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diff --git a/41029-0.txt b/41029-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..264e292 --- /dev/null +++ b/41029-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,1200 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 41029 *** + + The Moon Destroyers + + By MONROE K. RUCH + +[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from Wonder Stories +Quarterly Winter 1932. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence +that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] + +[Illustration: The tremendous speed of the dive brought them so close +that they could see the skeletons of wrecked ships piled up at the base +of the precipice.] + + * * * * * + + + MONROE K. RUCH + + The moon is not only the most prominent object in our heavens, but + also an integral part of the earth. We are, so to speak, an + astronomical unit, and we affect each other for better or for + worse. + + We know that the gravitational attraction of the moon causes our + tides, and tends to slow up the earth in her daily rotation. It has + also been deemed responsible for earthquakes, causing untold + suffering among earth's people. + + But so far the effect of the moon has been rather an inhuman + affair. No man has gone to the moon to see just what conditions are + there, and to observe accurately the influence that the moon and + earth exercise over each other. But when interplanetary travel does + come, when commerce between moon and earth may possibly assume + importance in our lives, the influence of the moon upon us may be + more accurately determined. And when it is, the amazing series of + incidents, pictured in this story, may yet come true. + + * * * * * + +Professor Erickson, head of the International Seismographical Institute, +sat with bowed head and pale face, watching the stylus of the instrument +before him trace its path on the slowly revolving drum. The laboratory, +situated high in the Himalayas, trembled slightly as mid-winter storms +roared and whistled around it, but something quite different, and +infinitely more sinister, was causing the needle to wander from its +ordinarily straight path. + +Suddenly, with horrible certainty, it jumped, wavered back and forth, +and then moved rapidly to the right, until its black ink no longer +traced a line on the white paper. + +"Holden," shouted Erickson to his assistant, "what does the direction +and distance finder tell us? The stylus has run clear off the graph." + +Young Jack Holden was working feverishly over the dials and levers of +the panel before him. Slender yet strong, he looked like a long-bow of +stout old yew as he bent to the task. His steel gray eyes focused +intently on the verniers, taking the readings. The muscles in his tanned +cheeks were tight as he turned toward his superior. For a moment the +very storm seemed to hush, awaiting the words. Then he spoke. + +"It's the Laurentian fault!" + +For a moment both men stared at each other, stunned and helpless. + +"That means," Holden managed to say, "that New York is a mass of ruins." + +Pictures were forming in his mind; he saw the huge steel and glass +towers of the city, tossed and torn by the convulsive writhings of the +earth beneath. Great engineers had said that the city was safe, that no +tremors would ever disturb it, but they knew nothing of the terrific +force of such a shock as this. Those massive buildings, thousands of +feet high, would now be mere heaps of twisted junk. Holden closed his +eyes to shut out the picture, but to no avail. His sister! God! She was +probably one of the millions who now lay, crushed, bleeding and helpless +beneath the wreckage of the too-proud metropolis. + +"My boy," the professor was speaking, "we must stay with our work, no +matter what happens." His voice was low; his entire family had been +wiped out, without doubt, but Science must be served. + +For hours the two sat before their instruments, as shock after shock was +recorded. Jones came down from the television room above, and his report +confirmed their observations in horrible detail. + +"All communications from the city itself are cut off, but an airliner +from England, which was about to dock, has broadcast the scene. Aid is +being rushed from all over the world, but at a conservative estimate ten +million are already dead, and millions more will probably die, buried +and hidden as they are beneath the wreckage." + +At last, nearly five hours after the first shock, the Professor stood +up. + +"I think that is all. My prophecies have come true, and at last my +theories will be needed. But the cost of it all, the horrible cost!" + + * * * * * + +Two weeks later a group of men were seated around the conference table +in the spacious offices of the Department of Public Safety of the World +Union. All faces were turned toward the stooped figure of Professor +Erickson, who was speaking from the head of the table. + +"Gentlemen, I have outlined to you, only too briefly, the damage caused +by the quake a few days ago. I now state that a repetition of such a +disaster is imminent. Great faults have formed in the basic granites +throughout the entire globe. Observations recorded during five centuries +since the first conception of the idea by Dr. Maxwell Allen in 1931, +show conclusively that Earth-tides, set up by the attraction of the +moon, cause a sweeping series of stresses and strains. These, coming to +a fault, produce earthquakes. Now that there are huge faults in the +basic rock, these quakes will be of a tremendous force and range which +the most modern structures will be unable to resist." + +"Professor," spoke John Dorman, Secretary of Public Safety, "if all this +is true, and we are assured that it is, what on earth can be done about +it?" + +"Gentlemen, during nearly seventy years I have studied that problem, +and I have come to only one conclusion. Nothing on earth can be done +about it, if you permit the remark, but men from earth can do something. +_Destroy the moon!_" + +A gasp went up from the great men assembled there. Erickson's colleagues +nodded in helpless agreement. + +"But how?" The question came from all sides. Famous engineers looked at +each other questioningly. + +"Gentlemen." This was a new voice, young and full of energy. + +"Mr. Holden," responded the chairman. + +"Professor Erickson was so kind as to confide in me several years ago, +and since then I have been at work on this problem. I have solved it." + +Eager interest shone on all faces. Jack Holden was known and liked by +many of these men, despite his youth. His discovery of _hexoxen_, the +chemical which turned solid matter into almost intangible vapor, had +created quite a stir in scientific circles. + +He now continued his address. + +"If all the resources of Earth are made use of, it would be possible to +produce hundreds of tons of _hexoxen_ and sufficient amounts of the +element Europium to act as a catalyst. That would be plenty to reduce +the moon to a gaseous state. The clouds of gas could then be penetrated +by anti-gravitational screens, which would cause the smaller pieces to +drift off into space, where they will do no harm whatsoever." + +Several distinguished engineers nodded their heads. One of them