Mason and Loring left the radar bridge while Shinny and Roger watched the white blip of the jet boat.
"That could be Tom and Astro in that jet boat," said Roger softly to himself.
"I guess I'd better stand by the power deck while we maneuver," said Shinny. "We wanta stay hidden until Loring and Mason get that thing ready."
Maneuvering cautiously, Roger brought the _Space Devil_ around to the night side of Tara opposite to the landing site of the _Polaris_.
Four hours later Loring and Mason came out of the reactant chamber carrying a small lead box. They placed it gently on the deck and began taking off their lead suits. Roger and Shinny stared at the box.
"There she is," said Loring. "Not much to look at, but there's enough juice in there to blast the _Polaris_ into space junk!"
"Wait a minute, Loring!" said Roger. "There'll be no killing! No one gets hurt!"
"Got a squeamish stomach, eh, kid?" Loring laughed. He slapped Mason on the back. "Our little Space Cadet is suddenly worrying about his friends. The same friends that wanted to send him away to the prison asteroid."
"Blast the ship if you want," said Roger coldly, "but don't hurt the crew!"
"Listen, Manning!" snarled Loring. "If the crew gets hurt it ain't my fault. If they're in the ship, that's tough. If not, then that's O.K. with me. I ain't sending them any letter telling them I'm going to blast their ship and then have them come up after me with a space torpedo!"
Roger didn't answer. He turned away and climbed back to the radar bridge. Loring followed him up the ladder.
"Don't get any ideas about warning your buddies, Manning, 'cause if you do, I'll blast you before I blast them!"
"Don't worry," replied Roger. "It's daytime on the other side of Tara now, where the _Polaris_ is. The crew might be out on a scouting mission or making observations away from the ship. There's less chance of their being on the ship. If we're going to do it, let's get it over with!"
"O.K. with me," said Loring. "Take this wagon up toward Alpha Centauri a little way. Coming out of the sun, they won't see us. We'll use one of the jet boats to deliver our little present. I'll set the fuse, put the jet boat on automatic, and aim it right for the _Polaris_."