On the Trail of the Space Pirates | Page 2

two sleepy cadets came up howling.
"Astro! What in blazes do you think you're doing?" roared Tom.
"Why, you space-brained idiot," yelled Roger, "I ought to lay one on your chin!"
There was a tangle of arms and legs and finally the three cadets struggled to their feet. Astro turned to see who had pushed him.
Two men standing at the end of the car grinned back at him.
"It was those two guys at the end of the car," explained Astro. "They pushed me!" He lumbered toward them, followed by Tom and Roger.
Stopping squarely in front of them, he demanded, "What's the big idea?"
"Go back to your beauty rest, spaceboy!" jeered the heavier of the two men and turned to his companion, adding with a snarl, "How do you like his nerve? We not only have to pay taxes to support these lazy kids and teach them how to be spacemen, but they're loud-mouthed and sassy on top of it!"
The other man, smaller and rat-faced, laughed. "Yeah, we oughta report them to their little soldier bosses at Space Academy."
Astro suddenly balled his fists and stepped forward, but Tom grabbed his arm and pulled him back while Roger eased himself between his mates and the two grinning men.
"You know, Tom," he drawled, looking the heavier of the two right in the eye, "the only thing I don't like about being a Space Cadet is having to be polite to all the people, including the space crawlers!"
"Why, you little punk," sneered the bigger man, "I oughta wipe up the deck with you!"
Roger smiled thinly. "Don't try it, mister. You wouldn't know what hit you!"
"Come on, Wallace," said the smaller man. "Leave 'em alone and let's go."
Astro took another step forward and roared, "Blast off. Both of you!"
The two men turned quickly and disappeared through the door leading to the next monorail car.
The three cadets turned and headed back down the aisle to their seats.
"Let's get some sleep," said Tom. "We better be in good shape for that new assignment when we hit the Academy. No telling what it'll be, where we'll go, or worse yet, when we'll blast off. And I, for one, want to have a good night's rest under my belt."
"Yeah," agreed Roger, settling himself into the cushions once more. "Wonder what the orders will be. Got any ideas, Tom?"
"No idea at all, Roger," answered Tom. "The audiogram just said report back to the Academy immediately for assignment."
"Hey, Astro!" exclaimed Roger, seeing the Venusian climb back into his seat. "Aren't you going to eat?"
"I'm not hungry any more," grunted Astro. "Those guys made me lose my appetite."
Tom looked at Roger and winked. "Maybe we'd better tell Captain Strong about this, Roger."
"Why?"
"Get Astro mad enough and he won't want to eat. The Academy can cut down on its food bills."
"Ah, rocket off, you guys," growled Astro sleepily.
Tom and Roger smiled at each other, closed their eyes, and in a moment the three cadets of the Polaris unit were sound asleep.
* * * * *
Suspended from a single gleaming rail that stretched across the western plains like an endless silver ribbon, the monorail express hurtled through the early dawn speeding its passengers to their destination. As the gleaming line of streamlined cars crossed the newly developed grazing lands that had once been the great American desert, Tom Corbett stirred from a deep sleep. The slanting rays of the morning sun were shining in his eyes. Tom yawned, stretched, and turned to the viewport to watch the scenery flash past. Looming up over the flat grassy plains ahead, he could see a huge bluish mountain range, its many peaks covered with ever-present snow. In a few moments Tom knew the train would rocket through a tunnel and then on the other side, in the center of a deep, wide valley, he would see Space Academy, the university of the planets and headquarters of the great Solar Guard.
He reached over and shook Roger and Astro, calling, "All right, spacemen, time to hit the deck!"
"Uh? Ah-ummmh!" groaned Roger.
"Ahhhoooohhhhhh!" yawned Astro. Standing up, he stretched and touched the top of the monorail car.
"Let's get washed before the other passengers wake up," said Tom, and headed for the morning room. Astro and Roger followed, dragging their feet and rubbing their eyes.
Five minutes later, as the sleek monorail whistled into the tunnel beneath the mountain range, the boys of the Polaris unit returned to their seats.
"Back to the old grind," sighed Roger. "Drills, maneuvers, books, lectures. The same routine, day in day out."
"Maybe not," said Tom. "Remember, the order for us to report back was signed by Commander Walters, not the cadet supervisor of leaves. I think that means something special."
Suddenly the monorail roared out of the tunnel and into brilliant early-morning sun again.
The three cadets turned quickly, their eyes sweeping the