Carey Rockwell - Tom Corbett Space Cadet 07 - Sabotage in Space

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SABOTAGE IN SPACE

By CAREY ROCKWELL

No. 7 in the TOM CORBETT Space Cadet Adventure series

The Tom Corbett series:

STAND BY FOR MARS!, 1952

DANGER IN DEEP SPACE, 1953

ON THE TRAIL OF THE SPACE PIRATES, 1953

THE SPACE PIONEERS, 1953

THE REVOLT ON VENUS, 1954

TREACHERY IN OUTER SPACE, 1955

SABOTAGE IN SPACE, 1956

THE ROBOT ROCKET, 1956

What started out as an innocent campus prank at Space Academy almost

cost the Polaris unit the chance to become officers in the Solar Guard. For

punishment, Tom, Roger, and Astro were assigned to spend all their spare

time on guard duty in the vicinity of a new building which housed the latest

hush-hush project so important to the solar universe.

Here they were able to observe some suspicious events which looked to

them to be attempts to sabotage a plan to deliver cargo from freighter

spaceships to the various planets by means of projectiles shot from the

mother ships. Should the plan prove successful, it meant the doom of the

present methods of transportation in space.

The saboteurs were ruthless, and for a long time the Solar Guard played

into their hands. How the three cadets, through their courage and ingenuity,

were able to accomplish the downfall of the plotters makes thrilling and

exciting reading. Their gallant work not only saves the project but restores

their good standing in the Academy. Here is a rousing story which no red-

blooded boy will want to miss!

WILLY LEY Technical Adviser

GROSSET & DUNLAP Publishers New York

ILLUSTRATIONS

Frontispiece

Tom shot a hard right to his opponent's stomach

Tom swerved the jet car in front of the runaway truck

The men inside were tough-looking and steely-eyed

Tom saw that the Space Marines were watching the passengers very

closely

"He's hanging on to the cleat over the main tube!"

"The projectiles blew Devers' ship into rocket dust!"

SABOTAGE IN SPACE

CHAPTER 1

"Bong-g-g! Bong-g-g! Bong-g-g!-"

With a hollow booming sound reminiscent of old eighteenth- and

nineteenth-century clock towers, the electronic time tone rang out from the

Tower of Galileo, chiming the hour of nine. As the notes reverberated over the

vast expanse of Space Academy, U.S.A., the lights in the windows of the

cadet dormitories began to wink out and the slidewalks that crisscrossed the

campus, connecting the various buildings, rumbled to a halt. When the last

mournful note had rolled away to die in the distant hills, the school was dark

and still. The only movement to be seen was the slow pacing of the cadet

watch officers, patrolling their beats; the only sound, the measured clicking of

their boots on the metal strips of the slidewalks.

On the north side of the quadrangle near the Tower, a young watch officer

paused in front of one of the dormitories and scanned the darkened windows

of the durasteel and crystal building. Satisfied that all was in order, he

continued on his lonely way. A moment later a shadowy figure rose out of the

bushes opposite the dormitory entrance and stepped forward quickly and

cautiously. Pausing on the slidewalk to stare after the disappearing watch

officer, the figure was illuminated by the dim light from the entrance hall. He

was a young man wearing the royal-blue uniform of a Space Cadet. Tall and

wiry, with square features topped by a shock of close-cropped blond hair, he

stood poised on the balls of his feet, ready to move quickly should another

watch officer appear.

After a quick glance at his wrist chronometer, the young cadet darted

across the slidewalk toward the transparent crystal portal of the dormitory.

Hesitating only long enough to make certain that the inner hallway was clear,

he slid the portal open, ducked inside, and sprinted down the hall toward a

large black panel on the wall near the foot of the slidestairs. On the panel, in

five long columns, were the name plates of every cadet quartered in the

dormitory and beside each plate were two words, IN and OUT, with a small

tab that fitted over one of the words.

Out of the one hundred and fifty cadets in the dormitory, one hundred and

forty-nine were marked IN. The slender, blond-haired cadet quickly made it

unanimous, reaching up to the tab next to the name of Roger Manning and

sliding it over to cover the word OUT. With a last final look around, he raced

up the slidestairs, smiling in secret triumph.

