Darkness still stagnated in the valley-bottom, but there was plenty going on. The hills reverberated with the crash of metal on metal, grey-clad workers hurried hither and thither through the half-light and when Rose looked up she saw that the air-screws of the three hundred helicopters were slowly turning, silhouetted against the pale sky. An air of suspense hung over the great machine as if it had just drawn a deep breath.
Regan stopped the rail-car as it came abreast of the first pylon and Timothy swung himself over the side. He took Prue from Rose and, as he did so, the first rays of the sun struck down over the eastern hills. Prue stopped whimpering and gazed in that direction. “I was up before the sun, wasn’t I?” she said, suddenly interested. . . .
The start of the ascent was so g
