Page 94 - Astounding Pulp V2

94 ASTOC~DI~< ; SCIE:-..:CE-FICTIO~ IN THE DAY OF THE COLD 9
ice and t hc-n it wa-; :-.l<·am. .. It is g0oc.l," Pengo struck her mouth. ''\Ve will ~e stopped, sniffing the air. "There ·Two mo<H1s:· Tk :-t' <.'lll~d ~•a~gt'rt· I.
P ·ngrJ :,aid. .. J t will melt the snow. 110t die,'' he s:1id. ..The Ctw\•cd Fangs 1 s a wood fire near here. beside it a --Then l h:wc:- ht'C'n ;;id:.... l k rubl"'-•<l
There wi ll h e p lant in;;. I .<.-t us g•ve will come off the ice. seeing the hc:11. man." hi:- :-:illow ch'-"-'k:- with hi, fut~l'r~. ·· 1
thanks t r, Lhc G1J<i s , ,f the kc.'' J will slay me one.'' She lay there, her They found the fire beliincl a jumhlr was ~<.,ing- .Soul h ...
Tlw S t 1·a11ge1· I, ,,,1,c·d ~!l him with blue eyes watching him frarfally, her of rock boulders. a man and a woman .. You :1rc.· all going Snut'h." [ (.'JI!_!\ )
haggard t·y<:s . ban.:ly al,lc tn fr,llow t h e Y llow h:,ir falling in tw•) braids acro-s squatted beside it. She saw Peng"O and said. ··The.be nf you who rcad1 hen.· ...
uncout hnc::-.s rJf his lan;;u::i;;c. ..( ;ivc me hc1· shoulders. cried out. The man raised himscli. ThC' ~tra.n~er 1111dckd. "It w::is thl'
w at,-1·: · he c1·oakcd. T he S t ranger saw the hlood at her snarling on his side and reached for his hl.·at. \\"c w~rt' looking for the heat."
Pt·ng•J gave him wate L The man mouth and cried out. .. You struck ax. He was wounded. His leg had I rngo shonk his head. "Tht'n'. is '!'>
drank avidly, s lobbe ring it 011 his thin, her !" been crushed. He thru t it under his hrat here. nlv the icr. TIH'Y will kill
scraggly bea1·rl. Thus it wa:,; with all "Of cour:c,'' P cn•.,.o sai I cornfulh•. skins to hide it. you ii you go further ...
'·y
the N01·thcrnel"S w ho m a nag cl to get "~he is my wife, n~ the woman of ·a . ou cannot come here." the man " B ul so111ewhc:rc ,0111cwhcrl:
throug h , the m adness an<l the thi rst. scientist.., cried. "There is no wood.''
there must be the heat.•· He I o ke~ al
The n,a d n css of t he ice, P engo ·aw, T he Stranger drew back afraid and d But there was wood. A big pile of Pcnao with silent. de:.;peratc pleadmg.
was still in his eyes . P eng<? saw this with satisfaction. He ry thorn sticks by the woman. Pcngo " No .. Pc11go rC'plicd shortly. "~h ~
b
B ut P cngo let h im have his fill. was like a ll his kind. Sltuck him with his ax. H e fell with a .
Soon , h e kne w , there would be plenty gurgling cry. He was a big man with has alway:; been the ice. Thc'.c w1~l al-
T_he earth tremble was over. It was
of w ate l". B a re gro und was already ~cttmg_ lig ht in the sky. P cngo arose, a black beard. Pengo beat his brains ways be the ice and the shak111g ot. ti~ '
sh o w ing w he re the snow had m elted. :stretchmg the strength in his limbs. out on a stone. His woman shrank car th . ·· He wip cl the blood [rom l11s
.
.k
Jt Jay p ack ed in hard gray clods. T he b car( I . ··\' o 11 can · tav here 1( yon 1 1 -c.
-
'' W e will go and get wood," he said. against the boulder, watching. She was
S tra nger p ick ed u p handfuls of it, Jet- a ~oung woman with red hair. he You can till the ~oil."
t ing th e fro zen par ticles tJ·ickle throuo-h He tossed one of the axes he had "Vecretables can grow- in that.»"
• C ~ broug ht down from the cave to the Snuled hesitantly but P engo did not
h1s 11nge rs. ' Ce;tainlx .'" p ngo bristle I. " ll IS
S trange1·. Want her.
