“Ben!” Garry exclaimed jubilantly, rushing into the main part of the
ship. “Is it really you?”
“I’m not a ghost,” Ben said with a grin, “if that’s what you mean.”
“How did you ever do it?” Patch asked, amazement written all over his
chubby features. “I mean crash-land the _Carefree_.”
“First tell me how the others are,” Ben asked anxiously.
Garry told him that they were all right, at least for the time being.
Ben was limping as he moved about. Patch asked about this, and Ben said
it would come out in his story. The boys had entered into the central
tunnel of the _Carefree_, with its webbing network, and Garry noticed
that Ben had laid down metallic sheets over the webbing so that it could
be more easily stood upon.
Ben sat down on this and began his story.
“I had made plans to remain aboard the _Carefree_ before we even started
working on the flier. When I found that the space taxi would hold only
seven passengers safely, I knew someone had to stay behind. I was afraid
the captain would realize that the flier would be overcrowded, but I
guess he was too busy thinking about other things. The likely one to bow
out was myself, because I felt that quite possibly I might be able to
bring the _Carefree_ down in one piece. I knew this region of Hornfield
was full of huge dust pits that could cushion the fall of a ship if she
belly-landed in one of them just right. But don’t think I wasn’t scared
even thinking of trying such a thing! Don’t get me wrong, fellows—I
wasn’t out to make a hero of myself!”
“You must have had some control over the ship,” Garry said, “otherwise
she would have crashed headlong onto the moon.”
“I had some control,” Ben explained. “As soon as I released the flier
from the _Carefree_, I started my attempt to save the ship and myself as
well. I donned a pressure suit and went into the flight deck. Remember,
I had gone in there before, soon after the collision. I had noticed then
that most of the instrument panel had been destroyed.”
“I remember too, Ben, that you helped build the _Carefree_,” Garry said,
“so you must’ve known a lot about her.”
“I tore out the cover of the console and began working in the section
beneath. With tools, I was able to get the braking jets to functioning.
This slowed the ship down to a slow orbit around the moon and gave me
time to work on the steering controls. I couldn’t do much with them, but
I was able to move the ship a little to the port or starboard side, as I
wished. I knew this was as far as I could go, but with some luck I felt
there was a chance of bringing her down safely.”
“Why didn’t you try this before we all left the ship?” Patch wanted to
know.
Ben shook his head. “Risk everybody’s life on some crazy plan of my own?
No, it was too farfetched in the first place, and I guess I would not
even have tried it myself unless I’d had to. The flier was much the
safer route to safety, and that’s why getting it to go was my first
concern. With you guys out of the way, I had no one’s life to risk but
my own.”
“How did you manage to land as close to the flier as you did?” Garry
asked.
“My first thought was to land near one of the settlements, because if I
did make it, then I would immediately send out a search party for the
rest of you. But I knew I _had_ to land in one of the vast dust pits on
Luna, because the ship would be destroyed by friction if it skidded
along the bare ground. I made one orbit of the moon as the ship slowed
down more and more and lost altitude. I knew roughly in what area the
flier would likely come down, and I remembered Hornfield Crater as one
being full of dust pits. As the ship glided lower and lower, I figured
this would be where I would try to bring her down. The pit we’re in now
is a very large, long trough, maybe a quarter of a mile long and a
hundred feet wide. I therefore had a pretty good chance of landing in
it.”
“Gee, you had a lot of nerve to try something like that!” Patch
exclaimed.
“I took one last look out where I hoped to come down,” Ben said, “and
then went under the console into the working parts again. I cut out a
few of the upper braking jets, and this caused the ship to nose down. I
felt it plough into the dust as if into a big flour barrel. The ship
heated up from the friction created, but it slowed her down rapidly, and
she came to rest on this spot, half buried in pumice. Even so, I nearly
missed the dust pit, landing only about thirty feet from the edge of
it.”
“Now what about Katrinka?” Garry asked. “You did send her out, didn’t
you?”
“Right. I sprained my ankle when the ship landed and I was thrown
against some machinery. I could hardly walk, but I wanted to make
contact with the rest of you if it were possible. I then figured that
the old gal might be able to help me. I worked her over so that I could
operate her by remote control. I also made for her a command disk, so
that when she moved near one of you or the flier she would give a radio
signal to me. I laid down the gangplank myself over the pit, because I
knew Katrinka would sink down in the dust. It nearly killed me getting
about and using a hoist to lower the gangplank to the opposite bank, but
I finally managed it.”
“Then you sent her out?” Patch asked.
“Yes. I used a small telescope to keep track of her. I couldn’t be sure
where the rest of you had come down, but my plan was to start her moving
about in a gradually enlarging circle. I was hoping that some of you
would see her and come over to investigate. Once you had done that, I
felt sure you would have the curiosity to follow her wherever she led
you. And this you two fortunately did.”
“We nearly didn’t,” Patch said. “We thought Katrinka had been thrown
clear of the _Carefree_ after it had crashed and somehow had gotten
accidentally activated as she had done once on the ship.”
They heard a rap on the outer air-lock door. Patch and Garry exchanged
bewildered glances, but Ben did not seem very surprised.
“That must be the men from the settlement,” he said, limping over to the
air lock and shoving the lever that opened the outer door. “I haven’t
had time to tell you yet that I got through a message to them. You see,
before I even thought of the trick with Katrinka, I was working on that
damaged antenna dish that had prevented our sending an SOS after our
collision in space. At first I didn’t have any replies, and I figured
there must be interference from the Taurus Mountains beyond.”
“That must be why _our_ SOS didn’t go through!” Patch said.
Ben went on: “I increased my transmitting power and finally got through.
It’s been less than an hour ago that they said they would send over a
Service flier rocket immediately.”
