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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..005f701 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #51483 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/51483) diff --git a/old/51483-h.zip b/old/51483-h.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 2ea424a..0000000 --- a/old/51483-h.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51483-h/51483-h.htm b/old/51483-h/51483-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index e508638..0000000 --- a/old/51483-h/51483-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1469 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" - "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> - <head> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=us-ascii" /> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> - <title> - The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Reluctant Heroes, by Frank M. Robinson. - </title> - <link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg" /> - - <style type="text/css"> - -body { - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - - h1,h2 { - text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ - clear: both; -} - -p { - margin-top: .51em; - text-align: justify; - margin-bottom: .49em; -} - -hr { - width: 33%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - margin-left: 33.5%; - margin-right: 33.5%; - clear: both; -} - -hr.chap {width: 65%; margin-left: 17.5%; margin-right: 17.5%;} -hr.tb {width: 45%; margin-left: 27.5%; margin-right: 27.5%;} - -.center {text-align: center;} - -.right {text-align: right;} - -.caption {font-weight: bold;} - -/* Images */ -.figcenter { - margin: auto; - text-align: center; -} - -div.titlepage { - text-align: center; - page-break-before: always; - page-break-after: always; -} - -div.titlepage p { - text-align: center; - text-indent: 0em; - font-weight: bold; - line-height: 1.5; - margin-top: 3em; -} - -.ph1, .ph2, .ph3, .ph4 { text-align: center; text-indent: 0em; font-weight: bold; } -.ph1 { font-size: xx-large; margin: .67em auto; } -.ph2 { font-size: x-large; margin: .75em auto; } -.ph3 { font-size: large; margin: .83em auto; } -.ph4 { font-size: medium; margin: 1.12em auto; } - -.blockquot { - margin-left: 5%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - - - </style> - </head> -<body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Reluctant Heroes, by Frank M. Robinson - -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 Reluctant Heroes - -Author: Frank M. Robinson - -Release Date: March 17, 2016 [EBook #51483] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE RELUCTANT HEROES *** - - - - -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="386" height="500" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="titlepage"> -<h1>The Reluctant Heroes</h1> - -<p>By FRANK M. ROBINSON</p> - -<p>Illustrated by DON SIBLEY</p> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br /> -Galaxy Science Fiction January 1951.<br /> -Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that<br /> -the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus1.jpg" width="600" height="173" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph3">Pioneers have always resented their wanderlust, hated<br /> -their hardships. But the future brings a new grudge—when<br /> -pioneers stay put and scholars do the exploring!</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><i>The very young man sat on the edge of the sofa and looked nervous. He -carefully studied his fingernails and ran his hands through his hair -and picked imaginary lint off the upholstery.</i></p> - -<p><i>"I have a chance to go with the first research expedition to Venus," -he said.</i></p> - -<p><i>The older man studied the very young man thoughtfully and then leaned -over to his humidor and offered him a cigaret. "It's nice to have the -new air units now. There was a time when we had to be very careful -about things like smoking."</i></p> - -<p><i>The very young man was annoyed.</i></p> - -<p><i>"I don't think I want to go," he blurted. "I don't think I would care -to spend two years there."</i></p> - -<p><i>The older man blew a smoke ring and watched it drift toward the air -exhaust vent.</i></p> - -<p><i>"You mean you would miss it here, the people you've known and grown -up with, the little familiar things that have made up your life here. -You're afraid the glamor would wear off and you would get to hate it on -Venus."</i></p> - -<p><i>The very young man nodded miserably. "I guess that's it."</i></p> - -<p><i>"Anything else?"</i></p> - -<p><i>The very young man found his fingernails extremely fascinating again -and finally said, in a low voice, "Yes, there is."</i></p> - -<p><i>"A girl?"</i></p> - -<p><i>A nod confirmed this.</i></p> - -<p><i>It was the older man's turn to look thoughtful. "You know, I'm sure, -that psychologists and research men agree that research stations should -be staffed by couples. That is, of course, as soon as it's practical."</i></p> - -<p><i>"But that might be a long time!" the very young man protested.</i></p> - -<p><i>"It might be—but sometimes it's sooner than you think. And the goal -is worth it."</i></p> - -<p><i>"I suppose so, but—"</i></p> - -<p><i>The older man smiled. "Still the reluctant heroes," he said, somewhat -to himself.</i></p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Chapman stared at the radio key.</p> - -<p>Three years on the Moon and they didn't want him to come back.</p> - -<p>Three years on the Moon and they thought he'd be glad to stay for more. -Just raise his salary or give him a bonus, the every-man-has-his-price -idea. They probably thought he liked it there.</p> - -<p>Oh, sure, he loved it. Canned coffee, canned beans, canned pills, -and canned air until your insides felt as though they were plated -with tin. Life in a cramped, smelly little hut where you could take -only ten steps in any one direction. Their little scientific home of -tomorrow with none of the modern conveniences, a charming place where -you couldn't take a shower, couldn't brush your teeth, and your kidneys -didn't work right.</p> - -<p>And for double his salary they thought he'd be glad to stay for another -year and a half. Or maybe three. He should probably be glad he had the -opportunity.</p> - -<p>The key started to stutter again, demanding an answer.</p> - -<p>He tapped out his reply: "<i>No!</i>"</p> - -<p>There was a silence and then the key stammered once more in a sudden -fit of bureaucratic rage. Chapman stuffed a rag under it and ignored -it. He turned to the hammocks, strung against the bulkhead on the other -side of the room.</p> - -<p>The chattering of the key hadn't awakened anybody; they were still -asleep, making the animal noises that people usually make in slumber. -Dowden, half in the bottom hammock and half on the floor, was snoring -peacefully. Dahl, the poor kid who was due for stopover, was mumbling -to himself. Julius Klein, with that look of ineffable happiness on his -face, looked as if he had just squirmed under the tent to his personal -idea of heaven. Donley and Bening were lying perfectly still, their -covers not mussed, sleeping very lightly.</p> - -<p>Lord, Chapman thought, I'll be happy when I can see some other faces.</p> - -<p>"What'd they want?" Klein had one eyelid open and a questioning look on -his face.</p> - -<p>"They wanted me to stay until the next relief ship lands," Chapman -whispered back.</p> - -<p>"What did you say?"</p> - -<p>He shrugged. "No."</p> - -<p>"You kept it short," somebody else whispered. It was Donley, up and -sitting on the side of his hammock. "If it had been me, I would have -told them just what they could do about it."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The others were awake now, with the exception of Dahl who had his face -to the bulkhead and a pillow over his head.</p> - -<p>Dowden rubbed his eyes sleepily. "Sore, aren't you?"</p> - -<p>"Kind of. Who wouldn't be?"</p> - -<p>"Well, don't let it throw you. They've never been here on the Moon. -They don't know what it's like. All they're trying to do is get a good -man to stay on the job a while longer."</p> - -<p>"<i>All</i> they're trying to do," Chapman said sarcastically. "They've got -a fat chance."</p> - -<p>"They think you've found a home here," Donley said.</p> - -<p>"Why the hell don't you guys shut up until morning?" Dahl was awake, -looking bitter. "Some of us still have to stay here, you know. Some of -us aren't going back today."</p> - -<p>No, Chapman thought, some of us aren't going back. You aren't. And -Dixon's staying, too. Only Dixon isn't ever going back.</p> - -<p>Klein jerked his thumb toward Dahl's bunk, held a finger to his lips, -and walked noiselessly over to the small electric stove. It was his day -for breakfast duty.</p> - -<p>The others started lacing up their bunks, getting ready for their last -day of work on the Moon. In a few hours they'd be relieved by members -of the Third research group and they'd be on their way back to Earth.</p> - -<p>And that includes me, Chapman thought. I'm going home. I'm finally -going home.</p> - -<p>He walked silently to the one small, quartz window in the room. It was -morning—the Moon's "morning"—and he shivered slightly. The rays of -the Sun were just striking the far rim of the crater and long shadows -shot across the crater floor. The rest of it was still blanketed in -a dark jumble of powdery pumice and jagged peaks that would make the -Black Hills of Dakota look like paradise.</p> - -<p>A hundred yards from the research bunker he could make out the small -mound of stones and the forlorn homemade cross, jury-rigged out of -small condensed milk tins slid over crossed iron bars. You could still -see the footprints in the powdery soil where the group had gathered -about the grave. It had been more than eighteen months ago, but there -was no wind to wear those tracks away. They'd be there forever.</p> - -<p>That's what happened to guys like Dixon, Chapman thought. On the Moon, -one mistake could use up your whole quota of chances.</p> - -<p>Klein came back with the coffee. Chapman took a cup, gagged, and forced -himself to swallow the rest of it. It had been in the can for so long -you could almost taste the glue on the label.