"Stop," Scott shouted frantically into his radio. "Get that crate back to the jet. Get it out of the pit. Back to the jet. It's too late. Hurry. Hurry!" For a single astounded moment the men paused. Then, sweeping the rubble from the crate, they fumbled it toward the surface of the pit. Scott leaped down among them. Pushed. "They're going to trap us." The crate struck on the pit's edge. Scott seized one end, forced it up over. "Grab that other end, Masters. Move, man. Don't argue. Move!" Staggering over the uneven ground, they lurched toward the jet. "I think you ought to rest for a moment." It was the cool voice of Randell, who stepped from the darkness with a blaster turned full on them. Crewmen from the _Kastil_ poured from among the rocks. Their blasters swung a menacing ring about Scott and his men. "Step back away from the crate." Randell stepped forward, tapped his blaster against the side of the box. "Now what do we have here." "Keep away from that," Scott snarled. "That's property of the _Bertha_." "Is it?" Randell turned carelessly to his men. "Property of the _Bertha_," he drawled. "Well, we'd better have a look at it now. To make sure you haven't accidentally salvaged some of the _Kastil's_ equipment. Oh, quite by accident, I understand." He began to loosen the screw-clamps of the lid. "Stop!" Scott leaped forward, no longer conscious of the weapons swinging on him. He dropped his hand upon the box. "This is mine," he said. "I forbid you to touch it." "Have you ever seen a man die of a blaster bolt?" Randell asked. "Step back." The men of the _Bertha_ fell back. Their shoulders touched the toothed rim of stone about the pit. Randell chuckled. "Perhaps it's just as well we didn't blast off when we were loaded. There was always a chance you'd found something else of value here." He flicked the muzzle of the blaster about. "If you don't mind, we'll inspect this crate in a better light. Back at the _Kastil_." Triumph leaped through Scott. "This is piracy," he said, and sounded sincere. "Piracy is what is proven," Randell laughed. "Do you really think you have a case in our courts?" He sighed softly. "Now, thank you for this unexpected pleasure. And good-bye. We'll see each other again on Earth, perhaps." Then they were gone and immediately afterward, the _Kastil_, balancing on a white line of flame, leaped away from the asteroid and flashed out past the stars. Scott stared after it, a faint smile touching his lips. About him rang the triumphant laughter of the crew. Someone gripped Scott's shoulder. "Captain Elderburg on the intercom, Mister Scott. I just told him. And--congratulations, sir." Scott grinned. Entering the jet, he faced the intercom, said: "It's over now, Captain." "Good work, Mister Scott." Elderburg's voice was unsteady. "How did you do it?"