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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..c312c02 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #63442 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/63442) diff --git a/old/63442-h.zip b/old/63442-h.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index f301dcc..0000000 --- a/old/63442-h.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63442-h/63442-h.htm b/old/63442-h/63442-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index 74662b9..0000000 --- a/old/63442-h/63442-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1172 +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 Double Trouble, by Carl Jacobi. - </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; -} - -div.titlepage { - text-align: center; - page-break-before: always; - page-break-after: always; -} - -div.titlepage p { - text-align: center; - text-indent: 0em; - font-weight: bold; - line-height: 1.5; - margin-top: 3em; -} - - - </style> - </head> -<body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Double Trouble, by Carl Jacobi - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Double Trouble - -Author: Carl Jacobi - -Release Date: October 12, 2020 [EBook #63442] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DOUBLE TROUBLE *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus.jpg" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="titlepage"> - -<h1>DOUBLE TROUBLE</h1> - -<h2>by CARL JACOBI</h2> - -<p>Grannie Annie, that waspish science-fiction<br /> -writer, was in a jam again. What with red-spot<br /> -fever, talking cockatoos and flagpole trees,<br /> -I was running in circles—especially since<br /> -Grannie became twins every now and then.</p> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br /> -Planet Stories Spring 1945.<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>We had left the offices of <i>Interstellar Voice</i> three days ago, Earth -time, and now as the immense disc of Jupiter flamed across the sky, -entered the outer limits of the Baldric. Grannie Annie strode in the -lead, her absurd long-skirted black dress looking as out of place in -this desert as the trees.</p> - -<p>Flagpole trees. They rose straight up like enormous cat-tails, with -only a melon-shaped protuberance at the top to show they were a form of -vegetation. Everything else was blanketed by the sand and the powerful -wind that blew from all quarters.</p> - -<p>As we reached the first of those trees, Grannie came to a halt.</p> - -<p>"This is the Baldric all right. If my calculations are right, we've hit -it at its narrowest spot."</p> - -<p>Ezra Karn took a greasy pipe from his lips and spat. "It looks like the -rest of this God-forsaken moon," he said, "'ceptin for them sticks."</p> - -<p>Xartal, the Martian illustrator, said nothing. He was like that, -taciturn, speaking only when spoken to.</p> - -<p>He could be excused this time, however, for this was only our third day -on Jupiter's Eighth Moon, and the country was still strange to us.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>When Annabella C. Flowers, that renowned writer of science fiction, -visiphoned me at Crater City, Mars, to meet her here, I had thought she -was crazy. But Miss Flowers, known to her friends as Grannie Annie, -had always been mildly crazy. If you haven't read her books, you've -missed something. She's the author of <i>Lady of the Green Flames</i>, -<i>Lady of the Runaway Planet</i>, <i>Lady of the Crimson Space-Beast</i>, and -other works of science fiction. Blood-and-thunder as these books are, -however, they have one redeeming feature—authenticity of background. -Grannie Annie was the original research digger-upper, and when she -laid the setting of a yarn on a star of the sixth magnitude, only a -transportation-velocity of less than light could prevent her from -visiting her "stage" in person.</p> - -<p>Therefore when she asked me to meet her at the landing field of -<i>Interstellar Voice</i> on Jupiter's Eighth Moon, I knew she had another -novel in the state of embryo.</p> - -<p>What I didn't expect was Ezra Karn. He was an old prospector Grannie -had met, and he had become so attached to the authoress he now followed -her wherever she went. As for Xartal, he was a Martian and was slated -to do the illustrations for Grannie's new book.</p> - -<p>Five minutes after my ship had blasted down, the four of us met in the -offices of <i>Interstellar Voice</i>. And then I was shaking hands with -Antlers Park, the manager of I. V. himself.</p> - -<p>"Glad to meet you," he said cordially. "I've just been trying to -persuade Miss Flowers not to attempt a trip into the Baldric."</p> - -<p>"What's the Baldric?" I had asked.</p> - -<p>Antlers Park flicked the ash from his cheroot and shrugged.</p> - -<p>"Will you believe me, sir," he said, "when I tell you I've been out -here on this forsaken moon five years and don't rightly know myself?"</p> - -<p>I scowled at that; it didn't make sense.</p> - -<p>"However, as you perhaps know, the only reason for colonial activities -here at all is because of the presence of an ore known as Acoustix. -It's no use to the people of Earth but of untold value on Mars. I'm -not up on the scientific reasons, but it seems that life on the red -planet has developed with a supersonic method of vocal communication. -The Martian speaks as the Earthman does, but he amplifies his thoughts' -transmission by way of wave lengths as high as three million vibrations -per second. The trouble is that by the time the average Martian reaches -middle age, his ability to produce those vibrations steadily decreases. -Then it was found that this ore, Acoustix, revitalized their sounding -apparatus, and the rush was on."</p> - -<p>"What do you mean?"</p> - -<p>Park leaned back. "The rush to find more of the ore," he explained. -"But up until now this moon is the only place where it can be found.</p> - -<p>"There are two companies here," he continued, "<i>Interstellar Voice</i> -and <i>Larynx Incorporated</i>. Chap by the name of Jimmy Baker runs that. -However, the point is, between the properties of these two companies -stretches a band or belt which has become known as the Baldric.</p> - -<p>"There are two principal forms of life in the Baldric; flagpole trees -and a species of ornithoid resembling cockatoos. So far no one has -crossed the Baldric without trouble."</p> - -<p>"What sort of trouble?" Grannie Annie had demanded. And when Antlers -Park stuttered evasively, the old lady snorted, "Fiddlesticks, I never -saw trouble yet that couldn't be explained. We leave in an hour."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>So now here we were at the outer reaches of the Baldric, four travelers -on foot with only the barest necessities in the way of equipment and -supplies.</p> - -<p>I walked forward to get a closer view of one of the flagpole trees. And -then abruptly I saw something else.</p> - -<p>A queer-looking bird squatted there in the sand, looking up at me. -Silver in plumage, it resembled a parrot with a crest; and yet it -didn't. In some strange way the thing was a hideous caricature.</p> - -<p>"Look what I found," I yelled.</p> - -<p>"What I found," said the cockatoo in a very human voice.</p> - -<p>"Thunder, it talks," I said amazed.</p> - -<p>"Talks," repeated the bird, blinking its eyes.</p> - -<p>The cockatoo repeated my last statement again, then rose on its short -legs, flapped its wings once and soared off into the sky. Xartal, -the Martian illustrator, already had a notebook in his hands and was -sketching a likeness of the creature.</p> - -<p>Ten minutes later we were on the move again. We saw more silver -cockatoos and more flagpole trees. Above us, the great disc of Jupiter -began to descend toward the horizon.