"Hello, hello." Frederick Watson's voice was frantic. "I don't know if the colony will—" Ed hung up and snapped off the radio.
"They will," he said.
Johnny's spirits had never been so low. Everything he touched seemed to turn to disaster. The colony was all but ruined. In trying to protect Baba he had caused the marshberries to be destroyed and had given these outlaws a chance to steal the colony's marva claws. By running away with Baba he hadn't saved the little bear at all. The outlaws, Trader Harkness' outlaws, were going to get him.
Johnny would not only lose Baba, but the colony, too, would lose its last chance for survival.
[CHAPTER THIRTEEN]
Outwitting the Outlaws
The little red monkey screamed and chattered its hate as Johnny and Ed stepped through the doorway of the cabin after their eventful flight. Johnny had noted that the cabin door was the only exit.
As was usual on Venus, the exit was a double door. When the outer door was open, the inner one could not be opened. It was just like the school door. If Johnny could once get through the outer door and block it open, it would be a while before the men could break the lock on the inner door and get out. Getting out the first door would be the problem—but not too big a problem. The outlaws didn't think that he could go into the jungle without armor, so they did not watch him or the door too carefully.
As soon as they were inside, Ed took off Johnny's oversized armor and locked it away. He then winked at the other men and sat Johnny down in front of him on a high stool.
"You know who I am?" Ed asked him.