" E a r th ," h e said, " I have not seen aooc l car,. I t will m ake the seed
ti
.
the g 1·o und in six ty m oon s." _Hf,s wife cried ~ loud. ''Do not dv B "I<il! her," he ordered the Stranger. b . t I have a ,·ed some in my pot.
this, she cried. '·H e will slay you-'' e bent to pick up the wood. spt Oll · · t
P e1~g o s hoo!~ his head d ist rustfully. P l .f tl1e black rock con t111ues o
er 1aps. 1
•
T-Ie d1d n ot Jil, e this talk. ··1 do not _Pengo let · his thick lips curl. .. J-Je "No!" The thin man fr~m the N orth burn there will be ears of _co1;.llg re;~~
wi_ll n_ot slay me," he said. "He is a recoiled in horror. "You can't make e . Y a:t-
know w h at sixty is," he said . 1
scientist." nie do this !" · yellow and red." Peng<?_ s
T4i1e S t ra ng e r regar ded him wonder- g ood with the thought of it. H is o_l .,
\
-
f
d
hig ly._ I-J e had been good to him, this ''No, no," the Stra1ger protested ., Pengo reg~rded him in wonder. tu ral voice so te11e • "See the so1 .
I
'
You scientists are all alike," he said
( l of il
a m azm g ly stro ng little m an with the eagerly . . · "I wish to He your friend. We ·1 H e picked up h d s u · · t was
an
T hey have sent me to be your friend, an y. He picked up his ax and slew
_
.
sc1uat: flat-bro wed head and wide, ex- 1 1110 1s t tragrant. "You n,ay have so m e
c
ier. He tossed both. bodies in a crev-
1
'
p r css1o nlcss m o uth. " I w ill go back Y ?u have the :;ecrets down here that asse. ~f it for yours. You can g et yourse l.
.
.
:vill enable men to live in spite of the
a n d_ iell them the1·e is land southward. he caves and t tll t h1s
ice." a woman f rom t
I w 111 tell them that there need he no •·y . It had been a good day. The m an . h I sa)' so I a.tu the n1aster
n1o re star ving." . ou are like all of your brethren,'' had a stout bow ~:vith his pots. P engo land w 1 t m e. '
P engo sneered. "Come." sl_ung it over his shoulder and later of it." "
Pehgo shook his head . " You w ill The S tranger's eye_s na_rrov-:ed. . ~
killed a Curved F ang with it. They
n ever get back," he said. " I have seen ·t- yottrs with golden hair .
PENco LED the way across the caught the animal skulking at the edge wo1n an J1 ... e
t h e o the rs of your r ace who t ried. The "Aye" P eno-o g rowled.
~reat fields. T he snow was nearly gone of the floe sniffing at human bodies. 0
C urved Fangs got them before they 11 : m any places. T he Ball of F ire J,a<l Pengo bro~ght him down with one ar- "I ' • • J have n ever tilled tl~e
r ea ched t he S eco nd Ice ."
n ~en now. I t hung dimly in the haze row truly placed. They knelt on cleared _ d I or my father o r my father s
The S t1-a nge1· shuddered and ran the over the ice. T he Stranger shivered, ground and ate the raw meat, dripping. g1oun . . · ed "It
. " He stared as 1£ fascinat •
f th
a et .
ba ck of his h a nd over his forehead . He " It is the same here," he said. 11 N° When the Stranger had had enough, would be a good thing. " H. k t
.e too a s ep
seemed dazed. H e still has his sickness, heat, no · lig ht." He beat his hand ~e turned to Pengo, staring curiously. f orwar d and stumbled as the soft earth
1
Pengo _th o ug ht contem ptuou sly; ·he is against his head. ''T here must be a How long have I been here ?" . gave way under him. I~ was a p ace,
w eak, h ke a 11 of his race. way to find the heat again. A way we "Two moons." Pengo saw that th~ Pengo sav,,, w here ~ wide crack 1.ay
Pen go's w ife crawled to him shiver- have Jost." under the thin covenng of ear~h. J:Ie
. . ' madness had left the man now. His.
1ng with t he cold. ''There is no food," "There is no way," P cngo told hin1 brown eyes were .relaxed and the strain sei~ed the Stranger 's arm, pulling h im
she n1oaned. " W e w ill die." sternly. "You have your sic:kncss still.'' had gone out of his thin, ascetic face. pack to bis feet.