</p> - -<p>And then all at once Grannie stopped again, this time at the top of a -high ridge. She shielded her eyes and stared off into the plain we had -just crossed.</p> - -<p>"Billy-boy," she said to me in a strange voice, "look down there and -tell me what you see."</p> - -<p>I followed the direction of her hand and a shock went through me from -head to foot. Down there, slowly toiling across the sand, advanced a -party of four persons. In the lead was a little old lady in a black -dress. Behind her strode a grizzled Earth man in a flop-brimmed hat, -another Earth man, and a Martian.</p> - -<p><i>Detail for detail they were a duplicate of ourselves!</i></p> - -<p>"A mirage!" said Ezra Karn.</p> - -<p>But it wasn't a mirage. As the party came closer, we could see that -their lips were moving, and their voices became audible. I listened in -awe. The duplicate of myself was talking to the duplicate of Grannie -Annie, and she was replying in the most natural way.</p> - -<p>Steadily the four travelers approached. Then, when a dozen yards away, -they suddenly faded like a negative exposed to light and disappeared.</p> - -<p>"What do you make of it?" I said in a hushed voice.</p> - -<p>Grannie shook her head. "Might be a form of mass hypnosis superinduced -by some chemical radiations," she replied. "Whatever it is, we'd better -watch our step. There's no telling what might lie ahead."</p> - -<p>We walked after that with taut nerves and watchful eyes, but we saw no -repetition of the "mirage." The wind continued to blow ceaselessly, and -the sand seemed to grow more and more powdery.</p> - -<p>For some time I had fixed my gaze on a dot in the sky which I supposed -to be a high-flying cockatoo. As that dot continued to move across the -heavens in a single direction, I called Grannie's attention to it.</p> - -<p>"It's a kite," she nodded. "There should be a car attached to it -somewhere."</p> - -<p>She offered no further explanation, but a quarter of an hour later as -we topped another rise a curious elliptical car with a long slanting -windscreen came into view. Attached to its hood was a taut wire which -slanted up into the sky to connect with the kite.</p> - -<p>A man was driving and when he saw us, he waved. Five minutes later -Grannie was shaking his hand vigorously and mumbling introductions.</p> - -<p>"This is Jimmy Baker," she said. "He manages <i>Larynx Incorporated</i>, and -he's the real reason we're here."</p> - -<p>I decided I liked Baker the moment I saw him. In his middle thirties, -he was tall and lean, with pleasant blue eyes which even his sand -goggles could not conceal.</p> - -<p>"I can't tell you how glad I am you're here, Grannie," he said. "If -anybody can help me, you can."</p> - -<p>Grannie's eyes glittered. "Trouble with the mine laborers?" she -questioned.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Jimmy Baker nodded. He told his story over the roar of the wind as we -headed back across the desert. Occasionally he touched a stud on an -electric windlass to which the kite wire was attached. Apparently these -adjustments moved planes or fins on the kite and accounted for the -car's ability to move in any direction.</p> - -<p>"If I weren't a realist, I'd say that <i>Larynx Incorporated</i> has been -bewitched," he began slowly. "We pay our men high wages and give them -excellent living conditions with a vacation on Callisto every year. -Up until a short time ago most of them were in excellent health and -spirits. Then the Red Spot Fever got them."</p> - -<p>"Red Spot Fever?" Grannie looked at him curiously.</p> - -<p>Jimmy Baker nodded. "The first symptoms are a tendency to garrulousness -on the part of the patient. Then they disappear."</p> - -<p>He paused to make an adjustment of the windlass.</p> - -<p>"They walk out into the Baldric," he continued, "and nothing can stop -them. We tried following them, of course, but it was no go. As soon as -they realize they're being followed, they stop. But the moment our eyes -are turned, they give us the slip."</p> - -<p>"But surely you must have some idea of where they go," Grannie said.</p> - -<p>Baker lit a cigarette. "There's all kinds of rumors," he replied, "but -none of them will hold water. By the way, there's a cockatoo eyrie -ahead of us."</p> - -<p>I followed his gaze and saw a curious structure suspended between -a rude circle of flagpole trees. A strange web-like formation of -translucent gauzy material, it was. Fully two hundred cockatoos were -perched upon it. They watched us with their mild eyes as we passed, but -they didn't move.</p> - -<p>After that we were rolling up the driveway that led to the offices of -<i>Larynx Incorporated</i>. As Jimmy Baker led the way up the inclined ramp, -a door in the central building opened, and a man emerged. His face was -drawn.</p> - -<p>"Mr. Baker," he said breathlessly, "seventy-five workers at Shaft Four -have headed out into the Baldric."</p> - -<p>Baker dropped his cigarette and ground his heel on it savagely.</p> - -<p>"Shaft Four, eh?" he repeated. "That's our principal mine. If the fever -spreads there, I'm licked."</p> - -<p>He motioned us into his office and strode across to a desk. Silent -Xartal, the Martian illustrator, took a chair in a corner and got his -notebook out, sketching the room's interior. Grannie Annie remained -standing.</p> - -<p>Presently the old lady walked across to the desk and helped herself to -the bottle of Martian whiskey there.</p> - -<p>"There must be ways of stopping this," she said. "Have you called in -any physicians? Why don't you call an enforced vacation and send the -men away until the plague has died down?"</p> - -<p>Baker shook his head. "Three doctors from Callisto were here last -month. They were as much at loss as I am. As for sending the men away, -I may have to do that, but when I do, it means quits. Our company is -chartered with Spacolonial, and you know what that means. Failure -to produce during a period of thirty days or more, and you lose all -rights."</p> - -<p>A visiphone bell sounded, and Baker walked across to the instrument. A -man's face formed in the vision plate. Baker listened, said "Okay" and -threw off the switch.</p> - -<p>"The entire crew of Shaft Four have gone out into the Baldric," he said -slowly. There was a large map hanging on the wall back of Baker's desk. -Grannie Annie walked across to it and began to study its markings.</p> - -<p>"Shaft Four is at the outer edge of the Baldric at a point where that -corridor is at its widest," she said.</p> - -<p>Baker looked up. "That's right. We only began operations there a -comparatively short time ago. Struck a rich vein of Acoustix that -runs deep in. If that vein holds out, we'll double the output of -<i>Interstellar Voice</i>, our rival, in a year."</p> - -<p>Grannie nodded. "I think you and I and Xartal had better take a run up -there," she said. "But first I want to see your laboratory."</p> - -<p>There was no refusing her. Jimmy Baker led the way down to a lower -level where a huge laboratory and experimental shop ran the length -of the building. Grannie seized a light weight carry-case and began -dropping articles into it. A pontocated glass lens, three or four -Wellington radite bulbs, each with a spectroscopic filament, a small -dynamo that would operate on a kite windlass, and a quantity of wire -and other items.</p> - -<p>The kite car was brought out again, and the old woman, Baker and the -Martian took their places in it. Then Jimmy waved, and the car began to -roll down the ramp.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Not until they had vanished in the desert haze did I sense the -loneliness of this outpost. With that loneliness came a sudden sense of -foreboding. Had I been a fool to let Grannie go? I thought of her, an -old woman who should be in a rocking chair, knitting socks. If anything -happened to Annabella C. Flowers, I would never forgive myself and -neither would her millions of readers.