It was as he was pressing along that he thought of Bud Mulligan, who had gone out with "B" flight in an effort to find and destroy—or at least delay—Colossus. Thinking of Bud reminded him that they wore on their persons the means of constant communication. The chances were greatly against Bud's being on the beam, but it was worth a try. He took the miniature vocoder from his breast pocket and activated it on the secret S.I.D. wave-length. Vastly to his surprise, he got an immediate reply.
"O.Q., chief! Where in Tophet have you been? I've been buzzing you for the past hour and a half!"
Rocky signaled back, "Where are you, Bud?"
"Look north," ordered Bud, "and east ... about thirty thousand elevation. If you see five black dots in the sky, they ain't asterisks—they're us. Flight B, keeping an eye on the Mountain that Walks Like a Man."
"Then he—he's in sight?"
"How can you miss him? He's bigger than the landscape. Can't you see him yet?"
"No."
"Well, I'm afraid you will. He's heading your way now. Keep an eye on the horizon and—"
A sudden roar rose from the throngs swarming the safeway. It was a roar of fear, but deeper even than the note of fear was that of awe. Rocky, looking up from his vocoder swiftly, beheld two things simultaneously. First—the dawn of a new day. Saturn-rise, breaking swiftly, suddenly, over the horizon, brooming all shadows in its path immediately. And the second phenomenon—