diff options
| author | nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org> | 2025-02-04 09:16:27 -0800 |
|---|---|---|
| committer | nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org> | 2025-02-04 09:16:27 -0800 |
| commit | 39700fbcdd5bc58db84bad65ef94ef3b765674e1 (patch) | |
| tree | cf92d617cf026ccfecb213ff62c850afebd2ae09 | |
| parent | b48e809ebb3953c3d4b44ad6546b0fb32eeaf33d (diff) | |
| -rw-r--r-- | .gitattributes | 4 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | LICENSE.txt | 11 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | README.md | 2 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/63527-8.txt | 1248 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/63527-8.zip | bin | 23936 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/63527-h.zip | bin | 346191 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/63527-h/63527-h.htm | 1354 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/63527-h/images/cover.jpg | bin | 247121 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/63527-h/images/illus.jpg | bin | 75240 -> 0 bytes |
9 files changed, 17 insertions, 2602 deletions
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..c8823cf --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #63527 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/63527) diff --git a/old/63527-8.txt b/old/63527-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 1057cb8..0000000 --- a/old/63527-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1248 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Cosmic Yo-Yo, by Ross Rocklynne - -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: Cosmic Yo-Yo - -Author: Ross Rocklynne - -Release Date: October 22, 2020 [EBook #63527] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK COSMIC YO-YO *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - - COSMIC YO-YO - - By ROSS ROCKLYNNE - - "Want an asteroid in your backyard? We supply - 'em cheap. Trouble also handled without charge." - Interplanetary Hauling Company. (ADVT.) - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Planet Stories Summer 1945. - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - -Bob Parker, looking through the photo-amplifiers at the wedge-shaped -asteroid, was plainly flabbergasted. Not in his wildest imaginings had -he thought they would actually find what they were looking for. - -"Cut the drive!" he yelled at Queazy. "I've got it, right on the nose. -Queazy, my boy, can you imagine it? We're in the dough. Not only that, -we're rich! Come here!" - -Queazy discharged their tremendous inertia into the motive-tubes in -such a manner that the big, powerful ship was moving at the same rate -as the asteroid below--47.05 miles per second. He came slogging back -excitedly, put his eyes to the eyepiece. He gasped, and his big body -shook with joyful ejaculations. - -"She checks down to the last dimension," Bob chortled, working with -slide-rule and logarithm tables. "Now all we have to do is find out if -she's made of tungsten, iron, quartz crystals, and cinnabar! But there -couldn't be two asteroids of that shape anywhere else in the Belt, so -this has to be it!" - -He jerked a badly crumpled ethergram from his pocket, smoothed it out, -and thumbed his nose at the signature. - -"Whee! Mr. Andrew S. Burnside, you owe us five hundred and fifty -thousand dollars!" - -Queazy straightened. A slow, likeable smile wreathed his tanned face. -"Better take it easy," he advised, "until I land the ship and we use -the atomic whirl spectroscope to determine the composition of the -asteroid." - -"Have it your way," Bob Parker sang, happily. He threw the ethergram -to the winds and it fell gently to the deck-plates. While Queazy--so -called because his full name was Quentin Zuyler--dropped the ship -straight down to the smooth surface of the asteroid, and clamped it -tight with magnetic grapples, Bob flung open the lazarette, brought -out two space-suits. Moments later, they were outside the ship, with -star-powdered infinity spread to all sides. - -In the ship, the ethergram from Andrew S. Burnside, of Philadelphia, -one of the richest men in the world, still lay on the deck-plates. It -was addressed to: Mr. Robert Parker, President Interplanetary Hauling & -Moving Co., 777 Main Street, Satterfield City, Fontanaland, Mars. The -ethergram read: - - _Received your advertising literature a week ago. Would like to - state that yes I would like an asteroid in my back yard. Must meet - following specifications: 506 feet length, long enough for wedding - procession; 98 feet at base, tapering to 10 feet at apex; 9-12 - feet thick; topside smooth-plane, underside rough-plane; composed - of iron ore, tungsten, quartz crystals, and cinnabar. Must be in - my back yard before 11:30 A.M. my time, for important wedding - June 2, else order is void. Will pay $5.00 per ton._ - - * * * * * - -Bob Parker had received that ethergram three weeks ago. And if The -Interplanetary Hauling & Moving Co., hadn't been about to go on the -rocks (chiefly due to the activities of Saylor & Saylor, a rival firm) -neither Bob nor Queazy would have thought of sending an answering -ethergram to Burnside stating that they would fill the order. It -was, plainly, a hair-brained request. And yet, if by some chance -there was such a rigidly specified asteroid, their financial worries -would be over. That they had actually discovered the asteroid, using -their mass-detectors in a weight-elimination process, seemed like -an incredible stroke of luck. For there are literally millions of -asteroids in the asteroid belt, and they had been out in space only -three weeks. - -The "asteroid in your back yard" idea had been Bob Parker's originally. -Now it was a fad that was sweeping Earth, and Burnside wasn't the first -rich man who had decided to hold a wedding on top of an asteroid. -Unfortunately, other interplanetary moving companies had cashed in on -that brainstorm, chiefly the firm of the Saylor brothers--which persons -Bob Parker intended to punch in the nose some day. And would have -before this if he hadn't been lanky and tall while they were giants. -Now that he and Queazy had found the asteroid, they were desperate to -get it to its destination, for fear that the Saylor brothers might get -wind of what was going on, and try to beat them out of their profits. -Which was not so far-fetched, because the firm of Saylor & Saylor made -no pretense of being scrupulous. - -Now they scuffed along the smooth-plane topside of the asteroid, the -magnets in their shoes keeping them from stepping off into space. They -came to the broad base of the asteroid-wedge, walked over the edge and -"down" the twelve-foot thickness. Here they squatted, and Bob Parker -happily clamped the atomic-whirl spectroscope to the rough surface. -By the naked eye, they could see iron ore, quartz crystals, cinnabar, -but he had the spectroscope and there was no reason why he shouldn't -use it. He satisfied himself as to the exterior of the asteroid, and -then sent the twin beams deep into its heart. The beams crossed, tore -atoms from molecules, revolved them like an infinitely fine powder. The -radiations from the sundered molecules traveled back up the beams to -the atomic-whirl spectroscope. Bob watched a pointer which moved slowly -up and up--past tungsten, past iridium, past gold-- - -Bob Parker said, in astonishment, "Hell! There's something screwy about -this business. Look at that point--" - -Neither he nor Queazy had the opportunity to observe the pointer any -further. A cold, completely disagreeable feminine voice said, - -"May I ask what you interlopers are doing on my asteroid?" - -Bob started so badly that the spectroscope's settings were jarred and -the lights in its interior died. Bob twisted his head around as far as -he could inside the "aquarium"--the glass helmet, and found himself -looking at a space-suited girl who was standing on the edge of the -asteroid "below." - -"Ma'am," said Bob, blinking, "did you say something?" - -Queazy made a gulping sound and slowly straightened. He automatically -reached up as if he would take off his hat and twist it in his hands. - -"I said," remarked the girl, "that you should scram off of my asteroid. -And quit poking around at it with that spectroscope. I've already taken -a reading. Cinnabar, iron ore, quartz crystals, tungsten. Goodbye." - - * * * * * - -Bob's nose twitched as he adjusted his glasses, which he wore even -inside his suit. He couldn't think of anything pertinent to say. He -knew that he was slowly working up a blush. Mildly speaking, the -girl was beautiful, and though only her carefully made-up face was -visible--cool blue eyes, masterfully coiffed, upswept, glinting brown -hair, wilful lips and chin--Bob suspected the rest of her compared -nicely. - -Her expression darkened as she saw the completely instinctive way he -was looking at her and her radioed-voice rapped out, "Now you two boys -go and play somewhere else! Else I'll let the Interplanetary Commission -know you've infringed the law. G'bye!" - -She turned and disappeared. - -Bob awoke from his trance, shouted desperately, "Hey! Wait! _You!_" - -He and Queazy caught up with her on the side of the asteroid they -hadn't yet examined. It was a rough plane, completing the rigid -qualifications Burnside had set down. - -"Wait a minute," Bob Parker begged nervously. "I want to make some -conversation, lady. I'm sure you don't understand the conditions--" - -The girl turned and drew a gun from a holster. It was a spasticizer, -and it was three times as big as her gloved hand. - -"I understand conditions better than you do," she said. "You want -to move this asteroid from its orbit and haul it back to Earth. -Unfortunately, this is my home, by common law. Come back in a month. I -don't expect to be here then." - -"A month!" Parker burst the word out. He started to sweat, then his -face became grim. He took two slow steps toward the girl. She blinked -and lost her composure and unconsciously backed up two steps. About -twenty steps away was her small dumbbell-shaped ship, so shiny and -unscarred that it reflected starlight in highlights from its curved -surface. A rich girl's ship, Bob Parker thought angrily. A month would -be too late! - -He said grimly, "Don't worry. I don't intend to pull any rough stuff. -I just want you to listen to reason. You've taken a whim to stay on -an asteroid that doesn't mean anything to you one way or another. But -to us--to me and Queazy here--it means our business. We got an order -for this asteroid. Some screwball millionaire wants it for a backyard -wedding see? We get five hundred and fifty thousand dollars for it! -If we don't take this asteroid to Earth before June 2, we go back to -Satterfield City and work the rest of our lives in the glass factories. -Don't we, Queazy?" - -Queazy said simply, "That's right, miss. We're in a spot. I assure you -we didn't expect to find someone living here." - -The girl holstered her spasticizer, but her completely inhospitable -expression did not change. She put her hands on the bulging hips of her -space-suit. "Okay," she said. "Now I understand the conditions. Now we -both understand each other. G'bye again. I'm staying here and--" she -smiled sweetly "--it may interest you to know that if I let you have -the asteroid you'll save your business, but I'll meet a fate worse than -death! So that's that." - -Bob recognized finality when he saw it. "Come on, Queazy," he said -fuming. "Let this brat have her way. But if I ever run across her -without a space-suit on I'm going to give her the licking of her life, -right where it'll do the most good!" - -He turned angrily, but Queazy grabbed his arm, his mouth falling open. -He pointed off into space, beyond the girl. - -"What's that?" he whispered. - -"What's wha--_Oh!