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Donley was warming himself over his cup, looking thoughtful. Dowden and -Bening were struggling into their suits, getting ready to go outside. -Dahl was still sitting on his hammock, trying to ignore them.</p> - -<p>"Think we ought to radio the space station and see if they've left -there yet?" Klein asked.</p> - -<p>"I talked to them on the last call," Chapman said. "The relief ship -left there twelve hours ago. They should get here"—he looked at his -watch—"in about six and a half hours."</p> - -<p>"Chap, you know, I've been thinking," Donley said quietly. "You've -been here just twice as long as the rest of us. What's the first thing -you're going to do once you get back?"</p> - -<p>It hit them, then. Dowden and Bening looked blank for a minute and -blindly found packing cases to sit on. The top halves of their suits -were still hanging on the bulkhead. Klein lowered his coffee cup and -looked grave. Even Dahl glanced up expectantly.</p> - -<p>"I don't know," Chapman said slowly. "I guess I was trying not to think -of that. I suppose none of us have. We've been like little kids who -have waited so long for Christmas that they just can't believe it when -it's finally Christmas Eve."</p> - -<p>Klein nodded in agreement. "I haven't been here three years like you -have, but I think I know what you mean." He warmed up to it as the idea -sank in. "Just what the hell <i>are</i> you going to do?"</p> - -<p>"Nothing very spectacular," Chapman said, smiling. "I'm going to rent -a room over Times Square, get a recording of a rikky-tik piano, and -drink and listen to the music and watch the people on the street below. -Then I think I'll see somebody."</p> - -<p>"Who's the somebody?" Donley asked.</p> - -<p>Chapman grinned. "Oh, just somebody. What are you going to do, Dick?"</p> - -<p>"Well, I'm going to do something practical. First of all, I want to -turn over all my geological samples to the government. Then I'm going -to sell my life story to the movies and then—why, then, I think I'll -get drunk!"</p> - -<p>Everybody laughed and Chapman turned to Klein.</p> - -<p>"How about you, Julius?"</p> - -<p>Klein looked solemn. "Like Dick, I'll first get rid of my obligations -to the expedition. Then I think I'll go home and see my wife."</p> - -<p>They were quiet. "I thought all members of the groups were supposed to -be single," Donley said.</p> - -<p>"They are. And I can see their reasons for it. But who could pass up -the money the Commission was paying?"</p> - -<p>"If I had to do it all over again? Me," said Donley promptly.</p> - -<p>They laughed. Somebody said: "Go play your record, Chap. Today's the -day for it."</p> - -<p>The phonograph was a small, wind-up model that Chapman had smuggled in -when he had landed with the First group. The record was old and the -shellac was nearly worn off, but the music was good.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p>Way Back Home by Al Lewis.</p></div> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>They ran through it twice. They were beginning to feel it now, Chapman -thought. They were going to go home in a little while and the idea was -just starting to sink in.</p> - -<p>"You know, Chap," Donley said, "it won't seem like the same old Moon -without you on it. Why, we'll look at it when we're out spooning or -something and it just won't have the same old appeal."</p> - -<p>"Like they say in the army," Bening said, "you never had it so good. -You found a home here."</p> - -<p>The others chimed in and Chapman grinned. Yesterday or a week ago they -couldn't have done it. He had been there too long and he had hated it -too much.</p> - -<p>The party quieted down after a while and Dowden and Bening finished -getting into their suits. They still had a section of the sky to map -before they left. Donley was right after them. There was an outcropping -of rock that he wanted a sample of and some strata he wished to -investigate.</p> - -<p>And the time went faster when you kept busy.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus2.jpg" width="600" height="339" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>Chapman stopped them at the lock. "Remember to check your suits for -leaks," he warned. "And check the valves of your oxygen tanks."</p> - -<p>Donley looked sour. "I've gone out at least five hundred times," he -said, "and you check me each time."</p> - -<p>"And I'd check you five hundred more," Chapman said. "It takes only -one mistake. And watch out for blisters under the pumice crust. You go -through one of those and that's it, brother."</p> - -<p>Donley sighed. "Chap, you watch us like an old mother hen. You see we -check our suits, you settle our arguments, you see that we're not bored -and that we stay healthy and happy. I think you'd blow our noses for us -if we caught cold. But some day, Chap old man, you're gonna find out -that your little boys can watch out for themselves!"</p> - -<p>But he checked his suit for leaks and tested the valve of his tank -before he left.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus3.jpg" width="320" height="500" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>Only Klein and Chapman were left in the bunker. Klein was at the work -table, carefully labeling some lichen specimens.</p> - -<p>"I never knew you were married," Chapman said.</p> - -<p>Klein didn't look up. "There wasn't much sense in talking about it. You -just get to thinking and wanting—and there's nothing you can do about -it. You talk about it and it just makes it worse."</p> - -<p>"She let you go without any fuss, huh?"</p> - -<p>"No, she didn't make any fuss. But I don't think she liked to see me -go, either." He laughed a little. "At least I hope she didn't."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>They were silent for a while. "What do you miss most, Chap?" Klein -asked. "Oh, I know what we said a little while ago, but I mean -seriously."</p> - -<p>Chapman thought a minute. "I think I miss the sky," he said quietly. -"The blue sky and the green grass and trees with leaves on them that -turn color in the Fall. I think, when I go back, that I'd like to go -out in a rain storm and strip and feel the rain on my skin."</p> - -<p>He stopped, feeling embarrassed. Klein's expression was encouraging. -"And then I think I'd like to go downtown and just watch the shoppers -on the sidewalks. Or maybe go to a burlesque house and smell the cheap -perfume and the popcorn and the people sweating in the dark."</p> - -<p>He studied his hands. "I think what I miss most is people—all kinds -of people. Bad people and good people and fat people and thin people, -and people I can't understand. People who wouldn't know an atom from an -artichoke. And people who wouldn't give a damn. We're a quarter of a -million miles from nowhere, Julius, and to make it literary, I think I -miss my fellow man more than anything."</p> - -<p>"Got a girl back home?" Klein asked almost casually.</p> - -<p>"Yes."</p> - -<p>"You're not like Dahl. You've never mentioned it."</p> - -<p>"Same reason you didn't mention your wife. You get to thinking about -it."</p> - -<p>Klein flipped the lid on the specimen box. "Going to get married when -you get back?"</p> - -<p>Chapman was at the port again, staring out at the bleak landscape. "We -hope to."</p> - -<p>"Settle down in a small cottage and raise lots of little Chapmans, eh?"</p> - -<p>Chapman nodded.</p> - -<p>"That's the only future," Klein said.</p> - -<p>He put away the box and came over to the port. Chapman moved over so -they both could look out.</p> - -<p>"Chap." Klein hesitated a moment. "What happened to Dixon?"</p> - -<p>"He died," Chapman said. "He was a good kid, all wrapped up in science. -Being on the Moon was the opportunity of a lifetime. He thought so much -about it that he forgot a lot of little things—like how to stay alive. -The day before the Second group came, he went out to finish some work -he was interested in. He forgot to check for leaks and whether or not -the valve on his tank was all the way closed. We couldn't get to him in -time."</p> - -<p>"He had his walkie-talkie with him?"</p> - -<p>"Yes. It worked fine, too. We heard everything that went through his -mind at the end."</p> - -<p>Klein's face was blank. "What's your real job here, Chap? Why does -somebody have to stay for stopover?"</p> - -<p>"Hell, lots of reasons, Julius. You can't get a whole relief crew and -let them take over cold. They have to know where you left off. They -have to know where things are, how things work, what to watch out for. -And then, because you've been here a year and a half and know the -ropes, you have to watch them to see that they stay alive in spite of -themselves. The Moon's a new environment and you have to learn how to -live in it. There's a lot of things to learn—and some people just -never learn."</p> - -<p>"You're nursemaid, then."</p> - -<p>"I suppose you could call it that."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Klein said, "You're not a scientist, are you?"</p> - -<p>"No, you should know that. I came as the pilot of the first ship. We -made the bunker out of parts of the ship so there wasn't anything to -go back on. I'm a good mechanic and I made myself useful with the -machinery. When it occurred to us that somebody was going to have to -stay over, I volunteered. I thought the others were so important that -it was better they should take their samples and data back to Earth -when the first relief ship came."</p> - -<p>"You wouldn't do it again, though, would you?"</p> - -<p>"No, I wouldn't."</p> - -<p>"Do you think Dahl will do as good a job as you've done here?"</p> - -<p>Chapman frowned. "Frankly, I hadn't thought of that. I don't believe -I care. I've put in my time; it's somebody else's turn now. He -volunteered for it. I think I was fair in explaining all about the job -when you talked it over among yourselves."</p> - -<p>"You did, but I don't think Dahl's the man for it. He's too young, too -much of a kid. He volunteered because he thought it made him look like -a hero. He doesn't have the judgment that an older man would have. That -you have."</p> - -<p>Chapman turned slowly around and faced Klein.</p> - -<p>"I'm not the indispensable man," he said slowly, "and even if I was, it -wouldn't make any difference to me. I'm sorry if Dahl is young. So was -I. I've lost three years up here. And I don't intend to lose any more."