"That's it. If we could capture them, the Connie cruiser would be
helpless. We could use the snapper-boat radios to warn the ship that any
false move would mean harm to their men."
Koa shook his head doubtfully. "I'm not sure the Connies worry about
their men, but it's worth the try. We can capture some of them if they
split up to search the asteroid. But we won't be able to sneak up on them
all."
"We have an advantage," Rip reminded them. "We've been on the asteroid
longer. We know our way around, and we're used to space walking. They've
just come out of deceleration, and they won't have their space legs yet."
Santos reported. "They're breaking up into groups of two. Three are
guarding the snapper-boats. One is the man with the chatter gun."
"Are their belt lights on?"
"Yes."
"Then keep out of the beams. Don't let them walk into you. Keep low, and
keep moving. Stay on the dark side."
"We'd better get to the dark side ourselves," Koa warned. He was right,
Rip knew. The Connies didn't have far to search before reaching the sun
side. "Koa, you take Trudeau and Kemp. I'll take Dowst and Dominico.
Nunez and Bradshaw stay here to guard the cave. If they arrive in twos,
let them get into the cave before you jump them. Bradshaw, how do you
feel?"
"I'm all right, Lieutenant."
Rip admired the Planeteer's nerve. He knew Bradshaw was in pain,
because bleeding into high vacuum was always painful. The crack in
the Englishman's helmet had let most of the air out, and his own blood
pressure had done the rest. He would carry the marks for days. A few more
moments, and all air and all heat would have been gone, with fatal
results. Fortunately, bubbles didn't shatter easily when cracked. To
destroy them took a good blow.
"All right. Let's travel. Koa, go right. I'll go the other way, and we'll
work around the asteroid until we meet."
Rip led the way, gliding as rapidly as he could toward the edge of
darkness. He called, "Santos. Anyone coming in the direction of the
cave?"
"Two pairs. About fifty yards apart. They will be out of my sight in a
few seconds."
That meant they would be within sight of Rip and the others. He knew Koa
had heard the message, too. Both groups put on more speed and reached the
safety of darkness. "Get down," Rip ordered. They could still be seen, if
silhouetted against the edge of sunlight.
Starlight gave a little light, but it was too faint to help much. Rip's
plan was that the Connies would supply the light needed for an attack.
In a few seconds, as Santos had predicted, belt light beams cut sharp
paths through the darkness. Rip sized up the possibilities. There were
two teams of two men each, and they were getting farther apart with each
step. One team was coming almost directly toward them. The other two men
slanted away from them and would soon be out of sight behind the thorium
crystals in which the cave was located. Fortunately, the Connies were
going away from the cave.
A Connie from the nearby team swung his beam back and forth, and it cut
space over their heads. Rip saw a few low pyramids of thorium a few rods
away. Quickly he ordered, "Dowst, hang on to my boots. Dominico, hang on
to Dowst's boots."
He lay face down on the metal ground until he felt hands grip his boots,
then he asked, "All set?"