Page 19 - Astounding Pulp V2

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ASTOUNDING SCIENCE-FICTION NEUTRAL VESSEL 19
strayed to the indicating panel. The
III. killed Phillips had managed to get a ter than the designers thought," said
speed was 105 miles a second. Faster flame thrower on board. He flung him- Carlin. "Looks like they'd stand maxi-
than any of them had ever expected to THrncs like this· just couldn't he self upon the one who was throttling mum blast indefinitely."
travel. And still the Spirit of T erra was ~1appening on the greatest passenger ship Rosso's eyes out onto his cheeks and "Yes." Brand shook his head re-
His mind l
accelerating at five gravities ! m the skylanes. A neutral ship, at that. dragged him off with his big hands. flectively. "How much time do we
"Tell Brinkerhof to rig up an electric- B_ut they were happening. Brand caught Savagely he bent him back over his knee have ?" he asked Carlin.
arc burning outfit and cut out those himself wishing they hadn't been quite and bore down until his spine cracked. "Remembering we're in the Venus
disconnects as fast as he can," Brand so damn strictly neutral. T he fellow went limp lane ?"
ord~red. "You, Jarvis, get after the worked swiftly as he and the mate thud- Carlin's weapon spat luridly twice. Brand nodded. How could he forget ?
radio and have it fixed. Rosso, get be- ded along the corridor toward number His first blast splashed a hideously grin- H e moved to the audio frame as Carlin
low and organize the steward's depart- twenty-one lifeboat lock. . .J , ning Martian face into bubbling incan- busied himself with his slide rule. Jar-
met~t. . Bu~ make sure the passengers "Got any theories ?" he asked Carlin. descence that drove back into an emp- vis answered from the radio room.
don t get wise that anything's up." " No. Except someone's trying to get tied skull. H is second seared arm and "It's a mess, captain," he reported .
. He moved toward the office with the Earth into the war. It'll mean a declara- shoulder from the one \>vho had just "We have spare tubes to replace the
girl. tion, sure as shooting." slashed a . steward's throat. Rosso broken ones and can repair the con-
" We're still in the Venus-T erra "But why should Martians be trying scooped up the falling knife and killed densers and coils. But they shorted both
beam," Carlin reminded him in a sort to get us in on the other side? This'd a third with an upcurving slash that generators. Armatures burned out.
of hushed voice.· mean war against Mars, not Venus." disemboweled him. The others remain- T hey'll have to be rewound."
. "I, know it," snapped Brand. He Carlin grunted. " If we keep accel- ing of the battling Martians tried to "How long'll that take ?" Brand bit
dido t want to think about that now erating-" crowd into the small port of the lifeboat the end from a fresh cigar.
a nd he didn't want the girl to b~ \i\That he had been about to say was and Brand smeared them into blazing, "About eight-ten hours. We only
alarmed further. jarred out of him by a catapulting body frying blobs that stuck to the glowing need one."
th
In_ e, office, looking over the passen- that struck him amidships from out a spot his flames had painted on the hull. "All right. H ave 'em rewound."
st
ger li , she seemed more at ease. Brand side passage. The mate went down in T he lock was thick with choking smoke Brand turned from the frame to Carlin
was surprised when she identified five a heap, thrashing wildly to get a grip which stank sickeningly of red-hot death. with inquiring eyes.
unpronounceable names. on his assailant. Brand's weapon de- The survivers piled out into the cor- "W e're still adding five gravities," he
·
ridor. .
1
T! ose weren't all at your table?" he scribed a wide arc and crunched down stated. '' At the end of two hours from
exclaimed. on the fellow's head. Carlin rose grog- "That's that," said Brand grimly when this started, we'll be doing 247
"N 0 gily . when they were in the fresher air out- miles a second, at three hours 356-"
. , only two. But I saw those two "Never mind that. H ow long do we
!~lktng confidentially with . all three of "Thanks," he said. side. "And that isn't all of them, I'll have ?" Brand saw that the operators
e others at diffe rent times." Brand searched the dead man's clothes gamble. Listen, Rosso : I want you to were cocking their ears at the board.
go to vVorthman and have him put a
Brand noted the cabin numbers of the without result. "Damn!" he muttered. Carlin glanced at the chronometer and
five and immediately a;dioed the chief " Shouldn't have killed him. Might have ,patrol in every blessed_ lifeboat corri- the velocity indicator. He lowered his
dor . . Take this steward with you and
~~eward to round up their occupants. made him talk." . Oi1, an implilse, he tell l11111 to arm his men from the stores. voice. "A little over five hours to
. e had no sooner left the frame when ripped open the fellow's shirt. This is no picnic; it's an emergency and Venus," he whispered. "And the ve-
it ;,ickled back at him in Rosso's voice : On his chest was tattooed the red orb
we have the right to small arms. Car- locity then will be close to 800 .. ,
eckhand says he saw several pas- · of Mars and its two moons.
senge f 1· • . Jin, you a110 I are going forward and Brand turned again to the audio and
rs 00 mg with the lock of num- Sounds of a conflict were wafted to- have a council of war. \i\T e · can't be called Brinkerhof.
bler twenty-one lifeboat. I'm going down ward them from ahead. They leaped
t 1ere." everywhere at once." "How you making out with those dis-
toward the melee. The inner seal of connects ?" he asked him.
"So am I," Brand shot back Then number twenty-one life lock was open.
to the girl . "Y . · ' BY THE TIME they reached the bridge, "Just tried to burn one off with a
M' · ou stay m my lounge And inside the narrow space surround- the S pirit of Terra was ripping tl~rough 13,800-volt arc. · Killed one of my men
2
iss ?na. You'll be safe there. Teli ing the small craft it housed, a battle was
th the void at nearly 200 miles a second. and blew up the rig we'd made. I'm
e cabm boy I said it'd be all right " raging. Tony Rosso and two stewards
II . k . ~ bout an hour and a half had passed going to try it with a 440-volt outfit.
e pie ed up Carlin as he rushed were finding their hands very full with since they started this mad acceleration.
~ross the bridge and they sped to join some six or seven huskies who were Have to make up a transformer rig."
osso. It looked as if whoever had trying to pulverize them. There were Brand frowned. "I'm surprised the "How long'll that take?"
1 tubes haven't melted down," he ob- "Two or three hours."
~~~de such a thorough job of putting the no searing pencils of white flame. No
s ip out of commission was trying Eor a one seemed to be armed. Brand couldn't served. "All right. Go to it. What's the
getaway. "Guess the tungstoloy linings are bet-
understand, anyway, how the one who'd temperature in the drive cells?"
AST-2