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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..89138b2 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #63808 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/63808) diff --git a/old/63808-h.zip b/old/63808-h.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index f43d1b6..0000000 --- a/old/63808-h.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63808-h/63808-h.htm b/old/63808-h/63808-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index 96ea944..0000000 --- a/old/63808-h/63808-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1742 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" - "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> - <head> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=us-ascii" /> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> - <title> - The Project Gutenberg eBook of Space Bat, by Carl Selwyn.us- - </title> - <link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg" /> - - <style type="text/css"> - -body { - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - - h1,h2 { - text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ - clear: both; -} - -p { - margin-top: .51em; - text-align: justify; - margin-bottom: .49em; -} - -hr { - width: 33%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - margin-left: 33.5%; - margin-right: 33.5%; - clear: both; -} - -hr.chap {width: 65%; margin-left: 17.5%; margin-right: 17.5%;} -hr.tb {width: 45%; margin-left: 27.5%; margin-right: 27.5%;} - -.center {text-align: center;} - -.right {text-align: right;} - -/* Images */ -.figcenter { - margin: auto; - text-align: center; -} - -.caption p -{ - text-align: center; - text-indent: 0; - margin: 0.25em 0; -} - -div.titlepage { - text-align: center; - page-break-before: always; - page-break-after: always; -} - -div.titlepage p { - text-align: center; - text-indent: 0em; - font-weight: bold; - line-height: 1.5; - margin-top: 3em; -} - -.ph1 { text-align: center; text-indent: 0em; } -.ph1 { font-size: medium; margin: .83em auto; } - - - </style> - </head> -<body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Space Bat, by Carl Selwyn - -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: Space Bat - -Author: Carl Selwyn - -Release Date: November 18, 2020 [EBook #63808] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SPACE BAT *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<div class="titlepage"> - -<h1>SPACE BAT</h1> - -<h2>By CARL SELWYN</h2> - -<p>Out of the caves of space it flew—huge, rapacious,<br /> -terrifying. But Lou Flint met its vicious challenge<br /> -happily. For, like the girl at his side,<br /> -it was worth one million dollars!</p> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br /> -Planet Stories Winter 1946.<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>The jungle was filled with the shouts of the hunters and the sounds of -their heavy boots crashing through the dry sword grass. The long line -of men were running shoulder to shoulder, stooping under the red vines, -stumbling over the mossy rocks.</p> - -<p>Bounding ahead in panic surged hundreds of animals of a strange -species. Shaped like deer, they had no antlers and their delicate -bodies were covered with rich greenish-gold feathers. Eyes large with -terror, feathers ruffled, they stampeded through the entrance of a -corral that was so well camouflaged it was almost invisible in the -tangled plants and tree trunks.</p> - -<p>In a corner of the corral, shadowed from the late afternoon sun, a -tall, bare-chested young man waited motionless as an ironwood tree, -watching the animals stream toward him. His only clothing was a pair of -faded khaki shorts and soft leather boots. Strapped to his waist was a -leather holster containing a heavy pistol, its thick barrel shaped like -a flashlight. His ruggedly handsome face was angry, his gray eyes cold -as he watched the animals futilely leaping at the surrounding fence.</p> - -<p>Suddenly the hunters broke through the screening jungle. Their leader -bellowed, "Okay! Bash their heads in! Let's get their hides off!"</p> - -<p>The other men advanced toward the herd of frenzied animals, clubs -raised. The leader swung his own stick down toward one of the creatures -that tried to race past him.</p> - -<p>Instantly the ironwood tree came to life. His hand was one blurred -motion as it jerked his odd-shaped pistol from its holster, squeezed -the trigger. A silver streak flashed from the barrel, struck the man's -arm before the club could fall. His arm froze in mid-swing.</p> - -<p>"Drop those sticks and get off this planetoid!" As the bare-chested -one came out of the shadows, his voice had virtually the force of his -weapon.</p> - -<p>The men stood with clubs half-raised, staring at him. "It's Lou Flint," -one of them whispered.</p> - -<p>"Watch him! That's an ice-ray pistol!" They lowered their clubs slowly, -glancing toward their leader.</p> - -<p>The big fellow rubbed his rigid right arm with his other hand. It stuck -out before him at a grotesque angle; he couldn't move it yet. As he -looked at Flint his eyes were deadly. "Don't stick your nose in this -business, trapper." His thick lips curled. "You don't own this land."</p> - -<p>"I'm sticking my nose into any business that kills off a thousand -feather-deer in two weeks," Lou Flint said. "I've seen enough of your -butchering."</p> - -<p>The big man's stiffened arm suddenly dropped back to his side, -perfectly normal again. An ice-ray's harmless effect lasted only a -minute—but while it lasted it was a potent weapon. "You're a big -talker with that gun in your hand."</p> - -<p>In answer, Flint dropped the pistol at his feet. The other glanced at -his men, saw them waiting for his next move. He strode forward. Flint -waited solidly before him, fists on his hips. "You aren't leaving?" -"Nope." Then quick as a snake the fellow bent, tried to scoop up the -pistol. Flint was quicker. His fist plowed into the man's chin. The -blow lifted him up on his toes, sent him stumbling backward till he -crumpled silently to the ground. "Anybody else got any arguments?" -Flint asked, looking toward the others. Nobody had. "Then get off this -planetoid. If I catch you here again I'm going to send <i>your</i> hides -back to your filthy fur boss."</p> - -<p>Two of the men came over with tight lips and picked up their -unconscious comrade. Straining under his weight, they rejoined the -others who were moving back toward the trampled jungle, muttering -silently.</p> - -<p>Flint picked up his pistol, dropped it in his holster. He strode over -to the side of the corral and kicked a hole in the fence to let out the -feather-deer. Then, with a glance at the low-lying sun, he set out down -a dim trail, walking fast.</p> - -<p>Despite his threat, he knew he hadn't seen the last of this business.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>From the wild region Flint called home, through the maze of Ring -planets to the Saturn mainland, was only an hour's jump—if you knew -the way. If you didn't, well, even the Stellar Patrol got lost looking -for you.</p> - -<p>The Ring was uncharted, an inestimable jumble of satellites ranging in -size from sand-like grains to full-blown worlds supporting their own -plant and animal life. Their only ties to the mother planet were the -cosmic forces that kept them constantly revolving around her and their -common atmosphere, so deep it enveloped both Saturn and the Ring.</p> - -<p>Flint knew every shape, every color, every landmark in the place, and -his plane weaved through the maze at a speed that would have ended in a -crash with a less experienced hand at the controls.</p> - -<p>The hazy twilight was just settling over Saturn when he plunged down -into its capital city. Pausing at the space-port only long enough -to wiggle into a shirt, he caught the shuttle chute across town and -arrived at the capitol just as the government workers were leaving -the building. He ran up the gleaming stairs, turned down the glowing -corridor and hurried through the silver door on which impressive -letters read: GOVERNOR'S OFFICE.</p> - -<p>A secretary looked up from her desk with startled eyes. Her expression -changed from surprise to alarm as Flint strode past her toward a closed -door at the end of the room.</p> - -<p>"Here! Do you have an appointment—"</p> - -<p>But Flint had shoved open the door and stepped into the Governor's -private office.</p> - -<p>A tall, white-haired man looked up from a huge desk. He rose quickly, -smiling, and held out his hand. "I've been wanting to see you, Lou. No -one knew how to find you in the Ring."</p> - -<p>Flint shook his hand, pulled up a chair, and started right in. "This -tract of planetoids of mine out in the Ring—do I own them—legally—or -don't I?"</p> - -<p>The Governor looked down at his hands, inspected his fingernails. -"That's what I wanted to see you about, Lou." When he met Flint's -eyes it was with a look that said he was about to face an unpleasant -task. "Your father spent half his life hunting space bat out there—he -claimed several planetoids, I believe."</p> - -<p>"Twenty-two of them," Flint stated.</p> - -<p>"And I know that after your father died," the Governor continued, "you -took over and have been hunting bat yourself ever since—a mighty long -wild-goose chase I call it, but that's your business. Anyway, your -father was one of the pioneers here, Lou. I'll always—"</p> - -<p>"Governor, if you've got bad news, spill it."</p> - -<p>"All right. I'll give it to you straight. You don't have any legal -claim to those planetoids. The Saturnian Government has never -recognized squatters' rights out there and I'm afraid there's no time -to fight it out with Congress now." He hesitated. "Your land is being -sold to an Earth fur corporation for a million dollars."</p> - -<p>Flint sat there staring at the Governor for a long moment. Then -abruptly he got to his feet. "They're the guys I've been running -into ever since feather-deer became the fur coat rage on Earth." He -spoke through his teeth. "I've seen their work—thousands of raw, -skinned carcasses strewn about the woods—vultures everywhere. They're -butchers! In two months there won't be a feather-deer left in the Ring. -They'll be extinct. Do you think I'm going to stand by and watch that -happen?"</p> - -<p>He leaned over the desk, resting on his big fists. "I'm a hunter, -but I hunt animals that can fight back—tigodons, baragators, swamp -wolves—not these helpless little things you can run down and kill with -a club."</p> - -<p>The Governor shook his white head sadly. "I'm truly sorry, Lou. I wish -there were something I could do but the owner of this fur outfit is -coming in on tonight's space liner. He wants to go out to the Ring -just as soon as he arrives. I've been asked to find a guide."</p> - -<p>"One million dollars," Flint thought aloud. "It's entirely a matter of -money."</p> - -<p>"I'm afraid it is. If you could only get a space bat <i>now</i>, -Lou—doesn't that Earth circus still offer a million to anybody who -captures one alive?"</p> - -<p>"Yeah," Flint said dejectedly. "But nobody's ever captured a space -bat, dead or alive." He stuck his hands deep in his pockets and walked -around the room, staring at the floor. Suddenly he halted in his -tracks. Then he whirled back to the desk. "If I get a million dollars -to you before this guy gives you his check, is the place mine?"</p> - -<p>The Governor's smile was puzzled. "Well, I could probably arrange it, -but—"</p> - -<p>"Fine. Now could you also arrange for <i>me</i> to meet this guy at the -space port tonight? I'll be his guide."</p> - -<p>"I don't like the way you're acting, Lou. I don't want any trouble."</p> - -<p>Flint grinned. "You old goat. You're thinking about your reputation. -When you and Dad were with the first settlers that took Saturn away -from the natives, you didn't worry about trouble then. But I promise—I -won't do anything to hurt your politics."</p> - -<p>The Governor shook his head resignedly. "You're just as stubborn as -your father was," he said. He reached in a drawer and handed Flint a -small engraved card. It read:</p> - -<p class="ph1">K. V. Vaun<br /> -Fur Fashions, Inc.<br /> -New York City, Earth</p> - -<p>"Thanks," Flint said. "I'll be there tonight." He strode quickly from -the room.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Ten minutes later the great shadowy sphere that was the Saturn -mainland was shrinking in the distance. Ahead, through the plane's -front view-plate, the Ring arced across the heavens, a pastel rainbow -against the outer night. Night here was never complete blackness; the -Ring's sprinkling of radium moons gave a glow one could read by even at -midnight.</p> - -<p>Ten minutes more and he abruptly threw the ship into a shuddering -bank, skirted a looming planetoid, dived to a precarious landing on -its neighbor. He dragged a spare radio set from under his seat and with -it in his hand jumped out of the ship and ran to a large tree on which -one end of a heavy cable was tied.</p> - -<p>The other end of the cable stretched up and away from the planetoid -and out across the misty void—to the neighboring globe which was so -heavily jungled that there was no place to land a plane. Flint climbed -into the dangling cable chair, holding the radio in his lap, and pushed -himself out across the wire, away from the planetoid, over the sheer -drop ten miles under his feet.</p> - -<p>Seconds later—things happened fast with this feather gravity—the -other world moved up under him and he dropped lightly to its surface.</p> - -<p>The trail he took through the woods was more like a tunnel, and the -little clearing that soon appeared was like a well, the moon lights -filtering through.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>In the clearing lay the rusted hull of a space-ship, used for a house. -Before it stood a Venusian, skinning a baragator which hung by its -scaley legs from a log tripod. The man's only clothing was a bright -red loin cloth, and the flesh of his limbs, chest, and face was green, -a burnished green like the sheen of sunlight under water. He was not -large, but the smooth suppleness of his body gave an impression of -great strength, like the coils of a python.</p> - -<p>As Flint came out of the jungle, the Venusian turned to face him as -though he knew of his approach, although Flint's tread had been silent -as a cat's. His words, before Flint could speak, were also uncanny—as -if he already knew what Flint had come to tell him.</p> - -<p>"No like trouble with white policemen," he said, "but your plan seems -only way to save hunting ground from seekers of feathers. I will -help—you, my friend of many seasons."