hen Carse was there in the darkness, looping his rope around the pirate's arms and legs—a difficult job when wearing a bulky space-suit in such cramped quarters. He used a bunch of waste for a gag and then hauled the captive to a girder farther forward and bound him sitting to it. By the time he had finished, Friday was out of his space-suit and asking:
"Shall I rub him out, suh? Best make sure of him."
"Never in cold blood," said the Hawk acidly. "You should know that well enough by now!
"Now, there should be five left above, and I think they'll send another down. We must get him, too. Get back where you were."
He took off his space-suit also: then, after minutes of silence, they heard voices upraised in argument coming from the control cabin. Once more came the sound of feet overhead; another flash bit down through the man-hole, and another man wriggled into the compartment. He was obviously uneasy and suspicious. He called:
"Jake! Hey, Jake! You there? Where the hell are you?"
Mumbling oaths, he advanced, his light ray weaving over every inch before him.
"What you doing, Jake? Where are you?"
Friday gathered his muscles, unhampered now by the restricting suit. But light must have been reflected by the round whites of his eyes, for the pirate suddenly stopped and called in sharp alarm: