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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..b0bb3b4 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #50885 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/50885) diff --git a/old/50885-8.txt b/old/50885-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 53cfc06..0000000 --- a/old/50885-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1783 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Weather on Mercury, by William Morrison - -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/license - - -Title: The Weather on Mercury - -Author: William Morrison - -Release Date: January 9, 2016 [EBook #50885] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WEATHER ON MERCURY *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - - The Weather on Mercury - - By WILLIAM MORRISON - - Illustrated by VIDMER - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Galaxy Science Fiction July 1953. - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - - - - Anyone mad enough (1) to land on that crazy - world (2) in order to rescue that screwball - explorer should (3) have his head examined! - - -I - -The first thing McCracken did was shoot a Mercurian native. But then -McCracken, although he had powerful muscles, was never supposed to be -very strong in the head. - -The expedition was in the Twilight Zone, naturally, at the time. -Without special clothing, which no one had, both the perpetual night -of the Cold Side and the furnace heat of the Hot Side were out of the -question. The Twilight Zone at this point was about forty miles wide, -and the _Astrolight_ had been skillfully brought down smack in the -middle of it. Two hours after the landing, having ascertained that the -air was as breathable as Kalinoff had reported, McCracken went out and -aimed his explosive bullet at the Mercurian. - -If it hadn't been for Carvalho, who accompanied him, the rest of the -group would have known nothing of the incident. It was Carvalho who -reported what had happened to Lamoureux, captain of the expedition. - -McCracken, of course, burst into vigorous denials that he had shot a -native. "You don't think I'd be fool enough to go around looking for -trouble, do you?" - - * * * * * - -Lamoureux thought he would, but didn't say so. "You did shoot at -something. We heard the report." - -"I tried to hit a dangerous bird." - -"What sort of bird was it?" - -"Kind of like a penguin, I'd say, but with a broader face. No bill to -speak of--" - -"Then don't speak of it," snapped Lamoureux. "Did you score a hit?" - -"I think the explosion caught it in the shoulder. It got away." - -"Thank God for small favors," said Lamoureux. "That bird, you -pigeon-brain, was a Mercurian. How do you expect intelligent -inhabitants of other planets to look? Like you? They'd die of -mortification." - -"Damn it, how was I to know?" - -"I told you not to shoot unless you were attacked." Lamoureux scowled. -"Kalinoff is somewhere in the Twilight Zone and we were supposed to -find him with the help of the Mercurians. It may interest you to know -that, while you were out at target practice, some of them came around -here and began to behave as if they wanted to be friendly. Then they -suddenly disappeared. I imagine they got news of what you had done. A -fat lot of help they'll give us now." - -"We'll run across Kalinoff without them," said McCracken confidently. - -Carvalho, who had a habit of looking for the dark side of every -situation, and finding it, suggested, "Suppose the Mercurians attack -us?" - -McCracken said, "They haven't any weapons." - -"How do you know?" - -"Kalinoff didn't mention any." - -Lamoureux emitted a laugh that sounded like an angry bark. "Kalinoff -wouldn't know. _He_ was friendly with them. He did report that -they were an intelligent race. It'll be too bad if they use their -intelligence against us." - -McCracken thrust out his jaw. There was a streak of stubbornness in -him, and he was not going to take too many dirty cracks lying down. He -growled, "I think you're making a mountain out of an anthill." - -"Molehill," corrected Lamoureux. - -"Whatever it is. What if Kalinoff did say the Mercurians would help us? -You can't take his word for it. Everybody knows what Kalinoff is." - -Lamoureux frowned. "Kalinoff is a great man and a great explorer." - -"They call him the interplanetary screwball." - -"Not on this expedition, they don't, McCracken. You will please keep a -civil tongue in your head." - -"There's nothing wrong in what I'm saying. Kalinoff _is_ a screwball, -and you know it, Captain. He's always playing practical jokes. Look at -how he got that Martian senator into the same cage with a moon-snake, -and locked the door on him. The senator had a fit. How was he to know -the snake was harmless?" - -"You don't think Kalinoff would play jokes when his own life was at -stake, do you?" - -"Once a screwball," insisted McCracken firmly, "always a screwball." - -Lamoureux lost patience. "Once an idiot, always an idiot. Get over to -the ship and help with the unpacking. And remember, if we don't find -Kalinoff, it'll be your fault, and God help you." - - * * * * * - -Having, he hoped, left McCracken feeling properly ashamed of himself, -Lamoureux walked away. The responsibility was beginning to weigh him -down. The other nineteen men in the expedition thought they were merely -trying to rescue an intrepid explorer for the sake of human life, which -was supposed to be sacred. They didn't know that, behind his screwball -surface, Kalinoff was as shrewd as they came. He had made some valuable -discoveries--and promptly staked out a claim to them. - -He had run across large quantities of stable isotopes of metals whose -atomic numbers ranged from 95 to 110. These had remarkable and useful -properties. - -They were, to begin with, of unusual value as catalysts in chemical -reactions. For example, element 99, in the presence of air, was a more -powerful oxidizing agent than platinum or palladium was a reducing -agent, in the presence of hydrogen. And the oxidations could be -controlled beautifully, could be made to affect almost any part of a -complicated organic molecule at a time. Element 99 was recoverable, and -could be used again and again. A few hundred grams of it alone might -very well pay for the cost of the entire expedition. - -Add the value of a few kilos of elements 101 to 110, and Kalinoff had -discovered enough to make him and a few other people rich for life. - -Lamoureux wanted to be one of those other people. He had three kids he -wanted to send through Lunar Tech; he had a wife with expensive tastes -in robot servants; and he had relatives. Let him get Kalinoff off this -God-forsaken planet, where he had been marooned for the past year, and -even an interplanetary screwball might be expected to show some feeling -of gratitude. Combine this feeling of gratitude with a reasonably fair -contract already printed, and needing only the explorer's scrawl to -give it validity, and Lamoureux could almost feel the money in his -pocket. If only McCracken had not spoiled everything by his stupidity-- - -Lamoureux shuddered to think that by the time they got to him -Kalinoff might be dead, and they would have to do business with his -heirs--heirs who had no sense of gratitude to impair their business -judgment. He felt suddenly poor again. But he put the gloomy thought -out of his head, and went on with his work. - - * * * * * - -Unpacking would be finished in a couple of hours at most. Meanwhile -there was some preliminary exploring to be done. The neighboring -ground must be surveyed, and landmarks noted, so that they would -have a suitable base from which to start their search. Kalinoff had -talked about two mountains with a saddlelike ridge joining them. Those -two mountains shouldn't be too difficult to recognize--if ever the -expedition ran across them. - -McCracken, obeying orders, was lending a hand at the unloading. What -with Mercury's low gravity, and his own strength, he had no difficulty -in wrestling around the five hundred pound crates in which their -supplies had been packed. However, he was of little help in getting the -work done. With what Lamoureux decided was characteristic stupidity, he -seemed to be mostly in everyone else's way. - -Lamoureux called, "McCracken!" - -"Yes, sir." - -"Let go those crates. The others will handle them. I want you--" - -Lamoureux stopped suddenly. A distant sound had come to his ears--the -explosion of a bullet. - -There was a sudden silence that was so absolute, Lamoureux could hear -his men breathe. Another bullet exploded, then another--and silence -again. - -Somebody whispered, "The natives don't have guns. It must be Kalinoff!" - -"What luck to find him this way!" - -Lamoureux had run for his own gun. He fired ten shots into the air and -waited. But there was no reply. - -Lamoureux spat out his orders with machine-gun speed. "McCracken, you, -Carvalho, and Haggard set out to the right. The shots seemed to be -coming from that direction. But we'll take no chances. Gronski, Terrill -and Cannoni, go straight ahead. Marsden and Blaine, to the left; -Robinson and Sprott, to the rear. Spread out fast and keep your eyes -peeled. Don't go any further away than the sound of a bullet. Uncover -every damned white-bush, and tear up every desert-cat hill, but don't -come back without Kalinoff. Now get going!" - - * * * * * - -The men started on a run. Lamoureux, waiting impatiently, walked up and -down in growing excitement. He had come prepared for a three months' -search, expected it. He had pictured himself and his men, exhausted -by a long trek across the planet, coming upon the startled Kalinoff, -striking a magnificent attitude, and saying, with characteristic -Tellurian modesty, "Dr. Livingston, I presume." And, instead, he was -going to find Kalinoff in less than a day. He ran into the ship, got -out the printed contract, and read it hastily. - -All was in order. He'd have Kalinoff's signature that day. - -A half hour passed, and Lamoureux fired ten more shots. Haskell, the -cook, was looking at the sky with a troubled expression on his face. He -approached Lamoureux apologetically. "Say, Captain--" - -"What is it, Haskell?" - -"Does it ever rain on Mercury?" - -"Never. No rain, no snow, no hail. No man who has ever set foot on the -planet has come across any sort of bad weather. Kalinoff emphasizes -that fact." - -"Well, that's what I seemed to remember. But just now I thought I felt -a drop of rain." - -"Impossible, Haskell. Some bird--" - -Lamoureux stopped abruptly. He, too, had thought he felt a drop of rain. - -Haskell held out a hairy paw. "I thought I felt another one." His eyes -fell on the brown rocks. "Say, here's a big drop that splashed." - -The brown rocks were being slowly spotted with black. And, as Lamoureux -stared, he felt his head grow wet. There was no doubt about it. It was -raining. - -His mouth dropped open. "But it doesn't rain on Mercury!" - -The sky was a dull gray now, and the patter of rain drowned out his -words. He realized suddenly that he was becoming soaked. - -Haskell was running for the ship. Lamoureux followed him and slammed -the door shut. The men who had not been sent to search for Kalinoff -were already inside. The rain rattled on the hull of the _Astrolight_, -and on the parched ground. - -Lamoureux stared through the side port and repeated blankly, "But it -doesn't rain on Mercury!" - -Fortunately, the noise of the rain was so loud that no one heard him -say it. - - -II - -It was six hours before the first of the search parties Lamoureux had -sent out returned. The men were soaked, but they had seen no trace of -Kalinoff. They had faithfully tried to follow Lamoureux's directions, -but in a downpour where it was impossible to see more than fifty feet -ahead of them, they stood little chance of rescuing anyone. Most of the -six hours had been spent finding their own way home. - -The other search parties drifted in slowly, until all had returned. -Lamoureux checked them off one by one, and discovered, with practically -no surprise, that McCracken was missing. - -"Where is the idiot?" he growled. - -"McCracken separated from the rest of us," replied Carvalho. "He -thought he could catch a glimpse of those mountains Kalinoff described." - -"When was this?" - -"Just before it started to rain." - -"He's probably within a few hundred yards of the ship right now, but -can't find us because of this rain. I hope he has sense enough to dig -up a white-bush and get some shelter." - -"We can never be sure how much sense McCracken has. Anyway, Captain, it -can't go on raining like this for very long." - -But it could, and it did. The men sat around in the ship, stretching -lazily, and took life easy. They had not had time to unpack many of the -five hundred pound crates, and what materials were exposed to the rain -would not be spoiled. There was no harm in leaving them where they were. - -A vacation of this sort would have been welcome, if the trip through -space to Mercury had itself not been so largely a vacation. After a -day, Lamoureux saw plainly that his men were sick of inactivity. So, -for that matter, was he. He had come to take part in a strenuous and -dangerous expedition, not to sit on his fanny waiting for the rain to -go away. - -Twenty-four hours after everyone else had returned to the ship, -McCracken made a sensational reappearance. With that independence of -thought that Lamoureux was beginning to recognize, he had found his own -way of coping with the bad weather. He had stripped off his soggy and -unpleasant clothing, and had meandered around for the past day clad in -nothing but his shorts, with his rifle, his one remaining possession, -held firmly in the crook of his right arm. The rain was fairly warm, -and outside of giving him his usual ravenous appetite, his outing had -done him no harm. - - * * * * * - -Lamoureux got one of the crew to dig up an extra suit of clothes to -cover McCracken's manly beauty. "Where did you sleep?" - -"I didn't." - -"You wandered around all this time shocking the natives without rest?" - -"I'm no sissy," grunted McCracken. "I'm not even tired." - -He yawned, and caught himself. "I didn't see anything of Kalinoff. But -I got a good look at those mountains he described. The pair with the -saddleback ridge between them." - -"Where are they?" - -McCracken scratched his head. "I think I lost my sense of direction. -But they're not far from here. No, sir, they're not far. Kalinoff is as -good as found. The screwball." - -His eyes closed while he was talking, and Lamoureux had him led to his -bunk and deposited there. Two minutes later, McCracken's snoring was -competing successfully with the noise of the rain. - -There was little sense in looking for the mountains until the rain let -up. Lamoureux waited, and waited in vain. The downpour kept on until -its monotonous sound had become an integral part of their life. They -learned to talk without paying any attention to it, and without even -hearing it. But not without, now and then, cursing