"Thanks, Sergeant," said Tom. "But we'll probably be around here for
some time. We're on special duty with Commander Walters and Captain
Strong."

At the mention of Strong's name, the sergeant started, looked at the
boys closely, and then smiled. "Say, aren't you Corbett and Astro?"

"That's right," acknowledged Tom.

"Well, don't you remember me?" asked the sergeant.

Tom looked at him closely and then smiled in sudden recognition.
"Morgan! Phil Morgan!" he cried.

"Of course," chimed in Astro.

"Sure," said the sergeant. "We went through our first test together at
the Academy and I washed out."

"And you became an enlisted man!" exclaimed Tom. "Man, you're a real
space buster!"

"I figured if I couldn't get into space one way, I'd do it another,"
said Morgan proudly. "A lot of times I wished I was still a cadet with
you, but now I don't think I'd change it for anything in the world."

"I can believe that," said Tom, smiling. "And a master sergeant at that!
McKenny told us once it took a man nearly fifteen years to get top
rating. It must really be a labor of love for you to have made it this
quickly." He stuck out his hand. "Congratulations, Morgan."