</p> - -<p>Klein held up his hands. "Look, Chap, I didn't mean you should stay. I -know how much you hate it and the time you put in up here. It's just—" -His voice trailed away. "It's just that I think it's such a damn -important job."</p> - -<p>Klein had gone out in a last search for rock lichens and Chapman -enjoyed one of his relatively few moments of privacy. He wandered over -to his bunk and opened his barracks bag. He checked the underwear and -his toothbrush and shaving kit for maybe the hundredth time and pushed -the clothing down farther in the canvas. It was foolish because the -bag was already packed and had been for a week. He remembered stalling -it off for as long as he could and then the quiet satisfaction about a -week before, when he had opened his small gear locker and transferred -its meager belongings to the bag.</p> - -<p>He hadn't actually needed to pack, of course. In less than twenty-four -hours he'd be back on Earth where he could drown himself in toothpaste -and buy more tee shirts than he could wear in a lifetime. He could -leave behind his shorts and socks and the outsize shirts he had -inherited from—who was it? Driesbach?—of the First group. Dahl could -probably use them or maybe one of the boys in the Third.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>But it wasn't like going home unless you packed. It was part of the -ritual, like marking off the last three weeks in pencil on the gray -steel of the bulkhead beside his hammock. Just a few hours ago, when he -woke up, he had made the last check mark and signed his name and the -date. His signature was right beneath Dixon's.</p> - -<p>He frowned when he thought of Dixon and slid back the catch on the top -of the bag and locked it. They should never have sent a kid like Dixon -to the Moon.</p> - -<p>He had just locked the bag when he heard the rumble of the airlock and -the soft hiss of air. Somebody had come back earlier than expected. He -watched the inner door swing open and the spacesuited figure clump in -and unscrew its helmet.</p> - -<p>Dahl. He had gone out to help Dowden on the Schmidt telescope. Maybe -Dowden hadn't needed any help, with Bening along. Or more likely, -considering the circumstances, Dahl wasn't much good at helping anybody -today.</p> - -<p>Dahl stripped off his suit. His face was covered with light beads of -sweat and his eyes were frightened.</p> - -<p>He moistened his lips slightly. "Do—do you think they'll ever have -relief ships up here more often than every eighteen months, Chap? I -mean, considering the advance of—"</p> - -<p>"No," Chapman interrupted bluntly. "I don't. Not at least for ten -years. The fuel's too expensive and the trip's too hazardous. On -freight charges alone you're worth your weight in platinum when they -send you here. Even if it becomes cheaper, Bob, it won't come about -so it will shorten stopover right away." He stopped, feeling a little -sorry for Dahl. "It won't be too bad. There'll be new men up here and -you'll pass a lot of time getting to know them."</p> - -<p>"Well, you see," Dahl started, "that's why I came back early. I wanted -to see you about stopover. It's that—well, I'll put it this way." He -seemed to be groping for an easy way to say what he wanted to. "I'm -engaged back home. Really nice girl, Chap, you'd like her if you knew -her." He fumbled in his pocket and found a photograph and put it on -the desk. "That's a picture of Alice, taken at a picnic we were on -together." Chapman didn't look. "She—we—expected to be married when -I got back. I never told her about stopover, Chap. She thinks I'll be -home tomorrow. I kept thinking, hoping, that maybe somehow—"</p> - -<p>He was fumbling it badly, Chapman thought.</p> - -<p>"You wanted to trade places with me, didn't you, Bob? You thought I -might stay for stopover again, in your place?"</p> - -<p>It hurt to look in Dahl's eyes. They were the eyes of a man who was -trying desperately to stop what he was about to do, but just couldn't -help himself.</p> - -<p>"Well, yes, more or less. Oh, God, Chap, I know you want to go home! -But I couldn't ask any of the others; you were the only one who could, -the only one who was qualified!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Dahl looked as though he was going to be sick. Chapman tried to recall -all he knew about him. Dahl, Robert. Good mathematician. Graduate from -one of the Ivy League schools. Father was a manufacturer of stoves or -something.</p> - -<p>It still didn't add, not quite. "You know I don't like it here any more -than you do," Chapman said slowly. "I may have commitments at home, -too. What made you think I would change my mind?"</p> - -<p>Dahl took the plunge. "Well, you see," he started eagerly, too far gone -to remember such a thing as pride, "you know my father's pretty well -fixed. We would make it worth your while, Chap." He was feverish. "It -would mean eighteen more months, Chap, but they'd be well-paid months!"</p> - -<p>Chapman felt tired. The good feeling he had about going home was slowly -evaporating.</p> - -<p>"If you have any report to make, I think you had better get at it," -he cut in, keeping all the harshness he felt out of his voice. "It'll -be too late after the relief ship leaves. It'll be easier to give the -captain your report than try to radio it back to Earth from here."</p> - -<p>He felt sorrier for Dahl than he could ever remember having felt for -anybody. Long after going home, Dahl would remember this.</p> - -<p>It would eat at him like a cancer.</p> - -<p>Cowardice is the one thing for which no man ever forgives himself.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Donley was eating a sandwich and looking out the port, so, naturally, -he saw the ship first. "Well, whaddya know!" he shouted. "We got -company!" He dashed for his suit. Dowden and Bening piled after him and -all three started for the lock.</p> - -<p>Chapman was standing in front of it. "Check your suits," he said -softly. "Just be sure to check."</p> - -<p>"Oh, what the hell, Chap!" Donley started angrily. Then he shut up and -went over his suit. He got to his tank and turned white. Empty. It was -only half a mile to the relief rocket, so somebody would probably have -got to him in time, but.... He bit his lips and got a full tank.</p> - -<p>Chapman and Klein watched them dash across the pumice, making the -tremendous leaps they used to read about in the Sunday supplements. The -port of the rocket had opened and tiny figures were climbing down the -ladder. The small figures from the bunker reached them and did a short -jig of welcome. Then the figures linked arms and started back. Chapman -noticed one—it was probably Donley—pat the ship affectionately before -he started back.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus4.jpg" width="600" height="228" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>They were in the lock and the air pumped in and then they were in -the bunker, taking off their suits. The newcomers were impressed and -solemn, very much aware of the tremendous responsibility that rested on -their shoulders. Like Donley and Klein and the members of the Second -group had been when they had landed. Like Chapman had been in the First.</p> - -<p>Donley and the others were all over them.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>How was it back on Earth? Who had won the series? Was so-and-so still -teaching at the university? What was the international situation?</p> - -<p>Was the sky still blue, was the grass still green, did the leaves still -turn color in the autumn, did people still love and cry and were there -still people who didn't know what an atom was and didn't give a damn?</p> - -<p>Chapman had gone through it all before. But was Ginny still Ginny?</p> - -<p>Some of the men in the Third had their luggage with them. One of -them—a husky, red-faced kid named Williams—was opening a box about a -foot square and six inches deep. Chapman watched him curiously.</p> - -<p>"Well, I'll be damned!" Klein said. "Hey, guys, look what we've got -here!"</p> - -<p>Chapman and the others crowded around and suddenly Donley leaned over -and took a deep breath. In the box, covering a thick layer of ordinary -dirt, was a plot of grass. They looked at it, awed. Klein put out his -hand and laid it on top of the grass.</p> - -<p>"I like the feel of it," he said simply.</p> - -<p>Chapman cut off a single blade with his fingernail and put it between -his lips. It had been years since he had seen grass and had the luxury -of walking on it and lying on its cool thickness during those sultry -summer nights when it was too hot to sleep indoors.</p> - -<p>Williams blushed. "I thought we could spare a little water for it and -maybe use the ultraviolet lamp on it some of the time. Couldn't help -but bring it along; it seemed sort of like a symbol...." He looked -embarrassed.</p> - -<p>Chapman sympathized. If he had had any sense, he'd have tried to -smuggle something like that up to the Moon instead of his phonograph.</p> - -<p>"That's valuable grass," Dahl said sharply. "Do you realize that at -current freight rates up here, it's worth about ten dollars a blade?"</p> - -<p>Williams looked stricken and somebody said, "Oh, shut up, Dahl."</p> - -<p>One of the men separated from the group and came over to Chapman. He -held out his hand and said, "My name's Eberlein. Captain of the relief -ship. I understand you're in charge here?"</p> - -<p>Chapman nodded and shook hands. They hadn't had a captain on the First -ship. Just a pilot and crew. Eberlein looked every inch a captain, too. -Craggy face, gray hair, the firm chin of a man who was sure of himself.</p> - -<p>"You might say I'm in charge here," Chapman said.</p> - -<p>"Well, look, Mr. Chapman, is there any place where we can talk together -privately?"</p> - -<p>They walked over to one corner of the bunker. "This is about as private -as we can get, captain," Chapman said. "What's on your mind?"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Eberlein found a packing crate and made himself comfortable. He looked -at Chapman.</p> - -<p>"I've always wanted to meet the man who's spent more time here than -anybody else," he began.</p> - -<p>"I'm sure you wanted to see me for more reasons than just curiosity."</p> - -<p>Eberlein took out a pack of cigarets. "Mind if I smoke?"</p> - -<p>Chapman jerked a thumb toward Dahl. "Ask him. He's in charge now."</p> - -<p>The captain didn't bother. He put the pack away. "You know we have big -plans for the station," he said.