They stood in front of the spaceship and listened while Astro, in a
hushed voice, read the inscription on the bronze tablet.
"--Earth to Luna and return. 7th March 2051. In honor of the brave men
of the first atomic-powered spaceship to land successfully on the planet
Moon, only to perish on return to Earth...."
"Candidates--staaaaaaaaannnnnd _too_!"
Like a clap of thunder Warrant Officer McKenny's voice jarred the boys
out of their silence. He stepped forward like a bantam rooster and faced
the startled group of boys.
"I wanna know just _one_ thing! Who stepped off that slidestairs
_first_?"
The boys all hesitated.
"I guess I was the first, sir," said Astro, stepping forward.
"Oh, you guess you were, eh?" roared McKenny.
Taking a deep breath McKenny launched into a blistering tirade. His
choice of words were to be long remembered by the group and repeated to
succeeding classes. Storming against the huge Venusian like a pygmy
attacking an elephant, McKenny roared, berated and blasted.
Later, when Astro finally reached his quarters and changed into the
green coveralls of the cadet candidates, Tom and Phil crowded around
him.
"It was Roger, blast him!" said Tom angrily. "He was getting back at you
because Cadet Herbert made him carry his own gear."
"I asked for it," grumbled Astro. "Ah, I should've known better.
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