During a rest break, Svoboda tells Coffin that he had not asked the more experienced Hirayama to accompany them, indeed had not even told Hirayama that Coffin's son had gone missing:
"Coffin clamped his jaws. There was stillness except for the rush and whistle of wind, the dripping and chuckling of water. When he had himself under control, he said in a flat voice, 'Why?...'" (p. 124)
Regular Poul Anderson readers recognize this situation. There is silence between the men while Coffin absorbs what Svoboda has said. Whistling wing and dripping water underline the silence and also remind the men of their inhospitable surroundings. The lost boy is out there somewhere, hopefully still alive... Coffin is tense, on edge (in two senses) and is an uptight guy anyway. The story is about human beings, with their individual differences, in an extraterrestrial environment. We still have not been told what has happened to Danny. And I will not reread any more until tomorrow...
3 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
Joshua Coffin had GOOD reason to be tense: his son was lost and he was meeting reluctance from others in assisting his efforts at rescuing Danny. That SHOULD anger any father worthy of that name.
Ad astra! Sean
Yup. It's important to keep in mind that anger makes good fuel, but is a poor control mechanism.
Kaor, Mr. Stirlimg!
I agree! And we see Coffin himself, to his credit, working hard to control that anger he felt. Because uncontrolled anger would prevent cooperation.
Ad astra! Sean
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