“I should say not!” Sue answered for both of them.
When the next piece of cargo was ready to go over, Biff checked the children’s safety cords. Then he let Sue push off from the platform with a box in front of her. A few moments later, Steve followed. The boy heard his sister giggle excitedly as they floated across. Searchlight beams were in their eyes but they didn’t mind. Steve, too, thought this great fun after being cramped for so long on the freighter. He looked down at the empty space below, but he knew he could not fall and so was not afraid. Reaching the other platform, he and his sister were helped aboard.
“They sure are using young crewmen these days!” joked one of the scientists, a tall man who seemed to be working harder than the others. “Nice work, young folks!”
The scientist was in the act of changing the children’s cords over to the returning cable when a slight mishap occurred. One of the crates coming over bumped into him. He laughed as he again got to his feet but his laughter quickly changed to alarm when Sue suddenly pushed off from the platform. She had thought her cable line was secure and that she was ready to make the exciting trip back across the gulf.
“Wait, miss!” the scientist called. “I didn’t finish fastening your cable cord!” He reached for Sue but her suit slipped out of the fingers of his bulky space gloves.
Steve froze for an instant in terror at what he had seen. Then without thought of anything else except his sister’s danger, he dove right off the platform after Sue, not realizing or caring that his own cable cord was not fastened.
If the scientist had not grabbed for Sue she might have floated safely across to the freighter. But by touching her he had sent her off in a direction beneath it.
Over his radio, Steve heard her screaming for help and saw her flinging her arms and legs about like a drowning swimmer. Steve was moving faster than she and presently caught up with her.
“What are we going to do, Steve?” she cried, holding tightly to him. “We can’t stop! And it’s so dark out here!”
Steve knew that unless someone came to their aid they would drift on and on since there was no air to slow them down. But he didn’t tell Sue this.