it. - -After it had been raining for a week, Lamoureux noticed that the -temperature was falling. It probably signified that on this part of the -Twilight Zone the Sun was dropping further behind the horizon. As if he -didn't already have troubles enough. He cursed Mercury; he cursed the -Twilight Zone; he cursed the rain; he even cursed the Sun. A few hours -later, he also cursed the snow and the hail. - -Such weather was absolutely incredible. There was nothing to explain -it. As he had told Haskell, the cook, no previous explorer had ever -seen a sign of rain, snow, or hail. Kalinoff had not reported such -phenomena, and Kalinoff got around. - -The men were going crazy with inactivity. Worst of all, to Lamoureux, -was the way they looked at him. They seemed to feel that, as leader of -the expedition, he was responsible for the weather. Lamoureux almost -found himself agreeing with them. - - * * * * * - -On the tenth day, he could stand it no longer. He called the men -together and made a short speech. "Men, this rain seems able to go on -forever. We can't stay here waiting for it to clear up." - -Somebody cheered hopefully, and the others, for the sake of exercising -their lungs, joined in. - -Lamoureux held up his hand. "McCracken has reported that he saw the -mountains we were looking for, with the saddleback ridge between them. -Rain or no rain, we're going to find them." - -Somebody yelled, "Three cheers for Big Muscles McCracken!" The three -cheers were roared. Then there came, "Three cheers for our brave and -heroic captain!" and, "Three cheers for the mountains!" and even, -"Three cheers for the lousy rain and snow." - -Lamoureux began to feel uncomfortable. This was too much like a high -school football rally, with burlesque overtones, to suit him. The men -were bursting with pent-up energy, and it had to get out somehow. - -"I'm leaving only a half dozen of you behind to stay with the ship. The -rest are coming with me. Any volunteers?" - -He had expected what followed. They all volunteered. He made his -choices rapidly. McCracken went along because he had actually seen -the mountains. Carvalho would make an intelligent assistant. Gronski, -Marsden, Sprott--he reeled off the names rapidly, and in less than a -minute had his group, leaving a disgruntled half dozen who would have -nothing to do but continue to sit around the ship. - -Lamoureux himself carried a two-way radio transmission set capable of -receiving intelligible signals over a distance of 12,000 miles. He -gave another of the sets to McCracken, and ordered the man to hang on -to it no matter what happened. In the rain, it would be their only way -of maintaining communications with the ship. He put McCracken and the -radio in the second squad under Carvalho, and himself took charge of -the first. The two squads would stick together unless some emergency -demanded that they separate. - -When they set out in the snow, wearing the heaviest clothing they had, -the men were singing. McCracken's voice, like the croaking of a huge -bullfrog, supplied an unharmonized but ear-filling bass. It sounded so -impressive to Lamoureux that not until McCracken had reached the third -song did he perceive that the man didn't know any of the melodies at -all. He just oom-pahed as the spirit moved him, evidently feeling that, -on Mercury, noise and good spirits were more important than any tune. - - * * * * * - -They had been marching for a half hour when Gronski exclaimed, "Well, -I'll be damned to Venus and back!" - -"What's wrong, Gronski?" - -"It isn't snowing so hard, Captain." - -It wasn't. Carvalho said hopefully, "Maybe it'll stop." - -Sprott was so overwhelmed with delight that he scooped up a huge pile -of snow, pressed it together, and popped McCracken on the nose with it. -McCracken threw him down and poured snow down his back. - -Lamoureux said angrily, "Stop that, you fools! You're not a bunch of -kids." - -The horseplay came to an abrupt halt. They marched on a little more -soberly, and in a few minutes the snow had stopped falling altogether. -Instead of being as happy as Lamoureux had expected, McCracken seemed -puzzled. He scratched his head and scowled. - -"What's wrong, McCracken? Termites?" - -"It's this snow, Captain. We walk two or three miles and it stops. It -don't make sense." - -"It's got to stop sometime." - -"The point is, Captain, it didn't snow here at all. There's none on the -ground. It just snowed around the ship." - -It cost Lamoureux an effort to admit it, but McCracken was right. He -was not as stupid as he had seemed. - -It was Lamoureux's turn to scowl. He got in touch with the ship. -"Haskell!" - -"Yes, sir?" - -"How's the weather where you are?" - -"Are you joking, Captain?" - -"I'm serious, Haskell. Is it clear?" - -"It's still snowing, Captain, just as it was less than an hour ago when -you left." - -Lamoureux grunted. "You may be interested to know that it hasn't -snowed here at all." - -He cut off Haskell's astonished voice, and turned to the others, who -now seemed a little uneasy. The unexpected changes in the weather were -a little too much for them. - -"Now that it's cleared up, we should be able to find that mountain. -We'll spread out just a little, but not too far. For all we know, it -may start to snow again. Carvalho, you take your group off to the -left--" - -Sprott whispered, "Captain!" - -"Yes?" - -"Isn't that a Mercurian?" - - * * * * * - -Lamoureux stared where Sprott had pointed. About a half mile away, -a small gray creature, looking, as McCracken had reported, like a -penguin, but with a broader face and no bill to speak of, was standing -motionless. - -"Sprott, you and Marsden go over to that thing. Be as friendly as you -know how. Smile, grin, stand on your head if you have to, but don't -scare it away. Try to induce it to follow you here. Maybe we'll finally -get some of that information about Kalinoff we're looking for." - -Sprott and Marsden were approaching the Mercurian cautiously. Several -hundred yards away, they stopped and spread their arms in what was -evidently meant to be a gesture of good will. - -The Mercurian remained motionless. Not until the men had come within -thirty feet of it did it give a sign of life. Then it took a step -toward them. - -As Lamoureux watched, the two men spoke a few words. The Mercurian did -not respond, but when they turned around and moved away, it followed -slowly. - -Seen from close at hand, the Mercurian did not so greatly resemble a -penguin. To begin with, it had no wings, and no arms either. It lacked -a bill altogether, but had instead a small mouth that seemed crammed -with teeth. Its two eyes were slanted, which gave it an appearance of -slyness. There were two round tufted ears. It moved forward not by -waddling, but with a smooth rollercoaster gait that was the result of -its moving its four legs forward one after the other. - -Sprott reported, "It seems hurt." - -There was, in fact, a grayish wound on the Mercurian's chest. Lamoureux -didn't know enough about Mercurian physiology to hazard a guess as to -what would be the best treatment; and, therefore, decided to leave -well enough alone. But, according to Kalinoff, the Mercurians were -intelligent. He wondered if the screwball explorer had taught this one -any of the Earth languages. - -"Can you speak English?" - -The Mercurian stared at him with its sly expression and said nothing. - -"_Parlez-vous français? Sprechen sie Deutsch?_" - -The men were grinning now, and Lamoureux felt his face growing warm. He -must look like a fool, trying to carry on a conversation with a bird. - -He asked, "Anybody here know Russian? Polish? Spanish?" - - * * * * * - -His men supplied him with phrases in the languages he asked for, but -the Mercurian remained unresponsive. - -McCracken ventured, "He don't look very bright to me, Captain. I can't -understand why Kalinoff said they were intelligent." - -"Maybe," suggested Sprott, "it's because they just stand there looking -wise and don't say anything." - -Lamoureux shook his head. "Kalinoff wouldn't be impressed by anybody's -just looking wise. And he wouldn't be impressed by anybody's not saying -anything. He didn't go for either stuffed shirts or strong silent men. -That's why I believe that this thing must have a language of its own, -and a fairly decent brain." - -The Mercurian closed its two eyes slowly, like a sleepy cat, and opened -them again. Then it poked one of its four feet out from under its body -and scratched on the ground. - -"He's nuts," decided McCracken. "Just scrabbling around." - -"Hold it," ordered Lamoureux, "I'm beginning to get this." - -The Mercurian had scratched nine parallel lines, only a few of -them visible on the rocky ground. Now it scratched other lines, -perpendicular to these. - -Lamoureux barked, "A checkerboard! That's what it is! Has anybody got -one?" - -Marsden had a pocket chess set. He took it out. The Mercurian's eyes -brightened. It sat down suddenly on the hard ground. - -"I'll be damned," said Lamoureux. "He wants to play a game. Go ahead, -Marsden. Entertain our guest." - -The men were grinning again. Marsden squatted down on the ground -and began to set up the men. The Mercurian stretched out two of its -paws--three-fingered affairs, the fingers almost human--and seized one -white chessman and one black. It hid the paws behind its back, then -held them out again. - -Marsden chose the white, and moved forward the queen's pawn. The -Mercurian countered and the game was on. - -It was Kalinoff who must have taught this creature the game, and, if it -did nothing else, the incident showed that the explorer was just as -screwy as ever, and probably alive somewhere on the planet. Or did it -merely show that he _had_ been alive? Lamoureux, undecided, watched the -curious battle of wits. - -Half an hour later, Marsden, thoroughly beaten, demanded, "Who says -this thing isn't intelligent?" - - -III - -The Mercurian was sitting up, wagging its head from side to side as if -waiting for approbation. But Lamoureux, quite sure now that it wouldn't -or couldn't talk, wouldn't have given a damn if it had beaten every -champion on Earth. In addition, he was bothered by the fact that it was -snowing again. - -The flakes had just begun to fall, large and feathery, and Lamoureux -himself soon had a powdered look. Most of the other men were still -gathered around the Mercurian. But one of them, Sprott, came over to -Lamoureux and glanced up at the sky as if puzzled. - -"It's following us around, Captain." - -"What is?" - -"The snow, sir." - -"Don't be silly, Sprott. We just happen to have run into a streak of -bad weather." - -Sprott went on stubbornly, "It looks funny to me. First it rains and -snows for ten days around the ship. But it doesn't rain, or at least -it doesn't snow, here. An hour after we get to this place, though, it -starts coming down." - -Lamoureux brushed some of the white flakes off his shoulders. "All -right, Sprott, suppose you are right. It _is_ following us around. -That's no reason to alarm the other men, is it?" - -"I guess not, sir.... I won't say a word. But there's something else I -wanted to speak to you about, sir. It's McCracken." - -"You believe he's responsible for the snow?" - -Sprott looked astonished. "I don't mean that, sir. I don't see how he -could be." - -"I do. He shot a Mercurian. I have an idea that they're the ones who -are causing the peculiar weather we've been having." - -"Why would they do that, sir?" - -"Well, Kalinoff didn't mention seeing any weapons among them, so -we've always assumed they had none. But suppose the weather was their -weapon. It's a very effective one, Sprott. They've made things damnably -unpleasant for us." - -"How can they make rain where there isn't any, Captain? I know that -rainmakers on Earth have had some success. But all they do is get the -rain to fall near where it would have fallen anyway. They may make it -precipitate a few hours before it would have otherwise, but that's all. -Here there weren't any clouds to start with." - -Lamoureux admitted, "I don't know how the trick is done, Sprott. But I -agree with you that the snow is following us around, and I'm sure that -the trick _is_ done." - - * * * * * - -Sprott was silent a moment. Then he said, "And you think, sir, it's all -because McCracken shot one of them?" - -"They evidently believe in the principle of the rain falling on the -just and unjust alike. And the same thing goes for the snow." - -Sprott said doubtfully, "I'm not sure about that, sir. But I do know -that McCracken is up to something. He's been getting some queer noises -on his receiver." - -"Such as Haskell singing lullabies from the ship?" - -"Nothing as unpleasant as that, Captain. They're just a series of -sounds, some a little longer than others. Da, da, da-a-a, da--that sort -of thing." - -Lamoureux asked, "When did you hear them?" - -"About ten minutes ago. McCracken doesn't know anything about chess, -and neither do I, so we both wandered away after the first ten minutes. -McCracken said he had an idea where those mountains were." - -Lamoureux's eyes narrowed. "Those noises are undoubtedly a message. I -seem to remember that some centuries back there was a code invented by -a man named Morris. That's it, the Morris code. But where could such a -message have come from?" - -Sprott shook his head. "I couldn't say, sir. There's supposed to be no -one but Kalinoff on Mercury, and his radio set doesn't work. Could the -message have been sent from Earth?" - -"Impossible, Sprott. That set will hardly get more than twelve thousand -miles." - -Sprott looked uncomfortable. "Then maybe what I heard wasn't a message -at all, sir." - -"I think it was. Does McCracken know you overheard him?" - -"I don't think so, sir." - -"Then don't let him know that we suspect anything wrong. Come to think -of it, McCracken never seems to act quite as stupid as he pretends -to be. I shouldn't be surprised if, when he shot that Mercurian, he -understood very well what he was doing." - -"You believe, sir, that he deliberately tried to cause trouble? Why -would he do that?" - -"I don't know," said Lamoureux slowly. - -That wasn't the whole truth. He didn't know, but he certainly could -make a shrewd guess. All along, his chief reason for fearing delay on -this expedition had been that Kalinoff might die before he could get to -him. Now there was another reason for fearing delay. Suppose there were -another expedition on the way to rescue Kalinoff. And suppose McCracken -was secretly in the pay of the people behind that expedition, and doing -everything possible to sabotage this one. - -Lamoureux nodded to himself. That was probably it. The first thing, -then, was to get the radio set from McCracken. - - * * * * * - -Big Muscles, as the other men had nicknamed McCracken, was a few -hundred feet away, staring off into the distance. What else he could -see besides snow, Lamoureux couldn't guess. He yelled, "Hey, McCracken!" - -"Coming, Captain." - -McCracken took a few tentative steps, broke into a short run, and then -made a leap that carried him seventy-five feet