"All right. We have four. That leaves nine."
Santos came on the circuit. "Sir, this is Santos. Only three men are at
the snapper-boats. If you could get here without being seen, maybe we
could knock them off. The rest wouldn't be much good if we had their
boats."
"You're right, Santos," Rip replied instantly. Why hadn't he seen that
for himself? He knew how he and Dowst could approach the craters without
being spotted, now that they had removed two teams of Connies. "We're on
our way. Koa, make it if you can."
"Yes, sir."
Dominico was already making his way back to the cave. Rip and Dowst
started for the horizon at a good walk, not afraid now to use their
lights, at least for a few yards. If any of the remaining Connie search
teams saw the lights, they would think they were their own men's.
Rip remembered the lay of the ground and Santos' description of the
snapper-boats' position. He circled almost to the horizon, then told
Dowst to cut his light. He cut his own. In a moment they topped the
horizon and, standing with only helmets visible from the snapper-boats,
looked the situation over.
The three Connies were standing between them and the boats. To the left
of the boats was the second crater.
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