He raced after it, his swift young legs moving as easily and painlessly as pistons. He reached the bundle just before the change in gradient which marked the first half of the ramp. Horrified, he increased his speed. Propelled by the sharp incline, the bundle branched off at a tangent. He caught it just as it was about to plunge over the side. When he picked up the blanket, it was curiously light.
There was nothing inside it.
Very slowly, he clambered back up the slope.
As he came level with Gillian, he put his arm around her shoulders. "Don't worry," he said. "Jason was too small to play." Taking her by the hand, he led her to the short, vertical ladder which led into the lifeboat.
After the harsh glare of the sun, the cabin seemed dark and strange. What light there was was filtered through six small port-holes—three on either side—in which the glass was tinted a deep blue.
It took him nearly ten minutes to strap Gillian into the safety harness, and by the time he had adjusted his own, she was asleep. He stretched out his right hand and switched on the recorder.
"Curtis!" it began.
Calmly, he carried out the instructions. The deep, commanding voice left nothing to chance.
A pull on the master lever drew up the ladder and closed the hatch in hydraulic silence. The soft whistle of oxygen escaped from pressurized cylinders. An automatic transmitter broadcast an endless S.O.S. Deep in the heart of the lifeboat, dynamos pulsed with the throb of power.
"Now, Curtis," said the voice from the past, "turn the red switch in front of you to 'Fixed Control.' Have you turned the red switch to 'Fixed Control'? Then lie back and fasten your safety harness as tight as you can. Have you done that?"
"Yeah," Curtis said, lying back.
"You've done everything you had to do," the voice continued. "Now shut your eyes and don't move! Everything will be all right. The two of you will reach Earth. You don't doubt that, do you?"
"No," said Curtis, closing his eyes and relaxing, reassured by the voice from the past. "I know we'll get there."
"And the two of you will get married when you're old enough. To each other, of course."
"Of course," Curtis agreed.
"Good luck!" said the voice. "Good luck to you both!"
It clicked off then and the lifeboat sped Earthward.