and the three boys sat, munching them happily. The
countryside flashed by in a blur of summer color as the train roared on
at a speed of two hundred miles an hour.

A few hours and four bags of potatoes later, Astro yawned and stretched
his enormous arms, nearly poking Roger in the eye.

"Hey, ya big ape!" growled Roger. "Watch the eye!"

"You'd never miss it, Manning," said Astro. "Just use your radar."

"Never mind, I like this eye just the way it is."

"We're almost there," called Tom. He pointed out the crystal window and
they could see the high peaks of the Rocky Mountain range looming ahead.
"We cut through the new tunnel in those mountains and we'll be in Atom
City in ten minutes!"

There was a bustle of activity around them as other cadets roused
themselves and collected their gear. Once again conversation became
animated and excited as the train neared its destination. Flashing into
the tunnel, the line of cars began to slow down, rocking gently.

"We'd better go right out to the spaceport," said Tom, pulling his gear
out of the recessed rack under his seat. "Our ship blasts off for Venus
in less than a half-hour."

"Boy, it'll be a pleasure to ride a spaceship without having to
astrogate," said Roger. "I'll just sit back and take it easy. Hope there
are some good-looking space dolls aboard."

Tom turned to Astro. "You know, Astro," he said seriously, "it's a good
thing we're along to take care of this Romeo. If he were alone, he'd
wind up in another kind of hunt."

"I'd like to see how Manning's tactics work on a female dasypus
novemcinctur maximus," said Astro with a sly grin.

"A female what?" yelled Roger.

"A giant armadillo, Roger," Tom explained, laughing. "Very big and very
mean when they don't like you. Don't forget, everything on Venus grows
big because of the lighter gravity."

"Yeah," drawled Roger, looking at Astro. "Big and dumb!"

"What was that again?" bellowed the giant Venusian, reaching for the
flip cadet. The next moment, Roger was struggling futilely, feet kicking
wildly as Astro held him at arm's length six inches off the floor. The
cadets in the car roared with laughter.

"Atom City!" a voice over the intercar communicator boomed and the boys
looked out the window to see the towering buildings of Atom City slowly
slide by. The train had scarcely reached a full stop when the three
cadets piled out of the door, raced up the slidestairs, and jumped into
a jet cab. Fifteen