What next? He pulled the map from his pocket and opened it.
It was easy to see why he had remembered MkDowl Dome would be here. It was the only dome in Alpheus Canal. There were no others anywhere within walking distance—or in crawling distance, when his oxygen supply failed. There was Charax, about 1,800 miles southeast. Mars City was about the same distance north, and Hesperidum about the same distance northeast.
The nearest dome of any kind was a private dome, Kling's Dome, on Peneus Canal at least 250 miles away.
He had been just as well off before he ever came to MkDowl's Dome. But now MkDowl was dead and his two daughters were homeless.
His marshelmet radio buzzed.
"MkDowl Dome, we're nearing you," said a faint voice. "Should land in half an hour. Light beacon and give us a radio beam."
The radio antenna and the beacon had gone down with the dome. Without these, would the government 'copters ever find MkDowl's Dome in the night?
The sun dropped behind the far cliffs and the red twilight of Mars deepened suddenly into darkness. Shaan was safe from discovery for the night now, but the girls might not be rescued in time.
He picked them up from the ground and started off in the general direction of the cactus that had been his temporary home before. He plodded through the canal sage, the girls a dead weight under his arms.
Twice the government 'copters plaintively demanded directional help. After the second time, he switched off the helmet radio.