"I'm all right, Lieutenant."
Rip admired the Planeteer's nerve. He knew Bradshaw was in pain, because bleeding into high vacuum was always painful. The crack in the English-man's helmet had let most of the air out, and his own blood pressure had done the rest. He would carry the marks for days. A few more moments and all air and all heat would have been gone, with fatal results. Fortunately, bubbles didn't shatter easily when cracked. To destroy them took a good blow that knocked out a piece.
"All right. Let's travel. Koa, go right. I'll go the other way and we'll work around the asteroid until we meet."
Rip led the way, gliding as rapidly as he could toward the edge of darkness. He called, "Santos. Any coming in the direction of the cave?"
"Two pair. About fifty yards apart. They will be out of my sight in a few seconds."
Which meant they would be within sight of Rip and the others. He knew Koa had heard the message, too. Both groups put on more speed, and reached the safety of darkness. "Get down," Rip ordered. They could still be seen, if silhouetted against the[pg 122] edges of sunlight.
Starlight gave a little light, but it was too faint to see much. Rip's plan was that the Connies would supply the light needed for an attack.
In a few seconds, as Santos had predicted, belt light beams cut sharp paths through the darkness. Rip sized up the possibilities. There were two teams of two men each, and they were getting farther apart with each step. One team was coming almost directly toward them. The other team was slanting away from them and would soon be out of sight behind the thorium crystals in which the cave was located. Fortunately, the Connies were going away from the cave.
A Connie from the near-by team swung his beam back and forth, and it cut space over their heads. Rip saw a few low pyramids of thorium a few rods away. He directed swiftly, "Dowst, take my boots. Dominico, take Dowst's boots."
He lay face down on the metal ground until he felt hands grip his boots, then he asked, "All set?" Two voices answered. "Ready."