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diff --git a/old/63875-0.txt b/old/63875-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 4c64245..0000000 --- a/old/63875-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2896 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Red Witch of Mercury, by Emmett McDowell - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this ebook. - -Title: Red Witch of Mercury - -Author: Emmett McDowell - -Release Date: December 05, 2020 [EBook #63875] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Produced by: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RED WITCH OF MERCURY *** - - - - - Red Witch of Mercury - - By EMMETT McDOWELL - - Death was Jaro Moynahan's stock in trade, and - every planet had known his touch. But now, on - Mercury, he was selling his guns into the - weirdest of all his exploits--gambling his life - against the soft touch of a woman's lips. - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Planet Stories Summer 1945. - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - -On the stage of _Mercury Sam's Garden_, a tight-frocked, limber-hipped, -red-head was singing "_The Lady from Mars_." The song was a rollicking, -ribald ditty, a favorite of the planters and miners, the space pilots -and army officers who frequented the garden. The girl rendered it with -such gusto that the audience burst into a roar of applause. - -She bent her head in acknowledgment so that her bronze red hair fell -down about her face. There was perspiration on her upper lip and -temples. Her crimson mouth wore a fixed smile. Her eyes were frightened. - -The man, who had accompanied the singer on the piano, sat at the foot -of the stage, his back to the crowded tables. He did not look up at -the singer but kept his pale, immature face bent over the keys, while -his fingers lightly, automatically picked out the tune. Sweat trickled -down the back of his neck, plastered his white coat to his back. -Without looking up, he said: "Have you spotted him?" His voice was -pitched to reach the singer alone. - -The girl, with an almost imperceptible gesture, shook her head. - -The night was very hot; but then it is always hot on Mercury, the -newest, the wildest, the hottest of Earth's frontiers. Fans spaced -about the garden's walls sluggishly stirred the night air, while the -men and women sitting at the tables drank heavily of Latonka, the -pale green wine of Mercury. Only the native waiters, the enigmatic, -yellow-eyed Mercurians, seemed unaffected by the heat. They didn't -sweat at all. - -Up on the stage the singer was about to begin another number when she -stiffened. - -"Here he is," she said to the pianist without moving her lips. - -The pianist swung around on his stool, lifted his black eyes to the -gate leading to the street. - -Just within the entrance, a tall, thin man was standing. He looked like -a gaunt gray wolf loitering in the doorway. His white duraloes suit -hung faultlessly. His black hair was close-cropped, his nose thin and -aquiline. For a moment he studied the crowded garden before making his -way to a vacant table. - -"Go on," said the pianist in a flat voice. - -The red-head shivered. Stepping from the stage she picked her way -through the tables until she came to the one occupied by the newcomer. - -"May I join you?" she asked in a low voice. - -The man arose. "Of course. I was expecting you. Here, sit down." He -pulled out a chair, motioned for the waiter. The Mercurian, his yellow -incurious eyes like two round topazes, sidled up. "Bring us a bottle -of Latonka from the Veederman region, well iced." The waiter slipped -away. - -"So," said the red-head; "you have come. I did not think you would be -in time." Her hands were clenched in her lap. The knuckles were white. - -The man said nothing. - -"I did not want to call you in, Jaro Moynahan." It was the first time -she had used his name. "You have the reputation of being unpredictable. -I don't trust you, but since...." - - * * * * * - -She stopped as the waiter placed glasses on the table and deftly poured -the pale green wine. The man, Jaro Moynahan, raised his glass. - -"Here's to the revolution," he said. His low voice carried an odd, -compelling note. His eyes, light blue and amused, were pale against his -brown face. - -The girl drew in her breath. - -"No! Mercury is not ready for freedom. Only a handful of fanatics are -engineering the revolution. The real Mercurian patriots are against -it, but they are afraid to protest. You've got to believe me. The -revolution is scheduled to break during the Festival of the Rains. If -it does, the Terrestrials here will be massacred. The Mercurians hate -them. We haven't but a handful of troops." - -Jaro Moynahan wiped the sweat from his forehead with a fine duraweb -handkerchief. "I had forgotten how abominably hot it can be here." - -The girl ignored the interruption. "There is one man; he is the leader, -the very soul of the revolution. The Mercurians worship him. They will -do whatever he says. Without him they would be lost. He is the rebel, -Karfial Hodes. I am to offer you ten thousand Earth notes to kill -Karfial Hodes." - -Jaro Moynahan refilled their empty glasses. He was a big man, handsome -in a gaunt fashion. Only his eyes were different. They were flat and -a trifle oblique with straight brows. The pupils were a pale and -penetrating blue that could probe like a surgeon's knife. Now he caught -the girl's eyes and held them with his own as a man spears a fish. - -"Why call me all the way from Mars for that? Why not have that gunman -at the piano rub Hodes out?" - -The girl started, glanced at the pianist, said with a shiver: "We can't -locate Karfial Hodes. Don't look at me that way, Jaro. You frighten me. -I'm telling the truth. We can't find him. That's why we called you. -You've got to find him, Jaro. He's stirring up all Mercury." - -"Who's putting up the money?" - -"I can't tell you." - -"Ah," said Jaro Moynahan; "so that's the way it is." - -"That's the way it is." - -"There isn't much time," he said after a moment. "The Rains are due any -day now." - -"No," the girl replied. "But we think he's here in the city." - -"Why? What makes you think that?" - -"He was seen," she began, then stopped with a gasp. - -The lights had gone out. - -It was as unexpected as a shot in the back. One moment the garden was -glowing in light, the next the hot black night swooped down on the -revelers, pressing against their eyes like dark wool. The fans about -the walls slowed audibly and stopped. It grew hotter, closer. - -Jaro Moynahan slipped sideways from the table. He felt something brush -his sleeve. Somewhere a girl giggled. - -"What's coming off here?" growled a petulant male voice. Other voices -took up the plaint. - -Across the table from Jaro there was the feel of movement; he could -sense it. An exclamation was suddenly choked off as if a hand had been -clamped over the girl's mouth. - -"Red!" said Jaro in a low voice. - -There was no answer. - -"Red!" he repeated, louder. - -Unexpectedly, the deep, ringing voice of Mercury Sam boomed out from -the stage. - -"It's all right. The master fuse blew out. The lights will be on in a -moment." - -On the heels of his speech the lights flashed on, driving the night -upward. The fans recommenced their monotonous whirring. - -Jaro Moynahan glanced at the table. The red-headed singer was gone. So -was the pianist. - -Jaro Moynahan sat quietly back down and poured himself another glass of -Latonka. The pale green wine had a delicate yet exhilarating taste. -It made him think of cool green grapes beaded with dew. On the hot, -teeming planet of Mercury it was as refreshing as a cold plunge. - -He wondered who was putting up the ten thousand Earth notes? Who stood -to lose most in case of a revolution? The answer seemed obvious enough. -Who, but Albert Peet. Peet controlled the Latonka trade for which there -was a tremendous demand throughout the Universe. - -And what had happened to the girl. Had the rebels abducted her. If -so, he suspected that they had caught a tartar. The Red Witch had the -reputation of being able to take care of herself. - -He beckoned a waiter, paid his bill. As the Mercurian started to leave, -a thought struck Jaro. These yellow-eyed Mercurians could see as well -in the dark as any alley-prowling cat. For centuries they had lived -most their lives beneath ground to escape the terrible rays of the -sun. Only at night did they emerge to work their fields and ply their -trades. He peeled off a bill, put it in the waiter's hands. - -"What became of the red-headed singer?" - -The Mercurian glanced at the bill, then back at the Earthman. There was -no expression in his yellow eyes. - -"She and the man, the queer white one who plays the piano, slipped out -the gate to the street." - -Jaro shrugged, dismissed the waiter. He had not expected to get much -information from the waiter, but he was not a man to overlook any -possibility. If the girl had been abducted, only Mercurians could have -engineered it in the dark; and the Mercurians were a clannish lot. - -Back on the narrow alley-like street Jaro Moynahan headed for his -hostelry. By stretching out his arms he could touch the buildings on -either side: buildings with walls four feet thick to keep out the -heat of the sun. Beneath his feet, he knew, stretched a labyrinth of -rooms and passages. Somewhere in those rat-runs was Karfial Hodes, the -revolutionist, and the girl. - -At infrequent intervals green globes cut a hole in the night, casting a -faint illumination. He had just passed one of these futile street lamps -when he thought he detected a footfall behind him. It was only the -whisper of a sound, but as he passed beyond the circle of radiation, he -flattened himself in a doorway. Nothing stirred. There was no further -sound. Again he started forward, but now he was conscious of shadows -following him. They were never visible, but to his trained ears there -came stealthy, revealing noises: the brush of cloth against the baked -earth walls, the sly shuffle of a step. He ducked down a bisecting -alley, faded into a doorway. Immediately all sounds of pursuit stopped. -But as soon as he emerged he was conscious again of the followers. In -the dense, humid night, he was like a blind man trying to elude the -cat-eyed Mercurians. - -[Illustration: _Jaro Moynahan_] - -In the East a sullen red glow stained the heavens like the reflection -of a fire. The Mercurian dawn was about to break. With an oath, he set -out again for his hostelry. He made no further effort to elude the -followers. - - * * * * * - -Once back in his room, Jaro Moynahan stripped off his clothes, -unbuckled a shoulder holster containing a compressed air slug gun, -stepped under the shower. His body was lean and brown as his face -and marked with innumerable scars. There were small round puckered -scars and long thin ones, and his left shoulder bore the unmistakable -brownish patch of a ray burn. Stepping out of the shower, he dried, -rebuckled on the shoulder holster, slipped into pajamas. The pajamas -were blue with wide gaudy stripes. Next he lit a cigarette and -stretching out on the bed began to contemplate his toes with singular -interest. - -He had, he supposed, killed rather a lot of men. He had fought in -the deadly little wars of the Moons of Jupiter for years, then the -Universal Debacle of 3368, after that the Martian Revolution as well as -dozens of skirmishes between the Federated Venusian States. No, there -was little doubt but that he had killed quite a number of men. But this -business of hunting a man through the rat-runs beneath the city was out -of his line. - -Furthermore, there was something phony about the entire set up. -The Mercurians, he knew, had been agitating for freedom for years. -Why, at this time when the Earth Congress was about to grant them -self-government, should they stage a revolution? - -A loud, authoritative rapping at the door interrupted further -speculation. He swung his bare feet over the edge of the bed, stood -up and ground out his cigarette. Before he could reach the door the -rapping came again. - -Throwing off the latch, he stepped back, balancing on the balls of his -feet. - -"Come in," he called. - -The door swung open. A heavy set man entered, shut and locked the door, -then glanced around casually. His eyes fastened on Jaro. He licked his -lips. - -"Mr. Moynahan, the--ah--professional soldier, I believe." His voice was -high, almost feminine. "I'm Albert Peet." He held out a fat pink hand. - -Jaro said nothing. He ignored the hand, waited, poised like a cat. - -Mr. Peet licked his lips again. "I have come, Mr. Moynahan, on a matter -of business, urgent business. I had not intended to appear in this -matter. I preferred to remain behind the scenes, but the disappearance -of Miss Mikail has--ah--forced my hand." He paused. - -Jaro still said nothing. Miss Mikail must be the red-headed singer, -whom at different times he had known under a dozen different