Kalmus gave a shout and flung himself into one of the bins. He fondled the stones, bathing himself in the wealth. “I’m rich! I’m rich!” he kept saying.
Rock turned away disgustedly, his young friends following. For some reason he almost wished their mission had been a failure. Sharing this treasure that his father had died to accumulate for unselfish motives made Rock feel sick for a moment.
“Want to go into the pilot’s room, Rock,” Shep asked in gentle consideration, “or shall we just pass it up?”
“No, Shep, I’ve got to see if Dad is in there,” Rock answered.
Leaving Kalmus and Judas to play in their wealth, the three youths left the room and moved farther down the corridor to the main control room, the door to which bulged outward. It took considerable ramming to force it open.
The disorder of the compartment was in shocking contrast to the neatness of the rest of the Northern Cross. Plastic seats were warped, and it looked as if a giant with a padded sledge hammer had gone about recklessly putting dents in the lightweight metal of the walls. An emergency air lock stood wide open, revealing the stars, its door hanging by one hinge. It was on the side away from the Dog Star. The huge console that housed the instruments and gauges also showed great depressions, and nearly all the glass dial covers were shattered.
“What do you think happened in here, Rock?” Shep asked.
“It looks like a high-pressure build-up of gas,” Rock answered. “Probably in the ventilating system. When the pressure got too high, either the air lock was the first to give way or somebody opened it in desperation. I imagine all the men were trapped in here and couldn’t get the door open.”
There were no bodies in the room. All four had evidently been swept through the air lock by the rapidly escaping gas. Rock’s companions could read the truth as easily as he had done himself, and they were considerate enough to remain silent. Rock stared about him for several moments. This was so unexpected, not finding his father. He didn’t quite know how to take it.
The boys went out to join the others. Kalmus and Judas were chattering over their success, already making plans for the future.