was at least as good protection against sunstroke as a heat-helmet. She might feel hot, but she would be perfectly safe. She wouldn’t even sunburn. But he, Bordman——

He grimly stripped to underwear and put on the heat-suit from his bag. He filled its canteens from the boat’s water tank. He turned on the tiny, battery-powered motors. The suit ballooned out. It was intended for short periods of intolerable heat. The motors kept it inflated—away from his skin—and cooled its interior by the evaporation of sweat plus water from its canteen tanks. It was a miniature air-conditioning system for one man, and it should enable him to endure temperatures otherwise lethal to someone with his skin and coloring. But it would use a lot of water.

He climbed to the exit port and went clumsily down the exterior ladder to the tail fin. He adjusted his goggles. He went over to the chattering young Indians, young man and girl. He held out his gloved hand.

“I’m Bordman,” he said painfully. “Here to make a degree-of-completion survey. What’s wrong that we had to land by boat?”

Aletha’s cousin shook hands cordially.

“I’m Ralph Redfeather,” he said, introducing himself. “Project engineer. About everything’s wrong. Our landing grid’s gone. We couldn’t contact your ship in time to warn it off. It was in our gravity field before it answered, and its Lawlor drive couldn’t take it away—not working because of the field. Our power, of course, went with the landing grid. The ship you came in can’t get back, and we can’t send a distress message anywhere, and our best estimate is that the colony will be wiped out—thirst and starvation—in six months. I’m sorry you and Aletha have to be included.”

Then he turned to Aletha and said amiably:

[15] “How’s Mike Thundercloud and Sally Whitehorse and the gang in general, ’Letha?”

[15]

The Warlock rolled on in her newly-established orbit about Xosa II. The landing boat was aground, having removed the two passengers. It would come back. Nobody on the ship wanted to stay aground, because they knew the conditions and the situation below—unbearable heat and the complete absence of hope. But nobody had anything to do! The ship had been maintained in [16] standard operating condition during its two-months’ voyage from Trent to here. No repairs or overhaulings were needed. There was no maintenance-work to speak of. 

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