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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4660db1 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #66211 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/66211) diff --git a/old/66211-0.txt b/old/66211-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 9023484..0000000 --- a/old/66211-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1772 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of X Marks the Asteroid, by Ross Rocklynne - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: X Marks the Asteroid - -Author: Ross Rocklynne - -Release Date: September 3, 2021 [eBook #66211] - -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 X MARKS THE ASTEROID *** - - - - -X MARKS THE ASTEROID - -By Ross Rocklynne - -Deep in space Ralph's ancestors lay in suspended -animation--a price on their heads. They left him a -map and a problem: awaken them--or collect the reward!... - -[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from -Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy -January 1954 -Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that -the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - -The Unterzuyder map was out of hiding. Relayed on a grapevine that -spanned the planets, the news caught on big in Marsport. - -Bigger Bailes sat at a beer-bottle-colored glass desk in his underworld -retreat, announcing his intent to claim the reward money that for -eighty-five years had been piling up at compound interest in the -Terra-First National Bank of New York. - -"Ralph Unterzuyder is here in Marsport," he stated. "Like all -Unterzuyders, he's clever and he's dangerous and he's shifty. He'll -travel the crookedest course you ever saw. At the moment, he's got his -identity pretty well covered up under the name of Carruthers Straley. -In the last three weeks he's organized a band of settlers from -Satterfield City who call themselves Titan Settlers, Ltd. - -"Not that I'm fooled! I'm not saying the Unterzuyder hibernaculum is -on Titan. I'm not even saying Unterzuyder has the map. But I'm willing -to bet he's got a pretty good idea where the map is. I'm also willing -to bet that his father died without leaving him a cent, and that he -organized Titan Settlers, Ltd., just to get himself a free ride out -Saturn-way. He's capable of that kind of reasoning." - -Bigger Bailes smiled rosily and reached for his hat. One of his men -held the door open for him. - -"Right now, I'm on my way to see Carruthers Straley. Maybe he will cut -in with me. If not--" he thoughtfully rubbed at the fat of his big jaw -"--if not, I'll help him hang himself." - - * * * * * - -Ralph Unterzuyder, fourth generation descendant of the infamous -Unterzuyders, emerged testily from the Glass & Sand Bldg. where he -had just set up a law office under the name of Carruthers Straley. No -sooner had he set foot to the glass sidewalk than he was aware a big, -smiling man had fallen into step beside him. He backed up against the -wall of the building, his eyes wide and cautious behind dark glasses. - -"What do you want?" he snapped. - -Bigger Bailes smiled, introduced himself. Unterzuyder looked around as -if ready to make a break for it. Bailes stood in front of him. He shook -his head. - -"I'm not going to hurt you, Mr. Unterzuyder." - -At mention of the name, Unterzuyder smiled arrogantly. - -"Really, does one have no privacy? But perhaps one of your caliber is -well acquainted with the advantages of using an alias!" - -"There are advantages," Bigger nodded. "Your advantage lies in heading -a group of settlers who don't know you're using them to help you find -the asteroid where your ancestors have been sleeping for the past -eighty-odd years." - -Unterzuyder's cane whipped around nervously. "I know nothing about a -map!" - -Bigger's jowls quivered with mirth. "Seven weeks ago," he pointed out, -"your father died. He told you the map was hidden in an old book called -_Tertium Organum_, A Key To The Enigmas Of The World. By somebody named -Ouspensky." - -Unterzuyder's eyes moved desperately to the street, down which a single -gyromobile moved. - -"I have an appointment," he said stiffly. "Now if you will permit me to -be on my way before they turn the rain-makers on--" - -"It won't rain for ten minutes. Better let me finish--if you don't want -your precious settlers to know who you really are! - -"As soon as your aunt heard about your father's death, she put the -old Unterzuyder house up for auction to pay your father's creditors. -The furniture went mostly to junk-dealers, the rest to museums. All -the books, some ten thousand of them, were bought by a big New York -used-book company, Frangy & Sons, Ltd. - -"Half of these books, the ones whose titles all began with the letters -of the alphabet up through 'M', were kept in their New York branch. The -remainder were sent to open a book store in Marsport. By the time you -got to Marsport from Earth, the book was reported already sold--to a -person unknown. That's all true, _isn't_ it? - -"After having failed to find the map, Mr. Unterzuyder, you then sent -the story to a newspaper--anonymously." - -"I did?" Unterzuyder looked arrogantly at Bailes. - -"Yes." Bigger's eyes narrowed. "Why?" - -Unterzuyder surged angrily away from the wall. "I am not interested in -your questions. I have my chosen mission in life. It is not the making -of money!" - -He brandished his cane. "I warn you, Mr. Bailes," he cried, "I am a -nervous man. If I am not permitted to leave--" - -Bigger spread his hands, astonished. "Don't think for a minute I'm -keeping you. The only suggestion I wanted to make was that you and I -could work together." - -Unterzuyder took off his glasses. There were red marks around his eyes -where the glasses had taken hold. He had inherited the famous thin -nose and receding chin of the Unterzuyders. His pale thin lips worked -nervously. - -"I work alone, Mr. Bailes," he said haughtily. "And I work best when -such as you try to set your pitiful little traps! Threaten me as you -will, nothing can keep me from my purpose. And now good-day." - -Bigger's voice was filled with disgust. "Your purpose being, of course, -to find asteroid X and free your ancestors so they can go to work on -the Solar System again!" - -Unterzuyder glared, primly returned his glasses to his nose, and -stalked off. - -"Scoundrel!" he muttered, putting his hand over his heart. He gasped. -It was racing. And he was sweating. Trembling. His mother, the -Unterzuyder matriarch, had been quite right. He should take care of his -health. - -By the time he caught a one-wheeled gyromobile that came bowling down -the glass street, he was feeling much better. - -"Take me to the Hotel de Mars," he told the driver. He leaned back -comfortably, gloved hands resting on the head of his cane while he -looked around him. A strange, glass-domed city, set in the heart of -Mars' desert wastelands. A thriving city, with low buildings touching -the glass roof of the dome. - -The rain-maker went on, the first drops splattering down from the -overhead sprinkler system. Unterzuyder cringed. - -"Driver, driver!" he cried, rapping smartly with his cane. "Do you want -me to catch my death?" - -The driver hurriedly caused the separate halves of the glassteel cupola -to fold over the car. Unterzuyder settled back injuredly. - - * * * * * - -At the registration desk of the Hotel de Mars, he asked for, and was -shown to the room of, Mr. Nathaniel and Miss Fayette Beecher. The door -was thrown open by a tanned blonde girl in smart gray jodhpurs and -slick boots. - -Her face at first registered a nervousness. Then it smoothed. - -"Oh!" she sang out, blue eyes widening and taking him in from head to -toe. "You must be Mr. Straley." She cocked her lively face cutely to -one side. "_Are_ you?" - -Unterzuyder's heart banged. He bit his lip. This was exactly the kind -of girl his dead mother warned him to stay away from. Coquettish. Sexy. -Treacherous, like most females. And he had lately noticed, to his -dismay, that he, an Unterzuyder, was becoming far too susceptible to -such unhealthy influences. - -"I am Mr. Straley," he said coldly. "Carruthers Straley, founder of -Titan Settlers, Ltd. Shall I come in?" - -"Please _do_. For a moment, I lost my wits." - -She's making a play for me, like all females, he thought. -Discouragedly, Unterzuyder went in. He sat down on a sponge-plastic -chair, resting his gloved hands on his cane and looking upon the girl -sternly. - -"Daddy!" she sang out. "Mr. Straley is here!" - -A man with a half-bald head and a deep tan lunged into the room -carrying a heavy rocket-gun. His grin was wide, his voice reedy and -enthusiastic. He was happy to know Mr. Straley. He laid the gun -tenderly on the floor. Unterzuyder looked at it distrustfully. - -Beecher's reedy laugh sounded. "It's not cocked," he explained. "You -caught me right in the middle of a clean-and-polish job. That ol' gun -o' mine's been everywhere, mister. Most of the Moons of Jupiter, out -on the deserts--even Africa. Yessir, our exploring expeditions have -taken us into every corner of the Solar System that's available." - -The girl whipped open a drawer in the bottom of a boxy chair made of -crystal glassteel. "And here's _my_ pet!" She reached in to pull out -a long-snouted neutron gun with a triple trigger. Unterzuyder's heart -banged for the third time in an hour. In the drawer was one other -object: _Tertium Organum_, A Key To The Enigmas Of The World. - -An old book. A musty book. The book from his beloved dead father's -library. The book that held the Unterzuyder map. - -His breath hissed. Beecher leaned solicitously forward. "Anything -wrong, Mr. Straley?" - -"Oh, no, nothing," said Unterzuyder, pain wrenching his face. "But I'm -not a healthy man. My heart--" - -"Oh, what a shame." Fayette leaned over him, dizzying him with her -perfume. She put her warm little hand on his forehead. She held his -wrist to feel his pulse. She shook her blonde curls vigorously. "Nope. -No fever. The pulse _did_ seem to race a little when I held your hand. -Outside of that--" She surveyed him judicially. "I'll bet you're as -healthy as a Venusian peat-dog!" - -"Oh, come now," protested Beecher. "If the man says he's got a -galloping heart, that's what he's got. Think of the courage, the -idealism, the sheer fortitude of this man, who has gathered together a -group of settlers to brave the dangers of a jungle-world like Titan--a -planet no one has ever attempted to colonize! I personally _hand_ it to -the man!" - -There was a fawning admiration on his unshaven, grinning face. - -Unterzuyder settled back in his chair, feeling put upon. - -"I'm afraid of guns," he told Fayette petulantly. "If you'd please put -it away--Besides--" He drew a clipping from his bill-fold. "--I am -already convinced of your prowess as explorers." - -The headlines on the clipping read: - - EXPLORERS RETURN FROM - GANYMEDE ICE TUNDRA - Father and daughter - make unique team - -"It says quite a bit about the expeditions you two have headed. -Needless to say, I'm impressed! I am here, of course, to make you a -proposition." - - * * * * * - -He explained his purpose at some length. For several weeks he had been -engaged on a project dear to his heart. He believed in the future of -the human race. He wanted to spread mankind's dominion even beyond the -Moons of Jupiter. Titan had been viewed by only two men, both of whom -stated it was livable. It had soil. It had vegetation. Also, it had -dangerous animal life. - -"That's for us!" said Fayette stoutly. She accidentally pointed the -neutron gun at Unterzuyder. She was squirming around on her chair with -repressed vitality. Her eyes melted on him. He wished he could get over -the feeling that she was laying it on too thick. That perfume. He must -not allow himself to be affected. - -He cringed from the gun. She hastily put it on the floor. He wondered -how accidental it might have been. Probably these cheap opportunists -were perfectly capable of killing. - -He would have to watch his step. They had the map, all right. The -bookseller's description of Fayette had been quite correct and helpful. - -Fortunately, the bookseller had been willing to accept a bribe not to -give anybody else the information. - -He spoke again. - -"When I received your viso-call, Miss Beecher, I at once felt that -Titan Settlers could work with you. I seriously discussed with them -the possibility of giving you and your father titular command of the -expedition." - -"Uh--" said Fayette. "You've already been capitalized?" - -Unterzuyder coughed delicately. "My intrepid settlers are composed -of young husbands and wives and their children. I was able to sell -them--that is--the magic allure of a new world was really all that -was necessary to convince them that Titan is where their destiny lay. -They sold all their belongings, and--ah--invested the funds with me as -Treasurer of the organization." - -Beecher smacked his hands together enthusiastically. - -"Fine, fine! There's nothing the daughter and I like better than to -push on into a new frontier. Mr. Straley, for twenty thousand credits -we're bought!" - -Unterzuyder sat bolt upright. "Ten thousand credits," he said severely, -"is the top amount we can offer. That is final. With one thousand -credits in advance!" - -He whipped out a check book. He adjusted his glasses. Primly, he wrote -a check and extended it with a jabbing motion, holding it for perhaps -thirty seconds before Beecher's crestfallen face turned toward his -daughter. Fayette was looking with intense interest at the check. - -"Why not? Mr. Straley, like you, we're idealists. Money means hardly -anything. I think you've made a deal!" - -Beecher stowed the check in his wallet with satisfaction. "Now we'll -get busy. Of course, we'll have to have a drawing account. We'll have -to discuss details, such as the number of settlers to be transported -so I can buy or charter the proper type of space ship. There's the -matter of building supplies to be bought--grain seeds--food--a thousand -details which you can leave entirely in our hands, Mr. Straley! - -"And while we're at it, I'd like to shake your hand! It's very few -people who'd endanger their own lives to further the progress of -mankind!" - -The experience left Unterzuyder weak. He looked appealingly at Fayette. -"I wonder if a glass of water--" he said feebly. - -Hurriedly she disappeared to the apartment kitchen. Unterzuyder slumped -lower in the seat, breathing hard. - -"Maybe," he told Beecher helplessly, "a shot of whiskey would do the -trick better." - -"Sure thing!" Beecher went after his daughter. As soon as they were -both out of the room, Unterzuyder got up and pulled open the drawer -containing _Tertium Organum_, A Key To The Enigmas Of The World. -Quickly he unfolded the chart in the back of the book. The map should -be there. - -It wasn't. - -He slapped the drawer shut, sank feebly back to his seat. The Beechers -were gone an inordinately long time. He thought he heard them -whispering in the kitchen. Then Beecher lunged back into the room -bearing a jigger of no doubt cheap rye. Unterzuyder gulped it down and -put the glass to one side. - -Fayette was admiring. "For a man in poor health," she exclaimed, "you -take it without a whimper--or a chaser!" - -"Eh?" Unterzuyder blinked, then drew himself up stiffly. "Whiskey is -the only medicine my doctor permits. And now, let's get down to the -matter of the contract!" - - * * * * * - -One month later. - -Ralph Unterzuyder was furious. He stalked the darkened decks of the -trembling space ship _Ares_--a slick hundred-tonner with sixty square -feet of firing surface--and reflected that the Beechers were making a -worse sucker out of him than he'd expected them to. - -First, they were a pair of fakers. That much had been obvious from the -start, with that phony newspaper write-up, all that bragging about -their knowledge of fire-arms when they didn't even know enough to keep -a weapon pointed toward the floor. Well, he'd expected that much. But -to discover they did not even have _basic_ knowledge of how to outfit -an expedition! - -They had actually begun ordering _lumber_ for building, until he -pointed out the climate of Titan might be kinder to prefabricated -glassteel sections. - -They had actually paid out money for seeds, bulbs, and saplings until -he showed that all farming on Titan must for the present be on an -experimental or at best highly speculative basis. - -Not only that, they had attempted to charter a ship twice as big -as needed, one that used large quantities of chemical fuels. That -ridiculous error had been amended with a smaller ship sporting -atomic gas-thrust. As for the captain and crew, they had been hired -by Unterzuyder himself--and, by means of the secret passage of one -thousand credits from Titan Settlers' funds to Captain Foshag, the -captain and crew were bought. - -Unterzuyder balanced himself angrily down a companionway. As he -passed a hanging ventilator, the drum-beat and skittering rhythm of -a jury-rigged orchestra echoed up from the ballroom. A dance was in -progress. Unterzuyder smiled sentimentally. Nothing like giving the -settlers a run for their money. - -Of course, he reflected dourly, Fayette Beecher had got the best of -him in the matter of using the drawing account. Unterzuyder scowled. -What had got into him? Somehow, Fayette's roving blue eyes and fiery -touch did their work on him. Next thing he knew, he was in duress, -being dragged on the arm of that fluffy creature from one dress shop to -another. - -An expense account to buy swirling party dresses?--with a smidgin here -and there for fancy explorers' outfits? The memory of his folly made -Unterzuyder squirm. - -He sighed heavily as he came to C deck. Anyway, by his own cleverness, -he had a ship, he had the Beechers--who had the map! - -And the hibernaculum asteroid, where his dozen infamous ancestors were -sleeping away the decades under the influence of a potent, forbidden -drug called somnolene, was somewhere out near Titan. Or _had been_. - -That was the one thing he remembered when, as a child, his father -showed him the legendary map. At least he was headed for the area where -the asteroid _might be_. - -And so might, he reflected glumly, that arrogant, impossible Bigger -Bailes! - - * * * * * - -The Beecher's double-state-room was on C deck. Just as he turned an L -in the corridor, he ran head-on into a gaily running figure clad in a -fluffy party dress. - -For a moment they struggled in an attempt to regain their balance, -and when Unterzuyder came out of it he was holding Fayette Beecher -tightly, and he was kissing her warm little face. She responded just as -energetically. And suddenly he woke up to the horror of the role he had -assumed. - -He shoved her away. She stumbled backward and there was a glassy -tinkling sound. - -"Ooh, your glasses!" cried Fayette, making a grab for them. He grabbed, -too, suddenly convinced he had gone blind. "They're broken, Ralph, -honey!" she said. "You look so much better without them." She flung her -arms around him again, pressing him back to the wall. Her lips drooped -disappointedly. - -"I--I'm fond of you," she said unhappily. "But you're so darned -peculiar. You fell all over yourself kissing me. Now you're backing -off. What's wrong?" - -Unterzuyder was scared. It came as a shock to him that the extreme -emergency of the situation had given him, by some hypnotic process, -better vision than he'd ever had. In spite of the darkness of the hall, -he could see that Fayette was ravishing. She could make a strong man -weak. Well, he would not give her that opportunity. - -Besides, something she'd said just now, something he couldn't put his -finger on, had subconsciously frightened him. What? - -These treacherous Beechers! - -Maybe she was using her indomitable weapon to win him over. To what? - -Perhaps to cut him in on the map. X marks the spot, indeed! X was a -moving asteroid. It had been moving for some eighty-odd years since the -map was made. To find its present location was a problem in celestial -mechanics. The map would have to be deciphered. Not only that, the -original maker of the map, being an Unterzuyder, had undoubtedly -confused the issue by making the job hard even for a mathematician. - -Naturally, the Beechers hadn't dared take the map to anybody for -deciphering. To do so, might have brought the whole criminal element -in the Solar System after them. That of course, was a little thing -Unterzuyder himself had arranged--when he anonymously gave the details -of the story to the press. - -The Beechers had been boxed in. - -Now, in desperation, the Beechers probably figured that if Fayette -could make Carruthers Straley fall in love with her, that he, being a -lawyer, might have a devious enough mind to think like an Unterzuyder -and decipher the map! _And_ not betray them. - -They did not understand that Ralph Unterzuyder, alias Carruthers -Straley, worked alone. - -They would find it out. And so would Bigger Bailes. - -He answered her direct question stiffly. "I shall continue to back -off, Fayette. Love is an emotion which can be defined in various -unflattering terms. I would not care to tumble your romantic castles! -My mother--" - -"Aha! Your mother!" She leaped upon the word with a knowing and very -wide grin. Then she took advantage of his pinned position against the -bulkhead to kiss him again, determinedly and hard. For a wild half of -eternity, his senses were swept away on a skittering whirlwind. Then by -main force he tore away and lunged down the corridor. - -"Mr. Straley!" There was a bubble of repressed laughter. "I was going -to ask if you'd take me to the dance!" - - * * * * * - -He did not answer. His flight was precipitous. It was not for several -minutes that he realized the loss of his glasses had not impeded his -vision. He leaned weakly against a bulkhead. Very early in life, his -parents had insisted that the inherited weak eyes of the Unterzuyders -be made normal with ocular aids. Indeed, powerful, dark eye-glasses had -grown, over the generations, to be a symbol of Unterzuyder autocracy. - -His parents had been wrong. - -Perhaps they had been wrong in other things. - -He shuddered. Without his eye-glasses, he hardly felt himself to be an -Unterzuyder. - -Slowly, memory of his original purpose in ordering Captain Foshag to -throw a dance came back. - -In the ballroom, Beecher would be strutting to win the favor of -somebody's wife. - -With a bit more success, Fayette would have a dozen young husbands -circling her moth-like. - -Intrigue, thought Unterzuyder, and subtlety, is ever the adventurer's -most potent weapon. The great general indirectly entices the foe away -from his own most strongly held point! - -Several minutes later, he was fitting his pass-key into the door of the -Beechers' stateroom. He closed the door, switched on the radi-lights. -The efficiently furnished little rooms were brightly illumined. - -The map. Where? Start at the beginning. At first glance, _Tertium -Organum_ was not in the bookcase. Then he reached in back of the row of -lurid fiction titles and knew he had guessed correctly. - -A little too correctly! - -He felt one of the few cold chills of his life traveling on his spine. -He opened the book and the map fell out. He sat down weakly. His -fingers trembled as he smoothed out the heavy rag parchment. - -A map of the Solar System. He dizzied. X marks the asteroid. Just as he -remembered seeing it that long ago day when his great father showed it -to him. - -His father, that stern-faced giant in whom the valiant blood of the -hibernating Unterzuyders flowed, had been most explicit. One of these -years, the map would be given to Ralph. He would guard it with his -blood. In the course of time, Ralph would give it to _his_ son. - -At long last, the hibernaculum would be opened, the dozen -hibernating Unterzuyders would be brought to life with injections of -anti-somnolene, and would once more take over their rightful place of -dominance in the Solar System. - -The position they had been scourged from by a relentless political -regime which had smashed the Unterzuyders' fabulous tri-planet cartels, -leaving the remnants in the form of a thousand rigidly controlled small -holding companies. - -The position they had been forced to flee from, leaving only their -children--and a hidden map. - -Unterzuyder's fingers still shook. Sweat dribbled down his blonde -hair-line. Something was wrong. Everything was wrong. The map itself -was hideously out of scale. - -The traced orbits of the planets were circular, _not_ elliptical. - -And the map itself. - -_I should not have found it so easily_. - -Counter-intrigue? - -No time to lose. - -From his inside pocket, he took the flat little duplico-camera, -adjusted the frame over the map. He flipped the shutter. Seconds later, -the map was back exactly where he'd taken it from. - -There was only one sound in this quiet room, the tremor of the -gas-thrust shoving the ship through dark void into the spaces beyond -Jupiter. Suddenly, there was the scuffle of moving feet beyond the door. - - * * * * * - -Unterzuyder found himself in the position of a traveler in an alien -city where savage little children had switched all the street signs. -Nonetheless, he lunged for the door, threw off the lights in the -stateroom, opened the door, closed it, stood with his back pressed -against it. - -Hurrying footsteps. Unterzuyder was after the sound. - -The big, hurrying frame of Captain Foshag. Unterzuyder grabbed his -arm, whipped him around. Foshag's hairy, dignified face was wrenched -with astonishment. - -"Mr. Straley," he said uncertainly. His brow clouded. He looked at -Unterzuyder's grip on his heavy arm and frowned with displeasure. He -shook off the hand. "I'm not used to being manhandled, sir! You've -perhaps imbibed too much at the party?" He was being sternly insulting. - -Unterzuyder crumbled. He could be wrong. - -"I--haven't been well. My heart--" He touched at his chest -apologetically. It wasn't too far from the truth. Pains in his chest. -His mother had always assured him the Unterzuyders were prone to heart -trouble. Just as she'd got around to making him wear glasses. Terrible -uncertainties were crowding him. He was surrounded by treachery. Had -Foshag been shadowing him? - -Foshag's great frame rocked judicially on its toes. - -"If you truly have a bad heart," he said measuredly, "you'd have -taken the long trail when the _Ares_ hit heaven. We humans often are -plagued with strange influences. Words spoken to the unguarded mind of -the child sometimes become fact to the grownup. I'd not worry about -the heart. And now, the reason I am away from the turret. I've been -looking for you." - -He cleared his throat. "There's a king-sized ship of the Silver type -on our tail, Mr. Straley. I'm not the worrying kind, however. Worry is -indeed the prime cause of most kidney troubles, and, besides, beclouds -the mind when there's work to be done. Therefore, not until I observed -that the pursuing craft was indeed pursuing--" - -"Come to the point!" Everything else was swept away. Unterzuyder was -suddenly furious at this big, stupid, philosophizing blunderer. "You're -trying to excuse yourself for not telling me right away. Let's get to -the turret!" - -Unterzuyder went at full stride, his brain in high gear. They were -being pursued. That arrogant Bigger Bailes, no doubt! So what? Add one -more menace to those he was collecting. In fact, mess up the mess a -little more. - -"Captain Foshag," he said, "you are a well-read man. Ever read -Ouspensky?" - -Foshag nodded his square bearded chin. "A man of vast creative mental -power, Mr. Straley. A man who seemed able to step off our three -dimensions and look at the universe from a new viewpoint." Tentatively: -"You have an interest in the classical philosophers, perhaps?" - -Unterzuyder muttered something garbled. He trotted ahead of Foshag up -the ramp to the glassed-in control turret, went past several instrument -men to the viewing disk assembly. Foshag hurriedly got the pursuing -ship on the cross-hairs. It was a great globoid catching golden-green -sun on one half, black interstellar shadow on the other. - -"Raise it on the beam!" Unterzuyder ordered. - - * * * * * - -Moments later, Ralph Unterzuyder was looking into the detested face of -Bigger Bailes. - -"That's me," smiled Bigger, his rosy face creasing. "Bigger Bailes. And -how are you, Mr. Ralph Unterzuyder?" His smile became even more rosy. - -Unterzuyder gulped. He was completely dismayed. Captain Foshag showed -no reaction at the unmasking. Captain Foshag kept his face turned -studiously away. - -Unterzuyder felt himself going into a spin. - -But he drew himself up and said haughtily, "Kindly keep your inside -information to yourself, Mr. Bigger Bailes. I travel under the name of -Carruthers Straley merely because there is an unsavory flavor to the -name of Unterzuyder! - -"Now, why are you following us?" - -"Following you?" Bigger Bailes appeared injured. "I'm trying to catch -up with you. I intend to come aboard--" - -"_You will not!_" Unterzuyder yelled the words so loud the crew members -in back of him half-jumped from their charts. - -Bigger's image wavered on the screen as he leaned forward and settled -back. - -"I didn't expect such a reaction, Mr.