Michael saluted and turned his face away to grin. Toplinsky strode away angrily. He would fix the two Americans, he promised himself—fix them plenty—when he got to the moon. They were prisoners aboard the Aerolite, and he would find some method of disposing of them if they undertook to leave the ship.
He grinned slyly to himself.
But he would have to dispose of them carefully. It would not do to break his promise. No indeed. He must stand by his promises or his men would go back on him. He couldn’t afford to allow this.
His method of eliminating that upstart Epworth must necessarily be unique. But he mentally promised himself that it would be certain.
CHAPTER XIII
The Landing
A sudden burst of light, stronger than the meridian sun, flashed into Epworth’s face, causing him to jump excitedly.
“Holy smoke!” he exclaimed. “Is the ship on fire?”
“The general is throwing open all the windows,” Michael Strauss replied from outside of the door. “We are approaching the moon. Come out and peep through a windowpane. It is safe. The crew is busy at the far end.”
Epworth slipped out of Joan’s cabin into the companionway. From where Michael stood they could see out and downward. Far below him Epworth saw a rounding world, full of deep pits, enormous craters, steep mountains. For several moments he gazed at it in silence and awe, and then his mind flashed back to a previous air ride he had taken. This was almost exactly like flying over Mount Vesuvius.
He was still standing at the window gazing downward when Joan and Billy joined him.