</p> - -<p>Ezra Karn and I went back into the office. The old prospector chuckled.</p> - -<p>"Dang human dynamo. Got more energy than a runaway comet."</p> - -<p>A connecting door on the far side of the office opened onto a long -corridor which ended at a staircase.</p> - -<p>"Let's look around," I said.</p> - -<p>We passed down the corridor and climbed the staircase to the second -floor. Here were the general offices of <i>Larynx Incorporated</i>, and -through glass doors I could see clerks busy with counting machines and -report tapes. In another chamber the extremely light Acoustix ore was -being packed into big cases and marked for shipment. At the far end a -door to a small room stood open. Inside a young man was tilted back in -a swivel chair before a complicated instrument panel.</p> - -<p>"C'mon in," he said, seeing us. "If you want a look at your friends, -here they are."</p> - -<p>He flicked a stud, and the entire wall above the panel underwent a -slow change of colors. Those colors whirled kaleidescopically, then -coalesced into a three-dimensional scene.</p> - -<p>It was a scene of a rapidly unfolding desert country as seen from the -rear of a kite car. Directly behind the windscreen, backs turned to me, -were Jimmy Baker, Grannie, and Xartal. It was as if I were standing -directly behind them.</p> - -<p>"It's Mr. Baker's own invention," the operator said. "An improvement on -the visiphone."</p> - -<p>"Do you mean to say you can follow the movements of that car and its -passengers wherever it goes? Can you hear them talk too?"</p> - -<p>"Sure." The operator turned another dial, and Grannie's falsetto voice -entered the room. It stopped abruptly. "The machine uses a lot of -power," the operator said, "and as yet we haven't got much."</p> - -<p>The cloud of anxiety which had wrapped itself about me disappeared -somewhat as I viewed this device. At least I could now keep myself -posted of Grannie's movements.</p> - -<p>Karn and I went down to the commissary where we ate our supper. When -we returned to Jimmy Baker's office, the visiphone bell was ringing. -I went over to it and turned it on, and to my surprise the face of -Antlers Park flashed on the screen.</p> - -<p>"Hello," he said in his friendly way. "I see you arrived all right. Is -Miss Flowers there?"</p> - -<p>"Miss Flowers left with Mr. Baker for Shaft Four," I said. "There's -trouble up there. Red spot fever."</p> - -<p>"Fever, eh?" repeated Park. "That's a shame. Is there anything I can -do?"</p> - -<p>"Tell me," I said, "has your company had any trouble with this plague?"</p> - -<p>"A little. But up until yesterday the fever's been confined to the -other side of the Baldric. We had one partial case, but my chemists -gave the chap an antitoxin that seems to have worked. Come to think of -it, I might drive over to Shaft Four and give Jimmy Baker the formula. -I haven't been out in the Baldric for years, but if you didn't have any -trouble, I shouldn't either."</p> - -<p>We exchanged a few more pleasantries, and then he rang off. In exactly -an hour I went upstairs to the visiscreen room.</p> - -<p>Then once more I was directly behind my friends, listening in on their -conversation. The view through the windscreen showed an irregular array -of flagpole trees, with the sky dotted by high-flying cockatoos.</p> - -<p>"There's an eyrie over there," Jimmy Baker was saying. "We might as -well camp beside it."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Moments later a rude circle of flagpole trees loomed ahead. Across the -top of them was stretched a translucent web. Jimmy and Grannie got out -of the car and began making camp. Xartal remained in his seat. He was -drawing pictures on large pieces of pasteboard, and as I stood there in -the visiscreen room, I watched him.</p> - -<p>There was no doubt about it, the Martian was clever. He would make -a few rapid lines on one of the pasteboards, rub it a little to get -the proper shading and then go on to the next. In swift rotation -likenesses of Ezra Karn, of myself, of Jimmy Baker, and of Antlers Park -took form.</p> - -<p>Ezra spoke over my shoulder. "He's doing scenes for Grannie's new -book," he said. "The old lady figures on using the events here for a -plot. <i>Look at that damned nosy bird!</i>"</p> - -<p>A silver cockatoo had alighted on the kite car and was surveying -curiously Xartal's work. As each drawing was completed, the bird -scanned it with rapt attention. Abruptly it flew to the top of the -eyrie, where it seemed to be having a consultation with its bird -companions.</p> - -<p>And then abruptly it happened. The cockatoos took off in mass flight. A -group of Earth people suddenly materialized on the eyrie, talking and -moving about as if it were the most natural thing in the world.</p> - -<p>With a shock I saw the likeness of myself; I saw Ezra Karn; and I saw -the image of Jimmy Baker.</p> - -<p>The <i>real</i> Jimmy Baker stood next to Grannie, staring up at this -incredible mirage. Grannie let out a whoop. "I've got it!" she said. -"Those things we see up there are nothing more than mental images. -They're Xartal's drawings!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"Don't you see," the lady continued. "Everything that Xartal put on -paper has been seen by one or more of these cockatoos. The cockatoos -are like Earth parrots all right, but not only have they the power -of copying speech, they also have the ability to recreate a mental -image of what they have seen. In other words their brains form a -powerful photographic impression of the object. That impression is -then transmitted simultaneously in telepathic wavelengths to common -foci. That eyrie might be likened to a cinema screen, receiving brain -vibrations from a hundred different sources that blend into the light -field to form what are apparently three-dimensional images."</p> - -<p>The Larynx manager nodded slowly. "I see," he said. "But why don't the -birds reconstruct images from the actual person. Why use drawings?"</p> - -<p>"Probably because the drawings are exaggerated in certain details and -made a greater impression on their brains," Grannie replied.</p> - -<p>Up on the eyrie a strange performance was taking place. The duplicate -of Grannie Annie was bowing to the duplicate of Jimmy Baker, and the -image of Ezra Karn was playing leap frog with the image of Antlers Park.</p> - -<p>Then abruptly the screen before me blurred and went blank.</p> - -<p>"Sorry," the operator said. "I've used too much power already. Have to -give the generators a chance to build it up again."</p> - -<p>Nodding, I turned and motioned to Karn. We went back downstairs.</p> - -<p>"That explains something at any rate," the old prospector said. "But -how about that Red spot fever?"</p> - -<p>On Jimmy Baker's desk was a large file marked: FEVER VICTIMS. I opened -it and found it contained the case histories of those men who had been -attacked by the strange malady.</p> - -<p>Reading them over, I was struck by one detail. Each patient had -received the first symptoms, not while working in the mines, but while -sleeping or lounging in the barracks.</p> - -<p>Five minutes later Karn and I were striding down a white ramp that -led to the nearest barracks. The building came into sight, a low -rectangular structure, dome-roofed to withstand the violent winds.</p> - -<p>Inside double tiers of bunks stretched along either wall. In those -bunks some thirty men lay sleeping.</p> - -<p>The far wall was taken up by a huge window of denvo-quartz. As I stood -there, something suddenly caught Ezra Karn's eye. He began to walk -toward that window.</p> - -<p>"Look here," he said.