After a while, Glen said, “I think it’ll work, Skip. Want to take a chance?”
“I’d like to know what it is first.”
“We can use the chute from the supply case and attach it to the bubble,” Glen explained. “Then we can ride in the bubble to Mars.”
“It sounds fantastic!”
“I’ve figured it every way I know,” Glen said. “At least, it’s better than sitting here and hoping we’ll accidentally be found. Shall we try it?”
Skip shrugged. “If it’s our only chance. But I hope you’ve figured all the angles!”
“We’d better get started right away,” Glen advised. “We may need all our air tanks if we have to do some walking when we land.”
They set to work fastening the lines of the chute around and under the plastic bubble. They used more of the plastic strips to secure the lines tightly. The chute was still folded, since the vacuum on Phobos had failed to trip the automatic release. The boys decided to carry only a minimum of supplies to make their weight as light as possible. When they were ready to go, they climbed into the bubble and Glen shoved them off with one foot outside the door. Then he closed the door.
“How long will it take us to get there?” Skip asked.
“I’ve figured on about a hundred hours,” Glen answered. “That should put us close to Mars City, figuring on Mars’ rotation. But if it doesn’t, we should be able to reach some research settlement.”