“That’s impossible,” Dr. Gehardt said. “They’d never be able to carry that many.”
“No, they wouldn’t,” Merola said, his eyes clouding.
“Not on their backs, anyway,” Forbes said.
“Do they have to carry them on their backs?” Ted asked. Forbes shot a glance at him, and Ted regretted speaking as soon as the words had left his mouth.
“Baker’s right,” Merola said, the spark leaping into his eyes again. “We can build a sled or something, and pile the cylinders onto it. We could make it that way!”
“Maybe,” Forbes said.
The men fell silent, and Ted knew they were each weighing the chances of reaching the supply dump alive.
“What about food?” Dr. Phelps asked. “You won’t be able to open your face plates out there. How will you eat?”
“We’ll carry tubes of chocolate in our helmets,” Merola answered quickly. “That’ll keep us going.”
“For ten days?”
“It’ll have to do.”
“One question,” Forbes said. “What happens when we reach the supply dump? Do we bring back enough material to keep us on the Moon indefinitely?”
“That would be impossible.”
“Sure. It would also be impossible to bring back enough fuel to get us
“To get us back to Earth, you mean,” Merola corrected.
“I don’t follow you,” Forbes said.
“We can bring back enough to get us
“What good would that do?” Forbes wanted to know.
“It means we can bring back just enough fuel to allow us to blast off and come down again near the supply dump. After that, our worries are over.”
Dr. Phelps nodded his head. “Enough fuel to get us to Mare Imbrium, you mean.”
“Exactly.”
Forbes nodded too. “It might work. It just might work.”
“Providing,” Dr. Gehardt put in.
“Providing what?”
“Well, I hate to be a wet blanket, gentlemen, but what happens to the men who remain behind? How will
“I hadn’t thought of that,” Merola admitted.
“What difference does it make?” Forbes asked
“Well make a check,” Merola said. “If the men left behind can’t possibly survive…” He paused and scratched his chin. “Heck, I don’t know what to say.”
“If there’s any doubt about it,” Forbes said, “we’ll all make the trip together.”
“Do we have enough oxygen?”
“I think we’d better check.”
“Okay, Dan. And while you’re checking the oxygen cylinders, you might as well go down below and see how the batteries are holding up.”
“Roger.”
Forbes grinned briefly and started for the hatch in the deck. He took two long strides, pulling up short beside the hatch. Quickly, he turned the wheel and pulled back the hd. As he started belowdecks, Merola turned back to the other men.
“Dr. Phelps, I’d like you to check our food. Dr. Gehardt, will you check our water supply?”
“Certainly.”
The two doctors started off, and Ted fidgeted uncomfortably, standing by Merola’s couch.
“I think it’ll work, Baker,” Merola said. “If we can bring back enough fuel for a blastoff to the supply dump, we can stay on the Moon as long as we like.”
“Yes, sir,” Ted said.
“Does that mean you agree with me, or are you just being polite?”
“I don’t know, sir. I mean, I don’t know if it’ll work. A thousand miles seems like such a long distance.”
“Well, it’s not exactly right around the corner.”
“That’s what I mean, sir. The two men who go. They’ll be out there for ten days. Will their suit batteries last that long?”
Merola considered this. “They may be able to replace their batteries at the dump. In fact, I’m quite sure they can. That means they’ll only need their batteries for the four-day trip to the dump.”
“Three and one-third days, sir,” Ted corrected.
“Yes, of course.”
Dr. Gehardt made his way across the cabin, shaking his head. He stopped before Merola and smoothed the skin back on the top of his head. “It doesn’t look good, George,” he said.
“How much water?”
“A little more than four gallons.”
“No, that’s not good at all.” Merola paused. “But it’ll have to do.” He turned his head quickly as he heard footsteps. Dr. Phelps crossed the cabin, a sheet of paper in his hands.
“What’s the story, Doc?” Merola asked.
“Not too bad,” the physician replied. “Not too bad.”
“How bad?”
“Well, we won’t eat like kings, of course, but I don’t suppose any of us expected to.”
“What is it, Doc?”
“If we cut down to half-rations, our food’ll last two weeks. If we’re careful. That’ll give us just enough for the four-day wait and the ten days the men will be gone.”
“Good. If Dan reports affirmative on the oxygen, he and I will be leaving in four days.”
“What?”
“I said…”
“I heard you. I heard what you said.”
“Well, then…”
“That blow on your head must have
“What do you mean, Doc?”
“I mean that you are in no condition to get out of that couch, no less travel a thousand miles in freezing temperatures.”
“No ‘docs’ about it, George. You’re not leaving that couch. That’s an order.”
“I thought I was in command of this ship.”