* * * * *

All day the spaceport rocked with the thunderous noise of stripped-down
spaceships blasting off on their trial runs around the Moon. Kit Barnard
worked like a demon to complete the cooling system in his aged ship, and
as each ship blasted off on its scheduled run to the Moon, the time for
his own flight drew nearer. Kit worked with his chief crewman, Sid
Goldberg, a serious, swarthy-faced youngster who rivaled Astro in his
love for the power-deck machinery on a spaceship. By nightfall, with
Tom, Roger, and Astro standing by to make their final inspection, Kit
wiped the oil and grime from his hands and stepped back. "Well, she's
finished. You can make your inspections now, boys," he said.

While Tom, Astro, and Roger swarmed over the vessel, examining the newly
designed and odd-looking gear, the veteran spaceman and his young helper
stretched out on the concrete ramp and in thirty seconds were asleep.

The _Polaris_ unit quickly checked out Kit's ship as qualified for the
race, and then turned, fascinated, to the tangle of pipes, cables, and
mechanical gear of the reactor unit and cooling pumps. Tom and Roger
were unable to figure out exactly what changes Kit had made, but Astro
gazed at the new machinery fondly, almost rapturously. He tried to
explain the intricate work to his unit mates, but would stop in the
middle of a sentence when a new detail of the construction would catch
his eye.

"Come on, Roger," Tom sighed. "Let's go on to the next ship. This
lovesick Venusian can catch up with us later."