Page:Fantastic Volume 08 Number 01.djvu/65

 lurking Martians, and once that had been achieved, he would be willing to get on with the repair of the radio.

He did not reply immediately, and I restrained myself from looking up for fear of seeming anxious enough to rouse his suspicions. At last, when I had started to consider the next step, he said:

"They wouldn't be able to reach us once the platform lifted, would they?"

"Of course not—if they are there at all. I've not seen one yet," I said, trying not to give any encouraging support to his fancies.

"I nearly saw one half a minute ago. But they're always just too damned quick, blast them," he complained.

"There'd be no hiding from overhead observation in this desert," I pointed out. "If they are there, we'll be able to spot them easily from the platform."

"If—" he began indignantly, and then stopped, apparently struck by an idea. After a pause he went on in a quite different tone:

"All right. Yes, that's a good idea. Let's locate the platform, and start getting it out."

His change of front was sudden enough to make me look at him in astonishment. His expression was enthusiastic, and he gave an encouraging nod. Apparently I had chosen the right line, though I hoped he would not back off the idea with the same unexpectedness that he had veered on to it. At the moment, however, he was certainly all for it, and pulled a file of papers out of a locker.

"The loading plan ought to be here," he said, "I'm pretty sure the platform was stowed in Number Two hold-section. "

It was soon pretty clear that Camilo's "let's" was a manner of speaking. What he meant was that I should get the platform out. I made one attempt at persuading him to put on a spacesuit, and give me a hand, but he was so clearly averse to that that I gave up rather than risk having him turn against the whole idea. Once I had it assembled, and he could step straight on to it, I could lift it at once, and show him that nothing could be lurking in that desert. So presently I went out alone, and opened up Number Two hold-section to get the platform out.

There had been something of a tussle over the provision of a jet-platform for us. The type that had proved itself on THE TROONS OF SPACE