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diff --git a/old/61858.txt b/old/61858.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 783308e..0000000 --- a/old/61858.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1864 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Revolt on Io, by Nelson S. Bond - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Revolt on Io - -Author: Nelson S. Bond - -Release Date: April 17, 2020 [EBook #61858] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK REVOLT ON IO *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - - REVOLT ON IO - - By NELSON BOND - - Death stalked the _Libra_. The - Io-plunging space liner freighted a - secret weapon, and the rebel Kreuther - had vowed it should not arrive. - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Planet Stories Spring 1941. - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - -The ship's clock bonged drowsily three times. Bud Chandler, the junior -watch, glared at it languidly. "Thus," he yawned, "endeth the lobster -patrol. Three bells, my fine bucko--and the soft, warm hay for you. -Or--" There was a hopeful note in his voice. "Or would you like to -finish out my trick for me? I'll stand double for _you_ some night." - -Dan Mallory said, "Comets to you, sailor!" And he rose, stretching -the kinks out of weary muscles. His collar was open at the throat, -his back ached from five solid hours in the bucket-shaped control -chair. His eyes were strained. That was from peering alternately at -glowing panels, through a _perilens_ plate into the murky, blue-black -space before the void-hurtling _Libra_, and back to the panels again. -"There's a little thing called sleep which I'm going to grab some of. -As soon as Norton shows up. Where the pink Cepheids--?" - -"Tell you what. Finish my trick tonight, Dan, and I'll double for you -_twice_. That's fair enough, isn't it?" - -"Fair enough," said Mallory, "but not sufficiently enticing. Like an -albino on a desert planetoid. Ah, here's our hero now! Welcome, Sir -Relief! Dump it into the basket and let poppa go seek the arms of -Morpheus." - -"Who's she?" growled Rick Norton, Third Mate. His eyes were puffy; he -squinted and glared at the bright lights of the control turret. "Hell's -howling acres, I'm tired! I just about got to sleep when--Oh, well. Log -in order?" - -"Directly." Mallory shot a curious glance at Norton. "Just got to -sleep? How come? What were you doing up so late?" - -"It wasn't official business," answered the junior officer curtly, -"so it's none of yours. Let's have your log sheet." He slumped into -the control chair, squinted through the _perilens_ and made a few -tiny course corrections. Across the room, Bud Chandler's shoulders -shrugged a reply to Dan's swift lift of the eyebrows. The Second Mate's -lips formed a word. "Sore-head!" Mallory nodded. Norton _was_ a surly -son-of-a-spacewrangler. - -But that wasn't any skin off his nose. He went to the chart table. -Footsteps clattered up the Jacob's ladder, the door flew open and the -Old Man stomped onto the bridge. He snapped, "'Zuwere!" and glowered -over Mallory's shoulder, shrewd, space-faded eyes reading sense into -the senior lieutenant's neat, precise columns. He jabbed a horny finger -at one line of figures. "Sure o' that, Mallory? Velocity that high?" - -Mallory said respectfully, "Yes, sir. All figures have been checked -and double checked. We're point oh-oh-one on course. Forced speed, -point thirty-nine above normal." - -"Checked and double checked," said Captain Algase, "is good enough most -of the time. But this trip is special. And vitally important. Forty -thousand innocent lives depend on our reaching Io damn soon! Remember -that, Mallory. All of you remember that." - -The stern lines of his face eased a trifle. "It's been a hard shuttle, -I know. A brutal, punishing trip. And we've all been under a terrific -strain. But our difficulties are nothing compared to those of the -garrison and the honest colonists of New Fresno. They're looking to us -for aid, and we're bringing them aid. - -"That is, someone aboard this ship is. I honestly don't know who that -person is. No one knows except the man himself, the commander of the -SSP Intelligence Department on Earth, and maybe someone at New Fresno. -But he _is_ on board, either an officer, sailor or passenger, and he -_is_ carrying to Io the plans for the new ray weapon recently perfected -by the SSP Ordnance Bureau. - -"Those plans will enable our New Fresno garrison to subdue this -mysterious uprising on Io. That's why the _Libra_ is traveling at -forced speed. That's why we must redouble every normal precaution to -insure our reaching the Io colony. That's why, too, we must keep our -eyes open; watch even each other. What's the matter with you, Norton?" - - * * * * * - -Norton had started suddenly. Now he muttered, red-faced, "Sorry, sir. -Sudden light in the visiplate. It looked like a meteoride." - -"There's nothing there now," said the skipper. - -But Chandler repeated, "Watch each other, Captain? I don't get it. -We're all pledged and trusted members of the Solar Space Patrol, aren't -we? We all live by the SSP motto. I don't see--" He fingered his breast -insignia, that tiny, golden rocket emblazoned with the words, _Order -out of Chaos_. "I don't see why we should--" - -"Because," explained the skipper grimly, "wherever there's an uprising -there are converts to the new cause, traitors to the old. Where there -are plans, there are spies to steal them. That's not a warning from -H.Q.; that's plain, old-fashioned horse-sense. I fought through the -Rollie Rebellion, you know. After the Grantland massacre I discovered -that one of my own messmates was in the pay of the Mercurians. - -"I won't say for sure that there is a spy aboard the _Libra_. But if -there is, we must give him no opportunity to learn anything. Weary or -not, we must remain on the alert at all times. But I needn't say any -more. Finished, Mallory?" - -"Yes, sir. Log in order, sir." - -"Very good. You may retire. Chandler, you seem to be fagged." - -Bud said, "One more yawn and I'll be a zombie." - -"A gabby zombie?" sniffed the Old Man. "I'll finish your trick for you. -Go get some rest." Still glowering, he plumped himself into the seat -vacated by Chandler, cut in the intercommunications board, audioed the -radio turret. "Is that you, Sparks? Wake up, you lazy scut! Any news -from the Earth? Or Mars Central?" - -The radioman's voice clacked metallically, "No, sir. I can't get -through to any station. The rebel forces at New Fresno are still -jamming the ether with static interference on all wave bands." - -"Well, keep trying. Let me know if you get through. Well?" The skipper -glanced back over his shoulder. "Well, I thought you two were tired? -What are you waiting for? Want to stand another trick apiece?" - -"No, sir!" said both men hastily. "We're leaving, sir!" They fled. - -"Ain't he a whipper, though?" asked Chandler affectionately. "He growls -like a terrier pup, but he's got no more bite than a cup custard. -'Scuse me!" A gigantic yawn split his grin in two. "Must have been -something I et!" - -"The hell of it is," said Mallory ruefully, "now I'm off duty, I'm not -a bit tired. I wasn't tired at all, really. Just had hardening of the -panties from squatting in that seat so long. Got a cigarette?" - -Chandler tossed him a package. "And don't swipe the coupon, either. -Six thousand more and I get an electronic microscope. Well, you can do -what you like. I'm going bye-bye and try to forget the waffles that -bucket-seat has pressed into my hip pockets. 