“Our family is so safe and cozy here,” Mrs. Kenton said, “I hate to think of you going out into that cold wilderness again on a new expedition, John.”
“Maybe I won’t be going,” Dr. Kenton said, with a mysterious smile.
“What do you mean?” his wife asked in surprise.
Just then the phone buzzed. Dr. Kenton went into the hall to answer it. In a few moments he was back again, and he was smiling happily.
“Kids, how would you like to go back to Earth at the end of the school term?” he asked the children.
“Gee, do you mean that?” Ted exclaimed.
“Oh, Father!” Jill cried out joyously.
“It’s true enough,” their father said. “That’s what the call was about and the surprise I was hoping to have for you.”
“That’s the grandest surprise you could have had,” Mrs. Kenton murmured, unspeakably happy herself.
“The Science Union has offered this trip to you, Jill, you, Randy, and you, Ted, as a reward for your important discovery,” Dr. Kenton went on. “They also want me to go back and give lectures all over the country on our latest findings about Mars. It may keep me there a long time.”