5. A “FLYING TIN CAN”
The boys watched intently as the object neared them. Although it was still pretty far off, they knew that it was not a true celestial object, because they could determine already that it was shaped like nothing usually found in space. In fact, it looked remarkably like a tin can! It was an odd shape for a space ship, but the boys were sure that was what it was.
“That’s not like anything I’ve ever seen!” Garry said. “And I’ve seen all kinds of pictures of space ships in magazines and books.”
“It must be a special kind of ship,” Patch suggested. “But just so it really is a space ship with living people in it, it can be shaped like a barbecue pit for all I care!”
“Patch!” Garry said in a stricken voice. “What if it’s from another planet and carries strange people? Maybe even unfriendly passengers!”
Patch’s eyes shone like bright marbles. “Gee, you don’t really think so, do you? I—I mean, how could it be possible? We’ve already explored Mars and Venus, and those planets aren’t inhabited. How could anything possibly live on those big cold planets farther out?”
“Maybe they are from another star,” Garry said in a solemn tone.
They would know pretty soon where the flying object was from, because it was still heading in their direction, and its passengers could not possibly miss seeing them.
Garry and Patch were silent as the object drew steadily closer, each of them engrossed in his own thoughts.
“It really does look like a tin can,” Patch said. “A tin can with a big eye in front! But what a big tin can! It’s big as one of those ancient dirigibles.”
“Patch, I can begin to make out some writing over the eye. See it?”
“Yes. Just a moment. It’s coming into focus. It says ‘CAREFREE!’ I don’t know what it means, but it sounds friendly.”
“That must be the name of it,” Garry suggested. “No ship with a name like that could be carrying unfriendly passengers.”
“It also means that there must be earthmen aboard, because it’s an earth word.”
“I don’t think we have anything to worry about, Patch,” Garry said confidently.
“Now they’re turning around,” Patch said. “They—they’re pulling even with us. I guess they’ll anchor to us with magnetic grapples.”
Carefully, the Carefree edged closer so that it could latch on. The big circular space ship dwarfed the tiny taxi so greatly that it seemed like David and Goliath.
Garry and Patch heard a soft bump as the Carefree coupled onto the side of their craft on which the door was located. Garry knew now that the ships were joined as one.
Garry looked at Patch, and Patch looked at Garry. They knew all they had to do now was open the air locks between the ships. But they hesitated as if there were still some doubt in their minds as to the friendliness of those in the other space ship.
There came a rap on their air-lock door. Once again Garry looked at Patch, and Patch looked at Garry. Then, after another few moments of hesitation, Garry shrugged and clicked over to the door.
“We may as well open up,” he said. “Whether or not they’re friendly, they’ve certainly got the upper hand.”
Garry pressed the button that controlled the outer door of the air lock. Then he pressed another that opened the inner door.
Garry and Patch looked through the double air locks into the face of a man who wore a small, neat white beard. He appeared to be in his early sixties, and he was clinging to a webbing of ropes that completely covered the walls of a giant tube or tunnel.
“Hello,” the man said, with a smile.
“Hello,” Garry and Patch replied together. And they smiled too, because they were very glad that it was an earthman who faced them.
“I must say I didn’t expect to find a couple of boys alone in here,” the man went on. “What’s happened to the adults with you? You didn’t heave them out the waste hatch, did you?” The elderly man laughed.
“Uh, no, Sir,” Garry replied with hesitation. “We’ve been by ourselves ever since this flier left the Von Braun Space Station. It’s a pretty long story, Sir.”
“The name is Captain Eaton, boys.” The man winked at them, showing his white teeth in another smile. “Oh, I’m not really a space captain. I wouldn’t deceive you. The Carefree is a private ship, and the men call me ‘Captain’ because I’m the owner.”
Captain Eaton’s dark, alert eyes flickered over the interior of the flier.
“I thought whoever was in this ship must be in some sort of trouble,” he said, “because of your erratic flight. That’s why we latched onto you, to see if we could be of some help.”
“We do need help, Captain,” Patch said earnestly. “We don’t know the first thing about running this thing. We had just about given ourselves up for lost.”
“How in the world did you get into such a spot as this?” Captain Eaton asked.
“Well, Sir,” Garry explained, lowering his eyes, “you see, we’re stowaways, although we’ve been able to escape being caught all this time. We didn’t mean to be stowaways, Captain. We were helping an officer aboard the Orion with his gear, and the rocket blasted off before we could get out.”