</p> - -<p>Six feet up on that window a small almost imperceptible button of dull -metal had been wedged into an aperture cut in the quartz. The central -part of the button appeared to be a powerful lens of some kind, and as -I seized it and pulled it loose, I felt the hum of tiny clock work.</p> - -<p>All at once I had it! Red spot fever. Heat fever from the infra-red -rays of Jupiter's great spot. Someone had constructed this lens to -concentrate and amplify the power of those rays. The internal clockwork -served a double purpose. It opened a shutter, and it rotated the lens -slowly so that it played for a time on each of the sleeping men.</p> - -<p>I slid the metal button in my pocket and left the barracks at a run. -Back in the visiscreen room, I snapped to the operator:</p> - -<p>"Turn it on!"</p> - -<p>The kite car swam into view in the screen above the instrument panel. -I stared with open eyes. Jimmy Baker no longer was in the car, nor -was Xartal, the Martian. Grannie Annie was there, but seated at the -controls was Antlers Park, the manager of Interstellar Voice.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Ezra Karn jabbed my elbow. "Grannie's coming back. I thought she'd be -getting sick of this blamed moon."</p> - -<p>It didn't make sense. In all the years I'd known Annabella C. Flowers, -never yet had I seen her desert a case until she had woven the clues -and facts to a logical conclusion.</p> - -<p>"Ezra," I said, "we're going to drive out and meet them. There's -something screwy here."</p> - -<p>Ten minutes later in another kite car we were driving at a fast clip -through the powdery sands of the Baldric. And before long we saw -another car approaching.</p> - -<p>It was Grannie. As the car drew up alongside I saw her sitting in her -prim way next to Antlers Park. Park said:</p> - -<p>"We left the others at the mine. Miss Flowers is going back with me to -my offices to help me improve the formula for that new antitoxin."</p> - -<p>He waved his hand, and the car moved off. I watched it as it sped -across the desert, and a growing suspicion began to form in my mind. -Then, like a knife thrust, the truth struck me.</p> - -<p>"Ezra!" I yelled, swinging the car. "That wasn't Grannie! <i>That was one -of those damned cockatoo images.</i> We've got to catch him."</p> - -<p>The other car was some distance ahead now. Park looked back and saw us -following. He did something to the kite wire, and his car leaped ahead.</p> - -<p>I threw the speed indicator hard over. Our kite was a huge box affair -with a steady powerful pull to the connecting wire. Park's vehicle -was drawn by a flat triangular kite that dove and fluttered with each -variance of the wind. Steadily we began to close in.</p> - -<p>The manager of Interstellar Voice turned again, and something glinted -in his hand. There was a flash of purple flame, and a round hole -appeared in our windscreen inches above Karn's head.</p> - -<p>"Heat gun!" Ezra yelled.</p> - -<p>Now we were rocketing over the sand dunes, winding in and out between -the flagpole trees. I had to catch that car I told myself. Grannie -Annie's very life might be at stake, not to mention the lives of -hundreds of mine workers. Again Park took aim and again a hole -shattered our windscreen.</p> - -<p>The wind shifted and blew from another quarter. The box kite soared, -but the triangular kite faltered. Taking advantage of Park's loss of -speed, I raced alongside.</p> - -<p>The I. V. manager lifted his weapon frantically. But before he could -use it a third time, Ezra Karn had whipped a lariat from his belt and -sent it coiling across the intervening space.</p> - -<p>The thong yanked tight about the manager's throat. Park did the only -thing he could do. He shut off power, and the two cars coasted to a -halt. Then I was across in the other seat, wrenching the weapon free -from his grasp.</p> - -<p>"What have you done with Miss Flowers?" I demanded.</p> - -<p>The manager's eyes glittered with fear as he saw my finger tense on the -trigger. Weakly he lifted an arm and pointed to the northwest.</p> - -<p>"Val-ley. Thir-ty miles. Entrance hidden by wall of ... flagpole trees."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>I leaped into the driver's seat and gave the kite its head. And now the -country began to undergo a subtle change. The trees seemed to group -themselves in a long flanking corridor in a northwesterly direction, as -if to hide some secret that lay beyond. Twice I attempted to penetrate -that wall, only to find my way blocked by those curious growths.</p> - -<p>Then a corridor opened before me; a mile forward and the desert began -again. But it was a new desert this time: the sand packed hard as -granite, the way ahead utterly devoid of vegetation. In the distance -black bulging hills extended to right and left, with a narrow chasm or -doorway between.</p> - -<p>I headed for that entrance, and when I reached it, I shut off power -with an exclamation of astonishment.</p> - -<p>There was a huge chair-shaped rock there, and seated upon it was -Grannie Annie. She had a tablet in her hands, and she was writing.</p> - -<p>"Grannie!" I yelled. "What're you doing here? Where's Mr. Baker?"</p> - -<p>She rose to her feet and clambered down the rock.</p> - -<p>"Getting back Jimmy's mine laborers," she said, a twinkle in her eyes. -"I see you've got Antlers Park. I'm glad of that. It saves me a lot of -trouble." She took off her spectacles and wiped them on her sleeve. -"Don't look so fuddled, Billy-boy. Come along, and I'll show you."</p> - -<p>She led the way through the narrow passage into the valley. A deep -gorge, it was, with the black sheer cliffs on either side pressing -close. Ten feet forward, I stopped short, staring in amazement.</p> - -<p>Advancing toward me like a column of infantry came a long line of -Larynx miners. They walked slowly, looking straight ahead, moving down -the center of the gorge toward the entrance.</p> - -<p>But there was more! A kite car was drawn up to the side. The windscreen -had been removed, and mounted on the hood was a large bullet-like -contrivance that looked not unlike a search lamp. A blinding shaft of -bluish radiance spewed from its open end. Playing it back and forth -upon the marching men were Jimmy Baker and Xartal, the Martian.</p> - -<p>"Ultra violet," Grannie Annie explained. "The opposite end of the -vibratory scale and the only thing that will combat the infra-red rays -that cause red spot fever. Those men won't stop walking until they've -reached Shaft Four."</p> - -<p>Grannie Annie told her story during the long ride back to Shaft Four. -We drove slowly, keeping the line of marching Larynx miners always -ahead of us.</p> - -<p>Jimmy Baker had struck a new big lode of Acoustix, a lode which if -worked successfully would see <i>Larynx Incorporated</i> become a far more -powerful exporting concern than <i>Interstellar Voice</i>. Antlers Park -didn't want that.</p> - -<p>It was he or his agents who placed those lens buttons in the Larynx -barracks. <i>For he knew that just as Jupiter's great spot was -responsible for a climate and atmosphere suitable for an Earthman on -this Eighth Moon, so also was that spot a deadly power in itself, -capable when its rays were concentrated of causing a fatal sickness.</i></p> - -<p>Then suddenly becoming fearful of Grannie's prying, Antlers Park strove -to head her off before she reached Shaft Four.</p> - -<p>He did head her off and managed to lure her and Baker and Xartal into -the Shaft barracks where they would be exposed to the rays from the -lens button. But Grannie only pretended to contract the plague.</p> - -<p>Park then attempted to outwit Ezra Karn and me by returning in Jimmy -Baker's kite car with a cockatoo image of Grannie.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>I listened to all this in silence. "But," I said when she had finished, -"how did Park manage to have that image created and why did the mine -laborers walk out into the Baldric when they contracted the fever?"