"They're down in the lower deck at the tanks and airlocks. They won't allow me down on that deck. I'm up here in the middle-deck, absolutely alone.
"Jandron told me that we'd start out of here as soon as the fuel was in," she added, "and he and the men were laughing about Krell."
"Marta, could you in any way get space-helmets and get out to bring them over here to us?" Kent asked eagerly.
"There's a lot of space-suits and helmets here," she answered, "but I couldn't get out with them, Rance! I couldn't get to the airlocks with Jandron's seven or eight men down there guarding them!"
Kent felt despair; then as an idea suddenly flamed in him, he almost shouted into the instrument:
"Marta, unless you can get over here with helmets for us, we're all lost. I want you to put on a space-suit and helmet at once!"
There was a short silence, and then her voice came, a little muffled. "I've got the suit and helmet on, Rance. I'm wearing the suit-phone inside it."
"Good! Now, can you get up to the pilot-house? There's no one guarding it or the upper-deck? Hurry up there, then, at once."
Crain and the rest were staring at Kent. "Kent, what are you going to have her do?" Crain exclaimed. "It'll do no good for her to start the Pallas: those guards will be up there in a minute!"