</p> - -<p>"I hadn't heard of them."</p> - -<p>"Oh, yes, <i>big plans</i>. They're working on unmanned, open-side rockets -now that could carry cargo and sheet steel for more bunkers like this. -Enable us to enlarge the unit, have a series of bunkers all linked -together. Make good laboratories and living quarters for you people." -His eyes swept the room. "Have a little privacy for a change."</p> - -<p>Chapman nodded. "They could use a little privacy up here."</p> - -<p>The captain noticed the pronoun. "Well, that's one of the reasons why -I wanted to talk to you, Chapman. The Commission talked it over and -they'd like to see you stay. They feel if they're going to enlarge it, -add more bunkers and have more men up here, that a man of practical -experience should be running things. They figure that you're the only -man who's capable and who's had the experience."</p> - -<p>The captain vaguely felt the approach was all wrong.</p> - -<p>"Is that all?"</p> - -<p>Eberlein was ill at ease. "Naturally you'd be paid well. I don't -imagine any man would like being here all the time. They're prepared to -double your salary—maybe even a bonus in addition—and let you have -full charge. You'd be Director of the Luna Laboratories."</p> - -<p>All this and a title too, Chapman thought.</p> - -<p>"That's it?" Chapman asked.</p> - -<p>Eberlein frowned. "Well, the Commission said they'd be willing to -consider anything else you had in mind, if it was more money or...."</p> - -<p>"The answer is no," Chapman said. "I'm not interested in more money -for staying because I'm not interested in staying. Money can't buy it, -captain. I'm sorry, but I'm afraid that you'd have to stay up here to -appreciate that.</p> - -<p>"Bob Dahl is staying for stopover. If there's something important about -the project or impending changes, perhaps you'd better tell him before -you go."</p> - -<p>He walked away.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Chapman held the letter in both hands, but the paper still shook. The -others had left the bunker, the men of the Second taking those of -the Third in hand to show them the machinery and apparatus that was -outside, point out the deadly blisters underneath the pumice covering, -and show them how to keep out of the Sun and how to watch their air -supply.</p> - -<p>He was glad he was alone. He felt something trickle down his face and -tasted salt on his lips.</p> - -<p>The mail had been distributed and he had saved his latest letter until -the others had left so he could read it in privacy. It was a short -letter, very short.</p> - -<p>It started: "Dear Joel: This isn't going to be a nice letter, but I -thought it best that you should know before you came home."</p> - -<p>There was more to it, but he hadn't even needed to read it to know what -it said. It wasn't original, of course. Women who change their minds -weren't exactly an innovation, either.</p> - -<p>He crumpled the paper and held a match to it and watched it burn on the -steel floor.</p> - -<p>Three years had been a long time. It was too long a time to keep loving -a man who was a quarter of a million miles away. She could look up in -the night sky when she was out with somebody else now and tell him how -she had once been engaged to the Man in the Moon.</p> - -<p>It would make good conversation. It would be funny. A joke.</p> - -<p>He got up and walked over to his phonograph and put the record on. The -somewhat scratchy voice sang as if nothing had happened</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p>Way Back Home by Al Lewis.</p></div> - -<p>The record caught and started repeating the last line.</p> - -<p>He hadn't actually wanted to play it. It had been an automatic -response. He had played it lots of times before when he had thought of -Earth. Of going home.</p> - -<p>He crossed over and threw the record across the bunker and watched it -shatter on the steel wall and the pieces fall to the floor.</p> - -<p>The others came back in the bunker and the men of the Second started -grabbing their bags and few belongings and getting ready to leave. -Dahl sat in a corner, a peculiar expression on his face. He looked as -if he wanted to cry and yet still felt that the occasion was one for -rejoicing.</p> - -<p>Chapman walked over to him. "Get your stuff and leave with the others, -Dahl." His voice was quiet and hard.</p> - -<p>Dahl looked up, opened his mouth to say something, and then shut -up. Donley and Bening and Dowden were already in the airlock, ready -to leave. Klein caught the conversation and came over. He gripped -Chapman's arm.</p> - -<p>"What the hell's going on, Chap? Get your bag and let's go. I know just -the bistro to throw a whing-ding when we get—"</p> - -<p>"I'm not going back," Chapman said.</p> - -<p>Klein looked annoyed, not believing him. "Come on, what's the matter -with you? You suddenly decide you don't like the blue sky and trees and -stuff? Let's go!"</p> - -<p>The men in the lock were looking at them questioningly. Some members -of the Third looked embarrassed, like outsiders caught in a family -argument.</p> - -<p>"Look, Julius, I'm not going back," Chapman repeated dully. "I haven't -anything to go back for."</p> - -<p>"You're doing a much braver thing than you may think," a voice cut in. -It belonged to Eberlein.</p> - -<p>Chapman looked at him. Eberlein flushed, then turned and walked-stiffly -to the lock to join the others.</p> - -<p>Just before the inner door of the lock shut, they could hear Chapman, -his hands on his hips, breaking in the Third on how to be happy and -stay healthy on the Moon. His voice was ragged and strained and sounded -like a top-sergeant's.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Dahl and Eberlein stood in the outer port of the relief ship, staring -back at the research bunker. It was half hidden in the shadows of a -rocky overhang that protected it from meteorites.</p> - -<p>"They kidded him a lot this morning," Dahl said. "They said he had -found a home on the Moon."</p> - -<p>"If we had stayed an hour or so more, he might have changed his mind -and left, after all," Eberlein mused, his face a thoughtful mask behind -his air helmet.</p> - -<p>"I offered him money," Dahl said painfully. "I was a coward and I -offered him money to stay in my place." His face was bitter and full -of disgust for himself.</p> - -<p>Eberlein turned to him quickly and automatically told him the right -thing.</p> - -<p>"We're all cowards once in a while," he said earnestly. "But your offer -of money had nothing to do with his staying. He stayed because he had -to stay, because we made him stay."</p> - -<p>"I don't understand," Dahl said.</p> - -<p>"Chapman had a lot to go home for. He was engaged to be married." Dahl -winced. "We got her to write him a letter breaking it off. We knew it -meant that he lost one of his main reasons for wanting to go back. I -think, perhaps, that he still would have left if we had stayed and -argued him into going. But we left before he could change his mind."</p> - -<p>"That—was a lousy thing to do!"</p> - -<p>"We had no choice. We didn't use it except as a last resort."</p> - -<p>"I don't know of any girl who would have done such a thing, no matter -what your reasons, if she was in love with a guy like Chapman," Dahl -said.</p> - -<p>"There was only one who would have," Eberlein agreed. "Ginny Dixon. She -understood what we were trying to tell her. She had to; her brother had -died up here."</p> - -<p>"Why was Chapman so important?" Dahl burst out. "What could he have -done that I couldn't have done—would have done if I had had any guts?"</p> - -<p>"Perhaps you could have," Eberlein said. "But I doubt it. I don't think -there were many men who could have. And we couldn't take the chance. -Chapman knows how to live on the Moon. He's like a trapper who's spent -all his time in the forests and knows it like the palm of his hand. -He never makes mistakes, he never fails to check things. And he isn't -a scientist. He would never become so preoccupied with research that -he'd fail to make checks. And he can watch out for those who do make -mistakes. Ginny understood that all too well."</p> - -<p>"How did you know all this about Chapman?" Dahl asked.</p> - -<p>"The men in the First told us some of it. And we had our own observer -with you here. Bening kept us pretty well informed."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Eberlein stared at the bunker thoughtfully.</p> - -<p>"It costs a lot of money to send ships up here and establish a colony. -It will cost a lot to expand it. And with that kind of investment, you -don't take chances. You have to have the best men for the job. You get -them even if they don't want to do it."</p> - -<p>He gestured at the small, blotchy globe of blue and green that was the -Earth, riding high in the black sky.</p> - -<p>"You remember what it was like five years ago, Dahl? Nations at each -other's throats, re-arming to the teeth? It isn't that way now. We've -got the one lead that nobody can duplicate or catch up on. Nobody has -our technical background. I know, this isn't a military base. But it -could become one."</p> - -<p>He paused.</p> - -<p>"But these aren't even the most important reasons, Dahl. We're at the -beginnings of space travel, the first bare, feeble start. If this base -on the Moon succeeds, the whole human race will be Outward Bound." He -waved at the stars. "You have your choice—a frontier that lies in the -stars, or a psychotic little world that tries and fails and spends its -time and talents trying to find better methods of suicide.</p> - -<p>"With a choice like that, Dahl, you can't let it fail. And personal -lives and viewpoints are expendable. But it's got to be that way. -There's too much at stake."</p> - -<p>Eberlein hesitated a moment and when he started again, it was on a -different track. "You're an odd bunch of guys, you and the others in -the groups, Dahl. Damn few of you come up for the glamor, I know. -None of you like it and none of you are really enthusiastic about it. -You were all reluctant to come in the first place, for the most part. -You're a bunch of pretty reluctant heroes, Dahl."</p> - -<p>The captain nodded soberly at the bunker. "I, personally, don't feel -happy about that. I don't like having to mess up other people's lives. -I hope I won't have to again. Maybe somehow, someway, this one can be -patched up. We'll try to."