as soon as ted reached the ground, he made for the spot where he had seen the supply chutes land. if these were lost, especially the one with the spare air cartridges, randy and jill and he could never survive until help came.
ted ran down a dusty ravine. his eyes searched clumps of bushes and spiky cactus, and a momentary panic came over him. the chutes were not in sight. just then he was aware that a strong wind was blowing. the chutes had probably carried farther than he had thought. he searched some more, and his heart quickened with joy when he found the two parachutes within yards of each other, half buried in the sand beyond a big boulder.
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as soon as he had found these, he thought immediately of randy and jill. he should have seen them by now. he returned to the spot where he had come down, but they were nowhere around. a new terror crept into his breast. could the wind have carried them farther up into the forest, possibly into the dangerous part where the brush grew dense as jungle and deadly whip plants thrived? the wind was stronger than ever now, but he ducked into it and renewed his search.
he made a thorough examination of the territory all around, but after a half hour’s time he still had not located jill and randy. for the sixth time he returned to his original spot where he had left the parachutes of supplies. by now the blood red of approaching sunset was filling the sky, and grotesque shadows were creeping over the ground.
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ted could not remember when he had felt any more depressed and lonely than he did at this moment. he could imagine all sorts of terrible things happening to his sister and friend. by now, the wind had died down. thank goodness the blow had not brought on one of those violent dust storms, he thought.
suddenly he heard a noise overhead that quickened hope in him. it had sounded like the drone of a plane! he leaped to his feet from where he had been slumped on the ground and searched the darkening starry sky. yes, there was a plane! he could hardly believe it when he saw that the number on the wedge-shaped wing was the same as that of the ship from which he had bailed out. that meant that the plane had not crashed after all!
as the plane roared overhead, he ran back and forth and waved his hands frantically to get the attention of someone in it. to his dismay the plane kept on going and presently was lost in the approaching twilight.
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he thought the world had ended for him now. jill and randy were gone, and hopes of rescue too. but then he heard a crashing of bushes near by. his heart thudded against his ribs in fear. he was remembering that wild animals inhabited this district, and he was totally unarmed.
then he heard his name called. a moment later randy and jill came running up! he was never so glad to see two people in his life as he was then.
“what happened to you?” he asked them.
“the wind carried us down into the forest a little way,” jill answered. “oh, ted, i was scared to death! those whip plants throw out arms like an octopus at anything that comes near them! i almost got caught by one!”
ted showed them the chutes that held spare air cartridges and food. unfortunately, mr. garland had thrown out only a few supply chutes, not all of them.
they had never eaten with space helmets on, but they had learned about the tiny air-lock opening in the facepiece of the helmet that made this possible.
“these will last us through the night,” ted said. “i don’t know what we’ll do after that. a search party probably won’t get here that quick.”
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just then jill heard the plane returning. ted hurriedly explained that this was the one they had been on and that it had not crashed after all. he said that all three of them should run back and forth and wave like everything to try to attract their attention this time.
ted thought that the plane had missed them again, but then he saw it bank and head back toward them. the ship circled overhead for several minutes, and the children saw a parachute drop out. they followed the chute to the ground with their eyes and ran over to it.
“here’s a note,” ted said, untying an envelope from the chute. he opened it. “it says: ‘open the long case and you will find a walkie-talkie radio in it. turn it on, and we’ll speak with you.’”
they did this. then ted spoke into the mike, “can you hear me?”
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“yes,” came mr. garland’s voice. “we had just about given up hope of sighting you. the ship went out of control just after you three jumped. but the fire in the engine burned out soon after, and the pilot regained control. we should be able to get back to lowell harbor all right, even though we’re crippled. are you three hurt?”
“no, sir, just scared,” ted answered.
“we’ll send you down all the rest of our air cartridges and more food and water,” the teacher went on. “they’ll last you through tomorrow, and by that time a search party should be back in a helicopter. we can’t possibly land, ourselves, because of the terrain and our damaged engine. i’d come down myself to stay with you, but my ankle is broken and i’m afraid i wouldn’t be much help. however, if you want me to....”
“i think we’ll be all right,” ted said bravely, yet feeling an encroaching dread even as he said it.
