They went in and up the ladders into the sealed storage space next the convict quarters. There was a huge cylinder of lead suspended over the mouth of the duct from the extractor.
“They must collect the stuff when they bring oil and supplies,” said Loris. “Well, MacVickers, what happens to us now?”
MacVickers looked at them, the lines deep in his face. “We all agree, don’t we, that there’s no hope of escape? If we wait until the next supply ship comes and try to take it, we lose the chance of doing—well, call it our duty if you want to. That is, to wreck their only source of the explosive that’s winning the war for them.
“I think you know,” he added, “what our chances of taking that ship would be, without offensive weapons or any protection against theirs. It would only mean a return to
