"Whew!" said Loring. "I sure want to thank you for pulling us out of the
deep!"
"We sure do, sir!" added Mason. Then, with a quick look at Loring, he
asked softly, "Were there any other survivors?"
Stefens' face was grim. "Not one. After we untangled the mess, we found
bodies of two men. It was pretty bad. A little later something was
spotted on the radar, and we hoped there might be survivors. Luckily for
you, we came to look!"
[Illustration: _Tom could see two space-suited figures floating
effortlessly_]
"By the rings of Saturn," swore Loring softly, "Jardine and Bangs were
brave men. They practically forced us to pile out when they saw they
were going to crack up." He turned to Mason. "Didn't they, Al?"
"Yeah, yeah, sure brave men," Al Mason agreed.
"Nothing to be done for them now, of course," said Stefens. "What
happened?" He paused, and then added, "You don't have to tell me if you
don't want to before you make out your report, but I'd sure like to
know."
"I don't really know what happened, sir," said Loring. "We had made a
deal for a ride back to Earth with Jardine and were sleeping back on the
cargo deck.
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