through the air, past -where Lamoureux was standing. He ended up at attention, his hand raised -in a military salute. - -Lamoureux frowned. Knowing what he did about McCracken, this attempt -to seem carefree, childish, and perhaps a little stupid impressed him -unfavorably. He said, "McCracken, I'm taking you out of Carvalho's -group and putting you into my own. I may need some strong-arm work and -you're just the man for it." - -"I sure am, Captain." - -"Seeing as I already have a radio, you may as well turn yours over to -Carvalho." - -McCracken seemed a trifle less eager. "It's rather heavy, Captain. If -you'd like, I'd carry it for you just the same." - -"I prefer to have my own where I can get at it whenever the need -arises. Turn yours over to Carvalho, McCracken." - -"Yes, sir. Meanwhile, I want to report, sir, that from where I was -standing when you called to me, I think I could see those mountains." - -Lamoureux had his doubts, but he kept them to himself. "Good," he said -briefly. "We'll get going." - -He called the men together again and gave them their marching orders. -Whether the Mercurian understood what he said, Lamoureux didn't know. -At any rate, it went along willingly. - -They reached the place where McCracken had been standing, and Lamoureux -stared where Big Muscles pointed. There were two mountains rising -off in the distance, barely visible through the snow, and there was -certainly a saddleback ridge between them. The only trouble was that -one of the mountains was almost twice the height of the other. -Kalinoff had reported them as approximately the same height. - -"That doesn't fit Kalinoff's description." - -McCracken said, "Maybe he looked at them from a different angle, sir. -Then they might have seemed the same height." - -"If he looked at them from a different angle, the ridge would no longer -seem saddlebacked." - -"That's true, sir. But then you know, sir, Kalinoff is a screwball--" - -Lamoureux found this a little hard to take from a man he suspected of -quietly trying to stab him in the back. But he continued to hide his -feelings. "That's as may be, McCracken, but he's not cockeyed. These -aren't the mountains he described. Still, we may as well approach them. -We may be able to get a good view from the top of the taller one." - - * * * * * - -They moved onward again. A quarter of an hour's marching took them -to the edge of the falling snow. As they walked further, the air -became completely clear, and Lamoureux could see the mountains without -straining his eyes. There was no doubt about it. They were _not_ the -mountains Kalinoff had described. - -The Mercurian horizon was not so far away as the more familiar horizon -of Earth, and it was a little difficult for Lamoureux to estimate -distances. Still, the foothills of the mountains could not be more than -twenty miles away. For the past day, little more than the rim of the -Sun had been visible above the horizon, and while the peaks were ablaze -with scarlet and golden colors, only the higher one was out of the -shadow to any considerable extent. The saddlebacked ridge itself was a -vague outline of dull black. - -The snow did not catch up with them until four or five hours later, -when they stopped to prepare a meal and rest. Then it began to fall -gently after they had been in the same place for three-quarters of an -hour. By now, Lamoureux was sure that it was the Mercurians who were to -blame. He still wondered how they did it. - -The one they had come across had remained with them, and Lamoureux -found it harder than ever to regard the creature as intelligent. -All the thing had done was walk and play chess. Lamoureux had a low -opinion of chess players, even when they were fairly human. He had an -even lower opinion of trained animals. This Mercurian fell, in his -estimation, somewhere between. - -They were no more than a mile or two from the foothills of the larger -mountain by now, and the saddlebacked ridge loomed several hundred -feet into the air. Unfortunately, the snow was between it and them, -and prevented them from gaining too clear a view. Lamoureux wondered -if the snow would keep up even at the top of the mountain, and damned -McCracken again for shooting that Mercurian. And then he discovered -that McCracken's feats of arms were not yet ended. McCracken was at -that very moment aiming at some target that Lamoureux could not see. - -Lamoureux sprang to his feet. "Don't shoot, you fool!" - -He was a little too late. The noise of the explosion rang out. -McCracken said, "Sorry, sir, I didn't hear you until my finger had -already squeezed the trigger. But I wasn't trying to hit anything that -was alive. There was something that looked like a rock on that ridge--" - -The words died away in his throat. Lamoureux lifted his eyes and saw -something hovering in front of them, high in the air. It had eyes and -a mouth and, from these features, he knew that it was a huge head, as -large as a fair-sized house. There was a long, interminable stretch of -neck behind it, and somewhere in the rear he felt sure was a monstrous -body. But he wasted no time searching for that. - -The eyes were staring at the men unblinkingly. These eyes alone were -bigger than the men were. Then the neck stretched out and the head came -poking down. - - * * * * * - -Lamoureux turned and ran. It had been years since he had done much -physical exercise, but he made up for them now. Then, too, as the -captain of the expedition, he felt that the men might expect a certain -amount of leadership from him; it was with some dismay that he -discovered that all the rest were ahead of him. Picking up speed, he -passed Sprott, then Marsden, and then Gronski. Ahead of him someone -stumbled, and Lamoureux wasted a precious second helping the man to his -feet. - -The huge head opened, and a roar that almost knocked out his eardrums -vibrated through Lamoureux's body. The ground shook under him. That -meant that the whole creature, whatever it was, was coming after -them. Gronski and Sprott passed him as if someone had stuck a needle -into them, and Lamoureux, sobbing for breath, tripped over a rock and -plunged headlong. - -The ground beside him trembled as if it were being rocked by a series -of quakes. A deep shadow fell over him, and Lamoureux tried to dig his -prone body into the ground and not breathe. From far ahead, a scream of -terror split the air. - -Then the quakes and the shadow had passed, and Lamoureux dared to lift -his head. Far ahead, he could make out the gigantic neck stretching -into the air, its outline already vague through the falling snow. A few -feet away from him lay Gronski, and a little further on McCracken. - -None of the other men were in sight. - -The valiant McCracken, his rifle still clutched to him, was aiming at -the vanishing figure. Lamoureux said, "Don't bother, McCracken. You've -already done enough harm." - -"I just thought I'd get a shot at him, sir, while he was excited. He -wouldn't know where it came from." - -"He knew the first time. Don't bother, I say. You can't hurt him, and -he can do plenty to you." - -"All right, Captain." - -Lamoureux brushed some of the snow off him and tried to catch his -breath. "McCracken, if you're really anxious to play with your gun, you -may fire into the air. Five times." - -"Yes, sir." - -McCracken fired, and they waited. Lamoureux said, "I hope nobody was -hurt. I don't think any of them, if they're alive, are too far away to -hear those shots. We'll wait for them to assemble here and then start -out for those mountains again." - -"Yes, sir. Except, Captain, that it may be a little difficult--" - -"What'll be difficult?" - -"Finding those mountains. They just don't look the same." - -Lamoureux stared. The mountains stretched into the air exactly the same -as before, the same scarlet and gold colors glowing on their peaks, the -same shadows on their sides. But the saddlebacked ridge between them-- - -Lamoureux looked again. The entire ridge was gone. - - -IV - -The snow fell as steadily as ever while Lamoureux waited for the men to -assemble. Only two were missing now--Terrill and Carvalho. McCracken -had fired again and again into the air, but these two had not returned. - -Lamoureux decided finally, "It looks as if they're not coming. Gronski, -you take over for Carvalho. You'll stay here in charge of his group -while the rest of us climb the mountain." - -McCracken said, "You want me to come with you, don't you, Captain?" - -"I certainly do. I'm curious to know what in hell way of ruining this -expedition you'll think of next." - -"Aw, now, Captain, that isn't fair. How was I to know that whole ridge -was one big animal? You wouldn't have believed it yourself. Something -over five hundred feet high, with a neck even longer. We're not used to -them that big on Earth. Here the gravity's less, so it's okay. But even -Kalinoff--" - -"Don't talk to me about Kalinoff," said Lamoureux fiercely. "He's as -bad as you. That screwball!" - -"We're still trying to find him, aren't we, Captain?" - -"Sure, we're trying to find him, but how can we expect to do it?" Was -it his imagination, or did McCracken seem pleased? Lamoureux didn't -care. He went on, very bitterly, "He starts off by telling us that the -Mercurians are intelligent. You saw how intelligent they were. Where's -that specimen we had?" - -"He got lost in the shuffle," reported Gronski. - -"It's just as well. Kalinoff tells us of a landmark--two mountains -with a saddlebacked ridge between them. The ridge runs away, and our -landmark isn't a landmark any more. Then there's the weather--no rain, -no hail, no snow. Nothing but pure fresh air and nice clean sunshine." -He kicked at a snowdrift. "What's this thing supposed to be, a mirage?" - -McCracken said, "I know how you feel, Captain. But about this mountain -now--do you really think we ought to climb it?" - -"Why not?" - -"You can't see the top from here on account of the snow. It's coming -down in bigger flakes than ever now. That means you can't see here from -the top. And as the only reason we want to climb it is to take a look -around--" - -"We'll climb it anyway. Maybe it isn't snowing as hard on the other -side." - - * * * * * - -They started off then, with Lamoureux barely keeping a tight enough -grip on his feelings to prevent his talking to himself. The mountain -was steep, but the gravity here being low, it was easy enough to -climb. McCracken demonstrated how easy it was by running up it full -speed. Lamoureux let him go, hoping that he would break his neck, but -McCracken's luck was too good. All he did was start a gentle landslide -that almost buried everybody else. - -As they rose, they got more and more of the Sun's rays and the -temperature went up slightly. The snow turned to rain, drenching them -to the skin, and they climbed all the faster, anxious to get the job -over with. - -At the top, the rain had died down to a faint drizzle. Lamoureux, -looking off into the distance, could see as through a veil a range -of sky-piercing mountains, their peaks gleaming in the Sun, their -roots cleft with deep shadowed valleys. Between almost every pair of -mountains was a saddlebacked ridge. - -"Landmarks," commented Lamoureux sourly. "To hell with them." - -"I told you it would be a waste of time, Captain." - -"Not in the least, McCracken. After all, you _might_ have broken your -neck." - -They started down again, and in a half hour were back at the line where -the rain changed to snow. Another hour took them to Gronski again. - -Lamoureux shook his head. "No sign of Kalinoff." - -"What do we do now?" - -"We go back to the ship and carry on from there. I don't know what -steps we'll take after that, but at least we'll get back to shelter, -out of this snow." - -"Which way is the ship?" - -"That," said Lamoureux, "is one question we can find the answer to." He -spoke into his radio. "Haskell!" - -Haskell was alert. "Yes, Captain." - -"Keep your radio beam going. We're depending on it for direction." - -"Sure, Captain." - -Lamoureux snapped off the sending set. "Now let's get moving, before we -freeze to death." - -The return trip was a slow one. Their spirits were all low, even -McCracken's. Lamoureux pictured the return to Earth, the eager, and -then disappointed, reception, and the wave of ridicule that would -follow their account of the difficulties they had encountered. - -They stopped once to eat. Lamoureux estimated that they had supplies -for another two and a half months left in the ship, not counting what -would be needed for the return journey. They might as well stay here -until those supplies were used up. They might possibly find Kalinoff -during those two and a half months, although, with the Twilight Zone -of the whole planet to look in, and no decent clues, not to mention -the difficulties caused by the snow, the chances were none too bright. -Nevertheless, they would have to do their best. - -The meal came to an end, and they started off again. They had gone only -a few hundred yards, when Lamoureux noticed something wrong. - -"Haskell!" - -There was no reply. Haskell's radio beam had been shut off. - - * * * * * - -This was a little too much. Lamoureux let loose a streak of profanity -that had even McCracken staring at him in awe. Then they started out -again, trying, through the falling snow, and over the rocky ground, -to keep in as straight a line as possible toward the ship. Lamoureux -managed to sustain his spirits only by thinking of what he would do to -his cook. - -Two hours later, he had an opportunity to put his plan into practice. -For out of the snow there emerged Haskell, and the men who had been -left with him at the ship. Haskell started to run toward Lamoureux the -moment he caught sight of the other group. - -"Here we are, Captain! We came as fast as we could!" - -Lamoureux's eyes were almost as cold as the snow. "How thoughtful of -you." - -"Who else is hurt, Captain?" - -"Nobody's hurt, but somebody is going to be." - -Haskell looked surprised. "I don't get it. You told me to come as fast -as I could, and you said that eight of the men were badly injured." - -"_I_ told you?" - -"Yes, sir. I thought you were hurt yourself, sir. Your voice sounded -hoarse." - -Lamoureux's jaws were clenched together so tightly in his effort to -maintain his self-control that his teeth hurt. He unclenched them. "I -don't quite understand you, Haskell. My voice is as melodious as ever. -Something else is strange, too. You ask who _else_ is hurt." - -"Yes, sir. We ran across Terrill a little while ago. He got brushed by -the tail of some animal and was walking around in a real daze." - -"How do you suppose we're walking? At any rate, I'm glad you found him. -See any signs of Carvalho?" - -"No, sir. We left the radio beam on to guide you--" - -"What's that? You're sure you left it on?" - -"Positive, sir." - -"Well, someone has turned it off! Someone--Oh, my God!" - -It was so damn simple, and he had never even thought of it. Carvalho -was the man. Carvalho was shrewd and quiet, a man who could keep his -intentions to himself and wreck an expedition