" Perry Rhodan 0047 - (39) The Silence of Gom" - читать интересную книгу автора (Perry Rhodan)

searchlight to illuminate every inch of the room but was unable to find the hole through which they had
entered.

Marshall assisted with the search while Bell and the two teleporters held the advancing flounders in
check with short bursts of low-yield energy.

After one minute it had become clear: the hole no longer existed. The flounders had moved in to close it
up.

"BellтАЩs forehead broke out in sweat. "We must dig another shaft," he decided. "LetтАЩs get cracking! Put
Ivan next to the wall over there!"

He rushed ahead and put his raygun to work. He disregarded the heat exuding from the melting stone
which now was not carried away by a cooling storm. The outside temperature climbed to nearly 600┬░F,
raising the heat inside the spacesuits to more than 100┬░ despite the heat controls working at capacity.

But the temperature also got too much for the flounders. They formed a semi-circle around the group
who watched Bell blasting away and at the same time kept a wary eye on the flounders, ready to shoot if
they attacked anew.

The exit grew deeper foot by foot. First Goratschin was pushed in behind Bell and the others followed.
When the flounders started to move in behind them, Marshall blasted them with a steady fire and killed
so many that the others lost interest in the pursuit.

Meanwhile Bell remembered that he would have to slant his shaft upward in order to get to the main
tunnel. He tried to guess the proper angle and began to cut steps into the rock.

The extra work didnтАЩt matter much more since Marshall had apparently succeeded in preventing the
flounders from following them.

Nonetheless Betty maintained that the telepathic command to continue the attack remained in effect
without pause.

Therefore Marshall stayed behindтАФon the first step to avoid any unnecessary risk from the flounders.
Bell had cut each step about one foot wide and five feet high. Marshall was able to lie down comfortably
by pulling in his legs a little.

Above him Bell, Betty and the two teleporters climbed up on the steps they laboured to build, dragging
the unconscious Goratschin with them. After awhile he saw only the irregular swinging of their lamps.

His own shone straight ahead into the shaft.

Nothing happened in the next quarter hour. But finally his helmet-mike began to pick up the creepy
scraping, sending shudders down his spine.

The flounders were on the march!

Marshall calmly watched them as they moved into the light-cone of his lamp. He couldnтАЩt judge whether
they noticed the light. In any case the grating noise continued unchanged.