_" - -Bob Parker's stomach caved in. A few hundred feet away, floating -gently toward the asteroid, came another ship--a ship a trifle bigger -than their own. The girl turned, too. They heard her gasp. In another -second, Bob was standing next to her. He turned the audio-switch to his -headset off, and spoke to the girl by putting his helmet against hers. - -"Listen to me, miss," he snapped earnestly, when she tried to draw -away. "Don't talk by radio. That ship belongs to the Saylor brothers! -Oh, Lord, that this should happen! Somewhere along the line, we've been -double-crossed. Those boys are after this asteroid too, and they won't -hesitate to pull any rough stuff. We're in this together, understand? -We got to back each other up." - -The girl nodded dumbly. Suddenly she seemed to be frightened. -"It's--it's very important that this--this asteroid stay right where it -is," she said huskily. "What--what will they do?" - - * * * * * - -Bob Parker didn't answer. The big ship had landed, and little blue -sparks crackled between the hull and the asteroid as the magnetic -clamps took hold. A few seconds later, the airlocks swung down, and -five men let themselves down to the asteroid's surface and stood -surveying the three who faced them. - -The two men in the lead stood with their hands on their hips; their -darkish, twin faces were grinning broadly. - -"A pleasure," drawled Wally Saylor, looking at the girl. "What do you -think of this situation Billy?" - -"It's obvious," drawled Billy Saylor, rocking back and forth on his -heels, "that Bob Parker and company have double-crossed us. We'll have -to take steps." - -The three men behind the Saylor twins broke into rough, chuckling -laughter. - -Bob Parker's gorge rose. "Scram," he said coldly. "We've got an -ethergram direct from Andrew S. Burnside ordering this asteroid." - -"So have we," Wally Saylor smiled--and his smile remained fixed, -dangerous. He started moving forward, and the three men in back came -abreast, forming a semi-circle which slowly closed in. Bob Parker gave -back a step, as he saw their intentions. - -"We got here first," he snapped harshly. "Try any funny stuff and we'll -report you to the Interplanetary Commission!" - -It was Bob Parker's misfortune that he didn't carry a weapon. Each of -these men carried one or more, plainly visible. But he was thinking of -the girl's spasticizer--a paralyzing weapon. He took a hair-brained -chance, jerked the spasticizer from the girl's holster and yelled at -Queazy. Queazy got the idea, urged his immense body into motion. He -hurled straight at Billy Saylor, lifted him straight off the asteroid -and threw him away, into space. He yelled with triumph. - -At the same time, the spasticizer Bob held was shot cleanly out of his -hand by Wally Saylor. Bob roared, started toward Wally Saylor, knocked -the smoking gun from his hand with a sweeping arm. Then something -crushing seemed to hit him in the stomach, grabbing at his solar -plexus. He doubled up, gurgling with agony. He fell over on his back, -and his boots were wrenched loose from their magnetic grip. Vaguely, -before the flickering points of light in his brain subsided to complete -darkness, he heard the girl's scream of rage--then a scream of pain. - -What had happened to Queazy he didn't know. He felt so horribly sick, -he didn't care. Then--lights out. - - * * * * * - -Bob Parker came to, the emptiness of remote starlight in his face. He -opened his eyes. He was slowly revolving on an axis. Sometimes the Sun -swept across his line of vision. A cold hammering began at the base of -his skull, a sensation similar to that of being buried alive. There was -no asteroid, no girl, no Queazy. He was alone in the vastness of space. -Alone in a space-suit. - -"Queazy!" he whispered. "Queazy! I'm running out of air!" - -There was no answer from Queazy. With sick eyes, Bob studied the -oxygen indicator. There was only five pounds pressure. Five pounds! -That meant he had been floating around out here--how long? Days at -least--maybe weeks! It was evident that somebody had given him a dose -of spastic rays, enough to screw up every muscle in his body to the -snapping point, putting him in such a condition of suspended animation -that his oxygen needs were small. He closed his eyes, trying to fight -against panic. He was glad he couldn't see any part of his body. He was -probably scrawny. And he was hungry! - -"I'll starve," he thought. "Or suffocate to death first!" - -He couldn't keep himself from taking in great gulps of air. Minutes, -then hours passed. He was breathing abnormally, and there wasn't enough -air in the first place. He pleaded continually for Queazy, hoping -that somehow Queazy could help, when probably Queazy was in the same -condition. He ripped out wild curses directed at the Saylor brothers. -Murderers, both of them! Up until this time, he had merely thought of -them as business rivals. If he ever got out of this-- - -He groaned. He never would get out of it! After another hour, he was -gasping weakly, and yellow spots danced in his eyes. He called Queazy's -name once more, knowing that was the last time he would have strength -to call it. - -And this time the headset spoke back! - -Bob Parker made a gurgling sound. A voice came again, washed with -static, far away, burbling, but excited. Bob made a rattling sound in -his throat. Then his eyes started to close, but he imagined that he saw -a ship, shiny and small, driving toward him, growing in size against -the backdrop of the Milky Way. He relapsed, a terrific buzzing in his -ears. - -He did not lose consciousness. He heard voices, Queazy's and the -girl's, whoever she was. Somebody grabbed hold of his foot. His -"aquarium" was unbuckled and good air washed over his streaming face. -The sudden rush of oxygen to his brain dizzied him. Then he was lying -on a bunk, and gradually the world beyond his sick body focussed in his -clearing eyes and he knew he was alive--and going to stay that way, for -awhile anyway. - -"Thanks, Queazy," he said huskily. - -Queazy was bending over him, his anxiety clearing away from his -suddenly brightening face. - -"Don't thank me," he whispered. "We'd have both been goners if it -hadn't been for her. The Saylor brothers left her paralyzed like -us, and when she woke up she was on a slow orbit around her ship. -She unstrapped her holster and threw it away from her and it gave -her enough reaction to reach the ship. She got inside and used the -direction-finder on the telaudio and located me first. The Saylors -scattered us far and wide." Queazy's broad, normally good-humored face -twisted blackly. "The so and so's didn't care if we lived or died." - -Bob saw the girl now, standing a little behind Queazy, looking down at -him curiously, but unhappily. Her space-suit was off. She was wearing -lightly striped blue slacks and blue silk blouse and she had a paper -flower in her hair. Something in Bob's stomach caved in as his eyes -widened on her. - -The girl said glumly, "I guess you men won't much care for me when you -find out who I am and what I've done. I'm Starre Lowenthal--Andrew S. -Burnside's granddaughter!" - - * * * * * - -Bob came slowly to his feet, and matched Queazy's slowly growing anger. - -"Say that again?" he snapped. "This is some kind of dirty trick you and -your grandfather cooked up?" - -"No!" she exclaimed. "No. My grandfather didn't even know there was an -asteroid like this. But I did, long before he ordered it from you--or -from the Saylor brothers. You see--well, my granddad's about the -stubbornest old hoot-owl in this universe! He's always had his way, and -when people stand in his way, that's just a challenge to him. He's been -badgering me for years to marry Mac, and so has Mac--" - -"Who's Mac?" Queazy demanded. - -"My fiancé, I guess," she said helplessly. "He's one of my granddad's -protégés. Granddad's always financing some likely young man and giving -him a start in life. Mac has become pretty famous for his Mercurian -water-colors--he's an artist. Well, I couldn't hold out any longer. -If you knew my grandfather, you'd know how absolutely _impossible_ it -is to go against him when he's got his mind set! I was just a mass of -nerves. So I decided to trick him and I came out to the asteroid belt -and picked out an asteroid that was shaped so a wedding could take -place on it. I took the measurements and the composition, then I told -my grandfather I'd marry Mac if the wedding was in the back yard on top -of an asteroid with those measurements and made of iron ore, tungsten, -and so forth. He agreed so fast he scared me, and just to make sure -that if somebody _did_ find the asteroid in time they wouldn't be able -to get it back to Earth, I came out here and decided to live here. -Asteroids up to a certain size belong to whoever happens to be on them, -by common law.... So I had everything figured out--except," she added -bitterly, "the Saylor brothers! I guess Granddad wanted to make sure -the asteroid was delivered, so he gave the order to several companies." - -Bob swore under his breath. He went reeling across to a port, and was -gratified to see his and Queazy's big interplanetary hauler floating -only a few hundred feet away. He swung around, looked at Queazy. - -"How long were we floating around out there?" - -"Three weeks, according to the chronometer. The Saylor boys gave us a -stiff shot." - -"_Ouch!_" Bob groaned. Then he looked at Starre Lowenthal with -determination. "Miss, pardon me if I say that this deal you and your -granddad cooked up is plain screwy! With us on the butt end. But I'm -going to put this to you plainly. We can catch up with the Saylor -brothers even if they are three weeks ahead of us. The Saylor ship and -ours both travel on the HH drive--inertia-less. But the asteroid has -plenty of inertia, and so they'll have to haul it down to Earth by a -long, spiraling orbit. We can go direct and probably catch up with them -a few hundred thousand miles this side of Earth. And we can have a -fling at getting the asteroid back!" - -Her eyes sparkled. "You mean--" she cried. Then her attractive face -fell. "Oh," she said. "_Oh!_ And when you get it back, you'll land it." - -"That's right," Bob said grimly. "We're in business. For us, it's a -matter of survival. If the by-product of delivering the asteroid is -your marriage--sorry! But until we do get the asteroid back, we three -can work as a team if you're willing. We'll fight the other problem out -later. Okay?" - -She smiled tremulously. "Okay, I guess." - -Queazy looked from one to another of them. He waved his hand scornfully -at Bob. "You're plain nuts," he complained. "How do you propose to go -about convincing the Saylor brothers they ought to let us have the -asteroid back? Remember, commercial ships aren't allowed to carry -long-range weapons. And we couldn't ram the Saylor brothers' ship--not -without damaging our own ship just as much. Go ahead and answer that." - -Bob looked at Queazy dismally. "The old balance-wheel," he groaned at -Starre. "He's always pulling me up short when I go off half-cocked. All -I know is, that maybe we'll get a good idea as we go along. In the -meantime, Starre--ahem--none of us has eaten in three weeks...?" - -Starre got the idea. She smiled dazzlingly and vanished toward the -galley. - - * * * * * - -Bob Parker was in love with Starre Lowenthal. He knew that after five -days out, as the ship hurled itself at breakneck speed toward Earth; -probably that distracting emotion was the real reason he couldn't -attach any significance to Starre's dumbbell-shaped ship, which trailed -astern, attached by a long cable. - -Starre apparently knew he was in love with her, too, for on the fifth -day Bob was teaching her the mechanics of operating the hauler, and she -gently lifted his hand from a finger-switch. - -"Even _I_ know that isn't the control to the Holloway vacuum-feeder, -Bob. That switch is for the--ah--the anathern tube, you told me. Right?" - -"Right," he said unsteadily. "Anyway, Starre, as I was saying, this -ship operates according to the reverse Fitzgerald Contraction Formula. -All moving bodies contract in the line of motion. What Holloway -and Hammond did was to reverse that universal law. They caused the -contraction first--motion had to follow! The gravitonic field affects -every atom in the ship with the same speed at the same time. We could -go from zero speed to our top speed of two thousand miles a second just -like that!" - -He snapped his fingers. "No acceleration effects. This type of ship, -necessary in our business, can stop flat, back up, ease up, move in -any direction, and the passengers wouldn't have any feeling of motion -at--Oh, hell!" Bob groaned, the serious glory of her eyes making him -shake. He took her hand. "Starre," he said desperately, "I've got to -tell you something--" - -She jerked her hand away. "No," she exclaimed in an almost frightened -voice. "You can't tell me. There's--there's Mac," she finished, -faltering. "The asteroid--" - -"You _have_ to marry him?" - -Her eyes filled with tears. "I have to live up to the bargain." - -"And ruin your whole life," he ground out. Suddenly, he turned back to -the control board, quartered the vision plate. He pointed savagely to -the lower left quarter, which gave a rearward view of the dumbbell ship -trailing astern. - -"There's your ship, Starre." He jabbed his finger at it. "I've got a -feeling--and I can't put the thought into concrete words--that somehow -the whole solution of the problem of grabbing the asteroid back lies -there. But how? _How?_" - -Starre's blue eyes followed the long cable back to where it was -attached around her ship's narrow midsection. - -She shook her head helplessly. "It just looks like a big yo-yo to me." - -"A yo-yo?" - -"Yes, a yo-yo. That's all." She was belligerent. - -"A _yo-yo_!" Bob Parker yelled the word and almost hit the ceiling, he -got out of the chair so fast. "Can you imagine it! A yo-yo!" - -He disappeared from the room. "Queazy!" he shouted. "_Queazy, I've got -it!