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diff --git a/old/64270-0.txt b/old/64270-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 5f3064f..0000000 --- a/old/64270-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1025 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Asteroid Justice, by V.E. Thiessen - -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: Asteroid Justice - -Author: V.E. Thiessen - -Release Date: January 12, 2021 [eBook #64270] - -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 ASTEROID JUSTICE *** - - - - - ASTEROID JUSTICE - - By V. E. THIESSEN - - What was Sam Knox up to now--drifting helplessly - in a tiny eggshell across black oceans of space - with two weeks' grub? Was this the way the - great man-hunter deftly snagged his prey? - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Planet Stories Fall 1947. - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - -Sam Knox touched a button in the control room of the _Wanderer_, and -the draperies slid back from her transparent nose. He stood a moment, a -sturdy compact figure, gazing into the dark. - -"Look at them!" he said bitterly. "They hang there like stars." - -Before the _Wanderer_ he could see the mining fleet at the edge of -the Asteroid Belt, their identification lights twinkling out from the -enshrouding ebon mantle of space. - -They might as well be stars, for all the progress he had made with -them. He had been here a week, spreading his nets for asteroid -fragments like the rest of them, and never a sign of his presence had -they shown. They hung there, cold and aloof--almost suspicious, he -would have thought, had they any reason to be suspicious. - -Not that they were unfriendly by nature, these men who spread their -nets to trap the errant meteors; but they were a clannish tribe, known -to one another from season to season, more snobbish than any social -ruling class. They were close-knit, bound together by bonds of danger -and hazard, and the dream of sudden wealth. - -Perhaps it is only a matter of time, he thought. Perhaps time will make -me one of them. He must win their friendship soon, if he were to find -Pell. - -And that was his job, to find Pell. His was not the hunt for wealth -in the heart of some fragment of asteroid. Yet the excitement of the -search had long been a part of his life. What Sam Knox hunted he found. -Sam Knox hunted men. - -He had two bosses. The most lenient of these was the Department of -Terran Justice. His other boss lay deep inside himself, demanding -much--expecting everything. - -Through the left lower quadrant of the transparent nose he saw one of -the nets flare into quick acceleration. It was too far away to be his -own, and he watched it, each corner of the net a flaming ribbon of -rocket fire in the velvet black of space. - -A moment later he knew whose net it was, for the mining ship -_Fleetblast_ slid by him in pursuit, controlling the rocket-powered net -from the remote controls in her maw. The _Fleetblast_ sped on, unable -to equal the instant acceleration that the touch of the meteor sent -into the rockets of the net. - -But she was soon catching up. With her remote controls she was -slowing the rockets of the net, as she increased her own speed. In a -few minutes both ship and netted meteor would be hanging motionless -alongside, the meteor caught and halted just as a small boy catches a -swift ball in his cap. - -Sam grimaced. What would it contain when they melted it open with the -heat rod? Probably nothing. Possibly mineral ore, to be refined into -metal for new heat rod tips, for from this the miner fishers of the -Asteroid Belt eked out their precarious existence. - -But perhaps--PERHAPS--there was wealth and fortune. Here might be the -dream come true. Here by the luck of space, might lie one of the rare -jewels of the asteroids, spawned in some once-fiery sun, and flung into -space in the heart of a fragment. For this the eternal hope of man -yearned, and men spent their lives fishing and mining here. For this -they risked the swift and horrible infections of life in the Asteroid -Belt. - - * * * * * - -The visaphone sprang into life. Sam recognized the voice as that of a -woman.... "_Fleetblast calling Aeries...._" - -The _Fleetblast_ lay some fifty miles ahead, a speck of light, where -the chase of her net had led her. Just to her right, closer, lay the -only near ship, the _Aeries_. - -"_Aeries speaking--go ahead...._" - -Before the _Aeries_ her net spurted four ribbons of flame. In a surge -of power the _Aeries_ was off, acceleration full, straining like a -hound after a rabbit. There would be no more conversation from the -_Aeries_, Sam knew, until the catch was landed. - -The woman was unaware of this development, unaware that