</p> - -<p>He started the mechanism that closed the port of the rocket. His face -was a study of regret and helplessness. He was thinking of a future -that, despite what he had told Dahl, wasn't quite real to him.</p> - -<p>"I feel like a cheap son of a bitch," Eberlein said.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p><i>The very young man said, "Do they actually care where they send us? Do -they actually care what we think?"</i></p> - -<p><i>The older man got up and walked to the window. The bunkers and towers -and squat buildings of the research colony glinted in the sunlight. The -colony had come a long way; it housed several thousands now.</i></p> - -<p><i>The Sun was just rising for the long morning and farther down shadows -stabbed across the crater floor. Tycho was by far the most beautiful of -the craters, he thought.</i></p> - -<p><i>It was nice to know that the very young man was going to miss it. It -had taken the older man quite a long time to get to like it. But that -was to be expected—he hadn't been on the Moon.</i></p> - -<p><i>"I would say so," he said. "They were cruel, that way, at the start. -But then they had to be. The goal was too important. And they made up -for it as soon as they could. It didn't take them too long to remember -the men who had traded their future for the stars."</i></p> - -<p><i>The very young man said, "Did you actually think of it that way when -you first came up here?"</i></p> - -<p><i>The older man thought for a minute. "No," he admitted. "No, we didn't. -Most of us were strictly play-for-pay men. The Commission wanted -men who wouldn't fall apart when the glamor wore off and there was -nothing left but privation and hard work and loneliness. The men who -fell for the glamor were all right for quick trips, but not for an -eighteen-month stay in a research bunker. So the Commission offered -high salaries and we reluctantly took the jobs. Oh, there was the -idea behind the project, the vision the Commission had in mind. But it -took a while for that to grow."</i></p> - -<p><i>A woman came in the room just then, bearing a tray with glasses on -it. The older man took one and said, "Your mother and I were notified -yesterday that you had been chosen to go. We would like to see you go, -but of course the final decision is up to you."</i></p> - -<p><i>He sipped his drink and turned to his wife: "It has its privations, -but in the long run we've never regretted it, have we, Ginny?"</i></p> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's The Reluctant Heroes, by Frank M. 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Robinson - -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 Reluctant Heroes - -Author: Frank M. Robinson - -Release Date: March 17, 2016 [EBook #51483] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE RELUCTANT HEROES *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - - The Reluctant Heroes - - By FRANK M. ROBINSON - - Illustrated by DON SIBLEY - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Galaxy Science Fiction January 1951. - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - - - - Pioneers have always resented their wanderlust, hated - their hardships. But the future brings a new grudge--when - pioneers stay put and scholars do the exploring! - - -_The very young man sat on the edge of the sofa and looked nervous. He -carefully studied his fingernails and ran his hands through his hair -and picked imaginary lint off the upholstery._ - -_"I have a chance to go with the first research expedition to Venus," -he said._ - -_The older man studied the very young man thoughtfully and then leaned -over to his humidor and offered him a cigaret. "It's nice to have the -new air units now. There was a time when we had to be very careful -about things like smoking."_ - -_The very young man was annoyed._ - -_"I don't think I want to go," he blurted. "I don't think I would care -to spend two years there."_ - -_The older man blew a smoke ring and watched it drift toward the air -exhaust vent._ - -_"You mean you would miss it here, the people you've known and grown -up with, the little familiar things that have made up your life here. -You're afraid the glamor would wear off and you would get to hate it on -Venus."_ - -_The very young man nodded miserably. "I guess that's it."_ - -_"Anything else?"_ - -_The very young man found his fingernails extremely fascinating again -and finally said, in a low voice, "Yes, there is."_ - -_"A girl?"_ - -_A nod confirmed this._ - -_It was the older man's turn to look thoughtful. "You know, I'm sure, -that psychologists and research men agree that research stations should -be staffed by couples. That is, of course, as soon as it's practical."_ - -_"But that might be a long time!" the very young man protested._ - -_"It might be--but sometimes it's sooner than you think. And the goal -is worth it."_ - -_"I suppose so, but--"_ - -_The older man smiled. "Still the reluctant heroes," he said, somewhat -to himself._ - - * * * * * - -Chapman stared at the radio key. - -Three years on the Moon and they didn't want him to come back. - -Three years on the Moon and they thought he'd be glad to stay for more. -Just raise his salary or give him a bonus, the every-man-has-his-price -idea. They probably thought he liked it there. - -Oh, sure, he loved it. Canned coffee, canned beans, canned pills, -and canned air until your insides felt as though they were plated -with tin. Life in a cramped, smelly little hut where you could take -only ten steps in any one direction. Their little scientific home of -tomorrow with none of the modern conveniences, a charming place where -you couldn't take a shower, couldn't brush your teeth, and your kidneys -didn't work right. - -And for double his salary they thought he'd be glad to stay for another -year and a half. Or maybe three. He should probably be glad he had the -opportunity. - -The key started to stutter again, demanding an answer. - -He tapped out his reply: "_No!_" - -There was a silence and then the key stammered once more in a sudden -fit of bureaucratic rage. Chapman stuffed a rag under it and ignored -it. He turned to the hammocks, strung against the bulkhead on the other -side of the room. - -The chattering of the key hadn't awakened anybody; they were still -asleep, making the animal noises that people usually make in slumber. -Dowden, half in the bottom hammock and half on the floor, was snoring -peacefully. Dahl, the poor kid who was due for stopover, was mumbling -to himself. Julius Klein, with that look of ineffable happiness on his -face, looked as if he had just squirmed under the tent to his personal -idea of heaven. Donley and Bening were lying perfectly still, their -covers not mussed, sleeping very lightly. - -Lord, Chapman thought, I'll be happy when I can see some other faces. - -"What'd they want?" Klein had one eyelid open and a questioning look on -his face. - -"They wanted me to stay until the next relief ship lands," Chapman -whispered back. - -"What did you say?" - -He shrugged. "No." - -"You kept it short," somebody else whispered. It was Donley, up and -sitting on the side of his hammock. "If it had been me, I would have -told them just what they could do about it." - - * * * * * - -The others were awake now, with the exception of Dahl who had his face -to the bulkhead and a pillow over his head. - -Dowden rubbed his eyes sleepily. "Sore, aren't you?" - -"Kind of. Who wouldn't be?" - -"Well, don't let it throw you. They've never been here on the Moon. -They don't know what it's like. All they're trying to do is get a good -man to stay on the job a while longer." - -"_All_ they're trying to do," Chapman said sarcastically. "They've got -a fat chance." - -"They think you've found a home here," Donley said. - -"Why the hell don't you guys shut up until morning?" Dahl was awake, -looking bitter. "Some of us still have to stay here, you know. Some of -us aren't going back today." - -No, Chapman thought, some of us aren't going back. You aren't. And -Dixon's staying, too. Only Dixon isn't ever going back. - -Klein jerked his thumb toward Dahl's bunk, held a finger to his lips, -and walked noiselessly over to the small electric stove. It was his day -for breakfast duty. - -The others started lacing up their bunks, getting ready for their last -day of work on the Moon. In a few hours they'd be relieved by members -of the Third research group and they'd be on their way back to Earth. - -And that includes me, Chapman thought. I'm going home. I'm finally -going home. - -He walked silently to the one small, quartz window in the room. It was -morning--the Moon's "morning"--and he shivered slightly. The rays of -the Sun were just striking the far rim of the crater and long shadows -shot across the crater floor. The rest of it was still blanketed in -a dark jumble of powdery pumice and jagged peaks that would make the -Black Hills of Dakota look like paradise. - -A hundred yards from the research bunker he could make out the small -mound of stones and the forlorn homemade cross, jury-rigged out of -small condensed milk tins slid over crossed iron bars. You could still -see the footprints in the powdery soil where the group had gathered -about the grave. It had been more than eighteen months ago, but there -was no wind to wear those tracks away. They'd be there forever. - -That's what happened to guys like Dixon, Chapman thought. On the Moon, -one mistake could use up your whole quota of chances. - -Klein came back with the coffee. Chapman took a cup, gagged, and forced -himself to swallow the rest of it. It had been in the can for so long -you could almost taste the glue on the label. - - * * * * * - -Donley was warming himself over his cup, looking thoughtful. Dowden and -Bening were struggling into their suits, getting ready to go outside. -Dahl was still sitting on his hammock, trying to ignore them. - -"Think we ought to radio the space station and see if they've left -there yet?" Klein asked. - -"I talked to them on the last call," Chapman said. "The relief ship -left there twelve hours ago. They should get here"--he looked at his -watch--"in about six and a half hours." - -"Chap, you know, I've been thinking," Donley said quietly. "You've -been here just twice as long as the rest of us. What's the first thing -you're going to do once you get back?" - -It hit them, then. Dowden and Bening looked blank for a minute and -blindly