Lamoureux stared. The mountains stretched into the air exactly the same as before, the same scarlet and gold colors glowing on their peaks, the same shadows on their sides. But the saddlebacked ridge between them-- Lamoureux looked again. The entire ridge was gone. IV The snow fell as steadily as ever while Lamoureux waited for the men to assemble. Only two were missing now--Terrill and Carvalho. McCracken had fired again and again into the air, but these two had not returned. Lamoureux decided finally, "It looks as if they're not coming. Gronski, you take over for Carvalho. You'll stay here in charge of his group while the rest of us climb the mountain." McCracken said, "You want me to come with you, don't you, Captain?" "I certainly do. I'm curious to know what in hell way of ruining this expedition you'll think of next." "Aw, now, Captain, that isn't fair. How was I to know that whole ridge was one big animal? You wouldn't have believed it yourself. Something over five hundred feet high, with a neck even longer. We're not used to them that big on Earth. Here the gravity's less, so it's okay. But even Kalinoff--" "Don't talk to me about Kalinoff," said Lamoureux fiercely. "He's as bad as you. That screwball!" "We're still trying to find him, aren't we, Captain?" "Sure, we're trying to find him, but how can we expect to do it?" Was it his imagination, or did McCracken seem pleased? Lamoureux didn't care. He went on, very bitterly, "He starts off by telling us that the Mercurians are intelligent. You saw how intelligent they were. Where's that specimen we had?" "He got lost in the shuffle," reported Gronski. "It's just as well. Kalinoff tells us of a landmark--two mountains with a saddlebacked ridge between them. The ridge runs away, and our landmark isn't a landmark any more. Then there's the weather--no rain, no hail, no snow. Nothing but pure fresh air and nice clean sunshine." He kicked at a snowdrift. "What's this thing supposed to be, a mirage?" McCracken said, "I know how you feel, Captain. But about this mountain now--do you really think we ought to climb it?" "Why not?" "You can't see the top from here on account of the snow. It's coming down in bigger flakes than ever now. That means you can't see here from the top. And as the only reason we want to climb it is to take a look around--" "We'll climb it anyway. Maybe it isn't snowing as hard on the other side." * * * * * They started off then, with Lamoureux barely keeping a tight enough grip on his feelings to prevent his talking to himself. The mountain was steep, but the gravity here being low, it was easy enough to climb. McCracken demonstrated how easy it was by running up it full speed. Lamoureux let him go, hoping that he would break his neck, but McCracken's luck was too good. All he did was start a gentle landslide that almost buried everybody else.