_" - - * * * * * - -It was Queazy who got into his space-suit and did the welding job, -fastening two huge supra-steel "eyes" onto the dumbbell-shaped ship's -narrow midsection. Into these eyes cables which trailed back to -two winches in the big ship's nose were inserted, welded fast, and -reinforced. - -The nose of the hauler was blunt, perfectly fitted for the job. Bob -Parker practiced and experimented for three hours with this yo-yo of -cosmic dimensions, while Starre and Queazy stood over him bursting into -strange, delighted squeals of laughter whenever the yo-yo reached the -end of its double cable and started rolling back up to the ship. Queazy -snapped his fingers. - -"It'll work!" His gray eyes showed satisfaction. "Now, if only the -Saylor brothers are where we calculated!" - -They weren't where Bob and Queazy had calculated, as they had -discovered the next day. They had expected to pick up the asteroid -on their mass-detectors a few hundred thousand miles outside of the -Moon's orbit. But now they saw the giant ship attached like a leech to -the still bigger asteroid--inside the Moon's orbit! A mere two hundred -thousand miles from Earth! - -"We have to work fast," Bob stammered, sweating. He got within -naked-eye distance of the Saylor brothers' ship. Below, Earth was -spread out, a huge crescent shape, part of the Eastern hemisphere -vaguely visible through impeding clouds and atmosphere. The enemy ship -was two miles distant, a black shadow occulting part of the brilliant -sky. It was moving along a down-spiraling path toward Earth. - -Queazy's big hand gripped his shoulder. "Go to it, Bob!" - -Bob nodded grimly. He backed the hauler up about thirty miles, then -sent it forward again, directly toward the Saylor brothers' ship at ten -miles per second. And resting on the blunt nose of the ship was the -"yo-yo." - -There was little doubt the Saylors' saw their approach. But, -scornfully, they made no attempt to evade. There was no possible harm -the oncoming ship could wreak. Or at least that was what they thought, -for Bob brought the hauler's speed down to zero--and Starre Lowenthal's -little ship, possessing its own inertia, kept on moving! - -It spun away from the hauler's blunt nose, paying out two rigid -lengths of cable behind it as it unwound, hurled itself forward like a -fantastic spinning cannon ball. - -"It's going to hit!" - -The excited cry came from Starre. But Bob swore. The dumbbell ship -reached the end of its cables, falling a bare twenty feet short of -completing its mission. It didn't stop spinning, but came winding back -up the cable, at the same terrific speed with which it had left. - - * * * * * - -Bob sweated, having only fractions of seconds in which to maneuver -for the "yo-yo" could strike a fatal blow at the hauler too. It was -ticklish work completely to nullify the "yo-yo's" speed. Bob used -exactly the same method of catching the "yo-yo" on the blunt nose of -the ship as a baseball player uses to catch a hard-driven ball in -his glove--namely, by matching the ball's speed and direction almost -exactly at the moment of impact. And now Bob's hours of practice paid -dividends, for the "yo-yo" came to rest snugly, ready to be released -again. - -All this had happened in such a short space of time that the Saylor -brothers must have had only a bare realization of what was going on. -But by the time the "yo-yo" was flung at them again, this time with -better calculations, they managed to put the firmly held asteroid -between them and the deadly missile. But it was clumsy evasion, for -the asteroid was several times as massive as the ship which was towing -it, and its inertia was great. And as soon as the little ship came -spinning back to rest, Bob flung the hauler to a new vantage point and -again the "yo-yo" snapped out. - -And this time--collision! Bob yelled as he saw the stern section of the -Saylor brothers' ship crumple like tissue paper crushed between the -hand. The dumbbell-shaped ship, smaller, and therefore stauncher due to -the principle of the arch, wound up again, wobbling a little. It had -received a mere dent in its starboard half. - -Starre was chortling with glee. Queazy whispered, "Attaboy, Bob! This -time we'll knock 'em out of the sky!" - -The "yo-yo" came to rest and at the same moment a gong rang excitedly. -Bob knew what that meant. The Saylor brothers were trying to establish -communication. - -Queazy was across the room in two running strides. He threw in the -telaudio and almost immediately, Wally Saylor's big body built up in -the plate. Wally Saylor's face was quivering with wrath. - -"What do you damned fools think you're trying to do?" he roared. -"You've crushed in our stern section. You've sliced away half of our -stern jets. Air is rushing out! You'll kill us!" - -"Now," Bob drawled, "you're getting the idea." - -"I'll inform the Interplanetary Commission!" screamed Saylor. - -"_If_ you're alive," Bob snarled wrathfully. "And you won't be unless -you release the asteroid." - -"I'll see you in Hades first!" - -"Hades," remarked Bob coldly, "here you come!" - -He snapped the hauler into its mile-a-second speed again, stopped it at -zero. And the "yo-yo" went on its lone, destructive sortie. - -For a fraction of a second Wally Saylor exhibited the countenance of a -doomed man. In the telaudio plate, he whirled, and diminished in size -with a strangled yell. - -The "yo-yo" struck again, but Bob Parker maneuvered its speed in -such a manner that it struck in the same place as before, but not as -heavily, then rebounded and came spinning back with perfect, sparkling -precision. And even before it snugged itself into its berth, it was -apparent that the Saylor brothers had given up. Like a wounded terrier, -their ship shook itself free of the asteroid, hung in black space for -a second, then vanished with a flaming puff of released gravitons from -its still-intact jets. - -The battle was won! - - * * * * * - -As soon as the hauler had grappled itself onto the prized asteroid, Bob -Parker jumped to his feet with a grin on his face as wide as the void. -Queazy grabbed his arm and pounded his shoulder. Bob shook him off, -losing his elation. - -"Cut it," he snapped. "It's too early for the glad-hand business. We've -solved one problem, but we've run into another, as we knew we would." - -He crossed determinedly to Starre, tipped up her downcast face. - -"Starre," he said, "I guess you know I love you. If I asked you to -marry me--" - -She quivered. "_Are_ you asking me, Bob?" she breathed. - -"No! Couldn't ask you to marry me unless I had money. Starre, if it was -up to me I'd drop the asteroid on the Moon, and you wouldn't have to -take a chance on marrying a man you don't love. But I'm in partnership -with Queazy and Queazy has his due--" - -Queazy intervened, his grey eyes troubled. "No," he said quietly. "Hold -on. I'll willingly forego any interest in the asteroid, Bob." - -Bob laughed. "Nuts to you, Queazy! Don't get gallant. We'll be so deep -in debt we'll never be independent again the rest of our lives if we -don't land the asteroid. Thanks, anyway." - -He took a deep breath. "Starre, you'll have to trust me. Today's the -last of May. We've got two more days before we have to fill the order. -In those two days, I think I can evolve a procedure to put all of us -in the clear--with the exception of your fiancé and your grandfather. -Which, I think, is as it should be, because these days people pick out -their own husbands and wives. In other words, a few minutes before your -wedding, the asteroid will be delivered--on schedule!" - -"I'll trust you, Bob," Starre said huskily, after a moment of quiet. -"But whatever you've got in mind, to put one over on my grandfather, -it better be good...." - - * * * * * - -For a day and a half, ship and attached asteroid pursued a slow, -unpowered orbit around Earth. For a day and a half, Bob Parker hardly -slept. He gave Queazy charge of the ship entirely, had him send an -ethergram to Andrew S. Burnside announcing that his asteroid would show -up in time for the wedding, and that the bride would be there too. - -Most of Bob's time was spent on the surface of the asteroid. He -took spectroscopic readings from every possible angle, made endless -notations on a pad. Sometimes, he worked in his cabin, and Queazy, -ambling puzzledly into Bob's presence, could make nothing of the -countless pages of calculation strewn about the room--figures which -dealt with melting points, refractive indices, atmospheric velocities. - -And finally, when Bob tore the ship and prisoned asteroid from their -orbit, sent them into Earth's atmosphere, Queazy could make nothing of -that either. - -For Bob Parker apparently had a rigid schedule to follow in reference -to the hour set for Starre's wedding. He hit the atmosphere at a -certain second, at a certain speed. He followed a definite route -through the atmosphere, slowly moving downward as he crossed the great -Asiatic continents. He passed as slowly over the Atlantic, passed above -New York City scarcely a dozen miles, and hovered over Philadelphia at -last, a mile up. - -Then he called Starre into the control room. She looked distracted, -pale. She was wearing slacks and was as completely unprepared for -her marriage as she could manage. Bob grinned, took her cold hand -affectionately. - -"We're over Philadelphia, Starre. You can point out the general section -of the city of your granddad's home and estate for me. We'll be landing -at 11:15 A.M. That's in about a half-hour. Whatever you do, -make certain you aren't--ah--married before 12 o'clock. Okay?" - -She extracted her hand from his, nodding dumbly. She sat down at the -photo-amplifiers, and for the next fifteen minutes studied the streets -below and guided him south. Then Bob dropped the ship until it was -only a few hundred feet from the ground. Around them pleasure craft -circled, and on the streets and fields below people ran excitedly, -pointing upward at the largest asteroid ever to be brought to the -planet. - -The ship labored over the fields with its tremendous burden, finally -hovered over a clearing bordered by leafy oak and sycamore trees, part -of Burnside's tremendous "back yard." There was a man with a red flag -down there. Bob followed his directions, slowly brought the asteroid, -rough side down, onto the carefully tended lawn. Then he lifted the -hauler, placed it firmly on the opposite side of the clearing. Bob -relaxed, wiped his sweating face, and felt a cool breeze as Queazy -opened the airlock. - -Minutes later, Starre Lowenthal was the center of an excited, mystified -group of wedding guests. Among them was her grandfather, a wrinkled, -well-preserved old gentleman who alternately kissed her and flew -into rages. Another man, handsome, blond, came rushing up, sweeping -everybody out of his way. He took Starre in his arms, fervently. Bob -Parker hated him at sight. - - * * * * * - -Burnside cornered Starre and some sort of an argument ensued. Starre -was insisting that she dress for the wedding, and finally her -grandfather gave in. Starre flung a final, pleading look at Bob, -and then disappeared toward the great white house with the Georgian -pillars. Most of the guests trailed after her, and Burnside came -stomping up to Bob. He thrust a slip of green paper into his hands. - -"There's your check, young man!" he puffed. "Now you can get your -greasy ship out of here. What do you mean by waiting until the last -minute to bring the asteroid?" - -Bob didn't answer. He said politely, "I'd like very much to stay for -the wedding, sir." - -The old man looked distastefully at his dirty coveralls. "You may," he -said testily. "But please view it from a distance." - -He started away, then suddenly turned back. "Would you mind telling me, -young man, how it is that my granddaughter was in your ship?" - -"I'll be glad to, sir," Bob said politely, "after the wedding. It's a -long story." - -"I've no doubt, I've no doubt," Burnside said, glaring. "But if it's -anything scandalous, I don't want to hear it. This is an important -wedding." He stomped away, limping. - -Bob whirled toward Queazy, tensely, thrust the check into his hands. He -jerked it back, hastily endorsed it and thrust it at Queazy again. - -"Cash it! Quick! I'll meet you in the Somers Hotel." - -Queazy asked no questions, but lifted the ship, and left. - -At twenty minutes of twelve, somebody having rushed Starre into a -hurried preparation for the wedding, the minister climbed a ladder -to the apex of the asteroid, and the wedding march sounded out. Bob -saw Starre, walking slowly on her grandfather's arm, her eyes looking -straight ahead. - -"Now!" Bob prayed. "_Now!_" - -He groaned inwardly. It wasn't going to happen! He'd been a fool to -think-- - -Then a yell, completely uninhibited, escaped his lips. The asteroid -was quivering, precisely like gelatine dessert. Pieces of iron ore, -tungsten, quartz and cinnabar began to fall from its sides. Little -rivulets of a silvery-white liquid gushed outward in streams. - -The wedding guests leapt to their feet with startled cries, starting -running back toward higher ground. The wedding march ended in a -clatter of discords. And Bob reached the asteroid as it went to pieces -completely. He found himself ankle-deep in rivulets of liquid metal. -He was swept off his feet, came up hanging onto a jagged boulder of -floating iron ore. He looked around on a mad scene. Screams, yells, -tangled legs. - -"_Bob!