The fate of Janno’s message lay in the balance . . . and then . . . No!.. don’t throw it back into the sea! When we return to port we can sell it as a souvenir . . . we’ll spin a good story . . . say that we found it in the lair of a sea demon. I still say it’s accursed . . .. like everything in the forbidden sea! So the fateful message in the bottle was put to one side, amongst the fish they had caught. Meanwhile, deep in the airless waste between Elekton and the Moon, Bolus, Thulla’s strange craft journeyed on . . . In the vast hull, Janno and his comrades lay in their bunks . . . I wonder how far we’ve gone by now? I hope Thulla is in full control of this craft . . . It would be unpleasant to be dashed to pieces on the surface of Bolus! Thulla was certainly in control of his craft. Even at that moment the great scientist was gazing down at Bolus in triumph. All goes well . . . Already we are entering the field of the moon’s gravity! And then . . . it happened! The million-to-one disaster that not even Thulla could have prevented . A HAIL OF METEORITES!Janno and his comrades felt the death blow of the countless red hot particles, and were hurled headlong! Aaaaaaaagh! Out of control, the doomed craft toppled over and over . . . falling . . . falling . . . in the grip of Bolus’s gravity! In the turmoil of the control compartment, Thulla’s voice was raised in a frenzied scream! Operate the emergency landing gear! . . . quickly! . . . quickly, you fools! Thulla’s order was obeyed . . . moments later, the craft’s headlong fall was checked . . . and it swayed slowly down towards the surface of the moon. It descended slowly . . . yet with enough force to smash itself to ruin against a towering cliff wall! Later . . . the survivors crawled out of the wreckage and looked about them in awe at the inhospitable landscape. We’ve done it! . . . we’ve reached Bolus . . . and now we can never return! The old scientist pointed . . . to their mother planet. Behold Elekton! . . . look upon it well! . . . that is how we shall see it for the rest of our lives!
This instalment was originally published in Look and Learn issue no. 321 on 9 March 1968.
