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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..783ef34 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #63675 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/63675) diff --git a/old/63675-0.txt b/old/63675-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index f654db9..0000000 --- a/old/63675-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1213 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Mutiny, by Larry Offenbecker - -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 -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this ebook. - -Title: Mutiny - -Author: Larry Offenbecker - -Release Date: November 08, 2020 [EBook #63675] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Produced by: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MUTINY *** - - - - - MUTINY - - by LARRY OFFENBECKER - - This mercy rocket was Rawson's first command; - and his last, it seemed--for mutineers had taken - over, then lost the ship in a quicksand pool. - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Planet Stories Fall 1945. - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - -Captain Todd Rawson snapped angry eyes at the directional needle that -indicated that his space ship the _Star Flight_ was holding steady to -her course like a bullet. He had ordered differently. - -He was savagely kicking back his chair when the televisor leaped into -life. - -"Calling the _Star Flight_," the control officer from Saturn intoned, -"Calling the _Star Flight_." - -Rawson clicked a switch, continued to glare at the directional needle. -"Rawson--_Star Flight_." His voice was richly vibrant and charged with -emotion. "Running into spatial storm. Must detour to tangent to course. -Will be late." - -"For God's sake!" The voice from Saturn was urgent. "The plague is -wiping out the entire colony! Hurry!" - -"We'll get the serum there! Out!" - -Rawson glanced once more at the unwavering needle of the direction -indicator, and he switched off the televisor with such abrupt force -that he broke off the dial. He tore from his desk and rumbled like a -Jupiter avalanche across the vibrating deck of the _Star Flight_ into -the rocket room. "Mr. Durk, I ordered the rockets reversed." - -The crew men looked up, winking at each other. This was it! - -Durk raised a short, blunt body like a Venusian alligator and lumbered -to attention. His voice came in a hoarse growl. - -"The Old Man--you young punks think you know everything! The old man -would 'a' headed right into the storm!" - -Captain Rawson flushed slightly and felt the tips of his ears turn hot -as he stared at the man who was twenty years his senior--the man who -had twenty-five years of experience in space flight. - -"I'm the captain here," Rawson said in a voice as steady as the beat of -the motors. "My commands are to be obeyed without question." - -"Sure, now, you're the captain." Durk winked slyly at one of the -crew. "You got a gold star and the fixings. But we ain't goin' to get -ourselves killed on account o' something you learned in a book." - -Surprisingly Rawson laughed, a deep-throated laugh, although he knew -that he had to break this man or be broken himself. His words lashed -out like a cat-o-nine tails at the senior officer. - -"Mr. Durk, don't let your bitterness defeat your common sense. The -old man knew all the tricks. You know them. But space navigation has -advanced to a science. It requires more than rule of thumb knowledge." - -"I ain't going to reverse the rockets!" - -Rawson looked at the stolid faces of the space hardened crew. Veterans -all. The underofficer's men. - - * * * * * - -When he spoke, Rawson's words came in smooth, clipped phrases. "Mr. -Durk, I'll explain briefly why it would be fatal to head straight into -the storm. The instruments indicate that the storm drift ahead of the -ship is heavily charged with electrons. Our space ship is a charged -body. Breaking the relation of the space ship and the drift down -mathematically we have the equation - -V equals q/r - -where V is the velocity of the ship and q the potential of the -electronic charge in the center of the drift, and r the radius." - -Rawson watched the underofficer's face grow longer and longer, but -determinedly he continued. - -"Should we head directly into the drift we will be up against the -following law--the shorter the distance in which a given amount of work -is done the greater the force that must be exerted. We will be stalled -in the center of the drift. To avoid disaster, the direction of the -drift must be at right angles at every point to the space ship. Do you -follow?" - -Mingled with the lack of comprehension in Durk's eyes was intense -bitterness--bitterness over not being appointed captain of the _Star -Flight_ after the death of the previous chief officer, whom Durk -affectionately called "the old man". - -Durk was starting a growl deep down in his alligator throat when the -situation was taken out of his hands by the immutable laws that Rawson -had just expounded. - -The vessel jerked with a huge shudder that threw Rawson and the rest of -the crew off balance. - -With a screech of metal the space ship picked up speed as it was drawn -into the potential in the center of the drift as well as being pushed -by the power of its rockets. - -With greyhound leaps, Rawson tore towards the control dials and twisted -the wheels of the gyroscope. The ship groaned and reeled. It refused to -heed the control. - -"Power! Reverse the power!" Rawson screeched into the intercom. -"Reverse the rockets!" - -He felt the instruments tremble under his hands like reeds. Suddenly -the rockets went dead. Then as the crew reversed the power, they roared -to life again. - -The _Star Flight_ jerked in a death struggle. The rockets rattled and -screamed as if sand had been thrown into the atom chargers. - -Slowly the ship turned over, tilting at right angles to the drift. - -A blinding flash like a bolt of lightning flamed across the power -panels. The lights suddenly died. The ship was in darkness. - -Rawson tore at the emergency switches, got them under control. A -banshee wail sounded throughout the _Star Flight_. "Emergency! -Emergency!" - -In the darkness in back of him, Rawson heard the alligator bark of -Underofficer Durk. "Ship out of control, eh? We're drifting, eh? See if -your book learnin' 'll get yuh out o' this!" - -Rawson turned, and his voice was icy. "Mr. Durk! Consider yourself -under arrest!" - -"Ha, ha, ha--" - -Durk's laugh made the short hairs on Rawson's neck tingle. But Rawson -snapped back in a voice that he tried to hold steady. "You're an -excellent underofficer, Durk--when you obey commands. But you'll never -be captain!" - - * * * * * - -The space ship was plunging forward like a running blindman, directly -into the belt of minor planets. - -"Awh--I got a right!" Durk cried bitterly. "Ain't I been second in -command for ten years? I know all the ropes--" - -"You lack training in science and mathematics. That's vital these days!" - -"I'll be captain yet. Wait and see! Yah can't arrest me. The crew won't -take your orders without my say-so. And yah can't report me. It's yore -word against me and the crew!" - -Rawson lifted his chin courageously. He knew Durk spoke the truth. And -he knew that he'd never break Durk by force-- - -Fighting the man's will would only build up the volcano pressure inside -him more intensely. Rawson determined on a psychological trick. He -would allow Durk his chance at command. - -"Very well, Mr. Durk. Let's see what you can do." He spoke with forced -calm. "Take command." - -Rawson's crane-like legs patted on the jerking deck of the space ship, -and as he entered his cabin he was smiling grimly to himself. - -He sat down in darkness, and his smile widened when the emergency -lights flashed on. Durk was a good man for things like that. - -Rawson was turning over some papers on his desk when a young cyclone -burst through the open door without knocking. "Captain, sir!" young -Seymour cried, bounding forward. "I overheard--" - -Rawson snapped to his feet. "Mr. Seymour, attention! Please leave and -enter like a gentleman." - -The cabin boy folded up like a tornado that had lost its wind. Meekly -he turned and walked out of the cabin, closed the door. A rap sounded. - -"Come in." - -As Seymour entered, Rawson hastily turned the sheet of paper on his -desk face down. He greeted the young man with a smile. - -"That's better. Always be a gentleman. If for no one's but your own -self-respect." - -"Yes, sir." Seymour had troubled eyes. "I came to report I overheard -the crew talking. Said somethin' about taking over. I don't get it, -sir. Does it mean mutiny?" - -Rawson shot one word at the cabin boy. "Durk?" - -"Yes, sir. It was him said it." - -"You know you're a stool pigeon?" - -The boy's freckled face looked flustered. "I--I didn't mean, sir--that -is." He gulped. "I thought it was my duty, sir." - -Rawson smiled and there was fatherly tenderness in his voice. "Good, -Mr. Seymour. I like your loyalty. You'll make a Star Point man yet." - -Rawson picked up the paper from his desk. "I have just signed a -recommendation that you be admitted to the class of the year 2356." - -Young Seymour's freckled face spread wide in a grin--so wide that it -drowned out his face. "Gee, sir. Thanks. Gee! _Star Point!