"I told you," said Angalo. "Blind faith never works." He glared at Gurder.

"He could have gone already," said Masklin. "He could have walked right past me."

"So let's get back," said Angalo. "People will be missing us. We've made the effort, we've seen the airport, we've nearly got stepped on dozens of times. Now let's get back to the real world."

"What do you think, Gurder?" said Masklin.

The Abbot gave him a long, despairing look.

"I don't know," he said. "I really don't know. I'd hoped ..."

His voice trailed off. He looked so downcast that even Angalo patted him on the shoulder.

"Don't take it so hard," he said. "You didn't really think some sort of Grandson Richard, 39, was going to swoop down out of the sky and carry us off to Florida, did you? Look, we've given it a try. It hasn't worked.

Let's go home."

"Of course I didn't think that, " said Gurder irritably. "I just thought that ... maybe in some way ... there'd be a way."

"The world belongs to humans. They built everything. They run everything. We might as well accept it," said Angalo.

Masklin looked at the Thing. He knew it was listening. Even though it wasjust a small black cube, it somehow always looked more alert when it waslistening.

The trouble was, it only spoke when it felt like it. It'd always give youjust enough help, and no more. It seemed to be testing him the wholetime.

Somehow, asking the Thing for help was like admitting that you'd run outof ideas. But ...

"Thing," he said, "I know you can hear me, because there must be loadsof electricity in this building. We're at the airport. We can't findGrandson Richard, 39. We don't know how to start looking. Please helpus."

The Thing stayed silent.

"If you don't help us," said Masklin quietly, "we'll go back to thequarry and face the humans, but that won't matter to you because we'llleave you here. We really will. And no nomes will ever find you again.