  The Kentons studied the red planet in silent awe. Beneath the thin cotton of atmosphere, they saw the crisscross markings of the canals that had baffled Earthmen for many years. Two small globes hovered in the deeps beyond. They were the two moons, Phobos and Deimos. Randy unconsciously shoved forward ahead of the Kentons. “Isn’t it beautiful!” he murmured. “I wonder when we’ll be landing,” Jill said. The commander, who had heard her, answered, “In fifty hours, young lady.” “I guess we’d better get back to our suite so that some of the other passengers can come in,” Dr. Kenton said. They thanked the commander and left the pilots’ roost. When they had returned to their compartment, Ted asked Randy, “Have you ever been to Earth?” Randy shook his head. “It sounds like a terrific place, though. I’ve studied a lot about it in our Earth Geography course in school, and Pops has told me a lot about it. Imagine playing baseball outdoors without a space suit on!” Ted realized he had always taken the wonders of Earth for granted. It was hard to understand that a boy such as Randy existed—a boy who had never experienced such a free life. He tried to imagine how it would be if he had lived all of his life on a world where all the breaths you took were from tanks of artificial air, and where you could never feel the cooling breezes of summer or the spicy winter winds in your lungs. Thinking about these things made Ted thankful that he was not in Randy’s shoes. Suddenly an urgent voice came over the speaker in the Kentons’ suite: “Attention, everyone. Act quickly but do not be frightened. A leak has developed in our antiradiation shield. Everyone retire immediately to the rear store compartment at the extreme end of the ship.” “My goodness!” exclaimed Mrs. Kenton. “What does that mean?” “There’ll be time for explanations later,” replied Dr. Kenton. “The first thing is to do as he says.” They hurried out of the compartment and down the corridor aft. There were crewmen stationed along the aisle at intervals to calm the people’s fears and keep them orderly. A warning bell signifying trouble was pealing throughout the ship. The Kentons and Randy crowded into the farthest rear room of the Shooting Star with the other passengers, all of whom were chattering excitedly. When the last passenger was in, the transparent door was fastened shut. “Why did we have to come way back here, Father?” Jill asked. “Because rays are loose in the ship,” her father replied. “The farther we are from the atomic engines up front, the safer we are.” “Are they dangerous?” his wife asked. “They could be, in sufficient intensity. Right now, they’re closing all the doors along the corridors. The doors have built-in screens to resist the rays, if they are not too strong. Keep your eyes on the light bulb out in the corridor. If it turns red, it means the rays have penetrated that far!” “Oh, dear!” groaned Mrs. Kenton. “I knew we shouldn’t have left Earth. Now it looks like we’ll never reach our new home, after getting so close, too!” “Don’t worry,” Dr. Kenton said. “The ship’s crew knows how to handle this. They have electronic instruments they turn on that attract the rays like a magnet. They can clean out the entire ship in about half an hour. That bulb in the corridor will light if even the slightest bit of radiation is present. There’s another bulb in the corner of this room, but let’s certainly hope this one doesn’t light up.” Ted heard a groan from one of the passengers. The light in the corridor was beginning to glow. That meant the radiation had penetrated all the way to the rear of the ship. The next thing to watch was the bulb inside the room, Ted thought. His father had not said so, but Ted guessed that they would probably be in serious trouble if this last one should light. Presently figures clothed in weird metallic suits and carrying shiny instruments were seen in the corridor. “The crew is protected by those suits,” Dr. Kenton explained. “The things they are carrying are the magnetic ray catchers I was telling you about.” “Look!” Jill said suddenly. “The red light has gone out!” “We’ve nothing to worry about, then.” The scientist spoke with relief. “I would say those men got to us just in time.” One of the curiously garbed men unfastened the door of the storeroom and beckoned for the passengers to come out. Then he opened the front piece of his helmet to speak to them: “Don’t go through the next door until you hear the all-clear whistle,” he said. “It’ll be just a few minutes.” Figures in weird metallic suits. When the whistle blew, the corridor doors were opened and the passengers returned to their sections. After the Kentons were back in their suite, Mrs. Kenton sighed deeply and slumped in an air-cushioned chair. “My goodness!” she said. “I’m still quivery. If it’s not one thing it’s another on these space voyages! I’m surprised we’re still alive after all that’s happened!” “At least you can’t say the trip is boring, Mother,” Jill piped up, and this brought a relaxing laugh from the others. * * * * * * * * Nearly two days later Mars was a giant world dead ahead. Ted looked out the window with Jill and Randy and saw a close-up view of the strange land that was to be their new home. A great network of deep, straight gorges split the boundless stretches of red desert. These were the fabulous canals built by the ancient Martians, now long dead. “There’s the Prime Canal,” Randy said, pointing to the largest chasm of all. “It feeds all the little canals in this section.” “Aren’t those trees growing along the canals?” Jill asked. Randy nodded. “Evergreens,” he said. “What’s that white stuff in the bottom of the canals and near the roots of the trees?” Ted wanted to know. “That’s frost,” Randy answered. “The sun never melts it completely. It never even gets up to zero in this latitude.” Dr. Kenton, whose interest was beyond Mars at the moment, said, “Look, kids, there’s our comet again!” He pointed it out to them in the heavens. It was a long streak across the sky. The nucleus burned brightly, like a heavenly torch. “Now it really looks like a comet!” Ted declared. “It’s beautiful!” Jill murmured. “We’ll be able to see it from Mars for several days,” Dr. Kenton told them. “Then it’ll gradually disappear from view.” At this point the Shooting Star began its turnabout for rearward landing. Then, still later, the order that all those aboard the Shooting Star had been waiting a long time to hear came over the loud-speakers. “Strap down on couches, everyone! Next stop—Lowell Harbor!” The end of their journey was at hand. |
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