ted was not keen to venture out into the dust storm, but thoughts of his sister lying desperately ill quickly drove all hesitation from his mind. he and randy climbed into their space suits, and as they approached the front-door air lock, ted was relieved to find that he could begin to see through the thinning dust.
“it’ll be over in a few minutes now,” randy said.
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but if ted expected any easy time of it outdoors, he was mistaken. the storm still had a lot of fight left in it. the wind struck them relentlessly, turning them around and blinding their gaze with whirling dust. they could not even thrust through it to the boat. ted signaled to randy that they would have to stand close to the house until the storm had subsided even more.
at last the wind died to gusts. the air was clearer now, and the stars were once again visible overhead.
“i think we can make it now,” ted said.
they ran over to the boat and climbed in. as ted dropped a pellet into the tank, randy said, “look at these scratches on the boat! that sand must cut like a file!”
they jetted off down the waterway, ted pressing the accelerator pedal down to shove the boat along as fast as it could safely go. they whirled into the main canal and sped toward the science building where the doctors had their offices. along the way, the boys could see that theirs wasn’t the only aerial that had been blown down. they could see space-suited figures on the individual houses working on the webs of wires and poles.
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some whee birds appeared out of nowhere and flew down to perch on the boat and serenade ted and randy with their strange chants. however, the boys were in no mood for them now, and presently the friendly birds flapped off as though they realized they were not wanted.
before reaching the building, the boys saw a boat speeding right at them.
“look out!” randy warned. “he’s coming straight at us.”
but the boat pulled up just beside the craft occupied by ted and randy.
“are you the kenton family?” the single occupant asked over his radio.
“yes, sir!” ted answered quickly. “are you the doctor?”
“yes,” the man answered. “the storm has held me up. how’s your sister, son?”
“she’s bad off, sir,” ted answered. “that’s why i had to come for you.”
“turn your boat around and don’t spare the horses, as they used to say,” the doctor said. “i’ll be right behind you.”
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ted made the fastest trip yet along the waterway back home. true to his word, the doctor arrived right at his heels. the doctor jumped out of his boat at the house, grabbed up a large case, and hurried toward the air lock. the boys went ahead and opened the door for him.
when the doctor had met mrs. kenton inside, he asked to see the sick girl alone. the boys and mrs. kenton paced restlessly in the front room as they waited for the doctor to come out of jill’s room. finally, when ted thought he could not stand the waiting any longer, the doctor came out. he was briskly shaking down a thermometer, and his face was bland.
“she’ll be a sick girl for a few days,” he said, “but she’ll be all right. i gave her a shot of some special serum we developed to combat bog fever. it was none too soon, either.”
there were tears of joy on mrs. kenton’s face, and ted felt as though he could turn handsprings. randy, too, looked vastly relieved. although he was not a true member of the family, it seemed as though ted and jill were brother and sister to him, especially since he had no brother or sister of his own.
“i’m afraid all of you will have to be quarantined for a week,” the doctor went on.
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“what’ll we ever find to do with ourselves staying in the house for a whole week?” ted thought. then he remembered the garden that had to be tended, that antenna that had to be repaired, and other mechanical duties that had to do with the running of the house. if they kept busy, the time would pass swiftly, he reasoned. the boys went up on the roof to try to repair the antenna, but there was such a tangle of wires they did not know where to start. the doctor said he would leave word at headquarters for a repairman to come out.
“it may be a day or so before he can get out here, though,” the doctor warned. “it looks as though half the aerials in the settlement were blown down.”
it was actually two days before a repairman came. by that time, jill had passed her worst time, and she was able to sit up a little and see the boys.
ted and randy were amazed at the rapid growth of the plants in the garden. already they were eighteen inches high. ted thought he could almost see them growing before his eyes.
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as soon as the radiomen had repaired the antenna, the boys sat down to watch the television program in progress. it was a newscast that showed in color the events going on all the way back on earth and within the settlement as well. the huge five-by-four-foot screen was sharp and clear.
suddenly the regular telecast was interrupted. a local announcer was switched in. he held a paper in his hand, and by the expression on his face, ted knew he had something very important to say.
