoved into an +oven--like Hansel and Gretel in that old fairy tale." + +"Personally," mumbled Roger, without opening his eyes, "I'll take Hansel +and Gretel. They might be a little more tender." + +"I could do with a drink," said Astro, looking at Tom. + +Tom hesitated. He felt that as hot as it was, it would get still hotter +and there had to be strict control of the remainder of the water. + +"Try to hold out a little longer, Astro," said Tom. "This heat hasn't +really begun yet. You could drink the whole thing and still want more." + +"That's right, Astro," said Roger, sitting up. "Best thing to do is just +wet your tongue and lips a little. Drinking won't do much good now." + +"O.K. by me," said Astro. "Well, what do we do now?" + +"We sit here and we wait," answered Tom. He sat up and held the space +cloth up on his side. + +"You get in the middle, Astro," suggested Roger. "Your head is up higher +than mine and Tom's. You can be the tent pole under this big top." + +Astro grunted and changed places with the smaller cadet. + +"Think there might be a breeze if we opened up one side of this thing?" +asked Roger. + +"If there was a breeze," answered Tom, "it'd be so hot, it'd be worse +than what we've got inside." + +"It sure is going to be a hot day," said Astro softly. + +The thin fabric of the space cloth was enough to protect them from the +direct rays of the sun, but offered very little protection against the +heat. Soon the inside of the tent was boiling under the relentless sun. + +They sat far apart, their knees pulled up, heads bowed. Once when the +heat seemed unbearable, Tom opened one side of the cloth in a desperate +hope that it might be a little cooler outside. A blast of hot air +entered the makeshift tent and he quickly closed the opening. + +About three o'clock Roger suddenly slipped backward and lay sprawled on +the sand. + +Tom opened one of the containers of water and dipped his shirttail into +it. Astro watched him moisten Roger's lips and wipe his temples. In a +few moments the cadet stirred and opened his eyes. + +"I--I--don't know what happened," he said slowly. "Everything started +swimming and then went black." + +"You fainted," said Tom simply. + +"What time is it?" asked Astro. + +"Sun should be dropping soon now, in another couple of hours." + +They were silent again. The sun continued its journey across the sky and +at last began to slip behind the horizon. When the last red rays +stretched across the sandy desert, the three cadets folded back the +space-cloth covering and stood up. A soft evening breeze sprang up, +refreshing them a little, and though none of them was hungry, each boy +ate a light meal. + +Tom opened the container of water again and measured out about an ounce +apiece. + +"Moisten your tongue, and sip it slowly," ordered Tom. + +Roger and Astro took their share of the water and dipped fingers in it, +wiping their lips and eyelids. They continued to do this until finally, +no longer able to resist, they took the precious water and swished it +around in their mouths before swallowing it. + +They folded the space cloth, shouldered their packs, and after Tom had +checked the compass, started their long march toward their plotted +destination. + +They had survived their first twenty-four hours in the barren wastes of +the New Sahara, with each boy acutely aware that there was at least a +week more of the same in front of them. The sky blackened, and soon +after Deimos rose and started climbing across the dark sky. + + + + +CHAPTER 21 + + +"How much water left?" asked Astro thickly. + +"Enough for one more drink apiece," Tom replied. + +"And then what happens?" mumbled Roger through his cracked lips. + +"You know what will happen, Roger--you know and I know and Tom knows," +muttered Astro grimly. + +For eight days they had been struggling across the blistering shifting +sands, walking by night, sweltering under the thin space cloth during +the day. Their tongues were swollen. Scraggly beards covered their chins +and jaws. Roger's lips were cracked. The back of Tom's neck had suffered +ten minutes of direct sun and turned into a large swollen blister. Only +Astro appeared to be bearing up under the ordeal. There was no sign of +their being close to the canal. + +"Wanta try marching during the day?" asked Astro. They had broken camp +on the evening of the eighth day and were preparing to move on into the +never-changing desert. + +"If we don't hit the canal sometime during the night, there might be a +chance it's close enough to reach in a couple of hours," replied Tom. +"Either that, or we've miscalculated altogether." + +"How about you, Roger?" asked Astro. + +"Whatever you guys decide, I'll be right in back of you." Roger had +grown steadily weaker during the last three days and found it difficult +to sleep during the hours of rest. + +"Then we'll keep marching tomorrow," said Astro. + +"Let's move out," said Tom. Roger and Astro shouldered the remaining +slender food packs, with Tom carrying the water and space cloth, and +they