tiny pinpoint of dust in a tiny bit of a tiny
corner of an isolated universe, and the magnitude and stillness is gone.
Only the chirpings of those strange birds as they seek rest in darkness,
the soft gurgling of the little stream below, and the rustle of
countless leaves, break the silence with a satisfying existence, while
the loneliness of that great star, your sun, is lost in its tintings of
soft color, the fleeciness of the clouds, and the seeming companionship
of green hills.

"The beauty of boundless space is awe-inspiring in its magnitude. The
beauty of Earth is something man can love.

"Man of Earth, you have a home that you may well fight for with all the
strength of your arms, all the forces of your brain, and all the
energies of Space that you can call forth to aid you. It is a wondrous
world." Silently he stood in the gathering dusk, as first Venus winked
into being, then one by one the stars came into existence in the
deepening color of the sky.

"Space is awesomely wonderful; this is--lovable." He gazed long at the
heavens of this world so strange, so beautiful to him, looking at the
unfamiliar heavens, as star after star flashed into the constellations
so familiar to terrestrians and to those Venerians who had been above
the clouds of Venus' eternal shroud.

"But somewhere off there in space are other races, and far beyond the
power of our eyes to see is the star that is the sun of my world, and
around it circles that little globe that is home to me. What is
happening there now? Does it still exist? Are there people still living
on it? Oh, Man of Earth, let us reach that world quickly, you cannot
guess the pangs that attack me, for if it be destroyed, think--forever I
am without home--without friends I knew. However kind your people may be
to me, I would be forever lonely.

"I will not think of that--only it is time your ship was ready, is it
not?"

"I think we had better return," replied Wade softly, his English words
rousing thoughts in his mind intelligible to the Ortolians.

The three rose in the air on the molecular suits and drove quickly down
toward the blue gem of the lake to the east, nestled among still other
green hills. Lights were showing in the great shop, where the _Ancient
Mariner_ was being fitted with the ray-shields, and all possible
weapons. Men streaming through her were hastily stocking her with vast
quantities of foods, stocks of fuel, all the spare parts they could cram
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