n and
Planeteers alike had a way of using the phrase, "By Gemini!" Gemini, of
course, was the constellation of the Twins, Castor and Pollux. Both were
useful stars for astrogation. The Roman horse soldiers of ancient history
had sworn, "By Gemini," or "By the Twins." The Romans believed the stars
were the famous Greek warriors Castor and Pollux, placed in the heavens
after their deaths. In later years, the phrase degenerated to simply "by
jiminy" and its meaning had been lost. Now, although few spacemen knew the
history of the phrase, they were using it again, correctly.

Other space talk grew out of space itself, and not history. For instance,
the worst thing that could happen to a man was to have his helmet broken.
Let the transparent globe be shattered and the results were both quick and
final. Hence the oft-heard threat, "I'll bust your bubble."

Speaking of bubbles ... Rip realized suddenly that he and his men would
have to live in bubbles and space suits while on the asteroid. None of the
minor planets were big enough to have an atmosphere or much gravity.

If only he could get a look into those cases! But the ship was still
decelerating and he would have to wait. He put his head against the chair
rest and settled down to wait as patiently as he could.

Brennschluss was a long time coming. When the deceleration finally
stopped, Rip didn't wait for gravity. He hauled himself out of the chair
and the squadroom and went down the corridor hand over hand. He headed
straight for where the supplies were stacked, his Planeteers close behind
him.

Commander O'Brine arrived at the same time. "We're starting to scan for
the asteroid," he greeted Rip. "May be some time before we find it."

"Where are we, sir?" Rip asked.

"Just above the asteroid belt near the outer edge. We're beyond the
position where the asteroid was sighted, moving along what the _Altair_
figured as its orbit. I'm not stretching space, Foster, when I tell you
we're hunting for a needle in a junk pile. This part of space is filled
with more objects than you would imagine, and they all register on the
rad-screens."

"We'll find it," Rip said confidently.

O'Brine nodded. "Yes. But it probably will take some hunting. Meanwhile,
let's get at those cases. The supply clerk is on his way."

The supply clerk arrived, issued tools to the Planeteers, then opened a
plastic case attached to one of the boxes and produced lists. As the
Planeteers opened and