* * *

In Room 512 on the fifth floor of the dormitory, Tom Corbett and Astro, the

two other cadets who, with Roger Manning, made up the famed Polaris unit of

the Space Cadet Corps, were deep in their studies. Though the lights-out

order had been given over the dormitory loud-speaker system, the desk lamp

burned brightly and there was a blanket thrown over the window. The boys of

the Polaris unit weren't alone in their disobedience. All over the dormitory,

lights were on and cadets were studying secretly. But they all felt fairly safe,

for the cadet watch officers on each floor were anxious to study themselves

and turned a blind eye. Even the Solar Guard officer of the day, in charge of

the entire dormitory, was sympathetic to their efforts and made a great deal of

unnecessary noise while on his evening rounds.

His brown curly hair falling over his forehead, Tom Corbett frowned in

concentration as he kept the earphones of his study machine clamped tightly

to his ears and listened to a recorded lecture on astrophysics as it unreeled

from the spinning study spool. As command cadet of the Polaris unit, Tom

was required to know more than merely his particularly duty as pilot of a

rocket ship. He had to be familiar with every phase of space travel, with a

working knowledge of the duties of all his unit mates.

Astro, the power-deck officer of the unit, paced back and forth between

the bunks like a huge, hulking bear, muttering to himself as he tried to

memorize the table of reaction times for rocket motors. Though the huge

Venusian cadet was a genius at all mechanical tasks, and able to work with

tools the way a surgeon worked with instruments, he had great difficulty in

learning the theories and scientific reasons for all the things he did

instinctively. Suddenly Astro stopped, looked at his chronometer, then turned

to Tom.

"Hey, Tom!" he called. "Where's that jerk, Manning?"

"Huh?" replied Tom, lifting one of the earphones from his ears. "What did

you say, Astro?"

"Where's Manning?" reiterated Astro. "It's ten minutes after lights out."

"He was going to get those study spools for us, wasn't he?" mused Tom.

"He should've been back by now," grunted the Venusian. "The library

closed an hour ago. Besides, he couldn't have gotten those spools. Every

other cadet in the Academy is after them."

"Well, he's a pretty resourceful joker," sighed Tom, turning back to the

study machine. "When he goes after something, he gets it by hook or crook."

"It's the crook part that bothers me," grumbled Astro. "Besides, if the O.D.

catches him out of quarters, he'll be doing his studying while he's polishing up

the mess hall."

Suddenly the door to the room burst open and slammed closed. Tom and

Astro whirled to see their missing unit mate lounging against the doorframe,

grinning broadly.

"Roger!"

"Where've you been, blast you?"

Tom and Astro both jumped forward and spoke at the same time. The

blond-haired cadet merely looked at them lazily and then sauntered forward,

pulling six small study spools from his pockets.

"You wanted these study spools, didn't you?" he drawled, giving his unit

mates three apiece. "Be my guest and study like mad."

Tom and Astro quickly read the titles of the spools and then looked at

Roger in amazement. They were the ones the unit needed for their end-term

exams, the ones all the cadets needed.

"Roger," Tom demanded, "how did you get these spools? The library was

out of them this afternoon. Did you take them from another unit's quarters?"

"I did not!" said Roger stoutly. "And I don't like your insinuations that I

would." He grinned. "Relax! We have them and we can breeze through them

in the morning and have them back where they belong by noon tomorrow."

"Where they belong!" Tom exclaimed. "Then you have no right to them."

"Listen, hot-shot!" growled Astro. "I want to know where you got these

spools and how."

"Well, if that isn't gratitude for you!" muttered Roger. "I go out and risk my

neck for my dear beloved unit mates and they stand around arguing instead of

buckling down to study."

"This is no joke, Roger," said Tom seriously. "Now for the last time, will

you tell us how you got them?"

Roger thought a moment and then shrugged his shoulders. "All right," he

said finally. "When I went down to the library to see if it was our turn for them

yet, I found that we were still twenty-seventh in line."

"Twenty-seventh?" gasped Astro.

"That's right, spaceboy!" snorted Roger. "So I tried to con that little space

doll of a librarian into moving our names up on the list, but just then an

Earthworm cadet came in with an order from Tony Richards of the Capella

unit, an order for the very spools we needed."

