Then there was the reaction of the unpredictable Kalmus to be considered. Would he turn on them?
Five minutes to go. No ship in sight. Nothing but star dust and more star dust and the smoldering light of Sol, like a mocking beacon.
Finally Rock had to say bitterly, “Time’s up. I’m afraid we’re licked. There’s no sign of the Northern Cross.”
“We’ve got to find that ship!” Kalmus cried. “I’ll search for it if it takes a hundred years!”
“It won’t do any good to search without knowing where to look,” Rock reminded him.
“It won’t hurt to try anyhow,” Kalmus proposed. “We might be lucky. I’ve sunk too much in this expedition to turn back now!”
“We still intend to pay up our share of the costs, Tony,” Rock assured him. “You needn’t worry about that part of it.”
“Finding the ship means as much to you as it does to me—or so you said, Rock,” Kalmus went on stubbornly. “Why are you giving up so easily?”
“Of course it means a lot to me, but I’m not going against terrific odds. It would be crazy.” Suddenly Rock thought of something and turned to Sparky Finn. “Sparky, are you absolutely certain you figured out that navigational problem correctly? Yours was the trickiest of all.”
“I went over it twice, Rock,” Sparky replied solemnly.