"We are saved but temporarily from a fate such as theirs," said the professor gravely, "for unless we can get the ship repaired within the time left us before the meteoric mass strikes the sun, we shall be annihilated with everything else on the face of this world when the sun explodes and the nova spreads swiftly throughout this system of planets."
"How can we ever leave here—even if the necessary repairs are made in time?" asked 119M-5. "We are unable to escape the power of this world's gravitation from a distance, so how are we to get free now that we are upon its surface?"
"Our gravitational resisters were faulty and were overcome and broken down by the mighty strain of this planet's pull," 20R-654 explained. "They must be reconditioned, and, besides repairing the hull, new parts must be made which will give us a greater lifting power when we take off. Starting from a dead stop on this giant world will require tremendous forces we have never previously required because we have never visited planets of this size."
CHAPTER THREE
Caught By the Giants
The machine men lost no time in exploring the region where they had come down. Moving at great expense of energy, they radiated in a circle from the great tangle of vegetation until one of them found a break in the forest.
A level expanse stretched away to mountains that loomed in the background. Tiny specks flew high in the sky. These puzzled the machine men until they saw one of them drop low above the forest and veer toward the fallen spaceship in curiosity.
It was an enormous bird with an animal-like snout. Four legs and the wing tips ended in talons.
"What monsters!" exclaimed 744U-21. "The bird is fully half as long as our spaceship from one wing tip to the other!"