"Venus is big," I said doubtfully. "And our supplies won't last forever. If we fail to find anything, the scientific data we'd gather would give us something to capitalize on."
We didn't discuss the matter further, for just then Sandley returned from one of his photographing jaunts. He seemed greatly excited.
"Just discovered a new form of life," he announced triumphantly. "Saw the creatures at a distance, but from what I was able to make out, they look something like overgrown butterflies. Had large, brightly colored wings, anyway. Have to catch a specimen." Sandley's spectacled, owlish features turned puzzled. "Can't understand why I haven't noticed the creatures before. Seem to have appeared only recently."
"Where were you?" Pearce asked.
"Near the upper end of the valley. It's rocky there, with lots of ore outcroppings. Might contain valuable elements. You fellows ought to go with me next time."
"We'll do that," Pearce said. He glanced at me significantly.
We went with Sandley the following day. We took along our machine-pistols, a few pieces of light equipment, and some food. Sandley, of course, had his camera. It was the first time that Pearce and I had gone any great distance from the ship, and we were more than ordinarily uneasy. But the possibility that we might discover ores or minerals of value was too tempting to resist.
We moved through a deep quiet, broken only by occasional twitters or trills. We caught frequent glimpses of the creatures emitting the sounds as they fluttered among the branches of the vivid, unearthly trees. They resembled birds in a way, having feathered wings, but their bodies were lizard-like and covered with bright, rainbow-hued scales. And several times animals bounded from our path that looked like nothing so much as tiny deer. These seemed to be quite numerous.
The vegetation gradually thinned out as the ground became increasingly rocky. Ahead of us loomed the rugged, precipitous ascent of the valley's upper end.
Sandley stopped, peering about him. "This is the place." Abruptly he pointed. "There—the butterfly-creatures! See them?"