"Our side won, sir. If that answers your question," replied Tom. He was
as nervous as Roger and Astro, but he fought for control. He was
determined not to be bullied.
"I didn't ask you who won!" snapped Connel. "But you're the one just the
same. Control-deck cadet, eh? Well, you work with me. On the control
deck there's only room for one brain, one decision, one answer. And when
I'm on the control deck, that decision, answer, and brain will be mine!"
"I understand perfectly, sir," said Tom tonelessly.
Connel stepped back, fists on his hips, eying the three cadets. He had
heard about their difficulty in fitting personalities together when they
had first arrived at Space Academy (as described in _Stand By for
Mars!_). And he had heard about their triumph over the Martian desert.
He was impressed with everything he had learned about them, but he knew
that he had a reputation for being tough and that this reputation
usually brought out the best in cadets. Early in his long and brilliant
career he had learned that his life depended on the courage and
ingenuity of his fellow spacemen. When he became an instructor at the
Academy, he had determined that no cadet would ever be anything but the
best, and that, when they blasted off in later years, they could be
depended on.
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