Fortunately, the steering motors appeared to be intact.
“Is she still spaceworthy?” Bud signaled.
“I think so,” Tom replied. “The missile didn’t hit us anywhere near the pilot’s compartment. I’ll check the gauge again inside, though, to make sure we haven’t sprung a leak.”
The two space-suited figures in their trans-
66 THE RACE TO THE MOON
parent bubble helmets began hauling themselves hand over hand toward the escape hatch. The rocket ship seemed to be floating motionless in the inky void, although both boys were being hurtled through space at terrific speed.
Suddenly Bud let out a startled cry. “Tom, look! They’re coming back!”
A glittering object in the distance was growing larger every second. The enemy ship was returning to the attack! Before the boys could reach the hatch, flames spurted from the enemy’s rocket port.
“Another missile!” Bud cried out.
It missed them by inches. Tom’s brain raced at lightning speed to figure a way out of their dangerous predicament. Should he and Bud cast off their safety cables and risk being marooned in space? He decided against this. Instead, Tom signaled, “Trigger your reaction pistol, Bud, but don’t unclamp!”
The blast of their pistols sent them shooting out to the full length of their cables. As the line snapped taut, both boys turned their pistols on full force. This force was sufficient to pull the rocket ship itself slightly off course. At the same instant, another missile whizzed past the ship.
“Yahoo! They missed again!” Bud yelled.
His triumph was short-lived. The next missile caught the cargo rocket squarely on the bow. With a shattering blast, the whole ship exploded!
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