aliases. -He doubted that even she remembered her right name. - -"Miss Mikail made you a proposition?" Albert Peet's voice was tight. - -"Yes," said Jaro. - -"You accepted?" - -"Why, no. As it happened she was abducted before I had the chance." - -Mr. Peet licked his lips. "But you will, surely you will. Unless -Karfial Hodes is stopped immediately there will be a bloody uprising -all over the planet during the Festival of the Rains. Earth doesn't -realize the seriousness of the situation." - -"Then I was right; it is you who are putting up the ten thousand Earth -notes." - -"Not entirely," said Peet uncomfortably. "There are many of us -here, Mercurians as well as Earthmen, who recognize the danger. We -have--ah--pooled our resources." - -"But you stand to lose most in case of a successful revolution?" - -"Perhaps. I have a large interest in the Latonka trade. It -is--ah--lucrative." - - * * * * * - -Jaro Moynahan lit a cigarette, sat down on the edge of the bed. "Why -beat about the bush," he asked with a sudden grin. "Mr. Peet, you've -gained control of the Latonka trade. Other Earthmen are in control -of the mines and the northern plantations. Together you form perhaps -the strongest combine the Universe has ever seen. You actually run -Mercury, and you've squeezed out every possible penny. Every time -self-government has come before the Earth Congress you've succeeded in -blocking it. You are, perhaps, the most cordially-hated group anywhere. -I don't wonder that you are afraid of a revolution." - -Mr. Peet took out a handkerchief and mopped his forehead. "Fifteen -thousand Earth notes I can offer you. But no more. That is as high as I -can go." - -Jaro laughed. "How did you know Red had been kidnapped?" - -"We have a very efficient information system. I had the report of Miss -Mikail's abduction fifteen minutes after the fact." - -Jaro raised his eyebrows. "Perhaps then you know where she is?" - -Mr. Peet shook his head. "No. Karfial Hodes' men abducted her." - -A second rapping at the door caused them to exchange glances. Jaro went -to the door, opened it. The pianist at the gardens was framed in the -entrance. His black eyes burned holes in his pale boyish face. His -white suit was blotched with sweat and dirt. - -"They told me Mr. Peet was here," he said. - -"It's for you," said Jaro over his shoulder. - -Mr. Peet came to the door. "Hello, Stanley. I thought Hodes had you? -Where's Miss Mikail?" - -"I got away. Look, Mr. Peet, I got to see you alone." - -Albert Peet said, "Would you excuse me, Mr. Moynahan?" He licked his -lips. "I'll just step out into the hall a moment." He went out, drawing -the door shut after him. - -Jaro lit a cigarette. He padded nervously back and forth across the -room, his bare feet making no noise. He sat down on the edge of the -bed. He got up and ground out the cigarette. He went to the door, but -did not open it. Instead, he took another turn about the room. Again he -came to a halt before the door, pressed his ear against the panel. For -a long time he listened but could distinguish no murmur of voices. With -an oath he threw open the door. The hall was empty. - - - II - -Jaro returned to his room, stripped off his pajamas, climbed back into -his suit. He tested the slug gun. It was a flat, ugly weapon which -hurled a slug the size of a quarter. He preferred it because, though he -seldom shot to kill, it stopped a man like a well placed mule's hoof. -He adjusted the gun lightly in its holster in order that it wouldn't -stick if he were called upon to use it in a hurry. Then he went out -into the hall. - -At the desk he inquired if any messages had come for him. There were -none, but the clerk had seen Mr. Peet with a young fellow take the -incline to the underground. Above the clerk's head a newsograph was -reeling off the current events almost as soon as they happened. Jaro -read: - -"_Earth Congress suspends negotiations on Mercurian freedom pending -investigation of rumored rebellion. Terrestrials advised to return to -Earth. Karfial Hodes, Mercurian patriot, being sought._" - -Jaro descended the incline to the network of burrows which served -as streets during the flaming days. Here in the basements and -sub-basements were located the shops and dram houses where the -Mercurians sat around little tables drinking silently of the pale green -Latonka. The burrows were but poorly lit, the natives preferring the -cool gloom, and Jaro had to feel his way, rubbing shoulders with the -strange, silent populace. But when he reached the Terrestrial quarter -of the city, bright radoxide lights took the place of the green globes, -and there was a sprinkling of Colonial guards among the throng. - -Jaro halted before a door bearing a placard which read: - -"LATONKA TRUST" - -He pushed through the door into a rich carpeted reception room. At the -far end was a second door beside which sat a desk, door and desk being -railed off from the rest of the office. The door into Albert Peet's -inner sanctum was ajar. Jaro could distinguish voices; then quite -clearly he heard Albert Peet say in a high girlish tone: - -"Stanley, I thought I left you in the native quarter. Why did you -follow me? How many times have I told you never to come here?" - -The reply was unintelligible. Then the pale-faced young man came -through the door shutting it after himself. At the sight of Jaro -Moynahan he froze. - -"What're you sneaking around here for?" - -Jaro settled himself warily, his light blue eyes flicking over the -youth. - -"Let's get this straight," he said mildly. "I've known your kind -before. Frankly, ever since I saw you I've had to repress a desire to -step on you as I might a spider." - -The youth's black eyes were hot as coals, his fingers twitching. His -hands began to creep upward. - -"You dirty ..." he began, but he got no further. Jaro Moynahan shot him -in the shoulder. - -The compressed air slug gun had seemed to leap into Jaro's hand. The -big slug, smacked the gunman's shoulder with a resounding thwack, -hurled him against the wall. Jaro vaulted the rail, deftly relieved him -of two poisoned needle guns. - -"I'll get you for this," said Stanley, his mouth twisted in pain. -"You've broken my shoulder. I'll kill you." - -The door to the inner sanctum swung open. - -"What's happened?" cried Albert Peet in distress. "What's wrong with -you, Stanley?" - -"This dirty slob shot me in the shoulder." - -"But how badly?" Peet was wringing his hands. - -"Nothing serious," said Jaro. "He'll have his arm in a sling for a -while. That's all." - -"Stanley," said Mr. Peet. "You're bleeding all over my carpet. Why -can't you go in the washroom. There's a tile floor in there. If you -hadn't disobeyed this wouldn't have happened. You and your fights. Has -anyone called a doctor? Where's Miss Webb? Miss Webb! Oh, Miss Webb! -That girl. Miss Webb!" - - * * * * * - -Stanley climbed to his feet, swayed a moment drunkenly, then wobbled -out a door on the left just as a tall brunette hurried in from the -right. She had straight black hair which hung not quite to her -shoulders, and dark brown eyes, and enough of everything else to absorb -Jaro's attention. - -"Oh!" exclaimed Miss Webb as she caught sight of the blood staining the -carpet. - -[Illustration: _Joan Webb_] - -"There's been an--ah--accident," said Mr. Peet, and he licked his lips. -"Call a doctor, Miss Webb." - -Miss Webb raised an eyebrow, went to the visoscreen. In a moment she -had tuned in the prim starched figure of a nurse seated at a desk. - -"Could Dr. Baer rush right over here? There's been an accident." - -"Rush over where?" said the girl in the visoscreen. "These gadgets -aren't telepathic, honey." - -"Oh," said Miss Webb, "the offices of the Latonka Trust." - -The girl in the visoscreen thawed like ice cream in the sun. "I'm sure -Dr. Baer can come. He'll be there in a moment." - -"Thank you," said Miss Webb. She flicked the machine off, then added: -"You trollop." - -Mr. Peet regarded Jaro Moynahan with distress. - -"Really, Mr. Moynahan, was it necessary to shoot Stanley? Isn't -that--ah--a little extreme? I'm afraid it might incapacitate him, and I -had a job for him." - -"Oh," cried Miss Webb, her brown eyes crackling. "Did you shoot that -poor boy? Aren't you the big brave man?" - -"Poor boy?" said Jaro mildly. "Venomous little rattlesnake. I took -these toys away from him." He held out the poisoned dart guns. "You -take them, Mr. Peet. Frankly, they give me the creeps. They might go -off. A scratch from one of those needles would be enough." - -Mr. Peet accepted the guns gingerly. He held them as if they might -explode any minute. He started to put them in his pocket, thought -better of it, glanced around helplessly. - -"Here, Miss Webb," he said, "do something with these. Put them in my -desk." - -Miss Webb's eyes grew round as marbles. "I wouldn't touch one of those -nasty little contraptions for all the Latonka on Mercury." - -"Here, I'll take them," said Stanley coming back into the room. He had -staunched the flow of blood. His face was even whiter, if possible. -Jaro eyed him coldly as with his good hand the youth dropped the dart -guns back into their holsters. - -"Act like you want to use those and I'll put a slug in your head next -time." - -"Now, Mr. Moynahan." Mr. Peet licked his lips nervously. "Stanley, go -into my office. The doctor will be here in a moment. Miss Webb, you may -go home. I'll have no more work for you today." - - * * * * * - -Albert Peet led Stanley through the door. Jaro and Miss Webb were -alone. With his eye on the door, Jaro said: - -"When you go out, turn left toward the native quarter. Wait for me in -the first grog shop you come to." - -Miss Webb raised her eyebrows. "What's this? A new technique?" - -"Look," began Jaro annoyed. - -"My eyes are practically popping out of my head now," she interrupted. -"Another morning like this and I take the first space liner back to -Earth." She jammed her hat on backward, snatched her bag from the desk -drawer. - -"I'm not trying to pick you up. This is...." - -"How disappointing." - -Jaro began again patiently. "Wait for me in the first grog shop. -There's something I must know. It's important." He cleared his throat. -"Don't you find the heat rather uncomfortable, Miss Webb. But perhaps -you've become accustomed to it." - -Mr. Peet came back into the room. - -"Why, no, I mean yes," replied Miss Webb, a blank expression in her -eyes. - -"Goodbye, Miss Webb," said Mr. Peet firmly. - -Jaro grinned and winked at her. Miss Webb tottered out of the room. - -As the door closed behind the girl, Albert Peet licked his lips, said: -"Mr. Moynahan, I suppose my disappearance back at your room requires -some explanation. But the fact is that Stanley brought an important bit -of news." He paused. - -Jaro said nothing. - -"You might be interested to know that Miss Mikail is quite safe. -Karfial Hodes has her, but Stanley assures me she will be quite safe." -Again he paused. As Jaro remained silent, his neck mottled up pinkly. - -"The fact is, Mr. Moynahan, that we won't need you after all. I realize -that we've put you to considerable trouble and we're prepared to pay -you whatever you believe your time is worth. Say five hundred Earth -notes?" - -"That's fair enough," replied Jaro. - -Albert Peet sighed. "I have the check made out." - -"Only," continued Jaro coldly, "I'm not ready to be bought off. I think -I'll deal myself a hand in this game." - -Mr. Peet's face fell. "You won't reconsider?" - -"Sorry," said Jaro; "but I've got a date. I'm late now." He started to -leave. - -"Stanley!" called Albert Peet. - -The pale-faced young man appeared in the doorway, the dart gun in his -good hand. Jaro Moynahan dropped on his face, jerking out his slug gun -as he fell. There was a tiny plop like a cap exploding. He heard the -whisper of the poisoned dart as it passed overhead. Then he fired from -the floor. The pale-faced young man crumpled like an empty sack. - -Jaro got up, keeping an eye on Albert Peet, brushed off his knees. - -"You've killed him," said Peet. "If I were you, Mr. Moynahan, I would -be on the next liner back to Earth." - -Without answering, Jaro backed watchfully from the room. - - * * * * * - -Once Jaro Moynahan had regained the street, he mopped his forehead with -his handkerchief. Whatever was going on, these boys played for keeps. -Warily he started down the passage toward the native quarter. At the -first basement grog shop he turned in. His eyes swept the chamber, then -he grinned. - -At a corner table, a tall glass of Latonka before her, sat Miss Webb. -Her hat was still on backwards, and she was perched on the edge of her -chair as if ready to spring up and away like a startled faun. - -"_Bang!