started out into the rapidly darkening desert. + +Once again, as on the previous eight nights, the little moon, Deimos, +swung across the sky, casting dim shadows ahead of the three marching +boys. Tom found it necessary to look at the compass more often. He +couldn't trust his sense of direction as much as he had earlier. Once, +he had gone for two hours in a direction that was fifty degrees off +course. The rest stops also were more frequent now, with each boy +throwing his pack to the ground and lying flat on his back, to enjoy the +cool breeze that never failed to soothe their scorched faces. + +When the sun rose out of the desert on the morning of the ninth day, +they stopped, ate a light breakfast of preserved figs, divided the juice +evenly among them, and, ripping the space cloth into three sections, +wrapped it around themselves like Arabs and continued to walk. + +By noon, with the sun directly overhead, they were staggering. At +two-thirty the sun and the heat were so overpowering that they stopped +involuntarily and tried to sit on the hot sand only to find that they +couldn't and so they stumbled on. + +Neither Roger nor Astro asked for water. Finally Tom stopped and faced +his two unit-mates wobbling on unsteady legs. + +"I've gone as far as I can without water. I--I don't think I can go +another step. So come on, we'll finish what we've got." + +Astro and Roger nodded in quiet agreement. They watched with dull eyes +as Tom carefully opened the plastic container of water. He gave each a +cup and slowly, cautiously, measured out the remaining water into three +equal parts. He held the container up for a full minute allowing the +last drop to run out before tossing the empty bottle to one side. + +"Here goes," said Tom. He wet his lips, placed a wet finger on his +temples and sipped the liquid slowly, allowing it to trickle down his +parched throat. + +Roger and Astro did the same. After he had wet his lips, Astro took the +full amount in his mouth and washed it around, before swallowing it. +Roger brought the cup up slowly to his mouth with trembling hands, +tipped it shakily, and then before Astro or Tom could catch him, fell to +the ground. The precious water spilled into the sand. + +Tom and Astro watched dumfounded as the dry sand sucked away the water +until nothing remained but a damp spot six inches wide. + +"I guess--" began Tom, "I guess that about does it!" + +"We'll have to carry him," said Astro simply. + +Tom looked up into the eyes of his unit-mate. There he saw a +determination that would not be defeated. He nodded his head and stooped +over to grapple with Roger's legs. He got one leg under each arm and +then tried to straighten up. He fell to the sand and rolled to one side. +Astro watched him get up slowly, wearily, his space-cloth covering +remaining on the ground, and then, with gritted teeth, try once more to +pick Roger's legs up. + +Astro put out his hand and touched Tom on the shoulder. His voice was +low, hardly above a whisper. "You lead the way, Tom. I'll carry him." + +[Illustration: "_You lead the way, Tom. I'll carry him._"] + +Tom looked up at the big Venusian. Their eyes locked for a moment and +then he nodded his head and turned away. He pulled out the pocket +compass and through blurred vision read the course beneath its wavering +needle. He waved an arm in a direction to the right of them and +staggered off. + +Astro stooped down, picked Roger up in his arms and slowly got him +across his shoulders. Then steadying himself, he walked after Tom. + +Suddenly a blast of wind, hot as fire, swept across the sandy plains, +whipping the sand up and around the two walking figures, biting into +exposed hands and faces. Tom tried to adjust his goggles when the sand +began to penetrate around the edges but his fingers shook and he dropped +them. In a flash, the sand drove into his eyes, blinding him. + +"I can't see, Astro," said Tom in a hoarse whisper when Astro staggered +up. "You'll have to guide." + +Astro took the compass out of Tom's hand and then placed his unit-mate's +hand on his back. Tom gripped the loose folds of the space cloth and +uniform beneath and struggled blindly after the big cadet. + +The hot sun bore down. The wind kept blowing and Astro, with Roger slung +across his back like a sack of potatoes and Tom clinging blindly to his +uniform, walked steadily on. + +He felt each step would be his last, but with each step he told himself +through gritted teeth that he could do ten more--and then ten more--ten +more. + +He walked, he staggered, and once he fell to the ground, Tom slumping +behind him and Roger being tossed limply to the scorching sand. Slowly +Astro recovered, helped Tom to his feet, then with the last of his great +strength, picked up Roger again. This time, he was unable to get him to +his shoulder so he carried him like a baby in his arms. + +At last the sun began to drop in the red sky. Astro felt Roger's limp +body slipping from his grip. By now, Tom had lost all but the very last +ounce of his strength and