Then another thought crossed his mind. Roger had said nothing of his own
test and neither he nor Astro had even inquired.
He shook his head. No matter where the unit placed in the manuals, it
just couldn't stay together.
[Illustration]
CHAPTER 7
It was customary for all Earthworm cadets to gather in the main
recreation hall to wait for the results of the manuals which would be
announced on the huge teleceiver screen. Since all the units were taking
their tests that afternoon, the hall was crowded with green-clad cadets,
talking in low murmurs and waiting tensely for the outcome of the exam.
Tom entered the huge room, looked around and then drifted toward Al
Dixon, the senior cadet who had greeted them as a unit after passing
classification tests. The blue-clad cadet was listening to a story
spool, a device that told a story, rather than let the person read it
from a book.
"Hiya, Corbett," said Dixon, smiling. "Drag up a chair. Listening to a
terrific yarn about a guy stranded on an asteroid and then he finds--"
The redheaded cadet's voice trailed off when he noticed that Tom wasn't
listening.
"Say, what's the matter with you? You look like you just lost your best
friend."
"Not yet, but it won't be long now," commented Tom, a trace of
bitterness creeping into his voice. "Astro's taking his power-deck
manual. What he knows about those compression ratios just isn't known.
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