"The inside of the cabin is lined with foam rubber, the same as in Bandit—a self-sealing type designed for protection against meteorite damage."
"So...?" Larkwell asked belligerently.
Richter explained, "It's not porous. If the break were covered with metal and lined with the foam, it would do a pretty good job of sealing the cabin."
"You can't patch a leak that big with rubber and expect it to hold," Larkwell argued. "Hell, the pressure would blow right through."
"Not if you lined the break with metal first," Richter persisted.
The suggestion startled Crag, coming as it did from a man whom he regarded as an enemy. For a moment he wondered if the German's instinct for survival were greater than his patriotism. But the plan sounded plausible.
He asked Larkwell: "What do you think?"
"Could be," he replied noncommittally. He didn't seem pleased that Richter was intruding in a sphere which he considered his own.
Crag gave a last look at the silhouette of the fallen giant on the plain and announced: "We'll try it."
"If it doesn't work, we're in the soup," Larkwell insisted. "Suppose there are more breaks?"