was simply being pulled along. + +"Tom--" gasped Astro with great effort, "I'm going to count to a +thousand and then--I'm going to stop." + +Tom didn't answer. + +Astro began to count. "One--two--three--four--five--six--" He tried to +make each number become a step forward. He closed his eyes. It wasn't +important which way he went. It was only important that he walk those +thousand steps, "five hundred eleven--five hundred twelve--five hundred +thirteen--" + +Involuntarily he opened his eyes when he felt himself climbing up a +small rise in the sand. He opened his eyes and ten feet away was the +flat blue surface of the canal they had been searching for. + +"You can let go now, Tom," said Astro in a voice hardly above a whisper. +"We made it. We're on the bank of the canal." + + * * * * * + +"Hey, Roger," yelled Astro from the middle of the canal, "ever see a guy +make like a submarine?" + +Tom and Roger sat on the top of the low bank of the canal drying off +from a swim, while Astro still splashed around luxuriating in the cool +water. + +"Go on," yelled Roger, "let's see you drown yourself!" + +"Not me, hot-shot," yelled Astro. "After that walk, all I'd have to do +is open my mouth and start drinking." + +Finally tiring of his sport, the big Venusian pulled himself up onto the +bank of the canal and quickly dressed. Pulling on his space boots, he +turned to Tom and Roger, who were breaking out the last two containers +of food. + +"You know, Astro," said Roger quietly, "I'll never be able to repay you +for carrying me." + +Tom was quiet for a moment, and then added, "Same here, Astro." + +Astro grinned from ear to ear. "Answer me this one question, both of +you. Would you have done it for me?" + +The two boys nodded. + +"Then you paid me. As long as I know I'm backed up by two guys like you, +then I'm paid. Carrying you, Roger, was just something I could do for +you at that particular time. One of these days, when we get out of this +oven, there'll come a time when you or Tom will do something for me--and +that's the way it should be." + +"Thanks, Astro," said Roger. He reached over and put his hand on top of +Astro's, and then Tom placed his hand on top of theirs. The three boys +were quiet for a moment. There was an understanding in each of them that +they had accomplished more than just survival in a desert. They had +learned to respect each other. They were a unit at last. + +"What do we do next?" asked Roger. + +"Start walking that way," said Tom, pointing to his left along the bank +of the canal that stretched off in a straight line to the very horizon. +"If we're lucky, we might be able to find something to use as a raft and +then we can ride." + +"Think there are any fish in this canal?" asked Astro, gazing out over +the cool blue water. + +"Doubt it. At least I've never heard of there being any," replied Tom. + +"Well," said Roger, standing up, "you can go a lot farther without food +than you can without water. And we still have that big container of ham +left." + +"Yeah, as soon as it gets hot, we just swim instead of walk," said +Astro. "And, believe me, there's going to be a lot of swimming done!" + +"Think we might strike anything down that way," asked Roger. He looked +down the canal in the direction Tom had indicated. + +"That's the direction of the nearest atmosphere booster station. At +least that was the way it looked on the chart. All of them were built +near the canals." + +"How far away do you think it is?" asked Astro. + +"Must be at least three hundred miles." + +"Let's start moving," said Roger, "and hope we can find something +that'll float us on the canal." + +Single file, wearing the space cloths once more as protection against +the sun, they walked along the bank of the canal. When the heat became +unbearable, they dipped the squares of space cloths into the water and +wrapped themselves in them. When they began to dry out, they would +repeat the process. At noon, when the sun dried the fabric nearly as +fast as they could wet it, they stopped and slipped over the edge of the +bank into the cool water. Covering their heads with the cloths they +remained partly submerged until the late afternoon. When the sun had +lost some of its power, again they climbed out and continued walking. + +Marching late into the night, they made camp beside the canal, finished +the last container of food, and, for the first time since leaving the +ship, slept during the night. By the time Deimos had risen in the sky, +they were sound asleep. + +[Illustration] + + + + +CHAPTER 22 + + +"Eeeeeeoooooooow!" Astro's bull-like roar shattered the silence of the +desert. "There--up ahead, Tom--Roger--a building!" + +Tom and Roger stopped and strained their eyes in the bright sunshine. + +"I think you're right," said Tom at last. "But I doubt if anyone's +there. Looks like an abandoned mining shack to me." + +"Who wants to stand here and debate the question?" asked Roger, and +started off down the side of the canal at a lope, with Astro and Tom +right behind him. + +During the