_" - -"I've been keeping an eye on you," Rawson continued. "I saw you -studying in your spare time." - -Rawson leaned back and reflected. "I was like that ten years ago. I -worked hard! And this is my first command. I'm proud of it." - -His voice cracked out suddenly like a whip. "And by God, no man, -nothing, will make me dishonor my gold star or take it away from me!" -His eyes stabbed at Seymour. "Now, what about Durk and the mutiny?" - -"He says you're a sissy, sir. Afraid of the storm. He says you ain't -got no business--" - -"Very good, Mr. Seymour. That will be all." - - * * * * * - -Rawson watched with a fond smile as Seymour departed. - -Rawson had no intention of letting his precious cargo of serum be -lost or his first space ship wrecked because of Durk's desire for the -captaincy. - -He picked up a volume "_Cross Currents of Space_" from his book shelf -and opened it. After poring intently through many pages, he snapped to -his crane-like feet with a grin. - -They were approaching Orus--the planet which was covered with borax -sand. - -Rawson drew together his gangling frame, hung together with tremendous -muscles and casually strode on his long legs into the control room. - -The crew worked under the emergency lights dismantling the control -panel. Durk's bullying voice urged them to speed like the slave whips -of Jupiter. His face marked with his years in the space lanes like a -freighter's meteor scars was covered with streaks of oil. - -"Orus dead ahead," Rawson remarked with a grin. "It wouldn't do to set -the _Star Flight_ down for repairs." - -Durk's mouth was bitter as an alligator's. "We're going down!" - -Rawson strolled away whistling and grinning inwardly. - -The rockets pounded as they were adjusted for the landing. It was a -fairly simple job and Rawson knew Durk could handle it. - -From the port in his cabin Rawson saw the _Star Flight_ settle on a -reef between a dark and forbidding pool and a swampy morass. Beyond was -white, hilly sand. - -Rawson turned sharply, on guard, as he heard heavy steps clump into his -cabin. Durk and six of the crew. - -"Well, Mr. Smarty, we got you now!" Durk's hoarse voice bellowed in -triumph. "Yore under arrest!" - -Rawson's muscles rippled and his blue eyes cracked with electric -sparks. "Arrest?" - -"Yeah! Not bein' in command in an emergency! Put him in irons, boys!" - -Todd Rawson looked at the faces of the crew. By the tough lines about -their eyes, by the grime in their skins, they showed that they were -one with the underofficer--veterans of the spaceways who bowed only to -experience and strength. - -"This is mutiny. You know that, Mr. Durk!" - -"No, it ain't!" the other said flatly. "You deserted yore duty. Me and -the crew'll make it stick before the court-martial back home!" - -Rawson saw that the underofficer had the force to back him up. "You won -this round, Durk. But it's only the first." He smiled coolly. - -A young cyclone thundered into the cabin. "Hey, what's going on here?" - -"Mr. Seymour!" This from Rawson. - -Young Seymour hesitated, but his freckled face was blazing. "Yes, sir." -He replied mechanically. But his fists were balled and he advanced -angrily on Durk. "You can't do it! Captain's got more brains than the -whole bunch of you!" - -"Shut up, Squirt!" - -Young Seymour lunged at Durk and pounded his fists again the alligator -toughness of the underofficer. Durk deftly cuffed the cabin boy and -knocked him into a corner. - -Seymour rose slowly, wiping the blood from the cut on his lips. He -charged again with head lowered and balled fists. - -Durk gave him a brief glance. "Throw him in irons." - -Two hard space men grabbed Seymour by the arms and hauled him, kicking, -out of the cabin. The boy's words came floating back. "You're goin' to -be sorry, Durk--" - -Rawson stared at his underofficer stonily. "Well?" - -Durk scratched his chin reflectively. "Hmmm, guess we won't need to put -you in irons. You won't try to run away in all that white sand." - -Between several of the crew Rawson climbed out of the space-port. He -jerked his crane-like body almost double as he bent into a heavy, hot -searing wind like a breath from hell. - -Toward one side the white, slimy ooze pond stretched like an oily sheet -of death between the steep white cliffs that pitted it. It was about -five times the width of the space ship and lay utterly lifeless, yet -Rawson had a feeling of danger lurking beneath its surface. - - * * * * * - -Rawson was the third man in the single file that fought its way on the -slippery, glassy surface of the narrow neck of rock that lay at the tip -of a finger of morass pointing at the slimy pool. - -"We're gonna keep yah in one of them caves over there." Durk pointed -beyond the line of cliffs that hemmed in the morass. In back of these, -as far as Rawson's eyes could see, stretched white, bleak sand dunes. - -A strong odor of swamp came to Rawson's nose. Swamp gas. Mixed with it -was the alkaline taste of the sand that the hot wind drove into their -mouth, eyes and nose. - -Rawson carefully balanced himself on the isthmus of rock and stared -with misgiving into the pool. - -The crew man ahead of Rawson slipped. - -He clutched wildly at Rawson, missed him, and rolled down the glassy -slope into the pool. - -The ooze parted heavily, with effort, and then surrounded him like a -huge, sucking mouth. - -The man screamed. "Quicksand! Help! It's sucking me down----eeeeeh--" - -With horror Rawson saw the white, slimy mess suck him down--down-- - -Rawson's voice screamed against the shriek of the wind. "Throw him a -line!" - -The man's struggling head sank below the surface. A frantic hand fought -against the ooze, sank steadily deeper. The hand disappeared. Bubbles -from the man's dying breath broke the surface. The slime drifted -together again and was smooth and liquid again with the peace of death. - -Rawson shuddered. - -He stared at Durk who was looking dumbfounded into the pool. One of the -crew had been lost under Durk's command. Would there be others? - -When the chill winds of night came, Rawson was sitting inside a cave -that looked down on the sink hole. - -Rawson was carefully, meticulously, studying the crew and the lay of -the land, like a general studies the ground before a battle. - -He looked down into the depression which was like a huge inside-out -face. The ridge on which the space ship rested looked like a monstrous -nose between the two giant eyes--the farther eye the quicksand pool and -the nearer a shallow swamp over which hung the swamp gas. - -The crew was camped by a small fire near the swamp. Near them lay young -Seymour, with his hands and feet bound. - -Even in the cave the wind moaned incessantly and drove the bitter sand -into Rawson's mouth. It blasted across the glassy ridge and whipped the -fires beside the space ship. - -If I can rescue Seymour, Rawson thought, we'll control the ship, if we -manage to hold the control room. But he realized the difficulty. - -Between the cave and the whipping fires of the crew, Rawson could see -the mist that hung low over the swamp, just out of the reach of the -wind. Sometimes a little of the mist was carried away and brought to -his nose--swamp gas. - -On silent feet, Rawson crept toward the swamp. The guard did not look -up. - -Rawson lay beside the soft, decayed soil and vegetation. Under cover of -his body he snapped his automatic lighter. He hurled the blazing light -into the swamp. - -He leaped back. - -Immediately a flame flashed across the swamp and leaped toward the sky -and the roar of the explosion brought the entire crew to their feet -with their flame ray weapons