Mr. Swift seemed to read Tom's thoughts. "Let's hope no hitch has occurred," he said quietly.
The sun went down. Twilight slowly deepened. The trees on the hillside faded from view in the gathering darkness.
"There it is!" Bud yelled suddenly.
Electrified, the four sprang up in an instant. A speck of light was sailing across the sky! But their faces fell as it drew closer.
"Only an airplane," Bud grumbled.
At ten o'clock Mr. Swift gave a weary yawn. "The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak," he confessed. "I got only two hours of sleep on the space wheel, and apparently last night wasn't enough to catch up. Sorry, fellows."
"Why don't you go home, Dad? Hit the hay," Tom said sympathetically.
Promising to take a turn on watch if the vigil continued through the next day, Mr. Swift drove off in his car.
Time dragged by slowly as the three remaining watchers chatted and looked hopefully at the stars. Eventually Chow propped himself against a tree and dropped off to sleep to the accompaniment of low-droning snores. Bud too began to drowse.
It was long past midnight when Tom suddenly caught sight of a moving light in the sky. He stiffened and held his breath. Another false alarm?