The Sun had long since been a pin-point of light. The darkness ahead was no different from the darkness behind, but the men felt infinitely more alone. Behind were the known planets. Ahead was X—the unknown. It might be days more, or merely hours. No one slept now.
It was only hours later when the Finder began acting erratically again. Brownell, who seemed indefatigable, took over the controls from Janus. But he didn't try to adjust direction now.
"It's Planet X," he said. "Has to be! We'll let the Finder take us right there!" He switched on the visipanel and adjusted the lens to fullest power.
"It must be a dark planet," Mark pointed out. "Certainly the Sun's light doesn't reach it. How do you hope to see it in the panel?"
"Ordinarily I'd say you were right," Brownell nodded. "But look! There it is!"
Barely discernible on the screen, they saw a vague pin-point of light. Brownell glanced at the proximity indicator and gasped.
"Over three million miles—it can't be! Not the way it's pulling us now. Unless," he added thoughtfully, "it has a gravity grab equal to that of Jupiter at half the distance! Good Lord!" He tested instruments, gave experimental side thrusts with the Tuner, but they came back irresistably into the pull of the planet ahead.
Hour after hour they came nearer. The planet resolved into a dark disc with a peculiar surrounding halo.
"I don't like it," Janus reflected the thoughts of them all. "That light—where does it come from? Not the Sun! The Sun doesn't even touch Pluto!"
"Maybe it has a Sun of its own," ventured Kaarj. "On the other side."