</p> - -<p>Grannie Annie frowned. "I'm not sure I can answer the first of those -questions," she replied. "You must remember Antlers Park has been on -this moon five years and during that time he must have acquainted -himself with many of its secrets. Probably he learned long ago just -what to do to make a cockatoo create a mental image.</p> - -<p>"As for the men going out into the Baldric, that was more of Park's -diabolical work. In the walls of the barracks besides those lens -buttons were also miniature electro-hypnotic plates, with the master -controlling unit located in that valley. Park knew that when the miners -were in a drugged condition from the effects of the fever they would -be susceptible to the machine's lure.... And now, Billy-boy, are you -coming with me?"</p> - -<p>"Coming with you?" I repeated. "Where?"</p> - -<p>The old lady lit a cigarette. "Pluto maybe," she said. "There's a penal -colony there, you know, and that ought to tie in nicely with a new -crime story. I can see it now ... prison break, stolen rocket ship, -fugitives lurking in the interplanetary lanes...."</p> - -<p>"Grannie," I laughed. "You're incorrigible!"</p> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Double Trouble, by Carl Jacobi - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DOUBLE TROUBLE *** - -***** This file should be named 63442-h.htm or 63442-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/3/4/4/63442/ - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Double Trouble - -Author: Carl Jacobi - -Release Date: October 12, 2020 [EBook #63442] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DOUBLE TROUBLE *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - - DOUBLE TROUBLE - - by CARL JACOBI - - Grannie Annie, that waspish science-fiction - writer, was in a jam again. What with red-spot - fever, talking cockatoos and flagpole trees, - I was running in circles--especially since - Grannie became twins every now and then. - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Planet Stories Spring 1945. - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - -We had left the offices of _Interstellar Voice_ three days ago, Earth -time, and now as the immense disc of Jupiter flamed across the sky, -entered the outer limits of the Baldric. Grannie Annie strode in the -lead, her absurd long-skirted black dress looking as out of place in -this desert as the trees. - -Flagpole trees. They rose straight up like enormous cat-tails, with -only a melon-shaped protuberance at the top to show they were a form of -vegetation. Everything else was blanketed by the sand and the powerful -wind that blew from all quarters. - -As we reached the first of those trees, Grannie came to a halt. - -"This is the Baldric all right. If my calculations are right, we've hit -it at its narrowest spot." - -Ezra Karn took a greasy pipe from his lips and spat. "It looks like the -rest of this God-forsaken moon," he said, "'ceptin for them sticks." - -Xartal, the Martian illustrator, said nothing. He was like that, -taciturn, speaking only when spoken to. - -He could be excused this time, however, for this was only our third day -on Jupiter's Eighth Moon, and the country was still strange to us. - - * * * * * - -When Annabella C. Flowers, that renowned writer of science fiction, -visiphoned me at Crater City, Mars, to meet her here, I had thought she -was crazy. But Miss Flowers, known to her friends as Grannie Annie, -had always been mildly crazy. If you haven't read her books, you've -missed something. She's the author of _Lady of the Green Flames_, -_Lady of the Runaway Planet_, _Lady of the Crimson Space-Beast_, and -other works of science fiction. Blood-and-thunder as these books are, -however, they have one redeeming feature--authenticity of background. -Grannie Annie was the original research digger-upper, and when she -laid the setting of a yarn on a star of the sixth magnitude, only a -transportation-velocity of less than light could prevent her from -visiting her "stage" in person. - -Therefore when she asked me to meet her at the landing field of -_Interstellar Voice_ on Jupiter's Eighth Moon, I knew she had another -novel in the state of embryo. - -What I didn't expect was Ezra Karn. He was an old prospector Grannie -had met, and he had become so attached to the authoress he now followed -her wherever she went. As for Xartal, he was a Martian and was slated -to do the illustrations for Grannie's new book. - -Five minutes after my ship had blasted down, the four of us met in the -offices of _Interstellar Voice_. And then I was shaking hands with -Antlers Park, the manager of I. V. himself. - -"Glad to meet you," he said cordially. "I've just been trying to -persuade Miss Flowers not to attempt a trip into the Baldric." - -"What's the Baldric?" I had asked. - -Antlers Park flicked the ash from his cheroot and shrugged. - -"Will you believe me, sir," he said, "when I tell you I've been out -here on this forsaken moon five years and don't rightly know myself?" - -I scowled at that; it didn't make sense. - -"However, as you perhaps know, the only reason for colonial activities -here at all is because of the presence of an ore known as Acoustix. -It's no use to the people of Earth but of untold value on Mars. I'm -not up on the scientific reasons, but it seems that life on the red -planet has developed with a supersonic method of vocal communication. -The Martian speaks as the Earthman does, but he amplifies his thoughts' -transmission by way of wave lengths as high as three million vibrations -per second. The trouble is that by the time the average Martian reaches -middle age, his ability to produce those vibrations steadily decreases. -Then it was found that this ore, Acoustix, revitalized their sounding -apparatus, and the rush was on." - -"What do you mean?" - -Park leaned back. "The rush to find more of the ore," he explained. -"But up until now this moon is the only place where it can be found. - -"There are two companies here," he continued, "_Interstellar Voice_ -and _Larynx Incorporated_. Chap by the name of Jimmy Baker runs that. -However, the point is, between the properties of these two companies -stretches a band or belt which has become known as the Baldric. - -"There are two principal forms of life in the Baldric; flagpole trees -and a species of ornithoid resembling cockatoos. So far no one has -crossed the Baldric without trouble." - -"What sort of trouble?" Grannie Annie had demanded. And when Antlers -Park stuttered evasively, the old lady snorted, "Fiddlesticks, I never -saw trouble yet that couldn't be explained. We leave in an hour." - - * * * * * - -So now here we were at the outer reaches of the Baldric, four travelers -on foot with only the barest necessities in the way of equipment and -supplies. - -I walked forward to get a closer view of one of the flagpole trees. And -then abruptly I saw something else. - -A queer-looking bird squatted there in the sand, looking up at me. -Silver in plumage, it resembled a parrot with a crest; and yet it -didn't. In some strange way the thing was a hideous caricature. - -"Look what I found," I yelled. - -"What I found," said the cockatoo in a very human voice. - -"Thunder, it talks," I said amazed. - -"Talks," repeated the bird, blinking its eyes. - -The cockatoo repeated my last statement again, then rose on its short -legs, flapped its wings once and soared off into the sky. Xartal, -the Martian illustrator, already had a notebook in his hands and was -sketching a likeness of the creature. - -Ten minutes later we were on the move again. We saw more silver -cockatoos and more flagpole trees. Above us, the great disc of Jupiter -began to descend toward the horizon. - -And then all at once Grannie stopped again, this time at the top of a -high ridge. She shielded her eyes and stared off into the plain we had -just crossed. - -"Billy-boy," she said to me in a strange voice, "look down there and -tell me what you see." - -I followed the direction of her hand and a shock went through me from -head to foot. Down there, slowly toiling across the sand, advanced a -party of four persons. In the lead was a little old lady in a black -dress. Behind her strode a grizzled Earth man in a flop-brimmed hat, -another Earth man, and a Martian. - -_Detail for detail they were a duplicate of ourselves!