The tube reached brennschluss and Rip called orders. "Same process. Get ready to repeat. Dominico, bring one of your tubes."

While Koa was connecting another exploder to the wire, Rip took a tube from Dominico. "Take your s.p.a.ce knife and saw through the tube you have left. We'll need about three-fifths of it. Keep both pieces."

Dominico pulled his knife, pressed the release, and the gas capsule shot the blade out. He got to work.

Koa called that he was ready. Rip took the wired exploder from him and thrust it into the tube Dominico had given him.

As the crystal came around again, the process was repeated. The hole was undamaged.

There was more time to get clear because of the asteroid's slower speed.

The second tube slowed the rock even more, so that they had to wait long minutes while the crystal came around again.

Rip did some estimating. He wanted to be sure the next charge would do nothing more than slow the asteroid to a stop. If the charge were too heavy, it would reverse the spin. He didn't want to make a career of running on the asteroid. He was tired and he knew his men were getting weary, too. He could see it in their strides-they were less sure o foot.

He decided it would be best to use a little less fuel rather than a little more. If the asteroid failed to stop its spin completely, they could always set off a small charge or two.

"Hold it," he ordered. "We'll use the small end of Dominico's tube and save the big one."

The fuel was a solid ma.s.s, so cutting the tube in two sections caused no difficulty. Rip pushed the exploder into the small section, seated it in the hole, and hurried to cover. As he watched the fuel burn, he wondered why the last nuclear charge had started the spin. He had made a mistake somewhere. The earlier blasts had been set so they wouldn't cause a spin.

He made a mental note to look at the place where the charge had exploded when things were more quiet.

The rocket fuel slowed the asteroid down to a point where it was barely turning, and Rip was glad he had been cautious. The heavier charge would have reversed it a little. He directed the placing of a very small charge and was moving away from it so Koa could set it off when Santos suddenly yelled, "Sir! The Connie is coming!"

Rip called, "Fire the charge, Koa," then looked up. The Consops cruiser was moving slowly toward them. The canny Connie had been waiting for something to happen on the asteroid, Rip guessed. When the spinning slowed and then stopped, the Connie probably had decided that now was the time for a final try.

"Where is the communicator?" Rip asked Koa.

"One of the Connies has it."

"Get it. I'll notify Terra base of what happened."

Koa found the Connie with the communicator, tested it to be sure the prisoner hadn't sabotaged it, and brought it to Rip.

"This is Foster to Terra base. Over."

"Come in, Foster."

Rip explained briefly what had happened and asked, "How is our orbit? I haven't had time to take sightings."

"You're free of the sun," Terra base answered. "Your orbit will have to be corrected sometime within the next few hours. The last blast pushed you off course."

"That's a small matter," Rip stated. "Unless we can think of something fast, this will be a Connie asteroid by then. The Consops cruiser is moving in on us. He's careful, because he isn't sure of the situation. But even at his present speed he'll be here in ten minutes."

"Stand by." Terra base was silent for a few moments, then the voice replied. "I think we have an answer for you, Foster. Terra base off. Go ahead, MacFife."

A Scottish burr thick enough to saw boards came out of the communicator.

"Foster, this is MacFife, commander of the _Aquila_. Y'can't see me on account of I'm on yer sunny side. But, lad, I'm closer to ye than the Connie. We did it this way to keep the asteroid between us and him. Also, lad, if ye'll take a look up at Gemini, ye'll see somethin' ye'll like.

Look at Alhena, in the Twins' feet. Then, lad, if ye'll be patient the while, ye'll have a grandstand seat for a real big show."

Rip tilted his bubble back and stared upward at the constellation of the twins. He said softly, "By Gemini!" For there, a half degree south of the star Alhena, was the clean line of a nuclear cruiser's exhaust. The _Sagittarius_, out of Mercury, had arrived.

He cut the communicator off for a moment and spoke exultantly to his men.

"Stand easy, you hairy Planeteers. Forget the Connie. He doesn't know it, but he's caught. He's caught between the Archer and the Eagle!"

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN - COURTESY - WITH CLAWS

_Sagittarius_, constellation of the Archer, and _Aquila_, constellation of the Eagle, had given the two Federation patrol cruisers their names. The Eagle was commanded by a tough Scotsman, and the Archer by a Frenchman.

Commander MacFife spoke through the communicator. "Switch bands to universal, lad. Me'n Galliene are goin' to talk this Connie into a braw mess. MacFife off."

Rip guessed that the two cruiser commanders had been in communication while enroute to the asteroid and had cooked up some kind of plan. He turned the band switch to the universal frequency with which all long-range communicators were equipped. Each of the earth groups had its own frequency, and so did the Martians and Jovians. But all could meet and talk on the universal band.

Special scrambling devices prevented eavesdropping on regular frequencies, so there was no danger that the Connie had overheard the plan. Rip wondered what it was. He knew the cruisers had to be careful not to cross the thin line that might lead to war.

The _Sagittarius_ loomed closer, decelerating with a tremendous exhaust.

The Connie couldn't have failed to see it, Rip knew. He was right. The Consops cruiser suddenly blasted more heavily, rushing in the direction away from the Federation ship. The direction was toward the asteroid.

And at the same moment, the _Aquila_ flashed above the horizon, also decelerating. The Connie was caught squarely.

A suave voice spoke on the universal band. "This is Federation _SCN Sagittarius_, calling the Consolidation cruiser near the asteroid. Please reply."

Rip waited anxiously. The Connie would hear, because every control room monitored the universal band.

A heavy, reluctant voice replied after a pause of over a minute.

"This is Consolidation cruiser Sixteen. You are breaking the law, _Sagittarius_. Your missile ports are open and they are pointing at me.

Close them at once or I will report this."

The suave voice with its hint of French accent replied, "Ah, my friend! Do not be alarmed. We have had a slight accident to our control circuit and the ports are jammed open. We are trying to repair the situation. But I a.s.sure you, we have only the friendliest of intentions."

Rip grinned. This was about the same as a man holding a c.o.c.ked pistol at another man's head and a.s.suring him it was nothing but a nervous arm that kept the gun so steady.

The Connie demanded, "What do you want?"

The two friendly cruisers were within a few miles of the Connie now and their blasts were just strong enough to keep them edging closer, while counteracting the sun's pull.

The French s.p.a.ceman spoke rea.s.suringly. "My friend, we want only the courtesy of s.p.a.ce to which the law ent.i.tles us. We have had an unfortunate accident to our astrogation instruments, and we wish to come aboard to compare them with yours."

Rip laughed outright. Every cruiser carried at least four full sets of instruments. There was as much chance of all of them being knocked off scale at once as there was of his biting a cruiser in half with bare teeth.

MacFife's voice came on the air. "Foster. Switch to Federation frequency."

Rip did so. "This is Foster, Commander."