</p> - -<p>He spoke without moving his lips—because he wasn't using his lips. -His voice was toneless, mechanical. It came from a small microphone -attached to his throat. The impulse for the microphone came from the -pulsations of his bloodstream which he could control. Venusians were a -strange race—being deaf and dumb and having the power to read brain -waves were only a few of their peculiarities.</p> - -<p>Flint grinned. "I don't know why I take the trouble to come all the way -down the path, Greeno. You could pick up my thoughts from the cable -just as well." Then, in a hurry to get on with his business, "Is there -anything you didn't understand?"</p> - -<p>"One thing not clear—something you must have planned before coming -into range," the toneless voice said. "You wish me to meet your plane -on way to Ring, kidnap man from you and bring him here," he ran through -the plan he'd picked up from Flint's mind. "Then I radio message about -ransom—a million dollars. But how will money be delivered?"</p> - -<p>"Simple," Flint explained. "The guy's fur company sends the money to -the Saturn Express Agency. We tell them to put it in a small rocket and -shoot it toward the Ring. We'll make them put a radio-signaling gadget -into the rocket, too. All we'll have to do is follow the signal and -pick up the rocket before we let the guy go." The plan was foolproof; -there was no way the police could prove anything on anybody.</p> - -<p>"No," Greeno agreed with his thoughts, "their evidence against you -purely circumstantial. Me, they never guess."</p> - -<p>"That's it." Flint strode toward the space-ship hull with the radio -set. "Where you want this? Have your finger on it at eight tonight and -I'll radio the guy's description." Although Greeno couldn't hear, he -could pick up radio vibrations by touch.</p> - -<p>Greeno followed him into the cylinder, motioned toward a table in the -corner. The place was battery-lighted, soft-walled with hides.</p> - -<p>"I'll have to put up a little fight when you leave my plane," Flint -said. "Make it look better—"</p> - -<p>But Greeno held up his hand, motioned him on out the door. "Can't pick -up thoughts inside," he reminded him.</p> - -<p>Flint went out grinning; he could never get used to the fact that the -Venusian was reading his mind, not hearing his words, and that he -couldn't pick up the waves when he was surrounded by metal such as the -ship's hull. Outside, he started to tell him again about having to put -on the fight act.</p> - -<p>But Greeno stopped him. "Understand now," he said.</p> - -<p>Flint laughed. Even a spoken "Good luck" wasn't necessary. He turned, -went back down the trail thinking it was a good thing the Stellar -Patrol hadn't been able to get Venusians to work for them.</p> - -<p>"Very good thing," Greeno called after him.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Nearing Saturn, Flint's eye was pressed against the filterscope in his -view-plate, scanning the black well of space to the east. Then he saw -the liner, far out, a silver bullet glinting in the rays of the sun -that had sunken below Saturn's horizon hours ago.</p> - -<p>He was standing at the gate when the great ship came in, roared up the -quartz strip, and halted at the ramp. Flint stopped the purser. "I'm -supposed to meet a fellow named K. V. Vaun, fur merchant. Which one is -he?"</p> - -<p>The purser slid a finger down his passenger list, shook his head. "No -gentleman by that name." Then his finger paused. "There was a lady—"</p> - -<p>"A <i>lady</i>!"</p> - -<p>The purser looked toward the ship. "Yes. A <i>Miss</i> K. V. Vaun—there she -is now." He hurried away, leaving Flint staring at the girl coming down -the ramp.</p> - -<p>She wore a luxurious greenish-gold coat, but the rest of her was -strictly business. She was almost as tall as Flint, carried a -brief case, and wore glasses. Her face had the pallor of an office -fluorescent lamp, her lips were without makeup and her hair was done up -in a grim knot at the back of her neck. Her stride had the purposeful -determination of one who always knew just where she was going, just -what she was going to do.</p> - -<p>Following her, like lieutenants behind a general, trotted two small -men, each carrying a briefcase, each fairly exuding efficiency.</p> - -<p>Flint stared at the three as they came toward him, stared at them as -they marched past him, stared at their backs as they assailed the -baggage room. Well, there went his plans—he had to give up without -even a fight. He couldn't kidnap a woman.</p> - -<p>Then suddenly his big fists knotted at his sides. Staring at Miss -Vaun's back, he realized her coat was feather-deer. Flint stuck a -resolute shoulder into the crowd and went after her.</p> - -<p>They were waiting at the baggage counter when he came up. Miss Vaun -looked over the crowd, tapping her foot. "Now where is the yokel that -was to meet us?"</p> - -<p>"Miss Vaun?"</p> - -<p>She took a step backward as Flint loomed before her.</p> - -<p>"Yes?"</p> - -<p>"I'm the yokel."</p> - -<p>"Oh," she said. Then, without apology, "Excellent. You're Mr. -Flint—the Governor radioed us to expect you. We can leave immediately."</p> - -<p>"You don't want to rest a bit first, Karen?" one of her little men -asked. Flint shouted to himself, "No!" From what he'd seen and heard he -was ready to go through the whole thing now, and Greeno was waiting at -the radio for the word go.</p> - -<p>But Miss Vaun apparently had the energy of a cash register. "These -liners are virtually traveling hotels, John," she said. "I'm quite -rested and I want to look over this property so I can close the deal in -the morning." She turned to Flint. "Shall we go?"</p> - -<p>Flint led them silently toward his plane, grinning inwardly at the deal -that by morning certainly should be well closed.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Lounging over the controls, Flint could see his guests behind him in -the mirror. Rudely enough, he hadn't been introduced to the men but -from their conversation he had determined that Mr. John Leggett—short, -black-mustached, slick-haired—was Miss Vaun's legal advisor. Mr. Simon -Hudson—short, bald, bug-eyed—was a fur expert.</p> - -<p>The three faced each other around the two jump seats pulled down from -the sides of the cabin. While they talked, Flint had whispered into his -radio, "It's a <i>woman</i>, Greeno, not a man."</p> - -<p>Through the plane's plexiglass nose and ceiling, the Ring sparkled in -all its glory, like a bridge of jewels across the heavens. But its -wonders were wasted on Karen Vaun. "I had no idea it was this far out," -she said. Her pale face was bored.</p> - -<p>"Increased shipping costs," the lawyer said.</p> - -<p>"The heat, too," the fur expert added, mopping his bald head. "Have to -watch out for deterioration."</p> - -<p>Flint ground his teeth, looked at the clock. Thank Saturn he hadn't -long to listen to this—Greeno should show up in a few minutes. But -those few minutes were long and before two more of them had elapsed he -found himself getting madder and madder.</p> - -<p>"To make up for shipping rates and deterioration," the lawyer said, -toying with his mustache, "we'll have to increase supply." He thumbed -through a sheaf of papers in his lap. "At fifty-six ninety per hide—"</p> - -<p>"One crew of hunters can take five hundred hides a day," Hudson -interrupted him. "Think what a hundred crews could do."</p> - -<p>"I wonder how many feather-deer there are out here," Miss Vaun said. -And though Flint bit his lip, it finally slipped out.</p> - -<p>"Did it ever occur to you," he said over his shoulder, "that the fur -business is a murderous racket?"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The woman stiffened visibly. Indignation flushed her face. Her stooges -sat up like startled rabbits.</p> - -<p>"I beg your pardon!"</p> - -<p>"The fur business," Flint repeated, eyes on their faces in the mirror. -"You're a bunch of butchers. I guess you've never seen a feather-doe -standing over the raw carcass of her freshly-skinned faun." He turned -in the seat to face them, talking through his teeth. "I've seen a whole -planet littered with dead animals—thousands of them—stinking in the -sun."</p> - -<p>"Mr. Flint!" the woman's voice was like a razor. "Obviously you don't -know how to converse with a lady. You will please return to your -piloting."</p> - -<p>This scalded Flint. "Why, you walking adding machine! You flat-chested -treasurer's report! You haven't an ounce of womanly warmth in you. A -<i>lady</i>! If you're a lady, I'm a moon-baboon's uncle. All you know is -fur prices. If you—"</p> - -<p>Suddenly his audience was no longer looking at him. Like a quick change -of masks, the faces of all three of them had changed from anger to the -stark twitching white of sheer terror. Every eye was staring past him, -over his shoulder at the view-plate.</p> - -<p>Instinctively, Flint ducked, whirled around.</p> - -<p>As he turned, the woman screamed. Her scream filled the cabin and with -this sound in his ears, Flint saw the <i>thing</i> and ice shot through his -whole body.</p> - -<p>Outside the ship, through the glass, not three feet away, two eyes as -big as his head were gazing down into the lighted cabin. Red-pupiled, -glowing like neon, they rolled slowly in their great sockets and came -to focus directly upon him.</p> - -<p>Flint didn't move. He couldn't. Around the eyes was a six-foot mass of -black hair. Between them, two gaping holes in a black rubber-like mound -was a nose. Above this lay the furrowed folds of a mouth with teeth -like elephant tusks. The hairy face was upsidedown; the thing was above -the ship, peering in at its occupants.</p> - -<p>Slowly, as Flint stared at the face, gray droplets like fog formed -on the glass and obscured the thing. For a second, it was gone from -sight. Then, as quickly as it had disappeared, the fog melted in the -wind outside and the face began to reappear. The thing was breathing; -the fog was the moisture of its breath. But in that second of -obliteration—an eternity it seemed, though the woman's scream still -echoed in Flint's ears—one thought seared itself on his numb brain.</p> - -<p><i>Space bat.</i></p> - -<p>The plane bucked, plunged straight down, away from the bat. But the -bat, like its much smaller brothers, was not to be eluded on the wing. -Like a black cloud with its hundred-foot wingspread, it fell off on one -wing, dived after them.</p> - -<p>It was upon the plane again with two sweeps of its mighty wings. Its -teeth clashed like a rock crusher—Flint heard it through the ship's -two-foot thick walls—and as it missed, it overshot the plane, swept -past them. Instantly it whirled around, hurtled back.</p> - -<p>"Radio for help!" The lawyer's voice was shrill. He sat there wringing -his hands. Sweat glistened on the fur expert's bald head. The woman -clutched the arms of her seat, eyes huge. Then the bat was on them -again.</p> - -<p>Flint did the only thing possible. He dived again. But that was a -mistake. The bat had learned that trick. It also dived. At the same -instant.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus1.jpg" alt=""/> - <div class="caption"> - <p><i>Flint threw his weight on the control lever.</i></p> - </div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>The bony claw on one wing caught the plane a glancing blow midway its -length, sent it spinning end over end. And, when Flint's darting hands -leveled it off again, it cut around in a wild circle, out of control. -The bulge on the port wall of the cabin said the port fuel pump was -smashed.</p> - -<p>And the bat circled to come at them again.</p> - -<p>Flint's passengers realized their peril. The two men jumped up, panic -on their faces. But as Flint throttled the port jet frantically, -futilely, Karen Vaun was on her feet behind him crying in a voice that -was shaky but nonetheless sensible, "Where's the hand pump?" Miss Vaun -was scared stiff but wasn't one to give up in a corner.</p> - -<p>The bat came in from the side. Flint threw in his reverse rockets. The -plane stopped as if it had rammed a planetoid, hurling the three behind -him to the floor. The bat zoomed past them.</p> - -<p>"The pump's under the floor!" Flint yelled over his shoulder. "Pull up -that trap door." He gave the plane every ounce of juice its starboard -jets would take, trying to gain what lead he could before the bat came -back. In the mirror he saw the woman on her knees, pulling at the trap -door, then jerking the manual pump lever.</p> - -<p>And it worked! The port tube sputtered, then streamed smooth, a weak -jet but enough to give a push from the left. And on the left, seconds -away, Flint saw a medium-sized planetoid. The chase had taken them -almost to the Ring.</p> - -<p>The bat came down on his tail like another plane attacking. Flint dove -straight at the planetoid. Behind him, Karen Vaun worked the pump -madly, Hudson and Leggett stood by helplessly, staring up at the hairy -face that grew larger every second above them.</p> - -<p>Flint held his power dive till the last possible second. The planetoid -changed from a globe to a flat surface. Trees separated from the green -mass of jungle. Each leaf sprang up separate and distinct. Close behind -the plane, the bat's mouth gaped open. Flint jammed his rise rockets in.</p> - -<p>The trees came up with a sickening wobble, slanted back and down, then -away. The plane brushed the branches as it zoomed skyward. Behind the -plane, the bat twisted against its tremendous momentum, cut a wide -swath through the tree tops. When it flapped up laboriously, circling, -searching for them again, the plane was well beyond sight of its weak -eyes.</p> - -<p>Watching through the glass, Flint saw it circle higher, finally sail -away toward the Ring. And as his fingers relaxed on the controls, he -found himself laughing.</p> - -<p>He headed the plane back toward the spot where the bat had interrupted -their course. "Somebody keep pumping that jet," he said. "I was -supposed to meet a fellow in another ship on the way out. He'll take -you back to Saturn. I'm going after that bat."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Karen Vaun prevailed on her men to take over the pump. She came and -stood behind Flint, holding tightly to the back of his chair. Her lips -opened but it was a moment before any words came out. Finally, "You're -going <i>after</i> that thing!"</p> - -<p>"Lady," Flint said, "if you knew how long I've been hunting one of -those critters, you'd know how quick I want to get rid of you and get -on its tail." He looked back at her, grinned. He had too much to do to -be angry now. Get back, get his big guns in the plane, then find that -bat. You couldn't miss something that size. Shoot him up a little. Not -much—wing him. That circus wanted him alive. One million bucks!