und 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.

Wasting no time, but not hurrying, he and Dominico returned to the
landing boat. The Planeteers were already aboard, except for Koa, who
stood by to cast off the remaining tie line. Rip stepped inside and
counted the men. All present. He ordered, "Cast off." As Koa did so
and stepped aboard, Rip added, "Pilot, take off. Straight up."

The landing boat rose from the asteroid. Rip counted the men again, just
to be sure. The boat seemed a little crowded, but that was because the
rear compartment took up quite a bit of room.

Rip watched his chronometer. They had plenty of time. When the boat
reached a point about ten miles above the asteroid, he ordered, "Stern
tube." The boat moved at an angle. He let it go until a sight at the
stars showed they were in about the right position, ninety degrees from
the line of blast and where they would be behind the asteroid as it moved
toward the new course.

He looked at his chronometer again. "Two minutes. Line up at the side if
you want to watch, but darken your helmets to full protection. This thing
will light up like nothing you've ever seen before."

It was a good thing space cruisers depended on their radar and not on
sight, he thought. Usually spacemen opened up visual ports only when
landing or taking a star sight for an astroplot. The clear plastic of the
domes had to be shielded from chance meteors. Besides, radar screens were
more dependable than eyes, even though they could pick up only solid
objects. If the Consops cruiser happened to be searching visually, it
would see this blast. But the chance had to be taken. It wasn't really
much of a chance.

"One minute," he said. He faced the asteroid, then darkened his helmet,
counting to himself.

The minute ticked off rapidly, though his count was a little slow. When
he reached five, brilliant, incandescent light lit up the interior of the
boat. Rip saw it even though his helmet was dark. The light faded slowly,