"We want the best hotel in town," said Astro grandly to the driver.
"And get this speed bug outa here in a hurry," Roger told him. "There's
a lot we want to do."
The driver couldn't help smiling at the three cadets so obviously
enjoying their first leave.
"We've got three top hotels," he said. "One's as good as the other.
They're the Earth, the Mars and the Venus."
"The Earth," voted Tom.
"The Mars," shouted Roger.
"The _Venus_!" roared Astro.
"All right," said the driver with a laugh, "make up your minds."
"Which of 'em is nearest the center of the city?" Tom asked.
"The Mars."
"Then blast off for Mars!" ordered Tom, and the air car shot away from
the station and moved up into the stream of expressway traffic fifty
feet above the ground.
As the little car sped along the broad avenue, Tom remembered how often,
as a boy, he'd envied the Space Cadets who'd come to his home town of
New Chicago on leave. Now here _he_ was--in uniform, with a three-day
pass, and all of Atom City to enjoy it in.
A few minutes later the air car stopped in front of the Mars Hotel. The
cadets saw the entrance loom before them--a huge opening, with ornate
glass and crystal in many different colors.
They walked across the high-ceilinged lobby toward the desk. All around
them, the columns that supported the ceiling were made of the clearest
crystal.
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