On the Trail of the Space Pirates (Paperback)

Excerpt: ...He had a hide-out in the asteroid belt. I'd like to know where it is," said Strong. "Why?" "I can't answer that, Bull." "What do I get if I tell you?" "Nothing, except my thanks and the thanks of the Solar Guard." "And if I don't?" "I'll turn around and leave." "Then start turning, Strong," snarled the giant prisoner, "because I ain't got nothing to tell you except how much I hate your guts " Astro moved forward slightly, but Strong held him back. "O.K., Bull. If that's the way you want it, I'll leave." "Why don't you let the young punk try something?" challenged Coxine. "I ain't had any exercise in a long time." Strong looked at the huge man and said coldly, "I wouldn't want the death of a piece of space scum to show on his record." Then, as if the space and sky overhead had suddenly been torn open, there was a flash of light followed by the roar of a tremendous explosion. The ground trembled. The air seemed to moan in agony. Strong and Astro wheeled around and looked toward the tower that shimmered in the light of the late afternoon sun. To their horror, they saw the unmistakable mushrooming cloud of an atomic blast rising in the synthetic atmosphere behind it. "By the craters of Luna