_ - -"A mirage!" said Ezra Karn. - -But it wasn't a mirage. As the party came closer, we could see that -their lips were moving, and their voices became audible. I listened in -awe. The duplicate of myself was talking to the duplicate of Grannie -Annie, and she was replying in the most natural way. - -Steadily the four travelers approached. Then, when a dozen yards away, -they suddenly faded like a negative exposed to light and disappeared. - -"What do you make of it?" I said in a hushed voice. - -Grannie shook her head. "Might be a form of mass hypnosis superinduced -by some chemical radiations," she replied. "Whatever it is, we'd better -watch our step. There's no telling what might lie ahead." - -We walked after that with taut nerves and watchful eyes, but we saw no -repetition of the "mirage." The wind continued to blow ceaselessly, and -the sand seemed to grow more and more powdery. - -For some time I had fixed my gaze on a dot in the sky which I supposed -to be a high-flying cockatoo. As that dot continued to move across the -heavens in a single direction, I called Grannie's attention to it. - -"It's a kite," she nodded. "There should be a car attached to it -somewhere." - -She offered no further explanation, but a quarter of an hour later as -we topped another rise a curious elliptical car with a long slanting -windscreen came into view. Attached to its hood was a taut wire which -slanted up into the sky to connect with the kite. - -A man was driving and when he saw us, he waved. Five minutes later -Grannie was shaking his hand vigorously and mumbling introductions. - -"This is Jimmy Baker," she said. "He manages _Larynx Incorporated_, and -he's the real reason we're here." - -I decided I liked Baker the moment I saw him. In his middle thirties, -he was tall and lean, with pleasant blue eyes which even his sand -goggles could not conceal. - -"I can't tell you how glad I am you're here, Grannie," he said. "If -anybody can help me, you can." - -Grannie's eyes glittered. "Trouble with the mine laborers?" she -questioned. - - * * * * * - -Jimmy Baker nodded. He told his story over the roar of the wind as we -headed back across the desert. Occasionally he touched a stud on an -electric windlass to which the kite wire was attached. Apparently these -adjustments moved planes or fins on the kite and accounted for the -car's ability to move in any direction. - -"If I weren't a realist, I'd say that _Larynx Incorporated_ has been -bewitched," he began slowly. "We pay our men high wages and give them -excellent living conditions with a vacation on Callisto every year. -Up until a short time ago most of them were in excellent health and -spirits. Then the Red Spot Fever got them." - -"Red Spot Fever?" Grannie looked at him curiously. - -Jimmy Baker nodded. "The first symptoms are a tendency to garrulousness -on the part of the patient. Then they disappear." - -He paused to make an adjustment of the windlass. - -"They walk out into the Baldric," he continued, "and nothing can stop -them. We tried following them, of course, but it was no go. As soon as -they realize they're being followed, they stop. But the moment our eyes -are turned, they give us the slip." - -"But surely you must have some idea of where they go," Grannie said. - -Baker lit a cigarette. "There's all kinds of rumors," he replied, "but -none of them will hold water. By the way, there's a cockatoo eyrie -ahead of us." - -I followed his gaze and saw a curious structure suspended between -a rude circle of flagpole trees. A strange web-like formation of -translucent gauzy material, it was. Fully two hundred cockatoos were -perched upon it. They watched us with their mild eyes as we passed, but -they didn't move. - -After that we were rolling up the driveway that led to the offices of -_Larynx Incorporated_. As Jimmy Baker led the way up the inclined ramp, -a door in the central building opened, and a man emerged. His face was -drawn. - -"Mr. Baker," he said breathlessly, "seventy-five workers at Shaft Four -have headed out into the Baldric." - -Baker dropped his cigarette and ground his heel on it savagely. - -"Shaft Four, eh?" he repeated. "That's our principal mine. If the fever -spreads there, I'm licked." - -He motioned us into his office and strode across to a desk. Silent -Xartal, the Martian illustrator, took a chair in a corner and got his -notebook out, sketching the room's interior. Grannie Annie remained -standing. - -Presently the old lady walked across to the desk and helped herself to -the bottle of Martian whiskey there. - -"There must be ways of stopping this," she said. "Have you called in -any physicians? Why don't you call an enforced vacation and send the -men away until the plague has died down?" - -Baker shook his head. "Three doctors from Callisto were here last -month. They were as much at loss as I am. As for sending the men away, -I may have to do that, but when I do, it means quits. Our company is -chartered with Spacolonial, and you know what that means. Failure -to produce during a period of thirty days or more, and you lose all -rights." - -A visiphone bell sounded, and Baker walked across to the instrument. A -man's face formed in the vision plate. Baker listened, said "Okay" and -threw off the switch. - -"The entire crew of Shaft Four have gone out into the Baldric," he said -slowly. There was a large map hanging on the wall back of Baker's desk. -Grannie Annie walked across to it and began to study its markings. - -"Shaft Four is at the outer edge of the Baldric at a point where that -corridor is at its widest," she said. - -Baker looked up. "That's right. We only began operations there a -comparatively short time ago. Struck a rich vein of Acoustix that -runs deep in. If that vein holds out, we'll double the output of -_Interstellar Voice_, our rival, in a year." - -Grannie nodded. "I think you and I and Xartal had better take a run up -there," she said. "But first I want to see your laboratory." - -There was no refusing her. Jimmy Baker led the way down to a lower -level where a huge laboratory and experimental shop ran the length -of the building. Grannie seized a light weight carry-case and began -dropping articles into it. A pontocated glass lens, three or four -Wellington radite bulbs, each with a spectroscopic filament, a small -dynamo that would operate on a kite windlass, and a quantity of wire -and other items. - -The kite car was brought out again, and the old woman, Baker and the -Martian took their places in it. Then Jimmy waved, and the car began to -roll down the ramp. - - * * * * * - -Not until they had vanished in the desert haze did I sense the -loneliness of this outpost. With that loneliness came a sudden sense of -foreboding. Had I been a fool to let Grannie go? I thought of her, an -old woman who should be in a rocking chair, knitting socks. If anything -happened to Annabella C. Flowers, I would never forgive myself and -neither would her millions of readers. - -Ezra Karn and I went back into the office. The old prospector chuckled. - -"Dang human dynamo. Got more energy than a runaway comet." - -A connecting door on the far side of the office opened onto a long -corridor which ended at a staircase. - -"Let's look around," I said. - -We passed down the corridor and climbed the staircase to the second -floor. Here