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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Monster, by S. M. Tenneshaw
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Monster
+
+Author: S. M. Tenneshaw
+
+Release Date: March 25, 2008 [EBook #24913]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MONSTER ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+The MONSTER
+
+By S. M. TENNESHAW
+
+
+ What will cosmic rays do to a living organism?
+ Will they destroy life, or produce immortality?
+ The eminent Dr. Blair Gaddon thought he knew ...
+
+
+Fred Trent pulled his coupe into the curb and leaned his head out the
+open window beside him.
+
+"Hi, Joan, need any help?"
+
+He called to a trim-looking girl in a nurse's uniform. Joan Drake was
+holding on to a leash with both hands, and her slender body was tugging
+against the leash as she strained against the pull of a Great Dane on
+the other end.
+
+She looked over her shoulder as Trent called out, her blonde hair
+glinting in the warm afternoon sunlight. Blue eyes smiled an impish
+greeting at him.
+
+"Hello, Fred. No thanks. Brutus and I get along famously."
+
+Trent opened the car door and got out. He walked up the sidewalk and
+stood beside the girl.
+
+[Illustration: They watched as white-hot flames shot from the base of
+the cradled rocket. There was a tremendous roaring, and then the rocket
+slowly lifted upward.]
+
+"Business must be mighty slack for the great gland specialist, Stanley
+Fenwick. Is this all he can find for his pretty nurse to do?"
+
+The girl sniffed. "Walking Brutus around has its compensations. At least
+he doesn't get fresh--like some people I know."
+
+Fred grinned as he saw the huge dog suddenly turn on its leash and raise
+itself off the ground to stick out a long rapier-like tongue and lick
+the girl's cheek before she could move her head away.
+
+"Down, Brutus! Down!" she called out, half-laughing.
+
+Trent stepped in and pulled the big animal away from the girl, patting
+the dog's head as he did so.
+
+"What was that you said about getting fresh?" Trent asked her. "Looks to
+me like the dog's life is the best around the Fenwick offices."
+
+"Just don't get any ideas!" Joan Drake shot back.
+
+"I've already got them," he replied. "Which reminds me, am I seeing you
+tonight?"
+
+The girl held a tight grip on the leash and looked at him coyly.
+
+"Let's see. We'll take in a movie, stop for a bite to eat at Joe's
+Hamburger Palace, and then drive out to North Butte. You'll park the car
+and then you'll ask me when I'm going to quit my job and settle down
+raising a family for you, and I'll say--"
+
+"You'll say not until I get the biggest scoop in Arizona, a big raise,
+and a bonus as a down payment on a house," he completed her sentence.
+
+"There! You see? We might just as well not have our date. In effect,
+we've had it already."
+
+He looked at her for a long moment, and when he spoke again his voice
+had lost its humorous note.
+
+"You forgot one very important item. When I ask you that usual question,
+and after you give your usual answer, I'll take you in my arms and tell
+you how much you mean to me, and--"
+
+"You win," she interrupted him. "I had forgotten about that."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The dog started to pull against the leash again and Fred reached out to
+help her hold the big animal in check. Then she looked at him again.
+
+"What brings you to the outskirts of Tucson? Don't tell me there's a big
+story breaking on the edge of town."
+
+He shook his head. "Not exactly. I'm on my way to the Rocket Research
+Proving Grounds. Just a routine story on the experiment they're going to
+pull off this evening. I've got to interview Mathieson, Gaddon, and a
+few other scientists on the project."
+
+The girl laughed. "That's something of a coincidence. Dr. Blair Gaddon
+is in Dr. Fenwick's office right now."
+
+Fred Trent's eyebrows raised in surprise.
+
+"That so? Something wrong with him?"
+
+"No. He's just having a physical checkup. Seems to be worried about his
+heart. Dr. Fenwick didn't need me since it's a routine job, so I took
+Brutus for a walk."
+
+Trent nodded. "That's a bit of luck. I think I'll stick around and give
+Gaddon a lift out to the Proving Grounds. I wanted to talk to him
+anyway."
+
+"In that case," the girl replied, "you can give me a hand putting Brutus
+back in his kennel. Once he gets out he's something of a problem."
+
+Fred nodded, taking the leash from her hands and feeling the big dog tug
+against him.
+
+"Never could figure out why Fenwick wanted a big hound like this. Seems
+to me a terrier would be more practical."
+
+"That's a matter of taste," Joan answered. "Dr. Fenwick is very fond of
+Brutus--and so am I for that matter. But tell me something about this
+experiment you're covering."
+
+They had turned in at a large Spanish type house that Trent knew served
+as a combination living quarters and office for the famous gland
+specialist. He shrugged.
+
+"Don't know much about it myself. They're shooting off this new type
+rocket, a really big affair, loaded with all sorts of instruments. Some
+sort of experiment with cosmic rays. The rocket will go up to the outer
+layers of the Earth's atmosphere, where a clocked mechanism will release
+a parachute-attached section containing the instruments. This will float
+back to the surface of the Earth.
+
+"There is one interesting thing about it though. They're also including
+a live animal with the instruments. A cat I believe. They want to see
+what effect the cosmic rays will have on a living creature."
+
+The girl turned a shocked face toward him as they walked up the steps to
+the front door of the house. Trent could see a panel in the center of
+the door that opened from the inside, and over it, the sign, _Doctor is
+in, please ring_.
+
+"But I think that's positively cruel!" Joan Drake said earnestly.
+"Subjecting an innocent animal to what may be certain death!"
+
+Fred laughed at her concern. "Hold on, now. You should be the last one
+to take such an attitude. Doesn't medical science experiment on animals
+to find out about human ailments?"
+
+"That's different," the girl insisted, opening the door and leading the
+way into a long hall. "Doctors know what they are doing--but this is a
+sheer waste of life ..."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Trent let the dog pull him down the hall toward a door at the end which
+he knew opened on the backyard where the Great Dane was kept.
+
+"Seems to me it's much the same thing," he answered her. "Scientists
+want to explore the mysteries of space, and the only way to do it is
+with an animal. Or would you like to make the trip--maybe I can arrange
+it? Would make a big story, just the one I've been waiting for."
+
+"I believe you would at that!" she mocked, opening the rear door.
+"Here, give me the leash."
+
+Trent handed over the leash to her and watched as she released the huge
+dog. Brutus flicked out a long tongue once again and caught the girl's
+cheek in a wet caress before she straightened.
+
+"Brutus! Now get along with you!"
+
+The dog took a leisurely bound through the door and into the backyard.
+Trent glanced through the door at the tall fenced-in yard with the large
+kennel that might well have served as a small garage. He stood beside
+the girl watching the big animal romp for a few moments, then she shut
+the door and they turned back down the hall.
+
+"I'll have to go inside now, Fred," she said. "If you want to wait for
+Gaddon, have a seat. It shouldn't be long."
+
+She started to turn in at a door marked private, when Fred pulled her
+gently around and before she could stop him, had kissed her.
+
+"I was getting mighty jealous of Brutus. Now I feel better."
+
+"I don't know which of you I prefer," she shot back, then smiled and
+pulled away from him.
+
+He watched her open the office door and close it after her.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+He had lit his second cigarette and gotten halfway through his third
+magazine on the rack beside the chair when the office door opened again.
+He heard the pleasant voice of Dr. Stanley Fenwick.
+
+"If every man had a heart as strong as yours, Blair, we wouldn't need
+half the doctors we have."
+
+Then he heard the deep, gruff voice of Dr. Blair Gaddon half laugh.
+
+"Thanks a lot, Fenwick. You've taken a load off my mind. Goodbye, Miss
+Drake."
+
+He heard Joan reply and then saw Dr. Fenwick usher the physicist out
+into the hall.
+
+Trent rose as the two men approached.
+
+"Why, hello, Trent," Dr. Fenwick said.
+
+Trent nodded at the tall, white-coated figure of the famous gland
+specialist.
+
+"Afternoon, doctor."
+
+Fenwick smiled at him. "Don't tell me you're waiting to see me?"
+
+Fred shook his head. "Not exactly. I was waiting to see Dr. Gaddon
+though. I was on my way out to the Proving Grounds and I happened to
+stop by and talk to Miss Drake." He turned to the physicist, a bulky man
+with firm, hard features, who moved his large body with an almost
+cat-like grace.
+
+"I hope you don't mind, Dr. Gaddon. Possibly I can give you a lift back
+out to the Base. I'm covering the launching for my paper."
+
+Gaddon smiled at him. "But of course I don't mind. And I'll take you up
+on that offer. It'll save me a trip back to town to take one of the
+staff cars."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The words had a friendly note to them, as did the smile on Gaddon's
+face. And yet, somehow, Fred Trent found that he did not like this man.
+It was nothing he could put his finger on, nothing he could rationalize,
+unless it was the coldly calculating look in the scientist's eyes.
+
+"That's fine, doctor," Trent replied. "Shall we go?"
+
+He turned and said good-bye to Fenwick and passed a smiling glance at
+the girl. He could see her blush slightly as Fenwick caught the glance
+and laughed. Then they were out of the house and Trent led the way to
+his car.
