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"The whole unit is good! If it weren't for that hare-brained Manning, I'd say they had as bright a future in the Solar Guard as any unit I've seen!" "I'll buy that, sir!" said Stefens with a smile. "That Corbett picked up traffic-control operations like a duck takes to water. And it's been a long time since Jenledge on the power deck raved about a cadet the way he does about Astro."
Tom Corbett, Roger Manning, and Astro stood at rigid attention in their dormitory room, backs ramrod straight, eyes front, hands stiffly at their sides. Captain Steve Strong, his face red and voice hoarse, strode up and down in front of them. "And another thing!" he roared.
Miles backed up and fingered the trigger on the ray gun. "Come on, stupid," he snarled. "Come on, I'll give it to you again, only this time " He smiled. "No, Astro," called Tom. "There's nothing we can do now. No use getting frozen again." "That's using your head, Corbett." Miles laughed. "Pick up that box and get going." Astro picked up the lead box again and staggered after Tom toward the door.
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.
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.
"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.
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.
"Watch me now and wait for my whistle." He turned away and then paused to call back softly, "Spaceman's luck, Tom." "Same to you, Astro," replied Tom, and then crouched tensely in the shadows. The big cadet walked casually toward the sentry, who spotted him immediately and brought his gun up sharply, calling a challenge in the Venusian tongue. "A friend," replied Astro in the same dialect.
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.
"I'd think a long time before I would," said Tom. "Remember, Vidac hasn't done anything we can actually pin on him." "What about making the colonists pay for their food," sneered Roger. "Vidac could say it was a precautionary measure," said Tom. "What kind of precaution?" asked Astro. "Well, Vidac could say that the colonists were using too much of the supplies simply because it was free.
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