“there’s an electron rifle and flashlights in with the other stuff,” mr. garland said. “i don’t think anything will bother you, though; otherwise i wouldn’t leave you alone. most of the animals stay back in the thickest part of the forest.”
“will you be going now?” ted asked.
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“yes, there’s no way else we can help you except send rescuers as quickly as possible,” mr. garland declared. “whatever you do, don’t leave that spot.”
that ended their conversation. presently the other supply chutes filled the air, and randy and the two young kentons retrieved them. then, lonesomely, the three watched the plane disappear into the sunset.
“i’m afraid,” jill murmured, casting an anxious glance around her at the forbidding woodland.
“i am too, sis,” ted confessed. he looked at randy, and his eyes were enough to tell that he was frightened too.
they looked around for some place of protection overnight. as the sun disappeared behind a distant ridge, they found a shallow opening under a clump of rocks that would shield them on three sides at least. then they ate from a food packet, and after this they admitted that they felt better.
“if we get through this night safely,” ted said, “we’ll probably make it all right.”
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at last darkness set in. phobos was making one of his frequent trips across the heavens, but his light was weaker than moonglow on earth. however, it seemed to ted that it wasn’t quite so lonely now, with the sky burning with its millions of cold lights. yet it was still frightening to know that the three of them were off by themselves in probably the most perilous region of mars.
they decided it was best not to use their flashlights unnecessarily, lest they attract wild beasts. they kept the atomic rifle handy in case it was needed in a hurry. ted suggested that two of them sleep while one stood watch. jill said she’d like to take the first watch because she was too nervous to sleep anyhow.
ted was just about to doze off some minutes later when jill’s scream blasted into his radio and brought him springing to his feet.
“there!” jill said, pointing.
randy too was wide awake now, and the three of them stared, fear-stricken, across the dark drifts at a giant creature which stood at a distance looking at them. the light of phobos and the stars was bright enough to show his awesome outline.
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“what is it?” ted whispered to randy.
“it’s an elephant ant,” randy whispered softly. “see that trunklike sucker on its head? get the gun, ted. these things are mean.”
ted caught up the atomic rifle and set it for fire, thinking all the while how mr. garland had missed his guess about their not being troubled by animals. slowly the enormous insect approached the opening in the rocks. it was indeed the height of an elephant. ted could hear the rustle of its hard-shelled body as it walked nearer.
the martian animal’s slowness up until now deceived ted, for, without warning, the insect broke into a rapid run. bravely ted tried to take careful aim and protect the two unarmed ones with him. but even as he fired the gun, jill bumped him in her mad dash to escape the oncoming horror.
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ted saw a blinding glare that lit up the scene for a moment as brightly as noonday. in that shocking instant ted got a vivid view of the elephant ant, its brown spindly legs and antenna shining glossily, its curling trunk out-thrust at them menacingly. but as the blast of the rifle died out and the ant continued to charge, ted knew he had missed his mark.
(uncaptioned)
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there was no time to fire again. ted couldn’t carry much, but he dropped his useless weapon and gathered up the spare air cartridges. then swiftly he darted after jill and randy, who seemed to have found a way of escape. he saw them disappearing through a narrow passage beside the rock. he was glad to see that randy had managed to hang onto one of the flashlights and was leading the way with it.
ted didn’t know how long they ran up and down rocky inclines and gullies. but they seemed to be leaving their enemy behind. they ducked in and out of clutching vines and creepers. more than once, ted dropped one of the bulky air tanks, but he retrieved them, for they were the most precious things they possessed. finally he caught up with randy.
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“help me take these!” he urged randy.
the boy took some and they hurried on after jill, whose fear seemed to have given her unusual speed. at last they reached the point where they could punish themselves no longer. jill had fallen exhausted to the ground, and ted felt as if he were ready to drop too. if the ant reached them now, it simply couldn’t be helped. ted had sacrificed the rifle for the precious air cartridges, but he was not sorry he had done so.
they sprawled breathlessly on the ground, their chests heaving, their eyes staring fearfully in the direction they had come. any instant they expected to see the horrible creature bearing down on them again. but after several minutes, during which time the animal had not appeared, ted felt they had eluded it. for the first time since the terrifying adventure, he felt that he could relax.
and yet he could not relax, really, even now. for the balance of the night still lay before them.
