"Yeah, I was just thinking the same thing. We could
borrow some of the reaction mass that Astro got out of the _Space
Devil_ and use that as a power source."
Connel backed away from the two cadets and tiptoed off the bridge. He
smiled to himself. He was going to win his race with time yet! And he
was going to do it because he had learned long before that you could
only push a man so far, then you had to sit down, pat him on the back,
tell him how smart he was, and he would push himself. Connel almost
laughed out loud.
Six hours later Connel sat in his quarters puzzling over one of the many
minor problems of Junior's Pitch when he heard footsteps behind him. He
turned. Astro, Tom, Roger, Alfie, and Shinny walked silently into the
room. Connel stared.
"Wha--what is it?" he demanded.
[Illustration]
"We're finished, sir," said Tom simply.
"Finished?" exploded Connel. "You mean--"
"That's what he means, skipper," said Shinny. His eyes were bloodshot
for want of sleep, but there was a merry twinkle left tugging at the
corners.
"Everything?" asked Connel.
"Everything, sir," said Roger.
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