Part 6 (1/2)

They decided to inform the men immediately but say nothing to the women for the present. Within an hour of the discovery, Morquil warned the men at the controls to conserve the power as much as possible.

Every operation of the s.h.i.+p, was dependent on fuel. The generators for heat, light and controls, were turned by discharge through the tubes. At least _one_ blast must be fired at _all times_ to keep the controls sensitized, and develop power for emergency equipment. The other tubes were silenced.

During the rest migs d.i.c.k couldn't sleep, but spent every minute talking to John McCarthy. There _must_ be some solution--_and they had to find it_!

CHAPTER VI

_An Engineer's Mettle_

In the morning the earthmen were called together. They came with smiling faces, which slowly changed to apprehension.

There were many suggestions in as many minutes, but none that gave a possibility of accomplis.h.i.+ng the impossible. They had to stretch the fuel--_without visible means of stretching it_!

The women believed the meeting was a routine course in mechanics, and went on enjoying their entertainment. The men explained they were bothered by a knotty question about the machinery to account for their worried concentration. It would have been a terrible handicap if the women discovered the truth.

Three lix pa.s.sed with little change. The fuel had been cut down for a while, but the s.h.i.+p didn't hold its course. Every tube had been fired to hold the direct route for Jupiter. They were constantly cutting into the meager supply that remained--_and had to overcome the deficiency_!

Due to the slight conservation of fuel the s.h.i.+p had been operating far below efficiency, and the cold of s.p.a.ce began to seep through the walls.

This affected the dome people more than the earthmen, and they suffered torture. Any change in temperature was unknown to them, they were chilled at a few degrees below normal heat.

Suddenly, during dinner on the third evening, Peter Yarbro jumped up from the table. The other men fastened eager eyes on his face, while the women watched in amazement.

He started to speak, then remembered the women, sat down quietly. ”I--I think I've found the answer--to our _problem_! If you will join me in the hold, when we finish eating, I would like to talk it over with you.”

Mrs. Yarbro was even more amazed. ”Peter! I'm surprised at you. Jumping up from the table so excited, just because you happened to think of the answer to a _problem_! You ought to be ashamed.”

In spite of his worries d.i.c.k lowered his head to hide the smile. If only Peter's wife knew what that problem was, she might not think it so strange.

Hardly a man touched his food, and as soon as they were out of earshot of the women, he spoke what was in his mind. The crew heard him at the table and many of them gathered to listen. For the first time in their lives they were worried. Their lives depended on the earthmen before they even _reached_ their planet.

Yarbro hesitated. ”I'm not so sure now, that I _have_ found the answer.

When it came to me, I thought it was simple, but now it seems more like a dream.

”Since knowing that the fuel was low I've racked my brain for something that might be used--and it had to be on the s.h.i.+p. Every _other_ man was looking for a mechanical answer, and my efforts would be of little use.

So I've searched for a chemical.

”_Water_ is the only liquid in any quant.i.ty. I discarded it so many times that it left a headache, but my search always came back to the same place. It's the only thing we've got.

”All other liquids are in too small amounts, even if they could be used, and the s.h.i.+p is equipped only for chemical fuel--_in liquid form_!

”At dinner when I became so excited, I thought that water would do the trick. Now I don't know. It has oxygen in large amounts, which is vitally needed, but that's the only advantage.

”Even if we dared try, it might injure the tubes. Still I believe it's the only chance of salvation. It's the one substance on board, in any large quant.i.ty. What do you think?”

There wasn't a sound as the minutes pa.s.sed. Each man searched frantically for the slightest hope; searched for the _one_ chance in a thousand!