found packing cases to sit on. The top halves of their suits -were still hanging on the bulkhead. Klein lowered his coffee cup and -looked grave. Even Dahl glanced up expectantly. - -"I don't know," Chapman said slowly. "I guess I was trying not to think -of that. I suppose none of us have. We've been like little kids who -have waited so long for Christmas that they just can't believe it when -it's finally Christmas Eve." - -Klein nodded in agreement. "I haven't been here three years like you -have, but I think I know what you mean." He warmed up to it as the idea -sank in. "Just what the hell _are_ you going to do?" - -"Nothing very spectacular," Chapman said, smiling. "I'm going to rent -a room over Times Square, get a recording of a rikky-tik piano, and -drink and listen to the music and watch the people on the street below. -Then I think I'll see somebody." - -"Who's the somebody?" Donley asked. - -Chapman grinned. "Oh, just somebody. What are you going to do, Dick?" - -"Well, I'm going to do something practical. First of all, I want to -turn over all my geological samples to the government. Then I'm going -to sell my life story to the movies and then--why, then, I think I'll -get drunk!" - -Everybody laughed and Chapman turned to Klein. - -"How about you, Julius?" - -Klein looked solemn. "Like Dick, I'll first get rid of my obligations -to the expedition. Then I think I'll go home and see my wife." - -They were quiet. "I thought all members of the groups were supposed to -be single," Donley said. - -"They are. And I can see their reasons for it. But who could pass up -the money the Commission was paying?" - -"If I had to do it all over again? Me," said Donley promptly. - -They laughed. Somebody said: "Go play your record, Chap. Today's the -day for it." - -The phonograph was a small, wind-up model that Chapman had smuggled in -when he had landed with the First group. The record was old and the -shellac was nearly worn off, but the music was good. - - Way Back Home by Al Lewis. - - * * * * * - -They ran through it twice. They were beginning to feel it now, Chapman -thought. They were going to go home in a little while and the idea was -just starting to sink in. - -"You know, Chap," Donley said, "it won't seem like the same old Moon -without you on it. Why, we'll look at it when we're out spooning or -something and it just won't have the same old appeal." - -"Like they say in the army," Bening said, "you never had it so good. -You found a home here." - -The others chimed in and Chapman grinned. Yesterday or a week ago they -couldn't have done it. He had been there too long and he had hated it -too much. - -The party quieted down after a while and Dowden and Bening finished -getting into their suits. They still had a section of the sky to map -before they left. Donley was right after them. There was an outcropping -of rock that he wanted a sample of and some strata he wished to -investigate. - -And the time went faster when you kept busy. - -Chapman stopped them at the lock. "Remember to check your suits for -leaks," he warned. "And check the valves of your oxygen tanks." - -Donley looked sour. "I've gone out at least five hundred times," he -said, "and you check me each time." - -"And I'd check you five hundred more," Chapman said. "It takes only -one mistake. And watch out for blisters under the pumice crust. You go -through one of those and that's it, brother." - -Donley sighed. "Chap, you watch us like an old mother hen. You see we -check our suits, you settle our arguments, you see that we're not bored -and that we stay healthy and happy. I think you'd blow our noses for us -if we caught cold. But some day, Chap old man, you're gonna find out -that your little boys can watch out for themselves!" - -But he checked his suit for leaks and tested the valve of his tank -before he left. - -Only Klein and Chapman were left in the bunker. Klein was at the work -table, carefully labeling some lichen specimens. - -"I never knew you were married," Chapman said. - -Klein didn't look up. "There wasn't much sense in talking about it. You -just get to thinking and wanting--and there's nothing you can do about -it. You talk about it and it just makes it worse." - -"She let you go without any fuss, huh?" - -"No, she didn't make any fuss. But I don't think she liked to see me -go, either." He laughed a little. "At least I hope she didn't." - - * * * * * - -They were silent for a while. "What do you miss most, Chap?" Klein -asked. "Oh, I know what we said a little while ago, but I mean -seriously." - -Chapman thought a minute. "I think I miss the sky," he said quietly. -"The blue sky and the green grass and trees with leaves on them that -turn color in the Fall. I think, when I go back, that I'd like to go -out in a rain storm and strip and feel the rain on my skin." - -He stopped, feeling embarrassed. Klein's expression was encouraging. -"And then I think I'd like to go downtown and just watch the shoppers -on the sidewalks. Or maybe go to a burlesque house and smell the cheap -perfume and the popcorn and the people sweating in the dark." - -He studied his hands. "I think what I miss most is people--all kinds -of people. Bad people and good people and fat people and thin people, -and people I can't understand. People who wouldn't know an atom from an -artichoke. And people who wouldn't give a damn. We're a quarter of a -million miles from nowhere, Julius, and to make it literary, I think I -miss my fellow man more than anything." - -"Got a girl back home?" Klein asked almost casually. - -"Yes." - -"You're not like Dahl. You've never mentioned it." - -"Same reason you didn't mention your wife. You get to thinking about -it." - -Klein flipped the lid on the specimen box. "Going to get married when -you get back?" - -Chapman was at the port again, staring out at the bleak landscape. "We -hope to." - -"Settle down in a small cottage and raise lots of little Chapmans, eh?" - -Chapman nodded. - -"That's the only future," Klein said. - -He put away the box and came over to the port. Chapman moved over so -they both could look out. - -"Chap." Klein hesitated a moment. "What happened to Dixon?" - -"He died," Chapman said. "He was a good kid, all wrapped up in science. -Being on the Moon was the opportunity of a lifetime. He thought so much -about it that he forgot a lot of little things--like how to stay alive. -The day before the Second group came, he went out to finish some work -he was interested in. He forgot to check for leaks and whether or not -the valve on his tank was all the way closed. We couldn't get to him in -time." - -"He had his walkie-talkie with him?" - -"Yes. It worked fine, too. We heard everything that went through his -mind at the end." - -Klein's face was blank. "What's your real job here, Chap? Why does -somebody have to stay for stopover?" - -"Hell, lots of reasons, Julius. You can't get a whole relief crew and -let them take over cold. They have to know where you left off. They -have to know where things are, how things work, what to watch out for. -And then, because you've been here a year and a half and know the -ropes, you have to watch them to see that they stay alive in spite of -themselves. The Moon's a new environment and you have to learn how to -live in it. There's a lot of things to learn--and some people just -never learn." - -"You're nursemaid, then." - -"I suppose you could call it that." - - * * * * * - -Klein said, "You're not a scientist, are you?" - -"No, you should know that. I came as the pilot of the first ship. We -made the bunker out of parts of the ship so there wasn't anything to -go back on. I'm a good mechanic and I made myself useful with the -machinery. When it occurred to us that somebody was going to have to -stay over, I volunteered. I thought the others were so important that -it was better they should take their samples and data back to Earth -when the first relief ship came." - -"You wouldn't do it again, though, would you?" - -"No, I wouldn't." - -"Do you think Dahl will do as good a job as you've done here?" - -Chapman frowned. "Frankly, I hadn't thought of that. I don't believe -I care. I've put in my time; it's somebody else's turn now. He -volunteered for it. I think I was fair in explaining all about the job -when you talked it over among yourselves." - -"You did, but I don't think Dahl's the man for it. He's too young, too -much of a kid. He volunteered because he thought it made him look like -a hero. He doesn't have the judgment that an older man would have. That -you have." - -Chapman turned slowly around and faced Klein. - -"I'm not the indispensable man," he said slowly, "and even if I was, it -wouldn't make any difference to me. I'm sorry if Dahl is young. So was -I. I've lost three years up here. And I don't intend to lose any more." - -Klein held up his hands. "Look, Chap, I didn't mean you should stay. I -know how much you hate it and the time you put in up here. It's just--" -His voice trailed away. "It's just that I think it's such a damn -important job." - -Klein had gone out in a last search for rock lichens and Chapman -enjoyed one of his relatively few moments of privacy. He wandered over -to his bunk and opened his barracks bag. He checked the underwear and -his toothbrush and shaving kit for maybe the hundredth time and pushed -the clothing down farther in the canvas. It was foolish because the -bag was already packed and had been for a week. He remembered stalling -it off for as long as he could and then the quiet satisfaction about a -week before, when he had opened his small gear locker and transferred -its meager belongings to the bag. - -He hadn't actually needed to pack, of course. In less than twenty-four -hours he'd be back on Earth where he could drown himself in toothpaste -and buy more tee shirts than he could wear in a lifetime. He could -leave behind his shorts and socks and the outsize shirts he had -inherited from--who was it? Driesbach?