Standish smoked a pipe over this. When morning came, he began the herculean task of dismantling the motors. Day after day he struggled with the cumbersome machinery. When this stage of the work was finally completed, he was startled to discover that six weeks of Earth time had slipped by.
He then found in the machinists' quarters an electrolic saw. The tool was dull, but he managed to cut free a dozen girders for the framework of his craft. To his dismay he found them too heavy to move even with block and tackle. There was no alternative but to cut them into sections and weld them together, hoping they would stand the strain.
That night the first warning of trouble came. Absently Standish had noticed a chill in the air, a more oblique slant to the twin suns. Suddenly from the jungle beyond the ravine came a low rumbling.
The Earthman switched on a searchlight he had fastened on top of the forecastle. The white glare fastened itself on the wall of trees, revealed five figures advancing directly into the light.
On all fours they came, huge beasts with long tapered bodies covered with heavy white fur. Their heads resembled the saber-toothed tigers of Earth's Upper Miocene.
A dozen appeared before Standish understood. This zone of the planet was advancing into its cold season. The animals were part of a migrating herd, coming down from the warmer districts.
He drew his genithode pistol and fired into their midst. The foremost of the creatures keeled over, and the Earthman advanced boldly, firing as he went. Here was fresh meat, and with winter coming on, he intended to obtain as much of it as possible.
Standish was twenty yards from the hull of the liner when a coughing roar sounded behind him. He wheeled and uttered a cry of horror. If the creatures revealed by the light were giants in size, these others were titans. Nostrils picking up his scent, they came forward slowly, cutting him off from the ship.
He fired twice again, even as two of the monsters hurtled toward him. It was stark struggle then. With only the reflected light of the search lamp and the vague glow of the stars, Standish fought desperately. The pistol barrel became hot; the white-haired things went down in two's and three's.