CHAPTER 8
"Are you sure they went south, Astro?"
Major Connel was examining a map of the Southern Hemisphere of Venus.The three cadets were grouped around him in the small control room ofthe jet ship.
"I think so, sir," replied Astro. "I watched them circle and then climb.There would be no reason to climb unless they were going over themountains."
"What do you think, Tom?" asked Connel.
"I don't know, sir. The map doesn't show anything but jungle for about athousand square miles. Unless there's a secret base somewhere betweenhere and there"--he placed his fingers on the map where the Sharkey andSinclair plantations were marked--"I don't see where they could havegone."
"Well, that must be the answer, then," sighed the gruff spaceman. "Ouralert to the patrol ships in this area narrows it down. Nothing wasspotted in the air. And they couldn't have blasted off into space. Alltheir ships were low-flying stuff."
Blasting off from the Sinclair plantation immediately, the three cadetsand the major had hoped to find the operations base of the green-cladinvaders, but the ships had disappeared. The ship they had capturedproved to be a freighter with no name and all identifying marks removed.They had asked the Solar Guard ship registry in Venusport to check onthe vessel's title but so far had received no answer.
Now blasting back to Venusport at full speed, Connel told the boys thereal nature of his mission to Venus. The boys were shocked, unable tobelieve that anyone, or any group of persons, would dare to buck theauthority of the Solar Guard. Yet they had seen with their own eyes ademonstration of the strength of the Nationalists. Roger had sent atop-secret teleceiver message to Commander Walters at Space Academy,requesting an immediate conference with Connel, and had receivedconfirmation within a half-hour.
"I think Captain Strong will be along too," said Roger to Tom afterConnel had retired to a compartment with a recorder to transcribe areport of the affair at Sinclair's. "The message said we were to preparea full report for consideration by Commander Walters, Professor Sykes,and Captain Strong."
"Boy," said the curly-haired cadet, "this thing is too big for me toswallow. Imagine a bunch of dopes dressing up in uniforms and burning aguy's buildings because he wrote a letter to his delegate!"
"I'd hate to be a member of that organization when Commander Waltersgets through with them," said Roger in a slow drawl. "And particularlythe guy that ordered Connel blasted with that ray gun. Ten shots atonce! Wow! That guy must have nerves made of steel!"
Within an hour the jet freighter was circling Venusport and was givenpriority clearance for an immediate landing. Immediately upon landing,the ship swarmed with Solar Guardsmen, grim-faced men assigned to guardit, while technicians checked the ship for identification. The threeboys were still wearing the jungle garb when they presented themselvesto Major Connel with the request for a little sleep.
"Take an aspirin!" roared Connel. "We've got important work to do!"
"But, sir," said Roger, his eyes half-closed, "we're dead on our feet!We've been out in the jungle for three days and--"
"Manning," interrupted the spaceman, "everything you saw during thatbusiness back at Sinclair's might be valuable. I'm sorry, but I'll haveto insist that you talk to the Solar Guard security officers first. Astired as you are, you might forget something after a heavy sleep."
There was little else the boys could do but follow the burly officer outof the ship to a well-guarded jet cab which took them through thestreets of Venusport to the Solar Guard headquarters.
They rode the elevator to the conference room in silence, each boyfeeling at any moment that he would collapse from exhaustion. In thelong corridor they passed tough-looking enlisted guardsmen who wereheavily armed, and before being allowed into the conference room, theywere scrutinized by a burly officer. Finally inside, they were allowedto sit down in soft chairs and were given hot cups of tea to drink whileprecise, careful interrogators took down the story of their firstmeeting with the Venusian Nationalists. They were forced to repeatdetails many times, in the hope that something new might be added.Groggy after nearly two hours of this, the boys felt sure that the timehad come for them to be allowed to get some sleep, but after the lastquestion from the interrogators, they were ushered into the presence ofCommander Walters, Major Connel, Professor Sykes, Captain Strong, andseveral recording secretaries. Before the conference began, Delegate E.Philips James arrived with his personal secretary. He offered hisexcuses for being late and took his place at the long table. Tom shot aglance at the secretary. The man looked vaguely familiar to him. Thecadet tried to place him, but he was so tired that he could not think.
"Major Connel," began Commander Walters abruptly, "what do you considerthe best possible move for the Solar Guard to make? Under the presentcircumstances, do you think we should undertake a full-scaleinvestigation? We talked to Al Sharkey, and while he admits being headof an organization known as the Venusian Nationalists, he denies anyknowledge of any attack on Sinclair such as you describe. And he claimsto have been in Venusport when the incident happened."
Connel thought a moment. "I don't know about Sharkey, but I don't thinka public investigation should be made yet. I think it would arouse a lotof speculation and achieve no results."
"Then you think we should move against them merely on the basis of thisencounter at the Sinclair plantation," asked E. Philips James in hissmoothest manner.
Connel shook his head. "I think our best bet is to locate their base. Ifwe can nail them with solid evidence, we'll have a good case to presentbefore the Grand Council of the Solar Alliance."
"I agree with you, Major." James smiled. Behind him, his secretary wasbusy transcribing the conversational exchange on his audioscriber.
"What would you require to locate the base?" asked Walters.
"I haven't worked out the details yet," said Connel, "but a smallexpedition into the jungle would be better than sending a regiment ofguardsmen, or a fleet of ships."
"Do you have any idea where the base might be?" Sykes suddenly spoke up."Most of those men were supposed to be planters who know the junglewell. Isn't it possible that they might have their base well hidden anda small party, such as you suggest, could cover too little ground?"
Connel turned to Astro. "Astro, do you know that section of the belt?"
"Yes, sir," replied Astro. "I hunted all over that area when I was aboy." The big cadet went on to explain how he had become so familiarwith the jungle, and described briefly their experience with thetyrannosaurus. All of the men at the table were impressed by hisknowledge of jungle lore.
"I gather you plan to take these cadets on your expedition, Major,"commented James.
"Yes, I do. They work well together and have already been in thejungle," answered Connel.
"What do you three boys think of the idea?" asked Walters. "I don't haveto remind you that you'll be up against two kinds of danger: the jungleitself, and the Nationalists."
"We understand, sir," replied Tom, without even waiting for his unitmates' quick nods.
"There's another factor," Captain Strong broke in. "You'll be giving upyour leave. There won't be any extra time off. Should this mission becompleted before the next term at the Academy begins, fine. But if not,you'll have to return to work immediately."
"We understand that too, sir," said Tom. "We're willing to do anythingwe can. And if I might offer a personal opinion"--he glanced at Astroand Roger--"I think the _Polaris_ unit appreciates the seriousness ofthe situation and we agree with the major. A small party, especiallyours, since we're already established as hunters, would be less suspectthan a larger one."
"I think we all agree that the _Polaris_ unit is qualified for themission, Corbett," said Walters, who saw through Tom's eagerness to beassigned to go with the major.
The meeting broke up soon afterward. Connel remained with Strong andWalters to work out the details of the mission and to draft a top-secretreport to the Grand Council of the Solar Alliance.
The t
hree weary cadets were quartered in the finest hotel in Venusportand had just stumbled into bed when the room teleceiver signal buzzed.Tom shuffled over to the screen near the table where the remains of ahuge supper gave mute evidence of their hunger. Switching on themachine, he saw Strong's face come into focus.
"I hope you boys aren't too comfortable," announced Strong. "I'm afraidthe sleep you're so hungry for will have to wait. This is an emergency!"
"Oh, no!" groaned Roger. "I can't understand why emergencies come upevery time I try to pound the pillow!"
Astro fell back onto his bed with the look of a martyred saint andgroaned.
"What is it, sir?" asked Tom, who was as tired as the others.Nonetheless he felt the urgency in Strong's voice.
"You blast off in half an hour," said the Solar Guard captain. "The_Polaris_ has been refitted and you're to check her over beforereturning to Sinclair's. Everything has been prepared for you. Getdressed and you'll find a jet cab waiting for you in front of the hotel.I had hoped to see you again before you left, but I've been orderedback to the Academy with Commander Walters. We've got to report to theSolar Council, personally."
