in the sand, quite motionless.

The sun was sinking. Its blazing heat was abating somewhat; its face was large, and red. For miles, across the surface of the sand, the shadows of the dunes were stretching out.... And out of the sunset a tiny speck of black appeared.

Where he lay the man heard the sound of it--a steady drone, or buzz. At first it did not catch his attention, its inception was so gradual; but soon it became a roar, and he opened his eyes with a start. He had heard no sound since the departure of the space ship--had expected none. An uneasy excitement gripped him. He strained his eyes upward....Suddenly, over the dune against which he lay, there shot a something, roaring thunderously. He cowered down, stunned by the terrific sound of it; but he watched it with wide eyes, as it moved across the sky.
It was T-shaped; with the cross-piece going before. Beneath it hung two wheels. It gleamed metallically.
Without attempting to rise, he howled shrilly, time after time, catching his breath in gasps--while the thing moved steadily away. Following an undeviating line, it left him far behind, diminished to a speck, and disappeared. The sound of it lingered when he could see it no longer.
His breath came quickly, spasmodically, through parted lips; his throat was tight, and his heart pounded. The staggering surprise of what he had seen and heard left him incapable of thought. His mind was a racing turmoil of questions. His contentment, his resignation were gone--destroyed in a moment; and in their place rose a great uneasiness.
The return of Hope, to a man who has definitely put it away from him, is a joy closely akin to pain in its intensity. His whole body shook as he struggled with the sand, attempting to rise.
He had seen a machine, he knew. It could not have been an animal. It was not alive, and it was made of metal.... A machine meant reasoning beings. There must be reasoning beings on Toon--where Loten's scientists had argued that they could not be! And machines that travelled through space! Perhaps....
As the new possibilities of his situation burst upon him, his homesickness returned a thousandfold; and he knew that he could rest no longer--could not wait in the sand for death. He must struggle--he must strive, until the end came--because there was a chance!
Immediately, his mind became purposeful, and he took stock of his position. He knew that the whole of Toon was not like this great stretch of sand. Thousands of years of observation of the bright planet had convinced the scientists of the Loten that it bore vegetation—and probably animal life of some sort....
But rational beings! His astonishment re-asserted itself. Five thousand years 

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