boots, they propped up the center
with the food packs, one on top of the other. A crude tent was the
result and both boys crawled in under, sprawling on the sand. Astro
finished eating, lay down beside his two unit-mates, and in a moment the
three cadets were sound asleep.

The sun climbed steadily over the desert while the _Polaris_ unit slept.
With each hour, the heat of the desert rose, climbing past the hundred
mark, reaching one hundred and twenty, then one hundred and thirty-five
degrees.

Tom woke up with a start. He felt as if he were inside a blazing
furnace. He rolled over and saw Astro and Roger still asleep, sweat
pouring off them in small rivulets. He started to wake them, but decided
against it and just lay still under the thin sheet of space cloth that
protected him from the sun. As light as the fabric square was, weighing
no more than a pound, under the intense heat of the sun it felt like a
woolen blanket where it touched him. Astro rolled over and opened his
eyes.

"What time is it, Tom?"

"Must be about noon. How do you feel?"

"I'm not sure yet. I had a dream." The big cadet rubbed his eyes and
wiped the sweat from his forehead. "I dreamed I was being shoved into an
oven--like Hansel and Gretel in that old fairy tale."

"Personally," mumbled Roger, without opening his eyes, "I'll take Hansel
and Gretel. They might be a little more tender."

"I could do with a drink," said Astro, looking at Tom.

Tom hesitated. He felt that as hot as it was, it would get still hotter
and there had to be strict control of the remainder of the water.

"Try to hold out a little longer, Astro," said Tom. "This heat hasn't
really begun yet. You could drink the whole thing and still want more."

"That's right, Astro," said Roger, sitting up. "Best thing to do is just
wet your tongue and lips a little. Drinking won't do much good now."

"O.K. by me," said Astro. "Well, what do we do now?"

"We sit here and we wait," answered Tom. He sat up and held the space
cloth up on his side.

"You get in the middle, Astro," suggested Roger. "Your head is up higher
than mine and Tom's. You can be the tent pole under this big top."

Astro grunted and changed places with the smaller cadet.

"Think there might be a breeze if we opened up one side of this thing?"
asked Roger.

"If there was a breeze," answered Tom, "it'd be so hot, it'd be worse
than what we've got inside."

"It sure is going to be a hot day," said Astro