Ted kept his fingers crossed for Randy. It would be a terrible shock to him if his father were not one of the survivors. The unhappy moment he had dreaded for so long might now be at hand. Their screen showed the swift trip from Lowell Harbor over red sands and lichen forests. At last the plane came in for landing in a wild, rocky region.
The man who met the TV men in the plane was the pilot who had first sighted the missing engineers. “Come with me,” the pilot said, “and I’ll show you who the survivors are and we’ll hear their story.”
Ted saw Randy get up and move close to the screen. He saw Randy’s toe beat a nervous tattoo against the floor as he waited. Mrs. Kenton had come into the room in the meantime, when she found what was going on. Even Jill could hardly be restrained from leaving her bed to come in and take part in the great discovery that meant so much to young Randy Matthews.
“The men survived by holing up in an underground cave, and they signaled the scouting plane,” the pilot explained, as he led the TV men over the rocky ground. “It was a landslide that broke up the expedition, destroying all means of transportation and communication. The six who lived through it gathered up all the spare oxygen tanks and food supplies. They had plenty along because the expedition was to have lasted three months. They carried the tanks underground where a hot spring kept them warm.”
When the entrance to the cave was reached, the pilot called inside, and six space-suited figures walked tiredly out. They were not recognizable in their space dress, for even their helmets were too dark to show their faces.
“Gentlemen,” the TV announcer said to the survivors, “I’m sure every television set, at the colony and on faraway Earth too, is tuned to this spot. Of course, the big question in all the people’s minds is which of the men who were lost are among you alive. Will each of you pass before our camera and give your name?”
Ted felt his nerves tighten as the men, one by one, faced the screen. Two, three, then four bearded men passed and gave their names. Randy’s father was not one of them. Two more to go. Just then the worst possible thing happened. The screen suddenly went gray.
The picture flashed on.
Ted heard Randy groan. The seconds ticked by. Still no picture. Finally, after five minutes, the announcer said that picture service would be restored in a few more minutes. Ted could see the perspiration gleaming on Randy’s face, and his fingers were clenching and unclenching continuously.