last three days the boys had been living off the contents of +the last remaining food container and the few lichens they found growing +along the canal. Their strength was weakening, but with an abundant +supply of water near at hand and able to combat the sun's heat with +frequent swims, they were still in fair condition. + +Tom was the first to reach the building, a one-story structure made of +dried mud from the canal. The shutters and the door had long since been +torn away by countless sandstorms. + +The three boys entered the one-room building cautiously. The floor was +covered with sand, and sand was piled in heaping drifts in front of the +open windows and door. + +"Nothing--not a thing," said Roger disgustedly. "This place must be at +least a hundred and fifty years old." + +"Probably built by a miner," commented Tom. + +"What do you mean 'nothing'?" said Astro. "Look!" + +They followed Astro's pointing finger to the ceiling. Crisscrossed, from +wall to wall, were heavy wooden beams. + +"Raft!" Tom cried. + +"That's right, spaceman," said Astro, "a raft. There's enough wood up +there to float the _Polaris_. Come on!" + +Astro hurried outside, with Tom and Roger following at his heels. They +quickly climbed to the roof of the old building and soon were ripping +the beams from the crumbling mud. Fortunately the beams had been joined +by notching the ends of the crosspieces. Astro explained that this was +necessary because of the premium on nails when the house was built. +Everything at that time had to be hauled from Earth, and no one wanted +to pay the price heavy nails and bolts demanded. + +One by one, they removed the heavy beams, until they had eight of them +lined up alongside the edge of the canal. + +"How do we keep them together?" asked Roger. + +"With this!" said Tom. He began ripping his space cloth into long +strips. Astro and Roger tugged at the first beam. At last they had it in +the water. + +"It floats," cried Astro. Tom and Roger couldn't help but shout for joy. +They quickly hauled the remaining beams into the water and lashed them +together. Without hesitation, they shoved the raft into the canal, +climbing aboard and standing like conquering heroes, as the raft moved +out into the main flow of the canal and began to drift forward. + +"I dub thee--_Polaris the Second_," said Tom in formal tones and gave +the nearest beam a kick. + +Astro and Roger gave a lusty cheer. + +Steadily, silently, the raft bore them through the never-changing scene +of the canal's muddy banks and the endlessness of the desert beyond. + +Protecting themselves from the sun during the day by repeated dunkings +in the water, they traveled day and night in a straight course down the +center of the canal. At night, the tiny moon, Deimos, climbed across the +desert and reflected light upon the satin-smooth water. + +The third day on the raft they began to feel the pangs of hunger. And +where during their march through the desert, their thoughts were of +water, now visions of endless tables of food occupied their thoughts. At +first, they talked of their hunger, dreaming up wild combinations of +dishes and giving even wilder estimates of how much each could consume. +Finally, discovering that talking about it only intensified their +desire, they kept a stolid silence. When the heat became unbearable, +they simply took to the water. Once Tom's grip on the raft slipped and +Roger plunged in after him without a moment's hesitation, only to have +Astro go in to save both of them. + +On and on--down the canal, the three boys floated. Days turned into +nights, and nights, cooling and refreshing, gave way to the blazing sun +of the next day. The silent desert swept past them. + +One night, when Astro, unable to sleep, was staring ahead into the +darkness, he heard a rustling in the water alongside the raft. He moved +slowly to the edge of the raft and peered down into the clear water. + +He saw a fish! + +The big cadet watched it dart around the raft. He waited, his body +tense. Once the fish came to the edge of the raft, but before Astro +could move his arm, it darted off in another direction. + +At last the fish disappeared and Astro sank back on the timbers. He +trailed one hand over the side in the water, and suddenly, felt the +rough scales of the fish brush his fingers. In a flash, Astro closed his +hand and snatched the wriggling creature out of the water. + +"Tom--Roger--" he shouted. "Look--look--a fish--I caught a fish with my +bare hands!" + +Tom rolled over and opened his eyes. Roger sat in bewilderment. + +"I watched him--I was watching him and then he went away. And then I +held my hand over the side of the raft and he came snooping around +and--well, I just grabbed him!" + +He held the fish in the viselike grip of his right hand until it stopped +moving. + +"You know," said Tom weakly, "I just remembered. When we were in the +Science Building in Atom City, one of their projects was to breed both +Earth and Venus fish in the canals." + +"I am going to shake, personally, the