Part 37 (1/2)

The three boys were silent, listening to the steady hum of the rockets, driving them forward toward Mars. For four days they had traveled on the _Lady Venus_, enjoying the many luxuries found on the pa.s.senger s.h.i.+p.

Now, with their destination only a few hours away, they were having a light snack before making a touchdown on Mars.

”You know,” said Tom quietly, ”I've been thinking. As far back as the twentieth century, Earthmen have wanted to get to Mars. And finally they did. And what have they found? Nothing but a planet full of dry sand, a few ca.n.a.ls and dwarf mountains.”

”That's exactly what I've been saying!” said Roger. ”The only man who ever got anything out of all this was the first man to make it to Mars and return. He got the name, the glory, and a paragraph in a history book! And after that, nothing!” He got up and climbed the ladder to the radar deck, leaving Astro and Tom alone.

Suddenly the s.h.i.+p lurched to one side.

”What's that?” cried Tom.

A bell began to ring. Then another--and then three more. Finally the entire s.h.i.+p was vibrating with the clanging of emergency bells.

Astro made a diving leap for the ladder leading down to the power deck, with Tom lunging for the control board.

Quickly Tom glanced about the huge board with its many different gauges and dials, searching for the one that would indicate the trouble. His eye spotted a huge gauge. A small light beside it flashed off and on.

”By the moons of Jupiter, we've run out of reactant fuel!”

”Tom!--Tom!” shouted Astro from the power deck. ”We're smack out of reactant feed!”

”Isn't there any left at all?” asked Tom. ”Not even enough to get us into Marsopolis?”

”We haven't enough left to keep the generator going!” said Astro.

”Everything, including the lights and the teleceiver, will go any minute!”

”Then we can't change course!”

”Right,” drawled Roger. ”And if we can't change course, the one we're on now will take us straight into Mars's gravity and we cras.h.!.+”

”Send out an emergency call right away, Roger,” said Tom.

”Can't, s.p.a.ceboy,” replied Roger in his lazy drawl. ”Not enough juice to call for help. Or haven't you noticed you're standing in the dark?”

”But how--how could this happen?” asked Tom, puzzled. ”We were only going at half speed and using just three rockets!”

”When we got rid of that hot tube back in s.p.a.ce,” explained Astro grimly, ”we dumped the main reactant ma.s.s. There isn't a thing we can do!”

”We've got one choice,” said Tom hollowly. ”We can either pile out now, in s.p.a.ce suits and use the jet boat, and hope for someone to pick us up before the oxygen gives out, or we can ride this s.p.a.ce wagon right on in. Make up your minds quick, we're already inside Mars's gravity pull!”

There was a pause, then Astro's voice filled the control deck. ”I'll ride this baby right to the bottom. If I'm going to splash in, I'll take it on solid ground, even if it is Mars and not Venus. I don't want to wash out in s.p.a.ce!”

”That goes for me, too,” said Roger.

”O.K.,” said Tom. ”Here we go. Just keep your fingers crossed that we hit the desert instead of the mountains, or we'll be smeared across those rocks like applesauce. s.p.a.ceman's luck, fellas!”

”s.p.a.ceman's luck, both of you,” said Astro.

”Just plain ordinary luck,” commented Roger, ”and plenty of it!”