_" - -Starre's voice. Bob plunged toward her, yelling above the general -tumult. For a radius of several hundred feet, there was a sluggishly -moving liquid. People were floating on it, or standing in it -ankle-deep, dumbfounded. Bob reached Starre, swept her up in his -arms, went slushing off to the edge of the pool. Starre was laughing -uncontrollably. - -"There's a helicopter on the other side of the house," she cried. "We -can get away before they get organized." - - * * * * * - -They found Queazy in a room at the Somers Hotel. He opened the door, -and the worry on his face dissipated as he saw them. Behind him on -a table were stacks of five-thousand-dollar bills. Before he could -say anything, Starre demanded of him, "I couldn't get married on an -asteroid if the asteroid wasn't there any more, could I, Queazy? One -minute the asteroid was there and the next minute I was wading in a -metal lake." - -"Quicksilver," Bob Parker agreed happily. "The asteroid was almost -entirely frozen mercury, except for an outer solid layer of iron ore, -tungsten, quartz, cinnabar." - -"I just took exterior readings," Starre explained, sheepishly. - -"So I figured," continued Bob, "that if I took a lot of spectroscopic -readings of the interior I could determine exactly how big a mass of -frozen quicksilver there was. And how long it would take to thaw out -once it was inside Earth's atmosphere! - -"That's the reason I had things scheduled to the dot, Queazy. I coaxed -the asteroid along until the mercury was almost thawed out. When the -wedding started, it melted all at once, being the same temperature all -the way through. Satisfied?" - -Queazy looked grave. As gravely, he moved back to the table, gestured -to the money. "I hate to spoil your fun, Bob," he said slowly. "We'll -have to give this back to Burnside. He didn't ask for quicksilver, you -know." - -"Didn't he?" Bob grinned smugly. "But he asked for cinnabar, didn't he? -Wherever you find quicksilver you find cinnabar. Cinnabar is a source -of quicksilver. And vice versa. Cinnabar is a sulphide of quicksilver! -Nope, we earned that money, Queazy, my boy. It's ours legally. Hands -off!" - -He put Starre's shoe on her foot after emptying it of some more -quicksilver. She stood up then, moved very close. "You can ask me now, -can't you, Bob?" she whispered. She kissed him. "And if you do, that's -my answer." - -Which, of course, made the question totally unnecessary. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Cosmic Yo-Yo, by Ross Rocklynne - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK COSMIC YO-YO *** - -***** This file should be named 63527-8.txt or 63527-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/3/5/2/63527/ - -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. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for the eBooks, unless you receive -specific permission. If you do not charge anything for copies of this -eBook, complying with the rules is very easy. You may use this eBook -for nearly any purpose such as creation of derivative works, reports, -performances and research. They may be modified and printed and given -away--you may do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks -not protected by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the -trademark license, especially commercial redistribution. - -START: FULL LICENSE - -THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK - -To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full -Project Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at -www.gutenberg.org/license. - -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works - -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or -destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your -possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a -Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound -by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the -person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph -1.E.8. - -1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this -agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below. - -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the -Foundation" or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection -of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual -works in the collection are in the public domain in the United -States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the -United States and you are located in the United States, we do not -claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, -displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as -all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope -that you will support the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting -free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm -works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the -Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with the work. You can easily -comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the -same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg-tm License when -you share it without charge with others. - -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are -in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, -check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this -agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, -distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any -other Project Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no -representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any -country outside the United States. - -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: - -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other -immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear -prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work -on which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the -phrase "Project Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, -performed, viewed, copied or distributed: - - 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. - -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is -derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not -contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the -copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in -the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are -redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply -either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or -obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any -additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms -will be linked to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works -posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the -beginning of this work. - -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. - -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg-tm License. - -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including -any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access -to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format -other than "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official -version posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site -(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense -to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means -of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original "Plain -Vanilla ASCII" or other form. Any alternate format must include the -full Project Gutenberg-tm License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. - -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -provided that - -* You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed - to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he has - agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid - within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are - legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty - payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in - Section 4, "Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg - Literary Archive Foundation." - -* You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm - License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all - copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue - all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg-tm - works. - -* You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of - any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of - receipt of the work. - -* You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work or group of works on different terms than -are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing -from both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and The -Project Gutenberg Trademark LLC, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark. Contact the Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. - -1.F. - -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project -Gutenberg-tm collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may -contain "Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate -or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other -intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or -other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or -cannot be read by your equipment. - -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right -of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. - -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium -with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you -with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in -lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person -or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second -opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If -the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing -without further opportunities to fix the problem. - -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO -OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT -LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. - -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of -damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement -violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the -agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or -limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or -unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the -remaining provisions. - -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in -accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the -production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, -including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of -the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this -or any Project Gutenberg-tm work, (b) alteration, modification, or -additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any -Defect you cause. - -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm - -Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of -computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It -exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations -from people in all walks of life. - -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future -generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see -Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at -www.gutenberg.org - - - -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation - -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by -U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. - -The Foundation's principal office is in Fairbanks, Alaska, with the -mailing address: PO Box 750175, Fairbanks, AK 99775, but its -volunteers and employees are scattered throughout numerous -locations. Its business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, Salt -Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up to -date contact information can be found at the Foundation's web site and -official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact - -For additional contact information: - - Dr. Gregory B. Newby - Chief Executive and Director - gbnewby@pglaf.org - -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation - -Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide -spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. - -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND -DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular -state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate - -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. - -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. - -Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To -donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate - -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. - -Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project -Gutenberg-tm concept of a library of electronic works that could be -freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and -distributed Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of -volunteer support. - -Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in -the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search -facility: www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. - diff --git a/old/63527-8.zip b/old/63527-8.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 57b78a0..0000000 --- a/old/63527-8.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63527-h.zip b/old/63527-h.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 53b8531..0000000 --- a/old/63527-h.