--Straley," he said. His little -eyes, almost hidden by fat, were penetrating. "I'd almost think you -were hiding something. Are you?" - -Foshag raised a commanding hand. "That'll be enough of that," he -commanded. "We're a law-abiding ship. I myself am an honest man. -Secrecy gives rise to certain nervous disorders which I avoid. If you -wish to come aboard, perhaps you are taking advantage of some Space -Article?" - -"Taking advantage? If you want to put it that way. Two of my men -are down sick. The usual spastic seizures. We've run out of ATG. -We're coming aboard your ship to get some. Article 10b of the Space -Constitution gives us that right." - -Unterzuyder brushed Foshag aside. - -"I warn you, Mr. Bailes," he said thickly, "if you have any ulterior -motive, such as looting this ship, we will put up a fight! Our -settlers were chosen for their intrepid qualities. We have guns. We -have bombs. We have a flare-cannon. You will not find us easy prey!" - -Bailes leaned back easily. "Relax, Unterzuyder. As far as guns -go, we've got our share. And we have got a brace of flare-cannons -embrasured into the bulkheads of the _Space-Queen_ ourselves, if you -want to get tough." - -He spread his fat hands. "But who wants to get tough? See you -gentlemen, aboard your ship, twenty-four hours from now." With which -remark he broke contact. - -Unterzuyder was at Foshag instantly. - -"Not a word about my identity," he breathed. "After all, I did pay you -a thousand credits!" - -"And for which I thanked you! Mr. Unterzuyder, I am not a secretive -man. If asked a direct question, I seldom impair my health by lying. -Now permit me to return to my duties." - -Fuming, Unterzuyder left the control turret, went straight to the -ballroom. Here, without any hesitation whatever, he cut in on Fayette, -taking her away from the handsomest husband in the lot. No word of -apology. - - * * * * * - -He held her very close, very tight. He danced with a mathematical -precision. Even the soul of the dance, he reflected grimly, derives -from a mathematical formula. The dummy four-piece band haggered out -its hag-strut very effectively. He was rewarded as Fayette lost her -surprised stiffness, and began to melt into him in perfect rhythm to -the tune. Her blonde head gradually nestled into his shoulder, her eyes -closed, a small, sweet smile on her lips. - -At the first opportunity, he swung her without a break to a small -observation lounge, and in the cold green glow of a million stars drew -her to him, letting himself be stunned by the warmth of her and the -drugging quality of her perfume. He kissed her. He was carried away -into a land of intricate enchantment where Love is All, and the Girl in -my Arms is You. - -She opened her eyes, looking at him dreamily. "I love you," she -murmured. - -"I know," said Unterzuyder. - -"I don't know what your intentions are. I don't care what kind of a -sneaky, underhanded person you are, I still love you." - -He kissed her again. She was crying. Unterzuyder took out his -handkerchief and wiped away her tears. "Now don't worry, Fayette," he -soothed. "Everything will turn out all right." He took her back to the -dance floor. By luck he found the young husband she'd been dancing -with. He gave her back. - -"Sorry!" he said. He gave Fayette a fleeting smile and hurriedly took -off. - -He went to his cabin and feverishly got to work. Plug up the loopholes -as you go along! A favorite axiom of the Unterzuyders. Now that Fayette -was in love with him, he could draw on her for any emergency. - -Apparently the time was coming when he would need an ally. - -He ran the negative through the hypo, put it in the dryer and paced -the floor. He rubbed at his lips with the back of his hand. He could -still smell Fayette's perfume. He could still feel her bare warm back. -Careful, careful. He went to a mirror and looked at his face. Weak. The -glassless eyes red-rimmed. Thin nose and lips. His spirits dropped. How -could Fayette be in love with him? Particularly when he was one of the -outlawed Unterzuyders. - -The finished photograph went into the automatic pantograph. He blew -it up six times onto a square of Mirac paper. He smoothed the new map -onto the desk. Instantly he saw why at first the map had appeared so -impossibly distorted. The circles did not indicate the orbits of the -planets. They were merely a logarithmic indication of the scale of the -map. - -Mercury, being some 43,000,000 miles from the Sun, was the basic unit. -And that was necessary. - -The Solar System could not be drawn to scale unless the inner planets -were crowded in fractionally close to the Sun. - -Here, the positions of the planets were indicated by dots whose -map-distance from the Sun receded inward in logarithmic ratio to actual -distance. - -Pluto, for instance, being one hundred times farther from the Sun than -Mercury in real distance, appeared by the map to be only, roughly, -twenty times as far. - -The position of the dot-planets on the map of course indicated the -_exact_ date of the day when the map was drawn. - -The finely drawn X showed the position of the hibernaculum asteroid _on -that day_. - -Since then, roughly eighty-two years ago, X had moved in its orbit. -Where to? - -That was the problem. - -Unterzuyder sweated. It was said by the Unterzuyders, with possible -justification, that only an Unterzuyder could think like an -Unterzuyder. How often his father had told him that. But he was -confused. - -Naturally. The map was meant to confuse. - -What were the figures at the bottom of the map? - - s-1 .7452 - c-1 -.202 - -and - - (0, 3, 2) - (1, 1, 8) - -And why, at the top corner, was the name unterzuyder printed _with a -small u_? - -Nobody but an Unterzuyder would know. - -Well, he didn't know. - - * * * * * - -Puzzled, he paced the room. Tomorrow Bigger Bailes would force his -way aboard ship. Little could be done to stop him, partly because he -insisted he needed ATG, a chemical staff of life necessary for muscular -action, but mostly because he had superior fire-power. Actually, he -wanted the map. If he didn't get it, he would inevitably loot the ship. - -He paused before the mirror, again. Glassless, he didn't feel like an -Unterzuyder. Looking upon himself naked of face, he cringed. If only -the whole thing were over. If only he were in the observatory under the -greenly burning stars with-- - -Frantically he stopped that line of thought. - -He hauled out a sheaf of maps. He had come prepared. He had brought the -duplico-camera, the film developing equipment, the pantograph, other -odds and ends. He had a shelf-full of celestial mechanic manuals, as -well as books on the more ordinary arithmetics. - -But he had had only one year of math. Somewhere along the line, he had -outguessed his patriarch of a father and his matriarch of a mother: law -had been the result. - -Well suited, he had felt at the time, to the trickery, the deceit, and -the orneriness of the typical Unterzuyder mind! - -Anyway, he needed a slide-rule before he could tackle the equations. -For the present, he would work out the date the map was made. Then it -would be possible to discover X's present position. - -All that was necessary was, mathematically, to rotate the present-time -position of the planets backward in time--clockwise, that is--until -they coincided with map-position. - -The star-maps, the Emphemeris, and the Planet Catalogue should make -that fairly simple. - -After an hour, his nerves began to quiver. He ran his hands -distractedly through his awry blonde hair. He had the answer. And it -was impossible. Except that it was correct. - -Apparently, the map had been drawn up in prehistoric times. - -50,000 years ago! - - * * * * * - -After a virtually sleepless sleep-period, he went to breakfast. The -settlers were in a happy chattering mood. Titan was only ten days away. -Unterzuyder ate with the pressure of the Beechers' eyes on him. - -Nathaniel Beecher showed quiet menace on a face that ordinarily held -grinning, shifty-eyed comraderie. Fayette had sullen, angry shadows -under her eyes. Perhaps she was smarting under a humiliation that -might make her do dangerous things. He had left her rather abruptly at -the dance. Unterzuyder bit his lip. Perhaps he had not covered that -situation as well as he might. - -Remorse was an emotion new to Unterzuyder. But then he had suffered -some kind of mental upset when his glasses shattered under Fayette's -heel. He could see as well as the next man, and consequently was -beginning to have some shattering doubts about the wisdom of his -immediate ancestors. And he _was_ a man. - -He gulped. All these were dangerous thoughts. He must continue to think -like an Unterzuyder. - -Something devious. Something tricky. Something that would competently -accomplish the task of fooling the Beechers, Bigger Bailes, and -possibly Foshag! - -As he started out of the dining room, Beecher lunged after him, -trailing a rocket-stream of cigar smoke. - -"A minute, Straley!" Beecher held him from the door, his close-set -eyes full of dislike. "Foshag told me Bigger Bailes is back there." -He jerked a shoulder. "You're a man with many small tricks, Straley," -he went on slowly. "Probably you're the most dangerous man I've ever -encountered. I've been around." - -"I'll bet you have!" - -Beecher gestured with the cigar, turned on his grin, apparently to -convince anybody watching that this was a friendly conversation. - -"But I'm not letting you get away with anything. We have to do -something about Bailes. I don't intend to be hi-jacked. Truthfully, -mister, I don't see why the settlers shouldn't be forewarned. They're a -decent bunch. We're not. - -"In fact," his eyes were boring, "I've known from the first that you've -been using these people." - -"As you have--and as you've attempted to use me!" - -"Yes." Beecher's lips moved hesitantly. "You and I and Fayette are all -three getting a free ride to Titan, aren't we? No expenses. So now -that we've _almost_ laid our cards on the table, why shouldn't we join -forces?" - -Unterzuyder drew himself up disdainfully. "I work alone, Beecher." - -"Yeah." Beecher showed disgust. "You mean you're working for something -no decent person would help you with." - -"And you mean by that?" - -Beecher's eyes simmered. He said nothing. - -Unterzuyder snapped. "I still work alone--unless forced to recruit -help. That condition may occur. In the meantime, use some of those -qualities of leadership an _explorer_ should have. Inform these people -what's up. Tell them Bailes will probably attempt to loot the ship. -Line the men up at the arsenal and load them down with weapons. Make -arrangements so the women and children will keep to the cabins. Can you -handle that?" - -Beecher flushed until his face was bright red. - - * * * * * - -Leaving him properly insulted, Unterzuyder went to the control turret -where he cornered Foshag, drew him to the Solar Chart. - -Unterzuyder picked up a pencil, made an indentation at random. It was -considerably to the east of the _Ares'_ present position. - -"Change course immediately. To that point." - -Foshag huffed rebelliously. "That won't help us outrun Bailes. The new -course will but give him a hypotenuse to travel. He'll run us down -quicker." - -Unterzuyder's lips turned thinner. Muttering, Foshag sat down to the -computations. On the way out of the turret, Unterzuyder slipped a -slide-rule out of an instrument case so deftly that nobody noticed. - -Another hour's work showed him that the two sets of figures, -respectively, indicated X's _point of origin_ and _direction of -travel_. _c_ stood for cosine, of course, _s_ for sine. - -X had been, when the map was made, some degrees below the plane of the -ecliptic. Its orbit was at a steep slant to that plane. - -So what? So the point of origin was located in time 50,000 years ago? - -The map was a fake! - -He sat at the desk a long time, thinking, and thinking fast. Foshag -must have known who he was from the first. He was an observing man, but -he was also a close-mouthed man, who answered only to direct questions. -And the Beechers knew his identity too. Fayette had accidentally called -him by his real name. Treachery! - -Undoubtedly, Bigger Bailes had tipped off the Beechers, just before -Unterzuyder arrived at the Beechers' apartment in Marsport. Bigger -Bailes thought Unterzuyder knew where the map was, but didn't know the -Beechers had it. Bigger intended to let the situation stir itself up so -the asteroid's location would more easily come out of hiding. - -Yes, everything was wrong. Bigger would loot the ship when he learned -the map was a practical joke. Taking a ship this far beyond Jupiter -would have to pay off. And there was nobody to stop him. - -What was it his father told him about Unterzuyder techniques? Sell -short at the top, buy long at the bottom. All events, good or bad, -could be used to build a firmer superstructure! - -Well, face it! Ship's course had been changed. The settlers by this -time had demanded to know why. Beecher would tell them Carruthers -Straley was Ralph Unterzuyder, hunting for a hibernaculum! - -The settlers by this time were up in arms against him. - -He paled. He leaped to the door, listened. Footsteps. Patrolling his -room. - - * * * * * - -He returned to the table. Make use of the situation. Dredge it for -what it's worth! He crossed shakily to the audio and called Fayette's -number. Luckily, Fayette and not her father answered. - -"Fayette--darling." The word came out huskily. It was hard to say. It -sounded real. - -"_Who?_" Then her voice was uneven. "You called me darling. Are you -sure you're in your right mind?" - -"I mean it, dear." _Did he?_ "I couldn't forget last night." - -He was falling into the self-made trap of the dishonest, unable to tell -his own truth from his own falsehood. - -"All right," she said unevenly. "So you couldn't forget it? So what?" - -He spoke softly. Please, he had to see her in his room right away. It -was urgent. Would she come now? A long silence. Yes, she would come. -No, she wouldn't tell her father. Positively. Five minutes later -she slipped into the room. She barely opened the door. He took her -instantly into his arms. When he figured he had kissed her enough, he -let her drop limply into a chair. - -The circles under her eyes were worse. She looked miserable. He drew up -a chair, tenderly took her hands in his. - -"Look at me, Fayette. I'm going to make a confession that will shock -you. I'm not Carruthers Straley. I'm Ralph Unterzuyder." - -She didn't look shocked. He pretended not to notice. - -He told her selected portions of the story. "I suspected you had the -map. I examined _Tertium Organum_ in your apartment yesterday when you -and your father were in the kitchen." - -_And you wanted me to examine it! So I'd be sure to hire you and -Beecher and take you with me to Saturn. That was the reason you posed -as explorers, so Titan Settlers would give you a free ride to the -vicinity of X!_ - -"I broke into your room last night, Fayette, and made a copy of the -map." - -_And you left it wide open for me, so I could put my Unterzuyder brains -to work deciphering it!_ - -"And now that I've deciphered the map--" - -That shocked her. "You _did_? But Daddy figured out it was made roughly -50,000 years ago!" - -His heart fell to the bottom of his stomach. The Beechers hadn't got -over that stumbling block either. He'd made a mistake in trying to pump -her. He smiled feebly. But salvage _something_ out of it! - -"50,000 years," he said druggedly, "seems to be correct--" - -She was on her feet, laughing half hysterically. "You're trying to say -the Unterzuyders invented a time-machine? That they aren't hibernating -at all? After all the trouble we've gone to--" She giggled. "That's -rich, Ralph--" - -Female instability. He held her tightly. A lie, a good solid lie. His -heart raced. Bigger Bailes. "Of course not, dear. The whole idea of a -time-machine is fantasy--" - -_Is it?