ke this elevator for the first
ten floors."

He drew her up to the top of the block. Harkness joined them, and Diane,
though she tried to smile in response to Chet, did not refuse their help
in making the ascent; the day's experiences had told on all of them.

Thirty or forty feet above the ground was Chet's estimate. From the top
of their little fort they watched the shadows of night sweep swiftly
down. Scrub tree growths whose roots had anchored among the rocks gave
them shelter, while vines and mosses softened the hard outlines of the
labyrinth of stones.

* * * * *

Chet undid the package of meat and passed it out freely. There had been
scurryings and rustlings in the jungle growth that had reassured him in
the matter of food. Darkness fell as they ate; then it gave way to a new
flood of light.

Golden light from a monstrous moon! It sent searching fingers through
rifts in the leafy roof, then poured itself over the edge of the opening
above in a cascade of glory. And, though each one of the four raised his
eyes toward that distant globe and knew it for the Earth, no word was
said; they ate their food in silence while the silent night wrapped them
about.

Still in silence they prepared for the night. Chet and Harkness
improvised a bed for Diane in the shelter of a sheer-rising rock. They
tore off pieces of moss and stripped leaves from the climbing vines to
make a mattress for her; then withdrew with Kreiss to a short distance
while Chet told them of his suspicions.

"Six hours of night," he said at last; "that means two hours for each of
us. We'll take turns standing guard."

Harkness insisted upon being first. Chet flipped a coin with Kreiss and
drew the last turn of guard duty. He stretched himself out on a bit of
ground where vegetation had gained a foothold among the rocks.

"It's going to take me a while to get used to these short days," he
said. "Six hours of daylight; six hours of night. This is a funny,
little world--but it's the only one we've got."

The night air was softly warm; the day had been hard on muscles and
nerves. Chet stared toward the glorious ball of light that was their
moon. There were men and women there who were going about their normal
affairs. Ships were roaring through the air at their appointed levels;
their pilots were checking their courses, laughing, joking.

* * * * *

Chet resolutely withdrew his eyes. T