Chapter 20

“What’s that noise, Tom?”

The two cadets were walking through the tunnel when they heard the strange booming roar. Behind them, Sinclair overheard Roger’s whispered question and laughed. “That is the sound of the slaves being fed their lunch. They do not know yet that there has been a battle and soon they’ll be free!”

“Slaves!” gasped Roger. “What kind of slaves?”

“You shall see. Keep going!” Sinclair prodded the cadets with his ray gun. The tunnel had grown larger and the downward slant of the floor lessened as they pressed forward. The noise ahead of them grew louder and stronger and now they could distinguish occasional words above the din.

“We must pass through the big vault where the slaves are working,” said Sinclair. “I would advise you to keep your mouths shut and do as I say!”

Neither Tom nor Roger answered, keeping their eyes straight ahead.

The tunnel suddenly cut sharply to the right and they could see a blaze of light in front of them. The two boys stopped involuntarily, and then were nudged forward by Sinclair’s guns. Before them was a huge cavern nearly a thousand yards high and three thousand yards across, illuminated by hundreds of torches. Along one side of the cave a line of men were waiting to have battered tin plates filled from a huge pot at the head of the line. The men were in rags, and every one of them was hardly more than skin and bones. At strategic places around the cavern, Nationalist guards kept their guns trained and ready to fire. They brought up their guns quickly as Tom and Roger entered, and then lowered them again as Sinclair appeared. Every eye turned to the Nationalist leader as he marched across the floor of the cave, Tom and Roger walking before him.

“You see,” said Sinclair, “these wretched fools thought my organization was a utopia until they learned that I was no better for them than the Solar Guard. Unfortunately they learned too late and were sent here to dig underground pits for my spaceships and storage dumps.”

The small column of three marched across the floor of the cave toward another small tunnel on the opposite side. The slaves were absolutely still, and the guards smiled a greeting at their leader when he passed them.

Sinclair ignored them all. “Beyond that tunnel,” he continued, pointing to the small opening ahead of them, “there is a spaceship. We will board that ship and blast off. The three of us. Where we will go, I haven’t decided yet. Perhaps a long trip into deep space until the Solar Guard has forgotten about you and me and the Nationalists. Then we will return, as I said before, to Mars, or perhaps Ganymede, and I will start all over again.”

“You’re mad!” said Tom through clenched teeth. “Crazy as a space bug!”

“We shall see, Corbett. We shall see!”

Suddenly Roger broke away and raced toward the mass of slaves. He shouted wildly, “Get the guards! The Nationalists are beaten! The base in the canyon has been destroyed! Hurry! Rebel!”

The emaciated men milled around the cadet, all asking questions at once.

Sinclair signaled to the guards. “Shoot him down!” Four guards took careful aim.

“Roger! Look out!” warned Tom.

Roger whirled around in time to see the guards about to fire. He dived for a mound of dirt and hid behind it. The energy shock waves licked at the sand where he had stood a second before. Roger got up and ran for better cover, the guards continuing to fire at him. Then, around the cadet, the slave workers began to come alive. Some hurled stones at the guards, others began climbing up the sides to the ledges where the guards stood. Taking in the situation at a glance, Sinclair shoved the ray gun in Tom’s back and snarled, “Get going!”

The young cadet had no alternative. He turned and marched hurriedly across the floor toward the small tunnel ahead of him. Several slave workers tried to attack Sinclair, but in their weakened condition, they were no match for the alert Nationalist leader who froze them instantly with his paralo-ray gun.

Roger saw Tom heading for the tunnel and made a sudden dash for Sinclair. But the rebel leader heard the pounding of footsteps and turned to fire at Roger as the cadet sailed through the air in a flying tackle. The jolting ray hit him squarely and he landed on the ground with a thud a few feet from Sinclair, completely immobilized again.

Tom tried to seize the momentary advantage, but once again Sinclair was quicker and forced Tom back into the small opening of the tunnel.

Around them, the slave workers were being whipped into a frenzy after months of stored-up hatred for their guards. Hundreds of them were climbing up toward the guards’ posts, unmindful of the deadly fire pouring down on them.

“Get in there quick!” demanded Sinclair. He shoved Tom through the small opening, and after a quick glance over his shoulder at the surging slaves, followed the cadet.

Sinclair flashed a light ahead of them and Tom saw the reflection of a bright surface. In the distance he recognized the outlines of a spaceship.

“Keep moving!” ordered Sinclair. “You’re my protection in getting out of here, and if I have to freeze you and carry you aboard, that’s just what I’ll do! Now get moving!”

Tom walked to the air lock of the ship, Sinclair right in back of him. The rebel leader pressed an outside button in the ship’s stabilizer fin and the port swung open slowly. “Get in!” growled Sinclair.

Tom stepped into the ship and waited. Sinclair climbed in in back of him and closed the air lock.

“Through that hatch,” said Sinclair, motioning toward the iron ladder, “and keep your hands in the air.”

“How do you think you’re going to get through the Solar Guard fleet that’s standing off above the canyon?” asked Tom casually. “As soon as they see this ship blast off, you’ll have a hundred atomic war heads blasting after you!”

“Not as long as I have you!” sneered Sinclair. “You’re my protection!”

“You’re wrong,” said Tom. “They’ll open fire, anyway.”

“That’s the chance I’ve got to take,” said Sinclair. “Now climb up to the control deck and get on the audioceiver. You’re going to tell them you’re aboard!”

Tom walked ahead of the rebel leader toward the control deck, his mind racing. He knew that Sinclair was going through with his plan and he also knew that the Solar Guard would not pay any attention to anything he had to say. If, after three warnings, Sinclair didn’t brake jets and bring his ship to a stop, he would be blasted out of space. He had to do something.

“Where’s the communicator?” asked Tom.