ly toward us. They're bound to
see us soon, if they haven't already."

"That's true," said Nuwell, and added sourly: "But they ought to be
tuned in. It's required by law."

The dustcloud moved closer slowly, too slowly for a groundcar. They were
able to discern a dark nucleus below and in front of it. Then Nuwell
said:

"In the name of space! It isn't a groundcar, Maya. It's a band of
Martians! Let's get out of here!"

He started to walk on swiftly, but Maya stood her ground.

"Don't be silly," she said. "Martians won't hurt us. I was raised among
them."

Nuwell stopped and returned reluctantly to her side.

"They may not hurt us, but why wait for them?" he demanded, and there
was a touch of hysterical fright to his tone. "Let's go on, Maya!"

"We may very well have gotten off course in trying to go straight to
Ultra Vires," replied Maya logically. "That may be why we've not sighted
it yet. The Martians will know where it is, and meeting them may prevent
us from getting lost in the desert."

Nuwell subsided, but she could see from the expression on his face that
he was in a blue funk. This puzzled her. She could not understand why
anyone would be afraid of Martians. They were huge, and ugly, and alien,
but they were not inimical to humans.

When the Martians came near enough, Maya waved her arms at them and
started off to meet them, Nuwell following her at a little distance. The
Martians changed course slightly and came toward them.

Maya called childhood memories to her aid. She turned her helmet speaker
to its maximum volume, and spoke to them in their own language, in the
deepest tones possible to her.

"Children of the past, we seek that place in the desert which is called
'Ultra Vires' by humans," she said. "Can you show us the direction in
which we must travel?"

The Martians gathered around her, towering over her. There were four of
them. Their huge chests moved slowly, mixing oxygen from their great
humps with the surrounding air. Their thin arms hung limp at their
sides, and their big ears were pricked forward toward her. Their huge,
dark eyes seemed to look through her and beyond her.

"The sun moves toward this place, but there are no humans there now,"
boomed one of the Martians. "Nothing lives there now except small
animals in the walls and corridors."

"This we know," answered Maya. "We wish to go there that we may
communicate with other humans and have them come and get us."

She want