_ - -"--and it'll make you feel better to know the map is purely -contemporary. You noticed the ship changed course? Well, dear, we are -headed toward X!" - -She pushed away, her eyes amazed. - -"And," he added happily, "you will also be glad to know that you and -I and your father are going to collect the reward for finding the -hibernaculum!" - -"_Really_, Ralph? That was your intention all along? You weren't going -to _free_ them? Oh, I was hoping so hard you were going only after the -reward--" - -She switched her glance over his shoulder. Pity wrenched her face. - -Something hit Ralph Unterzuyder hard on the back of the head. He fell -straight down ten thousand miles, and lay there for quite a while -studying patterns of light that squirmed in his head. - - * * * * * - -Captain Foshag was dragging him to a chair. His tufted eyebrows came -close. He put a slopping cloth on Unterzuyder's forehead. - -He said, "For the time, you're a prisoner in this cabin. I trust the -experience will teach you some truths. Wickedness secretes various -poisons in the body, particularly the heart and the liver. Change your -ways, and you may indeed live a long life!" - -The door burst open and Beecher lunged in. His shrewd eyes rested on -Unterzuyder. - -"Sorry I had to bop you, Unterzuyder," he said in clipped accents. "But -it was the best way to get you out of the picture and keep you from -talking to Bigger Bailes. You might have messed up the works. As it -was, we told him the truth." - -"The truth?" - -"Certainly. You admitted it to Fayette. That you'd figured out the -orbit and present position of X. He got the course from Foshag and made -us turn around toward Titan again. Then he took off for X. So we're -whipped. But at least it kept us from being looted." - -Unterzuyder ripped the wet cloth from his head and threw it somewhere. -He laughed. He weaved about the room, holding his head and hooting, -while Foshag and Beecher looked on with open mouths. Then Foshag forced -him into a chair. - -"Out of his head! Mr. Unterzuyder, please be quiet. That's better. -There, there! Now we're going to leave you here for your own -protection, Mr. Unterzuyder. The settlers are somewhat provoked. Do you -agree?" - -Unterzuyder grinned widely up at him. - -"I'm sick," he groaned. "Tell Fayette I need her." - -_There's still X to find._ - -An idea had come to him. - - * * * * * - -He was in bed, the white cloth on his forehead, when Fayette walked in. -She looked at him without sympathy. Tentatively, she sat on the edge of -the bed, curling one knee under another. - -"I'm sorry if you think I played Delilah, Ralph--" she began. - -He patted her knee delicately. "There, there," he soothed. "None of -that matters. Actually, we're two of a kind. Not that we're naturally -treacherous, but that we are indirect, the most dangerous weapon in the -world. I wanted to discuss our plans. You see, marriage is a--" - -She gripped his wrist, hard, to make him stop talking. - -She said through her teeth, "After this, nothing but the truth!" - -Inwardly he groaned. - -She went on with determination. "I _do_ love you. I _do_ want to marry -you. And settle on Titan. The important thing is, do _you_ love me -and really want to marry me? Are you going to be honest with me about -things that concern only us? Of course, I don't mind if you're tricky -with other people. That's life." - -_Well, why not?_ - -Unfortunately, he would be unable to use her anymore for purposes of -finding X. But apparently, he _was_ in love with her. - -He held her warm hands. "We'll get married and live on Titan," he said. - -She leaned over and kissed him until he thought he'd be forced down -through the bed. - -He added, "But first I've got to get back in the good graces of the -settlers." When she smiled incredulously, he said with confidence, "It -should be easy." - -And besides, it was necessary. - - * * * * * - -As soon as Fayette left, he leaped out of bed and grabbed an -encyclopaedia out of the bookcase. He looked up _Unterzuyder_, tracing -down until he found the expected paragraph: - -_The fabulous cartels of the Unterzuyders were built up through their -amazing instinct on the stock market. When the market was bullish, -they seemed to know when the crest was reached. Selling short in heavy -amount at this point, they reaped millions in profit as the market -fell, then caught the market again on the upswing. Invariably, the -bulls were caught short by the Unterzuyder bears. The Unterzuyders -seemed to draw some special inspiration from one famous interpretation -of their name, i. e._, undersiders, _those who work from the -underside_.... - -Unterzuyder sent the book scurrying into a corner. His hunch had been -right. But now was not the time to work out the rest of the puzzle. He -dressed quickly. - -When he walked into the dining room, where dinner was in progress, he -was wearing the white bandage pinned around his forehead. He was also -limping very slightly. Sympathy was nonetheless lacking. Complete quiet -reigned in the dining room. The settlers kept their faces turned away, -or looked fixedly at their plates. - -Fayette's expression alone showed sympathy. He knew his own face was -fiery red. - -Nonetheless, he told the settlers everything he thought necessary. -(They knew it anyway.) He apologized. He pointed out deviously that, -after all, they _were_ on the way to a new world. That much he had done -for them. - -"What you do not realize is that it was I, your leader, who diverted -Bigger Bailes from looting the ship. - -"Quite deliberately, I built up the feeling that the new course was the -course to X, the hibernaculum of my criminal ancestors. All of you were -convinced. Therefore Bailes became convinced. - -"Had he known the Unterzuyder map was a fake, he would have taken it -out on you by looting the ship. I sent him off on a wild goose chase!" - -Some of the settlers were looking at him with cautious interest. -Beecher rose at this point. - -"I can say something in favor of Mr. Unterzuyder," he said. "His -intentions were good. Mr. Unterzuyder was only after the reward money. -He did _not_ intend to free the Unterzuyders, even though he is an -Unterzuyder himself. And half of the reward money was to go into the -treasury of Titan Settlers!" - -Unterzuyder looked pop-eyed at Beecher. But now the settlers were -frankly staring at him. After a moment, they began eating again. In -several minutes more, the hall was full of chatter again. - -After the most uncomfortable meal of his life, Unterzuyder headed for -the door. Beecher caught up with him, grinning companionably. - -"We did a good job, mister," he said. "I had my own reasons for backing -you up. This thing'll blow over. Then I've got some ideas. You and I -are sharpies, Unterzuyder. We could set up in business on Titan and -build up one of the biggest fortunes in the System, eventually. What do -you say?" - -Unterzuyder smiled wanly and said he would think it over. Then he went -to his cabin. In two hours, he had plotted X's location to the dot. - -Then he leaned back, nibbling nervously at the pencil eraser. - -In five days, with good fortune, the infamous Unterzuyders would be -awake and free.... - - * * * * * - -It took him two days of cautious footwork before the settlers -completely dropped their hostility toward him. Then one evening he told -them simply that they still had Bigger Bailes to worry about. - -"When he discovers he's been fooled, it's possible he might head for -Titan and try to loot the settlement. We have to be ready. For several -weeks we'll have to be on guard. The space ship will be camouflaged. -For awhile we'll suspend building operations. - -"We'll be ready for offense and defense. We have three life boats which -are maneuverable in empty space or in an atmosphere. These life boats -must be equipped with food, with water, with weapons. I'm calling for -volunteers to help me with that job." - -It was a rude shock to Unterzuyder when Fayette became the first -volunteer. - -By the fourth day, the life boats were deadly offensive craft. - -Unterzuyder paid particular attention to one of the life boats himself. -Quite accidentally, it became loaded down with extra weapons and -supplies. - -Only one thing bothered him. Fayette was underfoot all the time. - -As the time of leaving approached, his nerves began to get the better -of him. The time, however, _did_ come. At 22:04 on the fifth day, in -the middle of the sleeping period, he dialed open the airlock door to -the blister in which the stout little life boat nestled. He closed it -behind him, turned around. Fayette was standing at the hatch of the -little ship, slickly dressed in shiny boots, smart beige jodphurs, and -a blouse open at the throat. - -She was holding her pet neutron gun with the snout pointed toward him. -She was smiling confidently. - -"Ralph," she said, "in my hand I hold a weapon. It is not indirect. -It is not subtle. It does not practice deceit. It does not give -half-answers. It says 'yes,' and it says 'no'. That's all it says. - -"It also _gets_ yes and no answers. - -"But don't be afraid of me, Ralph. I'm here to help you!" - -He found his voice. "Help me? I need no help! I work alone!" - -"Nobody works alone, Ralph. Ask Captain Foshag. Most people run on -compulsive commands given them by people who might even be dead. -Parents mostly. Positive suggestion. The mind works that way. - -"Sometimes people are made to feel they're unhealthy, only they aren't -really. Or they're told their eyes are bad. Or that they're superior to -other people. - -"It's just as if--" she frowned hard as if looking for an example "--as -if _your_ parents were sitting inside that smart blonde head of yours, -Ralph, and telling you to free the Unterzuyders from their sleep. It's -something you feel you _have_ to do. - -"But you _don't_ have to, Ralph. I'm here to help you." - -He stared at her, stunned. - -He drew himself up arrogantly. "Put down that gun, Fayette." - -If anything, she held the gun more firmly, and moved it three inches -toward him. - -"Don't mistake me, Ralph," she said, her eyes cold. "This is a yes and -no game. No maybes or ifs. If you say yes when the gun says no, that's -too bad. If you say no when the gun wants yes, _that's_ too bad. You -see how straightforward the three of us are? - -"But I and my pet neutron gun will give you time to think. - -"Tell me how you found X." - - * * * * * - -He slumped weakly against the bulkhead, wiping at his forehead with the -back of a shaking hand. - -"There were enough clues," he said hoarsely. - -And there had been, at that. _Tertium Organum_, A Key To The Enigmas Of -The World, _was_ a key. Its author, Ouspensky, looked at the universe -from a _different_ viewpoint. - -The small _u_ in unterzuyder meant that it was to be taken as a common -noun. - -And certainly the conclusion that the map was made 50,000 years ago was -itself an obvious clue! - -"We made our calculations on the assumption that the map had been made -looking at the Solar System from the north--from the star Polaris, -that is. It hadn't been. My ancestors drew the map from the unorthodox -reference point of the Southern Cross. - -"From the underside. I turned the negative upside down and made a new -map. Then I got right answers." - -"Very good," said Fayette. "The tricky Unterzuyders did live up to -their name. _Didn't_ they, Ralph?" - -"Yes," he said shakily. - -The gun wavered. Fayette was blinking. "Ralph, do you love me?" - -"Yes...." - -"Are you being truthful? Will you always tell me the truth, the whole -truth?" - -"Yes...." - -"That's a good boy. Please keep on giving my pet the right answers. -Ralph, don't you know that if you freed the Unterzuyders I couldn't -ever look at you again?" - -There were angry tears in her eyes. Unterzuyder suddenly remembered the -time at the dance, when he had wiped away her tears. He should wipe -them away now. He was weakening. He was an Unterzuyder. He should be -strong. There was his duty.... - -"Fayette," he said hoarsely. - -"Stand back." Her chin came up. "Answer the question! Yes or no." - -"Yes." - -"Do you want to marry me?" - -"Yes, Fayette." - -Her mouth opened and closed. Suddenly her shoulders heaved and she -shook her head blindly. The gun dropped to her side. "Oh, Ralph. I -can't do it. I was going to ask you if you still wanted to go ahead -with it. But I can't. I can't force you. You'll have to make up your -own mind!" She turned away, hiding her face with one arm. Instantly, he -leaped for her, tearing the gun from her hand. - -He looked at it where it lay black and ugly in his hands. He was seeing -it very well, with his excellent Unterzuyder eyes. It slipped from his -hand and fell to the floor. He let it lie, and took Fayette into his -arms. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK X MARKS THE ASTEROID *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following -the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use -of the Project Gutenberg trademark. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. 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. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: X Marks the Asteroid</p> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Ross Rocklynne</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: September 3, 2021 [eBook #66211]</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net</div> - -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK X MARKS THE ASTEROID ***</div> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus.jpg" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="titlepage"> - -<h1>X MARKS THE ASTEROID</h1> - -<h2>By Ross Rocklynne</h2> - -<p>Deep in space Ralph's ancestors lay in suspended<br /> -animation—a price on their heads. They left him a<br /> -map and a problem: awaken them—or collect the reward!...</p> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br /> -Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy<br /> -January 1954<br /> -Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that<br /> -the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>The Unterzuyder map was out of hiding. Relayed on a grapevine that -spanned the planets, the news caught on big in Marsport.</p> - -<p>Bigger Bailes sat at a beer-bottle-colored glass desk in his underworld -retreat, announcing his intent to claim the reward money that for -eighty-five years had been piling up at compound interest in the -Terra-First National Bank of New York.</p> - -<p>"Ralph Unterzuyder is here in Marsport," he stated. "Like all -Unterzuyders, he's clever and he's dangerous and he's shifty. He'll -travel the crookedest course you ever saw. At the moment, he's got his -identity pretty well covered up under the name of Carruthers Straley. -In the last three weeks he's organized a band of settlers from -Satterfield City who call themselves Titan Settlers, Ltd.