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Jeff, too, found it easy to explain the growth of plants, the function of bacteria, the formation of planet crusts, and other allied subjects. So, day after day, Tom, Astro, Roger, and Jeff Marshall spent their waking hours in the cubicles searching their minds for every last precious drop of knowledge they could impart to the children of Roald.
The blond-haired cadet looked around at the faces of his friends. There was no reply to his question. Every citizen of Roald, man, woman, and child, was at the spaceport to watch the giant cruiser Orion settle slowly to the ground. Vidac watched it through squinting eyes.
He's had experience handling men and he's been in deep space before. He's logged an awful lot of time on merchant spaceships, but " "But what?" asked Strong. He took the paper and studied it again. "Looks to me as if he's what we're looking for," he said. "I know, sir," said Tom. "But why would a man like that, with all that experience, want to bury himself on Roald?
At last they fell silent and Vidac was able to speak again. "I would advise you to consider carefully the proposal I've made here. Your equipment the equipment given to you by the Solar Alliance has been lost. The chemicals which you are now being offered are the property of the official governing body of Roald. We cannot give you the material.
He had placed too much confidence in Bush and Winters and had underestimated the cadets. Something had to be done and fast! But it couldn't be anything obvious, or his plans of taking over Roald would fail. The buzz of the teleceiver on his desk interrupted his train of thought and he flipped open the small scanner. "Professor Sykes to see you, sir," reported his aide in the outer office.
"No buts, Corbett," said Hardy, still smiling. "This is a great undertaking and we need the co-operation of every member of the expedition. In a few days we'll be arriving at Roald and the strain of this long trip will be over. Mr. Vidac is a capable man and I trust him implicitly, no matter how strange his methods may appear.
"Too bad they don't know how to handle themselves as well." Tom smarted under the sarcasm but concentrated on the task of getting the ship safely to the ground. "Fifty thousand feet," reported Roger. "I'd say that the gravity of Roald is about 2.7 over Earth's, Tom." "O.K., Roger," replied Tom. "Give her one-quarter thrust, Astro. We'll have to feel our way down."
If a jet liner or merchantman was found to be satisfactory, it was purchased at full price from the owners and flown to refitting docks at Space Academy and Atom City where work was begun converting it to a special use. Every ship was to be cannibalized on Roald, its hull taken apart to provide housing and its power decks converted into electropower plants.
Strong's plan to follow Vidac in order to locate Hardy had paid off. While Vidac and Bush were rounding up citizens of Roald City and sending them out to search for the Space Cadets, the Solar Guard captain had checked the frequency setting on the communicator in the lieutenant governor's jet car.
And Steve Strong, as the first visitor from Earth since the colony was founded, would get a tremendous welcome! " ... Are you sure?" asked Tom, his face brightening. "You heard it yourself?" Jeff Marshall smiled. "Roald is going crazy. They're preparing the biggest welcome for a spaceman since Jon Builker's return from his first trip in space!" "Boy," said Astro, "what a break!"
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