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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..0f050de --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #63393 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/63393) diff --git a/old/63393-h.zip b/old/63393-h.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 4ffd5d3..0000000 --- a/old/63393-h.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63393-h/63393-h.htm b/old/63393-h/63393-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index 643dc27..0000000 --- a/old/63393-h/63393-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1970 +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 Mind Stealers of Pluto, by Joseph Farrell. - </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;} - -/* 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; -} - -.ph1 { text-align: center; text-indent: 0em; } -.ph1 { font-size: medium; margin: .83em auto; } - - - </style> - </head> -<body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Mind-Stealers of Pluto, by Joseph Farrell - -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: Mind-Stealers of Pluto - -Author: Joseph Farrell - -Release Date: October 6, 2020 [EBook #63393] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MIND-STEALERS OF PLUTO *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<div class="titlepage"> - -<h1>MIND STEALERS OF PLUTO</h1> - -<h2>By JOSEPH FARRELL</h2> - -<p>Ron Barnard had stuck his nose into one news<br /> -story too many. It had started with a lovely<br /> -girl, a wily Chinese and a drug ring that<br /> -circled the System. Now it was ending for<br /> -him in a rogue spaceship—his epitaph a<br /> -rocket's red stream across the starways.</p> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br /> -Planet Stories Winter 1944.<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>Ron Barnard leaned unhappily on Quong Kee's bar and looked over the -worst dive on Mars. This hell hole of Quong Kee's was no fit place -even for a newspaperman looking for a story on the dope ring that was -haunting the outer planets. The habitues were cut-throats, fugitives -from Earth and the space police. To say nothing of the <i>neoin</i> fiends.</p> - -<p>The two unshaven men hunched at a corner table, for instance. He eyed -them in contempt. They were far gone in their addiction to the drug, -and he would put no crime past them. They probably would murder their -grandmothers for a gram of <i>neoin</i>.</p> - -<p>The two persons in question straightened as if a gun had been fired. -They faced the bar, and their questing eyes found Barnard. One of them, -teeth bared and hands bent into claws, started to move toward the -reporter.</p> - -<p>"What did you think?" the man demanded.</p> - -<p>Barnard dropped a coin on the bar and tried to walk carelessly to the -door. He wanted no fights with a <i>neoin</i>-filled madman. Silently he -cursed himself for forgetting the extra sensory powers imparted by the -drug. But the men had seemed too far gone to use their ESP.</p> - -<p>The man charged across the room. Barnard saw that escape was out and -resigned himself to a fight. He waited for the wild lunge, sidestepped -and shot in a right that sent the addict reeling back. A few customers -watched with mild interest. But this was routine at Quong Kee's—nobody -would interfere.</p> - -<p>Sullenly, the man glared at him, as if gathering courage for another -charge. Barnard knew that actually the irresponsible creature was -working himself up to a murderous pitch. Now he felt the waves of fury -beating at his mind.</p> - -<p>He waited, tense and ready. From the corner of his vision he saw the -drapes that cut off the back room come apart, and a figure hurrying -out. A slender figure in faded coveralls. Then he looked again.</p> - -<p>It was a woman—a slender pale girl who clicked somehow in his memory. -He had seen her around Kainor, this port city of Mars, several times in -the past few days.</p> - -<p>Watching her, he almost missed the onslaught of the <i>neoin</i> fiend. The -fury of the charge backed him to the wall and he lashed out desperately -against the claws and knees of the man. His head jammed against the -wall and crimson streaks exploded before him. He jabbed with aching -arms, trying to push the madman off. Dimly, he saw the girl trying to -whisper something in the fiend's ear.</p> - -<p>The man broke off clawing suddenly, a look of surprise on his twisted -face. Barnard watched weakly as he backed off a few steps to listen to -what the girl was whispering. Then the man glared with sullen respect -at Barnard for a few seconds and went back to his friend.</p> - -<p>The girl turned swiftly and started back for the drapes. Barnard caught -her arm.</p> - -<p>"Miss—" He stared at her. It was his first good look, and he wondered -where she had found the courage to interfere with a raging <i>neoin</i> -fiend. If that man had turned on her—!</p> - -<p>She wasn't beautiful—she looked as if she hadn't slept much lately. -If somebody could put a few pounds on her in the right places—and a -smile on her face—</p> - -<p>"Thanks," he said, puffing. "I was in a spot—you can't hurt those lads -when they're hopped. What did you tell him, anyway?"</p> - -<p>She shrank back a little. Strangely, he felt that the fear in her -eyes was more of him than of the cut-throats in Quong Kee's. Her face -acquired a faint touch of color.</p> - -<p>"I told him," she said, "that I'd take away his <i>neoin</i> ration card."</p> - -<p>She pulled loose and disappeared into the other room.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Barnard stared at the drapes and grinned a little at the evasive -answer. What had she told the fiend? If he knew, it might help him to -get some news. And what was she doing here in this dive—he'd swear she -wasn't the type!</p> - -<p>He thought of the boss back on Earth thundering through the news -room as Barnard's meager despatches dribbled through. But Hell! He'd -done all any human could possibly do! He'd spoken with officials and -spacemen and scientists, poked his skinny nose into dens like this -where a man risked his life if he so much as <i>thought</i> out of line. -He'd even bought some of the drug from the peddlers who operated almost -openly, and he'd cultivated them, but they were only tools.</p> - -<p>The higher-ups might have been invisible for all anybody knew about -them. Nobody even knew where the drug came from. But wherever it -originated, it was swiftly corrupting Mars and Venus, as well as the -Jovian system and the asteroid belt.</p> - -<p>When small quantities appeared on Earth, the powers-that-be of the -System News Service smelled news. Ron Barnard, star reporter who had -unveiled many a scandal in gay twenty-third century New York, was sent -to investigate. And Ron Barnard stood in Mars' wildest dive, scratching -his head and staring after a frightened, pretty girl.</p> - -<p>"That's my sister," said a childish voice beside him.</p> - -<p>Barnard stared at the big man beside him. The man was a splendid -physical specimen, but his face—</p> - -<p>It was the face of a mindless idiot.</p> - -<p>Barnard felt repelled. The man's features were not idiotic; they -should have been those of an intelligent person. But the eyes changed -everything. They were blank and somehow—soulless. Barnard shrank -automatically away from the apelike creature.</p> - -<p>Then he understood what the idiot had said.</p> - -<p>"Your sister!" He stared unbelievingly.</p> - -<p>The gray haired shambling being gurgled, childlike. "My sister—Gail."</p> - -<p>Barnard felt a curious shame in finding a human being in such a state, -talking like a baby. But maybe he could learn something. He dug into -his pocket, thrust a coin into the idiot's palm.</p> - -<p>"What does your sister do? Does she maybe sell little packages of gray -powder to people?"</p> - -<p>The creature looked naively at him. "Gail don't like the gray powder. -She says I must never eat the gray powder. Do you want some? Lots of -mans here sells some."</p> - -<p>Barnard thought. He had seen that girl before. A hunch began to grow in -him.</p> - -<p>"What's your name?" he asked.</p> - -<p>"George Melvin," the idiot said.</p> - -<p>"George!"</p> - -<p>It was Gail Melvin's voice. Barnard saw her in the doorway of Quong -Kee's back room. George went dutifully to her, clutching the coin -Barnard had handed him. The girl took his hand and pulled him inside.</p> - -<p>Barnard regarded the doorway sourly. He looked around Quong Kee's, -caught the glance of the maniac who had attacked him. He took his coat -and airpac and left hastily.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>At the communications center he sent another despatch. Nothing much to -report, and he knew the boss wouldn't like it. The System News Service -firmly believed that scoops grew on Martian trees and Ron Barnard was -expected to pick out a nice one to feed the hungry public.</p> - -<p>Jingling the change in his pocket, he sensed something wrong, and -pulled out the coins for a look. His lucky coin was missing—a rare -twentieth century Buffalo nickel. He had given it to the half wit.</p> - -<p>He fingered the bruises the <i>neoin</i> fiend had made on his face and -grinned humorlessly. The coin hadn't brought him much luck.</p> - -<p>He was going into his hotel when he sighted George Melvin shambling -down the street. He paused, waiting for the half-wit to reach him. It -was cold, and he wanted to get inside, but leads were scarce. He fell -into step beside George.</p> - -<p>"Hello, George," he said. "Where do you and Gail live?"</p> - -<p>The half wit looked innocently at him. His airpac was strapped around -the collar of his coat. Evidently Gail did not consider him intelligent -enough even to breathe properly on Mars! Barnard squeezed his own -airpac in an automatic motion. Oxygen on Mars was just short of enough -for humans. A man would sooner be minus his pants than his airpac, -though Martian-born humans needed them only at time of exertion.</p> - -<p>"We live in Chicago."</p> - -<p>"Yes—that's on Earth. But where do you stay on Mars?"</p> - -<p>"In Chicago on Mars, too."</p> - -<p>Barnard looked suspiciously at him. But the vacuous expression -certainly was not feigned; George Melvin's eyes were less intelligent -than a fish's.</p> - -<p>"Do you stay at Quong Kee's?" the reporter tried.</p> - -<p>"Sometimes. At night we go back to Chicago. Where do you stay?"</p> - -<p>"In the fog, most of the time." Barnard tried another line. "Where's -Gail now?"</p> - -<p>"In jail." George Melvin said it without changing his tone or his -expression.</p> - -<p>Barnard seized his coat front and stared into the dull eyes. "In jail? -George, what happened? Who arrested her? Why?"</p> - -<p>"A man came. A man with a star on his hat—"</p> - -<p>"The Space Police!"</p> - -<p>Barnard released the half-wit. He stared happily toward the gray -building of the Space Police. This was something—he felt the hunch too -strongly to have any doubt. The story was going to break!</p> - -<p>The Space Police were relatively new, and it behooved them to be good -to the press, for there was still much opposition to their existence. -He hesitated a moment, thinking of the lack of enthusiasm with which -Commander John Lansfer had received him. But Lansfer would let him in -on the story, or there'd be some hot articles in the newspapers of the -System News Service.</p> - -<p>He pushed another coin into George Melvin's paw. "George, go back to -Quong Kee's and wait until I come. Do you understand? I'm going to find -out about Gail."</p> - -<p>Watching the half-wit disappear, he felt a pang where his conscience -should have been. Somehow he didn't like the idea of Gail Melvin as a -part of this <i>neoin</i> ring.</p> - -<p>"Hell," he growled to himself. "I can't afford to be human. I have a -job to do—and the System News Service comes first."</p> - -<p>He pushed into a thin cold Martian wind and hurried toward the warmth -of the police building.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">II</p> - -<p>Barnard looked through narrowed eyes at Commander Lansfer of the Space -Police, and he knew the man was lying. All his newsman's instinct told -him that the dark-haired, sharp-featured police officer knew more than -he was telling. He leaned across the desk.</p> - -<p>"Commander, I came all the way from Earth to get the inside on this -dope ring. Who's behind it? Where does it come from?"</p> - -<p>Lansfer shrugged slightly. His face was expressionless, as always. "We -are working on the problem," he said.</p> - -<p>Barnard made a disgusted gesture. "We know that the outer planets are -being flooded with <i>neoin</i>. Mars is full of human wrecks, and half the -asterites are using the stuff. If it ever gets loose on Earth, the -human race will have a worse enemy than the black plague."</p> - -<p>"We will cooperate with the press," said Lansfer, "as far as it's -practical to do so. In the meantime, you may be sure we're not -sleeping."</p> - -<p>"I hope not." Barnard glared at the policeman and made a mental note to -pan the Space Police in his next despatch. "And how does Gail Melvin -fit in?"</p> - -<p>"Gail Melvin is a minor peddler. We've nothing on her—just took her -in for questioning, to be sure she knew nothing important." A trace of -annoyance shaded his eyes for a moment. "But we took her in quietly. -How did you find out about it?"</p> - -<p>"From my special secret service," said Barnard dryly.</p> - -<p>"Then," said Lansfer, "your secret service can tell you the rest of the -story. If you're quite through—"</p> - -<p>They stood and for a second faced each other across the desk. Lansfer, -six hard feet of spaceman, hard jawed and poker faced. Barnard, six -lean flexible feet of newsman, crowding his thermostats. Then Barnard -whirled and went out.</p> - -<p>Standing before the building, he reflected. No news meant the boss -would be sending more spacegrams threatening to fire him—and meaning -it. His hunch was still solid on Lansfer's knowing something. There was -something behind the secrecy with which the space police worked, but—</p> - -<p>There was more than one way to find out. If Lansfer wouldn't talk, -other policemen might. He looked around, found the nearest saloon. Some -of the space police had just finished their day's work. Thoughtfully -jingling the platinum coins in his pocket, he went into the saloon.</p> - -<p>Alone at one end of the bar was a patrolman. Barnard took a place -beside him and ordered a drink.</p> - -<p>"H'lo, Remish," he said. "What's the news on Gail Melvin?"</p> - -<p>Remish grinned and shook his head. Barnard felt a slight distaste for -what he was about to do. It didn't seem right.</p> - -<p>He took a balled fist from his pocket and opened it slowly, holding it -between himself and the patrolman so that it was not visible to anybody -else in the room. He opened it just enough for Remish to see the five -Martian platins.</p> - -<p>Remish turned and faced the row of bottles behind the bar. His face was -blank. For a long minute he said nothing. Then:</p> - -<p>"I don't like that, Barnard. I could use that as well as anybody. But -there's something I like better."</p> - -<p>Barnard hadn't liked it either. But hell—after some of the police he'd -met on the outer planets, he couldn't help but be cynical. He raised -his glass and threw down the drink.</p> - -<p>"It's everyday stuff, of course," Remish conceded. "But I'm going to -be one cop who's different. There's talk enough now about the Space -Patrol—that we're fronting for pirates and transporting <i>neoin</i>. And -some funny things have been going on."</p> - -<p>He fingered his glass thoughtfully. "Nothing I can put a definite -finger on," he mused. "But maybe you're the man who can do it. With the -System News Service behind you—</p> - -<p>"I don't know much," he went on. "But I'll play along with you—and I -hope I'm doing the right thing. Gail Melvin—the chief had her under -a Sokolsky lie detector. Greatest thing in lie detectors yet. She was -clear—has no connection with the dope ring."