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text-indent:-2em; } - dl.blist, dl.biblio { margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto; max-width:25em; } -</style> -</head> -<body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Young Stowaways in Space, by Richard Mace Elam - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Young Stowaways in Space - -Author: Richard Mace Elam - -Release Date: April 14, 2017 [EBook #54547] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK YOUNG STOWAWAYS IN SPACE *** - - - - -Produced by Stephen Hutcheson and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - -</pre> - -<div id="cover" class="img"> -<img id="coverpage" src="images/cover.jpg" alt="Young Stowaways in Space" width="500" height="725" /> -</div> -<div class="img" id="i01"> -<img src="images/i01.jpg" alt="(uncaptioned)" width="464" height="799" /> -</div> -<div class="box"> -<h1>YOUNG -<br />STOWAWAYS -<br />IN SPACE</h1> -<p class="center">By RICHARD M. ELAM -<br /><span class="small">Author of Young Readers Science Fiction Stories, etc.</span></p> -<div class="img" id="i02"> -<img src="images/i02.jpg" alt="(uncaptioned)" width="400" height="276" /> -</div> -<p class="center"><span class="smaller">ILLUSTRATED BY GERALD MC CANN</span></p> -<p class="tbcenter"><i>LANTERN PRESS, INC., PUBLISHERS</i> -<br /><span class="small">257 PARK AVENUE SOUTH -<br />NEW YORK 10, N. Y.</span></p> -</div> -<p class="center small">Copyright © 1960 by Lantern Press, Inc.</p> -<p class="center smaller">LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOG CARD NUMBER: 60-13785</p> -<p class="center smaller">PUBLISHED SIMULTANEOUSLY IN CANADA BY -<br />GEORGE J. MC LEOD, LTD., TORONTO</p> -<p class="center smaller">MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA</p> -<div class="img"><img src="images/chapter.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="35" /></div><h2>CONTENTS</h2> -<dl class="toc"> -<dt><a href="#c1">1. Space Ship <i>Orion</i></a> 9</dt> -<dt><a href="#c2">2. Blast-off</a> 16</dt> -<dt><a href="#c3">3. Stowaways in Space</a> 25</dt> -<dt><a href="#c4">4. Adrift in the Deeps</a> 36</dt> -<dt><a href="#c5">5. A “Flying Tin Can”</a> 47</dt> -<dt><a href="#c6">6. A <i>Carefree</i> World</a> 56</dt> -<dt><a href="#c7">7. A Shock in the Night</a> 65</dt> -<dt><a href="#c8">8. Garry Has a Scare</a> 75</dt> -<dt><a href="#c9">9. Satellite Zone</a> 85</dt> -<dt><a href="#c10">10. The Lady Goes Wild</a> 94</dt> -<dt><a href="#c11">11. A Friend Is Lost</a> 107</dt> -<dt><a href="#c12">12. A Startling Discovery</a> 116</dt> -<dt><a href="#c13">13. Abandon Ship!</a> 124</dt> -<dt><a href="#c14">14. First Hours on Luna</a> 133</dt> -<dt><a href="#c15">15. A Dark Outlook</a> 142</dt> -<dt><a href="#c16">16. A Sad Parting</a> 150</dt> -<dt><a href="#c17">17. Dark Peril</a> 160</dt> -<dt><a href="#c18">18. Strange Discovery</a> 169</dt> -<dt><a href="#c19">19. A New Life</a> 181</dt> -</dl> -<h1 title="">YOUNG -<br />STOWAWAYS -<br />IN SPACE</h1> -<div class="pb" id="Page_9">9</div> -<div class="img"><img src="images/chapter.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="35" /></div><h2 id="c1"><br />1. SPACE SHIP <i>ORION</i></h2> -<p>The orphanage dormitory was locked in the stillness -of slumber. Light from the full moon filtered -through the large window which ran the entire -length of the boys sleeping quarters.</p> -<p>Twenty cots filled the dormitory, and all but one -held its sleeper. Dark-haired Garry Coleman was -standing beside his cot, quietly dressing. Every now -and then he would cast an anxious glance toward -the darkened door at the end of the dormitory. -Above all, he must not disturb the charge-of-quarters, -or all would be lost.</p> -<p>As he sat on the edge of the cot to put on his -shoes, Garry heard a squeak from one of the cots. -He stiffened, his heart thumping fearfully.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_10">10</div> -<p>Then Garry breathed easily. He saw that it was -only Patch, who occupied the bunk next to his.</p> -<p>“Hey, Garry, where are you going?” Patch asked -interestedly.</p> -<p>Patch was short and towheaded. He was Garry’s -best friend, and so Garry did not mind telling him.</p> -<p>“I’m going to the spaceport and watch the <i>Orion</i> -blast off for the Von Braun Space Station. Want to -go?”</p> -<p>“Sure thing!” Patch said.</p> -<p>“You’ll have to take the same chance that I do,” -Garry reminded him.</p> -<p>“That’s okay by me.” Patch grinned. “If we do -get caught, we’ll just be restricted to the grounds -for two weeks. That won’t keep us out of the -science lab where we spend a lot of time anyhow.”</p> -<p>It was a warm April night. The sky was thick -with stars as bright as diamond dust.</p> -<p>“I’d give anything to be out there in the deeps -among the planets,” Garry said, as they hurried -across the newly sprouting lawn of the orphanage -a few minutes later. “The life of a spaceman must -be the most exciting thing in the world.”</p> -<p>“Yeah,” Patch agreed. “But I guess we’ll never -make it, Garry, at least not for many years. And -they say you sure have to know science and navigation. -That takes a lot of study.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_11">11</div> -<p>“I wouldn’t care what it takes,” Garry said. “I’d -be willing to study for as long as it would take, because -the reward would be worth the effort.”</p> -<p>Their rapid steps took them onto one of the -main streets of the city where moving sidewalks, -called “Ped-A-Rides,” were operating. The sidewalk -was a continuous belt, about six feet wide, and -there were benches located at intervals upon it -where the pedestrians could sit. A railing was on -both sides of the Ped-A-Ride, but at intervals of -about half a block there were gates where pedestrians -could enter.</p> -<p>Patch and Garry went to the nearest gate, and -Garry pulled the lever which slowed the sidewalk -down so that they could board it. When Garry had -deposited their fare in the meter, a bar slid away so -that they could enter. It was about 2230 o’clock, an -hour and a half before midnight, and not many -people were on the Ped-A-Ride.</p> -<p>The boys took seats, and the sidewalk carried -them along into the night.</p> -<p>As the Ped-A-Ride topped the crest of a hill, -Garry pointed into the distance.</p> -<p>“There she is, Patch—the <i>Orion</i>, smoking and -straining like a race horse, just as if she can’t wait -to get going!”</p> -<p>“She sure is a beauty,” Patch agreed. “The earth-bound -ships are a whole lot trimmer and better -looking than the ships that never touch down.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_12">12</div> -<p>“The earth-bound ships have to be streamlined -so that they can slide smoothly through the earth’s -atmosphere,” Garry said, “but the ships that remain -in space look like a bunch of globes and girders, -because they never meet the friction of any planet’s -atmosphere and they don’t need the sturdiness and -rocket power.”</p> -<p>Patch laughed. “You sound like one of our -schoolbooks, Garry,” he said.</p> -<p>As the Ped-A-Ride neared the spaceport, the -brilliant lights of the busy area merged into a hazy -glare that brightened the night until it was almost -as light as day. The slim prow of the <i>Orion</i> reached -higher into the sky than any other object on the -vast field, even loftier than the giant control tower.</p> -<p>“They say the <i>Orion</i> is more space scarred than -any other ship in the Space Service,” Garry remarked. -“Meteor dust has grooved her sides so -much that they look like the scratches on a rifle -bullet.”</p> -<p>“I knew she was one of the oldest crafts in the -Service,” Patch said. “I guess she’s carried many a -person to the Von Braun Station on their way to -Luna and the other planets.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_13">13</div> -<p>The Ped-A-Ride had nearly reached the gate of -the spaceport when Garry said to his friend, -“Patch, we’d better move down among those people -ahead of us. It looks like they’re going to get -off at the port.”</p> -<p>“Why?”</p> -<p>“If one of the port police spots us, he might get -suspicious seeing a couple of kids alone at this time -of night. If we mingle with the crowd, the police -may think we are with them.”</p> -<p>They got up and began walking forward along -the moving platform. Then they took seats behind -a man who wore the uniform of the Space Service. -He had several bags, and it seemed likely that he -was going to board the <i>Orion</i>.</p> -<p>As the Ped-A-Ride neared the port gate, Garry -closely studied the stalwart young man seated before -them. Garry wondered at the many experiences -that must have been encountered by this -spaceman during his career.</p> -<p>Garry leaned over and touched the spaceman on -the shoulder.</p> -<p>“Excuse me, Sir,” he said. “Are you boarding the -<i>Orion</i>?”</p> -<p>Garry saw a pleasant but deeply lined face -turned upward toward his own.</p> -<p>“Yes,” the astronaut replied, then asked, “Are -you?”</p> -<p>“Er, no, Sir,” Garry replied. “We—my friend and -I—we just want to see her blast off.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_14">14</div> -<p>The spaceman smiled. “Guess you are pretty interested -in space to be coming all the way to the -port just to see an old crate like the <i>Orion</i> blast off.”</p> -<p>“Yes, we are, Sir,” Garry replied. “I’m very interested -in it. I hope to be a spaceman someday.”</p> -<p>“I think you will be, too,” the man said confidently. -“I can see the enthusiasm in your eyes.”</p> -<p>“Thanks,” Garry returned. “Have you made -many trips spaceward?”</p> -<p>“A dozen or so,” was the reply. “The number is -not important, though, you must understand. Usually, -one voyage can last quite a while.”</p> -<p>The spaceman extended a big, sunburned hand -to Garry. “I’m First Space Officer Mulroy. What’s -your name?”</p> -<p>“Garry, Sir. Garry Coleman. My friend here is -Patrick Foster, but he’s called Patch for short.”</p> -<p>As the Ped-A-Ride neared the gate of the spaceport, -Garry had an idea by which he and Patch -might get inside without being questioned by the -port police.</p> -<p>“Mr. Mulroy,” Garry said, “I notice that you -have some baggage. I wonder if Patch and I could -help you carry it—maybe aboard the <i>Orion</i>.”</p> -<p>The officer smiled. “You want to see what she -looks like, eh? Okay, it’s a deal.”</p> -<p>“Thank you, Sir,” Garry said.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_15">15</div> -<p>Presently Officer Mulroy stood up. “Here we are, -fellows,” he said. “Let’s get our things together -quickly. I can’t afford to miss my blast-off on the -<i>Orion</i>. I have a sailing date for Mars in a few weeks, -and the stars wait for no man!”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_16">16</div> -<div class="img"><img src="images/chapter.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="35" /></div><h2 id="c2"><br />2. BLAST-OFF</h2> -<p>Once inside the gate, Mr. Mulroy spoke to a uniformed -officer, who saluted. The officer turned a -tiny dial on a lapel button he wore and spoke into -it. Garry knew this to be a subminiature radio -transmitter which was in wide use.</p> -<p>Presently, a square little “T-Car,” or tote car, -drove up. It was painted green and white, streamlined, -and had seats inside. It had a convertible -top which was opened now because of the pleasant -weather.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_17">17</div> -<p>The baggageman put the spaceman’s things in -the compartment, then invited his passengers to -enter at the door he held open. Garry and Patch -felt very important as Officer Mulroy motioned -them in ahead of himself. They felt even more important -as they sank down into the soft seats and -were joined a moment later by this high-ranking -officer of the Space Service.</p> -<p>The swift little car whisked them off to the Operations -Building, to which Officer Mulroy had to -report before his flight.</p> -<p>When the baggage had been unloaded outside -and the T-Car had moved off, the spaceman said to -the boys, “Wait out here, until I sign up and get my -instructions. Then we’ll carry my things aboard the -<i>Orion</i>.”</p> -<p>While they waited, they turned their attention -to the space craft some distance away. Its blue, -satiny sides reflected the glow of thousands of -lights on the field. Red smoke still curled up into -the night, warning of the approach of blast-off time. -And yet there was still a little while to go, for the -spiderwebs of the gantry cranes still hugged the -sides of the three-stage space vessel. Workmen -were swarming all over the platforms, making last-minute -checks on the ship.</p> -<p>There was a high wire fence around the <i>Orion</i> -and only one entrance through it. A uniformed official -was checking tickets as the passengers went -through the gate. The official checked Officer Mulroy’s -ticket, and Mr. Mulroy told him it would be -all right for the boys to help him carry his baggage -aboard.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_18">18</div> -<p>The boys’ new friend took them down some steps -into a concrete tunnel that led to the launching pad. -On the way they stopped at a little room where -Mr. Mulroy was weighed.</p> -<p>“Weight is a very important factor on a space -ship,” Mr. Mulroy said, as they were on their way -again.</p> -<p>The tunnel led to an elevator that ran up the side -of the rocket. The elevator cab rose and rose, high -into the black night. Finally, Officer Mulroy pressed -a button and said this was where they were to get -off.</p> -<p>Garry and Patch followed their friend out into -a corridor of the space ship. Officer Mulroy -searched the doors they passed, then recognized -his own, Stateroom 17. He drew out a key and -unlocked the door, then preceded the boys into the -room.</p> -<p>“Gee, what a tiny room!” Patch exclaimed.</p> -<p>“It has to be this small,” Mr. Mulroy said. “Every -inch of area on a space ship is at a premium, you -know. For most travelers, the Von Braun Space Station -is only a stopover on a longer trip into space. -Sometimes the layover is for several days or even -a week or two. Since rooms aboard the space station -are very limited, most of the passengers are -quartered in staterooms in the rocket in which -they left earth.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_19">19</div> -<p>Suddenly, a voice came over a speaker in the -room: “Blast-off in ten minutes. All nonpassengers -are requested to leave the ship.”</p> -<p>“That’s us,” Garry said unhappily.</p> -<p>How he envied Officer Mulroy on his coming -trip into the deeps of space! He wanted to go so -badly that his heart ached. But he realized that not -for many years could his fondest dream come true.</p> -<p>Officer Mulroy noticed Garry’s reluctance to -leave, and placed a friendly arm around his shoulder. -“Don’t take it so hard, Garry,” he said. “Be the -very best student you can. The years will go by -fast, and then one day you will wake up to find that -you are eligible to be a spaceman.”</p> -<p>“Thanks,” Garry said, trying to smile convincingly, -although he did not feel happy. The idea of -the future did not interest him now, but only the -present, because the queen of the spaceways was -about to blast off, and he wanted so desperately -to remain aboard her.</p> -<p>“Let’s go, Garry,” Patch said. “We don’t want to -get Officer Mulroy into trouble by us being caught -aboard at blast-off.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_20">20</div> -<p>“That’s right,” Officer Mulroy said with a smile. -“Being a stowaway on a rocket is really a serious -matter. You see, for every pound of pay load on a -rocket, there must be many more pounds of fuel, -so if an extra person remained aboard, the ship -might not be able to reach its destination.”</p> -<p>“Thank you for letting us come aboard with you, -Mr. Mulroy,” Garry said. “And I’ll remember what -you told me.”</p> -<p>The space officer insisted on tipping the boys, -and it was a generous tip at that. As the two left the -room he called to them, “Good-by, fellows. I’ll send -you a post card from Mars. That’s a promise.”</p> -<p>Garry and Patch said good-by and followed the -directions that Officer Mulroy had given them for -leaving the ship.</p> -<p>Garry pressed the button of the elevator in which -they had ridden earlier. As the doors parted and -he and Patch went in, he said to his friend, “Gee, -I hate to leave. I don’t know what’s the matter with -me, Patch. Maybe I’m just tired of having to do the -same thing every day, over and over.”</p> -<p>“I feel kind of the same way, Garry,” Patch admitted, -“but I guess we’ll just have to sweat out the -old grind for a few more years.”</p> -<p>They had no sooner started to descend than the -light in the elevator went off, and then the elevator -itself stopped.</p> -<p>“Hey, what’s going on!” Garry exclaimed.</p> -<p>“The power’s off!” Patch said.</p> -<p>Presently, the light came on again, and the boys -felt a lot better.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_21">21</div> -<p>“Whew, for a minute I was scared!” Patch said.</p> -<p>“Me too. Hey, we’re still not moving, though!” -Garry pressed harder on the button, but the elevator -refused to move.</p> -<p>“We’re stuck here, Garry!” Patch burst out.</p> -<p>Garry started banging furiously on the walls of -the elevator. “We’ve just <i>got</i> to make ourselves -heard, Patch!” he cried.</p> -<p>The din was very loud in the cramped compartment, -as both boys hammered on the wall.</p> -<p>No one came to their rescue, but then a voice -spoke over the public-address speaker in the ceiling -of the elevator: “Don’t be alarmed, folks. A -short circuit in the fuel-pump relay caused us to -lose electric power momentarily. But everything -has been restored to normalcy. Warning: Three -minutes to blast-off.”</p> -<p>“It <i>hasn’t</i> been restored!” Garry burst out desperately.</p> -<p>The boys pounded on the metal walls until their -knuckles hurt.</p> -<p>In a final desperate action, Garry slammed his -closed fist against the stubborn power button. Instantly, -he felt the elevator throb underfoot and -begin to descend once more.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_22">22</div> -<p>“Thank goodness!” Garry breathed prayerfully. -“But we’ve still got to hurry in order to get off in -time! No telling how long we’ve been stuck in this -thing!”</p> -<p>When the elevator stopped, the doors slid open -and the boys ran out. But they found themselves in -a strange corridor.</p> -<p>“We’re not out of the ship yet!” Garry exclaimed. -“We’ve only gone down a deck or two. -The elevator must still be fouled up.”</p> -<p>“What’ll we do now?” Patch asked in desperation.</p> -<p>“Go back into the elevator and try to get to the -ground. We’ll have to hurry! The elevator is part -of the gantry crane, and it’ll be rolled away any -moment!”</p> -<p>They rushed back to the closed doors of the -elevator. But a sign in red lights on the door read: -“DO NOT ENTER. ELEVATOR REMOVED.”</p> -<p>“They’ve already taken it away!” Patch said in -dismay.</p> -<p>“We’ve got to find a place to strap down, or every -bone in our bodies will be broken on the blast-off!” -Garry said.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_23">23</div> -<p>A speaker along the corridor next gave out with -the dread words: “Blast-off in ninety seconds, -ladies and gentlemen. Secure your seat harness and -listen to the instructions of the stewards. Failure -to obey directions could cost you your lives. In the -first few moments of acceleration in a rocket ship, -there is a crushing blow to the human body. This -jolt will occur twice more as the second and third -stages blast off. For that reason, it is absolutely -necessary that everyone be strapped down securely -to his G-couch.”</p> -<p>Patch grabbed his friends arm in a fierce grip. -“Garry, we’re going to die! We’re going to die!” he -cried.</p> -<p>Garry shook off Patch and desperately began -throwing open doors along the corridor, looking -into one room after another. “There must be some -G-couches along here,” he said. “I read somewhere -that space law says there must be emergency -couches on all decks of a rocket ship.”</p> -<p>Patch tagged along after Garry, complaining. -Garry could not afford to be sympathetic now. Both -their lives depended on what he did within the next -minute.</p> -<p>Then Garry found it. Printed on the door was the -heartening word: “G-COUCHES.”</p> -<p>He flung open the door and saw a row of six S-shaped -reclining seats.</p> -<p>Garry grabbed the arm of his quaking friend in a -tight grip and told him, “Listen to me, Patch, and -do what I tell you. Jump on a couch just as fast as -you can and don’t waste a second getting those -buckles fastened across your chest, body, and legs. -Now get going!”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_24">24</div> -<p>Garry helped him along with a shove, then dove -for one of the couches close by.</p> -<p>As he hastily fastened his own straps in place, -Garry cast worried glances at his friend, who was -fumbling as best he could in his nervous state.</p> -<p>A speaker warned of the passing moments: “Zero -minus twenty seconds, nineteen, eighteen, seventeen, -sixteen....”</p> -<p>A few seconds more, and Garry’s straps were securely -fastened. He twisted his head to see how -Patch was doing. Patch had almost all his straps in -place, but he could not seem to get the chest -buckle tightened.</p> -<p>“Hurry, Patch, please hurry!” Garry cried.</p> -<p>“I—I’m doing the best I can,” Patch said, and -Garry could see the streams of sweat trickling down -his round face.</p> -<p>Then, with a final lucky tug, Patch had it. Turning -his weakly smiling face to Garry, he murmured, -“Garry, I guess I just barely did....”</p> -<p>Garry never heard the rest of the words, for at -that moment the <i>Orion</i> shook herself like a big dog, -began a slow tug upward into the black night, and -then, a few seconds later, with a deafening roar -tore free of her earthly bonds and flung herself -into space.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_25">25</div> -<div class="img"><img src="images/chapter.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="35" /></div><h2 id="c3"><br />3. STOWAWAYS IN SPACE</h2> -<p>Garry had read about the rough effects of blast-off, -but the real thing was even worse than he had imagined. -He felt like one of those characters in movie -cartoons who gets flattened to the thickness of -paper when run over. His lungs felt as though they -had collapsed, and he could suck in only the barest -trace of breath.</p> -<p>But the discomfort did not last long. His body -seemed to fill out like an inflated balloon, although -he still felt the ache of having been nearly -squashed. His stomach felt as though it had been -stirred up with an egg beater, and his head swam.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_26">26</div> -<p>But no sooner had he recovered from the first -violent thrust than it came again as the rocket’s second -stage began firing. Then the crushing pressure -eased once more, only to return once again as the -third stage, the occupied section of the <i>Orion</i>, began -firing away. When this force let up, Garry knew -it was the last.</p> -<p>The ship did not appear to be moving, but -Garry knew it must be traveling many thousands -of miles an hour.</p> -<p>Garry’s shaky hands groped for the belts of the -harness that snugly fitted his body. He worked the -buckles loose from his upper body and sat up on his -G-couch. He did not release his legs, because he -was already feeling the dizzying effects of weightlessness. -He looked across at Patch on the next -couch.</p> -<p>Patch was still lying flat, and his face was -pasty white. His eyes were closed, and this alarmed -Garry.</p> -<p>“Patch!” Garry called, repeating the name over -and over.</p> -<p>Patch had blacked out, but after a few minutes -he came back to consciousness.</p> -<p>“Wh—what happened?” Patch asked in a weak -voice.</p> -<p>“We’re in space, Patch,” Garry replied. “They’ll -probably think we’re stowaways and send us to -jail. Maybe Officer Mulroy will get in trouble too.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_27">27</div> -<p>But this was the least of Patch’s worries -right now. He put his hand to his head, complaining, -“Gee, I feel terrible. Everything’s going -around! And I had the worst nightmare all night -long!”</p> -<p>Garry had to grin at this. “We haven’t been here -all night, just a few minutes. It just seems like a -long time.”</p> -<p>Patch fumbled loose his upper straps and struggled -to a sitting position, but fell back down onto -his contour seat. “Wow, I can’t make it!” he said -thickly.</p> -<p>“There’s no use trying to get up,” Garry said. -“We’re weightless and would never be able to get -about. It’s funny how I wanted so terribly to go -into space, but now that I’m out here I’m not enjoying -it. I guess it’s because I’m afraid of what’s -coming.”</p> -<p>Garry wondered what they should do. Should -they turn themselves in and take their chances on -being believed that their being aboard the <i>Orion</i> -was due to an accident? But if they did this, then -Mr. Mulroy might be held responsible for not seeing -that the boys had left the ship. And yet, Garry -realized, he and Patch could not stay in hiding indefinitely. -Sooner or later they must be found out. -If they did not turn themselves in, and they were -discovered, they would surely be regarded as stowaways.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_28">28</div> -<p>Then a new fear came to Garry. What if his -and Patch’s combined weight was over the ship’s -allowable limit? What if their being aboard would -keep them from reaching the space station and, instead, -cause the earth’s gravity to pull the <i>Orion</i> -back down? In that case the two of them could -possibly cost the space-ship line a new rocket worth -millions, not to mention the lives of all the persons -aboard in case a safe landing could not be made!</p> -<p>Garry was occupied with these grave thoughts -until he heard the public-address system saying: -“We are now in braking orbit.”</p> -<p>Garry knew this meant that the ship had -reached the vicinity of the space station and was -beginning to circle the station while the braking -rockets were cut in. This procedure would slow -down the <i>Orion</i> so that she would be moving at -the same orbital speed as the space station. Then it -would be easy for her to slip into dock.</p> -<p>Garry and Patch felt the tug of the ship’s gradually -diminishing speed, but this was not nearly as -rough as the blast-off had been. As the <i>Orion</i> moved -into dock, the boys felt their weight returning. This -was due to the station’s rotation and artificial -gravity.</p> -<p>“Well, it looks like the ship has made it all right,” -Patch said, relieved. “They must not have had a -full load.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_29">29</div> -<p>The boys heard the technical language of the -docking procedure. Garry listened closely, even -though he could not understand much of it. But -this was all part of the spaceman’s education, and -he was eager to learn it, even at such a crucial moment -as this.</p> -<p>Yet as he listened, he had another unpleasant -thought. Now that he and Patch had the blot of -“stowaway” against them, would this misconduct -prevent them from realizing their dream of being -future spacemen?</p> -<p>Finally, the ship’s motion stopped altogether. -The <i>Orion</i> had nestled into her dock on the big Von -Braun Space Station, named after the great space -scientist of the past century.</p> -<p>“Now where do we go from here?” Patch asked, -as the two removed their harness straps and got -to their feet. “Garry, I’m scared, plenty scared! -Wow, I’m a little wobbly too!”</p> -<p>“Let’s stay put until we hear further announcements -over the speaker,” Garry suggested. “It’ll -give us time to think this through a little longer.”</p> -<p>“We’re just stalling, that’s what we’re doing, -aren’t we, Garry? We don’t want to turn ourselves -in because we’re afraid of what will happen to us,” -Patch said.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_30">30</div> -<p>Garry hung his head. “I guess that’s what it does -amount to, Patch. I keep thinking what this will do -to our hopes of being spacemen. I’m afraid we’ll -never make it now.”</p> -<p>They stayed in hiding for another half hour. -Then Garry said: “We’ve got to have something to -live on until we make up our minds what we’re -going to do, Patch. I think space ships have emergency-ration -compartments located along the corridors. -I’m in favor of looking for one.”