"By the blessed rings of
Saturn, we'll finish this job if it's the last thing we do!"
Connel went to each of the working figures and adjusted the valve,
regulating the air-cooling humidity control on their space suits.
"Getting pretty hot, eh, boys?" he joked, as he stopped one and then the
other to make the delicate adjustment counteracting the heat that was
increasing each second they remained on the satellite.
"How hot do you think it is, sir?" asked Roger.
"Never mind the heat," said Connel. "These suits were designed to
withstand the temperature of the light side of Mercury! It gets boiling
there, so I guess we can stand it here for a while."
One by one, Alfie, Shinny, Roger, and Astro completed their assigned
roles, digging the holes, placing the reactors inside, setting the fuse,
covering it up, then quickly gathering the equipment, piling back into
the three jet boats, and heading for the next point. Landing, they would
tumble out of the small space craft almost before the rocket had stopped
firing and begin their frantic digging in the hard surface.
[Illustration: _Landing, they would tumble out of the jet boat and begin
their frantic digging_]
Over and over, they heard Tom's crisp clear count of time.
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