"They have no radio. We'll ram. It's just as well." Marnay could almost imagine Prather's shrug.
From the panel Kennett said "Okay! Fine! He's still coming at us. You can lock the controls now, and come over here."
Marnay did that willingly. He peered into the panel. Then he gasped. The huge, black pirate ship was looming up terrifyingly large, filling half of space, speeding straight at them. It couldn't have been a hundred miles away, Marnay thought, and in another minute it would smash through the Vera like an eggshell!
Marnay waited for Kennett to make some move. He made none.
Then, in a sudden flood of horror, Marnay realized the other's purpose. Revenge, of course, he had known that! But he was going to sacrifice both their lives for it!
Kennett shook him away angrily. "Keep cool! You'll see something in a minute—get ready!"
Still they watched and waited. The detector dial registered the swiftly diminishing distance—fifty miles, twenty miles, ten....
Then Kennett was on his feet, moving with swift surety to the wall, opening a small iron locker. There Marnay glimpsed a complete set of odd looking controls. Swiftly Kennett plugged in a bank of connections, electric cables. He grasped a heavy lever. He stood there, looking over at the detector dial. It showed three miles.
"All right," Kennett yelled, "hold tight!... Now!"