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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..cff1ef1 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #66613 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/66613) diff --git a/old/66613-0.txt b/old/66613-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 6f3c7c1..0000000 --- a/old/66613-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1063 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Last Plunge, by S.J. Sackett - -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: The Last Plunge - -Author: S.J. Sackett - -Release Date: October 26, 2021 [eBook #66613] - -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 THE LAST PLUNGE *** - - - - - The Last Plunge - - By S. J. Sackett - - Granting the need for money, a man will do - any dangerous job that comes along; Borgmann was - such a man; air lion diving off Uranus--the job! - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy - October 1955 - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - -When you are only about ninety degrees from absolute zero, it is not -hot, despite the fact that the sun is shining down on you twenty-four -hours a day. The answer to this riddle is that you are on Uranus, in -the arctic circle, where the sun is a bright star almost directly -overhead. And what are you doing on Uranus? You need the money. - -Nils Borgmann, however, was sweating. And the reason was that the -heating unit on his space suit, like the heating units on almost all -space suits, was not functioning properly. The breathing mechanism was -in good shape, however, and the oxygenerator on the raft pumped in -fresh air in satisfying amounts. - -Nils needed money badly, for he had a wife and seven children. So he -said, "Let me down a little farther." For he saw a big, white shape -dimly through the murk--an air lion. - -Up on the raft, where they heard the message, the drum went round and -paid out another twenty feet of the cable by which Nils Borgmann was -suspended in the Uranian atmosphere. Borgmann took aim and fired. - -The shape kept moving. An air lion's hide is so tough that you have to -hit it right under the ribs or through the eye in order to kill it, and -Nils could not see that one clearly enough, despite the headlamp on his -helmet. - -"Get it?" came the voice in his earphones. - -"I'll tell you when I've got one," Nils said. - -"We're sending down Petrone." - -"How about running the harpoon down to where I am?" - -"Okay, Nils. Sorry," the voice said. - -The radio was very comforting to Nils Borgmann. Through it he felt -close to the surface, as if he had friends ready to help him at any -moment. It made him forget the real dangers of his situation. - -Nils saw the harpoon come jerking down into his reach. He grabbed it -with his left hand, then held out his right for another shot at the air -lion. - -"Take it easy," Petrone's voice came into his eardrums. "Don't get me -with that thing." - -"Can you see it? It's getting away from me." - -"I think so," Petrone said. "I think it's coming my way." - -"Oh," Nils said. That was one more bonus he wouldn't get. He looked -around, hoping to sight another lion. - -The sound of a muffled report came in over Nil's earphones. Then -Petrone swore in Italian. Nils always had to laugh because Petrone -would never swear in English. - -And then the white shape came looming through the murkiness right at -Nils's pistol. He could even see the animal's eye, whereas usually you -were lucky if you could distinguish the head. He raised his gun and -fired and had the satisfaction of seeing the lion flounder and thrash -and finally subside, floating aimlessly in the air. - -"Got it," Nils said, grinning. That was another bonus, and each time -Nils got a bonus, one of his kids had enough money to get through -college. He threw the harpoon and snagged the beast just behind it's -right foreflipper. Pulling in the harpoon cable, he made certain that -the weapon was firmly embedded in the lion's flesh. - -"Pull away," he said. - -"We think you'd better come up, too," they said on the raft. - -"Okay," Nils said. There was only one more child to earn an education -for, and then he was going to quit. - -He and the dead lion were pulled up through the atmosphere slowly and -gently, but side by side, so that he could look closely at the beast he -had killed. - - * * * * * - -Evolution had been kind to the air lion of Uranus. To the only animal -inhabitant of a planet whose surface temperature is -180 degrees -Centigrade, Evolution had granted the thickest fur coat of any -animal known to man and a cold-blooded circulatory system. To the -inhabitant of a planet whose atmosphere is mostly hydrogen and methane, -Evolution had given a complicated respiratory apparatus that breathed -in hydrogen and exhaled hydrogen sulfide. To retain the balance of -Uranian chemistry, Evolution had provided a brittle, yellow, rootless -plant-life that inhaled hydrogen sulfide and exhaled hydrogen. To the -inhabitant of a planet where most of the atmosphere was in a liquid -state, Evolution had seen to it that the air lion was perfectly capable -of living entirely in a liquid environment: a thick skin and heavy bone -structure enabled the air lion to withstand the heavy pressures of the -Uranian depths, gills made it possible for him to breathe liquids, -and his powerful flippers made him the strongest swimmer in the solar -system. - -One would say that a bountiful Providence had been good to the air -lion. Granted the inconveniences of its environment, certainly the air -lion was efficiently equipped by Nature to live on its home planet. -But Providence also provided the air lion with a natural enemy which -bade fair to exterminate the species. And that enemy was women--the -same women (or rather, their descendants) who caused the extermination -of the egret. Women on Earth had taken a fancy to air lion coats; and, -despite the high cost of these coats (between forty and fifty thousand -dollars), the number of air lions was decreasing more rapidly than any -species could withstand. - -To begin with, air lions were limited to the "northern" hemisphere -of Uranus. Uranus is a topsy-turvey planet, tipped on its axis and -rolling around the sun in the plane of its equator. The "northern" -hemisphere, then, is that side of the planet which is always turned -toward the sun--for which the sun is the pole star. This restriction on -the area in which air lions may thrive imposed a natural limitation on -the number of animals which there were in the first place. The demand -for air lion pelts--despite