The Swedish corporal showed Rip that he had only about eight feet of tape left. Kemp was almost down. Rip called, "Kemp. When you reach bottom, cut toward the center. Leave an inverted cone."
"Got it, sir. Be up in two more cuts."
Dominico had connected cable to the bomb terminals and was attaching a timer to the other end. Without the wooden case, the bomb was like a fat, oversized can. It had been shipped without a combat casing.
"Koa, make a final check. You can untie the landing[pg 098] boat, except for one line. We'll be taking off in a few minutes."
"Right, sir." Koa glided toward the landing boat, which was out of sight over the horizon.
It was nearly time. Rip had a moment's misgiving. Had his figures or his sightings been off? His red hair prickled at the thought. But the ship's computer had done the work, and it was not capable of making a mistake.
Kemp tossed up the last section of thorium and then came out of the hole himself, carrying his torch.
Rip inspected the hole, saw with satisfaction it was in almost perfect alignment, and ordered the bomb placed. He bent over the edge of the hole and watched Trudeau pay out wire while Dominico pushed the bomb to the bottom. The Italian made a last minute check, then called to Rip. "Ready, sir."
He dropped into the hole and inspected the connections himself, then personally pulled the safety lever. The bomb was armed. When the timer acted, it would go off.
Back at ground level, he turned up his communicator. "Koa, is everything ready at the boat?"