the young folks planted seeds the next afternoon when they came home from school. then in the next few days, they could scarcely wait to see the first seedlings break through the soil. the little green crooks popped up the morning that dr. kenton was to leave on his expedition.
the scientist said that the plants would grow rapidly and produce edible food within the next ten days. he gave the children instructions for tending the crops, and they memorized his directions.
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he had showed jill, ted, and randy how to attend to the mechanical functions of the home and also how to run the boat. the three helped him to load his gear into the boat, and then stood by as dr. kenton bade farewell to his wife. there were tears in mrs. kenton’s eyes as she waved good-by from inside the house.
yank watched the strange goings-on from in front of his own dwelling. he seemed to understand that dr. kenton was leaving, but he still had not made friends with him.
when they were all in the boat, jill dropped a fuel pill into the tank, and ted took the steering wheel. he skillfully guided the boat along the winding watercourse to main canal and along its length to the science building. they all helped unload the gear on the dock, and dr. kenton said that this was where they must part.
“you three will have to run things while i’m away,” the scientist told them. “you shouldn’t have any trouble, but if anything does happen, call headquarters for help. there’s one thing i want you to be sure to attend to. bring the empty spare air cartridges in the closet down here and have them filled. you never know when you’ll need them.”
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“we’ll bring them tomorrow on our way to school,” ted promised.
jill hugged her father hard and long. like her mother, she was tearful at his leaving. ted, himself, felt a tug of dread. he wondered if the trip into the martian wilds would be a successful one or whether, as in the case of randy’s father, it would end in disaster.
the children went on to school. ted was glad to be going because it would take his and jill’s minds off the melancholy of their father’s departure.
ted found the opening lesson particularly interesting. in it he learned facts about the extinct native martians. mr. garland showed slides on some diggings that had unearthed bones of these early people. the bones had been organized to the best of earth scientists’ ability, but many were missing, and the reconstructed figures were largely guesswork. ted wondered if his father’s expedition would uncover more information on these mysterious ancient people.
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as the young kentons and randy started for home in the boat that afternoon, jill complained of having a headache. ted told her it was probably due to eyestrain from looking at the slides, and this seemed to satisfy her. but when ted docked the boat at the house, jill said she felt worse.
yank came running out to greet them, but the boys were so concerned over jill that they paid little attention to him. he stood off sulking and watched ted help his sister out of the boat and through the air lock of their house.
“mother, jill is sick!” ted called when they were inside.
mrs. kenton had been spraying the hose on the plastic floor and furniture. she turned it off and allowed the spring on the hose to pull it back into the wall opening. the water swirled through the drain in the center of the floor and disappeared in a matter of seconds.
“what’s wrong with her?” mrs. kenton asked in alarm.
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ted helped jill off with her helmet. he was shocked to see that her face was feverish and her eyes strangely bright. she wandered away from the others and slumped tiredly on the divan.
“don’t lie on that rubber cushion, dear!” mrs. kenton cried. “it’s still wet. what on earth has she got?” mrs. kenton asked the boys.
“it looks to me like she’s got bog fever,” randy offered.
“how could she catch fever?” mrs. kenton asked.
“there’s a virus that comes from the sand bogs and sometimes gets through the air valve of space suits,” randy said.
“i’d better call a doctor at headquarters right away!” mrs. kenton declared.
she went to the radiophone and put through the call. she was told that all the doctors were out on calls and that it might be an hour before one could come. however, when a nurse on duty in the medical center learned about jill’s symptoms, she gave instructions for caring for the girl until the doctor could come.
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as mrs. kenton switched off the phone, she said, “the nurse said that jill should be put to bed and kept warm. come on, honey,” she added, helping jill to her feet and leading her toward the guest room.
“is the disease serious?” ted asked randy worriedly.
“it can be,” randy answered soberly. “we’ll probably have to be quarantined,” he added.
“how long does bog fever last?” ted asked.
“the crisis comes pretty quickly after the first attack,” randy answered. “i remember, because a friend of mine had it. if they pass the crisis, they’re usually well in a few days.”
ted was reluctant to ask the next question, but he felt he must know.
“did your friend recover, randy?”
randy shook his head, and ted felt a cold chill of dread run down his spine. he didn’t know what he’d do if something happened to jill. she had to get well.
about twenty minutes later, mrs. kenton came back to the living room. her face was drawn and worried.
“she’s sleeping fitfully and her head is burning up!” she told the boys. “oh, why doesn’t that doctor come?”
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with nothing else to do, the boys stared through the clear plastic of the side wall at the deepening afternoon. the purple sky was growing darker, and the stars were gleaming steadily brighter. on the horizon, where the miniature sun was setting, the sky was painted in gorgeous shades of red. ted thought he had never seen a more beautiful sunset, but he could not appreciate it at this time.
suddenly ted spotted a strange yellow mass gliding close to the ground and apparently coming in the direction of the settlement.
“what’s that, randy?” ted asked. “do you know?”
“we’re in for trouble!” randy answered.
“what do you mean?” ted asked, alarmed.
“it’s a dust storm blowing this way,” randy said.
“i’m glad the house is well anchored to the ground,” ted muttered. he had already learned in school that such storms were often fierce.
“it may be an awful blow,” randy said. “it may keep the doctor from getting through to us.”
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the whole landscape was blotted out.
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once more ted had that sinking feeling. he wished desperately that there were something he could do. but, against the powers of nature, he knew he was absolutely helpless. all he and randy could do was wait and hope.
a few minutes later the dust storm struck with howling fury. the boys watched the sand spatter noisily against the house. the whole landscape was blotted out in a blinding, yellowish-red haze. mrs. kenton came running into the room, looking terrified. she had not been prepared for this latest trouble.
“how long will this terrible storm last?” she asked, when randy explained what it was.
“sometimes as long as an hour,” randy replied.
mrs. kenton’s hands twisted in frenzy. “we can’t wait that long. we must have that doctor. poor jill is twisting and turning so much, i can’t even keep damp cloths on her forehead.”
“why don’t we call headquarters again,” ted suggested, “and see if the doctor will be able to come out in the storm.”
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as mrs. kenton went into the hall to radiophone again, the boys heard the storm striking with renewed power. fine, cutting sand whipped against the plastic walls with the sound of sleet, accompanied by an eerie roar.
mrs. kenton came back quickly. “there’s no sound at all over the phone!” she cried.
ted instantly thought of the aerial on top of the house. he went to the center room and looked through the clear ceiling. his heart sank. the aerial was swinging loose by the single center pole.
“the storm has blown the antenna loose!” ted told his mother. “we can’t even phone headquarters now, and they can’t reach us either.”
mrs. kenton left the room, moaning. they heard her go down the hall to jill’s room. the only sound was the furious clatter of sand against the house and the groaning of the terrible wind. ted’s eyes strained to detect some kind of break in that awful cloud of yellow dust that surrounded the house, hoping that the storm was nearing its end.
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suddenly ted heard a weak sound outside, above the roar of the wind. “yank!” he cried. “we forgot all about yank! we’ve got to let him in!”
they ran to the front-door air lock. there they found the color bear clawing at the outer door. the dust covered him so thickly that he nearly blended completely with the yellowish background.
ted flipped a switch opening the outer door. yank scrambled quickly inside. then, when the air pressure in the little outer compartment was equal to that in the house, ted opened the inner door. yank tumbled in in a flurry of scattering sand.
ted thought the martian animal was the most forlorn sight he had ever seen. his fur was dirty and matted, his eyes were bloodshot, and every step he took brought a cascade of sand down around his feet.
“he looks like he needs another shower,” randy said.
“there’s nothing else we can do now,” ted agreed. besides, he figured the activity would take his mind off their troubles.
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mrs. kenton was still with jill. the boys marched yank down the hallway to the bathroom. when yank saw what was in store for him, he eagerly jumped into the shower basin. ted turned on the water, and streams of dark-red liquid poured down yank into the drain.
“he must have half the sand of mars on him,” ted commented.
suddenly his mother came up to the door and looked in. “jill’s getting worse!” she said. “ted, you and randy must go out after the doctor.”
