Treachery in Outer Space | Page 4

varicolored uniforms, all released from
duty as the day drew to a close. Tonight, Astro, Roger, and he would go
to see the latest stereo, and tomorrow they would blast off in the
Polaris for the weekly checkout of her equipment. He turned back to
Spears, Coglin, and Duke. Roger was just finishing the story of their
latest adventure (described in The Revolt on Venus).
"The best part, of course, was the actual hunting of the tyrannosaurus,"
said Astro.
"A tyrannosaurus?" exploded Spears, the youngest and most
impressionable of the three Earthworms. "You actually hunted for a
dinosaur?"
Astro grinned. "That's right. They're extinct here on Earth, but on
Venus we catch 'em and make pets out of the baby ones."
"We could have saved ourselves a lot of trouble, though," commented
Roger mockingly. "We have several officers here that would have
served just as well. Major 'Blast-off' Connel, for instance, the toughest,
meanest old son of a hot rocket you have ever seen!"
"Stand to!"
The six boys nearly broke their backs jumping to attention. A squat,
muscular figure, wearing the black-and-gold uniform of a Solar Guard,
strode heavily into their line of vision. Roger gulped as Major Connel
stopped in front of him. "Still gassing, eh, Manning?" he roared.
"'Evening, Major, sir," mumbled Roger, his face beet red.
"We--er--ah--were just telling this Earthworm unit about the Academy,
sir. Some of its pitfalls."
"Some of the cadets are going to fall into a pit if they don't learn to
keep their mouths shut!" snapped Connel. He glared at Tom, Astro, and
Roger, then wheeled sharply to face the three quaking freshmen cadets.
"You listen to anything they tell you and you'll wind up with a book

full of demerits! What in blazes are you doing here, anyway? You're
supposed to be at physical exams right this minute!"
The three boys began to shake visibly, not knowing whether to break
ranks and run or wait until ordered.
"Get out of here!" Connel roared. "You've got thirty seconds to make it.
And if you don't make it, you'll go down on my bad-rocket list!"
Almost in one motion, the three cadet candidates saluted and charged
through the door. When they had gone, Connel turned to the Polaris
cadets who were still at attention. "At ease!" he roared and then
grinned.
The boys came to rest and smiled back at him tentatively. They never
knew what to expect from Connel. "Well, did you put them through
their paces?" he asked as he jerked his thumb toward the door.
"Yes, sir!" said Tom.
"Did they know their manual? Or give you any lip when you started
giving them hot rockets?" Connel referred to the hazing that was
allowed by the Academy, only as another of the multitude of tests
given to cadets. Cadet candidates might possibly hide dangerous flaws
from Academy officials but never from boys near their own ages.
"Major," said Astro, "those fellows came close to blasting off right here
in these chairs. They really thought they were out in space!"
"Fine!" said Connel. "Glad to hear it. I've singled them out as my
personal unit for instruction."
"Poor fellows," muttered Roger under his breath.
"What was that, Manning?" bellowed Connel.
"I said lucky fellows, sir," replied Roger innocently.
Connel glared at him. "I'll bet my last rocket that's what you said,

Manning."
"Yes, sir."
Connel turned to the door and then spun around quickly to catch Roger
grinning at Astro.
"'Poor fellows,' wasn't it?" said Connel with a grin. Roger reddened and
his unit mates laughed. "Oh, yes," continued Connel, "I almost forgot.
Report to Commander Walters on the double. You're getting special
assignments. I recommended you for this job, so see that you behave
yourselves. Especially you, Manning."
He turned and disappeared through the doorway, leaving the three
cadets staring at each other.
"Wowie!" yelled Astro. "And I thought we were going to get chewed
up for keeping those Earthworms too long!"
"Same here," said Roger.
"Wonder what the assignment is?" said Tom, grabbing his tunic and
racing for the door. Neither Roger nor Astro answered as they followed
on his heels. When they reached the slidestairs, a moving belt of plastic
that spiraled upward to an overhead slidewalk bridge connecting the
dormitory to the Tower of Galileo, Tom's eyes were bright and shiny.
"Whatever it is," he said, "if Major Connel suggested us for it, you can
bet your last reactor it'll be a rocket buster."
As the boys stepped on the slidestairs that would take them to
Commander Walters' office, each of them was very much aware that
this was the first step to a new adventure in space. And though the three
realized that they could expect danger, the special assignment meant
that they were going to hit