the _Aeries'_ -flaming jets were bearing her far away. - -"... _father is hurt ... an open wound and we have no more penicillin -X...._" - -No penicillin X! No ship took to ether for the "Belt" without a supply -of that important penicillin derivative. - -Sam touched the controls. This was the break, this was the luck of Sam -Knox. The jets responded with a trail of flame. He pulled alongside the -_Fleetblast_ in a few minutes. - -He could spare a hundred thousand units of the drug, he figured. He got -it from the storeroom. He was quite close to the other ship, so decided -against using the ship's lifeboat, a tiny space-dory, and simply donned -his space-suit. He then yelled into the visaphone, "_Fleetblast_--open -your port ... I'm bringing the drug." He saw the lock open on the -_Fleetblast_ and opened his own, propelling himself into space and -across the void. A few guiding blasts of his hand rocket and he was -inside the lock of the other ship. - -A woman helped him out of the space-suit. "Come quickly," she urged. -Sam had time to note that she was young and had red hair as he followed -her to the living quarters. - -An old man lay there on a bed. His trouser had been cut away from his -right leg, revealing a crushed and bleeding condition below the knee. -Already the leg was beginning to show the faint greyness that indicated -the start of the quick infection. - -The miner's name, Sam found as he treated the leg, was Timas Rorke. -There was a faint trace of Irish blood in him, responsible perhaps for -the red hair of his daughter. He lay back in the bed, complaining at -the foolishness that had put him there. - -"That damned meteor! I was in too big a hurry to load it, and it -slipped and crushed my leg." Timas looked at his daughter. "What do -you say, Nancy, shall we call it a season and run back to Terra?" - -"There are a few more weeks of good fishing. I can make out." - -Sam looked at her, this slip of a girl who was undertaking a man's -work. For all her courage she was still a woman, slim and lissome. She -was not too tall, rounded sweetly, and well-formed. Under Sam's gaze -she lifted her eyes to his, eyes as brown as new-plowed soil. - -He had been long away from women, and the sight of her set a wildness -coursing in his blood. Strong as she was he could crush her in his -arms. He had strength to take care of both of them. - -She might have let him too, in other circumstances. Her eyes had -already noted the compact sturdiness of his body, noted and approved. -But he was Sam Knox, and in his hunt for men a hundred women had tried -to deceive him, so that he set his mind against this weakness, and -looked away across the room. - - * * * * * - -Fool! He was a fool to have not seen it sooner. The photograph of a -white-haired man stared from a lucite frame. It was Pell. - -The report was true. Here was Pell, inventor of the heat rod, hiding -where the metal was mined. If he were here, he must be found, and -returned to Terra to finish the sentence he had escaped three years -before. - -He might not have to finish that prison sentence. Only one thing was -certain now. In the investigation of the illegal operations of Terran -Metals Corporation, the truth had been concealed by the fact that a way -had been found to deceive the mind-probe. - -When that shattering fact was discovered, that the basis of justice was -not dependable, action was swift. The mind-probe was analyzed, and the -defect removed. But the truth of the facts in the Terran Metals Trial -was now uncertain. Guilty or not, the Department of Terran Justice -wanted Pell. - -Sam took a step toward the picture. The girl's voice shocked him from -these thoughts. "I don't know how to thank you, Mister--?" She paused -expectantly. - -"Knox, Sam Knox." - -She held out her hand. "We are so glad to know you." - -"You are the first one to want to know me. I've been here a week, and -everyone seems to think I have a plague." - -Timas Rorke spoke from the bed. "You must forgive us. We are a hard -people to get acquainted with, especially now." - -"Why especially now?" - -The visaphone buzzed. It was the _Aeries_, now alongside. Nancy went to -operate the lock. - -A young man came from the lock with her. He was dark and saturnine. His -glance viewed Sam with open suspicion. - -Nancy said, "Sam Knox, Ned Hawkins." - -Sam held out his hand. The dark young man made no move to accept it. - -Nancy said sharply, "Ned! Mr. Knox may have saved father's life. He -brought the penicillin X while you were chasing meteors." - -Ned Hawkins said with surly ill grace, "Sorry. We're obliged to you, -Mr. Knox." - -Sam turned to the old man on the bed. "You were about to tell me why -everyone is so suspicious." - -Timas Rorke sat up in bed. His eyes