A whirlwind swept down upon him, wrapping thin arms about his waist, burrowing a face against him. He went down on his knees and took Dessie into a tight hug.
“Dardie,” she was sniffling a little. “They said you would come an’ I’ve been watching all the time! Dardie,” she smiled at him blissfully, “I do like this place! I do! There are lots of animals in the grass and some of them have houses just like us-and they like me! Now that you’ve come home, Dardie, everything is wonderful-truly it is!”
“It sure is, honey.”
“So there you are, son,” Trude Harmon bore down upon him. “Hungry, too, I’ll wager. You come right in and rest and eat. Heard tell that you had yourselves some excitin’ times.”
With Dessie holding his hand tightly and Lanny bringing up the rear still carrying his pack, Dard came into a room where there was a long table flanked by benches. Kimber was already sitting there, empty plates before him, talking to an excited Kordov.
“But where did they go-those city dwellers?” the little biologist sputtered as Dard waded into the food Trude Harmon spread before him. “They could not just vanish- pouff!” He snapped his fingers. “As if they were but puffs of smoke!”
Kimber gave the same answer to that question as Dard had made. “Say an epidemic following war-germ warfare-or radiation sickness-who can tell now? By the weathering of the city they have been gone a long time. We found no traces of anything but animal life. And nothing to fear but the lizards…
“A whole world deserted!” Kordov shook his head. “It is enough to frighten one! Those Others took the wrong turning somewhere.”
“It is up to us to see that we don’t follow their example,” Kimber cut in.
That evening the voyagers gathered about a giant campfire in the open space before the cliff house, while Kimber and the others in turn recited the saga of their journey into the interior. The city, the robot-controlled battery, the battle with the lizards, held their listeners enthralled. But when they had done the question came again: