[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
except for one or two faint, dying glimmers of yellow. Little by little, buttons began moving back again.
Lucky said, "The scarlet patch just settles down to the bottom, holding on to the ooze with its
edges and digesting and absorbing whatever it covers. There's another species called the orange patch
which is a lot more aggressive. It can shoot a jet of water with enough force to stagger a man, even
though it's only a foot wide and not much more than paper thin. The big ones are a lot worse.
"How big do they get?" asked Bigman.
"I haven't the slightest idea. The book says there are occasional reports of tremendous
monsters arrowfish a mile long, and patches that can cover Aphrodite City. No authentic cases,
though.
"A mile long! I'll bet there aren't any authentic cases.
Lucky's eyebrows lifted. "It's not as impossible as all that. These things here are only
shallow-water specimens. The Venusian ocean is up to ten miles deep in spots. There's room in it for a
lot of things.
Bigman looked at him doubtfully. "Listen, you're trying to sell me a bale of space dust." He
turned abruptly and moved away. "I think I'll look at the book after all.
The Hilda moved on and took a new position, while the microwaves shot out, searching and
searching. Then again it moved. And again. Slowly Lucky was screening the underwater plateau on
which the city of Aphrodite stood.
He waited grimly at the instruments. Somewhere down here his friend Lou Evans must be.
Evans's ship could navigate neither air nor space, nor any ocean depth of more than two miles, so he
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
must be confined to the relatively shallow waters of the Aphrodite plateau.
The first answering flash caught his eye even as he repeated the must to himself for the second
time. The microwave feedback froze the direction finder in place, and the return pip was brightening the
entire receiving field.
Bigman's hand was on Lucky's shoulder instantly. "That's it! That's it!
"Maybe," said Lucky. "And maybe it's some other ship, or maybe it's only a wreck.
"Get its position, Lucky. Sands of Mars, get its position!
"I'm doing it, boy, and we're moving.
Bigman could feel the acceleration, hear the churning of the propeller.
Lucky leaned closely over the radio transmitter and its unscramble, and his voice was urgent.
"Lou! Lou Evans! Lucky Starr at this end! Acknowledge signals! Lou! Lou Evans!
Over and over again, the words pushed out along the ether. The returning microwave pip grew
brighter as the distance between the two ships grew less.
No answer.
Bigman said, "That ship we're pipping isn't moving, Lucky. Maybe it is a wreck. If it were the
councilman, he'd either answer or try to get away from us, wouldn't he?
"Sh!" said Lucky. His words were quiet and urgent as he spoke into the transmitter: "Lou!
There's no point in trying to hide. I know the truth. I know why you sent the message to Earth in
Morriss's name asking for your own recall. And I know who you think the enemy is. Lou Evans!
Acknowledge
The receiver crackled, static-ridden. Sounds came through the unscrambler and turned into
intelligible words: "Stay away. If you know that, stay away!
Lucky grinned his relief. Bigman whooped.
"You've got him," shouted the little Martian.
"We're coming in to get you," said Lucky into the transmitter. "Hold on. We'll lick it, you and
I.
Words came back slowly, "You don't understand I'm trying to " Then, almost in a
shriek, "For Earth's sake, Lucky, stay away! Don't get any closer!
No more came through. The Hilda bored toward the position of Evans's ship relentlessly.
Lucky leaned back, frowning. He murmured, "If he's that afraid, why doesn't he run?
Bigman didn't hear. He was saying jubilantly, "Terrific, Lucky. That was terrific the way you
bluffed him into talking.
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
"I wasn't bluffing, Bigman," said Lucky, grimly. "I know the key fact involved in this whole
mess. So would you, if you stopped to think about it.
Bigman said shakily, "What are you getting at?
"Do you remember when Dr. Morriss and you and I entered the small room to wait for Lou
Evans to be brought to us? Do you remember the first thing that happened?
"No.
"You started laughing. You said I looked queer and deformed without a mustache. And I felt
exactly the same way about you. I said so. Remember?
"Oh, sure. I remember.
"Did it occur to you to wonder why that was? We'd been watching men with mustaches for
hours. Why was it that the thought suddenly occurred to both of us at that particular time?
"I don't know.
"Suppose the thought had occurred to someone else who had telepathic powers. Suppose the
sensation of surprise flooded from his mind to ours. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]