hand of the man who started this +project when we get back to Atom City," said Astro. + +Suddenly Roger gripped Tom's arms. He was staring in the direction the +raft was going. "Tom--" he breathed, "Astro--look!" + +They turned and peered into the dusk. In the distance, not a mile away, +was the huge crystal-clear dome of the atmosphere booster station, its +roaring atomic motors sending a steady purring sound out across the +desert. + +"We made it," said Tom, choking back the tears. "We made it!" + +"Well, blast my jets," said Astro. "We sure did!" + + * * * * * + +"And you mean to tell me, you _walked_ across that desert?" asked +Captain Strong. + +Tom glanced over at Astro and Roger. "We sure did, sir." + +"With Astro doing the last stretch to the canal carrying me and dragging +Tom," said Roger as he sipped his hot broth. + +The room in the chief engineer's quarters at the atmosphere station was +crowded with workers, enlisted Solar Guardsmen and officers of the Solar +Guard. They stood around staring in disbelief at the three disheveled +cadets. + +"But how did you ever survive?" asked Strong. "By the craters of Luna, +that blasted desert was hotter this past month than it has ever been +since Mars was first colonized by Earthmen. Why--why--you were walking +through temperatures that reached a hundred and fifty degrees!" + +"You don't have to convince us, sir," said Roger with a smile. "We'll +never forget it as long as we live." + +Later, when Tom, Roger and Astro had taken a shower and dressed in fresh +uniforms, Strong came in with an audioscriber and the three cadets gave +the full version of their adventure for the official report back to the +Academy. When they had finished, Strong told them of his efforts to find +them. + +"We knew you were in trouble right away," said Strong, "and we tracked +you on radar. But that blasted storm fouled us all up. We figured that +the sand would have covered up the ship, and that the chances of finding +you in a scout were very small, so I got permission from Commander +Walters to organize this ground search for you." He paused. "Frankly we +had just about given up hope. Took us three weeks finally to locate the +section of desert you landed in." + +"We knew you would come, sir," said Tom, "but we didn't have enough +water to wait for you--and we had to leave." + +"Boys," said Strong slowly, "I've had a lot of wonderful things happen +to me in the Solar Guard. But I have to confess that seeing you three +space-brained idiots clinging to that raft, ready to eat a raw +fish--well, that was just about the happiest moment of my life." + +"Thank you, sir," said Roger, "and I think I can speak for Tom and Astro +when I say that seeing you here with over a hundred men, and all this +equipment, ready to start searching for us in that desert--well, it +makes us feel pretty proud to be members of an outfit where the skipper +feels that way about his crew!" + +"What happens now, sir?" asked Tom. + +"Aside from getting a well-deserved liberty, it's back to the old grind +at the Academy. The _Polaris_ is at the spaceport at Marsopolis, waiting +for us." He paused and eyed the three cadets with a smile. "I guess the +routine at Space Academy will seem a little dull now, after what you've +been through." + +"Captain Strong," said Astro formally, "I _know_ I speak for Tom and +Roger when I say that _routine_ is all we want for a long time to come!" + +"Amen!" added Tom and Roger in unison. + +"Very well," said Strong. "_Polaris_ unit--Staaaaand _TO_!" + +The three boys snapped to attention. + +"You are hereby ordered to report aboard the _Polaris_ at fifteen +hundred hours and stand by to raise ship!" + +He returned their salutes, turned sharply and walked from the room. + +Outside, Steve Strong leaned against the wall and stared through the +crystal shell of the atmosphere station into the endless desert. + +"Thank you, Mars," he said softly, "for making spacemen out of the +_Polaris_ crew!" He saluted sharply and walked away. + +Tom suddenly burst from the room with Roger and Astro yelling after him. + +"Hey, Tom, where you going?" yelled Roger. + +"I've got to get a bottle of that water out of the canal for my kid +brother Billy!" shouted Tom and disappeared down a slidestairs. + +Roger turned to Astro and said, "That's what I call a real spaceman." + +"What do you mean?" asked Astro. + +"After what we've been through, he still remembers that his kid brother +wants a bottle of water from a canal as a souvenir!" + +"Yeah," breathed Astro, "Tom Corbett is--is--a real spaceman!" + +[Illustration] + +[Illustration] + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Stand by for Mars!, by Carey Rockwell + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STAND BY FOR MARS! *** + +***** This file should be named 19526.txt or 19526.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/1/9/5/2/19526/ + +Produced by Greg Weeks, Ross Wilburn and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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