"You mean, you took them from an Earthworm?" queried Tom.

"Well, I didn't take them exactly," replied Roger. "I waited for him out on

the quadrangle and I told him he was wanted in the cadet dispatcher's office

right away and that I would take the spools on up to Tony."

"And you brought them here!" howled Astro.

"Yup." Roger grinned. "Do you think that squirt will know who I am? Not in

a million years. And by the time Tony and the others do find out who has

them, we'll be finished. Get it?"

"I get it, all right, you crummy little chiseler," growled Astro. "Tom, we

gotta give these back to Tony."

Tom nodded. "You're right," he said.

"Now wait a minute!" said Roger angrily. "I went to a lot of trouble to get

these things for you-"

"Look, Roger," Tom interrupted, "I would rather have one night with those

spools than a two-week leave in Atom City right now. But the Capella unit is

having a tough time making the Spring passing lists. They need those spools

more than we do."

"Yeah," said Astro. "We could probably take the tests now and pass, but

they really have to study. I'm for getting them back to the Capella unit right

now. How about you, Tom?"

The young cadet nodded and turned to Roger who stood there, frowning.

"Roger," said Tom, "both Astro and I really appreciate it. But you wouldn't

want the Capella unit to flunk out of the Academy, would you?"

Roger gnawed at his thumbnail and then looked at his two unit mates

sheepishly. "You're right, fellas," he said. "It was kind of a dirty trick. Give me

the spools. I'll take them back to Tony right now."

"Wait a minute!" exclaimed Astro. "It's after hours. We're not supposed to

be out of the dorm."

For a second the three boys looked at each other hesitantly. Then, as

though they had telepathically conveyed their individual decisions to each

other, they turned toward the door. Tom opened it and stepped out into the

hall cautiously, then turned back and nodded. Roger and Astro followed him

quickly.

As Roger closed the door behind him, he murmured, "There's no reason

for all of us to go. I was the one who took the spools, so I should bring them

back. Why should you two guys risk getting caught?"

Astro punched him in the shoulder fondly. "We always work together,

don't we?" he declared. "If one's gonna get into trouble, we all should."

"Let's go," urged Tom in a sharp whisper, and they all raced silently

toward the slidestairs.

Seconds later, the three cadets of the Polaris unit were down in the main

hallway of the dormitory building, tiptoeing toward the front portal. Pausing

only to look into the O.D.'s office to make sure the officer wouldn't spot them,

they reached the portal and ducked out. Pausing again to scan the immediate

area for any watch officers, they darted across the slidewalk and into the

shadows of the shrubbery.

Quickly and soundlessly, they raced across the green lawn of the

quadrangle toward the dormitory where the Capella unit was quartered. Once

they sprawled headlong on the turf and lay still as a watch officer suddenly

appeared out of the darkness at the base of the Tower of Galileo. But he

walked past without seeing them and they continued on across the

quadrangle.

Reaching another clump of shrubbery right opposite the Capella unit's

dormitory, the boys stopped and discussed their final move.

"This is getting ridiculous," whispered Roger. "I shouldn't have let you two

come with me. But I'm going the rest of the way myself."

"We came this far, Roger," asserted Tom. "We'll go the rest of the way

and help you explain."

"And you've got a space-blasting lot to explain."

The three cadets whirled as a familiar voice snarled out of the darkness

behind them. They saw three figures, all in cadet uniforms, wearing the

insigne of the Capella unit. In the forefront was Tony Richards scowling

angrily.

"Tony!" gasped Tom. "What are you doing out here?"

"We were on our way over to your dorm, Corbett," growled Tony

Richards. "We saw you three sneaking across the quadrangle."

"Coming to pay us a visit, fellas?" asked Roger blandly.

"You know blasted well why we were coming," snapped McAvoy, the

second member of the Capella crew.

Davison, the third member of the unit, stepped forward. "Give us back our

study spools," he demanded.

"Take it easy," said Tom in a calm voice. "We were bringing them back to

you."

"I'll bet," snapped McAvoy.

"Relax," growled Astro. "Tom said we were returning them. We admit it

was a dirty trick, but you haven't lost much time. Half an hour maybe."

"Don't try to cover for Manning, Astro," said Tony heatedly. "It's a shame

you two guys are stuck with a bad rocket like Manning in your unit."

"Bad rocket!" exclaimed Roger.

"Now, wait a minute, Tony," Tom said, advancing toward the broad-

shouldered cadet. "We are returning the spools, and we apologize for yanking

them from the Earthworm. But that doesn't mean we'll listen to that kind of talk

about Roger."

"He stole them, didn't he?" retorted Davison.

Roger stepped forward. "Davy, my boy," he said in a low controlled tone,

"I don't like that remark. I've got a notion to make you eat that word."

"I don't think you can, Manning," replied the angry cadet.

Tom stepped between them quickly. "Listen, fellows, we don't want any

trouble. Here are the spools." He held them out.

"That's what I mean, Corbett," said McAvoy sarcastically. "Manning gets

you in trouble and then you and the big boy have to bail him out."

"We've apologized," retorted Astro angrily. "You're getting the spools

back. So no more cracks about Roger."

"I can take care of myself, Astro," said Roger.

"Here, take the spools and get back to your dorm," growled Tom. He

handed the pile of spools over, but as Tony extended his hands, one of the

spools dropped to the grass. No one made a move to pick it up.

"There are the spools," said Tom icily. "Now beat it."

"Let's go," said Davison, leaning over to pick up the spool. "The air is

beginning to stink around here."

Red-faced, Roger stepped forward and put his foot on the spool just as

Davison reached for it. "That's enough, Davison," he snarled.

"Why, you dirty space crawler-" Davison straightened up and swung

wildly. Roger ducked the blow easily, then spun the heavy-set cadet around

and pushed him back into the bushes.

Tony Richards stepped forward and Astro turned to him threateningly, but

Tom quickly shoved them aside and faced Richards.

"Listen, Tony," he said. "We're all out after hours, and if a watch officer

spots us, we've had it. We don't want any trouble." He glanced at Davison,

who was being restrained by McAvoy. "We apologize. Now get out of here

before we're all logged."

Richards nodded and started to turn to his unit mates when suddenly

Davison jerked free and lunged at Roger. The blond-haired cadet was not

caught unawares. He stepped aside and threw a quick jolting right straight to

the Capella cadet's jaw. Davison staggered back and fell to the ground. He

shook his head, jumped to his feet again, and charged back with a roar.

Both Tom and Astro and Tony Richards and McAvoy grabbed at their

respective unit mates and tried to restrain them. In the struggle to keep Roger

and Davison apart, Astro accidentally pushed Richards to one side.

"What in blazes-!" yelled Richards. He suddenly released Davison and

gave Astro a shove that sent the big cadet sprawling. And then, without

warning, McAvoy swung at Tom. The curly-haired cadet saw the blow coming

a fraction of a second too late and caught it on the side of his head. He fell

back into the bushes.

Roger yelled in anger at the sudden attack, and grabbing Davison by the

front of his tunic, slammed a hard right into the cadet's stomach. Richards

grabbed Roger, holding him around the head and neck, as McAvoy swung at

him viciously. Seeing their unit mate pummeled, Tom and Astro charged back

and the battle was on. The two units forgot about the watch officers and the

strong possibility of being caught and slugged it out in the darkness of the

quadrangle. The fight seemed to be the climax of a long-standing feud. The

Polaris crew had first come to grips with Richards and his unit mates when

they were assigned to the old rocket cruiser Arcturus. When the ship was

scrapped, the cadets were transferred to the Capella, but the rivalry continued

stronger than before. Time and time again, the two crack units had competed

for hours on the athletic fields, in space flight tests, and in the classroom. The

Polaris unit had constantly come out ahead, often by no more than a fraction

of points, but their superiority was clear, and the Capella unit could not

repress its resentment and jealousy.

Tony Richards and Tom had squared off and were boxing with

lightninglike thrusts of their fists, each waiting for an opening. In back of them,

Roger and Davison were simply hammering away at each other's mid-

sections, and Astro and McAvoy were rolling around on the ground like bears,

growling and tugging. It was brute strength against brute strength.

