6 Spaceship to the Moon

And so they waited．And waited．Rilla slept in her chair．Kiah and Seru talked quietly．Seru's brother came and went．Most of the prison¹ guards² ran away with the prisoners．Seven or eight people—some prisoners³ and some guards—didn't want to run away，so they came into the room and waited，too．

Ten o'clock came，then eleven o'clock．It was very quiet．Seru walked up and down the room．Kiah sat next to Rilla．Seru's brother came into the room again．

‘It's after midnight，’he said．

Just then， they heard the noise of a plane．Kiah stood up．‘Come on，’he said．‘Let's get out of the building．’

Quietly，they left the building．It was a dark，hot night．There were no guards in front of the prison，so they went to the gate and waited there．Suddenly，they saw the plane．It was a little plane，and it was going to come down on the road in front of the prison！

Rilla took Kiah's hand．‘You were right，’she said．‘I'm sorry．’

Kiah smiled．He began to feel happy．‘That's all right．I understand．I know Adai very well，and you don't．’

The plane stopped and someone opened the door．Kiah ran across to the plane．

‘How many can you take？’he called．‘There are twelve of us．’

‘That's all right，’someone said．‘Quickly，the spaceship is waiting．’

The twelve people got into the little plane，and the plane be-gan to move．Rilla looked at the captain of the plane．He was tall，with brown hair．He looked nice．Was this the famous Commander⁴ Adai？

‘Where is the spaceship？’Kiah asked．

‘At the old airport，’the man said．‘One of the fires is moving very quickly across the new forest．It's going to arrive at the west of Kisangani before tomorrow，I think．But the old airport is OK．’then the man looked at Kiah and smiled warmly．‘My brother’，he said．‘My little brother，in prison 888！’

‘Your brother？Commander Adai？’Rilla asked．‘But you didn't tell me that！’

Kiah smiled．‘Nobody knew，’he said．‘But now—it doesn't matter now．Everyone can know．’

The little plane came down at the old airport，south of the town．

‘Let's be careful，’Adai said．‘We don't want someone to shoot us before we leave．’

The spaceship was dark．Quickly，everyone jumped down from the plane and ran across to the spaceship．Soon， the spaceship left Earth，and everyone looked down at the burning planet．They saw the dark smoke over Africa，and here and there，through the smoke，the red，angry fires．

‘The fires are destroying the forest very quickly，’seru said．

Adai put his hand on Kiah's arm．‘I'm sorry about Zadak，’he said．

‘I wanted him to wait，’Kiah said．‘I wanted him to talk to you．’

Adai's face was sad．‘He didn't want me to die，’he said quietly．‘He was a good man．And now he's dead．’

‘And Gog is going to Mars，’seru said．

‘Mars？He's crazy！Mars⁶ isn't ready for people，’Adai said．

‘But Gog wants to go，and so he's going，’seru said．‘Tell us about the Moon colony．That isn't ready：you need more money．’

‘No，I don't，’Adai said．‘The Moon colony⁷ is ready．I asked for more money because of Zadak：I wanted to give him money for rain．But Gog didn't listen；he wanted all Earth's money for the spaceship to Mars．’

‘I don't want to leave Earth，’Rilla said sadly．She felt tired and afraid．

Adai smiled warmly at Rilla．‘Nobody wants to leave Earth，’he said．‘But under the Moon is the best home for us now．Wait and see．The Moon colony is a beautiful，wonderful country，with rivers and rain，forests and flowers，buildings—and the first town．You can visit Earth again soon，and bring more people to the Moon colony．We all want to help Earth，because it's our first home．I know that．At the same time，you are going to be happy under the Moon．’

Suddenly，someone cried：‘Look at the Moon！’

And through the window of the spaceship they saw the Moon before them，cold，white and beautiful；and under the Moon，there was the Moon colony！