blazed. "Thieves!" he said gustily. -"This season there have been thieves. Old Joe on the _Miner II_ lost an -asteroid jewel worth ten thousand credits. Somebody beat him, slipped -him chloroform, and made off with it. Been several cases like it." - -Ned's dark suspicious eyes were on them. Sam crossed and picked up -Pell's picture. "Relative of yours?" he asked casually. - -Hawkins slammed the flat of his hand against a bulkhead. "That does it! -What kind of miner are you that you don't know the Master Miners?" He -whirled to the old man and the girl. "Tell him nothing more." - -Sam said simply, "This is my first season. How am I to know anything -with everyone so suspicious? If you need more medicine let me know." He -picked up his space-suit and went into the lock. - -Nancy came quickly into the lock after him. She said in a low voice, -"Thanks for everything. You must forgive Ned. He is jealous." - -Sam held the helmet to his space-suit in his hands. "If I had a claim -on you," he said swiftly, "I should be jealous, too. Not man nor devil -should take you from me." He put the helmet on and turned to the lock. - -Once back in the _Wanderer_, he considered what he had learned. Pell -was here, so much had been established, and he had at last a foothold -of acquaintance among these people. That should help. - - * * * * * - -And indeed it did. It was through Timas Rorke, he suspected, that four -old men now stood on the floor of the _Wanderer_. - -He hadn't, however, quite planned on falling in love. It was difficult -for him to believe that so strong a bond could be forged in the week he -had known the Rorkes. The increasing jealousy of Hawkins was testimony -to the growing tenderness between Sam and Nancy Rorke. - -The elder of the four men stepped a little forward. "Mr. Knox, we are -here because a friend of yours has requested that you be admitted to -the Miners." - -He was right then; the week's cultivation of Timas and his daughter was -bringing results. "Tell me about the Miners," he asked. - -"We are far from Terra here. Years ago we found the necessity for -establishing some sort of society for our own pleasure and protection. -We have our own government, our own laws. Each year a number of the -older miners are chosen Master Miners. This year there are seven. We -formulate all laws, and sit in judgment on those who break them." - -Master Miners! Pell was one of these. Sam kept the planes of his face -wooden. "What must I do to become one of this society of yours?" - -"You must submit to questioning to prove you are worthy. You must swear -loyalty to all our other brother miners. You must agree to be guided by -our laws, as supreme here, as long as you are in the Asteroid Belt." - -"Very well, I agree." - -They took a small space-dory to the largest ship in the mining fleet, -the governing ship, _White Lark_. Sam wondered if he were being wise. -If they had the latest mind-probe, all the truth would come out in the -examination. His connection with Terran Justice would be discovered, -and perhaps all chance lost of taking Pell. It was unlikely that they -had the new probe, he decided, and if they had the old model he could -fool them. - -They had no mind-probe at all. They simply asked him questions, the -seven of them, trained to evaluate character swiftly in their rough -life, they watched him as he answered their questions. They sat around -him in a semi-circle, and in the center, in charge, was the man he -hunted. He had found Pell! - -The questioning began. When they touched the dangerous fringes of -knowledge with their probing questions he held his face even more -wooden than usual, careful too to let no emotion show in the timbre of -his voice. - -And at last it was over. Pell rose and looked at the circle of Master -Miners. "I am satisfied," he announced. "Are there any objections to -the entrance of Mr. Knox as a Miner of our Order?" - -There were none. Pell said, "You will take the oath of fealty tomorrow, -here. There will be many who want to meet you." He walked with Sam to -the lock, to the small space-dory in which they had come. - -Sam thought, I can take him now. I can slip a dis-gun into his ribs, -and take him now. The reaction of the other miners was unpredictable, -but with speed and skill he could make it. And once aboard the -_Wanderer_ no mining ship could approach his super-drive. - -His hand slid down his pocket to the cold plastic butt of his dis-gun. - -There was a rattle as another dory struck the ship. A space-suited -form slid into the lock. He took his hand off the dis-gun. The figure -stripped off its helmet, and a mass of flame-colored hair cascaded down -around the shoulders. It was Nancy Rorke. - -"Am I too late? I just heard you were up for membership in the Miners." - -Pell put his hand on her shoulder. "He's passed the tests. We -administer the oath tomorrow." - -Sam took his hand from his pocket. There would be danger. He would not -make his play with a woman here. - -Nancy's brown eyes were on his, filled with warmth and gladness. "I'm -so happy. I just couldn't believe it when Ned told me he had put you -up for membership." - -Ned Hawkins had proposed him for membership! Sam pondered that all the -way back to the _Wanderer_. - - * * * * * - -The ceremony that joined Sam Knox and the Order of Miners was a simple -one. There were many of the Miners in the _White Lark_, to witness -the oath of fealty, and many more watching on their visaphones. The -coldness was gone; he was one of them, and he felt the strong warmth of -their friendship. Nancy's eyes smiled at him all through the ceremony. - -There was one curious thing. Ned Hawkins was not present at the -beginning of the ceremony. - -The voice of Pell pronounced. "You are now one of us." Men gathered -around Sam, shaking his hand and clapping him on the back. - -"_Stop the ceremony!_" It was a beautifully timed entrance, an actor's -entrance. Hawkins stood just inside the room, still in his space-suit, -holding the helmet in his hand. He came forward now, his magnetic boots -clanking on the steel floor of the _White Lark_. - -Pell frowned at him. "If you have objections, you are too late. After -all, you were the one who proposed his membership. Miner Knox is one of -us now." - -"Then he is subject to our law. He is no miner--he is a thief." - -Pell said somberly, "That is a serious accusation." - -"Old Joe died today as a result of the chloroforming and beating. -Before he died he tuned in the ceremony on the visaphone. He identified -this man as the one who beat and chloroformed him. He died soon after. -His heart couldn't stand the excitement." - -Pell looked at Sam. "What have you to say?" - -"Would you believe a wild tale like that? Hearsay testimony from a dead -man? It's simply an invention." - -"Invention?" It was one of the Master Miners. "Why, Hawkins proposed -you for your membership." - -Ned Hawkins said raspingly, "If it is all hearsay, I suppose you won't -object to a search of your ship. The Asteroid jewel that was stolen is -probably there." - -The pattern was too clear to Sam. It was of course a frame, a perfect -frame, if the jewel had been planted aboard the _Wanderer_. They would -find other interesting things, too. The super-drive of the ship would -be as useful to a thief as to a Terran Justice man. - -They found the jewel carelessly hidden in the _Wanderer's_ upholstery. - -Sam said, "If you will put us both under the mind-probe, you will learn -the truth." - -Pell frowned at him. "I know from my own experience that the mind-probe -is worthless. I was convicted once by a mind-probe trial. No, we will -have a simple trial; we will try you after the fashion of older times. -Verbal testimony, evidence, and a jury of Master Miners. We will try -you at once. Justice is swift here in the Belt." - - * * * * * - -Sam Knox sat hopelessly in a tiny space-dory. Through the view port -he could see the twinkling lights of the Asteroid fleet vanishing in -the distance. And in his mind he could still hear the voice of Pell, -pronouncing sentence like the tolling of some bell of doom. - -"Miner Sam Knox, you will be banished forever from the Asteroid belt. -If you return, it is the duty of every Miner to ray you on sight. And, -if any befriend you, they may share your fate. Your ship and all your -possessions are forfeit. You will be placed in a small space-dory with -food and fuel for two weeks. If in that time you can come to some -larger ship or outpost of civilization, you are to be congratulated. If -not, may God have mercy on your soul." - -He had lost the _Wanderer_--he had only this tiny dory and two weeks' -food. That was bad enough, the chance of wandering forever in space -without food or fuel, but worse than that was the thought that he had -failed. He had found Pell, and failed to bring him back. He sat for a -moment, face in hands, tasting the bitter failure. There was, too, an -aching sense of loss when he though of Nancy Rorke. - -There was a tarpaulin over his stocks of supplies. He might as well -take inventory. He rose and went to the rear of the tiny craft. He -pulled back the tarpaulin. Curled among the supplies was a woman, her -hair a russet halo of glory. She stood discovered, shyly looking at -him. It was Nancy Rorke. - -Sam wanted her. Lord, how he wanted her. He crossed and seized her in -the solid strength of his arms, crushing his lips and body against -hers. "You fool!" he breathed. "You wonderful, glorious little fool!" - -She said simply, "I knew you would need me. I found which