Page 92 - Astounding Pulp V2

In THE DffY Of THE COLD

The w is.e ones had known how to read and build and
work me-l a ts. But t hey had not known how to live-

By Sam Weston

Illus trated by R. I sip

HE aw0kc with the bristli11g of hair H is big nostrils dilated in his flat, e.x-•
at h is n ccl,. T he rock floor of the cave pressionless face.
was shaki ng. B its of stone fell on his ''Go to the fields,'' he ordered. "To
head. Outside he could see the great the old river.''
lights playing beyond the ice banks. ':rhey oheyed without question ; he
" Get up," he cried to his wife. H e
was master. The1·e was, he knew, a
shook hc 1· shoul<ler a nd cu ffed her face. sod shelter near the place where the
''Get u p."
1·iver had been. Once he had . planted
She cam e fro m the sleep with her his maize there. But the land would
h ea<l ra is~<l, sm elling. ''P engo ! \i\That
1S it ?'' no longer g row the maize becau e of
the ice, but there was still the hut His
"The ea r th trembles." H e saw the
S tra nger huddled in his furs beyond '':ffe led the way to it and Pengo ran,
the e mbe rs of the fire. " Wake him, h1s breath smoking in the cold.
too." The hut was there, sheltered by the
S'he a rose .a t once, gathering her skins n se of the hank, just the roof of it coV"·
a bout h ei=. · ere<l .with snow, and the thorn tre;.
oo ,
.. Th<: S tranger ca m e from sleep with " G d " I 1e grunted. He· dttg I t 1e
·111s eyes stc1.ring and uttered the cry of snow away with his bare hands.
his k ind. " A quake !" Hjs face tt~rned The Stranger sank to the· snow, ei·
to the colo r of sno w as he stao-gered ·to !:au-sted. "Earthquake," he babbled-
his feet . The rock s were crashino- down: '. \ Ve knew them in the North but never
• • b
the h11J o uts1cle .
like tl_,is." H e lay against 'the snow,
"Take only the skins and the pots,'.' clutching the frozen ground as it trem·
P e ngo direc tecl. He scooped embers bl~d. His thin, sensitive face was· sick :/4✓/ . . . ,,,
from the fire into a pot with his big, with fear. H e cried aloud when the . ,, d " W found it but it is mine.
shapeless hands and slung it in a thong tl~orn tr~e spilled crusted ~ow upon "That is mine! Pengo growle . . e . ,hield his head-
earn er . rThe re was no time for the him. "The earth is breaking in two!'' Desperately the Stranger wailed and t~ied to s .
wood. he cried.
.
·
ice oes,
I-I e r eached o utside just as the cave ''It is always like this," Pengo said. "It is dry," he said stolidly. "Now I . fl fot· he was a man. A choking .
coiJapsed , his wiie and the S tranger be- He wrenched the sod cover from the will be sick.;' bitter smoke filled the air. ,,
:-siuc him. The ice g round ominously all " The black stuff burns underg;roun~.
hut. It w as empty inside. H e was
·c1
aroun<l the111, b reaking up with loud HE W AS sick. Greatly sick. Al- he sa1 - I-Ie pointed to the glowmg coils
d
angry. The stealers had been. There 'of red where the earth had opene and
,- no,ses. The ::;k y was lighted with rib- was no wood. Not even moss. His ways, in the time the earth trembled, it
. cl< ,,,as · burnino-.
,,, bops of fla m e, g 1·cen , blue and re<l, that was necessary to be sick. His wife, l t 1e 10 ~ They w o und
.
·
w i,fe cov,•ered in the coYner lookit1<1 at
·
moved in t h e d a rk. G 1eat fissures . too, was sick, huddled in a corner. But through the cracks undernea~h hke fiery
him and making little whimpe~ing ·snakes pouring forth thick yellow
opened in the snow, shooting up steam. nojses. Pengo was sick outside, his short, hai1~y
legs planted, his thick body fadng the smoke. save where the glow touched the·