spoke. + +"Mr. Secretary, the plan is entirely feasible. I move that Mr. Holden be +given permission to make use of all the necessary resources to carry out +his plan, and that he be placed in sole charge, assisted by an advisory +board of which Professor Erickson shall be chairman." + +The motion was carried, the papers drawn up, and the meeting adjourned. + +Holden grasped Professor Erickson firmly by the arm and hurried him to +the elevator. + +"We've got just five minutes to get to the port. We're catching the +first airliner for San Francisco. There are three of the latest model +Mars-Earth freighters there, which we will use for our expedition. We +will also be near the best source of Europium. Hurry." + +As the elevator shot downward, the old professor endeavored to +congratulate Holden on his appointment. + +"Forget it. This was your idea, and they should have named you leader of +the expedition, but that really doesn't make much difference. Anything +you say goes, see?" + +A crowd was milling around the entrance to the Western Hemisphere +tunnel. An official tried to stop Holden and his companion as they +pushed their way through the crowd. + +"The liner is leaving. You can't go in there." + +"Oh, we can't, huh? Here." + +A single glance at the paper shoved under his nose, and the gatekeeper +came to life. + +"Right this way, you're just in time." + +The three ran out on top of the building, where the beautiful silver +shape of the liner floated at the top of a short tower. An officer was +just giving the command to cast loose, but as Holden shouted to him, he +countermanded it, for special orders from the Union had to be obeyed, +even if schedules were spoiled. + + * * * * * + +Nodding their thanks to the now obsequious gateman, the two scientists +hurried up the ladder that had been dropped for them; again came the +shouted "Cast off," and the huge liner, impelled by powerful motors, +rose rapidly to the high altitude at which she traveled. + +"Message for you, sir," said a pleasant voice at Holden's elbow, and he +turned. A neatly uniformed boy held out to him a thin envelope. Breaking +the seal, he read rapidly. + +"Will you show us in to the Captain, please," he addressed the boy as he +finished the message. + +The lad nodded, and led them down a long hall to the bow of the ship and +up to the bridge. + +"Mr. Holden, I presume? And Professor Erickson? I am Captain Linet." + +The Captain was an immense man, well over six feet, with the build of a +prizefighter. His face was pleasant, but there was an expression of +intense sorrow in his deep blue eyes. + +"I understand that you have been appointed to head an expedition to the +moon, the nature of which has not been revealed, but which will do away +forever with the earthquakes which have become so prevalent. I wish to +join that expedition. My beloved wife was in New York at the time of the +last quake. You understand." + +Holden nodded sympathetically. He would be glad to have all the men like +this he could find, and he expressed that opinion to the Captain. + +"Thank you. I will resign my position when we reach San Francisco, and +will await your orders." + +"But, Captain," Holden asked, "how did you know that I was head of the +expedition?" + +"Oh, the news has been broadcast everywhere, with instructions to give +you any aid possible. But no information was given as to the exact +nature of the trip. Could I be trusted--?" + +"Why certainly. We are going to destroy the moon, wipe it out of +existence, so that it will cease to exert the tremendous gravitational +pull that has been causing--." + +At that moment a petty officer appeared behind the Captain. + +"Have you any further orders concerning the cargo to be dumped at New +Orleans?" + +"No. I thought I gave you to understand that there were to be no more +additions to that cargo. Didn't you hear me?" + +"I beg your pardon, sir," the man said, and walked away. + +"I wonder how much of our conversation he heard?" mused Erickson. "But +then, I suppose it makes no difference." + +After a few minutes of conversation, Holden asked the Captain if they +could be shown their cabins, so that they could get a few hours of rest +before reaching their destination. The request was readily granted, and +in a few minutes Holden was alone in a neat little room, furnished with +a comfortable chair, tables along two walls, and a very pleasant looking +berth built into the third side. The professor had a similar place a few +doors down the hall. + +Holden threw off his shoes and coat and tumbled into the berth. The +events of the last weeks were spinning in his head, and a procession of +visions passed before his eyes. That terrible catastrophe, the trip to +Europe, to the capitol of the World Union, and now, the appointment as +leader of the most important expedition in the history of the universe, +with the possible exception of that first epoch-making voyage to Mars +back in 2350. + +Another vision appeared before his eyes. Jean! Jean, his own sweetheart, +the one person in the world who mattered, gone now for a full year. Why +had she decided to make the voyage to Mars? What could have happened to +the ill-fated _Gloriana_, with her hundreds of passengers and valuable +cargo? A year ago she had left; and, as some people said, merely drifted +out into space, never to be heard from again. + +A deep sob shook Holden's body as he thought of that beautiful girl, +who, laughing at his fears, had stepped into the space flyer with a +smile on her lips, promising to come back in a year and marry him. + +At last, however, these memories gave way before exhaustion, and he fell +into a sleep, troubled by strange dreams. It seemed that a great serpent +had attacked him, and, flinging its coils about his body, was slowly +squeezing out his life. Suddenly, he was wide awake. Strong hands were +on his throat, the thumbs were pressed tight against his larynx. + +He struggled to gain his breath, to shout for help, but the pressure +closed his throat. In another moment it would be too late. Then his mind +cleared; raising both hands to the back of his neck, he grasped the +little fingers of his assailant, and pulled with all his strength. The +man gave a cry of pain and anger and relaxed his grip. Holden gulped in +a breath of air, and flung himself from his berth, endeavoring to catch +and hold the coward who had attacked in the dark. The man, however, was +wiry and quick. With a sudden jerk he wriggled loose, gained the door +and was gone. When Holden reached the corridor, no one was in sight. +Quickly he walked to Professor Erickson's room, awakened him, and told +him what had happened. + +Erickson rang up a steward, who promised to do everything in his power +to apprehend the culprit. + +"Who could it have been?" asked Erickson. + +"I haven't the slightest idea. I have no enemies that I know of. I'm not +carrying any valuables. It was probably a case of mistaken identity." + +The incident was dismissed with that interpretation, and it was several +weeks before Holden thought of it again, but then he wished fervently +that he had investigated more thoroughly. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +A Midnight Attack + + +It was midnight when the liner reached San Francisco, but Holden +insisted on going at once to the offices of the Interplanetary +Transportation Company, where work was carried on day and night. +Fortunately they found an official of the company who had sufficient +power to carry out their instructions. + +It is unnecessary to go into the details of the meeting, or of the +ensuing days. The unlimited power given Holden, together with the vital +importance of his mission, brought everyone into instant cooperation. + +Three mammoth space ships were turned over to the gang of mechanics he +had hired, to be fitted with projectors for the anti-gravitational +screens. Thousands of chemists all over the world dropped their work to +prepare the precious _hexoxen_ while others extracted Europium from the +rare minerals in which it was found. Special freight ships were sent out +to gather together the supply of these materials upon which the fate of +the earth depended, and rapidly the great quantities of the chemical +necessary were stored in the ships. + +Captain Linet had proven true to his word, and, with his great executive +ability, had made himself invaluable. + +It was a pleasant sight to see the huge old Captain, veteran of many a +storm in the air, conferring with the slim young Holden, whose pleasant +features and soft voice gave no real notion of the immense energy, fiery +courage and scientific knowledge which he possessed. + +Crews for the three ships had to be assembled. Holden and Erickson +picked many from among the scientific men of their acquaintance, all +experts in their lines. The Interplanetary Transportation Company +recommended several of their best men for the positions on board +requiring technical knowledge of the handling of space ships, and +Captain Linet also picked up a few of his friends--brave, strong men. +There were to be fifty on each ship. + +The start had been scheduled for the fifteenth of the month, but on the +tenth Professor Erickson received a radiogram from the Seismographical +Institute which read as follows: "Observations indicate a series of +stresses approaching Pacific fault, probably aggravated by unusual tidal +action of moon in that area tenth of next month." + +"Gentlemen," the old professor addressed the little group gathered in +the office allotted them in the I. T. C. building, "as you know, this is +the tenth. Without allowing for possible delays, we would just have +time, starting tomorrow, to reach the moon, distribute the _hexoxen_ and +Europium and get out of range by the first. That would leave us only ten +days for cutting the gaseous mass into small pieces which will drift +harmlessly into space. If we do not have that task accomplished by the +time indicated in this message, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland and +Seattle will suffer the fate which overtook New York such a short time +ago." + +Holden's face was pale as he rose and nodded to the professor. "If +Captain Linet will take the responsibility of getting the crews on +board, I will see that we are ready to leave at high noon tomorrow." + +The meeting adjourned in a flurry of papers, a ringing of bells, and +brisk words spoken into television transmitters. + +All that night and all the next morning work went on. At eleven A. M. +the last five hundred tons of _hexoxen_ was loaded on the _San +Francisco_, which was to be the flagship; at noon exactly the huge doors +swung shut, the repulsion tubes at the stern began to glow, and the +beautiful cigar-shaped ship rose from the earth, followed immediately by +the _Los Angeles_ and the _Ganymede_. They cruised slowly, at about six +hundred miles per hour, until they were well out of the earth's +atmosphere, when full power was slowly turned on, and the trip to the +moon was actually begun. + +Holden and Erickson stood in the bow of the _San Francisco_, watching +the skilful hands of the pilot, Edwards, as he spun the dials +controlling the steering discharges, keeping the delicate needle in the +direction indicator exactly in line with the path indicated on the chart +before him. + +"How are things going, Edwards?" Holden asked. + +"Fine so far. We have developed our necessary velocity in very good +time. If you would allow me a word of advice, I would suggest that you +turn in now, as the tremendous acceleration of the last few minutes, and +the speed with which we are now traveling, are liable to affect you +disagreeably, since this is your first trip. Our course has been plotted +by the experts of the I. T. C., and there is nothing to do now but to +stay on it." + + * * * * * + +Holden decided that the suggestion was a good one, as he was beginning +to feel light-headed and slightly bewildered. Erickson, however, chose +to go down to the observation room, for a glance at the earth, and the +two parted company in the hall which led through the storage +compartments, located amidships. + +As Holden continued on down the hall toward his cabin, a sudden feeling +of danger came over him. Memories of the clutching hands that had +endeavored to throttle the life out of him shot into his mind. He +laughed to himself, attributing the fear to the mental disorganization +suffered by travelers on their first trip into space. He opened the door +of his cabin, and stepped inside, instinctively reaching for the +light-switch. + +His hand encountered warm flesh! Swiftly he went into action, diving for +the stranger's throat, but his unknown antagonist had the advantage of +being prepared. Holden heard a soft swish, a tremendous weight seemed to +descend on him, crushing his entire body. Buzzing lights flashed before +his eyes. Then came darkness, and he sank, unconscious, to the floor. + +"Jack, Jack, my boy." The voice came from a great distance, slowly +penetrating the great cloud which hung over him. "Jack, what's the +matter with you?" He realized that someone was talking to him. With a +mighty effort, he opened his eyes and endeavored to distinguish the +speaker among the thousands of objects which whirled before his eyes. At +last things settled down, and he saw the anxious faces of Erickson and +Captain Linet bending above him. + +"Somebody was in my cabin, and slugged me over the head with a +black-jack when I came in. Look at the wall-cabinet, will you, +professor, and see if any of the papers are missing?" + +The professor stepped over to one side of the room, and bent to examine +the compartment set in the solid metal of the wall. + +"Holden," he cried, "the intruder tried to open the cabinet, but was +unable to do so, or else you came back sooner than he had expected. +There are tool marks all around the lock." + +"That means," exclaimed Captain Linet, "that the man either has tools in +his cabin, or has access to the machine shop here on board." + +Scarcely had he spoken when the floor leaped beneath their feet, a +deafening roar sounded from the bow, and the lights went out. Sounds of +running feet came from the corridor. The three men picked themselves up +from the positions into which they had been thrown by the force of the +shock, and rushed to the door. + +The emergency lights had been switched on, and they could see fairly +well by the dim illumination. They hurried into the pilot house at the +bow. Edwards was struggling with the controls, pale but determined. + +"There's something wrong with the steering apparatus we've run into a +group of tiny meteorites, but, thank God, they didn't hit hard enough to +penetrate the shell. The other ships seem to be in good shape; they're +standing by a few hundred miles away, for I've signaled them not to get +themselves tangled up with this shower." + +At that moment a breathless tube-man came running in. + +"Report for you, sir, from the tube-room. Someone tampered with the +timing device that controls the feeding of the charges. We can have it +repaired in a few hours." + +"Good," snapped Edwards. "Give me all the power you can from the +emergency tubes, and keep the main stern tubes going full." Turning to +Holden, he continued, "I'll try to steer out of this shower by means of +the deceleration tubes, but I don't dare use up too much of their power, +and they can't be recharged until after we land." + +"Captain Linet," Holden ordered, "start a search of the ship. Go over +every man's room first, and pay especial attention to their baggage. +Read all the private papers you can find, and see if you can't get some +clue as to why all this is being done. By the way, do we have any arms +on board?" + +Linet smiled. "While your orders didn't cover that matter, sir, I took +the liberty to bring with me a very complete arsenal of small arms, and +three of the newly developed rapid-fire disintegrators, using your +_hexoxen_ as the material for the bullets. Very effective, I may add." + +"Fine. As soon as a man is searched, and has been entirely cleared of +all shadow of suspicion, arm him." + +Erickson departed with Captain Linet, and Holden remained in the pilot +room, helping Edwards work the ship onward. After about an hour and a +half, they had reached an area free from meteorites of dangerous size. + +"I think I can handle her myself, now. Thanks very much," Edwards said, +and Holden departed to do a little investigating on his own. + + * * * * * + +In the tube-room at the stern, he found Linet. The doughty Captain had +evidently been giving the men a thorough raking over, for they were all +looking slightly sheepish, as men do when they have had to reveal the +most intimate details of their lives. + +"All in shape here," Linet reported. "Five of the men I know best are +searching the living quarters, under command of Professor Erickson. If +you will come with me now, we will go to the observation room, where the +rest of the men are loafing while off duty." + +As they passed down the central hall in the section where the cabins +were located, a man ran out from a side passage, saw them, and turned at +full speed for the bow. + +"Stop him," came a shout. Holden recognized the voice as Erickson's. The +man heard it, too, for he whirled in his tracks, whipped an +old-fashioned automatic pistol from his pocket, leveled it at Holden, +and took careful aim. The fraction of a second during which his eye +rested along the sights was his undoing. + +Captain Linet's hand, hidden under the loose jacket he was wearing, +pressed the release on his short-range ray pistol, a light bluish streak +touched the man's breast, and he fell forward, his heart literally +shattered by the energy of the ray. + +Holden reached him first, and rolled him over. His face was faintly +familiar, and doubt changed to recognition as Captain Linet exclaimed, +"It's Chambers, a former petty officer on my airliner." + +It was the man who had come up to the Captain while Holden and Erickson +were conversing with him on the bridge. + +"What on earth could the man have been up to? He must have been mad to +attack me on this ship, with no chance of escape," exclaimed Holden. "Do +you know anything of his record, Captain?" + +"Nothing whatsoever, except that he seemed honest enough, and hard +working. I was the one responsible for his presence on board here, as he +had mentioned some knowledge of interplanetary travel, and we needed +men." + +Erickson had come up by that time. + +"We found nothing in this man's cabin except some tools that he had +evidently stolen from the machine shop, and a code book of the type used +by commercial companies for interplanetary messages. He entered the room +while we were searching it, and bolted when he saw us." + +The thing was puzzling, but most of the men on board accepted the +explanation that the man was mad, and had for some reason resorted to +desperate measures to assure the safety of the moon. + +"You know," explained Captain Linet, "back a few hundred years ago, +there was the expression 'moonstruck' applied to people who were +mentally deranged." + +At any rate, the incident was closed, as no one could be found who might +possibly have been an accomplice. Minor damage caused by the cloud of +meteorites was repaired, and the three ships swung in close together, +heading for the satellite which they were commissioned to destroy. + +The men spent as much time as they could in their bunks, for there was +hard dangerous work ahead of them. Huge cartridges had to be filled with +_hexoxen_, caps of Europium placed on top, and adjustments made so that, +after a certain time had elapsed, the catalyst would come into contact +with the _hexoxen_, causing a reaction to take place which would +continue almost as long as there was solid material present to be +vaporized. One slip of tired hands, one miscalculation and many men, +perhaps the entire party, would suffer a terrible fate. + +Holden was busy with one of the latest and best maps of the moon, +looking for places where landing could be made, and charting the spots +where the cartridges would be buried. The exact time for which every +charge was to be set had to be worked out in advance. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +A Sudden Encounter + + +The map of the moon was not as complete as it could have been, either. +No particular interest had been taken in our satellite since the first +exploratory expeditions nearly fifty years before, when it had been +determined that the moon was of no value to Earthmen, either as an +outpost for colonization or a station for the production of power from +the sun's rays. Jack did the best he could, however, and the little dots +he placed on the map were close enough together to assure complete +vaporization of the solid material in less than the allotted time. + +At the end of the second day out, by earth-time, the dead satellite +loomed immense, only five thousand miles ahead. Holden was in the pilot +house when Edwards began turning on the deceleration tubes. + +"I flashed your message to the other ships," he said, as his quick +fingers touched the buttons which sent messages to the tube-room, +"telling them to stand by and land with us. I understand that the plan +is to use these ships to travel over the surface of the moon, making +landings in such positions that expeditions can be sent out in four +directions to plant cartridges. That will certainly give us plenty of +time, if nothing goes wrong." + +"I don't see what could go wrong," replied Holden, "since that madman is +out of the way." + +Eagerly he watched the dead, dust-covered surface approach, marveling at +the huge craters and precipitous peaks. + +In two hours the five thousand miles had been reduced to less than that +many yards, and in a few more minutes the three great ships were +settling softly on the smooth surface of the plain at the foot of Mount +Julian. + +Space suits were rapidly donned, the air-locks set in operation, and the +men hastily began unloading the first four charges of _hexoxen_ and +Europium. Holden called a meeting of the ship commanders in the pilot +room of the _San Francisco_. + +"Commander Huges," he addressed the man in charge of the _Los Angeles_, +"you will proceed toward Mount Locke, and continue in that line until +you reach the spot marked on this chart, which is directly opposite our +present position. Rogers, you take the _Ganymede_, and go at an angle of +120 degrees to Huges' course, toward Mount Zoga. I will continue over +the Crater of Aristotle. We will keep in constant communication with +each other by means of the space phone. Time the charges so that they +will commence to react on the afternoon of the twenty-eighth, thus +giving a sufficient margin of time in case of delays due to parties +getting lost. That's all." + +The _Ganymede_ and the _Los Angeles_ left almost immediately, while men +from the _San Francisco_ set out to plant the first charges. There were +four men to each cartridge, since it was necessary that they travel +fast. + +Holden smiled as the lean figure of Professor Erickson, almost lost in +his space-suit, bounded away in great leaps at the head of his party. In +five hours they returned, having had no trouble at all. Edwards +manipulated the controls, and the ship rose quickly to an altitude of +about five thousand feet and headed for the rim of the Crater of +Aristotle, barely visible in the distance. As they neared the rim, they +rose higher and higher. The mammoth cliffs of black rock towered above +them, and the meters registered a height of five miles as they passed +through a crack in the cliffs and looked down on the level floor beneath +them. + +Suddenly Holden, who had been inspecting the country from one of the bow +ports, uttered an exclamation of astonishment. + +"A tiny ship is rising toward us from the floor of the crater, near the +cliffs!" + +There it was, a speck rapidly growing larger, headed straight for them, +and gaining velocity with every foot it covered. + +Edwards worked frantically with the controls, diving in a zig-zag path +toward the strange craft. Captain Linet rushed in, carrying one of the +light _hexoxen_ guns. Holden hurried to help him place it in a specially +designed aperture in the bow, while Erickson and the regular radio man +endeavored to establish communications with the intruder. A voice +suddenly spoke from their instrument. + +"You will consider yourselves our captives. Land at once as close as +possible to the white spot you see at the base of the cliff. If you do +not obey instructions, we will ram you immediately." + +"Don't reply for a moment," Holden commanded, focusing his glasses in +the direction indicated. As the powerful lenses brought out every detail +of the scene below, he paled visibly. + +"What's the matter?" demanded Erickson. + +"Matter enough," was the amazing reply. "We've run into a den of some +bandits. They must be the fiends who have been preying on the Earth-Mars +shipping!" + + * * * * * + +The tremendous speed of the dive had brought them so close that all +could see, without the aid of binoculars, the great skeletons of wrecked +ships piled up at the base of the precipice. + +"Tell those rats to go to hell," snapped Holden, "and get in touch with +our own ships; use code and tell them to get here as quickly as +possible, prepared for a fight. Get near enough to this pirate ship to +open on it with the _hexoxen_ guns. Can you keep them from ramming us, +Edwards?" + +"I think so, for a time, at least." + +The enemy's craft was now only a few hundred yards away, and Holden +scrutinized it closely for any sign that might give a clue to the +original builders or present owners. Not over a hundred and fifty feet +in length, with no visible openings, it looked like a slightly fattened +steel needle. Its stern tubes were of the ordinary type; they glowed red +against the silvery background, as the enemy swooped and circled, trying +to get into position for a final, crushing blow. + +"Every man in space suits," Holden ordered. "Good work, Linet," he +cried, as he saw a sudden pock-mark appear in the pirate's side, where +the devastating _hexoxen_ bullet had struck. + +"They've certainly got thick plates," remarked the Captain, as another +direct hit failed to do more than scratch the metal. "Probably heavier +up in front, if they mean what they say about ramming. I'm going to +concentrate on the stern." + +The dull red surface of the moon, the black walls of the crater, and the +twinkling stars of outer space mingled in a fantastic whirl as Edwards +skilfully kept the _San Francisco_ out of the enemy's reach, at the same +time giving Linet and the men in the observation compartment sufficient +opportunity to train their guns on vital spots. It was a hopeless game, +though, for the smaller ship was incredibly fast. + +Erickson straightened up from his position behind the operator of the +space-phone. "We can't make any connections with either the _Ganymede_ +or the _Los Angeles_. Probably these pirates have developed a shield +which, thrown around their victims, prevents any message from getting to +the outside." + +That looked bad. Erickson switched the receiver back to the wave-length +of the enemy. A continual stream of taunts and threats came from the +loudspeaker. + +"Why don't you surrender?" the gruff voice barked. "You haven't a chance +against us, but if you surrender you may be allowed to work with us, for +your own benefit as well as ours." + +"Go to hell," the formerly meek Erickson roared into the transmitter, +surprised at his own rage. + +Then finally, with a desperate dash, the tiny pirate ship darted in. +Edwards did his best to swerve away from the needle-point, but in vain. +There was a shattering crash; Holden felt himself hurled through the +air, but his heavy space-suit saved him from being crushed as he hit the +wall of the room. Edwards stayed with the controls, somehow, cursing +savagely. + +"Only a glancing blow, but it smashed all the main stern tubes, and +evidently disabled the anti-gravitational shield transmitter. We're +going down." + +Holden dashed to a port and glanced out. A welcome sight met his eyes. +The enemy, also injured, was heading for home as fast as his disabled +engines permitted. + +"Those _hexoxen_ bombs must have weakened his plating, so that it sprang +when he rammed us," Edwards exclaimed when he saw what was happening. + +Slowly the _San Francisco_ sank toward the red and black volcanic ash of +the crater floor. A hasty inspection revealed that Edwards had been +correct in his diagnosis of the trouble. Extensive repairs would be +necessary before they could proceed, but, fortunately, no one was +seriously hurt, and the main shell showed no signs of strains or leaks. + +As soon as Edwards had brought them safely to rest on the ground, Holden +called a council of war. + +"From the way these chaps fight, it's evident that they have no weapons, +other than the bow of their ship, and possibly some short-range ray +pistols, or the still more antiquated guns using some form of explosive +to expel metal bullets. As soon as the shadow of the cliff throws this +section of the crater into darkness, I'm going to do a little exploring, +and see if I can't find out where these rats hide, when they're not out +in space. Linet, you throw a line of pickets around the ship; Edwards, +get started on repairs, and Erickson, keep on trying to get in touch +with our companions." + + * * * * * + +Scarcely had he finished speaking when the light began to fade, and in a +few minutes it was pitch black. Refusing to take anyone along with him, +Holden crept out of the air-lock, and with an occasional glance at the +compass fastened inside his suit, always pointing toward the _San +Francisco_, he set out in the general direction of the wrecked space +ships he had seen piled along the base of the cliff. He made good time, +despite the weight of his suit and the poor footing afforded by the +loosely piled dust, and finally saw ahead of him the silvery gleam of a +ship's side. Afraid to use his light, he crept toward the bow of the +craft, past a huge hole, and reached the name-plate. Following the +deeply engraved characters, he slowly spelled out the name "G-L-O-R-," +his heart gave a great thump. _Gloriana_, the Earth-Mars passenger +transport into which his own Jean had stepped so happily a year +previously! + +A sudden hope flared up and then died down as he remembered the gaping +hole he had just passed. The cowards had probably attacked without +warning; the terrible cold of outer space had flooded through the +opening made by that sharp-pointed prow,--. He could not bear to carry +the image further; with a sob in his throat and murderous hatred in his +heart, he continued his search for the pirate stronghold. + +Winding his way among other shattered ships, he came to the base of the +towering cliff, and turned to the right along it, finding his way by +constantly touching the hard rock with his gloved hand. Suddenly there +was a space where he could touch nothing, then the texture of the +material changed. + +Carefully shielding the glow, he flashed a light on the wall for a +moment. It was metal, not rock! The pirates had walled in a cave with +plates from the captured transports; probably they were living within, +in all the luxury of their stolen wealth. + +A few yards farther on his searching hand touched a seam in the metal, +still farther, another, evidently the air-lock through which the pirates +took their ship into the cave. Holden sat down to think. At that moment +the wall against which he leaned began to move slowly outward! A dim ray +of light came from the opening, which, as he turned to look, he saw to +be an air-lock. The inner door was closed, obviously someone was +expected to enter. He drew a deep breath, clasped his gun firmly in his +right hand, and plunged in. + +As soon as he entered, the outer door closed; he heard valves click +open, air rushed into the chamber, and the inner door slowly opened, +revealing a long hall, dark and ominous. + +Without removing the helmet of his space-suit, he started down the hall, +but had gone no more than a few steps before he felt a hand on his +sleeve, drawing him through a darkened doorway. The door closed, a light +flashed on, and before him stood, smiling and happy, his sweetheart, +Jean! + +With a single movement he flung off his helmet and seized her in his +arms. For a short, delicious moment she clung to him, whispering those +words that lovers know so well. At last she said, "We haven't a minute +to lose, Jack. Let me tell you all I know about this place." + +"But Jean, how did you get here? How does it happen that you had access +to the air-lock?" + +"I was captured by these fiends, and am a prisoner, together with about +fifteen others, only five of them being men. All the rest were killed, +either when the pirates rammed the ships, or here, when they decided the +place was becoming crowded." Her face paled at the memory of the +horrible massacres, but she went bravely on. + +"We have no space-suits, and the pirates, of whom there are perhaps +seventy-five, let us wander around pretty much as we please. We know of +practically everything that goes on. I happened to hear your name +mentioned in the phone room the other day, when a spy on your ship sent +a message. When the pirates brought their ship in, crippled by the +fight, I was sure that you were around somewhere. I have been watching +ever since, making use of a sound detector pieced together from some +scraps of material I picked up unnoticed. + +"There aren't any guards because the gang is busy repairing the _Silver +Death_, as they call their ship, preparatory to finishing the job they +started today. Oh, Jack, you must go, now. They may be through at any +time. I don't know when I will see you again, if ever, but I couldn't +resist talking to you, touching you, just once more." + +"One moment, dear. I have an idea. Is there any compartment, farther +back or lower down, where you could gather the prisoners together, and +be safe in case the outer wall was broken down?" + + * * * * * + +"Yes," she replied breathlessly, "one of the older, smaller caves is +still airtight, and while the gang is busy on the _Silver Death_ we +could go there and close the locks. What good would that do, though? +They are certain you can't get in here, or they wouldn't leave the place +unguarded. They have your ship surrounded by a wave-proof shield, so you +can't communicate with the others of your fleet, you know." + +"I know that, but I think I can steal a leaf from their own book. Will +they all be working, say three hours from now?" + +"I think so. Your guns did a great deal of damage, weakening the forward +structures of their craft." + +"All right. Get your friends together in the old cave you mentioned, +seal it, and then wait till I come back." + +Tenderly he kissed her good-bye, then hastened away, anxious to get his +work done before the shadow of the cliff again receded. + +Thanking the fates for the good fortune that had saved Jean, and had led +her to the air-lock at the moment he was there, he stumbled over the +rocks and dust piles until halted by the picket line surrounding the +_San Francisco_. He called the men into the ship, and hastened to the +pilot room, where Edwards was testing the controls. + +"Any luck?" + +"Yes, a lot. Can you get the ship in shape to travel in three hours?" + +"She's in pretty good shape now, although not capable of the trip back +to Earth." + +Captain Linet entered at that moment, and with him Professor Erickson. + +Holden recounted his adventures of the last hour and then set forth his +plan. + +"The cave is walled up with thin plating from the ships the pirates have +brought in here. The entire gang is at work, repairing their own flier; +none of them, or at least only a few, are wearing space suits. I propose +to drive the bow of the _San Francisco_ into the wall of their cave, +previously weakening it by a few bursts from the _hexoxen_ guns!" + +"It is possible," replied Edwards, "but it will probably put us out of +commission altogether." + +"In any case," put in Erickson, "we will be rid of this damnable shield, +and can communicate with our companions." + +It certainly was the only plan, for, as soon as the pirates had repaired +their ship, another unequal battle would be waged, with the result very +little in doubt. + +All hands set to work completing repairs on the main stern tubes, the +only ones necessary to drive the _San Francisco_ forward. In less than +three hours, Edwards pronounced the work done to his satisfaction. + +As the light began to creep in toward the base of the cliff, the huge +ship rose slightly off the ground, the tubes glowed red and, guided by a +powerful searchlight installed on the bow, Edwards pointed his craft +toward the gleaming metal patch that marked the position of the pirate +cave. + +At short range, Holden, Linet, and Erickson opened with the three +_hexoxen_ guns. They saw the bursts take effect on the metal. Edwards +turned the power on full, and they felt the floor leaping under them. +Would the bow of the _San Francisco_ hold? Would they all be crushed to +death at the impact? Another moment would tell. Holden saw the metal +plates dead ahead, could distinguish the seams marking the air-lock. + +He fired one final shot, and flung himself to the floor of the pilot +room, endeavoring to find some means of bracing himself for the shock. +Then it came! Torn from his position, he saw the plates buckling and +heaving about him. The lights went out. A great crash sounded in his +ears, and everything went black. In a moment he regained consciousness, +and staggered to his feet, bruised and dizzy. Thank God, his space suit +had not been harmed! A faint glow from the outside made things visible +and he saw that the shock had torn a huge piece out of the plating of +the pilot room. + +A hand clutched his elbow, and through the phone in his space suit he +heard Linet's voice. + +"Erickson and Edwards are knocked out. Let's see what we did to these +chaps here." + + * * * * * + +Rushing back through the corridor, they collected as many of the crew as +were able to move, flung open the heavy doors of the air-lock, and +scrambled down to the floor of the cave. + +Here and there lay bodies, pirates caught unawares. Suddenly Holden saw +a blue flash. One of the mechanics clutched at his breast and fell, dead +in an instant. + +"Some of these fellows are still alive. They're using ray pistols," +Holden shouted into his suit phone. + +Even as he spoke he heard the sound of running feet from the darkness in +the rear of the cave, where the bow of the _Silver Death_ was barely +visible in her cradle, and in a moment at least fifty figures, pirates +who had somehow escaped the fatal cold of space, clad in clumsy suits +and brandishing pistols, flung themselves desperately upon the smaller +party. + +Blue flashes were everywhere as the battle commenced, but the only sound +was of struggling feet, with an occasional thud as a body hit the floor. +The pirates had been weakened by their long stay on the moon, and moved +slowly, but the surprise of their attack, and the superiority of numbers +had given them some advantage. It was man to man fighting, savage and +merciless. + +Holden, with a neat dive, knocked the feet from under a huge fellow who +had trained a pistol on him, and they rolled over and over, each trying +desperately to gain a second's advantage. He heard a dull crash to one +side, as Captain Linet, jumping high into the air, landed with stunning +force on a bewildered assailant. Thinking of Jean, waiting for him in +some dim corner of the cave, he redoubled his efforts. + +For a fraction of a second his pistol pointed toward his antagonist's +body, and that was enough. He pressed the release, and the deadly ray +shot into the body beneath him, dealing instant death. Freeing himself +from the cold grip, he ducked an empty pistol flung at him by a new +assailant. Again his finger bent, and another body dropped to join those +lying motionless on the floor. + +A fast-moving shadow caught his eye. He saw one of the pirates detach +himself from a writhing group and head for the side of the cave. That +was the place where Jean had said she would be waiting! + +Pausing only an instant to make sure that his pistol was still charged, +Holden sprang in pursuit of the fleeing form. He saw him stoop and pick +up a heavy bar from the floor. The coward was going to burst open the +chamber where the helpless captives waited! It was impossible to aim at +that speed, so Holden forced his flying feet to move still faster, and +foot by foot he drew closer to the man he pursued. Metal plates again +gleamed in front of him, and he saw the pirate raise the bar high over +his head, preparing for a blow which would crush the thin plates. The +tiniest hole would mean death to the captives, who had no means of +protecting themselves. + +With one last desperate effort, Holden jumped, his Earth-trained muscles +carrying him high into the air, while his pistol stabbed the partial +darkness with vivid rays. Dodging and ducking, the pirate evaded the +fatal stabs, while his bar beat a loud tattoo against the metal. Holden +struck at him with his now useless pistol as he landed. The blow missed, +and, losing his balance, he staggered and fell, past his foe, who +quickly turned, raising his bar for a _coup de grace_ which never +landed. The familiar flash of a pistol once more illuminated the scene, +the bar dropped from dead hands, and Holden scrambled to his feet. + +A voice was speaking through his suit phone, and he recognized it as +Erickson's. "I just came to, tumbled out of that hole in the pilot room, +saw the flash of your pistol, and here I am." + +The old professor appeared, wobbling slightly, but still game. The +flashes toward the mouth of the cave had grown fewer. Leaving Erickson +to guard the compartment of the captives, Holden hurried back to the +fight. Even as he went, the flashes died out altogether, and he heard +Linet's hearty voice in the phone. "Holden, where are you? We've cleaned +out them all down here." + +Light was now flooding in from outside, and bodies could be seen lying +thick on the floor, cold and stiff in death. Sadly Holden recognized +many of them as his own men. After a hasty conference with Linet, he +gathered together fifteen space suits, and with an escort helping to +carry them, he hurried back to Jean. + + * * * * * + +The door of the air-lock opened as his party approached. They went in, +heard the swish of air entering, and in a few minutes the inner door +swung wide. A happy crowd of men and women surrounded them, as they rid +themselves of their helmets. Holden felt Jean's arms around him, her +sweet lips once more on his. For a second they clung together, then +parted, for there was work to be done. The space suits were distributed +and, as he led the way back to the _San Francisco_, Jean told him +briefly the details of the long year of imprisonment. + +"They gave us warning before they rammed us, as they wanted to save the +women, for a purpose you can guess. Fortunately, there were never enough +of us to go around, and these men, exiles from two planets, were always +quarreling among themselves, so we were quite safe. We just existed, +praying that some exploring expedition would find us, or that the +_Silver Death_ would meet a ship too strong for her to ram and, fleeing +here for refuge, be trailed." + +Holden