_" said Jaro coming up behind her and poking a long brown finger -in the small of her back. - -Miss Webb uttered a shriek, jerked so violently that her hat tilted -over one eye. She regarded him balefully from beneath the brim. - -"Never a dull moment," she gritted. - -Still grinning, Jaro sat down. "I'm Jaro Moynahan, Miss Webb. I think -Albert Peet forgot to introduce us. There's some skullduggery going on -here that I'm particularly anxious to get to the bottom of. I thought -you might be able to help me." - -"Yes," replied Miss Webb sweetly. - -A native waiter, attracted no doubt by her scream, came over and took -Jaro's order. - -"All right," Jaro smiled, but his pale blue eyes probed the girl -thoughtfully. "I'll have to confide certain facts which might be -dangerous for you to know. Are you game, Miss Webb?" - -"Since we're going to be so chummy," she replied; "you might begin by -calling me Joan. You make me feel downright ancient." - -"Well then," he said. "In the first place, I just killed that -baby-faced gunman your boss had in his office." - -"_Awk!_" said Joan, choking on the Latonka. - -"It was self-defense," he hastened to assure her. "He took a pot shot -at me with that poisoned dart gun." - -"But the police!" she cried, as she caught her breath. - -"There'll never be an investigation. Albert Peet will see to that. I -was called here on what I supposed was a legitimate revolution. Instead -I was offered ten thousand Earth notes to assassinate the leader of the -revolution." - -"What revolution? I'm going around in circles." - -"The Mercurians, of course." - -"I don't believe it," said the girl. "The Mercurians are the most -peaceable people in the Universe. They've been agitating for freedom, -yes. But they believe in passive resistance. I don't believe you could -induce a Mercurian to kill, even in self-protection. That's why Albert -Peet and the rest of the combine had such an easy time gaining control -of the Latonka trade." - -"Score one," breathed Jaro, "I begin to see light. Miss Webb--ah, -Joan--I've a notion that we're going to be a great team. How do you -happen to be Albert Peet's private secretary?" - -"A gal's gotta eat. But the truth is, I was quitting. The Latonka Trust -is almost on the rocks. Their stock has been dropping like a meteor." - -Jaro Moynahan raised his oblique brows but did not interrupt. - -"Albert Peet," she continued, "has been trying to sell out but nobody -will touch the stock, not since it looks as if the Earth Congress is -going to grant the Mercurians their freedom. Everybody knows that the -first thing the Mercurians will do, will be to boot out the Latonka -Trust." - -"What about this Karfial Hodes?" said Jaro. "I've heard that he's -inciting the Mercurians to rebellion. The newscaster had a line about -the revolution too. The government has advised all Terrestrials to -return to Earth." - -"It's not true," Joan flared. "It's all a pack of lies invented by the -Latonka Trust. I know." - -"But I should think rumors like that would run down the Latonka stock." - - * * * * * - -Joan shook her head. "It doesn't add up, I know. But Karfial Hodes is a -real patriot. He wouldn't advocate a bloody revolution. That's not his -way." - -They both sipped their wine. Joan's eyes were narrowed thoughtfully but -Jaro's features were impassive. - -"Well," he said at last, "I wouldn't give a Venusian kapek for Karfial -Hodes' life right now." - -"Why?" - -Jaro shrugged. "They wanted me to find him and kill him. Stanley, that -little rattlesnake, is captured by Hodes' men and escapes, then Albert -Peet doesn't need me anymore. What would you say?" - -The girl's eyes widened. "They know where he is?" - -"Exactly." - -"But he's such a gentle old man. Surely they wouldn't murder him." - -Jaro said nothing. He sat facing the entrance. From time to time he -flicked his eyes to the girl's face but for the most part, he watched -the doorway like a cat at a mouse hole. For some minutes past he had -been unobtrusively studying a plump, bald-headed man who had entered -and was loitering about the door. The plump man's hand disappeared -inside the breast of his gray coat. When it reappeared there was the -glint of metal in his fist. - -Without a word of warning, Jaro seized the edge of the table, upended -it with a crash of glass. In the same movement, he slipped to the -floor, using the table as a shield. Joan was left sitting in her chair, -a foolish expression on her face. - -"For heaven's sake," she hissed, "get up! Everybody's staring at us." - -Jaro shifted the slug gun to his left hand, grabbed the girl by one -shapely ankle, yanked her to the floor. - -"_Oof!_" she gulped as she lit with a solid smack. Her hat slid to the -back of her head. - -"Stay down!" said Jaro impassively. - -The plump man in the gray suit was circling the table warily. Jaro took -a pot shot at him over the top of the table. The plump man spun around -as if jerked by an unseen hand. The occupants of the other tables -simultaneously dived for the door which was at least ten feet too -narrow to accommodate them all. The plump man was sitting on the floor, -his back to the wall, a surprised expression on his face. His poisoned -dart gun lay a dozen feet away. - -"Come on," said Jaro yanking the girl to her feet as abruptly as he had -tumbled her down. "This joint should have a back exit." - -Joan clapped her hand to her hat as they dashed around the bar and -through a door. They came out into a narrow, devious alley which -paralleled the main passage. - -"What happened?" Joan gasped when she caught her breath. - -Jaro slipped the slug gun back in its holster. "Give me a slug gun any -day. It's got a kick like a rocket tube. When you hit a man with it, he -says down. Knocked that gunman right off his feet. Did you see him?" - -"No," said Joan bitterly. "I'm not accustomed to being thumped around -like a sack of flour. I didn't see anything, after bouncing off the -floor, but stars." - -"One of Peet's men tailed me into the grog shop," he explained, "and -took a shot at us." - -"Us?" she gulped. "But why?" - -"We know too much." - -They had emerged into a well-lit, well-traveled passage. Jaro looked at -the girl seriously, his light blue eyes unreadable. "What can I do with -you?" - -"Must you do anything? I'm really a very frail girl. You play too -rough." - -He ignored the interruption. "You'd better come to my room." He took -her arm, started off toward the native quarter. - -"Please, Mr. Moynahan," she protested trotting along beside him. - -"Now, listen," said Jaro patiently. "I didn't kill that gunman. When he -lets Peet know that we were together your life won't be worth anymore -than Karfial Hodes'." - -"Oh," said Miss Webb. Then increasing her pace she repeated with rising -inflection: "Oh! Well let's not loiter along like this. Let's get -there!" - - - III - -At his room, Jaro locked the door under the girl's suspicious eyes. - -"If I were to listen to my better judgment," she remarked dryly, "I -would leap out the window right now." - -"And probably get sunstroke before you hit the street," he -supplemented. "I'm hungry enough to eat a cow, hoofs, horns, and tail." -He went to the telescreen and ordered dinners to be brought to the room. - -"Am I going to spend the rest of my life here?" she asked. - -"Heaven forbid." - -Joan stood in the middle of the floor like a skater on thin ice. Jaro -went over to the bed, sat down, lit a cigarette. He flipped the match -out the window. - -"Sit down," he said abruptly. "Unless, of course, you can rest on your -feet like a horse." - -Joan sank primly into a chair across from the bed. "What are we going -to do?" - -He shrugged. "We're in a spot. Albert Peet probably has another gunman -after us by this time. We might have lost his men when we ducked out -the back of that bar, but I doubt it. He has a very efficient spy -system. Karfial Hodes' men have been tailing me since last night. -Actually Miss Webb--uh--Joan--we're in a state of siege. There's -something big afoot. So big they can't afford to let us escape." - -Joan gulped, her eyes big as saucers. "But what do we know?" - -"Well," he replied seriously; "we know first that Peet is hiring a -bunch of gunmen to rub out Karfial Hodes--and incidentally, us." - -"Us? What's incidental about that?" Joan interrupted vigorously. "Maybe -you consider having gunmen take a pot shot at you incidental, but as -far as I'm concerned it's the nub of the whole nasty business." - -Jaro ignored the interruption. "Furthermore, we know that the Latonka -Trust is almost on the rocks because the Earth Congress is about to -grant the Mercurians their freedom. And this time Albert Peet and his -combine haven't been able to block it. Not yet anyway." - -"Don't forget the revolution," said Joan. - -"I'm not. A revolution would burst open the Latonka Trust like a ripe -watermelon. Peet would be lucky if he got away with his pants. But...." - -A discreet knocking at the door interrupted him. Miss Webb clapped her -hand to her mouth as if to stifle a scream. - -"Don't open it," she hissed loud enough to be heard on the next floor. - -Jaro drew his slug gun, threw off the latch, then with a swift cat-like -movement yanked open the door. - -Just outside stood a serving wagon loaded with food. The native waiter -looked up, startled at the sudden opening of the door, and found -himself staring down the barrel of Jaro's slug gun. His yellow eyes -popped out like agates and he almost completed a back somersault. - -"Bring it in," said Jaro sheathing the gun. - -With a reproachful glance the waiter set the dishes on the table and -retreated hastily. The serving wagon took the curve into the hall on -two wheels. - -Suppressed giggles rocked Joan's body. "Oh, if you could have seen -yourself." She burst out laughing. "The mother bird defending its -young." She rocked back and forth in the chair. - -"You'd better come eat," said Jaro stiffly, "before the food gets cold." - -Joan stifled her laughter, wiped the tears out of her eyes, pulled up a -chair. - - * * * * * - -"I'm not a bit hungry," she protested; "but what a lovely steak." -She attacked it with vigor. "Um, um," she said between mouthfuls. -"Delicious." There were half a dozen other dishes. Her strong white -teeth wrought havoc with their contents. Jaro, a light eater, picked -at a salad, but for the most part he watched the girl with growing -interest. From time to time she cast covetous glances at his steak -which he had pushed aside. - -"If you're not going to eat your steak," she ventured hesitantly. - -Jaro pushed it across the table. "For a girl who wasn't a bit hungry," -he said; "you've shown remarkable staying powers. What do you do? Store -it up in case of famine?" - -"Really," said Joan polishing off Jaro's steak; "you embarrass me." - -Just then a loud knock at the door caused her to gulp the last of it -unchewed. - -"What is this?" she asked, "the crossroads of Mercury? You certainly -entertain a lot." - -Jaro drew his slug gun again, tiptoed to the door, pulled it open. -A big blond young man was leaning against the door frame. He was a -good six feet, three inches tall and his shoulders almost filled the -entrance. He had light blue eyes, a short straight nose. The rest of -his face wore a broad grin. - -"Hello, Jaro, you old butcher," said the big young man. "Quit tickling -my nose with that slug gun and invite me in." - -Joan tittered as Jaro holstered the gun. The big young man caught sight -of her for the first time. He looked quickly away. - -"Sorry, old man," he said in a low voice, "didn't know you had company. -No end sorry. Meet me tonight at _Mercury Sam's Garden_." - -Jaro's face broke into a grin. - -"Come in," he said. "It's much worse than it looks." He turned to -Joan. "Miss Webb, this is Irving Landovitch. He's with the Terrestrial -Intelligence Service; so naturally he has a suspicious mind." - -[Illustration: _Landovitch_] - -Joan blushed hotly. "Oh," she said. "How do you do?" - -The T.I.S. agent acknowledged the introduction, sat down on the bed. - -"What are you doing here, Irving?" asked Jaro. "The last time I saw -you, you were working on a smuggling case back on Earth." - -"That's what I should ask you," replied the big young man, "but I don't -mind telling you Jaro, I'm investigating a report that a revolution is -about to break here on Mercury. Frankly, we didn't put much credence in -it until we learned that you'd landed." - -"How did you find me?" - -"Oh that," chuckled the T.I.S. agent. "We've had a man shadowing you -ever since you hit the space port." - -For the first time Jaro exhibited annoyance. "First Hodes' men, then -Albert Peet's men and now the T.I.S. I knew was being tailed, but I -didn't realize I was leading a parade." - -The T.I.S. agent glanced at Joan. "No offense, Miss Webb, but could I -see Mr. Moynahan alone? It won't take but a moment." - -She glanced helplessly at Jaro. "Where shall I go?" - - * * * * * - -Jaro grinned. "You might step in the shower, pull the curtain around -you and turn on the water." - -The big young man looked perplexed. "Couldn't we join her in the dining -room in a few moments?" - -"No," expostulated Jaro. "I should say not. She just ate enough to last -a Mercurian family a week. If I turned her loose down with all that -food she'd probably flounder herself. Besides