6 飞往月球的宇宙飞船

于是他们等待着。等了又等。瑞拉蜷在她的椅子里睡着了。凯和塞鲁悄悄地谈着什么。塞鲁的哥哥进来一趟又出去了。监狱里的大部分卫兵都和犯人一起逃走了。只有大约七八个人——包括犯人和卫兵，不愿意逃走，于是也到这个房间里一起等待。

10点钟， 11点钟。房间里安静极了。塞鲁在房间里走来走去。凯坐在瑞拉身边。塞鲁的哥哥又走了进来。

“已经过了午夜了。”他说。

就在这时，他们听到一阵飞机的轰鸣。凯站起身。“来啊，”他说，“咱们到楼外面去。”

他们悄悄地离开了大楼。这是个漆黑闷热的夜晚。监狱前面没有卫兵，于是他们来到大门口，在那儿等着。突然，他们看到了一架飞机。那是一架小飞机，正准备在监狱门前的马路上降落。

瑞拉抓住凯的手。“你说得对，”她说，“我很抱歉。”

凯笑了。他高兴起来：“没关系，我明白。我非常了解阿岱，而你并不了解他。”

那架飞机停了下来，有人打开了舱门。凯朝飞机跑了过去。

“你们能带多少人？”他喊着，“我们一共12个人。”

“没问题，”有人答道，“快点，宇宙飞船正等着呢。”

12个人都上了那架小飞机，飞机启动了。瑞拉看了看机长。他身材高大，头发是棕色的。这个人看上去很不错。他是不是那位著名的阿岱司令？

“宇宙飞船在哪儿？”凯问。

“那个老机场，”那人说，“一股大火正掠过新森林。我想明天之前这火就会烧到基桑加尼西部。好在那个老机场还能用。”说完，那人注视着凯，脸上带着亲切的笑容。“我的弟弟，”他说，“我的小弟弟，住进了888号监狱！”

“他是你哥哥？阿岱司令？”瑞拉问，“可你从来没跟我说过！”

凯笑了。“以前没人知道，”他说，“可是现在——现在没关系了。大家都可以知道。”

小飞机在城南的飞机场降落了。

“咱们要小心，”阿岱说，“可不能在出发之前中了别人的枪子儿。”

宇宙飞船笼罩在一片黑暗中。大家迅速跳下飞机朝飞船跑去。很快，飞船离开了地球，大家俯视着下面这颗燃烧着的星球。他们看到了非洲上空的黑烟，以及黑烟下面到处肆虐的愤怒的烈焰。

“大火很快就会把森林烧毁。”塞鲁说。

阿岱把手搭在凯的臂膀上。“扎达克的事真让我难过。”他说。

“我曾希望他再等等，”凯说，“我本来想让他和你谈谈。”

阿岱神情悲切。“他不想让我送死，”他低声说，“他是个好人。可现在他死了。”

“还有，高格要到火星去。”塞鲁船长说。

“火星？他疯了！火星还不能住人。”阿岱说。

“可高格要去，他马上就要出发了。”塞鲁说，“跟我们讲讲月亮部族吧。它还不成形，你还需要很多钱。”

“不，我不需要，”阿岱说，“月亮部族已经准备就绪。我要更多的钱是为了扎达克：我想给他钱解决雨水的问题。可是高格不听；他要把地球所有的钱都用在去火星的宇宙飞船上。”

“我不想离开地球。”瑞拉忧伤地说。她感到又累又恐惧。

阿岱对瑞拉温和地笑了笑。“没有人愿意离开地球，”他说，“可是现在我们最好的家园在月亮下面。等着看吧。月亮部族是个美丽迷人的国家，有河流，有雨水，也有森林和鲜花，还有楼房——第一座城镇。你很快就可以再回到地球去。然后带更多的人到月亮部族去。我们都想帮助地球，因为它是我们的第一个家。我理解你。同时，你也一定会在月亮下面生活得愉快的。”

突然，有人喊了一声：“快看月亮！”

透过飞船的玻璃窗，他们看到了眼前的月球：冰冷，洁白，美丽；而在月亮下面，他们看到了月亮部族！