CHAPTER 19
"Ready?" asked Connel.
"All set, sir," replied Tom.
"Remember, we'll open up in exactly five minutes and we'll continue toattack for another seven minutes. That's all the time you have to getinside, find Roger, and get out again."
"I understand, sir," replied Tom.
"Move out," said Connel, "and spaceman's luck!"
With a last quick glance at Astro who gave him a reassuring nod, Tomdropped to his knees and crawled out from behind their hidden position.Dropping flat on his stomach, he inched forward toward theadministration building. All around him ray guns and blasters werefiring with regularity as the columns of Marines advanced from all sidesof the canyon toward the center, mopping up everything in front of them.The roof of the administration building seemed a solid sheet of fire asthe Nationalist leaders fought back desperately.
He reached the side of the building that was windowless, and scrambledtoward the back door without interference. There he saw five green-cladmen, crouched behind sandbags, protecting the rear entrance. Glancing athis watch he saw the sweeping hand tick off the last few seconds of hisallotted time. At the exact instant it hit the five-minute mark, therewas a sudden burst of activity at the front of the building. Connel andthe Marine patrol had opened fire in a mock attack. The men guarding therear left their barricade and raced into the building to meet the newassault.
Without a second's hesitation, Tom jumped toward the door. He reachedup, found it unlocked, and then with his ray gun ready, kicked the dooropen. He rushed in and dived to the floor, ray gun in his hand, ready tofreeze anything or anyone in sight.
The hall was empty. In the front, the firing continued and the halls ofthe building echoed loudly with the frantic commands of the defenders.Gliding along the near wall, Tom moved slowly forward. Before him, adoor was ajar and he eased toward it. On tiptoe the curly-haired cadetinched around the edge of the door and glanced inside. He saw aNationalist guard on his hands and knees loading empty shock rifles. Tomquickly stepped inside and jammed his gun in the man's back. "Freeze!"he said between his teeth.
The trooper tensed, then relaxed, and slowly raised his hands.
"Where's the sick bay?" demanded Tom.
"On the second floor, at the end of the hall."
"Is that where you're keeping Cadet Manning?" demanded Tom.
"Yes," replied the man. "He's--"
Tom fired before the trooper could finish. It was rough, but he knew hehad to act swiftly if he was to help Roger. The trooper was frozen inhis kneeling position, and Tom scooped up a loaded shock rifle beforeslipping back into the hall. It was still empty. The firing outsideseemed to be increasing.
He located the stairs, and after a quick but careful check, started up,heart pounding, guns ready. On the second floor he glanced up and downthe hall, and jumped back into the stair well quickly. Firing from anopen window, three troopers were between him and the only door at theend of the hall. Not sure if Roger was in that room or not, Tom had tomake sure by looking. And the only way he could do that was to eliminatethe men in his way. He dropped to one knee and took careful aim with theray pistol. It would be tricky at such long range, but should theparalo-ray fail, the cadet was prepared to use the shock rifle. Hefired, and for a breathless second waited for the effects of the ray onthe troopers. Then he saw the men go rigid and he smiled. Three hundredfeet with a ray pistol was very fancy shooting!
He raced for the door. As he entered the room, he saw a figure stretchedout on the floor. He stopped still, cold fear clutching at his heart.
"Roger!" he called. The blond-haired cadet didn't move. Tom jumped tohis unit mate's side and dropped to one knee beside him. It was dark inthe room and he couldn't see very well, but there was no need for lightwhen he felt Roger's pulse.
"Frozen, by the stars!" he exclaimed. He stepped back, flipped theneutralizer switch on his ray gun, and fired a short burst. Almostimmediately Roger groaned, blinked his eyes, and sat up.
"Roger! Are you all right?" asked Tom.
"Yeah--sure. I'm O.K.," mumbled his unit mate. "Those dirty space rats.They didn't know what to do with me when the Marines landed, so theyfroze me. They were scared to kill me. Afraid of reprisals."
"They sure used their heads that time," said Tom with a grin. "How'syour back?"
"Fine. I just wrenched it a little. It's better now. But never mind me.What's going on? Where's Astro and Major Connel? And how did you gethere?"
Tom gave him a quick run-down on everything that had happened,concluding with, "Major Connel and Astro, with a patrol of Solar GuardMarines, are outside now drawing the Nationalist fire. Time's runningout on us fast. Think you can walk?"
