"We'll see what his next move is," he muttered. "If he gets too fresh, we'll try a sun-blaster out on him."
The ship began to glow softly, flushing a soft, delicate green. The light bathed the interior, turning the men a ghastly hue. Gunn shivered and looked at Emerson, who went to the port window; stood staring out, gasping.
"Wot's happenin' now?" choked Gunn.
"We're off the ground! Whatever it is, it's lifting us."
The others crowded about him, looking out. Here the green was more vivid, intense. They could feel its surging power tingling on their skins. Beneath them, the jagged peak of the mountain almost grazed the hull. Spread out under their eyes was the panorama of a dead planet.
Great rocks lay split and tumbled over one another in a black desolation. Sunlight glinting on their jagged edges, made harsh shadows. Far to the north a mountain range shrugged its snow-topped peaks to a sullen sky. To the south, beyond the rocks, lay a white waste of desert. To the west—
"A city," yelled Nichols, "the place is inhabited. Thank God, thank God—"
Mussdorf erupted laughter.
"For what? How do we know what they're like? An inhabited planet doesn't mean men. We found that out—several times."
"We can hope," said Emerson sharply. "Maybe they have some radium, stored so that our spectroscope couldn't pick it up."