'The first thing is for you and Matt to build a litter to carry the boss. We've got to find open water and I don't want to split up the party.'
The same clump of cane grass that furnished splints provided material for a litter frame. Using both knives Matt and Tex cut two seven-foot lengths as thick as their upper arms. The stuff was light and, in that thickness, satisfactorily stiff. They slipped the poles through the sleeves of their blouses, then notched in cross pieces near each end. There was a wide gap in the middle which they wound about with the line salvaged from the jeep.
The result was a sloppy piece of work, but serviceable. Thurlow was still unconscious. His breathing was shallow but his pulse was still steady. They lifted him onto the stretcher and set out, with Oscar in the lead, compass in hand.
For about an hour they tramped through swampy land, splashing through mud, getting welts from the undergrowth, and pursued by clouds of insects. At last Matt called out, 'Oz! We've just got to have some rest.'
Jensen turned around. 'Okay-this is the end of the line, anyhow. Open water.'
They crowded forward and joined him. Beyond the cane brake, perfectly flat and calm under the fog, was a pond or lake. Its size was uncertain as the far shore was lost in the mist.
They tramped out a spot to put the litter down, then Oscar bent over the water and slapped it-Slap!-Slap!-Slap, slap, slap-Slap, slap!
'What do we do now?'
'We wait-and pray. Thank goodness the natives are usu-1 ally friendly.'
'Do you think they can help us?'
'If they want to help I'll lay you even money that they can snake the jeep out of that muck and polish it clean in three days.'
'You really think so? I knew the Venerians were friend but a job like that-'
'Don't underrate the Little People. They don't look like us but don't let that throw you.'
Matt squatted down and started fanning the insects away ' from the unconscious officer. Presently Oscar slapped the | water again, in the same pattern. - |
'Looks like nobody's home, Oz.' 1
'I hope you're wrong, Tex. Most of Venus is supposed to be inhabited, but this might be a tabu spot.'
A triangular head, large as a collie's, broke water about-ten feet from them. Tex jumped. The Venerian regarded ; him with shiny, curious eyes. Oscar stood up. 'Greetings, j thou whose mother was my mothers friend.' |
The Venerian turned her attention to Oscar. 'May thy'^ mother rest happily.' She surface-dived and disappeared al- I most without a ripple. 1
'That's a relief,' said Oscar. 'Of course they say this I planet has only one language but this is the first time I've | put it to a test.' |
'Why did it leave?' |
'Gone back to report, probably. And don't say 'it,' Matt; 1 say 'she.'' ^
'It's a difference that could only matter to another Venerian.' j
'Well, it's a bad habit, anyway.' Oscar squatted down 1 and waited. j
After a time made longer by insects, heat, and sultri-1 ness the water was broken in a dozen places at once. One 1 of the amphibians climbed gracefully up on the bank and | stood up. She came about to Mart's shoulder. Oscar re-| peated the formal greeting. She looked him over. 'My mother tells me that she knows thee not.'
'Doubtless being busy with important thoughts she has forgotten.'
'Perhaps. Let us go to my mother and let her smell thee.'
'Thou art gracious. Canst thou carry my sibling?' Oscar pointed to Thurlow. 'Being Ul, 'she' cannot close 'her' mouth to the waters.'
The Venerian agreed. She called one of her followers to her side and Oscar joined the consultation, illustrating how Thurlow's mouth must be covered and his nose pinched together '-lest the waters return 'her to 'her' mother's mother's mother.' The second native argued but agreed.
Tex was getting more and more round-eyed. 'See here, Matt,' he said urgently in Basic, 'surely you're not figuring on going under water?'
'Unless you want to stay here until the insects eat you up, you've got to. Just take it easy, let them tow you, and try to keep your lungs full. When they dive you may have to stay under several minutes.'
'I don't like it either,' said Matt.
'Shucks, I visited my first Venerian home when I was nine. They know you can't swim the way they do. At least the ones around the colonies know it,' he admitted doubtfully.
'Maybe you had better impress them with it.'
'I'll try.'
The leader cut him short with assurances. She gave a sharp command and six of her party placed themselves by the cadets, two to each man. Three others took over Thurlow, lifting him and sliding him into the water. One of them was the one who had been instructed.
Oscar called out, 'Take it easy, fellows!' Matt felt little hands urging him into the lake. He took a deep breath and stepped off into the water.
The water closed over his head. It was blood warm and fresh. He opened his eyes, saw the surface, then his head broke water again. The little hands grasped his sides and propelled him along, swimming strongly. He told himself j to relax and stop fighting it. I
After a while it even began to seem pleasant, once he 1 was sure that the little creatures did not intend to pull | him under. But he remembered Oscar's advice and tried :| to watch out for a dive. Luckily, he saw the trio of which ' Tex was the middle go under; he gulped air just in time.
They went down and down, until his eardrums hurt, then forward. By the time they started up the pains in his chest were almost unbearable. He was fighting a reflex to open his mouth and breathe anything, even water, when they broke surface again.
There were three more of the lung-searing passages under water; when they broke water for the last time Mai saw that they were no longer outdoors.
The cave-if it was a cave-was about a hundred feet long and less than half as wide. In the center of it was the water entrance through which they had come.. It was lighted from above, rather dimly, from some sort of glowing, orange clusters.
Most of this he noticed after he pulled himself up 01 the bank. His first impression was a crowd of Venerians surrounding the pool. They were obviously curious about their guests and chattered among themselves. Matt picked up a few words of it and heard a reference to '-slime spawn-' which annoyed him.
The three with Thurlow broke water. Matt pulled away from his custodians and helped drag him onto dry land. He was frantic for a moment when he could not find the lieutenant's pulse; then he located it. It was fast and fluttery.
Thurlow opened his eyes and looked at him. 'Matt-the ; gyros...' !
'It's all right, Lieutenant. Just take it easy.'
Oscar was standing over him. 'How is he Matt?'
'Coming out of it, it looks like.'
'Maybe the immersion did him good.'
'It didn't do me any good,' asserted Tex. 'I swallowed about a gallon of water on that last one. Those little frogs are careless.'
'They're more like scab,' said Matt
'They're neither one,' Oscar cut in sharply. They're people. Now,' he went on, 'to try to set up some friendly relations.' He turned around, looking for the leader of the group.
The crowd separated, leaving an aisle to the pool. An amphibian, walking alone, but followed by three others, came slowly down this aisle toward them. Oscar faced her. 'Greetings, most worthy mother of many.'
She looked him slowly up and down, then spoke, but not to him. 'As I thought. Take them away.'
Oscar started to protest, but it did him no good. Four of the little people closed in around him. Tex yelled at him. 'How about it, Oz? Let 'em have it?'
'No!' Oscar called back. 'Don't resist.'