dory they -were to use and stowed away." - -Now there was food and water for only a week. All but fuel was now -divisible by two. They were far from the usual space-lanes, and the -chance of passing craft was microscopically small. Somehow, Sam knew, -they must win through. Somehow he must wring defeat from failure. - -They were three days out when they saw a ship. It seemed somehow -familiar, and it circled them three times before it had decelerated -enough to pull alongside the slower dory. The lock opened and Sam -propelled the tiny dory inside. Nancy said in amazement. "It is Pell's -ship. Do you suppose they know the truth?" - -Sam knew it was not that when Pell opened the door of the dory. His -voice was curt. "I have extra food and fuel. The ship _Sol Shine_ is -passing between Mars and the outer planets. You should be able to -contact here at these co-ordinates at the time noted." He handed Sam a -sheet of astrographic calculations. - -Nancy caught at his arm. "Why bring us this?" she asked. "Is it because -of me?" - -Pell smiled at her. "No, my dear. It was not because of you--or perhaps -it was. Perhaps a woman's heart is surer judge than a jury of Miners." - -He raised keen eyes to Sam. "Once they found me guilty," he said. "I -was not. I cannot rid myself of the belief that perhaps others, too, -might not be guilty." - -"The others do not know you came?" - -"No, else my life would be forfeit." - -Sam Knox said wonderingly. "You risked that, for the sake of possible -justice?" - -Pell inclined his head. - -"Why go back? Come to Terra with me." - -"I cannot." - -"Listen, man." Sam was urgent. "I came from the Department of Terran -Justice to find you. The Terran Metals case is re-opened. The new -mind-probe is just. Come back and we will find the truth." - -A strange look spread over Pell's face. "Terra! The glorious -rose-gardens of Terra." He shook himself. "I dare not, but as I have -given you life you must promise me this. You must not tell where I am -to be found." - -Sam Knox said bitterly. "I promise nothing. I came to the Belt to find -you." He sidled forward. If he could reach Pell-- - -A dis-gun rose in Pell's hand. "Be it so. Then I must move on." He -closed the door of the dory on them and threw the release that thrust -them from the lock of his ship. He left them sitting--watching his -ship's lights recede in the darkness. - -Nancy put her hand on Sam's arm. Pell's ship was now a speck of light, -vanishing in the black. "Never mind Pell. We will go to Terra together." - -Sam said, "I had almost convinced him. He wants to go to Terra. You -heard him. If I could talk to him again...." - -Nancy tugged at his arm. "Sam! What are you thinking of?" - -He touched the controls of the space-dory, and it swung in a long -curve, doubling back. - -"No! Sam, No! They will kill you if you go back. Forget Pell and come -with me to the _Sol Shine_." - -Sam Knox's jaw was a ledge of granite. "I came for Pell." - -The tiny dory leaped forward, nose pointed for the Asteroid Belt. - - * * * * * - -Sam slid in under no power, using the inertia of the ship, lights off, -alongside the _Fleetblast_. He said, "Let's hope your father is alone." - -Timas Rorke was alone. He was hard to convince, but his daughter could -work wonders with him. "Very well," he grumbled. "I'll see if I can get -Pell over here." He shrugged into a space-suit, and slipped his own -dory out of the lock. He blasted away to find Pell. - -"Look, Sam," Nancy called. "It's the _Aeries_." - -The _Aeries_ slid by the _Fleetblast_, moving her nets to some other -sector of space. The visaphone sounded, "_Aeries calling Fleetblast ... -Aeries calling Fleetblast...._" - -Sam gripped Nancy's arm. "We must not answer. Perhaps he will go on." - -For a moment the _Aeries_ paused, then it flared an orange trail of -acceleration as it headed onward. - -And the _Fleetblast's_ dory scraped alongside. From the lock stepped -Pell and Timas Rorke. - -Sam Knox stood, wide-legged, facing Pell, a compact and resolute form. -"I came to take you back to Terra." - -Their eyes met and searched each other. Pell sighed. "Almost I am -willing to trust you. You, too, are a man who will risk life for a -principle." - -"If you are innocent, I promise you you will be cleared. There is no -flaw in the mind-probe now. You know we cannot use the probe at random, -but, if you bring charges against those who framed you, we can use the -probe to get the truth." - -Pell straightened. He seemed to grow taller. "I'll do it." - -"You'll do what?" From the opening lock Ned Hawkins came, a dis-gun low -in his hand. Behind him were four older men. Sam saw Pell's face grow -pale. They were four of the Master Miners, four of those who dispensed -justice in the Asteroid Belt. - -One