</p> - -<p>The kidnapping, of course, was all off now. He felt almost friendly -toward the woman. "You were a mighty big help on that pump, Miss Vaun," -he said. "You're braver than I thought." It was the first kind word—or -thought—he'd managed about her since they'd met.</p> - -<p>"What—<i>was</i> it?"</p> - -<p>"Space bat. It's a kind of giant bat. Nobody knows where they come -from—somewhere out in space. One comes in every year or so. It feeds -on what wild life it can find, then sails back out into the darkness. -They kill off almost as many animals as your fur hunters—" And this -last, he regretted as soon as he'd said it. The woman's eyes misted, -strangely enough; her lower lip trembled. And Flint frowned, suddenly -amazed, as he looked at her.</p> - -<p>Karen Vaun looked like an entirely different person. The office pallor -was gone from her face; it was rouged with excitement. Her prim knot of -hair had lost its pins and tumbled to her shoulders. Her whole body as -she stood there, still breathing heavily, had taken on a slim vibrance -that belied the memory of her former rigid dignity.</p> - -<p>The real miracle was her eyes—her glasses lay broken on the floor. Her -eyes were soft blue, bright as a spring morning now.</p> - -<p>Flint shook his head in astonishment. "When you get back," he said, -"take a look in a mirror and think things over. You've been wasting -your time behind a desk." He turned back to the controls, and as he -turned Greeno's plane appeared ahead and pulled up alongside.</p> - -<p>"Well, here's where you get a new pilot." He'd take Greeno's plane. -Greeno could limp back in this one and rent another one to follow him -up. Flint was so sure of his bat money he wasn't worrying about the -cost of anything any more.</p> - -<p>He idled while Greeno's ship, skillfully, without a bump, hooked into -the little clamps on the hull outside. A bell clanged—signal to unlock -the port—and he got up, reached for the wheel on the safety door.</p> - -<p>But Karen—it was odd that he didn't seem to think of her as Miss Vaun -any more—reached out and stopped his hand on the wheel. "Mr. Flint," -she said softly, "take me with you—to hunt the bat."</p> - -<p>Flint stared at her, not believing her words. Hudson took her arm. -"Now, Karen. You've had a very trying experience. You should—"</p> - -<p>She jerked away from him. "Please let me go, Mr. Flint. This means -more to me than you know. I haven't forgotten what you said about my -not being a real woman. You're right. I've been nothing but a walking -adding machine and I—"</p> - -<p>"Look," Flint tried to put a stop to it, "if you'd let yourself go -you'd be a pretty decent human being, mighty pretty without your -glasses." He spun the wheel out of her grasp. "But I've got work to do -now."</p> - -<p>"Please!" she cried. "If—" But she never finished that; she stepped -back from the door quickly as the man in the space suit came in from -the other ship—Greeno, taking no chances on future identification. -Wrinkled like a prune, the uninflated suit covered his body completely; -only his eyes were visible through their glass slit.</p> - -<p>"It's all off, Greeno," Flint said. "We ran across a bat on the way -out! It's headed toward the Ring. Take these people back to Saturn -and—" But the man in the space suit had whipped out his hand, caught -Karen Vaun by the wrist.</p> - -<p>It was only then that Flint remembered Greeno couldn't hear him, not -only couldn't hear him because he was deaf but couldn't read his -thoughts because he was surrounded by the metal hull of the ship. He -stepped over and grabbed him by the shoulder, pointed to the girl, -shook his head violently. "Cut it out! Skip it! It's all off!" he -mouthed, hoping Greeno might read his lips.</p> - -<p>"Who is it?" Hudson and Leggett looked on nervously. "What's he trying -to do?"</p> - -<p>Flint started to explain, but then how could he explain that he'd -planned to kidnap Karen Vaun and changed his mind. He continued his -sign language at Greeno.</p> - -<p>Karen struggled, trying to free herself. "I don't understand! Stop him!"</p> - -<p>Finally, Flint threw an arm around Greeno's neck. There was nothing -else to do. Hudson grabbed Greeno's arm, tried to pry loose his grasp -on the girl.</p> - -<p>The wiry Venusian twisted out of Flint's arm before he could get a -head-lock grip. Coming up with his other hand, he threw an uppercut at -Hudson. The lawyer saw it coming, jerked his head back like a turtle. -But Flint didn't see it coming.</p> - -<p>The full force of Greeno's swing caught him exactly on the point of his -chin.</p> - -<p>The room spun wildly. Then it dissolved into blackness.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>When Flint came to, he was lying on the floor. Hudson stood over him. -He had acquired Flint's ice pistol, seemed prepared to use it at any -moment.</p> - -<p>As Flint sat up and looked around, Leggett said, "Just a moment and -I'll let you in," and got up from the controls where he'd been talking -into the radio. He went over to the door, twirled the wheel and Flint -realized what he'd thought was his own head ringing was the safety -bell. Through the glass he saw a slim light cruiser lying alongside -where Greeno's ship had been. On its gleaming hull were the letters -SP—the Stellar Patrol.</p> - -<p>What were they doing here? Flint grabbed one of the seats, pulled -himself up.</p> - -<p>"Stay where you are!" Hudson waggled the ice gun threateningly. Then -the door opened and three red-uniformed patrolmen crowded into the -cabin, jet pistols leveled, eyes searching the room quickly.</p> - -<p>"This him?" One of the patrolmen, blue-chinned and beefy, sized Flint -up.</p> - -<p>"I took his gun," Hudson said. He handed the ice pistol to the nearest -patrolman as if he was glad to get rid of its responsibility. The group -stood around Flint as if he were an animal they'd caught.</p> - -<p>"The boys are on the way out to the Ring," the big patrolman said. -"There's several billion planetoids out there, though—like looking for -a needle in a haystack, isn't it, Flint?"</p> - -<p>Flint was getting his thinking up to date now. He must have been out -half an hour or so. Hudson and Leggett must have radioed the Patrol, -told them the story. Of course they suspected him, the way he'd talked -to Greeno. And now he was accused of something he'd tried his best to -stop. Poetic justice had caught him red-handed.</p> - -<p>"You were the bright boy who dreamed up the whole thing, weren't you, -Flint?" the patrolman continued. "Headquarters works fast. We got a -report on you on the way out here. We know you had reasons for wanting -to get rid of Miss Vaun. We know all about your little talk with the -Governor this evening; his secretary heard the whole thing."</p> - -<p>"I'm sure he knew the man in the space suit," Leggett said. "He told -us he was going to meet a man here and when he came in he called him -'Greeno.'"</p> - -<p>And by now, Flint thought, Greeno had taken the girl back to his -planetoid, following the plan exactly without the faintest idea it had -misfired. If Greeno could only pick up thoughts at this distance! Flint -cursed silently. Well, there were two things to be done and done fast. -Get word to Greeno, somehow; tell him to get the girl back to Saturn. -And get after that bat. He couldn't let this mess throw a hitch into -something he'd been trying to do all these years.</p> - -<p>The easiest way to straighten Greeno out was by radio; good thing he'd -taken that set out to him. "Now, listen," he said, "I haven't got time -to go into a lot of explanations. A space bat's showed up in the Ring; -it's worth a lot of money to me. Let me get to the radio and I'll have -Miss Vaun safely back on Saturn in an hour. It's all a mistake. When I -get through bat hunting I'll clear up the whole business."</p> - -<p>The big patrolman laughed. "He'll be glad to help us out when he gets -time; that's a good one." Then he stopped laughing, took a step toward -Flint. "You're going to tell us where this Greeno took the girl. Right -now."</p> - -<p>Flint saw a free-for-all shaping up. There seemed to be no other way -out. He got ready for trouble, but he didn't think it was coming so -quick.</p> - -<p>Apparently the big patrolman was used to getting his information the -hard way. His hand shot out in a short arc and swatted Flint across the -mouth. "Talk!"</p> - -<p>Flint staggered back, got his balance, and let go at the beefy face -under the red cap. One of the other patrolmen caught his arm. The third -one brought the barrel of his ray gun down on his head. Flint sat down -on the jump seat.</p> - -<p>"Where's Greeno's hideout?" the big one said. "You know every planetoid -in the Ring. Where'd Greeno take her?"</p> - -<p>Flint felt the bump on his head. "You and I got a lot of other things -to discuss now, Fatty."</p> - -<p>The beefy one stepped away from the door. "Okay. Go cut our rockets -off, Mike," he said to one of his men who stood there, twirling Flint's -ice gun on his forefinger. "This guy wants to play with us. We'll have -to give him the air treatment."</p> - -<p>As the one with the ice gun opened the door and went into the police -plane, the other stuck his pistol in Flint's side. "Get up." And Flint -knew he was really in for it now. He'd heard of this. Third degree? -This was the <i>fourth</i> degree!</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>A ship had two doors, the inside one and one opening outside the hull. -Between the two was a narrow air space. It was used as an air lock in -which one could return to normal pressure before entering the ship -from some thin-aired world. If you put a man in there and turned the -pressure wide open—</p> - -<p>"This makes even a Venusian talk," the big patrolman told Hudson and -Leggett. "When the pressure gets up around two hundred and their ear -drums start cracking, they get mighty conversational."</p> - -<p>When the patrolman who had gone into the police plane returned, he held -the door open and the pistol in Flint's side pushed him toward it.</p> - -<p>But at the door, the radio stopped them. The lawyer had left the -speaker on.</p> - -<p>"<i>Calling Saturn Relay Station. Relay to Earth, to K. V. Vaun Fur -Fashions, Inc., New York City. Message as follows: Miss Vaun has been -kidnapped. She is held for one million dollars ransom. Forward to -Saturn by tonight's Space Express one million dollars in raw platinum. -Saturn Express Agency will be informed later how to deliver it. End of -message.</i>"</p> - -<p>The big patrolman turned to Flint standing beside the door. "Pretty -smart, except that it didn't work." Then to the fellow holding the -pistol at Flint's back: "Throw him in and squirt the air. I'll call -Saturn and tell 'em to forget that relay message."</p> - -<p>But once again the radio stopped them.</p> - -<p>"<i>Look! At the door!</i>" The voice was sharp and high. It was Karen -Vaun's.</p> - -<p>"<i>Keep still! Don't let it hear us!</i>" Greeno again.</p> - -<p>"What in hell—" the patrolman breathed.</p> - -<p>"<i>It's reaching in!</i>" Karen's voice, a terrified whisper. "<i>Look out -for its claws!</i>"</p> - -<p>Two explosions rang out—Greeno's old bullet gun; he didn't have an -ice pistol. Greeno yelled "<i>Get back!</i>" There was fright in even his -mechanical voice as a dull crash merged with his words.</p> - -<p>Then there was instant silence. Something had smashed Greeno's radio -set.</p> - -<p>"It's the bat!" Flint said. "It's got them cornered! We've got to get -out there!" Somehow, now, the thought of that thing reaching into the -door, clawing at Karen Vaun, pressed back against the wall, made him -forget all about his plans for capturing the bat, forget he was under -arrest for kidnapping. "Let's go—I'll take you to them!"</p> - -<p>"It's another of his tricks," one of the patrolmen said. "Trying to -lead us into a trap of some kind."</p> - -<p>"Listen, you stupid fools," Flint almost yelled, "don't you understand? -That bat's out there. They haven't a rabbit's chance. We haven't got -time to talk about it."</p> - -<p>The big fellow winked at the others. "If it's a space bat," he said, -"we'll need help. I'll call for some of the boys to go with us, with -some bigger guns—for the bat or for any little ambush you might have -planned."</p> - -<p>And Flint saw he was only wasting time. He leaped forward and caught -the man full in the face with his fist. The blow sprawled the patrolman -backward against the controls. Before he could get up, Flint was on him -again, struggling for his gun. If he could get out of here, get that -police plane—</p> - -<p>He got his hand on the gun. Twisted. But it had taken too long.</p> - -<p>He felt the hard jab of one of the patrolmen's pistols against his -back. "Get off him!"</p> - -<p>Flint stepped back slowly, hands hanging limp, ready for the slightest -opening. But it didn't come.</p> - -<p>The big man got off the controls, holding his hand over a nose that -was probably broken. "Put him in that air lock," he ordered. "Give him -enough pressure to cave his ribs in!"</p> - -<p>The inside door was open. Flint was shoved into the lock. The door -clanged shut behind him.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Around the wall in the narrow air chamber was a line of tiny holes. -From these came a shrill hissing like a nest of snakes. The pointer of -the pressure gauge on the wall trembled, then slowly moved across the -dial.</p> - -<p>The chamber was six feet high, three feet wide. The air holes were near -the ceiling beside Flint's ears. But he didn't stand there listening -to the rising pressure. A moment ago, one of the patrolmen had passed -through here. Immediately, he tried the other door, the one leading -outside where the police ship was hooked on, but it was locked now.</p> - -<p>The doors of a space-ship's safety chamber worked together. When one -was locked, the other locked automatically. But when one door was -unlocked, the other was also unlocked. He leaned against the outside -door, his mind racing. If he could stay conscious against the air -pressure—if he could slip through this outside door when they opened -the inner one—he'd be in the police plane—</p> - -<p>The pressure gauge was calibrated in pounds. With each mark the pointer -climbed, he shuddered. He jammed his fingers into his ears, closed his -eyes, swallowed constantly. His face turned white under rivulets of -sweat.</p> - -<p>His shirt was quickly soaked through, his big arms wet and glistening. -Swiftly he felt his strength leaving him. The pointer on the gauge -quivered at the hundred mark, slowly climbed higher.</p> - -<p>Flint found his knees sagging. His heart pounded with the exertion -of standing up. His body had turned to lead. And in his mind was the -terrible fear that he'd black out completely, be lying there on the -floor when the other door unlocked and gave him his only chance.</p> - -<p>But he <i>couldn't</i> black out! He had to keep on his feet! He was Karen's -and Greeno's only chance.</p> - -<p>The pointer stood at a hundred and fifty. His ribs felt as if steel -bands were being tightened around his chest. He couldn't breathe. He -knew he couldn't stand much more.</p> - -<p>He turned his head toward the inside door and with all the lung power -he could find yelled, "Let me out! I'll talk!"</p> - -<p>They heard him. The whistling in his ears ceased for one second, then -returned, but now it was the sucking sound of air going out. He got -hold of the outer door handle, leaned his weight back against it. His -glazed eyes were on the pressure dial. He knew the men in the ship were -watching its counterpart.</p> - -<p>The pointer came back around slowly and each jump brought blessed -relief as the pressure slackened. It was like a tremendous weight being -lifted from every square inch of his body.</p> - -<p>When the pointer hit zero, he heard the lock click in the door behind -him and the door against which he was pulling swung suddenly open. He -almost fell backward, then managed to struggle forward through the door.</p> - -<p>"Stop him! He's trying to get into our ship!"</p> - -<p>He heard feet clattering through the chamber after him. He slammed the -door against a beefy blurred face. Stumbling through the double doors -of the police plane's air chamber, he managed to close and lock them -against his pursuers. Then he staggered over to the control panel.</p> - -<p>He cut the switch, pressed the starter. The jets roared behind him as -he shot away from his own plane.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The jets had left a vapor trail miles long before he could look -back. He saw the flare of his own ship as it started in pursuit but -he knew they'd never overtake him with the busted fuel pump and he -wasn't worrying now about their following his trail later with a blast -analyzer. He wasn't worrying about anything that would happen later. -All he was thinking about now was Greeno and the girl.</p> - -<p>His own ship was no longer in sight when he swept into the outskirts of -the Ring. He remembered to step up the air pressure to avoid the bends. -Then, a little grimly, he smiled. There on the control panel was his -ice pistol where the patrolman had left it. He stuck it in his empty -holster. His luck was turning.</p> - -<p>Whipping in and out of the rough-hewn worlds, the police clock had -ticked off only ten minutes when in the distance ahead he could see -the sagging cable between the two little globes that were Greeno's -domain. He remembered Greeno's words that very day, "You, my friend of -many seasons." He remembered the way Karen Vaun looked with her hair -trailing on her shoulders, her blue eyes....</p> - -<p>If only it wasn't too late.</p> - -<p>He flashed over the twin planetoids, circled around their far side. It -was easy to tell the bat had been there. For miles around, the jungle -was criss-crossed with splintered tree tops where its wing tips had -brushed them like a hurricane. Then, coming round to the spot where -Greeno's shack was, Flint saw the real scene of violence. What had been -a small clearing in the brush, not even large enough to land on, was an -area big as a football field. And in the center of it lay the bat.</p> - -<p>The thing lay there like a blotch of spilled ink, grotesque and -horrible. It was using horny claws on the tips of its wings to slam -Greeno's space-ship house back and forth like a nut. Greeno and Karen -must be inside.</p> - -<p>Flint streaked down, thumbs trembling on the triggers of the police -plane's guns. He held his screaming dive till he was within yards of -the thing. Then into its back he poured his stream of liquid fire. -Kicking the controls, he zoomed away, head craned back to watch the -result.</p> - -<p>The bat came up like a volcano erupting. There was a wide furrow burned -along its black hairy back. Trees bent hundreds of yards away under the -beat of its wings. Rising high in the greenish twilight, it sailed over -the planetoid, searching for its attacker.</p> - -<p>Flint circled higher still. Far below he saw two small figures crawl -out of the house, stare upward. Karen and Greeno were safe, so far.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus2.jpg" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>Banking over, looking down at them, Flint's eyes left the bat for a -second. In that second the bat's eyes found him. It was upon him with -the speed of a glance. It came on, unmindful of the jet blast in its -face, its hair singeing like a grass fire. And though Flint threw the -ship into every contortion he knew—full throttle five, bullet roll, -reverse jet dodge, everything—the bat stayed on his tail, following -his every maneuver as if it knew what he was going to do in advance.</p> - -<p>Its wings worked in a dark blur, trying to gain the few yards to close -its pile-driver jaws upon the plane. Slowly, inexorably, the space -between the beast and the plane narrowed. Then Flint played his final -card, the same trick he'd used with the bat before.</p> - -<p>He dived for the planetoid, straight down, holding it till his nerves -screamed with the wind, the bat right behind him. Then, almost in the -tree tops, he pulled out. He stared back over his shoulder. If the bat -plunged on into the jungle, if it floundered there for one minute, -the plane's guns might be able to burn a wing off. He watched the bat -twisting out of its dive, tree tops splaying.</p> - -<p>Then it happened.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>A wisp in the view-plate, a hair-line growing, rushing at the nose -of the plane. Before Flint turned in time to see it, the cable that -stretched between the twin planetoids had been struck by the plane's -nose, had screeched along its side in a shower of sparks. Then it -caught. A solid jolt.</p> - -<p>The little hooks along the hull, the device for boarding another ship, -had caught the cable, jerked it free from one of the planetoids and -torn out by the roots the tree to which the other end was anchored.</p> - -<p>When Flint again got the plane under control, it mushed along, weighed -down by a ton of steel cable that had a full-grown tree dangling on its -far end.</p> - -<p>Flint's first thought was of the bat. He glanced around frantically. -But the cable had stopped the plane so abruptly and the bat had swept -back up so fast, it was now well beyond the range of its weak eyes. And -as Flint watched, it apparently forgot the plane, glided across the -jungle like a great shadow, headed back toward Greeno and the girl.</p> - -<p>Pressing his eye to the filterscope, Flint brought them up close, -standing in the wreckage of the trees, scanning the sky. They didn't -know the bat was on the way back, coming in low now behind them.</p> - -<p>"<i>Run!</i>" Flint yelled the word as if they could hear him across the -five miles between them. Standing there beside Greeno, Karen Vaun's -hair glistened in the twilight, her eyes looking right at him, almost -as if she could see him. Flint beat his fists on the control panel -helplessly.</p> - -<p>Then they heard the rush of the bat's wings behind them. They whirled, -stood there frozen before the gigantic creature hurtling at them. Then, -too late to run back for the house, they fled toward the woods. And the -woods was just where the bat wanted them.</p> - -<p>Flint knew he had to get there now. He had to do something quick. The -bat started systematically flattening the trees, searching for them in -the terrifying way it always hunted its prey. Four times the size of an -elephant, the winged monster splintered like matchsticks hundred-foot -high mahogany and ironwood trees.</p> - -<p>Flint's hands jerked the plane's controls as if he could hurl it -bodily forward, dragging the weight of cable and tree behind him. But -the ship was now a winged snail. And when he <i>did</i> get there, he knew -there wasn't a chance of getting the bat in his sights. He couldn't -outmaneuver it any more. And there was no time now to land and do what -he could afoot with a pistol.</p> - -<p>Then, with his hand on the ice pistol's butt, his eyes on the raging -bat slowly nearing below, an idea flared in his head that brought him -to his feet like an electric shock.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Quickly, he headed the plane down toward the bat, set automatic pilot. -Then, fingers flying, he ripped a wire from the control panel, looped -one end through his pistol's trigger guard, the other end through his -belt. Then he ran to the door.</p> - -<p>Standing in the air lock, he forced the outside door against the wind. -He looked down at the cable, caught firmly on the hook, dangling under -the plane. He reached out, got his hand on the cable and swung out over -the jungle far below. The door clanged shut behind him.</p> - -<p>He started down the cable hand over hand. Guided by the automatic -pilot, the ship moved slowly ahead. He got down the cable and into the -dangling tree.</p> - -<p>It was like climbing a tree in a cyclone as he fought his way through -the branches to a limb he could lock his legs around. Then, with a -scissors hold on the limb, he sat upright and drew the ice pistol from -its holster.</p> - -<p>Down below, the bat had smashed a wide area of trees and was hunting -Greeno and Karen like mice in the tall grass. When it heard the plane, -it twisted up, circled suspiciously. The tree and the cable confused it -for a moment. But only for a moment. Then its tiny brain sent it toward -its persistent enemy, the plane.</p> - -<p>It came by so close and its hairy mass was so immense, Flint caught his -breath. There was nothing to aim at with a pistol. It was too big. He -just pointed the gun at the expanse of hair and pulled the trigger as -fast as he could work his finger.</p> - -<p>Instantly, one great wing of the creature went rigid. It was the wing -nearest Flint and the bat slid that way. The black mass of hair, each -hair a full yard long, swept upon him. The branches of the tree -caved in. The cable was snatched from the plane. Flint clawed at the -monster's side blindly. He caught a handful of hair. The bat flailed -the air wildly with its other wing, a hundred tons of solid flesh -falling—</p> - -<p>Then the whole world exploded around Flint. Tree trunks cracking, green -vegetation whirling past him, then a stunning thud as the bat struck -the ground, shaking the whole forest.</p> - -<p>Like a man fleeing some horror in a nightmare, Flint tore his way -through the stalks of hair, leaped to the ground and ran into the -jungle.</p> - -<p>When he finally stopped running, safely away from the bat's hammering -wings and claws, he saw he was now permanently safe. It had beaten its -good wing to shreds in the trees. When the effect of the ice gun wore -off, it wouldn't be able to fly.</p> - -<p>Slowly, Flint grinned. He glanced down, saw his ice pistol dangling the -length of its wire against his knee. Almost tenderly, he picked it up, -untied the wire, and stuck the gun into its holster.</p> - -<p>Greeno and Karen ran toward him through the woods. Their faces were -scratched, their clothes in tatters. Karen's feet were bare; she had -lost her shoes, removed her stockings. Her hair was tangled, a raven -mop on her half-bare shoulders.</p> - -<p>She seemed on the verge of collapse but her cheeks and eyes, despite -the weariness of her grim experience, glowed. Today's excitement had -completely displaced her cultivated pose of boredom by the fresh beauty -of a jungle flower.</p> - -<p>And it had done something to Flint too. He ran to meet them, caught the -girl as she fell toward him. "Are you all right?"</p> - -<p>She was too breathless to speak. "We all right," Greeno said. "But -almost weren't." He held out his arm. From shoulder to wrist was a wide -deep scratch, a claw mark.</p> - -<p>Then the sudden sound of rockets turned all their faces skyward. High -over the trees, circling lower, came three patrol planes and Flint's -ship.</p> - -<p>Flint's fingers tightened on the girl's arm. "Greeno," he said, "we -have to get out of here, hide in the woods." He said it sadly, tired of -the game now. He had forgotten it wasn't over. He looked down into -the girl's face. "Miss Vaun," he said quickly, "this was all my fault. -I won't ask you to forgive me but I want you to know I'm sorry, not -for trying to do what I could to protect the feather-deer, but because -this business came so close to ending in a tragedy much worse than your -slaughtering them all."</p> - -<p>He dropped his hands, turned to the jungle. Greeno was standing at the -edge of the woods, waiting for him. He started walking slowly.</p> - -<p>Then suddenly he turned, came back to the girl quickly. "Might as well -be shot for a sheep as a lamb," he said. He put a hand under her chin, -kissed her soundly on the lips, then ran toward the woods.</p> - -<p>When he was halfway there, he heard her cry, "Mr. Flint! Wait!" It -occurred to him that she probably didn't even know his first name. He -didn't look back. And Miss Karen Vaun did a very strange thing.</p> - -<p>She had one hand behind her as Flint ran away. Now she brought it forth -and in it was Flint's own ice pistol. She raised it, took careful aim -and pulled the trigger.</p> - -<p>Flint's legs stopped in midstride, knees bent one before the other, -like a stop-motion movie. He sprawled forward.</p> - -<p>Before he could get up, the girl was beside him. She sat down on his -back, pinning him to the ground. "Next time you kiss a girl without -knowing whether she wants to be kissed or not," she said, "hang onto -your gun."</p> - -<p>Then the police, with Hudson and Leggett, were crowded around them.</p> - -<p>"Are you all right, Miss Vaun?"</p> - -<p>Flint lay there feeling very foolish.</p> - -<p>But the girl ignored the crowd, still talking to him, "You didn't know -I was an ice pistol expert, too, did you? You didn't know I was in the -fur business because my father used to be a trapper on Venus. When I -was twelve years old, I could bring down a tigodon at a half a mile."</p> - -<p>The beefy-faced patrolman, his nose bandaged now, said, "If you'll get -up, Miss Vaun, we'll take care of him now."</p> - -<p>The others were staring at the space bat, flopping about feebly a short -distance away, its awful strength spent.</p> - -<p>"Leggett," the fur merchant said to the lawyer, "think what a <i>rug</i> -that would make for the firm's front office!"</p> - -<p>"Miss Vaun can also come into a nice bit of cash from that circus for -it," one of the other patrolmen said. "This is her land—or soon will -be—and the bat's on it. Where Flint's going, he won't be able to claim -anything."</p> - -<p>The big patrolman helped Karen up. Flint stumbled to his feet. The -patrolman grabbed him by the collar, roughly. "Come along, kidnapper," -he said.</p> - -<p>Karen Vaun stared at the patrolman blankly. "<i>Kidnapper?</i>"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The patrolman frowned. "Certainly, Miss Vaun. Don't you know this guy -engineered the whole business—having you taken off his plane? He and -that Venusian were going to hold you for ransom."</p> - -<p>Karen shook her head. "I don't know what you're talking about," she -said. "Greeno was merely bringing me out to look at these planetoids -while Mr. Flint went to get his big guns for the bat. Kidnapper? -Preposterous! Mr. Flint and I are buying these planetoids <i>together</i>."</p> - -<p>"What!" Leggett and Hudson said the word simultaneously. And they -seemed the only ones in the crowd who could speak. "Together!" Leggett -said weakly. "Why this area is a million dollar investment!"</p> - -<p>"Two million," Karen said. She took Flint's hand, he standing there as -dumbfounded as the rest. "Mr. Flint's going to contribute a million of -his own from the sale of the bat. We're going to raise feather-deer -here. It would be bad business to kill them all off." She paused, -surveying the crowd as if daring anybody to disagree with her. "Now, -if you'll excuse us, we'll get back to Saturn. We have business to -discuss." Then she glanced toward the jungle. "Greeno!" she called. -"Aren't you coming with us? If you're going to be foreman around our -feather-deer ranch, you've got to be in on the conferences."</p> - -<p>Greeno stepped out of the shadows, a faint smile softening his stony -face. "Attend later conferences," he said. "From what is in your -thoughts, don't think I should attend this one."</p> - -<p>Karen Vaun blushed, then led Flint quickly away toward his plane.</p> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Space Bat, by Carl Selwyn - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SPACE BAT *** - -***** This file should be named 63808-h.htm or 63808-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/3/8/0/63808/ - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Space Bat - -Author: Carl Selwyn - -Release Date: November 18, 2020 [EBook #63808] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SPACE BAT *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - - SPACE BAT - - By CARL SELWYN - - Out of the caves of space it flew--huge, rapacious, - terrifying. But Lou Flint met its vicious challenge - happily. For, like the girl at his side, - it was worth one million dollars! - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Planet Stories Winter 1946. - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - -The jungle was filled with the shouts of the hunters and the sounds of -their heavy boots crashing through the dry sword grass. The long line -of men were running shoulder to shoulder, stooping under the red vines, -stumbling over the mossy rocks. - -Bounding ahead in panic surged hundreds of animals of a strange -species. Shaped like deer, they had no antlers and their delicate -bodies were covered with rich greenish-gold feathers. Eyes large with -terror, feathers ruffled, they stampeded through the entrance of a -corral that was so well camouflaged it was almost invisible in the -tangled plants and tree trunks. - -In a corner of the corral, shadowed from the late afternoon sun, a -tall, bare-chested young man waited motionless as an ironwood tree, -watching the animals stream toward him. His only clothing was a pair of -faded khaki shorts and soft leather boots. Strapped to his waist was a -leather holster containing a heavy pistol, its thick barrel shaped like -a flashlight. His ruggedly handsome face was angry, his gray eyes cold -as he watched the animals futilely leaping at the surrounding fence. - -Suddenly the hunters broke through the screening jungle. Their leader -bellowed, "Okay! Bash their heads in! Let's get their hides off!" - -The other men advanced toward the herd of frenzied animals, clubs -raised. The leader swung his own stick down toward one of the creatures -that tried to race past him. - -Instantly the ironwood tree came to life. His hand was one blurred -motion as it jerked his odd-shaped pistol from its holster, squeezed -the trigger. A silver streak flashed from the barrel, struck the man's -arm before the club could fall. His arm froze in mid-swing. - -"Drop those sticks and get off this planetoid!" As the bare-chested -one came out of the shadows, his voice had virtually the force of his -weapon. - -The men stood with clubs half-raised, staring at him. "It's Lou Flint," -one of them whispered. - -"Watch him! That's an ice-ray pistol!" They lowered their clubs slowly, -glancing toward their leader. - -The big fellow rubbed his rigid right arm with his other hand. It stuck -out before him at a grotesque angle; he couldn't move it yet. As he -looked at Flint his eyes were deadly. "Don't stick your nose in this -business, trapper." His thick lips curled. "You don't own this land." - -"I'm sticking my nose into any business that kills off a thousand -feather-deer in two weeks," Lou Flint said. "I've seen enough of your -butchering." - -The big man's stiffened arm suddenly dropped back to his side, -perfectly normal again. An ice-ray's harmless effect lasted only a -minute--but while it lasted it was a potent weapon. "You're a big -talker with that gun in your hand." - -In answer, Flint dropped the pistol at his feet. The other glanced at -his men, saw them waiting for his next move. He strode forward. Flint -waited solidly before him, fists on his hips. "You aren't leaving?" -"Nope." Then quick as a snake the fellow bent, tried to scoop up the -pistol. Flint was quicker. His fist plowed into the man's chin. The -blow lifted him up on his toes, sent him stumbling backward till he -crumpled silently to the ground. "Anybody else got any arguments?" -Flint asked, looking toward the others. Nobody had. "Then get off this -planetoid. If I catch you here again I'm going to send _your_ hides -back to your filthy fur boss." - -Two of the men came over with tight lips and picked up their -unconscious comrade. Straining under his weight, they rejoined the -others who were moving back toward the trampled jungle, muttering -silently. - -Flint picked up his pistol, dropped it in his holster. He strode over -to the side of the corral and kicked a hole in the fence to let out the -feather-deer. Then, with a glance at the low-lying sun, he set out down -a dim trail, walking fast. - -Despite his threat, he knew he hadn't seen the last of this business. - - * * * * * - -From the wild region Flint called home, through the maze of Ring -planets to the Saturn mainland, was only an hour's jump--if you knew -the way. If you didn't, well, even the Stellar Patrol got lost looking -for you. - -The Ring was uncharted, an inestimable jumble of satellites ranging in -size from sand-like grains to full-blown worlds supporting their own -plant and animal life. Their only ties to the mother planet were the -cosmic forces that kept them constantly revolving around her and their -common atmosphere, so deep it enveloped both Saturn and the Ring. - -Flint knew every shape, every color, every landmark in the place, and -his plane weaved through the maze at a speed that would have ended in a -crash with a less experienced hand at the controls. - -The hazy twilight was just settling over Saturn when he plunged down -into its capital city. Pausing at the space-port only long enough -to wiggle into a shirt, he caught the shuttle chute across town and -arrived at the capitol just as the government workers were leaving -the building. He ran up the gleaming stairs, turned down the glowing -corridor and hurried through the silver door on which impressive -letters read: GOVERNOR'S OFFICE. - -A secretary looked up from her desk with startled eyes. Her expression -changed from surprise to alarm as Flint strode past her toward a closed -door at the end of the room. - -"Here! Do you have an appointment--" - -But Flint had shoved open the door and stepped into the Governor's -private office. - -A tall, white-haired man looked up from a huge desk. He rose quickly, -smiling, and held out his hand. "I've been wanting to see you, Lou. No -one knew how to find you in the Ring." - -Flint shook his hand, pulled up a chair, and started right in. "This -tract of planetoids of mine out in the Ring--do I own them--legally--or -don't I?" - -The Governor looked down at his hands, inspected his fingernails. -"That's what I wanted to see you about, Lou." When he met Flint's -eyes it was with a look that said he was about to face an unpleasant -task. "Your father spent half his life hunting space bat out there--he -claimed several planetoids, I believe." - -"Twenty-two of them," Flint stated. - -"And I know that after your father died," the Governor continued, "you -took over and have been hunting bat yourself ever since--a mighty long -wild-goose chase I call it, but that's your business. Anyway, your -father was one of the pioneers here, Lou. I'll always--" - -"Governor, if you've got bad news, spill it." - -"All right. I'll give it to you straight. You don't have any legal -claim to those planetoids. The Saturnian Government has never -recognized squatters' rights out there and I'm afraid there's no time -to fight it out with Congress now." He hesitated. "Your land is being -sold to an Earth fur corporation for a million dollars." - -Flint sat there staring at the Governor for a long moment. Then -abruptly he got to his feet. "They're the guys I've been running -into ever since feather-deer became the fur coat rage on Earth." He -spoke through his teeth. "I've seen their work--thousands of raw, -skinned carcasses strewn about the woods--vultures everywhere. They're -butchers! In two months there won't be a feather-deer left in the Ring. -They'll be extinct. Do you think I'm going to stand by and watch that -happen?" - -He leaned over the desk, resting on his big fists. "I'm a hunter, -but I hunt animals that can fight back--tigodons, baragators, swamp -wolves--not these helpless little things you can run down and kill with -a club." - -The Governor shook his white head sadly. "I'm truly sorry, Lou. I wish -there were something I could do but the owner of this fur outfit is -coming in on tonight's space liner. He wants to go out to the Ring -just as soon as he arrives. I've been asked to find a guide." - -"One million dollars," Flint thought aloud. "It's entirely a matter of -money." - -"I'm afraid it is. If you could only get a space bat _now_, -Lou--doesn't that Earth circus still offer a million to anybody who -captures one alive?" - -"Yeah," Flint said dejectedly. "But nobody's ever captured a space -bat, dead or alive." He stuck his hands deep in his pockets and walked -around the room, staring at the floor. Suddenly he halted in his -tracks. Then he whirled back to the desk. "If I get a million dollars -to you before this guy gives you his check, is the place mine?" - -The Governor's smile was puzzled. "Well, I could probably arrange it, -but--" - -"Fine. Now could you also arrange for _me_ to meet this guy at the -space port tonight? I'll be his guide." - -"I don't like the way you're acting, Lou. I don't want any trouble." - -Flint grinned. "You old goat. You're thinking about your reputation. -When you and Dad were with the first settlers that took Saturn away -from the natives, you didn't worry about trouble then. But I promise--I -won't do anything to hurt your politics." - -The Governor shook his head resignedly. "You're just as stubborn as -your father was," he said. He reached in a drawer and handed Flint a -small engraved card. It read: - - K. V. Vaun - Fur Fashions, Inc. - New York City, Earth - -"Thanks," Flint said. "I'll be there tonight." He strode quickly from -the room. - - * * * * * - -Ten minutes later the great shadowy sphere that was the Saturn -mainland was shrinking in the distance. Ahead, through the plane's -front view-plate, the Ring arced across the heavens, a pastel rainbow -against the outer night. Night here was never complete blackness; the -Ring's sprinkling of radium moons gave a glow one could read by even at -midnight. - -Ten minutes more and he abruptly threw the ship into a shuddering -bank, skirted a looming planetoid, dived to a precarious landing on -its neighbor. He dragged a spare radio set from under his seat and with -it in his hand jumped out of the ship and ran to a large tree on which -one end of a heavy cable was tied. - -The other end of the cable stretched up and away from the planetoid -and out across the misty void--to the neighboring globe which was so -heavily jungled that there was no place to land a plane. Flint climbed -into the dangling cable chair, holding the radio in his lap, and pushed -himself out across the wire, away from the planetoid, over the sheer -drop ten miles under his feet. - -Seconds later--things happened fast with this feather gravity--the -other world moved up under him and he dropped lightly to its surface. - -The trail he took through the woods was more like a tunnel, and the -little clearing that soon appeared was like a well, the moon lights -filtering through. - - * * * * * - -In the clearing lay the rusted hull of a space-ship, used for a house. -Before it stood a Venusian, skinning a baragator which hung by its -scaley legs from a log tripod. The man's only clothing was a bright -red loin cloth, and the flesh of his limbs, chest, and face was green, -a burnished green like the sheen of sunlight under water. He was not -large, but the smooth suppleness of his body gave an impression of -great strength, like the coils of a python. - -As Flint came out of the jungle, the Venusian turned to face him as -though he knew of his approach, although Flint's tread had been silent -as a cat's. His words, before Flint could speak, were also uncanny--as -if he already knew what Flint had come to tell him. - -"No like trouble with white policemen," he said, "but your plan seems -only way to save hunting ground from seekers of feathers. I will -help--you, my friend of many seasons." - -He spoke without moving his lips--because he wasn't using his lips. -His voice was toneless, mechanical. It came from a small microphone -attached to his throat. The impulse for the microphone came from the -pulsations of his bloodstream which he could control. Venusians were a -strange race--being deaf and dumb and having the power to read brain -waves were only a few of their