"h.e.l.lo, Tom, Roger, Astro," he said somberly.
"What are you doing here?" asked Tom. "We"re not allowed visitors."
"I"m not a visitor, Tom," replied the little cadet. "I"m your defense lawyer." He glanced at Roger and Astro. "I hope that will be satisfactory to you."
"Satisfactory!" exclaimed Tom. "Alfie, we couldn"t ask for anyone better."
"That"s right, Brain," said Roger. "You"re the boy for us."
Astro grunted his approval. "Yeah."
"Well, in that case," said Alfie, opening his brief case, "I would suggest that we get right down to the facts. The trial is tomorrow."
"All right, Alfie, we"re ready," said Tom. "I suppose you want to hear the whole thing."
"If you don"t mind," said Alfie, adjusting his eyegla.s.ses. "You start, Roger."
Sitting around the room, relaxed, yet concerned, the four cadets discussed the details of the case. Alfie took copious notes, occasionally interrupting Tom or Roger or Astro to ask a pointed question.
[Ill.u.s.tration]
They talked for nearly four hours before Alfie was finally satisfied that he knew all the facts. He left them with the same somber att.i.tude he had when he first arrived, and when the boys were alone, they each felt a chill of fear. The full meaning of a defense lawyer hit them.
They were in serious trouble. After a few moments of silence, Tom rose and went into the bathroom to take a shower. Astro flopped on his back in his bunk and went to sleep. Roger began throwing darts idly at his "solar system" over his bunk. It was a map of his own design depicting the planets revolving around the sun, only each planet was represented by a picture of a girl, and his own grinning countenance was the sun. He was known to have made dates by throwing a dart at the map blindly and taking out the girl whose picture he had hit.
When Tom returned a few minutes later, he looked at his unit mates and shook his head. Never, in all the adventures they had shared or all the tough situations they had been in, had either Roger or Astro given up as they seemed to be doing now.
"And," thought Tom miserably, "with good reason too! I feel like tossing in the sponge myself."
The huge s.p.a.ce Academy gymnasium had been converted into a temporary courtroom, and at ten A.M. the following day the cavernous chamber was packed with all the cadets who could get off duty, in addition to a liberal sprinkling of Solar Guard officers and instructors who were keenly interested in their pupils" handling of orderly democratic procedure.
As the cadet judge opened the proceedings, Commander Walters, Major Connel, Captain Strong, and Lieutenant Wolchek, unit commander of the _Capella_ crew, watched intently from their seats in the back of the gym. Up forward, at two small tables immediately in front of the Council"s platform, the _Polaris_ and _Capella_ units sat rigidly, while their defense lawyers arranged papers and data on the table for quick reference. Little Alfie Higgins didn"t say a word to Tom, Roger, or Astro, merely studied his opponent, Cadet Benjy Edwards, who was acting as attorney for the _Capella_ unit. Edwards, a beefy boy with a florid face, looked across the chamber and sneered at Tom. The young cadet repressed a quick shudder of anger. There was bad blood between the two.
Once, Tom had found Edwards bullying a helpless group of Earthworm cadets, forcing them to march and exercise under a broiling Martian sun for no reason at all, and Tom had put a stop to it. Edwards had taken every opportunity to get back at Tom, and now he had his best chance.
From the beginning, the trial was argued bitterly. Though the issues were clear-cut--illegal possession of the study spools, out on the quadrangle after hours, and fighting--Edwards tried to accuse the _Polaris_ unit of irrelevant infractions. But Alfie Higgins was his equal. From the beginning, he admitted that the _Polaris_ unit was guilty of the first charge, but made a strong claim that they had more than made up for the infraction by risking censure to return the spools to their rightful owners. In addition, he forced Tony Richards to admit that he had accepted Roger"s apology. The Council agreed to drop that charge and to hold the second charge in abeyance, since both units seemed to have had good reason for being out after hours. Benjy Edwards scowled but could find no reason to object to the Council"s decision.
Alfie, on the other hand, broke into a smile for the first time that morning. He turned to the Council and announced that the only point of issue was the fight and who struck the first blow.
In the back of the room, Connel turned to Strong. "I, personally, am going to sign the pa.s.s for a week"s leave for Alfie when this is over,"
he said. "I never saw such a ding-blasted brain in operation in all my life."
"He really slipped one over on Benjy Edwards all right," muttered Strong, his voice tinged with pride.
In front of the Council platform, Alfie turned to the judge.
"I would like to call to the stand, if the court please," he said in a clear voice, "Cadet Tom Corbett."
Tom walked to the chair, was sworn in, and sat down, facing Alfie.
"Cadet Corbett," Higgins paused, and then asked almost casually, "did you strike the first blow?"
"No," replied Tom.
"Dismissed," said Higgins suddenly. "Call Roger Manning to the stand, please."
Roger rose, and pa.s.sing Tom on the way back, took his place on the stand and repeated the oath.
Alfie looked at Roger calmly and in a clear voice asked, "Cadet Manning, did you strike the first blow?"
"No."
"Dismissed," said Alfie. "Please call Cadet Astro to the stand."
The cadet audience began to murmur and sit forward tensely.
"What the devil is he doing?" growled Connel.
Strong grinned. "Blast me if I know, Lou," he said. "But wait and see.
I"ll bet you ten credits it"s a lulu."
Astro was sworn in and Alfie waited for the room to become quiet.
"Cadet Astro," he said finally, "you have heard the other members of the _Polaris_ unit state, under solemn oath, that they did not strike the first blow. Now, I ask you to consider carefully your answer. Did you, Cadet Astro"--Alfie paused dramatically, and nearly shouted the final part of the question--"strike the first blow?"
"No!" bellowed Astro.
"Dismissed," said Alfie quickly, turning to the Council. "Gentlemen," he said, "he did not strike the first blow, nor did Cadet Corbett, nor Cadet Manning. And I will not insist that the three members of the _Capella_ unit be asked the same question, since I concede that they are three impeccable gentlemen who could _not_ strike the first blow in a common fight."
As the audience in the courtroom burst into a roar, Benjy Edwards jumped to his feet.
"Your honor," he appealed, "I insist that the _Capella_ unit be allowed to take the stand and deny the charge--"
"Your honor," interrupted Alfie, "the _Polaris_ unit makes no charge.
They freely admit that the _Capella_ unit could not, I repeat, sir, could not have struck the first blow. And the _Polaris_ unit--"
"Your honor--!" cried Edwards. "I insist."
The cadet judge rapped his gavel. "_Polaris_ counsel will speak."
"Thank you, your honor. I just wanted to say that the members of the _Polaris_ unit defer to the _Capella_ unit. I submit, your honor, that it was nothing more than a misunderstanding and that both sides should be punished or freed."
"Is that all?" asked the cadet judge.
"Yes, sir," said Alfie.
"Counsel for the _Capella_ unit may speak now. Do you insist on having your defendants brought to the stand to swear they did not start the fight?"
"Your honor--" began Benjy. But Alfie had already planted the seed.