"I see you learned fast, kid!" said Loring with a crooked smile. "I wouldn't trust Shinny as far as I could throw a comet!"
Mason laughed loudly. The other three merely glared at him, and he stopped abruptly.
"Here's the proposition, Manning," said Loring, leaning across the table. "I've gotta ship and I wanta make a hop into deep space. I want you to do the astrogation!"
"I'm interested," said Roger. "Keep talking."
Briefly Loring described the copper satellite, its potential value, and what they expected to get out of it. Roger listened without comment. When Loring had finished, Shinny told him about the ship and its condition. When Shinny finished, Loring turned to Roger.
"Well, Manning," he asked, "how do you like the setup?"
"How much do I get out of it?" asked Roger.
"One twentieth of the take," said Loring.
"There are four of us. One full quarter-share, nothing less," drawled Roger.
"One-fourth to Shinny and one-fourth to him," whined Mason. "That only leaves us a fourth apiece!"