Page 24 - Astounding Pulp V2

24 NEUTRAL VESSEL
ASTOUNDING SCIENCE-FICTION
"I'm just t k. . . ~~ .,,, ~- ;a="'!'_,.~ _,,.,,,.-r
frs mass " t mg a deternunat1pn of "Listen, fellow," Blake mouthed fra.TJ-
' rep ie.d Blake, his lean young tically into the microphone. ;,I can't tel1 ! .... - :_.r"' ~~ 1· ~ - , · .,.
f t • -~ .-=,./ ~
ea ures drawn mto gri
1
Th 1 I m mes. you who I am, but I'm above the clouds
in e ca cu ato.r before him was clack- in an observation sphere. And I te11 ::•hET <
st! and c_hucklmg. '!lerrily. At last it you the Spt'.rit of T erra's a runav:•ay. . ,•
pped with a dec1s1ve clunk and Blake She's doing 600 miles a second right
tore off the tape.
now and still in the lane. Get that beam
" 163,705,040 pounds ,, h d ff
H ' · , e rea o cut off, for God's sake !"
1s voice dropped to a . f d ·
1
. "T w 11sper o e- The operator laughed raucously. " I'll
spa1r. he S pir-it of T erra " 1 'd say you're up in the clouds. Six ln~n-
, 1e sat
l
h .ope ess Y· " T hat would b · t b
I
h . . e J US a out dred-why, you're nuts-" His earner
1
er we1g 1t with passenger and freio-ht cut off abruptiy.
load. And Zona is on board'!" o Blake groaned. "There you go. N °-
Ma5ters eyed him sympathetically. bo<ly'll. believe us, :Masters." .
H
e ~new_ how much his friend had been He dialed down and started calling
lookm~ torward . to the coming of the G. H. Q., watching ~he chronometer
only girl- to their marriage, which had anxiously. Another sleepy operator an,~
all been arranged on the q. t. "Ma be swered. "Get me· the major p. d. q.,
they can pull f · Y "
. . out o it, Tommy," he Blake shouted. "Military emergency·
said without much conviction "The major's asleep. W hat do you
" Pull · .
. out of it, hell ! Somethino-'s mean, emergency ?"
Jammed her stern jets full on.~ She'; a "I tell you it's real," cried Blake.
runaway. Even if they could get them "You've gotta believe mei or we'll all
off now'. t~ey'd never be ab1e to de- be dead in another hour. Get me the
. ,,
celerate m tune." maJor.
11
"W: ;, if they do hit us, we'll ·never . Evidently Blake's panic got through
kn~w it, commented Masters. to the G. I-I. Q. operator. "All right."
.
No we v· 't " Blak e was try.mg he said with sudden decision. "I'll get
'
von ·
to figure th e momentum of thi·s hurtling him."
mass. at th e square of its inconeeivable . "If only they'll cut out the usual red
veloc,tf. He jumped up and paced the tape and do something, we n~ay - get
floor _like a m~d:11an. "We've got to somewhere," Blake ·groaned, eying the
st0 P It fr~~ hittmg, and I'm going to time. "But you know how it is in the
1
.. ,,
do s~methmg about it even if I'm court- service.
marualed."
"Yeah." Masters looked dubious. "That figures out live hundred miles a second! T hat
Young Blake strode into the radio He had not yet become really afraid. ship's out of control-and she's headed right for V enus!"
room and spun the transmitter dials He wou~d in a few minutes.
away from the military wave. He called The G. H. Q. operator was back on
Ve:1us Spaceport, a most flagrant vio- the air. " Major threw a shoe at me have to lislen. They'd have to get that The girl was holding her head high,
lauon of regulations. Learn cut off-something- a spot of color burning on either cheek.
and told me to get to hell out," he told
"Spaceport ?" he asked, when a sleepy Blake. ';So now," the captain bell~wed.
operator replied. "W hat report have "Listen, fellow." Blake's voice was CAPTAI N B RAN D found his cabin boy "Now, young lady, you're up to some-
you on the Spirit of Terra?" wheedling, frantically insistent. '·We've and two stewards locked in his serving thing again. And you're going to talk
"No report. She's still four days out got to put this across. Listen, do this pantry. H e raged when he let them out. this time."
and hasn't radioed at all." for me, will you-" "She asked for a cocktail, sir," one "I'll talk," she said simply. "Send
"Oh, yeah? Four clays out. She'll The youngster in the black-and-white of the stewards explained. these others out." H er sweeping ges-
be here in an hour--<mly you won't uniform of Venus was begging for Zona, "And it took three of you to make ture embraced the goggling cabin boy
know it." for himself, for another billion and more it for her!" Brand wheeled from them and five goggling stewards.
''Who in hell is this? What're you lives. H e put all of his fears and hopes as three other stewards came in with Brand shooed them out and. as a pre-
talking about ?" into his quivering voice. G. H. Q. would Zona Phillips. calltion, locked the outer door to the

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