Albert Peet's gunmen -would like nothing better than to catch her alone. No, Irving, you'll -have to talk in front of her." - -"I don't like it," replied Landovitch. He shook his head full-like from -side to side. "But, well Jaro, how are you mixed up in this?" - -Jaro hitched his chair closer. "Listen, I was at Valego, organizing the -Martian army. The prince had commissioned me." - -"We know all about your disreputable past," Landovitch interrupted -blandly. - -"Quit heckling him," said Joan. "For all I've been able to gather he -was born yesterday. He's the most uncommunicative man ever." - -Irving Landovitch clucked sympathetically. "Jaro, how did you impose on -this poor innocent child. If you'd let me know, maybe I could, too." - -"I was on Mars," Jaro continued patiently, "when I got a flash from the -Red Witch--she's using the name of Mikail--to grab the first spaceship -for Mercury. She said she was singing at _Mercury Sam's Garden_." In -as few words as possible he sketched his adventures since arriving. -Landovitch whistled. - -"The Rains are three days overdue," he said. - -"What is the Festival like?" asked Jaro. "I've heard something about -it, but I've never been here during the Rains." - -The T.I.S. agent rolled his eyes. "It would make a Roman orgy look like -a Sunday School picnic. Ordinarily the Mercurians are the meekest -people in the Universe, but during the Rains, they go a little crazy." - -"A little?" said Joan. "They're mad as hatters." She paused, her -expression undergoing an abrupt change. "Listen!" - -At first they could distinguish nothing, then from outside the window -came a persistent sigh which gradually deepened into a full-throated -roar. - -"The Rains," breathed Joan with a catch in her throat. "In a moment we -will hear the flutes." - - * * * * * - -Out in the hall someone knocked on the door. - -"Third time's the charm," said Jaro, and drew the slug gun. - -Landovitch said: "He won't be expecting me. When he shoots you I ought -to be able to catch him by surprise." - -"Maybe I should allow you to answer the door." - -"Go on." Landovitch waved his gun. "I'm right behind you, but out of -the line of fire, of course." - -Jaro threw open the door. Both men thrust their guns in the face of the -little Mercurian waiter who had served the food. - -"I'm growing accustomed," the waiter said; "to your peculiar sense of -humor." He marched between the two big men, closed and locked the heavy -storm shutters, marched back out. Joan burst into peals of laughter. -Jaro and Landovitch sheepishly returned their guns to their holsters. - -"Will you quit laughing like a hyena," said Jaro, "I think I hear -something." - -Joan subsided into giggles. From beneath their feet came a thin minor -melody. It possessed a maddening undercurrent indescribable in its -effect. Other instruments joined the first until the sound was like a -field of katydids. - -"The flutes," said Joan. "It's the flutes." - -Jaro, listening to their reedy melody, thought of the pipes of Pan. He -allowed his pale blue eyes to examine Joan Webb. She had long legs, -hips that were full, rounded, but not too broad, a slim waist, high -breasts. He took a long drink of Latonka. He said, "I want to revel." - -Landovitch said with admiration in his voice, "You sure can pick 'em, -Jaro." - -She glanced in alarm from Jaro to Landovitch. "Don't get any ideas, you -two predatory wolves, you. I absolutely refuse to be a party to any -orgies." - -"Tell me," said Jaro, "what is this Festival of the Rains? What does it -symbolize?" - -Joan explained: "It celebrates the marriage of Nemi, the god of the -rain, with the soil. Each year Nemi takes a new bride. She's chosen -from the prettiest girls of Acecia. She symbolizes the earth. The last -night of the festival, she is led into a beautiful chamber deep in -the lower levels of the rain god's temple and placed in bed and left. -Nemi, himself, is--ah--er, supposed to visit her during the night. For -a whole year she must remain faithful to Nemi. The people actually -believe her a goddess. But at the end of that time Nemi divorces -her, and she is relegated to the Temple Priestesses. The Temple -Priestesses," she added dryly, "aren't noted for their rigidity of -morals." - -They all took a drink of Latonka. The flutes were louder, more -insistent in their suggestion. Landovitch twitched his blond scalp -pensively. He did it like a horse twitches a patch of hide. Joan stared -at him fascinated. She said, "How did you do that?" She wrinkled her -nose, frowned, trying to imitate his feat. - -"Gimme that jug," said Jaro. He turned to Joan. "We," he said -impressively, "are the revolution." Joan realized that the two men had -consumed considerable wine. Landovitch threw wide his arms. "Camarade!" -he shouted. There were tears in his eyes. - -Jaro put down the jug empty. "Camarade!" he cried. They embraced. - -Joan watched them, her brown eyes round as saucers. Jaro turned to -Joan. "Camarade!" he said. He embraced her. She said, "Camarade" in a -weak voice. He continued to embrace her. Landovitch lost interest in -the revolution. He was searching for another jug. With a chortle, he -dragged one forth from beneath the bed. - -He observed Jaro and Joan with a lifted eyebrow. "Such brazenness," he -said in a reproving voice; "and right before my eyes, too." - -"Oh!" exploded Joan angrily. She pushed Jaro away. "Of all the -disgusting tricks!" she said. "This isn't any time for clowning." - -"I think," said Jaro Moynahan, "our best plan is to locate Karfial -Hodes. I have an idea that he is the key to this mess." - -Landovitch said, "Lead on, Moynahan. Your faithful friend, Last Ditch -Landovitch, is with you." He waved the jug. "Camarade," he said. - -"Camarade," said Jaro. They opened their arms. They embraced like two -football tackles. Jaro turned to Joan, "Camarade," he said. - -"No you don't!" said Joan grimly. "I've been 'cameraded' the last -time." Jaro's arms encircled her like bands of steel. She had never -imagined such strength. "Oh well," she said, "camarade." - -Landovitch opened the door. The music of the flutes swept into the -room. Jaro and Landovitch linked their arms in Joan's. She was not a -small girl, but she appeared fragile and doll-like between the two big -men. The T.I.S. agent twirled the two gallon jug of Latonka on his -finger. They paraded into the hall, down the stairs, three abreast. - -Jaro saw with surprise that the lobby was deserted. The clerk seemed -nervous, irritable, anxious to join the revelry which assailed their -ears from the runs. - -Joan suddenly went, "_Awk_." - -Landovitch, under the impression that she was choking, thumped her on -the back. - -"For God's sake!" said Joan. "Stop it before you jar my teeth loose." - -"Yeah! Stop it," Jaro said. - -Landovitch desisted. - -"I thought," said Joan; "that Albert Peet's men were trying to kill us?" - -"They are," said Jaro. - -Joan started back toward the steps. "Then I'm going to lock myself in -your room," she said. - -Jaro grabbed her arm. - -Landovitch said, "Well take care of Peet's men." - -"Give me a drink of that dutch courage," said Joan, taking the Latonka -jug. She took a long drink. They all took a long drink. They descended -into the runs. - - - IV - -At once they were engulfed in a concourse of Mercurians. Jaro stared -about him in amazement. The narrow dim-lit way was jammed with -revelers. The women wore the historic costume, a short skirt low on -bare hips and a diminutive jacket with squared sleeves. Their black -hair was done up on top of their heads with blossoms of the red egalet -that only blooms during the Rains. Wooden clogs were fastened to their -feet. The men wore gaudy, loose trousers and cummerbunds of green. -Their chests were bare, and many bands of hammered silver ornamented -their arms. - -The three revolutionists wriggled their way into a grog shop. They were -served wine and thin strips of cheese with some strange, hexagonal -crackers. - -"Why can't I get assignments like this often?" bewailed Landovitch. - -"Don't look now," said Joan, "but a man's following us." - -Jaro lit a cigarette, allowed his eyes to scrutinize the room. A short, -fat Earthman lounged at the door. The waiter offered him a glass of -Latonka which he refused. He had a hat perched on the back of his -head. He wore a white coat but no shirt. A second Earthman pushed -through the door. The fat man raised an eyebrow, nodded imperceptibly -toward Jaro. The second man took a seat at a table to their left. -Jaro's eyes flitted about the room. On the other side two men sipped -Latonka. They were Venusians. Tall, lean, yellow skinned men, they -reminded him of Manchus. Each, he noticed with a start, had a pale blue -star about the size of a dime tattooed on his forehead. Fazoqls! The -caste of professional killers! His experience during the wars among -the Federated Venusian States had given him a great respect for the -Fazoql's cast. They were men without fear. He nudged Landovitch. - -"We're in a trap," he smiled, sipped his wine. He looked as if he were -passing the time of day. He said, "Joan get between us. Saunter toward -the door." - -Two more Earthmen squeezed inside. The fat man nodded his head. The two -Venusian Fazoqls pushed back from the table. - -The fat man intercepted them. "Where you going?" he asked with a smile. - -Jaro hit him in the mouth. Landovitch kicked someone in the stomach; -shot one of the Fazoqls, clouted a third ruffian over the head. Jaro -was grateful that Landovitch was with him. The big T.I.S. agent in -action combined the destructive ability of an octopus and a tornado. -They dived for the door. Then Jaro saw Landovitch topple over. - -The second Fazoql had walloped him over the head with the leg of a -chair. The lights went out. Joan screamed. Jaro felt her hand torn from -his arm. He thought, "Mercurians!" - -Something hit him over the head. - - * * * * * - -After a while Jaro came to. He stood up, bumped his head against the -ceiling. It was dark. He felt about with his hands. He seemed to be in -a cubical cell about four feet square and not much higher. He could -neither stand up nor lie down. It was so deep beneath the city, he -couldn't hear the flutes. His head ached. The walls, floor, and ceiling -of the cell, he discovered by the sense of touch, were stone. He sat -down, his back to the wall. He wondered dully what had happened to -Landovitch and Joan. Did Albert Peet or Karfial Hodes have the girl? - -He thought ruefully that Peet probably had her. The presence of the -Earthmen and the two Venusian Fazoqls convinced him that Peet was -behind the attack. Then he too must be a prisoner of Peet. He was -faintly surprised that he hadn't been killed. - -He closed his eyes to shut out the absolute darkness which pressed -in on him from all sides. With a touch of panic he considered the -possibility that he might be blind. He shuddered, refusing to think -about it, speculating on the fine collection of rogues which Albert -Peet had gathered in support of his collapsing economic empire. - -He was not surprised that the Latonka Czar had hired the Fazoqls. The -caste of Venusian killers were active all over the Universe. Like the -Greek mercenaries of ancient times, it was a respected profession on -Venus. As long as Peet fulfilled his side of the contract, the Fazoqls -would be loyal. But the Earthmen! - -Earthmen gone bad were more feared than mad dogs and given a much wider -berth. They were just as apt to destroy Albert Peet as his enemies. -When he thought of Joan Webb being left to their tender care, he -writhed mentally. - -There was something fresh, likeable, wholesome about the girl. He made -no melodramatic vows of revenge to himself should he discover that the -girl had been harmed. Instead a coldness crept over his mind. He would, -he knew, hunt them to the outermost ports of the Universe's far-flung -frontiers. - -His head was no better. He felt that a drink of Latonka would clear his -mind. After a while he went back to sleep. - -When he awoke he was very thirsty. He set about exploring his cell with -his fingers, encountered a jug and a pan of food. They must have been -placed there while he slept. He ate and drank. His head didn't ache so -badly, his mind was clearer. He felt his chin. He thought he would like -a bath and a shave. - -He shifted position, leaned back against the wall, felt it give -slightly beneath his weight. He scrambled around, feverishly ran his -hand over the smooth blocks of stone. One of the blocks, he discovered, -had been pushed back in the wall about an inch. He shoved outward -against it. The stone receded further, leaving a hole scarcely large -enough for his broad shoulders. - -Jaro squeezed into the hole, wriggled forward, pushing the stone ahead -of him. It ran in grooves. This was not the regular door he felt sure, -but a secret entrance of whose existence he doubted that even his -guards suspected. After about four feet, he felt himself clear of the -wall. The stone came to a stop. He