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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..05d5f2b --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #62169 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/62169) diff --git a/old/62169-h.zip b/old/62169-h.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 4281c38..0000000 --- a/old/62169-h.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/62169-h/62169-h.htm b/old/62169-h/62169-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index 79c120f..0000000 --- a/old/62169-h/62169-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1352 +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 Cosmic Derelict, by John Broome. - </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; -} - -.caption p -{ - text-align: center; - text-indent: 0; - margin: 0.25em 0; -} - -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; -} - - - </style> - </head> -<body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Cosmic Derelict, by John Broome - -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: The Cosmic Derelict - -Author: John Broome - -Release Date: May 18, 2020 [EBook #62169] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE COSMIC DERELICT *** - - - - -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="349" height="500" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="titlepage"> - -<h1>The Cosmic Derelict</h1> - -<h2>By JOHN BROOME</h2> - -<p>Ever-deeper into that Sargasso of space<br /> -the Earth-bound Lucifer bored. And guiding<br /> -her, mocking her, was the fabled,<br /> -gaunt-skeletoned Flying Dutchman of the stars.</p> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br /> -Planet Stories Summer 1942.<br /> -Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that<br /> -the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>It was Tug Skelly's fault that the Starways freighter, <i>Lucifer</i>, -four hours out of Orion City, was running behind time; and Captain -Christopher Douglas, Starways' newest and youngest Old Man, found it -hard to maintain the dignity befitting a transgalactic skipper, as he -inveighed against the guilty bo'sun in his cabin.</p> - -<p>"Twenty-four hours lost in port, Mr. Jackson," Captain Douglas groaned, -dropping the latest triangulator readings to his desk. "A full day we -can't possibly make up! And no one to blame for it but bo'sun Skelly!"</p> - -<p>First mate Pete Jackson, who had just brought the computator results -into the cabin, responded to the captain's forlorn glance with a -clucking noise and a sympathetic grimace of his blue-eyed, terrier's -face. There was no doubt that Douglas' vexation with Tug Skelly was -justified; but Jackson felt called upon to put in a word for his -unfortunate shipmate.</p> - -<p>"I wouldn't be too hard on Tug, sir," Pete Jackson said placatingly. -"He may have some queer ways, but after you get to know him ye'll -likely find Tug a pretty valuable hand aboard ship."</p> - -<p>"All I would like to know," Captain Douglas returned unhappily, "is why -in Old Nick he had to nose out that stowaway in Orion right at blasting -time? Why didn't he just keep that big turnip of his where it belonged!"</p> - -<p>Jackson shrugged helplessly. The <i>Lucifer's</i> youngish, new skipper -just didn't know Tug Skelly yet, that was the truth. It was clearly -no part of a bo'sun's duties to hunt down stowaways; but then Tug had -never been content to perform only his duties. The plain fact was that -the stowaway, a pink-skinned Orionian, had sneaked aboard right after -loading was finished. He was apparently seen by no one except the -usually sleepy-eyed Tug; but that alone proved more than enough to -spell the poor devil's doom.</p> - -<p>"If it hadn't been for the Orion port authorities, though," Mate -Jackson essayed weakly, "we'd have blasted on schedule. I know Tug -didn't intend to stir them up, sir."</p> - -<p>"No!" Captain Douglas jeered miserably. "I suppose not. But that -infernal racket he raised chasing the stowaway was enough to bring the -whole city aboard!"</p> - -<p>Jackson nodded sadly. The Orionian port officials, summoned by Tug's -wild bellowings, had swarmed on the ship <i>en masse</i>, like a brood -of pink and imperturbable owls. They helped Tug snag the first -stowaway; and then, over Douglas' frantic protests, they very slowly -and assiduously fine-combed the <i>Lucifer</i> the rest of that night for -others. They didn't find any more stowaways, but by the time the -<i>Lucifer</i> got clearance an entire day had elapsed, leaving Captain -Douglas in a near catatonic state. The guilty Skelly meanwhile had -mysteriously disappeared underdeck—where, for all Jackson knew, he -still was.</p> - -<p>First Mate Jackson stirred uneasily. A suspicion suddenly shot through -his mind regarding Tug's possible motive in acting the way he did. -But the little first carefully refrained from voicing his thought. If -it were true, it would definitely not help the big bo'sun's case with -Captain Douglas!</p> - -<p>"Like I said, sir," Pete Jackson contented himself by sighing, "Tug's -mostly a first-rate bo'sun, though sometimes he does get sort of queer -ideas. However—" Jackson added hastily, "you can depend on all the -boys now. I mean, Captain, Sparks told us about that message that -came from the owners a while back; you can bank on it we'll all do -everything possible to help you make up the time."</p> - -<p>"Thank you, Mr. Jackson," Douglas said gratefully. "I appreciate that."</p> - -<p>Captain Douglas spoke with some composure, but, after Jackson saluted -smartly and left the cabin, the young skipper's <i>papier mache</i> dignity -melted rapidly and he slumped down into his swivel. The first officer's -promise was merely a gesture, as both men knew. The <i>Lucifer</i> was at -top speed, doing better than ten and a half kilos, but the computator -showed that even that would fetch New York nearly twenty hours late. -Christopher Douglas' usually trim blond mustache drooped woe-begonely, -but he was too miserable to straighten it.</p> - -<p>Instead, he parted the braids of his breveted uniform and drew a -crumpled slip of paper from his breast pocket. The radiogram Jackson -had referred to was from A. J. Braithewaite himself, president of -Starways. It had come only a few hours before; and, re-reading it, -Douglas could still hardly believe his own ill luck. Belated rocketings -were always held against Starways skippers; but the <i>Lucifer's</i> tardy -arrival threatened to be starkly tragic.</p> - -<p><i>Captain Douglas</i>, the gram went, <i>Solar Council going off platinum -standard as of twelve midnight July third. Imperative that you bring -Lucifer in as scheduled by noon that day. Any delay in arriving will -cost Starways huge sum on your cargo of platinum. Am certain you will -not fail us. Braithewaite.</i></p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Douglas sank down into the swivel until his smooth, clean-shaven chin -almost rested on the desk top. The spanking new <i>Lucifer</i>, cargoing a -bin full of Orion's precious powdered platinum, was Chris Douglas's -first real deep-galactic command—after years of school theorizing and -practical activity as everything from a galley-knave to a blast-wiper. -He loved his new ship; but already his first voyage under his own -ticket threatened to be his last! Starways' hard-boiled employee policy -might well put him on a muck-ridden asteroid run after this, or ground -him altogether.</p> - -<p>Chris Douglas groaned and ran a limp hand over his moist face. He -hadn't felt more sheerly miserable since he was turned down by the -lady of his choice when he was fifteen. The lady, to be sure, was -almost twice his age then; but even so her answer still rankled. She -was his schoolmarm, and she had made it painfully clear that under -no circumstances would she consider becoming engaged to a fat little -appleknocker like Christopher Douglas. Her name was Lucy; and it still -gave him a pang to recall her cool gray eyes and her—</p> - -<p>"Beg pardon, Cap'n. Are yuh busy?"</p> - -<p>Douglas looked up with a start. A big face—quite different from the -beautiful vision in his mind—was framed in the aperture formed by -the partly open cabin door. It was a thoroughly, almost enjoyably, -ugly face, that looked as if it had been kneaded by a crazy baker. It -possessed just about the color and consistency of limp dough. Captain -Douglas straightened slowly in his seat as he gazed on it.</p> - -<p>"Skelly!" He said ominously, "come in!"</p> - -<p>Bo'sun Tug Skelly came in cautiously, as if he were afraid of wrecking -the daintily appointed cabin by one awkward movement of his great, -brawny frame. He held his cap very respectfully in one gnarled -hand; but his huge face wore what Douglas thought was an altogether -out-of-place grin. He looked like an overgrown urchin who is caught -swiping pies but is unrepentant because of a full stomach.</p> - -<p>"I suppose," Captain Douglas said icily when the big bo'sun stood -before his desk, "that you know what your shenanigans in Orion has -cost, Skelly!"</p> - -<p>"Yessir," Tug grinned unblushingly, "but don't let that bother yuh too -much, Cap'n. Shux, so long's we got rid o' that stowaway everything'll -be shipshape, never fear."</p> - -<p>"Listen, Skelly," Captain Douglas rose holding the shreds of his -dignity around him with a shaking hand, "are you aware that we could -have cargoed that Orionian from here to Betelgeuse and back for what -the lost day is going to cost?"</p> - -<p>Tug nodded brightly. He was obviously not too impressed by his young -superior's analogy. "Sure, Cap'n," he said easily, "but we wouldn't -have got very far with him. I mean we'd've had an accident o' some -kind. Maybe a rocket tube woulda slipped its moorings; maybe the -gravs woulda gone dead without no reason. But something woulda -happened—that's the godshonest truth."</p> - -<p>Captain Douglas's eyes, red-rimmed from lack of sleep, opened wide; -then narrowed dazedly. He was remembering something Mate Jackson had -said about queer ideas.</p> - -<p>"Yesiree, Cap'n," Tug spoke confidently since he obviously held the -new master's undivided, even spellbound attention. "Everybody knows a -stowaway's bad jinks; but not many aside from Tug Skelly knows jest -how bad an <i>Orionian</i> stowaway can be! Cap'n Douglas, an Orionian -stowaway's no different from a cargo o' loose cordite. He's jest bound -to cause mischief on a ship."</p> - -<p>"Mischief!" Captain Douglas felt that that was a poor way to describe -the fix they were already in; but he didn't pursue the point. Another -aspect of the bo'sun's speech drew his attention. It was obvious that -in Tug Skelly, he, Chris Douglas, was confronted by a withering example -of ignorance on the loose. All the new skipper's years of training, -his sleeplessness and his distraught nerves, rose gorgelike at this -shambling, dough-faced anachronism who posed as a space sailor.