Chapter 5

 Neither man spoke¹ when the door closed behind Ackerson. The silence was long. Finally it was Boeman who moved. He opened the top left drawer of the desk and withdrew a small glass and a bottle. He poured a drink and offered it to the Secretary with a glance of his eyes. The Secretary shook his head.

Boeman lifted the tumbler to his lips and poured the liquid down with a quick motion. He made a face as it burned. He poured another, toyed with it before he tossed it down.

"Well, he made it." Boeman said finally, placing the empty glass on the desk. "To the Moon and back—non stop."

"You knew he would, didn't you."

Boeman nodded, staring at the glass.

There was another awkward silence as both men were wrapped in thought.

"Disappointed, Wade²?"

"Not disappointed. Disgusted."

"He gave us what we wanted. The appropriations³ will be easy now."

"I know."

"Then what's wrong? Certainly you can't blame Ackerson fully⁴. He doesn't know the entire story."

"Perhaps that's what's wrong. If I could just tell the full story I might feel better."

"Impossible. Can you imagine the entire nation carrying a load on its back the way you are now?"

Wade laughed bitterly. "It might wake them up."

"I understand, Wade. My insides feel it too. But let him be the hero."

"He will be," Wade said, reaching for the bottle again. "He will be."

"Then let him. We have more important things to think about now." The Secretary got up. Wade grasped the empty tumbler in the palm of his hand, squeezing tightly.

"Ackerson said red."

"I know," replied the Secretary.

"Red means danger. The crater⁵ should have been stained yellow."

"Perhaps there was a mix-up in containers."

"You don't believe that, Frank."

"But the radio is still operating! A steady C.W. beam is coming in. If there was any danger we would be getting code."

Wade forced a smile. "You should have been a minister. There is always hope ... is that it?"

The Secretary placed his hat carefully on his head. "I'd better get over to the lab and take a look at those movies he took."

"It must be so lonely ..." Boeman said loosely.

"Perhaps not. Tomer was a quiet man. Those kind don't seem to mind."

A sudden, loud cheer broke the near silence in the room. Wade glanced toward the window. Then he got up slowly with the action of an old man. He went to the window and looked out.

 

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 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。

3 appropriations   

n.挪用（appropriation的复数形式）

参考例句：

• More commonly, funding controls are imposed in the annual appropriations process. 更普遍的作法是，拨款控制被规定在年度拨款手续中。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• Should the president veto the appropriations bill, it goes back to Congress. 假如总统否决了这项拨款提案，就把它退还给国会。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

4 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

5 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。