"Manning!" shouted Connel. "I thought you were a prisoner!"
"Ah, it was nothing, skipper," said Roger blandly. "I just took over the ship--with a little help, of course!"
"A little help?" asked Connel. "From whom?"
Roger then gave the officer a complete review of what had happened to him since leaving the s.p.a.ce station, finishing with Shinny"s aid in his escape.
"Why would he want to help you?" asked Connel.
"I don"t know, sir," replied Roger.
"Well, never mind," said Connel. "I suppose you two can handle that ship all right between you. Land on Tara as soon as you can. I"ll get the details then!"
"Aye, aye, sir," replied Roger. Then, just before breaking contact, he yelled into the mike, "Hey, Astro--Tom! See ya in a few minutes!"
As the teleceiver screen darkened, Shinny reappeared. He had released Mason from the effects of the ray charge, and both Mason and Loring were safe in the storage room. He walked over and slapped Roger on the back.
"Well, it looks like we did it, sonny boy!" he said.
Roger turned to look at the wizened s.p.a.ceman who still was chewing on the plug of tobacco. "What made you do this for me, Mr. Shinny?" asked Roger quietly.
"Tell ya a little secret," said Shinny, with a merry twinkle in his eye.
"I was in the Solar Guard for twenty years. Enlisted man. Got into an accident and hurt my leg, but it wasn"t in the line of duty, so I was tossed out without a pension. Ever since then I been kinda bitter, you might say. And, strangely enough, it was Major Connel that kicked me out."
"But you--you--" gasped Roger.
"Let"s just say," said Shinny with a smile, "that once you"re a Solar Guardsman, you"re always a Guardsman. Now, how about getting this wagon down to Tara?"
"Yeah, yeah, sure," said Roger absently, his eyes trailing after the small limping figure. Once a Solar Guardsman, always a Guardsman, he thought. Smiling, he turned to the control board. He felt the same way.
He was a Guardsman, and it was good to be back home!
[Ill.u.s.tration]
CHAPTER 14
Major Connel paced nervously in front of the group of s.p.a.cemen. Tom, Roger, Astro, Alfie, and Mr. Shinny were lounging around the small clearing between the _Polaris_ and the _s.p.a.ce Devil_. A piece of thin s.p.a.ce cloth had been stretched between the two ships to shield the men from the blazing sun. Connel stopped in front of Roger and Shinny.
"And you say the satellite is three-quarters solid copper?" asked Connel.
"Yes, sir," replied Roger, "at least that"s what Loring and Mason told us."
"Where is it?" asked Connel. "I mean, where exactly?"
"I spotted her coming in, sir," replied Roger. "I"d say she was about three hundred thousand miles outside of Tara in perfect orbit."
"By the blessed rings of Saturn," exclaimed Connel, "it"s almost too good to be true! The whole Solar Alliance needs copper desperately. And if what you say is true, that"s enough to last for a hundred and fifty years!"
"Didn"t you have any idea they discovered it, sir?" asked Tom. "I mean, when they took that unauthorized flight on your first trip out here?"
"Didn"t suspect a thing, Tom," replied Connel. "I thought they had gotten a little s.p.a.ce rocky on some homemade rocket juice and just went on a wingding. Imagine the colossal nerve of those two wanting to corner the market with the largest deposit of copper ever found."
"How do you plan to get it back, Major?" asked Shinny.
"I don"t know, Shinny--"
"_Mr._ Shinny!" snapped the wizened s.p.a.ceman. "_I"m_ not one of your cadets!"
"Still the hotheaded rocket buster, eh?" asked Connel, eying the toothless s.p.a.ceman. "It was the same thing that got you kicked out of the Solar Guard twenty years ago!"
"Wasn"t either! And you know it!" snapped Shinny. "You retired me because I busted my leg!"
"That helped," said Connel, "but the main reason was because you were too hotheaded. Couldn"t take orders!"
"Well," said Shinny doggedly, "I ain"t in no Solar Guard now, and when you talk to me, it"s _Mr._ Shinny!"
"Why, you old goat!" exploded Connel. "I ought to arrest you for aiding criminals!"
"You can"t do a thing to me," barked Shinny. "Prospecting is prospecting, whether it"s in the asteroid belt or out here on Tara!"
Unable to hold back any longer, the four s.p.a.ce cadets suddenly roared with laughter at the sight of the two old s.p.a.ce foes jawing at each other. Actually, Connel and Shinny were glad to see each other. And when they saw the boys doubled up with laughter, they couldn"t help laughing also. Finally Connel turned to Roger.
"Can you find that satellite again?" he asked.
"Yes, sir!" Roger grinned.
"All right, then," said Connel finally, "let"s go take a look at it. I still won"t believe it until I see it!"
"Who"s hardheaded now?" snorted Shinny, climbing into the _Polaris_.
Later, as the rocket cruiser blasted smoothly through s.p.a.ce, Connel joined Roger and Alfie on the radar deck. The two cadets were bent over the radar scanner.
"Pick her up yet?" asked Connel.
"There she is, right there, sir," said Roger, placing a finger on a circular white blip on the scanner. "But the magnascope shows pretty rugged country. I think we"d better take a look on the opposite side.
Maybe we can find a better place to touch down."
"Very well, Manning," replied Connel. "Do what you think best. Tell Tom to land as soon as possible."
"Aye, aye, sir," replied Roger.
Leaving Alfie on watch at the scanner, Roger hurried down the ladder to the control deck where Tom was seated in front of the great board.
"Tom," called Roger, walking up behind his unit-mate, "we"re going to take a look at this baby on the other side. See if we can"t find a better place to touch down. Stand by to pick up the surface of the satellite on the teleceiver as soon as we get close enough."