entered the building. He was surprised by what he saw. Thereseemed to be an infinite tangle of conveyor belts crisscrossing throughout the room. Glen had to duck his head under some of them. They carried massive rocks, all steadily rolling along until being fed into enormous machines, which ground them down before spitting out their dust.
“It looks like this is some sort of mining facility,” Glen said, barely able to hear his own voice above the hum of the machinery. “I guess those machines grind down the rocks and extract their minerals. But where do all the rocks come from?”
Glen soon had his answer. The wildly beeping locator device led him down, down, down through a long tunnel into a cavern far below the moon’s surface. Machines swinging pickaxes chopped away at the cavern walls, causing large pieces of rock to fall onto the ground. Different machines, these with shovels, then scooped up the fallen pieces and put them onto the conveyor belt leading back up the tunnel.
At any other time, Glen might have been interested in watching the mining operation. Butnow he had only one thing on his mind: Find Salerno! Glen looked down at the locator device and saw that the arrow was flashing white. Looking up, he saw a garage-style door.
I have you now!
Glen thought, pulling it up.
But Salerno wasn’t there. Instead, it was just a room full of mining machines, many covered with dust cloths. And spinning around in the middle of the room was a malfunctioning robot with a beeping gadget tied to its back.
“It’s the signal,” Glen said, furious. “Salerno took the tracking signal from her suit and attached it to this robot!”
He saw that there was something else tied to the robot: a note.
I’m sorry I had to do this, Glen, but you know how important this mission is to me. Please forgive me and NEVER stop exploring—RS
“Darn it!” he shouted. “She tricked me again!” Angrily, Glen kicked a rock. “Ouch!” he wailed, hopping around on his other foot. “I hate this place!”
He sunk to the ground, hanging his head low. Glen had had enough of this moon adventure and just wanted to go home. Two hundred thousand miles away from Earth and all alone, Glen thought about everything that had gone wrong.
“That Salerno is such a cheater,” Glen said aloud. “She fooled me into following her here. Now she could be anywhere. And why am I even here on the moon? If Slayton had just stopped the launch, or if Hatcher hadn’t been such a chicken, I wouldn’t be in this mess.”
Glen was feeling so sorry for himself that he felt his eyes moisten. As a single teardrop rolled down his cheek, he said, “But this is really all Dad’s fault. If he hadn’t dragged me to Cape Carpenter in the first place, none of this would have happened. He knew I didn’t want to go!”
Glen sat for a long time feeling this way, thinking of everyone who was responsible for his troubles. Eventually, though, he ran out of people to blame.
“Well,” he said, “I guess I could have just stayed with Dad. If I hadn’t insisted on going off on my own, I never would have ended up in Mission Control. And if I hadn’t gone to Mission Control, I wouldn’t have been sent to help Hatcher.” Glen considered this, how all his troubles began as soon as he left his dad’s side.
Sheesh,
he thought.
Why didn’t I just stay with him? After all, he was only trying to spend some time with me. I bet he’s worried sick now.
Glen sat for another minute, imagining how hard this must be for his dad. At last, he stood upand said, “No, this isn’t Dad’s fault, and blaming everyone else isn’t going to get me home any sooner. I have to find Salerno!”
But how?
Glen didn’t know how he was going to find her when, by this point, she could be anywhere on the moon. But he did know that he needed to get going. First, though, he wanted to wipe the tears from his eyes.
Glen grabbed one of the dust cloths covering a nearby piece of machinery
“It looks like this is some sort of mining facility,” Glen said, barely able to hear his own voice above the hum of the machinery. “I guess those machines grind down the rocks and extract their minerals. But where do all the rocks come from?”
Glen soon had his answer. The wildly beeping locator device led him down, down, down through a long tunnel into a cavern far below the moon’s surface. Machines swinging pickaxes chopped away at the cavern walls, causing large pieces of rock to fall onto the ground. Different machines, these with shovels, then scooped up the fallen pieces and put them onto the conveyor belt leading back up the tunnel.
At any other time, Glen might have been interested in watching the mining operation. Butnow he had only one thing on his mind: Find Salerno! Glen looked down at the locator device and saw that the arrow was flashing white. Looking up, he saw a garage-style door.
I have you now!
Glen thought, pulling it up.
But Salerno wasn’t there. Instead, it was just a room full of mining machines, many covered with dust cloths. And spinning around in the middle of the room was a malfunctioning robot with a beeping gadget tied to its back.
“It’s the signal,” Glen said, furious. “Salerno took the tracking signal from her suit and attached it to this robot!”
He saw that there was something else tied to the robot: a note.
I’m sorry I had to do this, Glen, but you know how important this mission is to me. Please forgive me and NEVER stop exploring—RS
“Darn it!” he shouted. “She tricked me again!” Angrily, Glen kicked a rock. “Ouch!” he wailed, hopping around on his other foot. “I hate this place!”
He sunk to the ground, hanging his head low. Glen had had enough of this moon adventure and just wanted to go home. Two hundred thousand miles away from Earth and all alone, Glen thought about everything that had gone wrong.
“That Salerno is such a cheater,” Glen said aloud. “She fooled me into following her here. Now she could be anywhere. And why am I even here on the moon? If Slayton had just stopped the launch, or if Hatcher hadn’t been such a chicken, I wouldn’t be in this mess.”
Glen was feeling so sorry for himself that he felt his eyes moisten. As a single teardrop rolled down his cheek, he said, “But this is really all Dad’s fault. If he hadn’t dragged me to Cape Carpenter in the first place, none of this would have happened. He knew I didn’t want to go!”
Glen sat for a long time feeling this way, thinking of everyone who was responsible for his troubles. Eventually, though, he ran out of people to blame.
“Well,” he said, “I guess I could have just stayed with Dad. If I hadn’t insisted on going off on my own, I never would have ended up in Mission Control. And if I hadn’t gone to Mission Control, I wouldn’t have been sent to help Hatcher.” Glen considered this, how all his troubles began as soon as he left his dad’s side.
Sheesh,
he thought.
Why didn’t I just stay with him? After all, he was only trying to spend some time with me. I bet he’s worried sick now.
Glen sat for another minute, imagining how hard this must be for his dad. At last, he stood upand said, “No, this isn’t Dad’s fault, and blaming everyone else isn’t going to get me home any sooner. I have to find Salerno!”
But how?
Glen didn’t know how he was going to find her when, by this point, she could be anywhere on the moon. But he did know that he needed to get going. First, though, he wanted to wipe the tears from his eyes.
Glen grabbed one of the dust cloths covering a nearby piece of machinery
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