umber, eh, kid?"

"Ah, rocket off, you pinheaded piece of space junk! It didn't take him
long to dampen _your_ tubes!"

Connel roared again. "_Blast your hide, Manning, report!_"

"Better raise ship, Manning," said Loring, "you might get another nasty
demerit!"

Roger turned away and raced to the control deck. He entered breathlessly
and stood beside his unit-mates while Connel eyed him coldly.

"Thank you, Cadet Manning," said Connel. "We appreciate your being
here!"

"Yes, sir," mumbled Roger.

"All right," barked Connel, "you know your assignments. We'll take the
jet boats as before and go out in pairs. Tom and myself, Astro and
Roger, and Shinny and Alfie. We'll set up the reaction charges on Junior
at the points marked on the chart screen here." He indicated the chart
on the projection. "Copy them down on your own charts. Each team will
take three of the reaction units. My team will set up at points one,
two, and three. Astro and Roger at four, five, and six. Alfie and Shinny
at seven, eight, and nine. After you've set up the charges, attach the
triggers for the fuses and return to the ship. Watch your timing! If we
fail, it'll be more than a year before Junior will be in the same
orbital position again. How much time do we have left, Corbett?"

Tom glanced at the clock. "Exactly two hours, sir," he said.

"Not much," said Connel, "but enough. It shouldn't take more than an
hour and a half to set up the units and get back to the ship to blast
off. All clear? Any questions?"

There were no questions.

"All right," said the officer, "put on your space gear and move out!"

Handling the lead-encased charges carefully, the six spacemen loaded the
jet boats and, one by one, blasted off from the _Polaris_ to positions
marked on the map.

Working rapidly, each of the teams of two moved from one position to
another on the surface of the desolate satellite. Connel, referring
constantly to his watch, counted the minutes as one by one the teams
reported the installation of a reactor unit.

"This is Shinny. Just finished installing reaction charge one at point
seven ..."

"This is Manning. Just finished installing reaction charge at point four
..."

One after the other, the teams reported. Connel, with Tom piloting the
jet boat, finished setting up their units at points one, two, and three
and headed back to the _Polaris_.

"How much time, sir?" asked Tom as he slowed the small craft for a
landing.

"Le