</p> - -<p>"Not that I'm fooled! I'm not saying the Unterzuyder hibernaculum is -on Titan. I'm not even saying Unterzuyder has the map. But I'm willing -to bet he's got a pretty good idea where the map is. I'm also willing -to bet that his father died without leaving him a cent, and that he -organized Titan Settlers, Ltd., just to get himself a free ride out -Saturn-way. He's capable of that kind of reasoning."</p> - -<p>Bigger Bailes smiled rosily and reached for his hat. One of his men -held the door open for him.</p> - -<p>"Right now, I'm on my way to see Carruthers Straley. Maybe he will cut -in with me. If not—" he thoughtfully rubbed at the fat of his big jaw -"—if not, I'll help him hang himself."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Ralph Unterzuyder, fourth generation descendant of the infamous -Unterzuyders, emerged testily from the Glass & Sand Bldg. where he -had just set up a law office under the name of Carruthers Straley. No -sooner had he set foot to the glass sidewalk than he was aware a big, -smiling man had fallen into step beside him. He backed up against the -wall of the building, his eyes wide and cautious behind dark glasses.</p> - -<p>"What do you want?" he snapped.</p> - -<p>Bigger Bailes smiled, introduced himself. Unterzuyder looked around as -if ready to make a break for it. Bailes stood in front of him. He shook -his head.</p> - -<p>"I'm not going to hurt you, Mr. Unterzuyder."</p> - -<p>At mention of the name, Unterzuyder smiled arrogantly.</p> - -<p>"Really, does one have no privacy? But perhaps one of your caliber is -well acquainted with the advantages of using an alias!"</p> - -<p>"There are advantages," Bigger nodded. "Your advantage lies in heading -a group of settlers who don't know you're using them to help you find -the asteroid where your ancestors have been sleeping for the past -eighty-odd years."</p> - -<p>Unterzuyder's cane whipped around nervously. "I know nothing about a -map!"</p> - -<p>Bigger's jowls quivered with mirth. "Seven weeks ago," he pointed out, -"your father died. He told you the map was hidden in an old book called -<i>Tertium Organum</i>, A Key To The Enigmas Of The World. By somebody named -Ouspensky."</p> - -<p>Unterzuyder's eyes moved desperately to the street, down which a single -gyromobile moved.</p> - -<p>"I have an appointment," he said stiffly. "Now if you will permit me to -be on my way before they turn the rain-makers on—"</p> - -<p>"It won't rain for ten minutes. Better let me finish—if you don't want -your precious settlers to know who you really are!</p> - -<p>"As soon as your aunt heard about your father's death, she put the -old Unterzuyder house up for auction to pay your father's creditors. -The furniture went mostly to junk-dealers, the rest to museums. All -the books, some ten thousand of them, were bought by a big New York -used-book company, Frangy & Sons, Ltd.</p> - -<p>"Half of these books, the ones whose titles all began with the letters -of the alphabet up through 'M', were kept in their New York branch. The -remainder were sent to open a book store in Marsport. By the time you -got to Marsport from Earth, the book was reported already sold—to a -person unknown. That's all true, <i>isn't</i> it?</p> - -<p>"After having failed to find the map, Mr. Unterzuyder, you then sent -the story to a newspaper—anonymously."</p> - -<p>"I did?" Unterzuyder looked arrogantly at Bailes.</p> - -<p>"Yes." Bigger's eyes narrowed. "Why?"</p> - -<p>Unterzuyder surged angrily away from the wall. "I am not interested in -your questions. I have my chosen mission in life. It is not the making -of money!"</p> - -<p>He brandished his cane. "I warn you, Mr. Bailes," he cried, "I am a -nervous man. If I am not permitted to leave—"</p> - -<p>Bigger spread his hands, astonished. "Don't think for a minute I'm -keeping you. The only suggestion I wanted to make was that you and I -could work together."</p> - -<p>Unterzuyder took off his glasses. There were red marks around his eyes -where the glasses had taken hold. He had inherited the famous thin -nose and receding chin of the Unterzuyders. His pale thin lips worked -nervously.</p> - -<p>"I work alone, Mr. Bailes," he said haughtily. "And I work best when -such as you try to set your pitiful little traps! Threaten me as you -will, nothing can keep me from my purpose. And now good-day."</p> - -<p>Bigger's voice was filled with disgust. "Your purpose being, of course, -to find asteroid X and free your ancestors so they can go to work on -the Solar System again!"</p> - -<p>Unterzuyder glared, primly returned his glasses to his nose, and -stalked off.</p> - -<p>"Scoundrel!" he muttered, putting his hand over his heart. He gasped. -It was racing. And he was sweating. Trembling. His mother, the -Unterzuyder matriarch, had been quite right. He should take care of his -health.</p> - -<p>By the time he caught a one-wheeled gyromobile that came bowling down -the glass street, he was feeling much better.</p> - -<p>"Take me to the Hotel de Mars," he told the driver. He leaned back -comfortably, gloved hands resting on the head of his cane while he -looked around him. A strange, glass-domed city, set in the heart of -Mars' desert wastelands. A thriving city, with low buildings touching -the glass roof of the dome.</p> - -<p>The rain-maker went on, the first drops splattering down from the -overhead sprinkler system. Unterzuyder cringed.</p> - -<p>"Driver, driver!" he cried, rapping smartly with his cane. "Do you want -me to catch my death?"</p> - -<p>The driver hurriedly caused the separate halves of the glassteel cupola -to fold over the car. Unterzuyder settled back injuredly.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>At the registration desk of the Hotel de Mars, he asked for, and was -shown to the room of, Mr. Nathaniel and Miss Fayette Beecher. The door -was thrown open by a tanned blonde girl in smart gray jodhpurs and -slick boots.</p> - -<p>Her face at first registered a nervousness. Then it smoothed.</p> - -<p>"Oh!" she sang out, blue eyes widening and taking him in from head to -toe. "You must be Mr. Straley." She cocked her lively face cutely to -one side. "<i>Are</i> you?"</p> - -<p>Unterzuyder's heart banged. He bit his lip. This was exactly the kind -of girl his dead mother warned him to stay away from. Coquettish. Sexy. -Treacherous, like most females. And he had lately noticed, to his -dismay, that he, an Unterzuyder, was becoming far too susceptible to -such unhealthy influences.</p> - -<p>"I am Mr. Straley," he said coldly. "Carruthers Straley, founder of -Titan Settlers, Ltd. Shall I come in?"</p> - -<p>"Please <i>do</i>. For a moment, I lost my wits."</p> - -<p>She's making a play for me, like all females, he thought. -Discouragedly, Unterzuyder went in. He sat down on a sponge-plastic -chair, resting his gloved hands on his cane and looking upon the girl -sternly.</p> - -<p>"Daddy!" she sang out. "Mr. Straley is here!"</p> - -<p>A man with a half-bald head and a deep tan lunged into the room -carrying a heavy rocket-gun. His grin was wide, his voice reedy and -enthusiastic. He was happy to know Mr. Straley. He laid the gun -tenderly on the floor. Unterzuyder looked at it distrustfully.</p> - -<p>Beecher's reedy laugh sounded. "It's not cocked," he explained. "You -caught me right in the middle of a clean-and-polish job. That ol' gun -o' mine's been everywhere, mister. Most of the Moons of Jupiter, out -on the deserts—even Africa. Yessir, our exploring expeditions have -taken us into every corner of the Solar System that's available."</p> - -<p>The girl whipped open a drawer in the bottom of a boxy chair made of -crystal glassteel. "And here's <i>my</i> pet!" She reached in to pull out -a long-snouted neutron gun with a triple trigger. Unterzuyder's heart -banged for the third time in an hour. In the drawer was one other -object: <i>Tertium Organum</i>, A Key To The Enigmas Of The World.</p> - -<p>An old book. A musty book. The book from his beloved dead father's -library. The book that held the Unterzuyder map.</p> - -<p>His breath hissed. Beecher leaned solicitously forward. "Anything -wrong, Mr. Straley?"</p> - -<p>"Oh, no, nothing," said Unterzuyder, pain wrenching his face. "But I'm -not a healthy man. My heart—"</p> - -<p>"Oh, what a shame." Fayette leaned over him, dizzying him with her -perfume. She put her warm little hand on his forehead. She held his -wrist to feel his pulse. She shook her blonde curls vigorously. "Nope. -No fever. The pulse <i>did</i> seem to race a little when I held your hand. -Outside of that—" She surveyed him judicially. "I'll bet you're as -healthy as a Venusian peat-dog!"</p> - -<p>"Oh, come now," protested Beecher. "If the man says he's got a -galloping heart, that's what he's got. Think of the courage, the -idealism, the sheer fortitude of this man, who has gathered together a -group of settlers to brave the dangers of a jungle-world like Titan—a -planet no one has ever attempted to colonize! I personally <i>hand</i> it to -the man!"</p> - -<p>There was a fawning admiration on his unshaven, grinning face.</p> - -<p>Unterzuyder settled back in his chair, feeling put upon.</p> - -<p>"I'm afraid of guns," he told Fayette petulantly. "If you'd please put -it away—Besides—" He drew a clipping from his bill-fold. "—I am -already convinced of your prowess as explorers."</p> - -<p>The headlines on the clipping read:</p> - -<p class="ph1">EXPLORERS RETURN FROM<br /> -GANYMEDE ICE TUNDRA<br /> -Father and daughter<br /> -make unique team</p> - -<p>"It says quite a bit about the expeditions you two have headed. -Needless to say, I'm impressed! I am here, of course, to make you a -proposition."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>He explained his purpose at some length. For several weeks he had been -engaged on a project dear to his heart. He believed in the future of -the human race. He wanted to spread mankind's dominion even beyond the -Moons of Jupiter. Titan had been viewed by only two men, both of whom -stated it was livable. It had soil. It had vegetation. Also, it had -dangerous animal life.</p> - -<p>"That's for us!" said Fayette stoutly. She accidentally pointed the -neutron gun at Unterzuyder. She was squirming around on her chair with -repressed vitality. Her eyes melted on him. He wished he could get over -the feeling that she was laying it on too thick. That perfume. He must -not allow himself to be affected.</p> - -<p>He cringed from the gun. She hastily put it on the floor. He wondered -how accidental it might have been. Probably these cheap opportunists -were perfectly capable of killing.</p> - -<p>He would have to watch his step. They had the map, all right. The -bookseller's description of Fayette had been quite correct and helpful.</p> - -<p>Fortunately, the bookseller had been willing to accept a bribe not to -give anybody else the information.</p> - -<p>He spoke again.</p> - -<p>"When I received your viso-call, Miss Beecher, I at once felt that -Titan Settlers could work with you. I seriously discussed with them -the possibility of giving you and your father titular command of the -expedition."</p> - -<p>"Uh—" said Fayette. "You've already been capitalized?"</p> - -<p>Unterzuyder coughed delicately. "My intrepid settlers are composed -of young husbands and wives and their children. I was able to sell -them—that is—the magic allure of a new world was really all that -was necessary to convince them that Titan is where their destiny lay. -They sold all their belongings, and—ah—invested the funds with me as -Treasurer of the organization."</p> - -<p>Beecher smacked his hands together enthusiastically.</p> - -<p>"Fine, fine! There's nothing the daughter and I like better than to -push on into a new frontier. Mr. Straley, for twenty thousand credits -we're bought!"</p> - -<p>Unterzuyder sat bolt upright. "Ten thousand credits," he said severely, -"is the top amount we can offer. That is final. With one thousand -credits in advance!"</p> - -<p>He whipped out a check book. He adjusted his glasses. Primly, he wrote -a check and extended it with a jabbing motion, holding it for perhaps -thirty seconds before Beecher's crestfallen face turned toward his -daughter. Fayette was looking with intense interest at the check.</p> - -<p>"Why not? Mr. Straley, like you, we're idealists. Money means hardly -anything. I think you've made a deal!"</p> - -<p>Beecher stowed the check in his wallet with satisfaction. "Now we'll -get busy. Of course, we'll have to have a drawing account. We'll have -to discuss details, such as the number of settlers to be transported -so I can buy or charter the proper type of space ship. There's the -matter of building supplies to be bought—grain seeds—food—a thousand -details which you can leave entirely in our hands, Mr. Straley!</p> - -<p>"And while we're at it, I'd like to shake your hand! It's very few -people who'd endanger their own lives to further the progress of -mankind!"</p> - -<p>The experience left Unterzuyder weak. He looked appealingly at Fayette. -"I wonder if a glass of water—" he said feebly.</p> - -<p>Hurriedly she disappeared to the apartment kitchen. Unterzuyder slumped -lower in the seat, breathing hard.</p> - -<p>"Maybe," he told Beecher helplessly, "a shot of whiskey would do the -trick better."</p> - -<p>"Sure thing!" Beecher went after his daughter. As soon as they were -both out of the room, Unterzuyder got up and pulled open the drawer -containing <i>Tertium Organum</i>, A Key To The Enigmas Of The World. -Quickly he unfolded the chart in the back of the book. The map should -be there.</p> - -<p>It wasn't.</p> - -<p>He slapped the drawer shut, sank feebly back to his seat. The Beechers -were gone an inordinately long time. He thought he heard them -whispering in the kitchen. Then Beecher lunged back into the room -bearing a jigger of no doubt cheap rye. Unterzuyder gulped it down and -put the glass to one side.</p> - -<p>Fayette was admiring. "For a man in poor health," she exclaimed, "you -take it without a whimper—or a chaser!"</p> - -<p>"Eh?" Unterzuyder blinked, then drew himself up stiffly. "Whiskey is -the only medicine my doctor permits. And now, let's get down to the -matter of the contract!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>One month later.</p> - -<p>Ralph Unterzuyder was furious. He stalked the darkened decks of the -trembling space ship <i>Ares</i>—a slick hundred-tonner with sixty square -feet of firing surface—and reflected that the Beechers were making a -worse sucker out of him than he'd expected them to.</p> - -<p>First, they were a pair of fakers. That much had been obvious from the -start, with that phony newspaper write-up, all that bragging about -their knowledge of fire-arms when they didn't even know enough to keep -a weapon pointed toward the floor. Well, he'd expected that much. But -to discover they did not even have <i>basic</i> knowledge of how to outfit -an expedition!