. An improvement indeed over the inactivity of their former
peaceful weeks!

Grantline mentioned it to me. "Well put up a good fight, Haljan. These
fellows from Mars will know they've had a task before they ever sail
off with the treasure."

I had many moments alone with Anita. I need not mention them. It
seemed that our love was crossed by the stars, with an adverse fate
dooming it. And Snap and Venza must have felt the same. Among the men,
we were always quietly, grimly active. But alone.... I came upon Snap
once with his arms around the little Venus girl. I heard him say:

"Accursed luck! That you and I should find each other too late, Venza.
We could have a lot of fun in Greater New York together."

"Snap, we will!"

As I turned away, I murmured, "And pray God, so will Anita and I."

The girls slept together in a small room of the main building. Often
during the time of sleep, when the camp was stilled except for the
night watch, Snap and I would sit in the corridor near the girls'
door, talking of that time when we would all be back on our blessed
Earth.

Our eight days of grace were passed. The brigand ship was due--now,
tomorrow, or the next day.

I recall, that night, my sleep was fitfully uneasy. Snap and I had a
cubby together. We talked, and made futile plans. I went to sleep, but
awakened after a few hours. Impending disaster lay heavily upon me.
But there was nothing abnormal nor unusual in that!

Snap was asleep. I was restless, but I did not have the heart to
awaken him. He needed what little repose he could get. I dressed, left
our cubby and wandered out into the corridor of the main building.

It was cold in the corridor, and gloomy with the weak blue light. An
interior watchman passed me.

"All as usual, Haljan."

"Nothing in sight?"

"No. They're watching."

I went through the connecting corridor to the adjacent building. In
the instrument room several of the men were gathered, scanning the
vault overhead.

"Nothing, Haljan."

I stayed with them awhile, then wandered away. An outside man met me
near the admission lock chambers of the main building. The duty man
here sat at his controls, raising the air pressure in the locks
through which the outside watchman was coming. The relief sat here in
his bloated suit, with his helmet on his knees. It was Wilks.

"Nothing yet, Haljan. I'm going up to the peak of the crater to see if
anything is in sight. I wish that damnable brigand ship