of them said gravely, "In the name of all Miners, I arrest you, -Pell, for aiding a convicted thief. Have you anything to say before we -take you way?" - -Hawkins jabbed the muzzle of the dis-gun tight in Sam's back. - -And that was a mistake. Men of the Terran Police Services had long been -trained to defend against a weapon held too close. Sam Knox whirled, -striking up and out with his arm, whirling away from the weapon, and -striking with his hand. He stepped forward then, seizing Ned's gun arm -in a bone-breaking leverage, and the dis-gun dropped to the floor. He -shoved Hawkins away and scooped up his weapon. - -[Illustration: Sam Knox whirled ... seized Ned's gun arm....] - -Now was the time, he thought, to take Pell and run for it. Perhaps they -would not find it important enough to follow. They would not know that -contact with the _Sol Shine_ was possible. - -Then Sam groaned. He had forgotten. Too much time had elapsed, and now -he was farther away. The slow space-dory never would be able to reach -the co-ordinates in time to intercept the space-liner. - -Somehow he must force the truth. He lifted the dis-gun. "I'm going to -blast you, Ned Hawkins. Before I go I'm going to burn you down. I know -you stole the jewel and killed Miner Joe. I know you were jealous and -framed me, giving up the jewel as a sacrifice to your jealousy. Tell -the truth, Hawkins, and cleanse your soul before you die." - -Ned Hawkins pulled back his lips in a dark snarl. "Shoot," he said. -"Shoot, you murderer and thief." - -A Master Miner said, "We will hunt you down, Knox. We will hunt you -to the ends of the galaxy. Even though you kill us all, there will be -others to search you out." - -"Tie them," Sam Knox directed. Pell obeyed. Sam swung the dis-gun in a -compact circle, and the front sight opened the flesh of Ned Hawkins' -forearm and let the blood flow. - -Sam Knox waved with the gun then at Pell, at the girl and at her -father. He said bleakly, "If one of you moves toward the medicine -cabinet, as God is in Heaven, I'll ray you down." - -He hunkered down on his ankles, a lone figure waiting and watching. - -"You devil," Ned's voice struck a high pitch. "_You devil_, give me -penicillin X." - -They had not understood till then. The eyes of the bound Master Miners -were wide with horror. - -Sam gestured with the gun. "Rest easy," he said. "We shall only have to -wait an hour at the most." - -The red blood that spurted from the arm stopped, and the chronometer -ticking in the control room was the only sound in the chamber. Minutes -passed, and the arm which had been red with blood was now greying. -Swiftly, the infection of space was taking over. - -Nancy Rorke said shrilly, "You are not human." She got up and moved for -the medicine cabinet. Sam Knox tilted the dis-gun, and the heat ray -lanced out and burned a hole in the chair ahead of her. She sat down -quickly, with a white face. - -Ned Hawkins' eyes were brilliant as a trapped beast. He looked at -his greying arm. It was swelling now and becoming painful. His face -contorted. He breathed agonizedly. - -Pell reached for the medicine cabinet, and Sam burned the knob under -his hands. - -"You devil!" Ned was breathing hard. Sweat stood on his forehead. "What -do you want?" - -"The truth." - -"I know nothing." - -Sam said, "I am going to burn the penicillin. You people can't keep -away from the drug. It's either burn the drug or one of you." He -pointed the dis-gun at the medicine cabinet in the corner. - -"I'll talk--give me the drug--I'll talk!" Ned began to babble in -confession. - -Sam said mercilessly, "The proof. Where is proof of what you say?" - -"On the _Aeries_. There is a false compartment under the control seat. -All the stolen goods except the one asteroid jewel are there." - -Sam lowered the gun. "Give him the drug quickly, and you will save him -for Miner's justice." - -As Sam bent to untie them, one of the Miners said, "If the stolen goods -are in the _Aeries_, we owe you an apology." - - * * * * * - -On the _Wanderer_ Sam Knox finished the astrogation. The jets were -warming, for the first blast of fuel that would send him Terra-bound. - -Nancy Rorke stood watching over his shoulder. "And what would you do if -I would not go with you?" - -Sam smiled at her. "I think I'd carry you away regardless." - -"I am afraid you would, but I am more afraid you might not, so I go -willingly." - -From the doorway Pell said quietly, "The jets are perhaps not so -charming, but they are ready, too." - -Sam fed fuel to the jets, and the _Wanderer_ leaped like a hound, -heading for home. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ASTEROID JUSTICE *** - -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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