The Planet Mappers

E. EVERETT EVANS
DODD, MEAD & COMPANY NEW YORK, 1955
Copyright 1955 By E. Everett Evans
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 55-5211
Printed in the United States of America By The Cornwall Press, Inc., Cornwall, N. Y.
Books by E. Everett Evans MAN OF MANY MINDS ALIEN MINDS THE PLANET MAPPERS
The characters and situations in this book are wholly fictional and imaginative: they do not portray and are not intended to portray any actual persons or parties.
To my boys— Carl, Dave, Tommy, Billy, Edward, Freddy
As he heard that dread yet telltale spang against the hull of their spaceboat, young Jon Carver dropped his reelbook and sprang to his feet. His eyes looked swiftly to help his ears trace the sudden hiss he knew was their precious air escaping.
In the back of his mind he heard the sudden grunt his father made, the sound of a falling body, his mother's frightened scream, and his brother's What's wrong? But he did not stop his own lanky, gangling body in its leap toward the outer bulkhead. And as he jumped, he pulled his handkerchief from his hip pocket.