s too happy to let Roger get under his skin.

"All right, you two," interrupted Tom. "Knock it off. We're on a ship
now. Let's cut the kindergarten stuff!"

"Aye, aye, skipper!" Astro was irrepressible.

"Yes, _sir_!" Roger's voice was soft but Tom recognized the biting edge
to the last word.

Turning away from the controls, he faced Captain Strong who had been
watching quietly.

"_Polaris_ space-borne at nine hundred thirty-three hours, Captain
Strong. All stations operating efficiently."

"Very competent job, Corbett," nodded Strong in approval. "You handled
the ship as if you'd been doing it for years."

"Thank you, sir."

"We'll just cruise for a while on this orbit so you boys can get the
feel of the ship and of space." The Solar Guard officer took Tom's place
in the command pilot's chair. "You knock off for a while. Go up to the
radar bridge and have a look around. I'll take over here."

"Yes, sir." Tom turned and had to restrain himself from racing up the
ladder to the radar bridge. When he climbed through the hatch to Roger's
station, he found his unit-mate tilted back in his chair, staring
through the crystal blister over his head.

"Hiya, spaceboy," smiled Roger. He indicated the blister. "Take a look
at the wide, deep and high."

Tom looked up and saw the deep blackness that was space.

"It's like looking into a mirror, Roger," he breathed in awe. "Only
there isn't any other side--no reflection. It just doesn't stop, does
it?"

"Nope," commented Roger, "it just goes on and on and on. And no one
knows where it stops. And no one can even guess."

"Ah--you've got a touch of space fever," laughed Astro. "You'd better
take it easy, pal."

Tom suppressed a smile. Now, for the first time, he felt that there was
a chance to achieve unity among them. Kill him with kindness, he
thought, that's the way to do it.

"All right, boys!" Captain Strong's voice crackled over the speaker.
"Time to pull in your eyeballs and get to work again. We're heading back
to the spaceport! Take your stations for landing!"

Tom and Astro immediately jumped toward the open hatch and started
scrambling down the ladder toward their respective stations while Roger
strapped himself into his chair in front of the astrogation panel.

Within sixty seconds the ship was ready for landing procedure and at a
nod from Captain Strong, who again strapped himself into the second
pilot's chair, Tom began the delicate operation.

Ent