Chapter Seventeen - The Archer and the Eagle
Trudeau held tight to the launcher, but the rocket racks opened and spilled attack rockets into space. They flew in a dozen different directions. Trudeau gave vent to his feelings in colorful French.
Koa and Santos laughed so hard they had trouble collecting the scattered equipment. Rip, slowed by his crash with Trudeau, got his feet under him again.
The asteroid had turned into the sun before they collected everything but Rip's stylus and five attack rockets. The space-pencil was the only thing that could write on the computing board. It had to be found.
"Next time around," Rip called to the others, and led the way full speed ahead until they regained the safety of shadow.
Rip suspected the stylus was somewhere above the rock and probably wouldn't return to the surface for some minutes. While he was wondering what to do, there was a chorus of yells. A rocket sped between the Planeteers and shot off into space.
"Our own rockets are after us," Trudeau gasped. There hadn't been time to collect them all after Rip's unwilling attack on the Frenchman scattered[pg 213] them. Now the sun was setting them off. Another flashed past, fortunately over their heads. The sun's heat was causing them to fire unevenly. Rip hoped they would all go off soon and get it over with.
"Three more to go," Koa called. "Watch out!"
Only two went, and they were far enough away to offer no danger.
Santos had been fishing around in the instrument case. He triumphantly produced another stylus. "It was under the sextant," he explained. "I thought there was another one around somewhere."