"
Rip grabbed the Planeteer so hard they both floated upward. "Kemp, that's
wonderful! That's it!" The details took form in his mind even as he
called orders. "Dominico, tear down that bomb. Santos, remove two heads
from your rockets and wire them to explode on electrical impulse. Kemp,
we'll want the tube just a fraction of an inch wider than a rocket head.
Get your torch ready."
He took the stylus and began calculating. He talked as he worked, telling
the Planeteers exactly what they were up against. "I'm figuring out where
to put the charge so it will do the most good, but my data isn't
complete. If our homemade bomb goes off, I don't know exactly how much
power it will give. If it gives too much, we'll be driven so close to the
sun we'll never get free of its gravity."
Bradshaw, the English Planeteer, said mildly, "Don't worry, Lieutenant.
If it isn't the solar frying pan, it's Connie fire."
A chorus of agreement came from the other Planeteers. "What a crew!" Rip
thought. "What a great gang of space pirates!"
He finished his calculations and found the exact place where Kemp would
cut. A few feet away from the spot was a thick pyramid of thorium. That
would do, and they could cut into it horizontally instead of drilling
straight down.
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