</p> - -<p>"Bo'sun Skelly," Douglas said acidly, "your remarks reveal an -incredible disregard for the scientific viewpoint. In fact, I haven't -heard such sinful tommyrot since I was six—and even then I knew -better. An Orionian stowaway, or any other stowaway, Mister Skelly, can -cause no more damage to a vessel than the amount of edible cargo he can -consume. The rest is rubbish."</p> - -<p>Tug looked hurt. "I dunno, Cap'n," he said slowly. "Now you take the -<i>Campanella</i>—the big liner that jes' blew apart one day off Venus. -What did the Safety Board investigation show afterwards? Why, that she -was carrying a whole nestful of Orionians underdeck!"</p> - -<p>And Tug flashed his young master a look of triumphant vindication. -Chris Douglas heaved a long breath and slumped back in the swivel. The -task of bringing bo'sun's Skelly's education up to date was clearly -not one for a single afternoon. Nor, with Braithewaite's message still -before him, did the skipper feel any taste for the job.</p> - -<p>"Bo'sun Skelly," Douglas sighed disgustedly, "did you come here to -regale me with your views on Orionian stowaways?"</p> - -<p>"Eh?" Tug scratched his head and grinned a little at the captain's -peculiar way of talking. "Naw, but I almost did forget, sir. Fact is, -Cap'n, I come to tell yuh how to make up the day we lost. Yessir."</p> - -<p>"You did!" Douglas sneered miserably. "How? By getting out and pushing? -Or simply by wishing on a star? The <i>Lucifer</i> can't do any more than -ten and a half kilos."</p> - -<p>"She don't hafta," Tug said equably, no whit abashed by the irony. "We -can gain a lot o' time by using an old route I know. I forget the real -name, but it's called the Pass o' the Twin Witches. It's at the tip o' -the Southern Cross, Cap'n. Joshua P. MacLevy, my old skipper, used to -tell me about it. It'll save—"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>But Chris Douglas was no longer heeding the big bo'sun. His eyes, which -had widened suddenly as Tug spoke, were now peering at the great blue -and white astrochart on the wall back of his desk. He rose and fixed -his gaze on a little star-clustered area far off the main commercial -routes—the tip of the Southern Cross. Then he sprang to the desk and -began working with a pencil. A moment later, he looked up strangely -excited. It was no wonder he hadn't thought of the Cross Straits—the -old pass had been out of use for over fifty years. For vague reasons, -it still had a bad name and skippers avoided it. But Chris Douglas was -no shell-backed worshipper of traditions.</p> - -<p>"Skelly," he said regarding the bo'sun with new shining eyes. "I think -you've got something! Using the old Cross Straits will clip nearly a -million kilos from our course, and give us a good chance to fetch New -York on time. A very good chance!"</p> - -<p>Captain Douglas' sudden, almost boyish enthusiasm was infectious, but -now it was his bo'sun's turn to become oddly perturbed. The wrinkles on -Skelly's massive face were as big as troughs.</p> - -<p>"That's right, Cap'n," Tug nodded uneasily, "but the Pass is pretty -dangerous, yuh know. If yuh leave it to me, there won't be no need to -worry, though. I know how to fix those hags so they can't touch the -<i>Lucifer</i> no matter how hard they try!"</p> - -<p>"Hags?" Captain Douglas said with a now friendly smile. "What hags are -you talking about, Tug?"</p> - -<p>"The witches, Cap'n, that guard the Pass." Tug's voice had dropped to -a whisper and he leaned forward with a fearful, secretive air. "There -are two o' them, Cap'n Douglas. One on each side. Giants they are, and -woe to the poor ship as passes under their hot breath without first -undergoin' the ritual o' purification! But don't you worry, Cap'n. I -know the formula that'll wash all the sins from the <i>Lucifer</i> and leave -her clean as a baby. Yes sir!"</p> - -<p>"What the dickens—!" Captain Douglas began with a dazed frown. But -Tug Skelly went on hurriedly; it was clear that he regarded the young -skipper's astonishment as an evil omen.</p> - -<p>"All we gotta do, Cap'n," Tug pleaded, "is give the <i>Lucifer</i> a pure -white soul; and I can do it. Jes' let me handle it, Cap'n Douglas, and -those two witches won't bother us a bit."</p> - -<p>"Bo'sun Skelly!" Captain Douglas swallowed hard and gathered his -benumbed senses. "I have heard tall tales and weird stories; but for -sheer cockeyed balderdash yours is far and away the best yet! Your -suggestion of the Cross Straits was invaluable; and I am very grateful -to you for it. But by Jupiter if you go on talking about Twin Witches -I'll have to clap you in irons. Good day."</p> - -<p>Tug started to protest, but something about Young Douglas' clamped jaw -made him halt and drop his big arms to his sides miserably. He stood -there for a moment before mumbling a low, "Aye, aye," and offering -a clumsy salute. Then he turned and walked from the cabin, his big -shoulders drooped despairingly.</p> - -<p>Captain Chris Douglas mopped his brow when he was alone in his quarters.</p> - -<p>"Witches," he murmured incredulously. "Purifying the soul of a ship -against witches!"</p> - -<p>He gave his close-cropped, blond head a vigorous shake, as if to clear -it of any goblins or pixies that might have crept in by contamination -with Tug Skelly; and a second later he was at the desk communicator -contacting the bridge.</p> - -<p>"Mr. Jackson," Captain Douglas said when he heard the mate's voice. "I -have decided to change our course. You will take all readings necessary -to bring the <i>Lucifer</i> to the Straits of the Cross.... Yes, Mr. -Jackson, I said the Straits of the Cross. At once!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The <i>Lucifer</i>, a hollow black needle in the immense twilight of space, -hurtled eagerly on the second day out toward the new pole her tiny -masters had set for her. But First Mate Pete Jackson alone on the -bridge didn't find himself any too eager about their new route. For one -thing, the last three ships known to have tried the Cross Straits had -never been heard from afterwards. For another, Jackson just didn't feel -easy traveling off the main lanes.</p> - -<p>He had intimated his fears to Captain Douglas at mess that morning; but -without making any impression on the young skipper.</p> - -<p>"Sure I know about those ships that were lost in the Straits fifty -years ago," Captain Douglas had responded cheerfully, fresh from a much -needed sleep. "But that was fifty years ago, Mr. Jackson. Those early -ether-blasters were just clay pigeons to space hazards that can't even -tickle the <i>Lucifer</i>. Our ship is equipped with every modern safety -device known to astrogation. I think we'll get through all right."</p> - -<p>Pete Jackson rolled the captain's words over in his mind and shifted in -his seat before the visiplate with a sigh. A moment later, he jumped -with a startled oath as a heavy finger prodded his shoulder. It was -Tug Skelly, looking as big and mournful as a Great Dane bereft of his -master. But Pete Jackson wasted no sympathy on his ungainly subordinate.</p> - -<p>"Hah! It's you," the little mate said with fierce scorn. "I suppose -ye've come to tell me about those witches of yours, eh? Well, you're -wastin' y' time. Captain Douglas's already told me about your crazy -ideas; and I must say you made a proper fool of yourself before the new -skipper, Tug. I'm thoroughly disgusted with you!"</p> - -<p>"Pete," Tug pleaded, "it's true what I said about the Twin Witches. Old -Josh MacLevy told me about 'em, and you know he wouldn't jes' spin a -yarn. Listen, Pete, all I need for the ritual o' purification is a lot -o' white paint. You gimme a release for the paint and I'll attend to -all the rest. Please, Pete."</p> - -<p>But Jackson was adamant.</p> - -<p>"First off," the mate grunted sourly, "we ain't got a pail of white -paint aboard. Second, I wouldn't give it to ye, if we had it! The -trouble with you, Tug, is you need some education. You're worse than an -old Irishlady when it comes to superstitions, and that's a fact."</p> - -<p>Captain Douglas had used those very words to describe the bo'sun when -he and the mate spoke at mess. But Pete Jackson felt no qualms of -plagiarism in borrowing the apt phrases. He even remembered a little -more the new skipper had said.</p> - -<p>"Tug," Jackson advised with a superior air, "I think you'd better -take a home study course next voyage in the elements of physics and -chemistry. That's what you need—a little educating. Take it from the -Captain and me."</p> - -<p>For a long moment, Tug Skelly played miserably with fingers that were -like bananas. Then he heaved a sigh and turned. At the bulkhead, -however, he looked back.</p> - -<p>"Edjacation," he asserted with a truculent nod, "ain't everything, -Pete. No, sir!" And with that Tug lumbered out.</p> - -<p>Pete Jackson snorted and turned troubledly once again to his forward -sight. The nearer the <i>Lucifer</i> got to the Straits, the more the first -mate found himself wishing they were back on the good old slow lanes. -There were no familiar skymarks here; and the <i>Lucifer</i> was being -guided by dead reckoning. Yet, remembering young Douglas's words, -Jackson took heart.</p> - -<p>"Witches!" Pete Jackson scoffed aloud to the empty bridge round him. -"Hah!" But the sneer didn't sound too convincing even to himself.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>It was the beginning of the long middle watch, when most of the -<i>Lucifer's</i> crew slept; but Tug Skelly returning to his bunk didn't -go right to sleep as usual. Instead, he paced his narrow deck for -many long minutes—before finally beginning an activity that would -undoubtedly have astonished any of his shipmates if they had been -awake to witness it. Out of his cabin locker, Tug dragged his battered -bulger. And as he donned it the bo'sun's massive face, gargoyled -by the port starlight, wore a strangely desperate but determined -expression. He went down into the holds and stayed there for some time -before he finally emerged on the hull.</p> - -<p>All during the long watch that ticked away inside the peaceful -<i>Lucifer</i>, a shapeless, bulging form toiled outside her hull. The -myriad stars roundabout blinked in amazement at the tiny, squid-like -object that moved on the great hull. They watched with endless -curiosity as the moving blob several times disappeared from view only -to reappear again. And they marveled greatly at how the aspect of the -hull was changed wherever the restless object toiled. When finally the -blob disappeared for the last time, the stars blinked in delighted -wonder at the vision he had left them. The middle watch inside the -<i>Lucifer</i> was not yet ended when Tug Skelly crawled out of his bulger -and toppled into his bunk like a stricken Sequoia.