--of the First group. Dahl could -probably use them or maybe one of the boys in the Third. - - * * * * * - -But it wasn't like going home unless you packed. It was part of the -ritual, like marking off the last three weeks in pencil on the gray -steel of the bulkhead beside his hammock. Just a few hours ago, when he -woke up, he had made the last check mark and signed his name and the -date. His signature was right beneath Dixon's. - -He frowned when he thought of Dixon and slid back the catch on the top -of the bag and locked it. They should never have sent a kid like Dixon -to the Moon. - -He had just locked the bag when he heard the rumble of the airlock and -the soft hiss of air. Somebody had come back earlier than expected. He -watched the inner door swing open and the spacesuited figure clump in -and unscrew its helmet. - -Dahl. He had gone out to help Dowden on the Schmidt telescope. Maybe -Dowden hadn't needed any help, with Bening along. Or more likely, -considering the circumstances, Dahl wasn't much good at helping anybody -today. - -Dahl stripped off his suit. His face was covered with light beads of -sweat and his eyes were frightened. - -He moistened his lips slightly. "Do--do you think they'll ever have -relief ships up here more often than every eighteen months, Chap? I -mean, considering the advance of--" - -"No," Chapman interrupted bluntly. "I don't. Not at least for ten -years. The fuel's too expensive and the trip's too hazardous. On -freight charges alone you're worth your weight in platinum when they -send you here. Even if it becomes cheaper, Bob, it won't come about -so it will shorten stopover right away." He stopped, feeling a little -sorry for Dahl. "It won't be too bad. There'll be new men up here and -you'll pass a lot of time getting to know them." - -"Well, you see," Dahl started, "that's why I came back early. I wanted -to see you about stopover. It's that--well, I'll put it this way." He -seemed to be groping for an easy way to say what he wanted to. "I'm -engaged back home. Really nice girl, Chap, you'd like her if you knew -her." He fumbled in his pocket and found a photograph and put it on -the desk. "That's a picture of Alice, taken at a picnic we were on -together." Chapman didn't look. "She--we--expected to be married when -I got back. I never told her about stopover, Chap. She thinks I'll be -home tomorrow. I kept thinking, hoping, that maybe somehow--" - -He was fumbling it badly, Chapman thought. - -"You wanted to trade places with me, didn't you, Bob? You thought I -might stay for stopover again, in your place?" - -It hurt to look in Dahl's eyes. They were the eyes of a man who was -trying desperately to stop what he was about to do, but just couldn't -help himself. - -"Well, yes, more or less. Oh, God, Chap, I know you want to go home! -But I couldn't ask any of the others; you were the only one who could, -the only one who was qualified!" - - * * * * * - -Dahl looked as though he was going to be sick. Chapman tried to recall -all he knew about him. Dahl, Robert. Good mathematician. Graduate from -one of the Ivy League schools. Father was a manufacturer of stoves or -something. - -It still didn't add, not quite. "You know I don't like it here any more -than you do," Chapman said slowly. "I may have commitments at home, -too. What made you think I would change my mind?" - -Dahl took the plunge. "Well, you see," he started eagerly, too far gone -to remember such a thing as pride, "you know my father's pretty well -fixed. We would make it worth your while, Chap." He was feverish. "It -would mean eighteen more months, Chap, but they'd be well-paid months!" - -Chapman felt tired. The good feeling he had about going home was slowly -evaporating. - -"If you have any report to make, I think you had better get at it," -he cut in, keeping all the harshness he felt out of his voice. "It'll -be too late after the relief ship leaves. It'll be easier to give the -captain your report than try to radio it back to Earth from here." - -He felt sorrier for Dahl than he could ever remember having felt for -anybody. Long after going home, Dahl would remember this. - -It would eat at him like a cancer. - -Cowardice is the one thing for which no man ever forgives himself. - - * * * * * - -Donley was eating a sandwich and looking out the port, so, naturally, -he saw the ship first. "Well, whaddya know!" he shouted. "We got -company!" He dashed for his suit. Dowden and Bening piled after him and -all three started for the lock. - -Chapman was standing in front of it. "Check your suits," he said -softly. "Just be sure to check." - -"Oh, what the hell, Chap!" Donley started angrily. Then he shut up and -went over his suit. He got to his tank and turned white. Empty. It was -only half a mile to the relief rocket, so somebody would probably have -got to him in time, but.... He bit his lips and got a full tank. - -Chapman and Klein watched them dash across the pumice, making the -tremendous leaps they used to read about in the Sunday supplements. The -port of the rocket had opened and tiny figures were climbing down the -ladder. The small figures from the bunker reached them and did a short -jig of welcome. Then the figures linked arms and started back. Chapman -noticed one--it was probably Donley--pat the ship affectionately before -he started back. - -They were in the lock and the air pumped in and then they were in -the bunker, taking off their suits. The newcomers were impressed and -solemn, very much aware of the tremendous responsibility that rested on -their shoulders. Like Donley and Klein and the members of the Second -group had been when they had landed. Like Chapman had been in the First. - -Donley and the others were all over them. - - * * * * * - -How was it back on Earth? Who had won the series? Was so-and-so still -teaching at the university? What was the international situation? - -Was the sky still blue, was the grass still green, did the leaves still -turn color in the autumn, did people still love and cry and were there -still people who didn't know what an atom was and didn't give a damn? - -Chapman had gone through it all before. But was Ginny still Ginny? - -Some of the men in the Third had their luggage with them. One of -them--a husky, red-faced kid named Williams--was opening a box about a -foot square and six inches deep. Chapman watched him curiously. - -"Well, I'll be damned!" Klein said. "Hey, guys, look what we've got -here!" - -Chapman and the others crowded around and suddenly Donley leaned over -and took a deep breath. In the box, covering a thick layer of ordinary -dirt, was a plot of grass. They looked at it, awed. Klein put out his -hand and laid it on top of the grass. - -"I like the feel of it," he said simply. - -Chapman cut off a single blade with his fingernail and put it between -his lips. It had been years since he had seen grass and had the luxury -of walking on it and lying on its cool thickness during those sultry -summer nights when it was too hot to sleep indoors. - -Williams blushed. "I thought we could spare a little water for it and -maybe use the ultraviolet lamp on it some of the time. Couldn't help -but bring it along; it seemed sort of like a symbol...." He looked -embarrassed. - -Chapman sympathized. If he had had any sense, he'd have tried to -smuggle something like that up to the Moon instead of his phonograph. - -"That's valuable grass," Dahl said sharply. "Do you realize that at -current freight rates up here, it's worth about ten dollars a blade?" - -Williams looked stricken and somebody said, "Oh, shut up, Dahl." - -One of the men separated from the group and came over to Chapman. He -held out his hand and said, "My name's Eberlein. Captain of the relief -ship. I understand you're in charge here?" - -Chapman nodded and shook hands. They hadn't had a captain on the First -ship. Just a pilot and crew. Eberlein looked every inch a captain, too. -Craggy face, gray hair, the firm chin of a man who was sure of himself. - -"You might say I'm in charge here," Chapman said. - -"Well, look, Mr. Chapman, is there any place where we can talk together -privately?" - -They walked over to one corner of the bunker. "This is about as private -as we can get, captain," Chapman said. "What's on your mind?" - - * * * * * - -Eberlein found a packing crate and made himself comfortable. He looked -at Chapman. - -"I've always wanted to meet the man who's spent more time here than -anybody else," he began. - -"I'm sure you wanted to see me for more reasons than just curiosity." - -Eberlein took out a pack of cigarets. "Mind if I smoke?" - -Chapman jerked a thumb toward Dahl. "Ask him. He's in charge now." - -The captain didn't bother. He put the pack away. "You know we have big -plans for the station," he said. - -"I hadn't heard of them." - -"Oh, yes, _big plans_. They're working on unmanned, open-side rockets -now that could carry cargo and sheet steel for more bunkers like this. -Enable us to enlarge the unit, have a series of bunkers all linked -together. Make good laboratories and living quarters for you people." -His eyes swept the room. "Have a little privacy for a change." - -Chapman nodded. "They could use a little privacy up here." - -The captain noticed the pronoun. "Well, that's one of the reasons why -I wanted to talk to you, Chapman. The Commission talked it over and -they'd like to see you stay. They feel if they're going to enlarge it, -add more bunkers and have more men up here, that a man of practical -experience should be running things. They figure that you're the only -man who's capable and who's had the experience." - -The captain vaguely felt the approach was all wrong. - -"Is that all?" - -Eberlein was ill at ease. "Naturally you'd be paid well. I don't -imagine any man would like being here all the time. They're prepared to -double your salary--maybe even a bonus in addition--and let you have -full charge. You'd be Director of the Luna Laboratories." - -All this and a title too, Chapman thought. - -"That's it?" Chapman asked. - -Eberlein frowned. "Well, the Commission said they'd be willing to -consider anything else you had in mind, if it was more money or...." - -"The answer is no," Chapman said. "I'm not interested in more money -for staying because I'm not interested in staying. Money can't buy it, -captain. I'm sorry, but I'm afraid that you'd have to stay up here to -appreciate that. - -"Bob Dahl is staying for stopover. If there's something important about -the project or impending changes, perhaps you'd better tell him before -you go." - -He walked away. - - * * * * * - -Chapman held the letter in both hands, but the paper still shook. The -others had left the bunker, the men of the Second taking those of -the Third in hand to show them the machinery and apparatus that was -outside, point out the deadly blisters underneath the pumice covering, -and show them how to keep out of the