in their hands. - -They stampeded toward the safety of the space ship. - -Under cover of the explosion, Rawson rushed toward Seymour, picked him -up and fled with him into the darkness of the sandy desert, beyond the -hills. - -"Gee, sir!" the boy said after he recovered from his astonishment, and -they lay in hiding on top of a tall hill and looked down on the excited -bustle of the camp. "Did you do that?" - -Rawson smiled grimly. "Nothing to it. Swamps create marsh gas, or -methane gas, which is highly inflammable. A little fire will make a -stagnant pocket of the gas go up with a bang." - -Young Seymour looked at the lights of the camp with troubled eyes. "I'm -sorry you rescued me, sir." - -"What's this, Mr. Seymour?" - -The young fellow avoided his captain's eyes. "I been thinking, sir, -that--well, maybe, Underofficer Durk is right." - -"So Durk's been talking to you, convincing you that I haven't enough -experience to command a space ship!" - -"I feel miserable about the whole thing, sir. It's--oh, gee, captain. -Durk's got the ship and the men and he's had twenty-five years in the -spaceways. He ought to know what's doing." - -Rawson's voice was suddenly raw as Jovian liquor. "All right, Mr. -Seymour. I understand. Get going!" - - * * * * * - -The boy slunk away like a whipped dog. Once he hesitated and looked -back, and then with lowered shoulders, he ploughed his way through the -sand toward the space ship. - -Rawson watched him go. He felt as though he had been deserted by his -last friend. - -This leaves me all alone, Rawson thought. Me against the crew. I've got -to get command of the ship. The serum's got to go through. Saturn's -depending on me. - -I still say Mom's right. You've got to know how to do things and have -the guts to carry them through. I'm not quitting. - -And Jennifer Kane would be disappointed in me if I quit on my Star -Point oath. She was so proud when I graduated. And when I received my -promotions. Moved from underofficer to commander in three years. No -wonder Durk is so bitter. - -But it takes scientific knowledge these days--that's it. Science will -win a way out for me-- - -Rawson's mind began to work like an intricate machine. Thousands of -stimuli of knowledge had been injected into his brain during his -training; now his mind began to select and analyze these stimuli for -the purpose of finding a solution to his predicament. - -Rawson's self-respect was the rock of his courage. - -I'll have to do this alone, he thought. As he saw that the crew members -about the space ship had quieted down and that the camp was still for -the night, he rose and fought his way against the wind toward the space -ship, across the slippery neck of rock. - -The space ship was dark and silent. A crew man nodded sleepily beside -the fire to the left. Yet he had to be careful. Other members of the -crew might leap out at him at any moment. - -He slipped inside the space ship. He found the space suit. He donned -it quickly, fastened the space helmet around his head. The space suit -would help him in any emergency. - -He was moving from the lockers to the control room past the port when a -guard saw him. The man grabbed for him. "Gotcha!" - -But the muscles strung on his bony frame exploded in power and the crew -man fell aside. Rawson leaped through the lock and landed on the white -ridge beside the quicksand pool. - -The guard's yells brought the rest of the crew, and they advanced on -him from all sides. - -He backed slowly from the menacing circle, looking for an opening -through which to dart. But they came from both sides of the ship. In -his rear was the slimy quicksand. He backed toward it. - -One of the crew's stumbling feet loosened a boulder and it came -hurtling toward Rawson. He leaped aside but his crane-like feet landed -on gravel and he started to slide off balance backwards. - -The crew realized before Rawson did what was happening. "He's sliding -into the quicksand! Stop him!" - -Rawson felt the pressure of the wet sand on the space suit. He -struggled for a hold on the rocks. They came away in his hands. He -slid deeper. - -He felt the suction at his feet, climbing up to his waist, over his -shoulders. - -The white quicksand went over the space suit visor and cut out the -light of the moon. Still he kept sinking, slowly, steadily, in the -depths. - - * * * * * - -With an effort he forced his hand to his belt and adjusted the levers -to permit oxygen for his breathing to swell the space suit. - -He could breath, but he could not control his movements. The pressure -of the wet sand weighted heavily on him and smothered him in a blanket -of darkness. - -He moved down slowly as on greased feathers into a bottomless pit. His -legs dangled limply, drifting now this way, now that. He put his arms -out to steady himself, but the muck gave way before him. - -He heard only the slight bubbling sound of the oxygen escaping through -the vent in his space suit. - -He felt a sucking pull on his body and on his limbs as he went -down--down-- - -At last he hung suspended. His weight balanced the density of the -pressure of the sand. - -His mind worked furiously--in a race with death. - -He remembered the slight alkaline taste that had penetrated to his -mouth and nose back on the surface. Alkaline? - -He had read about that--in the "_Cross Currents of Space_"--Orus was -the borax planet. - -And suddenly his training in the chemistry of borax rushed through his -frantic mind. - -He smiled grimly to himself as he reached for the heat ray gun at his -waist. No, it hadn't been lost. He detached it and forced it through -the quicksand in front of him. - -Carefully he aimed the heat ray gun upward, pressed the trigger. - -Light so bright and intense and so hot that Rawson felt the heat and -light in the clutching quicksand bored a hole through the muck. - -It was a thin rod of penetration, about two inches wide and extended -straight upwards to where Rawson thought the edge of the pit would be. - -Long and patiently he trained the heat ray gun. - -And as he waited a chemical change took place before his eyes. In the -light of the heat ray gun, he saw a thin rod of white porous mass -forming. It extended through the quicksand upward along the line of the -heat ray. - -And as he watched, the white mass melted into a clear liquid. He kept -the heat ray gun concentrated until its power died and the weapon -became a useless piece of metal. - -Rawson had won. He had created liquid glass. - -Patiently he waited for the liquid to harden. Would it make it possible -for him to escape this quicksand death? - -For hours he hung suspended in the ooze. When he judged that there had -been time enough for the liquid to harden into glass, he extended his -hand toward it. - -His groping fingers found a strong, smooth rod fused to the rock above. - -Hand over hand he made his way up, forcing himself through the heavy -ooze. When he reached the top, he crawled out, half dead and staggered -to firm ground. - -He stumbled. But he saw at a glance that he had drifted far from the -place where he had fallen in. The space ship was several hundred yards -away, completely hidden by a hill. - -A few feet more, he staggered and stumbled into a dank pool. He took -off the space helmet and drank deeply and crammed some concentrated -food pills into his mouth. - -His muscles were sore and weary. He knew he had to rest. He found the -coolness of a cave. Hardly had he dropped to the sandy floor when he -fell into an exhausted sleep. - - * * * * * - -For hours he lay and his body regenerated its youthful vitality. - -He stirred restlessly in his sleep when he felt the pressure of another -hand on his. He sat up abruptly, on guard. - -A freckled boy's face was looking down on him with wonder in the blue -eyes. "Captain Rawson, sir," Seymour said. "I was explorin' and found -you here. Gee, sir, how did you escape out of the quicksand?" - -Rawson regarded the young man with wonder. "Sit down, Mr. Seymour." -Rawson explained about the borax and his escape. "But what about you -and Durk?" - -The boy made circles in the sand with his foot. His eyes avoided the -captain's. "I couldn't stand it, sir. My conscience. It wasn't right. -You're the captain, no matter what Durk says." - -"Thanks. Okay, let's get going." - -Purposely they strode across the sand toward the space ship. But as -they neared the top of the hill beyond which lay the space ship, they -heard a series of loud explosions. Rawson recognized those sounds. - -With