+
+Inside, he started the motor and drove away. Beside him, Gaddon lit a
+cigar and blew a long plume of smoke through the open window.
+
+"You said you wanted to talk to me, Trent?"
+
+Fred nodded. "That's right, doctor. I'm writing up the rocket experiment
+for my paper, and I thought maybe you could give me a few details of
+interest." He paused for a moment, then asked: "Would it be too personal
+to ask if your visit to Dr. Fenwick had anything to do with the coming
+experiment?"
+
+Gaddon shot a quick glance at him.
+
+"Why do you ask that?"
+
+Fred Trent shrugged. "It was just a thought. I heard Dr. Fenwick talking
+about your heart, but you look pretty healthy to me, so I thought maybe
+it was because Fenwick is a gland specialist and you might be talking to
+him about examining the cat after the rocket returns ..."
+
+Gaddon laughed roughly. "A mighty clever reasoning, Trent, but not quite
+correct. The fact is, I was seeing the doctor for personal reasons. Just
+a physical checkup. It had nothing to do with the rocket experiment or
+the effect of the cosmic rays on the animal we're including in the
+experiment."
+
+"It was just a thought, doctor," Trent replied, as he moved the coupe
+out on the open highway away from Tucson and toward the Rocket Proving
+Grounds on the desert flats in the distance.
+
+"So now that we've disposed of that, what else would you like to know?"
+Gaddon asked him, a peculiar edge to his voice that Trent did not miss.
+
+"Well, I would like to get a first hand bit of information on just
+exactly what you plan to prove with this experiment. If I'm correct, Dr.
+Mathieson, the head of the project, contends that cosmic rays may be
+lethal, and this experiment is to prove his point."
+
+The physicist snorted. "It is no secret that Mathieson and myself
+disagree violently on that subject."
+
+Trent's eyebrows raised. "Is that so? I wasn't aware of it?"
+
+Gaddon paused, seeing that his words had slipped out too freely. Finally
+he said, "What I meant to say, Trent, is that up until now it has not
+been a public issue of disagreement. And I would prefer to have it
+remain a private matter until after the experiment."
+
+"I see," Trent mused. "You have my word that I won't print anything you
+say without your permission. But just what is the difference of opinion
+between you and Mathieson?"
+
+Gaddon took a long pull at his cigar and waited a few moments before
+replying. It was apparent to Trent that he was debating continuing the
+subject with a newspaperman. But Trent had gauged the man correctly.
+There was a flair of vanity in Gaddon that dated back to his English
+ancestry. Trent remembered that Gaddon, quite a figure in English
+scientific circles, had created a stir when he had come over to the
+United States to assist in rocket research at the Arizona proving
+grounds. It seemed that Gaddon had not wanted to take a back seat to the
+famed American scientist, Mathieson. It had made a few gossip columns in
+the newspapers before Washington put an official clamp on the matter.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Now, as Trent waited for the Englishman to reply, he could almost sense
+the thoughts that were going through Gaddon's mind. The Englishman was
+debating whether to take an open stand against the viewpoints of his
+American colleague. But Trent felt that the British stubbornness in the
+man would make him reveal his own theories. Especially since Trent had
+already promised not to print anything without Gaddon's permission. That
+would give him an opportunity to gloat safely, should his own ideas be
+proven correct.
+
+"Very well, Trent, I'll take you at your professional word to keep this
+matter confidential. But if what I contend is correct, you'll have a big
+story to tell."
+
+Trent waited expectantly, not wanting to break the Englishman's train of
+thought.
+
+"The fact is, Trent, that Mathieson is all wrong. To go even further,
+most of your American scientists don't have the haziest idea of exactly
+what the cosmic rays are. We in Britain have made quite exhaustive
+studies of the phenomena."
+
+Trent didn't bother to argue with him. He only nodded his head. It would
+have been silly, he knew, to contradict Gaddon, to tell him that the
+English didn't know a thing more about the cosmic rays than the American
+scientists, that American science had made, and was continually making,
+exhaustive research into that scientific field of study on as great if
+not more so a scale than Britain could possibly achieve. It was only
+Gaddon's vanity talking, Trent knew, so he let him put in the barb of
+ridicule, waiting.
+
+"I was sent over here, as you may know, to aid in the current
+experiment. To formulate it as a matter of fact. This test is being
+conducted to determine just what effect cosmic rays will have on a
+living organism. As I said, Mathieson, and your other scientists are of
+the opinion that the rays are lethal. That they will destroy life. In
+effect, that they are death rays.
+
+"But I contend that they are wrong. What would you say if I told you
+that cosmic rays are the very source of life and energy in the
+universe?"
+
+Trent whistled judiciously, and noted that Gaddon's face smiled at the
+apparent surprise Trent evinced.
+
+"You find that a startling statement?"
+
+Trent nodded. "I'd say that it sounded like the beginning of a very
+interesting theory."
+
+"And you would be right," Gaddon replied, warming to his subject. "It is
+my contention that the cosmic rays will prove to be the fountain of
+youth that men have sought through the ages. That they will react on the
+glands of a living creature and produce immortality.
+
+"Now take your choice. Whose theory would you rather believe?
+Mathieson's idiotic claims of a death ray, or mine as a source of the
+utmost benefit to science?"
+
+Trent took a moment before replying. When he did so, he spoke with tact,
+and also with the feeling that his trip to Fenwick's office had proven
+very valuable. For there was a story here. A big story.
+
+"I'd say, doctor, that I'd like to believe your theory was correct. But
+isn't it a little premature to be so definite about it?"
+
+Gaddon snorted. "No more premature than Mathieson's. And I'll tell you
+something else, Trent. You may not realize it, but you're about to take
+part in what may be the biggest story of the century. And when it
+breaks, you'll remember our conversation here. I intend to prove that
+your American scientists are wrong."
+
+Trent noticed the personal emphasis that Gaddon put in his last
+statement, but he was drawn away from the conversation as he turned the
+coupe into the guarded entrance to the proving grounds.
+
+There was a moment of credential flashing to the guards, and a
+respectful salute to the scientist in the car beside Trent. Then Trent
+moved his coupe through the entrance and up the cement roadway to the
+Administration building.
+
+As Gaddon got out of the car he turned to Trent.
+
+"I'll leave you here. The members of the Press will be conducted to the
+launching site at dusk. I'll see you then. In the meantime, don't forget
+that you've given your word not to release any of the information I've
+given you."
+
+Trent nodded and watched him walk away. He followed the Englishman with
+his eyes, a frown crossing his face. There was something too cocksure
+about the man. His ridicule of American scientists could be ignored, but
+the way he spoke about his theory, as if it had already been a proven
+fact against the ideas of Mathieson....
+
+A faint chill ran up Fred Trent's back. He couldn't explain it. But it
+was there. An ominous note of foreboding.
+
+He shrugged it off and left his car to walk toward the Administration
+building.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The remaining hours of the afternoon dragged by in a monotony of idle
+speculation. Trent listened to the gathered newspapermen discussing the
+coming experiment at dusk, accompanied them as Dr. Mathieson, the head
+of the project, conducted them on a tour of the project, to the
+launching site, and then back to the central building.
+
+The launching site itself had been an impressive sight. The huge
+rockets, much in appearance like the famed V2 of World War II, but on a
+much larger scale, were cradled in their launching platforms like some
+huge monsters about to be unleashed into the unsuspecting heavens.
+
+They had listened as Mathieson explained the various number of
+instruments that were being included in the first rocket, to record its
+hurtling trip through the atmosphere to the outermost layers of the
+Earth's surface.
+
+And they had been told of the other, and to the gathered newspapermen,
+the most interesting part, the inclusion of a cat in the rocket, in a
+large oxygen-fed chamber, to study the effects of the cosmic rays on a
+living creature.
+
+Then back to the central building. Back to wait. And the tension began
+to mount. For the shadows were lengthening, the sun sinking behind the
+horizon to the west. The moment was now close at hand.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A stocky figure detached itself from the shadows beside the huge bulk of
+the laboratory building and slowly edged out into the dusk.
+
+It paused momentarily, to survey the scene. Sharp eyes scanned the
+looming rockets and their launching platforms, watchful, alert. They
+finally settled upon the armed guard who walked a measured distance back
+and forth in front of the rockets. Then the figure moved forward again,
+cautiously, purposefully.
+
+The distance from the giant rockets shortened gradually, and then the
+guard, turning to retrace his steps, saw the approaching figure.
+
+There was a snapping sound as a rifle was brought into position, and a
+rapping command barked out.
+
+"Halt! Who goes there?"
+
+The shadowy figure halted abruptly a short distance away from the guard.
+And a voice answered.
+
+"Dr. Blair Gaddon."
+
+The guard's rifle snapped into present arms and then back to the
+soldier's right shoulder.
+
+"Oh, it's you, sir. Is there anything wrong? The launching is set for
+fifteen minutes from now, isn't it?"
+
+Gaddon walked slowly up to the soldier and the guard could then see his
+face in the thickening shadows.
+
+"That's right," Gaddon replied. "I'm making a last minute inspection."
+
+The guard nodded. "Dr. Mathieson and the newspapermen will be along any
+minute, sir?"
+
+Gaddon moved closer to the soldier, and then suddenly his hand came out
+of his coat pocket and there was a gun in it.
+
+"Drop your rifle, soldier. Quick!"
+
+The guard stared at the scientist in shocked astonishment.
+
+"What is this, sir? A gag?"
+
+Gaddon motioned with his gun.
+
+"It is no gag! Do as I say--or must I shoot?"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+There was an ominous note in Gaddon's voice. And a strained quality to
+it that told the guard the man meant what he said. Very slowly the
+soldier removed the rifle from his shoulder and dropped it to the
+ground.
+
+Gaddon motioned with his gun.
+
+"Now step back! Move!"
+
+The guard moved slowly back a pace, and then the Englishman stepped
+forward and kicked the rifle away from the man. Then he motioned around
+the rocket.
+
+"Now move over around the side of the number one rocket to the far side
+of number two."
+
+He watched as the guard turned and began to walk slowly around the huge
+base of the waiting rocket. He followed the soldier.
+
+"I don't know what this is all about, Dr. Gaddon," the guard protested.
+"But I can tell you one thing, you're playing with the United States
+Government right now. When Dr. Mathieson hears about this--"
+
+"When Dr. Mathieson hears about this, soldier, I'll be a long way from
+here--out at the edge of space itself!"
+
+Gaddon could hear the guard draw in his breath sharply, but the man kept
+walking around to the far side of the second rocket cradle.
+
+"You can't mean that you're going to go up--"
+
+The soldier's voice broke off uncertainly and Gaddon laughed shortly.
+
+"You are a discerning man, soldier. That is exactly what I intend to do.
+And I warn you, don't make a false move or I'll shoot. My plans are made
+and I intend to carry them out!"
+
+They had reached the far side of the second rocket now, away from view
+of the rest of the buildings, out of sight. Away in the distance the
+faint outlines of the great wire fence circling the testing grounds
+could be seen, and beyond that, the twinkling lights of Tucson, already
+visible in the dusk.
+
+"This is far enough," Gaddon said suddenly.
+
+He watched as the soldier halted. Then Gaddon moved up quickly behind
+the man. Before the soldier sensed what was about to occur, Gaddon's
+hand raised over his head and the butt of the weapon in his hand crashed
+against the back of the man's head.
+
+There was a soft groan in the shadows as the soldier crumpled limply to
+the ground. In the silence that followed, Gaddon's tense breathing was
+the only sound. He looked down at the still body of the unconscious man,
+then he quickly turned and retraced his footsteps back the way he had
+come.
+
+When he had reached the far side of the first rocket, he stopped before
+the metal steps of the cradle leading up to the closed door of the
+rocket. He looked quickly about him, making sure that nobody was in
+close proximity, then he threw his gun under the rocket beside the rifle
+of the soldier, and ran up the steps.
+
+A cool breeze sprang up in the western night and whispered softly around
+Gaddon as he fumbled for a moment with a switch set in the smooth side
+of the rocket beside the sealed door.
+
+There was a click, finally, and the door slid open.
+
+Gaddon took a last look about him and then quietly slipped through the
+opening. A moment later there was the sound of the door sliding shut.
+
+Inside the rocket, Gaddon lit a small pocket flash and looked around
+him. A soft sound struck his ears. The mewing sound of a cat. He turned
+the flash on the startled animal and a low laughter crept from his
+throat.
+
+He moved through the large instrument chamber then and sat on the floor
+beside the cat.
+
+Then the flash went out and his laughter came again ...
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"All right, gentlemen, the time has come. In a few minutes an automatic
+control, synchronized with controls in the rocket will be set off in the
+main laboratory building. If we want to watch the launching we'll have
+to hurry."
+
+Fred Trent listened to the voice of Mathieson, and saw the famed
+American scientist start out of the central lobby toward the launching
+site. The gathered newspapermen followed, their voices filled with
+excitement now that the moment had come.
+
+Trent followed along with them, but felt a peculiar tenseness within
+him. He had been watching for Gaddon to make his appearance. But as yet
+the Englishman had not showed up. Was it possible that he wasn't going
+to watch the rocket launching? As Trent followed the others out into the
+gathering night, he frowned to himself. It was certainly strange. And
+entirely unlike the blustering manner Gaddon had displayed on the drive
+back from Tucson. Or had the man suddenly realized that he had made a
+fool of himself and was taking this easy way out?
+
+But that too didn't seem natural. And Trent found himself edging
+forward through the ranks of the newsmen, until he had reached the side
+of Mathieson.
+
+The scientist was talking to one of the journalists as they rounded the
+corner of the Administration building. Now the rockets were in sight,
+standing tall and immense in the shadows.
+
+Mathieson held his hand up in a gesture of halt, and the men behind him
+drew into a compact circle.
+
+Fred turned to Mathieson.
+
+"Dr. Mathieson, isn't Dr. Gaddon going to be here for the launching?"
+
+The head of the rocket project turned to Trent. Fred could see a
+suddenly puzzled look in his eyes.
+
+"Yes, that is strange ..." Then he laughed. "I suppose Gaddon is in the
+laboratory supervising the firing controls. Well, if he wants to miss
+the show, that's his fault. He knows the schedule."
+
+Trent accepted the scientist's words without replying. But he still
+wasn't satisfied. What was it that Gaddon had said in the car about the
+biggest story of the year? What had the man meant? Question after
+question arose in Trent's mind as he stood there, and always the queer
+feeling inside him grew in intensity. He could not place his finger on
+it, but somehow, he knew that something was wrong.
+
+But then his suspicions were put aside for the moment as he heard
+Mathieson say:
+
+"All right, gentlemen, the time is nearly here. In precisely one minute
+the rocket will be fired."
+
+The statement was made with a quiet eagerness, and then suddenly the
+gathered witnesses grew silent.
+
+Trent's eyes, along with the others, fastened on the looming bulk of the
+waiting rocket.
+
+And the seconds ticked off in Fred's mind.
+
+As he counted them, he thought that it seemed impossible that within a
+very few moments that gigantic hulk of smooth, tapered metal would
+dislodge itself from the cradle it rested in with a burst of roaring
+flame. That in another few seconds it would shoot into the blackened
+sky, and in a few short minutes would reach unbelievable heights in the
+heavens, to the edge of space itself before the automatic controls
+released the instrument section to be returned safely to earth.
+
+And the seconds passed.
+
+"Time!"
+
+Trent heard the voice of Mathieson rap the word out sharply.
+
+And then there was a roar of sound from the cradled rocket.
+
+A spear of flame shot from its base, exploding the night into a
+brilliant display of pyrotechnics.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The roaring grew louder as the tremendous power of the now unleashed
+rockets took hold of the night air. Fred watched as the flames grew
+white-hot bright, and then he saw the gigantic rocket shudder in its
+cradle.
+
+The shudder grew into a spasm of movement, and then slowly, but steadily
+growing faster, the rocket lifted from its cradle.
+
+Fred's eyes were fastened on the rocket now, a feeling of awe sweeping
+through him. He suddenly realized how puny man was against the forces
+man could unleash. Forces that here were being utilized to scientific
+ends, but forces that upon a moment's notice, could in turn be unleashed
+upon the rest of humanity in a burning, devastating terror of death.
+
+And as the thought flitted across his mind, he saw the rocket gather
+speed as it left its cradle. It was now rising in a swift, sure arc,
+lashing into the dark sky like a fury.
+
+And then the terrible speed of the rocket took hold against the forces
+of gravity and it shot into the heavens, its roaring becoming a fading
+hiss of sound, the brilliant flash of flame from its exploding tubes, a
+receding beacon of light that gradually faded to a pinpoint far over
+their heads.
+
+After the terrific thunder of sound that had accompanied the launching
+of the rocket, the sudden silence now was almost palpable. The gathered
+witnesses stood mutely, awe still in their eyes, their ears still
+ringing with the sound of the takeoff.
+
+Finally the voice of Mathieson broke the quiet night air.
+
+"Well, gentlemen, that's it. Tomorrow morning we'll scout the returned
+section. It should land somewhere in the open country to the south.
+We've computed that pretty carefully. I guess that's about all for--"
+
+His voice broke off suddenly and Fred Trent heard what must have
+distracted the scientist.
+
+A man was shouting from the vicinity of the second rocket, and as they
+looked, a dim figure could be seen staggering away from the side of the
+other rocket, coming slowly toward them.
+
+"Good Lord!" Mathieson breathed. "What's that man doing out there? He
+could have been killed!"
+
+Then suddenly they saw the staggering figure stumble on the ground.
+
+And then Trent and the others were racing across the ground to the side
+of the fallen man.
+
+When they reached him, Mathieson came forward and knelt beside the
+figure.
+
+"Why, it's one of the guards!" he said in shocked surprise.
+
+And it was then that the strange feeling of foreboding hit Fred again.
+As he knelt beside the groaning guard, it swept over him in a chilling
+wave. He lifted the man's head from the ground and the guard opened his
+eyes. He recognized the face of Mathieson as the scientist looked
+anxiously in his direction.
+
+"Good heavens, man, what happened? You were ordered to leave five
+minutes before launching time!"