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63527-h/63527-h.htm b/old/63527-h/63527-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index 2a3b7fb..0000000 --- a/old/63527-h/63527-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1354 +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=iso-8859-1" /> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> - <title> - The Project Gutenberg eBook of Cosmic Yo-yo, by Ross Rocklynne. - </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; -} - -.blockquot { - margin-left: 5%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - - - - </style> - </head> -<body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Cosmic Yo-Yo, by Ross Rocklynne - -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: Cosmic Yo-Yo - -Author: Ross Rocklynne - -Release Date: October 22, 2020 [EBook #63527] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK COSMIC YO-YO *** - - - - -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>COSMIC YO-YO</h1> - -<h2>By ROSS ROCKLYNNE</h2> - -<p>"Want an asteroid in your backyard? We supply<br /> -cheap. Trouble also handled without charge."<br /> -Interplanetary Hauling Company. (ADVT.)</p> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br /> -Planet Stories Summer 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>Bob Parker, looking through the photo-amplifiers at the wedge-shaped -asteroid, was plainly flabbergasted. Not in his wildest imaginings had -he thought they would actually find what they were looking for.</p> - -<p>"Cut the drive!" he yelled at Queazy. "I've got it, right on the nose. -Queazy, my boy, can you imagine it? We're in the dough. Not only that, -we're rich! Come here!"</p> - -<p>Queazy discharged their tremendous inertia into the motive-tubes in -such a manner that the big, powerful ship was moving at the same rate -as the asteroid below—47.05 miles per second. He came slogging back -excitedly, put his eyes to the eyepiece. He gasped, and his big body -shook with joyful ejaculations.</p> - -<p>"She checks down to the last dimension," Bob chortled, working with -slide-rule and logarithm tables. "Now all we have to do is find out if -she's made of tungsten, iron, quartz crystals, and cinnabar! But there -couldn't be two asteroids of that shape anywhere else in the Belt, so -this has to be it!"</p> - -<p>He jerked a badly crumpled ethergram from his pocket, smoothed it out, -and thumbed his nose at the signature.</p> - -<p>"Whee! Mr. Andrew S. Burnside, you owe us five hundred and fifty -thousand dollars!"</p> - -<p>Queazy straightened. A slow, likeable smile wreathed his tanned face. -"Better take it easy," he advised, "until I land the ship and we use -the atomic whirl spectroscope to determine the composition of the -asteroid."</p> - -<p>"Have it your way," Bob Parker sang, happily. He threw the ethergram -to the winds and it fell gently to the deck-plates. While Queazy—so -called because his full name was Quentin Zuyler—dropped the ship -straight down to the smooth surface of the asteroid, and clamped it -tight with magnetic grapples, Bob flung open the lazarette, brought -out two space-suits. Moments later, they were outside the ship, with -star-powdered infinity spread to all sides.</p> - -<p>In the ship, the ethergram from Andrew S. Burnside, of Philadelphia, -one of the richest men in the world, still lay on the deck-plates. It -was addressed to: Mr. Robert Parker, President Interplanetary Hauling & -Moving Co., 777 Main Street, Satterfield City, Fontanaland, Mars. The -ethergram read:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p><i>Received your advertising literature a week ago. Would like to state -that yes I would like an asteroid in my back yard. Must meet following -specifications: 506 feet length, long enough for wedding procession; -98 feet at base, tapering to 10 feet at apex; 9-12 feet thick; topside -smooth-plane, underside rough-plane; composed of iron ore, tungsten, -quartz crystals, and cinnabar. Must be in my back yard before 11:30 -A.M. my time, for important wedding June 2, else order is void. Will -pay $5.00 per ton.</i></p></div> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Bob Parker had received that ethergram three weeks ago. And if The -Interplanetary Hauling & Moving Co., hadn't been about to go on the -rocks (chiefly due to the activities of Saylor & Saylor, a rival firm) -neither Bob nor Queazy would have thought of sending an answering -ethergram to Burnside stating that they would fill the order. It -was, plainly, a hair-brained request. And yet, if by some chance -there was such a rigidly specified asteroid, their financial worries -would be over. That they had actually discovered the asteroid, using -their mass-detectors in a weight-elimination process, seemed like -an incredible stroke of luck. For there are literally millions of -asteroids in the asteroid belt, and they had been out in space only -three weeks.</p> - -<p>The "asteroid in your back yard" idea had been Bob Parker's originally. -Now it was a fad that was sweeping Earth, and Burnside wasn't the first -rich man who had decided to hold a wedding on top of an asteroid. -Unfortunately, other interplanetary moving companies had cashed in on -that brainstorm, chiefly the firm of the Saylor brothers—which persons -Bob Parker intended to punch in the nose some day. And would have -before this if he hadn't been lanky and tall while they were giants. -Now that he and Queazy had found the asteroid, they were desperate to -get it to its destination, for fear that the Saylor brothers might get -wind of what was going on, and try to beat them out of their profits. -Which was not so far-fetched, because the firm of Saylor & Saylor made -no pretense of being scrupulous.</p> - -<p>Now they scuffed along the smooth-plane topside of the asteroid, the -magnets in their shoes keeping them from stepping off into space. They -came to the broad base of the asteroid-wedge, walked over the edge and -"down" the twelve-foot thickness. Here they squatted, and Bob Parker -happily clamped the atomic-whirl spectroscope to the rough surface. -By the naked eye, they could see iron ore, quartz crystals, cinnabar, -but he had the spectroscope and there was no reason why he shouldn't -use it. He satisfied himself as to the exterior of the asteroid, and -then sent the twin beams deep into its heart. The beams crossed, tore -atoms from molecules, revolved them like an infinitely fine powder. The -radiations from the sundered molecules traveled back up the beams to -the atomic-whirl spectroscope. Bob watched a pointer which moved slowly -up and up—past tungsten, past iridium, past gold—</p> - -<p>Bob Parker said, in astonishment, "Hell! There's something screwy about -this business. Look at that point—"</p> - -<p>Neither he nor Queazy had the opportunity to observe the pointer any -further. A cold, completely disagreeable feminine voice said,</p> - -<p>"May I ask what you interlopers are doing on my asteroid?"</p> - -<p>Bob started so badly that the spectroscope's settings were jarred and -the lights in its interior died. Bob twisted his head around as far as -he could inside the "aquarium"—the glass helmet, and found himself -looking at a space-suited girl who was standing on the edge of the -asteroid "below."</p> - -<p>"Ma'am," said Bob, blinking, "did you say something?"</p> - -<p>Queazy made a gulping sound and slowly straightened. He automatically -reached up as if he would take off his hat and twist it in his hands.</p> - -<p>"I said," remarked the girl, "that you should scram off of my asteroid. -And quit poking around at it with that spectroscope. I've already taken -a reading. Cinnabar, iron ore, quartz crystals, tungsten. Goodbye."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Bob's nose twitched as he adjusted his glasses, which he wore even -inside his suit. He couldn't think of anything pertinent to say. He -knew that he was slowly working up a blush. Mildly speaking, the -girl was beautiful, and though only her carefully made-up face was -visible—cool blue eyes, masterfully coiffed, upswept, glinting brown -hair, wilful lips and chin—Bob suspected the rest of her compared -nicely.</p> - -<p>Her expression darkened as she saw the completely instinctive way he -was looking at her and her radioed-voice rapped out, "Now you two boys -go and play somewhere else! Else I'll let the Interplanetary Commission -know you've infringed the law. G'bye!"</p> - -<p>She turned and disappeared.</p> - -<p>Bob awoke from his trance, shouted desperately, "Hey! Wait! <i>You!</i>"</p> - -<p>He and Queazy caught up with her on the side of the asteroid they -hadn't yet examined. It was a rough plane, completing the rigid -qualifications Burnside had set down.</p> - -<p>"Wait a minute," Bob Parker begged nervously. "I want to make some -conversation, lady. I'm sure you don't understand the conditions—"</p> - -<p>The girl turned and drew a gun from a holster. It was a spasticizer, -and it was three times as big as her gloved hand.</p> - -<p>"I understand conditions better than you do," she said. "You want -to move this asteroid from its orbit and haul it back to Earth. -Unfortunately, this is my home, by common law. Come back in a month. I -don't expect to be here then."</p> - -<p>"A month!" Parker burst the word out. He started to sweat, then his -face became grim. He took two slow steps toward the girl. She blinked -and lost her composure and unconsciously backed up two steps. About -twenty steps away was her small dumbbell-shaped ship, so shiny and -unscarred that it reflected starlight in highlights from its curved -surface. A rich girl's ship, Bob Parker thought angrily. A month would -be too late!</p> - -<p>He said grimly, "Don't worry. I don't intend to pull any rough stuff. -I just want you to listen to reason. You've taken a whim to stay on -an asteroid that doesn't mean anything to you one way or another. But -to us—to me and Queazy here—it means our business. We got an order -for this asteroid. Some screwball millionaire wants it for a backyard -wedding see? We get five hundred and fifty thousand dollars for it! -If we don't take this asteroid to Earth before June 2, we go back to -Satterfield City and work the rest of our lives in the glass factories. -Don't we, Queazy?"</p> - -<p>Queazy said simply, "That's right, miss. We're in a spot. I assure you -we didn't expect to find someone living here."</p> - -<p>The girl holstered her spasticizer, but her completely inhospitable -expression did not change. She put her hands on the bulging hips of her -space-suit. "Okay," she said. "Now I understand the conditions. Now we -both understand each other. G'bye again. I'm staying here and—" she -smiled sweetly "—it may interest you to know that if I let you have -the asteroid you'll save your business, but I'll meet a fate worse than -death! So that's that."</p> - -<p>Bob recognized finality when he saw it. "Come on, Queazy," he said -fuming. "Let this brat have her way. But if I ever run across her -without a space-suit on I'm going to give her the licking of her life, -right where it'll do the most good!"</p> - -<p>He turned angrily, but Queazy grabbed his arm, his mouth falling open. -He pointed off into space, beyond the girl.</p> - -<p>"What's that?" he whispered.</p> - -<p>"What's wha—<i>Oh!</i>"</p> - -<p>Bob Parker's stomach caved in. A few hundred feet away, floating -gently toward the asteroid, came another ship—a ship a trifle bigger -than their own. The girl turned, too. They heard her gasp. In another -second, Bob was standing next to her. He turned the audio-switch to his -headset off, and spoke to the girl by putting his helmet against hers.</p> - -<p>"Listen to me, miss," he snapped earnestly, when she tried to draw -away. "Don't talk by radio. That ship belongs to the Saylor brothers! -Oh, Lord, that this should happen! Somewhere along the line, we've been -double-crossed. Those boys are after this asteroid too, and they won't -hesitate to pull any rough stuff. We're in this together, understand? -We got to back each other up."</p> - -<p>The girl nodded dumbly. Suddenly she seemed to be frightened. -"It's—it's very important that this—this asteroid stay right where it -is," she said huskily. "What—what will they do?"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Bob Parker didn't answer. The big ship had landed, and little blue -sparks crackled between the hull and the asteroid as the magnetic -clamps took hold. A few seconds later, the airlocks swung down, and -five men let themselves down to the asteroid's surface and stood -surveying the three who faced them.</p> - -<p>The two men in the lead stood with their hands on their hips; their -darkish, twin faces were grinning broadly.</p> - -<p>"A pleasure," drawled Wally Saylor, looking at the girl. "What do you -think of this situation Billy?"</p> - -<p>"It's obvious," drawled Billy Saylor, rocking back and forth on his -heels, "that Bob Parker and company have double-crossed us. We'll have -to take steps."</p> - -<p>The three men behind the Saylor twins broke into rough, chuckling -laughter.</p> - -<p>Bob Parker's gorge rose. "Scram," he said coldly. "We've got an -ethergram direct from Andrew S. Burnside ordering this asteroid."</p> - -<p>"So have we," Wally Saylor smiled—and his smile remained fixed, -dangerous. He started moving forward, and the three men in back came -abreast, forming a semi-circle which slowly closed in. Bob Parker gave -back a step, as he saw their intentions.</p> - -<p>"We got here first," he snapped harshly. "Try any funny stuff and we'll -report you to the Interplanetary Commission!"