"Robert A. Heinlein - Space Cadet" - читать интересную книгу автора (Heinlein Robert A)

"Imagine having the guts to go out into space in a cracker box like that,"
he said. "It scares me to think about it"
"Me, too," agreed Oscar Jensen.
"It's a dirty shame," Pierre said, softly.
"What is, Pete?" Jarman demanded.
"That their luck didn't hold. You can see it was an almost perfect landing-
they didn't just crash in, or there would have been nothing left but a hole in
the ground."
"Yeah, I guess you're right. Say, there's a stairway down^ over on the far
side-see it, Matt? Do you suppose we could look through her?"
"Maybe," Matt told him, "but I think we had better put it off. We've got to
report in, you know."
"We had all better check in," agreed Jensen. "Coming, Pete?"
Armand reached for his bag. Oscar Jensen pushed him aside and picked
it up with his own. "That's not necessary!" Armand protested, but Oscar
ignored him.
Jarman looked at Pierre. "You sick, Pete?" he asked. "I noticed you
looked kind of peaked. What's the trouble?"
"If you are," put in Matt, "ask for a delay."
Armand looked embarrassed. "He's not sick and hell pass the exams,"
Jensen said firmly. "Forget it."
"Sho', sho'," Tex agreed. They followed the crowd and found a notice
which told all candidates to report to room 3108, third corridor. They located
corridor three, stepped on the slideway, and put down their baggage.
"Say, Matt," said Tex, "tell me-who was Kilroy?"
"Let me see," Matt answered. "He was somebody in the Second Global
War, an admiral, I think. Yeah, Admiral 'Bull' Kilroy, that sounds right."
"Funny they'd name it after an admiral."
"He was a flying admiral."
"You're a savvy cuss," Tex said admiringly. "I think I'll stick close to you
during the tests."
Matt brushed it off. "Just a fact I happened to pick up."
In room 3108 a decorative young lady waved aside their credentials but
demanded their thumb prints. She fed these into a machine at her elbow. The
machine quickly spit out instruction sheets headed by the name, serial
4
number, thumb print, and photograph of each candidate, together with
temporary messing and rooming assignments.
The girl handed out the sheets and told them to wait next door. She
abruptly turned away.
"I wish she hadn't been so brisk," complained Tex, as they went out. "I
wanted to get her telephone code. Say," he went on, studying his sheet,
"there's no time left on here for a siesta."
"Did you expect it?" asked Matt.
"Nope-but I can hope, can't I?" -
The room next door was filled with benches but the benches were filled
with boys. Jarman stopped at a bench which was crowded by three large
cases, an ornate portable
refresher kit, and a banjo case. A pink-faced youth sat next to this. "Your
stuff?" Tex asked him.