if I can help it. . . . That's all. Get back. Drop all this secrecy—or most of it. And come again."
He reflected. "When I came to the moon," he said, "I ought to have come alone."
"The question before the meeting," I said, "is how to get back to the sphere."
For a time we nursed our knees in silence. Then he seemed to decide for my reasons.
"I think," he said, "one can get data. It is clear that while the sun is on this side of the moon the air will be blowing through this planet sponge from the dark side hither. On this side, at any rate, the air will be expanding and flowing out of the moon caverns into the craters. . . . Very well, there's a draught here."
"So there is."
"And that means that this is not a dead end; somewhere behind us this cleft goes on and up. The draught is blowing up, and that is the way we have to go. If we try to get up any sort of chimney or gully there is, we shall not only get out of these passages where they are hunting for usTemplate:Longdash"
"But suppose the gully is too narrow?"
"We'll come down again."
"Ssh!" I said suddenly; "what's that?"