</p> -<p>“That’s better than just waiting here and doing -nothing,” Patch agreed.</p> -<p>“I’ll look out and see if the coast is clear,” -Garry said.</p> -<p>He looked around outside and then motioned to -Patch. They started off quietly down the corridor, -but after a moment they heard footsteps approaching -from around the corner behind them.</p> -<p>“Garry, we’ve got to hide!” Patch whispered -urgently. “Somebody’s coming!”</p> -<p>Garry saw a door up ahead. “That leads into an -air lock, Patch. We may be safe in there.”</p> -<p>Garry turned a wheel on the door, and it swung -open. They found themselves in a short tunnel, at -the other end of which was another door. The air -lock was used for entering and leaving the ship -while it was in space. The spaceman would enter -the chamber and wait for the air pressure to equalize -before he left the air lock.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_31">31</div> -<p>Garry quickly turned another wheel on the inside -of the door, closing it.</p> -<p>“We can’t stay in here very long without air,” -Garry said. “The other end of this air lock probably -leads directly into the space station. Shall we try -it?”</p> -<p>“This running and hiding has got to end somewhere,” -Patch replied with discouragement. “Lead -on.”</p> -<p>Garry checked the pressure gauge on the far -door and saw that there was normal pressure on the -other side. He turned the wheel on the door, and it -swung open. The boys went through, and Garry -wheeled the door shut behind them.</p> -<p>They were in a huge enclosed dock of the space -station. Lined up ahead were several space taxis, -or fliers, which were used for trips outside the -station and also doubled as lifeboats in time of -emergency.</p> -<p>“Gee, it’s cold in here!” Patch said.</p> -<p>“The main thing, though, is that there’s no one -around,” Garry said. “It’ll give us time to collect -our thoughts.”</p> -<p>“That’s what you think,” Patch whispered, tugging -at Garry’s arm. “There come a couple of men -down that corridor across the way!”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_32">32</div> -<p>Garry moved quickly and quietly, pulling Patch -along. As the men entered the dock, the boys -ducked out of sight behind one of the space fliers.</p> -<p>The men approached the flier next to the outer -door of the dock and pressed a button on the taxi’s -surface. Its door sprang open, and the men entered -the flier.</p> -<p>They were in there for fully five minutes. During -that time, Garry began to shiver, but it was not -from fright so much as it was the coldness of the -dock. Garry felt Patch shaking beside him and -knew his friend was just as uncomfortable as he. -But they had to stay put. There was no other place -they could go at this moment.</p> -<p>Finally, the men came out of the space taxi, -closed the door, and, to the relief of Garry and -Patch, disappeared up the corridor.</p> -<p>Garry stood up and hugged himself.</p> -<p>“Garry, I—I’m freezing to death,” Patch chattered.</p> -<p>“So am I. We sure can’t stay here like this,” -Garry replied.</p> -<p>“Why don’t we try getting into one of these -ships?” Patch suggested. “Maybe they’ve got heaters -inside.”</p> -<p>Garry pressed the button of the ship which they -had been hiding behind, but the door did not open.</p> -<p>“The power is off or something,” Garry groaned.</p> -<p>“Maybe the first one will open,” Patch said. “It -worked for those men.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_33">33</div> -<p>Garry went over to the first craft and pressed the -door button. Instantly, the door sprang open. A -tiny air-lock chamber faced them.</p> -<p>“Thank goodness,” Patch murmured. “Let’s go -in.”</p> -<p>“What if the men come back?” Garry cautioned. -“They may be preparing for a trip.”</p> -<p>“There are windows facing the corridor,” Patch -said. “We can keep an eye out for them and duck -for cover again if they return. Gee, let’s try it anyhow, -Garry! I feel like a penguin that’s lost all its -feathers!”</p> -<p>Garry agreed and entered the flier, Patch climbing -in behind. A second door led from the air lock -chamber into the flier proper. Besides the pilot’s -seat, there were six other seats, three on a side. It -was warmer in here than outside, and Garry felt -heat gently blowing. This made him suspect that -the men had just turned it on and that they were -going to return for a trip in the craft.</p> -<p>“I’m afraid we won’t have long to stay in here,” -Garry told his friend and mentioned his suspicion -to him.</p> -<p>“I guess you’re right,” Patch agreed. “Where will -we go from here? Garry, I’m tired of running. And -I’m getting more scared by the minute because of -what we’re doing. Why don’t we just turn ourselves -in and face the music, whatever it is?”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_34">34</div> -<p>Through a window of the taxi, Garry was watching -the corridor for signs of the returning men. “I -guess you’re right, Patch,” he said. “We’ll give ourselves -up when those men return.”</p> -<p>“I don’t think we should wait until then,” Patch -objected. “It will go a lot easier for us if we give -ourselves up voluntarily instead of looking as if we -had been caught.”</p> -<p>Once again Garry agreed, but, as he was reaching -for the button to open the door, he heard a click.</p> -<p>“What was that?” Patch asked in alarm. “What -did you do?”</p> -<p>“Nothing,” Garry said. “Something was operating -all by itself.”</p> -<p>A soft purring sound began to be heard inside -the craft, and Garry felt the little ship vibrating -ever so softly.</p> -<p>“Patch,” Garry said tensely, “I don’t like this.” -He tried the door button, but it would not work.</p> -<p>“What’s happening?” Patch asked, and there -was fright in his voice.</p> -<p>A movement outside in the dock caught the boys’ -eyes. Through the wide front port of the ship, they -watched a big door slide open, revealing a dark air-lock -tunnel—a tunnel large enough to hold the craft -which they were occupying!</p> -<p>“Garry,” Patch repeated, “what’s happening!”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_35">35</div> -<p>Garry slumped into one of the seats, fear numbing -his heart.</p> -<p>“Now I know what kind of ship this is, Patch,” -he murmured. “It’s remote controlled, guided by -an operator inside the space station. We’re heading -straight out into space, Patch!”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_36">36</div> -<div class="img"><img src="images/chapter.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="35" /></div><h2 id="c4"><br />4. ADRIFT IN THE DEEPS</h2> -<p>Trapped within the space taxi, Garry and Patch -watched the darkness of space enlarge before their -eyes as the ship emerged from the air-lock tunnel -of the space station. The stars about them were -countless lights, some packed so closely together -that they trailed across the sky like distant streaming -veils. But the boys had no eye for their beauty -at this time.</p> -<p>“Garry,” Patch asked in a dismal voice, “what’s -going to happen to us?”</p> -<p>“As long as they have control of the ship, I guess -we’ll be all right,” Garry replied. “Maybe they are -just sending the ship out on a practice run or possibly -to pick someone up.”</p> -<p>“Pick someone up?” Patch asked, puzzled.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_37">37</div> -<p>“I was thinking of satellite workers or repairmen. -The skies out here are flooded with satellites, you -know. They must have men working on them all -the time,” Garry explained.</p> -<p>Garry heard a hissing sound. He found a slit in -the wall from which it was coming. Near the opening -was a gauge.</p> -<p>“That’s an oxygen mixture coming in,” Garry -said. “It’s probably automatic. It turns on whenever -the air pressure drops or becomes fouled.”</p> -<p>“That’s something in our favor,” Patch said -grudgingly.</p> -<p>Garry found his feet beginning to lift weightlessly -off the floor. His body sagged off balance, and -he had to hold onto a handle on one of the seats.</p> -<p>“Garry, what’ll we do?” Patch exclaimed frantically. -“We’re going weightless!”</p> -<p>“Let’s look for a wardrobe compartment,” Garry -suggested. “Since these fliers are used as lifeboats -sometimes, there must be space suits and things. -Maybe we’ll find magnetic shoes, too.”</p> -<p>“How’ll we ever get around in here to look for -anything?” Patch sputtered. By now he was floating, -his legs and arms flailing helplessly like a bug -on its back.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_38">38</div> -<p>Using the handles on the backs of the seats, Garry -worked his way across to a cabinet set in the wall. -Then he moved from the last seat handle to the -wall rail and worked himself down it to the plastic -case. Through the clear window Garry could see -space suits and accessories. He pressed a button, -and the door popped open.</p> -<p>“We’re in luck, Patch,” Garry reported. “There -are magnetic shoes in here. I hope the gravity plates -in the floor are working.”</p> -<p>Garry managed to pick up two pairs of the shoes, -tucking one pair under one arm. That left one hand -holding the second pair and the other hand free.</p> -<p>Even then, it took quite some doing for him to -work his way across to Patch, who looked like a -pennant floating in the breeze as he hung crossways -in the air, one hand tightly clutching a seat handle.</p> -<p>“Garry, I don’t feel so good,” Patch complained. -“Everything in me feels like its pushing upward. -Even my brain seems to be floating.”</p> -<p>“It’s lack of gravity doing that,” Garry said. “You -are used to gravity always pulling down on you. -When that pull is gone, it makes you feel as if your -body is moving up. At least that’s what all the books -say. And I believe them, because I feel that way -myself. Here are your shoes. They’re pretty big, but -they’ll be better than nothing.”</p> -<p>“Garry, how’ll I ever get them on?” Patch protested.</p> -<p>“I’ll hold onto you while you put them on,” Garry -offered. “That’ll make it easier—I guess.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_39">39</div> -<p>Garry got behind Patch and held him by the collar. -Then began Patch’s struggles with the shoes. -It was comical for Garry to see his friend having -such a hard time, but he knew Patch would have -the laugh on him later.</p> -<p>It took them both a good while to get the shoes -on. When the floor current of the gravity plates -finally held them down, the boys laughed at each -other in their oversized equipment.</p> -<p>“I guess we look like snowshoe rabbits with our -big feet!” Patch said with a laugh. “Good thing -those straps pulled up tight, or we’d never be able -to keep them on.”</p> -<p>The craft had been moving along smoothly, but -before long it began to shudder irregularly.</p> -<p>“The jets have cut out, Patch,” Garry said. “We’re -coasting. Without any air friction out here in space, -we <i>could</i> coast along forever.”</p> -<p>“Garry, don’t say that!” Patch gasped.</p> -<p>But Garry found out that his guess was wrong, -and he was glad that it had been. Presently, twin -jets of flame were seen pouring from the front of -the craft.</p> -<p>“Garry, we’re on fire!” Patch shouted.</p> -<p>“No, they’re the braking jets,” Garry corrected. -“We’re being slowed down, Patch! I think we’ll -find out very soon now what our destination is.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_40">40</div> -<p>“Thank goodness for that,” Patch replied. “You -know, you got me plenty worried when you said -that we might coast forever out here. Although after -about a hundred years I probably wouldn’t mind -any longer!”</p> -<p>“Look, Patch,” Garry cried. “Up ahead—a satellite! -That must be where we’re headed!”</p> -<p>As they approached, the craft still being slowed -by the braking jets, Garry and Patch took in the -scene before them. The satellite itself somewhat -resembled a giant radio speaker. Its largest area -was a huge reflecting surface, and this surface was -made up of adjustable panels that could be banked -in any direction. The boys could see around the side -of the satellite, and backing up the front broad surface -was a block-shaped structure with windows.</p> -<p>As the tiny space craft drew closer, the boys saw -a hatch open in the rear structure, and two men in -space suits emerged, holding onto hand rails on -the outside of the satellite.</p> -<p>“That’s one of the radio and TV relay satellites, -Patch,” Garry said. “There are three of them, -spaced equally around the earth, for relaying TV -and radio all over the world. Our ship has probably -been sent out to pick up these men and bring them -back to the station.”</p> -<p>“Won’t they be surprised when they see us -aboard?” Patch remarked.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_41">41</div> -<p>Garry noticed that the space taxi seemed to be -moving a little off course, and this disturbed him, -especially since one of the forward jets had cut off -but the other hadn’t.</p> -<p>The craft was veering steadily away from the -satellite and slowing rapidly. Finally, it came to a -dead stop several hundred yards from the satellite, -but then it began backing up. As the craft gained -speed in reverse, Garry and Patch were nearly -knocked off their feet from the acceleration.</p> -<p>“The front jet is propelling us backward!” Garry -cried. “There’s something wrong with the remote -control!”</p> -<p>The craft began going into a dizzy spin. The boys -had to hold on tightly to some anchored support to -keep from being flung against the wall.</p> -<p>Garry watched the satellite become lost against -the sprawling background of stars. He knew they -were hurtling farther out into space, out of control, -headed for a destination now that even the space-station -operators might not know.</p> -<p>The boys were so disheartened by the latest bad -break that, for the time being, they did not care -what happened to them. This lowering of their -spirits seemed to remind them that they were a long -time past their slumber time, and they suddenly became -very sleepy. By earth time, it would be the -dark hours before dawn.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_42">42</div> -<p>They went to sleep on their feet, because in the -zero gravity there was no need for them to lie down. -Their magnetic soles held them in place to keep -them from drifting about as they slept.</p> -<p>Garry was the first to wake up, hours later. There -was no way for him to know how much time had -passed. He woke his friend, who stretched and -yawned.</p> -<p>“I never thought I’d be able to sleep standing -up,” Patch said. “I feel like a horse.”</p> -<p>“We got a good rest,” Garry said. “I guess that’s -because of the zero gravity.”</p> -<p>Patch looked gloomily out of the front port of -the flier. “We’re still no better off than we were -before, though, Garry, but, I think we have stopped -moving.”</p> -<p>Garry shook his head. “It just seems like we’re -not moving because the stars and everything else -around us are so still. We’re moving all right—and -fast. This ship may still be moving after we’re dead, -even if we could live for a hundred years, because -there’s nothing ever to slow us down out here; that -is, unless we happened to move into the gravity -field of some planet, which would pull us down.”</p> -<p>“I knew we should have turned ourselves in when -we had the chance,” Patch said mournfully. “If we -had, we wouldn’t be in this fix now.”</p> -<p>Garry agreed. “It’s all my fault for trying to hold -out so long.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_43">43</div> -<p>“Well, too late now to do anything,” Patch said.</p> -<p>“I don’t think we should give up hope,” Garry -said. “They might still send out a ship to try to pick -up this one. They know it’s lost, but of course they -don’t know there’s anybody in it, and they may not -know where to look for it.”</p> -<p>He investigated the sloping wall between him -and the front window. The middle of it was shaped -something like an old-fashioned roll-top desk, -closed up.</p> -<p>“Hmm,” Garry thought to himself. “This ship -has been run by remote control until now, but why -shouldn’t it have controls of its own? If it does have -them, they should be right here in front of me.”</p> -<p>Garry’s hopes soared again as he ran his hands -over the light-green plastic slope in front of him.</p> -<p>“A button,” he whispered. “There must be a button -or something that opens this thing up.”</p> -<p>“Hey, what’re you mumbling about?” Patch -asked.</p> -<p>Garry was too concerned with what he was doing -to answer his friend. Suddenly, he found something -on the left side of the instrument. It was a -button. He pressed it.</p> -<p>Two covers began swinging open in front of him, -as stage curtains would do, revealing a bank of dials -and levers.</p> -<p>“Patch!” Garry shouted. “Look what!”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_44">44</div> -<p>Patch came clicking over in his magnetic shoes. -“Hey, they’re instruments for running this crate! -Why didn’t we think of looking for them before?” -he cried.</p> -<p>“Probably because we don’t know how to operate -them,” Garry replied.</p> -<p>There was a half-circle steering wheel that pulled -out, and the boys were sure what this was for.</p> -<p>“Garry,” Patch said happily, “the steering wheel—that -may be all that we’ll need! Since the ship is -moving under its own power, all we have to do is -turn her around and head back for the space station. -We can keep circling it until one of the ships -from the station intercepts us!”</p> -<p>Garry tried the wheel. It was locked tight.</p> -<p>“It’s not that easy, Patch,” he said. “First we’ve -got to find how to unlock the wheel.”</p> -<p>“That ought not to be hard,” Patch replied. “A -button or switch....”</p> -<p>They both began carefully examining the steering -column and wheel, but did not find anything -that would release the wheel. Then they went over -the console panel very closely. They found switches -and levers that could not be identified, but they decided -to try them anyhow and see what they controlled.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_45">45</div> -<p>They got no result at first, but, when the fourth -switch was thrown, the console lighted up and the -ship began to throb with a new life.</p> -<p>“That must have been one of the power levers,” -Garry said. “Look—the steering wheel is free! The -power had to be on before it would unlock the -wheel.”</p> -<p>“Garry!” Patch exclaimed, “we’re on our way! -We’re on our way.”</p> -<p>“I hope my sense of direction is correct,” Garry -said, “because I can’t read those directional meters. -I think we’ll be headed in the general direction -of the station if we make a half turn. I remember -the position of that brilliant nebula over there -and also the planet Venus.”</p> -<p>Garry was beginning to turn the wheel slowly -for their gradual turnabout in the sky when the -smell of something burning issued from the console.</p> -<p>“Hey, something seems to be shorting out,” Patch -said in alarm. “Look! There’s smoke coming from -the panel!”</p> -<p>No sooner had he spoken than there was a small -explosion inside the console, a strong odor of ozone -filled the boys’ nostrils, and all the lights went out. -But what was worse, the steering wheel froze in -Garry’s hands and locked again.</p> -<p>“Patch, we’re ruined!” Garry groaned loudly. “I -must have done something wrong!”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_46">46</div> -<p>Garry put his hands over his face in despair. -“Patch, we were so close, so very close....”</p> -<p>“It looks like something just doesn’t want us to -get out of this alive,” Patch said bitterly. “We’re -jinxed, Garry!”</p> -<p>“It’ll do no good to start feeling sorry for ourselves -again,” Garry said. “Remember, we thought -we were goners before. Something may turn up to -save us—something maybe like a Good Samaritan -flying around in a space ship just looking for wandering -boys. But how many of those do you think -you would find in all the millions of miles of space -that surround us?”</p> -<p>Suddenly Garry stood upright, staring intently -straight out the forward port. “Speaking of Good -Samaritans, Patch, that might not be so farfetched -after all. Look out there, straight ahead. There’s a -light moving against the stars. It just might be a -space ship!”</p> -<p>“I see it,” Patch said, with a trace of hope returning, -“but it’s most likely a Sputnik or Tiros or some -other satellite.”</p> -<p>“I don’t think so. Its movement isn’t perfectly -straight. I’m sure I just saw it change direction as if -heading this way. Patch, if you’ve ever prayed, do -it now. The next few minutes may decide whether -we live or die out here in space!”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_47">47</div> -<div class="img"><img src="images/chapter.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="35" /></div><h2 id="c5"><br />5. A “FLYING TIN CAN”</h2> -<p>The boys watched intently as the object neared -them. Although it was still pretty far off, they knew -that it was not a true celestial object, because they -could determine already that it was shaped like -nothing usually found in space. In fact, it looked -remarkably like a tin can! It was an odd shape for a -space ship, but the boys were sure that was what it -was.</p> -<p>“That’s not like anything I’ve ever seen!” Garry -said. “And I’ve seen all kinds of pictures of space -ships in magazines and books.”</p> -<p>“It must be a special kind of ship,” Patch suggested. -“But just so it really is a space ship with -living people in it, it can be shaped like a barbecue -pit for all I care!”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_48">48</div> -<p>“Patch!” Garry said in a stricken voice. “What if -it’s from another planet and carries strange people? -Maybe even <i>unfriendly</i> passengers!”</p> -<p>Patch’s eyes shone like bright marbles. “Gee, you -don’t really think so, do you? I—I mean, how could -it be possible? We’ve already explored Mars and -Venus, and those planets aren’t inhabited. How -could anything possibly live on those big cold planets -farther out?”</p> -<p>“Maybe they are from another star,” Garry said -in a solemn tone.</p> -<p>They would know pretty soon where the flying -object was from, because it was still heading in -their direction, and its passengers could not possibly -miss seeing them.</p> -<p>Garry and Patch were silent as the object drew -steadily closer, each of them engrossed in his own -thoughts.</p> -<p>“It really does look like a tin can,” Patch said. “A -tin can with a big eye in front! But what a big tin -can! It’s big as one of those ancient dirigibles.”</p> -<p>“Patch, I can begin to make out some writing -over the eye. See it?”</p> -<p>“Yes. Just a moment. It’s coming into focus. It -says ‘CAREFREE!’ I don’t know what it means, -but it <i>sounds</i> friendly.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_49">49</div> -<p>“That must be the name of it,” Garry suggested. -“No ship with a name like that could be carrying -unfriendly passengers.”</p> -<p>“It also means that there must be earthmen -aboard, because it’s an earth word.”</p> -<p>“I don’t think we have anything to worry about, -Patch,” Garry said confidently.</p> -<p>“Now they’re turning around,” Patch said. “They—they’re -pulling even with us. I guess they’ll anchor -to us with magnetic grapples.”</p> -<p>Carefully, the <i>Carefree</i> edged closer so that it -could latch on. The big circular space ship dwarfed -the tiny taxi so greatly that it seemed like David -and Goliath.</p> -<p>Garry and Patch heard a soft bump as the <i>Carefree</i> -coupled onto the side of their craft on which -the door was located. Garry knew now that the -ships were joined as one.</p> -<p>Garry looked at Patch, and Patch looked at Garry. -They knew all they had to do now was open the air -locks between the ships. But they hesitated as if -there were still some doubt in their minds as to the -friendliness of those in the other space ship.</p> -<p>There came a rap on their air-lock door. Once -again Garry looked at Patch, and Patch looked at -Garry. Then, after another few moments of hesitation, -Garry shrugged and clicked over to the door.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_50">50</div> -<p>“We may as well open up,” he said. “Whether or -not they’re friendly, they’ve certainly got the upper -hand.”</p> -<p>Garry pressed the button that controlled the -outer door of the air lock. Then he pressed another -that opened the inner door.</p> -<p>Garry and Patch looked through the double air -locks into the face of a man who wore a small, neat -white beard. He appeared to be in his early sixties, -and he was clinging to a webbing of ropes that completely -covered the walls of a giant tube or tunnel.</p> -<p>“Hello,” the man said, with a smile.</p> -<p>“Hello,” Garry and Patch replied together. And -they smiled too, because they were very glad that -it was an earthman who faced them.</p> -<p>“I must say I didn’t expect to find a couple of -boys alone in here,” the man went on. “What’s happened -to the adults with you? You didn’t heave -them out the waste hatch, did you?” The elderly -man laughed.</p> -<p>“Uh, no, Sir,” Garry replied with hesitation. -“We’ve been by ourselves ever since this flier left -the Von Braun Space Station. It’s a pretty long -story, Sir.”</p> -<p>“The name is Captain Eaton, boys.” The man -winked at them, showing his white teeth in another -smile. “Oh, I’m not really a space captain. I -wouldn’t deceive you. The <i>Carefree</i> is a private -<span class="pb" id="Page_51">51</span> -ship, and the men call me ‘Captain’ because I’m the -owner.”</p> -<p>Captain Eaton’s dark, alert eyes flickered over -the interior of the flier.</p> -<p>“I thought whoever was in this ship must be in -some sort of trouble,” he said, “because of your erratic -flight. That’s why we latched onto you, to see -if we could be of some help.”</p> -<p>“We <i>do</i> need help, Captain,” Patch said earnestly. -“We don’t know the first thing about running -this thing. We had just about given ourselves -up for lost.”</p> -<p>“How in the world did you get into such a spot -as this?” Captain Eaton asked.</p> -<p>“Well, Sir,” Garry explained, lowering his eyes, -“you see, we’re stowaways, although we’ve been -able to escape being caught all this time. We didn’t -<i>mean</i> to be stowaways, Captain. We were helping -an officer aboard the <i>Orion</i> with his gear, and the -rocket blasted off before we could get out.”</p> -<p>“Say, I’ll bet your parents are worried to death -about you,” Captain Eaton said.</p> -<p>“No, Sir,” Patch answered. “You see, we’re orphans, -and we lived in an orphanage back in the -United States.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_52">52</div> -<p>“I see,” the elderly man replied, stroking his -short, snowy beard. Then suddenly he grinned -broadly. “Well, fellows, how would you like to be -rescued?”</p> -<p>“We’re all for it!” Garry answered, and Patch -nodded his head vigorously.</p> -<p>“Come aboard then. The <i>Carefree</i> welcomes -you!”</p> -<p>“What about the flier?” Garry asked. “We don’t -want to be charged with stealing a space craft.”</p> -<p>“I’ll have Ben Dawes come aboard and set her -adrift toward the satellite so that she can be picked -up easily,” the captain said.</p> -<p>“I think we blew something out when we tried -to start her,” Patch said.</p> -<p>“Ben’s a genius,” Captain Eaton replied. “He’ll -get her to running, no matter what’s wrong with -her.”</p> -<p>With this taken care of, the boys were anxious to -board the <i>Carefree</i> and see if her interior were as -strange and unusual looking as her outer hull. They -removed their bulky magnetic shoes and entered -the air lock of the <i>Carefree</i>.</p> -<p>Captain Eaton first explained the purpose of the -webbing that lined the walls of the tube.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_53">53</div> -<p>“As you boys saw us move in, you probably know -that this is the rear of the ship, and this tunnel is in -the center. It goes the full length of our ‘tin can’ -and comes out front into the flight deck. We have -to leave and enter the ship through the rear end of -this tube. Understand?”</p> -<p>“Yes, Sir,” the boys answered together.</p> -<p>“The outer round surface of our ‘tin can’ revolves -around this center tube as though it were a wheel -around an axis,” the captain went on. “By so doing, -an artificial gravity is induced along the inside rim -of the ‘can.’” Captain Eaton frowned. “Am I getting -too deep for you?”