The Space Pioneers by Carey Rockwell (top 10 novels to read .txt) π
"Yes, sir!" said Tom, and the three cadets saluted sharply.
"Unit--" bawled Strong, "dis--missed!"
Outside in the hall once more, the three cadets wiped their faces.
"Captain Strong definitely was not in a good mood!" commented Roger.
"I've never seen him so angry!" said Tom. "Wonder why."
"Think it might be something to do with our assignments?" asked Astro.
"Never can tell, Astro," said Tom. "And there's only one way to find out. That's to get to Commander Walters' office on the double!"
Without another word the cadets hurried to the slidestairs, each of them hungry for excitement. Already having participated in three outstanding adventures, the cadet members of the Polaris unit were eager to begin a fourth.
[Illustration]
CHAPTER 2
"There's no doubt that the s
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"It's happened before, unfortunately," commented Strong. "Better men than Hardy have succumbed to the lure of riches and power."
"You're right, Strong," snapped Sykes. "That's just what happened to Hardy. While I was his prisoner on the Polaris, he kept boasting about how rich he was going to beβhow powerful. When I reminded him of his past achievements and of his responsibility to the colony, he just laughed. He said getting the uranium meant more to him than anything in the world." The little professor sighed. "If it hadn't been for the cadets, he would have gotten away with it."
"But wait a minute," said Roger. "If you suspected Vidac, why did you give him the information on the uranium to send back to the Solar Guard?"
"I just told him about a puny little deposit near the Logan farm," replied Sykes. "The big strike is on the other side of the satellite. I figured that if Vidac was honest it wouldn't hurt to delay sending information back about the big strike until later." He paused and added, "But then, of course, I had to tell him about the big strike."
"You had to tell him!" exclaimed Jeff. "But why?"
"To stay alive, you idiot!" barked Sykes. "As long as I had something they wanted, they'd keep me alive until they found out about it. They gave me truth serum, but I'm immune to drugs. All Solar Guard scientists are. They didn't know that. So I told them to look here, then there, acted as though I had lost my memory. It worked, and here I am."
"What about the way they antagonized us?" asked Tom. "Refusing to let us contact Space Academy and sending us out on a stripped-down rocket scout to investigate the asteroid cluster. It seems to me they should have acted a little more friendly to throw us off the track. All they did was arouse suspicion and get us sore."
"But they hoped that you would get angry enough to do something rebellious, so that they could send you back," said Sykes.
"Well, that makes sense," said Strong. "But what about their treatment of the colonists?"
"Humph. A clear case of attempting to get the colonists to rebel which would give them the right to absolute control of the entire satellite and the people. Cadet Tom Corbett here is to be congratulated for not allowing Mr. Logan to go around like a vigilante and get us all in a space hurricane!"
Hyram Logan blushed and cleared his throat noisily.
The door suddenly opened and a uniformed messenger thrust a dispatch into Strong's hands.
"What's this?" asked Strong, tearing the Solar Guard seal.
"Message from spaceport control, sir," said the messenger. "They report a fleet of ships approaching Roald, under full thrust."
"A fleet!" gasped Strong. "But how? Why?"
Sykes laughed, winked at Jane, and slapped his thigh. "The Solar Guard coming to the rescue!"
"Solar Guard!" chorused the others at the table.
"Yes! Solar Guard. I sent for them. I figured if the cadets could build a communicator, I could too. I did it on the Polaris when Hardy went searching for the uranium. I told the whole story to Commander Walters back at Space Academy."
"Well," sighed Roger, "with the confession Jeff got from Winters on the audioscriber, I guess we can consider the first civil disorder of the star satellite of Roald finished. Peace and harmony will reign. And speaking of harmony, Jane, would you like to take a walk in the starlight?"
"I'm sorry, Roger," answered Jane, blushing prettily, "but I've already been invited."
Roger's face fell. "You've already been invited?"
Jane nodded. "Ready, Astro?"
"Sure!" replied the giant Venusian. He rose, offered Jane his arm ceremoniously, and the two walked out of the house. Roger's face turned a deep scarlet. The others around the table burst into laughter.
"Ah, go blow your jets," growled Roger.
Billy's eyes were shining. He turned to Strong. "Captain Strong, how old do you have to be to get into Space Academy?"
Strong's eyes twinkled. "Since Roger doesn't seem to be too busy, why don't you ask him for all the Academy dope?"
"Would you help me, Roger?" pleaded Billy. "I can recite the whole book of Academy 'regs' by heart!"
Roger glanced around the table with a sheepish grin. "There isn't but one regulation that's really important, Billy."
"Oh? What's that?"
"I'll answer that, Billy," said Tom. "Roger means the one that goes like this ... 'no cadet will be allowed to entertain any work, project, or ideas that will not lend themselves directly to his immediate or future obligation as a spaceman.'" Tom stopped and smiled broadly. "And that means girls!"
You, too, can be a part of the group of daring adventurers from the Space Academy who travel to mysterious lands in outer space on dangerous and exciting missions. It's as simple as opening a book ... if the book is
TOM CORBETT, SPACE CADET
You'll discover the Earth of the future, where you can hurtle through space at breath-taking speed, and a trip to Mars will be as simple as taking a walk around the block.
Don't miss these thrill-packed books:
1. STAND BY FOR MARS!
2. DANGER IN DEEP SPACE
3. ON THE TRAIL OF THE SPACE PIRATES
4. THE SPACE PIONEERS
5. THE REVOLT ON VENUS
6. TREACHERY IN OUTER SPACE
7. SABOTAGE IN SPACE
8. THE ROBOT ROCKET
GROSSET & DUNLAP, Inc., Publishers
New York 10, N. Y.
Transcribers Notes:
Standardized punctuation and added missing quotes.
Pages 12 and 201: Changed Well to We'll (printer errors).
Page 114: Changed watch to watched (printer error).
Page 117: Changed became to become (printer error).
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