"Spaceboy," replied Roger, "to get out of this place I'd crawl on myhands and knees!"
"Then come on!" Tom gave the shock rifle to his unit mate and steppedback into the hall. It was quiet. Tom waved at Roger to follow andslipped down the hall toward the stairs. Outside, the Marine patrolcontinued firing, never letting up for a second. The two boys reachedthe stairs and had started down when Tom grabbed Roger by the arm."There's someone moving around down there!"
They hugged the wall and held their breath. Tom glanced at his watch.Only forty-five seconds to go before the Marines would stop firing andretire. They had to get out of the building!
"We'll have to take a chance, Roger," murmured Tom. "We'll try to rushthem and fight our way out."
"Don't bother!" said a harsh voice behind them. The two cadets spunaround and looked back toward the second floor. Standing at the top ofthe stairs, Rex Sinclair scowled down at them, ray guns in each hand,leveled at the two cadets.
"By the craters of Luna!" cried Roger. "You!"
"That's one of the things I forgot to tell you, Roger," said Tom wryly."Sinclair belongs to this outfit too!"
"Belongs!" roared Roger. "Look at that white uniform he's wearing! Thisyellow rat is Lactu, the head of the whole Nationalist movement!"
Tom gaped at the white-clad figure at the head of the stairs. "Theleader!" he gasped.
"Quite right, Corbett," replied Sinclair quietly. "And if it hadn't beenfor three nosy cadets, I would have been the leader of the whole planet.But it's finished now. All that is left for me is escape. And you twoare going to help me do just that!"
Roger suddenly dropped to one knee and leveled the blaster. But theNationalist leader was too quick. His paralo-ray crackled and Roger wasfrozen solid.
"Why, you--!" roared Tom.
"Drop your gun, Corbett," warned Sinclair, "and take that blaster awayfrom him."
"I'll get you, Sinclair," said Tom through clenched teeth, "and when Ido--"
"Stop the talk and get busy!" snapped Sinclair.
Tom took the blaster out of Roger's paralyzed hands and dropped it onthe floor. Still holding one ray gun on Tom, Sinclair flipped on theneutralizer of the other gun and released Roger again.
"Now get moving down those stairs!" ordered Sinclair. "One more funnymove out of either of you and I'll do more than just freeze you."
"What are you going to do with us?" asked Roger.
"As I said, you are going to help me escape. This time the Solar Guardhas won. But there are other planets, other people who need strongleadership and who like to put on uniforms and play soldier. People willalways find reason to rebel against authority, and I will be there tochannel their frustrations into my own plans. Perhaps it will be Mars.Or Ganymede. Or even Titan. Another name, another plan, and once againthe Solar Guard will have to fight me. Only next time, I assure you, itis I who will win!"
"There won't be any next time," growled Roger. "You're washed up now.This base is swarming with Marines. How do you think you're going to getout of here?"
"You shall see, my friend. You shall see!"
Sinclair motioned them toward a door on the ground floor. "Open it!"demanded Sinclair. Tom opened it and stepped inside. It was a cleaner'scloset, crammed with old-fashioned mops and pails and dirty rags.Sinclair pus
hed Roger inside and was about to follow when severalgreen-clad guards came running down the hall toward them.
"Lactu! Lactu!" they shouted frantically. "They're pouring into thebase! The Solar Guard--they've got us surrounded!"
"Keep fighting!" snapped Sinclair. "Don't surrender! Inflict as muchdamage as possible!"
"Where--where are you going?" asked one of the men, looking at thecloset speculatively.
"Never mind me!" barked Sinclair. "Do as I tell you. Fight back!"
"It looks like we're losing a leader," observed another of the menslowly. "You wouldn't be running out on us, would you, Lactu?"
Sinclair fired three quick blasts from the ray guns, freezing the mensolid, and then turned back to Tom and Roger. "Stay in that closet anddo as I tell you."
Inside the closet, Sinclair kicked a pail out of the way and barked,"Remove the loose plank in the floor and drop it on the floor."
Tom felt around until he found the loose board and lifted it up.
"What's down there?" asked Roger.
"You'll see," said Sinclair. "Now step back, both of you!"
Tom and Roger backed up and watched while Sinclair bent over the holein the floor. He felt around inside with one hand and appeared to turnsomething. Suddenly the wall opposite the two cadets slid back to reveala narrow flight of stairs leading down. Sinclair motioned with his gunagain. "Get going, both of you."