</p> - -<p>They had actually begun ordering <i>lumber</i> for building, until he -pointed out the climate of Titan might be kinder to prefabricated -glassteel sections.</p> - -<p>They had actually paid out money for seeds, bulbs, and saplings until -he showed that all farming on Titan must for the present be on an -experimental or at best highly speculative basis.</p> - -<p>Not only that, they had attempted to charter a ship twice as big -as needed, one that used large quantities of chemical fuels. That -ridiculous error had been amended with a smaller ship sporting -atomic gas-thrust. As for the captain and crew, they had been hired -by Unterzuyder himself—and, by means of the secret passage of one -thousand credits from Titan Settlers' funds to Captain Foshag, the -captain and crew were bought.</p> - -<p>Unterzuyder balanced himself angrily down a companionway. As he -passed a hanging ventilator, the drum-beat and skittering rhythm of -a jury-rigged orchestra echoed up from the ballroom. A dance was in -progress. Unterzuyder smiled sentimentally. Nothing like giving the -settlers a run for their money.</p> - -<p>Of course, he reflected dourly, Fayette Beecher had got the best of -him in the matter of using the drawing account. Unterzuyder scowled. -What had got into him? Somehow, Fayette's roving blue eyes and fiery -touch did their work on him. Next thing he knew, he was in duress, -being dragged on the arm of that fluffy creature from one dress shop to -another.</p> - -<p>An expense account to buy swirling party dresses?—with a smidgin here -and there for fancy explorers' outfits? The memory of his folly made -Unterzuyder squirm.</p> - -<p>He sighed heavily as he came to C deck. Anyway, by his own cleverness, -he had a ship, he had the Beechers—who had the map!</p> - -<p>And the hibernaculum asteroid, where his dozen infamous ancestors were -sleeping away the decades under the influence of a potent, forbidden -drug called somnolene, was somewhere out near Titan. Or <i>had been</i>.</p> - -<p>That was the one thing he remembered when, as a child, his father -showed him the legendary map. At least he was headed for the area where -the asteroid <i>might be</i>.</p> - -<p>And so might, he reflected glumly, that arrogant, impossible Bigger -Bailes!</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The Beecher's double-state-room was on C deck. Just as he turned an L -in the corridor, he ran head-on into a gaily running figure clad in a -fluffy party dress.</p> - -<p>For a moment they struggled in an attempt to regain their balance, -and when Unterzuyder came out of it he was holding Fayette Beecher -tightly, and he was kissing her warm little face. She responded just as -energetically. And suddenly he woke up to the horror of the role he had -assumed.</p> - -<p>He shoved her away. She stumbled backward and there was a glassy -tinkling sound.</p> - -<p>"Ooh, your glasses!" cried Fayette, making a grab for them. He grabbed, -too, suddenly convinced he had gone blind. "They're broken, Ralph, -honey!" she said. "You look so much better without them." She flung her -arms around him again, pressing him back to the wall. Her lips drooped -disappointedly.</p> - -<p>"I—I'm fond of you," she said unhappily. "But you're so darned -peculiar. You fell all over yourself kissing me. Now you're backing -off. What's wrong?"</p> - -<p>Unterzuyder was scared. It came as a shock to him that the extreme -emergency of the situation had given him, by some hypnotic process, -better vision than he'd ever had. In spite of the darkness of the hall, -he could see that Fayette was ravishing. She could make a strong man -weak. Well, he would not give her that opportunity.</p> - -<p>Besides, something she'd said just now, something he couldn't put his -finger on, had subconsciously frightened him. What?</p> - -<p>These treacherous Beechers!</p> - -<p>Maybe she was using her indomitable weapon to win him over. To what?</p> - -<p>Perhaps to cut him in on the map. X marks the spot, indeed! X was a -moving asteroid. It had been moving for some eighty-odd years since the -map was made. To find its present location was a problem in celestial -mechanics. The map would have to be deciphered. Not only that, the -original maker of the map, being an Unterzuyder, had undoubtedly -confused the issue by making the job hard even for a mathematician.</p> - -<p>Naturally, the Beechers hadn't dared take the map to anybody for -deciphering. To do so, might have brought the whole criminal element -in the Solar System after them. That of course, was a little thing -Unterzuyder himself had arranged—when he anonymously gave the details -of the story to the press.</p> - -<p>The Beechers had been boxed in.</p> - -<p>Now, in desperation, the Beechers probably figured that if Fayette -could make Carruthers Straley fall in love with her, that he, being a -lawyer, might have a devious enough mind to think like an Unterzuyder -and decipher the map! <i>And</i> not betray them.</p> - -<p>They did not understand that Ralph Unterzuyder, alias Carruthers -Straley, worked alone.</p> - -<p>They would find it out. And so would Bigger Bailes.</p> - -<p>He answered her direct question stiffly. "I shall continue to back -off, Fayette. Love is an emotion which can be defined in various -unflattering terms. I would not care to tumble your romantic castles! -My mother—"</p> - -<p>"Aha! Your mother!" She leaped upon the word with a knowing and very -wide grin. Then she took advantage of his pinned position against the -bulkhead to kiss him again, determinedly and hard. For a wild half of -eternity, his senses were swept away on a skittering whirlwind. Then by -main force he tore away and lunged down the corridor.</p> - -<p>"Mr. Straley!" There was a bubble of repressed laughter. "I was going -to ask if you'd take me to the dance!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>He did not answer. His flight was precipitous. It was not for several -minutes that he realized the loss of his glasses had not impeded his -vision. He leaned weakly against a bulkhead. Very early in life, his -parents had insisted that the inherited weak eyes of the Unterzuyders -be made normal with ocular aids. Indeed, powerful, dark eye-glasses had -grown, over the generations, to be a symbol of Unterzuyder autocracy.</p> - -<p>His parents had been wrong.</p> - -<p>Perhaps they had been wrong in other things.</p> - -<p>He shuddered. Without his eye-glasses, he hardly felt himself to be an -Unterzuyder.</p> - -<p>Slowly, memory of his original purpose in ordering Captain Foshag to -throw a dance came back.</p> - -<p>In the ballroom, Beecher would be strutting to win the favor of -somebody's wife.</p> - -<p>With a bit more success, Fayette would have a dozen young husbands -circling her moth-like.</p> - -<p>Intrigue, thought Unterzuyder, and subtlety, is ever the adventurer's -most potent weapon. The great general indirectly entices the foe away -from his own most strongly held point!</p> - -<p>Several minutes later, he was fitting his pass-key into the door of the -Beechers' stateroom. He closed the door, switched on the radi-lights. -The efficiently furnished little rooms were brightly illumined.</p> - -<p>The map. Where? Start at the beginning. At first glance, <i>Tertium -Organum</i> was not in the bookcase. Then he reached in back of the row of -lurid fiction titles and knew he had guessed correctly.</p> - -<p>A little too correctly!</p> - -<p>He felt one of the few cold chills of his life traveling on his spine. -He opened the book and the map fell out. He sat down weakly. His -fingers trembled as he smoothed out the heavy rag parchment.</p> - -<p>A map of the Solar System. He dizzied. X marks the asteroid. Just as he -remembered seeing it that long ago day when his great father showed it -to him.</p> - -<p>His father, that stern-faced giant in whom the valiant blood of the -hibernating Unterzuyders flowed, had been most explicit. One of these -years, the map would be given to Ralph. He would guard it with his -blood. In the course of time, Ralph would give it to <i>his</i> son.</p> - -<p>At long last, the hibernaculum would be opened, the dozen -hibernating Unterzuyders would be brought to life with injections of -anti-somnolene, and would once more take over their rightful place of -dominance in the Solar System.</p> - -<p>The position they had been scourged from by a relentless political -regime which had smashed the Unterzuyders' fabulous tri-planet cartels, -leaving the remnants in the form of a thousand rigidly controlled small -holding companies.</p> - -<p>The position they had been forced to flee from, leaving only their -children—and a hidden map.</p> - -<p>Unterzuyder's fingers still shook. Sweat dribbled down his blonde -hair-line. Something was wrong. Everything was wrong. The map itself -was hideously out of scale.</p> - -<p>The traced orbits of the planets were circular, <i>not</i> elliptical.</p> - -<p>And the map itself.</p> - -<p><i>I should not have found it so easily</i>.</p> - -<p>Counter-intrigue?</p> - -<p>No time to lose.</p> - -<p>From his inside pocket, he took the flat little duplico-camera, -adjusted the frame over the map. He flipped the shutter. Seconds later, -the map was back exactly where he'd taken it from.</p> - -<p>There was only one sound in this quiet room, the tremor of the -gas-thrust shoving the ship through dark void into the spaces beyond -Jupiter. Suddenly, there was the scuffle of moving feet beyond the door.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Unterzuyder found himself in the position of a traveler in an alien -city where savage little children had switched all the street signs. -Nonetheless, he lunged for the door, threw off the lights in the -stateroom, opened the door, closed it, stood with his back pressed -against it.</p> - -<p>Hurrying footsteps. Unterzuyder was after the sound.</p> - -<p>The big, hurrying frame of Captain Foshag. Unterzuyder grabbed his -arm, whipped him around. Foshag's hairy, dignified face was wrenched -with astonishment.</p> - -<p>"Mr. Straley," he said uncertainly. His brow clouded. He looked at -Unterzuyder's grip on his heavy arm and frowned with displeasure. He -shook off the hand. "I'm not used to being manhandled, sir! You've -perhaps imbibed too much at the party?" He was being sternly insulting.</p> - -<p>Unterzuyder crumbled. He could be wrong.</p> - -<p>"I—haven't been well. My heart—" He touched at his chest -apologetically. It wasn't too far from the truth. Pains in his chest. -His mother had always assured him the Unterzuyders were prone to heart -trouble. Just as she'd got around to making him wear glasses. Terrible -uncertainties were crowding him. He was surrounded by treachery. Had -Foshag been shadowing him?</p> - -<p>Foshag's great frame rocked judicially on its toes.</p> - -<p>"If you truly have a bad heart," he said measuredly, "you'd have -taken the long trail when the <i>Ares</i> hit heaven. We humans often are -plagued with strange influences. Words spoken to the unguarded mind of -the child sometimes become fact to the grownup. I'd not worry about -the heart. And now, the reason I am away from the turret. I've been -looking for you."</p> - -<p>He cleared his throat. "There's a king-sized ship of the Silver type -on our tail, Mr. Straley. I'm not the worrying kind, however. Worry is -indeed the prime cause of most kidney troubles, and, besides, beclouds -the mind when there's work to be done. Therefore, not until I observed -that the pursuing craft was indeed pursuing—"</p> - -<p>"Come to the point!" Everything else was swept away. Unterzuyder was -suddenly furious at this big, stupid, philosophizing blunderer. "You're -trying to excuse yourself for not telling me right away. Let's get to -the turret!"</p> - -<p>Unterzuyder went at full stride, his brain in high gear. They were -being pursued. That arrogant Bigger Bailes, no doubt! So what? Add one -more menace to those he was collecting. In fact, mess up the mess a -little more.</p> - -<p>"Captain Foshag," he said, "you are a well-read man. Ever read -Ouspensky?"</p> - -<p>Foshag nodded his square bearded chin. "A man of vast creative mental -power, Mr. Straley. A man who seemed able to step off our three -dimensions and look at the universe from a new viewpoint." Tentatively: -"You have an interest in the classical philosophers, perhaps?"</p> - -<p>Unterzuyder muttered something garbled. He trotted ahead of Foshag up -the ramp to the glassed-in control turret, went past several instrument -men to the viewing disk assembly. Foshag hurriedly got the pursuing -ship on the cross-hairs. It was a great globoid catching golden-green -sun on one half, black interstellar shadow on the other.</p> - -<p>"Raise it on the beam!" Unterzuyder ordered.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Moments later, Ralph Unterzuyder was looking into the detested face of -Bigger Bailes.</p> - -<p>"That's me," smiled Bigger, his rosy face creasing. "Bigger Bailes. And -how are you, Mr. Ralph Unterzuyder?" His smile became even more rosy.</p> - -<p>Unterzuyder gulped. He was completely dismayed. Captain Foshag showed -no reaction at the unmasking. Captain Foshag kept his face turned -studiously away.</p> - -<p>Unterzuyder felt himself going into a spin.</p> - -<p>But he drew himself up and said haughtily, "Kindly keep your inside -information to yourself, Mr. Bigger Bailes. I travel under the name of -Carruthers Straley merely because there is an unsavory flavor to the -name of Unterzuyder!</p> - -<p>"Now, why are you following us?"</p> - -<p>"Following you?" Bigger Bailes appeared injured. "I'm trying to catch -up with you. I intend to come aboard—"</p> - -<p>"<i>You will not!</i>" Unterzuyder yelled the words so loud the crew members -in back of him half-jumped from their charts.</p> - -<p>Bigger's image wavered on the screen as he leaned forward and settled -back.</p> - -<p>"I didn't expect such a reaction, Mr.—Straley," he said. His little -eyes, almost hidden by fat, were penetrating. "I'd almost think you -were hiding something. Are you?"</p> - -<p>Foshag raised a commanding hand. "That'll be enough of that," he -commanded. "We're a law-abiding ship. I myself am an honest man. -Secrecy gives rise to certain nervous disorders which I avoid. If you -wish to come aboard, perhaps you are taking advantage of some Space -Article?"</p> - -<p>"Taking advantage? If you want to put it that way. Two of my men -are down sick. The usual spastic seizures. We've run out of ATG. -We're coming aboard your ship to get some. Article 10b of the Space -Constitution gives us that right."</p> - -<p>Unterzuyder brushed Foshag aside.</p> - -<p>"I warn you, Mr. Bailes," he said thickly, "if you have any ulterior -motive, such as looting this ship, we will put up a fight! Our -settlers were chosen for their intrepid qualities. We have guns. We -have bombs. We have a flare-cannon. You will not find us easy prey!"