Chapter 4

 It was Wade¹ Boeman who ruined Allen Ackerson's exit. He had the staff car pick up the pilot as soon as the hull² of the Starfrost cooled. The official car had sped back over the barren sand, through the waiting throng³ of newsmen, straight to the small office located in the control building, without a stop. To say that it peeved⁴ Ackerson would be putting it mildly. His face was still burning with anger after twenty minutes of interrogation. Wade knew it was only the presence of the Defense⁵ Secretary keeping him in line. For that reason he tried to keep each question brief and simple. Ackerson was dying to get outside that door and receive some of the acclaim⁶ that he was being denied.

"You say you had a chance to look at the test rocket we fired?" Wade asked.

"Yes sir. It was resting in a red crater⁷, fairly well beat up. It must have come down hard. In fact it looked like it may have struck a wobble at the last minute. Of course the terrain⁸ is pretty rough up there and it could have toppled after it hit. I'm sure the camera shots I took will tell us much more."

Wade felt a sudden twitch⁹ in his shoulder. "You said the crater was red."

"Yes, sir. A bright red. I thought it was strange. It was as if something spilled out of the ship when she hit."

Wade and the Secretary exchanged glances.

"It was a marking dye so you could pick up the location of the ship," Wade said too quickly.

Allen twisted his head as the sound of many voices pierced the quiet room. Someone cheered loudly. Allen shifted his large frame.

"How was she lying?" Wade asked.

Allen brought his attention back to the two men. It was obvious, he was becoming annoyed. "Down tail-first. The nose section looked intact. That's what makes me believe she took on a wobble at the last second. The nose should have been buried out of sight."

Another cheer forced its way into the room. Suddenly Allen burst out. "Tell me, Colonel. How's Tomer these days. You remember, that little guy who quit on you just before the training ended."

The words had the effect the big man had hoped for. Boeman came out of the chair. His face was a vivid white. "You ..." he began.

The Secretary moved quickly. He was between the two men before Wade could continue. "That's all for now Captain Ackerson," he said, "or should I say Mister Ackerson. Your papers have been processed as you wished. You're a civilian¹⁰, after sixty days terminal leave, of course."

Ackerson watched the play of emotions on Wade's face. He was enjoying every second of it. Wade wanted to smash that smug face all over the floor. Yet he was powerless. Ackerson was still an officer and there was too much left undone¹¹ to risk everything now. He sat back down on the chair. There would be time when the blond man was a civilian.

"Thank you, sir." Allen grinned.

The Secretary extended his hand. "Congratulations again for a job well done." They shook hands.

"Don't forget, Ackerson," Boeman said as Allen hurried to the door. "The next week is mine. Solid interrogation. You're still in the service."

"Yes, Sir."

"And one more thing, Ackerson. I know your communication was working. Why didn't you answer our calls?"

"I thought that would make you sweat a little. I can see that it did."

The door slammed shut.

1 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。

2 hull   

n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳

参考例句：

• The outer surface of ship's hull is very hard.船体的外表面非常坚硬。
• The boat's hull has been staved in by the tremendous seas.小船壳让巨浪打穿了。

3 throng   

n.人群，群众；v.拥挤，群集

参考例句：

• A patient throng was waiting in silence.一大群耐心的人在静静地等着。
• The crowds thronged into the mall.人群涌进大厅。

4 peeved   

adj.恼怒的，不高兴的v.（使）气恼，（使）焦躁，（使）愤怒( peeve的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He sounded peeved about not being told. 没人通知他，为此他气哼哼的。
• She was very peeved about being left out. 她为被遗漏而恼怒。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

5 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

6 acclaim   

v.向…欢呼，公认；n.欢呼，喝彩，称赞

参考例句：

• He was welcomed with great acclaim.他受到十分热烈的欢迎。
• His achievements earned him the acclaim of the scientific community.他的成就赢得了科学界的赞誉。

7 crater   

n.火山口，弹坑

参考例句：

• With a telescope you can see the huge crater of Ve-suvius.用望远镜你能看到巨大的维苏威火山口。
• They came to the lip of a dead crater.他们来到了一个死火山口。

8 terrain   

n.地面，地形，地图

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• He knows the terrain of this locality like the back of his hand.他对这一带的地形了如指掌。

9 twitch   

v.急拉，抽动，痉挛，抽搐；n.扯，阵痛，痉挛

参考例句：

• The smell made my dog's nose twitch.那股气味使我的狗的鼻子抽动着。
• I felt a twitch at my sleeve.我觉得有人扯了一下我的袖子。

10 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

11 undone   

a.未做完的，未完成的

参考例句：

• He left nothing undone that needed attention.所有需要注意的事他都注意到了。