without so much as -being suspected. Subconsciously, Lamoureux hadn't quite believed in -McCracken's guilt, despite the seeming evidence against him. McCracken -had too genuine a love of horseplay, and of childish showing off. - -These things were hard to pretend. You didn't put snow down somebody's -back when you were plotting to leave him marooned on a deserted planet. -And you didn't impress people by making a seventy-five foot broad jump -when you could impress them much more effectively by condemning them -to slow death. - - * * * * * - -Once he had thought of it, Lamoureux couldn't doubt. Carvalho had -turned off the radio beam at the ship. By now the _Astrolight_ was -probably somewhere in space, possibly proceeding to some rendezvous -with a rival expedition. Carvalho wouldn't dare appear back on Earth as -the lone passenger returning on Lamoureux's ship. But he wouldn't have -to. He could set the _Astrolight_ adrift, be "rescued" by the people -who had employed him, and come back to tell of the dangers he had -braved on Mercury. - -It all fitted in. Carvalho had been the one who had tried to hamper -their work from the moment they had landed. When McCracken had shot -that Mercurian-- - -Lamoureux asked, "What happened then? Try to remember." - -McCracken scratched his head vigorously. "I think Carvalho saw this -Mercurian and started to yell and run. I thought he was scared. That's -why I shot." - -So Carvalho had really been responsible for the shooting. Lamoureux -asked, "Why didn't you report that Carvalho started to yell and run?" - -"Well, Captain, you don't expect me to go around telling you things -like that about another guy?" - -The words, "You fool," had been on Lamoureux's lips, but he bit them -back. After all, who had been the bigger fool, McCracken or he himself, -who had insisted that Carvalho get the radio? There was no doubt about -the answer to that one. - -As for the occasion when the radio had begun to emit its mysterious -code signals, the explanation for that was simple enough, too. The -people who were in contact with Carvalho had sent their messages, not -knowing whether strangers might be listening in, but not caring either. -No one could make head or tail of the mysterious sounds but Carvalho. -McCracken had, in fact, considered the noises a new strange form of -static that had interfered when he tried to talk to Haskell. - -Lamoureux felt like asking McCracken to kick him in the pants. As that -would have been bad for discipline, he substituted an order to get -started back toward the ship. There was the faintest of chances that -Carvalho had delayed, or had been forced by some accident to delay, his -departure back to Earth. - -It was snowing harder than ever now, and it was difficult for Lamoureux -to see more than fifty feet ahead of him. The rim of the Sun was -blotted out so thoroughly that it was almost as dark as on a moonless -night. Nevertheless he pressed on doggedly. - -It was not until six hours later, after he and the men had been -wandering around aimlessly for a long enough time to have reached the -ship and returned, that he admitted to himself that they were lost. - - -V - -Not that it mattered a great deal. Lamoureux realized perfectly well -that by this time the _Astrolight_ was on its return journey to Earth. -All the same, it was disheartening to know that he was so completely -unable to find his way about on this planet. - -The question now was what to do. They had little enough food, and not -too much in the way of other supplies. They would have to live off the -planet until some kind of rescue expedition had been organized to save -_them_. If Kalinoff had done it, they could, too. Lamoureux's face -burned as he pictured himself striding over to Kalinoff, staring at the -man solemnly, and uttering those historic words, "Dr. Livingston, I -presume." That was one scene that would never take place. - -It was growing colder by the hour. That meant that they would have to -move over toward the Hot Side before the Sun sank beneath the horizon -altogether. - -McCracken, the most cheerful of the lot, had a glum face as he asked, -"What do we do now, Captain?" - -"First we eat, McCracken. Then we move toward the Sun. Just one word, -McCracken. You like to shoot?" - -"Yes, sir." - -"Save your bullets. I have an idea we're going to need them before this -little adventure of ours is finished." - -Then Lamoureux sat down on a snowy rock, leaned back, and thought -everything over. It was improbable now that any of his kids would ever -get to Lunar Tech. Well, that wasn't anything to be sorry about. The -life of ease and luxury of the place had ruined more than one promising -youngster. His wife would have to get along with a single robot. It -would do her good to wait on the family for a change. As for his -relatives--to hell with them. Let them find somebody else to sponge on. - -He was busy with these cheerful reflections when he heard McCracken -shout, "Hey!" - -A figure loomed out of the snow ahead. - -The figure paused and stared at Lamoureux. - -McCracken yelled, "Hey, Captain!" - -The figure came forward, bowed, and showed its teeth. "Mr. Stanley, I -presume?" - - * * * * * - -Looking back at it later, Lamoureux decided that this was the most -mortifying moment of his life. He had been sent to save Kalinoff. - -Instead, Kalinoff had saved him. - -It was the screwball explorer, of course. Lamoureux recognized him at -once. Kalinoff was a shrimp, a fraction of an inch below five feet in -height, and he had a face like a monkey's. Having taken a good look at -him, Lamoureux felt, "My God, is this what we've been trying to rescue?" - -Kalinoff was not alone. He was accompanied by a pair of penguin-like -Mercurians, who looked just as sly and acted with as little -intelligence as the one they had previously encountered. Lamoureux had -no idea how Kalinoff had managed to get along with them. - -Kalinoff, it seemed, was angry. "Why in hell," he demanded, "didn't you -have sense enough to return to the ship?" - -Lamoureux stared. - -"You mean the _Astrolight_ is still here?" - -"Of course it's here. And the radio beam is on." - -"You're sure--the beam is on?" - -"Of all the nitwits to let loose on an unfriendly planet, you're about -the worst. I've just told you it's on, haven't I? It's been on for the -past two hours." - -Lamoureux swallowed hard. "And Carvalho?" - -"There's a man who I assume is Carvalho. He's tied up. I've got a -couple of friends watching him to make sure he doesn't get away." - -"Friends?" - -"Like these." Kalinoff indicated the Mercurians. "Come on. I'd like to -get back to Earth. There's a girl I've got to see." - -"But who--what happened to Carvalho?" - -"He seemed anxious to leave, so I pushed my fist down his throat. -Incidentally, there was a radio going, with a code message." - -"Short distance, radio?" - -"Interplanetary. The ship's hull acted as a receiver, naturally. You -could get the message anywhere on the planet by arranging a short -distance automatic re-broadcast." - -"So that's what Carvalho did." - -"If I'm late this time," said Kalinoff worriedly, "she and I are -finished. She's willing to put up with dates six months in advance, but -there's a limit, and I've been late too often. And she's too nice to -lose. Get a move on, quick." - -Lamoureux, in a daze, complied. They were only an hour's journey from -the ship, and, under Kalinoff's urging, they made it in forty minutes. -Carvalho, looking terrified of the two Mercurians who were standing -over him with their teeth showing, yelled, "Help!" - -"Never mind him," Kalinoff ordered. "Hop into the ship." - -"But what are we going to do with him?" - -"Well, what's he been up to?" - - * * * * * - -Lamoureux explained briefly, and Kalinoff grunted. "You fellows are a -bunch of screwballs, setting out on an expedition like this without -proper equipment and proper information about Mercury." At the word -"screwballs," Lamoureux winced, but remained silent. Maybe it _was_ -deserved. Kalinoff went on, "As for Carvalho, that's simple. Leave him -behind. He intended to maroon you, didn't he? Maroon him instead. But -first let him send one interplanetary radio message to his friends." - -"In code? We won't know what it is!" - -Kalinoff grinned. "We'll leave his punishment up to him. Suppose he -reports you've found me. Then his pals won't come for him, and he's -going to stay here indefinitely." - -"What if he reports you _haven't_ been found?" - -"Then they come for him, discover he's a liar, and there's hell to pay. -Either way, he's in for a lousy time." - -"They'll murder him." - -"Oh, no. We'll let them know that we're reporting the facts of the -case to the Interplanetary Commission. They'd never dare commit murder." - -Lamoureux objected doubtfully, "Wouldn't the Mercurians kill him?" - -"If he treats them right, they'll treat him right. They're not as -intelligent as I thought at first--maybe you've discovered that--but -they have their points." - -"They're wonderful chess players." - -"Fair," said Kalinoff critically. "Only fair. I always beat them, -but then, naturally, I'm very good. Maybe that's why they admire me. -They have great mathematical abilities, and they can visualize well, -but their language is primitive and in some ways they're halfwits. -There have been plenty of mathematical prodigies on Earth just like -them--wonders at calculating, and fools at everything else. To hell -with them. Let's get started." - -"Wait a minute, Kalinoff. What about those huge beasts? Won't they be -dangerous to Carvalho?" - -"Oh, them." Kalinoff chuckled. "I certainly gave you some off-beam -instructions before that radio of mine went on the blink. I really -thought at first that those two mountains I described with the -saddlebacked ridge between them would make a good landmark. Two days -afterward, I discovered that the ridges were living creatures. The -things have a habit of sheltering themselves from the Sun between a -pair of mountains. They wrap their necks around their bodies, tuck -their heads beside them, and you'd never know they were alive. They -don't move for days at a time." - -"But when they _do_ move--" - -"Leave them alone, and they leave you alone." - - * * * * * - -The Captain asked, "What about the rain and snow?" - -"I may as well clear this up once and for all. The rain and snow were -my doing. After I had told you to rely on the Mercurians and described -the landmark, I discovered that the Mercurians were nitwits and the -landmark a false alarm. That meant that, once you landed, you'd never -find me except by accident. That put it up to me to find you. - -"As you may have heard, normally there's no such thing as rain or snow -on Mercury. But there is water. And there is a continual process of -transfer going on. The water flows through subterranean channels to the -Hot Side, evaporates, and is carried over in the air to the Cold Side. -There it deposits on the ground eventually as ice, melts, and goes -through the whole process again." - -"Why doesn't it rain?" - -"Because there's no dust in Mercury's air. The absence of a rapidly -alternating day and night means that the air doesn't circulate on the -same scale as on Earth. Practically no wind, combined with little -erosion, means little dust. The water-laden air cools off and becomes -super-saturated at the Twilight Zone. But there are no clouds, and -there's no precipitation because the water needs either dust or ions to -condense on. In a Wilson cloud chamber, an experimenter furnishes it -with ions. Here on Mercury I furnished it with dust. - -"I gave the Mercurians rifles and explosive bullets, and taught them to -shoot into the air. It was quite a job, but they learned. The explosion -spreads a cloud of dust, the water condenses, and you have rain or -snow, depending on the temperature. I impressed it upon their brains, -such as they are, that the presence of human beings calls for a Fourth -of July celebration--shooting into the air. And there you are. I had -the occurrence of rain and snow reported to me, moved toward wherever -the snow was thickest, and found the ship." - -"Another thing--" - -"I've talked enough. That dame won't wait forever. Which will it be, -Carvalho, the Lady or the Tiger?" - -They listened in curiosity as Carvalho, tight-lipped, tapped out a -short message in code. They didn't ask him what it was. - -As the _Astrolight_ drove upward away from Mercury, Lamoureux had one -last glimpse of the Mercurians shooting into the air. The snow was -coming down in enormous flakes two inches across, and Carvalho, staring -after the ship, was shivering and cursing. After they reported the -facts to the Interplanetary Commission, a ship would be sent to pick -him up--but it might take some time. - -"Let me tell you about this dame," said Kalinoff. - -Lamoureux listened patiently, got out his contract, and waited, with -pen ready, for the interplanetary screwball's signature. - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's The Weather on Mercury, by William Morrison - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WEATHER ON MERCURY *** - -***** This file should be named 50885-8.txt or 50885-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/0/8/8/50885/ - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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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/license - - -Title: The Weather on Mercury - -Author: William Morrison - -Release Date: January 9, 2016 [EBook #50885] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WEATHER ON MERCURY *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/cover.jpg" width="362" height="500" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="titlepage"> - -<h1>The Weather on Mercury</h1> - -<p>By WILLIAM MORRISON</p> - -<p>Illustrated by VIDMER</p> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br /> -Galaxy Science Fiction July 1953.<br /> -Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that<br /> -the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph3"><i>Anyone mad enough (1) to land on that crazy<br /> -world (2) in order to rescue that screwball<br /> -explorer should (3) have his head examined!</i></p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph3">I</p> - -<p>The first thing McCracken did was shoot a Mercurian native. But then -McCracken, although he had powerful muscles, was never supposed to be -very strong in the head.</p> - -<p>The expedition was in the Twilight Zone, naturally, at the time. -Without special clothing, which no one had, both the perpetual night -of the Cold Side and the furnace heat of the Hot Side were out of the -question. The Twilight Zone at this point was about forty miles wide, -and the <i>Astrolight</i> had been skillfully brought down smack in the -middle of it. Two hours after the landing, having ascertained that the -air was as breathable as Kalinoff had reported, McCracken went out and -aimed his explosive bullet at the Mercurian.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus1.jpg" width="600" height="389" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>If it hadn't been for Carvalho, who accompanied him, the rest of the -group would have known nothing of the incident. It was Carvalho who -reported what had happened to Lamoureux, captain of the expedition.</p> - -<p>McCracken, of course, burst into vigorous denials that he had shot a -native. "You don't think I'd be fool enough to go around looking for -trouble, do you?"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Lamoureux thought he would, but didn't say so. "You did shoot at -something. We heard the report."</p> - -<p>"I tried to hit a dangerous bird."</p> - -<p>"What sort of bird was it?"</p> - -<p>"Kind of like a penguin, I'd say, but with a broader face. No bill to -speak of—"</p> - -<p>"Then don't speak of it," snapped Lamoureux. "Did you score a hit?"</p> - -<p>"I think the explosion caught it in the shoulder. It got away."</p> - -<p>"Thank God for small favors," said Lamoureux. "That bird, you -pigeon-brain, was a Mercurian. How do you expect intelligent -inhabitants of other planets to look? Like you? They'd die of -mortification."</p> - -<p>"Damn it, how was I to know?"</p> - -<p>"I told you not to shoot unless you were attacked." Lamoureux scowled. -"Kalinoff is somewhere in the Twilight Zone and we were supposed to -find him with the help of the Mercurians. It may interest you to know -that, while you were out at target practice, some of them came around -here and began to behave as if they wanted to be friendly. Then they -suddenly disappeared. I imagine they got news of what you had done. A -fat lot of help they'll give us now."</p> - -<p>"We'll run across Kalinoff without them," said McCracken confidently.</p> - -<p>Carvalho, who had a habit of looking for the dark side of every -situation, and finding it, suggested, "Suppose the Mercurians attack -us?"</p> - -<p>McCracken said, "They haven't any weapons."</p> - -<p>"How do you know?"</p> - -<p>"Kalinoff didn't mention any."</p> - -<p>Lamoureux emitted a laugh that sounded like an angry bark. "Kalinoff -wouldn't know. <i>He</i> was friendly with them. He did report that -they were an intelligent race. It'll be too bad if they use their -intelligence against us."</p> - -<p>McCracken thrust out his jaw. There was a streak of stubbornness in -him, and he was not going to take too many dirty cracks lying down. He -growled, "I think you're making a mountain out of an anthill."</p> - -<p>"Molehill," corrected Lamoureux.</p> - -<p>"Whatever it is. What if Kalinoff did say the Mercurians would help us? -You can't take his word for it. Everybody knows what Kalinoff is."</p> - -<p>Lamoureux frowned. "Kalinoff is a great man and a great explorer."</p> - -<p>"They call him the interplanetary screwball."</p> - -<p>"Not on this expedition, they don't, McCracken. You will please keep a -civil tongue in your head."</p> - -<p>"There's nothing wrong in what I'm saying. Kalinoff <i>is</i> a screwball, -and you know it, Captain. He's always playing practical jokes. Look at -how he got that Martian senator into the same cage with a moon-snake, -and locked the door on him. The senator had a fit. How was he to know -the snake was harmless?"</p> - -<p>"You don't think Kalinoff would play jokes when his own life was at -stake, do you?"</p> - -<p>"Once a screwball," insisted McCracken firmly, "always a screwball."</p> - -<p>Lamoureux lost patience. "Once an idiot, always an idiot. Get over to -the ship and help with the unpacking. And remember, if we don't find -Kalinoff, it'll be your fault, and God help you."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Having, he hoped, left McCracken feeling properly ashamed of himself, -Lamoureux walked away. The responsibility was beginning to weigh him -down. The other nineteen men in the expedition thought they were merely -trying to rescue an intrepid explorer for the sake of human life, which -was supposed to be sacred. They didn't know that, behind his screwball -surface, Kalinoff was as shrewd as they came. He had made some valuable -discoveries—and promptly staked out a claim to them.</p> - -<p>He had run across large quantities of stable isotopes of metals whose -atomic numbers ranged from 95 to 110. These had remarkable and useful -properties.</p> - -<p>They were, to begin with, of unusual value as catalysts in chemical -reactions. For example, element 99, in the presence of air, was a more -powerful oxidizing agent than platinum or palladium was a reducing -agent, in the presence of hydrogen. And the oxidations could be -controlled beautifully, could be made to affect almost any part of a -complicated organic molecule at a time. Element 99 was recoverable, and -could be used again and again. A few hundred grams of it alone might -very well pay for the cost of the entire expedition.</p> - -<p>Add the value of a few kilos of elements 101 to 110, and Kalinoff had -discovered enough to make him and a few other people rich for life.</p> - -<p>Lamoureux wanted to be one of those other people. He had three kids he -wanted to send through Lunar Tech; he had a wife with expensive tastes -in robot servants; and he had relatives. Let him get Kalinoff off this -God-forsaken planet, where he had been marooned for the past year, and -even an interplanetary screwball might be expected to show some feeling -of gratitude. Combine this feeling of gratitude with a reasonably fair -contract already printed, and needing only the explorer's scrawl to -give it validity, and Lamoureux could almost feel the money in his -pocket. If only McCracken had not spoiled everything by his stupidity—</p> - -<p>Lamoureux shuddered to think that by the time they got to him -Kalinoff might be dead, and they would have to do business with his -heirs—heirs who had no sense of gratitude to impair their business -judgment. He felt suddenly poor again. But he put the gloomy thought -out of his head, and went on with his work.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Unpacking would be finished in a couple of hours at most. Meanwhile -there was some preliminary exploring to be done. The neighboring -ground must be surveyed, and landmarks noted, so that they would -have a suitable base from which to start their search. Kalinoff had -talked about two mountains with a saddlelike ridge joining them. Those -two mountains shouldn't be too difficult to recognize—if ever the -expedition ran across them.</p> - -<p>McCracken, obeying orders, was lending a hand at the unloading. What -with Mercury's low gravity, and his own strength, he had no difficulty -in wrestling around the five hundred pound crates in which their -supplies had been packed. However, he was of little help in getting the -work done. With what Lamoureux decided was characteristic stupidity, he -seemed to be mostly in everyone else's way.</p> - -<p>Lamoureux called, "McCracken!"</p> - -<p>"Yes, sir."</p> - -<p>"Let go those crates. The others will handle them. I want you—"</p> - -<p>Lamoureux stopped suddenly. A distant sound had come to his ears—the -explosion of a bullet.</p> - -<p>There was a sudden silence that was so absolute, Lamoureux could hear -his men breathe. Another bullet exploded, then another—and silence -again.</p> - -<p>Somebody whispered, "The natives don't have guns. It must be Kalinoff!"</p> - -<p>"What luck to find him this way!"</p> - -<p>Lamoureux had run for his own gun. He fired ten shots into the air and -waited. But there was no reply.</p> - -<p>Lamoureux spat out his orders with machine-gun speed. "McCracken, you, -Carvalho, and Haggard set out to the right. The shots seemed to be -coming from that direction. But we'll take no chances. Gronski, Terrill -and Cannoni, go straight ahead. Marsden and Blaine, to the left; -Robinson and Sprott, to the rear. Spread out fast and keep your eyes -peeled. Don't go any further away than the sound of a bullet. Uncover -every damned white-bush, and tear up every desert-cat hill, but don't -come back without Kalinoff. Now get going!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The men started on a run. Lamoureux, waiting impatiently, walked up and -down in growing excitement. He had come prepared for a three months' -search, expected it. He had pictured himself and his men, exhausted -by a long trek across the planet, coming upon the startled Kalinoff, -striking a magnificent attitude, and saying, with characteristic -Tellurian modesty, "Dr. Livingston, I presume." And, instead, he was -going to find Kalinoff in less than a day. He ran into the ship, got -out the printed contract, and read it hastily.</p> - -<p>All was in order. He'd have Kalinoff's signature that day.</p> - -<p>A half hour passed, and Lamoureux fired ten more shots. Haskell, the -cook, was looking at the sky with a troubled expression on his face. He -approached Lamoureux apologetically. "Say, Captain—"</p> - -<p>"What is it, Haskell?"</p> - -<p>"Does it ever rain on Mercury?"</p> - -<p>"Never. No rain, no snow, no hail. No man who has ever set foot on the -planet has come across any sort of bad weather. Kalinoff emphasizes -that fact."</p> - -<p>"Well, that's what I seemed to remember. But just now I thought I felt -a drop of rain."</p> - -<p>"Impossible, Haskell. Some bird—"</p> - -<p>Lamoureux stopped abruptly. He, too, had thought he felt a drop of rain.</p> - -<p>Haskell held out a hairy paw. "I thought I felt another one." His eyes -fell on the brown rocks. "Say, here's a big drop that splashed."</p> - -<p>The brown rocks were being slowly spotted with black. And, as Lamoureux -stared, he felt his head grow wet. There was no doubt about it. It was -raining.</p> - -<p>His mouth dropped open. "But it doesn't rain on Mercury!"</p> - -<p>The sky was a dull gray now, and the patter of rain drowned out his -words. He realized suddenly that he was becoming soaked.</p> - -<p>Haskell was running for the ship. Lamoureux followed him and slammed -the door shut. The men who had not been sent to search for Kalinoff -were already inside. The rain rattled on the hull of the <i>Astrolight</i>, -and on the parched ground.</p> - -<p>Lamoureux stared through the side port and repeated blankly, "But it -doesn't rain on Mercury!"</p> - -<p>Fortunately, the noise of the rain was so loud that no one heard him -say it.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p class="ph3">II</p> - -<p>It was six hours before the first of the search parties Lamoureux had -sent out returned. The men were soaked, but they had seen no trace of -Kalinoff. They had faithfully tried to follow Lamoureux's directions, -but in a downpour where it was impossible to see more than fifty feet -ahead of them, they stood little chance of rescuing anyone. Most of the -six hours had been spent finding their own way home.</p> - -<p>The other search parties drifted in slowly, until all had returned. -Lamoureux checked them off one by one, and discovered, with practically -no surprise, that McCracken was missing.</p> - -<p>"Where is the idiot?" he growled.</p> - -<p>"McCracken separated from the rest of us," replied Carvalho. "He -thought he could catch a glimpse of those mountains Kalinoff described."</p> - -<p>"When was this?"</p> - -<p>"Just before it started to rain."</p> - -<p>"He's probably within a few hundred yards of the ship right now, but -can't find us because of this rain. I hope he has sense enough to dig -up a white-bush and get some shelter."</p> - -<p>"We can never be sure how much sense McCracken has. Anyway, Captain, it -can't go on raining like this for very long."</p> - -<p>But it could, and it did. The men sat around in the ship, stretching -lazily, and took life easy. They had not had time to unpack many of the -five hundred pound crates, and what materials were exposed to the rain -would not be spoiled. There was no harm in leaving them where they were.</p> - -<p>A vacation of this sort would have been welcome, if the trip through -space to Mercury had itself not been so largely a vacation. After a -day, Lamoureux saw plainly that his men were sick of inactivity. So, -for that matter, was he. He had come to take part in a strenuous and -dangerous expedition, not to sit on his fanny waiting for the rain to -go away.</p> - -<p>Twenty-four hours after everyone else had returned to the ship, -McCracken made a sensational reappearance. With that independence of -thought that Lamoureux was beginning to recognize, he had found his own -way of coping with the bad weather. He had stripped off his soggy and -unpleasant clothing, and had meandered around for the past day clad in -nothing but his shorts, with his rifle, his one remaining possession, -held firmly in the crook of his right arm. The rain was fairly warm, -and outside of giving him his usual ravenous appetite, his outing had -done him no harm.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Lamoureux got one of the crew to dig up an extra suit of clothes to -cover McCracken's manly beauty. "Where did you sleep?"</p> - -<p>"I didn't."</p> - -<p>"You wandered around all this time shocking the natives without rest?"</p> - -<p>"I'm no sissy," grunted McCracken. "I'm not even tired."</p> - -<p>He yawned, and caught himself. "I didn't see anything of Kalinoff. But -I got a good look at those mountains he described. The pair with the -saddleback ridge between them."</p> - -<p>"Where are they?"</p> - -<p>McCracken scratched his head. "I think I lost my sense of direction. -But they're not far from here. No, sir, they're not far. Kalinoff is as -good as found. The screwball."</p> - -<p>His eyes closed while he was talking, and Lamoureux had him led to his -bunk and deposited there. Two minutes later, McCracken's snoring was -competing successfully with the noise of the rain.</p> - -<p>There was little sense in looking for the mountains until the rain let -up. Lamoureux waited, and waited in vain. The downpour kept on until -its monotonous sound had become an integral part of their life. They -learned to talk without paying any attention to it, and without even -hearing it. But not without, now and then, cursing it.</p> - -<p>After it had been raining for a week, Lamoureux noticed that the -temperature was falling. It probably signified that on this part of the -Twilight Zone the Sun was dropping further behind the horizon. As if he -didn't already have troubles enough. He cursed Mercury; he cursed the -Twilight Zone; he cursed the rain; he even cursed the Sun. A few hours -later, he also cursed the snow and the hail.</p> - -<p>Such weather was absolutely incredible. There was nothing to explain -it. As he had told Haskell, the cook, no previous explorer had ever -seen a sign of rain, snow, or hail. Kalinoff had not reported such -phenomena, and Kalinoff got around.</p> - -<p>The men were going crazy with inactivity. Worst of all, to Lamoureux, -was the way they looked at him. They seemed to feel that, as leader of -the expedition, he was responsible for the weather. Lamoureux almost -found himself agreeing with them.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>On the tenth day, he could stand it no longer. He called the men -together and made a short speech. "Men, this rain seems able to go on -forever. We can't stay here waiting for it to clear up."</p> - -<p>Somebody cheered hopefully, and the others, for the sake of exercising -their lungs, joined in.</p> - -<p>Lamoureux held up his hand. "McCracken has reported that he saw the -mountains we were looking for, with the saddleback ridge between them. -Rain or no rain, we're going to find them."</p> - -<p>Somebody yelled, "Three cheers for Big Muscles McCracken!" The three -cheers were roared. Then there came, "Three cheers for our brave and -heroic captain!" and, "Three cheers for the mountains!" and even, -"Three cheers for the lousy rain and snow."</p> - -<p>Lamoureux began to feel uncomfortable. This was too much like a high -school football rally, with burlesque overtones, to suit him. The men -were bursting with pent-up energy, and it had to get out somehow.</p> - -<p>"I'm leaving only a half dozen of you behind to stay with the ship. The -rest are coming with me. Any volunteers?"</p> - -<p>He had expected what followed. They all volunteered. He made his -choices rapidly. McCracken went along because he had actually seen -the mountains. Carvalho would make an intelligent assistant. Gronski, -Marsden, Sprott—he reeled off the names rapidly, and in less than a -minute had his group, leaving a disgruntled half dozen who would have -nothing to do but continue to sit around the ship.</p> - -<p>Lamoureux himself carried a two-way radio transmission set capable of -receiving intelligible signals over a distance of 12,000 miles. He -gave another of the sets to McCracken, and ordered the man to hang on -to it no matter what happened. In the rain, it would be their only way -of maintaining communications with the ship. He put McCracken and the -radio in the second squad under Carvalho, and himself took charge of -the first. The two squads would stick together unless some emergency -demanded that they separate.</p> - -<p>When they set out in the snow, wearing the heaviest clothing they had, -the men were singing. McCracken's voice, like the croaking of a huge -bullfrog, supplied an unharmonized but ear-filling bass. It sounded so -impressive to Lamoureux that not until McCracken had reached the third -song did he perceive that the man didn't know any of the melodies at -all. He just oom-pahed as the spirit moved him, evidently feeling that, -on Mercury, noise and good spirits were more important than any tune.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>They had been marching for a half hour when Gronski exclaimed, "Well, -I'll be damned to Venus and back!"</p> - -<p>"What's wrong, Gronski?"</p> - -<p>"It isn't snowing so hard, Captain."</p> - -<p>It wasn't. Carvalho said hopefully, "Maybe it'll stop."</p> - -<p>Sprott was so overwhelmed with delight that he scooped up a huge pile -of snow, pressed it together, and popped McCracken on the nose with it. -McCracken threw him down and poured snow down his back.</p> - -<p>Lamoureux said angrily, "Stop that, you fools! You're not a bunch of -kids."</p> - -<p>The horseplay came to an abrupt halt. They marched on a little more -soberly, and in a few minutes the snow had stopped falling altogether. -Instead of being as happy as Lamoureux had expected, McCracken seemed -puzzled. He scratched his head and scowled.</p> - -<p>"What's wrong, McCracken? Termites?"</p> - -<p>"It's this snow, Captain. We walk two or three miles and it stops. It -don't make sense."</p> - -<p>"It's got to stop sometime."</p> - -<p>"The point is, Captain, it didn't snow here at all. There's none on the -ground. It just snowed around the ship."</p> - -<p>It cost Lamoureux an effort to admit it, but McCracken was right. He -was not as stupid as he had seemed.</p> - -<p>It was Lamoureux's turn to scowl. He got in touch with the ship. -"Haskell!"</p> - -<p>"Yes, sir?"</p> - -<p>"How's the weather where you are?"</p> - -<p>"Are you joking, Captain?"</p> - -<p>"I'm serious, Haskell. Is it clear?"</p> - -<p>"It's still snowing, Captain, just as it was less than an hour ago when -you left."</p> - -<p>Lamoureux grunted. "You may be interested to know that it hasn't -snowed here at all."</p> - -<p>He cut off Haskell's astonished voice, and turned to the others, who -now seemed a little uneasy. The unexpected changes in the weather were -a little too much for them.</p> - -<p>"Now that it's cleared up, we should be able to find that mountain. -We'll spread out just a little, but not too far. For all we know, it -may start to snow again. Carvalho, you take your group off to the -left—"</p> - -<p>Sprott whispered, "Captain!"</p> - -<p>"Yes?"</p> - -<p>"Isn't that a Mercurian?"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Lamoureux stared where Sprott had pointed. About a half mile away, -a small gray creature, looking, as McCracken had reported, like a -penguin, but with a broader face and no bill to speak of, was standing -motionless.</p> - -<p>"Sprott, you and Marsden go over to that thing. Be as friendly as you -know how. Smile, grin, stand on your head if you have to, but don't -scare it away. Try to induce it to follow you here. Maybe we'll finally -get some of that information about Kalinoff we're looking for."</p> - -<p>Sprott and Marsden were approaching the Mercurian cautiously. Several -hundred yards away, they stopped and spread their arms in what was -evidently meant to be a gesture of good will.</p> - -<p>The Mercurian remained motionless. Not until the men had come within -thirty feet of it did it give a sign of life. Then it took a step -toward them.</p> - -<p>As Lamoureux watched, the two men spoke a few words. The Mercurian did -not respond, but when they turned around and moved away, it followed -slowly.</p> - -<p>Seen from close at hand, the Mercurian did not so greatly resemble a -penguin. To begin with, it had no wings, and no arms either. It lacked -a bill altogether, but had instead a small mouth that seemed crammed -with teeth. Its two eyes were slanted, which gave it an appearance of -slyness. There were two round tufted ears. It moved forward not by -waddling, but with a smooth rollercoaster gait that was the result of -its moving its four legs forward one after the other.</p> - -<p>Sprott reported, "It seems hurt."</p> - -<p>There was, in fact, a grayish wound on the Mercurian's chest. Lamoureux -didn't know enough about Mercurian physiology to hazard a guess as to -what would be the best treatment; and, therefore, decided to leave -well enough alone. But, according to Kalinoff, the Mercurians were -intelligent. He wondered if the screwball explorer had taught this one -any of the Earth languages.</p> - -<p>"Can you speak English?"</p> - -<p>The Mercurian stared at him with its sly expression and said nothing.</p> - -<p>"<i>Parlez-vous français? Sprechen sie Deutsch?</i>"</p> - -<p>The men were grinning now, and Lamoureux felt his face growing warm. He -must look like a fool, trying to carry on a conversation with a bird.</p> - -<p>He asked, "Anybody here know Russian? Polish? Spanish?"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>His men supplied him with phrases in the languages he asked for, but -the Mercurian remained unresponsive.</p> - -<p>McCracken ventured, "He don't look very bright to me, Captain. I can't -understand why Kalinoff said they were intelligent."</p> - -<p>"Maybe," suggested Sprott, "it's because they just stand there looking -wise and don't say anything."</p> - -<p>Lamoureux shook his head. "Kalinoff wouldn't be impressed by anybody's -just looking wise. And he wouldn't be impressed by anybody's not saying -anything. He didn't go for either stuffed shirts or strong silent men. -That's why I believe that this thing must have a language of its own, -and a fairly decent brain."</p> - -<p>The Mercurian closed its two eyes slowly, like a sleepy cat, and opened -them again. Then it poked one of its four feet out from under its body -and scratched on the ground.</p> - -<p>"He's nuts," decided McCracken. "Just scrabbling around."</p> - -<p>"Hold it," ordered Lamoureux, "I'm beginning to get this."</p> - -<p>The Mercurian had scratched nine parallel lines, only a few of -them visible on the rocky ground. Now it scratched other lines, -perpendicular to these.</p> - -<p>Lamoureux barked, "A checkerboard! That's what it is! Has anybody got -one?"</p> - -<p>Marsden had a pocket chess set. He took it out. The Mercurian's eyes -brightened. It sat down suddenly on the hard ground.</p> - -<p>"I'll be damned," said Lamoureux. "He wants to play a game. Go ahead, -Marsden. Entertain our guest."</p> - -<p>The men were grinning again. Marsden squatted down on the ground -and began to set up the men. The Mercurian stretched out two of its -paws—three-fingered affairs, the fingers almost human—and seized one -white chessman and one black. It hid the paws behind its back, then -held them out again.</p> - -<p>Marsden chose the white, and moved forward the queen's pawn. The -Mercurian countered and the game was on.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus2.jpg" width="269" height="500" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>It was Kalinoff who must have taught this creature the game, and, if it -did nothing else, the incident showed that the explorer was just as -screwy as ever, and probably alive somewhere on the planet. Or did it -merely show that he <i>had</i> been alive? Lamoureux, undecided, watched the -curious battle of wits.</p> - -<p>Half an hour later, Marsden, thoroughly beaten, demanded, "Who says -this thing isn't intelligent?"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p class="ph3">III</p> - -<p>The Mercurian was sitting up, wagging its head from side to side as if -waiting for approbation. But Lamoureux, quite sure now that it wouldn't -or couldn't talk, wouldn't have given a damn if it had beaten every -champion on Earth. In addition, he was bothered by the fact that it was -snowing again.</p> - -<p>The flakes had just begun to fall, large and feathery, and Lamoureux -himself soon had a powdered look. Most of the other men were still -gathered around the Mercurian. But one of them, Sprott, came over to -Lamoureux and glanced up at the sky as if puzzled.</p> - -<p>"It's following us around, Captain."</p> - -<p>"What is?"</p> - -<p>"The snow, sir."</p> - -<p>"Don't be silly, Sprott. We just happen to have run into a streak of -bad weather."</p> - -<p>Sprott went on stubbornly, "It looks funny to me. First it rains and -snows for ten days around the ship. But it doesn't rain, or at least -it doesn't snow, here. An hour after we get to this place, though, it -starts coming down."</p> - -<p>Lamoureux brushed some of the white flakes off his shoulders. "All -right, Sprott, suppose you are right. It <i>is</i> following us around. -That's no reason to alarm the other men, is it?"</p> - -<p>"I guess not, sir.... I won't say a word. But there's something else I -wanted to speak to you about, sir. It's McCracken."</p> - -<p>"You believe he's responsible for the snow?"</p> - -<p>Sprott looked astonished. "I don't mean that, sir. I don't see how he -could be."</p> - -<p>"I do. He shot a Mercurian. I have an idea that they're the ones who -are causing the peculiar weather we've been having."</p> - -<p>"Why would they do that, sir?"</p> - -<p>"Well, Kalinoff didn't mention seeing any weapons among them, so -we've always assumed they had none. But suppose the weather was their -weapon. It's a very effective one, Sprott. They've made things damnably -unpleasant for us."</p> - -<p>"How can they make rain where there isn't any, Captain? I know that -rainmakers on Earth have had some success. But all they do is get the -rain to fall near where it would have fallen anyway. They may make it -precipitate a few hours before it would have otherwise, but that's all. -Here there weren't any clouds to start with."</p> - -<p>Lamoureux admitted, "I don't know how the trick is done, Sprott. But I -agree with you that the snow is following us around, and I'm sure that -the trick <i>is</i> done."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Sprott was silent a moment. Then he said, "And you think, sir, it's all -because McCracken shot one of them?"</p> - -<p>"They evidently believe in the principle of the rain falling on the -just and unjust alike. And the same thing goes for the snow."</p> - -<p>Sprott said doubtfully, "I'm not sure about that, sir. But I do know -that McCracken is up to something. He's been getting some queer noises -on his receiver."</p> - -<p>"Such as Haskell singing lullabies from the ship?"</p> - -<p>"Nothing as unpleasant as that, Captain. They're just a series of -sounds, some a little longer than others. Da, da, da-a-a, da—that sort -of thing."</p> - -<p>Lamoureux asked, "When did you hear them?"</p> - -<p>"About ten minutes ago. McCracken doesn't know anything about chess, -and neither do I, so we both wandered away after the first ten minutes. -McCracken said he had an idea where those mountains were."</p> - -<p>Lamoureux's eyes narrowed. "Those noises are undoubtedly a message. I -seem to remember that some centuries back there was a code invented by -a man named Morris. That's it, the Morris code. But where could such a -message have come from?"</p> - -<p>Sprott shook his head. "I couldn't say, sir. There's supposed to be no -one but Kalinoff on Mercury, and his radio set doesn't work. Could the -message have been sent from Earth?"</p> - -<p>"Impossible, Sprott. That set will hardly get more than twelve thousand -miles."</p> - -<p>Sprott looked uncomfortable. "Then maybe what I heard wasn't a message -at all, sir."</p> - -<p>"I think it was. Does McCracken know you overheard him?"</p> - -<p>"I don't think so, sir."</p> - -<p>"Then don't let him know that we suspect anything wrong. Come to think -of it, McCracken never seems to act quite as stupid as he pretends -to be. I shouldn't be surprised if, when he shot that Mercurian, he -understood very well what he was doing."</p> - -<p>"You believe, sir, that he deliberately tried to cause trouble? Why -would he do that?"</p> - -<p>"I don't know," said Lamoureux slowly.</p> - -<p>That wasn't the whole truth. He didn't know, but he certainly could -make a shrewd guess. All along, his chief reason for fearing delay on -this expedition had been that Kalinoff might die before he could get to -him. Now there was another reason for fearing delay. Suppose there were -another expedition on the way to rescue Kalinoff. And suppose McCracken -was secretly in the pay of the people behind that expedition, and doing -everything possible to sabotage this one.</p> - -<p>Lamoureux nodded to himself. That was probably it. The first thing, -then, was to get the radio set from McCracken.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Big Muscles, as the other men had nicknamed McCracken, was a few -hundred feet away, staring off into the distance. What else he could -see besides snow, Lamoureux couldn't guess. He yelled, "Hey, McCracken!"</p> - -<p>"Coming, Captain."</p> - -<p>McCracken took a few tentative steps, broke into a short run, and then -made a leap that carried him seventy-five feet through the air, past -where Lamoureux was standing. He ended up at attention, his hand raised -in a military salute.</p> - -<p>Lamoureux frowned. Knowing what he did about McCracken, this attempt -to seem carefree, childish, and perhaps a little stupid impressed him -unfavorably. He said, "McCracken, I'm taking you out of Carvalho's -group and putting you into my own. I may need some strong-arm work and -you're just the man for it."</p> - -<p>"I sure am, Captain."</p> - -<p>"Seeing as I already have a radio, you may as well turn yours over to -Carvalho."</p> - -<p>McCracken seemed a trifle less eager. "It's rather heavy, Captain. If -you'd like, I'd carry it for you just the same."</p> - -<p>"I prefer to have my own where I can get at it whenever the need -arises. Turn yours over to Carvalho, McCracken."</p> - -<p>"Yes, sir. Meanwhile, I want to report, sir, that from where I was -standing when you called to me, I think I could see those mountains."</p> - -<p>Lamoureux had his doubts, but he kept them to himself. "Good," he said -briefly. "We'll get going."</p> - -<p>He called the men together again and gave them their marching orders. -Whether the Mercurian understood what he said, Lamoureux didn't know. -At any rate, it went along willingly.</p> - -<p>They reached the place where McCracken had been standing, and Lamoureux -stared where Big Muscles pointed. There were two mountains rising -off in the distance, barely visible through the snow, and there was -certainly a saddleback ridge between them. The only trouble was that -one of the mountains was almost twice the height of the other. -Kalinoff had reported them as approximately the same height.</p> - -<p>"That doesn't fit Kalinoff's description."</p> - -<p>McCracken said, "Maybe he looked at them from a different angle, sir. -Then they might have seemed the same height."</p> - -<p>"If he looked at them from a different angle, the ridge would no longer -seem saddlebacked."</p> - -<p>"That's true, sir. But then you know, sir, Kalinoff is a screwball—"</p> - -<p>Lamoureux found this a little hard to take from a man he suspected of -quietly trying to stab him in the back. But he continued to hide his -feelings. "That's as may be, McCracken, but he's not cockeyed. These -aren't the mountains he described. Still, we may as well approach them. -We may be able to get a good view from the top of the taller one."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>They moved onward again. A quarter of an hour's marching took them -to the edge of the falling snow. As they walked further, the air -became completely clear, and Lamoureux could see the mountains without -straining his eyes. There was no doubt about it. They were <i>not</i> the -mountains Kalinoff had described.</p> - -<p>The Mercurian horizon was not so far away as the more familiar horizon -of Earth, and it was a little difficult for Lamoureux to estimate -distances. Still, the foothills of the mountains could not be more than -twenty miles away. For the past day, little more than the rim of the -Sun had been visible above the horizon, and while the peaks were ablaze -with scarlet and golden colors, only the higher one was out of the -shadow to any considerable extent. The saddlebacked ridge itself was a -vague outline of dull black.</p> - -<p>The snow did not catch up with them until four or five hours later, -when they stopped to prepare a meal and rest. Then it began to fall -gently after they had been in the same place for three-quarters of an -hour. By now, Lamoureux was sure that it was the Mercurians who were to -blame. He still wondered how they did it.</p> - -<p>The one they had come across had remained with them, and Lamoureux -found it harder than ever to regard the creature as intelligent. -All the thing had done was walk and play chess. Lamoureux had a low -opinion of chess players, even when they were fairly human. He had an -even lower opinion of trained animals. This Mercurian fell, in his -estimation, somewhere between.</p> - -<p>They were no more than a mile or two from the foothills of the larger -mountain by now, and the saddlebacked ridge loomed several hundred -feet into the air. Unfortunately, the snow was between it and them, -and prevented them from gaining too clear a view. Lamoureux wondered -if the snow would keep up even at the top of the mountain, and damned -McCracken again for shooting that Mercurian. And then he discovered -that McCracken's feats of arms were not yet ended. McCracken was at -that very moment aiming at some target that Lamoureux could not see.</p> - -<p>Lamoureux sprang to his feet. "Don't shoot, you fool!"</p> - -<p>He was a little too late. The noise of the explosion rang out. -McCracken said, "Sorry, sir, I didn't hear you until my finger had -already squeezed the trigger. But I wasn't trying to hit anything that -was alive. There was something that looked like a rock on that ridge—"</p> - -<p>The words died away in his throat. Lamoureux lifted his eyes and saw -something hovering in front of them, high in the air. It had eyes and -a mouth and, from these features, he knew that it was a huge head, as -large as a fair-sized house. There was a long, interminable stretch of -neck behind it, and somewhere in the rear he felt sure was a monstrous -body. But he wasted no time searching for that.</p> - -<p>The eyes were staring at the men unblinkingly. These eyes alone were -bigger than the men were. Then the neck stretched out and the head came -poking down.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Lamoureux turned and ran. It had been years since he had done much -physical exercise, but he made up for them now. Then, too, as the -captain of the expedition, he felt that the men might expect a certain -amount of leadership from him; it was with some dismay that he -discovered that all the rest were ahead of him. Picking up speed, he -passed Sprott, then Marsden, and then Gronski. Ahead of him someone -stumbled, and Lamoureux wasted a precious second helping the man to his -feet.</p> - -<p>The huge head opened, and a roar that almost knocked out his eardrums -vibrated through Lamoureux's body. The ground shook under him. That -meant that the whole creature, whatever it was, was coming after -them. Gronski and Sprott passed him as if someone had stuck a needle -into them, and Lamoureux, sobbing for breath, tripped over a rock and -plunged headlong.</p> - -<p>The ground beside him trembled as if it were being rocked by a series -of quakes. A deep shadow fell over him, and Lamoureux tried to dig his -prone body into the ground and not breathe. From far ahead, a scream of -terror split the air.</p> - -<p>Then the quakes and the shadow had passed, and Lamoureux dared to lift -his head. Far ahead, he could make out the gigantic neck stretching -into the air, its outline already vague through the falling snow. A few -feet away from him lay Gronski, and a little further on McCracken.</p> - -<p>None of the other men were in sight.</p> - -<p>The valiant McCracken, his rifle still clutched to him, was aiming at -the vanishing figure. Lamoureux said, "Don't bother, McCracken. You've -already done enough harm."</p> - -<p>"I just thought I'd get a shot at him, sir, while he was excited. He -wouldn't know where it came from."</p> - -<p>"He knew the first time. Don't bother, I say. You can't hurt him, and -he can do plenty to you."</p> - -<p>"All right, Captain."</p> - -<p>Lamoureux brushed some of the snow off him and tried to catch his -breath. "McCracken, if you're really anxious to play with your gun, you -may fire into the air. Five times."</p> - -<p>"Yes, sir."</p> - -<p>McCracken fired, and they waited. Lamoureux said, "I hope nobody was -hurt. I don't think any of them, if they're alive, are too far away to -hear those shots. We'll wait for them to assemble here and then start -out for those mountains again."</p> - -<p>"Yes, sir. Except, Captain, that it may be a little difficult—"</p> - -<p>"What'll be difficult?"</p> - -<p>"Finding those mountains. They just don't look the same."</p> - -<p>Lamoureux stared. The mountains stretched into the air exactly the same -as before, the same scarlet and gold colors glowing on their peaks, the -same shadows on their sides. But the saddlebacked ridge between them—</p> - -<p>Lamoureux looked again. The entire ridge was gone.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p class="ph3">IV</p> - -<p>The snow fell as steadily as ever while Lamoureux waited for the men to -assemble. Only two were missing now—Terrill and Carvalho. McCracken -had fired again and again into the air, but these two had not returned.</p> - -<p>Lamoureux decided finally, "It looks as if they're not coming. Gronski, -you take over for Carvalho. You'll stay here in charge of his group -while the rest of us climb the mountain."</p> - -<p>McCracken said, "You want me to come with you, don't you, Captain?"</p> - -<p>"I certainly do. I'm curious to know what in hell way of ruining this -expedition you'll think of next."</p> - -<p>"Aw, now, Captain, that isn't fair. How was I to know that whole ridge -was one big animal? You wouldn't have believed it yourself. Something -over five hundred feet high, with a neck even longer. We're not used to -them that big on Earth. Here the gravity's less, so it's okay. But even -Kalinoff—"</p> - -<p>"Don't talk to me about Kalinoff," said Lamoureux fiercely. "He's as -bad as you. That screwball!"</p> - -<p>"We're still trying to find him, aren't we, Captain?"</p> - -<p>"Sure, we're trying to find him, but how can we expect to do it?" Was -it his imagination, or did McCracken seem pleased? Lamoureux didn't -care. He went on, very bitterly, "He starts off by telling us that the -Mercurians are intelligent. You saw how intelligent they were. Where's -that specimen we had?"</p> - -<p>"He got lost in the shuffle," reported Gronski.</p> - -<p>"It's just as well. Kalinoff tells us of a landmark—two mountains -with a saddlebacked ridge between them. The ridge runs away, and our -landmark isn't a landmark any more. Then there's the weather—no rain, -no hail, no snow. Nothing but pure fresh air and nice clean sunshine." -He kicked at a snowdrift. "What's this thing supposed to be, a mirage?"</p> - -<p>McCracken said, "I know how you feel, Captain. But about this mountain -now—do you really think we ought to climb it?"</p> - -<p>"Why not?"</p> - -<p>"You can't see the top from here on account of the snow. It's coming -down in bigger flakes than ever now. That means you can't see here from -the top. And as the only reason we want to climb it is to take a look -around—"</p> - -<p>"We'll climb it anyway. Maybe it isn't snowing as hard on the other -side."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>They started off then, with Lamoureux barely keeping a tight enough -grip on his feelings to prevent his talking to himself. The mountain -was steep, but the gravity here being low, it was easy enough to -climb. McCracken demonstrated how easy it was by running up it full -speed. Lamoureux let him go, hoping that he would break his neck, but -McCracken's luck was too good. All he did was start a gentle landslide -that almost buried everybody else.</p> - -<p>As they rose, they got more and more of the Sun's rays and the -temperature went up slightly. The snow turned to rain, drenching them -to the skin, and they climbed all the faster, anxious to get the job -over with.</p> - -<p>At the top, the rain had died down to a faint drizzle. Lamoureux, -looking off into the distance, could see as through a veil a range -of sky-piercing mountains, their peaks gleaming in the Sun, their -roots cleft with deep shadowed valleys. Between almost every pair of -mountains was a saddlebacked ridge.</p> - -<p>"Landmarks," commented Lamoureux sourly. "To hell with them."</p> - -<p>"I told you it would be a waste of time, Captain."</p> - -<p>"Not in the least, McCracken. After all, you <i>might</i> have broken your -neck."</p> - -<p>They started down again, and in a half hour were back at the line where -the rain changed to snow. Another hour took them to Gronski again.</p> - -<p>Lamoureux shook his head. "No sign of Kalinoff."</p> - -<p>"What do we do now?"</p> - -<p>"We go back to the ship and carry on from there. I don't know what -steps we'll take after that, but at least we'll get back to shelter, -out of this snow."</p> - -<p>"Which way is the ship?"</p> - -<p>"That," said Lamoureux, "is one question we can find the answer to." He -spoke into his radio. "Haskell!"</p> - -<p>Haskell was alert. "Yes, Captain."</p> - -<p>"Keep your radio beam going. We're depending on it for direction."</p> - -<p>"Sure, Captain."</p> - -<p>Lamoureux snapped off the sending set. "Now let's get moving, before we -freeze to death."</p> - -<p>The return trip was a slow one. Their spirits were all low, even -McCracken's. Lamoureux pictured the return to Earth, the eager, and -then disappointed, reception, and the wave of ridicule that would -follow their account of the difficulties they had encountered.</p> - -<p>They stopped once to eat. Lamoureux estimated that they had supplies -for another two and a half months left in the ship, not counting what -would be needed for the return journey. They might as well stay here -until those supplies were used up. They might possibly find Kalinoff -during those two and a half months, although, with the Twilight Zone -of the whole planet to look in, and no decent clues, not to mention -the difficulties caused by the snow, the chances were none too bright. -Nevertheless, they would have to do their best.</p> - -<p>The meal came to an end, and they started off again. They had gone only -a few hundred yards, when Lamoureux noticed something wrong.</p> - -<p>"Haskell!"</p> - -<p>There was no reply. Haskell's radio beam had been shut off.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>This was a little too much. Lamoureux let loose a streak of profanity -that had even McCracken staring at him in awe. Then they started out -again, trying, through the falling snow, and over the rocky ground, -to keep in as straight a line as possible toward the ship. Lamoureux -managed to sustain his spirits only by thinking of what he would do to -his cook.</p> - -<p>Two hours later, he had an opportunity to put his plan into practice. -For out of the snow there emerged Haskell, and the men who had been -left with him at the ship. Haskell started to run toward Lamoureux the -moment he caught sight of the other group.</p> - -<p>"Here we are, Captain! We came as fast as we could!"</p> - -<p>Lamoureux's eyes were almost as cold as the snow. "How thoughtful of -you."</p> - -<p>"Who else is hurt, Captain?"</p> - -<p>"Nobody's hurt, but somebody is going to be."</p> - -<p>Haskell looked surprised. "I don't get it. You told me to come as fast -as I could, and you said that eight of the men were badly injured."</p> - -<p>"<i>I</i> told you?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, sir. I thought you were hurt yourself, sir. Your voice sounded -hoarse."