With the wavering unreality of a mirage, vague memories of those strange furred creatures, encircling him, surged into his mind; they seemed to have pressed close to him, holding hands. Strange! They were joined by a line of their fellow Panadurs to a similar circle surrounding a huddled figure a short distance away. But that was crazy! And Hugh's mind would slide back into the darkness again.
Once, he thought one of the Panadurs came and placed its exquisite face against his chest, and held it there a long time, as if it were testing the Earthman's metabolism. This seemed so very real! Hugh was aware of an almost crackling silence and the cave ceiling's unchanging luminescence.
Still a third time, he imagined that a silver-gray Panadur, almost stately in his measured movements, came over to him with a gleaming jewel in his hand. It was an inch in diameter and the same color as the creature's eyes, a pale luscent green. Majestically, despite his diminutive size, he placed the stone over Hugh's heart. Instantly the gem flamed with the effulgence of a glowing star. The Panadur seemed satisfied.
When at last Hugh Betancourt regained full consciousness, and was able to sit up and stare around him, he realized that he had not been a prey to delusions. Although he still felt weak, his mind was crystal clear. Here was the circle of Panadurs still enclosing him. But the circle had grown, as if a great many more creatures had joined the uncanny circle in an ecstasy to be in close proximity to the tall earthman. Their furry, vibrating bodies pressed close to him, and their strange, fragile hands touched his wrists and throat and face, as they seemed to caress him with infinite gentleness.
Waves of sheer energy seemed to envelop him and penetrate to the deepest recesses of his being, as if by some strange alchemy, these alien creatures of stark Europa were transmitting to him the elemental life force itself.
But strangely enough, that other circle of Panadurs enclosing that huddled figure over there, in the semi-gloom, was contracting as it grew smaller and smaller, day by day. Hugh ceased to wonder about all this as he lay back to gather his strength. He fell into a peaceful sleep.
This time when he awoke, it was a profound sense of well-being far beyond anything he'd ever known. It permeated his body with the exhilarating glow of a rare Venusian wine.
One thing, however, still eluded him. He sat up and felt his head where the blow had fallen. He remembered only the excruciating pain in the microscopic instant before the rushing darkness came. There was nothing there now. Not even a scar.
"A rock from the ceiling must have fallen," he thought. "My luck to be standing right under it."