Wryly, he thought of one of the more abhorrent of the local fauna, a lizard-like creature which attacked any animal which had the single qualification of being within a considerable jumping range. The beastie combined the least intelligence with the most virulent poison in several star-systems. With barbed feet and tail, it clung to its victim through the death throes—which usually began immediately—and unless torn apart or crushed in the process, it fed. Fortunately, the species was one of hundreds equally numerous and generally less deadly.
At least five minutes had passed, by the most meticulous of estimates, when Archer saw the glow. He had been looking at it for several seconds, in the direction of Stokely, before he realized what it was.
He had expected a modification of the greenish luminescence of the jade itself. But this was a mere patch of gray in the blackness, to begin with. It whitened, gradually revealing the blurred silhouette of the man within it. At that level it remained, and his outline grew no sharper. By blinking several times, Archer was able to distinguish the arms from the rest of him, and assumed from their respective positions that Stokely was holding his gun in his left hand, the syringe in his right.
It seemed twice as long—by which Archer judged it was about half—before a similar dusky patch became visible in the direction of Evans. He showed up very soon thereafter, because unlike Stokely, he was churning his arms as if in direct combat with the cold.
Archer began to count slowly to himself, swinging his arms in a period of about a second. He had not done so before, because it would have served no particular purpose, and would have made the time seem even longer. Now it was important not to allow too long an interval following the second revelation of the deadly symptom. There must not be too much time for the others to think about the situation.
Yet there must be enough to insure his showing the symptom himself, if he were going to. He estimated that Evans' period of "incubation" had varied from Stokely's by about a minute, allowing for the difference in the time of exposure. If Archer's varied from Evans' by as much as two minutes, there could still be three minutes or more to go. Of course, it was possible that he already showed it—or even that he had been the first. Five minutes should allow a safe margin, he decided.
Two minutes of it were now gone. Archer's arms felt like lead-weighted pendulums, yet he restrained the tendency to urge them to more rapid motion. The count of 60 took a small eternity.
Three minutes. His arms were so numb it was occasionally difficult to tell for sure when they had reached the end of their swing. It would have been reassuring to be able to see them. He widened his eyes and blinked rapidly, trying to penetrate the dark, and momentarily he almost fancied he saw a dim haze about him. He thought of the dead man they had found in the pilot's seat. There were no limits to the fallacy of human vision, under emotional stress.
Four minutes. If the original 20-minute period happened to be over and the others were aware of it, they made no sign. That would not be strange. Having agreed that Archer would make the first report, they would hesitate to venture any comment, for fear of dropping some kind of hint.