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.But he took Jim in tow and headed back toward the hut.Jerry was a genius at moving about out of gravity.He watched Jim's face, andgrinned tautly as they landed precisely in the air lock."Used to be with aALittle Sunlight53circus until my folks got killed.Aerialist.Once you get the feel, it sticks.Come on, we'll walk around to die taxi."There were guidelines on the outside of the hut, and they grabbed these, usingthem as anchors to hold themselves against the outside while moving around thestructure.At the rear, they came to the taxi, whichJim hadn't seen before.The taxi looked like a huge, short salami, twenty feet long and eight indiameter.There was a small dome for the pilot to see out, and an air lock atthe front, while the rear carried a small rocket motor.They went through thelock.Inside were two seats, fuel tanks, and steering assembly, as well ascargo space.Jerry blasted off, after cranking a hand gyroscope to turn them.It was aweak, cautious blast that used little fuel."Better to take your time and notwaste fuel," he explained."Once you get moving, there's nothing to stop you."They drifted toward the rocket, turning over by the use of the gyroscope, andJerry brought them to a stop with a single quick blast of the rocket tube.Itwas precise, beautiful work.They coasted a few feet away, while he turned them over again until the nosepointed to the rocket's lock, which was open."Slip your helmet back on, Jim," Jerry ordered."Go out into the lock andcatch that rope."The man in the ship ahead had already thrown the cord.Jim found the end andfastened it to a bite inside54Step to the Stars the lock.The taxi was pulled up to the main lock, where itfitted snugly against the silicone-rubber gasket to make an airtight seal.Page 25ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlThere were two new men this time, both looking sick from the trip up.Withthem was a young man whom Jerry introduced."Ju* * this is Mr.Thorndyke, ourproject engineer.Been1down trying to get things straightened out."They took the passengers back, and then began making trips to ferry thesupplies.These were dumped out of the big rocket by the pilot and his men.Appar-ently they put on space suits,evacuated the air from the cargo section and lock, and simply pitched thecrates and pieces into space.It was Jim's job to go out of the taxi andsecure these with cords to a ring on the back of the taxi, leaving enoughdistance so the rocket blast wouldn't hurt them.He began to get the feel of space slowly.The trick was always to use thesmallest amount of effort, and to make no unnecessary move.It wasn't too hardto jump to whatever he was aiming for, carrying the rope, nor to slip back therope into the taxi.They pumped the air back to leave the lock permanentlyopen and worked in their suits.At the proper places near the station, other men unhitched the supplies andbegan fastening them into place.Jim saw Dan and Bart come out, using theirrocket tubes for a long jump, to begin opening one of the crates that heldcatchplates.Apparently they were running low on them, and it was holding upthe work.ALittle Sunlight55After the final trip, the big rocket turned over slowly and began blastingback away from the orbit, slowing itself to a speed of about fourteen thousandmiles an hour, where it would begin drifting toward Earth again.Jim watchedit go with a feeling of relief.It was hard to believe that he wasn't going tobe on it, sent back in disgrace to pick up some routine work around the rocketfield, with his chance at space gone forever.He reminded himself that it wasstill too early to be sure, but every day here was so much progress.He had a new reason for staying now.If he could ever get a chance to use thetaxi, it would be almost as good as piloting one of the rockets up fromEarth.Jerry cut off his thoughts."Okay, Jim, thanks.I'll leave you here and putthe taxi back.TellBailey it's low on fuel and I'm filling it again."Jim hesitated on the pile of material where he stood.It was nearly half amile to the group at work on the framework.He considered making the jump.Finally he shook his head and began hauling himself along the connectingcables.Bart handed him a pile of the catchplates when he got back, and nodded towardthe end of the structure."Better start bolting these on, Jim you know howthey go now."He found a bag of bolts, the necessary tools, and headed to the end of theextension, letting them float along at the end of the cord behind him.Theyhad swung around Earth to face into the Sun, as they did every two hours, andhe had to hold his head down to56Step to the Stars keep the savage glare out of his eyes.The faceplate of hishelmet was equipped with a filter, but it wasn't enough.He found the end of the work and began fitting the plates to it.He doggedthem in with his pick and ran in the first bolt, setting all within reach atfirst, before finishing up the bolting.Page 26ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm [ 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