Sun and how to watch their air -supply. - -He was glad he was alone. He felt something trickle down his face and -tasted salt on his lips. - -The mail had been distributed and he had saved his latest letter until -the others had left so he could read it in privacy. It was a short -letter, very short. - -It started: "Dear Joel: This isn't going to be a nice letter, but I -thought it best that you should know before you came home." - -There was more to it, but he hadn't even needed to read it to know what -it said. It wasn't original, of course. Women who change their minds -weren't exactly an innovation, either. - -He crumpled the paper and held a match to it and watched it burn on the -steel floor. - -Three years had been a long time. It was too long a time to keep loving -a man who was a quarter of a million miles away. She could look up in -the night sky when she was out with somebody else now and tell him how -she had once been engaged to the Man in the Moon. - -It would make good conversation. It would be funny. A joke. - -He got up and walked over to his phonograph and put the record on. The -somewhat scratchy voice sang as if nothing had happened - - Way Back Home by Al Lewis. - -The record caught and started repeating the last line. - -He hadn't actually wanted to play it. It had been an automatic -response. He had played it lots of times before when he had thought of -Earth. Of going home. - -He crossed over and threw the record across the bunker and watched it -shatter on the steel wall and the pieces fall to the floor. - -The others came back in the bunker and the men of the Second started -grabbing their bags and few belongings and getting ready to leave. -Dahl sat in a corner, a peculiar expression on his face. He looked as -if he wanted to cry and yet still felt that the occasion was one for -rejoicing. - -Chapman walked over to him. "Get your stuff and leave with the others, -Dahl." His voice was quiet and hard. - -Dahl looked up, opened his mouth to say something, and then shut -up. Donley and Bening and Dowden were already in the airlock, ready -to leave. Klein caught the conversation and came over. He gripped -Chapman's arm. - -"What the hell's going on, Chap? Get your bag and let's go. I know just -the bistro to throw a whing-ding when we get--" - -"I'm not going back," Chapman said. - -Klein looked annoyed, not believing him. "Come on, what's the matter -with you? You suddenly decide you don't like the blue sky and trees and -stuff? Let's go!" - -The men in the lock were looking at them questioningly. Some members -of the Third looked embarrassed, like outsiders caught in a family -argument. - -"Look, Julius, I'm not going back," Chapman repeated dully. "I haven't -anything to go back for." - -"You're doing a much braver thing than you may think," a voice cut in. -It belonged to Eberlein. - -Chapman looked at him. Eberlein flushed, then turned and walked-stiffly -to the lock to join the others. - -Just before the inner door of the lock shut, they could hear Chapman, -his hands on his hips, breaking in the Third on how to be happy and -stay healthy on the Moon. His voice was ragged and strained and sounded -like a top-sergeant's. - - * * * * * - -Dahl and Eberlein stood in the outer port of the relief ship, staring -back at the research bunker. It was half hidden in the shadows of a -rocky overhang that protected it from meteorites. - -"They kidded him a lot this morning," Dahl said. "They said he had -found a home on the Moon." - -"If we had stayed an hour or so more, he might have changed his mind -and left, after all," Eberlein mused, his face a thoughtful mask behind -his air helmet. - -"I offered him money," Dahl said painfully. "I was a coward and I -offered him money to stay in my place." His face was bitter and full -of disgust for himself. - -Eberlein turned to him quickly and automatically told him the right -thing. - -"We're all cowards once in a while," he said earnestly. "But your offer -of money had nothing to do with his staying. He stayed because he had -to stay, because we made him stay." - -"I don't understand," Dahl said. - -"Chapman had a lot to go home for. He was engaged to be married." Dahl -winced. "We got her to write him a letter breaking it off. We knew it -meant that he lost one of his main reasons for wanting to go back. I -think, perhaps, that he still would have left if we had stayed and -argued him into going. But we left before he could change his mind." - -"That--was a lousy thing to do!" - -"We had no choice. We didn't use it except as a last resort." - -"I don't know of any girl who would have done such a thing, no matter -what your reasons, if she was in love with a guy like Chapman," Dahl -said. - -"There was only one who would have," Eberlein agreed. "Ginny Dixon. She -understood what we were trying to tell her. She had to; her brother had -died up here." - -"Why was Chapman so important?" Dahl burst out. "What could he have -done that I couldn't have done--would have done if I had had any guts?" - -"Perhaps you could have," Eberlein said. "But I doubt it. I don't think -there were many men who could have. And we couldn't take the chance. -Chapman knows how to live on the Moon. He's like a trapper who's spent -all his time in the forests and knows it like the palm of his hand. -He never makes mistakes, he never fails to check things. And he isn't -a scientist. He would never become so preoccupied with research that -he'd fail to make checks. And he can watch out for those who do make -mistakes. Ginny understood that all too well." - -"How did you know all this about Chapman?" Dahl asked. - -"The men in the First told us some of it. And we had our own observer -with you here. Bening kept us pretty well informed." - - * * * * * - -Eberlein stared at the bunker thoughtfully. - -"It costs a lot of money to send ships up here and establish a colony. -It will cost a lot to expand it. And with that kind of investment, you -don't take chances. You have to have the best men for the job. You get -them even if they don't want to do it." - -He gestured at the small, blotchy globe of blue and green that was the -Earth, riding high in the black sky. - -"You remember what it was like five years ago, Dahl? Nations at each -other's throats, re-arming to the teeth? It isn't that way now. We've -got the one lead that nobody can duplicate or catch up on. Nobody has -our technical background. I know, this isn't a military base. But it -could become one." - -He paused. - -"But these aren't even the most important reasons, Dahl. We're at the -beginnings of space travel, the first bare, feeble start. If this base -on the Moon succeeds, the whole human race will be Outward Bound." He -waved at the stars. "You have your choice--a frontier that lies in the -stars, or a psychotic little world that tries and fails and spends its -time and talents trying to find better methods of suicide. - -"With a choice like that, Dahl, you can't let it fail. And personal -lives and viewpoints are expendable. But it's got to be that way. -There's too much at stake." - -Eberlein hesitated a moment and when he started again, it was on a -different track. "You're an odd bunch of guys, you and the others in -the groups, Dahl. Damn few of you come up for the glamor, I know. -None of you like it and none of you are really enthusiastic about it. -You were all reluctant to come in the first place, for the most part. -You're a bunch of pretty reluctant heroes, Dahl." - -The captain nodded soberly at the bunker. "I, personally, don't feel -happy about that. I don't like having to mess up other people's lives. -I hope I won't have to again. Maybe somehow, someway, this one can be -patched up. We'll try to." - -He started the mechanism that closed the port of the rocket. His face -was a study of regret and helplessness. He was thinking of a future -that, despite what he had told Dahl, wasn't quite real to him. - -"I feel like a cheap son of a bitch," Eberlein said. - - * * * * * - -_The very young man said, "Do they actually care where they send us? Do -they actually care what we think?"_ - -_The older man got up and walked to the window. The bunkers and towers -and squat buildings of the research colony glinted in the sunlight. The -colony had come a long way; it housed several thousands now._ - -_The Sun was just rising for the long morning and farther down shadows -stabbed across the crater floor. Tycho was by far the most beautiful of -the craters, he thought._ - -_It was nice to know that the very young man was going to miss it. It -had taken the older man quite a long time to get to like it. But that -was to be expected--he hadn't been on the Moon._ - -_"I would say so," he said. "They were cruel, that way, at the start. -But then they had to be. The goal was too important. And they made up -for it as soon as they could. It didn't take them too long to remember -the men who had traded their future for the stars."_ - -_The very young man said, "Did you actually think of it that way when -you first came up here?"_ - -_The older man thought for a minute. "No," he admitted. "No, we didn't. -Most of us were strictly play-for-pay men. The Commission wanted -men who wouldn't fall apart when the glamor wore off and there was -nothing left but privation and hard work and loneliness. The men who -fell for the glamor were all right for quick trips, but not for an -eighteen-month stay in a research bunker. So the Commission offered -high salaries and we reluctantly took the jobs. Oh, there was the -idea behind the project, the vision the Commission had in mind. But it -took a while for that to grow."_ - -_A woman came in the room just then, bearing a tray with glasses on -it. The older man took one and said, "Your mother and I were notified -yesterday that you had been chosen to go. We would like to see you go, -but of course the final decision is up to you."_ - -_He sipped his drink and turned to his wife: "It has its privations, -but in the long run we've never regretted it, have we, Ginny?"_ - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's The Reluctant Heroes, by Frank M. Robinson - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE RELUCTANT HEROES *** - -***** This file should be named 51483.txt or 51483.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/1/4/8/51483/ - -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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