TREACHERY IN OUTER SPACE




CHAPTER I


"All right, you blasted Earthworms! _Stand to!_"

Three frightened cadet candidates for Space Academy stiffened their
backs and stood at rigid attention as Astro faced them, a furious scowl
on his rugged features. Behind him, Tom Corbett and Roger Manning
lounged on the dormitory bunks, watching their unit mate blast the
freshman cadets and trying to keep from laughing. It wasn't long ago
that they had gone through the terrifying experience of being hazed by
stern upperclassmen and they knew how the three pink-cheeked boys in
front of them felt.

"So," bawled Astro, "you want to blast off, do you?"

Neither of the three boys answered.

"Speak when you're spoken to, Mister!" snapped Roger at the boy in the
middle.

"Answer the question!" barked Tom, finding it difficult to maintain his
role of stern disciplinarian.

"Y-y-yes, sir," finally came a mumbled reply.