Morgan unhooked one of the oxygen cylinders at his belt and said, "We
need some practice. We'd better try throwing one of these now; not
much time left." He turned sideways and made several throwing motions
with his right hand without releasing the cylinder. "Better lean
into it more than you would down below. Well, here goes." He pushed
the telephone line clear of his right side and leaned back, raising
his right arm. He began to lean forward. When it seemed that he must
topple, he snapped his arm down and threw the cylinder. The recoil
straightened him neatly, and he stood securely upright. The cylinder
shot out and down in a straight line and was quickly lost to sight.
"Very nice," said McNary. "Good timing. I'll keep mine low too. No
sense cluttering the orbits up here with any more junk." Carefully
McNary leaned back, leaned forward, and threw. The second cylinder
followed the first, and McNary kept his footing.
Without speaking Kaufman went through the preliminaries and launched
his cylinder. Morgan and McNary watched it speed into the distance.
"Shooting stars on Earth tonight," said McNary.
"Quick! I'm off." It was Kaufman.
[Illustration: "Quick! I'm off!"]
Morgan and McNary turned to see Kaufman floating several feet above the
satellite, and slowly receding. Morgan stepped toward him and scooped
up the telephone wire that ran to Kaufman's helmet. Kaufman swung
an arm in a circle so that it became entangled in the wire. Morgan
carefully drew the wire taut and checked Kaufman's outward motion.
Gently, so as not to snap the wire, he slowly reeled him in. McNary
grasped Kaufman's shoulders and turned him so that his feet touched the
metal shell of the satellite.