were the general offices of _Larynx Incorporated_, and -through glass doors I could see clerks busy with counting machines and -report tapes. In another chamber the extremely light Acoustix ore was -being packed into big cases and marked for shipment. At the far end a -door to a small room stood open. Inside a young man was tilted back in -a swivel chair before a complicated instrument panel. - -"C'mon in," he said, seeing us. "If you want a look at your friends, -here they are." - -He flicked a stud, and the entire wall above the panel underwent a -slow change of colors. Those colors whirled kaleidescopically, then -coalesced into a three-dimensional scene. - -It was a scene of a rapidly unfolding desert country as seen from the -rear of a kite car. Directly behind the windscreen, backs turned to me, -were Jimmy Baker, Grannie, and Xartal. It was as if I were standing -directly behind them. - -"It's Mr. Baker's own invention," the operator said. "An improvement on -the visiphone." - -"Do you mean to say you can follow the movements of that car and its -passengers wherever it goes? Can you hear them talk too?" - -"Sure." The operator turned another dial, and Grannie's falsetto voice -entered the room. It stopped abruptly. "The machine uses a lot of -power," the operator said, "and as yet we haven't got much." - -The cloud of anxiety which had wrapped itself about me disappeared -somewhat as I viewed this device. At least I could now keep myself -posted of Grannie's movements. - -Karn and I went down to the commissary where we ate our supper. When -we returned to Jimmy Baker's office, the visiphone bell was ringing. -I went over to it and turned it on, and to my surprise the face of -Antlers Park flashed on the screen. - -"Hello," he said in his friendly way. "I see you arrived all right. Is -Miss Flowers there?" - -"Miss Flowers left with Mr. Baker for Shaft Four," I said. "There's -trouble up there. Red spot fever." - -"Fever, eh?" repeated Park. "That's a shame. Is there anything I can -do?" - -"Tell me," I said, "has your company had any trouble with this plague?" - -"A little. But up until yesterday the fever's been confined to the -other side of the Baldric. We had one partial case, but my chemists -gave the chap an antitoxin that seems to have worked. Come to think of -it, I might drive over to Shaft Four and give Jimmy Baker the formula. -I haven't been out in the Baldric for years, but if you didn't have any -trouble, I shouldn't either." - -We exchanged a few more pleasantries, and then he rang off. In exactly -an hour I went upstairs to the visiscreen room. - -Then once more I was directly behind my friends, listening in on their -conversation. The view through the windscreen showed an irregular array -of flagpole trees, with the sky dotted by high-flying cockatoos. - -"There's an eyrie over there," Jimmy Baker was saying. "We might as -well camp beside it." - - * * * * * - -Moments later a rude circle of flagpole trees loomed ahead. Across the -top of them was stretched a translucent web. Jimmy and Grannie got out -of the car and began making camp. Xartal remained in his seat. He was -drawing pictures on large pieces of pasteboard, and as I stood there in -the visiscreen room, I watched him. - -There was no doubt about it, the Martian was clever. He would make -a few rapid lines on one of the pasteboards, rub it a little to get -the proper shading and then go on to the next. In swift rotation -likenesses of Ezra Karn, of myself, of Jimmy Baker, and of Antlers Park -took form. - -Ezra spoke over my shoulder. "He's doing scenes for Grannie's new -book," he said. "The old lady figures on using the events here for a -plot. _Look at that damned nosy bird!_" - -A silver cockatoo had alighted on the kite car and was surveying -curiously Xartal's work. As each drawing was completed, the bird -scanned it with rapt attention. Abruptly it flew to the top of the -eyrie, where it seemed to be having a consultation with its bird -companions. - -And then abruptly it happened. The cockatoos took off in mass flight. A -group of Earth people suddenly materialized on the eyrie, talking and -moving about as if it were the most natural thing in the world. - -With a shock I saw the likeness of myself; I saw Ezra Karn; and I saw -the image of Jimmy Baker. - -The _real_ Jimmy Baker stood next to Grannie, staring up at this -incredible mirage. Grannie let out a whoop. "I've got it!" she said. -"Those things we see up there are nothing more than mental images. -They're Xartal's drawings!" - - * * * * * - -"Don't you see," the lady continued. "Everything that Xartal put on -paper has been seen by one or more of these cockatoos. The cockatoos -are like Earth parrots all right, but not only have they the power -of copying speech, they also have the ability to recreate a mental -image of what they have seen. In other words their brains form a -powerful photographic impression of the object. That impression is -then transmitted simultaneously in telepathic wavelengths to common -foci. That eyrie might be likened to a cinema screen, receiving brain -vibrations from a hundred different sources that blend into the light -field to form what are apparently three-dimensional images." - -The Larynx manager nodded slowly. "I see," he said. "But why don't the -birds reconstruct images from the actual person. Why use drawings?" - -"Probably because the drawings are exaggerated in certain details and -made a greater impression on their brains," Grannie replied. - -Up on the eyrie a strange performance was taking place. The duplicate -of Grannie Annie was bowing to the duplicate of Jimmy Baker, and the -image of Ezra Karn was playing leap frog with the image of Antlers Park. - -Then abruptly the screen before me blurred and went blank. - -"Sorry," the operator said. "I've used too much power already. Have to -give the generators a chance to build it up again." - -Nodding, I turned and motioned to Karn. We went back downstairs. - -"That explains something at any rate," the old prospector said. "But -how about that Red spot fever?" - -On Jimmy Baker's desk was a large file marked: FEVER VICTIMS. I opened -it and found it contained the case histories of those men who had been -attacked by the strange malady. - -Reading them over, I was struck by one detail. Each patient had -received the first symptoms, not while working in the mines, but while -sleeping or lounging in the barracks. - -Five minutes later Karn and I were striding down a white ramp that -led to the nearest barracks. The building came into sight, a low -rectangular structure, dome-roofed to withstand the violent winds. - -Inside double tiers of bunks stretched along either wall. In those -bunks some thirty men lay sleeping. - -The far wall was taken up by a huge window of denvo-quartz. As I stood -there, something suddenly caught Ezra Karn's eye. He began to walk -toward that window. - -"Look here," he said. - -Six feet up on that window a small almost imperceptible button of dull -metal had been wedged into an aperture cut in the quartz. The central -part of the button appeared to be a powerful lens of some kind, and as -I seized it and pulled it loose, I felt the hum of tiny clock work. - -All at once I had it! Red spot fever. Heat fever from the infra-red -rays of Jupiter's great spot. Someone had constructed this lens to -concentrate and amplify the power of those rays. The internal clockwork -served a double purpose. It opened a shutter, and it rotated the lens -slowly so that it played for a time on each of the sleeping men. - -I slid the metal button in my pocket and left the barracks at a run. -Back in the visiscreen room, I snapped to the operator: - -"Turn it on!" - -The kite car swam into view in the screen above the instrument panel. -I stared with open eyes. Jimmy Baker no longer was in the car, nor -was Xartal, the