Katrinka was definitely headed in one particular direction because she varied hardly any in her line of motion. She seemed to be going toward an area where the rocks rose high and ominous looking. It was much like the spot where the boys had had their recent harrowing experience. “Garry, please,” Patch begged, panting for breath, “let’s call this crazy chase off! That athletic gal is running me ragged! Besides, she seems to be taking us straight into those rocky walls!” “Well, there’s one thing certain,” Garry replied. “She’s _got_ to change direction pretty quick, or she’ll crash into something. Let’s stick it out a few more minutes.” They drew closer to the shadowy outcropping. But the robot did not even slow her pace. The boys knew she was heading for a collision, but there was nothing they could do but watch. Somehow she got past the first row of stones, tripping and nearly falling, then recovering automatically. But her luck was short lived. The path went downhill beyond this spot, and her big metal foot slammed against a boulder. The robot arched through the air and crashed headfirst into a rocky wall. It crumpled her metal cranium, spewing out wires and electronic parts. The boys came running up and stood looking at the fallen giant. “Poor old Katrinka,” Garry said. “She was almost like one of us. It’s nearly as if another one of us had died.” “Yeah, I liked the old gal,” Patch replied. “She may have survived a crash on the moon, but it’s a cinch she’s reached the end of her rope now.” Garry cast a look around to see what sort of area they had come into. His eyes followed the downhill trail ahead that Katrinka would still be following had she not had her accident. What he saw brought a gasp of astonishment from him, and a nervous tremor coursed through his body. “Patch, look!” he shouted. “The _Carefree_! There’s the _Carefree_ down there, half buried in moon dust!” They rushed down the trail to get a closer look. The giant space ship was indeed buried half of her depth in pumice dust. The rear air lock was level with the ground, and extending from the air lock was a gangplank! The boys moved up to the edge of the gangplank, looking it over in bafflement. “Don’t tell me Katrinka put that down and walked out of the ship on it!” Patch challenged. “You can’t get me to believe that, Garry.” “No, you’re right; she couldn’t possibly have done that on her own. She might have done it, Patch, but she would have had to be guided by an intelligent _human_ brain.” “Garry, what are you saying? Are you trying to say that Ben might have survived that crash and rigged up Katrinka so that she could go out looking for us? Why, that’s fantastic!” “We’ll soon find out if it’s so fantastic,” Garry said. “The ship is nearly undamaged, as you can see.” “What are you going to do?” Patch asked, as Garry moved ahead. “I’m going to walk that gangplank up to the air lock and see if Ben is inside.”