Masson shook his head. "That would warn them. I may need weeks to learn the secret of their system of hatching the eggs." His webbed gray hand swept in a short arc.
"Some of those caves must have other entrances. From the rim perhaps. That's what we'll look for."
Dolan shrugged. "Right you are," he agreed.
"My theory is," Masson said, "that Venus was formerly much warmer than it is now. For that reason the incubation temperature must be artificially raised. The question is: how much and how long must the eggs be artificially warmed. And do they use pools of all-but boiling water, or is the heat comparatively dry?"
"That's for you to find out," said Dolan. "Me, I'm nothing but a truck driver. I ain't no college-brain guy."
"You do all right," said Masson, grinning. "You seem to find your way around the jungle easy as a native."
"Huh," snorted Dolan. "Ten years hammering the pavements and dodging traffic does that. You gotta have a quick eye and remember what you're doing."
Masson got to his feet and moved back from the brink.
"Let's start hunting," he suggested.