</p> - -<p>Barnard caught his breath. Gail Melvin had no connection with the -<i>neoin</i> gang? But Lansfer had said she was a minor peddler?</p> - -<p>The patrolman stared into his glass of <i>boorsha</i> for a moment, -hesitating. He turned again to Barnard. "Another thing. That George -Melvin is faking. He's no more of a half-wit than I am—I hope. When I -last saw him, he was on Venus running the swankiest gin mill in Lidice. -He and his partner—Quong Kee!"</p> - -<p>Barnard stared incredulously at the patrolman. "George Melvin faking! -Not a chance—he's just what he seems to be, and I wouldn't bet any -more on a royal flush!"</p> - -<p>"I know," Remish shrugged. "And do you want to know something else? I -haven't been able to find a person who's seen Quong Kee since he came -to Mars!"</p> - -<p>Barnard slowly put down his drink and left the saloon.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>He sailed into Quong Kee's, paused cautiously to see that the fiend who -had attacked him was sleeping with his head on the table, and plunged -through the drapes into the back room. There was an answer to this and -he was bound he'd find it.</p> - -<p>A gray, tired Chinese looked up from behind a desk. His right hand had -darted to the edge of the desk when Barnard entered. Thoughtfully, he -studied the reporter and folded his hands.</p> - -<p>Barnard faced him. "Quong Kee. You and George Melvin were partners at -one time."</p> - -<p>Quong Kee gazed back coolly, and Barnard saw that he'd learn only what -the man decided he should know. After a while Quong Kee nodded.</p> - -<p>"Yes—Mr. Barnard. George Melvin was—and is—my partner."</p> - -<p>"How did you know me?" Barnard demanded. "You never leave this room."</p> - -<p>A tired smile flickered over the thin lips. "Earlier this evening I -watched Miss Melvin extricate you from a difficult position. Until -she informed me that you were seeking news, I never realized that -journalism involved such jeopardy."</p> - -<p>Barnard grinned involuntarily. He was beginning to like this Oriental -who spoke in cultured tones. Since he realized that threats or bribes -would do no good, he gave in to the impulsive liking.</p> - -<p>"Mind telling me something about Gail Melvin?" he asked. "And about -things in general?"</p> - -<p>Quong Kee peered narrowly at Barnard through half-closed eyes. The -reporter wondered uncomfortably if the man used <i>neoin</i> and was -studying him with extra sensory faculties, but he swiftly rejected the -thought. There was no trace of the drug in Quong Kee's appearance. -Maybe it was natural ESP—or just an old-fashioned sizing-up.</p> - -<p>"You are very anxious to secure this—scoop, aren't you, Mr. Barnard?"</p> - -<p>Barnard thrust his face closer. "Quong Kee," he said slowly, "I would -give my right arm to break this story. I would cut every throat on Mars -if it would help me to find out where <i>neoin</i> comes from."</p> - -<p>He meant it—almost, anyway. Somehow the thought of cutting Gail -Melvin's throat persisted. He forced the thought back. No price was too -high!</p> - -<p>"I, too, would give much to destroy the drug traffic," Quong Kee said -softly. "George Melvin and I operated an establishment in Lidice, -Venus—until <i>neoin</i> appeared. We were doing excellently. But then -George became involved in a crusade against the drug peddlers. He found -out some things—I do not know exactly what.</p> - -<p>"But he disappeared. And things began to happen to our establishment. -Things like bombs, bullets, poison in the food—I was forced to close -and barely escaped with my life."</p> - -<p>He picked up the mounted photograph that Barnard had vaguely noticed -on the desk and turned it for the reporter to see. Barnard recognized -Quong Kee and—George Melvin! But a George Melvin whose eyes were -young and intelligent and flashing with the joy of living!</p> - -<p>"Gail located him," said Quong Kee, "through the Missing Persons -Division. He was here in Kainor, in the condition in which you saw him -tonight. Gail and I packed what we could into George's space ship, -the <i>Chicago</i>, and we came here, where I opened this—ah—place of -refreshment."</p> - -<p>"<i>Chicago</i>," Barnard mused. "I should have guessed that."</p> - -<p>"Gail recognized you standing out there this evening," said Quong Kee. -Again the haunted smile crept over his lips. "I can't understand her -motivation for intervening in your quarrel. She told me you were a -great reporter who might expose the criminals and she had to save you."</p> - -<p>"Isn't that reason enough?" Barnard demanded suspiciously. "What did -she say to him?"</p> - -<p>"She told him you were a higher-up in the <i>neoin</i> organization and -would see that his supply was stopped if he harmed you. A clever -girl—but foolish."</p> - -<p>Barnard didn't ask why. "Where is George Melvin now?" he demanded.</p> - -<p>Before Quong Kee could answer, the pound of heavy feet sounded in the -doorway. Barnard whirled and watched the three local policemen march in.</p> - -<p>"Where's the body?" asked the leader.</p> - -<p>Quong Kee's eyes flickered briefly toward Barnard, and he gestured -toward something the newsman hadn't noticed. In a corner of the room -was a bed. With something on it. The policeman yanked a sheet off the -something. Barnard felt the hairs on the back of his neck beginning to -rise.</p> - -<p>He stared at the body of George Melvin.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"I had my men detain everybody," Quong Kee told the police. "But the -body was discovered close to the door, indicating that the murderer -escaped. Several fights were in progress at the time, and it is -possible that he was struck by a stray knife, but I doubt it."</p> - -<p>"No," the policeman grunted. "The knife struck upwards and his pockets -have been searched."</p> - -<p>"Evidently he was enticed into the hallway for that purpose," said -Quong Kee.</p> - -<p>Barnard frowned, watching the police examine the knife that protruded -from George Melvin's chest. Then the dope ring, fearing that he would -divulge something, had finished him off.</p> - -<p>But that didn't make sense. They had seemed pleased to let him run -loose before, probably as an example—why the sudden fear of his -talking? He thought suddenly of the new lie detector mentioned by -Remish, and wondered if that instrument could reach even into the mind -that George Melvin did not have.</p> - -<p>He stayed close to the police as they made a brief examination, asking -a few questions and then closing up their notebooks and leaving. It -was clear that they didn't expect to solve the murder. To them it was -routine—another derelict knifed by a <i>neoin</i> fiend.</p> - -<p>The whole thing made Barnard a little sick. He gazed uncomfortably at -the corpse. The man had hardly known that he lived, yet—</p> - -<p>His lucky nickel hadn't brought much luck lately. It seemed to have -turned into a Jonah.</p> - -<p>He said nothing until the police had departed and the body had been -removed. When he and Quong Kee were alone, he asked:</p> - -<p>"Does Gail know this yet?"</p> - -<p>"No."</p> - -<p>"She's the only lead now." A thought made him uncomfortable. "Quong -Kee—do you think she's in danger?"</p> - -<p>The Chinese shrugged. He looked suddenly ancient, tired. His weary eyes -met Barnard's.</p> - -<p>"Since I've been on Mars, I've never left this room. Call it cowardice -or intelligence, but I dare not expose myself. They haven't molested -me here—my current clientele wouldn't be disturbed by a few bombs, -anyway. And here I am protected—you narrowly escaped death when you -entered this room."</p> - -<p>He ran his hand along the side of his desk. "I could fill this room -with the deadliest rays known to military science. I mention this by -way of reminding you that you are not in a friendly game. You stand an -excellent chance of being killed, or of losing your mind."</p> - -<p>That shocked Barnard for about one second. But he had no time to be -bothered with danger. And the System News Service was all-important.</p> - -<p>"I'll take the chance," he said grimly. "Where's Gail?"</p> - -<p>Quong Kee's haunted eyes closed momentarily. "She is on the <i>Chicago</i>. -She needs somebody now, Ron Barnard. Go to her. I can't help; I'm an -old man and afraid for my life. You are young and strong. There is -danger, but go to her. Even if only for your scoop."</p> - -<p>Something in the old man's voice was hypnotic. Barnard stared at him. -"Where is this <i>Chicago</i>?" he asked.</p> - -<p>"It's at Main Spaceport, in the public field. If she is not there, use -this key and wait for her."</p> - -<p>Barnard rose slowly. He tried to shake a lump out of his throat, -cursing himself for going soft. Sitting here listening to an old man -mouth sentiment—he shook his head angrily and glared at Quong Kee.</p> - -<p>"I'll go," he said. "But <i>only</i> for the scoop."</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">III</p> - -<p>Quong Kee's faintly cynical smile didn't make him feel any better. -Leaving the place, he glared belligerently at the maniac he had fought -with. Marching to the spaceport, his feelings intensified so that he -forgot to walk slowly, the first rule on Mars, and had to hold his -airpac to his nostrils all the way. By the time he found the <i>Chicago</i>, -his fingers were stiff from holding the instrument.</p> - -<p>"Damn that living relic of a Quong Kee," he muttered, changing hands. -"Damn everything!"</p> - -<p>So the girl needed him. He growled at the idea of the Chinese putting -the girl ahead of the System News Service.</p> - -<p>His sense of humor came through then, and he laughed at himself. -Ron Barnard, the hardest hearted reporter in the Solar System, was -developing a crush on a girl he hardly knew! He chuckled at his -emotions as if they were somebody else's.</p> - -<p>"If the boys in the city room ever hear of this," he thought, "they'll -laugh me right off Earth. I'll have to become a space-beacon keeper."</p> - -<p>He stood for a minute sizing up the <i>Chicago</i>. Odd, he reflected, -how the human mind before space travel had pictured space craft as -wingless and cigar shaped. This rugged model, of an almost forgotten -vintage, was short and stubby and wide winged. It scarcely looked -spaceworthy, but the skies were filled with old craft like this one.</p> - -<p>He used the key Quong Kee had given him and found the ship deserted. -The interior was better. He was pleased to find a three-inch layer of -Selene between the hulls. The artificial spider silk, closely woven and -specially processed, was as tough as any material in existence and its -insulating qualities couldn't be matched.</p> - -<p>In the spotless control cabin he found that the instruments were -fully modern. The cabin was globular; gyroscopes kept the gravity—if -any—under its floor. A glance into other compartments brought a -whistle to his lips—the <i>Chicago</i> was crammed with fuel and food. Gail -Melvin must have prepared this as a permanent home.</p> - -<p>Two tiny sections were the sleeping quarters of Gail and George Melvin. -He poked around them until a feeling of guilt made him stop. He sank -into a spongy, bolted-down chair, damning his new-found ethics. He'd -straighten out a few things when that female showed up.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>She didn't seem surprised to see him. She glanced his way casually and -started tugging off her heavy coat. A gentlemanly impulse almost had -him out of his seat to help her, but he stifled it.</p> - -<p>Her nose was red from the mild summer weather of Mars, and he thought -briefly that if her cheeks were a little fuller, she would probably -be more or less good looking. As a matter of plain fact, she was too -damned skinny. She must spend most of her time worrying about her -brother.</p> - -<p>She was taller than he had thought, but still looked slight and -helpless. And hopeless as well. Her shoulders drooped a little as she -faced him.</p> - -<p>"I saw Quong Kee," she said.</p> - -<p>"Oh—I'm sorry about your brother." He hesitated. "Have you any idea -who did it?"</p> - -<p>He almost squirmed when she looked at him. The expression in her eyes -was not entirely friendly.</p> - -<p>"I have ideas," she said. "And they're not nice."</p> - -<p>Her eyes were dark and smoldering now.</p> - -<p>"They questioned George with a new type of lie detector—Skolssolky or -some such name. I wasn't supposed to know—"</p> - -<p>Barnard's eyebrows went up. "The police questioned George? Somebody -must have found out!"</p> - -<p>Gail dropped her coat over the back of another chair and sat on the -chair. She was pale and her eyes were haggard.</p> - -<p>"When I found the police had picked him up," she said, "I took an -espine pill and became <i>en rapport</i> with him."</p> - -<p>She pressed her slender fingers against her temples. "I'm -tired ... espine isn't as bad as <i>neoin</i>, of course, but it has a -strong reaction. They found out some things from George that I'd never -been able to find out.</p> - -<p>"This instrument reaches deeper into the subconscious than anything -ever used before. Even so, everything was vague. But George had been on -Pluto. Somehow he'd followed the <i>neoin</i> trail there; how, I don't know.</p> - -<p>"But on Pluto, they did something to him. They took his mind and made -him like a new-born child. His brain was perfectly blank. I've been -teaching him as I'd teach an infant—but he was so slow learning."</p> - -<p>"Pluto—" Barnard stared. "Then <i>neoin</i> comes from Pluto. Lansfer knows -this—"</p> - -<p>He looked at the girl and damned his conscience again. There was a -first aid box set into the wall, and he found a bottle of brandy in it. -A small black bottle was there. He noted the label—<i>Espine</i>, another -outlawed drug the authorities tolerated for emergency purposes. Not -habit-forming, but continued use of it would soften the brain and wreck -the nerve centers.</p> - -<p>He slammed the cabinet door on the black bottle. She had reason to be -tired.</p> - -<p>He made her drink the brandy. She spoke softly, between sips. "When -I heard that, I determined to go to Pluto. If something there could -take my brother's intelligence away, we might be able to reverse the -process."</p> - -<p>"Or lose your own," Barnard murmured.</p> - -<p>"When Quong Kee told me about the—George, it changed all that, of -course. There was no need to go to Pluto."</p> - -<p>"You've got your nerve," Barnard growled. "You speak very calmly about -invading Pluto single handed."</p> - -<p>Definitely, Pluto was no place for her. But he had to be in on the -kill. Would Lansfer cooperate?</p> - -<p>"Miss Melvin," he said, "I'll have to see the Space Police, find out if -they'll take me with them. I suspect they won't. So I'm going to cable -my boss for money, and if it's all right with you, I'll charter this -ship—"</p> - -<p>"I'll be very happy," she said, "to take you with me to Pluto—so you -can get your story."</p> - -<p>He stared. "But—you mean you still intend to go to Pluto? What -possible reason could you have now?"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>She reached for her coat and dug into the sleeve. Barnard blinked when -three of her fingers came out at the shoulder.</p> - -<p>"That hole," she said, "was made by a bullet. Somebody took a shot at -me on the way over here, and I've been followed. Evidently they've -decided I know too much. I'll never step out that door alive."</p> - -<p>She indicated a red pane of glass on the instrument panel. "If that -glows, they're approaching the ship. Be ready to give them a warning -blast from the rockets."