"What good would that do?” said Gunner with dull hopelessness, “Even if we all three got free of our bonds, we couldn't get out of this cell — not with the door bolted by a wave-lock."
"I've an idea that might get us out!” Thorn said feverishly. “It's a chance — our only one!"
"Try it, Gunner!” urged Sual Av,’ wide awake now.
With no hope in his face, Gunner Welk obeyed. He rocked back and forth in his chair until it tipped forward, his head coming down against Thorn's lap. Hitching painfully sidewise, the big Mercurian got his teeth into one of Thorn's leather arm-straps.
They heard his jaws working as he bit into the tough Jovian leather. Their psychophones continued to drone on, uttering their varying thoughts. But the rumble of the raging storm above was loud enough to keep the guards in the corridor from hearing.
Thorn felt the strap Gunner was chewing weaken. He tensed his arm in a fierce effort. The strap broke!
Quickly, Thorn unbuckled the other straps that held him. He tipped Gunner's chair back to normal position. Then he reached around and with numbed fingers found the tiny, needle-like electrode at the back of his skull, and gently pulled it out. He felt his scalp close over the minute incision. His psychophone went silent.
Thorn got to his feet. He staggered, his numbed limbs buckling under him at first. Then he steadied, and unbuckled the straps that held Sual Av and the Mercurian to their chairs.
"Don't disconnect your psychophones yet!” he warned them. “If the guards outside happened to notice that all our psychophones were dead, they'd suspect something at once."
"Now what?” Sual Av whispered. “How can we get out of this cell without a wave-key to operate the lock?"