'Night, pal!" - -His footsteps rang sharp little echoes on the metal flooring, echoes -that hollowed as he disappeared down a corridor leading to the sleeping -quarters and Mallory turned toward the observation deck. - - * * * * * - -The tall First Mate leaned against the heavy quartzite pane staring -into the depths of space through which the _Libra_ scudded. The sight -was no novelty to him, but as ever it wakened in his heart a sense of -awe, a feeling of weird instability, a sort of pride in Man that he, -of all the many, strange life-forms experimenting nature had devised, -should so far be the only one whose imagination was so great, whose -curiosity was so strong, that he had found a way to fling himself at -blinding speed across the broad, unfathomable reaches of the void. - -It was disheartening to realize that even though he had attained the -stars, Man had not yet sloughed off the instincts and habits of the -ape from which he sprang. Man's genius had blazed a path across the -spaceways, Man's bravery had established new colonies from scorching -Mercury to frozen Uranus. SSP lightships bridged the chasms between and -beyond; even now the concentrated rays of faraway Sol were steaming the -rimy crust off Pluto that Earth's miners might extract the valuable -ores revealed by the spectroscope. But with the growth of the colonies, -Man's ever latent cupidity had come into play. This past half century, -thought Dan Mallory with a sort of savage anger, had been nothing but -one long, bloody era of warfare between the forces of law and the -outlawry of the greedy. - -Now there was this uprising on the first satellite of Jupiter; Io. A -charming little world. A pleasant Earth-like orb, spinning quietly -about its gigantic parent. Up to this time, its natives had never been -troublesome. Squat, muscular creatures, more or less anthropoid, except -for the fact that their complexions had a pale, greenish cast and their -eyes were double-lidded like those of snakes. They had an intelligence -of .63 on the Solar Constant scale. Within a century or so the control -board meant to award them autonomy; toward this end educators had been -working ever since Io had been removed from the British Imperial -Protectorate in 2221. - -Trouble had sprung, both literally and figuratively, like a bolt from -the blue. A cosmic _blitzkrieg_. One moment there had been peace and -sweet content on Io; the next came a frantic, garbled message about "a -rebel army ... natives ... led by...." The rest had been drowned in -an ear-drum blasting burst of electronic static that had rendered all -further communication impossible. - -"Kreuther!" said Mallory thoughtfully. The affair sounded like one -of Kreuther's moves. That power-mad genius, exiled from Earth after -the thwarted Lunar Campaign of 2234, was accustomed to strike in just -this fashion. He alone, of all avowed SSP enemies, had the persuasive -ability to win to his cause a horde of normally contented Ionians, the -wealth with which to set into motion war's red machinery, the genius -with which to disrupt interplanetary communications. - -"But if it is Kreuther," thought Mallory consolingly, "this time he's -bitten off more than he can chew. That new weapon--" He wondered, -briefly, which officer, sailor, passenger, had been entrusted with the -secret of the new ray gun's construction. Then he cast the thought from -his mind. It was none of his business. It were better he didn't know. - -It was at that stage of his reverie that a sudden byplay of movement -captured his attention. In an instant he had cupped his cigarette into -his palm, stepped into a dark patch of shadow. A figure had glided -from the passageway that led to the sleeping quarters, was now peering -uncertainly into the observation deck. It was David Wilmot, one of the -six passengers aboard the _Libra_. - -Wilmot's thin face was pinched with nervousness; he coughed, a thin -little hacking sound in the muted quiet, then put the back of his hand -to his mouth. Dan stood motionless, his dark uniform blending perfectly -with the drapes that concealed him. As he waited, watching, the door -at the far end of the deck opened, a short, plump man in night-robe -entered. Wilmot sprang forward eagerly. His whisper carried to Dan's -keen ears. "Have you got them, Doctor?" - -"Quiet, you fool!" Dr. Bonetti's forehead creased angrily; his -eyeglasses reflected a subdued light owlishly. He fumbled in his -pocket, passed something white to the other man. "Here! But not a word, -about this, mind you!" - -"I know. I know." Wilmot seized the papers avidly, turned and fled down -the corridor whence he had emerged. The doctor stared after him for a -moment, shook his head regretfully, then disappeared. The door closed -behind him softly. - -"_That's why, too, we must keep our eyes open--._" - -The skipper's words echoed in Dan Mallory's memory as he stepped from -his hiding place, brow furrowed. What the devil was going on here? -Could Bonetti have been the bearer of the secret plans; could Wilmot -have been the spy? Had he just witnessed the sell-out of a traitor? - -But before he could get his jumbled thoughts into order, a voice -addressed him from behind, gravely, quietly. - -"Rather confusing, eh, Lieutenant?" - -Dan whirled to look into the face of Garland Smith, another of the -_Libra's_ passengers. He said, half pettishly, "You, Captain? What are -_you_ doing up at this time of night?" - - * * * * * - -The one-time officer of the SSP, now on the retired list, shot a swift -glance at the glittering panorama visible through the quartzite plates. - -"Night, Lieutenant? Night and day are nothing but quirks of speech out -here, sleep a matter of habit. When you have lifted gravs as many years -as _I_ have--" He sighed. "I was restless. And perhaps it is just as -well. I witnessed the same thing you did. And strange things are going -on aboard the _Libra_." - -Mallory said cautiously, "Perhaps you're too apprehensive, Captain. -Just because two passengers are sleepless like yourself, meet in the -observation chamber--" - -"They're not the only two who are still awake. The whole slumbering -ship stirs with movement, my boy. A moment or so before you arrived I -saw Albert Lemming stealing down the No. 2 corridor--and 'stealing' is -the only word that describes his progress. Before that, Mrs. Wilmot had -a secret rendezvous with some one in the smoking room; I don't know who -her companion was. And Lady Alice has not been in her cabin all night." - -The older man's eyes sought Mallory's, his gaze was piercing. - -"My boy, I realize that I no longer rank you. But not so long ago, I -was your senior. Once a Patrolman, always a Patrolman, you know. I feel -we are in the midst of an intrigue too weighty for one man to solve. -Perhaps the experience of an old officer may help. Tell me, is it true -what I have heard? That someone aboard this vessel is carrying to the -New Fresno garrison the secret of Earth's new ray weapon? If so, the -mysterious actions we've witnessed may be espionage, agents of the -Kreuther forces--" - -Mallory said respectfully, "I'm very sorry, sir. I am not permitted -to say anything. But I would suggest that in the morning you speak to -Captain Algase. I'm sure he'll welcome your offer of assistance." His -face clouded. Slowly he said, "Lady Alice. Where did you see her last?" - -"In the reading room." - -Mallory saluted, turned and went to the ship's library. As he walked he -found himself hoping, why, he did not try to explain to himself, that -he would find the room empty. But it was not. A single lamp was lighted -inside. As Mallory pressed open the door, shadows danced on the farther -wall; the wavering, unidimensional symbol of an upright figure spun -and made swift, jabbing motions, dropped. There was a sound of paper -rustling, the rough scrape of calfskin on buckram. Then he was in the -room, and Lady Alice was seated beside the refectory table, ostensibly -reading a book. She glanced up with a little movement of surprise. - -"Why, Lieutenant, what a pleasant surprise!" - -Mallory stifled the impulse to say, "Pleasant?" He stared at the girl -curiously, reminding himself for the hundredth time since she had come -aboard this ship, six days ago, that as man and woman they had no -common meeting ground, they lived on planes inordinately diverse. He -was Dan Mallory, a Lieutenant of the Solar Space Patrol, a respectable, -if underpaid, watchdog of law and order in man's widening circle of -influence. Moreover, he was a _young_ lieutenant. It would be years -before he earned a major brevet, became an acceptable social figure. -Even if a miracle were to happen, if he were to be selected into the -envied corps of Lensmen, he would only be a super-cop. While she.... - -She was Lady Alice Charwell, possessor of a name and title respected -for more than eight hundred years. Of course the title was now one -of courtesy only; there was no Duchy of Io since the cession of that -satellite to the World Council. But once her father had been manor lord -of the entire globe; in the _Almanach de Gotha_ her family name and -crest still figured prominently. - -All of which had little to do with the fact that her eyes were blue as -the morning mists of Venus, that her limbs were white and straight and -supple, softly feminine despite the mannish slack and shirt ensemble -she affected, that her hair was a seine of sunlight gold that snared -Dan Mallory's heart and quickened his breath. - -He forced his voice