On the Trail of the Space Pirates | Page 9

one side, now rushed at Roger with a monkey wrench. With the ferocity of a bull, Astro roared at the small spaceman, who stopped as if pulled up by a string. Roger spun around, made an exaggerated bow, and smiling, asked, "Next?"
At this point, aware that things were getting a bit thick, Tom strode across the clearing, and grabbing the still smiling Roger, pulled him away.
"Are you space happy?" he asked, "You know you goaded him into swinging that chain, Roger. And that makes you entirely responsible for what just happened!"
"Yeah," growled Astro. "Suppose he had hit you with it, then what?"
Roger, still grinning, glanced over his shoulder and saw Simms helping Wallace to his feet. He turned to Astro, threw his arm over the big cadet's shoulder, and drawled, "Why, then you'd have just taken them apart to avenge me! Wouldn't you, pal?"
"Aw, stow it," snapped Tom. For a second Roger looked at him sharply, then broke into a smile again. "O.K., Tom, I'm sorry," he said. "O.K., let's get back to work," ordered Tom.
Back at the Polaris, as they continued cleaning the hull of the ship, Tom saw the two men disappear into their craft, throwing dirty looks back at the three cadets as they went.
"You know, Roger, I think you made a very bad mistake," he said. "One way or another, they'll try to even the score with you."
"And it won't be just a report to Captain Strong," added Astro darkly.
Roger, cocky and unafraid, broke out his engaging grin again and shrugged his shoulders.
CHAPTER 3
"... And so we dedicate this capsule to the civilizations of the future. Those who may dig this cylinder out of the ground in ages to come will find within it the tools, the inventions, and the scientific wonders which have made the era of the Solar Alliance one of peace and lasting prosperity."
Captain Steve Strong paused, glanced at the huge crane and the shimmering steel capsule that dangled at the end of a cable, then called out, "Lower the capsule!"
The cheers of a hundred thousand people massed in the exposition plaza greeted the order. The stereo camera and teleceiver scanners that were sending the opening ceremonies of the Solar Exposition to all parts of the Alliance moved in to focus on the capsule as it was lowered into a deep, concrete-lined pit.
The three members of the Polaris unit, standing to one side of the platform, joined in the cheers as their skipper shook hands with the delegates and waved again and again at the roaring crowd.
"That was some speech, Tom," commented Roger. "I wonder who wrote it for him?"
"He wrote it himself, Roger," replied Tom.
"Ah, go on," scoffed Roger.
"Sure he did," said Astro indignantly. "He sweated over it for nearly a week."
"Here he comes," said Tom. The three cadets watched Captain Strong, resplendent in his dress gold-and-black uniform, fight his way off the platform, shaking hands with congratulating strangers along the way.
"Congratulations, Captain Strong," said Tom with a smile.
"That was swell!" Roger and Astro chorused their agreement.
"Thanks, boys," gasped Strong. "But let me tell you, I never want to do that again. I was never so scared in my life!"
"Just making a speech?" asked Roger. "After all the lectures you've given at Space Academy?"
"They weren't before teleceiver and stereo cameras." Strong laughed. "Do you realize this ceremony is being seen on Mars, Earth, and all the colonized moons, clear out to Titan."
"Wow!" breathed Astro. "That would make me tongue-tied!"
"Huh! All that to stick a metal box into the ground," snorted Roger.
"It's not the capsule, Roger," said Tom. "It's what's inside the capsule."
"Right, Tom," said Strong. "Inside that capsule scientists have packed the whole history of man's march through the stars. They've included scientific formulas, medical, cultural, and industrial facts. Everything we know. Even some things that are known by only a handful of the most trusted men in the universe!" Strong stopped suddenly and laughed. "There I go, making another speech! Come on. Let's get out of here," he cried.
"Do we start showing people through the Polaris now, sir?" asked Astro.
"In the morning, Astro," replied Strong. "Tonight there's a big Solar Alliance banquet. You three are invited, too."
"Er--" stammered Roger, "you mean--a banquet--with--uh--?"
Strong laughed. "More speeches? I'm afraid so, Manning. Of course there'll be plenty of food."
"Well, it's not that we're against speeches," ventured Astro.
"Not yours anyway, sir," added Tom hastily. "But what we mean, sir, is that--"
Strong held up his hand. "I understand perfectly. Suppose you stay here on the exposition grounds. Have a look around. See the sights, have some fun."
"Yes, sir!" The boys chorused their reply.
"Just don't spend all your credits at the first booth," continued Strong. "And watch that Venusian cloud candy. It's good, but murder on the Earthman's stomach."
"Captain Strong!" A voice called from the platform above.