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"<i>Captain. Captain Douglas.</i>"</p> - -<p>The <i>Lucifer's</i> young skipper opened his eyes, focused them on the lad -who was shaking him by the shoulder, and sat upright. It was Andy, the -galley-boy, who stood before the bed, his tow-thatched face screwed up -puzzledly.</p> - -<p>"Captain Douglas," Andy said scratching his head, "the cook sent me to -wake you. He said to get you up. It's something about the ship, sir."</p> - -<p>"Something about the ship!" Douglas was out of bed like a shot. "What -are you talking about?"</p> - -<p>"The <i>Lucifer</i>, sir," Andy grinned mysteriously. "She's all white -outside—like a yacht. The cook saw it first this morning when we were -emptying the slop pail. He says she's beautiful, nicer now than A. J. -Braithewaite's yacht. The cook said that."</p> - -<p>"He did?" Chris Douglas rubbed the last vestige of sleep from his eyes -and strode to the communicator in his outside cabin, where he proceeded -at once to contact first mate Jackson.</p> - -<p>"Mr. Jackson," Douglas said suspiciously when he got the mate, "did you -give orders to paint the hull? What? Yes. Unless Andy here is crazy. -Put on a suit and meet me at the forward lock at once."</p> - -<p>Two minutes later, Captain Douglas and first mate Jackson, each clad -in bulgers, climbed laboriously out of the lock. Both men stared in -simultaneous astonishment at the sight that met their eyes when they -emerged on the broad hull. Around them, the <i>Lucifer's</i> former dark -steel torso was now a sea of glistening whiteness. Every inch of the -hull had been covered; the <i>Lucifer</i> preened like a snowbird under her -frosty new plumage that stretched from stem to stern. Reaching down a -gloved hand, Douglas found that the paint was still tacky, a little of -it came away on his fingers.</p> - -<p>"<i>Jumping Jupiter!</i>" Captain Douglas whispered shakily. "What's going -on here? First, our crazy bo'sun starts chasing stowaways in port; and -now someone paints my ship a pure blasted white while I'm asleep. What -kind of a voyage is this, Mr. Jackson!"</p> - -<p>But as he spoke the words "pure white" a gleam of suspicion shot into -the Captain's eyes.</p> - -<p>"Skelly!" Douglas said with sudden vehemence. "Skelly's ritual of -purification."</p> - -<p>Mate Jackson nodded troubledly. The connection between Tug's latest -remarks and this deed was all too apparent. But something more was -worrying the little first mate at the moment.</p> - -<p>"Maybe it was Tug, sir," Pete Jackson said puzzledly, "but what I'd -like to know is where the devil he got all the white paint? I happen -to know we moved every can of paint off ship to make room for the -platinum. Yes, sir. I had it done myself."</p> - -<p>"The platinum?" Captain Douglas repeated the word very slowly; then he -stared for a long, terrible moment at the white stain on his fingers. -Pete Jackson stared at the stain, too. A second later, the two men -broke as one body for the lock behind them.</p> - -<p>Down in the hold where the platinum was kept, Captain Douglas panted -heavily, and stared about him with the haggard look of a man who has -received a mortal blow.</p> - -<p>Around the two men, the precious cargo had been vandalled. The empty -tins were strewn all over the hold. Of all the powdered platinum, -perhaps a dozen or two cans remained intact. The rest of it—and no -other conclusion was possible—now adorned the steel hull of the -<i>Lucifer</i>!</p> - -<p>"Bring Tug Skelly to my quarters, Mr. Jackson," Captain Douglas said -in a mechanical voice. "Under guard if necessary."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>But Tug came to the Captain's cabin without protest, even though he -came not too happily. There shone, however, under bo'sun's Caliban -countenance, the kind of inner serenity that can only come from doing -the right thing regardless of consequences. Captain Douglas eyed the -culprit wrathfully.</p> - -<p>"Bo'sun Skelly," Douglas shot out when Tug stood before his desk, "all -I want you to do is answer one question: Was it you who painted the -<i>Lucifer's</i> hull during the last watch?"</p> - -<p>Tug shifted his big feet uncomfortably; but his serene expression did -not vanish.</p> - -<p>"Yes sir," Tug confessed. "I did it for the good of all of us. It jes' -had to be done, Cap'n Douglas. Because now those witches—"</p> - -<p>"Mr. Skelly!" Douglas cut in shakily, "are you aware that you used -eight-hundred-thousand dollars worth of platinum to paint the ship! -What are you trying to do, man—" the young skipper's voice rose to a -croaked scream—"buy those damned witches off?"</p> - -<p>Tug shuddered visibly at the profane reference to the dreaded Giants of -the Pass.</p> - -<p>"I wouldn't talk that way about them, Cap'n," he shivered, "no, sir. -You see, the formula for purification includes platinum—that's -according to old Joshua MacLevy. But I couldn't find any white paint at -all. So I jes' had to use—well, what came to hand."</p> - -<p>"Which happened to be our cargo of platinum," Captain Douglas murmured -incredulously. He sank into his swivel like a man in a dream. It was -still possible, of course, to salvage much of the precious metal from -the hull. But doing the job now, while en route, would mean a suicidal -delay; while bringing the <i>Lucifer</i> in, festooned as she was, would -very likely mean his ticket. Misery seemed to threaten both courses -equally; but the young skipper felt he had no choice. Somehow—white or -black—the <i>Lucifer</i> had to be brought in on schedule.</p> - -<p>"Mr. Jackson," Captain Douglas said with forgivable bitterness, "you -will have bo'sun Skelly confined to irons for the remainder of the run. -We may all lose our jobs for this, but with him in the holds, we'll at -least have a chance to complete the voyage alive!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The <i>Lucifer</i>, now a white spear cleaving the darkness, reacted to -the proximity of the Cross Straits like a cat to danger. All flight -regulations were strictly enforced, by the Captain's special command. -Every instrument and delicate warning device was tested out and brought -up to specifications. The ship took on the grim aspect of a citadel -prepared to withstand any eventuality.</p> - -<p>Only bo'sun Tug Skelly was idle as the <i>Lucifer</i> neared the Pass. In -the tiny cell underdeck, Tug accepted his enforced inactivity with the -resignation of a martyr. But he learned from Andy, the galley-boy, that -the <i>Lucifer's</i> white coat lay still untouched, and that brought him -some comfort.</p> - -<p>"There's things about spacin'," Tug told the boy, as he ate the food -Andy had brought him, "that nobody learns in books. Don't make no -mistake, Andy, edjacation is good—but it ain't everything. Nossir!"</p> - -<p>"Nuts," Andy remarked picking up the fast-emptied tray. "I've heard -that the skipper is gonna have you examined in New York. Says you're -bugs."</p> - -<p>Tug stared ahead of him and nodded with a long-suffering look. "People -with real knowledge," he said slowly, "is always considered bugs, Andy. -Sure. Look at Mad Old James Flaherty, the man who first reached Moon. -And before him there was a feller named Gally Leo who told everybody -the earth moved around the sun—like it does. Everybody thought they -was bugs, until it turned out they was <i>geenyusses</i>!"</p> - -<p>"Yeh," Andy grunted unimpressed, "only you <i>are</i> bugs."</p> - -<p>The galley-boy's simple but crushing logic left Tug without a reply. He -merely growled contemptuously and watched Andy, as the boy leisurely -gathered his utensils and exited from the cell. Alone, the big bo'sun -shivered suddenly and sat motionless on his cot as if transfixed. It -seemed to Tug that through the thick bulkhead before him a low, far-off -wailing sound was coming—a sound just like the one Old Joshua MacLevy -had described. By Tug's private reckoning, the <i>Lucifer</i> was right at -the Straits. And that wail could only be—! Despite the careful and -costly precaution he had taken against the Witches of the Pass, Tug -Skelly's eyes began to bulge.</p> - -<p>Up on the bridge, a few minutes before, Captain Chris Douglas also -witnessed a peculiar thing. It was mate Pete Jackson, at the forward -sight, who called his attention to it. Douglas reluctantly tore his -gaze from the gleaming, many-dialed instrument panel before him, and -answered the mate's summons.</p> - -<p>"A cloud," Jackson frowned. "Dead ahead."</p> - -<p>They were at the lips of the Straits; a few moments more and they would -be inside. Captain Douglas glanced hurriedly at the plate. A vague and -nebulous gray mist was swirling before the ship; but even as he watched -it, it seemed to melt away and disappear. Douglas quickly volted up -to maximum the ray-repellers and meteor-deflectors that lined the -<i>Lucifer's</i> hull.</p> - -<p>"Whatever's in the Straits," Chris Douglas said grimly, "is going to -bounce right off our hull. The <i>Lucifer</i> was made for heavy weather."</p> - -<p>"Sure thing, Capt'n," Pete Jackson said wistfully, "but I can't help -wishing we were through already!"</p> - -<p>"We'll get through," Douglas said with more confidence than he actually -felt. "The Pass can't be more than twenty-thousand kilos long. We'll be -out the other side before you can whistle Home Sweet Home."</p> - -<p>"I couldn't whistle anything now," Pete Jackson sighed as he bent his -wizened face to the visiplate.</p> - -<p>For a few moments, it looked as if the Captain's optimistic prediction -might be justified. The <i>Lucifer</i> was covering almost a thousand -yards every tenth of a second. It was after about five seconds that -the wailing and shrieking noises first came through the hull into the -bridge.</p> - -<p>"Stars and saints above!" Pete Jackson stiffened slowly in his -seat, his little blue eyes engulfed in whiteness. Captain Douglas, -too, jerked nervously at the eerie sounds. But the dials before him -continued to reveal nothing amiss. He shot a quick, hard command to -keep the course. The mate obeyed trembling as from ague. A split-second -later they were in the Pass.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>There wasn't any doubt they were in something! A wave of superheated -steam seemed to strike the <i>Lucifer</i> simultaneously from all sides. The -needle on the tempogauge jerked sharply upward. The pressure oxygen -in the bridge grew suddenly warm. Captain Douglas and mate sweat in a -trice.</p> - -<p>"What's this?" Pete Jackson started from his seat.</p> - -<p>"Can't tell what it is," Captain Douglas frowned before the dials. "The -tempogauge is going up, but I don't know why."</p> - -<p>"Hah!" Pete Jackson's laugh broke queerly. "It couldn't be the hot -breath o' Tug Skelly's witches now, could it, Capt'n?"</p> - -<p>"Witches be blowed!" Douglas snarled.</p> - -<p>"Still," Jackson protested weakly, "it might be a good idea to turn -back, even now. That tempo-needle's going up awful fast."</p> - -<p>"Hold the course, Mr. Jackson," Douglas said angrily. To execute a slow -turning maneuver at this point would be tantamount to suicide! Jackson -knew that too, only the mate wasn't using his head any longer. Whatever -danger they were in, their best chance was to hold speed and try to -slip through the Pass before the blistering heat outside melted down -their hull plates.</p> - -<p>The mate steadied in his seat.</p> - -<p>"Give her everything she'll take," Captain Douglas ordered the -engine-room via his speaking-tube. "Everything!"</p> - -<p>"<i>Aye, aye, sir.</i>" The choked reply from below was followed by a long, -muttered oath that almost made young Douglas grin. He called down a -word of encouragement, and stepped swiftly back to the instrument -panel. The tempo-needle was mounting in the dangerous red ever closer -and closer to the hull melting-point. The heat inside the bridge was -insufferable by now; the two men, stripped to the waist, their bodies -shining oilily, could hardly breathe. The shrieking outside had risen -to a horrendous, deafening clamor. The end, one way or another, could -scarcely be more than a few seconds off.</p> - -<p>"We can't take much more," Pete Jackson gulped miserably. "She'll open -a seam sure!"</p> - -<p>"Jackson," Douglas said with sudden thought, "better get Skelly out -of the hold. If the ship goes, we might have a chance with the -emergency-dories." The thought was futile though, and both men knew it. -A temperature that could melt the <i>Lucifer's</i> hull would reduce one of -the flimsy dories to ash in an instant. Nevertheless, Jackson got to -his feet. But, before he could take a step, something in the port sight -caught the mate's eye. Pete Jackson slowly stiffened until he stood -rigid and pallid as a corpse.</p> - -<p>"Capt'n Douglas!" Jackson cried in the weak and despairing voice of a -man whose innermost dread is all too horribly realized. "<i>There's the -witch!</i>"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>With an impatient frown, Douglas sprang to the port plate where the -mate's gaze was transfixed. But the vision that met the skipper brought -him up in his tracks. An icy chill trickled down Chris Douglas's spine -despite the terrible heat around him. A great black shape, long as the -<i>Lucifer</i> herself, loomed beside them; half-shrouded in mist, huge -funereal form now rode alongside the freighter, so close that hissing -sparks from the <i>Lucifer's</i> steaming plates sprayed it. Like some -grim and timely escort from beyond, the apparition kept pace with the -stricken white ship.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus.jpg" width="340" height="500" alt=""/> - <div class="caption"> - <p><i>"Skipper!" he screamed. "Look! Look there!"</i></p> - </div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>"Merciful Mary!" Pete Jackson gasped incoherently. "We're done for now, -Capt'n!"</p> - -<p>Douglas ran a dazed hand over his sweat-ridden eyes, opening them -wider. Then, even as he watched, the black shape began to turn slowly, -falling back from the hurtling <i>Lucifer</i>. Only then could he see it -fully. A cry of astonishment broke from the skipper as he recognized -the thing for what it was. This Witch of the Pass was the gaunt and -charred corpse of an ether-blaster, whose orbit lay round and round -inside the Straits that had destroyed it. Like a mute, accusing ghost, -the old ship was forever destined to haunt the narrow scene of its -murder.</p> - -<p>No wonder that for an instant he had half-believed the Straits -bewitched! The sight outside wasn't very pleasant. Nor was it -comforting to think that the <i>Lucifer</i> might yet join that lonely -vigil. Captain Douglas turned from the plate and choked an angry oath -back at the searing heat around him.</p> - -<p>"Get Skelly," he snapped to Jackson; but the mate was clearly in no -condition to obey. Pete Jackson still stood like a man who has looked -into the inferno and is only awaiting the summons of a ghastly tap on -the shoulder. Douglas scowled, blinked the sweat from his eyes, and -started to exit himself. It didn't seem to make much difference, but he -couldn't let the bo'sun perish like a caged rat.</p> - -<p>However, he didn't leave the bridge. Something on the instrument -panel gave Captain Douglas the sudden hope that he might be able to -let Skelly stay where he was. The tempo-needle had halted its upward -swing. The tiny arrow hovered motionless a hair's breadth from the hull -melting-point; but it did not advance. As he watched it, the needle -began to retreat, imperceptibly at first; then faster. Douglas jumped -incredulously to the forward plate.</p> - -<p>The twilighted expanse before the <i>Lucifer</i> was wide, frosty and -marvelously clear. The mists had disappeared. They were through! The -Captain's call brought mate Jackson up from his seat and all the way -across the bridge in two jumps.</p> - -<p>"Praise be!" Pete Jackson blinked joyfully into the sight. "It's a -miracle—that's what it is!"</p> - -<p>"A miracle, my big toe!" was Captain Douglas's very unskipperish -retort. A thought which might explain the <i>Lucifer's</i> narrow escape -from the fate of the charred ether-blaster, was forming in the -skipper's mind. It was a thought which gained credence when Douglas -quickly tested the contents of a vial in the bridge. The glass -receptacle was filled with a sampling of the misty vapor in the Straits.</p> - -<p>"Look at this," Douglas called the mate to him. Jackson peered at -the results of the test, incredulously at first; then with an abject -expression as he realized what it meant. Captain Douglas's further -explanation did not make the little mate feel any happier.</p> - -<p>"I just don't know what happened to me," Pete Jackson shook his head. -"First those infernal shrieks and then that old oxy-burner back -there—" The mate broke off with a woeful, contrite look.</p> - -<p>"I know, Pete," Douglas grinned with a mock shudder. "Seeing that old -hulk had me believing in ghosts for a while myself. Anyway, it's -over and we're damned lucky. It's double rations all around at mess -tonight. And I think we'll get Skelly out of the brig. He's probably so -overcooked by now that he doesn't need any more punishing. Besides, I -want to talk to him."</p> - -<p>And Chris Douglas offered the mate a significant look which made -Jackson brighten up considerably as he grinned back in understanding.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"So you see, Skelly,"—several hours later Captain Douglas summed up -the points of the simple but precise lecture in his cabin: "The myth of -the Twin Witches can be altogether explained by the facts on hand now. -The real danger in the Straits was—air. Plain dust-filled air. A wide -column of it circulates about the Pass at better than gale velocity. -That, and nothing else, accounts for the howling noises."</p> - -<p>The <i>Lucifer's</i> skipper addressed his bo'sun in the presence of mate -Jackson and a few other crew members. Tug Skelly's great face, as -he listened, was the livid hue of broiled lobster. The heat in his -little cell <i>had</i> been terrific. But no gleam of enlightenment lit the -bo'sun's eyes as the Captain spoke. Tug's only reaction was a rather -mistrustful frown.</p> - -<p>"It's clear," Douglas went on carefully, "that the old ships that tried -the Straits were charred instantly by the terrible friction set up when -they struck the air. The same thing would have happened to us, if it -hadn't been for the platinum on our hull."</p> - -<p>Tug's face brightened with that; but his grin cost him such pain that -he gulped hard and swallowed it down. In the little room, his swollen, -flaming countenance flared like a great beacon.</p> - -<p>"Sure, Cap'n," Tug nodded as he managed an imperceptible smile. "I told -you we'd get through all right if yuh left it to me."</p> - -<p>"Now, listen," Douglas said a trifle testily, "the platinum didn't do a -thing but insulate our hull from the heat. Don't you see? It was just -enough to keep the plates from melting. Platinum can't be oxidized—it -can't be burnt! And that's what saved our lives. You see it now, don't -you, Skelly?"</p> - -<p>"Yessir, Cap'n," Tug frowned. "I get what you're drivin' at." The -big bo'sun did seem to be making an effort to understand the simple -mechanics that underlay their escape. And that, Captain Douglas felt, -was a momentous step in the right direction.</p> - -<p>"Good!" Captain Christopher Douglas said with feeling. He relaxed -and looked about him with a pleased smile. Another convert had been -led from darkness into the light of truth and science. It was not -every day that Chris Douglas was privileged to rescue some poor, -superstition-ridden soul. A sense of warm beneficence filled the young -skipper. But he had another reason, besides the fact that the <i>Lucifer</i> -was now certain to fetch New York on schedule, to congratulate himself.</p> - -<p>"I've got good news for you, Skelly," Douglas smiled; "you'll be glad -to learn that the platinum you used on the hull was caked by the heat; -and it is almost a hundred-percent recoverable."</p> - -<p>"That's jes' fine!" Tug said with much relief. "I was sort of worried -about that."</p> - -<p>"Yes," Douglas went on pointedly but not unkindly, "and since it was -your boner in Orion City that got us into the mess in the first place, -I have decided, Skelly, that you're going to do the recovering, by -yourself! However, once the platinum is back in the hold we'll call all -accounts square. How is that?"</p> - -<p>"Me, Cap'n? Myself?" Tug's singed eyebrows went up in surprised -disappointment. It was clear the bo'sun had expected a different kind -of reward for the part he played in traversing the dread Pass. Tug -scratched his head wryly. "It's OK I guess," he sighed.</p> - -<p>"You've got three days," Douglas said, "before we arrive in New York to -do the job. That's providing you start at once. I think you'd better -get your bulger and go out on the hull right now—unless—" the Captain -smiled a little—"unless you're still afraid of those witches, Skelly."</p> - -<p>The Captain bantered easily. The light of science brightened every -corner of the cabin now. The darkness was a thing of the past. It was -impossible even to think of witches without snickering. However, the -painful grin on Tug Skelly's face was hardly a snicker; rather it was a -sly and knowing grin.