“Say, I’ll bet your parents are worried to death about you,” Captain Eaton said.
“No, Sir,” Patch answered. “You see, we’re orphans, and we lived in an orphanage back in the United States.”
“I see,” the elderly man replied, stroking his short, snowy beard. Then suddenly he grinned broadly. “Well, fellows, how would you like to be rescued?”
“We’re all for it!” Garry answered, and Patch nodded his head vigorously.
“Come aboard then. The Carefree welcomes you!”
“What about the flier?” Garry asked. “We don’t want to be charged with stealing a space craft.”
“I’ll have Ben Dawes come aboard and set her adrift toward the satellite so that she can be picked up easily,” the captain said.
“I think we blew something out when we tried to start her,” Patch said.
“Ben’s a genius,” Captain Eaton replied. “He’ll get her to running, no matter what’s wrong with her.”
With this taken care of, the boys were anxious to board the Carefree and see if her interior were as strange and unusual looking as her outer hull. They removed their bulky magnetic shoes and entered the air lock of the Carefree.
Captain Eaton first explained the purpose of the webbing that lined the walls of the tube.
“As you boys saw us move in, you probably know that this is the rear of the ship, and this tunnel is in the center. It goes the full length of our ‘tin can’ and comes out front into the flight deck. We have to leave and enter the ship through the rear end of this tube. Understand?”
“Yes, Sir,” the boys answered together.
“The outer round surface of our ‘tin can’ revolves around this center tube as though it were a wheel around an axis,” the captain went on. “By so doing, an artificial gravity is induced along the inside rim of the ‘can.’” Captain Eaton frowned. “Am I getting too deep for you?”
“I don’t think so, Sir,” Garry replied. “The gravity you are talking about is the result of centrifugal action—the same action that makes a ball swing out on the end of a string when a person swings it around his head. It’s the same kind of artificial gravity they use on the manned space stations.”
“You’re pretty sharp, son. I like a boy who doesn’t think that facts belong only in a schoolroom.”
“I’ve always been very interested in space, Sir,” Garry said. “I’ll bet I’d surprise you with all I know about it.”
“I’m sure you would,” Captain Eaton admitted. “Say, I don’t even know your names. I’ve told you mine. Now let’s have yours.”
“I’m Garry Coleman,” Garry answered, “and this is my best friend, Patch Foster.”
Since the center tube of the Carefree was not affected by the centrifugal force of the rotating “tin can,” its gravity was zero. For that reason the webbing was used to pull oneself along with and not really for the purposes of climbing and descending.
Captain Eaton turned around on the webbing so that he could lead the way along the tunnel into the living quarters of the Carefree. His slim, agile legs swung free in the zero gravity as he made the turn. Glossy black space boots covered his feet.
The captain showed Garry where to pull a lever which closed a series of air-lock doors between the Carefree and the taxi.
The ship’s master and the boys pulled themselves along the tunnel. Then Captain Eaton stopped and said, “Hold on tightly, fellows. We’re going round and round for a few turns.”
He pushed a lever beneath the webbing, and Garry felt the tube begin to revolve slowly.
“Hey, what’s happening?” Patch called out.
“I had to set the tunnel in rotation so that it could catch up with the rest of the ship, which is always turning. As soon as you’ve become used to the spinning, we’ll go into the ship.”
When the boys said they thought they could navigate, the captain pointed to an open hatch that had appeared in the wall near them.
“We’ll turn around and back down these stairs,” the skipper said. “As we descend, the gravity will become stronger, so that by the time we’re at the bottom we’ll be nearly at our earth weights.”
Garry and Patch followed their new friend down the stairs, moving carefully and holding onto the railing, for they still felt giddy from the rotation of the central tube. By the time they were at the bottom, their heads had begun to clear.
That is, they thought their heads had begun to clear. But no sooner had they gotten this impression than they became giddy all over again at the sight that met their eyes. For it was just as if they had entered a tropical paradise! There were real flowers in bloom all about, and aquariums full of live fishes were set into the surrounding walls.
The boys were too surprised to say anything. All they could do was just stare and stare in disbelief.
6. A CAREFREE WORLD
“How do you like my garden, fellows?” Captain Eaton asked. “It helps keep me from getting homesick. I used to have a most luxuriant garden back on earth.”
