The Revolt on Venus | Page 8

moment, Roger was struggling futilely, feet kicking
wildly as Astro held him at arm's length six inches off the floor. The

cadets in the car roared with laughter.
"Atom City!" a voice over the intercar communicator boomed and the
boys looked out the window to see the towering buildings of Atom City
slowly slide by. The train had scarcely reached a full stop when the
three cadets piled out of the door, raced up the slidestairs, and jumped
into a jet cab. Fifteen minutes later they marched up to one of the many
ticket counters of the Atom City Interplanetary Spaceport.
"Reservations for Cadets Corbett, Manning, and Astro on the Venus
Lark, please," announced Tom.
The girl behind the counter ran her finger down a passenger manifest,
nodded, and then suddenly frowned. She turned back to Tom and said,
"I'm sorry, Cadet, but your reservations have been pre-empted by a
priority listing."
"Priority!" roared Roger. "But I made those reservations two weeks ago.
If there was a change, why didn't you tell us before?"
"I'm sorry, sir," said the girl patiently, "but according to the manifest,
the priority call just came in a few hours ago. Someone contacted Space
Academy, but you had already left."
"Well, is there another ship for Venusport today?"
"Yes," she replied and picked up another manifest. Glancing at it
quickly, she shook her head. "There are no open reservations," she said.
"I'm afraid the next flight for Venusport with open reservations isn't for
four days."
"Blast my jets!" growled Roger disgustedly. "Four days!" He sat down
on his gear and scowled. Astro leaned against the desk and stared
gloomily at the floor. At that moment a young man with a thin face and
a strained intense look pushed Tom to one side with a curt "Excuse
me!" and stepped up to the desk.
"You're holding three reservations on the Venus Lark," he spoke

quickly. "Priority number four-seven-six, S.D."
Tom, Roger, and Astro looked at him closely. They saw him nervously
pay for his tickets and then walk away quickly without another look at
the ticket girl.
"Were those our seats, miss?" asked Tom. The girl nodded.
The three cadets stared after the young man who had bumped them off
their ship.
"The symbol S.D. on the priority stands for Solar Delegate," said Roger.
"Maybe he's a messenger."
The young man was joined by two other men also dressed in Venusian
clothing, and after a few words, they all turned and stepped onto the
slidewalk rolling out to the giant passenger ship preparing to blast off.
"This is the most rocket-blasting bit of luck in the universe!" growled
Roger. "Four days!"
"Cheer up, Roger," said Tom. "We can spend the four days in Atom
City. Maybe Liddy Tamal is here. We can follow Captain Strong's
suggestion."
"Even she doesn't make four days delay sound exciting," interrupted
Roger. "Come on. We might as well go back to town or we won't even
get a room."
He picked up his gear and walked back to the jet cab-stand. Astro and
Tom followed the blond-haired cadet glumly.
The stand was empty, but a jet cab was just pulling up to the platform
with a passenger. As the boys walked over to wait at the door, it opened
and a familiar figure in a black-and-gold uniform stepped out.
"Captain Strong!"
[Illustration]

"Corbett!" exclaimed Strong. "What are you doing here? I thought you
were aboard the Venus Lark."
"We were bumped out of our reservation by an S.D. priority," said
Astro.
"And we can't get out of here for another four days," added Roger
glumly.
Strong sympathized. "That's rough, Astro." He looked at the three dour
faces and then said, "Would you consider getting a free ride to Venus?"
The three cadets looked up hopefully.
"Major Connel's taking the Polaris to Venus to complete some work
with Professor Higgleston in the Venus lab," explained Strong. "If you
can get back to the Academy before he blasts off, he might give you a
ride."
"No, thanks!" said Roger. "I'd rather sit here."
"Wait a minute, Roger," said Tom. "We're on leave, remember? And
it's only a short hop to Venus."
"Yeah, hotshot," added Astro. "We'll get to Venus faster than the Venus
Lark, and save money besides."
"O.K.," said Roger. "I guess I can take him for a little while."
Strong suppressed a smile. Roger's reluctance to go with Connel was
well founded. Any cadet within hailing distance of the hard-bitten
spaceman was likely to wind up with a bookful of demerits.
"Are you on an assignment, sir?" asked Tom.
"Vacation," said Strong. "Four weeks of fishing at Commander
Walters' cabin at Sweet Water Lakes."
"If you pass through New Chicago," said Tom, "you would be welcome

to stop in at my house. Mom and Dad