“ladies and gentlemen,” the announcer said, “we have just received word that several members of the long-lost expedition to syrtis major have been spotted and contacted by a routine surveying plane. that is all the information we can give you now, but stand by and we’ll keep you posted on developments.”
randy had sprung to his feet, and ted could see his body was tense as a coil of wire.
“pops!” randy burst out.
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“your father’s expedition!” ted exclaimed at the same moment. then before his hopes got too high, he recalled that the announcer had said that only some of the men had been found.
but randy did not appear to be bothered by this. his face glowed with happiness. he was convinced his father was one of those who had been located.
an hour later, another bulletin was given: “it has been established that only six of the original thirty-five members of the ill-fated expedition are alive. identity of the men has not yet been given us. stand by for further news.”
randy bit his lip in disappointment as the message was cut off. he and ted remained by the set for another hour without moving, hoping any moment that more news would be given out. at last it came:
“our remote tv facilities will carry you to the spot where the lost men were found,” the announcer said. there was a gray screen for several moments, and then the scene switched to the interior of a rocket plane.
“it’ll be just like our going along with them to the place!” randy exclaimed happily.
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ted kept his fingers crossed for randy. it would be a terrible shock to him if his father were not one of the survivors. the unhappy moment he had dreaded for so long might now be at hand. their screen showed the swift trip from lowell harbor over red sands and lichen forests. at last the plane came in for landing in a wild, rocky region.
the man who met the tv men in the plane was the pilot who had first sighted the missing engineers. “come with me,” the pilot said, “and i’ll show you who the survivors are and we’ll hear their story.”
ted saw randy get up and move close to the screen. he saw randy’s toe beat a nervous tattoo against the floor as he waited. mrs. kenton had come into the room in the meantime, when she found what was going on. even jill could hardly be restrained from leaving her bed to come in and take part in the great discovery that meant so much to young randy matthews.
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“the men survived by holing up in an underground cave, and they signaled the scouting plane,” the pilot explained, as he led the tv men over the rocky ground. “it was a landslide that broke up the expedition, destroying all means of transportation and communication. the six who lived through it gathered up all the spare oxygen tanks and food supplies. they had plenty along because the expedition was to have lasted three months. they carried the tanks underground where a hot spring kept them warm.”
when the entrance to the cave was reached, the pilot called inside, and six space-suited figures walked tiredly out. they were not recognizable in their space dress, for even their helmets were too dark to show their faces.
“gentlemen,” the tv announcer said to the survivors, “i’m sure every television set, at the colony and on faraway earth too, is tuned to this spot. of course, the big question in all the people’s minds is which of the men who were lost are among you alive. will each of you pass before our camera and give your name?”
ted felt his nerves tighten as the men, one by one, faced the screen. two, three, then four bearded men passed and gave their names. randy’s father was not one of them. two more to go. just then the worst possible thing happened. the screen suddenly went gray.
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the picture flashed on.
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ted heard randy groan. the seconds ticked by. still no picture. finally, after five minutes, the announcer said that picture service would be restored in a few more minutes. ted could see the perspiration gleaming on randy’s face, and his fingers were clenching and unclenching continuously.
“what a frightful thing for him to be going through!” mrs. kenton whispered to ted. “i certainly hope and pray his father is one of those remaining two.”
the picture flashed on. the announcer spent a moment or two explaining the difficulty that had thrown the picture off; then he called the two remaining men. the fifth showed himself. in the close-up his smiling, grimy face was visible through his helmet.
“is—that him?” ted asked tremulously.
randy’s head wagged slowly in the negative. finally the last man walked up, and randy gave a scream of joy and sprang over to the screen.
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“my name is robert matthews,” spoke the bearded man. he smiled and waved into the screen. “are you listening, randy boy?”
ted looked at randy. his shoulders were hunched over and were shaking with quiet sobs. ted could see tears of joy in his mother’s eyes. then he realized there was a lump in his own throat.
randy’s father was alive. to ted, it was almost as though it were his own father who had been found.