Tom stepped forward, followed by Roger, and they started down thestairs. At the bottom they found themselves in a narrow tunnel aboutfour hundred feet underground. The floor of the tunnel slanted downwardsharply.
"At the end of this tunnel," announced Sinclair, "is a clearing and inthat clearing is a spaceship. It is nearly three miles from the canyon.By the time the Solar Guard learns of my absence, we shall be lost inspace."
"We?" asked Tom. "You're taking us with you?"
"But of course," said Sinclair. "How else would I assure myself thatthe Solar Guard will not harm me unless I take two of their most honoredSpace Cadets with me?"
* * * * *
"It's been fifteen minutes," announced Connel, "and they haven't comeout yet. There's only one thing to do. Take that building and find outwhat's happened."
The major was crouched behind a wrecked jet car, staring at theadministration building.
"I can get that Marine captain over to our left to co-ordinate an attackwith us, sir," suggested Astro.
"It's risky," said Connel. "They still have a lot of men in there. Butif we wait for another column to reach us, it might be too late. Allright, Astro, tell him we're attacking in ten minutes and ask him togive us all the help he can."
"Yes, sir," replied Astro, and flopped to the ground to worm his waytoward the head of the Marine column on the left.
It took the cadet nearly five minutes to cover the hundred yards betweenthe two Solar Guard positions. Several times the firing became so heavythat the cadet was forced to remain still on the ground while rifle andray-gun fire crackled over his head. He made it finally, several Marinescoming out to help him over the top of the barrier. Gasping for breath,the big cadet asked to see the commanding officer.
A grimy, tired-looking officer turned and walked over to the cadet.
"Astro!"
"Captain Strong!"
"Where's Tom and Roger and Major Connel?" demanded Strong.
Astro told the captain of Tom's attempt to save Roger and that nothinghad been heard from him since. "Major Connel wants us to attacktogether," Astro continued. "He's jumping off in four minutes!"
"Right!" snapped Strong. He turned to a young Solar Guard officerwaiting respectfully near by. "You take them in, Ferris. Full frontalattack. Don't use blasters unless you have to. Take as many prisoners aspossible."
"Very well, sir," replied the lieutenant.
"I'll go back to the other position with Cadet Astro. Start your attackas soon as you see Major Connel and his men go in."
"Got it, sir," said the lieutenant.
Strong and Astro made their way back to Connel's position quickly, andafter a brief but hearty handclasp, the two officers began plotting thelast assault against the Nationalists' stronghold. While other Marinecolumns were wiping up small groups of rebels fighting from disabledspaceships, repair shops, and other buildings, Strong's column had beendriving straight for the heart of the base. The administration buildingwas the last barrier between them and complete victory over the rebels.
Strong and Connel spoke briefly of Tom and Roger, neither wanting tovoice his inner fears in front of Astro. The Nationalists previously hadshown little regard for human life. Now, with their backs to the wall,Connel and Strong knew that if Tom and Roger were captured, they mightbe used as hostages to ensure safe passage for some of the rebels.
"Let's go," said Connel finally. "Tom and Roger will be expecting us."He forced himself to grin at Astro, but the giant cadet turned and facedthe building grimly. Connel lifted his hand, took a last look up anddown the line of waiting Marines, then brought his hand down quickly."Over the top. Spaceman's luck!" he shouted.
The Marines vaulted over the top of their defense position and chargedmadly toward the building, all guns blazing. The Nationalists returnedthe fire, and for the first few seconds it seemed that the world hadsuddenly gone mad. Strong found himself shouting, running, and firing ina red haze. Astro was roaring at the top of his lungs, and Connel justcharged ahead blindly. Marines began to drop on all sides, cut down bythe withering fire. Then, when it appeared that they would have to fallback, the main column, led by the Solar Guard lieutenant, broke throughthe last barricade and swarmed into the building.
Five minutes later the battle was over. The last remnants of theNationalists had been defeated and the green-clad troopers were herdedinto the streets like cattle. Strong and Connel, followed by Astro,charged through the building like wild bulls searching for Tom andRoger.
"No sign of them," said Strong finally. "They must have slipped outsomehow."
"No!" roared Connel. "They've been taken out of here as hostages. I'llbet my life on that. There must be a secret way out of here!"
"Come on," said Strong. "Let's find it." Suddenly he stopped. "Look!Those three troopers outside that door! They're frozen! Let's have alook there first!"