a rush he was on top of the hill and staring at the space ship. - -The explosions came from there. The ports were closed and there was no -one on the bridge. - -The ship was taking off! - -Rawson's skeleton-like body shuddered in dismay. He yelled but he knew -it was futile. No one could hear him above the roar of the rockets. - -And if they did? Durk might find it convenient to report that the -captain had been lost on the expedition. - -For once in his life, Rawson admitted fear to himself--to be deserted -on this waste planet! - -The space ship quivered under the impact of the rockets. And Rawson -noticed a queer thing about that vibration--it was normal in itself, -but it was never intended to occur on a glassy cliff that sloped into a -quicksand. - -The vibration loosed the pull of gravity of the ship--its steadiness on -the ridge--it slipped sideways. - -It slipped sideways into the quicksand. - -The space ship moved sideways over the edge of the cliff and started to -sink beneath the lake of quicksand. - -As the bottom half of the hull disappeared below the surface of the -ooze, the top ports opened and the crew began leaping from the hull -onto the cliff. - -Rawson counted them. They were all there. All sixty--there should be -sixty-one. But one had been lost in the quicksand at the first landing. - -The crew stood huddled in a bunch and watched the top of the hull -disappear below the quicksand. - -Rawson's crane-like legs carried him toward the crew. Their faces -showed repentance. - -It was a miserable bunch of men that faced him, and the most miserable -of all was Underofficer Durk. - -Rawson for a moment said nothing. He watched the last air bubbles that -seeped up from the space ship at the bottom of the quicksand. The -bubbles broke one by one. The sand smoothed out again, leaving a slimy -smoothness that revealed nothing--that failed to betray the loss of all -hope. - -Rawson's voice whipped like a lash. "Well, Mr. Durk! Have you thought -of a solution of the predicament of the crew and yourself?" - -Durk's eyes did not meet Rawson's. Durk's voice mumbled. "Yore the -captain, sir." - -Rawson shuddered within himself. He was the captain--captain of a space -ship that no longer existed. They were stranded on a desolate planet -with no food and no weapons. - -Weapons? He still had his heat ray gun, but it was burned out--no good. - -Wearily Rawson turned to young Seymour. "Bring me my space suit." - -It took but a few minutes for the boy to run back to the cave and fetch -back the space suit. Slowly Rawson climbed into it. - -He turned to Durk. "I'm going into the quicksand. Perhaps I'll be able -to find something--something--" He sighed. "If I don't return, well, -it's up to you." - -He leaped far forward, felt his feet sink into the clutching quicksand. - -The muck enfolded him like cold, slimy snake coils twisting around and -crushing him. - -As he sank below the surface, he heard the bursting air bubbles above -him like sibilant whispers of death. The dread, crushing quicksand drew -around like crushing giant hands. - -This time Rawson had no heat ray gun to help him escape! - -His lips twisted helplessly under the pressure of the sand and the -water. It was like being buried alive in cement that had not yet -hardened. - -His feet struck something solid. The hull. Using his feet as leverage -he forced himself forward against the grasping ooze, until he came to -one of the ports. It was open and the quicksand had oozed in. - - * * * * * - -Rawson managed to grasp the railing by sheer muscle and forced himself -inside. The shifting, liquefied sand covered the entire top deck. - -But the door to the lower hatches and the control decks had sealed -automatically. He turned the lever and pushed the door of the hatch -inwards. - -The pressure of the sand hurled him inside like water shot from a -nozzle. - -He raced for the farther door--raced to beat the moving quicksand that -oozed forward like some giant amoeba. - -Rawson won by a second. He opened the door and dived inward. Quickly -he closed the door and sealed it as he felt the pressure of the muck -against it. The metal locks would hold. - -He stripped off the space suit and hurried to the rocket deck. -Everything was in order. A member of the crew had automatically cut off -the disintegrator motors at the call "Abandon Ship!" - -Rawson set the speed at idle. He turned the rocket levers. For a moment -the ship trembled as the exhaust gases fought against the pressure of -the quicksand in the tubes. - -The rockets thundered in full power. Rawson waited. The heat of those -exhaust gases was tremendous--made ten times so by their compression in -the ooze. - -Heat! That was it! - -But would the rockets be powerful enough to change the composition of -the quicksand? - -He felt the heat of the compressed gases through the floor of the -hull, and their motion through the muck was accompanied by a loud -glub--glub--glub--Sounds like the choking of a primeval monster. - -This sound gradually died out, and the heat became intense. Rawson -removed his shirt and wiped the perspiration from his eyes. The sweat -dripped down his arms and made little wet spots on the floor. He began -shifting from foot to foot as the heat became uncomfortable on the -soles of his feet. - -There was no way to see what was going on outside the space ship. All -the ports were blocked by the muck. - -Presently he touched the dials. The indicator moved from "idle" to -"take-off." He gunned the rockets. - -The ship lurched forward, groaned, and wallowed deeper into the ooze. -It was no go. - -Rawson returned the power to idle and waited patiently. Perhaps it -could still be done. - -Perhaps--but more likely not! - -Rawson was not ready to despair. He waited with the courage of his -conviction that a way could be found through science. - -He waited for three hours, and then he touched the controls again. He -set the dials to depress the nose, pulled the lever for the reverse. -Then he punched the needle for full power. He geared in the traction. - -The space ship leaped backward with a jerk, found firm footing, and -crawled with accelerated power. It surged swifter and swifter like an -unleashed Neptune cyclone. - -And as he felt the motion of the vessel beneath his feet, Rawson looked -up and saw the light stream through the muck that covered the port -windows. - -He had broken free! - -By instinct he guided the vessel all alone to a new landing. He had -to be navigator, engineer, pilot, and do the many tedious things that -require many hands and brains to control a ship. - - * * * * * - -Several days later they were near Saturn and Rawson had just received -congratulations on bringing in the serum in time to save thousands of -lives. He sat at his desk, his skeleton frame hunched like an ostrich, -when a young cyclone burst into his cabin. - -"Captain, sir," young Seymour cried, bounding forward. "I overheard--" - -Rawson snapped to his feet. "Mr. Seymour, Attention! Please leave and -enter like a gentleman." - -Meekly the cabin boy walked out, closed the door. A rap sounded. - -"Come in." And as the lad entered Rawson said with a smile, "That's -better." - -"Yes, sir. I came to report I overheard the crew talking." - -"Durk?" - -"Yes, sir. Underofficer Durk says you're voted the best darn space -commander that ever flew the stars. And that he'll lick the denims off -anybody that says different." - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MUTINY *** - -***** This file should be named 63675-0.txt or 63675-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/3/6/7/63675/ - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this ebook. - -Title: Mutiny - -Author: Larry Offenbecker - -Release Date: November 08, 2020 [EBook #63675] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Produced by: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MUTINY *** -</pre> -<div class="titlepage"> - -<h1>MUTINY</h1> - -<h2>by LARRY OFFENBECKER</h2> - -<p>This mercy rocket was Rawson's first command;<br /> -and his last, it seemed—for mutineers had taken<br /> -over, then lost the ship in a quicksand pool.</p> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br /> -Planet Stories Fall 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>Captain Todd Rawson snapped angry eyes at the directional needle that -indicated that his space ship the <i>Star Flight</i> was holding steady to -her course like a bullet. He had ordered differently.