"Carey Rockwell - Tom Corbett Space Cadet 08 - The Robot Rocket" - читать интересную книгу автора (Rockwell Carey)

They quickly spread the cloth and placed the plates, cups, and forks.
Astro's eyes bulged at the sight of the cake. "Take your eyes off that, Astro," said
Roger. "It's for Captain Strong."
"But he can't eat it all!" said Astro happily.
"Shh!" said Tom. "Here he comes!"
They heard footsteps on the corridor floor outside, and the door opened. Steve Strong,
resplendent in his black-and-gold Solar Guard officer's uniform, stepped into the room.
"CONGRATULATIONS!" the cadets roared in unison as Strong stopped in obvious
surprise. He could hardly fight back the mist in his eyes at the sight of the table and the
decorations.
"Thank you," he said quietly, with feeling. "It's the nicest surprise I've ever had."
"Let's eat!" yelled Astro, notorious for his gargantuan appetite.
Tom and Roger had been touched by the emotion displayed by Strong, but Astro's
emphatic and direct approach made them laugh.
"What's so funny?" growled the young giant. "That stuffтАЩs here to eat, not to look at."
"Just a minute," said Strong. He stepped aside and for the first time the three cadets
saw that there was a fifth person in the room. "I want to introduce you to Cadet T. J. Thistle of
Mars Academy. He will be attached to your unit for a while as an exchange cadet. We plan
to send a cadet to Mars in his place."
The three boys stared at the new cadet. He was as small as Astro was big. Slim, and
about five-two, he looked more like a prep school student than a full-fledged Senior Space
Cadet.
The Polaris unit greeted him soberly. They resented having an outsider at their party,
but since Captain Strong had brought him, there wasn't anything they could do about it.
"Glad to have you aboard, Thistle," said Tom, stepping forward to shake hands.
The small cadet returned the handclasp lightly and then looked around the room. "Well,
a party!" he chirped in a high-pitched voice. "I can't think of a better way to get to know you
guys!"
Roger and Astro shook hands and looked him over carefully.
"Thistle is a radar, astrogation, and communications wizard," said Strong. "He was the
best they had at Mars."
The word wizard exploded in the air like a small atom bomb. Astro and Tom glanced at
each other and winced. They knew what was coming. It was a challenge Roger Manning
would not let pass without an argument. Already his eyes were dancing with delight.
"Well, a wizard, eh?" asked Roger, stepping right up to Thistle and towering over him. "I
never met a wizard before," he added caustically.
"Oh, no?" replied Thistle innocently. "Well, then, let me be the first one introduced to you.
T. J. Thistle, at your service!" He looked at Captain Strong. "Shall we eat, sir?"
As Manning's face suddenly reddened, Tom and Astro turned away quickly to hide their
smiles. Roger Manning had apparently met his match.


CHAPTER 2

"Boy! Is Roger burned up!"
Tom laughed as he carried his space bag to the door of the dormitory room. The
Polaris unit had been ordered out on a routine patrol, with T. J. Thistle along as an observer.
"Never have I seen him so dead set on showing anyone up," Tom continued. "You know
what he's going to do on that patrol today?"
"What?" asked Astro as he finished packing his space bag.