They rushed over to the closet where the three Nationalists had beenfrozen by Sinclair.
Strong stopped and gasped. "By the craters of Luna, it's Sharkey!"
"Sharkey? Who's that?" asked Astro.
"Supposed to be the leader of the Nationalists," said Connel.
Strong quickly released Sharkey from the paralo-ray effects and the manshuddered so violently from the reaction that Astro had to grab him tokeep him from falling down.
"Where are Corbett and Manning?" demanded Connel.
"Lactu ... he took them both in there ... through a secret passageway."Sharkey pointed to the closet with a trembling finger.
Strong jumped for the closet door and jerked it open. He saw the openwall and the stairs leading down. "Come on! This way!"
Connel ran wildly into the closet, followed by Astro. Suddenly the bigcadet stopped, turned, and fired point-blank at the figurehead of theNationalist rebellion. Sharkey once again grew rigid.
The two Solar Guard officers raced down the stairs into the tunnel andran headlong through the darkness. Time was precious now. The lives ofTom and Roger might be lost by a wasted second.
CHAPTER 20
"What's that noise, Tom?"
The two cadets were walking through the tunnel when they heard thestrange booming roar. Behind them, Sinclair overheard Roger's whisperedquestion and laughed. "That is the sound of the slaves being fed theirlunch. They do not know yet that there has been a battle and soonthey'll be free!"
"Slaves!" gasped Roger. "What kind of slaves?"
"You shall see. Keep going!" Sinclair prodded the cadets with his raygun. The tunnel had grown larger and the downward slant of the floorlessened as they presse
d forward. The noise ahead of them grew louderand stronger and now they could distinguish occasional words above thedin.
"We must pass through the big vault where the slaves are working," saidSinclair. "I would advise you to keep your mouths shut and do as I say!"
Neither Tom nor Roger answered, keeping their eyes straight ahead.
The tunnel suddenly cut sharply to the right and they could see a blazeof light in front of them. The two boys stopped involuntarily, and thenwere nudged forward by Sinclair's guns. Before them was a huge cavernnearly a thousand yards high and three thousand yards across,illuminated by hundreds of torches. Along one side of the cave a line ofmen were waiting to have battered tin plates filled from a huge pot atthe head of the line. The men were in rags, and every one of them washardly more than skin and bones. At strategic places around the cavern,Nationalist guards kept their guns trained and ready to fire. Theybrought up their guns quickly as Tom and Roger entered, and then loweredthem again as Sinclair appeared. Every eye turned to the Nationalistleader as he marched across the floor of the cave, Tom and Roger walkingbefore him.
"You see," said Sinclair, "these wretched fools thought my organizationwas a utopia until they learned that I was no better for them than theSolar Guard. Unfortunately they learned too late and were sent here todig underground pits for my spaceships and storage dumps."
The small column of three marched across the floor of the cave towardanother small tunnel on the opposite side. The slaves were absolutelystill, and the guards smiled a greeting at their leader when he passedthem.
Sinclair ignored them all. "Beyond that tunnel," he continued, pointingto the small opening ahead of them, "there is a spaceship. We will boardthat ship and blast off. The three of us. Where we will go, I haven'tdecided yet. Perhaps a long trip into deep space until the Solar Guardhas forgotten about you and me and the Nationalists. Then we willreturn, as I said before, to Mars, or perhaps Ganymede, and I will startall over again."
"You're mad!" said Tom through clenched teeth. "Crazy as a space bug!"
"We shall see, Corbett. We shall see!"
Suddenly Roger broke away and raced toward the mass of slaves. Heshouted wildly, "Get the guards! The Nationalists are beaten! The basein the canyon has been destroyed! Hurry! Rebel!"
The emaciated men milled around the cadet, all asking questions at once.
Sinclair signaled to the guards. "Shoot him down!" Four guards tookcareful aim.
"Roger! Look out!" warned Tom.
Roger whirled around in time to see the guards about to fire. He divedfor a mound of dirt and hid behind it. The energy shock waves licked atthe sand where he had stood a second before. Roger got up and ran forbetter cover, the guards continuing to fire at him. Then, around thecadet, the slave workers began to come alive. Some hurled stones at theguards, others began climbing up the sides to the ledges where theguards stood. Taking in the situation at a glance, Sinclair shoved theray gun in Tom's back and snarled, "Get going!"
