# ■ 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 prison guards ran away with the prisoners．Seven or eight people—some prisoners 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 Commander 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！Mars 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 colony 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 飛往月球的宇宙飛船

於是他們等待著。等了又等。瑞拉蜷在她的椅子裡睡著了。凱和塞魯悄悄地談著什麼。塞魯的哥哥進來一趟又出去了。監獄裡的大部分衛兵都和犯人一起逃走了。只有大約七八個人——包括犯人和衛兵，不願意逃走，於是也到這個房間裡一起等待。

10點鐘， 11點鐘。房間裡安靜極了。塞魯在房間裡走來走去。凱坐在瑞拉身邊。塞魯的哥哥又走了進來。

“已經過了午夜了。”他說。

就在這時，他們聽到一陣飛機的轟鳴。凱站起身。“來啊，”他說，“咱們到樓外面去。”

他們悄悄地離開了大樓。這是個漆黑悶熱的夜晚。監獄前面沒有衛兵，於是他們來到大門口，在那兒等著。突然，他們看到了一架飛機。那是一架小飛機，正準備在監獄門前的馬路上降落。

瑞拉抓住凱的手。“你說得對，”她說，“我很抱歉。”

凱笑了。他高興起來：“沒關係，我明白。我非常瞭解阿岱，而你並不瞭解他。”

那架飛機停了下來，有人打開了艙門。凱朝飛機跑了過去。

“你們能帶多少人？”他喊著，“我們一共12個人。”

“沒問題，”有人答道，“快點，宇宙飛船正等著呢。”

12個人都上了那架小飛機，飛機啟動了。瑞拉看了看機長。他身材高大，頭髮是棕色的。這個人看上去很不錯。他是不是那位著名的阿岱司令？

“宇宙飛船在哪兒？”凱問。

“那個老機場，”那人說，“一股大火正掠過新森林。我想明天之前這火就會燒到基桑加尼西部。好在那個老機場還能用。”說完，那人注視著凱，臉上帶著親切的笑容。“我的弟弟，”他說，“我的小弟弟，住進了888號監獄！”

“他是你哥哥？阿岱司令？”瑞拉問，“可你從來沒跟我說過！”

凱笑了。“以前沒人知道，”他說，“可是現在——現在沒關係了。大家都可以知道。”

小飛機在城南的飛機場降落了。

“咱們要小心，”阿岱說，“可不能在出發之前中了別人的槍子兒。”

宇宙飛船籠罩在一片黑暗中。大家迅速跳下飛機朝飛船跑去。很快，飛船離開了地球，大家俯視著下面這顆燃燒著的星球。他們看到了非洲上空的黑煙，以及黑煙下面到處肆虐的憤怒的烈焰。

“大火很快就會把森林燒燬。”塞魯說。

阿岱把手搭在凱的臂膀上。“扎達克的事真讓我難過。”他說。

“我曾希望他再等等，”凱說，“我本來想讓他和你談談。”

阿岱神情悲切。“他不想讓我送死，”他低聲說，“他是個好人。可現在他死了。”

“還有，高格要到火星去。”塞魯船長說。

“火星？他瘋了！火星還不能住人。”阿岱說。

“可高格要去，他馬上就要出發了。”塞魯說，“跟我們講講月亮部族吧。它還不成形，你還需要很多錢。”

“不，我不需要，”阿岱說，“月亮部族已經準備就緒。我要更多的錢是為了扎達克：我想給他錢解決雨水的問題。可是高格不聽；他要把地球所有的錢都用在去火星的宇宙飛船上。”

“我不想離開地球。”瑞拉憂傷地說。她感到又累又恐懼。

阿岱對瑞拉溫和地笑了笑。“沒有人願意離開地球，”他說，“可是現在我們最好的家園在月亮下面。等著看吧。月亮部族是個美麗迷人的國家，有河流，有雨水，也有森林和鮮花，還有樓房——第一座城鎮。你很快就可以再回到地球去。然後帶更多的人到月亮部族去。我們都想幫助地球，因為它是我們的第一個家。我理解你。同時，你也一定會在月亮下面生活得愉快的。”

突然，有人喊了一聲：“快看月亮！”

透過飛船的玻璃窗，他們看到了眼前的月球：冰冷，潔白，美麗；而在月亮下面，他們看到了月亮部族！