Tarnuff pressed his advantage.
"Since you have a peculiar aversion to breaking the Earth-made laws, I can think of only one other way out of our little stalemate. A way which I, personally, prefer. But I wonder if you would dare?"
Ron looked at Tarnuff narrowly, and didn't like the smile which had appeared again on his face; there was a mocking challenge in it. Tarnuff went on:
"I would much prefer, in your Earth idiom, to comb you out of my hair and continue unhampered to Callisto. But as matters stand"—he glanced shrewdly at Ron's hand, which hovered near the weapons in his belt—"you have control of this ship at the present moment. On the other hand you need my signature on this statement to clear your brother of his sentence. True, the statement implicates me to the fullest extent of the law...."
He paused, the smile on his face widened imperceptibly, and Ron nodded impatient agreement.
"Nevertheless," Tarnuff went on, "I will sign this damnatory statement."
Ron stepped forward eagerly. "You will? Good. Now you're talking."
"On one condition."
"No conditions!"
"I will sign this paper," the Martian went on, "and I will keep it in my possession. My conditions are that if I give you a chance at it, you'll give me an equal chance to take over this ship again. In other words—one of us takes everything."