"
Astro got up and stretched. "I'll bet we're out of this five hours after
the sand settles down."
The big Venusian walked to the side of the power deck and pressed his
ear against the hull, listening for the sound of the wind.
After a few seconds he turned back. "I can't hear a thing, fellas. I
have a feeling it's about played itself out."
"Of course," reasoned Tom, "we have no real way of knowing when it's
stopped and when it hasn't."
"Want to open the hatch and take a look?" asked Astro.
Tom looked questioningly at Roger, who nodded his head in agreement.
Tom walked over to the hatch and began undogging the heavy door. As the
last of the heavy metal bars were raised, sand began to trickle inside
around the edges. Astro bent down and sifted a handful through his
fingers. "It's so fine, it's like powder," he said as it fell to the
deck in a fine cloud.
"Come on," said Tom, "give me a hand with this hatch. It's probably
jammed up against sand on the other side."
Tom, Roger and Astro braced their shoulders against the door, but when
they tried to push, they lost their footing and slipped down. Astro
dragged over a section of lead baffle, jammed it between the rocket
motors and placed his feet up against it. Tom and Roger got on either
side of him and pressed their shoulders against the door.
"All right," said Tom. "When I give the word, let's all push together.
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