sighted Captain Linet hurrying toward them. In the light now +flooding the entire cavern, he could see lines of despair and +hopelessness written over the florid face. + +"What's the matter?" + +"Matter enough," came the ominous answer. "The space phone on our ship +is entirely disabled. We won't be able to get in touch with the +_Ganymede_ or the _Los Angeles_. In a few days, the _hexoxen_ charges +they plant will commence to go off, and that will be the end of us." + +Holden stopped, stunned by the news. Fleeting visions of happiness with +Jean vanished into thin air. He would be destroyed by the chemical he +had invented, with which he had hoped to save the world. + +"I thought we might get out in the _Silver Death_," continued the +captain, "but the entrance is entirely blocked by our own ship, and I'm +afraid it will never move again." + +Then Jean's clear voice cut in. "How about the space phone on the +_Silver Death_? Won't it work?" + +"Why, of course it will," laughed the captain, amused at his own +stupidity. + +Stumbling and tripping in their haste, the three hurried through the +open air lock of the pirate craft, into the pilot room. + +Holden feverishly set to work, whirling the strange dials, pushing this +button, then that. At last a faint roar sounded in the loud speaker. +Pressing his helmet against the transmitter, so that the vibrations +would carry his voice, he shouted, "_Ganymede_, _Los Angeles_, Holden +calling." + +"What ho?" came a cheery voice, which he recognized as belonging to +Huges, commander of the _Los Angeles_. + +Breathing a sigh of relief, he explained the situation. Busy days +followed. _Hexoxen_ and Europium from the _San Francisco_ were +transferred to the other ships, with as much of the treasure collected +by the pirates as could be loaded into the cramped quarters. + +With Huges and Rogers assisting, Holden revised the schedule for +planting the charges. + +"We simply haven't time," he explained, "to set the charges as close +together as I had planned. There's nothing to do but get all of them in +that we can, and then hope that conditions in the interior of the moon +will be of a nature to promote the action of the _hexoxen_." + +The ships' crews understood only too well the importance and danger of +their work, and during the days that followed they toiled like a gang of +madmen. Parties raced each other over the rough surface of the dead +satellite, grimly determined that their efforts to save the world should +not be in vain. Even the men of the party which had been rescued, +weakened as they were by their long stay in the pirate cave, insisted on +giving what help they could. + +Finally came the day when the first charges were set to go off. Holden +sat in the pilot room of the _Ganymede_, his eyes on the chronometer, +while Captain Linet swept the desolate plain with powerful binoculars +for the cloud of dust which would signal the return of the last party. + +"Five minutes yet, Captain," Holden said in a low voice. "Tell the _Los +Angeles_ to pull out. The first charges are scarcely two hundred miles +from here, and I'm not certain how fast the reaction will travel." + +Five minutes. Two minutes. The silver shape of the _Los Angeles_ was +already fading in the distance. Suddenly a sharp shock rocked the stony +bed on which the _Ganymede_ was resting. Simultaneously five figures +appeared, racing at full speed for the ship. Shock after shock tore at +the ground beneath their feet. Holden stood at the controls, waiting for +the signal that his five comrades were safely aboard. To his tensed +nerves it seemed hours before the welcome sound came to his ears, and +with a sigh of relief he opened the power into the stern tubes, and +laughed happily as the huge ship shot away from the heaving surface of +the dying moon. + +Anxious seconds passed. From the height to which they had risen, a great +part of the moon was visible, and for the first time Holden realized the +full power of the chemical which his ingenuity had devised. Immense +tongues of flame ripped through the dust and rock of the satellite, +sending dense clouds of vapor bellowing out into space. Mighty mountains +disappeared in an instant. + +The _Ganymede_ was traveling at full speed, and yet it seemed as though +at any moment the conflagration might reach out, consuming the space +ship in that all-engulfing reaction. Holden manipulated the controls +with flying fingers, seeking to get every available bit of speed from +the metal monster which was carrying its precious cargo of human beings +away from a terrible death. + +Far ahead he could see the shape of the _Los Angeles_, now safely +outside the danger zone. Thin clouds of vapor floated around the +_Ganymede_, then suddenly cleared. + +Captain Linet gave a shout of joy as he read the distance recorded on +the dials. "Jack, my boy, we're safe. We're outside the limit to which +the reaction can extend." + +With the three ships playing their deadly beams on the moon, Holden +watched the immense craters, the towering mountains, and the desolate +plains of the moon slowly vaporize. + +It was an awe-inspiring sight, as this dead world slowly melted into the +nothingness of space, as though a disease of matter were wasting it +inexorably away. + +No doubt, on the earth, as the contours of the moon slowly blurred and +became indistinct, with the accumulation of vapor around its now ragged +rim, there must have been terror and consternation. And as the moon +slowly evaporated in the skies a virtual panic must have ensued among +the Earth's people. + +The hand of a terrible fate, or the coming of the end of the world, must +have been shouted from city to city as the only explanation of this +apparent disaster in the heavens. + +But the work had to go on.... + +For days, the _Ganymede_ and the _Los Angeles_ cruised through the thin +clouds, spreading between them the anti-gravitational shield, while the +sections of vapor, freed of their mutual attraction, drifted out into +uncharted space. + +It was slow, dangerous work, cutting those sections off from the main +mass, and maintaining the proper position until they had floated off +into space. Occasional particles of rock, small but deadly, clattered +against the hard shell of the space ship. Fortunately, no fragments of +appreciable size were encountered; the _hexoxen_ had done its work +thoroughly. For eight days the powerful ray sliced and repelled. Under +its influence huge clouds of vapor, the ghostly remains of the calm +globe which had innocently threatened the earth, hurtled off into the +farthest reaches of space, there to sink at last into the substance of +some flaming star. + +At last the work was finished, and the two ships, saviors of the Earth, +turned their bows toward home to carry to the awestruck people of Earth +the glad news that interplanetary commerce would be as free of pirates +thereafter as the Earth would be free of the disastrous quakes. + +And Jack Holden, at last, faced with a light heart the honors that would +be his, knowing that he could now share them with the girl of his +dreams. + + +THE END. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Moon Destroyers, by Monroe K. Ruch + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 41029 *** |