Key Out of Time | Page 7

the darts of that weapon and survive, Ross feared to attack
except as a last resort.
Above and to his left there was a small hollow where in the past some
portion of the growths had been ripped away. If he could fit himself
into that crevice, perhaps he could keep the dragon at bay until help
arrived. Ross moved with all the skill he had. His hand closed upon the
edge of the niche and he whirled himself up, just making it into that
refuge as the head lashed at him wickedly. His suspicion that the
dragon would attack anything on the run was well founded, and he
knew he had no hope of winning to the surface above.
Now he stood in the crevice, facing outward, watching the head darting
in the water. He had switched off the torch, and the loss of light
appeared to bewilder the reptile for some precious seconds. Ross pulled
as far back into the niche as he could, until the point of one shoulder
touched a surface which was sleek, smooth, and cold. The shock of that
contact almost sent him hurtling out again.
Gripping the spear before him in his right hand, Ross cautiously felt
behind him with the left. His finger tips glided over a seamless surface
where the growths had been torn or peeled away. Though he could not,
or dared not, turn his head to see, he was certain that this was his proof
that the walls of the saucer had been fashioned and placed there by
some intelligent creature.
The dragon had risen, hovering now in the water directly before the

entrance to Ross's hole, its neck curled back against its bulk. It had
wide flippers moving like planes to hold it poised. The body, sloping
from a massive round of shoulders to a tapering rear, was vaguely
familiar. If one provided a Terran seal with a gorgon head and scales in
place of fur, the effect would be similar. But Ross was assuredly not
facing a seal at this moment.
Slight movement of the flippers kept it as stabilized as if it sprawled on
a supporting surface. With the neck flattened against the body, the head
curved downward until the horn on its snout pointed the tip straight at
Ross's middle. The Terran steadied his spear-gun. The dragon's eyes
were its most vulnerable targets; if the creature launched the attack,
Ross would aim for them.
Both man and dragon were so intent upon their duel that neither was
conscious of the sudden swirl overhead. A sleek dark shape struck
down, skimming across the humped-back ridge of the dragon. Some of
the settlers had empathy with the dolphins to a high degree, but Ross's
own powers of contact were relatively feeble.
Only now he was given an assurance of aid, and a suggestion to attack.
The dragon head writhed, twisted as the reptile attempted to see above
and behind its own length. But the dolphin was only a streak fast
disappearing. And that writhing changed the balance the monster had
maintained, pushing it toward Ross.
The Terran fired too soon and without proper aim, so the dart snaked
past the head. But the harpoon line half hooked about the neck and
seemed to confuse the creature. Ross squirmed as far back as he could
into his refuge and drew his knife. Against those fangs the weapon was
an almost useless toy, but it was all he had.
Again the dolphin dived in attack on the reptile, this time seizing in its
mouth the floating cord of the harpoon and giving it a jerk which jolted
the dragon even more off balance, pulling it away from Ross's niche
and out into the center of the saucer.
There were two dolphins in action now, Ross saw, playing the dragon

as matadors might play a bull, keeping the creature disturbed by their
agile maneuvers. Whatever prey came naturally to the Hawaikan
monster was not of this type, and the creature was not prepared to deal
effectively with their teasing, dodging tactics. Neither had touched the
beast, but they kept it constantly striving to get at them.
Though it swam in circles attempting to face its teasers, the dragon did
not abandon the level before Ross's refuge, and now and then it darted
its head at him, unwilling to give up its prey. Only one of the dolphins
frisked and dodged above now as the sonic on Ross's belt vibrated
against his lower ribs with its message warning to be prepared for
further action. Somewhere above, his own kind gathered. Hurriedly he
tapped out in code his warning in return.
Two dolphins busy again, their last dive over the dragon pushing the
monster down past Ross's niche toward the saucer's depths. Then they