For four days they had traveled on the
_Lady Venus_, enjoying the many luxuries found on the passenger ship.
Now, with their destination only a few hours away, they were having a
light snack before making a touchdown on Mars.
"You know," said Tom quietly, "I've been thinking. As far back as the
twentieth century, Earthmen have wanted to get to Mars. And finally they
did. And what have they found? Nothing but a planet full of dry sand, a
few canals and dwarf mountains."
"That's exactly what I've been saying!" said Roger. "The only man who
ever got anything out of all this was the first man to make it to Mars
and return. He got the name, the glory, and a paragraph in a history
book! And after that, nothing!" He got up and climbed the ladder to the
radar deck, leaving Astro and Tom alone.
Suddenly the ship lurched to one side.
"What's that?" cried Tom.
A bell began to ring. Then another--and then three more. Finally the
entire ship was vibrating with the clanging of emergency bells.
Astro made a diving leap for the ladder leading down to the power deck,
with Tom lunging for the control board.
Quickly Tom glanced about the huge board with its many different gauges
and dials, searching for the one that would indicate the trouble. His
eye spotted a huge gauge. A small light beside it flashed off and on.
"By the moons of Jupiter, we've run out of reactant fuel!"
"Tom!--Tom!" shouted Astro from the power deck.
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