</p> -<p>“I don’t think so, Sir,” Garry replied. “The gravity -you are talking about is the result of centrifugal action—the -same action that makes a ball swing out -on the end of a string when a person swings it -around his head. It’s the same kind of artificial gravity -they use on the manned space stations.”</p> -<p>“You’re pretty sharp, son. I like a boy who doesn’t -think that facts belong only in a schoolroom.”</p> -<p>“I’ve always been very interested in space, Sir,” -Garry said. “I’ll bet I’d surprise you with all I know -about it.”</p> -<p>“I’m sure you would,” Captain Eaton admitted. -“Say, I don’t even know your names. I’ve told you -mine. Now let’s have yours.”</p> -<p>“I’m Garry Coleman,” Garry answered, “and this -is my best friend, Patch Foster.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_54">54</div> -<p>Since the center tube of the <i>Carefree</i> was not affected -by the centrifugal force of the rotating “tin -can,” its gravity was zero. For that reason the webbing -was used to pull oneself along with and not -really for the purposes of climbing and descending.</p> -<p>Captain Eaton turned around on the webbing so -that he could lead the way along the tunnel into the -living quarters of the <i>Carefree</i>. His slim, agile legs -swung free in the zero gravity as he made the turn. -Glossy black space boots covered his feet.</p> -<p>The captain showed Garry where to pull a lever -which closed a series of air-lock doors between the -<i>Carefree</i> and the taxi.</p> -<p>The ship’s master and the boys pulled themselves -along the tunnel. Then Captain Eaton stopped and -said, “Hold on tightly, fellows. We’re going round -and round for a few turns.”</p> -<p>He pushed a lever beneath the webbing, and -Garry felt the tube begin to revolve slowly.</p> -<p>“Hey, what’s happening?” Patch called out.</p> -<p>“I had to set the tunnel in rotation so that it could -catch up with the rest of the ship, which is always -turning. As soon as you’ve become used to the spinning, -we’ll go into the ship.”</p> -<p>When the boys said they thought they could navigate, -the captain pointed to an open hatch that had -appeared in the wall near them.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_55">55</div> -<p>“We’ll turn around and back down these stairs,” -the skipper said. “As we descend, the gravity will -become stronger, so that by the time we’re at the -bottom we’ll be nearly at our earth weights.”</p> -<p>Garry and Patch followed their new friend down -the stairs, moving carefully and holding onto the -railing, for they still felt giddy from the rotation of -the central tube. By the time they were at the bottom, -their heads had begun to clear.</p> -<p>That is, they <i>thought</i> their heads had begun to -clear. But no sooner had they gotten this impression -than they became giddy all over again at the -sight that met their eyes. For it was just as if they -had entered a tropical paradise! There were real -flowers in bloom all about, and aquariums full of -live fishes were set into the surrounding walls.</p> -<p>The boys were too surprised to say anything. All -they could do was just stare and stare in disbelief.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_56">56</div> -<div class="img"><img src="images/chapter.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="35" /></div><h2 id="c6"><br />6. A <i>CAREFREE</i> WORLD</h2> -<p>“How do you like my garden, fellows?” Captain -Eaton asked. “It helps keep me from getting homesick. -I used to have a most luxuriant garden back on -earth.”</p> -<p>“I can’t believe it!” Garry burst out. “It’s just as -if we were outdoors on a summer day, it’s so real.”</p> -<p>“There’s a goldfish pond, Garry,” Patch said, -“with lily pads floating on top and a bench beside -it.”</p> -<p>“I never saw so many kinds of flowers,” Garry -said, “and shrubs too.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_57">57</div> -<p>“The flowers and shrubs serve a double purpose,” -Captain Eaton explained. “They not only provide -homelike pleasure to me and my friends, but they -also help keep the air in the <i>Carefree</i> supplied -with oxygen.”</p> -<p>“I remember,” Garry replied. “Plants in light -breathe exactly opposite from the way we do. They -breathe in carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen.”</p> -<p>Patch stooped down, examining the roots of a -shrub. “Hey, the roots aren’t growing in soil! How -can they live?”</p> -<p>“The plants grow in richly fertilized liquid,” the -captain answered. “In that way, they can be placed -much closer together. Besides, some of the water -making up the fertilized liquid comes from waste -products within the ship. There are other reasons -too.”</p> -<p>Captain Eaton led the way along the aisle that -ran beside the colorfully lighted aquariums. He -stopped in front of a twenty-gallon tank which was -in the process of being cleaned by two men.</p> -<p>One of them was very tall, over six and a half feet. -He was very thin and appeared to be in his late -fifties. But the oddest thing about him, which made -Garry and Patch stare at him in surprise, was the -fact that he was in the full dress of a butler, complete -with newly starched white shirt and neatly -pressed coat and trousers! Although he was holding -a bucket that was catching water from a draining -aquarium, his clothing wasn’t in the least mussed.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_58">58</div> -<p>Captain Eaton saw the boys staring at the tall -gentleman and said, “Boys, I want you to meet Mr. -Klecker, the Eaton family butler for many years. -When I decided to set out into space on my permanent -cruise, he would not think of being left behind. -Klecker, this is Garry and this is Patch. They will -be our guests for awhile.”</p> -<p>Mr. Klecker looked at them with heavy-lidded -eyes. Then, bowing, he said in a deep stately voice, -“Pleased, young gentlemen.”</p> -<p>“Glad to know you, Mr. Klecker,” Garry said.</p> -<p>“Me too,” Patch added.</p> -<p>The other person attending to the fish tank was a -young man. He rose from a squatting position and -smiled at the boys. He had crew-cut black hair and -the kind of happy features which indicate a friendly -nature. He wiped his damp hands on his trousers -and offered a palm to Garry first, then to Patch.</p> -<p>“Hi, boys. I’m Ben Dawes. Glad to have you -aboard,” he said. “It sure is a surprise meeting fellows -as young as yourselves out here in space.”</p> -<p>“It’ll probably be more of a surprise, Ben, to -know that they are alone,” the captain said.</p> -<p>“Not really!” Ben said. “Say, I’ll bet you two have -a long story explaining that!”</p> -<p>“We do,” Garry answered, “and we’ll tell you -when we have lots of time.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_59">59</div> -<p>“Ben is my right-hand man, whom I wouldn’t -part with for all the millions I own,” Captain Eaton -said proudly. “He could build a space ship out of a -safety pin if he had to. He had a big hand in designing -the <i>Carefree</i>, and he knows every bolt and -rivet in her.”</p> -<p>It was interesting to Garry to hear that the captain -was a millionaire. That probably explained how -he could afford to take such a leisurely cruise -through space in something akin to a flying palace.</p> -<p>“While Klecker and Ben are changing the water -in this aquarium,” Captain Eaton said, “how would -you like to meet the rest of my friends?”</p> -<p>“We would, Sir,” Garry replied, “but are you -sure you don’t have things to do?” It was hard for -Garry to believe that as important a person as a millionaire -would be willing to devote so much time to -a couple of orphans who were lost in space.</p> -<p>“Here my time is my own,” Captain Eaton said. -“Back home there were hundreds of little details -that always had to be attended to, and as I grew -older the grind began to keep me in a state of tension -and boredom. That’s when I made up my mind -that I would spend the rest of my life the way that -I wanted to—without constant interruption and -without ever hurrying. I sold everything I owned -and came into space. That was four years ago.”</p> -<p>“Why are you so interested in space, Captain?” -Garry asked.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_60">60</div> -<p>“In my early days I had a very keen interest in -space travel. I became a space cadet, but after only -four months’ service I was hurt, and my injury was -such that I had to give up any thoughts of a future -in the Space Service. But my keen interest in space -stayed with me through the years, and I never gave -up hope of returning to the spaceways. So, you see, -my hope was realized, and here I am as carefree as -the name of my ship.”</p> -<p>“Then you never plan to return to earth, Captain -Eaton, ever?” Garry asked.</p> -<p>“No, I don’t think so. In the first place, the <i>Carefree</i> -was built in space and could not stand the atmospheric -friction of an earth return. Of course, I -could get back if I really wanted to. But I don’t believe -I want to. My simple life out here is very satisfying. -I never had any children, and my wife is now -dead. No, no close relatives. It takes a little money -to survive out here and pay my friends aboard ship, -but it does not take too much. Yes, this is the good -life, and it is enough for me.”</p> -<p>As Captain Eaton paced the boys by a couple of -steps, Garry had to marvel at the youthful stride of -their host. His body was as lean and spare as a man -half his age, and Garry was sure he must have kept -himself in good condition all his life.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_61">61</div> -<p>As the trio left the garden and moved into the -next section, Garry and Patch heard a fine tenor -voice singing a lusty aria from an opera. A quick -study of their surroundings told Garry that they -were in the galley.</p> -<p>As the fragrance of good food reached the boys’ -noses, they suddenly remembered how hungry they -were. They hadn’t eaten since they left the orphanage!</p> -<p>“That’s Gino you hear,” Captain Eaton explained.</p> -<p>The boys presently saw a short, fat little Italian -throwing a huge, flat wad of dough into the air. He -stopped when he saw the boys and grinned so -widely that his eyes disappeared and his mouth -seemed as broad as that of a jack-o’-lantern.</p> -<p>Captain Eaton exchanged names so that everyone -quickly knew everyone else. Gino was the ship’s -cook, and his full name was Gino Spondini.</p> -<p>Gino kept tossing the dough into the air, and -each time he tossed it up it became thinner and -bigger.</p> -<p>“You <i>bambini</i> chose a good day to come to the -<i>Carefree</i>,” Gino said. “This is a special day for -good food, only once every two weeks, eh, Captain?”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_62">62</div> -<p>Captain Eaton nodded. “Unfortunately, there -isn’t a grocery store just around the corner, and so -we fill our food room and deep freeze only a few -times a year from the commissary satellite which -supplies food to all the manned satellites around -earth. But when we do have an exceptionally good -meal, we enjoy it even more.”</p> -<p>“I don’t know what you’re making, Gino,” Garry -said, “but I’m hungry enough to eat it raw.”</p> -<p>Gino looked shocked. “You don’t know pizza -when you see it? Where have you been all your -life, <i>bambino</i>?”</p> -<p>“Gino makes the best pizza pie in the world—or -should I say the best in the solar system?” the captain -said. “Now, boys, shall we move on and meet -the others?”</p> -<p>They left the galley and proceeded on to the next -section within the <i>Carefree</i>, leaving Gino singing -another operatic air. The boys wondered if they -could hold out until lunch time.</p> -<p>“Up ahead of us,” Captain Eaton said presently, -after passing through a short hallway, “is the dormitory. -Since the dorm is used solely for sleeping, we -made it small so that we could give more area over -to the other parts of the ship where we spend more -of our time.”</p> -<p>Garry found the dormitory indeed small and -quite simple. There were three-tiered bunks along -the walls, with ladders leading up to the second and -third levels.</p> -<p>The captain smiled. “Patch, you seem to be looking -over those bunks carefully to see if you find any -that aren’t made up.” -Patch blushed. “Yes, Sir. I was wondering if....”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_63">63</div> -<p>“If we have room for you two? Well, breathe easily, -for we do have extras. The ship will sleep -twelve, and special cots can be set up to accommodate -more when necessary.”</p> -<p>“They look cozy,” Garry said, “but how do you -know when to sleep out here in space, without any -real night or day?”</p> -<p>“We observe a twenty-four-hour day just as they -do on earth. Scientists have found out that space -travelers get along much better if they keep the -same hourly habits to which they are accustomed. -We even simulate the appearance of night, turning -down the lights and observing quiet. You’ll find -out that you get sleepy at just the right time and -that you wake the ‘next morning’ feeling just as refreshed -as you did on earth.”</p> -<p>Suddenly, they heard a stirring in one of the top -bunks. A deeply tanned man with a thick shock of -auburn hair raised up sleepily.</p> -<p>“Oh, it’s you, Captain,” the man said with a yawn. -Then he perked up. “Who is it with you, Sir?” The -man’s accent was a thick Scottish brogue.</p> -<p>“We have guests, Mac,” the captain replied. -“These are Garry and Patch. Fellows, meet Mr. McIntosh, -pilot, navigator, engineer, and what have -you. He likes to be called Mac.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_64">64</div> -<p>“Hi, fellows, glad to have you aboard,” Mac said -cordially, then yawned again.</p> -<p>“Sorry we woke you, Mac,” the captain said.</p> -<p>“I’m just about due to relieve Isaac upstairs, Sir. -That’s all right.”</p> -<p>“I was just showing the boys the ship. We’ll move -on so you can get dressed.”</p> -<p>As they left the dormitory to pass into another -hallway, Captain Eaton asked, “You’ve heard of -Isaac Newton, haven’t you, boys?”</p> -<p>“Oh yes, Sir,” Garry responded eagerly. “He -was one of the very greatest scientists. He died a -long time ago.”</p> -<p>The captain winked at them. “Well, we’re going -to meet him,” he said.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_65">65</div> -<div class="img"><img src="images/chapter.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="35" /></div><h2 id="c7"><br />7. A SHOCK IN THE NIGHT</h2> -<p>Captain Eaton’s announcement that Garry and -Patch were about to meet Isaac Newton, the great -scientist, filled the boys with astonishment.</p> -<p>“We’re going back to the central tube,” the skipper -said, “and from there to the navigation room.”</p> -<p>They climbed a steep staircase, as they had done -earlier. Garry felt the comfortable feel of artificial -gravity leaving him as they went higher. The light-headed, -floating sensation of zero gravity was returning.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_66">66</div> -<p>The captain shoved a lever so that the central -tunnel would start revolving. When a doorway appeared -in the tube, the three climbed through. -Then the rotation of the tunnel was stopped. The -captain then led the boys along the stationary axle -of the <i>Carefree</i>, in the direction opposite from -where they had first entered the ship. The three -pulled themselves along the webbing as their legs -swung free, weightlessly. They reached a platform -outside a door at the nose of the ship. Holding onto -the platform rail, Captain Eaton fished into a cabinet -built into the platform and came out with two -pairs of slippers.</p> -<p>“You can attach these magnetic-soled slippers to -your shoes, fellows,” their host said. “Because of -the zero gravity in the navigation room, we have to -use gravity plates. The rest of us wear these attached -to our boots all the time because we are always -going back and forth up here, and they are -light and comfortable.”</p> -<p>After the boys had donned the slippers, Captain -Eaton pressed a button, the door slid open, and the -three of them walked through.</p> -<p>Garry and Patch found themselves in a domed -room, which had a wide front port that looked out -into space. Below the port extended a long instrument -panel, or console, with two seats in front of it, -one of which was occupied.</p> -<p>“This is the flight deck!” Garry said. “It’s the -part that looked like a big eye on the front of the -ship.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_67">67</div> -<p>The pilot turned around in his swivel seat. He -was a huge, muscular man with rugged features -that suggested he might once have been a vigorous -athlete.</p> -<p>“Boys, meet Isaac Newton,” Captain Eaton said.</p> -<p>Garry could not help but laugh, because this -Isaac Newton looked nothing whatsoever like pictures -of the great scientist. But then Garry remembered -that he was being impolite, and he apologized.</p> -<p>“That’s all right,” Isaac Newton said good naturedly. -“Everybody who ever heard of that scientist -laughs. I’ve been defending my name ever since I -was a kid. That’s how I got to be a professional -fighter, which I was until I got tired of bashing people -and the good captain took me on as his chauffeur. -I stayed on with him, and he said I could come -into space with him if I wanted to. I’ve picked up -navigation since I’ve been out here.”</p> -<p>“How did you get a name like Isaac Newton?” -Patch asked.</p> -<p>“Well, naturally my father was named Newton,” -Isaac explained, “and he was also a science teacher. -He wanted me to be a scientist too, and thought he -was helping me by giving me the name of one of -the greatest scientists of all time. But, as I said, I got -into so many fights because of being teased about -my name that I had more practice as a fighter.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_68">68</div> -<p>He laughed, showing a two-tooth vacancy in -the front of his mouth. “Funny thing is that I -might’ve been a scientist if I hadn’t been given the -name of one!”</p> -<p>With that, Isaac Newton turned back to check -on how the ship was running. The captain went -over to converse with him, and this gave the boys -an opportunity to look around the navigation room.</p> -<p>Of particular interest was a huge chart on the -back wall near the entrance. On the map were -countless globes of various sizes, and running -through the globes were long curving lines.</p> -<p>“What’s that, do you suppose?” Patch asked his -friend.</p> -<p>Garry looked closely at the printed names beside -the round symbols.</p> -<p>“Hermes—Vanguard II—Adonis—Derelict Space -Ship <i>Oberon</i>,” he read. “These seem to be objects -floating about in space,” he said, “and the lines -through them must be their orbits.”</p> -<p>“You’re very observant, Garry.”</p> -<p>Garry looked back and saw that Captain Eaton -had come over.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_69">69</div> -<p>“That’s exactly what they are, and we have to -know exactly where each one of them is at all -times,” the captain said. “If we missed keeping up -with one, we might run into a collision orbit with it, -and then it would be quickly over for all of us. Some -of the objects are asteroids, some man-made satellites, -some large meteor fragments whose orbits we -have already plotted. And a few are derelicts, or -empty shells of what were once proud space liners. -Any one of them could destroy the <i>Carefree</i> if it -should hit us. In fact, a meteor as large as an orange -could wreck us because of the terrific velocity at -which it would strike.”</p> -<p>“Gee,” Patch said, “you must be anxious all the -time about being hit by something.”</p> -<p>“No. It’s a risk, of course, but space is so very, -very huge that actually there is little chance of being -hit by anything any larger than a grain of sand. -But of course there is always the chance that someday -the big, unexpected one will come. Still, we -don’t worry about it because it would keep us from -enjoying our life in space.”</p> -<p>Captain Eaton showed the boys some of the other -things in the room. He explained the purpose of -the various dials and switches on the console—facts -that the boys would have given anything to -know when they were so desperately trying to steer -the space taxi. The skipper of the <i>Carefree</i> told -them that usually there was only one pilot on duty -but that, in case of tricky navigation or on other -special occasions, both Mac and Isaac or Ben would -be on together. The captain added that he was quite -a pilot himself and liked to take over the controls -now and then.</p> -<p>Suddenly chimes were heard over a loud-speaker.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_70">70</div> -<p>“That’s the signal for us to get ready for lunch,” -Captain Eaton said. “Let’s go, fellows, and wash -up.”</p> -<p>“Tell Mac to shake a leg and get up here to relieve -me, will you, Captain?” Isaac asked. “I’m -starved. It’s been a long shift.”</p> -<p>“I will, Isaac,” the captain promised, and pushed -the button which opened the door.</p> -<p>A few minutes later, Garry and Patch sat down -to the best meal they had had in a long time. Not -even Thanksgiving at the orphanage could beat -this, Garry told his friend. The boys had their first -taste of pizza pie, and they were hoping it would -not be their last, especially if Gino was the one who -prepared it. They were sure he was the best chef -in all the solar system.</p> -<p>After lunch the patient Captain Eaton spent most -of the afternoon showing the boys more of the ship. -They saw the gym and swimming pool and the library -filled with many recording tapes and films. -There were also books for those who preferred -reading instead of reclining in a soft contour chair -and listening to tapes over earphones.</p> -<p>As they passed from one section to another, Garry -noticed that the indirect daylight effect, that filled -every part of the <i>Carefree</i>, was fading steadily but -slowly. He asked the captain about this.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_71">71</div> -<p>“It’s an automatic control that helps put us in the -mood for night,” the skipper said. “Remember my -telling you about how much better man works in a -properly spaced twenty-four-hour day? Soon now, -the main lights will be very low, with only an occasional -lamp making things bright. It is just like -the coming of night back at home. You will see.”</p> -<p>The space travelers had only a light snack for -dinner because of the big meal earlier in the day. -Soon afterward, the boys began to yawn and get -sleepy as they watched the artificial daylight continue -to fade. They were looking forward to sleeping -lying down for a change.</p> -<p>“Your minds are telling you it’s time for bed, -eh?” Captain Eaton said with a laugh. “Well, so is -mine. I still haven’t shown you the observatory, -which is my favorite spot aboard ship. But that can -wait until tomorrow. Let’s go to the dorm and get -you two settled before the fellows in there are ready -to turn out the lights.”</p> -<p>The boys found all the people they had met today -getting ready for bed. That is, all but two of -them.</p> -<p>“Mac is on pilot duty, isn’t he, Captain?” Garry -asked. “But where is Ben?”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_72">72</div> -<p>Captain Eaton was pulling off his shiny boots. He -may have been the boss of the <i>Carefree</i>, with all the -say-so, but he was not too proud to share the same -sleeping quarters with those whom he called his -“friends.”</p> -<p>“There are always two on duty at night, Garry,” -Captain Eaton replied to Garry’s question. “One -acts as pilot, while the other makes the rounds several -times a night to be sure that the automatic controls -are functioning properly. We all take turns -sharing these duties.”</p> -<p>When everyone had climbed into his bunk and -pulled the covers up, Captain Eaton called out from -his own bunk, “Check?”</p> -<p>There came answering “checks” from all the fellows, -and the next moment Garry found the room -plunged in darkness.</p> -<p>Within only a few minutes’ time, Garry began -hearing the quiet breathing of those around him -already in deep sleep. But he was too excited to -drop off just yet. As he lay there staring into the -darkness, he wondered if such a thrilling adventure -as this could really be happening to him and Patch. -Why, only a few hours ago they were in despair -for their very lives. Now a whole new experience -had been opened to them. It was almost as if the -<i>Carefree</i> had been sent by Providence to him and -Patch alone.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_73">73</div> -<p>As Garry’s thoughts roved, his eyelids began to -feel heavy and the clutch of sleep was groping for -him. He finally drifted off into slumber, only to -wake—he didn’t know how many hours later—with -a parching thirst. He sat upright in his bunk and -threw back the covers that cloaked him like a sweat-box. -He found that he was breathing heavily and -then suddenly remembered the end of a nightmare -he had been having.</p> -<p>As he sat in the quietness and darkness, he began -to relax, and his heartbeats slowed to normal. But -he was still very thirsty. He remembered that there -was a water fountain in the hallway outside the -dormitory.</p> -<p>Slowly and carefully, so as to make no noise to -disturb the others, Garry left his third-level bunk -and made his way down the metal ladder to the -floor. A dim night light, kept burning all the time, -showed the way to the door. Garry pressed the button, -and the door slid open silently.</p> -<p>Garry went out into the faintly lighted hallway. -He shivered as he made his way along the corridor. -It was not that he was cold but that it was so creepy -and lonesome with everything so quiet. The fountain -was like a white ghost crouching against the -wall a couple of dozen feet away. Garry made his -way toward it. He leaned over it, pressed the lever, -and felt the icy stream against his dry lips.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_74">74</div> -<p>“Boy, that’s good,” he said to himself, and he -drank and drank as though he hadn’t had water in -all his lifetime.</p> -<p>When he finally got his fill, he rubbed his sleeve -across his mouth and turned to start back toward -the dormitory.</p> -<p>Then it seemed that all the blood flowed out of -his head in one wild rush. His heart began to thump -rapidly, and his legs went weak.</p> -<p>It was due to a startling sight that faced him.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_75">75</div> -<div class="img"><img src="images/chapter.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="35" /></div><h2 id="c8"><br />8. GARRY HAS A SCARE</h2> -<p>A huge woman was lumbering toward him down -the dim corridor. There was something strange and -unreal about her face and her awkward movements -that gave Garry chills.</p> -<p>Garry started running. He slammed into the water -fountain, bruising his side. But he kept moving, -and so did the woman stalker.</p> -<p>Garry knew that the corridor was in the shape of -a square and that if he kept turning corners he -would arrive back at the dormitory. He wondered -why a woman should frighten him, and it embarrassed -him when he thought what the others would -say when they found out. But the creature was so -hostile—and somehow monstrous in her looks—that -Garry was sure she meant to attack him.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_76">76</div> -<p>As he ran, Garry did not even look back to see if -his adversary were still in pursuit. Finally, he turned -the last corner and saw the dormitory straight -ahead at the end of the corridor. He looked back -around the corner in the direction from which he -had just come. He’d outdistanced her. She wasn’t -even in sight.</p> -<p>By now his nerves were a little calmer, although -his heart still drummed faster than usual. He began -walking briskly, every now and then casting a look -back over his shoulder.</p> -<p>There was the dormitory at last. He felt a little -silly now, as he reached for the button to open the -door. He decided that he would not tell the others -of his run and his fright lest they tease him about -the incident. He would just tell them that he had -<i>seen</i> the strange woman but would not reveal the -embarrassing circumstances. He still wondered who -she could be, especially since Captain Eaton had -not even mentioned her before.</p> -<p>Just as Garry pressed the door button, he heard -a metallic clanking behind him.