"Amen!" added Tom and Roger in unison.

"Very well," said Strong. "_Polaris_ unit--Staaaaand _TO_!"

The three boys snapped to attention.

"You are hereby ordered to report aboard the _Polaris_ at fifteen
hundred hours and stand by to raise ship!"

He returned their salutes, turned sharply and walked from the room.

Outside, Steve Strong leaned against the wall and stared through the
crystal shell of the atmosphere station into the endless desert.

"Thank you, Mars," he said softly, "for making spacemen out of the
_Polaris_ crew!" He saluted sharply and walked away.

Tom suddenly burst from the room with Roger and Astro yelling after him.

"Hey, Tom, where you going?" yelled Roger.

"I've got to get a bottle of that water out of the canal for my kid
brother Billy!" shouted Tom and disappeared down a slidestairs.

Roger turned to Astro and said, "That's what I call a real spaceman."

"What do you mean?" asked Astro.

"After what we've been through, he still remembers that his kid brother
wants a bottle of water from a canal as a souvenir!"

"Yeah," breathed Astro, "Tom Corbett is--is--a real spaceman!"

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

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