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Updated: June 3, 2025
Lancaster's intending merely to spend a day or two, until the right work and the right home for herself and Billy should be found. "It happened to be a bad time for me," Mrs. Lancaster would say, recalling the event. "My cook had gone, the house was full, and I had a quinsy sore throat. But I managed to find her a room, and Alfie and George carried in a couch for the little boy.
"Why you old space-crawling " Suddenly he looked around the table and saw the laughing faces of Tom, Roger, Astro, and Alfie. "All right," he said, "but between your enlistment and your retirement, I'm going to make you polish every bit of brass on this space wagon, from the radar mast to the exhaust tubes!" Shinny smiled his toothless smile and looked at Tom. "Get the logbook, Tommy," he said.
Once again, from the heart of the Polaris, there came a roaring blast of the powerful motors. The ship steadied once more and then slipped back into her fall toward the new planet under more sure control. "Fifty feet," reported Alfie. "Forty thirty twenty "
"I'd send them to the mines, sir," said Alfie. Connel's face was impressive. "Roger?" "Same here, sir," replied Roger. "Astro?" asked Connel. "I'd do anything to help the kids, sir," said Astro, an orphan himself. "Tom?" Tom hesitated. "They deserve the rock, sir. I don't have any feeling for them. But if they go to the rock, that doesn't do any more than punish them.
"Offhand, I'd say yes," drawled Roger, "but since we've got two big huskies like Astro and Major Connel along, I don't think we'll have much trouble." "Why not?" asked Alfie. "We'll just let them get out and help push!" "And if that doesn't work," snorted Astro, "we'll stick Manning outside and let him talk about himself. That oughta give us enough gas to get us away from this hunk of copper."
Leaving Alfie on watch at the scanner, Roger hurried down the ladder to the control deck where Tom was seated in front of the great board. "Tom," called Roger, walking up behind his unit-mate, "we're going to take a look at this baby on the other side. See if we can't find a better place to touch down.
"Range one hundred miles," reported Alfie over the intercom. "Power deck, reduce thrust to absolute minimum!" ordered Tom. "I want as little sustaining power as you can give me without cutting out altogether, Astro." "Can do!" said Astro. The ship slowed even more, then suddenly picked up speed again as the gravity of Tara began to tug at the space traveler.
How much they realized of Alfie's deficiencies, how important the matter seemed to them, even Susan could not guess Mrs. Lancaster majestically forbade any discussion of Alfie. "Many a boy has his little weakness in early youth," she said, "Alfie will come out all right!" She had the same visionary optimism in regarding her daughters' futures.
"It's been tested before." "Still room for improvement, though," commented Alfie. "I'll improve your head," barked Astro, "if you don't close that big mouth! How do you like that, Tom? We get rid of one space-gassing Romeo and now we get one even worse!" Astro's reference to Roger made Tom draw a quick breath.
"No." "Dismissed," said Alfie. "Please call Cadet Astro to the stand." The cadet audience began to murmur and sit forward tensely. "What the devil is he doing?" growled Connel. Strong grinned. "Blast me if I know, Lou," he said. "But wait and see. I'll bet you ten credits it's a lulu." Astro was sworn in and Alfie waited for the room to become quiet.
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