wouldn't have done a thing to the ship exceptget it wet. If you can even call it a storm."
"I can and I do," Jrann-Pttt replied, haughtily squeegeeing his wetscales. "All I said was that a storm might be coming up and it might bedangerous. How was I to know it would last only half an hour?"
"Even the camp stools pulled through," Greenfield pointed out, "and yousaid shelters wouldn't stand up."
"I only said they might not. Can't you understand your own language?"
The fissure in the clouds had not quite closed yet and through it theenormous, blazing disk of the sun glared at them, twice as large as itappeared from Earth. It was a moot point as to whether they'd be driedout or steamed alive first.
"Might as well collect whatever gear we have left and get it to higherground," Miss Anspacher said efficiently. "Two feet of water won't doanything any good--even those camp stools."
"It's my belief you wanted this to happen," Greenfield accusedJrann-Pttt. "You wanted to get rid of us."
"My dear fellow," Jrann-Pttt replied loftily, "the information I gaveyou was, to the best of my knowledge, accurate. However, I happen to bea professor of zoology and not a meteorologist. Apparently you peoplelive out in the open like primitives," he continued, ignoring Dfar-Lll'sadmiring interjection, "and are accustomed to the vicissitudes ofweather. I am a civilized creature; I live--" _or used to live_--"in anair-conditioned, light-conditioned, weather-conditioned city. It is onlywhen I rough it on field trips like this to trackless parts ofthe--globe that I am forced to experience weather. Even then, I havenever before been caught in a situation like this."
_In fact, I was never before caught or I wouldn't be in this situationat all._
"Oh, Jrann-Pttt," sighed Miss Anspacher, "I knew you couldn't be just anordinary native!"
"How did you get into this situation then?" Professor Bernardi asked. Hehad an unfortunate talent for going directly to the point.
"The third member of our expedition died," Jrann-Pttt explained. "He wasour dirigational expert. Our guide."
"How did he happen to--"
"Are we just going to stand here chatting," Miss Anspacher demanded, "orare we going to do something about this?"
"What can we do?" Mrs. Bernardi asked weakly. "We might just as well liedown and--"
"Never say die, Louisa," Miss Anspacher admonished.
"I suggest we go to my camp to see what shape it's in," Jrann-Pttt said,furiously putting together Plan C. "Some of the supplies there mightprove useful."
Captain Greenfield looked questioningly at Bernardi. The professorshrugged. "Might as well."
"All right," the captain growled. "Let's pick up whatever we can save."
* * * * *
Since there wasn't much that could be rescued, the little safari wassoon on its way. Jrann-Pttt led, carrying Algol in his arms. Behind cameMortland, bearing a camp stool and the kettle into which he had tucked atin of biscuits and into which the mosquito-bat had tucked itself, itsorange eyes glaring out angrily from beneath the lid. Next came Mrs.Bernardi with her knitting, her camp stool and her sorrow.
Dfar-Lll followed with two stools and the plastic tea set. Close behindwas Miss Anspacher, with the sugar bowl, the earthenware teapot and animmense bound volume of the _Proceedings of the Physical Society ofAmeranglis_ for 1993. Professor Bernardi bore a briefcase full of notesand the table. The rain had damaged the latter's mechanism, so that itslegs kept unfolding from time to time, to the great inconvenience ofCaptain Greenfield, who brought up the rear with the blasting equipment.Behind them and sometimes alongside them came something--orsomeone--else.
"Surely your camp must have been closer to ours than this," MissAnspacher finally remarked after they had been slogging through mud andwater and pushing aside reluctant vegetation for over an Earth hour.
"I am very much afraid," Jrann-Pttt admitted, "that our camp has beenlost--that is to say, inundated."
"What are we going to do now?" the captain asked of the company atlarge.
Professor Bernardi shrugged. "Our only course would seem to be makingfor one of the cities and throwing ourselves upon the na--Jrann-Pttt'speople's hospitality. If Professor Jrann-Pttt has even the vaguest ideaof the direction in which his home lies, we might as well head thatway." _I wonder whether the natives could help us raise the ship._
"I'm sure my people will be more than happy to welcome you," Jrann-Ptttsaid smoothly, "and to make you comfortable until your people sendanother ship to fetch you."
The terrestrials looked at one another. Dfar-Lll looked at Jrann-Pttt.
Professor Bernardi coughed. "That was the only spaceship we had," headmitted. "The first experimental model, you know." _We don't expect tostay on this awful planet forever. After all, as Louisa says, thegovernment will have to forgive us. Public opinion and all that._
"Oh," the saurian said. "Then we shall have the pleasure of your companyuntil they build another?"
There was silence. "We have the only plans," the professor said,gripping his briefcase more tightly. "I am the inventor of the ship, sonaturally I would have them." _If we brought back some specimens ofVenusian life--of intelligent Venusian life--to prove we'd beenhere...._
"Matter of fact, old fellow," Mortland said, "we took all the plans withus so they couldn't build another ship and follow--"
"Mortland!" the professor exclaimed.
"But they're telepaths," Miss Anspacher said. "They must know already."
Everyone turned to look at the saurians.
"I have ... certain information," Jrann-Pttt admitted, "but I cannotunderstand it. You are in trouble with your rulers because they wouldnot give you the funds, claiming space travel was impossible?"
"That's right," Bernardi said. _Not really specimens, you understand.Guests._
"And you went ahead and appropriated the funds and materials from yourgovernment, since you were in a trusted position where you could do so?"
Bernardi nodded.
"Of course the question is now academic, for the ship is gone, but sinceyou proved the possibility of space travel by coming here, wouldn't yourgovernment then dismiss the charges against you?"
"That's exactly what I keep telling him!" Mrs. Bernardi exclaimed.
But her husband shook his head. "The law is inflexible. We have brokenit and must be punished, even if by breaking it we proved itsfundamental error." _Why let him know our plans?_
_Why, Jrann-Pttt, that sounds just like our own government, doesn't it?_
_Yes, it does. We should be able to establish a very satisfactory modeof living with these strangers._
"We'd hoped that after a year or so the whole thing would die down,"Mortland explained frankly, "and we'd go back as heroes."
"Do you know the way to your home, Jrann-Pttt?" the professor askedanxiously.
"Since we were able to catch a glimpse of the sun, I think I can figureout roughly where we are. All we must do is walk some two hundredkilometers in that direction--" he waved an arm to indicate theway--"and we should be at the capital."
"Will your people accept us as refugees?" Miss Anspacher demandedbluntly, "or will we be captives?" _Which is what I'll bet the goodprofessor is planning for you, if only he can figure some way to get youand, of course, ourselves back._
"We should be proud to accept you as citizens and to receive thebenefits of your splendid technology. Our laboratories will be placed atyour disposal."
"Well, that's better than we hoped for," the professor said,brightening. "We had expected to have to carve our own laboratories outof the wilderness. Now we shall be able to carry on our researches incomfort." _No need to trouble the natives; we'll be able to raise theship ourselves. Or build a new one. And I'll see to it personally thatthey have special quarters in the zoo with a considerable amount ofprivacy._
"If I were you, I wouldn't trust him too far," the captain warned. "He'sa foreigner."
"You ought to be ashamed of yourself, Captain!" Miss Anspacher said."I, for one,
trust Jrann-Pttt implicitly. Did you say this direction,Jrann-Pttt?" She stepped forward briskly. There was a loud splash andwater closed over her head.
Captain Greenfield rushed forward to haul her out. "Well," she said,daintily coughing up mud, "I was wet to begin with, anyway."
"You're a brave little woman, Miss Anspacher," the captain told heradmiringly.
"This