y I feel about you passenger gents who
don't know a rocket tube from a ray-gun nozzle."

"Look, Manning," returned James. "No need to get sore, just because you
couldn't do any better than the Space Cadets."

"Blast off," shouted Roger, "before I fuse your jets."

Tom spoke up. "I think you'd better go, Captain."

"I've got six men outside," sneered the other. "I'll go when I'm ready."

"You're ready now," spoke up Astro. He stood up to his full height. "We
don't want any trouble," the cadet from Venus said, "but we're not
braking our jets to get away from it, either."

James took a good look at Astro's powerful frame. Without another word
he walked away.

Tom shook his head. "That pal of yours is a real Space Cadet fan, isn't
he, Roger?"

"Yeah," said Astro. "Just like Manning is himself."

"Look," said Roger. "Look, you guys--" He hesitated, as though intending
to say something more, but then he turned back to his dinner. "Go
on--finish your food," he growled. He bent over his plate and ate
without lifting his eyes. And not another word was spoken at the table
until a young man approached, carrying a portable teleceiver screen.

"Pardon me," he said. "Is one of you Cadet Tom Corbett?"

"Why--I am," acknowledged Tom.

"There's a call for you. Seems they've been trying to reach you all over
Atom City." He placed the teleceiver screen on the table, plugged it
into a floor socket and set the dials.

"Hope's there's nothing wrong at home," said Tom to his friends. "My
last letter from Mom said Billy was messing around with a portable atom
reactor and she was afraid he might blow himself up."

A picture began to take shape on the screen. "Migosh," said Astro. "It's
Captain Strong."

"It certainly is," said the captain's image. "Having dinner, eh, boys?
Ummmm--those baked shrimps look good."

"They're terrific," said Astro. "Wish you were here."

"Wish you could stay there," said Captain Strong.

"Oh, no!" moaned Astro. "Don't tell me!"

"Sorry, boys," came the voice from the teleceiver. "But that's it.
You've got to return to the Academy immediately. The whole cadet corps
has been ordered into space for special maneuvers. We blast off tomorrow
morning at six hundred."

"But, sir," objected Tom, "we can't get a monorail until morning!"

"This is an official order, Corbett. So you have priority over all
civilian transportation." The Solar Guard captain smiled. "I've tied up
a whole bank of teleceiver