“There’s an electron rifle and flashlights in with the other stuff,” Mr. Garland said. “I don’t think anything will bother you, though; otherwise I wouldn’t leave you alone. Most of the animals stay back in the thickest part of the forest.”
“Will you be going now?” Ted asked.
“Yes, there’s no way else we can help you except send rescuers as quickly as possible,” Mr. Garland declared. “Whatever you do, don’t leave that spot.”
That ended their conversation. Presently the other supply chutes filled the air, and Randy and the two young Kentons retrieved them. Then, lonesomely, the three watched the plane disappear into the sunset.
“I’m afraid,” Jill murmured, casting an anxious glance around her at the forbidding woodland.
“I am too, Sis,” Ted confessed. He looked at Randy, and his eyes were enough to tell that he was frightened too.
They looked around for some place of protection overnight. As the sun disappeared behind a distant ridge, they found a shallow opening under a clump of rocks that would shield them on three sides at least. Then they ate from a food packet, and after this they admitted that they felt better.
“If we get through this night safely,” Ted said, “we’ll probably make it all right.”
At last darkness set in. Phobos was making one of his frequent trips across the heavens, but his light was weaker than moonglow on Earth. However, it seemed to Ted that it wasn’t quite so lonely now, with the sky burning with its millions of cold lights. Yet it was still frightening to know that the three of them were off by themselves in probably the most perilous region of Mars.
They decided it was best not to use their flashlights unnecessarily, lest they attract wild beasts. They kept the atomic rifle handy in case it was needed in a hurry. Ted suggested that two of them sleep while one stood watch. Jill said she’d like to take the first watch because she was too nervous to sleep anyhow.