9. SATELLITE ZONE
Although Ben seemed to be one of the busiest persons aboard the Carefree, he still took time out to chat with the boys early that afternoon.
“Have you been at the orphanage all your lives?” Ben asked Garry and Patch.
“Almost that long,” Garry replied.
“Our parents were good friends,” Patch added. “All four of them were killed at one time in a rocket-plane crash near Salt Lake City. We were only three then and were placed in the orphanage at the same time.”
“How long have you been in space, Ben?” Garry asked.
“Oh, about eight years now, off and on. I started when I was in my teens. I was a sort of cabin boy aboard the old Mars exploration ship, the Jules Verne. We spent a year there. Boy, what a life! It was like living in a deep freeze. Since then I’ve traveled to Venus, Luna—the moon, you know—and there’s no counting the trips I’ve made among the satellites.”
“How did you get in with Captain Eaton and the Carefree?” Patch wanted to know.
“A few years ago I took time to go to school and learn space-ship engineering and design,” Ben replied. “My teacher was Captain Eaton—or Professor Eaton, as he was called then. He was also a millionaire and president of Space Shipping Incorporated. He helped build the sturdiest ships ever to fly the solar system. I graduated stone broke and had to go back to flying the spaceways.