"Well, the best they can do as for direction and velocity and distance is a crude guess. They'll place us out here beyond Terra somewhere. They'll calculate the course requirements to get us this far in the time allotted, and come to a crude figure. I'd like to try keying this thing, but I know that keying it won't work worth a hoot at this distance. Each bundle of keyed electrons would act as a separate negative charge that would spread out and close up at this distance. It's tough enough to hope that the electron beam will hold together that far, let alone trying to key intelligence with it. We'll leave well enough alone--and especially if they're trying to get a fix on us; there's nothing worse than trying to fix an intermittent station. Where are we now?" "We're on the inner fringe of the Asteroid Belt, about thirty million miles North, and heading on a secant course at thirty-four hundred MPS." "Too bad Jupiter isn't in the neighborhood," said Channing. "We'll be flirting with his orbit by the time they catch us." "Easily," said Johannson. "In sixty hours, we'll have covered about six hundred and fifty million miles. We'll be nearer the orbit of Saturn, in spite of the secant course." "Your secant approaches a radius as you get farther out," said Don, absently. "As far as distances go. Ah, well, Titan, here we come!" Johannson spoke to the doctor. "How're we doing?" "Pretty well," said Doc. "There's as pretty an assortment of fractured ribs, broken limbs, cracked clavicles, and scars, mars, and abrasions as you ever saw. There are a number dead, worse luck, but we can't do a thing about them. We can hold on for a week as far as food and water goes. Everyone is now interested in the manner of our rescue rather than worrying about it." He turned to Channing. "The words Channing and Venus Equilateral have wonderful healing powers," he said. "They all think your gang are part magician and part sorcerer." "Why, for goodness' sake?" "I didn't ask. Once I told 'em you had a scheme to contact the Relay Station, they were all satisfied that things would happen for the better." "Anything we can do to help you out?" "I think not," answered Doc. "What I said before still goes. Your job is to bring aid--and that's the sum total of your job. Every effort must be expended on that and that alone. You've got too many whole people depending on you to spend one second on the hurt. That's my job." "O.K.," said Channing, "But it's going to be a long wait." "We can afford it." "I hope we're not complicating the job of finding us by this quartering deceleration," said Johannson. "We're not. We're making a sort of vector from our course, but the deviation is very small. As long as the fellows follow our radiation, we'll be found," Channing said with a smile. "The thing that is tough is the fact that all the floors seem to lean over." "Not much, though."