Stand by for Mars!

  CHAPTER 14

  The hatch clanked shut behind them. Inside the huge air lock of the_Lady Venus_, Tom, Roger, Astro and Captain Strong waited for the oxygento equal the pressure in their space suits before removing theirfish-bowl space helmets.

  "O.K., sir," said Tom, "pressure's equal."

  Strong stepped to the hatch leading to the inside of the ship and pushedhard. It slid to one side.

  "How many jet boats do you have?" was the first thing Strong heard as hestepped through the door to the interior of the passenger ship.

  "Al James!" cried Manning. "So this is your tub?"

  The startled young skipper, whom Tom, Roger and Astro had met in AtomCity, turned to face the blond-headed cadet.

  "Manning!" he gasped.

  "What's your trouble, skipper?" asked Strong of the young spaceshipcaptain.

  Before James could answer there was a sudden clamor from beyond the nexthatch leading to the main passenger cabin. Suddenly the hatch was jerkedopen and a group of frightened men and women poured through. The firstto reach Strong, a short fat man with a moonface and wearing glasses,began to jabber hysterically, while clinging to Strong's arm.

  "Sir, this ship is going to blow up any moment. You've got to save us!"He turned to face Al James. "And he refused to allow us to escape in thejet boats!" He pointed an accusing finger at the young skipper as theother passengers loudly backed him up.

  "Just a moment," snapped Strong. "There's a Solar Guard rocket cruiseronly five hundred yards away, so take it easy and don't get hysterical.No one is going to get hurt if you keep calm and obey orders!" He turnedto James. "What's the trouble, skipper?"

  "It's the reaction chamber. The lead baffle around the chamber workedloose and flooded everything with radiation. Now the mass innumber-three rocket is building and wildcatting itself. If it gets anyhigher, it'll explode."

  "Why didn't your power-deck man dump the mass?" asked Strong.

  "We didn't know it was wildcatting until after he had tried to repairit. And he didn't tighten the bolts enough to keep it from leakingradiation." The young skipper paused. "He lived long enough to warn us,though."

  "What's the Geiger count on the radiation?" asked Strong.

  "Up to twelve thirty-two--about ten minutes ago," answered James. "Ipulled everybody out of the power deck and cut all energy circuits,including the energizing pumps. We didn't have any power so I had to usethe combined juice of the three jet boats to send out the emergencysignal that you picked up." He turned to face the little man with theglasses. "I had a choice of either saving about fifteen passengers onthe jet boats, and leaving the others, or take a chance on savingeverybody by using the power to send out a message."

  "Ummmmh," said Strong to himself. He felt confidence in a young spacemanwho would take a decision like that on himself. "What was that Geigercount again?" he asked.

  "Must be better than fourteen hundred by now," answered James.

  Strong made a quick decision.

  "All right," he said, tight-lipped, "abandon ship! How many passengers?"

  "Seventeen women and twenty-three men including the crew," repliedJames.

  "Does that include yourself?" asked Strong.

  "No," came the reply.

  Strong felt better. Any man who would not count himself on a list tosurvive could be counted on in any emergency.

  "We'll take four women at a time in each jet boat first," said Strong."James, you and I will operate the jet boats and ferry the passengers tothe _Polaris_. Tom, you and Roger and Astro get everybody aboard theship ready to leave."

  "Yes, sir," said Tom.

  "We haven't much time. The reaction mass is building fast. Come on,James, we have to rip out the seats in the jet boats to get five peoplein them." Strong turned back into the jet-boat launching well.

  "May I have the passenger lists, Captain?" asked Tom, turning to James.The young skipper handed him a clip board with the names of thepassengers and crew and followed Strong.

  "We will abandon ship in alphabetical order," announced Tom. "Miss NancyAnderson?"

  A young girl about sixteen stepped forward.

  "Just stand there by the hatch, Miss," said Tom. He glanced at the nextname. "Miss Elizabeth Anderson?" Another girl, looking very much likethe first, stepped forward and stood beside her sister.

  "Mrs. John Bailey?" called Tom.

  A gray-haired woman of about sixty stepped forward.

  "Pardon me, sir, but I would rather remain with my husband, and go laterwith him."

  "No--no, Mary," pleaded an elderly man, holding his arm around hershoulder. "Go now. I'll be all right. Won't I, sir?" He looked at Tomanxiously.

  "I can't be sure, sir," said Tom. He found it difficult to control hisvoice as he looked down at the old couple, who couldn't weigh more thantwo hundred pounds between them.

  "I'm going to stay," said the woman firmly.

  "As you wish, Madam," said Tom. He looked at the list again. "Mrs. HelenCarson?"

  A woman about thirty-five, carrying a young boy about four years old,stepped out and took her place beside the two sisters.

  In a moment, the first eight passengers were assembled into two groups,helped into space suits, with a special portable suit for the littleboy, and loaded in the jet boats. The red light over the hatch glowed,then went out. The first load of passengers had left the _Lady Venus_.

  "They're pretty jumpy," Roger whispered, nodding toward the remainingpassengers.

  "Yeah," answered Tom. "Say, where's Astro?"

  "I don't know. Probably went to take a look at the jet boats to see ifone could be repaired so we'd have a third ferry running."

  "Good idea," said Tom. "See if you can't cheer these people up, Roger.Tell them stories or sing songs--or better yet, get them to sing. Try tomake them forget they're sitting on an atom bomb!"

  "I can't forget it myself," said Roger. "How can I make them forget it?"

  "Try anything. I'll go see if I can't give Astro a hand!"

  Roger turned to face the assembled passengers and smiled. All aroundhim in the main passenger lounge, the frightened men and women sathuddled together in small groups, staring at him, terror in their eyes.