</p> - -<p>Barnard thought wistfully of the gun he had left in his hotel room. -"That means I'm here for keeps, too. But you can't go to Pluto. I'll -drop you off at another Martian city—or on some other planet that's on -our route."</p> - -<p>"Did you ever operate a space ship?" she asked.</p> - -<p>"No, but—"</p> - -<p>She shook her head. "Besides, they have agents everywhere. My life -isn't worth a counterfeit milliplatin. So I might just as well go to -Pluto."</p> - -<p>Barnard sprang to life as the detector signal glowed deep red. He -leaped to the handles of the rocket jets, prepared to throw out a -warning blast.</p> - -<p>There was a pounding on the hull. "Open up, in there! It's the Space -Police!"</p> - -<p>"That's Lansfer's voice." Barnard hesitated at the lock. "That means -we're safe—or does it? Is this ship ready to take off?"</p> - -<p>"Yes—"</p> - -<p>"Then—just on a hunch—get at the control board—"</p> - -<p>He closed the inner door of the lock behind him before he opened the -outer. No use silhouetting himself against the lighted interior.</p> - -<p>Lansfer almost lost his poker face. "You! You'll get into trouble, -Barnard, if you're not careful. What are you doing here?"</p> - -<p>"Guest of Miss Melvin, commander. And you?"</p> - -<p>The officer indicated a paper. Barnard noted that his other hand -remained close to his holster.</p> - -<p>"We're impounding this ship. The Space Police can't be responsible for -old wrecks endangering human life and limb on the spaceways."</p> - -<p>"Very thoughtful of the Space Police all of a sudden," said Barnard.</p> - -<p>There were two other patrolmen with Lansfer, he saw. Remish and a -red-haired man he knew to be named Grady. His searching eyes picked -out several shadowy figures lurking at corners of the field. He looked -again at Lansfer.</p> - -<p>"You have our word," he said, "that this ship is to be used only as -living quarters by Miss Melvin."</p> - -<p>Lansfer stared coolly up at him. "This court order calls for the -<i>Chicago</i> to be delivered immediately into the custody of the sheriff -and auctioned for scrap. You and Miss Melvin will leave it immediately."</p> - -<p>Barnard nodded agreeably. "All right, commander. We'll leave—right -now."</p> - -<p>Lansfer relaxed. He was about two feet below Barnard, the platform -being that high from the ground. Barnard reached out carefully with his -foot and shoved. The spaceman flew backwards into Grady, and the two of -them crashed to the frozen ground.</p> - -<p>Barnard pulled the door swiftly. Lansfer was clawing for his gun and -shouting for Remish to stop them. Remish's gloved fingers fumbled as he -drew and the outer door was closed before he fired. Barnard grinned as -the bullets bounced off the door. That hull was more than tough enough -to handle all the bullets the Space Police could throw at it.</p> - -<p>"Get off the ground, Gail," he shouted.</p> - -<p>He slammed the inner door of the lock and swayed with the control room -globe as the rockets went into action. The ship jumped forward a few -feet, balked for a moment. Gail threw a lever that opened the shutters. -They saw the three policemen scrambling madly to both sides as the -<i>Chicago</i> started roaring down the field.</p> - -<p>They blasted away and left the ground, the police still firing after -them. Barnard clung to a bolted-down chair as they lurched wildly. Gail -pointed the nose up until the ship would have been hanging from its -props, if it had any.</p> - -<p>"That's all we needed," said Barnard, sourly. "We're both outlaws -now—fair game for anybody. Our only hope is to break the dope ring. -And Lansfer, if we can."</p> - -<p>She looked distastefully at him. "That would make a good story, -wouldn't it? Daring reporter defies police; smashes <i>neoin</i> ring. Of -course, there might be some opposition."</p> - -<p>"Which way is Pluto?" he asked, changing the subject.</p> - -<p>"I haven't the faintest idea. Hand me that book—the big one—"</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">IV</p> - -<p>Barnard found that space navigation was more complex than he had -thought. He watched in grudging admiration as the girl rejected course -after course. Finally she looked up at him and frowned.</p> - -<p>"We have to go sunward—the sun is almost directly between us and -Pluto. We can get there fast, and speed is our best bet to evade the -Space Police. But it'll be dangerous."</p> - -<p>"I'll take the chance," said Barnard. "But don't be reckless with your -own life. How many months will it take?"</p> - -<p>"About four days."</p> - -<p>He stared suspiciously at her. "It took me fourteen days from Earth to -Mars. What's this crate got that the Inner Planets Line hasn't?"</p> - -<p>She smiled. "For a great reporter, you don't know much. They could make -the Earth-Mars run in a day—but that's where the danger comes in. If a -rock gets in their path, they have to be traveling slow enough for the -detectors to find it and change the course. That's done automatically, -but we haven't powerful enough detectors yet to handle high speeds."</p> - -<p>"Oh, a job for the instrument makers?" Barnard was beginning to realize -his ignorance.</p> - -<p>"You could put it that way. The chance of hitting anything big enough -to hurt a space ship is small, of course, but with hundreds of ships in -space, there would be a lot of wrecks if they all went as fast as we're -going to go!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>They plunged almost directly into the sun, nose forward to cut down the -radiant energy. Gail sat in a sea of charts and tables, calling out -instructions to Barnard, who was learning to handle the controls. She -kept the rockets blazing, and before many hours had passed they could -almost see the sun growing in size.</p> - -<p>In the growing warmth, the reporter dozed off to a restless, -nightmarish sleep. He awoke with a start to find himself soggy with -perspiration, his bones aching. Gail, hunched over her figures, looked -up and grinned impishly.</p> - -<p>"Warm?" she asked. "The cooling units are going full blast. The vision -plates are all shuttered, but if you want to look, I've swung dark -glass into place."</p> - -<p>She gestured to one of the darkened vision plates, and her fingers slid -to a button that opened the shutters. Barnard looked and closed his -eyes when he saw the monstrous body that was the sun.</p> - -<p>"I've seen enough," he assured her. "Where are we?"</p> - -<p>"Inside the orbit of Mercury. We'll be closer before we're farther -away."</p> - -<p>Barnard studied her. At the most dangerous part of their journey, where -space was filled with cosmic debris plunging into the sun, she had lost -her hunted look and worked with a graceful nonchalance. She seemed -actually to be enjoying the whole thing.</p> - -<p>The murderous forces of radiant energy pounded at and through the -heavily insulated hulls. Barnard mopped his sweat-soaked face and -waited for the metal of the space ship to ignite. He stared at the girl -and wondered how she could be so happy and poised, though she was as -bedraggled as he was. Was her mind gone, too?</p> - -<p>He decided so when she told him, much later:</p> - -<p>"Congratulations, Mr. Barnard. Right now you and I are closer to the -sun than any other human beings ever have been—"</p> - -<p>He studied her face.</p> - -<p>She stared through the darkened glass into the inferno. "Except," she -said thoughtfully, "for a few unfortunate expeditions that fell into -it."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Then they were starting to recede. The <i>Chicago</i> was inside the -eccentric orbit of Vulcan, and starting to plunge away from the sun. -The tremendous velocity they had been building up was far more powerful -than the titanic pull of the sun's gravitational field. Gradually, the -temperature went down to a cool 100 degrees, and the two humans, limp -and worn, took turns catnapping.</p> - -<p>Barnard lugged can after can of fuel for the tanks. The motors pounded -constantly, building up greater and greater velocity. At timed -intervals, Gail took sights of the visible planets to check their speed.</p> - -<p>Their course curved far above the plane of the ecliptic. No passage -through the asteroid belt at this speed!</p> - -<p>That was Gail's main worry. "We're veering out of the crowded belt, but -there're stray asteroids far from the ecliptic plane. If we pass that -region, we'll be in fairly empty space, and more or less safe, except -for the Space Police."</p> - -<p>Barnard raised his eyebrows. "Space Police? How could they trace us at -this speed?"</p> - -<p>"We're as obvious as a green spaced Venusian in New York," she told -him. "It's the speed—we're actually tearing up space. Lansfer's -instruments could pick us out from a hundred million miles. But that's -a lot of room." She glanced slyly at him. "Now you can write science -articles for the Sunday supplements."</p> - -<p>"Lay off me," he begged. His questing fingers found a cigarette as the -clock ticked over to the hour. Smokes were rationed in space. He lit up -and drew smoke into his hungry lungs, then passed the cigarette to Gail.</p> - -<p>"At least," he said, "I have a job to do on Pluto, which is more than -you can say. What are you going there for?"</p> - -<p>She passed the cigarette back.</p> - -<p>"It seemed like a good idea at the time," she said.</p> - -<p>Barnard stared silently at her. She looked strangely happy, plunging -toward God-knew-what evils on far Pluto! He felt suddenly disgusted -with the whole affair. They were two fools, defying the Space Police -for the right to seek certain death.</p> - -<p>"Gail," he said, "don't go through with it. Slow the ship down and get -off at the nearest human settlement—one of the Jovian moons, or Titan. -I can handle this ship now. My syndicate will pay—"</p> - -<p>The entire universe exploded then. He pounded brutally into the concave -walls, whirling end over end as the ship spun madly out of control. -His head crashed as the spherical control room escaped its gyroscopes -and he fought desperately against crushing blackness. Gail—was she -mangled, killed? There was a senseless spinning, and then it was -dark ... dark....</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>He fought his way out of the blackness. Something was searing his -throat ... he coughed in agony and the shock brought him partly to his -senses.</p> - -<p>Gail was pouring brandy into him. He saw her by the hard glare of the -battery-run light. She was bruised and her coveralls were torn, but she -was alive.</p> - -<p>He came to his feet and gripped her arms. "Gail?"</p> - -<p>Then he stopped. Her eyes were pained and misting. She swayed and -collapsed in his arms.</p> - -<p>For a moment he was frantic. What to do? He carried her to her room, -made her comfortable. Fervently, he hoped no bones were broken. But -after a few minutes she opened her eyes and made a face at him.</p> - -<p>"I'm not hurt," she said dreamily. "Just a sissy. Go and see what -happened."</p> - -<p>Gratefully, he watched her relax. He rubbed his hands thoughtfully and -studied the damage in the control room. The meteor couldn't have hit -very hard—they would have been killed without knowing it. A mere graze!</p> - -<p>He reached out fearfully and cut off the blazing rockets. The vision -plates were blackened—no way of knowing which way they were going.</p> - -<p>That was his first job, then—to unshutter the vision plates. He -reviewed his knowledge of the mechanism. Evidently the master switch -that controlled them all had been short-circuited. The switch was in -the very tail of the ship. He crawled through the hold and into the -tiny compartment in the tail.</p> - -<p>His pocket flash picked out the switch, and he made with the screw -driver. A few seconds later he looked proudly through the opened plate, -feeling like a master mechanic.</p> - -<p>But he didn't feel so happy when he saw a swifter-moving point of light -in the star-filled sky.</p> - -<p>A spaceship was closing in on the <i>Chicago</i>. And goose pimples rose on -his arms when he recognized it as the police ship of Commander Lansfer.</p> - -<p>He had to get back to the control room.</p> - -<p>The police ship was coming in at a half mile a second, relative to -them. What both ships were doing relative to the system he didn't know, -or care. On his hands and knees in the close cubby, he scrambled around -to get back to the control room. But already it was too late.</p> - -<p>Invisible beams of magnetic force leaped into life between the two -vessels, as the law ship clamped down with its Duvals. Barnard was -pitched heavily forward as the beams seized the <i>Chicago</i>. His head -crashed into something hard, and he fell into a relaxed bundle.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">V</p> - -<p>It was cold, and he was beating his way out of a frozen death. He -fought his way up from the floor, a sluggish chill in the marrow of his -bones. Frigid ... and he was sinking back.</p> - -<p>Remembrance shocked him into wakefulness. He stared from the port -before his face. The police ship was there, clamped by invisible forces -to the <i>Chicago</i>. Dully, he watched the fore rockets blasting for -deceleration.</p> - -<p>Deceleration—?</p> - -<p>That brought him to frantic life. Were they nearing Pluto? How long had -he been out? And—why was it so cold?</p> - -<p>His teeth and knees still chattering, he wriggled down the narrow -passage, pushed his light before him into the room where he had left -Gail. He stared wildly.</p> - -<p>She was gone.</p> - -<p>Then the police had come aboard while he was unconscious and taken her -aboard their vessel.</p> - -<p>Back in the control room, he stood helplessly for a few seconds, his -mind starting to black out again. No power—the ship was leaking its -heat into space. His numbed fingers found the right switches. Heat -started to seep into the room, and life seemed to flow back into his -body.</p> - -<p>But Gail—what of her? His distrust of the solemn-faced Lansfer became -suddenly more intense. He had to find out—and he was separated from -the police ship by fifty feet that might as well have been miles.</p> - -<p>There was another way. He fumbled in the medicine kit, snatched the -black bottle labeled "<i>Espine</i>." He'd take a pill, even if it killed -him in his weakened condition, and use ESP to find out what went on -aboard the other vessel. He tore the stopper from the container and -turned it upside down over his palm.</p> - -<p>Nothing came out.</p> - -<p>He cursed the empty bottle fervently, because already the only other -answer was coming to his mind. He almost tried not to think of it. But -this was emergency.</p> - -<p>In one of his pockets he found the tiny packages of <i>neoin</i> he had -bought while cultivating the peddlers on Mars.</p> - -<p>There was a tiny pinch of gray powder in the paper he tore open. One -gram—a normal dose. Full strength, he was sure—the stuff was seldom -cut.</p> - -<p>He hesitated. Even one dose of the drug created a craving for more. He -vowed grimly that this first taste would be his last.</p> - -<p>But this made his fight personal. He must destroy the source of <i>neoin</i> -in sheer self-defense!</p> - -<p>Before the gray powder was past his tonsils, he knew he had taken too -much for a beginner. A fantastic lift, a great self-confidence almost -sent his mind out of the world. Grimly he fought to keep down the giddy -exhilaration, and let his thoughts search for Lansfer's ship.</p> - -<p>He had trouble coordinating his thoughts, because of the tendency of -his drugged mind to stray. But he caught the control room of the -police ship.</p> - -<p>Carefully, he kept away from the minds of the four people there. There -was an added lift when he perceived Gail, small and defiant, facing -Commander Lansfer.</p> - -<p>It was Barnard's first experience in extra-sensory perception. With all -the power of his will, he focussed his thoughts on the scene. Gail was -speaking.