“Tried to frame me, eh? Well, I may be old and feeble but I’m not senile. Howsoever, you’ve given me the answer.
“We skip the captive run and test-fly it. I test-fly it.” Morrie whistled, “When?”
“Just as soon as we get back.”
Morrie pushed the accelerator down to the floor boards; Cargraves wished that he had kept quiet until they reached the camp.
Forty minutes later he was handing out his final instructions. “Drive outside the reservation and find some place at least ten miles away where you can see the camp and where you can huddle down behind a road cut or something. If you see a Hiroshima mushroom, don’t try to come back. Drive on into town and report to the authorities.” He handed Ross a briefcase. “In case I stub my toe, give this stuff to your father. He’ll know what to do with it. Now get going. I’ll give you twenty minutes. My watch says seven minutes past five.”
“Just a minute, Doc.”
“What is it, Morrie?” His tones showed nervous irritability. “I’ve polled the boys and they agree with me. The Galileo is expendable but you aren’t. They want you left around to try it again.”
“That’s enough on that subject, Morrie.”
“Well, I’ll match you for it.”
“You’re on thin ice, Morrie!”
“Yes, sir.” He climbed in the car. The other two squeezed in beside him.
“So long!”
“Good luck!”
He waved back at them as they drove away, then turned toward the open door of the Galileo. He was feeling suddenly very lonely.
The boys found such a spot and crouched down behind a bank, like soldiers in a trench. Morrie had a small telescope; Art and Ross were armed with the same opera glasses they had used in their model rocket tests. “He’s closed the door,” announced Morrie.
“What time is it?”
“I’ve got five twenty-five.”
“Any time now. Keep your eyes peeled.” The rocket was tiny even through the opera glasses; Morrie’s view was slightly better. Suddenly he yelled, “That’s it! Geronimo!”
The tail jet, bright silver even in the sun light, had flared out. The ship did not move. “There go his nose jets!” Red and angry, the aniline-and-nitric reached out in front. The Galileo, being equipped with nose and belly maneuvering jets, could take off without a launching platform or catapult. He brought his belly jets into play now; the bow of the Galileo reared up, but the opposing nose and tail jets kept her nailed to one spot.
“He’s off!” The red plumes from the nose were suddenly cut and the ship shot away from the ground. It was over their heads almost before they could catch their breaths. Then it was beyond them and shooting toward the horizon. As it passed over the mountains, out of sight, the three exhaled simultaneously. “Gosh!” said Art, very softly.
Ross started to run.
“Hey, where y’ going?”
“Back to the camp! We want to be there before he is!”
“Oh!” They tore after him.
Ross set a new high in herding the rig back to the camp site, but his speed did not match their urgency. Nor were they ahead of time. The Galileo came pouring back over the horizon and was already braking on her nose jets when the car slammed to a stop.
She came in at a steep dive, with the drive jet already dead. The nose jets splashed the ground on the very spot where she had taken off. He kicked her up with the belly jets and she pancaked in place. Morrie shook his head. “What a landing!” he said reverently.
Cargraves fell out of the door into a small mob. The boys yelled and pounded him on the back.
“How did she behave? How did she handle?”
“Right on the button! The control of the drive jet is laggy, but we expected that. Once she’s hot she doesn’t want to cool off. You have to get rid of your head of `steafli.'(<-- SeaGull/Zopharnal - Is this right?) I was half way to Oklahoma City before I could slow down enough to turn and come back." "Boy, oh boy! What a ship!" "When do we start?"