There was a tiny, straggling thread of white visible in the now. It
thinned out to nothingness, but its nearest part flared out and flared
out and flared out. It grew larger, came closer with a terrifying speed.
"_Twelve miles_," said the speaker harshly. "_Rockets firing._"
The downward-hurtling trail of smoke was like a crippled plane falling
flaming from the sky, except that no plane ever fell so fast.
At seven miles the white-hot glare of the rocket flames was visible even
in broad daylight. At three miles the light was unbearably bright. At
two, the light winked out. Sally saw something which glittered come
plummeting toward the ground, unsupported.
It fell almost half a mile before rocket fumes flung furiously out
again. Then it checked. Visibly, its descent was slowed. It dropped more
slowly, and more slowly, and more slowly still....
It hung in mid-air a quarter-mile up. Then there was a fresh burst of
rocket fumes, more monstrous than ever, and it went steadily downward,
touched the ground, and stayed there spurting terrible incandescent
flames for seconds. Then the bottom flame went out. An instant later
there were no more flames at all.
Sally began to run toward the ship. She stopped. A procession of
rumbling, clanking, earth-moving machinery moved out of the Shed and
toward the upright space tug. Prosaically, a bulldozer lowered its wide
blade some fifty yards from the ship. It pushed a huge mass of earth
before it, covering over the scorched and impossibly hot sand about the
rocket's landing place. Other bulldozers began to circle methodically
around and around, overturning the earth and burying the hot surface
stuff. Water trucks sprayed, and thin steam arose.
But also an exit-port opened and Joe stood in the opening.
Then Sally began to run again.
* * * * *
Joe sat at dinner in the major's quarters. Major Holt was there, and
Joe's father, and Sally.
"It feels good," said Joe warmly, "to use a knife and fork again, and to
pick food up from a plate where it stays until it's picked up!"
"The crew of the Platform----" Major Holt began.
"They're all right," said Joe, with his mouth full. "They're wearing
gravity simulator harness. Brent's got his up to three-quarters gravity.
They get tired, wearing the harness. They sleep better. Everything's
fine! They can handle the space wagons we left and they've got guided
missiles to spare! They're all right!"