</p> - -<p>"No sir! Cap'n," Tug scoffed heavily. "Not me! I never was afraid o' -those witches on account of myself—it was the rest of the crew I was -thinkin' about all along! Yessir. Y'see, I had <i>this</i> all the time, -Cap'n."</p> - -<p>Tug drew from his huge bosom a tiny, bedraggled object that hung by a -cord from his neck. With some pride, he exhibited his possession to -Captain Douglas who stared puzzledly at the little, shapeless thing. -But before Douglas could examine it, the bo'sun tucked it back inside -his shirt and saluted with as much vigor as his par-boiled frame would -allow.</p> - -<p>"Yessir!" Tug Skelly announced confidently. "I'll have that platinum -back in the hold before morning mess."</p> - -<p>It wasn't until the group had followed Tug Skelly out of the cabin, -leaving him alone, that Captain Douglas realized what the bo'sun had -held up in his gnarled palm. The realization made the young skipper -sigh heavily and sink back into his seat. The victory of science -over bo'sun Tug Skelly was not destined to be an easy one. Tug was -going bravely out onto the <i>Lucifer's</i> hull armed with an old and -much-used—rabbit's foot!</p> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Cosmic Derelict, by John Broome - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE COSMIC DERELICT *** - -***** This file should be named 62169-h.htm or 62169-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/2/1/6/62169/ - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. 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: The Cosmic Derelict - -Author: John Broome - -Release Date: May 18, 2020 [EBook #62169] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE COSMIC DERELICT *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - - The Cosmic Derelict - - By JOHN BROOME - - Ever-deeper into that Sargasso of space - the Earth-bound Lucifer bored. And guiding - her, mocking her, was the fabled, - gaunt-skeletoned Flying Dutchman of the stars. - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Planet Stories Summer 1942. - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - -It was Tug Skelly's fault that the Starways freighter, _Lucifer_, -four hours out of Orion City, was running behind time; and Captain -Christopher Douglas, Starways' newest and youngest Old Man, found it -hard to maintain the dignity befitting a transgalactic skipper, as he -inveighed against the guilty bo'sun in his cabin. - -"Twenty-four hours lost in port, Mr. Jackson," Captain Douglas groaned, -dropping the latest triangulator readings to his desk. "A full day we -can't possibly make up! And no one to blame for it but bo'sun Skelly!" - -First mate Pete Jackson, who had just brought the computator results -into the cabin, responded to the captain's forlorn glance with a -clucking noise and a sympathetic grimace of his blue-eyed, terrier's -face. There was no doubt that Douglas' vexation with Tug Skelly was -justified; but Jackson felt called upon to put in a word for his -unfortunate shipmate. - -"I wouldn't be too hard on Tug, sir," Pete Jackson said placatingly. -"He may have some queer ways, but after you get to know him ye'll -likely find Tug a pretty valuable hand aboard ship." - -"All I would like to know," Captain Douglas returned unhappily, "is why -in Old Nick he had to nose out that stowaway in Orion right at blasting -time? Why didn't he just keep that big turnip of his where it belonged!" - -Jackson shrugged helplessly. The _Lucifer's_ youngish, new skipper -just didn't know Tug Skelly yet, that was the truth. It was clearly -no part of a bo'sun's duties to hunt down stowaways; but then Tug had -never been content to perform only his duties. The plain fact was that -the stowaway, a pink-skinned Orionian, had sneaked aboard right after -loading was finished. He was apparently seen by no one except the -usually sleepy-eyed Tug; but that alone proved more than enough to -spell the poor devil's doom. - -"If it hadn't been for the Orion port authorities, though," Mate -Jackson essayed weakly, "we'd have blasted on schedule. I know Tug -didn't intend to stir them up, sir." - -"No!" Captain Douglas jeered miserably. "I suppose not. But that -infernal racket he raised chasing the stowaway was enough to bring the -whole city aboard!" - -Jackson nodded sadly. The Orionian port officials, summoned by Tug's -wild bellowings, had swarmed on the ship _en masse_, like a brood -of pink and imperturbable owls. They helped Tug snag the first -stowaway; and then, over Douglas' frantic protests, they very slowly -and assiduously fine-combed the _Lucifer_ the rest of that night for -others. They didn't find any more stowaways, but by the time the -_Lucifer_ got clearance an entire day had elapsed, leaving Captain -Douglas in a near catatonic state. The guilty Skelly meanwhile had -mysteriously disappeared underdeck--where, for all Jackson knew, he -still was. - -First Mate Jackson stirred uneasily. A suspicion suddenly shot through -his mind regarding Tug's possible motive in acting the way he did. -But the little first carefully refrained from voicing his thought. If -it were true, it would definitely not help the big bo'sun's case with -Captain Douglas! - -"Like I said, sir," Pete Jackson contented himself by sighing, "Tug's -mostly a first-rate bo'sun, though sometimes he does get sort of queer -ideas. However--" Jackson added hastily, "you can depend on all the -boys now. I mean, Captain, Sparks told us about that message that -came from the owners a while back; you can bank on it we'll all do -everything possible to help you make up the time." - -"Thank you, Mr. Jackson," Douglas said gratefully. "I appreciate that." - -Captain Douglas spoke with some composure, but, after Jackson saluted -smartly and left the cabin, the young skipper's _papier mache_ dignity -melted rapidly and he slumped down into his swivel. The first officer's -promise was merely a gesture, as both men knew. The _Lucifer_ was at -top speed, doing better than ten and a half kilos, but the computator -showed that even that would fetch New York nearly twenty hours late. -Christopher Douglas' usually trim blond mustache drooped woe-begonely, -but he was too miserable to straighten it. - -Instead, he parted the braids of his breveted uniform and drew a -crumpled slip of paper from his breast pocket. The radiogram Jackson -had referred to was from A. J. Braithewaite himself, president of -Starways. It had come only a few hours before; and, re-reading it, -Douglas could still hardly believe his own ill luck. Belated rocketings -were always held against Starways skippers; but the _Lucifer's_ tardy -arrival threatened to be starkly tragic. - -_Captain Douglas_, the gram went, _Solar Council going off platinum -standard as of twelve midnight July third. Imperative that you bring -Lucifer in as scheduled by noon that day. Any delay in arriving will -cost Starways huge sum on your cargo of platinum. Am certain you will -not fail us. Braithewaite._ - - * * * * * - -Douglas sank down into the swivel until his smooth, clean-shaven chin -almost rested on the desk top. The spanking new _Lucifer_, cargoing a -bin full of Orion's precious powdered platinum, was Chris Douglas's -first real deep-galactic command--after years of school theorizing and -practical activity as everything from a galley-knave to a blast-wiper. -He loved his new ship; but already his first voyage under his own -ticket threatened to be his last! Starways' hard-boiled employee policy -might well put him on a muck-ridden asteroid run after this, or ground -him altogether. - -Chris Douglas groaned and ran a limp hand over his moist face. He -hadn't felt more sheerly miserable since he was turned down by the -lady of his choice when he was fifteen. The lady, to be sure, was -almost twice his age then; but even so her answer still rankled. She -was his schoolmarm, and she had made it painfully clear that under -no circumstances would she consider becoming engaged to a fat little -appleknocker like Christopher Douglas. Her name was Lucy; and it still -gave him a pang to recall her cool gray eyes and her-- - -"Beg pardon, Cap'n. Are yuh busy?" - -Douglas looked up with a start. A big face--quite different from the -beautiful vision in his mind--was framed in the aperture formed by -the partly open cabin door. It was a thoroughly, almost enjoyably, -ugly face, that looked as if it had been kneaded by a crazy baker. It -possessed just about the color and consistency of limp dough. Captain -Douglas straightened slowly in his seat as he gazed on it. - -"Skelly!" He said ominously, "come in!" - -Bo'sun Tug Skelly came in cautiously, as if he were afraid of wrecking -the daintily appointed cabin by one awkward movement of his great, -brawny frame. He held his cap very respectfully in one gnarled -hand; but his huge face wore what Douglas thought was an altogether -out-of-place grin. He looked like an overgrown urchin who is caught -swiping pies but is unrepentant because of a full stomach. - -"I suppose," Captain Douglas said icily when the big bo'sun stood -before his desk, "that you know what your shenanigans in Orion has -cost, Skelly!" - -"Yessir," Tug grinned unblushingly, "but don't let that bother yuh too -much, Cap'n. Shux, so long's we got rid o' that stowaway everything'll -be shipshape, never fear." - -"Listen, Skelly," Captain Douglas rose holding the shreds of his -dignity around him with a shaking hand, "are you aware that we could -have cargoed that Orionian from here to Betelgeuse and back for what -the lost day is going to cost?" - -Tug nodded brightly. He was obviously not too impressed by his young -superior's analogy. "Sure, Cap'n," he said easily, "but we wouldn't -have got very far with him. I mean we'd've had an accident o' some -kind. Maybe a rocket tube woulda slipped its moorings; maybe the -gravs woulda gone dead without no reason. But something woulda -happened--that's the godshonest truth." - -Captain Douglas's eyes, red-rimmed from lack of sleep, opened wide; -then narrowed dazedly. He was remembering something Mate Jackson had -said about queer ideas. - -"Yesiree, Cap'n," Tug spoke confidently since he obviously held the -new master's undivided, even spellbound attention. "Everybody knows a -stowaway's bad jinks; but not many aside from Tug Skelly knows jest -how bad an _Orionian_ stowaway can be! Cap'n Douglas, an Orionian -stowaway's no different from a cargo o' loose cordite. He's jest bound -to cause mischief on a ship." - -"Mischief!" Captain Douglas felt that that was a poor way to describe -the fix they were already in; but he didn't pursue the point. Another -aspect of the bo'sun's speech drew his attention. It was obvious that -in Tug Skelly, he, Chris Douglas, was confronted by a withering example -of ignorance on the loose. All the new skipper's years of training, -his sleeplessness and his