Page 119 - Astounding Pulp V2

118 ASTOC'.\:Ul'.\:G SCIE. "CE-FICTIO~
GRAY LF>: }.l.\.

" othing has been tktcctahll·. :1nd at l wt>h-,. /lcwutfrs.~. ·kH'll :utd t'lll" h~\lI
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the time of our dcpa rt u n· t hl.•r1; hat\ minllll.'' ir() l\l lltl\\ . ll IJX' . 1 •• \ Ill t le.'
been no suggestion of any :-.uch :1ctinn." :-.llr~t·ou gl'tH'r.1I "hipl"I. ··
Worse! replied carefully. T " o minutl.'$ l\t•fr,re th<· ~dH.'\.lukd
"We'll come in force. anyway. anc.l takc•-ut · 1 • .\\ •~·• ' .., ~.1llt•d the
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fast. Keep him alive until we meet chil'i n:i, i~;,tiu~ ,,Oi<.·er oi the..• l~<wntl ·.,·s.
you," Haynes urged. an<l <li~comtc:ctecl. "l~our:-,• t l n•ndez., ,,u..:; w1lh Fk>-
It was an unheard-of occurrence for tilb ZK I) l:uitude thr<.'l' liity-i_ tll' da~h
the port admiral to turn over h is Yery thirty loup.itude ni11etc..•~11 da~h h"rty-tw (,
busy and extremely important desk lO ;_ t imc appn)xim::ndy n, eh·c da$h $t'Yc..'n
subordinate without notice and without dash twc:.-nt,·-~i~ phcc one dash. thr_t>e
giving him detailed inst;uctions. but dash oh ot;tsidc..' arbitrary gal:'ct1-: n,n
Haynes did it now. heck aml r'pcat:· rattled ii-om _th"
• .,. -.,.. "r punctuat1 n .
"Take charge of C\'erything . Olllh- speaker w,t 1 1out p, ... u ~ ... . .
. ' worth !" he snapped. •·rm called away Tcy rthclcs::i. th, chict naYt!'"ator g _t it.
. "':. ·::.~ ~~C/~!/.!:::,1 ~11
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-emergency. K innison found Bo konc d d it checked and n~peated it
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rccor c , . . l ·-- _"
-got away-hurt- I'm going after him ''l• ig ur • on! . a.pprox11nat1o~~s _1e'-=•:u~c
n :p k:tiun concom itant w ith hav ing con· which the G ray Lcnsman must have in the Dauntless. Taking the new flo- of lack of ·xact dat:i on ,·':1-1 ,auon m
~umc:d m uch vital f o rcc: ! d ied from sheerest agony. . tilla with me. Time indefinite-proba- den · it,· of medium and ~n d1stanc~. nee-
" I hate to let him g o !" \ Vorsel's " \Vhy· not allow tne. friend, to relieve bly a few weeks,!' . ·ii. lost in detouring stars. t_he
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thoug ht was a growl of. baffled fury . " It you of a ll consciou ncss unti ~e? · C :,al ) -- <;UO'O'C ·t 11\-
He strode toward the communicator spcakcr ch:ittered on. . - bb
g1·ipc:s me to t he tail to let him think that rives ?'' the V elantian aske~ pitymgll,; desk. The Dauntless was, a al\\'n.ys, tructino· )·our se oud tl3.\'lgaffitor to Fo1ln-
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he bas clone cvc1·ything he set o ut to "Can you do it \,·iLhout killing me_. completely serviced and ready for any municate w ith naYigatlllg o ccr· o-
do; that he w ill never e ven kno w how "IE vou so allow. yes. If t 0 u offer emergency. \i\lhere was that fleet of tilla zrD at time twch·c dash ~h dash
h e got those b n1ises and co ntusions. I any resistance, I _do not behe~e th at her sister ships, on its shakedown cruise ? t Co urses to co111pen::,atc un-
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w antecl- T still want- to tea 1· t'1im apart an)' mind in the U niverse could. He'd shake them down. ! They had with o h to cor rcc ·roneous assun1ptions in
.d bl
f o1· what he has do ne to you , m y friend.'' " I won't resist you. C ome · " and them the new hospital ship, too-the a,,•01 a y . e1 . . - ff .,
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B ·e r ay1o·at1on::, o .
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" Thank s . old snake .'' Kin nison's K innison·s suffering ended. . onl~ Red Cross ship in space t hat could computation · a::, . ~ ,..,. O ff •• b ?" _ e
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" I 'll say he's off- way
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,,,.--:ho ught came fa intly. " Just temporary. B ut hndly \Vorsel could do notl1111g leg it, parsec for parsec, with the Dau11t- . I "\ \ hat does he think I
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o I-Ie's living o n b o n-o ... ,·ed time. H e'll aboh t the fantast1ca y a t ·ocious urowth 5 less. the se ·one · ~ .. t? p -etty soon
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get his . You've got e very thi ng under which were t ransforming the·Ear th man ~ am- a complete m tv. i · 1 ns t w o
ti "t t w o p
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co n trol, ha ven't yo u ?" 0 "Get. me Navigations. . . . Figure he'll be telling me , "
1.egs and arms into monstrosities out best pomt of rendezvous for the Daunt-
"On the gTeen. \i\f hy ?" equals four point oh.
nig htmare.
"Beca use I can't hold this nerve block He could only wait- wait for th e less and Flotilla ZKD, both at full blast,
any lo ng er. . . . It h urts. . . . I'rn en route to Lundmark's Nebula. F i f- THE fifteen-second warning bell
nan cam e to the rea dy
·s ick. . · . . I think I'm o-oino- to- " skilled assistance which he knew muSl teen minutes departure. F igure approxi- sounded. Every 1 • upon the d es-
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be so long in coming. • ost and precise Y
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1-f.c_ fainted . 1\1ore, he piung: d parsecs mate time of meeting with speedster, at u s P , erd readnoug h t
d eep m to the blackest depths of o blivion also at full blast, leaving that nebula . t d second t . 1 ,e sup
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1gna e
·1 she rose inert
a s· outraged nature took the toll she had xxr. hour nine fourteen today. Correction! b l ted off For six m1 es .
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· ens and flaring
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as
been so lo ng denied. . Cancel speedster meeting ; we can upon her under Jets, sir Th sh e w ent
\ i\T R E N \ i\T orsel's hard-driven call i111· Iiahts clearing her way . en
\ Vorse! hurled a ·call to Earth then pino-ed UJ)Oll the port admiral's lens, compute that more accurtely later. Ad- dl prow slanted sharp Y
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turned to his maimed· and horribl~ bro- 0 I · I the vise adjutant. Vice Admiral South- free her nee e • d ·
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' d her full battery of rnam
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k en companion. · He applied splints to H aynes _dro'pped everyt _.~ _to ta ,e Tor· worth will send order, through chan- upwar , . · nd to
report himself. Gharacte1 1 t1cally \\ ing projectors burst mto action~ r d
the sh attered limbs. he dressed and sel sent first and Haynes, first recorded nels. Get me Base Hospital.
bandaged the hideous ,,.·otmds and the Lacy, please. . . . Kinnison's hurt, all intents and purposes she va.ms 1e •
a complete statement of the successful The Earth fell away ·from h e~ at _an
raw s?c_ke ts which had once h eld-eyes, mission to J arnevon. ~~as_t c~me per- sawbones, bad. I'm going out after incredible rate, dwindling. away mto in-
h e 1111111stered to the r aging . burning hi~. ·Coming along?"
sonalities the tale of I-.....111111s011 s ordeal "Yes.· How about-" . ·b·1·t ·n less than a mmute. In t w o
t h irs t. W henever K innison's mind .. v1s 1 1 1 Y· 1 r ely a
and of his present plight. minutes the Sun itself w as m e .
w ea r ied he h eld for him the nerve " A re they following you in force, or "On the green. Flotilla ZKD; includ- bright star, in five it had merged in-
block. the p1·iceless anodyne without can't you tell ?" ing your new two-hundred-million- distinguishably into the sharply defined,
credit hospital. is going along.
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