dn't last more than a few days. We have no
antiradiation gear. Not even food or water." He paused and scanned the
sky. "No," he said in a surprisingly casual voice, "the only way we can
get out of this is for Tom to come back and get us."

Shinny and Alfie came over and joined the group around the jet boat. No
one said anything. There wasn't anything to say. Each of them felt the
heat burning through his space suit. Each felt the same fear tugging at
his throat. There was nothing to say. The _Polaris_ was not to be seen;
the sky was empty of everything except Alpha Centauri, the great burning
mass of gases that once they had all seen only as a quiet twinkling star
in the heavens, never dreaming that someday it would be pulling them
relentlessly into its molten self.

Tom Corbett had a plan.

He sat at the control board of the great rocket cruiser, apparently
watching the needles and gauges on the panel, but his mind was racing
desperately. The two-hour deadline had just passed. The great solar
clock had swung its red hand past the last second. Only a miracle could
save the five men on Junior now. But Tom was not counting on miracles.
He was counting on his plan.

"Keep this space wagon driving, Corbett!" ordered Loring from behind
him. "Keep them rockets wide open!"

"Listen, Loring," pleaded Tom. "How about giving those fellows a break?
If I don't pick them up, they'll all be killed."

"Ain't that too bad," snarled Mason.

"Look," said Tom desperately, "I'll promise you nothing will happen to
you. We'll let you go free. We'll--"

Loring cut him off. "Shut your trap and concentrate on them controls!
You and Major Connel and them other punks are the only guys between me
staying free or going back to a prison asteroid. So you don't think I'm
going to let them stay alive, do you?" He grinned crookedly.

"You dirty space crawler!" growled Tom and suddenly leaped up from the
control seat.

Loring raised the paralo-ray gun threateningly. "One more move outta you
and I'll freeze you so solid you'll think you're a chunk of ice!" he
yelled.

Mason stepped to the other side of the control deck. They had Tom
blocked on either side.

"Now get back to them controls, Corbett," snarled Loring, "or I'll give
it to you right now."

"O.K., Loring, you win," said Tom. He sat down and faced the control
panel. He tried hard not to smile. They had fallen for it. Now they were
separated. Mason remained on the opposite side