peculiarities. - -Flint grinned. "I don't know why I take the trouble to come all the way -down the path, Greeno. You could pick up my thoughts from the cable -just as well." Then, in a hurry to get on with his business, "Is there -anything you didn't understand?" - -"One thing not clear--something you must have planned before coming -into range," the toneless voice said. "You wish me to meet your plane -on way to Ring, kidnap man from you and bring him here," he ran through -the plan he'd picked up from Flint's mind. "Then I radio message about -ransom--a million dollars. But how will money be delivered?" - -"Simple," Flint explained. "The guy's fur company sends the money to -the Saturn Express Agency. We tell them to put it in a small rocket and -shoot it toward the Ring. We'll make them put a radio-signaling gadget -into the rocket, too. All we'll have to do is follow the signal and -pick up the rocket before we let the guy go." The plan was foolproof; -there was no way the police could prove anything on anybody. - -"No," Greeno agreed with his thoughts, "their evidence against you -purely circumstantial. Me, they never guess." - -"That's it." Flint strode toward the space-ship hull with the radio -set. "Where you want this? Have your finger on it at eight tonight and -I'll radio the guy's description." Although Greeno couldn't hear, he -could pick up radio vibrations by touch. - -Greeno followed him into the cylinder, motioned toward a table in the -corner. The place was battery-lighted, soft-walled with hides. - -"I'll have to put up a little fight when you leave my plane," Flint -said. "Make it look better--" - -But Greeno held up his hand, motioned him on out the door. "Can't pick -up thoughts inside," he reminded him. - -Flint went out grinning; he could never get used to the fact that the -Venusian was reading his mind, not hearing his words, and that he -couldn't pick up the waves when he was surrounded by metal such as the -ship's hull. Outside, he started to tell him again about having to put -on the fight act. - -But Greeno stopped him. "Understand now," he said. - -Flint laughed. Even a spoken "Good luck" wasn't necessary. He turned, -went back down the trail thinking it was a good thing the Stellar -Patrol hadn't been able to get Venusians to work for them. - -"Very good thing," Greeno called after him. - - * * * * * - -Nearing Saturn, Flint's eye was pressed against the filterscope in his -view-plate, scanning the black well of space to the east. Then he saw -the liner, far out, a silver bullet glinting in the rays of the sun -that had sunken below Saturn's horizon hours ago. - -He was standing at the gate when the great ship came in, roared up the -quartz strip, and halted at the ramp. Flint stopped the purser. "I'm -supposed to meet a fellow named K. V. Vaun, fur merchant. Which one is -he?" - -The purser slid a finger down his passenger list, shook his head. "No -gentleman by that name." Then his finger paused. "There was a lady--" - -"A _lady_!" - -The purser looked toward the ship. "Yes. A _Miss_ K. V. Vaun--there she -is now." He hurried away, leaving Flint staring at the girl coming down -the ramp. - -She wore a luxurious greenish-gold coat, but the rest of her was -strictly business. She was almost as tall as Flint, carried a -brief case, and wore glasses. Her face had the pallor of an office -fluorescent lamp, her lips were without makeup and her hair was done up -in a grim knot at the back of her neck. Her stride had the purposeful -determination of one who always knew just where she was going, just -what she was going to do. - -Following her, like lieutenants behind a general, trotted two small -men, each carrying a briefcase, each fairly exuding efficiency. - -Flint stared at the three as they came toward him, stared at them as -they marched past him, stared at their backs as they assailed the -baggage room. Well, there went his plans--he had to give up without -even a fight. He couldn't kidnap a woman. - -Then suddenly his big fists knotted at his sides. Staring at Miss -Vaun's back, he realized her coat was feather-deer. Flint stuck a -resolute shoulder into the crowd and went after her. - -They were waiting at the baggage counter when he came up. Miss Vaun -looked over the crowd, tapping her foot. "Now where is the yokel that -was to meet us?" - -"Miss Vaun?" - -She took a step backward as Flint loomed before her. - -"Yes?" - -"I'm the yokel." - -"Oh," she said. Then, without apology, "Excellent. You're Mr. -Flint--the Governor radioed us to expect you. We can leave immediately." - -"You don't want to rest a bit first, Karen?" one of her little men -asked. Flint shouted to himself, "No!" From what he'd seen and heard he -was ready to go through the whole thing now, and Greeno was waiting at -the radio for the word go. - -But Miss Vaun apparently had the energy of a cash register. "These -liners are virtually traveling hotels, John," she said. "I'm quite -rested and I want to look over this property so I can close the deal in -the morning." She turned to Flint. "Shall we go?" - -Flint led them silently toward his plane, grinning inwardly at the deal -that by morning certainly should be well closed. - - * * * * * - -Lounging over the controls, Flint could see his guests behind him in -the mirror. Rudely enough, he hadn't been introduced to the men but -from their conversation he had determined that Mr. John Leggett--short, -black-mustached, slick-haired--was Miss Vaun's legal advisor. Mr. Simon -Hudson--short, bald, bug-eyed--was a fur expert. - -The three faced each other around the two jump seats pulled down from -the sides of the cabin. While they talked, Flint had whispered into his -radio, "It's a _woman_, Greeno, not a man." - -Through the plane's plexiglass nose and ceiling, the Ring sparkled in -all its glory, like a bridge of jewels across the heavens. But its -wonders were wasted on Karen Vaun. "I had no idea it was this far out," -she said. Her pale face was bored. - -"Increased shipping costs," the lawyer said. - -"The heat, too," the fur expert added, mopping his bald head. "Have to -watch out for deterioration." - -Flint ground his teeth, looked at the clock. Thank Saturn he hadn't -long to listen to this--Greeno should show up in a few minutes. But -those few minutes were long and before two more of them had elapsed he -found himself getting madder and madder. - -"To make up for shipping rates and deterioration," the lawyer said, -toying with his mustache, "we'll have to increase supply." He thumbed -through a sheaf of papers in his lap. "At fifty-six ninety per hide--" - -"One crew of hunters can take five hundred hides a day," Hudson -interrupted him. "Think what a hundred crews could do." - -"I wonder how many feather-deer there are out here," Miss Vaun said. -And though Flint bit his lip, it finally slipped out. - -"Did it ever occur to you," he said over his shoulder, "that the fur -business is a murderous racket?" - - * * * * * - -The woman stiffened visibly. Indignation flushed her face. Her stooges -sat up like startled rabbits. - -"I beg your pardon!" - -"The fur business," Flint repeated, eyes on their faces in the mirror. -"You're a bunch of butchers. I guess you've never seen a feather-doe -standing over the raw carcass of her freshly-skinned faun." He turned -in the seat to face them, talking through his teeth. "I've seen a whole -planet littered with dead animals--thousands of them--stinking in the -sun." - -"Mr. Flint!" the woman's voice was like a razor. "Obviously you don't -know how to converse with a lady. You will please return to your -piloting." - -This scalded Flint. "Why, you walking adding machine! You flat-chested -treasurer's report! You haven't an ounce of womanly warmth in you. A -_lady_! If you're a lady, I'm a moon-baboon's uncle. All you know is -fur prices. If you--" - -Suddenly his audience was no longer looking at him. Like a quick change -of masks, the faces of all three of them had changed from anger to the -stark twitching white of sheer terror. Every eye was staring past him, -over his shoulder at the view-plate. - -Instinctively, Flint ducked, whirled around. - -As he turned, the woman screamed. Her scream filled the cabin and with -this sound in his ears, Flint saw the _thing_ and ice shot through his -whole body. - -Outside the ship, through the glass, not three feet away, two eyes as -big as his head were gazing down into the lighted cabin. Red-pupiled, -glowing like neon, they rolled slowly in their great sockets and came -to focus directly upon him. - -Flint didn't move. He couldn't. Around the eyes was a six-foot mass of -black hair. Between them, two gaping holes in a black rubber-like mound -was a nose. Above this lay the furrowed folds of a mouth with teeth -like elephant tusks. The hairy face was upsidedown; the thing was above -the ship, peering in at its occupants. - -Slowly, as Flint stared at the face, gray droplets like fog formed -on the glass and obscured the thing. For a second, it was gone from -sight. Then, as quickly as it had disappeared, the fog melted in the -wind outside and the face began to reappear. The thing was breathing; -the fog was the moisture of its breath. But in that second of -obliteration--an eternity it seemed, though the woman's scream still -echoed in Flint's ears--one thought seared itself on his numb brain. - -_Space bat._ - -The plane bucked, plunged straight down, away from the bat. But the -bat, like its much smaller brothers, was not to be eluded on the wing. -Like a black cloud with its hundred-foot wingspread, it fell off on one -wing, dived after them. - -It was upon the plane again with two sweeps of its mighty wings. Its -teeth clashed like a rock crusher--Flint heard it through the ship's -two-foot thick walls--and as it missed, it overshot the plane, swept -past them. Instantly it whirled around, hurtled back. - -"Radio for help!" The lawyer's voice was shrill. He sat there wringing -his hands. Sweat glistened on the fur expert's bald head. The woman -clutched the arms of her seat, eyes huge. Then the bat was on them -again. - -Flint did the only thing possible. He dived again. But that was a -mistake. The bat had learned that trick. It also dived. At the same -instant. - -[Illustration: _Flint threw his weight on the control lever._] - -The bony claw on one wing caught the plane a glancing blow midway its -length, sent it spinning end over end. And, when Flint's darting hands -leveled it off again, it cut around in a wild circle, out of control. -The bulge on the port wall of the cabin said the port fuel pump was -smashed. - -And the bat circled to come at them again. - -Flint's passengers realized their peril. The two men jumped up, panic -on their faces. But as Flint throttled the port jet frantically, -futilely, Karen Vaun was on her feet behind him crying in a voice that -was shaky but nonetheless sensible, "Where's the hand pump?" Miss Vaun -was scared stiff but wasn't one to give up in a corner. - -The bat came in from the side. Flint threw in his reverse rockets. The -plane stopped as if it had rammed a planetoid, hurling the three behind -him to the floor. The bat zoomed past them. - -"The pump's under the floor!" Flint yelled over his shoulder. "Pull up -that trap door." He gave the plane every ounce of juice its starboard -jets would take, trying to gain what lead he could before the bat came -back. In the mirror he saw the woman on her knees, pulling at the trap -door, then jerking the manual pump lever. - -And it worked! The port tube sputtered, then streamed smooth, a weak -jet but enough to give a push from the left. And on the left, seconds -away, Flint saw a medium-sized planetoid. The chase had taken them -almost to the Ring. - -The bat came down on his tail like another plane attacking. Flint dove -straight at the planetoid. Behind him, Karen Vaun worked the pump -madly, Hudson and Leggett stood by helplessly, staring up at the hairy -face that grew larger every second above them. - -Flint held his power dive till the last possible second. The planetoid -changed from a globe to a flat surface. Trees separated from the green -mass of jungle. Each leaf sprang up separate and distinct. Close behind -the plane, the bat's mouth gaped open. Flint jammed his rise rockets in. - -The trees came up with a sickening wobble, slanted back and down, then -away. The plane brushed the branches as it zoomed skyward. Behind the -plane, the bat twisted against its tremendous momentum, cut a wide -swath through the tree tops. When it flapped up laboriously, circling, -searching for them again, the plane was well beyond sight of its weak -eyes. - -Watching through the glass, Flint saw it circle higher, finally sail -away toward the Ring. And as his fingers relaxed on the controls, he -found himself laughing. - -He headed the plane back toward the spot where the bat had interrupted -their course. "Somebody keep pumping that jet," he said. "I was -supposed to meet a fellow in another ship on the way out. He'll take -you back to Saturn. I'm going after that bat." - - * * * * * - -Karen Vaun prevailed on her men to take over the pump. She came and -stood behind Flint, holding tightly to the back of his chair. Her lips -opened but it was a moment before any words came out. Finally, "You're -going _after_ that thing!" - -"Lady," Flint said, "if you knew how long I've been hunting one of -those critters, you'd know how quick I want to get rid of you and get -on its tail." He looked back at her, grinned. He had too much to do to -be angry now. Get back, get his big guns in the plane, then find that -bat. You couldn't miss something that size. Shoot him up a little. Not -much--wing him. That circus wanted him alive. One million bucks! - -The kidnapping, of course, was all off now. He felt almost friendly -toward the woman. "You were a mighty big help on that pump, Miss Vaun," -he said. "You're braver than I thought." It was the first kind word--or -thought--he'd managed about her since they'd met. - -"What--_was_ it?" - -"Space bat. It's a kind of giant bat. Nobody knows where they come -from--somewhere out in space. One comes in every year or so. It feeds -on what wild life it can find, then sails back out into the darkness. -They kill off almost as many animals as your fur hunters--" And this -last, he regretted as soon as he'd said it. The woman's eyes misted, -strangely enough; her lower lip trembled. And Flint frowned, suddenly -amazed, as he looked at her. - -Karen Vaun looked like an entirely different person. The office pallor -was gone from her face; it was rouged with excitement. Her prim knot of -hair had lost its pins and tumbled to her shoulders. Her whole body as -she stood there, still breathing heavily, had taken on a slim vibrance -that belied the memory of