</p> -<p>There was the woman, coming very fast, the dim -lights revealing the dark hollows of her eyes. Garry -saw her tight-lipped mouth, her hugeness—fully -as tall as Mr. Klecker and almost as broad, it -seemed.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_77">77</div> -<p>The unexpectedness of it caused Garry to cry out -for the first time. As the door of the dormitory slid -back, he scrambled inside, hurriedly pressed the -button closing the door, then sank back against it, -panting.</p> -<p>The bright lights went on in the room. Garry’s -eyes blurred in the sudden sharp brilliance. When -they came into focus, Garry saw everyone sitting -straight up in their bunks, their eyes squinting and -staring at him in amazement.</p> -<p>After a few tense moments, Captain Eaton asked -from his bunk, “Garry, what’s the matter?”</p> -<p>“A woman—a big woman’s out there!” he -blurted. “She was after me!”</p> -<p>Garry heard the men begin to laugh.</p> -<p>“Garry, that’s Katrinka,” the captain explained. -“She wouldn’t hurt a thing. She <i>couldn’t</i>. She’s not -<i>built</i> that way.”</p> -<p>“Not <i>built</i> that way?” Garry echoed. “What do -you mean? She’s built pretty strong I think!”</p> -<p>Captain Eaton chuckled. “She’s a robot, Garry.”</p> -<p>“A robot!” Garry said. “So that’s why she looks -so different!”</p> -<p>“Yes, I made her as lifelike as possible,” Captain -Eaton went on, “but I’m afraid I’m no Michelangelo -as a sculptor.”</p> -<p>“You <i>built</i> her?” Garry asked in surprise.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_78">78</div> -<p>“Yes. We needed someone to do our chores—you -know, the things that men dislike doing in the -nature of housework and cleaning up. But she’s -quite controllable, Garry. She wouldn’t have -harmed you. Something must have slipped in her -mechanism so that she became activated. It happens -once in awhile. I’ll go take a look at her.”</p> -<p>“You don’t have to go far, Sir,” Garry said, rubbing -away the sweat that had gathered on his forehead. -“She’s right outside the door.”</p> -<p>As the captain climbed from his bunk and -slipped into his robe, Garry avoided the eyes of the -others in the dormitory. He had done just what he -had hoped he would not do—shown his fear of a -harmless robot. He knew they must think him -squeamish, but they were not laughing now.</p> -<p>Patch seemed to have been the only one who was -not aroused by the excitement. Garry could see that -he was still asleep in his bunk.</p> -<p>Captain Eaton passed Garry, opened the door, -and went outside. Garry followed a few steps behind.</p> -<p>The robot still looked menacing to Garry. It -stood, big and dark and unmoving, in the dimness -of the corridor.</p> -<p>Captain Eaton faced Katrinka and spoke in a -clear, loud voice: “Closet! Closet!”</p> -<p>Garry heard a humming sound coming from the -robot. It shuffled about slowly on its ponderous -feet and started walking away.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_79">79</div> -<p>“She’s obeying!” Garry gasped.</p> -<p>“Yes, she’s all right,” Captain Eaton replied. -“Probably just a crossing of the wires in her -mechanical brain that activated her. Maybe a slight -lurch of the ship did it. I’ll look her over -thoroughly in the morning.”</p> -<p>“I don’t see how you did it,” Garry said, still -amazed. “How can a machine like that take orders -like a person, just as if it had a brain like us?”</p> -<p>“Katrinka’s brain is made up of electrical impulses -in certain codes,” Captain Eaton replied. -“There is a code disk for everything that she is able -to do. For instance, there is one for making up the -bunks, every step in that operation. There’s one for -washing the dishes, mopping the floor, and so on. -When I have the time, I make her even smarter by -adding new codes and duties.”</p> -<p>“But all you said was the word ‘closet,’ and off -she went,” Garry said.</p> -<p>“That was the code for her heading for the closet -down the corridor where she stays when we have -no need for her. When she goes inside the closet, an -automatic switch will cut off her mechanism, and -she will remain dormant until we need her. Just as -if I gave you an order to go somewhere and your -muscles would carry you to that place, so it is -with Katrinka. The code words I give her activate -the wires that control her movement in a certain -way, whatever that activity is.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_80">80</div> -<p>Garry nodded. “I understand it, but it sure must -be a complicated thing the way she works.”</p> -<p>“It’s complicated, all right,” Captain Eaton -agreed. “Katrinka represents many years of scientific -study, long before I ever thought of venturing -into space. It was a hobby of mine, in between my -duties as a teacher and head of a space shipping -corporation. My first models were very clumsy and -crude, but I have developed them over the years -and have finally come up with Katrinka, my finest -yet. Many people are interested in her—manufacturers -and the government too.”</p> -<p>The next morning Garry told Patch about Katrinka, -and Captain Eaton gave them permission -to watch him check out the robot.</p> -<p>After breakfast the three went to the closet where -the robot was kept. The captain pressed the door -button, and the door slid open, revealing the hulking -monster that had frightened Garry the night -before. Even now, Garry felt chills along his spine.</p> -<p>Captain Eaton spoke one word, “Follow,” and -then turned on his heel, heading on down the corridor. -The boys tagged along and were amazed to -see and hear Katrinka clomping behind.</p> -<p>“She <i>is</i> following, Garry!” Patch said.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_81">81</div> -<p>“Yeah, and I still don’t understand it,” his friend -replied, with a shake of his head.</p> -<p>“Why, that’s the easiest command of all I’ve given -her to do,” Captain Eaton said. “The word ‘follow’ -activates a sort of radar device in her and makes -her follow the closest moving object. I believe -that was what happened when she chased you last -night, Garry. Something slipped, causing her to follow -that particular action.”</p> -<p>The captain chuckled. “She could have pursued -you all night, but she never would have come -closer than three feet.”</p> -<p>The <i>Carefree</i>’s skipper entered a doorway leading -off the corridor. “Here’s my workshop. I’ll have -a look at Katrinka’s workings now,” he said.</p> -<p>The shop was untidy, cluttered from top to bottom -with electronic parts, tools, and metal plates.</p> -<p>Captain Eaton gave Katrinka the command to -stop and then with a screw driver removed a large -plate from her back. He nosed about inside the -robot for several minutes, making adjustments -within the complicated network of wires and miniature -parts. Then he replaced the plate.</p> -<p>“Just a couple of wires got too close,” he said. -“She won’t be chasing you any more, Garry.”</p> -<p>“That’s a relief,” Garry replied with a nervous -smile. “I wouldn’t want to go through that again, -even if she <i>is</i> harmless!”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_82">82</div> -<p>“I’ll show you how I build commands into her -system,” the captain said. “Let’s have a simple -command, fellows.”</p> -<p>“I know,” Garry replied. “Have her lift up Patch.”</p> -<p>Patch backed off hastily. “Oh no you don’t!” he -objected.</p> -<p>The master of the <i>Carefree</i> laughed. “Be a sport, -Patch. She’s very gentle. She won’t hurt you,” he -said.</p> -<p>Patch thought a moment, then replied, “Okay, if -you promise it will be all right.”</p> -<p>“I promise,” the captain said, and he set to work.</p> -<p>He brought out tools and equipment of every -kind. Then he removed some plates from various -parts of the robot’s body. But instead of tinkering -around inside, as he had done before, he opened up -a big chart and began working from it, using pencil -and paper.</p> -<p>“What are you doing, Captain?” Garry asked -after a few moments.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_83">83</div> -<p>“This is a map of Katrinka’s system, like the diagram -of a radio or TV,” was the reply. “I have to -figure out what connections I must bring together. -You see, I must give her several actions that make -up the command we have given her. There must be -the action of walking over to Patch, of bending certain -parts that serve as her muscles, and finally the -action of lifting him up. Then I must activate these -through the use of spoken words.” The captain -worked for about an hour. The last thing he did -was to take a small disk out of stock and drill holes -in it at very carefully measured positions. Then he -slipped the disk into place inside the robot.</p> -<p>“Now let’s try her out,” the captain said.</p> -<p>Captain Eaton faced the robot and spoke in a -loud clear voice: “Lift.”</p> -<p>Patch remained where he stood, but Garry could -see that he was a little nervous as Katrinka began -lumbering toward him. The robot stooped over -and lifted the boy in her big metal arms. She stood -motionless, holding him in a firm grip as Patch began -to struggle impatiently after about fifteen -seconds.</p> -<p>“Tell her to put me down, Captain,” Patch -begged.</p> -<p>The captain winked at Garry mischievously. “My -goodness, Patch, I forgot to give her a command to -release you!”</p> -<p>Patch began struggling vigorously, but he could -not escape the robot’s iron grip.</p> -<p>“Hey, somebody, get me out of this!” Patch cried, -his face reddening from his exertions.</p> -<p>Seeing that his fun had gone far enough, Captain -Eaton barked out, as if he were a military commander: -“Atten-tion!”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_84">84</div> -<p>The robot’s arms slipped straight down to her -sides, and her body stiffened rigidly. Patch tumbled -unharmed to the floor.</p> -<p>Patch sat up. He turned and looked up at Garry -and the captain. Fear still showed in his eyes, but, -as he saw the playful smile on the captain’s face, a -grin spread over his own.</p> -<p>The captain laughed out loud. Then Garry joined -in.</p> -<p>Finally, Patch himself began laughing, having -enjoyed the harmless experiment even if the captain -<i>had</i> played a little joke on him.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_85">85</div> -<div class="img"><img src="images/chapter.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="35" /></div><h2 id="c9"><br />9. SATELLITE ZONE</h2> -<p>Although Ben seemed to be one of the busiest persons -aboard the <i>Carefree</i>, he still took time out to -chat with the boys early that afternoon.</p> -<p>“Have you been at the orphanage all your lives?” -Ben asked Garry and Patch.</p> -<p>“Almost that long,” Garry replied.</p> -<p>“Our parents were good friends,” Patch added. -“All four of them were killed at one time in a -rocket-plane crash near Salt Lake City. We were -only three then and were placed in the orphanage -at the same time.”</p> -<p>“How long have you been in space, Ben?” Garry -asked.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_86">86</div> -<p>“Oh, about eight years now, off and on. I started -when I was in my teens. I was a sort of cabin boy -aboard the old Mars exploration ship, the <i>Jules -Verne</i>. We spent a year there. Boy, what a life! It -was like living in a deep freeze. Since then I’ve -traveled to Venus, Luna—the moon, you know—and -there’s no counting the trips I’ve made among -the satellites.”</p> -<p>“How did you get in with Captain Eaton and the -<i>Carefree</i>?” Patch wanted to know.</p> -<p>“A few years ago I took time to go to school and -learn space-ship engineering and design,” Ben replied. -“My teacher was Captain Eaton—or Professor -Eaton, as he was called then. He was also a -millionaire and president of Space Shipping Incorporated. -He helped build the sturdiest ships ever -to fly the solar system. I graduated stone broke and -had to go back to flying the spaceways.</p> -<p>“I thought I’d never be an engineer or designer, -but then Professor Eaton got in touch with me and -said he was going to design a space ship for his own -use. He said I was the best pupil he had ever taught -and asked if I would work with him on the project. -Of course I jumped at the idea. We assembled the -ship out here in space, and I’ve been with him ever -since.”</p> -<p>“Captain Eaton is a grand person, isn’t he?” Garry -asked.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_87">87</div> -<p>A fond look came into Ben’s dark eyes. “He’s -the wisest, kindest, and most generous person I’ve -ever known or heard about. You may think he selfishly -spends all his money for his own enjoyment -as he cruises the spaceways, but that isn’t the case. -He gives far more than he spends out here to -charities and churches back on earth. And he has -built countless scientific libraries, but he’s too -modest to let them be named after himself.”</p> -<p>“The <i>Carefree</i> is such a big ship, Ben,” Patch -said, “that I don’t understand how it can be run by -so few men.”</p> -<p>“It’s due to the captain’s genius,” Ben explained. -“Practically everything you can think of is automatic, -and our batteries are constantly recharged -by sunlight. Of course, once in a while something -goes wrong, and we have to dock at a repair satellite. -And we also have to refuel about every six -months at a service station. But we don’t use very -much fuel ordinarily because we mostly just cruise -about in the ‘satellite zone,’ as it’s called.”</p> -<p>Ben had to go back to work, and the boys joined -Captain Eaton in the library, where he was waiting -for a TV newscast to come on.</p> -<p>Garry and Patch got the shock of their lives at the -first feature to come over the telecast. For the subjects -were <i>themselves</i>.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_88">88</div> -<p>They quickly discovered that they were the most -celebrated missing persons on earth. The orphanage -had first reported their absence, and then Mr. -Mulroy had given his version of their disappearance. -It seemed that Mr. Mulroy was in very hot -water because he had not made sure that the boys -had gotten off the <i>Orion</i> before the blast-off. In -fact, he was in such hot water that he faced court-martial -unless Garry and Patch were found.</p> -<p>“Well, I guess the vacation is over, Patch,” -Garry said sadly. “We can’t let Mr. Mulroy be -court-martialed for what we did.”</p> -<p>“We’ve got to tell them where we are, haven’t -we?” Patch replied. “Although I’d give <i>anything</i> -to stay aboard the <i>Carefree</i>—that is, if Captain -Eaton would have us.”</p> -<p>“I’d like nothing better than to have you two stay -on,” the captain said. “But you must consider Mr. -Mulroy and all the police forces who are working -to uncover the mystery of your disappearance. -Right, fellows?”</p> -<p>“Yes, Sir,” they both agreed reluctantly.</p> -<p>“We must make full use of the time left you to -finish seeing the marvels of the <i>Carefree</i>. I said I’d -show you the observatory today. What do you say -we go there now? I’ve got some double-star photos -I want to check on.”</p> -<p>The boys liked the idea and went with their host -along the zero-gravity tunnel toward the observatory.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_89">89</div> -<p>The observatory was a “bubble” attached to the -<i>Carefree</i>’s center tube or axle, just a short distance -from the air lock through which Garry and Patch -had first entered the ship. The observatory was such -that it never rotated with the tube or the rest of the -ship. In this way its telescopes could always keep -focus on objects in space.</p> -<p>Three pairs of magnetic shoes clicked along the -metal floor of the observatory as Captain Eaton led -the boys to the reflector telescope, whose big six-inch -eye was pointed out into space. Captain Eaton -looked over a camera which was attached to the -eyepiece of the telescope. Then he unfastened the -camera and took it off.</p> -<p>“The picture has been exposed long enough,” -the skipper said. “It takes a pretty long time for a -photograph to be made in the heavens, you know. -But when you give it full exposure, it shows you -much more than your naked eye can do.”</p> -<p>Garry studied a satellite chart on the wall. “I -didn’t know there were so many satellites whirling -around the earth. So many different kinds and sizes -too!” he said.</p> -<p>“Yes, there are many more than one would imagine,” -the captain agreed. “Here, let me show -you some of them on the chart. The pictures you -see are exactly the way each satellite looks, and -they are all drawn in proportion.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_90">90</div> -<p>Garry and Patch studied the chart with its multitude -of different shapes and sizes. There were satellites -that resembled drums and others like round -balls. Some were torpedo shaped, and some were -circular and flat like “flying saucers.” There were -giant satellites, wherein people lived and worked, -and many of them were in the shape of huge revolving -wheels. Some of them had no regularity at all, -appearing to Garry to resemble more than anything -else huge space insects, bristling with antennas and -sun mirrors.</p> -<p>“As you probably know, fellows,” Captain Eaton -said, “the Von Braun Space Station is our largest -satellite of all. But there are a few others that approach -it in size. For example, here is Quartermaster -10, the biggest of the depot satellites that furnish -supplies to men who live in the world of the artificial -moons. Here is a big fueling satellite, and over -here is another big one—Spaceharbor—which is -really a network of smaller moons joined together. -This is a shipyard satellite where space ships are -built and repaired. The <i>Carefree</i> was built in Spaceharbor.”</p> -<p>“Gee, with so many of those things orbiting earth -every minute of the day, it seems that space ships -are always in danger of hitting one of them,” Patch -remarked.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_91">91</div> -<p>“That is a very real danger,” Captain Eaton said, -“especially for us, since we usually cruise in that -area above earth called the ‘satellite zone.’ For this -reason, every person on pilot duty is responsible -for knowing the position of every satellite within -dangerous range of the <i>Carefree</i>. This requires constant -study and figuring of orbit paths. It really is -the biggest job the pilot has to do, because generally -the <i>Carefree</i> is on automatic pilot and runs itself, -you might say.”</p> -<p>“What are some of these smaller satellites?” -Garry asked.</p> -<p>“Well, there, there, and there are some of the observation -satellites called ‘Tiros.’ They are used to -photograph part of the earth for different reasons. -Some of the reasons are prediction of weather, -mapping, and for military purposes to see that the -countries of the world do not start arming themselves -for aggression.”</p> -<p>“The Tiros moons were first put into orbit in the -1960’s, weren’t they?” Garry asked.</p> -<p>Captain Eaton nodded. “Also these, Garry—the -Transit satellites, which are used for navigation, -both in space and on earth. This odd-looking little -moon over here is one I’m sure you’ve heard about. -It is WAS, which means weather-alteration satellite. -Know what it does?”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_92">92</div> -<p>“Sure,” Garry replied. “It’s used to seed storm -clouds with chemicals. If the seeding works, hurricanes -and tornadoes can be broken up before they -cause damage. I believe they were first put into orbit -in the late 1960’s.”</p> -<p>“Very good,” the captain complimented. “Of -course there are many other kinds of man-made -moons, some too technical to explain. But, in spite -of their great number and complexity, each has its -use, and they are a tribute to man’s great achievements -in the world of science. One of our big jobs -aboard the <i>Carefree</i> is to see that they remain in -orbit, doing their duty for the people of earth. If -we should ever change their orbit, for instance by -colliding with one of them, we not only would destroy -their usefulness but we would, in all likelihood, -destroy the <i>Carefree</i> as well.”</p> -<p>Garry did not even want to think about the possibility -of such a disaster.</p> -<p>After the visit to the observatory, the captain -asked the boys if they would care to try out -the swimming pool.</p> -<p>“Hey, would we!” Garry and Patch said together.</p> -<p>A few minutes later, as they were heading down -the corridor toward the gym, they passed Mr. -Klecker walking along stiffly—in full dress of -course—and carrying a stack of books.</p> -<p>“Hello, gentlemen,” the tall man greeted them -cordially, and the boys returned his greeting.</p> -<p>As he passed, Patch whispered to Garry, “Bet -those books are about the circus.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_93">93</div> -<p>Garry smiled and nodded.</p> -<p>The boys had learned that Mr. Klecker had a -hobby. He was very much interested in the circus -of the old days. He had many books on the subject, -and whenever he talked to anyone it was about the -circus.</p> -<p>Garry and Patch had heard from the others that -Mr. Klecker still looked after the captain as if he -were serving him in his mansion. He would lay out -his clothes for him and attend to other small details. -Once in awhile Mr. Klecker would be called -on to assist in things of a mechanical nature, but he -hated to get out of his full dress and don greasy -coveralls.</p> -<p>The boys proceeded to the gym. They were anticipating -a good time. But something of a decisive -nature was to happen which would have an -important bearing on their future life aboard the -<i>Carefree</i>.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_94">94</div> -<div class="img"><img src="images/chapter.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="35" /></div><h2 id="c10"><br />10. THE LADY GOES WILD</h2> -<p>“Beat you into the pool,” Patch called a little while -later.</p> -<p>He dashed out of the dressing room and dove, -with hands outstretched, into the water. Garry followed -right behind, tumbling into the spray left -by Patch’s dive.</p> -<p>“Say, this is nice and warm!” Garry said. “And -we’ve got it all to ourselves!”</p> -<p>A little way back from the pool’s edge, Mac and -Isaac were lifting weights. This exercise was to -help them keep in good physical trim.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_95">95</div> -<p>Garry and Patch swam and splashed to their -hearts’ content. It was the most fun they had had in -a long time. They knew no one would ever believe -their story of swimming in a pool in deep space! It -was almost too difficult for them to believe themselves. -But they did not care if they were never -believed.</p> -<p>They frolicked in the water for about an hour -and then climbed up on the pool’s edge to catch -their breath for a few minutes.</p> -<p>“Boy, I could spend twenty-four hours a day in -there,” Patch said, flicking water from his face.</p> -<p>“I could too, almost,” Garry agreed. “But I would -be satisfied if I could spend twenty-four hours a -day aboard the <i>Carefree</i> doing anything. Gee, it’s -going to be hard leaving here to go back to the orphanage.”</p> -<p>“Yeah,” Patch said sourly. “Gee whiz, Garry, why -can’t they let a couple of guys live the way they -want to?”</p> -<p>“We can someday, when we are old enough,” -Garry said. “But the only way we could get around -having to go back now would be for Captain Eaton -to adopt us.”</p> -<p>“Say, that’s the answer!” Patch replied excitedly. -“Why don’t we ask him?”</p> -<p>“I don’t think it’s as easy as that, Patch. In the -first place, I don’t think <i>we</i> should ask <i>him</i>. He -knows how much we like the <i>Carefree</i>, and he may -have thought of adoption. But he should be the one -who suggests it.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_96">96</div> -<p>“Maybe we could drop a hint or something,” -Patch said.</p> -<p>“I don’t think they’d let him adopt us, Patch. -Don’t forget, when they find out where we are, -they’ll think we stowed away aboard the <i>Orion</i>, -and that would ruin any chances we might have -had.”</p> -<p>“But we didn’t deliberately stow away!” Patch -protested.</p> -<p>“I know that, but how can we get them to believe -us? I don’t think they’d even consider adoption at -this time, and I think Captain Eaton must feel that -way too.”</p> -<p>Patch sighed. “Maybe later, then. Maybe someday -Captain Eaton will want us back. Gosh, I hate -to leave here, though.”</p> -<p>“Life won’t be the same any more,” Garry said. -“Nothing can ever be as exciting as the adventure -we’ve had.”</p> -<p>They heard footsteps approaching and looked -up to see Captain Eaton coming their way. Missing -now was his usual sunny smile. He carried a piece -of paper in his hand.</p> -<p>“Well, fellows, the answer has come,” Captain -Eaton said, and his voice was laden with dejection. -“I radioed that you two had been picked up, -and they’ve already replied.”</p> -<p>Garry hated to ask, “Wh—what did they say?”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_97">97</div> -<p>“Just as I suspected. We must return to the Von -Braun Space Station.”</p> -<p>“I was hoping we had a <i>few</i> more days at least,” -Patch groaned.</p> -<p>“I think that the sooner we straighten this matter -out, the better it will be for everyone,” Captain -Eaton replied. “And another thing, you boys are -still A.W.O.L. from the orphanage, you know. -However, it will take a couple of days for us to work -out a navigation plan and get a clearance approach -to the station. Sorry, fellows. I wish you could have -stayed on with us indefinitely, but....”</p> -<p>As the captain’s voice trailed off, Garry had a -flicker of hope. The captain was looking at them -as if debating something in his mind. Would he -bring up the subject of adoption?</p> -<p>But, saying nothing further, the captain turned -and began walking toward the outer door of the -gym.</p> -<p>Then he seemed to think of something else and -came back. The boys held their breath hopefully. -Would he mention adoption now?</p> -<p>“There’s something else they told me that I -thought you’d want to know,” the captain said. “I -told them the story of your being stowaways accidentally, -just as you told me. They checked back -and found that the elevator attached to the <i>Orion</i> -was defective, as you said, and they are convinced -of the truth of your story. As a result, Officer Mulroy -has been cleared of any negligence.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_98">98</div> -<p>“I’m glad to know that, Sir,” Garry said.</p> -<p>Once more the captain left them, but this time for -good.</p> -<p>“Well, that’s that,” Patch commented unhappily. -“No adoption. When he came back I thought -he....”</p> -<p>“I was hoping too,” Garry replied, “but we’ve got -to go back, and that’s all there is to it.”</p> -<p>Mac and Isaac came over, still breathing hard -from their exercises.</p> -<p>“We couldn’t help but overhear the bad news,” -Mac said. “We’re going to hate to see you fellows -go.”</p> -<p>“Yes, that’s right,” Isaac added.</p> -<p>“Thanks,” Garry replied. “We were getting to -like this old ship.”</p> -<p>“In a way I’d almost like to go with you,” Mac -said, with a faraway look in his eyes.</p> -<p>Garry guessed that the Scotsman was a little -homesick. His hunch proved correct, because Mac -began to reminisce about his homeland. He described -the heather on the hillsides, the flowing -streams, and the green vales. And yet, Mac admitted -finally that space was still a good second -home to him, and he enjoyed his life in the deeps.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_99">99</div> -<p>Isaac had no home he would rather live in than -the <i>Carefree</i>. As he talked about his good friends -aboard ship and the kindly captain, Garry noticed -the softness of the big man’s eyes.</p> -<p>Garry had heard that Isaac was really quite a -sentimental fellow. Whenever he learned of a -tragedy over the TV, it would depress him. Later, -the boys were to learn that Isaac had a secret -liking for good poetry.</p> -<p>Both Mac and Isaac seemed genuinely sorry that -the boys were having to leave. It made Garry and -Patch feel good that they were so popular, but it -made them a little sad, too.</p> -<p>The next morning Garry and Patch woke earlier -than the others and were heading toward the washroom.</p> -<p>Suddenly Garry stopped and caught Patch by -the arm. “Patch, do you hear that? There’s noise -coming from the laundry room up ahead!”</p> -<p>Patch listened and heard the sound of splashing -and a machine laboring hard.