CHAPTER 14
"Stand clear!"
Professor Hemmingwell's voice rang over the roar of activity in thehangar as the huge new control panel was lifted along the hull to alarge hole that had been cut into the side of the experimental ship atthe control-deck level.
"Easy does it!" called the professor, standing on the deck and peeringthrough the hole. "Careful now!"
Now even with the hole, the panel was slowly pulled into the ship by theworkers. Even Major Connel and Steve Strong lent a hand, setting it intoplace. When it had been securely anchored, a team of technicians swarmedover the panel to begin the intricate work of connecting all thecontrols to the various parts of the ship, and Hemmingwell and the twoSolar Guard officers stepped back to watch them.
"This puts us back on schedule now," said the professor, turning,red-eyed and tired, to Connel and Strong. "It was a good idea of yours,Steve, to prefabricate the panel and have it put into position all atonce. If we had tried to install it piece by piece, we'd be weeksbehind."
"Good work, Steve," Connel chimed in.
Strong merely nodded his thanks. He was tired. More tired than he hadever been in his life. Not only had he supervised the construction ofthe new control panel, but he had been working on a special report topresent to the Solar Guard Review Board requesting another trial forAstro and Roger. And he had spent every spare minute haunting the MPheadquarters of the Solar Guard for word of Tom. So, he accepted thecompliments of Connel and Professor Hemmingwell with little enthusiasm.
"You better get some rest, Steve," said Connel, aware of Strong'sattitude. "I know how hard you've been working these past few days. Soknock off and I want your word that you will go back to your quartersand get some sleep!"
"Sorry, Major," replied Strong, "I can't give you my word about that."
Connel's face darkened with anger. "All right! Then do what you want.Get out!" he shouted.
Strong merely nodded and left the ship.
Outside the hangar, he stopped suddenly when he saw Dave Barret step offthe slidewalk from the Academy and stride toward him. The young captainclenched his teeth in sudden anger. He had talked to Astro and Rogermany times since they had been put on the work gang and they swore thattheir story of their ill-fated flight was true. Strong could not believethat they would lie. He had been too close to them and had, many times,put his very life into their hands. But there seemed to be no way tobreak Barret's story. He waited for the man to pass him.
"Good morning, Strong," said Barret, as though surprised. "Well, how'sthe genius? Get the control panel in this morning?"
Barret was annoyed that Strong's plan to replace the control panel hadbeen accepted over his own. The captain returned his cold stare andnodded.
"It's in," he said, and then added, "I would like to ask you a fewquestions, Barret."
"Sorry, haven't got time!" replied Barret curtly as he tried to brushpast Strong. But the young captain grabbed him by the arm and spun himaround.
"Make time!" he snarled. "I want the straight story about that so-calledtest flight!"
Barret glared at Strong. "I suggest that you let go of my arm, Captain,"he threatened, "or I will be forced to bring charges of assault againstyou!"
Realizing an open fight would be useless, Strong released his grip onthe man's arm and turned away quickly. Barret's mocking laugh echoed inhis ears as he stepped on the slidewalk and glided away toward theAcademy. Behind him, the big hangar buzzed with the sound of men workingin high gear again. The mighty ship and its specially designed equipmentseemed at last to be ready for testing. But Strong felt none of theexcitement. It mattered little to the Solar Guard captain whether theproject was a success or failure. His thoughts were of the three cadetsin his unit, who were, first and foremost, his responsibility.
With double guards around the hangar area and even tighter securityrestrictions than before, the unknown saboteur was unable to attack theprecious ship again. But he struck elsewhere. The single track monorailthat Barret had run into the area was blocked by an explosion in themouth of the tunnel. Nearly a thousand tons of rock and earth had fallenon the hangar side, blocking delivery of vital equipment.
With powerful earth-moving machinery, the tunnel was cleared of theheavy rocks and dirt, and all that remained was a general cleaning up,and the enlisted man's work gangs had been assigned to that job.
Nearly a hundred tough, battle-scarred spacemen from the enlisted ranksof the Solar Guard worked in the area, stripped to the waist, theirbodies burned brown from the sun. Sent to the work gang for pettyoffenses, rather than for criminal acts, the enlisted men as a whole didnot mind the work. They were under guard, watched by a squad of SpaceMarines armed with paralo-ray guns, but there was no attempt to make themen feel as if they were criminals. Most of the sentences were short,usually running from five to thirty days, with some extreme casesserving as long as three months. But no one had ever remembered a SpaceCadet working on the squad, and particularly for six months! It was anextraordinary situation and the guards, as well as the men on the workdetails, sympathized with Roger and Astro. They realized that nothingreally serious had been done, or the boys would have been sent to theprison asteroid, where all true criminals were sent. So a true spirit ofcomradeship developed between the cadets and the enlisted men.
When Captain Strong arrived to speak to Roger and Astro, he found themin the tunnel, working as a team of a shoveler and a sweeper. Rogerwould sweep up a little pile of dirt and Astro would shovel it into ahandcart nearby.
"All right, you Venusian pug!" bawled Roger. "Police the joint!"
Astro scooped up the little pile of dirt neatly and deposited it in thetruck.