her former rigid dignity. - -The real miracle was her eyes--her glasses lay broken on the floor. Her -eyes were soft blue, bright as a spring morning now. - -Flint shook his head in astonishment. "When you get back," he said, -"take a look in a mirror and think things over. You've been wasting -your time behind a desk." He turned back to the controls, and as he -turned Greeno's plane appeared ahead and pulled up alongside. - -"Well, here's where you get a new pilot." He'd take Greeno's plane. -Greeno could limp back in this one and rent another one to follow him -up. Flint was so sure of his bat money he wasn't worrying about the -cost of anything any more. - -He idled while Greeno's ship, skillfully, without a bump, hooked into -the little clamps on the hull outside. A bell clanged--signal to unlock -the port--and he got up, reached for the wheel on the safety door. - -But Karen--it was odd that he didn't seem to think of her as Miss Vaun -any more--reached out and stopped his hand on the wheel. "Mr. Flint," -she said softly, "take me with you--to hunt the bat." - -Flint stared at her, not believing her words. Hudson took her arm. -"Now, Karen. You've had a very trying experience. You should--" - -She jerked away from him. "Please let me go, Mr. Flint. This means -more to me than you know. I haven't forgotten what you said about my -not being a real woman. You're right. I've been nothing but a walking -adding machine and I--" - -"Look," Flint tried to put a stop to it, "if you'd let yourself go -you'd be a pretty decent human being, mighty pretty without your -glasses." He spun the wheel out of her grasp. "But I've got work to do -now." - -"Please!" she cried. "If--" But she never finished that; she stepped -back from the door quickly as the man in the space suit came in from -the other ship--Greeno, taking no chances on future identification. -Wrinkled like a prune, the uninflated suit covered his body completely; -only his eyes were visible through their glass slit. - -"It's all off, Greeno," Flint said. "We ran across a bat on the way -out! It's headed toward the Ring. Take these people back to Saturn -and--" But the man in the space suit had whipped out his hand, caught -Karen Vaun by the wrist. - -It was only then that Flint remembered Greeno couldn't hear him, not -only couldn't hear him because he was deaf but couldn't read his -thoughts because he was surrounded by the metal hull of the ship. He -stepped over and grabbed him by the shoulder, pointed to the girl, -shook his head violently. "Cut it out! Skip it! It's all off!" he -mouthed, hoping Greeno might read his lips. - -"Who is it?" Hudson and Leggett looked on nervously. "What's he trying -to do?" - -Flint started to explain, but then how could he explain that he'd -planned to kidnap Karen Vaun and changed his mind. He continued his -sign language at Greeno. - -Karen struggled, trying to free herself. "I don't understand! Stop him!" - -Finally, Flint threw an arm around Greeno's neck. There was nothing -else to do. Hudson grabbed Greeno's arm, tried to pry loose his grasp -on the girl. - -The wiry Venusian twisted out of Flint's arm before he could get a -head-lock grip. Coming up with his other hand, he threw an uppercut at -Hudson. The lawyer saw it coming, jerked his head back like a turtle. -But Flint didn't see it coming. - -The full force of Greeno's swing caught him exactly on the point of his -chin. - -The room spun wildly. Then it dissolved into blackness. - - * * * * * - -When Flint came to, he was lying on the floor. Hudson stood over him. -He had acquired Flint's ice pistol, seemed prepared to use it at any -moment. - -As Flint sat up and looked around, Leggett said, "Just a moment and -I'll let you in," and got up from the controls where he'd been talking -into the radio. He went over to the door, twirled the wheel and Flint -realized what he'd thought was his own head ringing was the safety -bell. Through the glass he saw a slim light cruiser lying alongside -where Greeno's ship had been. On its gleaming hull were the letters -SP--the Stellar Patrol. - -What were they doing here? Flint grabbed one of the seats, pulled -himself up. - -"Stay where you are!" Hudson waggled the ice gun threateningly. Then -the door opened and three red-uniformed patrolmen crowded into the -cabin, jet pistols leveled, eyes searching the room quickly. - -"This him?" One of the patrolmen, blue-chinned and beefy, sized Flint -up. - -"I took his gun," Hudson said. He handed the ice pistol to the nearest -patrolman as if he was glad to get rid of its responsibility. The group -stood around Flint as if he were an animal they'd caught. - -"The boys are on the way out to the Ring," the big patrolman said. -"There's several billion planetoids out there, though--like looking for -a needle in a haystack, isn't it, Flint?" - -Flint was getting his thinking up to date now. He must have been out -half an hour or so. Hudson and Leggett must have radioed the Patrol, -told them the story. Of course they suspected him, the way he'd talked -to Greeno. And now he was accused of something he'd tried his best to -stop. Poetic justice had caught him red-handed. - -"You were the bright boy who dreamed up the whole thing, weren't you, -Flint?" the patrolman continued. "Headquarters works fast. We got a -report on you on the way out here. We know you had reasons for wanting -to get rid of Miss Vaun. We know all about your little talk with the -Governor this evening; his secretary heard the whole thing." - -"I'm sure he knew the man in the space suit," Leggett said. "He told -us he was going to meet a man here and when he came in he called him -'Greeno.'" - -And by now, Flint thought, Greeno had taken the girl back to his -planetoid, following the plan exactly without the faintest idea it had -misfired. If Greeno could only pick up thoughts at this distance! Flint -cursed silently. Well, there were two things to be done and done fast. -Get word to Greeno, somehow; tell him to get the girl back to Saturn. -And get after that bat. He couldn't let this mess throw a hitch into -something he'd been trying to do all these years. - -The easiest way to straighten Greeno out was by radio; good thing he'd -taken that set out to him. "Now, listen," he said, "I haven't got time -to go into a lot of explanations. A space bat's showed up in the Ring; -it's worth a lot of money to me. Let me get to the radio and I'll have -Miss Vaun safely back on Saturn in an hour. It's all a mistake. When I -get through bat hunting I'll clear up the whole business." - -The big patrolman laughed. "He'll be glad to help us out when he gets -time; that's a good one." Then he stopped laughing, took a step toward -Flint. "You're going to tell us where this Greeno took the girl. Right -now." - -Flint saw a free-for-all shaping up. There seemed to be no other way -out. He got ready for trouble, but he didn't think it was coming so -quick. - -Apparently the big patrolman was used to getting his information the -hard way. His hand shot out in a short arc and swatted Flint across the -mouth. "Talk!" - -Flint staggered back, got his balance, and let go at the beefy face -under the red cap. One of the other patrolmen caught his arm. The third -one brought the barrel of his ray gun down on his head. Flint sat down -on the jump seat. - -"Where's Greeno's hideout?" the big one said. "You know every planetoid -in the Ring. Where'd Greeno take her?" - -Flint felt the bump on his head. "You and I got a lot of other things -to discuss now, Fatty." - -The beefy one stepped away from the door. "Okay. Go cut our rockets -off, Mike," he said to one of his men who stood there, twirling Flint's -ice gun on his forefinger. "This guy wants to play with us. We'll have -to give him the air treatment." - -As the one with the ice gun opened the door and went into the police -plane, the other stuck his pistol in Flint's side. "Get up." And Flint -knew he was really in for it now. He'd heard of this. Third degree? -This was the _fourth_ degree! - - * * * * * - -A ship had two doors, the inside one and one opening outside the hull. -Between the two was a narrow air space. It was used as an air lock in -which one could return to normal pressure before entering the ship -from some thin-aired world. If you put a man in there and turned the -pressure wide open-- - -"This makes even a Venusian talk," the big patrolman told Hudson and -Leggett. "When the pressure gets up around two hundred and their ear -drums start cracking, they get mighty conversational." - -When the patrolman who had gone into the police plane returned, he held -the door open and the pistol in Flint's side pushed him toward it. - -But at the door, the radio stopped them. The lawyer had left the -speaker on. - -"_Calling Saturn Relay Station. Relay to Earth, to K. V. Vaun Fur -Fashions, Inc., New York City. Message as follows: Miss Vaun has been -kidnapped. She is held for one million dollars ransom. Forward to -Saturn by tonight's Space Express one million dollars in raw platinum. -Saturn Express Agency will be informed later how to deliver it. End of -message._" - -The big patrolman turned to Flint standing beside the door. "Pretty -smart, except that it didn't work." Then to the fellow holding the -pistol at Flint's back: "Throw him in and squirt the air. I'll call -Saturn and tell 'em to forget that relay message." - -But once again the radio stopped them. - -"_Look! At the door!_" The voice was sharp and high. It was Karen -Vaun's. - -"_Keep still! Don't let it hear us!_" Greeno again. - -"What in hell--" the patrolman breathed. - -"_It's reaching in!_" Karen's voice, a terrified whisper. "_Look out -for its claws!_" - -Two explosions rang out--Greeno's old bullet gun; he didn't have an -ice pistol. Greeno yelled "_Get back!_" There was fright in even his -mechanical voice as a dull crash merged with his words. - -Then there was instant silence. Something had smashed Greeno's radio -set. - -"It's the bat!" Flint said. "It's got them cornered! We've got to get -out there!" Somehow, now, the thought of that thing reaching into the -door, clawing at Karen Vaun, pressed back against the wall, made him -forget all about his plans for capturing the bat, forget he was under -arrest for kidnapping. "Let's go--I'll take you to them!" - -"It's another of his tricks," one of the patrolmen said. "Trying to -lead us into a trap of some kind." - -"Listen, you stupid fools," Flint almost yelled, "don't you understand? -That bat's out there. They haven't a rabbit's chance. We haven't got -time to talk about it." - -The big fellow winked at the others. "If it's a space bat," he said, -"we'll need help. I'll call for some of the boys to go with us, with -some bigger guns--for the bat or for any little ambush you might have -planned." - -And Flint saw he was only wasting time. He leaped forward and caught -the man full in the face with his fist. The blow sprawled the patrolman -backward against the controls. Before he could get up, Flint was on him -again, struggling for his gun. If he could get out of here, get that -police plane-- - -He got his hand on the gun. Twisted. But it had taken too long. - -He felt the hard jab of one of the patrolmen's pistols against his -back. "Get off him!" - -Flint stepped back slowly, hands hanging limp, ready for the slightest -opening. But it didn't come. - -The big man got off the controls, holding his hand over a nose that -was probably broken. "Put him in that air lock," he ordered. "Give him -enough pressure to cave his ribs in!" - -The inside door was open. Flint was shoved into the lock. The door -clanged shut behind him. - - * * * * * - -Around the wall in the narrow air chamber was a line of tiny holes. -From these came a shrill hissing like a nest of snakes. The pointer of -the pressure gauge on the wall trembled, then slowly moved across the -dial. - -The chamber was six feet high, three feet wide. The air holes were near -the ceiling beside Flint's ears. But he didn't stand there listening -to the rising pressure. A moment ago, one of the patrolmen had passed -through here. Immediately, he tried the other door, the one leading -outside where the police ship was hooked on, but it was locked now. - -The doors of a space-ship's safety chamber worked together. When one -was locked, the other locked automatically. But when one door was -unlocked, the other was also unlocked. He leaned against the outside -door, his mind racing. If he could stay conscious against the air -pressure--if he could slip through this outside door when they opened -the inner one--he'd be in the police plane-- - -The pressure gauge was calibrated in pounds. With each mark the pointer -climbed, he shuddered. He jammed his fingers into his ears, closed his -eyes, swallowed constantly. His face turned white under rivulets of -sweat. - -His shirt was quickly soaked through, his big arms wet and glistening. -Swiftly he felt his strength leaving him. The pointer on the gauge -quivered at the hundred mark, slowly climbed higher. - -Flint found his knees sagging. His heart pounded with the exertion -of standing up. His body had turned to lead. And in his mind was the -terrible fear that he'd black out completely, be lying there on the -floor when the other door unlocked and gave him his only chance. - -But he _couldn't_ black out! He had to keep on his feet! He was Karen's -and Greeno's only chance. - -The pointer stood at a hundred and fifty. His ribs felt as if steel -bands were being tightened around his chest. He couldn't breathe. He -knew he couldn't stand much more. - -He turned his head toward the inside door and with all the lung power -he could find yelled, "Let me out! I'll talk!" - -They heard him. The whistling in his ears ceased for one second, then -returned, but now it was the sucking sound of air going out. He got -hold of the outer door handle, leaned his weight back against it. His -glazed eyes were on the pressure dial. He knew the men in the ship were -watching its counterpart. - -The pointer came back around slowly and each jump brought blessed -relief as the pressure slackened. It was like a tremendous weight being -lifted from every square inch of his body. - -When the pointer hit zero, he heard the lock click in the door behind -him and the door against which he was pulling swung suddenly open. He -almost fell backward, then managed to struggle forward through the door. - -"Stop him! He's trying to get into our ship!" - -He heard feet clattering through the chamber after him. He slammed the -door against a beefy blurred face. Stumbling through the double doors -of the police plane's air chamber, he managed to close and lock them -against his pursuers. Then he staggered over to the control panel. - -He cut the switch, pressed the starter. The jets