The food was fish again, together with quarter portions of the concentrate cakes and some capsules Kordov insisted they take. When they were finished the First Scientist turned to Kimber.
“Now that you have that sky-buggy of yours put together you will be off?”
“Yes. There are four, maybe five hours of daylight left. I think that a survey from the air would show us more in that length of time than a trip on foot.”
“You say “us.” Whom do you take with you?” asked Carlee.
“Rogan- he’s had experience on Venus. And ”
Dard held his tongue. He could not beg to go; Kimber would choose Cully, of course. The pilot didn’t want a green hand. He was so sure of that choice that he could hardly believe it when he heard Kimber say;
“And the kid-he’s light weight. We don’t want to overload if we haul back game or specimens, too. Cully’s a crack shot and I’ll feel safer to leave him on guard here.”
“Good enough!” Kordov agreed. “Just do not voyage too far, and do not fall off that silly ship of yours-to land on your heads. We have no time to waste patching up explorers who do not know enough to keep themselves right side up!”
Thus Dard found himself sharing the pilot’s seat on the sled with Rogan crawling in behind. Kimber insisted that they buckle their safety belts under his supervision and he tested their fastenings before they took off. The rise of the light craft was not so abrupt as the first time and Kimber did not try to get much above the level of the cliff tops.
They skimmed along only a few feet above the rock as they flashed north, the curving shoreline as their guide.