And then I
held my hand over the side of the raft and he came snooping around
and--well, I just grabbed him!"
He held the fish in the viselike grip of his right hand until it stopped
moving.
"You know," said Tom weakly, "I just remembered. When we were in the
Science Building in Atom City, one of their projects was to breed both
Earth and Venus fish in the canals."
"I am going to shake, personally, the hand of the man who started this
project when we get back to Atom City," said Astro.
Suddenly Roger gripped Tom's arms. He was staring in the direction the
raft was going. "Tom--" he breathed, "Astro--look!"
They turned and peered into the dusk. In the distance, not a mile away,
was the huge crystal-clear dome of the atmosphere booster station, its
roaring atomic motors sending a steady purring sound out across the
desert.
"We made it," said Tom, choking back the tears. "We made it!"
"Well, blast my jets," said Astro. "We sure did!"
* * * * *
"And you mean to tell me, you _walked_ across that desert?" asked
Captain Strong.
Tom glanced over at Astro and Roger. "We sure did, sir."
"With Astro doing the last stretch to the canal carrying me and dragging
Tom," said Roger as he sipped his hot broth.
The room in the chief engineer's quarters at the atmosphere station was
crowded with workers, enlisted Solar Guardsmen and officers of the Solar
Guard.
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