“I can’t believe it!” Garry burst out. “It’s just as if we were outdoors on a summer day, it’s so real.”
“There’s a goldfish pond, Garry,” Patch said, “with lily pads floating on top and a bench beside it.”
“I never saw so many kinds of flowers,” Garry said, “and shrubs too.”
“The flowers and shrubs serve a double purpose,” Captain Eaton explained. “They not only provide homelike pleasure to me and my friends, but they also help keep the air in the Carefree supplied with oxygen.”
“I remember,” Garry replied. “Plants in light breathe exactly opposite from the way we do. They breathe in carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen.”
Patch stooped down, examining the roots of a shrub. “Hey, the roots aren’t growing in soil! How can they live?”
“The plants grow in richly fertilized liquid,” the captain answered. “In that way, they can be placed much closer together. Besides, some of the water making up the fertilized liquid comes from waste products within the ship. There are other reasons too.”
Captain Eaton led the way along the aisle that ran beside the colorfully lighted aquariums. He stopped in front of a twenty-gallon tank which was in the process of being cleaned by two men.
One of them was very tall, over six and a half feet. He was very thin and appeared to be in his late fifties. But the oddest thing about him, which made Garry and Patch stare at him in surprise, was the fact that he was in the full dress of a butler, complete with newly starched white shirt and neatly pressed coat and trousers! Although he was holding a bucket that was catching water from a draining aquarium, his clothing wasn’t in the least mussed.
Captain Eaton saw the boys staring at the tall gentleman and said, “Boys, I want you to meet Mr. Klecker, the Eaton family butler for many years. When I decided to set out into space on my permanent cruise, he would not think of being left behind. Klecker, this is Garry and this is Patch. They will be our guests for awhile.”
Mr. Klecker looked at them with heavy-lidded eyes. Then, bowing, he said in a deep stately voice, “Pleased, young gentlemen.”
“Glad to know you, Mr. Klecker,” Garry said.
“Me too,” Patch added.
The other person attending to the fish tank was a young man. He rose from a squatting position and smiled at the boys. He had crew-cut black hair and the kind of happy features which indicate a friendly nature. He wiped his damp hands on his trousers and offered a palm to Garry first, then to Patch.
“Hi, boys. I’m Ben Dawes. Glad to have you aboard,” he said. “It sure is a surprise meeting fellows as young as yourselves out here in space.”
“It’ll probably be more of a surprise, Ben, to know that they are alone,” the captain said.
“Not really!” Ben said. “Say, I’ll bet you two have a long story explaining that!”
“We do,” Garry answered, “and we’ll tell you when we have lots of time.”
“Ben is my right-hand man, whom I wouldn’t part with for all the millions I own,” Captain Eaton said proudly. “He could build a space ship out of a safety pin if he had to. He had a big hand in designing the Carefree, and he knows every bolt and rivet in her.”
It was interesting to Garry to hear that the captain was a millionaire. That probably explained how he could afford to take such a leisurely cruise through space in something akin to a flying palace.
“While Klecker and Ben are changing the water in this aquarium,” Captain Eaton said, “how would you like to meet the rest of my friends?”
“We would, Sir,” Garry replied, “but are you sure you don’t have things to do?” It was hard for Garry to believe that as important a person as a millionaire would be willing to devote so much time to a couple of orphans who were lost in space.
“Here my time is my own,” Captain Eaton said. “Back home there were hundreds of little details that always had to be attended to, and as I grew older the grind began to keep me in a state of tension and boredom. That’s when I made up my mind that I would spend the rest of my life the way that I wanted to—without constant interruption and without ever hurrying. I sold everything I owned and came into space. That was four years ago.”
“Why are you so interested in space, Captain?” Garry asked.
“In my early days I had a very keen interest in space travel. I became a space cadet, but after only four months’ service I was hurt, and my injury was such that I had to give up any thoughts of a future in the Space Service. But my keen interest in space stayed with me through the years, and I never gave up hope of returning to the spaceways. So, you see, my hope was realized, and here I am as carefree as the name of my ship.”
“Then you never plan to return to earth, Captain Eaton, ever?” Garry asked.
“No, I don’t think so. In the first place, the Carefree was built in space and could not stand the atmospheric friction of an earth return. Of course, I could get back if I really wanted to. But I don’t believe I want to. My simple life out here is very satisfying. I never had any children, and my wife is now dead. No, no close relatives. It takes a little money to survive out here and pay my friends aboard ship, but it does not take too much. Yes, this is the good life, and it is enough for me.”
As Captain Eaton paced the boys by a couple of steps, Garry had to marvel at the youthful stride of their host. His body was as lean and spare as a man half his age, and Garry was sure he must have kept himself in good condition all his life.
As the trio left the garden and moved into the next section, Garry and Patch heard a fine tenor voice singing a lusty aria from an opera. A quick study of their surroundings told Garry that they were in the galley.
As the fragrance of good food reached the boys’ noses, they suddenly remembered how hungry they were. They hadn’t eaten since they left the orphanage!
“That’s Gino you hear,” Captain Eaton explained.
The boys presently saw a short, fat little Italian throwing a huge, flat wad of dough into the air. He stopped when he saw the boys and grinned so widely that his eyes disappeared and his mouth seemed as broad as that of a jack-o’-lantern.
Captain Eaton exchanged names so that everyone quickly knew everyone else. Gino was the ship’s cook, and his full name was Gino Spondini.
Gino kept tossing the dough into the air, and each time he tossed it up it became thinner and bigger.
“You bambini chose a good day to come to the Carefree,” Gino said. “This is a special day for good food, only once every two weeks, eh, Captain?”
Captain Eaton nodded. “Unfortunately, there isn’t a grocery store just around the corner, and so we fill our food room and deep freeze only a few times a year from the commissary satellite which supplies food to all the manned satellites around earth. But when we do have an exceptionally good meal, we enjoy it even more.”
“I don’t know what you’re making, Gino,” Garry said, “but I’m hungry enough to eat it raw.”
Gino looked shocked. “You don’t know pizza when you see it? Where have you been all your life, bambino?”
“Gino makes the best pizza pie in the world—or should I say the best in the solar system?” the captain said. “Now, boys, shall we move on and meet the others?”
They left the galley and proceeded on to the next section within the Carefree, leaving Gino singing another operatic air. The boys wondered if they could hold out until lunch time.
“Up ahead of us,” Captain Eaton said presently, after passing through a short hallway, “is the dormitory. Since the dorm is used solely for sleeping, we made it small so that we could give more area over to the other parts of the ship where we spend more of our time.”
Garry found the dormitory indeed small and quite simple. There were three-tiered bunks along the walls, with ladders leading up to the second and third levels.
The captain smiled. “Patch, you seem to be looking over those bunks carefully to see if you find any that aren’t made up.” Patch blushed. “Yes, Sir. I was wondering if....”
“If we have room for you two? Well, breathe easily, for we do have extras. The ship will sleep twelve, and special cots can be set up to accommodate more when necessary.”
“They look cozy,” Garry said, “but how do you know when to sleep out here in space, without any real night or day?”
“We observe a twenty-four-hour day just as they do on earth. Scientists have found out that space travelers get along much better if they keep the same hourly habits to which they are accustomed. We even simulate the appearance of night, turning down the lights and observing quiet. You’ll find out that you get sleepy at just the right time and that you wake the ‘next morning’ feeling just as refreshed as you did on earth.”
Suddenly, they heard a stirring in one of the top bunks. A deeply tanned man with a thick shock of auburn hair raised up sleepily.
“Oh, it’s you, Captain,” the man said with a yawn. Then he perked up. “Who is it with you, Sir?” The man’s accent was a thick Scottish brogue.
“We have guests, Mac,” the captain replied. “These are Garry and Patch. Fellows, meet Mr. McIntosh, pilot, navigator, engineer, and what have you. He likes to be called Mac.”
“Hi, fellows, glad to have you aboard,” Mac said cordially, then yawned again.
“Sorry we woke you, Mac,” the captain said.
“I’m just about due to relieve Isaac upstairs, Sir. That’s all right.”
“I was just showing the boys the ship. We’ll move on so you can get dressed.”
As they left the dormitory to pass into another hallway, Captain Eaton asked, “You’ve heard of Isaac Newton, haven’t you, boys?”
“Oh yes, Sir,” Garry responded eagerly. “He was one of the very greatest scientists. He died a long time ago.”
The captain winked at them. “Well, we’re going to meet him,” he said.