Page 20 - Astounding Pulp V2

20 ASTOUNDING SCIENCE-1' iCTION 21
l\ECTRAL \ .ESSEL
"Last I saw, captain, it was over boil- one ! "Raise your hands!" the thin- " T here's notJ1i11g to tell.'' the g irl in- man ·s men hadn't been able to locate
ing. Nobody can go in those." lipped mouth over the ugly snout of the sisted stubbornly. Then she began cry- any of those Zona P hillips had originally
"That's what I thought." B rand weapon snapped. " A nd be quick about ing. Hysterically. B rand thought. reported. Brand could not help won-
turned to Carlin, who ·looked g rave. it." T he captain <:ouldn 't bear to see a dering about the girl. and he was be-
'·I'm going to talk to the Phillips girl Brand's hands came up slO\vly. "Miss woman cry. Neither could the mate. ginning to think that all of the conspi ra-
again," he told him. Zona," he said calmly, "you had better Consulting in undertones while the girl tors had been accounted for. H e
"The girl ?"' Carlin wrinkled his fore- return to the lounge. Y ou're not safe regarded them fearfully, they decided it decided to check up B rinkerhof's gang.
head. with this man." was best to leave her here under g uard. H e found them working at number
" Yes. I've a hunch." B rand strode They were backing a way together, the Brand locked her in and went to audio two steering jet.< in the approach tunnel,
off toward his own quarters, knowing man and the girl. N o wonder he'd had \iVorthman for stewards to stay and see rigging up an insulated platform under
the mate's p uzzled eyes were following a hunch about her, Brand thought that she didn't get away or into any trou- the disconnect overhead. Ordinarily
him. . sourly. She was in with the conspira- ble. He"d deal with her later. these disco1111ects were pulled open by
H e didn't know why he wanted to tors ! And her old man, too, before T1e'd hand with a hook on the end of a long
talk with her himself. Certainly not died, like as not. Or else she'd been IT w AS ghastly having to wait for re- insulating handle. · Now the blades were
because she was so attractive. H e was double-crossing her owo father. T o look sults below. · Brand left the mate on the brazed fast. A nd each was ca rrying
too old for that and, anyway, the situa- at the beauty and sweetness o'f her, you'd bridge. where there was still nothing that some 10.000 amperes at main voltage.
tion was too desperate. There was some never think it. Brand was watching .for could be done. and walked out to cool "Nearly ready.?" Brand asked B rin-
sort of a hunch. If only the radio were the slightest sign of relaxing v igilance off. O ut in the great central well of the kerhof, "·ho was fluttering about his
operative, they'd not have so much to on the Mar_tian 's part. It didn't comei ship where all the passenger decks cir- sweating men.
worry about. T hev could have the Suddenly the girl's eyes widened with cled like balconies, everything seemed T hrough the cell bulkhead you could
Venus-Terra beam i~ne cut off for an terror and, simultaneously, the Martian's exactly as usual. H e moved along ·the hear the thrum of the igniter tube ,under
instant and, at this speed, they'd be out thrower belched white flame. B rand spanning catwalk and was glad to ob- its 400.000 volts and the rhythmic tap-
of the curve of its magnetic guiding dropped flat as its pencil of death fanned serve that nothing seemed to be worry- p ing of the tiny fuel-admission valve.
forces in nothing flat. But the radio his cheek with blistering heat. . T here i1 1g the passengers at a ll. They had not The nearly continuous atomic blast of
couldn't be fixed in time ; they'd simply crackled another blast from behind a nd the least inkling that anything was the jet was evident only by a faint tremor
have t o get a steering jet cut out within the :Martian, because no man can stand \\Tong. Dancing, cards, deck games, that was in floorp lates, the air. every-
the five hours. Just one of them would up after his head has been blown away, were proceeding as always at this time thin<Y-and the heat, which was alm ost
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.
b
do the trick ; the opposing jet would toppled and lay still. of day. · intolerable even here 111 t 1e tunnel.
ready,'' said
B rinkerhoL
" Nearly
swing them out of the lane and give " Thanks," Brand said soberly, rising 1 0[ course, though the Spirit of " vVe couldn't find a single one of the
them time to complete repairs. In a and gripping the mate's hand. T erm had accelerated to terrific speed
full-crew ship, now, this never could " That makes us even," grinned Carlin. a nd was still accelerating, there was cutting torches. One of those would be
happen. The girl started into a pan icky run no sensation observable ~board. Not t he trick." ,"'
"Couldn't we make one quicker tha n
Brand almost ran headlong into Zona down the corridor. a ny more than ,vhen traveling at
Phillips as she came out from his lounge ''Oh, no, you don 't, my p retty," he normal speed, not any more than you t his?'' B rand jerked a thumb toward
on th~ arm of <!. tall male passenger with said, catching her and drawing her ar01s would notice the 18.5 m iles a sec- the 440-volt cables that looped along
a decidedly Martian cast of countenance. behind her. "You'll come rjght along ond orbital velocity _ on E arth or the . t he floor to the resistance of the arc r ig
T he girl blushed furiously, avoiding the with me and do some tall explaining ." 21.7 on Venus. \ Vith gravity compen- that was· still missing its transformer.
captain's accusing eyes. Despite her kicks and struggles and sation function ing here as it did, you "No, I had V\Tilson check up. :tvia-
"Wh~t are you doing here?" Brand pleading, he returned her to his lounge j ust didn't notice anything at all differ- chining nozzles and valves and all would
demanded ot the man. " Passengers and tossed her on a divan. "Come in," ent from w hat it would be at home. B ut take four or five hours."
aren't allowed here · vou know that." he told Carlin, "and close the door." B rand knew, and he was getti11g impa- Brand examined h is flame thrower,
"Miss Phillips i~ -a passenger," the "Now, young lady," he demanded, tient and more than ever concerned. then experimentally lashed its full blast
Martian sneered. "what\s this all about ?" T hey had accelerated for nearly t hree up at a blade of the disconnect. The
. "That's different.'' With a quick mo- Zona P hillips tossed her head and hours now and were doing about 350,. men ducked and the copper glowed red,
tion of his huge paw, Brand snatched clamped her lips to a thin line. H er eyes A nd still those atomic jets astern stood then white. But it refused to melt down ;
open the front of the fellow's shirt. flashed fire. She was more beautiful up under the punishment. H ow to cut the flame spread over too great a n area.
There was the brand of the red planet than ever ; Brand heard Carlin draw in them off or, temporarily, eve_n that one These things were made to kill men, not
an<l its satellites ! a quick breath. steering jet? to cut through metals. The charge was
Quick as a flash a Bame-thrower snout "Are you going to tell me?" Brand Rosso had reported everythi1g quiet exhausted; the weapon valueless with-
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appeared in the fellow's fist. Another shouted. out reloading.
in the lifeboat corridors and W orth-