"And he says it's nothing much!" came from Janus.
"It still needs some working out. The coils didn't stand up, the last time I applied it out there."
In two more days they were turning out the neutro weapons in quantity. During that time nothing more was seen of the Perlacs, as the robot-Ketrik maintained a vigilance. Brownell made a last check-up of the spaceship, and more important still, he strengthened the Frequency Tuner to counteract the gravity.
On the last night, Mark tossed restlessly in his bed. He could not sleep, and he didn't know why. Was it something they had forgotten? He didn't think so. Nevertheless he had a preternatural awareness of something wrong....
He arose, dressed quickly. There was never "night" on this side of the little world, but the rooms were automatically dimmed. Silently he tip-toed through the rooms. Brownell was there, sleeping peacefully. And Janus, and all the others.
No! Ferris was gone.
Mark's heart leaped. He had never liked that man, never quite trusted him. Now it came back. Ferris' eternal harping about the fortune he had put into this expedition.
If that little rat was planning—Mark hurried outside. The city was deathly quiet, immersed in sleep. The eternal light struck his eyes and brought him fully alert. He hurried along the street toward the outskirts, toward the base of the hill where the spaceship waited.
As he neared the hill, he spied Ferris. The man was coming down the slope. Ferris saw him, and waved a hand in greeting.