"Joseph Green - Forgotten Star" - читать интересную книгу автора (Green Joseph)

"Come in, Woody!" Mrs. Barry called.
"I saw the Chief," Woody said. "And he told me to go right in. Said the Earthlings had
arrived. A fact which I now observe!"
He was a tall, gangling boy who looked like a floor mop turned upside down. His body
was thin as a stick, his head crowned with a startling quantity of hair that stood out in every
direction. There was a merry twinkle in his eyes and a grin on his face.
"Meet Woody Weston," Jane Barry said. "Woody's father works in Space Medicine."
"Hi, Earthlings!"
"Glad to meet you ..."
"I thought I'd take you Earthlings out for a ride or something. Show you the sights..."
"We just got here," Jim began.
"Nonsense, Jim! You and Ken go ahead. Woody's been waiting for you for months."
"Okay, Mom. I'd like to look around," Jim said.
"Me, too."
"Then it's settled!" Woody said. "Follow me!"
Woody chattered all the way down to the garage where the Cat was parked.
"Glad you finally got here," the blond boy admitted. "It gets mighty lonely out here. Not
many boys our age on the Moon."
"Where are you taking us?" asked Jim.
"Thought I'd teach you to handle a Cat," Woody replied.
"Dad explained it to us on our way here," Ken said.
"Then you can practice. Come along. We'll take yours. Dad's using ours."
He swept them into the Cat, started the engine, and expertly maneuvered the machine
through the airlock. Outside, he turned to Jim.
"Take over, and head for the wild yonder!"
Jim eased into the control seat and headed the Cat toward the tunnel. Once on the main
road, he stepped on the accelerator.
"What's the rush, Jim?"
"Have you ever been to the Graveyard of Space?"
"Once. And it was enough for me."
"What's the matter with it?"
"Haunted, that's what's the matter. The ghosts of spacemen lost in the deep black void
come back to their old ships."
Ken laughed. "You don't really believe in ghosts, do you, Woody?"
"Of course not!" Woody retorted. Then he scratched the mop of hair on his head and
added, "But they're out there, just the same!"
 Jim and Ken burst out laughing, and after a moment, Woody joined in. Jim stepped up
the speed.
"A friend of ours used to play in the Graveyard when he was a little boy," Jim said.
"There's nothing to be afraid of."
"Who?" Woody asked.
"Oh, a fellow named Dig Allen," Jim replied casually.
"Dig Allen! The stow ... stowaway?"
"Yep. We met him on the Pioneer."
"Then he did stow away!"
Jim nodded. "Sure."
On the way, the boys told Woody the story of the search for Captain Allen. When they
reached the dirt road, Jim turned the Cat into it. He handled the controls easily and
confidently.
Within a few minutes, they saw the giant hulks of space-wrecked ships in the distance.