We were down on the roof-structure itself now, clambering forward over its sluiceways.
"Ed!" He gripped me. In the air over us the Turber Time-aero came sailing! It was solid—not traveling in Time—merely sailing here in Space. Two or three hundred feet above us, moving slowly north!
We stared with sinking hearts. This was so wholly unexpected. The aero seemed descending, as though it might land on the roof. A moment; and then it flashed, faded into phantom. There was an instant when I thought it had gone through the roof. The wraith of it vanished.
We stood stricken. Was Turber taking Nanette into some other Time-world? Abandoning his enterprise here? It did not seem likely when he was winning.
Or was the aero going into Time to try to find our tower? Had Turber some inkling that Lea was bringing us a superweapon? Was he sending his aero to try and prevent that? If so, were he and Nanette in the aero? We had no way of knowing.
"I think we should go on," Alan whispered at last. "Nanette may be in the city. If they'll accept us as Turberites—if we can only get to her—"
We got through the gateway. A guard was there. He chanced to speak English. We flung back our cloaks.
"Special business for Dr. Turber. Good news!"
There seemed only one fellow here. Then off to one side we saw a dozen or more, seated on the roof in a glow of light, lolling about, smoking.
The fellow passed us. We went on.