Tom danced away from Richards' rapierlike left, weaved low, and shot a

hard right to his opponent's stomach. That left him gasping. Richards doubled

over and stepped in to bring up a solid right, then hesitated. Richards was

through. The blow to the mid-section had taken all the fight out of him. Tom

refused to pursue his advantage while the other could not fight back. His

anger cooling rapidly, Tom realized that the whole fight was nothing more

than a misunderstanding. As Richards sank to the grass helpless and gasping

for breath, Tom turned to break up the other two fights. But Roger was just

finishing his battle with Davison. Feinting to the mid-section and pulling

Davison's guard down, Roger hooked his left cleanly to the jaw, following

immediately with a haymaker right. Davison dropped to the turf, out cold.

Meanwhile, Astro had rolled on top of the last cadet of the Capella unit,

and with his great strength, clamped McAvoy's arms to his side. Face to face,

the two cadets glared at each other. The muscles tightened in Astro's arms,

and beads of sweat popped out on his face.

"Give up!" demanded the Venusian, tightening his grip.

Slowly McAvoy sagged under the pressure Astro was applying and his

face began to redden.

"He'll break his back," whispered Roger to Tom.

Tom nodded and stepped forward. "Let him go, Astro. He's finished."

Astro did not let go. His face was white with anger. McAvoy bent further

back. "Give up," demanded Astro.

"Grab him," said Tom to Roger. "Get him off Mac before he breaks his

back."

Tom and Roger jumped to Astro's side and each grabbed one of the

powerful arms encircling McAvoy. It took all their strength to break the viselike

hold the giant Venusian had on the other cadet, but slowly they pulled the

muscular arms back and McAvoy slumped to the grass.

The three victorious cadets paused and looked down at the beaten

Capella crew, then looked at each other.

"Well," sighed Roger, "I suppose that the least we can do now is get them

back to their dorm."

Tom and Astro nodded. As the three boys started forward they were

stopped by a voice behind them-a voice that roared like an atomic blast.

"Stand to!"

Whirling around in surprise for the second time within a space of ten

minutes, Tom, Astro, and Roger saw a menacing sight standing behind them,

his balled fists jammed on his hips, his booted legs widespread, and his

massive head thrust forward. It was Major Lou Connel, more familiarly known

as "Blast-off" Connel, a Senior Line Officer of the Solar Guard and the

sternest disciplinarian in the whole Academy. Behind him stood a short, thin

man, whom none of the boys recognized.

Connel stepped forward slowly and menacingly, glaring at the three boys.

"Out a little late, aren't you, boys?" he asked with a mildness that sent a

chill down their spines.

"Y-yes sir," replied Tom, a slight tremor in his voice.

"On official business, I presume?" The major's voice was still as smooth

as silk.

Tom gulped and then shook his head. "N-no, sir," he quavered.

Connel's eyes widened in mock horror. "Why, Corbett," he exclaimed,

"didn't anyone ever tell you the rules of Space Academy? Or perhaps you

didn't know what time it was?"

Tom bit his lip. He knew that he and his unit mates were caught in a

hopeless trap and that Connel was simply baiting them. "I knew what time it

was, sir," he said. "We're out after hours."

Suddenly there was a movement in the brush behind Tom as McAvoy

stumbled to his feet. Richards also sat up groggily.

"Major!" It was the man behind Connel who spoke. "Who are they?"

As though in answer, Davison stood up too and the three members of the

Capella unit were suddenly and horribly aware of the presence of Connel.

They immediately braced themselves, their faces white with sudden fear.

"So!" Now the major's voice began to roar again. "Fighting, eh? Well, now

we really have something here."

"Sir," began Richards tremulously, "if you'll let us explain-“

"I'll let you explain all right," thundered Connel. "Out after hours, fighting,

you'll have a great time explaining to an inquiry."

"An inquiry!" Tom exclaimed involuntarily.

"Did you expect anything less?" roared Connel. "You are all under arrest

and confined to quarters."

The six cadets all trembled but said nothing, standing at rigid attention,

eyes straight ahead.

"Return to your quarters immediately."

As one, the cadets wheeled and marched off. Tom, Astro, and Roger

walked across the quadrangle back to their dorm, and the Capella unit took

the slidewalk that led to their quarters. Connel watched them go, a ferocious

scowl on his craggy features.

"Little rough on them, weren't you, Major?" asked the man who stood

beside the Solar Guard officer.