</p> -<p>“Yeah,” Patch said. “Let’s see what’s going on!”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_100">100</div> -<p>Running, Garry led the way into the laundry -room. But then he wished he had not been coming -so fast. His feet skidded on the floor, that was covered -with thick soapsuds, and he skated several -feet forward on his bottom. Patch, coming right -behind, could not help laughing at his friend’s misfortune. -But then he too went down and skidded -alongside Garry.</p> -<p>“Hey, what goes on here!” Garry gasped, trying -to get to his feet. The entire floor was a miniature -sea of soapsuds.</p> -<p>In his efforts to get up, Garry’s feet slid apart, -and he hit the floor again. Patch had no better luck -than Garry. When this happened, both boys broke -into laughter.</p> -<p>They struggled several times to their feet, half -playing all the while, but did not succeed in keeping -their feet until the fourth attempt. Then they -held onto one another to steady themselves. Only -now did they see what was causing the strange -disorder.</p> -<p>They looked over at the big washing machine -against the wall and saw Katrinka standing over -the open tank, pitching clothes right and left out of -the machine and into the air! It was as if she were -having the time of her life.</p> -<p>“Look, Patch—Katrinka!” Garry burst out -laughing once more. “She’s gone crazy! Something -must have flipped in her mechanism again.”</p> -<p>The machine was still making mountains of suds, -and they were flooding out of the top like a flow of -white lava. Katrinka’s metal wrists clanged against -the edge of the machine as she went up and down -with her flinging motion, making a rhythmic clatter.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_101">101</div> -<p>“Hey, can’t we give her some words to make her -stop this?” Patch spoke loudly to be heard over all -the noise. “She’ll wreck the place!”</p> -<p>“I remember one of the commands,” Garry said. -Then loudly he called out: “Atten-tion! Atten-tion!”</p> -<p>“She’s not paying any mind!” Patch said.</p> -<p>“She must be short-circuited again,” Garry said. -“Let’s go for Captain Eaton!”</p> -<p>“I hate to wake him up after the hard day he had -yesterday,” Patch said, as he returned along the -corridor with Garry, “but this is an emergency.”</p> -<p>It turned out that they did not have to wake the -captain. He met them, clad in his robe, at the door -of the dorm, having already been aroused by the -commotion going on down the corridor.</p> -<p>Captain Eaton yawned. “It’s Katrinka, isn’t it? -Ben set her for laundry duty this morning, but I -guess her wires got crossed again.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_102">102</div> -<p>The boys cautioned Captain Eaton to be careful -about going into the slippery room. The captain -promised he would be careful and promptly fell -down as soon as he walked through the door. Garry -and Patch tried to help the captain to his feet, but -only succeeded in falling again themselves. They -scrambled around, slipping and sliding. Then -slowly learning how to become expert at moving -about in soapsuds, they finally managed to stand up -and stay up.</p> -<p>Carefully, the three made their way toward the -washing machine where Katrinka was still merrily -flipping clothes through the air. But by now she -was out of ammunition and was merely flailing her -metal arms. The captain used the command, “Atten-tion!” -several times, trying to stop Katrinka’s wild -actions, but he had no better luck with this than -Garry had had.</p> -<p>Captain Eaton moved forward over the slippery -floor and groped for the control knob on the robot’s -back. But then, losing his footing, he hung on -to the robot to keep from falling again. This -brought Katrinka crashing down onto the floor -along with the captain himself.</p> -<p>Garry and Patch each offered the captain a hand -and presently managed to get him upright again. -Garry had a hard time keeping a straight face. Captain -Eaton’s face was red, and his beard was straggly -and sudsy. His soggy bathrobe stuck to his thin -legs, giving him the appearance of a saddened, -snow-covered elf.</p> -<p>In the meanwhile, Katrinka was still having her -fun, swinging her arms gaily against the floor as she -lay on her back.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_103">103</div> -<p>“We’ve got to turn her over,” Captain Eaton said, -crawling nearer the robot. “Be careful of her arms. -She can knock you over with them.”</p> -<p>Garry thought he saw how the job could be done.</p> -<p>“Let’s both grab her right leg, Patch,” he said. -“Then we’ll give a good heave-ho and flip her -over on her stomach. Careful you don’t slip.”</p> -<p>They did as Garry had suggested, yanking -fiercely on the robot’s leg and flipping the metal -creature over, face down. But the motion also -brought Garry and Patch down in the soap again, -this time getting the suds all over their faces, -causing them to make wry grimaces and blow away -the froth from their lips even as they laughed.</p> -<p>But what was funniest of all to Garry was when -he saw Captain Eaton suddenly see an opening -and scramble furiously, on all fours, over to the -flailing robot. He threw himself upon her back, -fighting her as a cowboy would wrestle a steer. He -finally subdued her with a turn of the switch on her -back, which he was at last able to grab and twist.</p> -<p>Worn out by his exertions, the captain simply -flopped back on his hands in the soapy billows, -sighing heavily. Then the good-natured man -caught Garry’s eye and smiled. The smile turned -into laughter, and presently all three of them -joined in.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_104">104</div> -<p>The captain later determined what had happened. -He found out that Katrinka, in doing her -washing chores, had gotten water into her electronic -parts, and this had caused trouble in her -mechanism. Captain Eaton made the repair easily, -and the robot maid was once more in proper working -order.</p> -<p>The boys were with the captain while he was -making the repairs on Katrinka in the workshop. -When the captain had put away his tools, he sent -the robot on her way. Then he looked at Garry, as -he washed his hands at the sink, and said in a sad -voice, “Fellows, I’ve received a docking date at the -Von Braun Space Station. We’ll dock at 2100 tomorrow -night. That isn’t much time left, is it?”</p> -<p>“No, Sir, it isn’t,” Garry replied unhappily.</p> -<p>The captain did not look up again.</p> -<p>Garry half expected him to say something else, -but, instead, he remained silent. Garry tugged at -Patch’s sleeve, motioning for them to go.</p> -<p>The boys made their way slowly toward the door -of the workshop. As Garry pressed the button to -open the sliding door, Captain Eaton spoke again.</p> -<p>“Wait—just a minute.”</p> -<p>The boys turned. Garry gulped. He could see -the sadness in the elderly man’s eyes.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_105">105</div> -<p>“Boys, I haven’t told you how much I’ve enjoyed -having you with us for this short time,” the captain -said, holding his dripping hands over the sink, not -bothering to dry them.</p> -<p>Garry had a lump in his throat. “We’ve enjoyed -it too, haven’t we, Patch?”</p> -<p>“Sure thing,” Patch murmured.</p> -<p>Captain Eaton continued: “You two have been a -great big lift in our lives. It’s been so long since -we’ve seen young fellows, and you’ve made us feel -younger ourselves once more. I think you know how -we feel about your leaving us. But I don’t want to -get sentimental about it and make you feel worse. -So this won’t be good-by. We’ll see each other -again—I know we shall.”</p> -<p>Garry cleared his throat, trying to dissolve that -lump. “You’d better dry your hands, Sir.”</p> -<p>Captain Eaton smiled, reaching for a towel. -“Oh, of course,” he said.</p> -<p>“We’ll miss all of you very much, Sir,” Garry said, -before starting through the door. “The <i>Carefree</i> -has been like a home to us.”</p> -<p>The boys were silent as they went on to the -dormitory. They were overcome by sadness at having -to leave the ship and her friendly people.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_106">106</div> -<p>As the boys were getting together the clothing -and toilet articles they had been given, Patch remarked -to Garry, “Maybe the captain doesn’t like -us enough for adoption. He may not care for the -idea of being saddled with us permanently.”</p> -<p>“I hope it’s not that,” Garry answered, “but I still -can’t think of any other reason, now that the stowaway -business is straightened out.”</p> -<p>Patch didn’t answer. He had no explanation -either.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_107">107</div> -<div class="img"><img src="images/chapter.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="35" /></div><h2 id="c11"><br />11. A FRIEND IS LOST</h2> -<p>That night, on their way to dinner in the galley, the -boys were overtaken by the long-striding Mr. -Klecker.</p> -<p>“I heard you’re leaving us, gentlemen,” he said -to them.</p> -<p>“Yes, that’s right, Mr. Klecker,” Garry replied.</p> -<p>“Too bad. I was hoping I would have the opportunity -to talk to you about the old circus days. -Yes, it’s too bad.”</p> -<p>Gino, too, showed how much he liked the boys. -He baked them special pies and told them that -they were his going-away presents to them.</p> -<p>After supper, Patch said to Garry, as they were -leaving the galley, “Gee, they’re not making our -leaving very easy, are they?”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_108">108</div> -<p>“No, Patch, they’re not making it very easy at all,” -Garry agreed.</p> -<p>“We’re not making what very easy?” asked a -voice behind them.</p> -<p>They turned and saw the smiling face of Ben. -Garry explained to him what they were talking -about.</p> -<p>“Then I guess you don’t want me to say I’m sorry -to see you go either, do you?” Ben said.</p> -<p>“Of course we really <i>do</i> care,” Garry admitted. -“But it makes us sad when everybody tells us.”</p> -<p>“Then, I won’t tell you good-by, fellows,” Ben -said. “I’ll just say ‘so long’ for awhile. Before you -know it, you’ll come back into space and find us -still cruising through the deeps in the <i>Carefree</i>. -Yes, we’ll all be here.”</p> -<p>“It does sound better that way, Ben,” Garry replied. -“But until then, we’ll still miss all of you -terribly.”</p> -<p>“We’ll miss you too,” Ben said quietly, “but we’ll -never forget you.”</p> -<p>The boys went to bed with a feeling of melancholy -that night, for this was their last sleep aboard -Captain Eaton’s wonderland space ship. The -thought of leaving these good friends, possibly forever, -brought a pang to Garry’s heart. But no matter -how sorrowful he felt, he was determined to be -brave about it.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_109">109</div> -<p>Garry fell asleep thinking of all the fun he and -Patch had had in the brief happy hours of their -stay aboard the <i>Carefree</i>. Since the time passes -quickly during slumber, the boy expected he -would be awake before he knew it on another quiet -morning, and that very soon thereafter he would -be bidding good-by to his friends as he and Patch -made preparations for the voyage back to earth -and the orphanage.</p> -<p>But Garry woke far sooner than he expected. It -was not morning, nor was it quiet; the air was -charged with confusion and alarm.</p> -<p>Garry was aware of bustling footsteps and urgent -voices in the dormitory. His eyes popped open in -the bright glare of the lights that had been turned -on fully. He had a feeling that it was the middle of -the night and not morning, although he was not to -find this out until a little later.</p> -<p>Garry sat bolt upright in his bunk. “What’s -wrong?” he asked.</p> -<p>Gino, hastily pulling on his shirt, paused at -Garry’s bunk. His eyes showed the anxiety he felt.</p> -<p>“Hurry and get dressed, Garry!” he said. “You -and Patch. We’re in great danger. We’ve got to get -ready for the captain’s orders.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_110">110</div> -<p>Garry leaped out of bed, his heart thumping -swiftly. The cold floor on the soles of his feet -shocked him fully awake. He seized his peacefully -sleeping buddy and yanked him without mercy.</p> -<p>“Patch, get up! There’s trouble—I don’t know -just what kind yet!”</p> -<p>Patch’s eyes were still drugged with sleep, but -he struggled to a sitting position.</p> -<p>“Trouble? Wh—what trouble?” Patched muttered.</p> -<p>“I told you I don’t know, but Gino warned us to -get ready for the captain’s orders. Hurry! Everyone -else is already dressed and out of the dorm!”</p> -<p>Patch needed no more urging and popped out of -bed. He and Garry quickly dressed and hurried -out into the corridor to see what was going on.</p> -<p>There was no one in sight. The boys went farther -along. Then, at the foot of the stairs leading -into the center tube, they heard excited voices.</p> -<p>“Whatever it is, it seems to be up in the tunnel,” -Garry said. “Let’s go.”</p> -<p>They hurried up the stairs. Reaching the top, -Garry, who was in the lead, looked down the tunnel -from which most of the sounds were coming. -He saw Ben, Captain Eaton, Mr. Klecker, and Gino -on or near the platform outside the flight deck, the -door of which was closed.</p> -<p>Garry and Patch pulled their weightless bodies -along the webbing of the tube. As they approached -the men, they heard Ben saying:</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_111">111</div> -<p>“This is terrible! Poor Mac! And what’s going to -happen to the rest of us?”</p> -<p>“What is going to happen?” Garry asked, as he -and Patch came upon the scene.</p> -<p>Captain Eaton turned to them with a distraught -look. “I’m sorry, boys. If I had hastened to get you -back to the space station promptly, you would have -survived this—this disaster.”</p> -<p>“Disaster?” Garry echoed, with a sinking feeling -in his stomach.</p> -<p>“Yes,” Captain Eaton answered, his voice shaking. -“Mac is already done for, and we shall soon -follow after him.”</p> -<p>“What happened?” Patch asked Mr. Klecker.</p> -<p>The boys could see pain on the men’s faces.</p> -<p>“The <i>Carefree</i> collided with an <i>Explorer</i> satellite,” -the butler replied. “It destroyed the flight -deck while Mac was on duty. It looks as if he had -managed to close the door before he was swept off -into space. The collision knocked us off course, and -we’re plunging into space—toward where, no one -knows. We can’t so much as lift a finger to bring -her under control, and our antenna disk has been -damaged so that we can’t even send an SOS.”</p> -<p>“Oh, no!” was all Garry could say, sickened at -the sudden fateful turn of events.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_112">112</div> -<p>Actually, he was thinking more of poor Mac than -he was of their own grim outlook. He remembered -how much the likable Scotsman wanted to return -to the heather of his own land after his stint in -space. Now he would never see Scotland again. -Garry absently watched Ben squirting a thick -liquid around the cracks of the flight-deck door, -probably as a safeguard against air escaping from -the ship.</p> -<p>“Ben has been outside in a pressure suit to look -over the damage,” Captain Eaton said.</p> -<p>Patch turned away from the others, hanging his -head in grief and despair. Captain Eaton put an -arm around Garry’s shoulder, but there was a helpless -look on his face that seemed to show the uselessness -of saying anything. Gino had lost his usual -cheery smile and could only stare numbly at the -closed door of the flight deck, where their friend -had been the victim of such a cruel act of fate.</p> -<p>Garry looked around at the ship’s company. -Everyone was accounted for except Isaac.</p> -<p>“Where’s Mr. Newton?” he asked.</p> -<p>“Poor Isaac is completely crushed,” Captain -Eaton replied. “He had just changed shifts with -Mac at the pilot’s chair only a few moments before -the accident. He’s blaming himself for the whole -thing. It seems he overlooked the position of the -satellite that hit us. He missed it on his last check, -and Mac did not see it in time. Isaac’s gone off -somewhere.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_113">113</div> -<p>It was indeed a dark moment aboard the once-happy -vessel. Things had happened so swiftly that -everyone appeared to be still in shock. No one -spoke again for several minutes. Everyone just -stood around idly, as if not knowing what to do next -and not really caring.</p> -<p>Ben was the first to try to rally everyone’s deadened -spirits. He had just finished sealing the cracks -in the door.</p> -<p>“It’ll be some time before we can tell which way -the ship is heading. The collision changed our -course completely. Even when we do find out, -there’s nothing we can do to control the <i>Carefree</i>. -She’s just a runaway. But I still think there’s hope -for us.”</p> -<p>All eyes turned upon Ben questioningly.</p> -<p>“That flier you two arrived in, Garry,” Ben continued. -“I’ve only had a quick look inside it, and the -console seemed in pretty bad shape from your and -Patch’s efforts to start the engines. However, if I’m -lucky and we have time before the <i>Carefree</i> hits -another satellite or something, I may be able to fix -it up so that we can escape in it.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_114">114</div> -<p>“It’s our only hope,” Captain Eaton replied. “I -suggest you get right on the job, Ben, and call on -anyone you need to help you. Meanwhile, we’ll -sweat out the flight, although I must say I feel like a -duck in a shooting gallery because of all the flying -objects whirling out there all around us.”</p> -<p>“If we are able to escape in the flier,” Mr. -Klecker said, “we can use its radio to send for -help.”</p> -<p>Ben shook his head. “The radio was removed for -some reason. There’s only the empty compartment -it came out of.”</p> -<p>With faint hope of survival, some measure of -good spirits was restored to the astronauts. Ben -called upon Mr. Klecker to help him work on the -space taxi, and Captain Eaton said he would go to -the observatory to take a “fix” and try to determine -the course the <i>Carefree</i> had taken.</p> -<p>“I’ll have to change clothes,” Mr. Klecker said. -“I don’t want to get my uniform soiled.”</p> -<p>“Guess I’ll go and whip up some breakfast,” Gino -said. “That’s about all <i>I</i> can do, although maybe nobody -will be hungry.”</p> -<p>Captain Eaton turned to Garry and Patch before -he left. “I know it’s going to be hard for you,” he -said, “but try to feel hopeful about this situation. -A terrible misfortune has come our way, but try to -believe that things will work out for us. Chins up, -eh, fellows?”</p> -<p>He forced a smile. The boys gave him a brave -smile in return, although they did not feel it any -more than he had.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_115">115</div> -<p>“May we go with you to the observatory, Captain?” -Patch asked. “Maybe we can help.”</p> -<p>“Yes, if you like. I know how hard it will be to -remain idle at a time like this. Let’s go.”</p> -<p>In the observatory, Garry and Patch watched -the captain at his telescope and other instruments. -He worked for a little while, then turned away -from his work with a brooding, disturbed look on -his face. He stroked his neat beard. Then he worked -again for several more minutes.</p> -<p>He stopped once more, but then resumed his -watching. He kept this up for some time, and, as the -minutes passed, his face grew more and more -serious.</p> -<p>Garry was afraid to ask, but he felt that he had -to know. “Captain, is—is it bad?” he said softly.</p> -<p>Captain Eaton shook his head grimly, the look -of despair in his eyes.</p> -<p>“You may as well know,” he replied. “I’ve been -hoping I was wrong, but now I know I’m not. We’re -moving into the gravity field of the moon. My guess -is that we’re only a few hours away from collision.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_116">116</div> -<div class="img"><img src="images/chapter.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="35" /></div><h2 id="c12"><br />12. A STARTLING DISCOVERY</h2> -<p>This latest bad news filled Garry with a new dread. -But he refused to give up hope. He remembered -that Ben was working in the flier, trying to put it in -shape.</p> -<p>“Captain Eaton,” he asked, “do you think Ben -will have the flier ready by the time we begin falling -to the moon?”</p> -<p>“I couldn’t even guess at that. If there’s not too -much wrong with the flier, he may get it repaired -in short order. But a major repair—I just don’t -know. I guess the next thing now is to inform the -men of our course and get Ben’s estimate of the -flier’s damage.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_117">117</div> -<p>The three of them joined Ben and Mr. Klecker -in the flier a few moments later. The small rocket -ship was still held fast to the bigger <i>Carefree</i>, their -two air locks joined as if they were one ship.</p> -<p>When Captain Eaton had told the men that they -were headed for the moon, whether they liked it -or not, Ben replied, “Well, Captain, I suppose -we’ve just <i>got</i> to get the space taxi in shape in -mighty short order. I don’t imagine the <i>Carefree</i> -will bounce very well on the moon’s hard, rocky -surface.”</p> -<p>“Do you really think you can get it repaired in -time, Ben?” Captain Eaton asked gravely.</p> -<p>“How much time do you think you can give me?” -Ben asked.</p> -<p>“I’ll have to do some more calculating before I -can estimate exactly how long it will be before we -go into final fall,” was the reply, “but, offhand, I -would say you’ve got no longer than six hours.”</p> -<p>Ben looked at the damaged control panel of the -flier and shook his head.</p> -<p>“Impossible,” he said, “but I’ll do it. I’ve <i>got</i> to -do it.”</p> -<p>“Everyone on the ship will be at your disposal, -Ben,” Captain Eaton said. “Call for anyone and -anything at all that you need in order to hurry those -repairs. Ben, there’s no one else I’d rather trust with -the lives of us all than you. You can’t let us down.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_118">118</div> -<p>“That confidence means a lot, Captain,” Ben -replied, his expression showing the appreciation -he felt. “Mac gave his life for the ship. I’d do no -less if it meant saving the <i>Carefree</i> and all you -guys.”</p> -<p>“I know you mean what you say, Ben,” Captain -Eaton said, “but we won’t call on you to go that far. -Just get the flier in shape so that we can escape in -it and not share the <i>Carefree</i>’s fate in crashing on -the moon.”</p> -<p>Ben shook his head sadly. “I hadn’t thought of -the <i>Carefree</i> plunging to her destruction. But we -<i>know</i> that’s got to happen, don’t we, because -there’s no way of saving her. Captain, this ship has -become such a part of my life that I’d almost want -to go down with her.”</p> -<p>“I feel the same way, Ben,” Captain Eaton replied. -“Life will never be the same again without -the <i>Carefree</i>. I don’t know how I’ll get along without -her deck beneath my feet.”</p> -<p>“If we get out of this alive,” Mr. Klecker said, -“we’ll just have to return to earth and spend the -rest of our days there.”</p> -<p>“That’s true,” the captain agreed sadly. “Even -a millionaire is allowed a space ship as grand as -this only once in a lifetime. I couldn’t afford another.”</p> -<p>Ben seemed to realize that precious time was going -to waste as they talked, and he began getting -his tools together.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_119">119</div> -<p>“I know everyone wants to help,” he said, “but -I think that Kleck and I can work better together -by ourselves just now. There’ll be less confusion. -I’ll be sure to call on anyone else if he’s needed.”</p> -<p>Mr. Klecker had donned some old clothes, but -he did not look comfortable in them.</p> -<p>Ben listed more tools and equipment he would -need, and Captain Eaton gave the list to Garry.</p> -<p>“Take this to Isaac, will you, Garry, and ask him -to round these up as quickly as possible. I’ve got -to get back to the observatory and see how much -time there is to zero hour.”</p> -<p>“Isaac has taken Mac’s loss pretty badly, Captain,” -Ben said. “Do you think he’ll be working at -top efficiency?”</p> -<p>“I think it will do him good to have something to -do,” the captain replied. “He’ll be of no use to himself, -or us either, if he just keeps on brooding.”</p> -<p>Captain Eaton and the boys left the flier and went -their separate ways to take care of their respective -duties. Garry and Patch went to the dormitory and -found Isaac Newton sitting on one of the lower -bunks, his head in his hands. They stood beside the -bunk for several moments, waiting for Isaac to look -up, but he did not seem to know that there was -anyone else around.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_120">120</div> -<p>“Isaac,” Garry then said, “Ben needs a few things -for the repair of the flier. The captain thought you -could round them up for us.”</p> -<p>Isaac still did not look up.</p> -<p>“Isaac, we’re headed for the moon,” Patch said -urgently. “We’ve <i>got</i> to get the flier repaired within -six hours, or we’re all goners!”</p> -<p>Finally, Isaac looked up, his gentle eyes red. “It’s -all my fault,” he said. “It’s all my fault that Mac is -dead! I didn’t tell him about the satellite, and I -should have. I ought to be shot like a soldier for -neglecting his duty.”</p> -<p>“You shouldn’t blame yourself, Isaac,” Garry -said gently. “Anyone could have made the same -mistake.”</p> -<p>Isaac shook his head, as if pulling himself together, -and held out his hand. “Let me have the -list.”</p> -<p>He looked it over, climbed to his feet, and started -out of the dormitory.</p> -<p>“Gee, he <i>is</i> taking it hard, isn’t he?” Patch asked.</p> -<p>Garry nodded. “I can imagine how he feels. How -many times have you made a mistake that you’d -give anything in the world to correct if you could? -But with us, our mistakes have never cost a person -his life.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_121">121</div> -<p>Isaac came back into the room. “One of the -things on this list is the sealer gun. It must still be -up there by the flight-deck door that was sealed to -prevent the air leaking out. Will you fellows get -it?”</p> -<p>“Sure, Isaac,” Garry replied. “Come on, Patch.”</p> -<p>As they pulled themselves along the center tunnel, -Patch remarked, “Isaac didn’t want to go back -up there. That’s why he asked us to get the sealer -gun.”</p> -<p>“I think you’re right,” Garry replied. “But it will -save him some time just the same.”</p> -<p>Reaching the platform in front of the flight deck, -the boys stepped up onto the magnetized area. All -at once Garry was struck by the awesome silence -of this part of the ship. Along with this was the remembrance -of the tragedy that had taken place -beyond the door in front of them, and he had a -lonesome, shivery feeling.</p> -<p>Patch seemed to feel it too.</p> -<p>“Let’s hurry up and get out of here,” he said. “It’s -kind of spooky here all by ourselves.”</p> -<p>“I don’t see the sealer gun anywhere, do you?” -Garry asked.</p> -<p>“No. Maybe somebody carried it away with -them.”</p> -<p>There was a well of darkness beneath the platform. -Both boys glanced at one another. They -knew that was the next place to look.</p> -<p>“It may be down there someplace,” Garry said. -“We’ll have to take a look.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_122">122</div> -<p>“How could it be down there?” Patch argued, -not enjoying the prospect. “There’s no gravity here -in the tube. Things don’t <i>fall</i> in here like they do -in the rest of the ship.”</p> -<p>“It may have been shoved off in that direction,” -Garry said. “That could easily have happened in all -the excitement up here. Time’s wasting, Patch. If -you’re scared, I’ll poke around down there.”</p> -<p>“It’s not that I’m exactly scared,” Patch protested -weakly.</p> -<p>Garry held onto the railing and swung his feet -off the magnetized-platform floor so that he floated -weightlessly in the air. Then he began pulling himself -down into the darkness, using the metal lattice-work -that extended below the platform.</p> -<p>“How can you see down there?” Patch called -from above. “Want me to get a light for you?”</p> -<p>“I’ll feel around a little first,” Garry answered. “I -may put my hand right on it.”</p> -<p>With one hand holding onto the metal stripping, -Garry fanned his free arm back and forth along the -floor. All he felt was cold smooth metal—at first.