</p> - -<p>Bailes leaned back easily. "Relax, Unterzuyder. As far as guns -go, we've got our share. And we have got a brace of flare-cannons -embrasured into the bulkheads of the <i>Space-Queen</i> ourselves, if you -want to get tough."</p> - -<p>He spread his fat hands. "But who wants to get tough? See you -gentlemen, aboard your ship, twenty-four hours from now." With which -remark he broke contact.</p> - -<p>Unterzuyder was at Foshag instantly.</p> - -<p>"Not a word about my identity," he breathed. "After all, I did pay you -a thousand credits!"</p> - -<p>"And for which I thanked you! Mr. Unterzuyder, I am not a secretive -man. If asked a direct question, I seldom impair my health by lying. -Now permit me to return to my duties."</p> - -<p>Fuming, Unterzuyder left the control turret, went straight to the -ballroom. Here, without any hesitation whatever, he cut in on Fayette, -taking her away from the handsomest husband in the lot. No word of -apology.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>He held her very close, very tight. He danced with a mathematical -precision. Even the soul of the dance, he reflected grimly, derives -from a mathematical formula. The dummy four-piece band haggered out -its hag-strut very effectively. He was rewarded as Fayette lost her -surprised stiffness, and began to melt into him in perfect rhythm to -the tune. Her blonde head gradually nestled into his shoulder, her eyes -closed, a small, sweet smile on her lips.</p> - -<p>At the first opportunity, he swung her without a break to a small -observation lounge, and in the cold green glow of a million stars drew -her to him, letting himself be stunned by the warmth of her and the -drugging quality of her perfume. He kissed her. He was carried away -into a land of intricate enchantment where Love is All, and the Girl in -my Arms is You.</p> - -<p>She opened her eyes, looking at him dreamily. "I love you," she -murmured.</p> - -<p>"I know," said Unterzuyder.</p> - -<p>"I don't know what your intentions are. I don't care what kind of a -sneaky, underhanded person you are, I still love you."</p> - -<p>He kissed her again. She was crying. Unterzuyder took out his -handkerchief and wiped away her tears. "Now don't worry, Fayette," he -soothed. "Everything will turn out all right." He took her back to the -dance floor. By luck he found the young husband she'd been dancing -with. He gave her back.</p> - -<p>"Sorry!" he said. He gave Fayette a fleeting smile and hurriedly took -off.</p> - -<p>He went to his cabin and feverishly got to work. Plug up the loopholes -as you go along! A favorite axiom of the Unterzuyders. Now that Fayette -was in love with him, he could draw on her for any emergency.</p> - -<p>Apparently the time was coming when he would need an ally.</p> - -<p>He ran the negative through the hypo, put it in the dryer and paced -the floor. He rubbed at his lips with the back of his hand. He could -still smell Fayette's perfume. He could still feel her bare warm back. -Careful, careful. He went to a mirror and looked at his face. Weak. The -glassless eyes red-rimmed. Thin nose and lips. His spirits dropped. How -could Fayette be in love with him? Particularly when he was one of the -outlawed Unterzuyders.</p> - -<p>The finished photograph went into the automatic pantograph. He blew -it up six times onto a square of Mirac paper. He smoothed the new map -onto the desk. Instantly he saw why at first the map had appeared so -impossibly distorted. The circles did not indicate the orbits of the -planets. They were merely a logarithmic indication of the scale of the -map.</p> - -<p>Mercury, being some 43,000,000 miles from the Sun, was the basic unit. -And that was necessary.</p> - -<p>The Solar System could not be drawn to scale unless the inner planets -were crowded in fractionally close to the Sun.</p> - -<p>Here, the positions of the planets were indicated by dots whose -map-distance from the Sun receded inward in logarithmic ratio to actual -distance.</p> - -<p>Pluto, for instance, being one hundred times farther from the Sun than -Mercury in real distance, appeared by the map to be only, roughly, -twenty times as far.</p> - -<p>The position of the dot-planets on the map of course indicated the -<i>exact</i> date of the day when the map was drawn.</p> - -<p>The finely drawn X showed the position of the hibernaculum asteroid <i>on -that day</i>.</p> - -<p>Since then, roughly eighty-two years ago, X had moved in its orbit. -Where to?</p> - -<p>That was the problem.</p> - -<p>Unterzuyder sweated. It was said by the Unterzuyders, with possible -justification, that only an Unterzuyder could think like an -Unterzuyder. How often his father had told him that. But he was -confused.</p> - -<p>Naturally. The map was meant to confuse.</p> - -<p>What were the figures at the bottom of the map?</p> - -<table summary="map figures"> -<tr><td>s-1</td><td align="right"> .7452</td></tr> -<tr><td>c-1</td><td align="right"> -.2020</td></tr> -</table> - -<p>and</p> - -<table summary="map figures"> -<tr><td>(0, 3, 2)</td></tr> -<tr><td>(1, 1, 8)</td></tr> -</table> - -<p>And why, at the top corner, was the name unterzuyder printed <i>with a -small u</i>?</p> - -<p>Nobody but an Unterzuyder would know.</p> - -<p>Well, he didn't know.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Puzzled, he paced the room. Tomorrow Bigger Bailes would force his -way aboard ship. Little could be done to stop him, partly because he -insisted he needed ATG, a chemical staff of life necessary for muscular -action, but mostly because he had superior fire-power. Actually, he -wanted the map. If he didn't get it, he would inevitably loot the ship.</p> - -<p>He paused before the mirror, again. Glassless, he didn't feel like an -Unterzuyder. Looking upon himself naked of face, he cringed. If only -the whole thing were over. If only he were in the observatory under the -greenly burning stars with—</p> - -<p>Frantically he stopped that line of thought.</p> - -<p>He hauled out a sheaf of maps. He had come prepared. He had brought the -duplico-camera, the film developing equipment, the pantograph, other -odds and ends. He had a shelf-full of celestial mechanic manuals, as -well as books on the more ordinary arithmetics.</p> - -<p>But he had had only one year of math. Somewhere along the line, he had -outguessed his patriarch of a father and his matriarch of a mother: law -had been the result.</p> - -<p>Well suited, he had felt at the time, to the trickery, the deceit, and -the orneriness of the typical Unterzuyder mind!</p> - -<p>Anyway, he needed a slide-rule before he could tackle the equations. -For the present, he would work out the date the map was made. Then it -would be possible to discover X's present position.</p> - -<p>All that was necessary was, mathematically, to rotate the present-time -position of the planets backward in time—clockwise, that is—until -they coincided with map-position.</p> - -<p>The star-maps, the Emphemeris, and the Planet Catalogue should make -that fairly simple.</p> - -<p>After an hour, his nerves began to quiver. He ran his hands -distractedly through his awry blonde hair. He had the answer. And it -was impossible. Except that it was correct.</p> - -<p>Apparently, the map had been drawn up in prehistoric times.</p> - -<p>50,000 years ago!</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>After a virtually sleepless sleep-period, he went to breakfast. The -settlers were in a happy chattering mood. Titan was only ten days away. -Unterzuyder ate with the pressure of the Beechers' eyes on him.</p> - -<p>Nathaniel Beecher showed quiet menace on a face that ordinarily held -grinning, shifty-eyed comraderie. Fayette had sullen, angry shadows -under her eyes. Perhaps she was smarting under a humiliation that -might make her do dangerous things. He had left her rather abruptly at -the dance. Unterzuyder bit his lip. Perhaps he had not covered that -situation as well as he might.</p> - -<p>Remorse was an emotion new to Unterzuyder. But then he had suffered -some kind of mental upset when his glasses shattered under Fayette's -heel. He could see as well as the next man, and consequently was -beginning to have some shattering doubts about the wisdom of his -immediate ancestors. And he <i>was</i> a man.</p> - -<p>He gulped. All these were dangerous thoughts. He must continue to think -like an Unterzuyder.</p> - -<p>Something devious. Something tricky. Something that would competently -accomplish the task of fooling the Beechers, Bigger Bailes, and -possibly Foshag!</p> - -<p>As he started out of the dining room, Beecher lunged after him, -trailing a rocket-stream of cigar smoke.</p> - -<p>"A minute, Straley!" Beecher held him from the door, his close-set -eyes full of dislike. "Foshag told me Bigger Bailes is back there." -He jerked a shoulder. "You're a man with many small tricks, Straley," -he went on slowly. "Probably you're the most dangerous man I've ever -encountered. I've been around."</p> - -<p>"I'll bet you have!"</p> - -<p>Beecher gestured with the cigar, turned on his grin, apparently to -convince anybody watching that this was a friendly conversation.</p> - -<p>"But I'm not letting you get away with anything. We have to do -something about Bailes. I don't intend to be hi-jacked. Truthfully, -mister, I don't see why the settlers shouldn't be forewarned. They're a -decent bunch. We're not.</p> - -<p>"In fact," his eyes were boring, "I've known from the first that you've -been using these people."</p> - -<p>"As you have—and as you've attempted to use me!"</p> - -<p>"Yes." Beecher's lips moved hesitantly. "You and I and Fayette are all -three getting a free ride to Titan, aren't we? No expenses. So now -that we've <i>almost</i> laid our cards on the table, why shouldn't we join -forces?"</p> - -<p>Unterzuyder drew himself up disdainfully. "I work alone, Beecher."</p> - -<p>"Yeah." Beecher showed disgust. "You mean you're working for something -no decent person would help you with."</p> - -<p>"And you mean by that?"</p> - -<p>Beecher's eyes simmered. He said nothing.</p> - -<p>Unterzuyder snapped. "I still work alone—unless forced to recruit -help. That condition may occur. In the meantime, use some of those -qualities of leadership an <i>explorer</i> should have. Inform these people -what's up. Tell them Bailes will probably attempt to loot the ship. -Line the men up at the arsenal and load them down with weapons. Make -arrangements so the women and children will keep to the cabins. Can you -handle that?"</p> - -<p>Beecher flushed until his face was bright red.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Leaving him properly insulted, Unterzuyder went to the control turret -where he cornered Foshag, drew him to the Solar Chart.</p> - -<p>Unterzuyder picked up a pencil, made an indentation at random. It was -considerably to the east of the <i>Ares'</i> present position.</p> - -<p>"Change course immediately. To that point."</p> - -<p>Foshag huffed rebelliously. "That won't help us outrun Bailes. The new -course will but give him a hypotenuse to travel. He'll run us down -quicker."</p> - -<p>Unterzuyder's lips turned thinner. Muttering, Foshag sat down to the -computations. On the way out of the turret, Unterzuyder slipped a -slide-rule out of an instrument case so deftly that nobody noticed.</p> - -<p>Another hour's work showed him that the two sets of figures, -respectively, indicated X's <i>point of origin</i> and <i>direction of -travel</i>. <i>c</i> stood for cosine, of course, <i>s</i> for sine.</p> - -<p>X had been, when the map was made, some degrees below the plane of the -ecliptic. Its orbit was at a steep slant to that plane.</p> - -<p>So what? So the point of origin was located in time 50,000 years ago?</p> - -<p>The map was a fake!</p> - -<p>He sat at the desk a long time, thinking, and thinking fast. Foshag -must have known who he was from the first. He was an observing man, but -he was also a close-mouthed man, who answered only to direct questions. -And the Beechers knew his identity too. Fayette had accidentally called -him by his real name. Treachery!</p> - -<p>Undoubtedly, Bigger Bailes had tipped off the Beechers, just before -Unterzuyder arrived at the Beechers' apartment in Marsport. Bigger -Bailes thought Unterzuyder knew where the map was, but didn't know the -Beechers had it. Bigger intended to let the situation stir itself up so -the asteroid's location would more easily come out of hiding.</p> - -<p>Yes, everything was wrong. Bigger would loot the ship when he learned -the map was a practical joke. Taking a ship this far beyond Jupiter -would have to pay off. And there was nobody to stop him.</p> - -<p>What was it his father told him about Unterzuyder techniques? Sell -short at the top, buy long at the bottom. All events, good or bad, -could be used to build a firmer superstructure!</p> - -<p>Well, face it! Ship's course had been changed. The settlers by this -time had demanded to know why. Beecher would tell them Carruthers -Straley was Ralph Unterzuyder, hunting for a hibernaculum!</p> - -<p>The settlers by this time were up in arms against him.</p> - -<p>He paled. He leaped to the door, listened. Footsteps. Patrolling his -room.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>He returned to the table. Make use of the situation. Dredge it for -what it's worth! He crossed shakily to the audio and called Fayette's -number. Luckily, Fayette and not her father answered.</p> - -<p>"Fayette—darling." The word came out huskily. It was hard to say. It -sounded real.</p> - -<p>"<i>Who?</i>" Then her voice was uneven. "You called me darling. Are you -sure you're in your right mind?"</p> - -<p>"I mean it, dear." <i>Did he?</i> "I couldn't forget last night."</p> - -<p>He was falling into the self-made trap of the dishonest, unable to tell -his own truth from his own falsehood.</p> - -<p>"All right," she said unevenly. "So you couldn't forget it? So what?"</p> - -<p>He spoke softly. Please, he had to see her in his room right away. It -was urgent. Would she come now? A long silence. Yes, she would come. -No, she wouldn't tell her father. Positively. Five minutes later -she slipped into the room. She barely opened the door. He took her -instantly into his arms. When he figured he had kissed her enough, he -let her drop limply into a chair.</p> - -<p>The circles under her eyes were worse. She looked miserable. He drew up -a chair, tenderly took her hands in his.</p> - -<p>"Look at me, Fayette. I'm going to make a confession that will shock -you. I'm not Carruthers Straley. I'm Ralph Unterzuyder."</p> - -<p>She didn't look shocked. He pretended not to notice.</p> - -<p>He told her selected portions of the story. "I suspected you had the -map. I examined <i>Tertium Organum</i> in your apartment yesterday when you -and your father were in the kitchen."</p> - -<p><i>And you wanted me to examine it! So I'd be sure to hire you and -Beecher and take you with me to Saturn. That was the reason you posed -as explorers, so Titan Settlers would give you a free ride to the -vicinity of X!</i></p> - -<p>"I broke into your room last night, Fayette, and made a copy of the -map."