at had thrown it up had been extinct for millennia.

"Water!" gasped Dodd.

They looked all about them. They could see no signs of a spring
anywhere, and both were parched with thirst after their terrific climb.

"We must find water, Haidia," said Tommy. "Why, what's the matter?"

Haidia was pointing upward at the starry heaven, and shivering with
fear. "Eyes!" she cried. "Big beetles waiting for us up there!"

"No, no, Haidia," Dodd explained. "Those are stars. They are
worlds--places where people live."

"Will you take me up there?" asked Haidia.

"No, this is our world," said Dodd. "And by and by the sun will rise,
that's a big ball of fire up there. He watches over the world and gives
us light and warmth. Don't be afraid. I'll take care of you."

"Haidia is not afraid with Jimmydodd to take care of her," replied the
girl with dignity. "Haidia smells water--over there." She pointed across
one side of the crater.

"There we'd better hurry," said Tommy, "because I can't hold out much
longer."

* * * * *

The three scrambled over the soft sand, which sucked in their feet to
the ankle at every step. It was with the greatest difficulty that they
succeeded in reaching the crater's summit, low though it was. Then Dodd
uttered a cry, and pointed. In front of them extended a long pool of
water, with a scrubby growth around the edges.

The ground was firmer here, and they hurried toward it. Tommy was the
first to reach it. He lay down on his face and drank eagerly. He had
taken in a quart before he discovered that the water was saline.

At the same time Dodd uttered an exclamation of disgust. Haidia, too,
after sipping a little of the fluid, had stood up, chattering excitedly
in her own language.

But she was not chattering about the water. She was pointing toward the
scrub. "Men there!" she cried. "Men like you and Tommy, Jimmydodd."

Tommy and Dodd looked at each other, the water already forgotten in
their excitement at Haidia's information, which neither of them doubted.

Brave as she was, the girl now hung back behind Dodd, letting the two
men take precedence of her. The water, saline as it was, had partly
quenched their thirst. They felt their strength reviving.

And it was growing light. In the east the sky was already flecked with
yellow pink. They felt a thrill of intense excitement at the prospect of
meeting others of their kind.

"Where do you think we are?" asked T