</p> -<p>Then, suddenly, he felt something soft to his -touch. A chill raced up his backbone, ending in a -prickle at the top of his head. He swallowed, then -courageously began feeling around again on the -object, trying to identify it. His hand touched flesh, -warm flesh, and he could trace the outline of five -fingers. He felt that chill again, but he fought to -keep his nerves under control.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_123">123</div> -<p>“Hey, What’s going on?” Patch called. “Have you -found something?”</p> -<p>Garry pulled himself back up to the platform and -hung onto the rail, shaking.</p> -<p>“Garry,” Patch said, “you’re white as you can -be!”</p> -<p>“I found something all right, Patch. There’s a -<i>person</i> down there,” Garry whispered.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_124">124</div> -<div class="img"><img src="images/chapter.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="35" /></div><h2 id="c13"><br />13. ABANDON SHIP!</h2> -<p>Leaving a bewildered and frightened Patch behind -him, Garry left the platform and began pulling -himself as rapidly as possible along the webbing -of the tube toward the ship’s stern. Reaching -the observatory bubble, he went in.</p> -<p>“Captain Eaton!” Garry gasped. “I think I’ve -found him! I think I’ve found Mac!”</p> -<p>The captain swung from an instrument he was -using, and looked at Garry in amazement. “You -<i>what</i>?” he cried.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_125">125</div> -<p>Garry pulled himself into the observatory, the -floor taking hold of the soles of his shoes by its magnetic -attraction. “Yes, Sir!” he declared. “Patch -and I were looking for the sealing gun in front of -the flight deck, and I found a body in the darkness -below the platform!”</p> -<p>Captain Eaton clicked across the floor and entered -the tube. Garry tagged along behind, as the -skipper of the <i>Carefree</i> set out toward the bow of -the ship.</p> -<p>A few minutes later, Captain Eaton was checking -on Garry’s discovery. Then he came back onto -the platform, excitement showing on his face.</p> -<p>“It <i>is</i> Mac!” he burst out. “His body is warm, and -I think he may be alive! We must call some of the -others so that we can get him up from there. In this -zero gravity it will take several of us.”</p> -<p>Garry and Patch were sent by the captain to -round up the others.</p> -<p>Then several began helping to get Mac onto the -platform. Of course he weighed nothing, but, in -the zero gravity, the difficulty in moving him lay -in the fact that the others could not push him without -bracing some part of their own body against -something. Otherwise, they would only succeed in -pushing themselves backward.</p> -<p>Mac was finally moved onto the platform and -stretched out. He lay, suspended in air, a few inches -above the platform. Captain Eaton looked at the -Scotsman’s eyes and tested his pulse.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_126">126</div> -<p>“His pulse is a little slow,” he stated, “but his -color is good, and I think he’ll come around pretty -soon. That bad gash on his forehead must have -knocked him out.”</p> -<p>They worked over Mac. Finally, he stirred and -then opened his eyes. He stared as if unseeing for -several moments, but then, as he began to recognize -everybody, a weak smile formed on his lips.</p> -<p>“What happened?” he murmured.</p> -<p>“We don’t know what happened, Mac,” Captain -Eaton replied. “Can you tell us? Can you remember -what did happen before you blacked out?”</p> -<p>Mac frowned, as if concentrating very hard. -Then his face relaxed.</p> -<p>“I remember,” he said softly. “I was near the -door when it hit us—whatever it was. If I’d been in -the pilot’s chair I would have been a goner. But I -had gotten up only a moment before to check the -chart. The door was open. I heard a terrific roar -and saw the whole console burst into a sheet of fire. -At the same time I felt myself being blown backward -and right through the door onto the platform. -I was dazed, but somehow I had the presence of -mind to know I had to get that door shut or the ship -would lose all her air. I managed to press the button -and saw it slide shut. But then my head began -to hurt terrifically and I felt dizzy. I reached out for -the railing to hold on, but I guess I missed it then -and unconsciously floated off to wherever you -found me.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_127">127</div> -<p>“Garry found you,” Captain Eaton said. “We -thought you had been blown into space by the collision.”</p> -<p>“Thanks, Garry,” Mac said, winking at him with -gratitude.</p> -<p>“That’s all right,” Garry replied. “We’re just so -glad to see that you’re still alive.”</p> -<p>“Mac, don’t ever scare me again like that!” Isaac -put in, his voice shaky with emotion. “It was my -fault the collision happened, because I overlooked -the satellite that hit us. I knew your death was on -me, and I was so torn up I don’t think I’d ever have -gotten over it. Thanks, buddy, for turning up as -you did!”</p> -<p>“Forget it, Isaac,” Mac joked. “Maybe you can -return the favor sometime.”</p> -<p>They told Mac about the existing crisis. He -wanted to do something to help, but Captain Eaton -insisted that he go to the dormitory to rest. Garry -and Patch went with Captain Eaton to the observatory -to recheck and see how much time the <i>Carefree</i> -had left.</p> -<p>After another period of figuring and using his instruments, -the skipper turned to the boys. “I wish -I had better news, but it looks as if we have less -time than I had thought at first.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_128">128</div> -<p>The boys returned with Captain Eaton to the -flier. Isaac had taken over helping Ben, since he -knew more about this kind of thing than Mr. -Klecker.</p> -<p>Captain Eaton stood at the door of the air lock. -“How are you coming in there?” he asked.</p> -<p>Ben gave him a report of their progress. The -captain’s face was lined and grave. “You may have -to do better than that if we’re going to get out of -this alive,” he said. “The moon is very close.”</p> -<p>Captain Eaton and the boys spent the time that -followed in the observatory dome, watching the -steadily growing disk of the moon. It was like a -mocking face in the sky, luring the travelers to destruction.</p> -<p>No telescope was needed, for the big, rocky -satellite of earth appeared to take up the whole -heavens. Garry and Patch studied the knife-edged -mountaintops, the dry, gray wildernesses that were -once thought to be seas, and the mysterious bowl-like -craters. Where would the <i>Carefree</i> plunge to -her death on the fierce moonscape, Garry wondered. -And would he and the others still be aboard -her when she crashed? Garry shuddered at the -thought. As Captain Eaton had said, Luna was now -so frightfully close.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_129">129</div> -<p>The captain made a final check of his instruments. -Then he turned abruptly, heading for the -door. The boys followed him out.</p> -<p>In the flier, moments later, the captain said, -“Ben, we’re in our last hour. How do things look in -here?”</p> -<p>Garry could see Ben’s grimy, tired face turned -toward Captain Eaton.</p> -<p>“It’ll be close, Captain, awfully close,” Ben answered, -and immediately turned back to the network -of wiring in the instrument panel.</p> -<p>“Anything I can do, Ben?” Captain Eaton asked.</p> -<p>“Just hope and pray,” was the reply. “I think it’ll -be all up to me now. It’s a one-man job getting these -wires hooked up.”</p> -<p>“We could take one last look around the ship -during this last hour,” Mr. Klecker proposed. “I -have some books I want to take along.”</p> -<p>“Sorry, Kleck,” Ben said, “but we won’t have -room for them. The flier will be crowded as it is. -We won’t be able to take belongings of any kind, -not even for survival, except for the emergency -supplies the flier itself carries. The weight is that -critical.”</p> -<p>“I don’t want a last look,” Gino spoke up. -“Otherwise I might not want to leave the good old -<i>Carefree</i>, even if she is going to crash.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_130">130</div> -<p>“Me either,” Isaac Newton added. “I want to remember -her the way she was when all of us were -very happy and really carefree.”</p> -<p>“One thing about Patch and me,” Garry put in. -“We came aboard without anything but the clothes -we’re wearing, and we’ll be leaving the same way.”</p> -<p>“There’s one thing I surely hate to leave behind,” -Captain Eaton said. “Katrinka. She’s only a robot, -but I’ve had her for so long that she’s almost like a -member of the family.”</p> -<p>From now on, every minute was beginning to -count desperately. Garry wished he could hold -back the hands of the clock. He wished he could -give Ben an extra hour. But this could not be.</p> -<p>A little later there came the announcement -that Garry had known must be coming finally. Captain -Eaton had been in the observatory for the last -time, and now he had returned with a final announcement: -“It’s now or never, Ben. Which is it?”</p> -<p>Ben straightened up, and there was a pleased -look on his weary face. “Just finished, Captain. The -instrument panel isn’t as good as new, but I’m -pretty sure the flier can be navigated by it, at least -long enough for a safe landing on Luna. Come here, -Mac. Let me show you a few things about the console.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_131">131</div> -<p>Garry wondered why Ben was taking time to instruct -Mac in the navigation of the ship. Why -couldn’t he do the piloting himself? Garry could see -that Mac was a little puzzled too, as he went -over to the instrument panel.</p> -<p>Captain Eaton was looking at his wrist watch. -“Ben, there’s no more time. We’ve got to get off the -<i>Carefree</i> within five minutes, not a second longer.”</p> -<p>After a few more hurried moments of instruction, -Ben said, “We’re ready, Captain. Everybody into -the rocket.”</p> -<p>Those who were not already in filed into the -rocket and belted down into the seats. That is, -everybody but one—Ben.</p> -<p>“Ben, where are you going?” Captain Eaton -asked.</p> -<p>“To check on the air lock, Sir,” Ben answered, -and walked through the flier’s doorway into the air -lock between the two ships.</p> -<p>Mac had belted down in the pilot’s seat, as Ben -had asked him to do.</p> -<p>“How are you going to ride without a seat, Ben?” -Mac called.</p> -<p>“Everybody ready?” Ben called from the air lock.</p> -<p>All answered that they were.</p> -<p>“Start the motors, Mac,” Ben said.</p> -<p>Mac started the rocket motors, at the same time -calling, “Hurry up, Ben!”</p> -<p>Garry heard a whirring sound, and the outer door -of the flier slid shut, with Ben still in the air lock -beyond!</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_132">132</div> -<p>“Hey, wait!” Isaac shouted. “Ben’s in the air lock, -and the door’s closed!”</p> -<p>No one could do anything, for in the very next -moment the flier kicked out violently sideways, -bending everyone over in his seat. There was another -jerk forward as the flier went into motion.</p> -<p>“What’s happened?” Captain Eaton called.</p> -<p>“Ben’s tricked us!” Mac replied. “He cut off the -magnetic grapples from the air lock that held us -fast to the <i>Carefree</i>. How stupid I was! He told me -to take over while he checked on some last-minute -things.”</p> -<p>“I see it all,” Isaac added. “If we check the -weights we’ll probably find out that we would be -overloaded with one more passenger. Ben was that -one more, and he chose not to come aboard rather -than risk the safety of the rest of us!”</p> -<p>“Yes,” the captain said in a choked voice, “it -seems that Ben elected to go down with the <i>Carefree</i>.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_133">133</div> -<div class="img"><img src="images/chapter.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="35" /></div><h2 id="c14"><br />14. FIRST HOURS ON LUNA</h2> -<p>Ben lost to them!</p> -<p>Garry could hardly believe it. Surely Ben could -have found <i>some</i> way to save himself. Did he really -have to make such a costly sacrifice?</p> -<p>No one aboard the flier cared to speak for several -minutes after Mac’s tragic announcement. It -had come as a devastating blow to all of them.</p> -<p>Finally, Isaac broke the solemn quiet: “It won’t -be the same with good old Ben gone. He was a -smart, brave guy. I’d like to have an ounce of all the -scientific and mechanical knowledge he had.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_134">134</div> -<p>They had been so concerned over Ben’s fate that -they had almost overlooked the fact that the rocky -wilderness of the moon was staring them in the -face; that in a few moments the flier would be either -touching down on her surface or crashing along -with the <i>Carefree</i> and Ben, her only human occupant.</p> -<p>Mac was guiding the craft into a slowly descending -spiral. This would give the flier’s braking rockets -time to reduce speed to safe level for the touchdown.</p> -<p>The <i>Carefree</i> was not in sight, although Garry -searched the starry sky through the plastic walls of -the flier. He was glad he could not find her. He -would not have liked to see her crash.</p> -<p>Down below, Garry could see the huge dish of a -giant crater. It was within this area that Mac was -circling. As if anticipating Garry’s question, Mac -explained: “Ben suggested that we try landing on -the floor of this crater, which is called Hornfield. -It was discovered by a lunar explorer in 1983. It is -supposed to be covered by several inches of pumice -dust, and that may help to break our fall if we -make a bad touchdown.”</p> -<p>From high up, the walls of the crater did not appear -very impressive, but as the flier spiraled lower, -they looked like lofty battlements of ancient castles.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_135">135</div> -<p>As they dipped lower still, Garry watched those -grim crater walls close in around the small space -craft. Spread out below was the ocean of gray dust -that carpeted the crater floor. Part way up, above -the horizon, was seen the distant globe of earth. It -cast ghostly greenish shadows around the walls, -pits, and rock formations. This was the two-week -period of night on Luna, and the temperature down -there, in a nearly airless atmosphere, Garry knew, -was more than two hundred degrees below zero.</p> -<p>“Everyone make sure his restraining belts are -tight,” Mac called. “We’re about to touchdown.”</p> -<p>The ground rushed up to meet them, as Garry -felt himself tipped forward in his seat. The belly of -the little flier skimmed the ocean of dust, sending it -up in a giant cloud along both sides of the craft. The -flier continued to plow along through the pumice -until friction finally brought it to a halt.</p> -<p>It was strange being still again, Garry thought. -Another strange feeling was the gravity pull of the -moon, which he knew to be only one sixth as strong -as that of earth.</p> -<p>“Is everybody all right?” Captain Eaton asked.</p> -<p>No one said that he <i>wasn’t</i> all right. Garry and -Patch began unfastening their restraining belts, as -did the others.</p> -<p>Captain Eaton was the first to his feet. He moved -over to the window with a strange floating sort of -step owing to his reduced moon weight. Then he -looked out.</p> -<p>“Where are we, Mac?” he asked.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_136">136</div> -<p>“Inside the Hornfield crater,” Mac answered.</p> -<p>“Are there any settlements close by?” the captain -asked. “Anybody who can come to our rescue?”</p> -<p>“About twenty-five miles to the southwest, captain,” -Mac answered. “Ben told me just where it -was and advised me to land as close to it as possible. -I thought this was as close as we dared approach, -because the ground is treacherous between -Hornfield and the settlement.”</p> -<p>“What sort of settlement is it, Mac?” Isaac asked.</p> -<p>“An oxygen-mining outfit in the Taurus Mountains. -They’re mining for ore rich in oxygen to provide -pressurized air for the underground terminal -of Luna City, five hundred miles farther to the -south. Ben said he thought they would have fliers -that could get here in a short time as soon as they -got our radio message.”</p> -<p>“But we don’t have any radio,” Mr. Klecker said.</p> -<p>“Yes we do, and we can thank the flier’s lifesaving -equipment for that,” Captain Eaton said.</p> -<p>He went to a cabinet built into the wall and -pulled out an oblong box. On the top of it were the -words: “SOS Automatic Transmitter.”</p> -<p>“You mean that was in the flier all this time and -that we could have used it earlier ourselves?” Garry -asked in surprise.</p> -<p>“Yes, you could have,” Captain Eaton replied.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_137">137</div> -<p>“I’m familiar with this transmitter,” the captain -went on. “Let’s get the radio kit down.”</p> -<p>When this was done, Captain Eaton donned one -of the two space suits which the flier carried. When -he was dressed, he entered the flier’s air lock, carrying -the radio kit. Those inside the ship watched -Captain Eaton walk about fifty feet from the flier -and open the box containing the transmitter.</p> -<p>“Gee, why does he have to open it up out there?” -Patch wanted to know. “Couldn’t he transmit from -inside the ship just as easy?”</p> -<p>“No, not nearly as well,” Mac explained. “Just -watch, and you’ll see why!”</p> -<p>Captain Eaton took some things out of the box, -and then, after tinkering with them for a few minutes, -he set the transmitter in the pumice dust and -ran back toward the flier as if he had just lighted a -bomb fuse. A few seconds later the boys were surprised -to see something resembling a giant snake -spring from the ground beside the transmitter and -extend straight up in the dark sky!</p> -<p>“What in the world was that?” Patch asked in -amazement.</p> -<p>“That’s the antenna for the transmitter, isn’t it, -Mac?” Garry asked.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_138">138</div> -<p>Mac nodded. “That long ropelike thing is hollow, -and the antenna is in the middle of it. Captain -Eaton released a switch that caused the casing to -fill with compressed air, and that is what keeps it -extended into the sky. That gives us a much better -antenna than we could possibly have in here. Also, -being as tall as it is, the radio waves leaving it can -travel great distances and cross high places which -they could not do if it were short. Understand?”</p> -<p>The boys nodded.</p> -<p>“The transmitter is a very light and simple one,” -Mac went on. “All it can do is send out an SOS signal -from time to time; it can’t transmit words. Yet -whoever picks it up can easily trace it. I hope our -signal will carry as far as the mining settlement and -that there’s no interference between to block our -radio waves. Those mountains could block the -waves.”</p> -<p>“How long do you think we can hold out, just in -case our rescue is slow in coming?” Garry asked -Mac.</p> -<p>“If we carefully ration food, water, and air, I’d -say we could last about five days, earth time,” Mac -replied. “I’m pretty sure the captain will start rationing -right away, just to make sure, but I can’t -see any reason why we won’t see a rescue flier -heading this way pretty soon, certainly by tomorrow.”</p> -<p>Captain Eaton presently came back inside and -began taking off his space suit.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_139">139</div> -<p>“If we get out of this alive, we’ll owe it all to -Ben,” Isaac remarked.</p> -<p>Garry noticed the sudden sadness on the faces of -the others at the mention of Ben’s name. Presently, -everyone in turn began saying something good -about their friend; that is, everyone except Captain -Eaton, whom Garry knew had been closer to -Ben than any of the others.</p> -<p>The captain was still plainly too broken up to say -anything about Ben at this time. He just quietly finished -removing his pressure-suit gear, and Garry -could see the tragedy in his eyes. Garry was glad -when Captain Eaton changed the subject, because -he himself had grown very fond of the brilliant -young spaceman.</p> -<p>“We should take inventory of our stock,” the captain -was saying, “and then start a rationing schedule. -We can’t be sure how long we’ll have to wait -before help comes. I don’t want to alarm everybody, -but there’s always the possibility of radioactivity -or mineral deposits in the hills beyond the -crater which would keep our SOS from going -through. The moon is full of those things.”</p> -<p>Mac’s prediction as to how long the food and water -would last turned out to be fairly close, although -it turned out to be four days instead of five. No one -expected the fourth day to roll around with their -still being trapped in the flier, but Captain Eaton -was playing safe, as Mac had said he probably -would do.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_140">140</div> -<p>Those who had invented the equipment making -up the escape flier’s emergency kit had seemingly -thought of everything to ease the plight of those -trapped on strange planets. They had not overlooked -the boredom of those awaiting rescue. There -was a special cabinet containing tiny games, and -there were also miniature books.</p> -<p>When the inventory was completed and everything -was done that could be done, Captain Eaton -distributed the games and books, and everyone settled -down in the flight chairs.</p> -<p>“This isn’t so bad,” Isaac said, sighing and -stretching out comfortably with one of the little -books. “I’ve always wanted to read this book on -great poetry, but up to now I just haven’t had the -time because it’s so long. It looks like I’ve finally -gotten my chance to read it.”</p> -<p>“There aren’t any books about the circus,” Mr. -Klecker said disappointedly. “I guess I’ll just have -to settle for what’s left.”</p> -<p>The butler straightened his bow tie. He had -changed back into his full dress after Isaac had -taken over as Ben’s helper.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_141">141</div> -<p>Garry and Patch started a game of chess, and the -rest of the <i>Carefree</i>’s passengers took whatever -game or book interested them. Except for the sadness -of Ben’s not being with them, Garry noticed -that there was an air of contentment and optimism -on the part of everyone.</p> -<p>Later, he was to be glad that he did not have the -talent of seeing into the future, for if those who -were so relaxed now in their cozy hideaway on the -dark moon had only known what was in store for -them, they would not have been in the mood for -enjoying <i>anything</i> at this moment.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_142">142</div> -<div class="img"><img src="images/chapter.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="35" /></div><h2 id="c15"><br />15. A DARK OUTLOOK</h2> -<p>The idea of stretching out comfortably with a good -book and plenty of spare time did not seem so satisfying -after several hours. After this period, everyone -began to get restless, with a desire to get up -and stretch his legs, as they could have done if -they were back on the <i>Carefree</i>.</p> -<p>“I know how you feel, fellows,” Captain Eaton -said sympathetically, as he noticed how tired everyone -had become of just sitting around. “I’d like to -take a romp myself outside in a space suit, but without -knowing how soon we’ll be rescued and having -no surplus of supplies, I don’t think we should -use up our oxygen that fast. Everyone agree?”</p> -<p>Everyone did.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_143">143</div> -<p>Then to while away the hours that were beginning -to drag slowly along, the captain suggested -that they talk among themselves and exchange stories. -This activity occupied the group for some time. -Garry was glad that poor Ben was not mentioned -again to further depress everyone.</p> -<p>Finally, all became “talked out,” just as they had -become “read out” before that. And by this time -some were ready for a nap and began dozing in -their seats.</p> -<p>Garry watched the captain settle back in his seat, -sighing tiredly.</p> -<p>“I suppose I should be grateful for being alive,” -he said, “but I feel almost as if I had died myself. -Yes, this is a sad day for an old man who has lost at -the same time the dearest things to his heart—one -of his best friends and a funny-looking space ship -that had come to be even homier than his earthly -home.”</p> -<p>Garry noticed how much the conversation kept -returning to Ben. He guessed that the unselfish -spaceman would be on their minds for a long time -to come.</p> -<p>“I wonder where they went down, Captain?” -Mac asked. “I didn’t even see the <i>Carefree</i>, once -Ben cut us free.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_144">144</div> -<p>“None of us saw her,” the captain replied, “and -I’m glad. I hope they never find her remains on the -moon, because I would feel compelled to go to the -site of the crash and I would not want to do that. -No, it’s better this way.”</p> -<p>Before long, someone mentioned food. There -was some mild enthusiasm from the others, but not -much. Everyone knew that all there was to eat were -capsules that would provide nourishment but little -enjoyment.</p> -<p>Gino made a face when the capsule bottle was -passed to him and he shook two of the pellets out -into his hand.</p> -<p>“To think that I would ever have to make a meal -of these things,” he said sadly, “I, who at one time -or another, have served up the grandest dishes ever -put together.”</p> -<p>All ate silently. Since the additional talk about -Ben, it was as if cold water had been poured over -their spirits.</p> -<p>After the brief meal the captain suggested that -the lights be turned down and everyone try to get a -“night” of sleep.</p> -<p>“I think all of us are brain fagged and bored after -all that has happened,” he said. “Maybe there’ll be -someone knocking on our air-lock door before we -wake up.”</p> -<p>No one objected to the idea, as it seemed to be -the only thing left for them to do.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_145">145</div> -<p>When everyone was settled down for the “night,” -Captain Eaton cut off all lights within the flier. It -was still not very dark in the flier because outdoors -it was brighter than the brightest moonlight night -on earth, owing to the brilliant glow of earthshine.</p> -<p>“If our rescuers do not show up some time tomorrow,” -Captain Eaton said, “we had better start cutting -back on our battery power. That will mean no -lights inside, except use of the flashlight in the cabinet, -and less warmth. I have a feeling that our batteries -will play out before any of our other supplies -do.”</p> -<p>When Garry woke the next “morning,” he heard -some of the others stirring about. Patch was standing -over him with two tablets and Garry’s personal -water bottle which squeezed the liquid into one’s -mouth.</p> -<p>“What’s this?” Garry mumbled. “Time for my -medicine?”</p> -<p>“Medicine nothing,” Patch replied. “This, son, is -breakfast. Or would you prefer nice crisp bacon -and fluffy scrambled eggs?”</p> -<p>“Aw, Patch, cut it out,” Garry pleaded. “You -don’t have to make this any tougher than it is!”</p> -<p>Garry took the food pills, chewing them slowly -to get what little flavor there was in them. Then he -finished off with the water, which was little more -than enough to wet his throat.</p> -<p>“Gee, the captain has really rationed the water, -hasn’t he?” Garry whispered.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_146">146</div> -<p>“He cut it back even further this morning,” Patch -replied. “Know why? Because nobody came knocking -on our air lock as he had hoped maybe they -would. On top of that, I heard him say he was going -to run another close inventory on all our life-supporting -items to see how much is left.”</p> -<p>“Gosh, do you think he’s afraid <i>no</i> one will be -knocking any time soon?”</p> -<p>“I don’t know,” Patch replied, “but he has been -frowning quite a bit this morning.”</p> -<p>The captain presently made it clear to all why he -had been doing so much frowning.</p> -<p>“Frankly,” he said, “I thought those people at the -mining settlement would have had plenty of time -while we slept to pay us a visit. If our SOS reached -them soon after we began sending, as it should -have, they should have had a flier over here within -a few hours’ time. Our chief essentials for staying -alive are our food, water, air, and power supply -which is necessary to keep us warm. It’s several -hundred degrees below zero outside, in case you -haven’t thought about it.”