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Read Ebook: Young Stowaways in Space by Elam Richard M Richard Mace McCann Gerald Illustrator
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Ebook has 1035 lines and 39703 words, and 21 pages
YOUNG STOWAWAYS IN SPACE
The orphanage dormitory was locked in the stillness of slumber. Light from the full moon filtered through the large window which ran the entire length of the boys sleeping quarters.
Twenty cots filled the dormitory, and all but one held its sleeper. Dark-haired Garry Coleman was standing beside his cot, quietly dressing. Every now and then he would cast an anxious glance toward the darkened door at the end of the dormitory. Above all, he must not disturb the charge-of-quarters, or all would be lost.
As he sat on the edge of the cot to put on his shoes, Garry heard a squeak from one of the cots. He stiffened, his heart thumping fearfully.
Then Garry breathed easily. He saw that it was only Patch, who occupied the bunk next to his.
"Hey, Garry, where are you going?" Patch asked interestedly.
Patch was short and towheaded. He was Garry's best friend, and so Garry did not mind telling him.
"Sure thing!" Patch said.
"You'll have to take the same chance that I do," Garry reminded him.
"That's okay by me." Patch grinned. "If we do get caught, we'll just be restricted to the grounds for two weeks. That won't keep us out of the science lab where we spend a lot of time anyhow."
It was a warm April night. The sky was thick with stars as bright as diamond dust.
"I'd give anything to be out there in the deeps among the planets," Garry said, as they hurried across the newly sprouting lawn of the orphanage a few minutes later. "The life of a spaceman must be the most exciting thing in the world."
"Yeah," Patch agreed. "But I guess we'll never make it, Garry, at least not for many years. And they say you sure have to know science and navigation. That takes a lot of study."
"I wouldn't care what it takes," Garry said. "I'd be willing to study for as long as it would take, because the reward would be worth the effort."
Their rapid steps took them onto one of the main streets of the city where moving sidewalks, called "Ped-A-Rides," were operating. The sidewalk was a continuous belt, about six feet wide, and there were benches located at intervals upon it where the pedestrians could sit. A railing was on both sides of the Ped-A-Ride, but at intervals of about half a block there were gates where pedestrians could enter.
Patch and Garry went to the nearest gate, and Garry pulled the lever which slowed the sidewalk down so that they could board it. When Garry had deposited their fare in the meter, a bar slid away so that they could enter. It was about 2230 o'clock, an hour and a half before midnight, and not many people were on the Ped-A-Ride.
The boys took seats, and the sidewalk carried them along into the night.
As the Ped-A-Ride topped the crest of a hill, Garry pointed into the distance.
"She sure is a beauty," Patch agreed. "The earth-bound ships are a whole lot trimmer and better looking than the ships that never touch down."
"The earth-bound ships have to be streamlined so that they can slide smoothly through the earth's atmosphere," Garry said, "but the ships that remain in space look like a bunch of globes and girders, because they never meet the friction of any planet's atmosphere and they don't need the sturdiness and rocket power."
Patch laughed. "You sound like one of our schoolbooks, Garry," he said.
"I knew she was one of the oldest crafts in the Service," Patch said. "I guess she's carried many a person to the Von Braun Station on their way to Luna and the other planets."
The Ped-A-Ride had nearly reached the gate of the spaceport when Garry said to his friend, "Patch, we'd better move down among those people ahead of us. It looks like they're going to get off at the port."
"Why?"
"If one of the port police spots us, he might get suspicious seeing a couple of kids alone at this time of night. If we mingle with the crowd, the police may think we are with them."
As the Ped-A-Ride neared the port gate, Garry closely studied the stalwart young man seated before them. Garry wondered at the many experiences that must have been encountered by this spaceman during his career.
Garry leaned over and touched the spaceman on the shoulder.
Garry saw a pleasant but deeply lined face turned upward toward his own.
"Yes," the astronaut replied, then asked, "Are you?"
"Er, no, Sir," Garry replied. "We--my friend and I--we just want to see her blast off."
"Yes, we are, Sir," Garry replied. "I'm very interested in it. I hope to be a spaceman someday."
"I think you will be, too," the man said confidently. "I can see the enthusiasm in your eyes."
"Thanks," Garry returned. "Have you made many trips spaceward?"
"A dozen or so," was the reply. "The number is not important, though, you must understand. Usually, one voyage can last quite a while."
The spaceman extended a big, sunburned hand to Garry. "I'm First Space Officer Mulroy. What's your name?"
"Garry, Sir. Garry Coleman. My friend here is Patrick Foster, but he's called Patch for short."
As the Ped-A-Ride neared the gate of the spaceport, Garry had an idea by which he and Patch might get inside without being questioned by the port police.
The officer smiled. "You want to see what she looks like, eh? Okay, it's a deal."
"Thank you, Sir," Garry said.
Once inside the gate, Mr. Mulroy spoke to a uniformed officer, who saluted. The officer turned a tiny dial on a lapel button he wore and spoke into it. Garry knew this to be a subminiature radio transmitter which was in wide use.
Presently, a square little "T-Car," or tote car, drove up. It was painted green and white, streamlined, and had seats inside. It had a convertible top which was opened now because of the pleasant weather.
The baggageman put the spaceman's things in the compartment, then invited his passengers to enter at the door he held open. Garry and Patch felt very important as Officer Mulroy motioned them in ahead of himself. They felt even more important as they sank down into the soft seats and were joined a moment later by this high-ranking officer of the Space Service.
The swift little car whisked them off to the Operations Building, to which Officer Mulroy had to report before his flight.
While they waited, they turned their attention to the space craft some distance away. Its blue, satiny sides reflected the glow of thousands of lights on the field. Red smoke still curled up into the night, warning of the approach of blast-off time. And yet there was still a little while to go, for the spiderwebs of the gantry cranes still hugged the sides of the three-stage space vessel. Workmen were swarming all over the platforms, making last-minute checks on the ship.
The boys' new friend took them down some steps into a concrete tunnel that led to the launching pad. On the way they stopped at a little room where Mr. Mulroy was weighed.
"Weight is a very important factor on a space ship," Mr. Mulroy said, as they were on their way again.
The tunnel led to an elevator that ran up the side of the rocket. The elevator cab rose and rose, high into the black night. Finally, Officer Mulroy pressed a button and said this was where they were to get off.
Garry and Patch followed their friend out into a corridor of the space ship. Officer Mulroy searched the doors they passed, then recognized his own, Stateroom 17. He drew out a key and unlocked the door, then preceded the boys into the room.
"Gee, what a tiny room!" Patch exclaimed.
"It has to be this small," Mr. Mulroy said. "Every inch of area on a space ship is at a premium, you know. For most travelers, the Von Braun Space Station is only a stopover on a longer trip into space. Sometimes the layover is for several days or even a week or two. Since rooms aboard the space station are very limited, most of the passengers are quartered in staterooms in the rocket in which they left earth."
Suddenly, a voice came over a speaker in the room: "Blast-off in ten minutes. All nonpassengers are requested to leave the ship."
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