roared behind him as -he shot away from his own plane. - - * * * * * - -The jets had left a vapor trail miles long before he could look -back. He saw the flare of his own ship as it started in pursuit but -he knew they'd never overtake him with the busted fuel pump and he -wasn't worrying now about their following his trail later with a blast -analyzer. He wasn't worrying about anything that would happen later. -All he was thinking about now was Greeno and the girl. - -His own ship was no longer in sight when he swept into the outskirts of -the Ring. He remembered to step up the air pressure to avoid the bends. -Then, a little grimly, he smiled. There on the control panel was his -ice pistol where the patrolman had left it. He stuck it in his empty -holster. His luck was turning. - -Whipping in and out of the rough-hewn worlds, the police clock had -ticked off only ten minutes when in the distance ahead he could see -the sagging cable between the two little globes that were Greeno's -domain. He remembered Greeno's words that very day, "You, my friend of -many seasons." He remembered the way Karen Vaun looked with her hair -trailing on her shoulders, her blue eyes.... - -If only it wasn't too late. - -He flashed over the twin planetoids, circled around their far side. It -was easy to tell the bat had been there. For miles around, the jungle -was criss-crossed with splintered tree tops where its wing tips had -brushed them like a hurricane. Then, coming round to the spot where -Greeno's shack was, Flint saw the real scene of violence. What had been -a small clearing in the brush, not even large enough to land on, was an -area big as a football field. And in the center of it lay the bat. - -The thing lay there like a blotch of spilled ink, grotesque and -horrible. It was using horny claws on the tips of its wings to slam -Greeno's space-ship house back and forth like a nut. Greeno and Karen -must be inside. - -Flint streaked down, thumbs trembling on the triggers of the police -plane's guns. He held his screaming dive till he was within yards of -the thing. Then into its back he poured his stream of liquid fire. -Kicking the controls, he zoomed away, head craned back to watch the -result. - -The bat came up like a volcano erupting. There was a wide furrow burned -along its black hairy back. Trees bent hundreds of yards away under the -beat of its wings. Rising high in the greenish twilight, it sailed over -the planetoid, searching for its attacker. - -Flint circled higher still. Far below he saw two small figures crawl -out of the house, stare upward. Karen and Greeno were safe, so far. - -Banking over, looking down at them, Flint's eyes left the bat for a -second. In that second the bat's eyes found him. It was upon him with -the speed of a glance. It came on, unmindful of the jet blast in its -face, its hair singeing like a grass fire. And though Flint threw the -ship into every contortion he knew--full throttle five, bullet roll, -reverse jet dodge, everything--the bat stayed on his tail, following -his every maneuver as if it knew what he was going to do in advance. - -Its wings worked in a dark blur, trying to gain the few yards to close -its pile-driver jaws upon the plane. Slowly, inexorably, the space -between the beast and the plane narrowed. Then Flint played his final -card, the same trick he'd used with the bat before. - -He dived for the planetoid, straight down, holding it till his nerves -screamed with the wind, the bat right behind him. Then, almost in the -tree tops, he pulled out. He stared back over his shoulder. If the bat -plunged on into the jungle, if it floundered there for one minute, -the plane's guns might be able to burn a wing off. He watched the bat -twisting out of its dive, tree tops splaying. - -Then it happened. - - * * * * * - -A wisp in the view-plate, a hair-line growing, rushing at the nose -of the plane. Before Flint turned in time to see it, the cable that -stretched between the twin planetoids had been struck by the plane's -nose, had screeched along its side in a shower of sparks. Then it -caught. A solid jolt. - -The little hooks along the hull, the device for boarding another ship, -had caught the cable, jerked it free from one of the planetoids and -torn out by the roots the tree to which the other end was anchored. - -When Flint again got the plane under control, it mushed along, weighed -down by a ton of steel cable that had a full-grown tree dangling on its -far end. - -Flint's first thought was of the bat. He glanced around frantically. -But the cable had stopped the plane so abruptly and the bat had swept -back up so fast, it was now well beyond the range of its weak eyes. And -as Flint watched, it apparently forgot the plane, glided across the -jungle like a great shadow, headed back toward Greeno and the girl. - -Pressing his eye to the filterscope, Flint brought them up close, -standing in the wreckage of the trees, scanning the sky. They didn't -know the bat was on the way back, coming in low now behind them. - -"_Run!_" Flint yelled the word as if they could hear him across the -five miles between them. Standing there beside Greeno, Karen Vaun's -hair glistened in the twilight, her eyes looking right at him, almost -as if she could see him. Flint beat his fists on the control panel -helplessly. - -Then they heard the rush of the bat's wings behind them. They whirled, -stood there frozen before the gigantic creature hurtling at them. Then, -too late to run back for the house, they fled toward the woods. And the -woods was just where the bat wanted them. - -Flint knew he had to get there now. He had to do something quick. The -bat started systematically flattening the trees, searching for them in -the terrifying way it always hunted its prey. Four times the size of an -elephant, the winged monster splintered like matchsticks hundred-foot -high mahogany and ironwood trees. - -Flint's hands jerked the plane's controls as if he could hurl it -bodily forward, dragging the weight of cable and tree behind him. But -the ship was now a winged snail. And when he _did_ get there, he knew -there wasn't a chance of getting the bat in his sights. He couldn't -outmaneuver it any more. And there was no time now to land and do what -he could afoot with a pistol. - -Then, with his hand on the ice pistol's butt, his eyes on the raging -bat slowly nearing below, an idea flared in his head that brought him -to his feet like an electric shock. - - * * * * * - -Quickly, he headed the plane down toward the bat, set automatic pilot. -Then, fingers flying, he ripped a wire from the control panel, looped -one end through his pistol's trigger guard, the other end through his -belt. Then he ran to the door. - -Standing in the air lock, he forced the outside door against the wind. -He looked down at the cable, caught firmly on the hook, dangling under -the plane. He reached out, got his hand on the cable and swung out over -the jungle far below. The door clanged shut behind him. - -He started down the cable hand over hand. Guided by the automatic -pilot, the ship moved slowly ahead. He got down the cable and into the -dangling tree. - -It was like climbing a tree in a cyclone as he fought his way through -the branches to a limb he could lock his legs around. Then, with a -scissors hold on the limb, he sat upright and drew the ice pistol from -its holster. - -Down below, the bat had smashed a wide area of trees and was hunting -Greeno and Karen like mice in the tall grass. When it heard the plane, -it twisted up, circled suspiciously. The tree and the cable confused it -for a moment. But only for a moment. Then its tiny brain sent it toward -its persistent enemy, the plane. - -It came by so close and its hairy mass was so immense, Flint caught his -breath. There was nothing to aim at with a pistol. It was too big. He -just pointed the gun at the expanse of hair and pulled the trigger as -fast as he could work his finger. - -Instantly, one great wing of the creature went rigid. It was the wing -nearest Flint and the bat slid that way. The black mass of hair, each -hair a full yard long, swept upon him. The branches of the tree -caved in. The cable was snatched from the plane. Flint clawed at the -monster's side blindly. He caught a handful of hair. The bat flailed -the air wildly with its other wing, a hundred tons of solid flesh -falling-- - -Then the whole world exploded around Flint. Tree trunks cracking, green -vegetation whirling past him, then a stunning thud as the bat struck -the ground, shaking the whole forest. - -Like a man fleeing some horror in a nightmare, Flint tore his way -through the stalks of hair, leaped to the ground and ran into the -jungle. - -When he finally stopped running, safely away from the bat's hammering -wings and claws, he saw he was now permanently safe. It had beaten its -good wing to shreds in the trees. When the effect of the ice gun wore -off, it wouldn't be able to fly. - -Slowly, Flint grinned. He glanced down, saw his ice pistol dangling the -length of its wire against his knee. Almost tenderly, he picked it up, -untied the wire, and stuck the gun into its holster. - -Greeno and Karen ran toward him through the woods. Their faces were -scratched, their clothes in tatters. Karen's feet were bare; she had -lost her shoes, removed her stockings. Her hair was tangled, a raven -mop on her half-bare shoulders. - -She seemed on the verge of collapse but her cheeks and eyes, despite -the weariness of her grim experience, glowed. Today's excitement had -completely displaced her cultivated pose of boredom by the fresh beauty -of a jungle flower. - -And it had done something to Flint too. He ran to meet them, caught the -girl as she fell toward him. "Are you all right?" - -She was too breathless to speak. "We all right," Greeno said. "But -almost weren't." He held out his arm. From shoulder to wrist was a wide -deep scratch, a claw mark. - -Then the sudden sound of rockets turned all their faces skyward. High -over the trees, circling lower, came three patrol planes and Flint's -ship. - -Flint's fingers tightened on the girl's arm. "Greeno," he said, "we -have to get out of here, hide in the woods." He said it sadly, tired of -the game now. He had forgotten it wasn't over. He looked down into -the girl's face. "Miss Vaun," he said quickly, "this was all my fault. -I won't ask you to forgive me but I want you to know I'm sorry, not -for trying to do what I could to protect the feather-deer, but because -this business came so close to ending in a tragedy much worse than your -slaughtering them all." - -He dropped his hands, turned to the jungle. Greeno was standing at the -edge of the woods, waiting for him. He started walking slowly. - -Then suddenly he turned, came back to the girl quickly. "Might as well -be shot for a sheep as a lamb," he said. He put a hand under her chin, -kissed her soundly on the lips, then ran toward the woods. - -When he was halfway there, he heard her cry, "Mr. Flint! Wait!" It -occurred to him that she probably didn't even know his first name. He -didn't look back. And Miss Karen Vaun did a very strange thing. - -She had one hand behind her as Flint ran away. Now she brought it forth -and in it was Flint's own ice pistol. She raised it, took careful aim -and pulled the trigger. - -Flint's legs stopped in midstride, knees bent one before the other, -like a stop-motion movie. He sprawled forward. - -Before he could get up, the girl was beside him. She sat down on his -back, pinning him to the ground. "Next time you kiss a girl without -knowing whether she wants to be kissed or not," she said, "hang onto -your gun." - -Then the police, with Hudson and Leggett, were crowded around them. - -"Are you all right, Miss Vaun?" - -Flint lay there feeling very foolish. - -But the girl ignored the crowd, still talking to him, "You didn't know -I was an ice pistol expert, too, did you? You didn't know I was in the -fur business because my father used to be a trapper on Venus. When I -was twelve years old, I could bring down a tigodon at a half a mile." - -The beefy-faced patrolman, his nose bandaged now, said, "If you'll get -up, Miss Vaun, we'll take care of him now." - -The others were staring at the space bat, flopping about feebly a short -distance away, its awful strength spent. - -"Leggett," the fur merchant said to the lawyer, "think what a _rug_ -that would make for the firm's front office!" - -"Miss Vaun can also come into a nice bit of cash from that circus for -it," one of the other patrolmen said. "This is her land--or soon will -be--and the bat's on it. Where Flint's going, he won't be able to claim -anything." - -The big patrolman helped Karen up. Flint stumbled to his feet. The -patrolman grabbed him by the collar, roughly. "Come along, kidnapper," -he said. - -Karen Vaun stared at the patrolman blankly. "_Kidnapper?_" - - * * * * * - -The patrolman frowned. "Certainly, Miss Vaun. Don't you know this guy -engineered the whole business--having you taken off his plane? He and -that Venusian were going to hold you for ransom." - -Karen shook her head. "I don't know what you're talking about," she -said. "Greeno was merely bringing me out to look at these planetoids -while Mr. Flint went to get his big guns for the bat. Kidnapper? -Preposterous! Mr. Flint and I are buying these planetoids _together_." - -"What!" Leggett and Hudson said the word simultaneously. And they -seemed the only ones in the crowd who could speak. "Together!" Leggett -said weakly. "Why this area is a million dollar investment!" - -"Two million," Karen said. She took Flint's hand, he standing there as -dumbfounded as the rest. "Mr. Flint's going to contribute a million of -his own from the sale of the bat. We're going to raise feather-deer -here. It would be bad business to kill them all off." She paused, -surveying the crowd as if daring anybody to disagree with her. "Now, -if you'll excuse us, we'll get back to Saturn. We have business to -discuss." Then she glanced toward the jungle. "Greeno!" she called. -"Aren't you coming with us? If you're going to be foreman around our -feather-deer ranch, you've got to be in on the conferences." - -Greeno stepped out of the shadows, a faint smile softening his stony -face. "Attend later conferences," he said. "From what is in your -thoughts, don't think I should attend this one." - -Karen Vaun blushed, then led Flint quickly away toward his plane. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Space Bat, by Carl Selwyn - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SPACE BAT *** - -***** This file should be named 63808.txt or 63808.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/3/8/0/63808/ - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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