“Father won’t find out anything about it if we don’t get out of here!” Jill said anxiously.
“There must be a way to the top of the ground somewhere,” Randy answered. “I don’t see how the Martians could have walked up that steep incline we slid down.”
“Maybe the dirt has covered it over during the years,” Ted said. “Maybe there are steps underneath. But I don’t see how we could expect to uncover them. Let’s go on.”
They moved along, searching the uneven rocky streets. It was not a large city, and the three had no trouble keeping their bearings. A check on their air supply showed only an hour and a half of oxygen left in each of their suits. There would be even less were they to hurry and so breathe faster. This time they had no spare cartridges. If they did not find their way topside by that time, they were surely doomed.
After covering part of the city, the children found that the end of it fanned out into five separate narrow streets.
“One of these streets may lead to ground level,” Ted said.
“The only thing to do is try them,” Randy came back.
“We’ll save time if each of us takes a different way,” Ted suggested.
But Jill would have none of this plan. She had no desire to follow a lonely underground avenue by herself. They finally decided that Ted and Jill would go together and Randy agreed to go alone.