Had time not been a factor, Rock could have decelerated slowly with no strain. This had been the manner of their acceleration from the station. But Rock had realized that Kalmus would become impatient later and so had figured the flight for rapid deceleration and consequently much saving of time. Kalmus and his men took the deceleration shock in different ways. Since all the couches were in the same room, Rock could study their reactions. Jack Judas and Kalmus made no outward signs of discomfort, but Spooner and Pegg groaned continually. Although not exactly enjoying himself either, Rock, like his young friends, had been taught to take this, and through a certain pride would give no outcries. The lessening speed constricted the blood vessels in his eyes, blurring his vision, but Rock kept studying the reflecting prism over his cot to take his mind off the strain. And his hand did not drift far from the emergency controls should something go wrong. The prism brought the outside view right into the ship. Venus dominated the scene, like a giant snowball glittering with a light of its own. Rock could see the impenetrable clouds, chiefly of carbon dioxide, swirling and crawling over the surface of the planet like a tide. The invisible lands below were a hothouse of wind-swept desert and barren stretches. There were only a few isolated research settlements down there where brave scientists probed the hot soil for strange new things. When the _Dog Star_ slowed, the travelers were able to leave their couches. Rock consulted the charts and got a reading of their position from Ed, who was at the navigation instruments. “Here we are,” Rock said, indicating a spot on one of the maps. “At Point X we’ll match orbits with the _Northern Cross_, then we’ll accelerate a little so that we’re bound to overtake her eventually—that is, if she’s still in her original flight orbit.” “She’s _got_ to be there!” Kalmus cried a little frantically. “I’ve poured a fortune into this thing.” “I’ve got as much interest in this as you have, Tony,” Rock told him evenly. “We’re no expert Spacemen, but I’m pretty sure we’re going right so far.” The travelers began watching the radarscope for first signs of the ghost ship. But no “blips” showed on the screen. Later, every crewman was assigned a watch at the ’scope. This was intended to keep a man continually on duty. When the ship moved in exposure to the sun, the ports had to be shielded with filter screens. An outside movable reflector blind, highly polished and operated automatically by a thermostat, reflected away much of the heat and light. Despite its dangerous aspects, the sun was a magnificent object. Its white-hot surface was eye-searing bright and showed dark islands of sunspot activity, any one of which could swallow Earth. Its edges threw out mountainous red tides that lapped outward many thousands of miles into the black deeps. It was a sight that brought a lump of awe into one’s throat.