distraught nerves, rose gorgelike at this -shambling, dough-faced anachronism who posed as a space sailor. - -"Bo'sun Skelly," Douglas said acidly, "your remarks reveal an -incredible disregard for the scientific viewpoint. In fact, I haven't -heard such sinful tommyrot since I was six--and even then I knew -better. An Orionian stowaway, or any other stowaway, Mister Skelly, can -cause no more damage to a vessel than the amount of edible cargo he can -consume. The rest is rubbish." - -Tug looked hurt. "I dunno, Cap'n," he said slowly. "Now you take the -_Campanella_--the big liner that jes' blew apart one day off Venus. -What did the Safety Board investigation show afterwards? Why, that she -was carrying a whole nestful of Orionians underdeck!" - -And Tug flashed his young master a look of triumphant vindication. -Chris Douglas heaved a long breath and slumped back in the swivel. The -task of bringing bo'sun's Skelly's education up to date was clearly -not one for a single afternoon. Nor, with Braithewaite's message still -before him, did the skipper feel any taste for the job. - -"Bo'sun Skelly," Douglas sighed disgustedly, "did you come here to -regale me with your views on Orionian stowaways?" - -"Eh?" Tug scratched his head and grinned a little at the captain's -peculiar way of talking. "Naw, but I almost did forget, sir. Fact is, -Cap'n, I come to tell yuh how to make up the day we lost. Yessir." - -"You did!" Douglas sneered miserably. "How? By getting out and pushing? -Or simply by wishing on a star? The _Lucifer_ can't do any more than -ten and a half kilos." - -"She don't hafta," Tug said equably, no whit abashed by the irony. "We -can gain a lot o' time by using an old route I know. I forget the real -name, but it's called the Pass o' the Twin Witches. It's at the tip o' -the Southern Cross, Cap'n. Joshua P. MacLevy, my old skipper, used to -tell me about it. It'll save--" - - * * * * * - -But Chris Douglas was no longer heeding the big bo'sun. His eyes, which -had widened suddenly as Tug spoke, were now peering at the great blue -and white astrochart on the wall back of his desk. He rose and fixed -his gaze on a little star-clustered area far off the main commercial -routes--the tip of the Southern Cross. Then he sprang to the desk and -began working with a pencil. A moment later, he looked up strangely -excited. It was no wonder he hadn't thought of the Cross Straits--the -old pass had been out of use for over fifty years. For vague reasons, -it still had a bad name and skippers avoided it. But Chris Douglas was -no shell-backed worshipper of traditions. - -"Skelly," he said regarding the bo'sun with new shining eyes. "I think -you've got something! Using the old Cross Straits will clip nearly a -million kilos from our course, and give us a good chance to fetch New -York on time. A very good chance!" - -Captain Douglas' sudden, almost boyish enthusiasm was infectious, but -now it was his bo'sun's turn to become oddly perturbed. The wrinkles on -Skelly's massive face were as big as troughs. - -"That's right, Cap'n," Tug nodded uneasily, "but the Pass is pretty -dangerous, yuh know. If yuh leave it to me, there won't be no need to -worry, though. I know how to fix those hags so they can't touch the -_Lucifer_ no matter how hard they try!" - -"Hags?" Captain Douglas said with a now friendly smile. "What hags are -you talking about, Tug?" - -"The witches, Cap'n, that guard the Pass." Tug's voice had dropped to -a whisper and he leaned forward with a fearful, secretive air. "There -are two o' them, Cap'n Douglas. One on each side. Giants they are, and -woe to the poor ship as passes under their hot breath without first -undergoin' the ritual o' purification! But don't you worry, Cap'n. I -know the formula that'll wash all the sins from the _Lucifer_ and leave -her clean as a baby. Yes sir!" - -"What the dickens--!" Captain Douglas began with a dazed frown. But -Tug Skelly went on hurriedly; it was clear that he regarded the young -skipper's astonishment as an evil omen. - -"All we gotta do, Cap'n," Tug pleaded, "is give the _Lucifer_ a pure -white soul; and I can do it. Jes' let me handle it, Cap'n Douglas, and -those two witches won't bother us a bit." - -"Bo'sun Skelly!" Captain Douglas swallowed hard and gathered his -benumbed senses. "I have heard tall tales and weird stories; but for -sheer cockeyed balderdash yours is far and away the best yet! Your -suggestion of the Cross Straits was invaluable; and I am very grateful -to you for it. But by Jupiter if you go on talking about Twin Witches -I'll have to clap you in irons. Good day." - -Tug started to protest, but something about Young Douglas' clamped jaw -made him halt and drop his big arms to his sides miserably. He stood -there for a moment before mumbling a low, "Aye, aye," and offering -a clumsy salute. Then he turned and walked from the cabin, his big -shoulders drooped despairingly. - -Captain Chris Douglas mopped his brow when he was alone in his quarters. - -"Witches," he murmured incredulously. "Purifying the soul of a ship -against witches!" - -He gave his close-cropped, blond head a vigorous shake, as if to clear -it of any goblins or pixies that might have crept in by contamination -with Tug Skelly; and a second later he was at the desk communicator -contacting the bridge. - -"Mr. Jackson," Captain Douglas said when he heard the mate's voice. "I -have decided to change our course. You will take all readings necessary -to bring the _Lucifer_ to the Straits of the Cross.... Yes, Mr. -Jackson, I said the Straits of the Cross. At once!" - - * * * * * - -The _Lucifer_, a hollow black needle in the immense twilight of space, -hurtled eagerly on the second day out toward the new pole her tiny -masters had set for her. But First Mate Pete Jackson alone on the -bridge didn't find himself any too eager about their new route. For one -thing, the last three ships known to have tried the Cross Straits had -never been heard from afterwards. For another, Jackson just didn't feel -easy traveling off the main lanes. - -He had intimated his fears to Captain Douglas at mess that morning; but -without making any impression on the young skipper. - -"Sure I know about those ships that were lost in the Straits fifty -years ago," Captain Douglas had responded cheerfully, fresh from a much -needed sleep. "But that was fifty years ago, Mr. Jackson. Those early -ether-blasters were just clay pigeons to space hazards that can't even -tickle the _Lucifer_. Our ship is equipped with every modern safety -device known to astrogation. I think we'll get through all right." - -Pete Jackson rolled the captain's words over in his mind and shifted in -his seat before the visiplate with a sigh. A moment later, he jumped -with a startled oath as a heavy finger prodded his shoulder. It was -Tug Skelly, looking as big and mournful as a Great Dane bereft of his -master. But Pete Jackson wasted no sympathy on his ungainly subordinate. - -"Hah! It's you," the little mate said with fierce scorn. "I suppose -ye've come to tell me about those witches of yours, eh? Well, you're -wastin' y' time. Captain Douglas's already told me about your crazy -ideas; and I must say you made a proper fool of yourself before the new -skipper, Tug. I'm thoroughly disgusted with you!" - -"Pete," Tug pleaded, "it's true what I said about the Twin Witches. Old -Josh MacLevy told me about 'em, and you know he wouldn't jes' spin a -yarn. Listen, Pete, all I need for the ritual o' purification is a lot -o' white paint. You gimme a release for the paint and I'll attend to -all the rest. Please, Pete." - -But Jackson was adamant. - -"First off," the mate grunted sourly, "we ain't got a pail of white -paint aboard. Second, I wouldn't give it to ye, if we had it! The -trouble with you, Tug, is you need some education. You're worse than an -old Irishlady when it comes to superstitions, and that's a fact." - -Captain Douglas had used those very words to describe the bo'sun when -he and the mate spoke at mess. But Pete Jackson felt no qualms of -plagiarism in borrowing the apt phrases. He even remembered a little -more the new skipper had said. - -"Tug," Jackson advised with a superior air, "I think you'd better -take a home study course next voyage in the elements of physics and -chemistry. That's what you need--a little educating. Take it from the -Captain and me." - -For a long moment, Tug Skelly played miserably with fingers that were -like bananas. Then he heaved a sigh and turned. At the bulkhead, -however, he looked back. - -"Edjacation," he asserted with a truculent nod, "ain't everything, -Pete. No, sir!" And with that Tug lumbered out. - -Pete Jackson snorted and turned troubledly once again to his forward -sight. The nearer the _Lucifer_ got to the Straits, the more the first -mate found himself wishing they were back on the good old slow lanes. -There were no familiar skymarks here; and the _Lucifer_ was being -guided by dead reckoning. Yet, remembering young Douglas's words, -Jackson took heart. - -"Witches!" Pete Jackson scoffed aloud to the empty bridge round him. -"Hah!" But the sneer didn't sound too convincing even to himself. - - * * * * * - -It was the beginning of the long middle watch, when most of the -_Lucifer's_ crew slept; but Tug Skelly returning to his bunk didn't -go right to sleep as usual. Instead, he paced his narrow deck for -many long minutes--before finally beginning an activity that would -undoubtedly have astonished any of his shipmates if they had been -awake to witness it. Out of his cabin locker, Tug dragged his battered -bulger. And as he donned it the bo'sun's massive face, gargoyled -by the port starlight, wore a strangely desperate but determined -expression. He went down into the holds and stayed there for some time -before he finally emerged on the hull. - -All during the long watch that ticked away inside the peaceful -_Lucifer_, a shapeless, bulging form toiled outside her hull. The -myriad stars roundabout blinked in amazement at the tiny, squid-like -object that moved on the great hull. They watched with endless -curiosity as the moving blob several times disappeared from view only -to reappear again. And they marveled greatly at how the aspect of the -hull was changed wherever the restless object toiled. When finally the -blob disappeared for the last time, the stars blinked in delighted -wonder at the vision he had left them. The middle watch inside the -_Lucifer_ was not yet ended when Tug Skelly crawled out of his bulger -and toppled into his bunk like a stricken Sequoia. - - * * * * * - -"_Captain. Captain Douglas._" - -The _Lucifer's_ young skipper opened his eyes, focused them on the lad -who was shaking him by the shoulder, and sat upright. It was Andy, the -galley-boy, who stood before the bed, his tow-thatched face screwed up -puzzledly. - -"Captain Douglas," Andy said scratching his head, "the cook sent me to -wake you. He said to get you up. It's something about the ship, sir." - -"Something about the ship!" Douglas was out of bed like a shot. "What -are you talking about?" - -"The _Lucifer_, sir," Andy grinned mysteriously. "She's all white -outside--like a yacht. The cook saw it first this morning when we were -emptying the slop pail. He says she's beautiful, nicer now than A. J. -Braithewaite's yacht. The cook said that." - -"He did?" Chris Douglas rubbed the last vestige of sleep from his eyes -and strode to the communicator in his outside cabin, where he proceeded -at once to contact first mate Jackson. - -"Mr. Jackson," Douglas said suspiciously when he got the mate, "did you -give orders to paint the hull? What? Yes. Unless Andy here is crazy. -Put on a suit and meet me at the forward lock at once." - -Two minutes later, Captain Douglas and first mate Jackson, each clad -in bulgers, climbed laboriously out of the lock. Both men stared in -simultaneous astonishment at the sight that met their eyes when they -emerged on the broad hull. Around them, the _Lucifer's_ former dark -steel torso was now a sea of glistening whiteness. Every inch of the -hull had been covered; the _Lucifer_ preened like a snowbird under her -frosty new plumage that stretched from stem to stern. Reaching down a -gloved hand, Douglas found that the paint was still tacky, a little of -it came away on his fingers. - -"_Jumping Jupiter!