</p> - -<p>It was Bob Parker's misfortune that he didn't carry a weapon. Each of -these men carried one or more, plainly visible. But he was thinking of -the girl's spasticizer—a paralyzing weapon. He took a hair-brained -chance, jerked the spasticizer from the girl's holster and yelled at -Queazy. Queazy got the idea, urged his immense body into motion. He -hurled straight at Billy Saylor, lifted him straight off the asteroid -and threw him away, into space. He yelled with triumph.</p> - -<p>At the same time, the spasticizer Bob held was shot cleanly out of his -hand by Wally Saylor. Bob roared, started toward Wally Saylor, knocked -the smoking gun from his hand with a sweeping arm. Then something -crushing seemed to hit him in the stomach, grabbing at his solar -plexus. He doubled up, gurgling with agony. He fell over on his back, -and his boots were wrenched loose from their magnetic grip. Vaguely, -before the flickering points of light in his brain subsided to complete -darkness, he heard the girl's scream of rage—then a scream of pain.</p> - -<p>What had happened to Queazy he didn't know. He felt so horribly sick, -he didn't care. Then—lights out.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Bob Parker came to, the emptiness of remote starlight in his face. He -opened his eyes. He was slowly revolving on an axis. Sometimes the Sun -swept across his line of vision. A cold hammering began at the base of -his skull, a sensation similar to that of being buried alive. There was -no asteroid, no girl, no Queazy. He was alone in the vastness of space. -Alone in a space-suit.</p> - -<p>"Queazy!" he whispered. "Queazy! I'm running out of air!"</p> - -<p>There was no answer from Queazy. With sick eyes, Bob studied the -oxygen indicator. There was only five pounds pressure. Five pounds! -That meant he had been floating around out here—how long? Days at -least—maybe weeks! It was evident that somebody had given him a dose -of spastic rays, enough to screw up every muscle in his body to the -snapping point, putting him in such a condition of suspended animation -that his oxygen needs were small. He closed his eyes, trying to fight -against panic. He was glad he couldn't see any part of his body. He was -probably scrawny. And he was hungry!</p> - -<p>"I'll starve," he thought. "Or suffocate to death first!"</p> - -<p>He couldn't keep himself from taking in great gulps of air. Minutes, -then hours passed. He was breathing abnormally, and there wasn't enough -air in the first place. He pleaded continually for Queazy, hoping -that somehow Queazy could help, when probably Queazy was in the same -condition. He ripped out wild curses directed at the Saylor brothers. -Murderers, both of them! Up until this time, he had merely thought of -them as business rivals. If he ever got out of this—</p> - -<p>He groaned. He never would get out of it! After another hour, he was -gasping weakly, and yellow spots danced in his eyes. He called Queazy's -name once more, knowing that was the last time he would have strength -to call it.</p> - -<p>And this time the headset spoke back!</p> - -<p>Bob Parker made a gurgling sound. A voice came again, washed with -static, far away, burbling, but excited. Bob made a rattling sound in -his throat. Then his eyes started to close, but he imagined that he saw -a ship, shiny and small, driving toward him, growing in size against -the backdrop of the Milky Way. He relapsed, a terrific buzzing in his -ears.</p> - -<p>He did not lose consciousness. He heard voices, Queazy's and the -girl's, whoever she was. Somebody grabbed hold of his foot. His -"aquarium" was unbuckled and good air washed over his streaming face. -The sudden rush of oxygen to his brain dizzied him. Then he was lying -on a bunk, and gradually the world beyond his sick body focussed in his -clearing eyes and he knew he was alive—and going to stay that way, for -awhile anyway.</p> - -<p>"Thanks, Queazy," he said huskily.</p> - -<p>Queazy was bending over him, his anxiety clearing away from his -suddenly brightening face.</p> - -<p>"Don't thank me," he whispered. "We'd have both been goners if it -hadn't been for her. The Saylor brothers left her paralyzed like -us, and when she woke up she was on a slow orbit around her ship. -She unstrapped her holster and threw it away from her and it gave -her enough reaction to reach the ship. She got inside and used the -direction-finder on the telaudio and located me first. The Saylors -scattered us far and wide." Queazy's broad, normally good-humored face -twisted blackly. "The so and so's didn't care if we lived or died."</p> - -<p>Bob saw the girl now, standing a little behind Queazy, looking down at -him curiously, but unhappily. Her space-suit was off. She was wearing -lightly striped blue slacks and blue silk blouse and she had a paper -flower in her hair. Something in Bob's stomach caved in as his eyes -widened on her.</p> - -<p>The girl said glumly, "I guess you men won't much care for me when you -find out who I am and what I've done. I'm Starre Lowenthal—Andrew S. -Burnside's granddaughter!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Bob came slowly to his feet, and matched Queazy's slowly growing anger.</p> - -<p>"Say that again?" he snapped. "This is some kind of dirty trick you and -your grandfather cooked up?"</p> - -<p>"No!" she exclaimed. "No. My grandfather didn't even know there was an -asteroid like this. But I did, long before he ordered it from you—or -from the Saylor brothers. You see—well, my granddad's about the -stubbornest old hoot-owl in this universe! He's always had his way, and -when people stand in his way, that's just a challenge to him. He's been -badgering me for years to marry Mac, and so has Mac—"</p> - -<p>"Who's Mac?" Queazy demanded.</p> - -<p>"My fiancé, I guess," she said helplessly. "He's one of my granddad's -protégés. Granddad's always financing some likely young man and giving -him a start in life. Mac has become pretty famous for his Mercurian -water-colors—he's an artist. Well, I couldn't hold out any longer. -If you knew my grandfather, you'd know how absolutely <i>impossible</i> it -is to go against him when he's got his mind set! I was just a mass of -nerves. So I decided to trick him and I came out to the asteroid belt -and picked out an asteroid that was shaped so a wedding could take -place on it. I took the measurements and the composition, then I told -my grandfather I'd marry Mac if the wedding was in the back yard on top -of an asteroid with those measurements and made of iron ore, tungsten, -and so forth. He agreed so fast he scared me, and just to make sure -that if somebody <i>did</i> find the asteroid in time they wouldn't be able -to get it back to Earth, I came out here and decided to live here. -Asteroids up to a certain size belong to whoever happens to be on them, -by common law.... So I had everything figured out—except," she added -bitterly, "the Saylor brothers! I guess Granddad wanted to make sure -the asteroid was delivered, so he gave the order to several companies."</p> - -<p>Bob swore under his breath. He went reeling across to a port, and was -gratified to see his and Queazy's big interplanetary hauler floating -only a few hundred feet away. He swung around, looked at Queazy.</p> - -<p>"How long were we floating around out there?"</p> - -<p>"Three weeks, according to the chronometer. The Saylor boys gave us a -stiff shot."</p> - -<p>"<i>Ouch!</i>" Bob groaned. Then he looked at Starre Lowenthal with -determination. "Miss, pardon me if I say that this deal you and your -granddad cooked up is plain screwy! With us on the butt end. But I'm -going to put this to you plainly. We can catch up with the Saylor -brothers even if they are three weeks ahead of us. The Saylor ship and -ours both travel on the HH drive—inertia-less. But the asteroid has -plenty of inertia, and so they'll have to haul it down to Earth by a -long, spiraling orbit. We can go direct and probably catch up with them -a few hundred thousand miles this side of Earth. And we can have a -fling at getting the asteroid back!"</p> - -<p>Her eyes sparkled. "You mean—" she cried. Then her attractive face -fell. "Oh," she said. "<i>Oh!</i> And when you get it back, you'll land it."</p> - -<p>"That's right," Bob said grimly. "We're in business. For us, it's a -matter of survival. If the by-product of delivering the asteroid is -your marriage—sorry! But until we do get the asteroid back, we three -can work as a team if you're willing. We'll fight the other problem out -later. Okay?"</p> - -<p>She smiled tremulously. "Okay, I guess."</p> - -<p>Queazy looked from one to another of them. He waved his hand scornfully -at Bob. "You're plain nuts," he complained. "How do you propose to go -about convincing the Saylor brothers they ought to let us have the -asteroid back? Remember, commercial ships aren't allowed to carry -long-range weapons. And we couldn't ram the Saylor brothers' ship—not -without damaging our own ship just as much. Go ahead and answer that."</p> - -<p>Bob looked at Queazy dismally. "The old balance-wheel," he groaned at -Starre. "He's always pulling me up short when I go off half-cocked. All -I know is, that maybe we'll get a good idea as we go along. In the -meantime, Starre—ahem—none of us has eaten in three weeks...?"</p> - -<p>Starre got the idea. She smiled dazzlingly and vanished toward the -galley.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Bob Parker was in love with Starre Lowenthal. He knew that after five -days out, as the ship hurled itself at breakneck speed toward Earth; -probably that distracting emotion was the real reason he couldn't -attach any significance to Starre's dumbbell-shaped ship, which trailed -astern, attached by a long cable.</p> - -<p>Starre apparently knew he was in love with her, too, for on the fifth -day Bob was teaching her the mechanics of operating the hauler, and she -gently lifted his hand from a finger-switch.</p> - -<p>"Even <i>I</i> know that isn't the control to the Holloway vacuum-feeder, -Bob. That switch is for the—ah—the anathern tube, you told me. Right?"</p> - -<p>"Right," he said unsteadily. "Anyway, Starre, as I was saying, this -ship operates according to the reverse Fitzgerald Contraction Formula. -All moving bodies contract in the line of motion. What Holloway -and Hammond did was to reverse that universal law. They caused the -contraction first—motion had to follow! The gravitonic field affects -every atom in the ship with the same speed at the same time. We could -go from zero speed to our top speed of two thousand miles a second just -like that!"</p> - -<p>He snapped his fingers. "No acceleration effects. This type of ship, -necessary in our business, can stop flat, back up, ease up, move in -any direction, and the passengers wouldn't have any feeling of motion -at—Oh, hell!" Bob groaned, the serious glory of her eyes making him -shake. He took her hand. "Starre," he said desperately, "I've got to -tell you something—"</p> - -<p>She jerked her hand away. "No," she exclaimed in an almost frightened -voice. "You can't tell me. There's—there's Mac," she finished, -faltering. "The asteroid—"</p> - -<p>"You <i>have</i> to marry him?"</p> - -<p>Her eyes filled with tears. "I have to live up to the bargain."</p> - -<p>"And ruin your whole life," he ground out. Suddenly, he turned back to -the control board, quartered the vision plate. He pointed savagely to -the lower left quarter, which gave a rearward view of the dumbbell ship -trailing astern.</p> - -<p>"There's your ship, Starre." He jabbed his finger at it. "I've got a -feeling—and I can't put the thought into concrete words—that somehow -the whole solution of the problem of grabbing the asteroid back lies -there. But how? <i>How?</i>"</p> - -<p>Starre's blue eyes followed the long cable back to where it was -attached around her ship's narrow midsection.</p> - -<p>She shook her head helplessly. "It just looks like a big yo-yo to me."</p> - -<p>"A yo-yo?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, a yo-yo. That's all." She was belligerent.</p> - -<p>"A <i>yo-yo</i>!" Bob Parker yelled the word and almost hit the ceiling, he -got out of the chair so fast. "Can you imagine it! A yo-yo!"</p> - -<p>He disappeared from the room. "Queazy!" he shouted. "<i>Queazy, I've got -it!</i>"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>It was Queazy who got into his space-suit and did the welding job, -fastening two huge supra-steel "eyes" onto the dumbbell-shaped ship's -narrow midsection. Into these eyes cables which trailed back to -two winches in the big ship's nose were inserted, welded fast, and -reinforced.</p> - -<p>The nose of the hauler was blunt, perfectly fitted for the job. Bob -Parker practiced and experimented for three hours with this yo-yo of -cosmic dimensions, while Starre and Queazy stood over him bursting into -strange, delighted squeals of laughter whenever the yo-yo reached the -end of its double cable and started rolling back up to the ship. Queazy -snapped his fingers.</p> - -<p>"It'll work!" His gray eyes showed satisfaction. "Now, if only the -Saylor brothers are where we calculated!"</p> - -<p>They weren't where Bob and Queazy had calculated, as they had -discovered the next day. They had expected to pick up the asteroid -on their mass-detectors a few hundred thousand miles outside of the -Moon's orbit. But now they saw the giant ship attached like a leech to -the still bigger asteroid—inside the Moon's orbit! A mere two hundred -thousand miles from Earth!