+
+The guard's mouth opened as he struggled to a sitting position. The
+man's hand reached up and touched the back of his head painfully.
+
+"Sir--Gaddon--Dr. Gaddon attacked me ..."
+
+There was a momentary stunned silence as the soldier's words sunk in on
+the gathered men.
+
+"_What?_" Mathieson's voice was incredulous.
+
+And as Trent watched the soldier nod his head, the suspicion he had felt
+suddenly overwhelmed him in a grim realization. Even as the soldier
+blurted out pain-filled words, Trent knew somehow what he was going to
+say.
+
+"Gaddon--he pulled a gun on me ... He forced me to the far side of
+number two--he said he was going up in the rocket--he said he had
+plans--then he hit me with the gun ... I came to when the rocket went
+off--I was away from the blasts, luckily ..."
+
+Then the soldier was standing on his feet again, swaying as he fought to
+clear his fogged senses.
+
+But Trent was no longer aware of the soldier. And he saw that Mathieson
+was no longer looking at the guard. For a brief instant their eyes met,
+and Trent saw a stunned look in the scientist's, then Fred's gaze swept
+up into the night. Up into the darkened sky where, miles above them, the
+hurtling rocket was even now reaching the apex of its flight.
+
+Up where a man rode on a perilous trip into the unknown.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Gaddon hunched in the darkness of the rocket, waiting. He had counted
+the remaining minutes off, one by one. And he knew that finally the
+moment was at hand.
+
+It would be too late now to stop him. They had not noticed his absence,
+and if they had, they would not delay the launching for him. He had
+taken that fact into consideration.
+
+And now that the moment was close to completion, he felt a glowing sense
+of triumph within him. He would now show those fools, and especially
+Mathieson. He would prove conclusively that cosmic rays were what he had
+said they were--a source of the energy of life, a fountain from which
+youth and vitality would pour, making his body immortal. He would go
+down in history as one of the greats of science. A man who had risked
+his life to prove his theory. A man who would be the first to achieve
+the goal of the ages, the dream of the philosophers, eternal life.
+
+The triumph would be his. _All_ his!
+
+And the rocket tubes exploded into sound.
+
+Gaddon tensed in the darkness, gripping the safety straps he had
+attached to himself. Beside him he felt the cat let out a frightened
+mewing sound as the roar of the exploding rocket power grew. He felt the
+furry body rubbing against his side, seeking sanctuary against this
+dread sound.
+
+And then the rocket trembled with sudden movement.
+
+It was slow at first, but then it grew faster, and Gaddon felt a faint
+intensity of fear in his temples at the shuddering power of that
+movement.
+
+And then he felt the blood draining from his head, making him faint with
+dizziness as the rocket accelerated suddenly into a terrible burst of
+speed.
+
+He could feel it moving swiftly through the atmosphere now, feel the
+tortured rush of air that whipped against the sides of the projectile in
+a moaning dirge that mingled with the roar of the exploding rocket fuel.
+
+And as the seconds passed, he became accustomed somewhat to the
+increasing velocity of the projectile, and the dizziness passed from his
+head. Then he became aware of the trembling body of the cat beside him
+and a soft laughter rose in his throat.
+
+But it died stillborn as the roar of the rockets grew to a thundering
+hiss now in his ears.
+
+And he felt the cool sweetness of the automatically released oxygen fill
+the chamber about him and he drank it into his lungs hungrily.
+
+With each second now, he knew the projectile was racing higher into the
+rarefied atmosphere, heading steadily out to where the air of earth
+would be almost non-existent.
+
+And a grim smile crossed his face in the darkness, for he knew that
+shortly the rocket would enter the outermost layers and the cosmic rays
+would play with all their energies upon the projectile.
+
+And he tensed suddenly.
+
+There was a glow that sprang into being in the chamber about him.
+
+It was dim at first. But it grew steadily in intensity around him,
+revealing the interior of the chamber in its weird light.
+
+An exultation swept through him then. He knew they had entered the field
+of the cosmic rays, and that the manifestation of light he saw was a
+result of those forces of nature.
+
+Beside him the cat mewed plaintively in fear and huddled closer against
+Gaddon's body. His eyes watched the tiny creature for a moment and then
+swept around the large chamber at the massed instrument panels that were
+recording every minute fraction of a second of the flight.
+
+And the glow grew.
+
+And suddenly the hissing of the exploding rocket fuel began to diminish
+in volume. The apex of the flight was nearly at hand then.
+
+And the glow around Gaddon began to color. From a weird phosphorescent
+whiteness it changed to a dull but intense yellow. And with the change,
+a strange feeling crept through his body.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+It tugged at him with invisible hands. It played upon his every nerve,
+his every fiber, the innermost feelings of his sensibility. It grew
+stronger, this alien probing within him, grew as the glow pulsed in the
+chamber around him.
+
+And suddenly, instead of a fierce feeling of triumph, a sense of dread
+swept through him. He fought at the gripping sensations within him,
+tried to dispel them, to no avail. They grew stronger, like invisible
+hands that were changing the very essence of life inside him.
+
+And as the thought passed through his suddenly tortured mind, he
+realized that was exactly what was taking place. A change. A change
+beyond his comprehension, beyond the understanding of any man. Beyond--
+
+And the whining fearful mew of the cat beside him changed. It tensed
+against his body, and the whine in its animal throat became an irate
+hiss. He looked down and saw the hackles rising on the back of the cat,
+saw the creature looking up at him now, not with wide frightened eyes of
+appeal, but with a ferocity of wildness that brought a chill to his
+inner being.
+
+And the glow grew around him, brilliant yellow in texture now. And with
+the increasing brilliance of the light, the feeling of change grew
+within him.
+
+It was stronger than he now. It held his every heartbeat in its pulsing
+grip. It throbbed in his temples, ached to the ends of his toes, set
+his body aflame with it.
+
+And the cat suddenly lunged against him, its sharpened claws biting
+through his garments and into his flesh.
+
+His hands reached down in a quick movement and gripped the body of the
+cat. He tore the raking claws away from his body and held the cat in the
+air beside him.
+
+The creature writhed in his grasp, fighting madly to escape. And as his
+grip tightened on the animal, the eyes of the cat suddenly locked with
+his.
+
+He felt the forces within him reach a crescendo at that moment. And his
+body was frozen immobile, his eyes locked on the cat's eyes, burning
+into the animal, the animal burning into him. Burning and burning ...
+
+It could only have been a matter of seconds, he knew. But they were
+seconds that stretched into the farthermost reaches of eternity. Seconds
+that lived a million years and passed in another fleeting instant.
+
+And then he could move again.
+
+And he felt strange as he moved. It was as if he was another person, as
+if the body he moved was alien to him, as if it had never belonged to
+him, to any man, to any thing.
+
+And his eyes tore away from the now dulled expression in the cat's eyes.
+He did not find it strange that this was so. He knew in some inner sense
+that the mighty life force in him had quelled the cat. Had stilled the
+fighting in its feline eyes.
+
+And he saw his hands clutching the body of the cat.
+
+He stared at them for a long disbelieving moment. For they were not the
+hands he had known. They were not the hands of Blair Gaddon. They were
+not the hands of any man. They were long and tapered and claw-like.
+There was dark fuzzy fur around them, fur that was cat-like.
+
+Deep within him a fear struggled upward through his mind. A cold dread
+that forced his lips to move, to utter a gasp of the terror he felt.
+
+And the sound left his lips.
+
+It left his lips and echoed terribly in his ears. A harsh sound. A
+mewing sound. _A cat sound ..._
+
+The creature in his grasp struggled feebly then. It was a small
+movement, a movement without vitality, almost without life. And as the
+creature moved, a sense of rage welled up inside him. A rage that he
+could not control, an anger that he wanted to unleash to its fullest.
+And as it took possession of him, the human part of his mind shrieked
+and forced words from his lips.
+
+"_You fiend! You fiend of hell!_"
+
+And his fingers crept up to the neck of the cat and closed in a mighty
+grip. He felt the animal give a single desperate effort in his grasp,
+but his grip tightened and he saw the mouth of the creature open wide
+and heard a faint hissing gasp as its tongue stuck far out and its eyes
+bulged in a last moment of life.
+
+Then the animal lay limp in his claw-like hands and he dropped it to the
+floor of the rocket chamber, a growl of frustration leaving his lips.
+
+He stared at the cat's body for a moment, then his fingers stole up and
+touched his face. He felt the hairy coarseness of it, the furry tingle
+of his once smooth skin. And he screamed into the now fading glow that
+he knew was the energy of the cosmic rays.
+
+"No! No! It can't be true! I haven't _changed_ like this!
+I--I--_meowrr_ ..."
+
+Around him the thunder of the rocket fuel suddenly vanished into
+silence, and then the rocket gave a lurch.
+
+Deep within his mind he knew that the instrument section had been
+released from the main body of the projectile, and even now he knew the
+sealed chamber was falling back toward the earth, back toward the
+atmosphere where the parachute would take hold and drift the chamber
+safely down to the Arizona soil.
+
+And a dread closed over him in that moment. Back to the men. Back to the
+things of men. Back he must go, a mewing thing that was not a man. A
+thing that he felt was taking hold of him, driving the last vestige of
+human instinct from him.