</p> - -<p>Lamoureux's jaws were clenched together so tightly in his effort to -maintain his self-control that his teeth hurt. He unclenched them. "I -don't quite understand you, Haskell. My voice is as melodious as ever. -Something else is strange, too. You ask who <i>else</i> is hurt."</p> - -<p>"Yes, sir. We ran across Terrill a little while ago. He got brushed by -the tail of some animal and was walking around in a real daze."</p> - -<p>"How do you suppose we're walking? At any rate, I'm glad you found him. -See any signs of Carvalho?"</p> - -<p>"No, sir. We left the radio beam on to guide you—"</p> - -<p>"What's that? You're sure you left it on?"</p> - -<p>"Positive, sir."</p> - -<p>"Well, someone has turned it off! Someone—Oh, my God!"</p> - -<p>It was so damn simple, and he had never even thought of it. Carvalho -was the man. Carvalho was shrewd and quiet, a man who could keep his -intentions to himself and wreck an expedition without so much as -being suspected. Subconsciously, Lamoureux hadn't quite believed in -McCracken's guilt, despite the seeming evidence against him. McCracken -had too genuine a love of horseplay, and of childish showing off.</p> - -<p>These things were hard to pretend. You didn't put snow down somebody's -back when you were plotting to leave him marooned on a deserted planet. -And you didn't impress people by making a seventy-five foot broad jump -when you could impress them much more effectively by condemning them -to slow death.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Once he had thought of it, Lamoureux couldn't doubt. Carvalho had -turned off the radio beam at the ship. By now the <i>Astrolight</i> was -probably somewhere in space, possibly proceeding to some rendezvous -with a rival expedition. Carvalho wouldn't dare appear back on Earth as -the lone passenger returning on Lamoureux's ship. But he wouldn't have -to. He could set the <i>Astrolight</i> adrift, be "rescued" by the people -who had employed him, and come back to tell of the dangers he had -braved on Mercury.</p><hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus3.jpg" width="350" height="500" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>It all fitted in. Carvalho had been the one who had tried to hamper -their work from the moment they had landed. When McCracken had shot -that Mercurian—</p> - -<p>Lamoureux asked, "What happened then? Try to remember."</p> - -<p>McCracken scratched his head vigorously. "I think Carvalho saw this -Mercurian and started to yell and run. I thought he was scared. That's -why I shot."</p> - -<p>So Carvalho had really been responsible for the shooting. Lamoureux -asked, "Why didn't you report that Carvalho started to yell and run?"</p> - -<p>"Well, Captain, you don't expect me to go around telling you things -like that about another guy?"</p> - -<p>The words, "You fool," had been on Lamoureux's lips, but he bit them -back. After all, who had been the bigger fool, McCracken or he himself, -who had insisted that Carvalho get the radio? There was no doubt about -the answer to that one.</p> - -<p>As for the occasion when the radio had begun to emit its mysterious -code signals, the explanation for that was simple enough, too. The -people who were in contact with Carvalho had sent their messages, not -knowing whether strangers might be listening in, but not caring either. -No one could make head or tail of the mysterious sounds but Carvalho. -McCracken had, in fact, considered the noises a new strange form of -static that had interfered when he tried to talk to Haskell.</p> - -<p>Lamoureux felt like asking McCracken to kick him in the pants. As that -would have been bad for discipline, he substituted an order to get -started back toward the ship. There was the faintest of chances that -Carvalho had delayed, or had been forced by some accident to delay, his -departure back to Earth.</p> - -<p>It was snowing harder than ever now, and it was difficult for Lamoureux -to see more than fifty feet ahead of him. The rim of the Sun was -blotted out so thoroughly that it was almost as dark as on a moonless -night. Nevertheless he pressed on doggedly.</p> - -<p>It was not until six hours later, after he and the men had been -wandering around aimlessly for a long enough time to have reached the -ship and returned, that he admitted to himself that they were lost.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p class="ph3">V</p> - -<p>Not that it mattered a great deal. Lamoureux realized perfectly well -that by this time the <i>Astrolight</i> was on its return journey to Earth. -All the same, it was disheartening to know that he was so completely -unable to find his way about on this planet.</p> - -<p>The question now was what to do. They had little enough food, and not -too much in the way of other supplies. They would have to live off the -planet until some kind of rescue expedition had been organized to save -<i>them</i>. If Kalinoff had done it, they could, too. Lamoureux's face -burned as he pictured himself striding over to Kalinoff, staring at the -man solemnly, and uttering those historic words, "Dr. Livingston, I -presume." That was one scene that would never take place.</p> - -<p>It was growing colder by the hour. That meant that they would have to -move over toward the Hot Side before the Sun sank beneath the horizon -altogether.</p> - -<p>McCracken, the most cheerful of the lot, had a glum face as he asked, -"What do we do now, Captain?"</p> - -<p>"First we eat, McCracken. Then we move toward the Sun. Just one word, -McCracken. You like to shoot?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, sir."</p> - -<p>"Save your bullets. I have an idea we're going to need them before this -little adventure of ours is finished."</p> - -<p>Then Lamoureux sat down on a snowy rock, leaned back, and thought -everything over. It was improbable now that any of his kids would ever -get to Lunar Tech. Well, that wasn't anything to be sorry about. The -life of ease and luxury of the place had ruined more than one promising -youngster. His wife would have to get along with a single robot. It -would do her good to wait on the family for a change. As for his -relatives—to hell with them. Let them find somebody else to sponge on.</p> - -<p>He was busy with these cheerful reflections when he heard McCracken -shout, "Hey!"</p> - -<p>A figure loomed out of the snow ahead.</p> - -<p>The figure paused and stared at Lamoureux.</p> - -<p>McCracken yelled, "Hey, Captain!"</p> - -<p>The figure came forward, bowed, and showed its teeth. "Mr. Stanley, I -presume?"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Looking back at it later, Lamoureux decided that this was the most -mortifying moment of his life. He had been sent to save Kalinoff.</p> - -<p>Instead, Kalinoff had saved him.</p> - -<p>It was the screwball explorer, of course. Lamoureux recognized him at -once. Kalinoff was a shrimp, a fraction of an inch below five feet in -height, and he had a face like a monkey's. Having taken a good look at -him, Lamoureux felt, "My God, is this what we've been trying to rescue?"</p> - -<p>Kalinoff was not alone. He was accompanied by a pair of penguin-like -Mercurians, who looked just as sly and acted with as little -intelligence as the one they had previously encountered. Lamoureux had -no idea how Kalinoff had managed to get along with them.</p> - -<p>Kalinoff, it seemed, was angry. "Why in hell," he demanded, "didn't you -have sense enough to return to the ship?"</p> - -<p>Lamoureux stared.</p> - -<p>"You mean the <i>Astrolight</i> is still here?"</p> - -<p>"Of course it's here. And the radio beam is on."</p> - -<p>"You're sure—the beam is on?"</p> - -<p>"Of all the nitwits to let loose on an unfriendly planet, you're about -the worst. I've just told you it's on, haven't I? It's been on for the -past two hours."</p> - -<p>Lamoureux swallowed hard. "And Carvalho?"</p> - -<p>"There's a man who I assume is Carvalho. He's tied up. I've got a -couple of friends watching him to make sure he doesn't get away."</p> - -<p>"Friends?"</p> - -<p>"Like these." Kalinoff indicated the Mercurians. "Come on. I'd like to -get back to Earth. There's a girl I've got to see."</p> - -<p>"But who—what happened to Carvalho?"</p> - -<p>"He seemed anxious to leave, so I pushed my fist down his throat. -Incidentally, there was a radio going, with a code message."</p> - -<p>"Short distance, radio?"</p> - -<p>"Interplanetary. The ship's hull acted as a receiver, naturally. You -could get the message anywhere on the planet by arranging a short -distance automatic re-broadcast."</p> - -<p>"So that's what Carvalho did."</p> - -<p>"If I'm late this time," said Kalinoff worriedly, "she and I are -finished. She's willing to put up with dates six months in advance, but -there's a limit, and I've been late too often. And she's too nice to -lose. Get a move on, quick."</p> - -<p>Lamoureux, in a daze, complied. They were only an hour's journey from -the ship, and, under Kalinoff's urging, they made it in forty minutes. -Carvalho, looking terrified of the two Mercurians who were standing -over him with their teeth showing, yelled, "Help!"</p> - -<p>"Never mind him," Kalinoff ordered. "Hop into the ship."</p> - -<p>"But what are we going to do with him?"</p> - -<p>"Well, what's he been up to?"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Lamoureux explained briefly, and Kalinoff grunted. "You fellows are a -bunch of screwballs, setting out on an expedition like this without -proper equipment and proper information about Mercury." At the word -"screwballs," Lamoureux winced, but remained silent. Maybe it <i>was</i> -deserved. Kalinoff went on, "As for Carvalho, that's simple. Leave him -behind. He intended to maroon you, didn't he? Maroon him instead. But -first let him send one interplanetary radio message to his friends."</p> - -<p>"In code? We won't know what it is!"</p> - -<p>Kalinoff grinned. "We'll leave his punishment up to him. Suppose he -reports you've found me. Then his pals won't come for him, and he's -going to stay here indefinitely."</p> - -<p>"What if he reports you <i>haven't</i> been found?"</p> - -<p>"Then they come for him, discover he's a liar, and there's hell to pay. -Either way, he's in for a lousy time."</p> - -<p>"They'll murder him."</p> - -<p>"Oh, no. We'll let them know that we're reporting the facts of the -case to the Interplanetary Commission. They'd never dare commit murder."</p> - -<p>Lamoureux objected doubtfully, "Wouldn't the Mercurians kill him?"</p> - -<p>"If he treats them right, they'll treat him right. They're not as -intelligent as I thought at first—maybe you've discovered that—but -they have their points."</p> - -<p>"They're wonderful chess players."</p> - -<p>"Fair," said Kalinoff critically. "Only fair. I always beat them, -but then, naturally, I'm very good. Maybe that's why they admire me. -They have great mathematical abilities, and they can visualize well, -but their language is primitive and in some ways they're halfwits. -There have been plenty of mathematical prodigies on Earth just like -them—wonders at calculating, and fools at everything else. To hell -with them. Let's get started."</p> - -<p>"Wait a minute, Kalinoff. What about those huge beasts? Won't they be -dangerous to Carvalho?"</p> - -<p>"Oh, them." Kalinoff chuckled. "I certainly gave you some off-beam -instructions before that radio of mine went on the blink. I really -thought at first that those two mountains I described with the -saddlebacked ridge between them would make a good landmark. Two days -afterward, I discovered that the ridges were living creatures. The -things have a habit of sheltering themselves from the Sun between a -pair of mountains. They wrap their necks around their bodies, tuck -their heads beside them, and you'd never know they were alive. They -don't move for days at a time."</p> - -<p>"But when they <i>do</i> move—"</p> - -<p>"Leave them alone, and they leave you alone."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The Captain asked, "What about the rain and snow?"</p> - -<p>"I may as well clear this up once and for all. The rain and snow were -my doing. After I had told you to rely on the Mercurians and described -the landmark, I discovered that the Mercurians were nitwits and the -landmark a false alarm. That meant that, once you landed, you'd never -find me except by accident. That put it up to me to find you.</p> - -<p>"As you may have heard, normally there's no such thing as rain or snow -on Mercury. But there is water. And there is a continual process of -transfer going on. The water flows through subterranean channels to the -Hot Side, evaporates, and is carried over in the air to the Cold Side. -There it deposits on the ground eventually as ice, melts, and goes -through the whole process again."</p> - -<p>"Why doesn't it rain?"</p> - -<p>"Because there's no dust in Mercury's air. The absence of a rapidly -alternating day and night means that the air doesn't circulate on the -same scale as on Earth. Practically no wind, combined with little -erosion, means little dust. The water-laden air cools off and becomes -super-saturated at the Twilight Zone. But there are no clouds, and -there's no precipitation because the water needs either dust or ions to -condense on. In a Wilson cloud chamber, an experimenter furnishes it -with ions. Here on Mercury I furnished it with dust.</p> - -<p>"I gave the Mercurians rifles and explosive bullets, and taught them to -shoot into the air. It was quite a job, but they learned. The explosion -spreads a cloud of dust, the water condenses, and you have rain or -snow, depending on the temperature. I impressed it upon their brains, -such as they are, that the presence of human beings calls for a Fourth -of July celebration—shooting into the air. And there you are. I had -the occurrence of rain and snow reported to me, moved toward wherever -the snow was thickest, and found the ship."</p> - -<p>"Another thing—"</p> - -<p>"I've talked enough. That dame won't wait forever. Which will it be, -Carvalho, the Lady or the Tiger?"</p> - -<p>They listened in curiosity as Carvalho, tight-lipped, tapped out a -short message in code. They didn't ask him what it was.</p> - -<p>As the <i>Astrolight</i> drove upward away from Mercury, Lamoureux had one -last glimpse of the Mercurians shooting into the air. The snow was -coming down in enormous flakes two inches across, and Carvalho, staring -after the ship, was shivering and cursing. After they reported the -facts to the Interplanetary Commission, a ship would be sent to pick -him up—but it might take some time.</p> - -<p>"Let me tell you about this dame," said Kalinoff.</p> - -<p>Lamoureux listened patiently, got out his contract, and waited, with -pen ready, for the interplanetary screwball's signature.</p> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's The Weather on Mercury, by William Morrison - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WEATHER ON MERCURY *** - -***** This file should be named 50885-h.htm or 50885-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/0/8/8/50885/ - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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