</p> - -<p>"I tell you," she said, "the reporter is on Earth. He said something -about having a big lead. I took the ship into Earth's atmosphere and he -bailed out in a parachute. I was glad to be rid of him."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Barnard hoped that what she said was entirely untrue.</p> - -<p>"You say—" Lansfer's face was without expression—"that he forced you -to do this?"</p> - -<p>"I said no such thing," Gail told him. "And if you're going to twist my -statements, I'll say nothing more."</p> - -<p>Lansfer's palm flicked out and Gail's head reeled. A vivid patch of red -appeared on her cheek. Barnard's fingers tightened around the spongy -arms of his chair.</p> - -<p>The commander turned swiftly to Remish and Grady. None of the officers -noticed—but Barnard did—that Gail's fingers were sliding along the -control board.</p> - -<p>"Barnard is aboard that ship," Lansfer snapped. "You two couldn't have -searched very thoroughly. This girl is lying—she couldn't possibly -have slowed down enough to let Barnard 'chute to Earth, and still have -come this far."</p> - -<p>Remish looked uncertain. "Commander—you're the boss here, but—"</p> - -<p>"But what?" Lansfer barked.</p> - -<p>Remish's eyes darted briefly to where the red welts stood out on Gail's -cheek. He licked his lips and for a second his gaze met Grady's. For a -moment he hesitated, then faced Lansfer again. He shrugged briefly.</p> - -<p>"Never mind," he said. "We'll talk it over at headquarters later."</p> - -<p>Lansfer lost some of his poise. He glared at the two patrolmen. "You -two get back to the <i>Chicago</i>. Find Barnard and bring him to me!"</p> - -<p>Barnard saw Gail's hand hovering over the tiny bar. Suddenly he was -shocked. He realized that the bar controlled the Duvals—the magnetic -beams that pinned the two ships together. Then she had felt his -presence and was waiting for a signal from him. He shouted the thought:</p> - -<p>"<i>No!</i>"</p> - -<p>Swiftly she disobeyed him, and twisted the bar. In almost the same -instant she snatched the gun from Lansfer's holster. She backed away a -step and leveled it at the officer.</p> - -<p>"Turn this ship around," she ordered. "We're going back to Mars."</p> - -<p>Lansfer's narrowed eyes peered at the control board where she had -disconnected the grapples. He turned to the girl. His voice was flat, -sullen.</p> - -<p>"Give me that gun."</p> - -<p>"No." She backed away another step and he followed, hand reaching. Her -face became paler. Lansfer stopped and stared into her eyes. His eyes -were compelling, hypnotic. She stood motionless and tried to shake the -effect. Lansfer moved a step closer.</p> - -<p>Remish's hand gently removed the gun from her fingers.</p> - -<p>Barnard swore disgustedly. Why had Gail cut the grapples? She must have -some fool idea that he could beat the police to Pluto, win out on his -own.</p> - -<p>Maybe he could. There were only two little difficulties involved. -First, he didn't know where Pluto was, or how to find it. Second—the -planet was Earth-size, and where on its millions of square miles of -surface was whatever he wanted?</p> - -<p>The second problem was partly solved. From Lansfer's mind he had a -vague picture of a vast white sea, trapped in a ring of white mountains -that knifed into a black sky.</p> - -<p>From Lansfer's mind—!</p> - -<p>Even in his <i>neoin</i> jag, a jolt came to him. How did Lansfer know that? -Frantically, his thoughts speared back to the police ship. But it was -too far now—only confused fragments came.</p> - -<p>But one image brought him to his feet, sobered and fearful for Gail's -safety. Wildly he searched space for the magenta blasts of the police -ship's rockets.</p> - -<p>Because his extra-sensory perception brought one clear image. In -Lansfer's pocket he had perceived the ancient twentieth century coin he -had given to George Melvin.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">VI</p> - -<p>His fevered eyes studied the vision plate. Pluto—since they had been -pointing toward it, must be ahead. He held his hand over a button, and -cross hairs appeared on the plate. At the junction of the hairs was -nothing.</p> - -<p>But he found a grayish blob larger than the others at the edge of the -plate. Experimentally, he turned in the rockets and headed for it. It -moved steadily to the right, so it must be the planet.</p> - -<p>Several hours later he was circling Pluto, searching grimly for the -landmarks. A coating of frozen air covered everything—Pluto's last -snow. Luck was with him, for he had only half-circled the globe when he -saw what he wanted. There was no mistaking the scene. His pulse leaped -as he dived inexpertly down.</p> - -<p>Down past the snow sheathed peaks, into a great snow filled valley. He -leveled off over the plain and brought his vessel to the surface in -the thin solar illumination. He didn't know that landing on an airless -planet was a feat for an expert pilot; neither did he realize that he -was landing with blazing rocket jets on frozen air. But the luck of -beginners was with him. He plowed a mile through the icy crust and -jolted to a stop.</p> - -<p>In his wake vast masses of freshly vaporized air clouded the valley and -started to freeze again. Barnard's eyebrows lifted when he looked out.</p> - -<p>"A snowstorm," he marveled.</p> - -<p>He glared at the mountain wall a hundred yards distant. There was a -structure there, of human origin. A squat building from around which -the snow had been cleared.</p> - -<p>George Melvin's space suit was too short for him, but he worked into -it. Over the boots he fitted snow shoes. There was no sign of life from -the shack, so he went out the lock and started trudging the hundred -yards.</p> - -<p>Inside the space suit, his footsteps were distant crunchings—eerie -misfits in this noiseless dead world! Still there was no indication of -life from the building ahead. He noted that it was flush against the -cliff wall. Was there a cave behind?</p> - -<p>A sudden craving for <i>neoin</i> filled him. He cursed and went forward -more grimly. If this was the source of the drug, he must destroy it.</p> - -<p>The door was unlocked. He hesitated, then stepped inside cautiously. He -glanced back once. The snow was still falling.</p> - -<p>His light revealed a small room. It was bare, except for a few tins of -food and some motor parts. He frowned, wondering. Had he stumbled onto -an innocent government post?</p> - -<p>There was a door leading back. Then his guess was right—this was a -cave. He tried the door. It opened smoothly; and he followed his light -in.</p> - -<p>There was a corridor. He paused for a moment, an instinctive fear -bringing cold goose pimples. Something was here—something terribly -alien, and terribly deadly. He waited, his heart pounding viciously.</p> - -<p>But nothing happened. Slowly he moved forward. On his right was a door. -He reached to open it, but a strange reluctance made him leave it for -the time being and continue on. The corridor ended in stairs, going -down.</p> - -<p>He started down, his knees weak. Before he reached the bottom, he saw -what was below, the floor of the great underground room was covered -with a gray powder.</p> - -<p><i>Neoin!</i></p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">VII</p> - -<p>Knee deep in it, he stared at the tons of the deathly drug piled around -him. This was it! The cache from which misery and nightmare death was -dispensed to the human race! But what was its origin?</p> - -<p>One huge heap of the gray dust rose half way to the twenty-foot ceiling -of the crypt. His eyes caught the tiny disturbance at the peak of the -pile, and followed a thin stream of the falling dust to the ceiling.</p> - -<p>The <i>neoin</i> came from above, then. And the door he had passed in the -corridor above must lead to the place where the drug was formed. He -plodded back up the stairs.</p> - -<p>Before the door he stopped, that chill fear again speeding his pulse. -A racial fear of something not human, not of Earth, palsied him. He -wanted a dose of <i>neoin</i>—</p> - -<p>His curse broke the spell and he flung the door open. He was inside, -poking his flash into the distant corners of the huge cave. It must be -two hundred yards to the far wall. The roof was fifty feet above. On -the sloping floor was a film of <i>neoin</i> dust.</p> - -<p>In a corner was a rocket motor, turning senselessly. It served no -apparent purpose. But he backed away.</p> - -<p>"Nothing here," he murmured. Still the feel of alien life persisted. -Suddenly in an unreasoning panic, he whirled for the door.</p> - -<p>And felt himself hurled back.</p> - -<p>Cold, slimy fingers seemed to be feeling inside his brain. He struck -out at empty space, his involuntary scream pounding in his ears. The -questing feeler went deeper into him and he staggered helplessly back -until he rested against the cave wall.</p> - -<p>A chaotic jumble of thoughts whirled in his semi-consciousness. He felt -that he was George Melvin, who had stowed aboard a ship belonging to a -hard faced police officer.</p> - -<p>Ron Barnard fought back with a defiant blast of his will and for -a moment the creeping things stopped. He was suddenly sober, for -he knew that this was where George Melvin had lost his mind. These -creatures—whatever they were—possessed all of George's thoughts.</p> - -<p>And those thoughts included Lansfer. Lansfer was the man behind the -<i>neoin</i> organization.</p> - -<p>The things were back. He stiffened his knees, made himself rigid -against the wall. Sharp pain lanced through his temples as the weird -struggle continued. Desperately he fought the hungry tentacles that -wiggled into his thought centers.</p> - -<p>One after another, he forced back the alien thrusts. But each time, the -creatures took something with them ... some part of him.</p> - -<p>He was losing. Soon he would be another George Melvin ... a drooling -idiot. Already he was slipping. The feelers pushed themselves -inexorably in. He noticed vaguely that his light was gone—somehow he -knew that they had drained the juice from his battery. In the dark he -stood swaying, waiting for the end.</p> - -<p>Suddenly he was aware that it was light. He gazed dully toward its -source, saw that a silver-helmeted figure was approaching. Lansfer. -The officer's hard face relaxed a little in a short chuckle.</p> - -<p>"So you've found my secret, Ron Barnard. And you're wishing you -hadn't—if you still have the wits to wish."</p> - -<p>His eyes behind the faceplate were mocking. "My little friends were -hungry. They aren't of this solar system, Barnard—they're true energy -creatures, barely visible if you have good eyes. I was attacked by them -while alone in a patrol ship—fortunate for me that I found out in time -that silver renders them inert."</p> - -<p>Barnard's slow moving mind noted the silver covering over Lansfer's -helmet. He found himself on his knees, clutching unintelligently at the -<i>neoin</i> dust on the floor. The struggle in his mind had died out, as if -the creatures had retreated unwillingly before the silver.</p> - -<p>"I brought them to this cave," Lansfer went on. "You see the rocket -motor in the corner—they live on energy and for the cost of a little -fuel I get <i>neoin</i> by the ton! <i>Neoin</i> is the waste product of their -life cycle! Matter from energy—with living machines!"</p> - -<p>The officer motioned toward the door. His stubby gun was in his hand. -"You'll come back here, Barnard. A human mind is a rare treat for my -helpers. But get out now and let your girl friend see what's happened -to you. The two of you forced my hand. Now I'll have to get rid of -Remish and Grady. It's time for action—my days as a policeman are -over."</p> - -<p>His eyes were hungry. "I have gold here, Barnard. And platinum and -radium. <i>Neoin</i> has made me rich. The next step is power—I have enough -to buy Mars and Venus, and next I'll bring <i>neoin</i> to Earth. In a few -years I'll be running the solar system. Wouldn't you like to print -that?"</p> - -<p>Dully, Barnard preceded him out. His brain was slow responding, as if -he were drugged. Permanently drugged. But his will seemed left, as if -the energy creatures had been eating away the pillars of his driving -force when they could not beat it down directly.</p> - -<p>"Silver in the door," said Lansfer, closing it behind him. "They can't -escape. Keep moving."</p> - -<p>Back in the shack, Lansfer motioned him to a corner and peered out. -More snow was falling and three space suited figures were coming -through it. Lansfer touched a switch and machinery began to throb. The -room filled swiftly with air and warmth, and Lansfer removed his helmet -and struggled out of his space suit. Gun in hand, he stood facing the -double doors.</p> - -<p>Barnard's gloved fingers were clenched. He gazed dully at his right -palm, saw it filled with <i>neoin</i> he had unwittingly scooped up when -he had clawed wildly in the cave of the energy creatures. He felt the -craving coming back as he stared at it.</p> - -<p>Gail came through the lock, followed closely by Remish and Grady. They -stopped when they saw the gun in Lansfer's hand.</p> - -<p>"What happens, chief?" demanded Remish. His hand was near his own -holster. "And what is this place?"</p> - -<p>"First, drop your guns," Lansfer instructed. "Then take off your space -gear."</p> - -<p>The two patrolmen unbuckled their belts. Gail stared at Barnard.</p> - -<p>"Ron—they've done it to you!" There was a sob in her voice. "I should -never have got you into this—"</p> - -<p>Barnard's eyes focussed stupidly on the girl. His thoughts came slowly. -But the energy creatures had not finished their work—he was marshaling -the mind power he had left, and a sullen anger was growing in him. With -the slyness that often belongs to simple minded people, his gaze went -to the handful of <i>neoin</i>, then to Lansfer, measuring the distance. -Eight ... ten feet. He pretended to stagger, came a little closer.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus.jpg" alt=""/> - <div class="caption"> - <p><i>Barnard's dull eyes swung to the steady weapon.</i></p> - </div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>Lansfer chuckled contemptfully.</p> - -<p>Gail was at his side. He reached out as if to push her away, and the -same motion his hand shot out, releasing the <i>neoin</i> squarely into -Lansfer's face.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>In that split second, Lansfer's eyes widened in horror. His hands -streaked to his face to keep the gray death from his lips and nostrils. -Remish was across the room, batting the gun from his hands.</p> - -<p>While Lansfer still dashed the <i>neoin</i> away from him, Remish and Grady -had guns trained on him.</p> - -<p>"Now," said Grady, grimly, "what's this all about, Barnard?"</p> - -<p>Barnard told them haltingly. He still had sense enough to realize that -his I.Q. was down about fifty per cent. His career as the top reporter -of the system was done ... all he had left was a grim determination.</p> - -<p>He picked up the silver helmet, fitted it over his head.</p> - -<p>"Ron—?" Gail's eyes were shocked. "What are you going to do?"</p> - -<p>He turned silently, and they followed him to the door of the cave. He -turned to Remish.</p> - -<p>"I'm going back in there," he said.</p> - -<p>"No!" Gail clutched at his arms. "Don't, Ron—you'll be George all -over again, and I couldn't stand that—"</p> - -<p>He bent down and kissed her, then pushed her gently aside. He looked at -Remish.</p> - -<p>The policeman hesitated.</p> - -<p>"You owe me this much," said Barnard.</p> - -<p>"You're putting me on a spot," Remish growled. "But go ahead, if you -must."</p> - -<p>As Barnard started to close the door behind him, he was thrown to the -floor by Lansfer's sudden rush. The hard faced policeman threw a bolt -over the door, then dived on Barnard, clutching for the helmet.</p> - -<p>The reporter fought back instinctively. His feet went into Lansfer as -the other dived on him. He rose as far as his knees and delivered short -solid punches to the body as Lansfer clawed desperately for the silver -band.</p> - -<p>Suddenly Lansfer stiffened with an expression of utter horror and fell -away.</p> - -<p>For a minute Barnard watched, building up his own strength. Then he -tore the helmet from his head, hurled it far from him.</p> - -<p>"Come on, you devils," he growled. "I want my mind back."</p> - -<p>When Barnard dragged Lansfer out of the cave, his eyes were bright, and -a happy grin was on his face. The first thing he saw was Gail, utterly -miserable against a wall of the corridor. The first thing he did was -kiss her amazed face.</p> - -<p>"You're the boss now," he told the equally amazed Remish. "If you'll -take a suggestion, let's find Lansfer's hoard and throw all the silver -coins into that cave. That should put an end to the energy creatures."</p> - -<p>Remish looked distastefully at the drooling thing that had been Lansfer -and holstered his gun. He nodded.</p> - -<p>"And we'll bring the rest of his treasure back to civilization. We can -use it to rehabilitate <i>neoin</i> addicts."</p> - -<p>He looked hopefully at Barnard. "When you print this, you won't be too -hard on the Space Police? We could use some favorable publicity—"</p> - -<p>Barnard was whispering to Gail. Both were grinning widely. Barnard -turned his grin to Remish.</p> - -<p>"We love the Space Police," he assured the officer. "Now, as the -highest official on this planet, you have the power to marry people. If -you'll hurry up, we'll be starting back to Earth on our honeymoon."</p> - -<p>He was suddenly thoughtful. "And maybe to do a column or two for the -System News Service!"</p> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Mind-Stealers of Pluto, by Joseph Farrell - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MIND-STEALERS OF PLUTO *** - -***** This file should be named 63393-h.htm or 63393-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/3/3/9/63393/ - -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 print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law 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: Mind-Stealers of Pluto - -Author: Joseph Farrell - -Release Date: October 6, 2020 [EBook #63393] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MIND-STEALERS OF PLUTO *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - - MIND STEALERS OF PLUTO - - By JOSEPH FARRELL - - Ron Barnard had stuck his nose into one news - story too many. It had started with a lovely - girl, a wily Chinese and a drug ring that - circled the System. Now it was ending for - him in a rogue spaceship--his epitaph a - rocket's red stream across the starways. - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Planet Stories Winter 1944. - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - -Ron Barnard leaned unhappily on Quong Kee's bar and looked over the -worst dive on Mars. This hell hole of Quong Kee's was no fit place -even for a newspaperman looking for a story on the dope ring that was -haunting the outer planets. The habitues were cut-throats, fugitives -from Earth and the space police. To say nothing of the _neoin_ fiends. - -The two unshaven men hunched at a corner table, for instance. He eyed -them in contempt. They were far gone in their addiction to the drug, -and he would put no crime past them. They probably would murder their -grandmothers for a gram of _neoin_. - -The two persons in question straightened as if a gun had been fired. -They faced the bar, and their questing eyes found Barnard. One of them, -teeth bared and hands bent into claws, started to move toward the -reporter. - -"What did you think?" the man demanded. - -Barnard dropped a coin on the bar and tried to walk carelessly to the -door. He wanted no fights with a _neoin_-filled madman. Silently he -cursed himself for forgetting the extra sensory powers imparted by the -drug. But the men had seemed too far gone to use their ESP. - -The man charged across the room. Barnard saw that escape was out and -resigned himself to a fight. He waited for the wild lunge, sidestepped -and shot in a right that sent the addict reeling back. A few customers -watched with mild interest. But this was routine at Quong Kee's--nobody -would interfere. - -Sullenly, the man glared at him, as if gathering courage for another -charge. Barnard knew that actually the irresponsible creature was -working himself up to a murderous pitch. Now he felt the waves of fury -beating at his mind. - -He waited, tense and ready. From the corner of his vision he saw the -drapes that cut off the back room come apart, and a figure hurrying -out. A slender figure in faded coveralls. Then he looked again. - -It was a woman--a slender pale girl who clicked somehow in his memory. -He had seen her around Kainor, this port city of Mars, several times in -the past few days. - -Watching her, he almost missed the onslaught of the _neoin_ fiend. The -fury of the charge backed him to the wall and he lashed out desperately -against the claws and knees of the man. His head jammed against the -wall and crimson streaks exploded before him. He jabbed with aching -arms, trying to push the madman off. Dimly, he saw the girl trying to -whisper something in the fiend's ear. - -The man broke off clawing suddenly, a look of surprise on his twisted -face. Barnard watched weakly as he backed off a few steps to listen to -what the girl was whispering. Then the man glared with sullen respect -at Barnard for a few seconds and went back to his friend. - -The girl turned swiftly and started back for the drapes. Barnard caught -her arm. - -"Miss--" He stared at her. It was his first good look, and he wondered -where she had found the courage to interfere with a raging _neoin_ -fiend. If that man had turned on her--! - -She wasn't beautiful--she looked as if she hadn't slept much lately. -If somebody could put a few pounds on her in the right places--and a -smile on her face-- - -"Thanks," he said, puffing. "I was in a spot--you can't hurt those lads -when they're hopped. What did you tell him, anyway?" - -She shrank back a little. Strangely, he felt that the fear in her -eyes was more of him than of the cut-throats in Quong Kee's. Her face -acquired a faint touch of color. - -"I told him," she said, "that I'd take away his _neoin_ ration card." - -She pulled loose and disappeared into the other room. - - * * * * * - -Barnard stared at the drapes and grinned a little at the evasive -answer. What had she told the fiend? If he knew, it might help him to -get some news. And what was she doing here in this dive--he'd swear she -wasn't the type! - -He thought of the boss back on Earth thundering through the news -room as Barnard's meager despatches dribbled through. But Hell! He'd -done all any human could possibly do! He'd spoken with officials and -spacemen and scientists, poked his skinny nose into dens like this -where a man risked his life if he so much as _thought_ out of line. -He'd even bought some of the drug from the peddlers who operated almost -openly, and he'd cultivated them, but they were only tools. - -The higher-ups might have been invisible for all anybody knew about -them. Nobody even knew where the drug came from. But wherever it -originated, it was swiftly corrupting Mars and Venus, as well as the -Jovian system and the asteroid belt. - -When small quantities appeared on Earth, the powers-that-be of the -System News Service smelled news. Ron Barnard, star reporter who had -unveiled many a scandal in gay twenty-third century New York, was sent -to investigate. And Ron Barnard stood in Mars' wildest dive, scratching -his head and staring after a frightened, pretty girl. - -"That's my sister," said a childish voice beside him. - -Barnard stared at the big man beside him. The man was a splendid -physical specimen, but his face-- - -It was the face of a mindless idiot. - -Barnard felt repelled. The man's features were not idiotic; they -should have been those of an intelligent person. But the eyes changed -everything. They were blank and somehow--soulless. Barnard shrank -automatically away from the apelike creature. - -Then he understood what the idiot had said. - -"Your sister!" He stared unbelievingly. - -The gray haired shambling being gurgled, childlike. "My sister--Gail." - -Barnard felt a curious shame in finding a human being in such a state, -talking like a baby. But maybe he could learn something. He dug into -his pocket, thrust a coin into the idiot's palm. - -"What does your sister do? Does she maybe sell little packages of gray -powder to people?" - -The creature looked naively at him. "Gail don't like the gray powder. -She says I must never eat the gray powder. Do you want some? Lots of -mans here sells some." - -Barnard thought. He had seen that girl before. A hunch began to grow in -him. - -"What's your name?" he asked. - -"George Melvin," the idiot said. - -"George!" - -It was Gail Melvin's voice. Barnard saw her in the doorway of Quong -Kee's back room. George went dutifully to her, clutching the coin -Barnard had handed him. The girl took his hand and pulled him inside. - -Barnard regarded the doorway sourly. He looked around Quong Kee's, -caught the glance of the maniac who had attacked him. He took his coat -and airpac and left hastily. - - * * * * * - -At the communications center he sent another despatch. Nothing much to -report, and he knew the boss wouldn't like it. The System News Service -firmly believed that scoops grew on Martian trees and Ron Barnard was -expected to pick out a nice one to feed the hungry public. - -Jingling the change in his pocket, he sensed something wrong, and -pulled out the coins for a look. His lucky coin was missing--a rare -twentieth century Buffalo nickel. He had given it to the half wit. - -He fingered the bruises the _neoin_ fiend had made on his face and -grinned humorlessly. The coin hadn't brought him much luck. - -He was going into his hotel when he sighted George Melvin shambling -down the street. He paused, waiting for the half-wit to reach him. It -was cold, and he wanted to get inside, but leads were scarce. He fell -into step beside George. - -"Hello, George," he said. "Where do you and Gail live?" - -The half wit looked innocently at him. His airpac was strapped around -the collar of his coat. Evidently Gail did not consider him intelligent -enough even to breathe properly on Mars! Barnard squeezed his own -airpac in an automatic motion. Oxygen on Mars was just short of enough -for humans. A man would sooner be minus his pants than his airpac, -though Martian-born humans needed them only at time of exertion. - -"We live in Chicago." - -"Yes--that's on Earth. But where do you stay on Mars?" - -"In Chicago on Mars, too." - -Barnard looked suspiciously at him. But the vacuous expression -certainly was not feigned; George Melvin's eyes were less intelligent -than a fish's. - -"Do you stay at Quong Kee's?" the reporter tried. - -"Sometimes. At night we go back to Chicago. Where do you stay?" - -"In the fog, most of the time." Barnard tried another line. "Where's -Gail now?" - -"In jail." George Melvin said it without changing his tone or his -expression. - -Barnard seized his coat front and stared into the dull eyes. "In jail? -George, what happened? Who arrested her? Why?" - -"A man came. A man with a star on his hat--" - -"The Space Police!" - -Barnard released the half-wit. He stared happily toward the gray -building of the Space Police. This was something--he felt the hunch too -strongly to have any doubt. The story was going to break! - -The Space Police were relatively new, and it behooved them to be good -to the press, for there was still much opposition to their existence. -He hesitated a moment, thinking of the lack of enthusiasm with which -Commander John Lansfer had received him. But Lansfer would let him in -on the story, or there'd be some hot articles in the newspapers of the -System News Service. - -He pushed another coin into George Melvin's paw. "George, go back to -Quong Kee's and wait until I come. Do you understand? I'm going to find -out about Gail." - -Watching the half-wit disappear, he felt a pang where his conscience -should have been. Somehow he didn't like the idea of Gail Melvin as a -part of this _neoin_ ring. - -"Hell," he growled to himself. "I can't afford to be human. I have a -job to do--and the System News Service comes first." - -He pushed into a thin cold Martian wind and hurried toward the warmth -of the police building. - - - II - -Barnard looked through narrowed eyes at Commander Lansfer of the Space -Police, and he knew the man was lying. All his newsman's instinct told -him that the dark-haired, sharp-featured police officer knew more than -he was telling. He leaned across the desk. - -"Commander, I came all the way from Earth to get the inside on this -dope ring. Who's behind it? Where does it come from?" - -Lansfer shrugged slightly. His face was expressionless, as always. "We -are working on the problem," he said. - -Barnard made a disgusted gesture. "We know that the outer planets are -being flooded with _neoin_. Mars is full of human wrecks, and half the -asterites are using the stuff. If it ever gets loose on Earth, the -human race will have a worse enemy than the black plague." - -"We will cooperate with the press," said Lansfer, "as far as it's -practical to do so. In the meantime, you may be sure we're not -sleeping." - -"I hope not." Barnard glared at the policeman and made a mental note to -pan the Space Police in his next despatch. "And how does Gail Melvin -fit in?" - -"Gail Melvin is a minor peddler. We've nothing on her--just took her -in for questioning, to be sure she knew nothing important." A trace of -annoyance shaded his eyes for a moment. "But we took her in quietly. -How did you find out about it?" - -"From my special secret service," said Barnard dryly. - -"Then," said Lansfer, "your secret service can tell you the rest of the -story. If you're quite through--" - -They stood and for a second faced each other across the desk. Lansfer, -six hard feet of spaceman, hard jawed and poker faced. Barnard, six -lean flexible feet of newsman, crowding his thermostats. Then Barnard -whirled and went out. - -Standing before the building, he reflected. No news meant the boss -would be sending more spacegrams threatening to fire him--and meaning -it. His hunch was still solid on Lansfer's knowing something. There was -something behind the secrecy with which the space police worked, but-- - -There was more than one way to find out. If Lansfer wouldn't talk, -other policemen might. He looked around, found the nearest saloon. Some -of the space police had just finished their day's work. Thoughtfully -jingling the platinum coins in his pocket, he went into the saloon. - -Alone at one end of the bar was a patrolman. Barnard took a place -beside him and ordered a drink. - -"H'lo, Remish," he said. "What's the news on Gail Melvin?" - -Remish grinned and shook his head. Barnard felt a slight distaste for -what he was about to do. It didn't seem right. - -He took a balled fist from his pocket and opened it slowly, holding it -between himself and the patrolman so that it was not visible to anybody -else in the room. He opened it just enough for Remish to see the five -Martian platins. - -Remish turned and faced the row of bottles behind the bar. His face was -blank. For a long minute he said nothing. Then: - -"I don't like that, Barnard. I could use that as well as anybody. But -there's something I like better." - -Barnard hadn't liked it either. But hell--after some of the police he'd -met on the outer planets, he couldn't help but be cynical. He raised -his glass and threw down the drink. - -"It's everyday stuff, of course," Remish