</p> - -<p>He was savagely kicking back his chair when the televisor leaped into -life.</p> - -<p>"Calling the <i>Star Flight</i>," the control officer from Saturn intoned, -"Calling the <i>Star Flight</i>."</p> - -<p>Rawson clicked a switch, continued to glare at the directional needle. -"Rawson—<i>Star Flight</i>." His voice was richly vibrant and charged with -emotion. "Running into spatial storm. Must detour to tangent to course. -Will be late."</p> - -<p>"For God's sake!" The voice from Saturn was urgent. "The plague is -wiping out the entire colony! Hurry!"</p> - -<p>"We'll get the serum there! Out!"</p> - -<p>Rawson glanced once more at the unwavering needle of the direction -indicator, and he switched off the televisor with such abrupt force -that he broke off the dial. He tore from his desk and rumbled like a -Jupiter avalanche across the vibrating deck of the <i>Star Flight</i> into -the rocket room. "Mr. Durk, I ordered the rockets reversed."</p> - -<p>The crew men looked up, winking at each other. This was it!</p> - -<p>Durk raised a short, blunt body like a Venusian alligator and lumbered -to attention. His voice came in a hoarse growl.</p> - -<p>"The Old Man—you young punks think you know everything! The old man -would 'a' headed right into the storm!"</p> - -<p>Captain Rawson flushed slightly and felt the tips of his ears turn hot -as he stared at the man who was twenty years his senior—the man who -had twenty-five years of experience in space flight.</p> - -<p>"I'm the captain here," Rawson said in a voice as steady as the beat of -the motors. "My commands are to be obeyed without question."</p> - -<p>"Sure, now, you're the captain." Durk winked slyly at one of the -crew. "You got a gold star and the fixings. But we ain't goin' to get -ourselves killed on account o' something you learned in a book."</p> - -<p>Surprisingly Rawson laughed, a deep-throated laugh, although he knew -that he had to break this man or be broken himself. His words lashed -out like a cat-o-nine tails at the senior officer.</p> - -<p>"Mr. Durk, don't let your bitterness defeat your common sense. The -old man knew all the tricks. You know them. But space navigation has -advanced to a science. It requires more than rule of thumb knowledge."</p> - -<p>"I ain't going to reverse the rockets!"</p> - -<p>Rawson looked at the stolid faces of the space hardened crew. Veterans -all. The underofficer's men.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>When he spoke, Rawson's words came in smooth, clipped phrases. "Mr. -Durk, I'll explain briefly why it would be fatal to head straight into -the storm. The instruments indicate that the storm drift ahead of the -ship is heavily charged with electrons. Our space ship is a charged -body. Breaking the relation of the space ship and the drift down -mathematically we have the equation</p> - -<p>V equals q/r</p> - -<p>where V is the velocity of the ship and q the potential of the -electronic charge in the center of the drift, and r the radius."</p> - -<p>Rawson watched the underofficer's face grow longer and longer, but -determinedly he continued.</p> - -<p>"Should we head directly into the drift we will be up against the -following law—the shorter the distance in which a given amount of work -is done the greater the force that must be exerted. We will be stalled -in the center of the drift. To avoid disaster, the direction of the -drift must be at right angles at every point to the space ship. Do you -follow?"</p> - -<p>Mingled with the lack of comprehension in Durk's eyes was intense -bitterness—bitterness over not being appointed captain of the <i>Star -Flight</i> after the death of the previous chief officer, whom Durk -affectionately called "the old man".</p> - -<p>Durk was starting a growl deep down in his alligator throat when the -situation was taken out of his hands by the immutable laws that Rawson -had just expounded.</p> - -<p>The vessel jerked with a huge shudder that threw Rawson and the rest of -the crew off balance.</p> - -<p>With a screech of metal the space ship picked up speed as it was drawn -into the potential in the center of the drift as well as being pushed -by the power of its rockets.</p> - -<p>With greyhound leaps, Rawson tore towards the control dials and twisted -the wheels of the gyroscope. The ship groaned and reeled. It refused to -heed the control.</p> - -<p>"Power! Reverse the power!" Rawson screeched into the intercom. -"Reverse the rockets!"</p> - -<p>He felt the instruments tremble under his hands like reeds. Suddenly -the rockets went dead. Then as the crew reversed the power, they roared -to life again.</p> - -<p>The <i>Star Flight</i> jerked in a death struggle. The rockets rattled and -screamed as if sand had been thrown into the atom chargers.</p> - -<p>Slowly the ship turned over, tilting at right angles to the drift.</p> - -<p>A blinding flash like a bolt of lightning flamed across the power -panels. The lights suddenly died. The ship was in darkness.</p> - -<p>Rawson tore at the emergency switches, got them under control. A -banshee wail sounded throughout the <i>Star Flight</i>. "Emergency! -Emergency!"</p> - -<p>In the darkness in back of him, Rawson heard the alligator bark of -Underofficer Durk. "Ship out of control, eh? We're drifting, eh? See if -your book learnin' 'll get yuh out o' this!"</p> - -<p>Rawson turned, and his voice was icy. "Mr. Durk! Consider yourself -under arrest!"</p> - -<p>"Ha, ha, ha—"</p> - -<p>Durk's laugh made the short hairs on Rawson's neck tingle. But Rawson -snapped back in a voice that he tried to hold steady. "You're an -excellent underofficer, Durk—when you obey commands. But you'll never -be captain!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The space ship was plunging forward like a running blindman, directly -into the belt of minor planets.</p> - -<p>"Awh—I got a right!" Durk cried bitterly. "Ain't I been second in -command for ten years? I know all the ropes—"</p> - -<p>"You lack training in science and mathematics. That's vital these days!"</p> - -<p>"I'll be captain yet. Wait and see! Yah can't arrest me. The crew won't -take your orders without my say-so. And yah can't report me. It's yore -word against me and the crew!"</p> - -<p>Rawson lifted his chin courageously. He knew Durk spoke the truth. And -he knew that he'd never break Durk by force—</p> - -<p>Fighting the man's will would only build up the volcano pressure inside -him more intensely. Rawson determined on a psychological trick. He -would allow Durk his chance at command.</p> - -<p>"Very well, Mr. Durk. Let's see what you can do." He spoke with forced -calm. "Take command."</p> - -<p>Rawson's crane-like legs patted on the jerking deck of the space ship, -and as he entered his cabin he was smiling grimly to himself.</p> - -<p>He sat down in darkness, and his smile widened when the emergency -lights flashed on. Durk was a good man for things like that.</p> - -<p>Rawson was turning over some papers on his desk when a young cyclone -burst through the open door without knocking. "Captain, sir!" young -Seymour cried, bounding forward. "I overheard—"</p> - -<p>Rawson snapped to his feet. "Mr. Seymour, attention! Please leave and -enter like a gentleman."</p> - -<p>The cabin boy folded up like a tornado that had lost its wind. Meekly -he turned and walked out of the cabin, closed the door. A rap sounded.</p> - -<p>"Come in."</p> - -<p>As Seymour entered, Rawson hastily turned the sheet of paper on his -desk face down. He greeted the young man with a smile.</p> - -<p>"That's better. Always be a gentleman. If for no one's but your own -self-respect."</p> - -<p>"Yes, sir." Seymour had troubled eyes. "I came to report I overheard -the crew talking. Said somethin' about taking over. I don't get it, -sir. Does it mean mutiny?"</p> - -<p>Rawson shot one word at the cabin boy. "Durk?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, sir. It was him said it."</p> - -<p>"You know you're a stool pigeon?"</p> - -<p>The boy's freckled face looked flustered. "I—I didn't mean, sir—that -is." He gulped. "I thought it was my duty, sir."</p> - -<p>Rawson smiled and there was fatherly tenderness in his voice. "Good, -Mr. Seymour. I like your loyalty. You'll make a Star Point man yet."</p> - -<p>Rawson picked up the paper from his desk. "I have just signed a -recommendation that you be admitted to the class of the year 2356."</p> - -<p>Young Seymour's freckled face spread wide in a grin—so wide that it -drowned out his face. "Gee, sir. Thanks. Gee! <i>Star Point!