"Yes, I know." The line was taut now, and Uncle Andy was fighting a catch. "Take the English clan--that Cyril Rollins or whatever his name is, and your Lady Dewitt and the governess and the two Crispin sisters and that old retired sea captain, Langham. Colonization is a tradition with them. By God, if they had a flag they'd unfurl it in the name of the Queen! They can't quite swallow the concept of complete severance with the world they knew. It's a sort of mental defense mechanism, I guess. And no criticism, either. Merely a sign of their own particular character as a people. But that's just an example of the grouping that's going on."
The catch came in--a two foot lizard, glaring scarlet with blue and yellow gills and black eyes that pierced one with a deadly stare of murderous hate.
"Hm-m-m. That biologist, Doctor Singer, will have to see this." Uncle Andy held it beneath his foot studying it. "This certainly is a different type of world. Entirely different evolution. All the fauna and flora we've seen yet are different than anything we've known. Hundreds of millions of years--maybe much more. I'd swear we're still on Earth. It _feels_ like Earth. But what happened to our own time? Did the world start over again, somewhat unthinkably long ago? Where are we? At the dawn or at the end of Creation?"
Henry reflected that there were five mental cases back in camp--all raving idiots. They, too, had tried to find an answer, but their minds were not as well balanced as others. He pinned his faith on minds like Uncle Andy, his own--and Martia's. He couldn't see Martia yet--not alone, that is. Sooner or later, though, after the Lady Dewitt extracted herself from her delusions--
"You're talking to yourself," he accused. "We were discussing the people. One group I don't like is that Tommy Weston gang. They are the crude pebbles in the glass jar--and they are trouble makers. The incident about the women last night is just one indication of what's ahead. Here we are in Paradise and some are reverting to animals already."
Night was only an arbitrary period of rest. In this world there was no actual night. Daylight apparently continued forever.
"Look!" exclaimed Uncle Andy. "Here comes Valerie and Pee Bee!"