He found things, and some of them he knew and recognized and some of them he didn't.
But, most important, he found the telescope, and after some trials and errors, he remembered how to operate it.
And now he knew how to find the planets—if this were the target star and there were any planets. Three hours gone and Joshua had not returned. It was too long to be gone just to get some food. He paced up and down the room, fighting down his fears.
Something had happened, something must have happened to the old man.
He went back to the telescope and began the work of running down the planets. It was hard work and purposeless at first, but bit by bit, with the handling of the instruments, the facts started drifting up into his consciousness.
He found one planet—and there was a knock upon the door.
He left the telescope and strode across the room.
The corridor was full of people and all at once they were shouting at him, shouting hateful words, and the roaring of their voices was a blast of anger and of condemnation that sent him back a step.
In front were Herb and George and behind them all the others—men and women both, and he looked for Mary, but he didn't see her.
The crowd surged forward and there was hatred and a loathing on their faces and the fog of fear came out of them and struck deep into Jon Hoff.