"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
Prev.
Back
Top