"Cheerly had located the radite there?” Sual Av cried eagerly. The Saturnian nodded sulkily.
"Yes, after we landed our ship here, Cheerly worked with our spectroscopes until he ascertained that the deposit of radite lay somewhere in, those mountains. He took the girl with him because he, believed she knows exactly where it is, though she said she didn't."
"Then all we have to do is to wait till Cheerly comes back here with the radite, and grab him!” Gunner exclaimed.
"No, we can't do that!” Thorn cried. “Cheerly would bring back the radite, but he wouldn't bring back Lana! We've got to go after him!"
"In our ship?” old Stilicho asked eagerly.
Thorn shook his head. “We daren't. This is the one safe place on Erebus where a ship can land, remember. We'll have to follow on foot, in our space-suits."
He saw a quick gleam of satisfaction in the sullen eyes of the Saturnian captain. And Thorn's face tightened.
"You will come along with us,” he told the green-faced captain suspiciously.
The Saturnian went livid. “I won't go!” he gasped, all secret satisfaction gone at once, “I won't!"
Thorn seized him by the throat. “Why not?” he harked “What are you afraid of? What is it that makes you glad at the idea of us going on foot to those mountains?"