</p> -<p>They took another inventory, and the results were -not very heartening.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_147">147</div> -<p>“We’re using up much too much of our battery -power,” Captain Eaton said. “That’s the weakest -link in our chain of existence. I didn’t realize that -yesterday when we had the lights on for reading. -From now on until someone comes, we’ll have to do -without light altogether except when necessary. -That means we’ll have to do our reading by earthshine -and our one flashlight. We may have some -strained eyes, but that’s the best we can do. We’ll -also have to reduce our heat a little to save on power -that way too.”</p> -<p>“Captain, do you think we should check the condition -of the battery in the outside transmitter?” -Isaac asked.</p> -<p>“It’s supposed to have a useful life of seventy-two -hours, operating automatically for a few minutes -every half hour,” the captain said, “but the battery -may have lost a lot of its power in storage. I -think it would be a good idea to check it. It has a -test meter on it, Isaac.”</p> -<p>“I’ll go out and check it, Captain,” Isaac said.</p> -<p>When he had pulled on one of the space suits, -Isaac checked the air and pressure and went outside.</p> -<p>Garry and Patch watched him move in a light-footed -gliding motion toward the spot where the -antenna had been set up. He spent several minutes -with the rig and then came back into the flier.</p> -<p>As he lifted his helmet off, he said with a shake -of his head, “It’s quit sending, Captain. You were -right. The battery must have been in bad shape to -start with.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_148">148</div> -<p>“Not sending,” Captain Eaton muttered to himself, -a dark worried frown on his face. “That means -that if our SOS was not picked up earlier, it never -will be, and no one will know where we are.”</p> -<p>Garry’s heart chilled at hearing this. What the -captain really meant, but did not say, was that they -were doomed to a slow death as their heat and air -were depleted and they froze in the moon’s incredible -cold. That would happen long before their food -and water gave out.</p> -<p>Captain Eaton placed a fatherly arm around each -of the boys and said, “Fellows, I wish there were -something I could do. Believe me, if I could give -my life to save you two, as Ben did, I would gladly -do it. Do you believe that?”</p> -<p>“Yes, Sir, I do believe it,” Garry answered sincerely. -“But can’t we really do something—anything -at all? It—it’s better than waiting, isn’t it?”</p> -<p>“You’re trembling, both of you,” the captain said, -“and I can’t blame you. If it’s any comfort to you, I -think you’re the bravest two boys I ever knew. I -would have been proud to have had a couple of -sons like you.”</p> -<p>The captain pressed their arms affectionately. -Garry knew how he felt about his helplessness to do -anything.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_149">149</div> -<p>“You ask if there’s anything we could do,” Captain -Eaton said. “Of course we’re not giving up -hope completely at this early stage, but things do -look bad. We could ration ourselves severely and -maybe prolong our existence a few days, but after -that....”</p> -<p>Garry finished the gloomy sentence in his own -mind.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_150">150</div> -<div class="img"><img src="images/chapter.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="35" /></div><h2 id="c16"><br />16. A SAD PARTING</h2> -<p>They <i>did</i> wait—all the long day to follow.</p> -<p>And in all that time, no one came.</p> -<p>They did the same things that they had done the -day before—reading by the light of the earth, -which they feared they would never see again; -reading until their eyes blurred and the battery had -gone dead in their only flashlight.</p> -<p>Garry and Patch did not read much. Instead, -they spent most of their time looking out over the -cold gray dust, and up into the black sky, looking -hopefully for some moving object against the bleak -wilderness and wanting to be the first to spot it -should it appear. But it never appeared, and bed-time -came, but no one was in the spirit for sleep. -And yet, since there was little else to do, everyone -prepared for bed.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_151">151</div> -<p>Garry and Patch lay awake in their adjoining -seats, talking in low voices to each other.</p> -<p>“Garry, we’ve been through a lot of close calls -since we left the orphanage,” Patch was saying, -“but this looks like <i>it</i>, doesn’t it?”</p> -<p>“I don’t know, Patch. I just don’t know,” his -friend replied with a troubled sigh. “It sure doesn’t -look good. I won’t ever really give up hope, though. -There’s still a chance that a rescue ship will come—maybe -during the night.”</p> -<p>“But what if it doesn’t?” Patch asked. “What if it -doesn’t come tonight or tomorrow—or the next -night? How will we feel when we finally <i>know</i> that -we won’t be saved?”</p> -<p>“You shouldn’t think like that, Patch. It’ll make -you miserable. You’ve got to keep hoping, even -when it doesn’t make sense,” Garry said.</p> -<p>“It’s funny about Ben,” Patch went on. “I mean -about what he did. He meant to save us, but it’s -turned out that he’s made it worse for us. It would -have been better if we had crashed along with the -<i>Carefree</i>, because then it would have been over -quickly.”</p> -<p>“You know the saying, Patch: ‘Where there’s life -there’s hope.’ And I believe that.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_152">152</div> -<p>Patch said no more, and before long Garry heard -him snoring softly. This made Garry feel better, -and presently he too fell asleep.</p> -<p>Garry and Patch woke the next morning to the -sound of subdued voices around them. For a brief -moment Garry wondered if help had come during -the night. He searched the faces he saw, and -quickly his hopes were dashed. Instead of happy -faces, they were haggard ones that showed the lack -of sleep, and there were no new faces among them.</p> -<p>“No one came last night, did they?” Patch asked -Captain Eaton.</p> -<p>The skipper shook his head and tugged at his -beard that, by now, had become scraggly and untidy -looking. The others moved in close, and Garry -noticed all at once that he and Patch were the center -of attention. He had a feeling then that something -important was about to be said.</p> -<p>“Garry, Patch,” Captain Eaton said slowly, “you -respect my judgment and my experience, don’t -you?”</p> -<p>“Sure,” the boys answered together, puzzled -looks on their faces.</p> -<p>“Well then, you do believe I would do the best I -knew for all of us, don’t you?”</p> -<p>Garry and Patch nodded again.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_153">153</div> -<p>“I’ve got something to say to the two of you,” -the captain continued, “and it’s very important to -me that you abide by my decision. Will you promise -to do so if I tell you it will be to your best interests?”</p> -<p>The boys thought a moment, then nodded together, -trusting the man they had come to admire -and respect.</p> -<p>Just then Garry noticed the pair of space suits -lying on the floor nearby, and they looked as if work -had been done on them. They seemed to have been -made smaller by the adjustable straps with which -all such space suits were equipped.</p> -<p>“As you can see, fellows,” the captain said, “the -rest of us didn’t sleep much, but we were grateful -that the two of you could, because it gave us time -to come to our decision.”</p> -<p>Garry and Patch watched the captain’s face intently, -the suspense building up in them moment -by moment. Garry had a hunch that he and Patch -would not like what they were going to hear.</p> -<p>The captain took a deep breath and said, “I’ll -come right out with it. The rest of us are forced to -face the sad fact that rescue isn’t coming. But -there’s no reason for everyone to perish. Garry, we -decided that you and Patch....”</p> -<p>As his voice trailed off, Garry saw the picture. -“You want us to take the space suits and—and go -out there.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_154">154</div> -<p>“It wasn’t an easy decision to reach, Garry,” Mac -spoke. “We may be sending the two of you to a -worse fate than would happen to you here. But in -that way there lies a <i>chance</i> for you. Here the -chances would be very little. We are all agreed on -that.”</p> -<p>“But why us?” Garry protested. “Why not two of -the rest of you? We thought we had become one of -you by now. We should all have drawn lots to see -who would go. It’s not democratic this way.”</p> -<p>“It’s because we’re kids, isn’t it?” Patch asked. -“You’re packing us off like children to bed! We -won’t leave you here!”</p> -<p>“Remember your promise, fellows,” Captain -Eaton said. “This is the way we want it. Believe us, -we really do—unanimously.”</p> -<p>“There’s even a chance you might make heroes -of yourselves,” Isaac added. “You may find someone -who can come and rescue us before it’s too -late.”</p> -<p>“We realize it won’t be easy for you to leave us -behind, and it won’t be easy to set out across unknown -country for an unknown destination. It’ll -take courage, gentlemen, plenty of courage, more -courage than it will require for us to stay on here,” -Mr. Klecker said.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_155">155</div> -<p>Garry could find no further argument. The others -were too much against him and Patch. They simply -would not have it any other way. In the end the -boys gave in, but they felt guilty for accepting what -was seemingly the only way to survival.</p> -<p>Some time later the boys were ready to start out. -The space suits still were a little large, but they -would serve. Garry wore the luminous green suit, -Patch the luminous orange one. The boots were so -large that Garry and Patch had to wear them over -their shoes. The helmets were big and bulky, but -in the moon’s light gravity they were not too heavy.</p> -<p>When the boys were sealed in the suits completely, -Captain Eaton ran a careful check on them—the -air pressure and temperature, and the -“walkie-talkie” radios that would enable the boys -to talk to each other. Finally, the fellows were -loaded down with all the supplies they could be expected -to need. This included spare oxygen tanks, -water bottles, and liquid food in tubes. These tubes -could be squeezed through an opening in the helmet -so that one in a space suit could take nourishment -without opening his helmet.</p> -<p>Garry argued against taking nearly all of the -spare supplies and leaving their friends with very -little.</p> -<p>“You must take them,” Captain Eaton insisted. -“If you do not have enough to get you to the settlement, -there is no purpose in starting out at all. Now, -no more arguments.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_156">156</div> -<p>There finally came the moment of parting, which -everyone dreaded. Garry’s heart was heavy at the -thought of leaving these people he had grown so -fond of in such a short time. Very likely he and -Patch would never see any of them again.</p> -<p>Garry could see that the men’s eyes were troubled -and sorrowful. They didn’t seem to know just -how to say farewell. Isaac and Gino gave a little -nervous wave of their hands. Mr. Klecker shook -hands formally. Mac gave them a warm pat on the -back.</p> -<p>Captain Eaton walked slowly over to the air lock -with the boys—slowly, as if he did not want to let -them go. Garry and Patch had removed their helmets -and held them in their hands. The captain had -his arms around their shoulders, embracing them -like a father.</p> -<p>“Well, don’t let’s be sissies about this,” the captain -said with forced lightheartedness. “Let’s just -pretend that you boys are going on a short trip and -that you’ll be back in a little while. No sad words, -no tears, eh?”</p> -<p>“That’s how we want it, Captain Eaton,” Garry -answered, but his throat was so tight he could -hardly speak.</p> -<p>“Whatever you do, don’t give up,” their older -friend advised. “Take care of yourselves and don’t -lose your heads if you meet a crisis. And don’t come -back, whatever happens. It won’t help.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_157">157</div> -<p>The captain took a piece of paper from Mac and -gave it to Garry. “Mac and I have plotted your -course as nearly as we can from what we remember -of this territory. We both had a course in lunar -study at one time. Follow these landmarks closely. -You will be heading straight for the mining settlement, -and if, by chance, a search flier should be -coming from that direction, try to catch their attention -by waving. They will probably be looking for -you, and your bright-colored suits will make you -stand out pretty strong against the gray ground.”</p> -<p>Garry was studying the penciled map. “What is -this gray part that you’ve shown here, Captain?”</p> -<p>“It’s an area of rugged rock formations,” the captain -explained. “You’ve got to go through it, as there -is no way around. You must proceed with extreme -caution, because we haven’t any flashlights left to -give you. And, owing to the fact that there is just a -trace of air on Luna, the earthshine can’t penetrate -into the shadows. You will literally have to inch -yourselves along until you’re in the open again.”</p> -<p>The captain explained more of the dangers in this -area and showed Garry and Patch other points on -the map and what they stood for.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_158">158</div> -<p>Finally, the boys had their last look at the man -who had been the best friend to them that they had -ever known. Garry studied the captain’s brave, -forced smile, and he could see the elderly man’s -efforts to keep himself under control.</p> -<p>Captain Eaton wiped his moist palm on his trousers -and then pushed the button that swung open -the inner door of the air lock.</p> -<p>“There’s something I must tell both of you before -you go,” he said. “I made application for adoption -of you two as my sons just before we had the -accident. I have a friend in a high position back on -earth who, I felt, could put through the papers -quickly if they were approved. I never told you this, -though, because I did not want to raise your hopes -falsely in case the adoption was not approved. But I -couldn’t let you go not knowing what I had tried to -do.”</p> -<p>“We would have liked you for a father,” Patch -said.</p> -<p>Garry was too choked up to say anything except, -“Let’s go, Patch, before we change our minds and -never go at all.”</p> -<p>“Yes, that is better,” the captain said. “Good-by, -boys, and may God go with you.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_159">159</div> -<p>The boys pulled on their helmets, and Captain -Eaton helped fit them tightly. Then he made a little -farewell wave with his hand and motioned the boys -into the air lock. A moment later the door swished -shut. The outer door opened, and the bleak face of -Luna beckoned to them. They stepped out into -the gray dust, and the “snowshoe” plates added to -the bottom of their boots kept them from sinking -too deeply into the moon dust.</p> -<p>They were now on their own.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_160">160</div> -<div class="img"><img src="images/chapter.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="35" /></div><h2 id="c17"><br />17. DARK PERIL</h2> -<p>Because of the light moon gravity, the boys found -that they could move easily in spite of the deep -dust and of the equipment strapped to their backs. -The equipment took up as much room as it would -have on earth, but here it weighed only one sixth -of its earth weight and so was not much of a burden.</p> -<p>In a short while they were out of sight of the -flier. They had mounted a low-lying hill and crossed -down the other side. It would still be a long time -before they got out of the giant crater in which the -flier had landed, but by the time they did get out -they would be well along toward their destination.</p> -<p>“We seem to be making good time, Patch,” Garry -said over his helmet radio.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_161">161</div> -<p>“Yeah,” Patch replied. “It’s so much easier walking -on the moon than it is on the earth, once you -get the hang of it.”</p> -<p>“Just think, Patch. Captain Eaton really was going -to try to adopt us,” Garry said. “And all the time -we thought he didn’t care enough.”</p> -<p>“He’s one in a million, Garry. He would have -been the grandest father a guy could ever have.”</p> -<p>“What do you mean he <i>would</i> have?” Garry protested. -“He <i>will</i> be our father. We’re going to <i>save</i> -him, Patch. We’re going to save all of them.”</p> -<p>“I want to save them too,” Patch said earnestly. -“I’d sure hate for us to make it and them not to.”</p> -<p>“Maybe we shouldn’t talk so much,” Garry advised. -“It uses up more oxygen, and I don’t think -we have a surplus of it.”</p> -<p>They slogged silently through the gray dust in -the bouncy, light-footed motion that they had become -accustomed to by now. Every once in a while -Garry would glance about him at the forbidding -countryside of this dead world. Sight of the desolation -chilled his soul. He wondered at first why this -was so. Then he supposed that it must be because -there was so much absolute <i>deadness</i> all about. For -nothing could live in the numbing cold and the -boiling-hot temperatures that came to this landscape -periodically. No, he and Patch were the only -living creatures from one horizon to the other, and -this fact was enough to give anyone the shivers.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_162">162</div> -<p>Finally Garry broke the long silence.</p> -<p>“Patch, do you notice we’re able to move along -easier now?” he asked.</p> -<p>“It’s because the dust is thinning out, isn’t it?” -Patch replied. “But I see the rocky country up ahead -that the captain was telling us about.”</p> -<p>“Yes,” Garry said, “and from the way he talked, -it’s going to be plenty rugged getting through -there.”</p> -<p>They increased their speed, now that the going -was easier.</p> -<p>Garry stole a look at the big green jewel of earth -afloat in the black sea of space, for it alone seemed -to lend an air of friendliness and security to the -otherwise lonely, sinister surroundings. The walls -of Hornfield Crater about them were jagged as -sharks’ teeth as they reached up into the darkness. -The stars seemed to Garry like sparkling snowflakes -dusted across the entire vault of the sky. The nebulae -were like misty clouds, and there was the long -arch of a great comet crossing just above the horizon -and standing out remarkably because of its being -so different from everything else in the whole -visible sweep of the heavens.</p> -<p>After a few hours of steady hiking, Patch suggested -that they take a short break to rest and eat. -Garry was ready for the same.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_163">163</div> -<p>Garry checked their map and compared the -markings on it to their true surroundings. “We seem -to be still on course, Patch,” he said.</p> -<p>By now they had moved up on a higher plateau -within the crater, and the dust had thinned so that -solid rock could be felt underfoot. But not far beyond -lay the wilderness of rock they had seen earlier -at a distance. How huge and forbidding the -region looked!</p> -<p>Garry stopped walking and plopped down in his -tracks, heaving a sigh. Patch sat down beside him.</p> -<p>Garry took tubes of liquid food and a couple of -water bottles from the pack he carried. He offered -Patch his share and took some for himself.</p> -<p>Each boy unscrewed a plate that covered the -mouth of his helmet. Behind this was a rubber disk -with a self-sealing opening in the middle of it. All -the boys had to do was thrust the tubes of food and -water through these openings and take them between -their lips. By squeezing the tubes, they -forced the contents into their mouths.</p> -<p>“Got a napkin?” Patch joked, when they were -through. “I’d like to wipe my mouth.”</p> -<p>“Sorry,” Garry answered, “but they haven’t figured -out a way to do that yet.”</p> -<p>Patch climbed to his feet, screwing his outer -mouthplate back on. “Well, that wasn’t exactly like -carving into a steak, but I guess it’ll do until we can -get something better,” he said.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_164">164</div> -<p>They started out again, and soon approached the -forbidding rocky region they had dreaded. The -ground was rough and uneven. Garry looked ahead, -and it was like staring into the mouth of a vast cavern.</p> -<p>“We’ve got to be careful, Patch,” Garry warned, -as he slowed down and held back his friend. -“There may be bad crevasses across our path, and -they could be the end of us if we should fall in.”</p> -<p>Garry took the responsibility of going first. Patch -was right behind, holding on to a strap on Garry’s -suit.</p> -<p>It was like going into a dark underworld thriving -with all kinds of unknown dangers. Although he -was following very closely, Patch could barely -see Garry’s outline ahead of him. Garry would carefully -slide one foot ahead of him to be sure he had -solid ground underfoot.</p> -<p>After what seemed a very long time, Patch complained: -“This is giving me the willies, Garry. How -much farther do you think we’ve got to go? Besides, -this is slowing us down almost to a crawl.”</p> -<p>“I think I see a break up ahead,” Garry encouraged. -“It seems we’re making a wide turn, and the -farther we go the more earthshine I think I can -make out.”</p> -<p>“Gee, I’d give anything I’ve got for a light of -some kind,” Patch groaned.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_165">165</div> -<p>“That’s about the only thing they couldn’t provide -for us,” Garry said. “Remember we used up -our flashlight when we cut down on our power supply -in the flier.”</p> -<p>“I remember,” Patch returned.</p> -<p>Patch felt that Garry was slowly descending as -he walked.</p> -<p>“Hey, where are you going?” Patch asked.</p> -<p>“There seems to be an incline going down,” -Garry replied. “I sure hope it comes back up and -doesn’t drop off so that we can’t cross to the other -side.”</p> -<p>“Ugh,” Patch shuddered. “Don’t even <i>think</i> about -that. Remember, Captain Eaton told us not to come -back.”</p> -<p>“Just keep up with me and go slowly,” Garry instructed. -“We’ll find out what’s ahead in a few minutes.”</p> -<p>Down, down they went on a gentle slope.</p> -<p>“When are we going to start up?” Patch asked -worriedly.</p> -<p>“I don’t know,” Garry replied, a little anxious -himself.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_166">166</div> -<p>Suddenly Garry moved too fast for Patch to keep -up and lost contact with him. Patch lost his head -momentarily and cried out, dashing forward to regain -touch with Garry. In his haste, Patch tripped -and fell on the jagged rocks. On the earth this -would have been a bad fall, but the weaker gravity -here saved him from serious injury. But the weaker -gravity also gave him a longer sprawl and carried -him down the slope.</p> -<p>As soon as Garry heard Patch’s frantic cry, he -grabbed wildly in the darkness, hoping by chance -to reach his friend. But his hands met only empty -air.</p> -<p>Patch’s shrieks were cut off abruptly, and stark -silence filled Garry’s ears.</p> -<p>“Patch!” Garry called, dread making him tremble -all over. “Patch, where are you?”</p> -<p>He had a mad impulse to leap down the incline, -grabbing desperately at anything within reach. -But he knew this could be disastrous for both himself -and Patch.</p> -<p>Slowly, Garry inched farther downward, heartsick -as he considered the things that might have -happened to his friend—a fall knocking him out or -worse, or a tumble down a deep, treacherous pit.</p> -<p>“Patch!” he kept calling. “Patch!”</p> -<p>The frightening moments of anguish were relieved -when Garry finally heard a faint voice.</p> -<p>“Patch, where are you?” Garry asked over and -over, as he inched downward, ever downward.</p> -<p>“Here, Garry,” came the very weak voice.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_167">167</div> -<p>Thinking Patch was still far off, Garry slid his -feet with more urgent speed through the utter -blackness. Then the toe of his boot kicked something -soft.</p> -<p>“Garry, don’t!” came a low-pitched, terrified -voice. “You’re kicking the hand I’m holding on -by!”</p> -<p>Then Garry realized what had happened, and the -thought of the costly mistake he had almost made -sickened him for a moment. Patch’s radio antenna -had evidently been damaged in his fall, making his -call for help seem farther off than he really was.</p> -<p>Garry stooped down, his hands closing over the -gloved hand he had nearly knocked from its precarious -position.</p> -<p>“Garry!” Patch said, his voice still a little hysterical. -“I’m hanging on a cliff of some kind, and my -feet aren’t touching anything! Please, Garry, get -me up before I let go! I feel my hands slipping!”</p> -<p>“Hold on, Patch! Try to keep holding! I’ve got -to get a foothold or we both may go over!”</p> -<p>Garry quickly kicked loose dust from underfoot -and brushed it some more with his gloved hands. -Then he leaned over and reached for Patch’s clinging -hands. He slid his own hands below Patch’s -wrists, closing his fingers about those wrists for -dear life.</p> -<p>“I’ve got a good hold, Patch,” Garry panted. -“Brace your feet and help me as I try to pull you -up. Ready?”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_168">168</div> -<p>“Ready, Garry!” came Patch’s weak voice.</p> -<p>Making sure his feet were well anchored, Garry -pulled with all his might. For an instant Patch’s -body resisted him like a dead weight. Then, with -an almost superhuman effort, Garry was able to -hoist him up ... up ... up and over onto the -ledge safely. Then both of them slumped exhaustedly -on the rocky brink.</p> -<p>The boys were quiet for several seconds as they -caught their breath in the pitch darkness and considered -how close it had come to being all over -for Patch.</p> -<p>“Garry,” his grateful friend managed to say -finally, “I’ll make it up to you. If we ever get out of -this alive, I’ll make it up to you.”</p> -<p>“Never mind that,” Garry said. “You didn’t lose -anything when you fell? You’ve still got the extra -oxygen tanks?”</p> -<p>A dead silence followed, and that silence caused -Garry to feel a clutch of dread.</p> -<p>“You lost them, didn’t you?” he asked with a -hopeless groan.</p> -<p>Garry heard a faint sob over his helmet receiver. -Then Patch fairly wept out the words he next -spoke: “Yes, yes, I did! Push me back in, Garry! -Push me back in! We’re lost for sure now!”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_169">169</div> -<div class="img"><img src="images/chapter.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="35" /></div><h2 id="c18"><br />18. STRANGE DISCOVERY</h2> -<p>It took a long time for the boys to pull themselves -together after experiencing this final fateful blow. -Down into the depths with those precious air cylinders -had gone whatever chance the boys had for -escaping alive from the cruel moon and for saving -their friends. Patch broke down and Garry felt just -as badly himself, but he managed to hold back the -tears.</p> -<p>“Garry,” Patch burst out, “we may as well go -back and die with the others now! There’s no use -at all in going on any farther!” His voice still -sounded far off to Garry because of the damaged -antenna.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_170">170</div> -<p>“If we went back, then <i>they</i> would no longer -have any hope,” Garry argued. “We took everything -else they had. We’ve got to leave them hope—even -until the end. Besides, we couldn’t accomplish -anything by going back. Maybe, Patch, there’s -just the barest chance that we have enough oxygen -to reach the settlement. Or enough to get out into -the open again and wait to see if a rescue flier comes -over.”</p> -<p>“I’m not moving, Garry!” Patch snapped in utter -despair. “I’m not going, do you hear?”</p> -<p>“You <i>are</i> going,” Garry said determinedly. -“You’re going if I have to carry you! It’s no time to -quit, Patch.”</p> -<p>“Then when <i>is</i> it time?” Patch shot back. “You -and your hopes, Garry! Always hoping, even when -there isn’t a smidgin of a chance.”</p> -<p>“It may be only a smidgin,” Garry said firmly, -“but sometimes that’s enough. Now stop being a -quitter and get to your feet.”