"Then he's your fall guy," commented Shinny thoughtfully.
"Right," said Loring. "And now you come along and tell us that we can get him to astrogate us out to Tara! I tell ya, Mason, this is the greatest gag I've heard in years!"
"Yeah," agreed Mason, his weak mouth still stretched in a stupid grin, "but you have to be careful he never finds out it was us that got him into all his trouble!"
"Leave that to me," said Loring. "He'll never know a thing. In fact, he'll thank us for getting him off the station and then giving him a chance to get back in space." He turned to Shinny. "You got the ship?"
"I told you before," said Shinny, "there ain't anything to be had."
"Well, we gotta have a ship," said Loring. "A fortune waiting for us in the deep and no space wagon to go get it!"
"There is a ship," said Shinny. "Not too good, but a spaceship."
"Where?" asked Loring.
"Near Venusport. Out in the jungles, to be exact. Needs a little fixing, but it'll make a deep space hop well enough."
"Who does it belong to?" demanded Loring.