How he envied Officer Mulroy on his coming trip into the deeps of space! He wanted to go so badly that his heart ached. But he realized that not for many years could his fondest dream come true.
Officer Mulroy noticed Garry’s reluctance to leave, and placed a friendly arm around his shoulder. “Don’t take it so hard, Garry,” he said. “Be the very best student you can. The years will go by fast, and then one day you will wake up to find that you are eligible to be a spaceman.”
“Thanks,” Garry said, trying to smile convincingly, although he did not feel happy. The idea of the future did not interest him now, but only the present, because the queen of the spaceways was about to blast off, and he wanted so desperately to remain aboard her.
“Let’s go, Garry,” Patch said. “We don’t want to get Officer Mulroy into trouble by us being caught aboard at blast-off.”
“That’s right,” Officer Mulroy said with a smile. “Being a stowaway on a rocket is really a serious matter. You see, for every pound of pay load on a rocket, there must be many more pounds of fuel, so if an extra person remained aboard, the ship might not be able to reach its destination.”
“Thank you for letting us come aboard with you, Mr. Mulroy,” Garry said. “And I’ll remember what you told me.”
The space officer insisted on tipping the boys, and it was a generous tip at that. As the two left the room he called to them, “Good-by, fellows. I’ll send you a post card from Mars. That’s a promise.”
Garry and Patch said good-by and followed the directions that Officer Mulroy had given them for leaving the ship.
Garry pressed the button of the elevator in which they had ridden earlier. As the doors parted and he and Patch went in, he said to his friend, “Gee, I hate to leave. I don’t know what’s the matter with me, Patch. Maybe I’m just tired of having to do the same thing every day, over and over.”
“I feel kind of the same way, Garry,” Patch admitted, “but I guess we’ll just have to sweat out the old grind for a few more years.”