The Venture was being made ready for blast-off. New power-chambers had been built into the ship in the days that had passed. Lacking in inertrum with which to build the new chambers, John Thorn had used the metal of the mountain, the black asterium which was fully as strong as inertrum itself. With atomic furnaces and atomic welding-torches, the Planeteers and Stilicho's pirates had labored almost unceasingly to construct the new chambers. Lana Cain's order had been enough to make the pirates obey Thorn utterly.
Thorn had been torn with almost unbearable apprehension in these days of terrible toil. Each day, each hour, meant that Jenk Cheerly was millions of miles farther toward Saturn with the radite. No one of them all, except Thorn himself, believed there was the slightest chance to overtake the spymaster now,
Gunner Welk and Sual Av, reeling with fatigue, stumbled up to where Thorn was superintending the last preparations.
"All ready, as far as I can see,” Gunner said hoarsely.
Stilicho Keene and Lana came up anxiously as he spoke.
"Boy, are ye crazy to think that you can overtake the Gargol when it's got days’ start of us?” averred Stilicho.
"We'll overtake them,” Thorn said fiercely. “We've got to!"
"But to do it, we'd have to travel three times as fast as any spaceship ever traveled before!” Stilicho exclaimed.
"That's what we're going to do!” Thorn clipped.
They stared at him, as though they believed his mind had been strained by the days of superhuman toil and anxiety.