</p> - -<p>"We have to work fast," Bob stammered, sweating. He got within -naked-eye distance of the Saylor brothers' ship. Below, Earth was -spread out, a huge crescent shape, part of the Eastern hemisphere -vaguely visible through impeding clouds and atmosphere. The enemy ship -was two miles distant, a black shadow occulting part of the brilliant -sky. It was moving along a down-spiraling path toward Earth.</p> - -<p>Queazy's big hand gripped his shoulder. "Go to it, Bob!"</p> - -<p>Bob nodded grimly. He backed the hauler up about thirty miles, then -sent it forward again, directly toward the Saylor brothers' ship at ten -miles per second. And resting on the blunt nose of the ship was the -"yo-yo."</p> - -<p>There was little doubt the Saylors' saw their approach. But, -scornfully, they made no attempt to evade. There was no possible harm -the oncoming ship could wreak. Or at least that was what they thought, -for Bob brought the hauler's speed down to zero—and Starre Lowenthal's -little ship, possessing its own inertia, kept on moving!</p> - -<p>It spun away from the hauler's blunt nose, paying out two rigid -lengths of cable behind it as it unwound, hurled itself forward like a -fantastic spinning cannon ball.</p> - -<p>"It's going to hit!"</p> - -<p>The excited cry came from Starre. But Bob swore. The dumbbell ship -reached the end of its cables, falling a bare twenty feet short of -completing its mission. It didn't stop spinning, but came winding back -up the cable, at the same terrific speed with which it had left.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Bob sweated, having only fractions of seconds in which to maneuver -for the "yo-yo" could strike a fatal blow at the hauler too. It was -ticklish work completely to nullify the "yo-yo's" speed. Bob used -exactly the same method of catching the "yo-yo" on the blunt nose of -the ship as a baseball player uses to catch a hard-driven ball in -his glove—namely, by matching the ball's speed and direction almost -exactly at the moment of impact. And now Bob's hours of practice paid -dividends, for the "yo-yo" came to rest snugly, ready to be released -again.</p> - -<p>All this had happened in such a short space of time that the Saylor -brothers must have had only a bare realization of what was going on. -But by the time the "yo-yo" was flung at them again, this time with -better calculations, they managed to put the firmly held asteroid -between them and the deadly missile. But it was clumsy evasion, for -the asteroid was several times as massive as the ship which was towing -it, and its inertia was great. And as soon as the little ship came -spinning back to rest, Bob flung the hauler to a new vantage point and -again the "yo-yo" snapped out.</p> - -<p>And this time—collision! Bob yelled as he saw the stern section of the -Saylor brothers' ship crumple like tissue paper crushed between the -hand. The dumbbell-shaped ship, smaller, and therefore stauncher due to -the principle of the arch, wound up again, wobbling a little. It had -received a mere dent in its starboard half.</p> - -<p>Starre was chortling with glee. Queazy whispered, "Attaboy, Bob! This -time we'll knock 'em out of the sky!"</p> - -<p>The "yo-yo" came to rest and at the same moment a gong rang excitedly. -Bob knew what that meant. The Saylor brothers were trying to establish -communication.</p> - -<p>Queazy was across the room in two running strides. He threw in the -telaudio and almost immediately, Wally Saylor's big body built up in -the plate. Wally Saylor's face was quivering with wrath.</p> - -<p>"What do you damned fools think you're trying to do?" he roared. -"You've crushed in our stern section. You've sliced away half of our -stern jets. Air is rushing out! You'll kill us!"</p> - -<p>"Now," Bob drawled, "you're getting the idea."</p> - -<p>"I'll inform the Interplanetary Commission!" screamed Saylor.</p> - -<p>"<i>If</i> you're alive," Bob snarled wrathfully. "And you won't be unless -you release the asteroid."</p> - -<p>"I'll see you in Hades first!"</p> - -<p>"Hades," remarked Bob coldly, "here you come!"</p> - -<p>He snapped the hauler into its mile-a-second speed again, stopped it at -zero. And the "yo-yo" went on its lone, destructive sortie.</p> - -<p>For a fraction of a second Wally Saylor exhibited the countenance of a -doomed man. In the telaudio plate, he whirled, and diminished in size -with a strangled yell.</p> - -<p>The "yo-yo" struck again, but Bob Parker maneuvered its speed in -such a manner that it struck in the same place as before, but not as -heavily, then rebounded and came spinning back with perfect, sparkling -precision. And even before it snugged itself into its berth, it was -apparent that the Saylor brothers had given up. Like a wounded terrier, -their ship shook itself free of the asteroid, hung in black space for -a second, then vanished with a flaming puff of released gravitons from -its still-intact jets.</p> - -<p>The battle was won!</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>As soon as the hauler had grappled itself onto the prized asteroid, Bob -Parker jumped to his feet with a grin on his face as wide as the void. -Queazy grabbed his arm and pounded his shoulder. Bob shook him off, -losing his elation.</p> - -<p>"Cut it," he snapped. "It's too early for the glad-hand business. We've -solved one problem, but we've run into another, as we knew we would."</p> - -<p>He crossed determinedly to Starre, tipped up her downcast face.</p> - -<p>"Starre," he said, "I guess you know I love you. If I asked you to -marry me—"</p> - -<p>She quivered. "<i>Are</i> you asking me, Bob?" she breathed.</p> - -<p>"No! Couldn't ask you to marry me unless I had money. Starre, if it was -up to me I'd drop the asteroid on the Moon, and you wouldn't have to -take a chance on marrying a man you don't love. But I'm in partnership -with Queazy and Queazy has his due—"</p> - -<p>Queazy intervened, his grey eyes troubled. "No," he said quietly. "Hold -on. I'll willingly forego any interest in the asteroid, Bob."</p> - -<p>Bob laughed. "Nuts to you, Queazy! Don't get gallant. We'll be so deep -in debt we'll never be independent again the rest of our lives if we -don't land the asteroid. Thanks, anyway."</p> - -<p>He took a deep breath. "Starre, you'll have to trust me. Today's the -last of May. We've got two more days before we have to fill the order. -In those two days, I think I can evolve a procedure to put all of us -in the clear—with the exception of your fiancé and your grandfather. -Which, I think, is as it should be, because these days people pick out -their own husbands and wives. In other words, a few minutes before your -wedding, the asteroid will be delivered—on schedule!"</p> - -<p>"I'll trust you, Bob," Starre said huskily, after a moment of quiet. -"But whatever you've got in mind, to put one over on my grandfather, -it better be good...."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>For a day and a half, ship and attached asteroid pursued a slow, -unpowered orbit around Earth. For a day and a half, Bob Parker hardly -slept. He gave Queazy charge of the ship entirely, had him send an -ethergram to Andrew S. Burnside announcing that his asteroid would show -up in time for the wedding, and that the bride would be there too.</p> - -<p>Most of Bob's time was spent on the surface of the asteroid. He -took spectroscopic readings from every possible angle, made endless -notations on a pad. Sometimes, he worked in his cabin, and Queazy, -ambling puzzledly into Bob's presence, could make nothing of the -countless pages of calculation strewn about the room—figures which -dealt with melting points, refractive indices, atmospheric velocities.</p> - -<p>And finally, when Bob tore the ship and prisoned asteroid from their -orbit, sent them into Earth's atmosphere, Queazy could make nothing of -that either.</p> - -<p>For Bob Parker apparently had a rigid schedule to follow in reference -to the hour set for Starre's wedding. He hit the atmosphere at a -certain second, at a certain speed. He followed a definite route -through the atmosphere, slowly moving downward as he crossed the great -Asiatic continents. He passed as slowly over the Atlantic, passed above -New York City scarcely a dozen miles, and hovered over Philadelphia at -last, a mile up.</p> - -<p>Then he called Starre into the control room. She looked distracted, -pale. She was wearing slacks and was as completely unprepared for -her marriage as she could manage. Bob grinned, took her cold hand -affectionately.</p> - -<p>"We're over Philadelphia, Starre. You can point out the general section -of the city of your granddad's home and estate for me. We'll be landing -at 11:15 A.M. That's in about a half-hour. Whatever you do, -make certain you aren't—ah—married before 12 o'clock. Okay?"</p> - -<p>She extracted her hand from his, nodding dumbly. She sat down at the -photo-amplifiers, and for the next fifteen minutes studied the streets -below and guided him south. Then Bob dropped the ship until it was -only a few hundred feet from the ground. Around them pleasure craft -circled, and on the streets and fields below people ran excitedly, -pointing upward at the largest asteroid ever to be brought to the -planet.</p> - -<p>The ship labored over the fields with its tremendous burden, finally -hovered over a clearing bordered by leafy oak and sycamore trees, part -of Burnside's tremendous "back yard." There was a man with a red flag -down there. Bob followed his directions, slowly brought the asteroid, -rough side down, onto the carefully tended lawn. Then he lifted the -hauler, placed it firmly on the opposite side of the clearing. Bob -relaxed, wiped his sweating face, and felt a cool breeze as Queazy -opened the airlock.</p> - -<p>Minutes later, Starre Lowenthal was the center of an excited, mystified -group of wedding guests. Among them was her grandfather, a wrinkled, -well-preserved old gentleman who alternately kissed her and flew -into rages. Another man, handsome, blond, came rushing up, sweeping -everybody out of his way. He took Starre in his arms, fervently. Bob -Parker hated him at sight.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Burnside cornered Starre and some sort of an argument ensued. Starre -was insisting that she dress for the wedding, and finally her -grandfather gave in. Starre flung a final, pleading look at Bob, -and then disappeared toward the great white house with the Georgian -pillars. Most of the guests trailed after her, and Burnside came -stomping up to Bob. He thrust a slip of green paper into his hands.</p> - -<p>"There's your check, young man!" he puffed. "Now you can get your -greasy ship out of here. What do you mean by waiting until the last -minute to bring the asteroid?"</p> - -<p>Bob didn't answer. He said politely, "I'd like very much to stay for -the wedding, sir."</p> - -<p>The old man looked distastefully at his dirty coveralls. "You may," he -said testily. "But please view it from a distance."</p> - -<p>He started away, then suddenly turned back. "Would you mind telling me, -young man, how it is that my granddaughter was in your ship?"</p> - -<p>"I'll be glad to, sir," Bob said politely, "after the wedding. It's a -long story."</p> - -<p>"I've no doubt, I've no doubt," Burnside said, glaring. "But if it's -anything scandalous, I don't want to hear it. This is an important -wedding." He stomped away, limping.</p> - -<p>Bob whirled toward Queazy, tensely, thrust the check into his hands. He -jerked it back, hastily endorsed it and thrust it at Queazy again.</p> - -<p>"Cash it! Quick! I'll meet you in the Somers Hotel."</p> - -<p>Queazy asked no questions, but lifted the ship, and left.</p> - -<p>At twenty minutes of twelve, somebody having rushed Starre into a -hurried preparation for the wedding, the minister climbed a ladder -to the apex of the asteroid, and the wedding march sounded out. Bob -saw Starre, walking slowly on her grandfather's arm, her eyes looking -straight ahead.</p> - -<p>"Now!" Bob prayed. "<i>Now!</i>"</p> - -<p>He groaned inwardly. It wasn't going to happen! He'd been a fool to -think—</p> - -<p>Then a yell, completely uninhibited, escaped his lips. The asteroid -was quivering, precisely like gelatine dessert. Pieces of iron ore, -tungsten, quartz and cinnabar began to fall from its sides. Little -rivulets of a silvery-white liquid gushed outward in streams.</p> - -<p>The wedding guests leapt to their feet with startled cries, starting -running back toward higher ground. The wedding march ended in a -clatter of discords. And Bob reached the asteroid as it went to pieces -completely. He found himself ankle-deep in rivulets of liquid metal. -He was swept off his feet, came up hanging onto a jagged boulder of -floating iron ore. He looked around on a mad scene. Screams, yells, -tangled legs.</p> - -<p>"<i>Bob!</i>"</p> - -<p>Starre's voice. Bob plunged toward her, yelling above the general -tumult. For a radius of several hundred feet, there was a sluggishly -moving liquid. People were floating on it, or standing in it -ankle-deep, dumbfounded. Bob reached Starre, swept her up in his -arms, went slushing off to the edge of the pool. Starre was laughing -uncontrollably.</p> - -<p>"There's a helicopter on the other side of the house," she cried. "We -can get away before they get organized."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>They found Queazy in a room at the Somers Hotel. He opened the door, -and the worry on his face dissipated as he saw them. Behind him on -a table were stacks of five-thousand-dollar bills. Before he could -say anything, Starre demanded of him, "I couldn't get married on an -asteroid if the asteroid wasn't there any more, could I, Queazy? One -minute the asteroid was there and the next minute I was wading in a -metal lake."</p> - -<p>"Quicksilver," Bob Parker agreed happily. "The asteroid was almost -entirely frozen mercury, except for an outer solid layer of iron ore, -tungsten, quartz, cinnabar."</p> - -<p>"I just took exterior readings," Starre explained, sheepishly.</p> - -<p>"So I figured," continued Bob, "that if I took a lot of spectroscopic -readings of the interior I could determine exactly how big a mass of -frozen quicksilver there was. And how long it would take to thaw out -once it was inside Earth's atmosphere!</p> - -<p>"That's the reason I had things scheduled to the dot, Queazy. I coaxed -the asteroid along until the mercury was almost thawed out. When the -wedding started, it melted all at once, being the same temperature all -the way through. Satisfied?"</p> - -<p>Queazy looked grave. As gravely, he moved back to the table, gestured -to the money. "I hate to spoil your fun, Bob," he said slowly. "We'll -have to give this back to Burnside. He didn't ask for quicksilver, you -know."</p> - -<p>"Didn't he?" Bob grinned smugly. "But he asked for cinnabar, didn't he? -Wherever you find quicksilver you find cinnabar. Cinnabar is a source -of quicksilver. And vice versa. Cinnabar is a sulphide of quicksilver! -Nope, we earned that money, Queazy, my boy. It's ours legally. Hands -off!"</p> - -<p>He put Starre's shoe on her foot after emptying it of some more -quicksilver. She stood up then, moved very close. "You can ask me now, -can't you, Bob?" she whispered. She kissed him. "And if you do, that's -my answer."</p> - -<p>Which, of course, made the question totally unnecessary.</p> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Cosmic Yo-Yo, by Ross Rocklynne - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK COSMIC YO-YO *** - -***** This file should be named 63527-h.htm or 63527-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/3/5/2/63527/ - -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. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for the eBooks, unless you receive -specific permission. If you do not charge anything for copies of this -eBook, complying with the rules is very easy. You may use this eBook -for nearly any purpose such as creation of derivative works, reports, -performances and research. They may be modified and printed and given -away--you may do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks -not protected by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the -trademark license, especially commercial redistribution. - -START: FULL LICENSE - -THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK - -To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full -Project Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at -www.gutenberg.org/license. - -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works - -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or -destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your -possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a -Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound -by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the -person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph -1.E.8. - -1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this -agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below. - -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the -Foundation" or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection -of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual -works in the collection are in the public domain in the United -States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the -United States and you are located in the United States, we do not -claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, -displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as -all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope -that you will support the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting -free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm -works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the -Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with the work. You can easily -comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the -same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg-tm License when -you share it without charge with others. - -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are -in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, -check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this -agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, -distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any -other Project Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no -representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any -country outside the United States. - -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: - -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other -immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear -prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work -on which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the -phrase "Project Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, -performed, viewed, copied or distributed: - - 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. - -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is -derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not -contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the -copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in -the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are -redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply -either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or -obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any -additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms -will be linked to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works -posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the -beginning of this work. - -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. - -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg-tm License. - -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including -any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access -to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format -other than "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official -version posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site -(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense -to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means -of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original "Plain -Vanilla ASCII" or other form. Any alternate format must include the -full Project Gutenberg-tm License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. - -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -provided that - -* You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed - to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he has - agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid - within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are - legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty - payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in - Section 4, "Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg - Literary Archive Foundation." - -* You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm - License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all - copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue - all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg-tm - works. - -* You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of - any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of - receipt of the work. - -* You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work or group of works on different terms than -are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing -from both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and The -Project Gutenberg Trademark LLC, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark. Contact the Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. - -1.F. - -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project -Gutenberg-tm collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may -contain "Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate -or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other -intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or -other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or -cannot be read by your equipment. - -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right -of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. - -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium -with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you -with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in -lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person -or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second -opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If -the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing -without further opportunities to fix the problem. - -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO -OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT -LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. - -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of -damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement -violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the -agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or -limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or -unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the -remaining provisions. - -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in -accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the -production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, -including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of -the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this -or any Project Gutenberg-tm work, (b) alteration, modification, or -additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any -Defect you cause. - -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm - -Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of -computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It -exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations -from people in all walks of life. - -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future -generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see -Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at -www.gutenberg.org - - - -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation - -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by -U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. - -The Foundation's principal office is in Fairbanks, Alaska, with the -mailing address: PO Box 750175, Fairbanks, AK 99775, but its -volunteers and employees are scattered throughout numerous -locations. Its business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, Salt -Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up to -date contact information can be found at the Foundation's web site and -official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact - -For additional contact information: - - Dr. Gregory B. Newby - Chief Executive and Director - gbnewby@pglaf.org - -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation - -Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide -spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. - -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND -DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular -state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate - -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. - -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. - -Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To -donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate - -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. - -Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project -Gutenberg-tm concept of a library of electronic works that could be -freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and -distributed Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of -volunteer support. - -Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in -the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search -facility: www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. - - - -</pre> - -</body> -</html> diff --git a/old/63527-h/images/cover.jpg b/old/63527-h/images/cover.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 6cfe26f..0000000 --- a/old/63527-h/images/cover.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63527-h/images/illus.jpg b/old/63527-h/images/illus.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 04da341..0000000 --- a/old/63527-h/images/illus.jpg +++ /dev/null |