could push it no further. He had -come through into a second chamber or passage, he didn't know which as -still no glimmer of light relieved the intense darkness. - - * * * * * - -He stood, cracked his head against the ceiling. He recalled the small -stature of the Mercurians, grinned ruefully. - -He bethought himself of his captors' surprise when they discovered his -escape, got back down on hands and knees, pushed the stone back into -the exit. It came to a stop with a small click. The hole was plugged. -He tried to move the stone. It was latched fast. He realized that the -lock must not have been caught or else no amount of pressure would have -moved that stone. Backing out into the passage behind the cells, he -stood up again. He was free. - -Stooping painfully he crept along the wall. He had taken five hundred -and twenty-three steps when he stumbled up a stair. Recovering his -balance, he climbed up sixteen steps which wound back on themselves, -came out in another passage. This second corridor he judged ran -directly above the one he had just left. There was still no light. With -increasing confidence he began its exploration. - -The first thing his groping fingers encountered was a narrow alcove -inset in the wall. Like a blind man he passed his hand across the back -wall of the alcove, felt a knob-like protuberance, pulled. A small -stone plug came out, revealing a peep hole. A ray of light streamed -through the aperture. He wasn't blind! - -He put his eye to the peep hole, saw a large, delicately furnished -room. In the center was a bed on a dais. Several luxurious chairs, -fashioned like chaise lounges and upholstered in white fur, squatted -invitingly about the floor. A deep-piled aquamarine carpet covered -the cold stone blocks under foot. The walls were a solid mass of bas -relief. The ancient sculptor had exhibited a robust sense of realism in -his choice of subjects. - -He felt about the walls, sure that there must be some means of ingress. -His fingers discovered a second handle. He pulled. A section of the -wall swung back. - -For a moment he hesitated like a gray wolf coming into a clearing, then -crossed the chamber to the door. Cautiously, he inched it open. A long -corridor met his eyes. It was lighted like the chamber with the pale -green globes of the Mercurians. Like the chamber too, it was deserted. - -He stepped back in the room, drew the door shut, bolted it. With -growing curiosity he set about examining his surroundings. If this -belonged to Albert Peet's establishment, he surely did himself proud. -He discovered a closet full of rich feminine apparel, then a second -door leading through a mirror paneled dressing room into a bath with a -sunken tub. - -Jaro sighed. He stripped off his clothes, filled the tub, let himself -into the warm water. Having bathed he searched a small built-in -cabinet, found a hair remover used by the Mercurian women on their -legs. It doubled for a razor quite successfully. He ran his hand over -his chin, laughed, returned to the main chamber. Unlocking the door to -the hall in order not to create suspicion, he retreated into the secret -passage, shut the door, plugged the peep hole. - -A dozen steps further along the corridor, he found a second alcove -identical with the last. There was a corresponding peep hole. The -room he looked into resembled the other except that its appointments -differed. It too, was deserted. He thought everyone must be above -celebrating the Festival. He wondered where he was. The last two -chambers had held no clue. - -A third alcove revealed a room similar to the others except that it was -occupied. A pale Mercurian girl was asleep on the bed. Her black hair -lay on her white shoulders like stains of ink. A broad band of green -metal encircled one naked ankle. - -Jaro drew in his breath sharply. A temple priestess, one of the -ex-brides of Nemi. He was beneath the temple of the rain god. Albert -Peet's men had not captured him after all. The thought induced a new -chain of reasoning. He remembered the lights flashing out back in -the grog shop. His thought at the time: "Mercurians." It dawned on -him that Karfial Hodes' men must have rescued them from Peet's hired -Mercenaries. But why? He put the plug back into place. - -The following two chambers were empty. At first, he thought the next -one was too. He was about to insert the plug when a girl entered from -the dressing room. His lips formed an inaudible whistle. The girl was -Joan Webb. - - * * * * * - -Jaro, observing Joan Webb through the peep hole, saw that her tawny -brown eyes were strained, frightened, her shorts and blouse rumpled as -if slept in. He wondered suddenly how much time had elapsed since the -fight in the grog shop. - -Joan turned and went back into the dressing room. Jaro, with a broad -grin, found the handle, swung back the secret panel. He squeezed -through the narrow aperture, drew shut the panel behind him. - -Joan came back into the room. - -He said: "Hail, fairest of all maidens. I am Nemi come for my bride." - -Joan screamed, sprang back into the dressing room, peered at him wildly -around the edge of the frame. - -"You!" she said. She came out. "Where did you come from?" - -Jaro bounced up and down on the edge of the bed. "How did you rate -this?" he asked. "You should have seen my cell. You've been imprisoned -in the lap of luxury." - -Joan repeated, "Where did you come from?" - -He waved his hand airily. "Out of the nowhere into the here." - -She observed him dubiously, said, "Listen Nemi, if you can get in and -out as you please, let's not loiter." - -He grinned, led her to the secret entrance, pushed back the panel. - -"Oh!" said Joan. "You almost had me believing that Nemi stuff." - -"Come on." He squeezed through the exit, disappeared. - -Joan hesitated, peering with alarm into the black hole. "The way I have -to trust you!" - -Jaro reached out a hand, pulled her through, pushed the panel in place. -They were immediately in darkness so thick, so dense that they could -feel it. - -"Where are you?" said Joan, a panicky note in her voice. - -"Here," Jaro laughed. - -"Oh!" she ejaculated. "Really, Mr. Moynahan." - -"What happened back in the grog shop?" - -Joan hesitated, said, "It's all kind of foggy. I was simply petrified -with fright. When the lights went out, someone grabbed me. I tried to -cry out for you only someone had his hand over my mouth. I couldn't do -anything but gurgle. They dragged me toward the back of the shop. I -thought.... Well, never mind what I thought." - -Jaro chuckled. - -"It wasn't funny," said Joan, indignantly. "They hauled me down some -stairs, into an alley. I saw then that they were Mercurians, and I -wasn't so scared. They brought me here, and here I've been ever since. -But I still don't understand how you found me." - -He said, "There seems to be a regular network of these secret passages -running through the walls. It was the merest accident that I stumbled -into them. Where they lead, though, I don't know any more than you." - -"What are we going to do?" she wanted to know. - -"Find Karfial Hodes. I've a hunch that he's hidden here." - -"I was afraid of that," she said in a plaintive tone. - -Jaro found her hand, led her to the next alcove, applied his eye to the -peep hole. The room, he saw, was identical with the one in which Joan -had been imprisoned. On the bed lay the red-headed singer of _Mercury -Sam's Garden_. - -"The Red Witch," he whispered. "We're getting hot." - -"Who's she?" said Joan. She pushed Jaro aside, put her eye to the peep -hole. "Where _do_ you meet these people?" she asked. - -Jaro said, "I'm going in and talk to her. Wait here." - -"What?" cried Joan, "Leave me out in this dark hole? I should say not." - -"All right," he replied. He glanced again through the peep hole. The -woman was asleep. She lay on her side, her red hair turning the pillow -to blood. She still had on the abbreviated costume she had been wearing -on Mercury Sam's stage. - -Jaro opened the panel, crawled into the room, Joan on his heels. - -He went up to the bed, looked down at the sleeping woman. He thought -she looked hollow cheeked, unhappy in her sleep; nothing like the -flaming wanton who was known throughout the Universe as the Red Witch. -He touched her shoulder. - -She opened her eyes. They were a vivid green. Recognition swept her -features. - - - V - -"Jaro!" she cried, a note of fright in her voice. She jerked up, swung -her bare legs off the bed onto the floor. "What do you want? How did -you get here?" Those amazing green eyes flicked past him, discovered -Joan. She wasn't too frightened to raise her eyebrows. - -"There are a few questions I'd like to ask," he replied coolly. "Just -who is behind this revolution?" - -There was the faintest hesitancy in her reply. "Hodes. Who did you -think?" - -He looked skeptical, waited. - -She said, "You don't believe me? When I talked with you, I exaggerated -perhaps. But there is very much money involved, very much indeed. -Should the Mercurians be successful, they would take possession of -the Latonka Trust, the plantations, and the mines. The Earthmen would -be dispossessed. Naturally, they are very anxious to frustrate the -revolution." - -"But the Mercurians are in the right," Joan burst out. She had been -swelling up like a toad in the effort to contain herself. "Albert Peet -and his kind, stole everything in the first place. They deserve to be -kicked out. Mercury has a right to self-government." - -The Red Witch shrugged. "I'm not curious about the ethics. I'm paid by -the Earthmen, not the Mercurians. Are you with us or against us, Jaro?" - -He ignored her question, asked, "Are you being held by Karfial Hodes?" - -She nodded. - -"Why?" - -She exhibited surprise. "Karfial Hodes knows that I am the -principal agent of the counter revolutionaries. But if he thinks -that by eliminating me he can block the forces opposing him, he's -overestimating my importance." - -"Eliminating?" said Jaro mildly. "Are you in any danger?" - -She shrugged again. "The Mercurians aren't butchers. They merely hold -me until the revolution begins." - -Jaro said: "Where does Karfial Hodes keep himself?" - -She shook her head. - -"That little pianist, the gunman, how did he escape?" - -"Stanley, you mean Stanley. Did he get away?" she asked him eagerly. - -He nodded. - -Her eyes narrowed; she bit her lip. - -"That's all you want to tell me?" he said. - -The look of fright reappeared in her green eyes. "What do you mean, -Jaro?" - -He said nothing. - -"You know as much as I do," she assured him. "You believe me now, don't -you, Jaro." Her voice was eager. - -"No," he replied calmly. - -"What are you going to do?" she whispered. - -"Who are the others in this with you?" - -"I can't tell you." She bit her lip, looked more frightened than ever. - -"Who are the others?" he repeated mildly. - -The red-headed singer leaped to her feet. Her figure was full, -strikingly beautiful. She was well aware of her appeal. "Jaro," she -cried, "I can't tell you. It would be as much as my life is worth. Not -until I know what side you're on." - - * * * * * - -Jaro regarded her calmly. At length he said, "You'll excuse us if we -lock you in the dressing room?" - -"But Jaro," she said; "aren't you going to take me with you?" - -He shook his head. - -"You're going to leave me here?" she repeated. She couldn't keep the -relief out of her voice. - -He laughed, said, "I'm afraid so." - -A great weight seemed lifted from the red-headed singer's mind. With a -resumption of her old bravado, she shrugged, walked into the dressing -room. Her hips moved from side to side. Jaro shut the door, pushed the -bed in front of it. - -"The hussy!" said Joan. - -Jaro wasn't sure but he thought he detected a feline note in her tone. -He led the way back into the passage, closed the exit. - -Joan clutched his hand again. "That woman!" - -"Attractive, isn't she?" he said with a chuckle. "Ouch!" he said. "That -wasn't very lady-like." - -"What wasn't?" asked Joan sweetly. "I didn't do anything." - -"Well, someone kicked me," he replied. - -"You don't think I'd do a thing like that? Do you?" - -"Yes," he said. He inched ahead along the lightless passage. - -"Jaro." - -There was no reply. - -"Jaro!" cried the girl in panic. "Where are you? Wait for me, Jaro. -I'll never kick you again." - -"Is that a promise?" he asked from the darkness right at her ear. - -"Eeek!" she gasped. "Yes, it's a promise, though I regret it already." - -He chuckled, said, "Give me your hand," led her forward. - -They had gone only a few yards, when his foot struck an obstacle. -"Careful," he warned. "Here's a stair." They crept up to the next -level. The familiar alcoves began again along the right hand wall. He -tried the first one. It revealed a rectangular tank of water some ten -by twenty feet. The walls were a mosaic of hand painted tile depicting -Nemi, the rain god, descending to Mercury in a shower, Nemi searching -for his bride, Nemi at the nuptial feast. The fourth wall was the one -through