+
+He fought it. He fought it mewing on the floor of the rocket chamber.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"He must have gone mad!"
+
+Fred Trent pulled his gaze from the sky and looked with stunned eyes at
+the figure of Dr. Mathieson standing beside him. The scientist was
+trembling with an inner feeling, and his head was shaking in disbelief.
+
+"Gaddon! The man is going to his death! It's insane!"
+
+Again Mathieson's voice broke the silence in the huddled group of men.
+Then the newspapermen came to life and excited talk became a jabber of
+words around them. Trent took the arm of Mathieson and turned him. He
+tried to lead the scientist away from the newspapermen but one of them
+stepped forward and grabbed his arm.
+
+"But why did he do it, doctor? The man must have had a reason!"
+
+Mathieson shook his head numbly.
+
+"I--I don't know, unless ..." his voice trailed off for a moment and
+then he spoke again. "Unless he really believed what he said ..."
+
+"What did he say, doctor?" the newsman asked.
+
+There was a puzzled note to Mathieson's voice as he answered.
+
+"He disagreed with me on the supposed effects of the cosmic rays. It has
+been my contention that they are of lethal effect, and Gaddon
+maintained that I was wrong. He kept insisting that they were a source
+of life energy. That was why we decided to experiment with an animal--to
+see what effect the rays would have on a living creature ...
+
+"But this! I never dreamed of such a possibility--to prove his point he
+signed his own death warrant!"
+
+"That's a story, doctor, a real story!"
+
+Trent heard the newsman exclaim excitedly. And then it came to him that
+the real story was as yet untold. The real story that had been unfolded
+in his car earlier that day.
+
+Fred moved suddenly away from the clamor of the newsmen around the
+scientist. He knew what he had to do.
+
+He hurried across the ground to his waiting coupe outside the
+Administration building. Then he got behind the wheel and started the
+motor.
+
+He drove to the gate and waited until the guard passed him through, then
+he turned up the road toward Tucson.
+
+As he drove he felt an odd tenseness sweep through him. For he was
+thinking of what Gaddon had said on the drive up to the Proving Grounds.
+He was remembering the man's words on the cosmic rays and the secret of
+eternal life they held. And Fred Trent knew that this was the biggest
+story. The story that he alone held. It was the big break that he had
+been waiting for. It would be his exclusive. The inside, personal story
+of a man who had died to prove his theory. Told as Gaddon himself had
+related it. With all the vanity of the man, all the pompous assurance he
+had shown. It would make the headlines and feature sections all over the
+country. The story of a man who had flown to his death in quest of
+immortality.
+
+And then Trent's thoughts grew sober suddenly. But was he going to his
+death? Could he be sure that Mathieson was right? That Gaddon was
+suffering from some streak of insanity that had manifested itself in
+this final venture of madness? Or could it be that Gaddon might be
+right, that ...
+
+Trent set his lips and sighed. No, that couldn't be true. It was beyond
+the comprehension of man.
+
+What mattered now was the story. The story that would put his name in a
+thousand papers all over the country. And he thought in that moment of
+Joan Drake. A warm smile pulled at his lips as he thought of her. This
+would force her to quit her job now and marry him. The one condition she
+had made--he had finally overcome.
+
+He thought of the date he was supposed to have with her that evening.
+It would have to be postponed until later. The story came first. And
+then ...
+
+He drove his car swiftly through the outskirts of the city and into the
+main part of town. Then he pulled up before the offices of the _Tucson
+Star_ and left his car at the curb.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+He entered the building, took the elevator to his floor and walked into
+the city room. The clatter of typewriters met his ears and the sound was
+sweet to him in that moment.
+
+He crossed swiftly to his desk and sat dawn. Then he motioned to a copy
+boy. The boy came up to his desk.
+
+"Jerry, tell the chief to hold up the form on page one. I've got a
+special--an accident out at the Proving Grounds. Headline copy."
+
+The youth hurried away toward the office of the City Editor, and Fred
+picked up his phone and dialed a number. He waited a moment and then the
+voice of Joan Drake came across the wire.
+
+"Dr. Fenwick's office."
+
+"Joan, this is Fred."
+
+The girl's voice laughed across the wire. "Don't tell me you're planning
+to break our date? Just when I get all dressed up."
+
+A smile crossed Trent's lips. "You're almost psychic, honey. Fact is, I
+was calling to tell you I'll be a little late."
+
+There was a pause and when the girl spoke again there was an injured
+note in her voice.
+
+"Well, that's a fine thing. I wait here deliberately after hours for you
+to pick me up and now you tell me you'll be late! Just what's so more
+important than me right now?"
+
+"I haven't got time to tell you now, Joan, but believe me, I've got the
+break of the year. A story that will rock the front pages across the
+country. I'll tell you all about it later. You can wait at Fenwick's
+place. He won't mind, will he?"
+
+He could hear the girl sniff on the other end of the wire.
+
+"I don't suppose he will, but I don't think I can say the same for
+myself."
+
+"That's a good girl," Trent laughed. "Just wait for me. It may be an
+hour or so--"
+
+"An _hour_ or so! What are you writing, the great American novel?"
+
+He looked up and saw the frowning face of the City Editor approaching
+his desk. He spoke hurriedly.
+
+"I've got to sign off now. The boss is coming up. I'll see you later.
+Give my regards to Brutus."
+
+He replaced the phone as the editor reached his desk.
+
+"What's all this about a remake on the front page, Trent?"
+
+Fred nodded. "That's right, chief. The biggest story since the atom
+bomb. Listen!"
+
+He gave a short account of what had happened, and then added the
+personal details of his talk with Gaddon. He saw the eyes of the editor
+widen as he went on, and by the time he had finished, there was a look
+of excitement on the editor's face.
+
+"Get to that story, Trent. Write it hot, and write it fast. I'll hold
+the first form and tear down the front page. Stress the human interest
+angle. Play it up big. We'll hit the news wires with it after we go to
+press."
+
+Then a smile crossed the editor's face. "And you'll get a by-line on
+this, Trent, that ought to put you in for some big money. Nice work."
+
+Then he turned on his heel and was hurrying across the city room toward
+his glassed-in office, hollering for a copy boy as he went.
+
+Trent turned back to his desk and slipped a sheet of paper into his
+typewriter. There was a tenseness around his eyes as he brought his
+fingers down on the keys. For a moment the old questions rose again in
+his mind. _Was Gaddon right? Could it be possible that ..._
+
+Then he forgot everything but the story. And his fingers clicked against
+the keys, putting it down on paper.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The rocket chamber swayed gently through the night air, whistling its
+way slowly downward, moving more slowly as the great parachute above it
+caught in the rapidly thickening density of the cabin's atmosphere.
+
+Inside it, the thing that had been Gaddon, the thing that was no longer
+a man, sat on the floor of the chamber, idly toying with the dead body
+of the cat.
+
+Strange thoughts coursed through the mind inside its head. Half of the
+mind that belonged to Gaddon, and half of the mind that was an alien
+thing, a creature unnamed.
+
+There was a thought of killing and the thought was good. The claw-like
+hands played with the cat's dead body, fondling it idly, wishing it
+were still alive so that it might die again.
+
+And the other part of its mind, the part that still knew it was Gaddon,
+rebelled against the thought. Tried to drive it away. Tried to move that
+alien intelligence into the rear of his consciousness.
+
+A growl left his lips as he struggled with it. And then a whimpering
+sound.
+
+For now the alien thought of killing and the joy it had experienced as
+the cat died scant moments before, was replaced by another thought. A
+thought of loneliness.
+
+It was a weird feeling, an utter loneliness that came from the great
+void beyond man's planet. It cried out in silent protest for it knew it
+was alone in this world of men.
+
+And it knew it would remain alone, friendless. For what manner of men
+such as the other part of its mind showed would react in a friendly
+fashion? Where would be their common meeting ground? There could only be
+one, it knew. And that one was fear. Fear and the hate that went with
+it.
+
+A growl left its lips again, and Gaddon's thoughts tried to force their
+way through. Tried and failed again.
+
+But was it necessary to want companionship? It thought about that for a
+moment. And then the alien beast thoughts grew sharper, clearer. It knew
+suddenly that it did not want man's compassion. It knew that there was
+only one driving thought in it. Hate. Hate that would inspire fear. Fear
+that would freeze its victim into terror. And terror that would be
+replaced by death. And then it would be happy again. Happy to sit and
+fondle the thing that had been alive. And it knew something else. It
+knew that a hunger would have to be satisfied. A hunger that called for
+flesh.
+
+Deep, primeval thoughts raced through it then. Thoughts that were
+spawned in the ancient jungles of a new and steaming world. A world
+where great cats roamed, where screams of cat-rage split the air as
+tawny bodies arced in lightning leaps to land on the trembling bodies of
+their victims. It was a satisfying thought. A thought that spanned the
+ages of Earth, a sense that was inherent in all cat minds through the
+ages.