  "Ladieeees and Gentlemen," began Roger. "You are now going to beentertained by the loudest, corniest and most miserable voice in theuniverse. I'm going to _sing_!"

  He waited for a laugh, but there was only a slight stir as thepassengers shifted nervously in their seats.

  Shrugging his shoulders, Roger took a deep breath and began to sing. Heonly knew one song and he sang it with gusto.

  "From the rocket fields of the Academy To the far-flung stars of outer space, We're Space Cadets training to be...."

  On the lower deck of the passenger ship, Tom smiled as he faintly heardhis unit-mate's voice. He made his way to the jet-boat deck of the _LadyVenus_ and opened the hatch.

  "Hey, Astro," he called. There wasn't any answer.

  He stepped inside and looked around the empty deck. Walking over to oneof the jet boats, he saw evidence of Al James's attempts to send outemergency signal messages. He called again. "Hey, Astro--where are you?"Still no answer. He noticed that one of the jet boats was missing. Therewere three still on the deck, but an empty catapult for the fourth madeTom think that Astro might have repaired the fourth and taken it out inspace for a test. The light over the escape hatch indicated that someonehad gone out. It was odd, thought Tom, for Astro to go out alone. Butthen he shrugged, remembering how Astro could lose himself in his workand forget everything but the job at hand. He climbed back to thepassenger deck.

  When Tom opened the hatch to the main lounge, the sight that filled hiseyes was so funny that, even in the face of danger, he had to laugh.Roger, with his hands clasped behind his back, was down on his kneestrying to push a food pellet across the deck with his nose. The wholepassenger lounge echoed with hysterical laughter.

  Suddenly the laughter was stopped by the sound of the bell over theair-lock hatch.
Strong and James had returned to ferry more passengersto the _Polaris_. Immediately the fun was forgotten and the passengerscrowded around for the roll call.

  "Where's Astro?" asked Strong, as he reappeared in the lounge.

  "He's down on the jet-boat deck, sir, trying to fix another one,"replied Tom. "I think he's out testing one now."

  "Good," said Strong. "How're they taking it?" He indicated thepassengers.

  "Roger's been keeping them amused with games and songs, sir," said Tomproudly.

  "They'll need it. I don't mind telling you, Corbett," said Strong, "it'sa wonder to me this tub hasn't blown up already."

  In less than a half hour, the forty passengers and crewmen of the _LadyVenus_ were transferred in alphabetical order to the waiting _Polaris_.Roger kept up a continual line of patter and jokes and stories, making afool of himself, but keeping the remaining passengers amused and theirminds off the dangers of the rapidly building reaction mass.

  "Just one passenger left," said Strong, "with myself and you three. Ithink we can squeeze five in that jet boat and get off here."

  "That's for me," said Roger. "I'm the only man in the whole universethat's ever played to a packed house sitting on top of an atomic bomb!"

  "All right, Barrymore," said Strong, "get aboard!"

  "Say," asked Tom, "where's Astro?"

  "I don't know," replied Roger. "I thought you went to find him half anhour ago!"

  "I did," said Tom, "but when I went to the jet-boat deck, one wasmissing. So I figured he had fixed one and taken it out for a test."

  "Then he's probably outside in space now!" said Strong. Suddenly theSolar Guard captain caught himself. "Wait a minute! How many jet boatswere on the deck, Corbett?"

  "Three, sir."

  "Then Astro is still aboard the ship," said Strong. "He couldn't havetaken a boat. James told me he couldn't repeat the message he sent outbecause he only had the power of _three_ jet boats. One was damaged andleft behind at Atom City!"

  "By the rings of Saturn," said Roger, "a coupla million miles from home,sitting on an atomic bomb and that big Venusian hick decides to playhide-and-seek!"

  "Never mind the cracks," said Strong. "We've got to find him!"

  "Captain," said the little man with the round face and glasses who hadfirst spoken to Strong when he came aboard, "just because my namehappens to be Zewbriski, and I have to be the very last to get on a jetboat, I don't see why I have to wait any longer. I demand to be takenoff this ship immediately! I refuse to risk my life waiting around forsome foolish cadet!"

  "That foolish cadet, Mr. Zewbriski," said Strong coldly, "is a humanbeing like you and we don't budge until we find him!"

  At that moment the bell began to ring, indicating that the outer hatchto the air lock was opening.

  "By the craters of Luna," said Tom, "that must be Astro now!"

  "But if it is," said Roger, "how did he get out there?"

  From behind them, the hatch to the inner air lock opened and Al Jamesstepped through.

  "Captain Strong," he said excitedly, "you've got to come quickly. Someof the crewmen have broken into your arms locker and taken paralo-rayguns. They threaten to leave you here if you don't return to the shipwithin five minutes. They're afraid the _Venus_ might blow up and damagethe _Polaris_ at this close range." The young skipper, his red-brownuniform torn and dirty, looked at the Solar Guard captain with wild-eyeddesperation.

  "They can't leave us here," whimpered Zewbriski. "We'll all be blown tobits!"

  "Shut up!" barked Strong. He turned to Tom and Roger. "I can do one oftwo things," he said. "I can order you to return to the _Polaris_ now,with James and myself, or you can volunteer to stay behind and searchfor Astro."

  Without looking at Roger, Tom answered, "We'll stay, sir. And we won'thave to search for him. I think I know where he is."

  "Now that I think about it," replied Strong, "I guess there is only oneplace he could be."

  "Yes, sir," said Tom, "down on the power deck trying to save this wagon!Come on, Roger! Let's get him!"