which they were looking; and they couldn't see its decoration. -From the realism of the ancient artist and the sequence of events, Jaro -decided it was just as well they couldn't. - -"Whew," he said, "what a bathroom!" - -Joan put her eye to the peep hole. Jaro gaped in amazement. From a -circular hole in the ceiling poured a curtain of rain. The shaft, -he realized, must lead straight up through the different levels and -through the roof. A raised dais with a rim around it received the rain -in the center of the room. The surface of the dais he saw, was composed -of a springy wire mesh through which the water drained into some -subterranean channel. - -"The bed of Nemi," said Joan. "That's where the queen must sleep on her -wedding night. Nemi is supposed to visit her in the rain." - -"What a clammy way to spend your wedding night," Jaro said, putting -his eye back to the aperture. The appointments of the chamber were -magnificent. It glowed with a rosy, pulsating light. The floor was -carpeted with a shaggy white rug; a divan large enough to hold at least -six people rested against the left hand wall. Around the walls ran -murals depicting the exploits of Nemi: Nemi touching the red egalet -which burst into flower, Nemi squeezing the juice from a cluster of -Latonka grapes. - -The next room proved to be an ordinary sleeping chamber, obviously -the bedroom of the queen for the remainder of the year. Jaro saw a -beautiful Mercurian girl packing clothes and trinkets into a chest. The -green band about her ankle marked her as a temple priestess. She was -singing a lilting, happy refrain in the odd language of Mercury as she -went about her work. - -Joan put her eye to the hole. - -"That's the ex-queen," she informed him. "She's getting ready to move -to the apartments of the temple priestess." - -"She doesn't seem unhappy at her approaching bereavement," said Jaro. - -Joan sniffed. "Not likely." - -"I'm going in to talk to her," said Jaro. - -"Are you crazy?" cried Joan in alarm. She tugged at him arm, but he was -already pulling back the secret entrance. - - * * * * * - -The queen had her back to them. Jaro closed the entrance, coughed -discreetly. The girl spun around, her hand to her mouth. - -"How should I address her?" He whispered over his shoulder. - -"I don't think you need bother with formalities," observed Joan in a -bitter voice, "not after your entrance." - -The queen said, "You are an Earthman." - -Jaro said, "Yes, your majesty." - -"Majesty?" echoed the Mercurian girl. Her eyes were golden, oblique, -curious, her hair a fine graven ebony. She had long, black lashes, -bright red lips. Her skirt and jacket were green. "I don't quite -understand. I am not very familiar with your language." - -Jaro grinned. "I suppose our entrance was not exactly orthodox but the -fact is that we are escaped prisoners." The queen raised her fine black -brows. - -"How did you get here?" Her voice had an odd foreign flavor. Jaro -couldn't put his finger on it, but it was there. He said, "That is -unimportant. We are searching for Karfial Hodes. I know of no one more -apt to be informed of his whereabouts than you." - -"And what is it that you want with Karfial Hodes?" - -Jaro had the impression that she was stalling, listening expectantly. -He said, "Where is Hodes?" - -Before she could answer, the doors on either side burst open. A dozen -priests of Nemi burst into the room. Jaro caught a triumphant smile on -the queen's face, then he kicked the closest Mercurian on the knee. -The priest screamed, doubled to the floor. He lifted a second bodily, -hurled him into the press, bowling over several others. A priest lit -on his back. He flipped him over his shoulder. He rammed an elbow into -someone's eye, smashed his fist against a mouth. He kicked another -priest on the knee. He got hold of one of the fellows by a leg, -whirled him around like a club. He caught a glimpse of the queen, her -expression registering frightened dismay. She was stabbing a button on -the table, obviously the means by which she had summoned her defenders. -A whole horde of priests crowded into the room. - -Behind him Joan screamed. "Jaro," she cried. "Help!" - -Jaro laid the poor fellow he had been using as a bludgeon on the floor. - -"All right," he said. "I surrender." Everyone, especially the priests, -appeared relieved. - -"Take them before Karfial Hodes," directed the queen. Her yellow eyes -regarded the gaunt Earthman with amazement, tinged with respect. The -priests laid hold of him gingerly, urged him toward the door. He stood -head and shoulders above the Mercurians. - -He looked at Joan quizzically, said: "All roads lead to Rome." - -"Oh dear," said Joan. "I'm not fitted for this kind of a life. I'm -a secretary, a darned good secretary. I don't know how I ever got -involved in this mess." - -From the queen's apartment they emerged into a broad passage. A -concourse of Mercurians moved in streams all about them. They flung -eager questions at their guards, chattered, laughed. The flutes, too, -were audible once more: thin treble pipings, like the pipes of Pan, -Jaro thought. - -"How long does the Festival last?" he asked Joan. - -"What?" she said. "Oh. Roughly a week. It's half over now." - -They came to the end of the corridor, mounted a broad staircase. Jaro -sensed that they were still deep in the bowels of Mercury. At length, -they were halted before a massive door. A priest stood at the entrance. -There was an exchange of words between their captors and the solitary -guard. Satisfied, the priest stood aside, flung open the door. Jaro and -Joan were motioned inside. The portal clanged shut behind them. - -"Caught again," said Joan. "I'll never feel at home now unless I'm -behind bars." - -Jaro chuckled. "This isn't a jail," he pointed out. "The cells are -below us. I think we are about to see Karfial Hodes at last." - - * * * * * - -The room in which Jaro and Joan found themselves was a large, bare, -vaulted hall. At the far end, Jaro saw an imposing door. He advanced -curiously toward it. - -"Are we just supposed to wait?" asked Joan. "How does Karfial Hodes -know we're here?" - -"He's probably been notified by visoscreen," he assured her. He pushed -experimentally at the massive door. It moved easily beneath his touch. -"Hey!" he said. "It's not locked." His voice echoed hollowly in the -vaulted antichamber. - -"Are we going in?" asked Joan weakly. "As if I didn't know already." - -Jaro gave the door a push. It swung wide. - -"Look!" cried Joan. "My god, look!" - -He saw a magnificent room, the floor of polished marble. A row of -fluted columns ran down each side. There was a desk, a modern desk, -strangely out of place in the antique setting, opposite the door -through which they had entered. Across its polished surface a man -sprawled limply, just as if he had fallen forward from his chair in -sleep. - -With a bound Jaro sprang across the room, felt the man's withered wrist -for any signs of pulse. He was a very old man, he saw, and he was quite -dead. - -"Karfial Hodes!" murmured Joan in a low frightened voice. "I saw him -once in a street procession. Is he dead, Jaro?" - -Jaro nodded. From the back of the old man's neck, he plucked a tiny -metallic splinter. "They got him with a poisoned dart gun. He's still -warm. It couldn't have happened but a minute before." - -"Oh, Jaro, and he was such a nice old man. Who could have done it?" - -Jaro straightened, said, "One of Albert Peet's renegade whites." - -"Ugh! And to think I worked for that man." - -But Jaro wasn't listening. He had gone behind the desk. "This is how -they got him," he said, excitement in his voice. It was, Joan sensed, -the excitement of the man hunter when he grows hot on the trail of -his quarry. There was a cold and ruthless edge to his voice which -she had not heard before, and for the first time she found herself a -little afraid of this strange man about whom she really knew so little. -Hesitantly she edged after him. - -Behind the desk, she saw a panel gaping ajar in the stone wall. It was -the same kind of panel which gave admittance to the secret passages on -the lower levels. Jaro was nowhere in sight. - -"In here," he called, and Joan thought of the baying of wolves running -strong on a hot scent. She bit her lip, slipped into the blackness -after him. - -"Jaro, where are you?" - -"This must be how they got him," he said from the darkness beside her. -"When that gunman--the little one who was abducted along with the Red -Witch, you remember--when he escaped he must have stumbled on these -passages, I suppose that was the important information he had for -Albert Peet." - -"They couldn't have gone very far," suggested Joan. - -"No," said Jaro. "Not very far, I hope." He closed the panel. At once -the darkness gathered about them, pressed in on them from every side. -It was so dark that the girl could bring her hand right up to her face -without being able to distinguish a thing. - - * * * * * - -A ray of light jumped from the panel as Jaro extracted the plug, -applied his eye to the aperture. He could see the back of the dead -Mercurian leader crumpled across the desk and beyond him the open door -into the vaulted antichamber. - -As he looked, a Mercurian, the priest who had been on guard at the -entrance, appeared in the doorway. Other Mercurians were staring over -the priest's shoulder. Consternation was written large across their -usually impassive features. - -"Sehr Karfial Hodes!" the priest cried, and then uttered a string of -Mercurian words quite unintelligible to the listening Jaro. - -Suddenly, it seemed to dawn on the priest that there had been foul -play. He ran across the floor, turned up his dead leader's face. The -benign, peaceful, half smile on the old Mercurian's lips seemed to -belie his tragic murder. Jaro put back the plug. - -"We're in for it," he said grimly. "The Mercurians must believe that we -murdered Karfial Hodes." - -"What will they do?" the girl asked in a small voice. - -"I don't imagine they'll pin any medals on us," he replied dryly. - -"Why did they have to kill Karfial Hodes?" There was a puzzled, tragic -note in the girl's voice. "He was such a harmless old man." - -"Albert Peet can answer that question," Jaro said quietly. "In fact, he -can answer a lot of questions that I intend to ask him. But where can I -hide you?" - -"Hide me!" ejaculated Joan. "If you get three feet away I'll scream. I -don't know why I should feel safer when you're here--I've been shot at, -abducted and jailed since I met you--but I do." - -For a moment Jaro hesitated, then he fumbled for her wrist in the dark, -found it. "Come on," he said. "We'll see where this passage leads." - -They crept ahead, encountered a stair, descended thirty-two steps. -Again they felt their way along a passage, went down a second flight of -steps. - -"If this keeps up we'll come out on the under side of Mercury," he -said. "Ouch!" There was a dull thud. - -"What was that?" cried Joan. - -"Me. I cracked my skull on this confounded ceiling." He paused. "Joan, -we must be on the same level as my cell." He got down on hands and -knees, crawled along the passage, running his fingers across the stones. - -"Ah!" he said. His questing fingers had discovered a hole close to the -floor. - -"Where are you?" Joan cried. - -"Here." - -She moved up cautiously until she bumped into him. "Whatever are you -after, groveling on the floor?" she asked greatly relieved. - -"I've a hunch," he replied. "Wait here!" - -He wormed his way into the hole, found it blocked by the stone. -Delicately, he ran his fingers over its surface seeking its mechanism. -A catch? There it was. He released it, hauled. The stone slid towards -him. Backing out of the hole, he drew the block after him. Joan stifled -a scream as he bumped into her. - -With the block clear of the wall, he wriggled back into the hole. If -possible the Stygian blackness was thicker than ever. There should be a -cell on the other side of the wall. He lay still, listened. The silence -was as absolute as the dark. He wormed his way ahead. With a shock he -felt his fingers come in contact with bare flesh. A hand flicked across -his face, clutched his throat with a grip of iron. - -Jaro wrenched backward, tried to call out, but that unrelenting grip on -his throat held like a vise, choked off his words. His antagonist never -uttered a sound. Silently, blindly they fought in the four foot square -cell. - -Jaro got his hands on his antagonist's wrists, wrenched. His lungs -were on fire, he thought wildly that no sensation was as agonizing as -not being able to draw a breath. The man had succeeded in getting both -hands on his throat. Jaro drew up his legs, kicked. His feet struck -flesh, the iron fingers were torn from his throat. Blessed air poured -into his lungs. - -Dimly, he realized that Joan was calling his name from the passage. -Then she screamed. - -A man's voice beside him said: "Jaro! My God! Is that you, Jaro?" - -"Yes," panted Jaro, recognizing Landovitch, the T.I.S. agent. "I was -looking for you. There's a hole here some place." His fingers were -wildly running across the cold stones. "Joan's outside in the passage. -Something's happened." - -Again the girl screamed. - -"Here it is," said Jaro with relief, dived through. Once clear of the -walls, he stood up, cracked his head on the low ceiling. - -"Joan!" he said. He could hear Landovitch grunting and puffing, trying -to squeeze his big frame through the narrow aperture. The girl did not -answer. - -"Joan!" he called louder. His voice came back to him hollowly in the -pitch black corridor. "Joan!" - -There was no answer. The girl was gone. - - - VI - -Jaro hesitated undecided which way to go. - -"Pull me out of here," Landovitch pleaded. "I'm stuck." - -He felt around, seized the big T.I.S. agent's wrist, tugged. -Landovitch came free, stood up, cracked his head against the roof with -a thud. - -"It's a low ceiling," said Jaro. - -"This is a fine time to be telling me." - -"They've got Joan," said Jaro. "Which way could they have gone?" - -"Joan?" echoed Landovitch dubiously. "Oh, you mean Miss Webb, that -pretty girl who was with us when the fight started in the grog shop." -He paused. "Who's got her? Where are we anyway?" - -"Shut up!" said Jaro impolitely. "I'm trying to orientate myself. We're -in the Temple of Nemi." - -Landovitch whistled softly. "The rain god." - -But Jaro was paying no attention. "There must be a set of stairs at -each end of this corridor," he mused. "We just came down one. That -leads to the apartment where Hodes was murdered. I think it's a blind -alley. But the other stair goes up to the chambers of the temple -priestesses. That must be the way they've gone. Come on." He started -off along the corridor. - -"Hey!" Landovitch said plaintively. "Which way are you going?" He -reached out, clutched Jaro's arm, hung on. "Who's got the girl?" - -"Peet's men," Jaro grunted. "It must have been Peet's men who got Joan. -They murdered Karfial Hodes just a few minutes ago and escaped through -this corridor. We were trailing them. I don't think the Mercurians -even suspect the existence of these passages." They reached the steps, -ascended to the next level, hurried blindly along the corridor of the -alcoves. - -"But how do you figure Peet's men knew about these passages?" asked -Landovitch in a puzzled voice. - -"That gunman of Peet's," said Jaro. "The one who was captured along -with the Red Witch. He must have discovered them. It's the only way I -can figure he escaped." - -Again they stumbled up a flight of steps. - -"This ought to be on the same level as Nemi's apartment," volunteered -Jaro. Suddenly his fingers encountered space in the right hand wall. - -"What's up," said Landovitch, bumping into him. - -"There's a corridor branching off here," he replied. "Which way? Which -way?" - -"One's as good as another," said Landovitch. - -Without replying, Jaro pushed ahead along the left hand corridor. He -had not gone fifty paces before he halted again, began to curse. The -words flowed out, cold, furious. - -The hair on the back of Landovitch's neck crawled. He'd never heard -Jaro vent his anger before. "What is it now?" he asked. - -"The corridor splits up into three different passages. This rotten -place is a rat-run." He drew a breath. "We might as well try to find -our way out and hunt up Albert Peet." - -He led the way along the center corridor, fell up an unexpected flight -of steps, resumed his cursing. - -Landovitch wanted to laugh but decided against it. He had never known -Jaro to be as wrought up over anything as he seemed to be about the -girl's abduction. - -Jaro scrambled to his feet, mounted the steps with Landovitch still -following. The head of the stair was blocked. He fumbled a moment in -the dark, found the omnipresent plug, extracted it. - -The room into which he found himself looking was an ordinary Mercurian -apartment of the lower strata of the city. It was untenanted, bare, -dusty. He worked a moment at the panel, discovered the catch, swung it -back. He and the T.I.S. agent stepped into the apartment. - -"Whew!" said Landovitch. "What a relief. I was beginning to think I -might rot down there." His blond hair was a mass of clotted blood and -dirt. One eye was black, his clothes torn and stained. - -"You look as if you'd been blown from a rocket tube," commented Jaro -dryly, as he made for the street door. - -"You don't look like a gay Lothario yourself," Landovitch retorted. - - * * * * * - -Jaro opened the door, peered out cautiously. The vaulted burrow which -served as a street between the apartments was deserted. The green -globes were dim. They must be on one of the lowest levels of Acecia. - -"Irving," said Jaro, turning to the T.I.S. agent. "I'm going to pay -Albert Peet a visit. He's going to talk whether he wants or not. I'm -afraid it won't be strictly legal, and I don't want to embroil you in -any difficulty. I think we'd best part." - -"Never mind that," began Landovitch, then halted, seized Jaro by the -shoulder. "Listen!" he commanded. - -From up the street came faintly the noise of shouts and screams, then -the unmistakable zizz-boom! of a rocket gun. The two men looked at each -other. The silence was immediately punctured by a scattering rattle of -dum-dum fire. - -The firing drew closer. At the end of the street, a party of Colonial -guards trotted into sight. They were dragging the rocket gun and were -still in an orderly retreat. - -Half way up the arched passage they made a stand. Jaro watched them -set up the rocket gun. All except the gun crew faded into doorways. -Jaro swung his eyes back to the head of the street. A company of -Fazoqls, the killer caste of Venus, were advancing in short dashes from -doorway to doorway. The rocket gun went zizz-boom! The street ahead was -suddenly clear of Fazoqls except for a few sprawled figures. - -"The revolution!" said Landovitch: "They've started the revolution." - - * * * * * - -The Venusian mercenaries had begun to snipe at the guards again with -the dum-dum rifles. Several of the Earthmen slumped to the pavement. -The Venusians, Jaro guessed, were crawling through the apartments, -flanking the little group about the rocket gun. In a moment the -Colonial guards were forced to retreat again. - -Pulling their rocket gun after them, they took up a position directly -in front of the apartment where Jaro and Landovitch watched, wide-eyed. - -"Back! Get back!" Jaro pulled Landovitch into an adjoining chamber. A -string of dum-dums exploded against the outer wall as some Fazoql raked -the building with his rapid fire rifle. The door burst open. A burly -Colonial guard, his gaudy uniform soiled and ragged, stumbled inside, -took up a position just within the doorway. - -"Hey!" said Jaro cautiously. - -The guard swung around, his finger on the button of the Dixon Ray -Rifle. Jaro noticed that sweat had traced paths down his grimy face. -His hat was gone. Slowly his features relaxed as he recognized the two -men as Terrestrials. - -"What's coming off?" Jaro asked. - -The guard grunted, glanced out the door. "The Mercurians have risen." -Up the street a Fazoql moved in a doorway. A yellow ray leaped from the -bell-shaped mouth of the guard's rifle, bathed the doorway in a saffron -glare. The Fazoql tumbled into the street. - -"They've hired the Venusian mercenaries," the guard continued. "We're -outnumbered ten to one." - -"Who's leading the revolution?" asked Jaro. - -"Karfial Hodes, the patriot," replied the guard. He flung the words -over his shoulder, keeping his eyes up the vaulted passage. - -"But Hodes is dead!" expostulated Jaro. - -"Not so you could notice it," grunted the guard. Outside the rocket gun -went zizz-boom! "How do you explain this?" He took a scrap of paper -from his tunic, tossed it to Jaro. - -"What is it?" Landovitch said. - -The paper, Jaro saw, was a declaration. It read: - - "_To the Mercurian People_: - - "_The time has come to cast off the yoke of Earth. All loyal - Mercurians are called upon to purge our ranks of the greedy - Terrestrial parasites who have been exploiting our resources. Arise - and take back that which is rightfully yours._" - -It was printed in both Mercurian and English and signed: "_Karfial -Hodes, Imperator_." - -"Those have been stuck up all over the city," the guard informed them. -"They've stormed the Spaceography Station and sent an ultimatum to the -Earth Congress." - -Landovitch whistled. "But it's race suicide," he said, aghast. Both he -and Jaro were thinking of what must be transpiring back on Earth at -this minute. - -File upon file of huge battle spacers would be floating free from their -sheds. Slim cigar-shaped corvettes, tenders, all the countless craft -that comprised Earth's fleet, the mightiest fleet in the Universe, -would be jockeying into position for their dash across space. Even -now Earth's Sun Patrol must be hurtling upon the city of Acecia. -The little uprising would be quelled almost before it got under -way, martial law declared, the revolutionists hunted out, destroyed -ruthlessly. Earth had experienced four such uprisings in different -parts of its far-flung empire within the past decade and she would not -be inclined to be lenient. - -"They haven't got the chance of a snowball in hell!" Jaro said bitterly. - -The rocket gun exploded: zizz-boom! Again the guard sprayed a doorway -with the yellow ray, cursed. Three distorted figures huddled about the -carriage of the rocket gun, but it was still being served. - -"They gutted the palace of the Governor," said the guard, "and hung -the Governor from his own doorway. They've wrecked the offices of the -Latonka Trust too." - -"What about the Terrestrials?" asked Jaro. - -"Most of them got away in the spacers before they captured the port." -The guard spat, wiped the sweat off his forehead with his sleeve. "The -Mercurians aren't fighting. It's mostly Venusian mercenaries and a few -renegade whites." - - * * * * * - -Something exploded in the guard's chest. He fell half in, half out -of the doorway. Outside the gun captain blew a whistle. The pitiful -remainder of the Colonial guards struck their rocket gun, retreated -down the passage at a trot, drawing it after them. - -"What does it mean?" Landovitch asked in bewilderment. "They couldn't -have formed an alliance with Venus." - -"Hardly," replied Jaro. "They would have had to sign agreements with -about seven hundred and fifty different states, principalities and -democracies." He yanked the T.I.S. agent back into the chamber again. -"Don't let those birds lay an eye on you," he cautioned. - -The Fazoqls had begun to stream past outside. They were lean, bearded -men, for the most part armed with rapid fire dum-dum rifles. They all -had the blue star of the Venusian caste of killers tattooed on their -foreheads. The noise of fighting waned, died down the vaulted passage. - -"I can't believe it." Landovitch shook his head. "The Mercurians are -throwing away any chance for freedom. The Earth Congress will never -grant them their independence now." - -"I don't believe it," said Jaro grimly. "In fact, I don't put any -credence in it at all." - -The T.I.S. agent looked at him, perplexed. "But...." he began. - -"Come on," Jaro interrupted savagely. "The answer to any number of -things lies at the office of the Latonka Trust, if I'm not mistaken." -He stooped over the dead Colonial guard, relieved him of his Dixon Ray -Rifle, stepped over him into the street. Shaking his head bull-like, -Landovitch followed. He obviously wanted to ask questions, but the set, -grim expression on Jaro's face forbade it. - -As they approached the Terrestrial quarter, the signs of bitter street -fighting grew more apparent. They passed a barricaded corner where a -pile of dead Colonial guards attested to the stubbornness of their -defense. The street beyond was littered with the bodies of Fazoqls and -an occasional renegade Earthman. There were no signs of Mercurians -anywhere. Jaro imagined that they had retreated deep into hidden -burrows and rooms until the fighting was over. - -Two Earthmen came out of an apartment just ahead, dragging a pretty -Mercurian between them. They spotted Jaro and Landovitch, halted, their -hands creeping upward towards shoulder holsters. - -"Who are you?" one asked, and his voice was death itself. - -"Have you seen the Red Witch?" said Jaro, on a wild gamble. "We've got -news for her. It's important." - -"Naw," growled one of the renegades suspiciously. He turned to his -companion, said: "Let's get going." Between them, the gunmen hustled -the frightened girl off a bisecting alley. - -Landovitch was frowning. "This is a wild goose chase," he said. "The -Mercurians have wrecked the Latonka Trust building. Albert Peet -was probably one of the first men to escape from Mercury when the -revolution broke." - -"I'm gambling," replied Jaro, "that he's got a hideout in the building -some place. I think he's waiting for everything to blow over." He set -off down the corridor at an easy lope. With a shrug, Landovitch panted -after him. - - - VII - -The Latonka Trust building was a wreck. When Jaro, with Landovitch at -his elbow, prowled the gutted offices he was shocked at the extent of -the damage wrought. He paused in what had been Albert Peet's private -office. The desk was smashed in, the carpet ripped to shreds. The -entire contents of a filing cabinet which lined one wall had been -dumped on the floor. - -"I give up," Landovitch said in disgust. "We've been over this building -with a fine toothed comb. Albert Peet isn't here. He's probably halfway -to Earth by this time." - -Jaro regarded him sadly. "How you obtained your present eminence in -what is supposed to be the most intelligent of intelligence services is -the biggest unsolved mystery in the history of the T.I.S." He paused, -raised his hand. "Quiet!" - -The noise came again. It sounded like a mouse gnawing at the -wainscoting behind Albert Peet's wrecked desk. Both men had their -eyes glued to the polished wood paneling. Slowly, a section of the -wainscoting was sliding aside. A Venusian Fazoql stepped out, caught -sight of the two men, whipped a dart gun from a shoulder holster. - -The bell-shaped ray rifle in Jaro's hand flamed yellow. The Fazoql -was wrapped in a blinding glare. He fell like a stone, the death ray -destroying the very life forces of the man. - -Jaro picked up the Fazoql's dart gun, tossed it to Landovitch. - -"Here, I've a hunch you're going to need this." - -Landovitch whistled. He said, "Next time I contradict you, kick me." He -tucked the dart gun in his waist band. "Lead on, camarade. Last Ditch -Landovitch is right behind you." - -A flight of steps yawned just beyond the false wainscoting. Warily, the -two men descended the stair. There was a second door at the foot. It -wasn't locked. Jaro flung it open, covered the room with the ray rifle. - -An elderly Venusian sprang halfway to his feet, sank warily back in -his chair. He was seated directly across a desk from Albert Peet. The -third occupant of the room, Jaro saw with astonishment, was the Red -Witch. - -For a tense second they observed each other narrowly. Albert Peet -hunched his shoulders. - -"Don't try anything, Albert!" cried the Red Witch, her voice shrill -with fright. "You fool, that's Jaro Moynahan!" - -But Peet was tugging at his pocket. Before Jaro could press the button -of the ray rifle, something went "pop!" just behind him. Albert Peet -slowly toppled sideways onto the floor. A small dart gun dropped from -the dead Latonka Czar's fist. - -"Thanks, Irving," said Jaro without removing his eyes from the elderly -Venusian or the red-headed singer. - -The Venusian, he noticed, had two blue stars tattooed on his forehead. -Probably, Jaro thought, he was the leader of the mercenaries. - -The Venusian said, "That was a very neat shot," in perfect English. He -turned to Jaro. "I think we have met before." - -Jaro frowned. - -"In the services of Chaldmar, Zealot of the Venusian state of Zeld," -the Fazoql prompted. "You were Captain of the Imperial Guard at the -time." - -Jaro's eyes lighted with recognition. "Certainly, Colonel. How stupid -of me. I'm really very sorry that we're on opposing factions." - -"Fortunes of war," the Colonel smiled. "Though with Albert Peet dead -the game is up, anyway." - - * * * * * - -During the conversation the Red Witch's green eyes had first widened, -then narrowed. "You getting ready to sell me out, Colonel?" she asked -angrily. - -The Venusian turned to her, said, "Miss Mikail, I couldn't possibly -sell you out. I was never cognizant of any contract between us. My men -were hired by Albert Peet. So were yours. With him dead, our bargain -ends." - -"Colonel," said Jaro, "would you mind telling me what was the nature of -your agreement with Peet." - -"Not at all," said the Venusian. "We were hired to fake a revolution--a -convincing revolution, you understand--in order that the Earth Congress -would abandon the idea of giving the Mercurians their independence. -Mr. Peet, I believe, had extensive holdings here that would have been -jeopardized had the Mercurians recovered their freedom." - -Landovitch whistled softly. - -"Who wrecked the offices of the Latonka Trust?" asked Jaro. - -The Venusian smiled. "That was my idea. An artistic touch to divert -suspicion. You see, before the Earth forces could arrive my men were to -escape aboard a space liner. The entire blame for the revolution was to -be cast on Karfial Hodes." - -"Colonel," said Jaro, "I regret the necessity very much, but I'm going -to ask you to command your men to lay down their arms." - -The old Venusian smiled, said: "Hardly that, Captain. As I said before, -with Albert Peet dead, so is the revolution. Our job is done. If you'll -be good enough to excuse me I'll recall my men and get them aboard the -space liner." He stood up slowly. - -For a moment the two men were silent, then Jaro moved aside from the -door. "Good luck, Colonel. You know that you'll be outlawed by the -Earth Congress." - -"Yes," said the Colonel. "Thanks for the sporting chance." He shook -hands with Jaro, nodded to Landovitch, passed out the door. - -"I suppose you know what you're doing," said Landovitch when he was -gone. - -"Don't be so conscientious," Jaro grinned. "You couldn't arrest all -the Venusian mercenaries by yourself. The Earth Patrol can hunt them -down. Anyway, I owed the old gentleman that. If it hadn't been for him -I still would be rotting in a Venusian jail." - -"What about me?" said the Red Witch. - -"You?" said Jaro grimly. "You are going to be the star witness in the -greatest case on Landovitch's record." He paused, added; "for which you -might get off with a light sentence--say five years." - -The red-headed singer obdurately set her mouth. Landovitch looked -startled. - - * * * * * - -Jaro turned to the T.I.S. agent. "You heard the Colonel say that -Karfial Hodes was to be the goat for the fake revolution. There was -only one fly in Peet's ointment. As long as Karfial Hodes was alive, -he could present himself before the Earth Congress, denounce the -revolution, and the whole scheme would blow up like a dum-dum shell. -Hodes simply had to be put out of the way. But the Mercurian patriot -couldn't be found. Peet was desperate. His campaign of propaganda had -been started. That was when I was called in." - -"I never wanted to call you," the red-headed singer broke out. "I told -Albert he was a fool, that you were utterly unpredictable." - -"By the way," said Jaro, "why did Karfial Hodes have you abducted?" - -She shrugged. "He had the wind up, but he didn't know Albert Peet -was behind the scene. He had learned, though, that I was one of the -principal agents. He wanted to question me. I suppose he thought he -might as well keep me out of mischief while he had me." - -"Red," said Jaro coldly and catching the girl's eye. "Where is Joan -Webb?" - -"Joan Webb?" The Red Witch's eyes narrowed. "I suppose you mean that -attractive brunette my men caught in the secret passages of Nemi's -Temple when they came to release me." - -Jaro said nothing. - -The red-headed singer looked frightened, but determined. "She's my ace -in the hole!" - -Jaro took a step toward her. - -"Don't touch me," she cried, "you'll never get her if you do!" - -He halted in mid-stride. - -Landovitch said: "Turn State's evidence. I can guarantee you complete -amnesty." - -"Not just a light sentence?" - -"Complete amnesty," he assured her. - -She hesitated, said, "Your words." - -"You've my word," said Jaro. His voice was cold. "I don't threaten, -Red, but if she's been harmed you won't come to trial." - -The girl pulled her eyes from Jaro's, turned to Landovitch. "Yours," -she said, "yours too." - -"I give you my word, of course," he replied. - -With a sigh of relief she sank back in her chair. "In there, boys." -She motioned towards a door at the left of the chamber. - -Jaro sprang forward, swung it open, revealed a large closet. Joan Webb, -gagged, bound to a chair, regarded him from wide brown eyes. Behind -him, the red-haired singer burst into laughter. - -"She's been there all the time," she laughed. "You were bound to have -found her. Jaro, Jaro, that was the most magnificent bluff I've ever -pulled. And you fell for it. You, Jaro Moynahan, fell for it." - - * * * * * - -The abortive revolution had brought the Festival to an abrupt -conclusion. The city of Acecia licked its wounds and fretted under the -grip of martial law, but negotiations for Mercurian independence had -been reopened. Landovitch's report had exploded a bombshell in the -Earth Congress, and it looked very much as if the negotiations might be -successful at last. - -"How does it feel to be famous?" Jaro asked. He and Joan and the T.I.S. -agent were sitting in his room, sipping Latonka. - -Landovitch said: "I wish you would have let me give credit where it was -due." - -"Publicity in my line," Jaro replied, "is not very good for business." - -Someone rapped at the door. He opened it, revealed a small Mercurian -boy in the uniform of the Spaceography Station. - -"A spaceogram for Miss Webb," said the boy. - -"Me?" cried Joan. "Who could be sending me a spaceogram?" - -Jaro took the envelope, handed it to her, tossed the boy a coin. She -tore it open eagerly. - -"Why, it's from Prince Radnick of the Imperial Martian Court," she said -with a puzzled frown. "He's offering me a post as secretary at two -thousand notes a year. Two thousand notes a year! Think of it!" - -Jaro started, said, "Two thousand notes!" He glanced angrily at -Landovitch who was listening with a bland expression. - -"Irving!" cried Joan rapturously and threw her arms about the blond -T.I.S. agent's bull-like neck. "You're a perfect darling!" - -"Let me see that spaceogram," said Jaro Moynahan darkly. He read: "You -have been highly recommended by a dear friend of mine, Mr. Irving -Landovitch of the T.I.S." - -"Jaro," cried the girl, "should I accept it?" - -"What? Oh. Yes, of course. As it happens I know the prince very well. I -think you'll find the work delightful. If I were you, I'd run down to -the desk and get a spaceogram off to him right away." He almost shoved -her out of the room. Then he went to the visoscreen, clicked it on, -said: "When Miss Webb comes to send a spaceogram, take it, but don't -send it. T.I.S. wishes to examine it. Yes. That's right. The T.I.S." He -clicked the visoscreen off, turned to Landovitch. - -"Now!" he exploded. "I told you to make that one thousand notes a year, -not two thousand." - -"I thought she was worth it," said Landovitch blandly. - -Jaro glared at his friend, trying to keep the amusement from his eyes -and face. - -"That's as much as a general in the Martian army makes." He ran -his fingers upward through his crisp black hair. "It's going to be -difficult enough persuading the prince that I need a secretary at all -as head of his army, let alone get him to pay her two thousands notes a -year. When I asked you to send that fake spaceogram, if I'd...." - -"But what a secretary," Landovitch interrupted, rolling his eyes. - -"And that line," Jaro snorted. "'Recommended by a very dear friend of -mine, Mr. Irving Landovitch.' The prince never even heard of you." - -"He will, he will," Landovitch assured him. - -Jaro stopped short. "What do you mean? What's coming off here?" - -"I've been attached to the Terrestrial embassy at the Martian court." - -"You couldn't by any chance, have applied for that post?" asked Jaro -darkly. - -The T.I.S. agent grinned. "As it happens, I did." - -Suddenly both men laughed. Jaro glanced at his watch. "We've got to -hurry. The ship leaves in forty-five minutes." - -The door flew open, Joan sailed back into the room. - -"Why so much amusement?" she said suspiciously. "We starting that -_comrade_ stuff again?" - -"Get your hat on," Jaro said. "We have but forty-five minutes to make -that Super Liner for Mars. We can stop by your rooms for your trunk on -the way to the spaceport." - -Joan drew back in amazement. "Forty-five minutes," she gasped. "But I -haven't got a ticket." - -"Oh, I've got the tickets," Jaro and Landovitch both said in unison. -Then they closed their mouths, stared at each other. - -A look of comprehension dawned on Joan's face. "Look, boys," she said -grimly. "This isn't a put-up job, by any chance?" - -The two men recovered. Jaro said with wounded dignity, "'Put-up job.' -No. Whatever gave you that idea?" - -"No. Of course not," Landovitch echoed. - -"I see," said Joan, amusement glinting through her eyes in spite of -herself. "It's just by the purest sort of coincidence that we're all -three going the same way." - -Nodding, Jaro and Landovitch came forward--and laughing, the three -began to walk. Somehow, the future looked promising--and dangerous. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RED WITCH OF MERCURY *** - -***** This file should be named 63875-0.txt or 63875-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/3/8/7/63875/ - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. 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