"I slipped," replied the blond cadet.
"Yeah, you slipped all right," growled Astro good-naturedly, "with a great big assist from Richards."
"Ah, go blast your jets," grumbled Roger. "Come on! Let's show those space crawlers what this game is all about!"
But before the cadet referee could drop his hand, a powerful, low-slung jet car, its exhaust howling, pulled to a screeching stop at the edge of the field and a scarlet-clad enlisted Solar Guardsman jumped out and spoke to him. Sensing that it was something important, the two teams jogged over to surround the messenger.
"What's up, Joe?" asked Roger.
The enlisted spaceman, an Earthworm cadet who had washed out of the Academy but had re-enlisted in the Solar Guard, smiled. "Orders for the Polaris unit," he said, "from Captain Strong."
"Report on the double for new assignments," replied the guardsman.
"Yeeeeooooow!" Astro roared in jubilation. "At last we can get out of here. I've been doing so blamed much classroom work, I've forgotten what space looks like."
"Know where we're going, Joe?" asked Tom.