</i>"</p> - -<p>"I've been keeping an eye on you," Rawson continued. "I saw you -studying in your spare time."</p> - -<p>Rawson leaned back and reflected. "I was like that ten years ago. I -worked hard! And this is my first command. I'm proud of it."</p> - -<p>His voice cracked out suddenly like a whip. "And by God, no man, -nothing, will make me dishonor my gold star or take it away from me!" -His eyes stabbed at Seymour. "Now, what about Durk and the mutiny?"</p> - -<p>"He says you're a sissy, sir. Afraid of the storm. He says you ain't -got no business—"</p> - -<p>"Very good, Mr. Seymour. That will be all."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Rawson watched with a fond smile as Seymour departed.</p> - -<p>Rawson had no intention of letting his precious cargo of serum be -lost or his first space ship wrecked because of Durk's desire for the -captaincy.</p> - -<p>He picked up a volume "<i>Cross Currents of Space</i>" from his book shelf -and opened it. After poring intently through many pages, he snapped to -his crane-like feet with a grin.</p> - -<p>They were approaching Orus—the planet which was covered with borax -sand.</p> - -<p>Rawson drew together his gangling frame, hung together with tremendous -muscles and casually strode on his long legs into the control room.</p> - -<p>The crew worked under the emergency lights dismantling the control -panel. Durk's bullying voice urged them to speed like the slave whips -of Jupiter. His face marked with his years in the space lanes like a -freighter's meteor scars was covered with streaks of oil.</p> - -<p>"Orus dead ahead," Rawson remarked with a grin. "It wouldn't do to set -the <i>Star Flight</i> down for repairs."</p> - -<p>Durk's mouth was bitter as an alligator's. "We're going down!"</p> - -<p>Rawson strolled away whistling and grinning inwardly.</p> - -<p>The rockets pounded as they were adjusted for the landing. It was a -fairly simple job and Rawson knew Durk could handle it.</p> - -<p>From the port in his cabin Rawson saw the <i>Star Flight</i> settle on a -reef between a dark and forbidding pool and a swampy morass. Beyond was -white, hilly sand.</p> - -<p>Rawson turned sharply, on guard, as he heard heavy steps clump into his -cabin. Durk and six of the crew.</p> - -<p>"Well, Mr. Smarty, we got you now!" Durk's hoarse voice bellowed in -triumph. "Yore under arrest!"</p> - -<p>Rawson's muscles rippled and his blue eyes cracked with electric -sparks. "Arrest?"</p> - -<p>"Yeah! Not bein' in command in an emergency! Put him in irons, boys!"</p> - -<p>Todd Rawson looked at the faces of the crew. By the tough lines about -their eyes, by the grime in their skins, they showed that they were -one with the underofficer—veterans of the spaceways who bowed only to -experience and strength.</p> - -<p>"This is mutiny. You know that, Mr. Durk!"</p> - -<p>"No, it ain't!" the other said flatly. "You deserted yore duty. Me and -the crew'll make it stick before the court-martial back home!"</p> - -<p>Rawson saw that the underofficer had the force to back him up. "You won -this round, Durk. But it's only the first." He smiled coolly.</p> - -<p>A young cyclone thundered into the cabin. "Hey, what's going on here?"</p> - -<p>"Mr. Seymour!" This from Rawson.</p> - -<p>Young Seymour hesitated, but his freckled face was blazing. "Yes, sir." -He replied mechanically. But his fists were balled and he advanced -angrily on Durk. "You can't do it! Captain's got more brains than the -whole bunch of you!"</p> - -<p>"Shut up, Squirt!"</p> - -<p>Young Seymour lunged at Durk and pounded his fists again the alligator -toughness of the underofficer. Durk deftly cuffed the cabin boy and -knocked him into a corner.</p> - -<p>Seymour rose slowly, wiping the blood from the cut on his lips. He -charged again with head lowered and balled fists.</p> - -<p>Durk gave him a brief glance. "Throw him in irons."</p> - -<p>Two hard space men grabbed Seymour by the arms and hauled him, kicking, -out of the cabin. The boy's words came floating back. "You're goin' to -be sorry, Durk—"</p> - -<p>Rawson stared at his underofficer stonily. "Well?"</p> - -<p>Durk scratched his chin reflectively. "Hmmm, guess we won't need to put -you in irons. You won't try to run away in all that white sand."</p> - -<p>Between several of the crew Rawson climbed out of the space-port. He -jerked his crane-like body almost double as he bent into a heavy, hot -searing wind like a breath from hell.</p> - -<p>Toward one side the white, slimy ooze pond stretched like an oily sheet -of death between the steep white cliffs that pitted it. It was about -five times the width of the space ship and lay utterly lifeless, yet -Rawson had a feeling of danger lurking beneath its surface.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Rawson was the third man in the single file that fought its way on the -slippery, glassy surface of the narrow neck of rock that lay at the tip -of a finger of morass pointing at the slimy pool.</p> - -<p>"We're gonna keep yah in one of them caves over there." Durk pointed -beyond the line of cliffs that hemmed in the morass. In back of these, -as far as Rawson's eyes could see, stretched white, bleak sand dunes.</p> - -<p>A strong odor of swamp came to Rawson's nose. Swamp gas. Mixed with it -was the alkaline taste of the sand that the hot wind drove into their -mouth, eyes and nose.</p> - -<p>Rawson carefully balanced himself on the isthmus of rock and stared -with misgiving into the pool.</p> - -<p>The crew man ahead of Rawson slipped.</p> - -<p>He clutched wildly at Rawson, missed him, and rolled down the glassy -slope into the pool.</p> - -<p>The ooze parted heavily, with effort, and then surrounded him like a -huge, sucking mouth.</p> - -<p>The man screamed. "Quicksand! Help! It's sucking me down——eeeeeh—"</p> - -<p>With horror Rawson saw the white, slimy mess suck him down—down—</p> - -<p>Rawson's voice screamed against the shriek of the wind. "Throw him a -line!"</p> - -<p>The man's struggling head sank below the surface. A frantic hand fought -against the ooze, sank steadily deeper. The hand disappeared. Bubbles -from the man's dying breath broke the surface. The slime drifted -together again and was smooth and liquid again with the peace of death.</p> - -<p>Rawson shuddered.</p> - -<p>He stared at Durk who was looking dumbfounded into the pool. One of the -crew had been lost under Durk's command. Would there be others?</p> - -<p>When the chill winds of night came, Rawson was sitting inside a cave -that looked down on the sink hole.</p> - -<p>Rawson was carefully, meticulously, studying the crew and the lay of -the land, like a general studies the ground before a battle.</p> - -<p>He looked down into the depression which was like a huge inside-out -face. The ridge on which the space ship rested looked like a monstrous -nose between the two giant eyes—the farther eye the quicksand pool and -the nearer a shallow swamp over which hung the swamp gas.</p> - -<p>The crew was camped by a small fire near the swamp. Near them lay young -Seymour, with his hands and feet bound.</p> - -<p>Even in the cave the wind moaned incessantly and drove the bitter sand -into Rawson's mouth. It blasted across the glassy ridge and whipped the -fires beside the space ship.</p> - -<p>If I can rescue Seymour, Rawson thought, we'll control the ship, if we -manage to hold the control room. But he realized the difficulty.</p> - -<p>Between the cave and the whipping fires of the crew, Rawson could see -the mist that hung low over the swamp, just out of the reach of the -wind. Sometimes a little of the mist was carried away and brought to -his nose—swamp gas.</p> - -<p>On silent feet, Rawson crept toward the swamp. The guard did not look -up.</p> - -<p>Rawson lay beside the soft, decayed soil and vegetation. Under cover of -his body he snapped his automatic lighter. He hurled the blazing light -into the swamp.</p> - -<p>He leaped back.</p> - -<p>Immediately a flame flashed across the swamp and leaped toward the sky -and the roar of the explosion brought the entire crew to their feet -with their flame ray weapons in their hands.</p> - -<p>They stampeded toward the safety of the space ship.</p> - -<p>Under cover of the explosion, Rawson rushed toward Seymour, picked him -up and fled with him into the darkness of the sandy desert, beyond the -hills.</p> - -<p>"Gee, sir!" the boy said after he recovered from his astonishment, and -they lay in hiding on top of a tall hill and looked down on the excited -bustle of the camp. "Did you do that?"