conceded. "But I'm going to -be one cop who's different. There's talk enough now about the Space -Patrol--that we're fronting for pirates and transporting _neoin_. And -some funny things have been going on." - -He fingered his glass thoughtfully. "Nothing I can put a definite -finger on," he mused. "But maybe you're the man who can do it. With the -System News Service behind you-- - -"I don't know much," he went on. "But I'll play along with you--and I -hope I'm doing the right thing. Gail Melvin--the chief had her under -a Sokolsky lie detector. Greatest thing in lie detectors yet. She was -clear--has no connection with the dope ring." - -Barnard caught his breath. Gail Melvin had no connection with the -_neoin_ gang? But Lansfer had said she was a minor peddler? - -The patrolman stared into his glass of _boorsha_ for a moment, -hesitating. He turned again to Barnard. "Another thing. That George -Melvin is faking. He's no more of a half-wit than I am--I hope. When I -last saw him, he was on Venus running the swankiest gin mill in Lidice. -He and his partner--Quong Kee!" - -Barnard stared incredulously at the patrolman. "George Melvin faking! -Not a chance--he's just what he seems to be, and I wouldn't bet any -more on a royal flush!" - -"I know," Remish shrugged. "And do you want to know something else? I -haven't been able to find a person who's seen Quong Kee since he came -to Mars!" - -Barnard slowly put down his drink and left the saloon. - - * * * * * - -He sailed into Quong Kee's, paused cautiously to see that the fiend who -had attacked him was sleeping with his head on the table, and plunged -through the drapes into the back room. There was an answer to this and -he was bound he'd find it. - -A gray, tired Chinese looked up from behind a desk. His right hand had -darted to the edge of the desk when Barnard entered. Thoughtfully, he -studied the reporter and folded his hands. - -Barnard faced him. "Quong Kee. You and George Melvin were partners at -one time." - -Quong Kee gazed back coolly, and Barnard saw that he'd learn only what -the man decided he should know. After a while Quong Kee nodded. - -"Yes--Mr. Barnard. George Melvin was--and is--my partner." - -"How did you know me?" Barnard demanded. "You never leave this room." - -A tired smile flickered over the thin lips. "Earlier this evening I -watched Miss Melvin extricate you from a difficult position. Until -she informed me that you were seeking news, I never realized that -journalism involved such jeopardy." - -Barnard grinned involuntarily. He was beginning to like this Oriental -who spoke in cultured tones. Since he realized that threats or bribes -would do no good, he gave in to the impulsive liking. - -"Mind telling me something about Gail Melvin?" he asked. "And about -things in general?" - -Quong Kee peered narrowly at Barnard through half-closed eyes. The -reporter wondered uncomfortably if the man used _neoin_ and was -studying him with extra sensory faculties, but he swiftly rejected the -thought. There was no trace of the drug in Quong Kee's appearance. -Maybe it was natural ESP--or just an old-fashioned sizing-up. - -"You are very anxious to secure this--scoop, aren't you, Mr. Barnard?" - -Barnard thrust his face closer. "Quong Kee," he said slowly, "I would -give my right arm to break this story. I would cut every throat on Mars -if it would help me to find out where _neoin_ comes from." - -He meant it--almost, anyway. Somehow the thought of cutting Gail -Melvin's throat persisted. He forced the thought back. No price was too -high! - -"I, too, would give much to destroy the drug traffic," Quong Kee said -softly. "George Melvin and I operated an establishment in Lidice, -Venus--until _neoin_ appeared. We were doing excellently. But then -George became involved in a crusade against the drug peddlers. He found -out some things--I do not know exactly what. - -"But he disappeared. And things began to happen to our establishment. -Things like bombs, bullets, poison in the food--I was forced to close -and barely escaped with my life." - -He picked up the mounted photograph that Barnard had vaguely noticed -on the desk and turned it for the reporter to see. Barnard recognized -Quong Kee and--George Melvin! But a George Melvin whose eyes were -young and intelligent and flashing with the joy of living! - -"Gail located him," said Quong Kee, "through the Missing Persons -Division. He was here in Kainor, in the condition in which you saw him -tonight. Gail and I packed what we could into George's space ship, -the _Chicago_, and we came here, where I opened this--ah--place of -refreshment." - -"_Chicago_," Barnard mused. "I should have guessed that." - -"Gail recognized you standing out there this evening," said Quong Kee. -Again the haunted smile crept over his lips. "I can't understand her -motivation for intervening in your quarrel. She told me you were a -great reporter who might expose the criminals and she had to save you." - -"Isn't that reason enough?" Barnard demanded suspiciously. "What did -she say to him?" - -"She told him you were a higher-up in the _neoin_ organization and -would see that his supply was stopped if he harmed you. A clever -girl--but foolish." - -Barnard didn't ask why. "Where is George Melvin now?" he demanded. - -Before Quong Kee could answer, the pound of heavy feet sounded in the -doorway. Barnard whirled and watched the three local policemen march in. - -"Where's the body?" asked the leader. - -Quong Kee's eyes flickered briefly toward Barnard, and he gestured -toward something the newsman hadn't noticed. In a corner of the room -was a bed. With something on it. The policeman yanked a sheet off the -something. Barnard felt the hairs on the back of his neck beginning to -rise. - -He stared at the body of George Melvin. - - * * * * * - -"I had my men detain everybody," Quong Kee told the police. "But the -body was discovered close to the door, indicating that the murderer -escaped. Several fights were in progress at the time, and it is -possible that he was struck by a stray knife, but I doubt it." - -"No," the policeman grunted. "The knife struck upwards and his pockets -have been searched." - -"Evidently he was enticed into the hallway for that purpose," said -Quong Kee. - -Barnard frowned, watching the police examine the knife that protruded -from George Melvin's chest. Then the dope ring, fearing that he would -divulge something, had finished him off. - -But that didn't make sense. They had seemed pleased to let him run -loose before, probably as an example--why the sudden fear of his -talking? He thought suddenly of the new lie detector mentioned by -Remish, and wondered if that instrument could reach even into the mind -that George Melvin did not have. - -He stayed close to the police as they made a brief examination, asking -a few questions and then closing up their notebooks and leaving. It -was clear that they didn't expect to solve the murder. To them it was -routine--another derelict knifed by a _neoin_ fiend. - -The whole thing made Barnard a little sick. He gazed uncomfortably at -the corpse. The man had hardly known that he lived, yet-- - -His lucky nickel hadn't brought much luck lately. It seemed to have -turned into a Jonah. - -He said nothing until the police had departed and the body had been -removed. When he and Quong Kee were alone, he asked: - -"Does Gail know this yet?" - -"No." - -"She's the only lead now." A thought made him uncomfortable. "Quong -Kee--do you think she's in danger?" - -The Chinese shrugged. He looked suddenly ancient, tired. His weary eyes -met Barnard's. - -"Since I've been on Mars, I've never left this room. Call it cowardice -or intelligence, but I dare not expose myself. They haven't molested -me here--my current clientele wouldn't be disturbed by a few bombs, -anyway. And here I am protected--you narrowly escaped death when you -entered this room." - -He ran his hand along the side of his desk. "I could fill this room -with the deadliest rays known to military science. I mention this by -way of reminding you that you are not in a friendly game. You stand an -excellent chance of being killed, or of losing your mind." - -That shocked Barnard for about one second. But he had no time to be -bothered with danger. And the System News Service was all-important. - -"I'll take the chance," he said grimly. "Where's Gail?" - -Quong Kee's haunted eyes closed momentarily. "She is on the _Chicago_. -She needs somebody now, Ron Barnard. Go to her. I can't help; I'm an -old man and afraid for my life. You are young and strong. There is -danger, but go to her. Even if only for your scoop." - -Something in the old man's voice was hypnotic. Barnard stared at him. -"Where is this _Chicago_?" he asked. - -"It's at Main Spaceport, in the public field. If she is not there, use -this key and wait for her." - -Barnard rose slowly. He tried to shake a lump out of his throat, -cursing himself for going soft. Sitting here listening to an old man -mouth sentiment--he shook his head angrily and glared at Quong Kee. - -"I'll go," he said. "But _only_ for the scoop." - - - III - -Quong Kee's faintly cynical smile didn't make him feel any better. -Leaving the place, he glared belligerently at the maniac he had fought -with. Marching to the spaceport, his feelings intensified so that he -forgot to walk slowly, the first rule on Mars, and had to hold his -airpac to his nostrils all the way. By the time he found the _Chicago_, -his fingers were stiff from holding the instrument. - -"Damn that living relic of a Quong Kee," he muttered, changing hands. -"Damn everything!" - -So the girl needed him. He growled at the idea of the Chinese putting -the girl ahead of the System News Service. - -His sense of humor came through then, and he laughed at himself. -Ron Barnard, the hardest hearted reporter in the Solar System, was -developing a crush on a girl he hardly knew! He chuckled at his -emotions as if they were somebody else's. - -"If the boys in the city room ever hear of this," he thought, "they'll -laugh me right off Earth. I'll have to become a space-beacon keeper." - -He stood for a minute sizing up the _Chicago_. Odd, he reflected, -how the human mind before space travel had pictured space craft as -wingless and cigar shaped. This rugged model, of an almost forgotten -vintage, was short and stubby and wide winged. It scarcely looked -spaceworthy, but the skies were filled with old craft like this one. - -He used the key Quong Kee had given him and found the ship deserted. -The interior was better. He was pleased to find a three-inch layer of -Selene between the hulls. The artificial spider silk, closely woven and -specially processed, was as tough as any material in existence and its -insulating qualities couldn't be matched. - -In the spotless control cabin he found that the instruments were -fully modern. The cabin was globular; gyroscopes kept the gravity--if -any--under its floor. A glance into other compartments brought a -whistle to his lips--the _Chicago_ was crammed with fuel and food. Gail -Melvin must have prepared this as a permanent home. - -Two tiny sections were the sleeping quarters of Gail and George Melvin. -He poked around them until a feeling of guilt made him stop. He sank -into a spongy, bolted-down chair, damning his new-found ethics. He'd -straighten out a few things when that female showed up. - - * * * * * - -She didn't seem surprised to see him. She glanced his way casually and -started tugging off her heavy coat. A gentlemanly impulse almost had -him out of his seat to help her, but he stifled it. - -Her nose was red from the mild summer weather of Mars, and he thought -briefly that if her cheeks were a little fuller, she would probably -be more or less good looking. As a matter of plain fact, she was too -damned skinny. She must spend most of her time worrying about her -brother. - -She was taller than he had thought, but still looked slight and -helpless. And hopeless as well. Her shoulders drooped a little as she -faced him. - -"I saw Quong Kee," she said. - -"Oh--I'm sorry about your brother." He hesitated. "Have you any idea -who did it?" - -He almost squirmed when she looked at him. The expression in her eyes -was not entirely friendly. - -"I have ideas," she said. "And they're not nice." - -Her eyes were dark and smoldering now. - -"They questioned George with a new type of lie detector--Skolssolky or -some such name. I wasn't supposed to know--" - -Barnard's eyebrows went up. "The police questioned George? Somebody -must have found out!" - -Gail dropped her coat over the back of another chair and sat on the -chair. She was pale and her eyes were haggard. - -"When I found the police had picked him up," she said, "I took an -espine pill and became _en rapport_ with him." - -She pressed her slender fingers against her temples. "I'm -tired ... espine isn't as bad as _neoin_, of course, but it has a -strong reaction. They found out some things from George that I'd never -been able to find out. - -"This instrument reaches deeper into the subconscious than anything -ever used before. Even so, everything was vague. But George had been on -Pluto. Somehow he'd followed the _neoin_ trail there; how, I don't know. - -"But on Pluto, they did something to him. They took his mind and made -him like a new-born child. His brain was perfectly blank. I've been -teaching him as I'd teach an infant--but he was so slow learning." - -"Pluto--" Barnard stared. "Then _neoin_ comes from Pluto. Lansfer knows -this--" - -He looked at the girl and damned his conscience again. There was a -first aid box set into the wall, and he found a bottle of brandy in it. -A small black bottle was there. He noted the label--_Espine_, another -outlawed drug the authorities tolerated for emergency purposes. Not -habit-forming, but continued use of it would soften the brain and wreck -the nerve centers. - -He slammed the cabinet door on the black bottle. She had reason to be -tired. - -He made her drink the brandy. She spoke softly, between sips. "When -I heard that, I determined to go to Pluto. If something there could -take my brother's intelligence away, we might be able to reverse the -process." - -"Or lose your own," Barnard murmured. - -"When Quong Kee told me about the--George, it changed all that, of -course. There was no need to go to Pluto." - -"You've got your nerve," Barnard growled. "You speak very calmly about -invading Pluto single handed." - -Definitely, Pluto was no place for her. But he had to be in on the -kill. Would Lansfer cooperate? - -"Miss Melvin," he said, "I'll have to see the Space Police, find out if -they'll take me with them. I suspect they won't. So I'm going to cable -my boss for money, and if it's all right with you, I'll charter this -ship--" - -"I'll be very happy," she said, "to take you with me to Pluto--so you -can get your story." - -He stared. "But--you mean you still intend to go to Pluto? What -possible reason could you have now?" - - * * * * * - -She reached for her coat and dug into the sleeve. Barnard blinked when -three of her fingers came out at the shoulder. - -"That hole," she said, "was made by a bullet. Somebody took a shot at -me on the way over here, and I've been followed. Evidently they've -decided I know too much. I'll never step out that door alive." - -She indicated a red pane of glass on the instrument panel. "If that -glows, they're approaching the ship. Be ready to give them a warning -blast from the rockets." - -Barnard thought wistfully of the gun he had left in his hotel room. -"That means I'm here for keeps, too. But you can't go to Pluto. I'll -drop you off at another Martian city--or on some other planet that's on -our route." - -"Did you ever operate a space ship?" she asked. - -"No, but--" - -She shook her head. "Besides, they have agents everywhere. My life -isn't worth a counterfeit milliplatin. So I might just as well go to -Pluto." - -Barnard sprang to life as the detector signal