ulled her to her
feet, while another snatched up and slung the carbine she had dropped.
Then, ahead, Kalvar Dard saw a deep gully, through which a little stream
trickled.

They huddled together at the bottom of it, waiting, for what seemed like
a long while. Then a gentle tremor ran through the ground, and swelled
to a sickening, heaving shock. A roar of almost palpable sound swept
over them, and a flash of blue-white light dimmed the sun above. The
sound, the shock, and the searing light did not pass away at once; they
continued for seconds that seemed like an eternity. Earth and stones
pelted down around them; choking dust rose. Then the thunder and the
earth-shock were over; above, incandescent vapors swirled, and darkened
into an overhanging pall of smoke and dust.

For a while, they crouched motionless, too stunned to speak. Then shaken
nerves steadied and jarred brains cleared. They all rose weakly.
Trickles of earth were still coming down from the sides of the gully,
and the little stream, which had been clear and sparkling, was roiled
with mud. Mechanically, Kalvar Dard brushed the dust from his clothes
and looked to his weapons.

"That was just the fuel-tank of a little Class-3 rocket-boat," he said.
"I wonder what the explosion of the ship was like." He thought for a
moment before continuing. "Glav, I think I know why our jets burned out.
We were stern-on to the ship when she blew; the blast drove our flame
right back through the jets."

"Do you think the explosion was observed from Doorsha?" Dorita inquired,
more concerned about the practical aspects of the situation. "The ship,
I mean. After all, we have no means of communication, of our own."

"Oh, I shouldn't doubt it; there were observatories all around the
planet watching our ship," Kalvar Dard said. "They probably know all
about it, by now. But if any of you are thinking about the chances of
rescue, forget it. We're stuck here."

"That's right. There isn't another human being within fifty million
miles," Seldar Glav said. "And that was the first and only space-ship
ever built. It took fifty years to build her, and even allowing twenty
for research that wouldn't have to be duplicated, you can figure when we
can expect another one."

"The answer to that one is, never. The ship blew up in space; fifty
years' effort and fifteen hundred people gone, like that." Kalvar Dard
snapped his fingers. "So now, they'll try to keep Doorsha habitable for
a few