to calmness. He said, "Lady Alice, don't you think -it would be better if you were to go to bed? This--this staying up at -night--" - -Her laughter was warm and delicious. - -"But, Lieutenant! Surely there's no harm in my reading myself to sleep?" - -"Not a bit," agreed Mallory. He bit his lip. "I might suggest, though, -that unless you're reading a book in the Lower Venusian language, it -would be easier to read if the book were right side up. And--" He -walked past her, swiftly, stared at the book which, hastily thrust back -into the bookcase, still jutted out beyond its fellows. "And you might -find more interesting reading matter than a tactical survey of Ionian -military resources." - -The girl's face was scarlet. She came to her feet indignantly. "Really, -Lieutenant, you go too far! I don't see that it is any of your -business." - -"Lady Alice," said Mallory pleadingly, "a state of war exists on Io. -Strange things are happening aboard the _Libra_, things the exact -nature of which I am not at liberty to explain. If you will try to -forget, for a moment, that I am a space officer--just think of me as a -man--will you allow me to make the suggestion that you do absolutely -nothing to lay your actions, your motives, open to any sort of -suspicion? - -"I realize that as one who inherited a claim to the title, 'Duchess -of Io,' you are deeply interested in current affairs on that colony. -Others may read another meaning into your actions, though. At least one -person has already hinted that you--" - -Lady Alice's breathing was swift. "Who?" she demanded. "Who is this -person?" - -"I'm sorry. I can't say. But will you do as I suggest?" - -There was a moment of silence. Then the girl shut the book on her lap, -laid it on the table, rose. "Very well, Lieutenant. I'm a rather poor -deceiver, aren't I? Nevertheless, I thank you for your well-meant -advice." She moved toward the doorway, grace and poise in her every -stride. And she turned there to smile back at him, her voice soft -and unamused. "Lieutenant," she said, "you should lay aside your -shoulder-straps more often. The man beneath is most--interesting." - -Then she was gone, leaving behind her a red-faced, speechless, utterly -chaotic Dan Mallory. - - * * * * * - -At breakfast, Mallory presided at the head of the table. Bud Chandler, -arriving a few minutes late, stared at his comrade surprisedly. - -"Why, Skipper!" he said, "What this trip is doing for your complexion! -You look thirty years younger. Where did you get them pretty pink -cheeks?" - -Mallory growled, "Sit down, pal, and shut up. The Old Man's grabbing -forty, and he deserves 'em. He and Norton ran into a loft-bound vacuole -last night, had a hell of a time pulling out. Didn't you hear the -commotion?" - -"All I heard," complained Bud, "was somebody in my room snoring. It -woke me up once, and what made me maddest was when I found out it was -me." He nodded to the assembled passengers, sat down and made wry faces -over his grapefruit juice. - -Albert Lemming, the swarthy-skinned jewel merchant en route to his -company's headquarters in New Fresno, stared at the acting-Captain -curiously. - -"A vacuole, Lieutenant? What's that?" - -"A hole in space. Something like an air-pocket in the ether. They -aren't particularly dangerous, but the one we ran into was whirling in -the wrong direction; if Captain Algase hadn't pulled us out, we'd have -lost time on our trip to Io." - -Mrs. Wilmot looked up. She was not, thought Mallory, a bad looking -dame--if you went for that sharp, peaked sort of beauty. But there was -a touch of cruelty to the cut of her lips, a pinched look about the -nostrils, he didn't go for. And her eyes were too close together. She -said, "That would be unfortunate, wouldn't it, Lieutenant? Losing time, -I mean?" - -There was a touch of some subtler meaning behind her words; Mallory -couldn't decide just what it was. Maybe it was sarcasm, maybe it was -fear, maybe it was mockery. He said, "I think we all share the desire -to reach New Fresno as soon as possible, don't we?" - -Her answer was unexpectedly sharp. - -"I don't care if we never reach there. I'd rather die peacefully in -space than--" - -"_Susan!_" Her husband's voice sheared the end of the sentence into -silence. Her eyes glared defiance at him for a moment, then she -returned to the business of eating. Lemming looked embarrassed. Dr. -Bonetti shook his head. Captain Smith coughed, suggested mildly, -"Captain Algase must be an excellent astronavigator, Lieutenant. I -didn't notice a single jarring motion. In _my_ day, escape from a -vacuole was a tedious, ship-wracking process. Of course--" His eyes -wandered about the table querulously, "Of course there are so many -new inventions nowadays. Improvements in all lines. Spacecraft, -air-modifiers, armament--" - -Mallory rose suddenly. He was half angry with the ex-space officer. -Smith wasn't being very subtle in his effort to help matters. No doubt -the old duck meant well, but-- - -He said, "If you'll excuse me, ladies and gentlemen, I must go to the -bridge. Ready, Bud?" - -Bud Chandler gulped, "Ssswllwmcffy! Ulp!" - -"What?" - -"I said, 'As soon as I swallow my coffee!'" repeated the Second Mate -aggrievedly. "Can't you understand English? Let's go." - -Lemming intercepted them as they passed his end of the table. He -asked, "Lieutenant, I've been wanting to ask for several days--might -I be permitted to visit the bridge? This is my first spaceflight, you -know. I've always wanted to see how the controls are operated." - -"Speak to Captain Algase," suggested Dan. "That's not within my -power--Yes, Billy?" - -The mess-boy had just raced in from the outer deck, trayless, almost -breathless. "Y're wanted on the bridge immejitely, Lootenant! Cap'n -orders!" His eyes were as big as saucers. "Sparks just got a message -through. A message from New Fresno!" - -Dan had just time to notice, out of the corner of one eye, how this -bald pronouncement affected the passengers. He saw the concerted motion -that dragged them all to their feet as if they were puppets on a single -string; saw the sudden gleam in Wilmot's eye, the worried frown that -creased Bonetti's forehead, heard the swift, startled gasp from Lady -Alice and intercepted Captain Smith's darting glances from one to -another of the listeners. Lemming's voice quavered, "A--a message from -New Fresno!" and Susan Wilmot laughed, a short, strident, triumphant -burst of sound. - -Then Dan Mallory saw no more. For with Chandler at his heels, he was -pounding through the corridors to the Jacob's ladder that fed the -control turret. - - * * * * * - -Captain Algase was no beauty even when garbed in his officer's blues; -in pajamas and slippers he was something out of a nightmare. His bare -legs were like cylindrical hair mattresses, his pajama slacks bulged at -the equator as if he were concealing there a half watermelon. His eyes -were red and gummy, his temper like something that could be poured out -of a cruet. As Dan and Bud entered the control turret he was battering -the bewildered radioman's defenses into oblivion with a salvo of verbal -thermite. - -"Message!" he was howling. "You call this thing a message! I'll have -you stewed in slow gravy for waking me up like this, Sparks! Of all the -damn, dumb--" He saw his two lieutenants. "Never mind, you two. Go back -and finish your breakfast. False alarm." - -"We've finished, Skipper," said Dan. "What's all the commotion?" - -"This _&![oe])$$[oe]09_!--" began Algase. - -Sparks said miserably, "But it was Marlowe's hand on the keys, Cap'n! I -swear it was. I know the message don't make sense, but you can't fool -a bug-pounder. Every radioman has a distinctive sending style. Ask -anybody. Even one of them wise-cracking Donovan boys. They'll tell you. -And this was Marlowe's hand--" - -"Let's see," said Mallory. He took the flimsy from his senior's -fingers, frowned as he ran an eye over the cryptic symbols. "Numerals! -All numerals. Sparks--?" - -"It was like this. The static interference is still going on. The audio -wouldn't bring in voice at all. But as I was twisting the dials, I got -this power wave from Lunar III, Joe Marlowe's station. It had a--a sort -of cadence. I began putting down the things it sounded like, and--and -that's what come out." - -Chandler, peering over his comrade's shoulder, said, - -"Well, hell's bells, are you all nuts? It must be a code of some sort. -Sparks, we use several numerical codes, don't we?" - -"Yes." Meekly. "But that ain't one of them, Lieutenant. That don't fit -no code in the reg book." - -Mallory continued to stare at the message. It was long, and undeniably -confusing. It read: - -83.7-152-232.12-167.64-31.02-16-184-167.64-9.02-1-126.92-144.27- -186.31-50.95-16-175-47.9-16-14.008-4.002-39.944-50.95-173.04-19- -16-10.25-69.87-14.008-16-184-232.12-186.31-39.944-127.61-14.008- -20.183-184-19-186.31-118.70-16-1-74.91-127.61-14.008-74.91-28.06- -32.06-181.4-14.008-140.13-138-92-20.183-184-39.944-222.