The young cadet had no alternative. He turned and marched hurriedlyacross the floor toward the small tunnel ahead of him. Several slaveworkers tried to attack Sinclair, but in their weakened condition, theywere no match for the alert Nationalist leader who froze them instantlywith his paralo-ray gun.
Roger saw Tom heading for the tunnel and made a sudden dash forSinclair. But the rebel leader heard the pounding of footsteps andturned to fire at Roger as the cadet sailed through the air in a flyingtackle. The jolting ray hit him squarely and he landed on the groundwith a thud a few feet from Sinclair, completely immobilized again.
Tom tried to seize the momentary advantage, but once again Sinclair wasquicker and forced Tom back into the small opening of the tunnel.
Around them, the slave workers were being whipped into a frenzy aftermonths of stored-up hatred for their guards. Hundreds of them wereclimbing up toward the guards' posts, unmindful of the deadly firepouring down on them.
"Get in there quick!" demanded Sinclair. He shoved Tom through the smallopening, and after a quick glance over his shoulder at the surgingslaves, followed the cadet.
Sinclair flashed a light ahead of them and Tom saw the reflection of abright surface. In the distance he recognized the outlines of aspaceship.
"Keep moving!" ordered Sinclair. "You're my protection in getting out ofhere, and if I have to freeze you and carry you aboard, that's just whatI'll do! Now get moving!"
Tom walked to the air lock of the ship, Sinclair right in back of him.The rebel leader pressed an outside button in the ship's stabilizer finand the port swung open slowly. "Get in!" growled Sinclair.
Tom stepped into the ship and waited. Sinclair climbed in in back of himand closed the air lock.
"Through that hatch," said Sinclair, motioning toward the iron ladder,"and keep your hands in the air."
"How do you think you're going to get through the Solar Guard fleetthat's standing off above the canyon?" asked Tom casually. "As soon asthey see this ship blast off, you'll have a hundred atomic war headsblasting after you!"
"Not as long as I have you!" sneered Sinclair. "You're my protection!"
"You're wrong," said Tom. "They'll open fire, anyway."
"That's the chance I've got to take," said Sinclair. "Now climb up tothe control deck and get on the audioceiver. You're going to tell themyou're aboard!"
Tom walked ahead of the rebel leader toward the control deck, his mindracing. He knew that Sinclair was going through with his plan and healso knew that the Solar Guard would not pay any attention to anythinghe had to say. If, after three warnings, Sinclair didn't brake jets andbring his ship to a stop, he would be blasted out of space. He had to dosomething.
"Where's the communicator?" asked Tom.
"Over by the radar scanner." Sinclair eyed him suspiciously. "Remember,Corbett, your life depends on this as much as mine. If you don'tconvince them you're worth saving by letting me get away, you're a deadpigeon!"
"You don't have to tell me," said Tom. "I know when I'm licked."
Sinclair took his position in the pilot's chair, facing the controlpanel. For a brief moment his back was to Tom as he bent over to turn onthe generators. Tom took a deep breath and lurched across the deck. ButSinclair turned and saw him coming, and jerked up the ray gun. He wasn'table to get clear in time. Tom's fingers circled the barrel of the gunas Sinclair fired. The barrel grew hot as Sinclair fired repeatedly.Tom's fingers were beginning to blister under the intense heat, but heheld on. With his other hand he reached up for the rebel's throat.Sinclair grabbed his wrist and, locked together, they rolled around onthe deck.
_Sinclair wasn't able to get clear in time_]
Sinclair continued to fire the ray gun and Tom's fingers were burningwith pain from the heat. Suddenly the cadet let go the gun, spun around,and jerked Sinclair off balance. He swung his free hand as hard as hecould into the rebel's stomach. Sinclair doubled over and staggeredback, dropping the gun. Tom was on top of him like a shot, poundingstraight, jolting rights and lefts to the man's head and stomach. ButSinclair was tough. He twisted around, and quick as a cat, jumped to hisfeet. Then, stepping in, he rapped a solid right to Tom's jaw. The cadetreeled back, nearly falling to the deck. Sinclair was in on top of himin a flash, pounding his head and body with vicious smashing blows.
Tom fell to the floor under the savagery of the rebel leader's attack.Sinclair lifted his foot to kick the cadet as Tom's fingers tightenedaround the barrel of the discarded ray gun. He brought it up sharplyagainst the planter's shin and he staggered back in pain. Tom tookcareful aim. He fired the gun. Nothing happened. The gun was empty.
