Roger stepped on the "Go" pedal and the
small ship flashed out into the darkness of space.
Almost immediately on the opposite side of the _Polaris_, Captain Strong
and Tom in the second boat shot away from the rocket cruiser and both
boats headed for the stricken spaceship.
CHAPTER 14
The hatch clanked shut behind them. Inside the huge air lock of the
_Lady Venus_, Tom, Roger, Astro and Captain Strong waited for the oxygen
to equal the pressure in their space suits before removing their
fish-bowl space helmets.
"O.K., sir," said Tom, "pressure's equal."
Strong stepped to the hatch leading to the inside of the ship and pushed
hard. It slid to one side.
"How many jet boats do you have?" was the first thing Strong heard as he
stepped through the door to the interior of the passenger ship.
"Al James!" cried Manning. "So this is your tub?"
The startled young skipper, whom Tom, Roger and Astro had met in Atom
City, turned to face the blond-headed cadet.
"Manning!" he gasped.
"What's your trouble, skipper?" asked Strong of the young spaceship
captain.
Before James could answer there was a sudden clamor from beyond the next
hatch leading to the main passenger cabin. Suddenly the hatch was jerked
open and a group of frightened men and women poured through. The first
to reach Strong, a short fat man with a moonface and wearing glasses,
began to jabber hysterically, while clinging to Strong's arm.
Pages:
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163