+
+And as the thought raced through that portion of its mind, the part that
+was Gaddon struggled to fight it back. For it realized with a sickness
+that spread horror through it that the thought was part of the animal
+existence that had been created in him. Part of the monster that lay by
+instinct in all feline creatures. And Gaddon knew that the dead creature
+at his feet, the limp and twisted body of the cat, had died long before
+his hands had crushed it in their mighty grip. For the essence of that
+life, that animal existence, had been merged with him, fused by a mighty
+source from outer space.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+And as he struggled with the thought, fought to regain the balance of
+control of the strange body that was now his, the rocket chamber swayed
+in a gust of wind from without. And as he clutched the sides of the
+chamber with his strong claw-like hands, the chamber gave a bounding
+lurch as it struck the ground a glancing blow.
+
+There was a grating sound as the metal chamber gouged into the earth,
+sank its weight upon the Arizona soil. And the thing was thrown
+violently against the side of the chamber.
+
+Then there was quiet again.
+
+Gaddon's mind fought to the fore, took control of that feline man-shape
+that was his, struggled to its feet and moved in a lithe bound to the
+opposite side of the chamber. A clawed hand reached up where Gaddon
+knew the release mechanism of the door lay, and pressed it.
+
+The door slid back with a sliding sound and the cool night air rushed in
+upon it.
+
+Gaddon moved his cat-body through the opening and bounded to the ground
+in a lithe, powerful movement. He felt new muscles react as he landed on
+the ground, and knew that there was a great strength in them. Strength
+that was waiting to be used.
+
+And he felt the other thoughts starting to move forward in his mind
+again and he forced them back. He knew he must keep control of that
+mind. For there was something that he must do.
+
+He thought desperately about it. And the pattern became clearer in his
+mind.
+
+The cosmic rays. The reaction in his body. He had sought immortality in
+the door to outer space and had found a monster waiting for him. A force
+that had changed his glands, grown the shaggy fur on his body. Glands
+that had warped his mind. Opened an age-old cunning of feline thought.
+
+_Glands._
+
+Gaddon's thoughts whipped the word. Held it. Knew it must be the answer.
+And then it found a prayer of hope. And a name that went with that
+thought.
+
+"Fenwick! I've got to reach Fenwick before it's too late. _Before it's
+too late!_"
+
+His voice came hoarsely, strangely formed. And he looked wildly about
+him. He saw, off in the distance, a glowing of lights in the night. And
+he knew somehow that it was the city of Tucson.
+
+And in that city, at its very edge, was a house he must reach.
+
+He stumbled away into the darkness, feeling his limbs move rapidly
+then, smoothly, covering the ground in great leaping strides.
+
+And though Gaddon's thoughts kept the balance of control, deep inside
+his mind, the monster growled with a cunning laughter ...
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Fred Trent pulled the last sheet of paper from his typewriter and leaned
+back in his chair exhausted. That was it, the end of the story. He waved
+his hand at a copy boy and the boy ran up to take the final page. Each
+sheet had been taken like that, to be immediately set in the composing
+room. Now it was finished, the story of the year.
+
+And as Trent slowly lit a cigarette and inhaled deeply, he knew that he
+had done a good job on the story. And a smile crossed his face as he
+thought of it. His future was assured now. There could be no more
+stopgaps, no more delays in his plans to marry Joan and settle down. And
+the girl would have to agree. For the first time in many months, Fred
+felt that his troubles were over with. And the feeling was nice. It
+spread through him and he was content.
+
+He glanced at his wrist watch and frowned. The story had taken longer
+than he had anticipated. It was nearly eleven. Some of the enthusiasm
+ran out of him as he thought of Joan waiting for him at Fenwick's. He
+could imagine how angry she must be by now.
+
+He got up quickly from his desk and reached for his hat. As he started
+to walk away, the phone on his desk rang.
+
+He stepped back and picked up the receiver.
+
+"Trent speaking."
+
+"_Fred!_"
+
+Trent heard his name uttered in terror across the wire and he felt a
+chill run through him as he recognized the voice. It was Joan Drake.
+
+"Joan, what's wrong?" he asked anxiously.
+
+"Fred! Come quickly! Bring help before it's too late--he'll kill us!"
+
+"Joan! For God's sake, calm down! Now what's the matter?" His voice held
+a tenseness in it as he spoke.
+
+"It's Gaddon, Fred! Only it isn't Gaddon--it's a monster! He'll kill
+us!"
+
+"_Gaddon?_" Trent's voice spoke incredulously. "But that's imposs--"
+
+"Oh, Fred, hurry-- I--oh--no--no! Keep away--"
+
+He heard the girl scream over the phone then. And he heard something
+else. A growling sound. A sound of animal noise unlike any other sound
+he had ever heard. And then as he shouted into the phone: "Joan! Joan!"
+the line went dead.
+
+He stood for a moment, staring stupidly at the receiver in his hand.
+Then he slammed it back on its cradle and turned. He nearly knocked over
+the copy boy who hollered at him.
+
+"Hey, Trent, the boss wants you in his office!"
+
+But he swept by the boy unheeding. He didn't wait for the elevator. He
+took the stairs in leaping bounds, and then he was on the main floor of
+the building and out on the street.
+
+He slammed the door of his car shut and started the motor. His hands
+trembled as he meshed the gears and shot the coupe away from the curb.
+Then he was moving swiftly through the traffic.
+
+As he turned down the street where Fenwick's office was, Fred Trent's
+mind was a whirl of confused thought.
+
+There was fear there. Fear and dread. And there was puzzlement too. A
+puzzlement that made his brain spin. Joan had spoken with terror in her
+voice. Terror that had said somebody was going to kill. And Joan was
+not a girl to be easily frightened. And she had mentioned Gaddon's
+name. Gaddon, the man who had shot into the heavens in an experimental
+rocket. Gaddon, who was supposed to be dead.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+He felt now that same feeling that had crept through him after the
+launching. The feeling that had whispered in his mind that maybe Gaddon
+had been right after all. That maybe he wouldn't die. That maybe ... And
+now the dread swept him. For he thought of the sound he had heard over
+the phone. The last sound before the line went dead. The sound of an
+animal growling in wrath. And he remembered the girl's scream about a
+monster.
+
+A cold sweat was on his forehead as he pulled the coupe into the curb in
+front of the Fenwick house. He switched off the motor and closed the car
+door after him.
+
+Then he was hurrying up the walk to the front door, his eyes taking in
+the house in a swift glance, noting that the lights were lit in the
+consultation room. Lights that slivered out from the closed venetian
+blinds.
+
+He stood then on the front porch, his hand closing over the knob of the
+door.
+
+It was locked.
+
+He pressed the bell then and heard its clarion sound inside the house.
+But other than that there was nothing to be heard. A deep, ominous
+silence that somehow brought a feeling of panic to him. Was he too late?
+
+And then suddenly the panel in the front of the door opened and a face
+peered out at him.
+
+Fred Trent felt the blood drain from his lips. A paralysis seemed to
+grip his body at what he saw framed in the opening.
+
+For it was not the face of a human being. And yet, it was not the face
+of an animal. It was a horrible, twisted, cat-like visage that peered
+out at him, furred and ugly, with bared teeth and glowing, feline eyes.
+
+And as he looked, a sound came from the twisted lips. It was the same
+sound he had heard over the telephone. The sound of a growling rage.
+
+And as the sound hit his ears, a terrible realization swept over him.
+For his eyes, riveted on that monstrous countenance, had registered an
+impossible fact upon his mind.
+
+_As twisted as it was, as horribly changed into an animal grimace, it
+was the face of someone he knew--the English scientist, Blair Gaddon!_
+
+And then suddenly the face vanished from the opening. And Fred Trent
+felt his paralysis leave him. He knew now that he should never have come
+alone. That he should have called the police first. That he--
+
+The door swung open then and Trent found himself facing the thing that
+had been Gaddon.
+
+He took a backward step and started to turn and run for his car and
+help, but he was too slow.
+
+An arm shot out and a claw-like hand suddenly gripped his shoulder in a
+swift, steel-like movement. He felt himself being pulled forward and
+into the house, as another growl snarled from the lips of the creature.
+
+Trent tried to break the grip of that vise-like hand. He tried to smash
+his fist into the ugly visage of a face that confronted him. But he was
+like a child in that grip. And like a child, he was hurled across the
+hall, and he heard the door slam shut behind him.
+
+As he got slowly to his feet and turned to face the creature, he heard a
+sobbing sound from the open door of the consultation room. It was the
+voice of Joan Drake.
+
+And then the monster had reached him and the clawed hand reached out
+and spun him through the doorway, into the consultation room. And he
+heard a growling voice utter harshly: "You will regret this
+interference, Trent!"
+
+And he knew that it was the voice of Blair Gaddon. And yet he also knew
+that it was not the same voice. It was changed. It had a bestial quality
+to it.
+
+Then Trent looked around him. He saw Joan Drake, huddled in a corner of
+the room, beside Dr. Stanley Fenwick. The specialist was sitting in a
+chair, holding his right hand to his mouth. Fred could see blood oozing
+from a gash in the surgeon's lips.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+And then he heard another sound. A sound from without the house, coming
+from the rear. It was the baying of Brutus. The big dog must have sensed
+the presence of the monster. And it was protesting in its animal voice,
+a mournful dirge.
