“I’m sorry I wasn’t there to hear it. You seem amused,” replied the captain. “Did you tell your chief about the clouds which Stakendee has reported?”
“Oh, certainly. I told everyone. That was only a few minutes ago, though, and they haven’t come back with anything yet. I really wouldn’t expect them to, Captain; there just isn’t enough detailed information from the surface for interpolation, let alone prognosis. There was one thing though; Dr. McDevitt was very interested in finding out how many feet Stak’s group had climbed, and he said that if the clouds they reported hadn’t reached the Kwembly yet he wanted to know as exactly as possible the time they do. I’m sorry; I should have reported that earlier.”
“it doesn’t matter,” replied Dondragmer,. “The sky is still clear here. I‘ll let you know the moment I see any clouds. Does this mean that he thinks another fog is coming, like the one which preceded the last flood?” In spire of his inborn defenses against worry, the captain waited out the next minute with some uneasiness.
“He didn’t say, and he wouldn’t. He’s been caught to wrong too many times. He won’t take the chance again, If I know him, unless it’s a matter of warning you against some very probably danger… wait. There’s something on Stak’s screen. Dondragmer’s many legs tensed under him. “Let me check… yes, all Stak’s men but one are in sight, and that one must be carrying the back end of the set because it’s still moving. There’s another light ahead. It’s brighter than the ones we’re carrying — at least, I think so, but I can’t really tell its distance. I’m not sure where Stak’s people have seen it yet — but they should have; you said your eyes are better than the pickups.
“Mother, do you want to get in on this? And should we call Barlennan? I’m keeping Don posted.
“Yes, Stak has seen it and his party has stopped moving. The light isn’t moving either. Stak has the sound volume up, but I can’t hear anything that means anything to me. They’ve put the transmitter down, and are fanning out in front of it; I can see all six of them now. The ground is nearly bare, only an occasional patch of ice. No rocks. Now Stak’s men have put out their lights, and I can’t see anything except the new one. It’s getting brighter, but I guess it’s just the pickup cells reacting to the darker field. I can’t see anything around it; it looks a little foggy, if anything. Something has blocked it for a moment; no, it’s on again. I could see enough of a silhouette to be pretty sure it was one of the search party — he must have reared up to get a better look ahead. No I can hear some hooting, but isn’t not any words I know. I don’t see why… wait.
“Now Stak’s people are turning their lights back on. Two of them are coming back toward the set — they’re picking it up and bringing it forward toward the rest of the group. All the lights are well in front with them, so I can see pretty well now. There’s mist blowing past only a few feet — maybe a few inches — up; the new light is up in it a little way. I can’t judge its distance yet at all. The ground has no marks to help; just bare stone, with six Mesklinites flattened down against it, and their lights, and a dark line beyond them which might be different colored rock, or maybe a narrow stream slanting toward them from the far left and going out of sight to my right. Now I get a vague impression of motion around the new light. Maybe it’s around the running light of a helicopter — I don’t know how they’re arranged, or how high off the ground they are when the machine is parked, or how bright they are.
“Now it’s clearer… yes, there’s something moving. It’s coming toward us. Just a dark blob in the mist. It’s not carrying any light. If my guess at distance means anything, which it probably doesn’t, it’s about the same size as the Mesklinites. Maybe it’s Kervenser or Reffel—
“Yes. I’m almost sure it’s a Mesklinite, but still too far away for me to recognize. I’m not sure I’d know either of those two anyway. He’s crossing that line — it must be a stream; some liquid splashed up for a split second into the path of the light — now he’s only a few yards away, and the others are converging on him. They’re talking, but not loudly enough for me to make any of it out. The group is milling around, and I can’t recognize anyone. If they’d come a little closer, I’d ask them who’s there, but I suppose they’ll report pretty soon anyway, and I can’t make them hear through the airsuits unless they’re right beside the set. Now they’re all coming this way, and the bunch is opening out — two of them are right in front of the set; I suppose it’s Stakendee and the one who’s just—”
He was interrupted by a voice which originated beside him. It reach not only his ear, but three open microphones, and through them three different receivers on Dhrawn; and there it produced three very different results.
“Kabremm! Where have you been all these months?” cried Easy.
11
It really wasn’t quite Kabremm’s fault, though Barlennan was a long time forgiving him,. The transmitter had been away from the lights. When the newcomer had first joined Stakendee’s group he had not been able to see it; later he had failed to notice it; and not until he was within a foot or two did he recognize it. Even then he wasn’t worried greatly; human beings all looked alike to him, he assumed that his own people looked at least as indistinguishable to the humans, and while he would not have put himself deliberately in view, a sudden withdrawal, or any attempt to hide, would have been far more suspicious than staying calmly where he was.
When Easy’s voice erupted from the speaker with his name, it was obviously sixty-four seconds too late to do anything. Stakendee, whose reflex response to the sound was to reach for the shutter on the top of the vision set, realized in time that this would only make matters worse.
What they should do was far from obvious to either of them. Neither was an expert in intrigue, though Mesklin’s culture was no more innocent of political deceit than it was of the commercial variety. Neither was particularly quick-witted.
Kabremm, unlike Dondragmer, approved enthusiastically of the Esket project and of keeping it secret from the aliens. Even the Kwembly’s commander, a straightforward type who would be desirable for the Mesklinite group on Dhrawn to be as completely self-sustaining as [possible; Kabremm and Destigmet not only admitted it but regarded it as the most important of the problems facing the expedition. Barlennan, who had to use this as an excuse and to give the Esket’s crew responsibility for setting up the secret base.
Kabremm was, therefore, horrified at his slip, but utterly unable to think of anything to do about it — at least, anything not likely to conflict with what Barlennan was likely to do when the news reached him. He froze before the transmitter, wondering what would be his best line of action.
Barlennan, who also heard Easy’s cry, was in exactly the same situation. He hadn’t the slightest idea how or why Kabremm had wound up anywhere near the Kwembly, though the incident of Reffel’s communication cutoff had prepared him for something of the sort. Only one of the three dirigibles was employed on the regular shuttle run between the Esket site and the Settlement; the other were under Destigmet’s control and were usually exploring. Still, Dhrawn was large enough to make the presence of one of them in the Kwembly’s neighborhood a distinct surprise.