"He can't stay in there much longer," said Firebird. The heat was already strongly felt at the dune.
"There he is!" Nathan exclaimed.
A figure burst suddenly out of the inferno and ran towards the far side of the burning town.
"We're on the wrong side," said Firebird. "Keep your eye on him and we'll move over if we can do it without being seen."
Cautiously, through the blow holes and behind dunes, they made their way forward. The sound of their engines and propellers was muffled in the roar of the fire.
They topped a rise and Nathan exclaimed, "There's his sled. He's moving."
"He must think we're dead," said Firebird. "He probably plans to come back and search the ruins for the Jewels when it's cooled off."
She added speed to overtake the other sled. It was in sight only part of the time and it would be easy to lose in the dunes and blow holes.
Nathan lowered the port a trifle and stuck the nose of the rifle through. He got a bead on the forward sled. And the instant he pressed the trigger, their own sled dipped down so that his shot went low.