</p> - -<p>Rawson smiled grimly. "Nothing to it. Swamps create marsh gas, or -methane gas, which is highly inflammable. A little fire will make a -stagnant pocket of the gas go up with a bang."</p> - -<p>Young Seymour looked at the lights of the camp with troubled eyes. "I'm -sorry you rescued me, sir."</p> - -<p>"What's this, Mr. Seymour?"</p> - -<p>The young fellow avoided his captain's eyes. "I been thinking, sir, -that—well, maybe, Underofficer Durk is right."</p> - -<p>"So Durk's been talking to you, convincing you that I haven't enough -experience to command a space ship!"</p> - -<p>"I feel miserable about the whole thing, sir. It's—oh, gee, captain. -Durk's got the ship and the men and he's had twenty-five years in the -spaceways. He ought to know what's doing."</p> - -<p>Rawson's voice was suddenly raw as Jovian liquor. "All right, Mr. -Seymour. I understand. Get going!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The boy slunk away like a whipped dog. Once he hesitated and looked -back, and then with lowered shoulders, he ploughed his way through the -sand toward the space ship.</p> - -<p>Rawson watched him go. He felt as though he had been deserted by his -last friend.</p> - -<p>This leaves me all alone, Rawson thought. Me against the crew. I've got -to get command of the ship. The serum's got to go through. Saturn's -depending on me.</p> - -<p>I still say Mom's right. You've got to know how to do things and have -the guts to carry them through. I'm not quitting.</p> - -<p>And Jennifer Kane would be disappointed in me if I quit on my Star -Point oath. She was so proud when I graduated. And when I received my -promotions. Moved from underofficer to commander in three years. No -wonder Durk is so bitter.</p> - -<p>But it takes scientific knowledge these days—that's it. Science will -win a way out for me—</p> - -<p>Rawson's mind began to work like an intricate machine. Thousands of -stimuli of knowledge had been injected into his brain during his -training; now his mind began to select and analyze these stimuli for -the purpose of finding a solution to his predicament.</p> - -<p>Rawson's self-respect was the rock of his courage.</p> - -<p>I'll have to do this alone, he thought. As he saw that the crew members -about the space ship had quieted down and that the camp was still for -the night, he rose and fought his way against the wind toward the space -ship, across the slippery neck of rock.</p> - -<p>The space ship was dark and silent. A crew man nodded sleepily beside -the fire to the left. Yet he had to be careful. Other members of the -crew might leap out at him at any moment.</p> - -<p>He slipped inside the space ship. He found the space suit. He donned -it quickly, fastened the space helmet around his head. The space suit -would help him in any emergency.</p> - -<p>He was moving from the lockers to the control room past the port when a -guard saw him. The man grabbed for him. "Gotcha!"</p> - -<p>But the muscles strung on his bony frame exploded in power and the crew -man fell aside. Rawson leaped through the lock and landed on the white -ridge beside the quicksand pool.</p> - -<p>The guard's yells brought the rest of the crew, and they advanced on -him from all sides.</p> - -<p>He backed slowly from the menacing circle, looking for an opening -through which to dart. But they came from both sides of the ship. In -his rear was the slimy quicksand. He backed toward it.</p> - -<p>One of the crew's stumbling feet loosened a boulder and it came -hurtling toward Rawson. He leaped aside but his crane-like feet landed -on gravel and he started to slide off balance backwards.</p> - -<p>The crew realized before Rawson did what was happening. "He's sliding -into the quicksand! Stop him!"</p> - -<p>Rawson felt the pressure of the wet sand on the space suit. He -struggled for a hold on the rocks. They came away in his hands. He -slid deeper.</p> - -<p>He felt the suction at his feet, climbing up to his waist, over his -shoulders.</p> - -<p>The white quicksand went over the space suit visor and cut out the -light of the moon. Still he kept sinking, slowly, steadily, in the -depths.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>With an effort he forced his hand to his belt and adjusted the levers -to permit oxygen for his breathing to swell the space suit.</p> - -<p>He could breath, but he could not control his movements. The pressure -of the wet sand weighted heavily on him and smothered him in a blanket -of darkness.</p> - -<p>He moved down slowly as on greased feathers into a bottomless pit. His -legs dangled limply, drifting now this way, now that. He put his arms -out to steady himself, but the muck gave way before him.</p> - -<p>He heard only the slight bubbling sound of the oxygen escaping through -the vent in his space suit.</p> - -<p>He felt a sucking pull on his body and on his limbs as he went -down—down—</p> - -<p>At last he hung suspended. His weight balanced the density of the -pressure of the sand.</p> - -<p>His mind worked furiously—in a race with death.</p> - -<p>He remembered the slight alkaline taste that had penetrated to his -mouth and nose back on the surface. Alkaline?</p> - -<p>He had read about that—in the "<i>Cross Currents of Space</i>"—Orus was -the borax planet.</p> - -<p>And suddenly his training in the chemistry of borax rushed through his -frantic mind.</p> - -<p>He smiled grimly to himself as he reached for the heat ray gun at his -waist. No, it hadn't been lost. He detached it and forced it through -the quicksand in front of him.</p> - -<p>Carefully he aimed the heat ray gun upward, pressed the trigger.</p> - -<p>Light so bright and intense and so hot that Rawson felt the heat and -light in the clutching quicksand bored a hole through the muck.</p> - -<p>It was a thin rod of penetration, about two inches wide and extended -straight upwards to where Rawson thought the edge of the pit would be.</p> - -<p>Long and patiently he trained the heat ray gun.</p> - -<p>And as he waited a chemical change took place before his eyes. In the -light of the heat ray gun, he saw a thin rod of white porous mass -forming. It extended through the quicksand upward along the line of the -heat ray.</p> - -<p>And as he watched, the white mass melted into a clear liquid. He kept -the heat ray gun concentrated until its power died and the weapon -became a useless piece of metal.</p> - -<p>Rawson had won. He had created liquid glass.</p> - -<p>Patiently he waited for the liquid to harden. Would it make it possible -for him to escape this quicksand death?</p> - -<p>For hours he hung suspended in the ooze. When he judged that there had -been time enough for the liquid to harden into glass, he extended his -hand toward it.</p> - -<p>His groping fingers found a strong, smooth rod fused to the rock above.</p> - -<p>Hand over hand he made his way up, forcing himself through the heavy -ooze. When he reached the top, he crawled out, half dead and staggered -to firm ground.</p> - -<p>He stumbled. But he saw at a glance that he had drifted far from the -place where he had fallen in. The space ship was several hundred yards -away, completely hidden by a hill.</p> - -<p>A few feet more, he staggered and stumbled into a dank pool. He took -off the space helmet and drank deeply and crammed some concentrated -food pills into his mouth.</p> - -<p>His muscles were sore and weary. He knew he had to rest. He found the -coolness of a cave. Hardly had he dropped to the sandy floor when he -fell into an exhausted sleep.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>For hours he lay and his body regenerated its youthful vitality.</p> - -<p>He stirred restlessly in his sleep when he felt the pressure of another -hand on his. He sat up abruptly, on guard.</p> - -<p>A freckled boy's face was looking down on him with wonder in the blue -eyes. "Captain Rawson, sir," Seymour said. "I was explorin' and found -you here. Gee, sir, how did you escape out of the quicksand?"</p> - -<p>Rawson regarded the young man with wonder. "Sit down, Mr. Seymour." -Rawson explained about the borax and his escape. "But what about you -and Durk?"</p> - -<p>The boy made circles in the sand with his foot. His eyes avoided the -captain's. "I couldn't stand it, sir. My conscience. It wasn't right. -You're the captain, no matter what Durk says."</p> - -<p>"Thanks. Okay, let's get going."