I did not mention Anita. Miko could doubtless read these signals. And in the camp they must have missed Anita by now. They answered:
"Cannot—"
I lost the rest of it. There came a flash from Miko's weapon. But it gave us confidence. He could not reach us at the moment.
The Grantline beam repeated:
"Cannot come out. Portes broken. You cannot get in. Stay where you are—an hour or two. We may be able to repair portes."
The portes were broken! Stay here an hour or two! But I could not hold this position against Miko that long! Sooner or later he would find a place from where he could sweep this bowl beyond possibility of our hiding. I saw him running now, well beyond my range, to ferret out another point of vantage.
I extinguished my light. What use was it to tell Grantline anything further? Besides, my light was dangerous.
But the Grantline beam spelled another message:
"The brigand ship is coming! It will be here before we can get out to you! No lights! We will try and hide our location."
And the signal-beam brought a last appeal to me: