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

Slowly the red-headed boy approached them. He moved in a strange gliding motion, his
knees slightly bent as his feet slid along the metal deck.
"I'm Jim Barry and this is my brother Ken."
"I'm Digby Allen," the boy replied. "My friends call me Dig."
"We're on our way to join our parents on the Moon," Jim said, smiling at the stranger.
"We've been finishing school back on Earth."
"Dad's director of the Space Research Department," Ken added. "We're going to live
on the Moon."
Dig Allen smiled. "I thought the name was familiar," he said. "I know your father. I was
there when they were building the Labs. That's over Copernicus Way."
"Copernicus Way?" asked Ken. "What's that?"
"A crater on the Moon," Dig told them. "The Labs are in the center of the crater and the
staff living quarters are dug out of the side."
"Must be more comfortable than living in one of the space-huts, I guess," Jim said.
"Are you a member of the crew?" Ken asked. "You're not a passenger."
"You've got to be eighteen to be an apprentice spaceman," Dig replied.
The startled expression that flashed across the faces of the brothers did not escape Dig
Allen's quick eyes.
"Yes," he said quietly. "I'm the stowaway."
"How .... how did you get aboard?"
"Crawled through the rocketubes before the Pioneer blasted off."
"Isn't that kind of dangerous?"
"Radiation?" Dig Allen smiled. "I've lived most of my life on spaceships. I didn't hide
near the atomic pile. There's no danger of radiation from me."
"What will they do to you if they catch you?" Jim asked.
"Court-martial. And they'd send me back to Earth," Dig replied with a shrug. "But they
won't catch me ... if you don't tell the Guardsman."
"We wouldn't do that!"
"Thanks," Dig said sincerely. "I'm going to hide inside the emergency spacesuit locker."
He opened a small door in the wall opposite the viewport. Inside, a row of spacesuits
hung from a metal rack. The room itself was small, no more than four feet deep and about
six feet long.
"I'll be in here."
Jim glanced inside. The walls were of solid steel. There was no other door.
"You'll be trapped inside," Jim said.
"No, I won't," Dig replied confidently. "I better get in. The Guardsman will be coming
along any minute."
Before he went into the room, Dig turned to the boys.
"I'm not a spacecrazy kid," he said. "But I've got to get to the Moon and this is the only
way."
"Even if it means taking a chance on a court-martial?" Ken asked.
"Even if I have to take a chance on my life!"
With that, Dig Allen stepped into the locker and pulled the door shut behind him.
"Even if he has to take a chance on his life?" Ken muttered. "I wonder what could
possibly ...."
"Hey!" Jim grabbed his brother's arm and pulled him quickly toward the viewport. The
boys were intently studying the last traces of the disappearing Space Guard Cruiser when
the door to the cabin opened and a tall, powerfully built man stepped into the room.
At a glance, the boys recognized him as the man whose face they had glimpsed through
the viewport.