</p> - -<p>Purposely they strode across the sand toward the space ship. But as -they neared the top of the hill beyond which lay the space ship, they -heard a series of loud explosions. Rawson recognized those sounds.</p> - -<p>With a rush he was on top of the hill and staring at the space ship.</p> - -<p>The explosions came from there. The ports were closed and there was no -one on the bridge.</p> - -<p>The ship was taking off!</p> - -<p>Rawson's skeleton-like body shuddered in dismay. He yelled but he knew -it was futile. No one could hear him above the roar of the rockets.</p> - -<p>And if they did? Durk might find it convenient to report that the -captain had been lost on the expedition.</p> - -<p>For once in his life, Rawson admitted fear to himself—to be deserted -on this waste planet!</p> - -<p>The space ship quivered under the impact of the rockets. And Rawson -noticed a queer thing about that vibration—it was normal in itself, -but it was never intended to occur on a glassy cliff that sloped into a -quicksand.</p> - -<p>The vibration loosed the pull of gravity of the ship—its steadiness on -the ridge—it slipped sideways.</p> - -<p>It slipped sideways into the quicksand.</p> - -<p>The space ship moved sideways over the edge of the cliff and started to -sink beneath the lake of quicksand.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus.jpg" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>As the bottom half of the hull disappeared below the surface of the -ooze, the top ports opened and the crew began leaping from the hull -onto the cliff.</p> - -<p>Rawson counted them. They were all there. All sixty—there should be -sixty-one. But one had been lost in the quicksand at the first landing.</p> - -<p>The crew stood huddled in a bunch and watched the top of the hull -disappear below the quicksand.</p> - -<p>Rawson's crane-like legs carried him toward the crew. Their faces -showed repentance.</p> - -<p>It was a miserable bunch of men that faced him, and the most miserable -of all was Underofficer Durk.</p> - -<p>Rawson for a moment said nothing. He watched the last air bubbles that -seeped up from the space ship at the bottom of the quicksand. The -bubbles broke one by one. The sand smoothed out again, leaving a slimy -smoothness that revealed nothing—that failed to betray the loss of all -hope.</p> - -<p>Rawson's voice whipped like a lash. "Well, Mr. Durk! Have you thought -of a solution of the predicament of the crew and yourself?"</p> - -<p>Durk's eyes did not meet Rawson's. Durk's voice mumbled. "Yore the -captain, sir."</p> - -<p>Rawson shuddered within himself. He was the captain—captain of a space -ship that no longer existed. They were stranded on a desolate planet -with no food and no weapons.</p> - -<p>Weapons? He still had his heat ray gun, but it was burned out—no good.</p> - -<p>Wearily Rawson turned to young Seymour. "Bring me my space suit."</p> - -<p>It took but a few minutes for the boy to run back to the cave and fetch -back the space suit. Slowly Rawson climbed into it.</p> - -<p>He turned to Durk. "I'm going into the quicksand. Perhaps I'll be able -to find something—something—" He sighed. "If I don't return, well, -it's up to you."</p> - -<p>He leaped far forward, felt his feet sink into the clutching quicksand.</p> - -<p>The muck enfolded him like cold, slimy snake coils twisting around and -crushing him.</p> - -<p>As he sank below the surface, he heard the bursting air bubbles above -him like sibilant whispers of death. The dread, crushing quicksand drew -around like crushing giant hands.</p> - -<p>This time Rawson had no heat ray gun to help him escape!</p> - -<p>His lips twisted helplessly under the pressure of the sand and the -water. It was like being buried alive in cement that had not yet -hardened.</p> - -<p>His feet struck something solid. The hull. Using his feet as leverage -he forced himself forward against the grasping ooze, until he came to -one of the ports. It was open and the quicksand had oozed in.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Rawson managed to grasp the railing by sheer muscle and forced himself -inside. The shifting, liquefied sand covered the entire top deck.</p> - -<p>But the door to the lower hatches and the control decks had sealed -automatically. He turned the lever and pushed the door of the hatch -inwards.</p> - -<p>The pressure of the sand hurled him inside like water shot from a -nozzle.</p> - -<p>He raced for the farther door—raced to beat the moving quicksand that -oozed forward like some giant amoeba.</p> - -<p>Rawson won by a second. He opened the door and dived inward. Quickly -he closed the door and sealed it as he felt the pressure of the muck -against it. The metal locks would hold.</p> - -<p>He stripped off the space suit and hurried to the rocket deck. -Everything was in order. A member of the crew had automatically cut off -the disintegrator motors at the call "Abandon Ship!"</p> - -<p>Rawson set the speed at idle. He turned the rocket levers. For a moment -the ship trembled as the exhaust gases fought against the pressure of -the quicksand in the tubes.</p> - -<p>The rockets thundered in full power. Rawson waited. The heat of those -exhaust gases was tremendous—made ten times so by their compression in -the ooze.</p> - -<p>Heat! That was it!</p> - -<p>But would the rockets be powerful enough to change the composition of -the quicksand?</p> - -<p>He felt the heat of the compressed gases through the floor of the -hull, and their motion through the muck was accompanied by a loud -glub—glub—glub—Sounds like the choking of a primeval monster.</p> - -<p>This sound gradually died out, and the heat became intense. Rawson -removed his shirt and wiped the perspiration from his eyes. The sweat -dripped down his arms and made little wet spots on the floor. He began -shifting from foot to foot as the heat became uncomfortable on the -soles of his feet.</p> - -<p>There was no way to see what was going on outside the space ship. All -the ports were blocked by the muck.</p> - -<p>Presently he touched the dials. The indicator moved from "idle" to -"take-off." He gunned the rockets.</p> - -<p>The ship lurched forward, groaned, and wallowed deeper into the ooze. -It was no go.</p> - -<p>Rawson returned the power to idle and waited patiently. Perhaps it -could still be done.</p> - -<p>Perhaps—but more likely not!</p> - -<p>Rawson was not ready to despair. He waited with the courage of his -conviction that a way could be found through science.</p> - -<p>He waited for three hours, and then he touched the controls again. He -set the dials to depress the nose, pulled the lever for the reverse. -Then he punched the needle for full power. He geared in the traction.</p> - -<p>The space ship leaped backward with a jerk, found firm footing, and -crawled with accelerated power. It surged swifter and swifter like an -unleashed Neptune cyclone.</p> - -<p>And as he felt the motion of the vessel beneath his feet, Rawson looked -up and saw the light stream through the muck that covered the port -windows.</p> - -<p>He had broken free!</p> - -<p>By instinct he guided the vessel all alone to a new landing. He had -to be navigator, engineer, pilot, and do the many tedious things that -require many hands and brains to control a ship.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Several days later they were near Saturn and Rawson had just received -congratulations on bringing in the serum in time to save thousands of -lives. He sat at his desk, his skeleton frame hunched like an ostrich, -when a young cyclone burst into his cabin.</p> - -<p>"Captain, sir," young Seymour cried, bounding forward. "I overheard—"</p> - -<p>Rawson snapped to his feet. "Mr. Seymour, Attention! Please leave and -enter like a gentleman."</p> - -<p>Meekly the cabin boy walked out, closed the door. A rap sounded.</p> - -<p>"Come in." And as the lad entered Rawson said with a smile, "That's -better."</p> - -<p>"Yes, sir. I came to report I overheard the crew talking."</p> - -<p>"Durk?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, sir. Underofficer Durk says you're voted the best darn space -commander that ever flew the stars. And that he'll lick the denims off -anybody that says different."</p> - -<pre style='margin-top:6em'> -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MUTINY *** - -This file should be named 63675-h.htm or 63675-h.zip - -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: -http://www.gutenberg.org/6/3/6/7/63675/ - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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