</p> - -<p><i>And you left it wide open for me, so I could put my Unterzuyder brains -to work deciphering it!</i></p> - -<p>"And now that I've deciphered the map—"</p> - -<p>That shocked her. "You <i>did</i>? But Daddy figured out it was made roughly -50,000 years ago!"</p> - -<p>His heart fell to the bottom of his stomach. The Beechers hadn't got -over that stumbling block either. He'd made a mistake in trying to pump -her. He smiled feebly. But salvage <i>something</i> out of it!</p> - -<p>"50,000 years," he said druggedly, "seems to be correct—"</p> - -<p>She was on her feet, laughing half hysterically. "You're trying to say -the Unterzuyders invented a time-machine? That they aren't hibernating -at all? After all the trouble we've gone to—" She giggled. "That's -rich, Ralph—"</p> - -<p>Female instability. He held her tightly. A lie, a good solid lie. His -heart raced. Bigger Bailes. "Of course not, dear. The whole idea of a -time-machine is fantasy—"</p> - -<p><i>Is it?</i></p> - -<p>"—and it'll make you feel better to know the map is purely -contemporary. You noticed the ship changed course? Well, dear, we are -headed toward X!"</p> - -<p>She pushed away, her eyes amazed.</p> - -<p>"And," he added happily, "you will also be glad to know that you and -I and your father are going to collect the reward for finding the -hibernaculum!"</p> - -<p>"<i>Really</i>, Ralph? That was your intention all along? You weren't going -to <i>free</i> them? Oh, I was hoping so hard you were going only after the -reward—"</p> - -<p>She switched her glance over his shoulder. Pity wrenched her face.</p> - -<p>Something hit Ralph Unterzuyder hard on the back of the head. He fell -straight down ten thousand miles, and lay there for quite a while -studying patterns of light that squirmed in his head.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Captain Foshag was dragging him to a chair. His tufted eyebrows came -close. He put a slopping cloth on Unterzuyder's forehead.</p> - -<p>He said, "For the time, you're a prisoner in this cabin. I trust the -experience will teach you some truths. Wickedness secretes various -poisons in the body, particularly the heart and the liver. Change your -ways, and you may indeed live a long life!"</p> - -<p>The door burst open and Beecher lunged in. His shrewd eyes rested on -Unterzuyder.</p> - -<p>"Sorry I had to bop you, Unterzuyder," he said in clipped accents. "But -it was the best way to get you out of the picture and keep you from -talking to Bigger Bailes. You might have messed up the works. As it -was, we told him the truth."</p> - -<p>"The truth?"</p> - -<p>"Certainly. You admitted it to Fayette. That you'd figured out the -orbit and present position of X. He got the course from Foshag and made -us turn around toward Titan again. Then he took off for X. So we're -whipped. But at least it kept us from being looted."</p> - -<p>Unterzuyder ripped the wet cloth from his head and threw it somewhere. -He laughed. He weaved about the room, holding his head and hooting, -while Foshag and Beecher looked on with open mouths. Then Foshag forced -him into a chair.</p> - -<p>"Out of his head! Mr. Unterzuyder, please be quiet. That's better. -There, there! Now we're going to leave you here for your own -protection, Mr. Unterzuyder. The settlers are somewhat provoked. Do you -agree?"</p> - -<p>Unterzuyder grinned widely up at him.</p> - -<p>"I'm sick," he groaned. "Tell Fayette I need her."</p> - -<p><i>There's still X to find.</i></p> - -<p>An idea had come to him.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>He was in bed, the white cloth on his forehead, when Fayette walked in. -She looked at him without sympathy. Tentatively, she sat on the edge of -the bed, curling one knee under another.</p> - -<p>"I'm sorry if you think I played Delilah, Ralph—" she began.</p> - -<p>He patted her knee delicately. "There, there," he soothed. "None of -that matters. Actually, we're two of a kind. Not that we're naturally -treacherous, but that we are indirect, the most dangerous weapon in the -world. I wanted to discuss our plans. You see, marriage is a—"</p> - -<p>She gripped his wrist, hard, to make him stop talking.</p> - -<p>She said through her teeth, "After this, nothing but the truth!"</p> - -<p>Inwardly he groaned.</p> - -<p>She went on with determination. "I <i>do</i> love you. I <i>do</i> want to marry -you. And settle on Titan. The important thing is, do <i>you</i> love me -and really want to marry me? Are you going to be honest with me about -things that concern only us? Of course, I don't mind if you're tricky -with other people. That's life."</p> - -<p><i>Well, why not?</i></p> - -<p>Unfortunately, he would be unable to use her anymore for purposes of -finding X. But apparently, he <i>was</i> in love with her.</p> - -<p>He held her warm hands. "We'll get married and live on Titan," he said.</p> - -<p>She leaned over and kissed him until he thought he'd be forced down -through the bed.</p> - -<p>He added, "But first I've got to get back in the good graces of the -settlers." When she smiled incredulously, he said with confidence, "It -should be easy."</p> - -<p>And besides, it was necessary.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>As soon as Fayette left, he leaped out of bed and grabbed an -encyclopaedia out of the bookcase. He looked up <i>Unterzuyder</i>, tracing -down until he found the expected paragraph:</p> - -<p><i>The fabulous cartels of the Unterzuyders were built up through their -amazing instinct on the stock market. When the market was bullish, -they seemed to know when the crest was reached. Selling short in heavy -amount at this point, they reaped millions in profit as the market -fell, then caught the market again on the upswing. Invariably, the -bulls were caught short by the Unterzuyder bears. The Unterzuyders -seemed to draw some special inspiration from one famous interpretation -of their name, i. e.</i>, undersiders, <i>those who work from the -underside</i>....</p> - -<p>Unterzuyder sent the book scurrying into a corner. His hunch had been -right. But now was not the time to work out the rest of the puzzle. He -dressed quickly.</p> - -<p>When he walked into the dining room, where dinner was in progress, he -was wearing the white bandage pinned around his forehead. He was also -limping very slightly. Sympathy was nonetheless lacking. Complete quiet -reigned in the dining room. The settlers kept their faces turned away, -or looked fixedly at their plates.</p> - -<p>Fayette's expression alone showed sympathy. He knew his own face was -fiery red.</p> - -<p>Nonetheless, he told the settlers everything he thought necessary. -(They knew it anyway.) He apologized. He pointed out deviously that, -after all, they <i>were</i> on the way to a new world. That much he had done -for them.</p> - -<p>"What you do not realize is that it was I, your leader, who diverted -Bigger Bailes from looting the ship.</p> - -<p>"Quite deliberately, I built up the feeling that the new course was the -course to X, the hibernaculum of my criminal ancestors. All of you were -convinced. Therefore Bailes became convinced.</p> - -<p>"Had he known the Unterzuyder map was a fake, he would have taken it -out on you by looting the ship. I sent him off on a wild goose chase!"</p> - -<p>Some of the settlers were looking at him with cautious interest. -Beecher rose at this point.</p> - -<p>"I can say something in favor of Mr. Unterzuyder," he said. "His -intentions were good. Mr. Unterzuyder was only after the reward money. -He did <i>not</i> intend to free the Unterzuyders, even though he is an -Unterzuyder himself. And half of the reward money was to go into the -treasury of Titan Settlers!"</p> - -<p>Unterzuyder looked pop-eyed at Beecher. But now the settlers were -frankly staring at him. After a moment, they began eating again. In -several minutes more, the hall was full of chatter again.</p> - -<p>After the most uncomfortable meal of his life, Unterzuyder headed for -the door. Beecher caught up with him, grinning companionably.</p> - -<p>"We did a good job, mister," he said. "I had my own reasons for backing -you up. This thing'll blow over. Then I've got some ideas. You and I -are sharpies, Unterzuyder. We could set up in business on Titan and -build up one of the biggest fortunes in the System, eventually. What do -you say?"</p> - -<p>Unterzuyder smiled wanly and said he would think it over. Then he went -to his cabin. In two hours, he had plotted X's location to the dot.</p> - -<p>Then he leaned back, nibbling nervously at the pencil eraser.</p> - -<p>In five days, with good fortune, the infamous Unterzuyders would be -awake and free....</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>It took him two days of cautious footwork before the settlers -completely dropped their hostility toward him. Then one evening he told -them simply that they still had Bigger Bailes to worry about.</p> - -<p>"When he discovers he's been fooled, it's possible he might head for -Titan and try to loot the settlement. We have to be ready. For several -weeks we'll have to be on guard. The space ship will be camouflaged. -For awhile we'll suspend building operations.</p> - -<p>"We'll be ready for offense and defense. We have three life boats which -are maneuverable in empty space or in an atmosphere. These life boats -must be equipped with food, with water, with weapons. I'm calling for -volunteers to help me with that job."</p> - -<p>It was a rude shock to Unterzuyder when Fayette became the first -volunteer.</p> - -<p>By the fourth day, the life boats were deadly offensive craft.</p> - -<p>Unterzuyder paid particular attention to one of the life boats himself. -Quite accidentally, it became loaded down with extra weapons and -supplies.</p> - -<p>Only one thing bothered him. Fayette was underfoot all the time.</p> - -<p>As the time of leaving approached, his nerves began to get the better -of him. The time, however, <i>did</i> come. At 22:04 on the fifth day, in -the middle of the sleeping period, he dialed open the airlock door to -the blister in which the stout little life boat nestled. He closed it -behind him, turned around. Fayette was standing at the hatch of the -little ship, slickly dressed in shiny boots, smart beige jodphurs, and -a blouse open at the throat.</p> - -<p>She was holding her pet neutron gun with the snout pointed toward him. -She was smiling confidently.</p> - -<p>"Ralph," she said, "in my hand I hold a weapon. It is not indirect. -It is not subtle. It does not practice deceit. It does not give -half-answers. It says 'yes,' and it says 'no'. That's all it says.</p> - -<p>"It also <i>gets</i> yes and no answers.</p> - -<p>"But don't be afraid of me, Ralph. I'm here to help you!"</p> - -<p>He found his voice. "Help me? I need no help! I work alone!"</p> - -<p>"Nobody works alone, Ralph. Ask Captain Foshag. Most people run on -compulsive commands given them by people who might even be dead. -Parents mostly. Positive suggestion. The mind works that way.</p> - -<p>"Sometimes people are made to feel they're unhealthy, only they aren't -really. Or they're told their eyes are bad. Or that they're superior to -other people.</p> - -<p>"It's just as if—" she frowned hard as if looking for an example "—as -if <i>your</i> parents were sitting inside that smart blonde head of yours, -Ralph, and telling you to free the Unterzuyders from their sleep. It's -something you feel you <i>have</i> to do.</p> - -<p>"But you <i>don't</i> have to, Ralph. I'm here to help you."</p> - -<p>He stared at her, stunned.</p> - -<p>He drew himself up arrogantly. "Put down that gun, Fayette."</p> - -<p>If anything, she held the gun more firmly, and moved it three inches -toward him.</p> - -<p>"Don't mistake me, Ralph," she said, her eyes cold. "This is a yes and -no game. No maybes or ifs. If you say yes when the gun says no, that's -too bad. If you say no when the gun wants yes, <i>that's</i> too bad. You -see how straightforward the three of us are?</p> - -<p>"But I and my pet neutron gun will give you time to think.</p> - -<p>"Tell me how you found X."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>He slumped weakly against the bulkhead, wiping at his forehead with the -back of a shaking hand.</p> - -<p>"There were enough clues," he said hoarsely.</p> - -<p>And there had been, at that. <i>Tertium Organum</i>, A Key To The Enigmas Of -The World, <i>was</i> a key. Its author, Ouspensky, looked at the universe -from a <i>different</i> viewpoint.</p> - -<p>The small <i>u</i> in unterzuyder meant that it was to be taken as a common -noun.</p> - -<p>And certainly the conclusion that the map was made 50,000 years ago was -itself an obvious clue!</p> - -<p>"We made our calculations on the assumption that the map had been made -looking at the Solar System from the north—from the star Polaris, -that is. It hadn't been. My ancestors drew the map from the unorthodox -reference point of the Southern Cross.</p> - -<p>"From the underside. I turned the negative upside down and made a new -map. Then I got right answers."</p> - -<p>"Very good," said Fayette. "The tricky Unterzuyders did live up to -their name. <i>Didn't</i> they, Ralph?"</p> - -<p>"Yes," he said shakily.</p> - -<p>The gun wavered. Fayette was blinking. "Ralph, do you love me?"</p> - -<p>"Yes...."</p> - -<p>"Are you being truthful? Will you always tell me the truth, the whole -truth?"</p> - -<p>"Yes...."</p> - -<p>"That's a good boy. Please keep on giving my pet the right answers. -Ralph, don't you know that if you freed the Unterzuyders I couldn't -ever look at you again?"</p> - -<p>There were angry tears in her eyes. Unterzuyder suddenly remembered the -time at the dance, when he had wiped away her tears. He should wipe -them away now. He was weakening. He was an Unterzuyder. He should be -strong. There was his duty....</p> - -<p>"Fayette," he said hoarsely.</p> - -<p>"Stand back." Her chin came up. "Answer the question! Yes or no."</p> - -<p>"Yes."</p> - -<p>"Do you want to marry me?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, Fayette."</p> - -<p>Her mouth opened and closed. Suddenly her shoulders heaved and she -shook her head blindly. The gun dropped to her side. "Oh, Ralph. I -can't do it. I was going to ask you if you still wanted to go ahead -with it. But I can't. I can't force you. You'll have to make up your -own mind!" She turned away, hiding her face with one arm. Instantly, he -leaped for her, tearing the gun from her hand.</p> - -<p>He looked at it where it lay black and ugly in his hands. He was seeing -it very well, with his excellent Unterzuyder eyes. It slipped from his -hand and fell to the floor. He let it lie, and took Fayette into his -arms.</p> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK X MARKS THE ASTEROID ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -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™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™ -concept and trademark. 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