Martian. Grannie Annie was there, but seated at the -controls was Antlers Park, the manager of Interstellar Voice. - - * * * * * - -Ezra Karn jabbed my elbow. "Grannie's coming back. I thought she'd be -getting sick of this blamed moon." - -It didn't make sense. In all the years I'd known Annabella C. Flowers, -never yet had I seen her desert a case until she had woven the clues -and facts to a logical conclusion. - -"Ezra," I said, "we're going to drive out and meet them. There's -something screwy here." - -Ten minutes later in another kite car we were driving at a fast clip -through the powdery sands of the Baldric. And before long we saw -another car approaching. - -It was Grannie. As the car drew up alongside I saw her sitting in her -prim way next to Antlers Park. Park said: - -"We left the others at the mine. Miss Flowers is going back with me to -my offices to help me improve the formula for that new antitoxin." - -He waved his hand, and the car moved off. I watched it as it sped -across the desert, and a growing suspicion began to form in my mind. -Then, like a knife thrust, the truth struck me. - -"Ezra!" I yelled, swinging the car. "That wasn't Grannie! _That was one -of those damned cockatoo images._ We've got to catch him." - -The other car was some distance ahead now. Park looked back and saw us -following. He did something to the kite wire, and his car leaped ahead. - -I threw the speed indicator hard over. Our kite was a huge box affair -with a steady powerful pull to the connecting wire. Park's vehicle -was drawn by a flat triangular kite that dove and fluttered with each -variance of the wind. Steadily we began to close in. - -The manager of Interstellar Voice turned again, and something glinted -in his hand. There was a flash of purple flame, and a round hole -appeared in our windscreen inches above Karn's head. - -"Heat gun!" Ezra yelled. - -Now we were rocketing over the sand dunes, winding in and out between -the flagpole trees. I had to catch that car I told myself. Grannie -Annie's very life might be at stake, not to mention the lives of -hundreds of mine workers. Again Park took aim and again a hole -shattered our windscreen. - -The wind shifted and blew from another quarter. The box kite soared, -but the triangular kite faltered. Taking advantage of Park's loss of -speed, I raced alongside. - -The I. V. manager lifted his weapon frantically. But before he could -use it a third time, Ezra Karn had whipped a lariat from his belt and -sent it coiling across the intervening space. - -The thong yanked tight about the manager's throat. Park did the only -thing he could do. He shut off power, and the two cars coasted to a -halt. Then I was across in the other seat, wrenching the weapon free -from his grasp. - -"What have you done with Miss Flowers?" I demanded. - -The manager's eyes glittered with fear as he saw my finger tense on the -trigger. Weakly he lifted an arm and pointed to the northwest. - -"Val-ley. Thir-ty miles. Entrance hidden by wall of ... flagpole trees." - - * * * * * - -I leaped into the driver's seat and gave the kite its head. And now the -country began to undergo a subtle change. The trees seemed to group -themselves in a long flanking corridor in a northwesterly direction, as -if to hide some secret that lay beyond. Twice I attempted to penetrate -that wall, only to find my way blocked by those curious growths. - -Then a corridor opened before me; a mile forward and the desert began -again. But it was a new desert this time: the sand packed hard as -granite, the way ahead utterly devoid of vegetation. In the distance -black bulging hills extended to right and left, with a narrow chasm or -doorway between. - -I headed for that entrance, and when I reached it, I shut off power -with an exclamation of astonishment. - -There was a huge chair-shaped rock there, and seated upon it was -Grannie Annie. She had a tablet in her hands, and she was writing. - -"Grannie!" I yelled. "What're you doing here? Where's Mr. Baker?" - -She rose to her feet and clambered down the rock. - -"Getting back Jimmy's mine laborers," she said, a twinkle in her eyes. -"I see you've got Antlers Park. I'm glad of that. It saves me a lot of -trouble." She took off her spectacles and wiped them on her sleeve. -"Don't look so fuddled, Billy-boy. Come along, and I'll show you." - -She led the way through the narrow passage into the valley. A deep -gorge, it was, with the black sheer cliffs on either side pressing -close. Ten feet forward, I stopped short, staring in amazement. - -Advancing toward me like a column of infantry came a long line of -Larynx miners. They walked slowly, looking straight ahead, moving down -the center of the gorge toward the entrance. - -But there was more! A kite car was drawn up to the side. The windscreen -had been removed, and mounted on the hood was a large bullet-like -contrivance that looked not unlike a search lamp. A blinding shaft of -bluish radiance spewed from its open end. Playing it back and forth -upon the marching men were Jimmy Baker and Xartal, the Martian. - -"Ultra violet," Grannie Annie explained. "The opposite end of the -vibratory scale and the only thing that will combat the infra-red rays -that cause red spot fever. Those men won't stop walking until they've -reached Shaft Four." - -Grannie Annie told her story during the long ride back to Shaft Four. -We drove slowly, keeping the line of marching Larynx miners always -ahead of us. - -Jimmy Baker had struck a new big lode of Acoustix, a lode which if -worked successfully would see _Larynx Incorporated_ become a far more -powerful exporting concern than _Interstellar Voice_. Antlers Park -didn't want that. - -It was he or his agents who placed those lens buttons in the Larynx -barracks. _For he knew that just as Jupiter's great spot was -responsible for a climate and atmosphere suitable for an Earthman on -this Eighth Moon, so also was that spot a deadly power in itself, -capable when its rays were concentrated of causing a fatal sickness._ - -Then suddenly becoming fearful of Grannie's prying, Antlers Park strove -to head her off before she reached Shaft Four. - -He did head her off and managed to lure her and Baker and Xartal into -the Shaft barracks where they would be exposed to the rays from the -lens button. But Grannie only pretended to contract the plague. - -Park then attempted to outwit Ezra Karn and me by returning in Jimmy -Baker's kite car with a cockatoo image of Grannie. - - * * * * * - -I listened to all this in silence. "But," I said when she had finished, -"how did Park manage to have that image created and why did the mine -laborers walk out into the Baldric when they contracted the fever?" - -Grannie Annie frowned. "I'm not sure I can answer the first of those -questions," she replied. "You must remember Antlers Park has been on -this moon five years and during that time he must have acquainted -himself with many of its secrets. Probably he learned long ago just -what to do to make a cockatoo create a mental image. - -"As for the men going out into the Baldric, that was more of Park's -diabolical work. In the walls of the barracks besides those lens -buttons were also miniature electro-hypnotic plates, with the master -controlling unit located in that valley. Park knew that when the miners -were in a drugged condition from the effects of the fever they would -be susceptible to the machine's lure.... And now, Billy-boy, are you -coming with me?" - -"Coming with you?" I repeated. "Where?" - -The old lady lit a cigarette. "Pluto maybe," she said. "There's a penal -colony there, you know, and that ought to tie in nicely with a new -crime story. I can see it now ... prison break, stolen rocket ship, -fugitives lurking in the interplanetary lanes...." - -"Grannie," I laughed. 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