_" Captain Douglas whispered shakily. "What's going -on here? First, our crazy bo'sun starts chasing stowaways in port; and -now someone paints my ship a pure blasted white while I'm asleep. What -kind of a voyage is this, Mr. Jackson!" - -But as he spoke the words "pure white" a gleam of suspicion shot into -the Captain's eyes. - -"Skelly!" Douglas said with sudden vehemence. "Skelly's ritual of -purification." - -Mate Jackson nodded troubledly. The connection between Tug's latest -remarks and this deed was all too apparent. But something more was -worrying the little first mate at the moment. - -"Maybe it was Tug, sir," Pete Jackson said puzzledly, "but what I'd -like to know is where the devil he got all the white paint? I happen -to know we moved every can of paint off ship to make room for the -platinum. Yes, sir. I had it done myself." - -"The platinum?" Captain Douglas repeated the word very slowly; then he -stared for a long, terrible moment at the white stain on his fingers. -Pete Jackson stared at the stain, too. A second later, the two men -broke as one body for the lock behind them. - -Down in the hold where the platinum was kept, Captain Douglas panted -heavily, and stared about him with the haggard look of a man who has -received a mortal blow. - -Around the two men, the precious cargo had been vandalled. The empty -tins were strewn all over the hold. Of all the powdered platinum, -perhaps a dozen or two cans remained intact. The rest of it--and no -other conclusion was possible--now adorned the steel hull of the -_Lucifer_! - -"Bring Tug Skelly to my quarters, Mr. Jackson," Captain Douglas said -in a mechanical voice. "Under guard if necessary." - - * * * * * - -But Tug came to the Captain's cabin without protest, even though he -came not too happily. There shone, however, under bo'sun's Caliban -countenance, the kind of inner serenity that can only come from doing -the right thing regardless of consequences. Captain Douglas eyed the -culprit wrathfully. - -"Bo'sun Skelly," Douglas shot out when Tug stood before his desk, "all -I want you to do is answer one question: Was it you who painted the -_Lucifer's_ hull during the last watch?" - -Tug shifted his big feet uncomfortably; but his serene expression did -not vanish. - -"Yes sir," Tug confessed. "I did it for the good of all of us. It jes' -had to be done, Cap'n Douglas. Because now those witches--" - -"Mr. Skelly!" Douglas cut in shakily, "are you aware that you used -eight-hundred-thousand dollars worth of platinum to paint the ship! -What are you trying to do, man--" the young skipper's voice rose to a -croaked scream--"buy those damned witches off?" - -Tug shuddered visibly at the profane reference to the dreaded Giants of -the Pass. - -"I wouldn't talk that way about them, Cap'n," he shivered, "no, sir. -You see, the formula for purification includes platinum--that's -according to old Joshua MacLevy. But I couldn't find any white paint at -all. So I jes' had to use--well, what came to hand." - -"Which happened to be our cargo of platinum," Captain Douglas murmured -incredulously. He sank into his swivel like a man in a dream. It was -still possible, of course, to salvage much of the precious metal from -the hull. But doing the job now, while en route, would mean a suicidal -delay; while bringing the _Lucifer_ in, festooned as she was, would -very likely mean his ticket. Misery seemed to threaten both courses -equally; but the young skipper felt he had no choice. Somehow--white or -black--the _Lucifer_ had to be brought in on schedule. - -"Mr. Jackson," Captain Douglas said with forgivable bitterness, "you -will have bo'sun Skelly confined to irons for the remainder of the run. -We may all lose our jobs for this, but with him in the holds, we'll at -least have a chance to complete the voyage alive!" - - * * * * * - -The _Lucifer_, now a white spear cleaving the darkness, reacted to -the proximity of the Cross Straits like a cat to danger. All flight -regulations were strictly enforced, by the Captain's special command. -Every instrument and delicate warning device was tested out and brought -up to specifications. The ship took on the grim aspect of a citadel -prepared to withstand any eventuality. - -Only bo'sun Tug Skelly was idle as the _Lucifer_ neared the Pass. In -the tiny cell underdeck, Tug accepted his enforced inactivity with the -resignation of a martyr. But he learned from Andy, the galley-boy, that -the _Lucifer's_ white coat lay still untouched, and that brought him -some comfort. - -"There's things about spacin'," Tug told the boy, as he ate the food -Andy had brought him, "that nobody learns in books. Don't make no -mistake, Andy, edjacation is good--but it ain't everything. Nossir!" - -"Nuts," Andy remarked picking up the fast-emptied tray. "I've heard -that the skipper is gonna have you examined in New York. Says you're -bugs." - -Tug stared ahead of him and nodded with a long-suffering look. "People -with real knowledge," he said slowly, "is always considered bugs, Andy. -Sure. Look at Mad Old James Flaherty, the man who first reached Moon. -And before him there was a feller named Gally Leo who told everybody -the earth moved around the sun--like it does. Everybody thought they -was bugs, until it turned out they was _geenyusses_!" - -"Yeh," Andy grunted unimpressed, "only you _are_ bugs." - -The galley-boy's simple but crushing logic left Tug without a reply. He -merely growled contemptuously and watched Andy, as the boy leisurely -gathered his utensils and exited from the cell. Alone, the big bo'sun -shivered suddenly and sat motionless on his cot as if transfixed. It -seemed to Tug that through the thick bulkhead before him a low, far-off -wailing sound was coming--a sound just like the one Old Joshua MacLevy -had described. By Tug's private reckoning, the _Lucifer_ was right at -the Straits. And that wail could only be--! Despite the careful and -costly precaution he had taken against the Witches of the Pass, Tug -Skelly's eyes began to bulge. - -Up on the bridge, a few minutes before, Captain Chris Douglas also -witnessed a peculiar thing. It was mate Pete Jackson, at the forward -sight, who called his attention to it. Douglas reluctantly tore his -gaze from the gleaming, many-dialed instrument panel before him, and -answered the mate's summons. - -"A cloud," Jackson frowned. "Dead ahead." - -They were at the lips of the Straits; a few moments more and they would -be inside. Captain Douglas glanced hurriedly at the plate. A vague and -nebulous gray mist was swirling before the ship; but even as he watched -it, it seemed to melt away and disappear. Douglas quickly volted up -to maximum the ray-repellers and meteor-deflectors that lined the -_Lucifer's_ hull. - -"Whatever's in the Straits," Chris Douglas said grimly, "is going to -bounce right off our hull. The _Lucifer_ was made for heavy weather." - -"Sure thing, Capt'n," Pete Jackson said wistfully, "but I can't help -wishing we were through already!" - -"We'll get through," Douglas said with more confidence than he actually -felt. "The Pass can't be more than twenty-thousand kilos long. We'll be -out the other side before you can whistle Home Sweet Home." - -"I couldn't whistle anything now," Pete Jackson sighed as he bent his -wizened face to the visiplate. - -For a few moments, it looked as if the Captain's optimistic prediction -might be justified. The _Lucifer_ was covering almost a thousand -yards every tenth of a second. It was after about five seconds that -the wailing and shrieking noises first came through the hull into the -bridge. - -"Stars and saints above!" Pete Jackson stiffened slowly in his -seat, his little blue eyes engulfed in whiteness. Captain Douglas, -too, jerked nervously at the eerie sounds. But the dials before him -continued to reveal nothing amiss. He shot a quick, hard command to -keep the course. The mate obeyed trembling as from ague. A split-second -later they were in the Pass. - - * * * * * - -There wasn't any doubt they were in something! A wave of superheated -steam seemed to strike the _Lucifer_ simultaneously from all sides. The -needle on the tempogauge jerked sharply upward. The pressure oxygen -in the bridge grew suddenly warm. Captain Douglas and mate sweat in a -trice. - -"What's this?" Pete Jackson started from his seat. - -"Can't tell what it is," Captain Douglas frowned before the dials. "The -tempogauge is going up, but I don't know why." - -"Hah!" Pete Jackson's laugh broke queerly. "It couldn't be the hot -breath o' Tug Skelly's witches now, could it, Capt'n?" - -"Witches be blowed!" Douglas snarled. - -"Still," Jackson protested weakly, "it might be a good idea to turn -back, even now. That tempo-needle's going up awful fast." - -"Hold the course, Mr. Jackson," Douglas said angrily. To execute a slow -turning maneuver at this point would be tantamount to suicide! Jackson -knew that too, only the mate wasn't using his head any longer. Whatever -danger they were in, their best chance was to hold speed and try to -slip through the Pass before the blistering heat outside melted down -their hull plates. - -The mate steadied in his seat. - -"Give her everything she'll take," Captain Douglas ordered the -engine-room via his speaking-tube. "Everything!" - -"_Aye, aye, sir._" The choked reply from below was followed by a long, -muttered oath that almost made young Douglas grin. He called down a -word of encouragement, and stepped swiftly back to the instrument -panel. The tempo-needle was mounting in the dangerous red ever closer -and closer to the hull melting-point. The heat inside the bridge was -insufferable by now; the two men, stripped to the waist, their bodies -shining oilily, could hardly breathe. The shrieking outside had risen -to a horrendous, deafening clamor. The end, one way or another, could -scarcely be more than a few seconds off. - -"We can't take much more," Pete Jackson gulped miserably. "She'll open -a seam sure!" - -"Jackson," Douglas said with sudden thought, "better get Skelly out -of the hold. If the ship goes, we might have a chance with the -emergency-dories." The thought was futile though, and both men knew it. -A temperature that could melt the _Lucifer's_ hull would reduce one of -the flimsy dories to ash in an instant. Nevertheless, Jackson got to -his feet. But, before he could take a step, something in the port sight -caught the mate's eye. Pete Jackson slowly stiffened until he stood -rigid and pallid as a corpse. - -"Capt'n Douglas!" Jackson cried in the weak and despairing voice of a -man whose innermost dread is all too horribly realized. "_There's the -witch!