reshed, he
started through the jungle again, eyes open for signs of recent
activity, human activity, for the big cadet wanted to return to his
comrades.

Stopping occasionally to climb a tree, Astro searched the sky above the
treetops for smoke that would mark a campsite. He felt that sure if
there was any, he would find Roger, Tom, and Connel, since a Nationalist
patrol wouldn't advertise its presence in the jungle. But there were no
smoke signs. The top of the jungle stretched green and still as far as
he could see, steaming under the burning rays of the sun.

Astro knew that it would be impossible to spend another night like the
first in the jungle, so after searching through the forest until three
in the afternoon, he stopped, opened another can of synthetic food, and
ate. He was used to being alone now. The first wave of fear had left
him and he was beginning to remember things he knew as a young boy;
jungle signs that warned him of dangers, the quick identification of the
animal cries, and the knowledge of the habits of the jungle creatures.

After eating, he took his jungle knife and hacked at a long, tough vine,
yanking it down from its lofty tangle. He started weaving it into a
tight oblong basket and two hours later, just before the sun dropped
into the jungle for the night, he was finished. He had a seven-foot bag
woven tightly and pulled together with a small opening at one end. Just
before the sky darkened, the big cadet crawled into this makeshift
sleeping bag, pulled the opening closed with a tight draw cord, and in
thirty seconds was asleep. Nothing would be able to bite through the
tough vine matting, and the chances of a larger beast accidentally
stepping on him were small. Nevertheless, Astro had pulled the bag close
to a huge tree and placed it deep between the swollen roots.

He awoke with a start. The ground was shaking violently. He was sweating
profusely and judged that it must be late in the morning with the sun
beating directly on him. Carefully he opened the end of the makeshift
sleeping bag and peered out. He gasped and reached for his shock rifle,
bringing it up into firing position. The sight that confronted him was
at once horrifying and fascinating. A hundred yards away, a giant snake,
easily a hundred feet long and five feet thick, was wrapped around a
raging tyrannosaurus. The monsters were in a fight to death. Astro
shuddered and pulled back into the bag, keeping the blaster aimed a