+
+Then his attention was drawn once again to the animal body of Blair
+Gaddon. And now that the first shock had left him, Trent stared at the
+man. He heard the girl sob.
+
+"Fred! I told you to bring help--"
+
+"Be quiet!" the voice of Gaddon issued from the twisted lips. And the
+girl's sob stifled itself in a look of dread.
+
+Then the face that had been Gaddon turned to Trent. There was a twisted
+leer to it, and Fred sensed that there was a struggle going on in that
+warped mind.
+
+"You are Gaddon? The Blair Gaddon who went up with the experimental
+rocket?" Trent's voice came incredulously.
+
+The face of the creature twisted in a grimace of acknowledgment.
+
+"Yes, Trent. I am Blair Gaddon. I am not a pretty sight to look at, am
+I?" Words left the twisted lips, and there was a bestial pain in them.
+
+"But--you're supposed to be dead! Mathieson--"
+
+A strange sound of irony came from Gaddon.
+
+"Mathieson was right about the cosmic rays--I know that now. Look at me!
+You see what has happened to me? I sought immortality through the life
+energy of space--and look at me!"
+
+Horror reflected in Fred's eyes in that moment. For he felt the pained
+terror in the voice of the animal shape before him. And he saw the
+claw-like hands clench spasmodically.
+
+"My glands!" the voice screamed. "The cosmic rays reacted on them--fed
+the essence of the cat into them--changed me into this monstrous being!"
+
+Trent stared at the rage-filled face. Felt the emotion that was sweeping
+through the creature. Felt a sudden compassion that was erased by the
+bestial look that came into the monster's eyes.
+
+And then it turned toward the chair where Fenwick sat. The doctor was
+looking at the creature, his eyes wide and terrified.
+
+"But what do you expect me to do for you, Gaddon? Why do you stand here
+threatening--" Fenwick's voice came hoarsely.
+
+"Why? You fool! Because there is so little time! I am changing! Even now
+my human instincts are nearly gone!... You're a gland specialist! There
+is something you can do--stop this change--stop it!"
+
+Fenwick shook his head slowly. "You're raving like a madman, Gaddon. I'm
+not a God--do you think I can change something that is beyond human
+understanding? If you'll only let me call in the authorities ..."
+
+A growl of rage left Gaddon's animal lips. "Authorities! So you can have
+me put in cage like a wild beast? So you and your medical experts can
+stand and watch me as you would a freak? You're a fool! You'll help me
+now! You'll do something--before it's too late! Do you hear me?"
+
+The creature advanced slowly upon the doctor, and the girl backed away
+to the far wall, fear mirrored in her eyes.
+
+Then Fred Trent stepped forward, his voice tense.
+
+"Hold on, Gaddon--of course the doctor will help you--_won't_ you,
+Fenwick?"
+
+There was an urgent emphasis in Trent's last words, and his eyes caught
+those of the surgeon's, and held them in a meaningful look. He couldn't
+say what he wanted to, but the message in his eyes was imparted to
+Fenwick, and the doctor suddenly nodded.
+
+"Yes--yes, of course ... But you'll have to remain quiet, Gaddon, and be
+patient a moment...."
+
+The creature stopped its advance upon Fenwick then. And a growl rumbled
+in Gaddon's animal throat.
+
+Then Fred watched as the doctor stepped swiftly to a table with
+instruments and hurriedly began to prepare a hypodermic.
+
+"I'll give you a special extract injection to start...." Fenwick
+explained as he worked.
+
+And Trent knew that the doctor was preparing an injection that would
+subdue the monster. That would enable them to call the police....
+
+And the eyes of Gaddon watched the fingers of the surgeon prepare the
+hypodermic. And for a single moment the human part of Gaddon's monster
+mind relaxed its tenacious hold.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+There was a rumble of raging thought deep within his twisted brain. It
+swept up, gripped the human element, and enveloped it. A hoarse mewing
+sound left the twisted lips as the mind became a single, bestial thing.
+
+And now it thought with a viciousness. It knew now that it was finally
+in control. That the full change had been completed. And it knew
+suddenly what it wanted.
+
+Its animal eyes stared at the three humans. And it felt a hatred for the
+men who did not understand it. And it felt a desire for the woman who
+feared it. A desire that crept out of the primeval jungles. That swept
+through it to find one of its kind. And there was the vague instinct
+that was Gaddon, who told it how to fulfill that desire. Gaddon, who
+knew where the secret lay.
+
+And then there was the driving urge that swept up from the animal ages.
+The urge to kill, to destroy what was hated. And the eyes of the monster
+fastened on the figure of Fenwick as the doctor turned from the table,
+the hypodermic in his hand.
+
+"All right, Gaddon ..."
+
+The voice of Fenwick trailed off. And Fred Trent stared at the face of
+the monster. What he saw there brought a chill to his being. And he
+heard the girl gasp from the far corner of the room, as her eyes too saw
+the change that had spread over the face of the creature.
+
+For there was no longer any vestige of human recognition in that face.
+There was no longer any trace of the man who had been Gaddon. There was
+only the monster now. The twisted, leering lips of an animal mind.
+
+A harsh growl left those lips then and the creature moved forward toward
+the surgeon.
+
+Trent knew what was happening, and he knew what he must do. There was
+death on that bestial face. Death that was reaching out ...
+
+He heard the dim baying of the Great Dane from the rear of the house as
+he leaped forward.
+
+Then his fist lashed out and caught the animal face in a lashing blow.
+His knuckles felt numb as he screamed:
+
+"The hypodermic--doctor--quick!"
+
+Then the creature turned on him and a long arm shot out. Trent felt a
+claw rake across his face and felt the burning bite of that claw sink
+into his flesh. Then, as he tried to dodge away from the beast and bring
+his fist up again, the monster leaped at him and Trent felt a powerful
+blow crash against his chin.
+
+He spun back, falling to the floor, his head hitting the edge of an
+examining table. His senses reeled and he felt the blood running down
+his cheek, a warm, sticky stream that dripped to the floor.
+
+He fought to keep his consciousness as he saw the beast turn away from
+him, satisfied that he was out of the way. Then he saw it leap at the
+stunned figure of Fenwick.
+
+He heard the girl scream in terror and he saw Fenwick's arm come up with
+the hypodermic. He saw the doctor try to bring the needle down in a jab,
+but the monster's arm swept the needle aside and then a claw-like hand
+gripped Fenwick's throat.
+
+There was a gasp of terror from Fenwick's lips as those fingers closed
+around his neck. Then the hypodermic fell from his nerveless hand and he
+fought to break away.
+
+A deep rumbling growl spat from the lips of the monster as it closed
+with the struggling figure of Fenwick. Then the claws that were its
+hands raked the surgeon's throat in a feline rage.
+
+Trent watched with numbed eyes, fighting back the wave of blackness that
+threatened to overcome him, and he saw the figure of Fenwick suddenly go
+limp in the grip of the monster.
+
+He saw a spurt of blood burst from the man's torn throat, and then the
+creature dropped the limp body.
+
+It fell to the floor, and a wave of red washed across the floor from the
+mangled throat. The monster stood over the lifeless body, a triumphant
+sound issuing from its twisted lips.
+
+Then it turned toward the girl.
+
+Trent tried to move. He tried to push back the weakness that numbed his
+body. But he couldn't. His head swam with the pain of the blow he had
+received, and he could only watch through half-closed eyes as the
+monster reached out for the girl.
+
+Joan Drake screamed once as the long arms reached out for her. Then her
+voice ended abruptly as she fell to the floor in a faint.
+
+The monster stood over her for a moment, then it reached down and picked
+up her body in its blood splattered-arms.
+
+It turned for a moment, holding the girl, and shot a hate-filled glance
+at Trent's limp figure.
+
+Then it moved swiftly across the room and out into the hall.
+
+And the baying of the Great Dane sounded angrily in Fred Trent's ears ...
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+With a superhuman effort Fred Trent forced the numbness from his body
+and moved slowly to his feet. A horror gripped him that brought a new
+strength to his body, flooded it.
+
+He stepped over the body of Fenwick, forcing his eyes away from the
+grisly sight of it as he dashed to the hallway.
+
+"Joan--_Joan_!"
+
+The girl's name came hoarsely from his lips as he ran into the hall and
+stared at the open door of the house. He ran to the door and out into
+the night.
+
+His eyes stared wildly into the darkness, searching the street. But he
+saw nothing but his parked car at the curb. The monster had vanished.
+And with him, the unconscious girl.
+
+A hopeless despair welled up inside Trent at that moment. For he knew he
+could never hope to find the creature now. And by the time help came it
+would be too late. They would find Joan's mangled body ...
+
+The baying of the Great Dane rang in his ears then. The huge dog's howls
+of rage thundered in his ears and he heard the hound crash its great
+body against the closed door at the end of the hall, striving to get
+through.
+
+And then a cry of hope left Trent's lips. He turned and ran back into
+the house. He grabbed the long leash from its wall hook beside the rear
+door and then he swung the door partway open.
+
+"Brutus! Quiet, Brutus!"
+
+The head of the Great Dane struggled through the partly opened door, a
+snarl of rage welling from the huge dog's mouth as Trent shouted at it.
