"We can't light a fire anywhere," added Roger, finally sticking his head
out of his sleeping bag.

"We've got to get on high ground!" said Astro, hurriedly packing the
camping equipment. "We're in a hollow here. The rain really comes down
on Venus, and in another hour this place will be a pond!"

Sensing the urgency in Astro's voice, Roger began packing up his
equipment and in a few moments the three boys had their gear slung over
their shoulders and were slogging through water already knee-deep.

"I still don't see why we have to go tracking through the jungle in the
middle of the night," grumbled Roger. "We could climb up a tree and wait
out the storm."

"You'd have to wait long after the rain stops," replied Astro. "There is
one thing in this place nothing ever gets enough of, and that's water.
Animals know it and hang around all the water holes. If a small animal
tries to get a drink, he more than likely winds up in something's
stomach. When it rains like this, hollows fill up like the one we just
left, and everything within running, hopping, and crawling distance
heads for it to get a bellyful of water. In another hour our camp will
be like something out of a nightmare, with every animal in the jungle
coming down for a drink and starting to fight one another."

"Then if we stayed there--" Roger stopped.

"We'd be in the middle of it," said Astro grimly. "We wouldn't last two
minutes."

Walking single file, with Astro in the lead, followed by Roger and then
Tom, they stumbled through the pitch-black darkness. Astro refused to
shine a light, for fear of being attacked by a desperate animal, more
eager for water than afraid of the light. They carried their shock
blasters cocked and ready to fire. The rain continued, increasing in
fury until they were enveloped in a nearly solid wall of water. In a
little while the floor of the jungle became one continuous mudhole, with
each step taking them ankle-deep into the sucking mud. Their climb was
uphill, and the water from above increased, washing down around them in
torrents. More than once one of the cadets fell, gasping for breath,
into the dirty water, only to be jerked back to more solid footing by
the other two. Stumbling, their hands groping wildly in the dark, they
pushed forward.

They were reaching higher ground when Astro stopped suddenly.

"Listen!" he whispered hoarsely.

The boys stood still, the rain pounding down on their plastic headgear,
hold