The two men who entered the air lock a few moments later were Commander
Staples and his lieutenant, both members of the Space Service. They had
been making a routine flight over the moon when they had been contacted
by the mining scientists who had picked up Ben’s SOS.
The two men had arrived in a big space flier that could easily take care
of Captain Eaton and the others. Ben and the boys were anxious to get
started so that the long-drawn-out ordeal their friends had been
undergoing could be ended as quickly as possible. Commander Staples said
they could leave immediately.
The boys pulled on their helmets, and the officers helped Ben get into a
pressure suit. This was painful for Ben because of his swollen ankle.
Then, with everyone dressed to go out onto the moon’s surface, Ben
pushed the lever that opened the inner air-lock door. Once outside, they
started in single file across the gangplank. Ben was in the middle and
limped along slowly with his hands on the shoulders of the officer in
front of him to steady himself.
On the way to the flier, they passed the smashed metal body of Katrinka.
The officers looked at the strange robot with great interest, and Ben
explained her to them.
“She won’t remain out here to die,” Ben said over his suit radio, as if
he were talking about a human being. “When we return to the _Carefree_
one of these days, we’ll rebuild her, and she’ll be as good as new.”
The boys were glad to hear this because now they realized that every one
of their little group on the _Carefree_ would survive the frightening
adventure and that once again they would all be together, including
their robot friend.
“Ben,” Patch asked, “will the _Carefree_ ever fly again?”
“That’s up to Captain Eaton,” Ben replied. “It will take a lot of money
to put her in shape again, and that includes a powerful set of rockets
to lift her into space. But knowing how much the captain likes her, I
believe he’ll spare no expense making her space borne again.”
Commander Staples said to Ben: “I heard you mention Captain Eaton. Our
radio picked up a spacegram that was addressed to a Captain Eaton. We
tape those messages routinely, and I’ll be able to give it to him when
we see him.”
The Service flier was a sleek, streamlined rocket with fins that were
built to support the craft in the earth’s atmosphere, if need be. She
also had powerful jets for lifting her up off the surface of any of the
minor planets.
Commander Staples asked the boys to point out to him on a chart the
approximate location of their flier, and Garry estimated the position as
accurately as he could.
Then, with everyone belted down, the flier’s rocket roared into action,
and the craft lifted into the dark sky. It was a very short trip, and
the ship did not have to fly too high. Commander Staples’ assistant
spied the flier and pointed it out to his superior. The ship circled the
area in a gradually lowering spiral and came to rest about a hundred
feet from the small grounded space taxi.
A few moments later, Ben and the boys were hurrying across the rough
ground toward the flier. Garry’s heart was pounding so hard with joy and
excitement that he could hear its thumping over his helmet receiver.
Those inside had evidently seen their rescuers arrive, because the outer
door of the air lock was open to receive them.
Garry would never forget the old captain’s happy face when he saw the
three of them enter. Nor would he forget the tears glistening in the
corners of Captain Eaton’s eyes as he clasped the boys to his chest in a
great bear hug that nearly squeezed the life out of them.
“Thank God for this great moment!” the old man said in a husky voice.
“And Ben—even you, whom we had long ago given up for dead! What have I
ever done to deserve a happy moment like this?”
He released the boys and clasped Ben to him as if he were another lost
son. Then the others came forward, their faces gleaming with the
overwhelming joy they felt at seeing the lost ones returning.
“Ben, you old trickster you!” Mac shouted, pounding his friend on the
back. “How in the world you came out of that thing alive I’ll never
know. But right now I don’t care _how_ you did it!”
“Welcome home, stranger!” Isaac said, shaking Ben’s hand vigorously as
only Isaac could do.
“It’s most gratifying to see you, Ben,” Mr. Klecker said in his butler’s
tone of voice, which, however, did not mean that he was any less deeply
moved than the others.
Gino then came forward and took his turn at greeting Ben and the boys.
The celebration went on for several more minutes, and the little flier
was pleasantly noisy with joking and happy talk.
But, finally, Commander Staples had to interrupt the celebration with a
smiling, apologetic voice: “I hate to break up this little party, but
we’ve got to start back to the mining settlement. You see, I’m on duty
and I’ve got a busy schedule. They have accommodations for all of you at
the settlement, and you can make your future plans as soon as you’ve
arrived there.”
The prisoners of so long a time in the cramped quarters of the flier
were only too willing to get out of their prison. The commander and his
assistant went back to the Service flier to get space suits for those
who did not have them.
After the suits had been distributed, Commander Staples gave a piece of
paper to Captain Eaton. “Here’s a message for you, Sir, that our radio
picked up.” He winked at the boys. “Something tells me they’ll be as
interested in it as you will be.”
The captain read the message and then turned to Garry and Patch with a
warm expression. “Boys, it looks as though the adoption will go through
as soon as we go back for a short time and make the arrangements.”
“Gee, I—I don’t know what to say,” Garry murmured, almost too excited
and happy for words. “It sounds too good to be true!”
“They’re the best words you could have said to us, Sir,” Patch added.
“Isn’t it just great, Garry!” His sparkling eyes showed how much he
meant it.
“It’ll be a little strange being called, ‘Father,’” the captain said,
smiling, “but I think I’ll get used to it pretty quickly.”
Captain Eaton stared off with a faraway look. “We’ll make up for lost
time, boys. We’ll see as much of the universe as the old _Carefree_ will
carry us to. Yes, we’ll fix her up again if it takes the rest of my
fortune. You’ll get your education among the stars, my sons, and you’ll
be that much wiser because of it.”
Garry and Patch exchanged happy glances. Garry thought they were wiser
already, just from knowing the grand skipper of the _Carefree_.