“What happened?” Bud called anxiously over his suit radio.
“Loose joint somewhere in the tubing,” Tom reported. “The gas leaked out under pressure, and eventually the whole sheet went blooey.”
“You all right, boss?” Chow asked.
“Sure thing.” Tom grinned. “It was a tough fight, but I finally got myself untangled. How about you two helping me reel up some of that loose tubing?”
“You came to the right party, son,” Chow boasted. “Reckon that won’t be no job at all for an ole lariat expert like me!”
112 SPACE SOLARTRON
After twenty minutes of work, the three managed to salvage most of the foil tubing and cell leaves. Then they returned to the Challenger.
“I’ll start experiments with the solartron, using the other collectors,” Tom announced.
To everyone’s delight, the machine worked to perfection, producing simple elements in large quantities. Tom, instead of being thrilled over the outcome, seemed halfhearted and listless.
“Guess he’s worried sick about his dad,” Arv Hanson whispered to Chow.
The old cowpoke bustled down to his galley. “Reckon I can cheer him up with a nice tasty mess o’ vittles,” he told himself.
Cooking was a matter of minutes on the ship’s electronic range. A short time later Chow rode up in the elevator to the flight deck with a loaded dinner tray.
From the covered dishes wafted the delicious aroma of corn fritters, T-Bone steak, and hot mince pie.
“Good night, Chow! What’s all this?” Tom exclaimed as the cook came into the pilot’s cabin. “Up here in space one can’t tell whether it’s time for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, but this looks like all three of today’s meals rolled into one.”