On the Trail of the Space Pirates_ A Tom Corbett Space Cadet Adventure - Carey Rockwell [172]
Roger grinned. "That could be fun."
"Be clever, but be tough. Some of the people you'll run into are the most ruthless men in the universe. They are just the ones that might know something about Wallace and Simms."
Strong cautioned them against drinking rocket juice, suggesting they drink Martian water instead. The briefing was interrupted by the automatic warning beep from the tele-scanner informing them that they had passed the outer beacon on the approach to the municipal spaceport on the Moon. The four spacemen immediately began the routine task of landing their ship safely on the satellite colony.
An hour later, as gray-clad customs men finished searching the empty ship, Roger waited for final clearance at the air lock of the freighter. When the last of the men were leaving the ship, Roger stopped two of them.
"Say, ground hogs," drawled Roger, "where's the best place to get something to eat?"
The two men stopped and turned to face the cadet, their eyes cold and unfriendly. "Why don't you space drift blast out of here?" asked one of them.
"Yeah," agreed the other, "your kind aren't welcome in Luna City."
Roger shrugged his shoulders and turned away. The two customs officers continued down the gangway. "Those young punks," muttered one, "they get themselves a berth on a crummy freighter and think they're real hot space aces when they're nothing but wet fire-crackers!"
Strong had appeared at Roger's side and heard the last remark.
"What was that about, Roger?" he asked, nodding toward the disappearing customs men.
Roger smiled. "Just seeing if I could get by."
"They certainly gave us a good going over," said Strong grimly. "I think our disguise is perfect. Those fellows don't miss much."
"I heard them talking, Steve," said Roger. "They recognized the ship and know its reputation for smuggling."
"Yes," agreed Strong. "And your remark will make them sure to watch every move we make. But that's just what we want. News of that sort has a way of getting around. And anyone interested in a ship with a reputation for smuggling is someone we're interested in."
Astro walked up, and with a brief nod Roger followed the big cadet down the gangway. As they walked across the concrete surface of the spaceport, Tom appeared at Strong's elbow.
"I'm ready to go, Steve," he said. "The ship's secure."
"Very well, Tom," said Strong. "But from now on, keep your eyes and ears open. It only takes one slip to make a dead spaceman!"
CHAPTER 8
"See that fellow over there, Steve?" whispered Tom. "The one with the scar on his face?"
"Yeah," replied the disguised Solar Guard officer. "I've been watching him too. And I think he's had his eye on us."
Tom and Captain Strong were sitting in a small restaurant near the spaceport, drinking Martian water and discussing the shadowy characters that lounged around the stuffy little room.
"I'll walk over to the bar," said Strong. "Maybe he doesn't want to talk to two of us together. You go over and see if you can strike up a conversation."
"Good idea, sir—uh—Steve," said Tom.
Strong got up and with an exaggerated swagger walked to the small bar. From the mirror in back of the bar, he could see Tom rise and saunter over to the man who sat on the opposite side of the room.
For three days, Roger, Astro, Tom, and Strong had wandered through the bars, restaurants, and cheap hotels of Spaceman's Row in Luna City searching for information that would lead them to Wallace and Simms. Each night they returned to the freighter to exchange, sift, and analyze the bits of information gathered, but for three nights they had come up with a total of nothing. Finally, Strong had decided that this would be the last night they would spend in Luna City. It was after making this decision that he and Tom spotted the scar-faced man sitting alone in one corner.
The scar-faced man obviously wanted something from