Now To The Stars by W. E. Johns

Rex would have wondered what they were approaching, for the surface was a variegated pattern of black and white, the black areas presumably being water. There was no big land mass, only a vast archipelago of islands. There was far more water than land. Had he not known of the salt he would have thought they were looking on an Arctic zone, the white being caused by frost rather than snow, for as the ship went nearer the white turned out to be pale grey. Vargo said that Borron, who spoke the Linian language, had been informed that there was a legend among the people that long ago they had travelled from island to island in boats: but that was no longer possible on account of the water-lizards. Now the people had to remain where they were. To Rex the scene presented was a world as hideous as could be imagined; but the Professor made no secret of his delight, for, as he declared, Lin supported his theory that life could exist in any conditions, no matter how impossible they might seem to those who dwelt on worlds where conditions were entirely different. Rex observed that they were dropping down on one of the larger islands, although its area could not have been more than twenty square miles. The uniform colouration made it difficult to see anything clearly, but he made out a stand of trees, not a very large stand, at one end of the island. It had at one time been larger, but all round the outside of the wood - if wood is the right word - the trees had been smashed and splintered