"We came from the sky, following, hunting. It had power and gold in its belly, and they kept us from it. They kept us Outside, away from the Ship, and we starved and froze and waited. And now we're going in." He caught his breath between his teeth and shuddered. "And now we're going in!"
Kirk whispered, "What are 'power' and 'gold'?"
"I don't know. Something in the legend. Something men live for, and die for. We'll know soon."
"We'll know soon. Samel, remember the bargain. No killing or plundering among the Hans."
Samel smiled, but the muscles ran hard along his jaw.
"If you're telling the truth, there won't be any reason for it. We'll let the Officers decide whether they die or not." Samel started forward. "The Ship," he said softly, and laughed. "The Ship!"
They went toward the cleft in the rock. Somebody said, "Hey, it's warm in this gorge!" Kirk realized then that he wasn't cold, and wondered why. Then he smiled bitterly. Sure. The Officers had found a vein of heat-stones, probably just under the soil where they were standing. The gorge had never been a source of the stones, the crystal rocks that looked just like the ones scattered all over except that they had a tiny light in them and burned you when you picked them up. But the Officers must be getting them from here and taking them up to the Ship, to hoard.
Most of his superstitious chill went away when he thought about that.
Inside the cleft was a shaft leading up, tool-shaped here and there, with rusty metal bars set in the rock. Kirk led the way. There was no sound made loud enough to be heard over the wind that blew across the plateau. Kirk and Samel came up out of the shaft and took the two guards from behind easily enough, and went on to the Ship.
Just for a moment, looking down across the plain, thinking about Ma Kirk and Lil and the little ones, Kirk was scared. He'd let the Piruts in. If Samel didn't keep his word, if anything....