There was fire outside. The boat had come down upon a grassy plain; now
the grass was burning from the heat of the jets. One by one, they ran
forward along the top of the rocket-boat, jumping down to the ground
clear of the blaze. Then, with every atom of strength they possessed
they ran away from the doomed boat.
* * * * *
The ground was rough, and the grass high, impeding them. One of the
girls tripped and fell; without pausing, two others pulled her to her
feet, while another snatched up and slung the carbine she had dropped.
Then, ahead, Kalvar Dard saw a deep gully, through which a little stream
trickled.
They huddled together at the bottom of it, waiting, for what seemed like
a long while. Then a gentle tremor ran through the ground, and swelled
to a sickening, heaving shock. A roar of almost palpable sound swept
over them, and a flash of blue-white light dimmed the sun above. The
sound, the shock, and the searing light did not pass away at once; they
continued for seconds that seemed like an eternity. Earth and stones
pelted down around them; choking dust rose. Then the thunder and the
earth-shock were over; above, incandescent vapors swirled, and darkened
into an overhanging pall of smoke and dust.
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