After a jubilant dinner Terry and Deirdre sat in the veranda.
Davis came out. He blinked at the night.
"Deirdre? Terry?"
"Here," said Terry.
Davis joined them. They had drawn apart a little.
"Good news by short-wave," said Davis. "Those rockets were picked up by radar. They divided into two groups. One headed sunward. The other headed for deep space. My guess is Venus for one group and Jupiter for the other. They couldn't have come from Mars. But they've gone home. Both groups."
Terry paused, and then said wryly, "Two races! Some of the bolides were bullet-shaped and some were globular. That figures. But two races capable of space travel and both in our own solar system!"
Davis grimaced. "We've been talking about it. Our guess is that the Venus race developed in deep water, and therefore at high pressure. And anything that developed on the solid surface of Jupiter would also be accustomed to extremely high pressure."
Terry nodded. He was not exactly absorbed in what Davis had to say. But he said suddenly, "I make a guess. They didn't want to start a colony here. The sea-bottom here is too cold to be comfortable for the beings from Venus, and far too hot to suit those from Jupiter. But both needed terrific pressure. In order to keep contact with each other, in order to do business, they could have set up a trading post here. To meet and trade. Neither one could take over the earth. When you think of it, we couldn't take over Venus or Jupiter! Maybe that's the answer!"
"Eh?" said Davis.