</p> -<p>There was only silence over Garry’s receiver for -several tense seconds. Garry didn’t know what he -would do if Patch chose to defy him again. He knew -he could not really make his friend do anything -his heart refused to do.</p> -<p>But Patch solved this latest problem himself. -Garry heard rustling sounds as Patch climbed -slowly to his feet.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_171">171</div> -<p>“I’m sorry I talked rough, Patch,” Garry apologized. -“I don’t think we’ve quarreled twice in all -our lives, have we? But we’re in this thing together, -and we’ve got to keep going, no matter how -bad things look. We’ve just <i>got</i> to, don’t you see?”</p> -<p>“We’re talking about keeping going,” Patch returned, -“but we can’t even get across this crevasse. -How do you propose to do that? Besides that, we -can’t even see as well as moles in this darkness.”</p> -<p>“Let’s walk along the edge, first in one direction -and then the other,” Garry said. “Maybe the crevasse -narrows and disappears before too far!”</p> -<p>They began exploring the treacherous cliff edge, -moving slowly and carefully along in one direction. -Every once in a while they tested the width -of the chasm. Garry would get down on hands and -knees and reach out, feeling with his hand to see if -he could contact the other side. Time after time this -was done, but each time his hands met empty air.</p> -<p>After a tedious hour, Patch complained bitterly, -“Can’t you see it’s hopeless, Garry? Gee whiz, what -does it take to convince you?”</p> -<p>“Let’s try a few more times,” Garry replied doggedly. -“Then if we still can’t find a way across, -we’ll start going along the crevasse in the other direction.”</p> -<p>Patch did not reply to this, and Garry knew how -bitter his friend must feel toward him after so many -setbacks.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_172">172</div> -<p>The next time Garry got down on his hands and -knees and reached out, his probing hand touched -hard, firm rock on the other side!</p> -<p>“Patch!” he shouted. “I’ve found a place where -we can cross!”</p> -<p>Even Patch was heartened by this and made an -enthusiastic comment. In the hope of finding the -crevasse even narrower and safer farther along, -Garry followed the ledge, and, sure enough, it grew -narrower and narrower until it was a crack in the -ground only a few inches across.</p> -<p>Making the crossing to the other side, the boys, -in feeling their way along, found that the ground -began to rise again. Garry still maintained the lead, -with Patch holding onto him and following blindly -only a step behind.</p> -<p>Up, up the slope they went, and before long -they could see rays of light flickering down into -their eyes.</p> -<p>Soon there was enough light so that they could -see a little distance ahead. They quickened their -steps, although it still required some care on their -part to avoid the sharp-edged stones and rugged -underfooting that still lay in front of them.</p> -<p>But the light grew steadily brighter and the trail -flatter.</p> -<p>“Look, Patch, I can see the stars again!” Garry -was soon able to say.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_173">173</div> -<p>Then, scarcely before they realized it, they were -completely out of the shadows of the rocky formation -that had very nearly finished them. Above and -behind them once more shone the big bright ball -of earth floating among the stars.</p> -<p>“Good old earth!” Patch exclaimed, with new -hope. “I never thought I’d see it again!”</p> -<p>“It’s a great sight!” Garry agreed.</p> -<p>“Garry,” Patch said, “we can see right over the -top of the crater wall in the distance. We seem to be -higher than we were when we started.”</p> -<p>“I’ve noticed that too,” Garry replied. “I’ll check -the map again.”</p> -<p>Garry did so, then told Patch that they were still -on course.</p> -<p>They moved on and presently stood at the raised -edge of a gradually lowering basin that stretched -out very far and flat ahead of them. They could see -a break in the crater wall a few miles away, which -the captain had pointed out to them on the map.</p> -<p>“It looks like we’ll have easy traveling for -awhile,” Garry said, “and we’ll be right out in the -open in case a flier comes over. They’ll be sure to -see us unless they’re completely blind.”</p> -<p>“Garry,” Patch said in a thoughtful voice, “I’m -sorry.”</p> -<p>“Huh?” Garry asked in surprise.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_174">174</div> -<p>“I’m sorry for the way I acted. I lost my head -completely. When I found out I’d lost the air cylinders -over the ledge, I just seemed to go to pieces. -It’s a good thing one of us knows how to keep his -head.”</p> -<p>“Forget it, Patch,” Garry soothed. “It could have -been me just as easy as you. Besides, that’s not important -now. We’ve still got a long way to go, and -time is running short.”</p> -<p>Suddenly, Patch ran past Garry in great haste -and stood staring over the plain below, shielding -his eyes with his hands.</p> -<p>Garry joined him. “Patch, what is it? Do you see -something?”</p> -<p>“It’s impossible!” Patch gasped. “It’s completely -impossible!”</p> -<p>“What?” Garry begged, his own excitement growing.</p> -<p>“Look! There’s somebody walking around down -there or else I’m seeing things!”</p> -<p>Garry looked where Patch pointed, and he too -found it hard to believe his eyes. There <i>was</i> someone -or something moving around.</p> -<p>“I see it!” Garry said. “Come on, let’s go down -and get a closer look!”</p> -<p>“I just hope it isn’t in as bad shape as we are!” -Patch exclaimed.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_175">175</div> -<p>They hurried as fast as they dared over the -bumpy ground, heading straight for the person or -thing that was moving about in seemingly aimless -fashion on the plain below.</p> -<p>“He sees us!” Patch said. “He’s coming toward -us!”</p> -<p>Swiftly the distance closed between the boys and -the lone stranger. And then Garry and Patch received -the surprise of their lives.</p> -<p>“Katrinka!” they shouted together, not believing -what they saw.</p> -<p>“It can’t be!” Patch cried in amazement. “Garry, -we must be seeing a mirage or something! How -could Katrinka...?”</p> -<p>“It’s Katrinka all right!” Garry said, as the robot -drew close enough to be fully recognized. “But I -don’t understand it. I don’t understand it at all! -Katrinka crashed with the <i>Carefree</i> and poor Ben! -But even if she didn’t crash, how is it she’s wandering -around out here on the moon?”</p> -<p>“And what could make her start moving toward -us?” Patch asked, as the mystery deepened. “You’ll -never make me believe she’s <i>really</i> human, although -at times it seemed that she was.”</p> -<p>The big robot stopped in front of the boys and -remained still. Garry and Patch felt almost as if -they should say “Hello,” because indeed it was like -meeting an old friend.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_176">176</div> -<p>After a few moments of remaining stock still, Katrinka -turned and started shuffling off with great -long strides.</p> -<p>“What’ll we do, Garry?” Patch asked. “Follow -her? But that would be silly! She’s still an unthinking -machine.”</p> -<p>“I don’t know, Patch. This whole thing seems -very strange, although it may be that she was -merely thrown clear when the <i>Carefree</i> crashed -and somehow her works were activated by the jolt. -And yet I have the feeling that she almost knows -what she’s doing, as if she wants us to follow her.”</p> -<p>“Now you’re talking spooky,” Patch said. “You -don’t really believe that Katrinka can <i>think</i>!”</p> -<p>“I don’t know what to believe,” Garry replied. -“But I sure would like to follow her a little way to -see just what she’s going to do next.”</p> -<p>“But our air, Garry! We don’t have enough to -waste on playing ‘follow the leader’!”</p> -<p>“Just a little way, Patch. Who knows—this might -even lead to something important.”</p> -<p>“I think you’re way off base, Garry, but I’ll admit -I’m curious too. Let’s go.”</p> -<p>Katrinka had already gained some distance on -them while they were debating what to do, and she -did not wait for them. They started running to catch -up and presently did so. But the robot traveled at -such a fast pace that they still had to move in long, -antelopelike jumps to keep up.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_177">177</div> -<p>Katrinka was definitely headed in one particular -direction because she varied hardly any in her line -of motion. She seemed to be going toward an area -where the rocks rose high and ominous looking. It -was much like the spot where the boys had had -their recent harrowing experience.</p> -<p>“Garry, please,” Patch begged, panting for -breath, “let’s call this crazy chase off! That athletic -gal is running me ragged! Besides, she seems to -be taking us straight into those rocky walls!”</p> -<p>“Well, there’s one thing certain,” Garry replied. -“She’s <i>got</i> to change direction pretty quick, or she’ll -crash into something. Let’s stick it out a few more -minutes.”</p> -<p>They drew closer to the shadowy outcropping. -But the robot did not even slow her pace. The boys -knew she was heading for a collision, but there was -nothing they could do but watch.</p> -<p>Somehow she got past the first row of stones, -tripping and nearly falling, then recovering automatically. -But her luck was short lived. The path -went downhill beyond this spot, and her big metal -foot slammed against a boulder. The robot arched -through the air and crashed headfirst into a rocky -wall. It crumpled her metal cranium, spewing out -wires and electronic parts.</p> -<p>The boys came running up and stood looking at -the fallen giant.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_178">178</div> -<p>“Poor old Katrinka,” Garry said. “She was almost -like one of us. It’s nearly as if another one of us had -died.”</p> -<p>“Yeah, I liked the old gal,” Patch replied. “She -may have survived a crash on the moon, but it’s a -cinch she’s reached the end of her rope now.”</p> -<p>Garry cast a look around to see what sort of area -they had come into. His eyes followed the downhill -trail ahead that Katrinka would still be following -had she not had her accident.</p> -<p>What he saw brought a gasp of astonishment -from him, and a nervous tremor coursed through -his body.</p> -<p>“Patch, look!” he shouted. “The <i>Carefree</i>! -There’s the <i>Carefree</i> down there, half buried in -moon dust!”</p> -<p>They rushed down the trail to get a closer look. -The giant space ship was indeed buried half of her -depth in pumice dust. The rear air lock was level -with the ground, and extending from the air lock -was a gangplank!</p> -<p>The boys moved up to the edge of the gangplank, -looking it over in bafflement.</p> -<p>“Don’t tell me Katrinka put that down and -walked out of the ship on it!” Patch challenged. -“You can’t get me to believe that, Garry.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_179">179</div> -<p>“No, you’re right; she couldn’t possibly have done -that on her own. She might have done it, Patch, -but she would have had to be guided by an intelligent -<i>human</i> brain.”</p> -<p>“Garry, what are you saying? Are you trying to -say that Ben might have survived that crash and -rigged up Katrinka so that she could go out looking -for us? Why, that’s fantastic!”</p> -<p>“We’ll soon find out if it’s so fantastic,” Garry -said. “The ship is nearly undamaged, as you can -see.”</p> -<p>“What are you going to do?” Patch asked, as -Garry moved ahead.</p> -<p>“I’m going to walk that gangplank up to the air -lock and see if Ben is inside.”</p> -<p>They could see that the gangplank had been put -down because of the depth of the Lunar dust. It was -obviously quite deep in this area, since the <i>Carefree</i> -itself was half buried in it. Deep, enormous dust -pits were very common on the moon and were -among the most dangerous obstacles to travel, because -they never gave any indication of how deep -they were until someone fell in and was suffocated.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_180">180</div> -<p>Carefully, Garry, with Patch right behind him, -stepped out on the narrow gangplank and moved -slowly forward toward the air lock at the other -end. It was a little unsteady underfoot, but it was -rigid and did not sink beneath the boys’ light lunar -weight. Besides, Garry felt pretty sure now that -Katrinka had crossed it, and she was far heavier -than both of them together.</p> -<p>Garry reached the air lock, his heart thumping -rapidly with hope and expectation. He raised his -gloved hand and began pounding on the outer door.</p> -<p>They waited. Five seconds, then ten, fifteen....</p> -<p>Garry’s hopes began to dim. It didn’t look as if -there were anyone alive inside after all.</p> -<p>But then the air-lock door began to swing open. -The boys scrambled inside, too tense and excited -to speak to one another. They heard air swishing -into the air lock. Then, after another half minute, -the inner door swung open.</p> -<p>Standing there inside facing them was—Ben.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_181">181</div> -<div class="img"><img src="images/chapter.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="35" /></div><h2 id="c19"><br />19. A NEW LIFE</h2> -<p>“Ben!” Garry exclaimed jubilantly, rushing into the -main part of the ship. “Is it really you?”</p> -<p>“I’m not a ghost,” Ben said with a grin, “if that’s -what you mean.”</p> -<p>“How did you ever do it?” Patch asked, amazement -written all over his chubby features. “I mean -crash-land the <i>Carefree</i>.”</p> -<p>“First tell me how the others are,” Ben asked -anxiously.</p> -<p>Garry told him that they were all right, at least -for the time being.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_182">182</div> -<p>Ben was limping as he moved about. Patch asked -about this, and Ben said it would come out in his -story. The boys had entered into the central tunnel -of the <i>Carefree</i>, with its webbing network, and -Garry noticed that Ben had laid down metallic -sheets over the webbing so that it could be more -easily stood upon.</p> -<p>Ben sat down on this and began his story.</p> -<p>“I had made plans to remain aboard the <i>Carefree</i> -before we even started working on the flier. When -I found that the space taxi would hold only seven -passengers safely, I knew someone had to stay behind. -I was afraid the captain would realize that the -flier would be overcrowded, but I guess he was -too busy thinking about other things. The likely one -to bow out was myself, because I felt that quite -possibly I might be able to bring the <i>Carefree</i> down -in one piece. I knew this region of Hornfield was -full of huge dust pits that could cushion the fall of a -ship if she belly-landed in one of them just right. -But don’t think I wasn’t scared even thinking of -trying such a thing! Don’t get me wrong, fellows—I -wasn’t out to make a hero of myself!”</p> -<p>“You must have had some control over the ship,” -Garry said, “otherwise she would have crashed -headlong onto the moon.”</p> -<p>“I had some control,” Ben explained. “As soon as -I released the flier from the <i>Carefree</i>, I started my -attempt to save the ship and myself as well. I -donned a pressure suit and went into the flight deck. -Remember, I had gone in there before, soon after -the collision. I had noticed then that most of the instrument -panel had been destroyed.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_183">183</div> -<p>“I remember too, Ben, that you helped build the -<i>Carefree</i>,” Garry said, “so you must’ve known a lot -about her.”</p> -<p>“I tore out the cover of the console and began -working in the section beneath. With tools, I was -able to get the braking jets to functioning. This -slowed the ship down to a slow orbit around the -moon and gave me time to work on the steering controls. -I couldn’t do much with them, but I was able -to move the ship a little to the port or starboard -side, as I wished. I knew this was as far as I -could go, but with some luck I felt there was a -chance of bringing her down safely.”</p> -<p>“Why didn’t you try this before we all left the -ship?” Patch wanted to know.</p> -<p>Ben shook his head. “Risk everybody’s life on -some crazy plan of my own? No, it was too farfetched -in the first place, and I guess I would not -even have tried it myself unless I’d had to. The flier -was much the safer route to safety, and that’s why -getting it to go was my first concern. With you guys -out of the way, I had no one’s life to risk but my -own.”</p> -<p>“How did you manage to land as close to the -flier as you did?” Garry asked.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_184">184</div> -<p>“My first thought was to land near one of the settlements, -because if I did make it, then I would immediately -send out a search party for the rest of -you. But I knew I <i>had</i> to land in one of the vast -dust pits on Luna, because the ship would be destroyed -by friction if it skidded along the bare -ground. I made one orbit of the moon as the ship -slowed down more and more and lost altitude. I -knew roughly in what area the flier would likely -come down, and I remembered Hornfield Crater as -one being full of dust pits. As the ship glided lower -and lower, I figured this would be where I would -try to bring her down. The pit we’re in now is a -very large, long trough, maybe a quarter of a mile -long and a hundred feet wide. I therefore had a -pretty good chance of landing in it.”</p> -<p>“Gee, you had a lot of nerve to try something like -that!” Patch exclaimed.</p> -<p>“I took one last look out where I hoped to come -down,” Ben said, “and then went under the console -into the working parts again. I cut out a few of the -upper braking jets, and this caused the ship to nose -down. I felt it plough into the dust as if into a big -flour barrel. The ship heated up from the friction -created, but it slowed her down rapidly, and she -came to rest on this spot, half buried in pumice. -Even so, I nearly missed the dust pit, landing only -about thirty feet from the edge of it.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_185">185</div> -<p>“Now what about Katrinka?” Garry asked. “You -did send her out, didn’t you?”</p> -<p>“Right. I sprained my ankle when the ship landed -and I was thrown against some machinery. I could -hardly walk, but I wanted to make contact with the -rest of you if it were possible. I then figured that the -old gal might be able to help me. I worked her over -so that I could operate her by remote control. I also -made for her a command disk, so that when she -moved near one of you or the flier she would give a -radio signal to me. I laid down the gangplank myself -over the pit, because I knew Katrinka would -sink down in the dust. It nearly killed me getting -about and using a hoist to lower the gangplank to -the opposite bank, but I finally managed it.”</p> -<p>“Then you sent her out?” Patch asked.</p> -<p>“Yes. I used a small telescope to keep track of her. -I couldn’t be sure where the rest of you had come -down, but my plan was to start her moving about -in a gradually enlarging circle. I was hoping that -some of you would see her and come over to investigate. -Once you had done that, I felt sure you -would have the curiosity to follow her wherever she -led you. And this you two fortunately did.”</p> -<p>“We nearly didn’t,” Patch said. “We thought Katrinka -had been thrown clear of the <i>Carefree</i> after -it had crashed and somehow had gotten accidentally -activated as she had done once on the ship.”</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_186">186</div> -<p>They heard a rap on the outer air-lock door. Patch -and Garry exchanged bewildered glances, but Ben -did not seem very surprised.</p> -<p>“That must be the men from the settlement,” -he said, limping over to the air lock and shoving the -lever that opened the outer door. “I haven’t had -time to tell you yet that I got through a message to -them. You see, before I even thought of the trick -with Katrinka, I was working on that damaged antenna -dish that had prevented our sending an SOS -after our collision in space. At first I didn’t have any -replies, and I figured there must be interference -from the Taurus Mountains beyond.”</p> -<p>“That must be why <i>our</i> SOS didn’t go through!” -Patch said.</p> -<p>Ben went on: “I increased my transmitting power -and finally got through. It’s been less than an hour -ago that they said they would send over a Service -flier rocket immediately.”</p> -<p>The two men who entered the air lock a few moments -later were Commander Staples and his -lieutenant, both members of the Space Service. -They had been making a routine flight over the -moon when they had been contacted by the mining -scientists who had picked up Ben’s SOS.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_187">187</div> -<p>The two men had arrived in a big space flier that -could easily take care of Captain Eaton and the -others. Ben and the boys were anxious to get started -so that the long-drawn-out ordeal their friends had -been undergoing could be ended as quickly as possible. -Commander Staples said they could leave immediately.</p> -<p>The boys pulled on their helmets, and the officers -helped Ben get into a pressure suit. This was painful -for Ben because of his swollen ankle. Then, with -everyone dressed to go out onto the moon’s surface, -Ben pushed the lever that opened the inner air-lock -door. Once outside, they started in single file across -the gangplank. Ben was in the middle and limped -along slowly with his hands on the shoulders of the -officer in front of him to steady himself.</p> -<p>On the way to the flier, they passed the smashed -metal body of Katrinka. The officers looked at the -strange robot with great interest, and Ben explained -her to them.</p> -<p>“She won’t remain out here to die,” Ben said over -his suit radio, as if he were talking about a human -being. “When we return to the <i>Carefree</i> one of -these days, we’ll rebuild her, and she’ll be as good -as new.”</p> -<p>The boys were glad to hear this because now -they realized that every one of their little group -on the <i>Carefree</i> would survive the frightening adventure -and that once again they would all be together, -including their robot friend.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_188">188</div> -<p>“Ben,” Patch asked, “will the <i>Carefree</i> ever fly -again?”</p> -<p>“That’s up to Captain Eaton,” Ben replied. “It -will take a lot of money to put her in shape again, -and that includes a powerful set of rockets to lift -her into space. But knowing how much the captain -likes her, I believe he’ll spare no expense making -her space borne again.”</p> -<p>Commander Staples said to Ben: “I heard you -mention Captain Eaton. Our radio picked up a -spacegram that was addressed to a Captain Eaton. -We tape those messages routinely, and I’ll be able -to give it to him when we see him.”</p> -<p>The Service flier was a sleek, streamlined rocket -with fins that were built to support the craft in the -earth’s atmosphere, if need be. She also had powerful -jets for lifting her up off the surface of any of the -minor planets.</p> -<p>Commander Staples asked the boys to point out -to him on a chart the approximate location of their -flier, and Garry estimated the position as accurately -as he could.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_189">189</div> -<p>Then, with everyone belted down, the flier’s -rocket roared into action, and the craft lifted into -the dark sky. It was a very short trip, and the ship -did not have to fly too high. Commander Staples’ -assistant spied the flier and pointed it out to his -superior. The ship circled the area in a gradually -lowering spiral and came to rest about a hundred -feet from the small grounded space taxi.</p> -<p>A few moments later, Ben and the boys were -hurrying across the rough ground toward the flier. -Garry’s heart was pounding so hard with joy and -excitement that he could hear its thumping over -his helmet receiver.</p> -<p>Those inside had evidently seen their rescuers -arrive, because the outer door of the air lock was -open to receive them.</p> -<p>Garry would never forget the old captain’s happy -face when he saw the three of them enter. Nor -would he forget the tears glistening in the corners -of Captain Eaton’s eyes as he clasped the boys to -his chest in a great bear hug that nearly squeezed -the life out of them.</p> -<p>“Thank God for this great moment!” the old -man said in a husky voice. “And Ben—even you, -whom we had long ago given up for dead! What -have I ever done to deserve a happy moment like -this?”</p> -<p>He released the boys and clasped Ben to him as -if he were another lost son. Then the others came -forward, their faces gleaming with the overwhelming -joy they felt at seeing the lost ones returning.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_190">190</div> -<p>“Ben, you old trickster you!” Mac shouted, -pounding his friend on the back. “How in the world -you came out of that thing alive I’ll never know. But -right now I don’t care <i>how</i> you did it!”</p> -<p>“Welcome home, stranger!” Isaac said, shaking -Ben’s hand vigorously as only Isaac could do.</p> -<p>“It’s most gratifying to see you, Ben,” Mr. Klecker -said in his butler’s tone of voice, which, however, -did not mean that he was any less deeply moved -than the others.</p> -<p>Gino then came forward and took his turn at -greeting Ben and the boys. The celebration went -on for several more minutes, and the little flier was -pleasantly noisy with joking and happy talk.</p> -<p>But, finally, Commander Staples had to interrupt -the celebration with a smiling, apologetic -voice: “I hate to break up this little party, but we’ve -got to start back to the mining settlement. You see, -I’m on duty and I’ve got a busy schedule. They -have accommodations for all of you at the settlement, -and you can make your future plans as soon -as you’ve arrived there.”</p> -<p>The prisoners of so long a time in the cramped -quarters of the flier were only too willing to get out -of their prison. The commander and his assistant -went back to the Service flier to get space suits for -those who did not have them.</p> -<div class="pb" id="Page_191">191</div> -<p>After the suits had been distributed, Commander -Staples gave a piece of paper to Captain Eaton. -“Here’s a message for you, Sir, that our radio -picked up.” He winked at the boys. “Something -tells me they’ll be as interested in it as you will be.”</p> -<p>The captain read the message and then turned -to Garry and Patch with a warm expression. “Boys, -it looks as though the adoption will go through as -soon as we go back for a short time and make the -arrangements.”</p> -<p>“Gee, I—I don’t know what to say,” Garry murmured, -almost too excited and happy for words. “It -sounds too good to be true!”</p> -<p>“They’re the best words you could have said to -us, Sir,” Patch added. “Isn’t it just great, Garry!” -His sparkling eyes showed how much he meant it.</p> -<p>“It’ll be a little strange being called, ‘Father,’” -the captain said, smiling, “but I think I’ll get used -to it pretty quickly.”</p> -<p>Captain Eaton stared off with a faraway look. -“We’ll make up for lost time, boys. We’ll see as -much of the universe as the old <i>Carefree</i> will carry -us to. Yes, we’ll fix her up again if it takes the rest -of my fortune. You’ll get your education among the -stars, my sons, and you’ll be that much wiser because -of it.”</p> -<p>Garry and Patch exchanged happy glances. -Garry thought they were wiser already, just from -knowing the grand skipper of the <i>Carefree</i>.</p> -<h2 id="tn">Transcriber’s Notes</h2><ul> -<li>Copyright notice provided as in the original—this e-text is public domain in the country of publication.</li> -<li>Silently corrected palpable typos; left non-standard spellings and dialect unchanged.</li> -<li>In the text versions, delimited italics text in _underscores_ (the HTML version reproduces the font form of the printed book.)</li> -</ul> - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Young Stowaways in Space, by Richard Mace Elam - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK YOUNG STOWAWAYS IN SPACE *** - -***** This file should be named 54547-h.htm or 54547-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/4/5/4/54547/ - -Produced by Stephen Hutcheson and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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