+
+Then he slipped the leash into its metal ring around the neck of the dog
+and pulled the door open.
+
+The animal rushed into the hall, nearly tearing the leash from Fred
+Trent's hands as it lunged forward.
+
+The dog paused beside the open door of the consultation room where the
+body of Fenwick lay dead and still on the floor. The animal lifted its
+muzzle and sniffed the air. A howl of anguished rage left it then and
+Trent knew that the dog sensed its master had been murdered. And then it
+caught the scent of the monster, the thing that had caused its wild rage
+to be unleashed, and it leaped forward, down the hall and out the front
+door into the night.
+
+Trent held the leash tightly in his hands, running behind the straining
+dog, jumping over a low hedge after the animal as it headed down the
+shadowed street to the edge of the city.
+
+And then the last house was behind them and Trent was racing behind the
+dog out into the desert land beyond.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+His breath was an aching fire in his throat. His legs were numbed beyond
+feeling. They were parts of his body that simply refused to stop moving,
+though every nerve and muscle in them screamed in protest.
+
+It seemed like he had been running for hours, half tripping, stumbling
+across the darkened ground behind the seemingly tireless body of the
+Great Dane.
+
+They ran in near silence now. Only the sounds of their labored breathing
+mingled with the night wind. The howls of rage no longer issued from the
+throat of the huge dog. There was only its panting breath, and the
+strain of its mighty body as it sought to tear loose from the man
+holding it.
+
+But Trent held grimly to the leash, running as fast as his numbed body
+would go.
+
+And he knew he could not go much further. That soon he would drop to the
+ground in exhaustion. That his last reserve of energy was nearly spent.
+
+And then his eyes peered through the darkness ahead and he saw a glow of
+lights in the distance. And suddenly he knew those lights. And he became
+aware of where they were racing toward.
+
+It was the Rocket Proving Grounds!
+
+And the fence of the government project loomed close ahead.
+
+And as they neared the fence, Trent's eyes pierced the darkness and he
+saw a jagged tear in the metal mesh of the fence. A tear that stood as
+high as a man, a hole through which a man could have entered.
+
+The Great Dane bounded toward that hole and Trent followed the dog
+through it. He felt the animal pause momentarily and he nearly stumbled
+over a body lying on the ground at his feet just inside the fence.
+
+His heart stood still for a moment and the girl's name sped to his lips.
+But he never uttered the word. For he suddenly saw that it was the body
+of a guard. A body whose torn throat lay red and gory in death.
+
+And then the Great Dane let a howl of anger out on the night wind, and
+the beast leaped forward again, Trent running behind it.
+
+And ahead of them, Trent saw a great looming shape in the darkness, and
+as his eyes fell upon it, a despairing terror gripped him.
+
+It was the second rocket! Standing in its cradle, silent in the night, a
+shaft of metal that looked skyward.
+
+And a realization of what the monster had in mind struck him. He knew
+now where they were headed. He knew why the monster had torn the fence,
+why a guard had been killed where he stood.
+
+And as if the thought had been a prelude, he saw the rocket loom before
+them as the Great Dane bounded around its base.
+
+And he saw the metal stairway leading up to the middle of the giant
+projectile.
+
+And at the top of those stairs, going into the now open rocket chamber,
+was the monster, holding the unconscious girl in its arms.
+
+The Great Dane saw the creature in the same instant. And a terrible howl
+of rage welled from its throat. It gave a lunge forward then that broke
+Trent's grip from the leash he held. And the dog was free.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The monster turned in the same moment and saw them. A roar of feline
+anger left its throat as the huge dog leaped up the steps toward the
+platform above.
+
+The monster dropped the girl's body on the narrow platform and backed
+toward the opening of the rocket chamber.
+
+Then the Great Dane reached the platform and poised itself for a leap.
+
+Trent was dashing forward toward the stairs as the dog's body flew
+through the air. He saw the flashing jaws of the animal snap at the
+throat of the monster, as its heavy body smashed against it.
+
+Then the arms of the creature were tearing at the dog as it was forced
+back into the rocket chamber.
+
+Trent's feet flew up the stairs, his breath a tortured gasp in his
+throat. He saw the girl stir on the platform, as consciousness returned
+to her.
+
+"Joan!"
+
+Her name sped from his lips as he reached the top step. Then his hands
+closed around the girl's shoulders, lifting her to her feet.
+
+The snarl of the Great Dane reached his ears from the rocket chamber,
+and the answering roar of rage from the monster as they fought. His eyes
+saw the vague, terrible shadows of them, heard the snapping jaws of the
+dog, and the raking claws.
+
+And then he was dragging the girl down the steps.
+
+They reached the ground and Trent pulled her away from the rocket, felt
+her come to life in his arms, heard the sob on her lips.
+
+But his head turned away from her and he stared anxiously up at the open
+rocket chamber.
+
+He heard the bodies of the monster and the dog slam against the inner
+side of the chamber, and then he saw the door of the rocket close. He
+knew that the automatic mechanism must have been touched in the battle.
+
+And even as the thought ran through his mind he heard a sudden roar of
+flaming sound. The night lit up in a sheet of brilliant light and a wave
+of flame spread out from the base of the rocket.
+
+Trent pulled the girl away from that blinding sheet of exploding energy,
+and his eyes stared in grim fascination as they ran.
+
+He saw the rocket shudder in its cradle and then lift slowly. It was as
+if time had turned back and he were watching an identical scene that had
+happened earlier that day.
+
+Only it wasn't the same scene. It was now a scene of horror. For he knew
+that the monster and the dog were in that rocket. The rocket that would
+shoot skyward in moments, even as its companion had done. Would reach
+into the outer fringes of the Earth's atmosphere where the cosmic rays
+would envelop it, would react upon the animals inside it.
+
+And a terrible dread spread through Trent at the thought. For if the
+first change had been terrible enough, what would happen now?
+
+And as he thought, he saw the rocket lift slowly from its cradle and
+gather speed as it shot upward into the night.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The blinding light of the exploding rocket fuel lit the proving grounds
+like a huge beacon of incandescence, and Trent was aware of shouts ahead
+of him, and running feet.
+
+Then he was surrounded by men from the project, and he caught the glint
+of alert weapons and uniforms.
+
+He felt arms grab him and the girl and heard questions pounding at him.
+
+But then he saw a face he knew. And he tore away from the arms of the
+guards and shouted.
+
+"Dr. Mathieson! Listen to me!"
+
+The scientist stepped up to him and Trent gripped his arm in the fading
+light of the vanishing rocket.
+
+"What's happened here?" the scientist demanded. "Aren't you one of the
+newsmen--"
+
+Trent interrupted him. He poured out a string of words. Words that told
+what had happened. And as he talked he saw the eyes of the scientist
+widen in disbelief. And he heard the guards grow silent around him. Felt
+every ear listening with awe to his words.
+
+And when he had finished there was a long moment of silence. And then
+Joan Drake moved tremblingly up beside Trent and she spoke:
+
+"It's true, doctor! Every word Fred said is true!"
+
+And one of the guards broke in:
+
+"The word just came in from post four. The fence was torn to pieces--and
+Giddings has been murdered--just as they said!"
+
+Then the silence again. And the face of Mathieson was grim as Trent
+broke through the quiet:
+
+"--Doctor--that monster who was Gaddon--he's up there now! When the
+cosmic rays change him and the dog and the chamber is released ..."
+
+The scientist shook his head slowly, a look of awe in his eyes.
+
+"It won't release, Trent," he said.
+
+Fred Trent looked at him questioningly.
+
+"Gaddon must have forgotten one thing," the scientist continued. "That
+rocket was also an experimental project. But not for the same purpose.
+It was to test a new type of explosive ..."
+
+Mathieson's voice trailed off and silence closed over the small group
+then.
+
+There was no need to say anything further. There was only the tension of
+waiting, the tension that showed in every eye.
+
+And the girl moved closer to Trent, her body trembling against his.
+
+They waited. The seconds passed like moments in eternity. Slowly they
+marched by, one by one. And then a minute. And the tension grew.
+
+They heard it then. Off in the distance. Out in the waste of the open
+desert land. A thundering sound. An explosion that rolled in a wave of
+sound.
+
+And with it a flash of brilliant light. Light that seared through the
+night in a terrible wave. And with it the thunder of the explosive
+warhead.
+
+And then silence.
+
+After a long moment the voice of Mathieson came through the quiet night
+wind.
+
+"... It's over. Gaddon is--dead. Poor fool, he fumbled with the tools of
+creation, tools that man is not ready to wield ..."
+
+And Trent heard one of the soldiers gasp, "What a story! _What_ a
+story!"
+
+But he knew, as he held the girl against him, felt her body relax beside
+his, that it was a story he didn't want to write.
+
+He wanted only to forget ...
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Note:
+
+    This etext was produced from _Amazing Stories_ April 1949. Extensive
+    research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on
+    this publication was renewed. Minor spelling and typographical
+    errors have been corrected without note.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Monster, by S. M. Tenneshaw
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MONSTER ***
+
+***** This file should be named 24913.txt or 24913.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+        https://www.gutenberg.org/2/4/9/1/24913/
+
+Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
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