Shinny guided the ship into the _Polaris_ with a quick violent blast of
the braking rockets. The noise was deafening.
"Belay that noise, you blasted space-brained idiot!" roared Connel. "Cut
that acceleration!"
Shinny grinned and cut the rockets. The jet-boat catapult deck was
quiet, and Connel turned back to the communicator.
"Come in, Manning--Astro! This is Major Connel. Come in!"
On the opposite side of the airless satellite, Roger and Astro were busy
digging a hole in the hard surface. Near by lay the last of the
explosive units to be installed. Connel's voice thundered through their
headset phones.
"Boy, is he blasting his jets!" commented Roger.
"Yeah," grunted Astro. "He should have to dig this blasted hole!"
"Well, this is where it's got to go. If the ground is hard, then it's
our tough luck," said Roger. "If we stick it anywhere else, it might
mess up the whole operation."
Astro nodded and continued to dig. He held a small spade and jabbed at
the ground. "How much--time--have we got left?" he gasped.
"Twenty minutes," replied Roger. "You'd better hurry."
"Finished now," said Astro.
Pages:
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200