_" - - * * * * * - -With an impatient frown, Douglas sprang to the port plate where the -mate's gaze was transfixed. But the vision that met the skipper brought -him up in his tracks. An icy chill trickled down Chris Douglas's spine -despite the terrible heat around him. A great black shape, long as the -_Lucifer_ herself, loomed beside them; half-shrouded in mist, huge -funereal form now rode alongside the freighter, so close that hissing -sparks from the _Lucifer's_ steaming plates sprayed it. Like some -grim and timely escort from beyond, the apparition kept pace with the -stricken white ship. - -[Illustration: _"Skipper!" he screamed. "Look! Look there!"_] - -"Merciful Mary!" Pete Jackson gasped incoherently. "We're done for now, -Capt'n!" - -Douglas ran a dazed hand over his sweat-ridden eyes, opening them -wider. Then, even as he watched, the black shape began to turn slowly, -falling back from the hurtling _Lucifer_. Only then could he see it -fully. A cry of astonishment broke from the skipper as he recognized -the thing for what it was. This Witch of the Pass was the gaunt and -charred corpse of an ether-blaster, whose orbit lay round and round -inside the Straits that had destroyed it. Like a mute, accusing ghost, -the old ship was forever destined to haunt the narrow scene of its -murder. - -No wonder that for an instant he had half-believed the Straits -bewitched! The sight outside wasn't very pleasant. Nor was it -comforting to think that the _Lucifer_ might yet join that lonely -vigil. Captain Douglas turned from the plate and choked an angry oath -back at the searing heat around him. - -"Get Skelly," he snapped to Jackson; but the mate was clearly in no -condition to obey. Pete Jackson still stood like a man who has looked -into the inferno and is only awaiting the summons of a ghastly tap on -the shoulder. Douglas scowled, blinked the sweat from his eyes, and -started to exit himself. It didn't seem to make much difference, but he -couldn't let the bo'sun perish like a caged rat. - -However, he didn't leave the bridge. Something on the instrument -panel gave Captain Douglas the sudden hope that he might be able to -let Skelly stay where he was. The tempo-needle had halted its upward -swing. The tiny arrow hovered motionless a hair's breadth from the hull -melting-point; but it did not advance. As he watched it, the needle -began to retreat, imperceptibly at first; then faster. Douglas jumped -incredulously to the forward plate. - -The twilighted expanse before the _Lucifer_ was wide, frosty and -marvelously clear. The mists had disappeared. They were through! The -Captain's call brought mate Jackson up from his seat and all the way -across the bridge in two jumps. - -"Praise be!" Pete Jackson blinked joyfully into the sight. "It's a -miracle--that's what it is!" - -"A miracle, my big toe!" was Captain Douglas's very unskipperish -retort. A thought which might explain the _Lucifer's_ narrow escape -from the fate of the charred ether-blaster, was forming in the -skipper's mind. It was a thought which gained credence when Douglas -quickly tested the contents of a vial in the bridge. The glass -receptacle was filled with a sampling of the misty vapor in the Straits. - -"Look at this," Douglas called the mate to him. Jackson peered at -the results of the test, incredulously at first; then with an abject -expression as he realized what it meant. Captain Douglas's further -explanation did not make the little mate feel any happier. - -"I just don't know what happened to me," Pete Jackson shook his head. -"First those infernal shrieks and then that old oxy-burner back -there--" The mate broke off with a woeful, contrite look. - -"I know, Pete," Douglas grinned with a mock shudder. "Seeing that old -hulk had me believing in ghosts for a while myself. Anyway, it's -over and we're damned lucky. It's double rations all around at mess -tonight. And I think we'll get Skelly out of the brig. He's probably so -overcooked by now that he doesn't need any more punishing. Besides, I -want to talk to him." - -And Chris Douglas offered the mate a significant look which made -Jackson brighten up considerably as he grinned back in understanding. - - * * * * * - -"So you see, Skelly,"--several hours later Captain Douglas summed up -the points of the simple but precise lecture in his cabin: "The myth of -the Twin Witches can be altogether explained by the facts on hand now. -The real danger in the Straits was--air. Plain dust-filled air. A wide -column of it circulates about the Pass at better than gale velocity. -That, and nothing else, accounts for the howling noises." - -The _Lucifer's_ skipper addressed his bo'sun in the presence of mate -Jackson and a few other crew members. Tug Skelly's great face, as -he listened, was the livid hue of broiled lobster. The heat in his -little cell _had_ been terrific. But no gleam of enlightenment lit the -bo'sun's eyes as the Captain spoke. Tug's only reaction was a rather -mistrustful frown. - -"It's clear," Douglas went on carefully, "that the old ships that tried -the Straits were charred instantly by the terrible friction set up when -they struck the air. The same thing would have happened to us, if it -hadn't been for the platinum on our hull." - -Tug's face brightened with that; but his grin cost him such pain that -he gulped hard and swallowed it down. In the little room, his swollen, -flaming countenance flared like a great beacon. - -"Sure, Cap'n," Tug nodded as he managed an imperceptible smile. "I told -you we'd get through all right if yuh left it to me." - -"Now, listen," Douglas said a trifle testily, "the platinum didn't do a -thing but insulate our hull from the heat. Don't you see? It was just -enough to keep the plates from melting. Platinum can't be oxidized--it -can't be burnt! And that's what saved our lives. You see it now, don't -you, Skelly?" - -"Yessir, Cap'n," Tug frowned. "I get what you're drivin' at." The -big bo'sun did seem to be making an effort to understand the simple -mechanics that underlay their escape. And that, Captain Douglas felt, -was a momentous step in the right direction. - -"Good!" Captain Christopher Douglas said with feeling. He relaxed -and looked about him with a pleased smile. Another convert had been -led from darkness into the light of truth and science. It was not -every day that Chris Douglas was privileged to rescue some poor, -superstition-ridden soul. A sense of warm beneficence filled the young -skipper. But he had another reason, besides the fact that the _Lucifer_ -was now certain to fetch New York on schedule, to congratulate himself. - -"I've got good news for you, Skelly," Douglas smiled; "you'll be glad -to learn that the platinum you used on the hull was caked by the heat; -and it is almost a hundred-percent recoverable." - -"That's jes' fine!" Tug said with much relief. "I was sort of worried -about that." - -"Yes," Douglas went on pointedly but not unkindly, "and since it was -your boner in Orion City that got us into the mess in the first place, -I have decided, Skelly, that you're going to do the recovering, by -yourself! However, once the platinum is back in the hold we'll call all -accounts square. How is that?" - -"Me, Cap'n? Myself?" Tug's singed eyebrows went up in surprised -disappointment. It was clear the bo'sun had expected a different kind -of reward for the part he played in traversing the dread Pass. Tug -scratched his head wryly. "It's OK I guess," he sighed. - -"You've got three days," Douglas said, "before we arrive in New York to -do the job. That's providing you start at once. I think you'd better -get your bulger and go out on the hull right now--unless--" the Captain -smiled a little--"unless you're still afraid of those witches, Skelly." - -The Captain bantered easily. The light of science brightened every -corner of the cabin now. The darkness was a thing of the past. It was -impossible even to think of witches without snickering. However, the -painful grin on Tug Skelly's face was hardly a snicker; rather it was a -sly and knowing grin. - -"No sir! Cap'n," Tug scoffed heavily. "Not me! I never was afraid o' -those witches on account of myself--it was the rest of the crew I was -thinkin' about all along! Yessir. Y'see, I had _this_ all the time, -Cap'n." - -Tug drew from his huge bosom a tiny, bedraggled object that hung by a -cord from his neck. With some pride, he exhibited his possession to -Captain Douglas who stared puzzledly at the little, shapeless thing. -But before Douglas could examine it, the bo'sun tucked it back inside -his shirt and saluted with as much vigor as his par-boiled frame would -allow. - -"Yessir!" Tug Skelly announced confidently. "I'll have that platinum -back in the hold before morning mess." - -It wasn't until the group had followed Tug Skelly out of the cabin, -leaving him alone, that Captain Douglas realized what the bo'sun had -held up in his gnarled palm. The realization made the young skipper -sigh heavily and sink back into his seat. The victory of science -over bo'sun Tug Skelly was not destined to be an easy one. Tug was -going bravely out onto the _Lucifer's_ hull armed with an old and -much-used--rabbit's foot! - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Cosmic Derelict, by John Broome - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE COSMIC DERELICT *** - -***** This file should be named 62169.txt or 62169.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/2/1/6/62169/ - -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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