uld come out and find Dad and would he be surprised!

At first, thinking about it, he'd been scared but after he realized how
proud Dad and Mom would be, he made up his mind.

Now, crouched beside the grating near the ship, he waited while two
men--technicians in white overalls--walked by.

One of them said, "Well, whatever happens, she'll make a big splash."

"You said it. Hope the brains know what they're doing."

That made Bobby mad. Who said Dad didn't know what he was doing? Dad was
just about the smartest scientist in the world.

After the two men left he waited a long time. He heard voices but no one
came in sight. Taking a deep breath, he opened the grating and got out.
It was only four steps to the open port of the rocket. There was a
little ramp they'd used to roll things in and Bobby's feet touched it
but lightly as he jumped into the ship. He found himself in some kind of
a storeroom. It would be a good place to hide all right. It was full of
aluminum barrels all the same size. He found a space between two rows
and sat down and got his breath back. It was very quiet around him.
Scary quiet. But he set his lips firmly.

He was going to the moon with Dad.

* * * * *

John Kendall was a little late that night. He kissed his wife and said,
"Well, did you see the big sky rocket?"

"How could I miss it, darling? Your supper is in the oven."

"I could use a Martini first."

"Coming right up."

While Myra fixed the drink John lay back in his easy chair and closed
his eyes. "We'd hoped to stage a little ceremony at the launching but
Washington said no."

"The Russians?"

"The Eastern Coalition. It was a race. That was why it had to be so
secret. Washington said, light the fuse and fire the thing."

"Is it still hush-hush?"

"No. Not between us at least. We fired an explosion rocket at the moon.
It will hit in about an hour and telescopes will show a big purple spot
when our explosives go off and throw dye all over the place."

Myra handed him a dry Martini. "I see. Lots of fun no doubt but what's
the purpose? Fourth of July on the moon?"

"Oh, no. If the experiment is a success the next rocket will carry men
instead of a bomb."

Myra went to the kitchen to see about supper. John called, "Where's
Bobby? In bed I suppose."

Myra didn't hear and John set his drink down and moved toward the
bedroom. Maybe he was still awake.

Bobby rolled over. His eyes popped op