Sinclair rushed the cadet again, but Tom stepped aside and swung theheavy gun with all his might. The metal smashed against Sinclair's headand he sank to the deck, out cold.
The last rebel of Venus had been defeated.
* * * * *
"We found Roger trying to keep the slaves away from the guards," saidStrong. "They were ready to tear them a
part!"
"Can't say that I blame them," snorted Connel. "Some of those poordevils had been working in the caves for three years!"
Tom, Roger, and Astro sat sprawled in chairs in one of the offices ofthe Nationalist headquarters listening to Strong and Major Connel sum upthe day's battle. The entire army of Nationalist guards, DivisionChiefs, and workers had been rounded up and put aboard the troopcarriers to be taken to a prison asteroid. Each individual rebel wouldbe dealt with under special court proceedings to be established by SolarAlliance decree later.
"There are still some things I don't understand," said Astro. "How didthey know you were going to investigate them in the first place?"
"After our meeting with Commander Walters," said Connel, "we sent aspecial coded message to the Solar Alliance Delegate here on Venus. Hissecretary intercepted the message, used stolen priorities for himselfand two assistants to get to Earth and back on an express space linerwithout being missed."
"The secretary!" shouted Tom. "That's the same fellow I saw in Atom Citywhen we were bumped out of our seats on the _Venus Lark_!"
Roger looked up at Tom with a scowl. "A fine time to remember!"
Strong grinned. "We discovered him, Tom, when that attempt was made tokidnap you by the cab driver. We also picked up the owner of thepawnshop."
"The most amazing thing about this space joker, Sinclair," commentedConnel, "was the way he had everyone fooled. I couldn't figure out howhe was able to get around so quickly until I learned about thosebuildings."
"What buildings?" asked Tom, suddenly remembering how the rebel leaderhad disappeared so quickly and quietly when he was being held captivewith Mr. and Mrs. Hill in the Sinclair home.
"Every one of the important members of the organization, the DivisionChiefs, they called themselves, had a small shack on his property nearthe edge of the jungle. It was nothing more than a covering for a shaftthat led to a tunnel, which, in turn, led to other tunnels under thejungle and eventually connected with one leading right into the base."
"You mean," said Astro, "they have underground tunnels all through thejungle?"
"That's right," asserted Connel. "If they had been prepared for ourattack, they could have beaten the pants off us. Not only in space, buton the ground. They could have run circles around us in those tunnels. Igot suspicious when I found a hut at the Sharkey place with no windowsin it."
"Say, remember the time Sinclair barked at me for going near that shackon his place when we first arrived?" said Roger.
Connel grinned. "I'll bet you a plugged credit that if you had openedthat door you'd have been frozen stiffer than a snowman on Pluto."
"Well, anyhow," said Tom happily, "we got what we came after."
"What was that?" asked Strong.
"A tyrannosaurus!" replied the curly-haired cadet.
"And that's another thing," said Connel. "That tyrannosaurus we killedwas a pet of the Nationalists. I don't mean a household pet, but itfitted into their plans nicely. The tyranno's lair was near the top ofthat canyon. Any time a stray hunter came along, the tyrannosaurus wouldscare him away. So when you three came along and said you weredeliberately hunting for a tyrannosaurus, they got worried."
"Worried?" asked Roger. "Why?"
"They thought you were actually hunting or investigating them, and whenI started nosing around, they were sure. That's why Sinclair ordered hisboys to burn down his plantation--to try to throw us off the track. Soyou see," Connel concluded, "your summer leave really started the ballrolling against them."
"Summer leave!" shouted Roger. "What day is it?"
"The twenty-ninth of August," replied Strong.
"Oh, no!" moaned the blond-haired cadet. "We start back to class inthree days!"
"Three days!" roared Astro. "But--but it'll take three days to write upour reports of everything that's happened! We won't have any time forfun!"
"Fun!" snorted Connel. "Fun is for little boys. You three space-brained,rocket-headed idiots are spacemen!"
+--------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | Transcriber's Note | | | | One instance of "nearby" was changed to "near-by" to conform | | with the hyphenation in the rest of the text. | | | | The following typos were corrected: | | | | Get "Get | | it It | | get's gets | | surpressed suppressed | | order ordered | | | +--------------------------------------------------------------+
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