him. They took no notice of the stereo
reporter who was focusing his camera on their efforts to force open the
portal on the chamber. Nor did they notice the immense crowd, standing
behind police lines, watching and waiting in silence.

"A cutting torch!" bellowed Astro to the emergency crew below. "Get me a
cutting torch."

In an instant the torch was handed to him, and ripping the space gloves
off his hands, the big cadet began cutting into the tough metal side of
the chamber.

The seconds ticked into minutes. The crowds did not move, and only the
low comments of the stereo reporter talking over an interplanetary
network could be heard above the hiss of the torch as Astro bent to his
task. A half hour passed. Astro didn't move or turn away from the
blinding light of the torch as he cut into the section of the chamber
where the portal locks would be. He did not notice that the _Good
Company_ and the emergency fleet had returned to the spaceport, nor that
Sid was now beside him with Kit.

An hour passed. It seemed to the big cadet that the metal he was
cutting, alloyed to protect spacemen against the dangers of the void,
was now threatening to cost Tom's life, if indeed he still survived. No
one could live long under such conditions unless they had a fresh supply
of oxygen. Kit tried to take the torch away from Astro, but the giant
Venusian would not let him have it. Again and again, the tanks of fuel
supplying the torch were emptied and quickly replaced with fresh ones.

There was something awe-inspiring about the big cadet as he crouched
over the torch, its white-hot flame reflected in his grim features.
Everyone around him watched in silent fascination, aware that this was a
rare exhibition of devotion toward a comrade. They all were certain
that Astro would reach Tom--or die in the attempt.

* * * * *

"Touchdown!" Captain Strong called into the ship's intercom. "Secure
stations."

The rocket cruiser _Polaris_ had just settled on the blast-stained
concrete of the Titan spaceport after a blazing flight nonstop from
Earth. A Solar Guard cruiser, the most powerful class of spaceship in
the Solar Alliance, the _Polaris_ was also equipped with hyperdrive, a
well-guarded secret method of propulsion, enabling Solar Guard ships to
travel through space faster than any other craft known. Many commercial
shipping companies, including those entered in the race to Titan, had
pleaded for t