Astounding Science Fiction, British Edition — page 96: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

is a Se WV AD MLS ee t= se ie ot 4 1 ee PO Re ¥ Toe Se Ne ' igi? \ " iA meh: a ab 94 ASTOUNDING SCIENCE FICTION on, wondering, until the hazy dome of the sky darkened with another sunset. Through the night they sailed, wondering ; and no one knew whether to be relieved or worried when the new day revealed no trace of the flying machine. The wind was now stronger, and almost directly across the Bree’s course from the northeast; the waves had not yet followed _ it and were decidedly choppy in con- sequence. For the first time Barlennan perceived a disadvantage in the canoe; methane that blew or washed inboard stayed there. He found it necessary before the day was over to haul the little vessel up to the outer rafts and place two men aboard to bail— an act for which he had neither a word nor proper equipment. The sailors were not happy at first, but quickly discovered that relatively little effort was required merely to splash the liquid back overboard. After two or three days Barlennan started to send them out replacements, and was told they were perfectly happy to stay where they were. The days passed without reappear- ance of the glider, and eventually only the official lookouts kept their eyes turned upward in expectation of its return. The high haze thickened and darkened, however, and presently turned to clouds which lowered until they hung a scant fifty feet above the sea. Barlennan was informed by the Earthmen that this was not good flying weather, and eliminated the watch. Neither he nor the human beings stopped to wonder how the first glider had found its way on a night too hazy for the stars to provide guidance. The first of the islands to come into view was fairly high, its ground rising quickly from sea level to dis- appear into the clouds. It lay down- wind from the point where they first sighted it; and Barlennan, after con- sulting the sketch map of the archi- pelago he had made from the Earth- men’s descriptions, kept on course. As he had expected, another island appeared dead ahead before the first had faded from sight, and he altered course to pass to leeward of it. This side, according to observation from above, was quite irregular and should have usable harbors; also, Barlennan had no intention of coasting the windward shore during the several nights which would undoubtedly be required for his search. This island appeared to be high also; not only did its hilltops reach the clouds, but the wind was in large measure cut off as the Bree passed into its lee. Her speed dropped con- siderably, but remained high enough to satisfy her commander, particularly as the search ended almost as soon as it began. The shore line was cut by frequent fiords; Barlennan was intending simply to sail across the mouth of each in the hunt, but Dondragmer insisted that it would be worth while to penetrate to a point well away from the open sea. He claimed that almost any beach far enough up would be adequate shelter. Barlennan was convinced only to the point of wanting to show the mate how wrong he was. Unfortunately for this project, the first fiord examined made a sharp hook-turn half a mile from the ocean and opened into what amounted to a lake, almost perfectly circular and about a hundred yards in diameter. Its walls rose into the mist except at the mouth where the Bree had entered and a smaller opening only a few yards from the first where a stream from the interior fed into the lake. . The only beach was between the two nings. The crew discovered these facts bit by bit, for the wind was funneling Comclbooolkxs.conn