"Rules are meant to be obeyed, Professor Hemmingwell," retorted Connel

stiffly.

"Perhaps you're right," mused the stranger. "But what's this about an

inquiry?"

"A trial, Professor. A trial conducted by the cadets themselves to see

whether or not the accused should be kicked out of the Academy."

"Kicked out?" exclaimed the professor. "You certainly do believe in

discipline."

"These boys are to be Solar Guardsmen," replied Connel shortly. "If they

can't obey orders now, they never will."

"Well, it's all very unimportant really, Major," Hemmingwell said with a

shrug. "We have many more vital things to think about now than mere cadets.

Shall we go? Commander Walters is waiting for us."

As the little man in civilian clothes walked away, Connel stifled a blistering

retort. True, his mission here at the Academy was of great importance. But

cadets were important too. And he was afraid. The Polaris unit was in grave

trouble, grave enough to cause expulsion from the Academy.

CHAPTER 2

Space Academy, U.S.A.!

This was the dream and goal of every boy in the thrilling year 2354, when

mankind had reached out beyond the bounds of Earth and had conquered

space, colonizing planets and blazing trails to distant worlds deep in the black

void of the outer universe. To support the ever-growing need for trained

spacemen to man the rocket ships that linked the planets and distant satellite

outposts, the Solar Alliance, the government of the solar system, had erected

Space Academy. It was there that the most promising boys were trained to

become members of the Solar Guard to patrol the space lanes and keep

peace in the universe.

Organized into tight, hard-hitting units of three, the Academy cadets were

trained to work together under the most severe conditions. Their waking hours

were spent in one of two places; in powerful rocket cruisers, blasting through

space on endless training missions, or at the Academy in classrooms and

lecture halls, where they studied everything from the theory of space flight to

the application of space laws. A very important course of study was the theory

of government. For, above all else, the Solar Alliance was a government of

the people. And to assure the survival and continuance of that democratic

system, the officers of the Solar Guard functioned as the watchdogs of the

space democracy, entrusted with the vital mission of making sure the

government reflected the will of the people.

As a practical approach to this course, the Academy officials had

established a Cadet Council for the settlement of disputes and infractions of

rules by the cadets. It was to this cadet governing body that the fight between

the Polaris and the Capella units was referred by Major Connel.

The Academy had buzzed with talk since the fight, and sides were drawn

hard and fast. Both units were extremely popular and the arguments raged

through the dormitories as to which unit was at fault.

Meanwhile, the Cadet Council decided to have a full trial to give each unit

a fair chance to defend itself against the charges. A judge and jury were

selected and lawyers appointed for each side. Finally a date was set for the

trial.During this time, Tom, Roger, and Astro were confined to their quarters.

They did not talk much, each conscious of the fact that should the Cadet

Council decide against them, they might be expelled from the Academy. The

same was true about the Capella unit, of course, but the Council might decide

the Polaris had instigated the whole affair. Roger was particularly silent, since

his actions in obtaining the study spools had started the whole chain of

disastrous events.

The boys did not know which cadet would be appointed to defend them

until late the following afternoon when there was a knock on the door, and a

small, thin cadet, wearing a thick pair of eyeglasses that gave him a decided

owllike look, entered the room.

"Alfie Higgins!" cried Tom.

"The Brain!" yelled Astro.

"Glad to see you, pal!" shouted Roger.

The three cadets surrounded little Alfie and pummeled him playfully in

their joy at seeing another cadet. Alfie merely looked at them gravely.

"Hello, 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 eyeglasses. "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.

They talked for nearly four hours before Alfie was finally satisfied that he

knew all the facts. He left them with the same somber attitude 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 Space 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

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SABOTAGEINSPACEByCAREYROCKWELLNo.7intheTOMCORBETTSpaceCadetAdventureseriesTheTomCorbettseries:STANDBYFORMARS!,1952DANGERINDEEPSPACE,1953ONTHETRAILOFTHESPACEPIRATES,1953THESPACEPIONEERS,1953THEREVOLTONVENUS,1954TREACHERYINOUTERSPACE,1955SABOTAGEINSPACE,1956THEROBOTROCKET,1956Whatstartedoutasaninnocen...

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Carey Rockwell - Tom Corbett Space Cadet 07 - Sabotage in Space

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