After a few seconds he turned back. "I can't hear a thing, fellas. I have a feeling it's about played itself out."
"Of course," reasoned Tom, "we have no real way of knowing when it's stopped and when it hasn't."
"Want to open the hatch and take a look?" asked Astro.
Tom looked questioningly at Roger, who nodded his head in agreement.
Tom walked over to the hatch and began undogging the heavy door. As the last of the heavy metal bars were raised, sand began to trickle inside around the edges. Astro bent down and sifted a handful through his fingers. "It's so fine, it's like powder," he said as it fell to the deck in a fine cloud.
"Come on," said Tom, "give me a hand with this hatch. It's probably jammed up against sand on the other side."
Tom, Roger and Astro braced their shoulders against the door, but when they tried to push, they lost their footing and slipped down. Astro dragged over a section of lead baffle, jammed it between the rocket motors and placed his feet up against it. Tom and Roger got on either side of him and pressed their shoulders against the door.
"All right," said Tom. "When I give the word, let's all push together. Ready?"
"All set," said Astro.