glowed deep red. He -leaped to the handles of the rocket jets, prepared to throw out a -warning blast. - -There was a pounding on the hull. "Open up, in there! It's the Space -Police!" - -"That's Lansfer's voice." Barnard hesitated at the lock. "That means -we're safe--or does it? Is this ship ready to take off?" - -"Yes--" - -"Then--just on a hunch--get at the control board--" - -He closed the inner door of the lock behind him before he opened the -outer. No use silhouetting himself against the lighted interior. - -Lansfer almost lost his poker face. "You! You'll get into trouble, -Barnard, if you're not careful. What are you doing here?" - -"Guest of Miss Melvin, commander. And you?" - -The officer indicated a paper. Barnard noted that his other hand -remained close to his holster. - -"We're impounding this ship. The Space Police can't be responsible for -old wrecks endangering human life and limb on the spaceways." - -"Very thoughtful of the Space Police all of a sudden," said Barnard. - -There were two other patrolmen with Lansfer, he saw. Remish and a -red-haired man he knew to be named Grady. His searching eyes picked -out several shadowy figures lurking at corners of the field. He looked -again at Lansfer. - -"You have our word," he said, "that this ship is to be used only as -living quarters by Miss Melvin." - -Lansfer stared coolly up at him. "This court order calls for the -_Chicago_ to be delivered immediately into the custody of the sheriff -and auctioned for scrap. You and Miss Melvin will leave it immediately." - -Barnard nodded agreeably. "All right, commander. We'll leave--right -now." - -Lansfer relaxed. He was about two feet below Barnard, the platform -being that high from the ground. Barnard reached out carefully with his -foot and shoved. The spaceman flew backwards into Grady, and the two of -them crashed to the frozen ground. - -Barnard pulled the door swiftly. Lansfer was clawing for his gun and -shouting for Remish to stop them. Remish's gloved fingers fumbled as he -drew and the outer door was closed before he fired. Barnard grinned as -the bullets bounced off the door. That hull was more than tough enough -to handle all the bullets the Space Police could throw at it. - -"Get off the ground, Gail," he shouted. - -He slammed the inner door of the lock and swayed with the control room -globe as the rockets went into action. The ship jumped forward a few -feet, balked for a moment. Gail threw a lever that opened the shutters. -They saw the three policemen scrambling madly to both sides as the -_Chicago_ started roaring down the field. - -They blasted away and left the ground, the police still firing after -them. Barnard clung to a bolted-down chair as they lurched wildly. Gail -pointed the nose up until the ship would have been hanging from its -props, if it had any. - -"That's all we needed," said Barnard, sourly. "We're both outlaws -now--fair game for anybody. Our only hope is to break the dope ring. -And Lansfer, if we can." - -She looked distastefully at him. "That would make a good story, -wouldn't it? Daring reporter defies police; smashes _neoin_ ring. Of -course, there might be some opposition." - -"Which way is Pluto?" he asked, changing the subject. - -"I haven't the faintest idea. Hand me that book--the big one--" - - - IV - -Barnard found that space navigation was more complex than he had -thought. He watched in grudging admiration as the girl rejected course -after course. Finally she looked up at him and frowned. - -"We have to go sunward--the sun is almost directly between us and -Pluto. We can get there fast, and speed is our best bet to evade the -Space Police. But it'll be dangerous." - -"I'll take the chance," said Barnard. "But don't be reckless with your -own life. How many months will it take?" - -"About four days." - -He stared suspiciously at her. "It took me fourteen days from Earth to -Mars. What's this crate got that the Inner Planets Line hasn't?" - -She smiled. "For a great reporter, you don't know much. They could make -the Earth-Mars run in a day--but that's where the danger comes in. If a -rock gets in their path, they have to be traveling slow enough for the -detectors to find it and change the course. That's done automatically, -but we haven't powerful enough detectors yet to handle high speeds." - -"Oh, a job for the instrument makers?" Barnard was beginning to realize -his ignorance. - -"You could put it that way. The chance of hitting anything big enough -to hurt a space ship is small, of course, but with hundreds of ships in -space, there would be a lot of wrecks if they all went as fast as we're -going to go!" - - * * * * * - -They plunged almost directly into the sun, nose forward to cut down the -radiant energy. Gail sat in a sea of charts and tables, calling out -instructions to Barnard, who was learning to handle the controls. She -kept the rockets blazing, and before many hours had passed they could -almost see the sun growing in size. - -In the growing warmth, the reporter dozed off to a restless, -nightmarish sleep. He awoke with a start to find himself soggy with -perspiration, his bones aching. Gail, hunched over her figures, looked -up and grinned impishly. - -"Warm?" she asked. "The cooling units are going full blast. The vision -plates are all shuttered, but if you want to look, I've swung dark -glass into place." - -She gestured to one of the darkened vision plates, and her fingers slid -to a button that opened the shutters. Barnard looked and closed his -eyes when he saw the monstrous body that was the sun. - -"I've seen enough," he assured her. "Where are we?" - -"Inside the orbit of Mercury. We'll be closer before we're farther -away." - -Barnard studied her. At the most dangerous part of their journey, where -space was filled with cosmic debris plunging into the sun, she had lost -her hunted look and worked with a graceful nonchalance. She seemed -actually to be enjoying the whole thing. - -The murderous forces of radiant energy pounded at and through the -heavily insulated hulls. Barnard mopped his sweat-soaked face and -waited for the metal of the space ship to ignite. He stared at the girl -and wondered how she could be so happy and poised, though she was as -bedraggled as he was. Was her mind gone, too? - -He decided so when she told him, much later: - -"Congratulations, Mr. Barnard. Right now you and I are closer to the -sun than any other human beings ever have been--" - -He studied her face. - -She stared through the darkened glass into the inferno. "Except," she -said thoughtfully, "for a few unfortunate expeditions that fell into -it." - - * * * * * - -Then they were starting to recede. The _Chicago_ was inside the -eccentric orbit of Vulcan, and starting to plunge away from the sun. -The tremendous velocity they had been building up was far more powerful -than the titanic pull of the sun's gravitational field. Gradually, the -temperature went down to a cool 100 degrees, and the two humans, limp -and worn, took turns catnapping. - -Barnard lugged can after can of fuel for the tanks. The motors pounded -constantly, building up greater and greater velocity. At timed -intervals, Gail took sights of the visible planets to check their speed. - -Their course curved far above the plane of the ecliptic. No passage -through the asteroid belt at this speed! - -That was Gail's main worry. "We're veering out of the crowded belt, but -there're stray asteroids far from the ecliptic plane. If we pass that -region, we'll be in fairly empty space, and more or less safe, except -for the Space Police." - -Barnard raised his eyebrows. "Space Police? How could they trace us at -this speed?" - -"We're as obvious as a green spaced Venusian in New York," she told -him. "It's the speed--we're actually tearing up space. Lansfer's -instruments could pick us out from a hundred million miles. But that's -a lot of room." She glanced slyly at him. "Now you can write science -articles for the Sunday supplements." - -"Lay off me," he begged. His questing fingers found a cigarette as the -clock ticked over to the hour. Smokes were rationed in space. He lit up -and drew smoke into his hungry lungs, then passed the cigarette to Gail. - -"At least," he said, "I have a job to do on Pluto, which is more than -you can say. What are you going there for?" - -She passed the cigarette back. - -"It seemed like a good idea at the time," she said. - -Barnard stared silently at her. She looked strangely happy, plunging -toward God-knew-what evils on far Pluto! He felt suddenly disgusted -with the whole affair. They were two fools, defying the Space Police -for the right to seek certain death. - -"Gail," he said, "don't go through with it. Slow the ship down and get -off at the nearest human settlement--one of the Jovian moons, or Titan. -I can handle this ship now. My syndicate will pay--" - -The entire universe exploded then. He pounded brutally into the concave -walls, whirling end over end as the ship spun madly out of control. -His head crashed as the spherical control room escaped its gyroscopes -and he fought desperately against crushing blackness. Gail--was she -mangled, killed? There was a senseless spinning, and then it was -dark ... dark.... - - * * * * * - -He fought his way out of the blackness. Something was searing his -throat ... he coughed in agony and the shock brought him partly to his -senses. - -Gail was pouring brandy into him. He saw her by the hard glare of the -battery-run light. She was bruised and her coveralls were torn, but she -was alive. - -He came to his feet and gripped her arms. "Gail?" - -Then he stopped. Her eyes were pained and misting. She swayed and -collapsed in his arms. - -For a moment he was frantic. What to do? He carried her to her room, -made her comfortable. Fervently, he hoped no bones were broken. But -after a few minutes she opened her eyes and made a face at him. - -"I'm not hurt," she said dreamily. "Just a sissy. Go and see what -happened." - -Gratefully, he watched her relax. He rubbed his hands thoughtfully and -studied the damage in the control room. The meteor couldn't have hit -very hard--they would have been killed without knowing it. A mere graze! - -He reached out fearfully and cut off the blazing rockets. The vision -plates were blackened--no way of knowing which way they were going. - -That was his first job, then--to unshutter the vision plates. He -reviewed his knowledge of the mechanism. Evidently the master switch -that controlled them all had been short-circuited. The switch was in -the very tail of the ship. He crawled through the hold and into the -tiny compartment in the tail. - -His pocket flash picked out the switch, and he made with the screw -driver. A few seconds later he looked proudly through the opened plate, -feeling like a master mechanic. - -But he didn't feel so happy when he saw a swifter-moving point of light -in the star-filled sky. - -A spaceship was closing in on the _Chicago_. And goose pimples rose on -his arms when he recognized it as the police ship of Commander Lansfer. - -He had to get back to the control room. - -The police ship was coming in at a half mile a second, relative to -them. What both ships were doing relative to the system he didn't know, -or care. On his hands and knees in the close cubby, he scrambled around -to get back to the control room. But already it was too late. - -Invisible beams of magnetic force leaped into life between the two -vessels, as the law ship clamped down with its Duvals. Barnard was -pitched heavily forward as the beams seized the _Chicago_. His head -crashed into something hard, and he fell into a relaxed bundle. - - - V - -It was cold, and he was beating his way out of a frozen death. He -fought his way up from the floor, a sluggish chill in the marrow of his -bones. Frigid ... and he was sinking back. - -Remembrance shocked him into wakefulness. He stared from the port -before his face. The police ship was there, clamped by invisible forces -to the _Chicago_. Dully, he watched the fore rockets blasting for -deceleration. - -Deceleration--? - -That brought him to frantic life. Were they nearing Pluto? How long had -he been out? And--why was it so cold? - -His teeth and knees still chattering, he wriggled down the narrow -passage, pushed his light before him into the room where he had left -Gail. He stared wildly. - -She was gone. - -Then the police had come aboard while he was unconscious and taken her -aboard their vessel. - -Back in the control room, he stood helplessly for a few seconds, his -mind starting to black out again. No power--the ship was leaking its -heat into space. His numbed fingers found the right switches. Heat -started to seep into the room, and life seemed to flow back into his -body. - -But Gail--what of her? His distrust of the solemn-faced Lansfer became -suddenly more intense. He had to find out--and he was separated from -the police ship by fifty feet that might as well have been miles. - -There was another way. He fumbled in the medicine kit, snatched the -black bottle labeled "_Espine_." He'd take a pill, even if it killed -him in his weakened condition, and use ESP to find out what went on -aboard the other vessel. He tore the stopper from the container and -turned it upside down over his palm. - -Nothing came out. - -He cursed the empty bottle fervently, because already the only other -answer was coming to his mind. He almost tried not to think of it. But -this was emergency. - -In one of his pockets he found the tiny packages of _neoin_ he had -bought while cultivating the peddlers on Mars. - -There was a tiny pinch of gray powder in the paper he tore open. One -gram--a normal dose. Full strength, he was sure--the stuff was seldom -cut. - -He hesitated. Even one dose of the drug created a craving for more. He -vowed grimly that this first taste would be his last. - -But this made his fight personal. He must destroy the source of _neoin_ -in sheer self-defense! - -Before the gray powder was past his tonsils, he knew he had taken too -much for a beginner. A fantastic lift, a great self-confidence almost -sent his mind out of the world. Grimly he fought to keep down the giddy -exhilaration, and let his thoughts search for Lansfer's ship. - -He had trouble coordinating his thoughts, because of the tendency of -his drugged mind to stray. But he caught the control room of the -police ship. - -Carefully, he kept away from the minds of the four people there. There -was an added lift when he perceived Gail, small and defiant, facing -Commander Lansfer. - -It was Barnard's first experience in extra-sensory perception. With all -the power of his will, he focussed his thoughts on the scene. Gail was -speaking. - -"I tell you," she said, "the reporter is on Earth. He said something -about having a big lead. I took the ship into Earth's atmosphere and he -bailed out in a parachute. I was glad to be rid of him." - - * * * * * - -Barnard hoped that what she said was entirely untrue. - -"You say--" Lansfer's face was without expression--"that he forced you -to do this?" - -"I said no such thing," Gail told him. "And if you're going to twist my -statements, I'll say nothing more." - -Lansfer's palm flicked out and Gail's head reeled. A vivid patch of red -appeared on her cheek. Barnard's fingers tightened around the spongy -arms of his chair. - -The commander turned swiftly to Remish and Grady. None of the officers -noticed--but Barnard did--that Gail's fingers were sliding along the -control board. - -"Barnard is aboard that ship," Lansfer snapped. "You two couldn't have -searched very thoroughly. This girl is lying--she couldn't possibly -have slowed down enough to let Barnard 'chute to Earth, and still have -come this far." - -Remish looked uncertain. "Commander--you're the boss here, but--" - -"But what?" Lansfer barked. - -Remish's eyes darted briefly to where the red welts stood out on Gail's -cheek. He licked his lips and for a second his gaze met Grady's. For a -moment he hesitated, then faced Lansfer again. He shrugged briefly. - -"Never mind," he said. "We'll talk it over at headquarters later." - -Lansfer lost some of his poise. He glared at the two patrolmen. "You -two get back to the _Chicago_. Find Barnard and bring him to me!" - -Barnard saw Gail's hand hovering over the tiny bar. Suddenly he was -shocked. He realized that the bar controlled the Duvals--the magnetic -beams that pinned the two ships together. Then she had felt his -presence and was waiting for a signal from him. He shouted the thought: - -"_No!