"O.K., sir," said Tom, then smiled and added, "We're sorry your fishingwas interrupted."
"I wasn't catching anything, anyway." Strong laughed. "I've got to go.See you back at the Academy. Spaceman's luck!"
"Same to you, sir," replied Tom. The screen blurred and the image fadedas the connection was broken. Tom turned to face his sleepy-eyed unitmates. "Well, I guess we'd better take another aspirin. It looks like ahard night!"
Hastily donning fresh jungle gear supplied the night before inanticipation of the mission, the three cadets trouped wearily out oftheir rooms and rode down to the lobby in the vacuum elevator. Theywalked across the deserted lobby as though in a trance and outside tothe quiet street. A jet cab stood at the curb, the driver watching them.He whistled sharply and waved at them. "Hey, cadets! Over here!"
Still in a fog, the three cadets climbed into the back seat, floppinginto the soft cushions with audible groans as the cab shot away from thehotel and sped into the main highway which led to the spaceport.
The traffic was light and the cab zoomed along at a smooth, fast clip,lulling the boys into a fitful doze. But they were rudely awakened whenthe car spun into a small country lane and the driver slammed on thebrakes. He whirled around and grinned at them over a paralo-ray pistol."Sorry, boys, the ride ends here. Now climb out and start stripping."
The three sleepy cadets came alive instantly. Without a word they movedin three different directions simultaneously. Tom dived for one door,Astro the other, while Roger flopped to the floor. The driver fired,missing all of them, and before he could fire again he was jerked outof his seat and held in a viselike grip by Astro. Tom quickly wrenchedthe paralo-ray gun from his hand.
"All right, you little space crawler," growled Astro, "start talking!"
"Take it easy, Astro," said Tom. "How do you expect him to talk whenyou've got him around the Adam's apple!"
"Yeah, you big ape," said Roger in a slow drawl. "Find out what he hasto say before you twist his head off!"
Astro released the man, pushing him against the cab door and pinning himthere.
"Now let's have it," he growled. "What's this all about?"
"I didn't mean any harm," whined the cab driver. "A guy calls me andsays for me to meet three Space Cadets."
"What guy?" snapped Tom.
"A guy I once knew when I was working the fields in the jungle belt. Iworked on a plantation as a digger."
"What's his name?" asked Roger.
"I don't know his name. He's just a guy. He calls me and says it's wortha hundred credits to pick up three Space Cadets from the hotel and hold'em for an hour. I figured the best way to hold you would be to make youtake your clothes off."
"What did he look like?" asked Roger.
"A little guy, with a bald head and a limp. That's all I know--honest."
"A limp, eh?" asked Tom. "A little fellow?"
"How little?" asked Astro, getting the drift of Tom's question.
"Real little. About five feet maybe, not much more'n that!"
The three boys looked at each other and nodded.
"The guy we bought our jungle gear from in the pawnshop!" exclaimedAstro.
"Yeah," said Tom. "It sure sounds like him. But why would he want tostop us? And more important, who told him that Captain Strong wassending a cab for us?"
They turned back to the cab driver for further explanation, but the manwas now actually crying with fright.
"We won't get anything more out of this little creep," said Astro."Let's just turn him over to the Solar Guard at the spaceport. They'llknow how to handle him."
"Right," Tom agreed. "We've lost enough time as it is."
"No, no--please!" moaned the cabman. "Lemme go! Take the cab. Drive itto the spaceport and just leave it, but please don't turn me over tothe Solar Guard. If I'm seen with them, I'll be--" Suddenly the mandarted to one side, eluded Astro's lunge, and scampered away. In amoment he was swallowed up in the darkness.
"Boy," breathed Astro, "he was sure scared of something!"
"Yes," said Tom. "And I'm beginning to get a little scared myself!"
The cadets climbed into the cab and roared off toward the spaceport,each boy with the feeling that he was sitting on a smoldering volcanothat was suddenly starting to erupt around him.
The Revolt on Venus Page 8