-32.06- -138.92-162.46-26.97-126.92-140.13-40.08-10.82-26.97-32.06-31.02- -88.92-14.008-16-184-16-14.008-6.94-79.916-39.944-40.08-195.23- -39.944-114.76-150.43-126.92-232.12-114.76-127.61-14.008-32.06- -126.92-19-88.92-140.92-16-127.61-12-47.9-16-14.008-16-19-20.183- -184-78.96-52.01-16.721-225.97-88.92-- - -"--and there it began all over again," said Sparks. "The same sequence. -I agree, it's a code. But what good is a code when we ain't got -the key to it. It ain't a simple word substitution cryptogram or a -five-by-five. I studied them in the Academy, and tried them all before -I brought this to the Captain. In other words, it ain't no good to us -unless we've got the clue--and we ain't got the clue!" - - * * * * * - -Mallory said, "Billy said this was a message from New Fresno?" - -"Well, he was wrong, as usual." Determinedly. "It come from Earth's -moon. I know Joe Marlowe's fingers when I hear 'em. Damn, we was -classmates for three years. Before I got crazy and gave up chemistry -for key-pushing--" - -"Chemistry!" Mallory started. "Did you say chemistry? Did you and -Marlowe study chemistry together?" - -"Yeah. Why?" - -"Why! Because that's the answer. Marlowe is nobody's fool. He knew -you were the radioman aboard the _Libra_, prepared a special code, -the key to which would lie in your brain as the 'memory of auld lang -syne'--Bud, look at these figures again. You notice the number '16' -appearing over and over? Even in that thick skull of yours, '16' -suggests--?" - -"Oxygen," declared Chandler promptly. "The atomic weight of oxygen." - -"And eighty-three point seven? Forty-seven, nine?" - -"Krypton. And--let's see--titanium?" - -"Right! Grab a pencil, pal! I think we've got a solution here. Jot -these down--krypton, europium, thorium, erbium--Hold it!" He looked at -his companion disgustedly. "Just the symbols, you dope! Don't you see? -The symbols of the various elements employ every letter in the English -language except 'j' and 'q'--and those are the two least commonly used, -anyway. Start over. Krypton--" - -"Kr," said Bud. - -"Europium--" - -"Eu." - -"Thorium. Erbium--" - -"'Kreuther'!" howled Bud. "That's it, Dan! Keep going!" - - * * * * * - -The message slowly scrawled its way onto paper. A word appeared, -another, another. Then: - -"Ten point twenty-five!" said Mallory. "Followed by 69.87! What the -hell are they?" - -Bud said, "Maybe he made a mistake? Boron's 10.82. Lithium's 6.94--" - -"No. That's not it," said Mallory. He frowned. Captain Algase had long -since wakened completely, was listening to his two juniors with glowing -pride. Now he cut the Gordian knot. - -"Chromium," he suggested, "is fifty-two point one, Dan. The reverse of -the number that stumps you." - -"Right! That's it, Skipper! And the meaning must be that the symbol is -to be written in reverse. 'Rc' instead of 'Cr.' There aren't enough -combinations to spell every word in the language unless you use some -subterfuges like that." - -"Which makes the word," said Bud, "'forces.' Go on, pal...." - -Mallory plunged into the heart of the coded letter. "39.944--" - -"Argon," said Bud, "'A.'" - -"114.76. Indium. 150.43--" - -"Samarium. 'Sa.' Next?" - -"Iodine." - -"'I.'" - -The message was finished. Bud handed it to Captain Algase. Mallory's -curiosity was at fever pitch. He had not been able to piece the letters -together as he went along; he had gained but a smattering here and -there. He waited. The skipper read slowly, breaking the message up into -coherent sentences. - -"'Kreuther power behind revolution. Heavy forces now threatening New -Fresno--'" - -"Kreuther, huh?" growled Bud. "I thought so." - -"'Hasten assistance. Lane warns--'" The captain stopped, stared a -moment, glanced swiftly at Mallory. There was a tight note in his -voice. "'Lane warns Lady Alice, cabal spy, now in _Libra_--'" - -"Lady Alice!" blurted Mallory. The warmth of the control turret -suddenly weighed down upon him; his brow felt hot, oppressed, as if -some gigantic hand had descended upon his temples. - -"'Captain saith,'" continued Algase, "'intensify protection of new -secret ray.'" He crumpled the paper. "And that is all, gentlemen. -Mallory--" - -"Yes, sir?" - -"Our fears were justified. There _is_ a spy on the _Libra_. We must -take no chances. You will arrest Lady Alice Charwell, place her under -lock and key for the duration of the voyage." - -Bud Chandler muttered, "Where does Marlowe get that Old English stuff? -'Saith!' Why didn't he say, 'Says'?" - -"Because," Mallory answered mechanically, "there is no 'ys' combination -in the elemental vocabulary. He had to say it that way." The -recollection of his unpleasant duty flooded back on him; with it came -protest. "But it can't be true, Captain! There must be some mistake. -Surely Lady Alice wouldn't be--" - -"On the contrary, Daniel," Algase's voice was unusually gentle, "she -would be. Once her family owned all of Io. It is more than likely that -she should want to see the globe freed of Board control; regain her -lost property. She could well be in league with Kreuther to overthrow -the present government. According to this, she _is_." - -"Yes, sir," acknowledged Dan dully. He was thinking of Captain Smith's -warning. Of the book Lady Alice had been reading, the book on military -tactics. "Shall I make the--the arrest now, sir?" - -"Yes, Lieutenant." - -"Very good, sir!" He turned and left the room. His jaw was white and -rigid; a dull hurt was behind his eyes.... - - * * * * * - -A strained assemblage awaited his return to the mess hall. As he -entered the room all conversation ended abruptly; an almost audible -silence fell upon the group of passengers. Lemming half rose from his -seat, opened his mouth as though to say something, closed it again, his -lips a white slit against the green pallor of his cheeks. Lady Alice's -eyes were tense, expectant. Captain Smith moved forward to meet him. -The ex-space officer's heavy frame was poised and ready; there was a -note of subdued eagerness in his voice. He said stridently, "Well, -Lieutenant--?" - -Dan Mallory's patience with the older man was quite exhausted. He said -curtly, but in a voice that did not reach the ears of the others, -"Captain, I must remind you that you have no authority whatsoever on -this ship! I appreciate your willingness to help, but--" Angrily. "For -God's sake, man, stop acting like the hero of a Twenty-second century -dime novel! Stop fingering your needle-gun, and--" - -Smith looked embarrassed. His heavy shoulders sagged, and swift -contrition swept over Mallory as the one-time officer said, "I--I'm -sorry, Lieutenant." - -Lemming had found words at last. He asked, shakily, "The--the message, -Lieutenant? Was it--?" - -He had to arrest Lady Alice, thought Dan Mallory. But he didn't have -to humiliate her. To brand her eternally as a traitor in the eyes of -her associates. And he still held doggedly to the hope that somehow, -somewhere, had been made a dreadful mistake. He said, "The message was -a routine transmission, Mr. Lemming. Of no great importance. Now, will -you all be kind enough to disband, quietly?" - -No one moved. Mallory, glancing at the faces about him, felt again -that conviction that an interwoven webbing of intrigue entangled these -passengers. He said, firmly, "That is not a request, but a command! You -will all retire to the observation deck at once!" - -The little group stirred. Mallory sought the side of Lady Alice, said, -"I've been wanting to show you the ship, Lady Alice. Wouldn't you like -to see it now?" - -Her look of pleased surprise burned him. She said, "Why, Lieutenant, -how nice! I would enjoy it." - -They moved in a direction opposite that of the rest of the passengers. -Even so, they did not escape unnoticed. From the corner of his eye Dan -Mallory caught the glitter of Dr. Bonetti's spectacles, realized that -the dumpy man was watching them shrewdly. And for a moment his eye met -that of Captain Garland Smith; the old officer's head was nodding in -mused speculation. He, too, had guessed Mallory's concealed purpose. - -Only the girl herself seemed unaware that this was not merely a -pleasantry. Her shoulder brushed that of Mallory as they pressed -through a narrow doorway; the soft, feminine warmth of her heaped -reproach on the young lieutenant, as did her words. - -"Lieutenant, I see you can take advice as well as give it. I had no -idea, last night, when I suggested that you reveal the man beneath the -uniform more often, that you would actually--" - -They were alone now. And Mallory turned to face her, his voice -purposely hard and impersonal. - -"If you please, Lady Alice! It is my painful duty to inform you that -you are under arrest!" - -"Under ar--!" Her gasp ended in a burst of light laughter. She brought -her hand to her forehead in mock salute. "Aye, Lieutenant! Brig, ho! -But if I'm not too inquisitive, what charges are preferred against -me? Murder? Of course, I _do_ kill time most horribly, but these long -trips--or could it be theft? I'm sure I've stolen nothing. Unless you -mean--" She paused in sudden confusion; her eyes lifted to his; there -was something written there, something breathtaking. Mallory had to -hold tight. - -"The charge," he said tersely, "is--treason! That message was from -Lunar III, Lady Alice. It bore a warning from the commander of the -Intelligence Division there, advising us that you had been discovered -to be a member of Igor Kreuther's organization!" - - * * * * * - -The light died from the girl's eyes, the smile on her lips turned to -ice. Her slim body stiffened, straightened. And for an instant Dan -Mallory saw, with swift prescience, that this girl was not all charm -and allure; that beneath her tempting softness there was a core, -steel-strong, of strength and daring. - -"Treason! Treason, you--you blind fool!" she spat. "You dare accuse -_me_, Lady Alice Charwell, Grand Duchess of Io, Lady of the Rocket and -Globe, Maid of the Golden Crest, of--of treason! Sir! My family ruled -Io when that dominion was first discovered. For almost three hundred -years the Charwell crest has--" - -"Please, Lady Alice!" pleaded Mallory. "I know how you feel about -it. To your mind, your actions were not treasonable. But Io is no -longer yours; it is under the guardianship of the Control Board. And -you mustn't talk this way. I will be called to testify against you; -anything you say will be convicting evidence--" He touched her shoulder -as though the warmth of his hand might melt its icy stiffness. - -She shrugged herself loose disdainfully. - -"I think we can dispense with the amenities, Lieutenant. The smile on -the lips ... the gracious invitation to 'see the ship' ... the friendly -hand of comfort...." There was scorn, anger, pain in her eyes. "It is -my right to demand the privilege of communicating with my accusers, is -it not? Those on Earth who--?" - -"I'm sorry. No audio transmission is possible because of the -blanket-static. The message came through in a code." - -"I see. I must wait, then, until we reach New Fresno. Never mind, -Lieutenant Mallory. You have said enough. I presume you are placing me -under guard? Where--in my own quarters? Very well. If you will be kind -enough to escort me there!" She laughed brittlely. "But, of course, you -will. You couldn't let a traitor out of your sight, could you?" - -In throbbing, bitter silence they moved down the corridors to Lady -Alice's stateroom. There she spoke for the last time. - -"The message that accused me, Lieutenant. Might I be permitted to hear -the damning evidence? What did it say?" - -There was no harm, thought Mallory miserably, in telling her that. The -words were like acid, etched into his brain. He repeated them. She -listened intently, frowned--and then a new, curious look stole into her -eyes. She said, "But--" - -"Yes?" said Mallory. "Yes?" - -The look faded. She laughed scornfully. - -"Hoping to hear more 'convicting evidence,' Lieutenant? I'm so sorry to -disappoint you. Now, will you lock the door after me, please?" - -Dan Mallory made a last try. It would cost him his rocket if anyone -heard his words, but-- - -"Lady Alice," he pleaded, "I'm honestly sorry about this. I don't -believe you are guilty. If you'll trust me, tell me your side of the -story, I'll do everything in my power to--" - -"You have done," said the girl tightly, "more than enough right now. -Guard me well, Lieutenant!" With a short, mocking laugh she slipped -through the door, Mallory waited a long minute, then turned the key in -the lock. Its grate was a taunting sneer. He returned to the bridge.... - - * * * * * - -He couldn't help overhearing the end of that conversation. The runway -that fed the control turret was narrow and metal-walled; it formed a -perfect soundbox. Moreover, the door was ajar. The voice was Captain -Algase reached his ears perfectly as he approached the room. - -"--don't want to have to remind you again, Norton, that it is highly -unethical for a space officer to become involved with a woman -passenger. Especially with a married woman." - -And the surly voice of Third Mate Rick Norton saying, "Very well, sir!" -Then footsteps approaching the door, a figure confronting his squarely, -Norton flushing, snarling, "Getting an earful, Mallory?" - -Dan was in no mood for bickering. He said, "Don't mind me, Norton. I've -known for months you were a skirt-chaser. I don't consider it any of my -business." - -Norton's cheeks flamed. He said insultingly, "And I suppose you stand -behind your stripes as you say that?" - -"Forget the stripes." Mallory looked at his fists. "I stand behind -these." - -"Good!" Norton swung. He was a well-built man, a strong man. His blow -packed dynamite--but it needed a target to set off the percussion cap. -It found no target but a moving one. Mallory ducked, rolled with the -punch, came up inside the Third Mate's guard to land a short, jabbing -left to the midsection, a blasting right to the point of Norton's jaw. -Norton gasped and collapsed soggily. Arms behind him reached out to -support his falling weight; other lips behind Mallory whistled softly -as Bud Chandler, coming up to serve his trick, witnessed the swift, -decisive exchange of blows. And Captain Algase, releasing Norton's -inert form, glared at Mallory. - -"Well! Well, Lieutenant, I think you know we have rules against -brawling?" - -"Aye, sir!" - -"But--" Captain Algase stroked his jaw speculatively, "In this -case--Chandler, get him below! It served him right. Maybe he'll spend -this rest period sleeping, instead of stirring up trouble amongst the -passengers. Dan, my boy--" - -He led the way back into the turret, completed the log record for the -previous trick, handed it to Mallory, who had slipped into the control -bucket. - -"Twenty-four more Earth hours and we'll be there," he said. "And, -believe me, I'll be glad when this trip ends. Trouble. Nothing but -trouble from beginning to end. Long tricks and short tempers. Norton -getting mixed up with that Wilmot dame--a damn' hussy if I ever saw -one, and her husband a neurotic wreck. Smith bothering the blistering -Hades out of me, wanting to 'help' catch spies and a thousand other--" -He glanced at Mallory, who had stiffened at the word. His glance was -sympathetic. "I'm sorry I had to ask you to arrest her, Daniel. But -it's experiences like that that make strong men out of space officers. - -"You have to be hard in this business. Crime hides beneath strange -disguises. The sweetest smiles, the friendliest hand-shakes, the most -honeyed words, may conceal--" - -"If you please, sir!" said Dan Mallory, white-lipped. - -"I know, lad. I've seen the way you looked at her. But remember--forty -thousand innocent lives! Had she learned the secret of that new weapon, -our voyage might have been disastrous. From this distance she could -have made a flight to Io in one of the auxiliary safety rockets, -given the plans to Kreuther's forces. The very weapon we look to for -salvation would have been used against us. Io might have become a nest -of rebellion, instead of a peaceful member of the solar family. Now -that we've snared our spy, the messenger--whoever he is--will be safe." - -On the visiplate it was a glowing red spark, but in the _perilens_ -before him it was a gigantic orb dominating the heavens through which -the _Libra_ hurtled. Jupiter; monster of Sol's scattered brood, untamed -sphere of writhing gases and vague mystery, itself a pseudo-parent -emanating enough heat to make its far-flung satellites livable worlds. -Soon they would fling themselves, they aboard the _Libra_, halfway -around that gigantic orb, settle to the small body now wanly visible as -a silver crescent. - - * * * * * - -Dan Mallory punched a control-key savagely, felt the _Libra_ shake -itself into a slightly changed curve, turned to his superior. - -"I'm not so sure of that, sir. Oh, I'm not trying to defend Lady Alice. -Earth's Intelligence officers don't make mistakes--not mistakes of -that magnitude, anyway. But there are other passengers I don't trust. -Lemming. Wilmot. Dr. Bonetti. Why are they aboard the _Libra_? Why were -they so excited when they heard we'd received a message from Lunar III? -Suppose one of them is also a spy?" - -"Or suppose," said the skipper, "one of them bears the secret of the -new ray weapon. Wouldn't that one naturally be excited?" - -"But the others?" Mallory inquired. - -"I don't know. You may have something there, Daniel. I'm still taking -no chances. I've put Aiken on guard at Lady Alice's door. If anyone -tries to liberate her--What _is_ it, Sparks?" - -He snapped the query at the intercommunications box which was -spluttering and growling. The radioman's tone was weary. "It's Mr. -Wilmot again, sir. He insists on talking to you." - -"Tell Mr. Wilmot I will see him at midday mess." - -Sparks was stubborn about it. - -"But he insists his message is important, sir. He demands to see you at -once. Says--" - -"_Demands!_" The skipper's jowls reddened. "Please tell Mr. Wilmot -passengers do not _demand_ favors of spaceship officers. I will see him -at mess. That is all!" And he cut the communications board; turned to -Mallory angrily. "That's why I didn't put you on report for slugging -Norton. Wilmot's mad as a hornet and I don't blame him. Norton catting -around after his wife--" - -Chandler appeared, grinning. He said to Mallory, "What a sock, pal, -what a sock! If that guy counts sheep in his sleep, he's going to wake -up allergic to mutton. Wish I had done it. He's a grouchy son-of-a-- -What's biting you?" - -Mallory said, "That's just it, damn it! I don't quite know. It just -came upon me like a flash that someone said something funny ... -something that didn't ring true ... but I can't remember what it was. -If I could--" - -"See, Skipper? It's got him, too. We're all going to be candidates for -the straitjacket squad when we finish this trip." - -Algase smiled sourly. "Well, don't lift gravs for the next twenty-four -hours, that's all I ask. See you later, boys." He turned to leave; was -interrupted by the buzz of the intercommunications box. "What, again! -Yes, Sparks--what is it this time? If it's Wilmot again, tell him to go -beat his brains out with a rusty bar! I'll see him at--" - -Sparks' voice was harsh with excitement. - -"It is Wilmot, sir! But I can't tell him anything. He's dead, sir! -Murdered!" - - * * * * * - -Chandler said, "Murdered? Mi-god!" Captain Algase said a more effective -and less printable thing which ended in, "Come on!" And he and Chandler -pounded down the runway, their footsteps ringing on the Jacob's-ladder, -disappearing in the distance. - -Dan Mallory, his thoughts chaotic, sat chained to his bucket seat by -the obligation of guiding the spaceship through the treacherous void. -His fingers played over the control keys automatically; slowly the -chaos left his brain and cold, clear, reasoning thought took its place. - -Wilmot dead. Why? The first thought that suggested itself was Norton. -Motive--jealousy. The desire to get Susan Wilmot's husband out of the -way so-- - -But that was illogical. Norton was a skirt-chaser and a quixotic fool, -but he wasn't a criminal. Murder was not in his line. Why else, then? - -Because Wilmot had been the bearer of the formula? Had he been slain -by a spy? And if so, by whom? Lady Alice was in her cabin, or at -least--with a swift constriction of the throat--Dan hoped she was. He -pressed the intercommunications button hurriedly; Sparks' face appeared -before him on the visiplate. "Get me the M-13 plate, Sparks! The one in -the stateroom passageway!" - -The scene shifted. Aiken, a space gob, looked up as the audio before -him glowed into life, touched his forelock respectfully. "Lieutenant -Mallory?" - -"The prisoner is in her stateroom?" - -"Aye, sir." - -"She hasn't been out?" - -"Not for a moment, sir." The sailor added, "Might I ask the lootenant -what the h--I mean, what's going on?" - -"Plenty!" snapped Dan. "That's all, sailor. Carry on!" - -The glow faded. Mallory shook his head. No dice on that hunch. Then -what else--? - -The thought came so suddenly, so breathtakingly, that it literally -lifted him out of his chair. There was but one possible answer! The -reverse of his former theory. Wilmot was neither the bearer of the -precious secret nor a spy. He was the "innocent bystander"; the -traditional victim who, from time immemorial, has always been the one -to get bopped. Somehow the nervous, jittery little man had learned -_who_ the spy was. He had attempted to communicate his knowledge to -Captain Algase; the petulance of his own nature had rendered this -impossible. And the spy, knowing that Wilmot had learned his secret, -had-- - -Again he pressed the button. This time Sparks said, "Lieutenant -Mallory? Have you seen Mr. Lemming? The captain wants to question him, -but he can't be found anywhere--" - -"Never mind that!" rapped Mallory. "Sparks, I want to know this. How -was Wilmot killed?" - -"Rayed, sir. Needled." - -"I thought as much. And who was the first to find him?" - -"Dr. Bonetti, sir. He's being held under suspicion. He confesses to -having supplied Wilmot with drugs, sir. _Teklin-root_, sir. (That would -be, thought Mallory swiftly, the package surreptitiously exchanged in -the observation room.) But he claims he didn't kill Wilmot--" - -"Quick, man! Was Captain Smith anywhere around the radio turret when -this happened?" - -"Why--why, he _had_ been, sir. But he left before Mr. Wilmot did--" - -Captain Algase's face appeared in the visiplate beside that of Sparks. -"Daniel, my boy, keep your eye peeled for Lemming. He's disappeared. -Susan Wilmot has told us he isn't a jewel merchant at all; he's a jewel -thief! Fleeing Earth to gain settler's amnesty on Io. Wilmot knew his -secret, tried to blackmail him. Lemming threatened--" - -"You're after the wrong man!" screamed Dan Mallory. "Captain, I see it -all, now! The whole story. These other things have confused us. Sparks, -swiftly--get me that M-13 plate again!" - - * * * * * - -The scene spun, changed dizzily. Once again Mallory was gazing down -the corridor where Aiken had stood guard. But Aiken no longer stood -before Lady Alice Charwell's door. He lay there, limp, still forever. A -smoking hole charred his broad chest, crimson stirred sluggishly from -the needle-ray's telltale trail. The door of the stateroom was open. - -A hoarse bellow told Dan that the captain was seeing the same scene. - -"_She_ did it! She killed him and escaped!" - -"No!" roared Mallory. "_Smith_ did it! The man we should have suspected -all the time; the man who _admitted_ his guilt, but I was too blind to -see it. Kreuther's spy. The renegade space officer--Captain, did you -feel that?" - -His space-trained senses had felt the swift, tiny moment of jarring -repercussion that meant only one thing--that from one of the escape -ports a life-skiff, an auxiliary safety rocket, had slipped from its -base on the _Libra_, taken off into space! - -"He's escaping! He's kidnaped her and taken off in a life-skiff. Bud! -Take over! I'm lifting gravs!" - -And for the first time in his career as an officer of the SSP, -Lieutenant Daniel Mallory violated, deliberately, a rule of the Space -Patrol handbook. He rammed the _Libra's_ controls into the robot hands -of the Iron Mike, and abandoned his post in mid-flight! - - * * * * * - -It was not that he considered himself more capable than his captain or -the second mate. His move was dominated by only one thing, the urgent -need for haste. Safety rockets are, as everyone knows, blindingly fast. -Much faster than the heavier, sturdier, cruising vessels that bear them -like so many unfledged wallabies in a pouch. Give Smith a flying start -and he would never be apprehended. And _he_, Dan Mallory, was much -nearer a life-skiff port than the other officers up in the loft of the -radio turret. - -Slipping, skidding, stumbling in his haste, he raced to the nearest -port, flung open the control-bar, threw himself into the small, -tear-shaped vehicle lying there. There were regulations demanding that -air, food, water supplies be ascertained before flight in one of these -was attempted. But there was no time for such nonsense now. Each second -seemed an hour as Mallory warmed the hypatomic motors of the skiff, -rammed the button that opened the _Libra's_ outer shell, struck another -that catapulted the safety-rocket away from its parent craft. - -Then the dark of the womblike casing was gone, and he was blasting, -under his own power, through space illumined with the candle-gleams of -a trillion galactic motes. He set his range-finder and attractor--but -even as their needles found their objective, his searching eyes located -it. A tiny, silvery gleam against the tawny night ahead--a gleam from -the stern of which flared burst upon flaming burst of superheated light. - -The rockets of Smith's skiff, hell-bent for Io! - -Minutes _had_ been precious! Vitally so. Already the little craft was -countless thousands of miles before him. It was a wide margin that -separated him; and in that margin lay the difference between freedom -and peonage for forty thousand Earth-men, millions of Ionians, the -difference between life and death for the girl Smith had kidnaped, the -difference between victory and defeat for the Solar Patrolmen. - -There was only one way to catch Smith. Recognizing the fact, Dan -Mallory bit his lip, set his jaw stubbornly. Acceleration! Acceleration -great enough to fling him across the yawning void, enable him to snare -his quarry in tensiles.... - -And he was not strapped! No safety corset to hold tight the straining -cords of his viscera, no yards of gauze padding to keep his wracked -body from literally flinging itself to shreds. No-- - -He glanced about him hurriedly. There were piles of cushions, soft, -plump, airy, scattered about the metallic cockpit. He jammed a dozen -of these behind him, under him, about him. There was an oxy-helmet in -its container beside him; he thrust this over his head. Its rubberoid -halter settled about his chest, his shoulders. At least his straining -eyes would not bulge from their sockets; by adjustment--if he could -raise a hand--he could compensate accelerative force with pressure. - -He drew a deep breath. Then, recklessly, wrenched the dial of the motor -to full acceleration! - - * * * * * - -It was as though ten thousand fiery demons tore at his body with claws -of flame. A weight, massive, imponderable, kicked the breath out of -his lungs, forced it from his gaping mouth and flared nostrils into -the helmet he wore. He gulped and strangled, fighting to draw into -a shrunken chest a breach of fleeing life. One hand moved--or tried -to--to his throat in an instinctive gesture of distress. The hand -moved a half inch from his knee, flung itself back into his stomach -like a leaden weight. - -The quick burst of nausea saved his life, because tortured ductless -glands released a stream of adrenalin into his churning blood-stream, -the miraculously adaptable body of Man rose once again above its normal -limitations. Air crept into his lungs, his heart's tumultuous pounding -no longer throbbed a threnody in his eardrums. - -Still he could move with only the greatest of effort--but he could -move! And his eyes, no longer blinded by the red mist that had drowned -their sockets, saw the rocket-flares before him seem to literally stop -in mid-flight, race back toward him! - -A great exultation seized him. He was hardly aware that bright blood -had burst from his nostrils, and that as he opened his lips to shout -hoarsely the corners of his mouth drooled red. The craft he pursued -whirled fiercely toward him; like flame-riding charioteers they -jockeyed across the cosmic wastes. Smith knew he was there. Must know. -But--Mallory's grin was the grimace of a gargoyle--he didn't have the -guts to duplicate the young lieutenant's mad burst of speed. - -He was depending on other weapons. Even as Mallory experienced the -thought, a stabbing beam spat backward from the other rocket, a -coruscating ray of silver that bore sudden death. - -But Mallory had anticipated the move; his slow hand had been straining -for seconds to forestall it. He pressed a lever--the ship slid into -a dive. Another and the terrible pressure lifted from his limbs, his -body felt suddenly light and buoyant, strength surged back to him with -singing sweetness. - -Again that stabbing ray searched for him. But Dan Mallory was no -novice at the art of space warfare. He spun his craft into a cycloid -Laegland arc, the lethal ray spent itself on indestructible space, and -when Mallory came out of his maneuver he was within scant miles of his -objective. - -Grinning savagely, his hand sought the button that would smash Smith's -ship into oblivion--then stayed! Lady Alice! He could not destroy her -with Smith. Because now he knew, certainly and surely, two things. One -of which was that she must be the bearer of the secret ray formula to -Io. In no other way could you account for the fact that Smith had dared -everything to kidnap her. She carried the secret, not in papers, but in -her mind. - -Were she to die--and might the gods of space forbid that his hand -should destroy her loveliness!--Kreuther would still be the victor. -For with her would perish the final hope of the besieged New Fresno -garrison. - -The other thing he realized was-- - -But there was no time for that now. His fingers spurned the ray button; -found another. A jolt shivered the space-skiff from fore-quartz to -rocket as his tensile beam reached across the closing miles, fastened -its grip on Smith's craft. - -Mallory's grin tightened. He cut motors. His tensile beam would -contract like a rubber band, drawing the two ships together. Smith, -feeling that beam upon him, unable to sheer it off, would not be able -to turn a lethal radiation upon him now. For the tensile beam was a -perfect conduction ray. To destroy one ship meant to destroy both. - -There was a groan behind him. Shocked, he turned. From the storage bin, -bleeding from nose, ears, mouth, body twisted as though wrung through -some gigantic mangler, crawled the missing jewel thief--Albert Lemming! - - * * * * * - -Mallory choked, sickened. "Lord, man! How did you get aboard here? -Why--" - -Liquid breath gurgled in Lemming's throat. Glaze filmed his eyeballs. -"Tried to--" he panted, "--stow away. Wilmot dead--knew suspect -me--hid--" - -His head fell forward to the floor. Dan fingered his pulse, found there -not the feeblest stir of life. Lemming, fleeing the dreaded breath of -suspicion, had lost the more important breath of life. The miracle was -that he had survived, even so long, the tremendous acceleration that -had taxed all Mallory's space-trained, protected faculties. - -And the two space-skiffs closed inexorably the gap between them. -Mallory's quick brain leaped to the final problem. But before he could -solve it, the small skiff audio burst into speech. - -"Well done, whoever you are!" said the voice from the other skiff. "But -you realize it won't do you any good?" - -Mallory rasped, "I'm coming alongside in a minute, Smith. Stand by to -surrender peaceably, or--" - -"Or?" mocked the ex-space officer. "So it's you, Lieutenant? I might -have guessed it. Your valor is exceeded only by your lack of foresight. -I repeat, your hectic pursuit has done you no good." - -"Never mind the talk. Stand by. This is the end," said Mallory. "This -is checkmate, Smith." - -"Not checkmate, my gallant young friend," corrected Smith. -"_Stalemate._ True, you hold me captive in your beam. But to what end? -You can't hope to take me alive. Whenever I choose, I can blast you and -myself into atoms. And with us goes--" he paused significantly--"Lady -Alice! Ah, you are silent, Lieutenant? I thought you would be. Of -course, I'm an old man. These youthful romancings no longer interest -me. But--bless us, she's much too beautiful to die, isn't she, -Lieutenant?" - -Lady Alice's voice interrupted. - -"Take him, Dan! Don't think about me. I'm not afraid to--" - -"You hear, Lieutenant? The girl's gallantry is a fit match for your -own. But by this time, surely, you have realized that if she dies, the -secret of the new ray weapon dies with her. I think my leader's forces -will have taken New Fresno before a second messenger reaches Io." - -It was the truth. Knowing that, Dan Mallory groaned. This was a -deadlock; one that neither force could break. He said slowly, "Well, -Captain? What is your price for Lady Alice's safety?" - -"My own," replied the renegade spaceman promptly, "and the secret -she bears. I'm not an unreasonable man, Lieutenant. Even though--" -bitterness edged his words--"even though the Solar Space Patrol -did take the best years of my life, squeeze the heart out of me, -throw my aging body into the discard like a dried pulp. No, I'm not -unreasonable--" - -So that was it. The self-pity of an aging man, perhaps a man gone off -his gravs from the letdown after active years. That was why Smith -had renounced his SSP pledge, gone over to the other side. Captain -Algase's words rang in Dan's memory. "Where there are new causes, there -are traitors to the old--" Even a spaceman was not exempt from human -weakness. - -"If Lady Alice will surrender her secret to me," the renegade captain -was continuing, "with convincing proof that the formula she gives me is -no lie, I will permit you both to live. I will allow you to keep one of -these ships, return to safety--" - -Mallory thought feverishly. It was against his every scruple to parley -thus with the other man. But he could gain nothing by destroying -himself and Lady Alice. Alive, there was always a chance they might win -through to the New Fresno fort, carry their message, howsoever belated. -If they died, Kreuther and his hirelings would surely win. - -He said, "Very well, Smith. I accept. Give him the formula, Lady Alice." - -Her answer was tense, vivid. - -"No! No, Dan, don't trust him! He won't keep his promise. I know he -won't!" - -"We must take that chance." Grimly. "Tell him!" - - * * * * * - -The audio went dead. Mallory waited impatiently. Somewhere, lost in the -immensity that engulfed them, the _Libra_ surged through space on a -mission now in the hands of the deadlocked three. So near that it was -more sunlike than Sol, Jupiter swung in its titanic orbit about Man's -luminary. The endless night was spangled with an infinitude of stars. -The stars toward which Man, yearning, groped--while Man's feet still -stumbled through the muck and mire of deceit.... - -And the audio woke to life again. Smith's voice was triumphant. "Very -well, Lieutenant. I am satisfied. I have finished the demolition of -power and arms units in this ship. Its radio, however, still operates. -I think it will sustain life for you until your friends arrive. I am -ready to board your ship." - -Lady Alice's cry broke in, "Be careful, Dan! He'll kill you! He--" -There was the sound of flesh upon flesh, a silence. Then, "Well, -Lieutenant?" - -Dan said, "Come ahead." - -"You will take your place," said Smith, "in the pilot's seat where I -can see you from the moment I enter the lock. Put your hands above -your head. Do not move or turn as I enter. If you do--" - -"Come ahead," repeated Dan. The audio disconnected. - -Dan sprang into motion. He believed Lady Alice's warning. And he -was prepared to meet subtlety with subtlety; deceit with deceit. -Not yet had Smith won. He bent and lifted the broken body of Albert -Lemming. Hurriedly he jammed the oxy-helmet down over the dead man's -bloody features. He grunted, "Sorry, pal!" as he hoisted Lemming into -the pilot's chair, forced stiffening arms back and up in token of -surrender. The high back of the chair, the padded cushions made the -form hold its position. - -He finished just in time. There was a scraping at the airlock. The two -ships had drifted side to side now, and entry was a simple matter. -Mallory ducked back into the compartment from which Lemming had -emerged. His needle gun was in his hand, poised, ready.... - -Smith entered quietly. He glanced once at the figure in the pilot's -chair, said, "Don't move, Lieutenant--" and his arm raised. The girl's -warning had been all too true. There was rankest treachery in the -leveling of that gun, in the fiery needle dart that hurled across the -chamber, burying itself in Lemming's defenseless head. The stench of -charred flesh filled the room. The dead body wobbled, lurched to the -floor. And-- - -"Now, _you_ stand still, Smith!" gritted Mallory. - -Smith whirled, his jaw dropping open. In his eyes dawned horror, -disappointment, rage. He cried out once, raised his gun. - -That was how he died. With his traitorous fingers lifted for the last -time against a man who wore the uniform he had once worn ... and had -disgraced.... - - * * * * * - -Afterward, as they stood in the control turret of the _Libra_, watching -a sober-faced Rick Norton plot the landing that would bring new life -to the Ionian colonists, swift retribution to the fomenters of the -uprising, Bud Chandler whaled his comrade's back enthusiastically. - -"Guy," he said, "in words of one syllable, you're terrific!" - -"That's not one syllable," grinned Mallory. - -"All right, then, you're a lallapalooza! But how the blue asteroids did -you get onto the fact Smith was the guy?" - -Dan said, "It came to me almost too late. It had been worrying me -subconsciously ever since I had to--" here he flushed--"had to arrest -Lady Alice. I knew that someone had, in conversation with me, said -something that didn't ring true. And when Wilmot was killed for having -discovered the truth about Smith, I suddenly remembered what it was. - -"The night before we got the message from Lunar III, assuring us that -Kreuther was behind the revolution, Smith had mentioned to me, quite -casually, that he suspected there were on the _Libra_ 'espionage agents -of the Kreuther forces.' What he was attempting to do, of course, was -ally himself with us in order to divert suspicion. But he tipped his -hand by that little slip of the tongue." - -Lady Alice smiled. She said, "Well, you're not awfully smart. Any of -you. I knew he was the spy as soon as I heard the message from Earth." - -Captain Algase interrupted, "Yeah, that message! I'm going to raise an -assortment of hell about that. Causing us to arrest the one person on -board we could really trust." - -"And all," smiled the girl, "because of one, small, chemical symbol -that you misread. Oh, yes, I understand now. I've seen the original. -Bud--you went to the Academy, didn't you?" - -"Why--why, yes." - -"Your professor there must have been quite an old man. I mean your -chemistry prof." - -"He was. Ancient. But what has that got to do with it?" - -"Everything. He taught you the old, the original chemical symbol for -the element samarium. 'Sa.' The more common symbol, the generally -accepted one, is 'Sm.' Now you see what a great difference that one -little error makes in the meaning of the message. You read it: - -"'Lane warns Lady Alice, cabal spy, now on _Libra_. Captain saith -intensify protection of new secret ray.'" - -"And it should have been read," broke in Dan Mallory, understanding at -last, "'Lane warns Lady Alice cabal spy now on _Libra_--Captain Smith! -Intensify protection--' and so on. It was a warning _to_ you, not about -you!" - -"Exactly. Naturally, I was--well, indignant when I was placed under -arrest. Afterward, I began to think it a good idea. Confined to my -quarters, guarded, I would be completely safe. But unfortunately -Captain Smith guessed, when I was arrested, that _I_ was the bearer of -the formula. So he killed my guard, seized the skiff, and kidnaped me. - -"Saith!" grunted Bud Chandler disgustedly. "I told you that word was -phony. Joe Marlowe never used good English in his life when a cuss-word -would do just as well. Hey! Where are you two going?" - -It is doubtful whether Dan Mallory heard the question. There was one -other little matter that needed clearing up--but soon! That was the way -Lady Alice Charwell, in the moment of their mutual peril, had hurdled -the amenities of speech, addressed him not as "Lieutenant," or even as -plain "Mallory," but as-- - -"Dan," he said. "You called me 'Dan.' It's not right, Lady Alice. You -shouldn't do things like that unless you mean them. And I--" - -"Suppose," she asked, "I like that part of your name best. It is a nice -name, you know." - -Dan Mallory's big hands pawed futilely at the blue of his uniform. -"So," he croaked, "is Mallory. And--and I guess I'm completely crazy. I -couldn't ask you to share a name like that. I'm just a space cop. And -you're a Lady. A titled Lady." - -She said softly, "A Lady, Dan? There is no Duchy of Io any more. That's -a thing of the past, and my title is only a courtesy. And, oh--I'm so -tired of courtesies. I'm a space cop, too, now. There's nothing in the -rules to keep two cops from teaming up, is there? Oh, you big, damn, -dumb idiot--!" - -Her face, smiling up at his, was inclined at just the right angle. -They told him afterward that Rick Norton made a swell landing. He -didn't believe it. For it seemed to Dan Mallory that the whole cosmos -was swirling and dancing and twisting upside down in a delirium of -delight.... - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Revolt on Io, by Nelson S. 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