They saw the Saturnian cruiser rock wildly as the fused rocket-tubes backblasted. An instant later, they saw a vastly greater explosion rip out the whole stern wall of the Gargol, blowing mangled men and twisted metal into space.
"Their tubes back-blasted into the power-chambers, and the chambers themselves let go!” cried Sual Av, momentarily aghast. “It must have killed almost everyone aboard!"
"We're going aboard the wreck!” John Thorn exclaimed. “Take over, Stilicho, and run us alongside."
The old pirate brought the Venture quickly alongside the silent, drifting wreck. Magnetic grapples hooked on, and then the Planeteers and Lana and a dozen pirates donned space-suits and clambered through the great hole that had been torn in the stern of the Saturnian ship.
The interior of the Gargol was a scene of utter devastation. The terrific violence of the explosion had bent solid inertrum like tin, had slain most of the crew outright. A few space-suited Saturnians who had survived dazedly raised their hands in token of surrender.
"The radite? Where is it"” Thorn demanded fiercely of them.
"In the lower bow-compartment,” answered the stunned, shaking men.
The Planeteers pushed through the wreck toward that compartment. They burst into it, and Thorn sprang forward with a cry.
The asterium-wrapped mass of radite was in this metal chamber. But toward the precious element was crawling Jenk Cheerly, his body badly crushed inside his space-suit, but with a heavy atom-gun in his hand. The Uranian, fatally injured by the explosion, was making a dying attempt to destroy the radite.
Thorn tore the gun from his hand. Cheerly looked up, his face livid graygreen inside his glassite helmet, his small eyes glistening with undying hatred.