ently, "Kemp! Stop cutting! The rest of you get the stuff
under cover. Ram it!" He hurried to lend a hand himself, hustling crates
into the cave.

Kemp had made astonishing progress. There was room for the crates, if
stacked properly, and for the men, besides. Rip supervised the stacking
and then the placement of the rocket launcher at the entrance.

"All hands inside the boat," he ordered. "Dowst, be ready to take off at
a moment's notice. You'll have to buck this box around as never before."
He explained to the pilot his plan to dodge, keeping the asteroid between
the boat and the cruiser.

"We'll make it, sir," Dowst said.

"I'm not worried," Rip replied--and wished it were true. He looked up at
the Connie again. It was getting larger. The cruiser was within a few
miles of the asteroid.

As Rip watched, fire spurted from the cruiser, and it moved with
gathering speed toward the asteroid's horizon. He watched the exhaust
trail, wondering why the Connie had blasted off.

"He has something up his sleeve," Koa muttered. "Wish we knew what."

"Let's take no chances," Rip stated. "Come on."

The men were already in the boat. He and Koa joined them. They stood at a
window, watching the Connie's trail.

The trail dwindled. Koa said, "Something's up!" Suddenly new fire shot
from one side of the cruiser, and it spun. Balancing fire came from the
other side, and for an instant the three exhausts formed a cross, with
the darkness of the Connie's hull in the center. Then they could see only
the exhausts from the sides. The stern flame was out of sight. "He's made
a full turn to come back this way," Rip stated tensely. "Dowst, get
ready."

The Connie was perhaps twenty miles away. It grew larger, and the side
jets winked out. A few seconds later, fire spurted from the nose.

Rip figured rapidly. The cruiser had gone far enough away to make a turn.
It had straightened out, heading right for them. Now the nose tube was
blasting, slowing the cruiser down.

He sighted, holding out one glove, and gauging the Connie's distance
above the horizon, and his heart speeded. The Connie was right on the
horizon!

"Ram it!" Rip called. "Around the asteroid. Quick!"

Acceleration jammed him back against his men as Dowst blasted. No sooner
had he recovered than acceleration in a different direction shoved him up
to the ceiling so hard that his bubble rang. He clawed his way to the
window as the Connie cruiser flashed by, bathing t