On the Trail of the Space Pirates_ A Tom Corbett Space Cadet Adventure - Carey Rockwell [421]
"Hey, Miles," he called, "is that the last of it?"
"Yes," Miles called back. "You get in touch with our pal?"
"Uh-huh. He's going to meet us out in space."
"In space?" Miles stared up at Brett with a strange gleam in his eye. "Why not the hide-out?"
"I don't know," Brett replied from above. "Let's not waste time talking now. Get those other two cases up here. I want to blast off."
Miles turned to the two cadets and waved his paralo-ray gun menacingly. "All right, you two. Get going!"
"Give us a few more minutes, Miles," said Tom. "We're so tired we can hardly move."
"Get up, I said," snarled the black-suited spaceman.
"I can't," whined Tom. "You'll have to give me a hand."
Miles pointed his gun straight at the young cadet. "All right. That means the big fella makes two trips and I freeze you right now."
"No, no!" cried Tom, jumping to his feet. "I can make it. Please don't freeze me again." Astro turned away to hide his smile.
Sneering his disgust at Tom's apparent fear, Miles prodded the cadets up the ladder. Tom went first, the heavy box digging into his shoulder. Astro followed, cursing the fog that prevented him from seeing where Miles stood below him so he could drop the heavy box on him.
Above them, Charles Brett watched them emerge out of the ammonia mist, ray gun held tightly in his hand. Tom climbed into the air lock safely and dropped the box on the edge of the platform, slumping to the deck beside it. Astro followed seconds later, and then Miles.
"Don't stop now," barked Miles. "Put those boxes below with the rest of them."
Tom got up slowly, leaning heavily on the outer edge of the precariously placed box. The box suddenly tilted and then slipped out of the air lock to disappear in the mist.
"Why, you clumsy—" Brett roared, raising his gun menacingly.
Astro stepped in front of Tom. "I'll get it," he cried. "Don't shoot!"
"Go on then," snarled Brett. "Go down with him, Miles. I'll stay here with Corbett."
"You go down with him," sneered Miles. "I've been up and down that ladder fifty times while you sat up here doing nothing."
"Is that so?" cried Brett angrily, turning to face the black-clad spaceman. This gave Tom the opportunity he was waiting for. He pulled the small charge of explosives from his tunic and held it in front of him.
"All right, you two!" he shouted. "Drop those paralo-ray guns. This is the booby trap you planted in the tunnel. You fire those ray guns and we all go up together."
Brett jumped back. Miles took a half step forward and stopped. "You haven't got the nerve," he sneered.
"Shoot and you'll find out," said Tom. "Go ahead! Shoot, if you've got the guts. Get down the ladder, Astro," he said. "They won't fire as long as I've got this in my hand."
Brett had begun to shake with fear but Miles brought his ray gun up slowly. He aimed it at Astro who was starting down the ladder, his head and shoulders still showing in the open air-lock portal. Tom saw what Miles was going to do. "Jump, Astro!" he shouted.
Astro jumped at the exact instant Miles fired. "Rush him," cried Miles. Brett made a headlong dash for Tom, but the cadet side-stepped at the last moment and Brett fell headlong out of the ship, wailing in sudden terror as he fell to the ground.
Miles turned to Tom. He ripped off his mask and with his free hand closed the air-lock portal.
"You fooled Brett, but you didn't fool me, Corbett." He laughed. "It takes a direct electric charge to set that stuff off. You just helped me get rid of a very obnoxious partner." He leveled his paralo-ray gun.
"I hate to do this," he said, "but it's you or me."
He fired. Tom was again frozen into that immobile state more dead than alive. Miles laughed and hurried to the control deck.
* * * * *
Astro got up on his knees slowly. Though the fall had been a hard one, he had rolled quickly with the first impact, thus preventing any injuries. He shook his