On the Trail of the Space Pirates_ A Tom Corbett Space Cadet Adventure - Carey Rockwell [495]
"I can do very well without him," said Hemmingwell. "As a matter of fact, I would have done extremely well without him before." He paused and shook his head. "I feel so ashamed of myself when I think of the things I said to those boys." He nodded toward Astro and Roger. "And all the time they were right."
Astro grinned shyly. Roger was about to open his mouth and make a typically flip remark when the hatch opened and Tom appeared, a bandage covering his head. The two cadets jumped toward him and snowed him under with affectionate slaps on the back.
"Wait a minute!" cried Tom. "I'm injured. Look at my head!"
"You couldn't have hit the control panel with anything better!" snorted Connel.
"But what happened?" asked Tom.
"Two of the projectiles hit Devers' ship," said Roger. "One of them on the power deck. Must've smashed the reaction tanks and made the stuff wildcat, because it blew him into rocket dust!"
"The projectiles blew Devers' ship into rocket dust!"
"But his torpedo! He fired at the same time!" said Tom.
"This unit is the luckiest in the universe," said Roger proudly. "One of the other projectiles smacked the torpedo and exploded the warhead. We were bounced around by the shock wave but that's all!"
"Well, I'll be a Martian mouse," sighed Tom. "Then everything is O.K. now?"
"So far as you three are concerned, it's perfect," said Strong. "Barret has spilled everything. You're cleared of all charges!"
"What about Pat Troy?" asked Tom.
"He's in the clear, too," said Strong. "You may remember that he refused to tell us who he was working for besides Professor Hemmingwell and that made us suspicious of him. Well, we found out, when he regained consciousness a short time ago, that he is a security agent for the Solar Alliance Council. He had been assigned to work with the professor and to help protect him. Barret has admitted that he tried to murder Troy."
"Humph!" snorted Connel, suddenly rising.
The room was intensely quiet and Tom, Astro, and Roger felt that there was something coming. Strong could hardly suppress a grin as Connel took a paper from his tunic.
"This message was received just fifteen minutes ago," he said. "It reads, quote, Major Connel, Solar Guard. With reference to Operation Space Projectile, information has come to us that the Space Cadet unit, known as the Polaris unit, has contributed in an outstanding and extraordinary way to the successful completion of this highly valuable project. As Senior Line Officer of the Academy, it is hereby requested that you bestow upon this unit some form of expression of the gratitude of this Council for their remarkable and inspired behavior in the face of relentless odds. Signed, Secretary General, Solar Council, Venusport, Venus. Fourteenth of June, 2354, end quote."
Connel slipped the paper inside his tunic and faced the three cadets.
"All right, you heard it!" he growled. "And you deserve it. You have three weeks' leave. But when you come back," he added, "watch out!"
"Oh, for the life of a Space Cadet!" said Tom, grinning at his unit mates. "It's wonderful!"
THE END
You, too, can be a part of the group of daring adventurers from the Space Academy who travel to mysterious lands in outer space on dangerous and exciting missions. It's as simple as opening a book… if the book is
TOM CORBETT, SPACE CADET
You'll discover the Earth of the future, where you can hurtle through space at breath-taking speed, and a trip to Mars will be as simple as taking a walk around the block.
Don't miss these thrill-packed books:
1. STAND BY FOR MARS!
2. DANGER IN DEEP SPACE
3. ON THE TRAIL OF THE SPACE PIRATES
4. THE SPACE PIONEERS
5. THE REVOLT ON VENUS
6. TREACHERY IN OUTER SPACE
7. SABOTAGE IN SPACE
8. THE ROBOT ROCKET
GROSSET & DUNLAP, Inc., Publishers
New York 10, N. Y.
Table of Contents
Stand By For Mars!
Danger in Deep Space
On the Trail of the Space Pirates
The Space Pioneers
The Revolt