By RICHARD M. ELAM, Jr. Illustrated by Frank E. Vaughn Grosset & Dunlap Publishers NEW YORK Copyright © 1957 by Lantern Press, Inc. BY ARRANGEMENT WITH LANTERN PRESS, INC. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOG CARD NUMBER: 57-8908 PUBLISHED SIMULTANEOUSLY IN CANADA BY GEORGE J. MCLEOD, LIMITED, TORONTO MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA...

Cadet Marshall Farnsworth woke from a nightmare of exploding novae and fouling rockets. After recovering from his fright, he laughed contemptuously at himself. “Here I was picked as the most stable of a group of two hundred cadets,” he thought, “and chosen to make man’s first trip into space, yet I’m shaking like a leaf.” He got out of bed and went over to the window. From his father’s temporary apartment, he could see distant Skyharbor, the scene of the plunge into space tomorrow night. He had

Dr. Myron Lowenthal, gaunt, keen-eyed, and sixty, shuffled over to the receptionist’s desk in an office in the Pentagon. Clutched tightly beneath one spidery arm was a worn brief case. “May I see Mr. Goodnight, miss?” Dr. Lowenthal asked. “Who shall I say is calling, sir?” the young woman asked mechanically, not looking up. “Lowenthal.” The young woman’s eyes lighted alertly as if the name were of great significance to her. “Of course, Dr. Lowenthal. Mr. Goodnight is expecting you. Go right in.”

Steve Gordon stared out of the forward port of the Condon Comet , which was streaking toward the sun. A dense filter protected his eyes from the searing brilliance of the star, looming ever larger by the day and hour as the rocket devoured the miles at a speed never before equaled by a space flyer. “We’ll whip Dennis easily if we can keep up this pace!” exclaimed Steve’s older brother, Bart, in his clipped way. Steve saw a gloating, almost fanatical, expression on Bart’s face. Bart’s one passion

Spacemaster Brigger came into the navigation compartment of the Centaurus , which was thrusting into the starry night of space far beyond Saturn. Rob Allison, junior officer, looked up from the desk where he sat, wondering at the frown on the skipper’s face. “It’s just as I feared, Allison,” Mr. Brigger said gravely. “The men are sorry they signed on for Titania and are grumbling already. They think they’ll be ridiculed when they get back.” “Because of Dr. Franz’s being discredited by all the sc

“The lieutenant doesn’t think you’ve got your mind on navigation, Rob,” Duff Ford was saying, as he and Rob Allison stood before a port of the rocket ship Rigel looking out over the sea of space. “Does it show that much?” the lean young spaceman answered. “We’ll find him, Rob,” the redhead answered. “Stop eating your heart out.” “You never knew Jim Hawley, did you, Duff?” Rob asked. “No, but from what I’ve heard of him, he’s quite a guy. Always smiling and bursting with friendliness.” “That’s Ji

Toby Workman stared out of the window of his room on the rim of the space station, wondering what he should do. As the countless stars of black space trooped slowly past in an endless caravan, the boy was still haunted by the nightmare of last week. That nightmare could yet end forever his dreams of a space pilot’s career. Toby was looking in the direction of the mist-covered globe, five thousand miles away, which was Earth. The space station was a celestial lookout, a scientific laboratory, and

Young Lieutenant Rob Allison rode the escalator down the side of the space ship to the ground. His heartbeat had increased its tempo since he had been ordered from Earth to report to Space Command headquarters on Luna. There had been palpable unrest throughout Earth for several weeks now. No one seemed to know just what it was, but it was frightfully real—that, everyone would admit. And Rob had an uneasy feeling that his trip to Luna was somehow connected with the mystery. “Have a good ride, sir

Rock Merrill looked interestedly at the man who had introduced himself as Tony Kalmus. He had told the young former cadet that he had come all the way from Earth to see him. “You flatter me,” Rock said. “There’s more to it than that,” the man assured him. He was still fairly young, although his blond hair was balding on top. He shifted his heavyweight frame, that filled the chair snugly, but with deliberate slowness dug through the inner pockets of his blue jacket and brought out a folded piece

“Carry your bags, sir?” The gentleman tourist in the space harbor looked at the youth who had stepped out of the night. Although the boy’s clothes weren’t as fine, perhaps, as those of the other baggage carriers, there was something about him which appealed to the man. The boy had a wiry, athletic build, and his gray, sincere eyes shone with spirit and good nature. “Sure, son,” the big, white-thatched man said, smiling. “Suite 8, ‘B’ Deck.” “‘B’ Deck!” Jim Vance echoed. “Thank you, sir!” He hois

by Richard M. Elam, Jr. Author of Teen-Age Science Fiction Stories Illustrated by Frank E. Vaughn Following along the lines of his very successful Teen-Age Science Fiction Stories, this popular author has prepared a new book of exciting stories embodying the very latest theories in interplanetary communications and space travel. These thrilling tales recount the experiences of wide-awake, modern boys and girls who have the exceptional opportunity to venture into outer space. Such stories as “The

by Richard M. Elam, Jr. Illustrated by Charles H. Geer The introduction by Captain Burr Leyson sets the pace for this exciting book of stories dealing with the newest theories of inter-planetary communication and the scientific advances that might make possible some of the adventures here described. The author of these stories, Richard M. Elam, Jr. has been interested in science fiction since he was a boy and, although he has written hundreds of stories and articles, those included in this volum