They forced themselves to break from a walk to a trot. The windows they passed showed a lighted corridor. The walls were of various glowing colors. Many paintings hung on them, and at intervals statues painted flesh colors stood by the doors leading to other rooms within. Then they came to several windows which were part of a large room. Furniture was arranged within it, and a huge fireplace in which a fire burned was at the extreme end.
A robot, about four feet high, dome-shaped, wheeled, was removing dust from a large table. A multi-elbowed metal arm extended a fat disc which moved over the surface of the table. Another arm moved what seemed to be a vacuum cleaner attachment over the rug behind it.
Kickaha increased his pace. Anana kept up with
him. He wanted to get to the front before the palace began the ascent. The front would be only a foot from the slope, but, since the building would maintain a horizontal attitude, the rest would be too far from the ground for them to reach it.
Just as the forepart reached the bottom of the mountain, the two attained their objective. But now they had to climb.
None of the windows they had passed had revealed any living being within.
They ran around the corner, which was just like the rear one. And here they saw their first hope for getting a hold. Halfway along the front was a large balcony. No doubt Urthona had installed it so that he could step out into the fresh air and enjoy the view. But it would not be a means of access. Not unless the stranger within the palace had carelessly left it unlocked. That wasn’t likely, but at least they could stop running.
Almost, they didn’t make it. The upward movement of the building, combined with their running in front of it, resulted in an angled travel up the slope. But they kept up with it, though once Kickaha stumbled. He grabbed the edge of the bottom, clung, was dragged, then released his hold, rolled furiously, got ahead, and was seized by the wrist by Anana and yanked forward and upward. She fell backward, but somehow they got up and resumed their race without allowing the palace to pass over them.
Then they had grabbed the edge of the balcony and swung themselves up and over it. For a long time they lay on the cool metallic floor and gasped as if each breath of air was the last in the world. When they were breathing normally, they sat up and looked around. Two French doors gave en-
trance to an enormous room, though not for them. Kickaha pushed in on the knobless doors without success. There didn’t seem to be any handles on the inside. Doubtless, they opened to a pushbutton or a codeword.
Hoping that there were no sensors to give alarm, Kickaha banged hard with the butt of his knife on the transparent material. The stuff did not crack or shatter. He hadn’t expected it to.
“Well, at least we’re riding,” he said. He looked up at the balcony above theirs. It was at least twenty feet higher, thus, out of reach.
“We’re stuck. How ironic. We finally make it, and all we can do is starve to death just outside the door.”
They were exhausted and suffering from intense thirst. But they could not just leave the long-desired place. Yet, what else could they do?
He looked up again, this time at dark clouds forming.
“It should be raining soon. We can drink, anyway. What do you say we rest here tonight? Morning may bring an idea.”
Anana agreed that that was the best thing to do. Two hours later, the downpour began, continuing uninterruptedly for several hours. Their thirst was quenched, but they felt like near-drowned puppies by the time it was over. They were cold, shivering, wet. By nightfall they’d dried off, however and they slept wrapped in each other’s arms.
By noon the next day their bellies were growling like starving lions in a cage outside which was a pile of steaks. Kickaha said, “We’ll have to go hunting, Anana, before we get too weak. We can always run this down again, though I hate to think of it. If we could make a rope with a grapnel, we might be able to get up to that balcony above us. Perhaps the door there isn’t locked. Why should it be?”