his lungs seemed to have cleared themselves of the blood and froth in
them. Now with the ache of the wound ceasing, Dave could still feel the
venom burning in his blood, and the constriction around his throat was
still there, making it hard to breathe. He sat up, trying to free
himself. The constriction came from an arm around his neck, but he
couldn't see to whom it belonged, and there was no place to move aside
in the corner of the egg.

From inside, the walls of the egg were transparent enough for him to see
cloudy outlines of what lay beyond. He could see the ground sweeping
away beneath them from all points. A man had run up and was standing
beside the egg, beating at it. The man suddenly shot up like a fountain,
growing huge; he towered over them, until he seemed miles high and the
giant structures Dave could see were only the turned-up toes of the
man's shoes. One of those shoes was lifting, as if the man meant to step
on the egg.

They must be growing smaller again.

A voice said tightly: "We're small enough, Bork. Can you raise the wind
for us now?"

"Hold on." Bork's voice seemed sure of itself.

The egg tilted and soared. Dave was thrown sidewise and had to fight for
balance. He stared unbelievingly through the crystal shell. They rose
like a Banshee jet. There was a shaggy, monstrous colossus in the
distance, taller than the Himalayas--the man who had been beside them.
Bork grunted. "Got it! We're all right now." He chanted something in a
rapid undertone "All right, relax. That will teach them not to work