"Manning, what made the spaceship cross to Pluto?" he asked.
"To get to the other side of the universe," said Roger.
"All right," interrupted Strong. "If you two will cut out the comedy,I'd like to talk to you."
"Captain Strong!" yelled Roger. "Hey, fellas! Look!" He turned to theother men on the work gang. "We're special characters! See? We havevisitors during working hours!"
Strong laughed with the others, and then motioning for Roger and Astroto follow him, walked to an isolated corner of the tunnel.
"How is it going?" he asked.
"Fine, sir," said Roger. "We have no complaints."
"Yeah," chimed in Astro with a grin. "The food is better here than atthe Academy!"
"Give this Venusian bum a good kitchen and he'd go to the Rock!" Rogerlaughed.
Strong noted their lean, brown bodies and decided that a little work inthe sun with a pick and shovel had done them good. But six months of itwould interfere with their work at the Academy and could hold them back.
He told them of the work he had been doing to have their case renewed bythe Solar Guard Review Board and asked them for any special details intheir relationship with Barret that might lend weight to his plea foroutright pardon, rather than just a commutation of sentence. He wantedit clear on their records that they had been accused unjustly, and that,therefore, their sentence was an error.
But neither Astro nor Roger could add anything to what the young captainalready knew. He finally turned to leave, cautioning them both to stayout of trouble, especially Roger.
"Manning," he warned, "your mouth is your big weakness. I'm detailingAstro to make sure it stays closed!"
"You see?" gloated Astro. "You see who the captain trusts!"
"Listen, you big bum!" began Roger angrily, then stopped and grinned."O.K., Captain Strong, I'll keep on the ball."
"You'd better," Astro interrupted, "or I'll stand you on your head!"
With a pat on the back, Strong left them. Just as he was about to leavethe tunnel, Roger called after him:
"Have you heard anything about Tom, sir?"
"Not a word," replied Strong grimly. "So far as I know, he's still onMars."
"A--a fugitive?" asked Astro.
"Yes, Astro. The Solar Guard is still looking for him."
&
nbsp; Strong watched the two cadets turn back to their work dejectedly, andthen, sighing with weariness, he headed back to the slidewalk. In themorning he would check the reports of the Security Section for word ofTom. Then he squared his shoulders determinedly. He would check themnow!
He could not go to bed yet. Not while Tom was still missing and whileAstro and Roger were on the work gang. He would not sleep until theywere free and the _Polaris_ unit was together again out in space!
* * * * *
Tom Corbett was also unable to sleep. He had spent the night in thevillage hotel tossing and turning, his mind seething with plans to aidRoger and Astro.
Finally, at dawn, he got up and sneaked out of the hotel. Avoiding theconvenience of the monorail, he struck out on foot over the ruggedcountryside for Space Academy. He had a plan, but the plan required thathe talk to Roger and Astro first, and then to Captain Strong, but it hadto be done secretly. He realized that his knowledge of the identity ofthe saboteur would be a more effective weapon if everyone still believedhe was on Mars.
After getting close enough to the Academy to use the slidewalk systemcrisscrossing the huge area, he loitered on the crowded platforms whichconnected the hangar, the Academy, and the spaceport. He kept his coatcollar high and his civilian hat pulled low over his eyes.
He was on the main slidewalk, moving toward the Tower building, when hiseyes picked out the familiar close-cropped blond hair of Roger and theunmistakable bulk of Astro on the walk leading to the hangar. Changingat the slidewalk intersection, he took off after them, hoping he wouldnot be noticed in the crowd of civilian workers. Roger and Astro werecarrying tools over their shoulders and were lagging behind the mainbody of workers moving toward a huge tunnel opening. Tom saw his chanceand moved up quickly beside them.
"Keep walking and don't show surprise!" he whispered sharply.
But it was too much to ask. Astro and Roger jumped in surprise and letout involuntary shouts of joy, which attracted the attention of theguards. They noticed the stranger in civilian clothes and stared athim.
"Tom!" exclaimed Roger. "What the devil are you--?"
"Sh!" hissed Tom. "We haven't got much time." He saw one of the guardsturn and stare at him. "Listen to me," he continued quickly. "I've gotimportant dope about the saboteur!"
"How?" gasped Astro.
"Never mind," replied Tom. "Now, to nail him, I've got to get him intothe act! I need proof!"
"But who is it?" asked Roger.
"I can't tell you now. Here comes the guard. Are you going to be workingaround here long?"
"At least another three days," said Roger. "But who--?"
Roger noticed the guard move up to them and he suddenly straightened upand snorted derisively, "Yeah. But why a guy should want to join theSolar Guard is more than I can see. You must be wacky, mister!"
He and Astro walked away, and after a hesitant look at Tom, the guardfollowed the two cadets. Tom boarded the slidewalk heading back towardthe Academy. So far, so good. He knew where his unit mates were, but upahead, in the gleaming Tower of Galileo, was his second target, CaptainStrong. His skipper had to listen to him, had to be sympathetic and helphim catch the saboteur. It was the only way Tom could clear his own nameand free Roger and Astro.