"How can we ever leave here--even if the necessary repairs are made in time?" asked 119M-5. "We are unable to escape the power of this world's gravitation from a distance, so how are we to get free now that we are upon its surface?" "Our gravitational resisters were faulty and were overcome and broken down by the mighty strain of this planet's pull," 20R-654 explained. "They must be reconditioned, and, besides repairing the hull, new parts must be made which will give us a greater lifting power when we take off. Starting from a dead stop on this giant world will require tremendous forces we have never previously required because we have never visited planets of this size." CHAPTER THREE Caught By the Giants The machine men lost no time in exploring the region where they had come down. Moving at great expense of energy, they radiated in a circle from the great tangle of vegetation until one of them found a break in the forest. A level expanse stretched away to mountains that loomed in the background. Tiny specks flew high in the sky. These puzzled the machine men until they saw one of them drop low above the forest and veer toward the fallen spaceship in curiosity. It was an enormous bird with an animal-like snout. Four legs and the wing tips ended in talons. "What monsters!" exclaimed 744U-21. "The bird is fully half as long as our spaceship from one wing tip to the other!" "Forms of life would have a tendency to run to size here," Professor Jameson remarked. "Creatures on this planet must of necessity be uncommonly strong, too." They came to refer to the giant world as Ajiat, expressing the mental thought of the spoken word they had known in their organic lifetimes back on Zor. The word referred to anything huge or colossal. With specially designed apparatus they carried for just such emergencies, the machine men quickly located and commenced mining the various ores and minerals they required in repairing the ship. When helium was discovered in large quantities, the professor was seized with an inspiration. "Let us discover more about this world now that we are on it. From on high, we can look over a great deal of the surrounding country." "But how shall we get up there?" "The helium," Professor Jameson voiced his hidden thought. "We can make a balloon and rise on its lifting power." For observation purposes, a metal globe was quickly fashioned, the basket of the balloon made of light metal framework and covered with wood from the surrounding forest. Firmly anchored to the ground with metal hawsers, the globe was filled with helium. The basket carried four machine men with their equipment. With him, Professor Jameson took 6W-438, 12W-62 and 29G-75. "From what we know of the atmosphere, the amount of helium in the globe should carry us four miles or higher." "The birds will probably attack you," warned 119M-5.