"Let us see weather it is or not," Allenby said.
Burton brought out a steel tape-measure. The hole was four and three-eighths inches across. It was perfectly circular and about sixteen inches long. And four feet above the ground.
"But why?" said Randolph. "Why should anyone bore a four-inch tunnel through a rock way out in the middle of the desert?"
"Religious symbol," said Janus. He looked around, one hand on his gun. "We'd better keep an eye out—maybe we've landed on sacred ground or something."
"A totem hole, perhaps," Allenby suggested.
"Oh. I don't know," Randolph said—to Janus, not Allenby. As I've mentioned, we always ignored Allenby's puns. "Note the lack of ornamentation. Not at all typical of religious articles."
"On Earth," Gonzales reminded him. "Besides, it might be utilitarian, not symbolic."
"Utilitarian, how?" asked Janus.
"An altar for snakes," Burton said dryly.