They climbed a steep staircase, as they had done earlier. Garry felt the comfortable feel of artificial gravity leaving him as they went higher. The light-headed, floating sensation of zero gravity was returning. The captain shoved a lever so that the central tunnel would start revolving. When a doorway appeared in the tube, the three climbed through. Then the rotation of the tunnel was stopped. The captain then led the boys along the stationary axle of the _Carefree_, in the direction opposite from where they had first entered the ship. The three pulled themselves along the webbing as their legs swung free, weightlessly. They reached a platform outside a door at the nose of the ship. Holding onto the platform rail, Captain Eaton fished into a cabinet built into the platform and came out with two pairs of slippers. “You can attach these magnetic-soled slippers to your shoes, fellows,” their host said. “Because of the zero gravity in the navigation room, we have to use gravity plates. The rest of us wear these attached to our boots all the time because we are always going back and forth up here, and they are light and comfortable.” After the boys had donned the slippers, Captain Eaton pressed a button, the door slid open, and the three of them walked through. Garry and Patch found themselves in a domed room, which had a wide front port that looked out into space. Below the port extended a long instrument panel, or console, with two seats in front of it, one of which was occupied. “This is the flight deck!” Garry said. “It’s the part that looked like a big eye on the front of the ship.” The pilot turned around in his swivel seat. He was a huge, muscular man with rugged features that suggested he might once have been a vigorous athlete. “Boys, meet Isaac Newton,” Captain Eaton said. Garry could not help but laugh, because this Isaac Newton looked nothing whatsoever like pictures of the great scientist. But then Garry remembered that he was being impolite, and he apologized. “That’s all right,” Isaac Newton said good naturedly. “Everybody who ever heard of that scientist laughs. I’ve been defending my name ever since I was a kid. That’s how I got to be a professional fighter, which I was until I got tired of bashing people and the good captain took me on as his chauffeur. I stayed on with him, and he said I could come into space with him if I wanted to. I’ve picked up navigation since I’ve been out here.” “How did you get a name like Isaac Newton?” Patch asked. “Well, naturally my father was named Newton,” Isaac explained, “and he was also a science teacher. He wanted me to be a scientist too, and thought he was helping me by giving me the name of one of the greatest scientists of all time. But, as I said, I got into so many fights because of being teased about my name that I had more practice as a fighter.”