Early the following morning Morten and Free left the shelter of the ship and surveyed the surrounding landscape. A gentle slope led to the sandy beach of the lake only a quarter mile away. Low underbrush and a few trees were in the area near the ship. And then they observed with awe that the ship had landed so that the heavy trunk and upper branches of one large tree provided support in lieu of the crushed under structure. The tree was completely charred from the ground to its upper reaches.
Morten examined the base of the ship apprehensively. “Our first job is to get some support under there. That tree won’t hold it forever.”
“We could be drying the meat while we do that.”
Morten agreed. He almost wondered at the frequency with which he found himself agreeing with Free.
They stripped
