e Venusian. "Hope we're out in
free fall, beyond the pull of Venus' gravity."

The forward hatch of the passenger cabin opened and Simms reappeared
followed by Wallace.

"Take it easy, folks," said Wallace, "nothing to get excited about.
We're in free fall, holding a course around the planet. So just sit back
and enjoy the view!"

A chorus of sighs filled the cabin and the passengers began laughing and
chatting again, pointing out various sights on the planet below them.
Smiling, Wallace and Simms marched down the aisle. Suddenly Roger and
Tom rose and blocked their path.

"What's up, Wallace?" demanded Tom.

Wallace gave the two boys a hard look. "So it's you, huh? You got a lot
of nerve coming aboard this ship."

"If there's something wrong, Wallace," said Tom, "maybe we could give
you a hand."

"Get back in your seats," ordered Wallace. "We don't need any cadet
squirts getting in our way!"

"Why, you overweight space jockey," snapped Roger, "we know more about
spaceships than you'll ever learn!"

"One more crack out of you and I'll blast your ears off!" roared
Wallace. _"Now sit down!"_

Roger's face turned a deep red and he moved toward Wallace, but Tom put
out a restraining hand.

"Take it easy, Roger," he said. "Wallace is the skipper of this boiler.
In space he's the boss."

"You bet I'm the boss," snarled Wallace. "Now keep that loud-mouthed
punk quiet, or I'll wipe up the deck with him and send the pieces back
to Space Academy!"

"Hey, Wallace," yelled Simms, who had walked away when the argument
started. "Come on. We gotta fix that reactor unit!"

"Yeah--yeah," Wallace called back. He turned to Roger again. "Just
remember what I said, cadet!" Brushing the boys aside, he strode down
the aisle to join Simms.

As the two men disappeared through the power-deck hatch, Tom turned to
Roger and tried to calm him down. "Skippers are skippers, Roger, even
aboard a piece of space junk!"

"Yeah," growled Roger, "but I don't like to be called a squirt or a
punk! Why, I know more about reactor units than--"

"Reactor units?" broke in Astro from his seat.

"Yeah. Didn't you hear what Simms said?"

"But this is a chemical burner," said Astro. "Why an atomic reactor unit
aboard?"

"Might be a booster for extra speed," offered Tom. "And more power."

"On a simple hop like this? Hardly out of the atmosphere?" Astro shook
his head. "No, Tom. It doesn't make sense."

"Well," chimed in Roger, "here's