Rip had a moment's misgiving. Had his figures or his
sightings been off? His scalp prickled at the thought. But the ship's
computer had done the work, and it was not capable of making a mistake.
Kemp tossed up the last section of thorium and then came out of the hole
himself, carrying his torch.
Rip inspected the hole, saw with satisfaction that it was in almost
perfect alignment, and ordered the bomb placed. He bent over the edge
of the hole and watched Trudeau pay out wire while Dominico pushed the
bomb to the bottom. The Italian made a last-minute check, then called
to Rip. "Ready, sir."
Rip dropped into the hole and inspected the connections himself, then
personally pulled the safety lever. The bomb was armed. When the timer
acted, it would go off.
Back at ground level, he turned up his communicator. "Koa, is everything
ready at the boat?"
"Ready, sir."
The Planeteers had already carried away the torch and its fuel and oxygen
supplies. The area was clear of pieces of thorium.
Rip announced, "We're setting the explosion for ten minutes." He leaned
over the timer, which rested near the lip of the hole, took the dial
control in his glove, and turned it to position ten. He held it long
enough to glance at his chronometer and say, "Starting now!" Then he
let it go.
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