"Grab a couple of cutting torches, Astro," he said, "and get me a lead-lined suit. I'm going into the reactant chamber."
"What?" demanded Astro.
"You heard me! I'm going to hide that beacon where they'll never find it."
"In the reactant chamber?" asked Astro. "Impossible!"
"Remember when we first arrived at the prison asteroid? How thoroughly we were searched?"
Astro nodded.
"Remember, they even searched the space between the inner and outer hulls? There's three inches of clearance in there. If I cut into that space through the reactant chamber and put the beacon inside, the noise of the jets will keep Coxine from hearing it, and the radioactivity in the chamber will keep them from picking it up on their detectors!"
Astro's face spread into a wide grin, and without another word, he began preparing the cutting torches. Ten minutes later Tom emerged from the chamber and nodded triumphantly. "All set, Astro! Now all we need is the beacon."
Suddenly the Polaris was rocked by a heavy explosion.
"They're firing!" yelled Astro.