_" - -Swiftly she disobeyed him, and twisted the bar. In almost the same -instant she snatched the gun from Lansfer's holster. She backed away a -step and leveled it at the officer. - -"Turn this ship around," she ordered. "We're going back to Mars." - -Lansfer's narrowed eyes peered at the control board where she had -disconnected the grapples. He turned to the girl. His voice was flat, -sullen. - -"Give me that gun." - -"No." She backed away another step and he followed, hand reaching. Her -face became paler. Lansfer stopped and stared into her eyes. His eyes -were compelling, hypnotic. She stood motionless and tried to shake the -effect. Lansfer moved a step closer. - -Remish's hand gently removed the gun from her fingers. - -Barnard swore disgustedly. Why had Gail cut the grapples? She must have -some fool idea that he could beat the police to Pluto, win out on his -own. - -Maybe he could. There were only two little difficulties involved. -First, he didn't know where Pluto was, or how to find it. Second--the -planet was Earth-size, and where on its millions of square miles of -surface was whatever he wanted? - -The second problem was partly solved. From Lansfer's mind he had a -vague picture of a vast white sea, trapped in a ring of white mountains -that knifed into a black sky. - -From Lansfer's mind--! - -Even in his _neoin_ jag, a jolt came to him. How did Lansfer know that? -Frantically, his thoughts speared back to the police ship. But it was -too far now--only confused fragments came. - -But one image brought him to his feet, sobered and fearful for Gail's -safety. Wildly he searched space for the magenta blasts of the police -ship's rockets. - -Because his extra-sensory perception brought one clear image. In -Lansfer's pocket he had perceived the ancient twentieth century coin he -had given to George Melvin. - - - VI - -His fevered eyes studied the vision plate. Pluto--since they had been -pointing toward it, must be ahead. He held his hand over a button, and -cross hairs appeared on the plate. At the junction of the hairs was -nothing. - -But he found a grayish blob larger than the others at the edge of the -plate. Experimentally, he turned in the rockets and headed for it. It -moved steadily to the right, so it must be the planet. - -Several hours later he was circling Pluto, searching grimly for the -landmarks. A coating of frozen air covered everything--Pluto's last -snow. Luck was with him, for he had only half-circled the globe when he -saw what he wanted. There was no mistaking the scene. His pulse leaped -as he dived inexpertly down. - -Down past the snow sheathed peaks, into a great snow filled valley. He -leveled off over the plain and brought his vessel to the surface in -the thin solar illumination. He didn't know that landing on an airless -planet was a feat for an expert pilot; neither did he realize that he -was landing with blazing rocket jets on frozen air. But the luck of -beginners was with him. He plowed a mile through the icy crust and -jolted to a stop. - -In his wake vast masses of freshly vaporized air clouded the valley and -started to freeze again. Barnard's eyebrows lifted when he looked out. - -"A snowstorm," he marveled. - -He glared at the mountain wall a hundred yards distant. There was a -structure there, of human origin. A squat building from around which -the snow had been cleared. - -George Melvin's space suit was too short for him, but he worked into -it. Over the boots he fitted snow shoes. There was no sign of life from -the shack, so he went out the lock and started trudging the hundred -yards. - -Inside the space suit, his footsteps were distant crunchings--eerie -misfits in this noiseless dead world! Still there was no indication of -life from the building ahead. He noted that it was flush against the -cliff wall. Was there a cave behind? - -A sudden craving for _neoin_ filled him. He cursed and went forward -more grimly. If this was the source of the drug, he must destroy it. - -The door was unlocked. He hesitated, then stepped inside cautiously. He -glanced back once. The snow was still falling. - -His light revealed a small room. It was bare, except for a few tins of -food and some motor parts. He frowned, wondering. Had he stumbled onto -an innocent government post? - -There was a door leading back. Then his guess was right--this was a -cave. He tried the door. It opened smoothly; and he followed his light -in. - -There was a corridor. He paused for a moment, an instinctive fear -bringing cold goose pimples. Something was here--something terribly -alien, and terribly deadly. He waited, his heart pounding viciously. - -But nothing happened. Slowly he moved forward. On his right was a door. -He reached to open it, but a strange reluctance made him leave it for -the time being and continue on. The corridor ended in stairs, going -down. - -He started down, his knees weak. Before he reached the bottom, he saw -what was below, the floor of the great underground room was covered -with a gray powder. - -_Neoin!_ - - - VII - -Knee deep in it, he stared at the tons of the deathly drug piled around -him. This was it! The cache from which misery and nightmare death was -dispensed to the human race! But what was its origin? - -One huge heap of the gray dust rose half way to the twenty-foot ceiling -of the crypt. His eyes caught the tiny disturbance at the peak of the -pile, and followed a thin stream of the falling dust to the ceiling. - -The _neoin_ came from above, then. And the door he had passed in the -corridor above must lead to the place where the drug was formed. He -plodded back up the stairs. - -Before the door he stopped, that chill fear again speeding his pulse. -A racial fear of something not human, not of Earth, palsied him. He -wanted a dose of _neoin_-- - -His curse broke the spell and he flung the door open. He was inside, -poking his flash into the distant corners of the huge cave. It must be -two hundred yards to the far wall. The roof was fifty feet above. On -the sloping floor was a film of _neoin_ dust. - -In a corner was a rocket motor, turning senselessly. It served no -apparent purpose. But he backed away. - -"Nothing here," he murmured. Still the feel of alien life persisted. -Suddenly in an unreasoning panic, he whirled for the door. - -And felt himself hurled back. - -Cold, slimy fingers seemed to be feeling inside his brain. He struck -out at empty space, his involuntary scream pounding in his ears. The -questing feeler went deeper into him and he staggered helplessly back -until he rested against the cave wall. - -A chaotic jumble of thoughts whirled in his semi-consciousness. He felt -that he was George Melvin, who had stowed aboard a ship belonging to a -hard faced police officer. - -Ron Barnard fought back with a defiant blast of his will and for -a moment the creeping things stopped. He was suddenly sober, for -he knew that this was where George Melvin had lost his mind. These -creatures--whatever they were--possessed all of George's thoughts. - -And those thoughts included Lansfer. Lansfer was the man behind the -_neoin_ organization. - -The things were back. He stiffened his knees, made himself rigid -against the wall. Sharp pain lanced through his temples as the weird -struggle continued. Desperately he fought the hungry tentacles that -wiggled into his thought centers. - -One after another, he forced back the alien thrusts. But each time, the -creatures took something with them ... some part of him. - -He was losing. Soon he would be another George Melvin ... a drooling -idiot. Already he was slipping. The feelers pushed themselves -inexorably in. He noticed vaguely that his light was gone--somehow he -knew that they had drained the juice from his battery. In the dark he -stood swaying, waiting for the end. - -Suddenly he was aware that it was light. He gazed dully toward its -source, saw that a silver-helmeted figure was approaching. Lansfer. -The officer's hard face relaxed a little in a short chuckle. - -"So you've found my secret, Ron Barnard. And you're wishing you -hadn't--if you still have the wits to wish." - -His eyes behind the faceplate were mocking. "My little friends were -hungry. They aren't of this solar system, Barnard--they're true energy -creatures, barely visible if you have good eyes. I was attacked by them -while alone in a patrol ship--fortunate for me that I found out in time -that silver renders them inert." - -Barnard's slow moving mind noted the silver covering over Lansfer's -helmet. He found himself on his knees, clutching unintelligently at the -_neoin_ dust on the floor. The struggle in his mind had died out, as if -the creatures had retreated unwillingly before the silver. - -"I brought them to this cave," Lansfer went on. "You see the rocket -motor in the corner--they live on energy and for the cost of a little -fuel I get _neoin_ by the ton! _Neoin_ is the waste product of their -life cycle! Matter from energy--with living machines!" - -The officer motioned toward the door. His stubby gun was in his hand. -"You'll come back here, Barnard. A human mind is a rare treat for my -helpers. But get out now and let your girl friend see what's happened -to you. The two of you forced my hand. Now I'll have to get rid of -Remish and Grady. It's time for action--my days as a policeman are -over." - -His eyes were hungry. "I have gold here, Barnard. And platinum and -radium. _Neoin_ has made me rich. The next step is power--I have enough -to buy Mars and Venus, and next I'll bring _neoin_ to Earth. In a few -years I'll be running the solar system. Wouldn't you like to print -that?" - -Dully, Barnard preceded him out. His brain was slow responding, as if -he were drugged. Permanently drugged. But his will seemed left, as if -the energy creatures had been eating away the pillars of his driving -force when they could not beat it down directly. - -"Silver in the door," said Lansfer, closing it behind him. "They can't -escape. Keep moving." - -Back in the shack, Lansfer motioned him to a corner and peered out. -More snow was falling and three space suited figures were coming -through it. Lansfer touched a switch and machinery began to throb. The -room filled swiftly with air and warmth, and Lansfer removed his helmet -and struggled out of his space suit. Gun in hand, he stood facing the -double doors. - -Barnard's gloved fingers were clenched. He gazed dully at his right -palm, saw it filled with _neoin_ he had unwittingly scooped up when -he had clawed wildly in the cave of the energy creatures. He felt the -craving coming back as he stared at it. - -Gail came through the lock, followed closely by Remish and Grady. They -stopped when they saw the gun in Lansfer's hand. - -"What happens, chief?" demanded Remish. His hand was near his own -holster. "And what is this place?" - -"First, drop your guns," Lansfer instructed. "Then take off your space -gear." - -The two patrolmen unbuckled their belts. Gail stared at Barnard. - -"Ron--they've done it to you!" There was a sob in her voice. "I should -never have got you into this--" - -Barnard's eyes focussed stupidly on the girl. His thoughts came slowly. -But the energy creatures had not finished their work--he was marshaling -the mind power he had left, and a sullen anger was growing in him. With -the slyness that often belongs to simple minded people, his gaze went -to the handful of _neoin_, then to Lansfer, measuring the distance. -Eight ... ten feet. He pretended to stagger, came a little closer. - -[Illustration: _Barnard's dull eyes swung to the steady weapon._] - -Lansfer chuckled contemptfully. - -Gail was at his side. He reached out as if to push her away, and the -same motion his hand shot out, releasing the _neoin_ squarely into -Lansfer's face. - - * * * * * - -In that split second, Lansfer's eyes widened in horror. His hands -streaked to his face to keep the gray death from his lips and nostrils. -Remish was across the room, batting the gun from his hands. - -While Lansfer still dashed the _neoin_ away from him, Remish and Grady -had guns trained on him. - -"Now," said Grady, grimly, "what's this all about, Barnard?" - -Barnard told them haltingly. He still had sense enough to realize that -his I.Q. was down about fifty per cent. His career as the top reporter -of the system was done ... all he had left was a grim determination. - -He picked up the silver helmet, fitted it over his head. - -"Ron--?" Gail's eyes were shocked. "What are you going to do?" - -He turned silently, and they followed him to the door of the cave. He -turned to Remish. - -"I'm going back in there," he said. - -"No!" Gail clutched at his arms. "Don't, Ron--you'll be George all -over again, and I couldn't stand that--" - -He bent down and kissed her, then pushed her gently aside. He looked at -Remish. - -The policeman hesitated. - -"You owe me this much," said Barnard. - -"You're putting me on a spot," Remish growled. "But go ahead, if you -must." - -As Barnard started to close the door behind him, he was thrown to the -floor by Lansfer's sudden rush. The hard faced policeman threw a bolt -over the door, then dived on Barnard, clutching for the helmet. - -The reporter fought back instinctively. His feet went into Lansfer as -the other dived on him. He rose as far as his knees and delivered short -solid punches to the body as Lansfer clawed desperately for the silver -band. - -Suddenly Lansfer stiffened with an expression of utter horror and fell -away. - -For a minute Barnard watched, building up his own strength. Then he -tore the helmet from his head, hurled it far from him. - -"Come on, you devils," he growled. "I want my mind back." - -When Barnard dragged Lansfer out of the cave, his eyes were bright, and -a happy grin was on his face. The first thing he saw was Gail, utterly -miserable against a wall of the corridor. The first thing he did was -kiss her amazed face. - -"You're the boss now," he told the equally amazed Remish. "If you'll -take a suggestion, let's find Lansfer's hoard and throw all the silver -coins into that cave. That should put an end to the energy creatures." - -Remish looked distastefully at the drooling thing that had been Lansfer -and holstered his gun. He nodded. - -"And we'll bring the rest of his treasure back to civilization. We can -use it to rehabilitate _neoin_ addicts." - -He looked hopefully at Barnard. "When you print this, you won't be too -hard on the Space Police? We could use some favorable publicity--" - -Barnard was whispering to Gail. Both were grinning widely. Barnard -turned his grin to Remish. - -"We love the Space Police," he assured the officer. "Now, as the -highest official on this planet, you have the power to marry people. If -you'll hurry up, we'll be starting back to Earth on our honeymoon." - -He was suddenly thoughtful. "And maybe to do a column or two for the -System News Service!" - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Mind-Stealers of Pluto, by Joseph Farrell - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MIND-STEALERS OF PLUTO *** - -***** This file should be named 63393.txt or 63393.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/3/3/9/63393/ - -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 print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law 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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