the fact that the beasts were so large -that an entire coat might be made from one of them--caused a dangerous -depletion. - - * * * * * - -Nils's helmet broke atmosphere, and then hands were grappling him, -helping him up the ladder, and pulling him aboard the "raft." The raft -actually was a well constructed metal vessel; but, as it did not need -a powerful engine, its motor was so weak that it hardly counted. Its -gunwales rose only a few feet out of the air. - -Nils, as usual, fell to the deck with a clatter. One of the -space-suited men on the raft knelt down to look at him. "Hi, Borgmann," -the man said. "Congratulations." His name was Kerr. - -Nils smiled. Yes, it was worth congratulations. He was now only one -lion--only one bonus--away from his goal, and then he could quit. And -he'd be glad to quit. Dangling by a cable in liquid atmosphere is not -safe work, and Borgmann was getting old for that kind of thing. - -Another man squatted down and said, "Yeah, Nils. Happy birthday." - -Birthday! Nils had forgotten all about it. That was right--he was -thirty-five today. Realizing that he must have looked puzzled, he -laughed. "It slipped my mind completely," he explained. "When you're -on another planet, Earth dates get all mixed up." - -Kerr said, "The captain's ordered you aloft for a physical check-up. It -came over the radio while you were down." - -Nils Borgmann stopped laughing. That could mean he'd never get a chance -to make another plunge, never have another crack at an air lion, never -collect that seventh bonus. They'd rotate him, put him on the mother -ship and fill in on the raft with a substitute. - -Nils clambered to his feet, helped by Kerr and the other man, and -walked over to take a look at the air lion he had just killed. It was -a good, big beast, its fur still that faint yellowish color that was -bleached out on Earth. It looked something like a walrus, but without -any tusks. - -"Just one more," Nils said, "and I'm going to quit. I've got thirty -thousand dollars in bonuses, on top of my pay." - -Kerr said, "That's almost enough to buy your wife an air lion coat. -That'd be a nice present, so that you could be reminded of your happy -days on Uranus every time she wore it." - -Nils laughed and said, "Go to hell." He was feeling pretty good again. -Kerr always perked him up. After all, a physical examination might be -just routine; they might find out that he could go on hunting air -lions for five more years if he wanted to. - -The scout came roaring over the horizon; but no one could hear it in -the airlessness. Somebody saw it and said, "Here comes Erskine!" and -everybody turned to watch. The scout was a gaudy red and came in low -over the surface of the atmosphere. It put out its pontoons and came to -a landing near the raft. Then it taxied over slowly, its jets running -at their lowest speed. When it got very close it cut its motors and men -in clumsy space suits grappled it and made it fast with ropes. - -Erskine hopped out of the scout. You could tell who it was from the -cocky stride and the colorfully decorated suit, which he spent hours in -painting and shining. "Who's Nils Borgmann?" he asked. "The lucky man -gets a trip upstairs for tonight. You scow jockeys will have to sleep -out in the cold again." - -Actually, the raftsmen lived in an air-filled bubble in the center of -the raft which was comfortable and warm. But it was a standing joke -that the men "upstairs," in the ship that wheeled idly in its orbit -around Uranus, slept in feather beds every night with all the comforts -of home except women--and some rumors even gave them that advantage. - -"Here I am," Borgmann said. - -"Let's go," Erskine said. "This smell offends my nostrils. I just don't -know how you guys stand it down here." - -Somebody guffawed, and somebody else began singing, "Swing low, sweet -chariot, comin' for to carry me home...." - - * * * * * - -Borgmann walked to Erskine's side and let the scout pilot boost him -into the cabin. "So long, suckers," Erskine said as he climbed into -the scout and clanged the door shut behind him. He pressed a button -which cleared out the faint traces of Uranian atmosphere in the cabin -and pumped in an Earth-type mixture. Then he unscrewed his helmet and -grinned at Nils, who by then was struggling with his own. "I hear you -got your sixth one today," he said, starting up the jets. - -"That's right," Nils answered self-consciously. - -"Well, that's good. There aren't many men with six lions to their -credit." He took off, and Nils could feel the scout rising, heading out -into space. - -Erskine was busy with his navigation, and Nils was glad that there -was little time for conversation. He leaned back and closed his eyes. -He was always tired after a plunge. But sleep would not come, and he -roused himself and peered out of the porthole. - -By this time the raft had dwindled to a speck on the vast, featureless -surface, and the scout had climbed high above it. The sky was black, -even though it was a region of eternal day. On the raft, far below, -little sparkles of light moved in a random dance--the headlamps of the -men. - -But out and away the scout moved until the horizon lay between it and -the raft. High and higher it went until the planet was a smooth, gray -ball beneath and behind it. And then, out of the black daylight sky, -a pattern of red and green lights seemed to take shape above them and -ahead. It was _Proserpine_, their ship. - -The scout and the ship fell toward each other at tremendous speeds: -the ship loomed huge, like a great silver cigar, then like a curved -wall, then like a metal hand someone was holding up just outside the -portholes so that you could not see out. It seemed to Nils that it was -inevitable that they crash. Erskine flipped the ship over, but there -was no discomfort because neither he nor Nils had any weight to be -displaced. And then Nils saw him flip the toggle that turned on the -scout's magnetic grapple. There was a scrape and a jarring bump that -sent Nils floating out into weightlessness. And the scout had arrived -home. - -The scout was swung into the ship by powerful motors, and after the -ringing of the bell which signified that the scout's berth was filled -with air, the two men emerged from the small craft and went into the -ship. Captain Davis was there to greet them. "Good trip," he told -Erskine. "Borgmann, I'll bet you're happy to get aboard ship again." He -shook hands vigorously. "We have a good hot dinner waiting for you, and -then a bath and a soft bed. You'll see Dr. Carpenter in the morning." - -And, after months on the raft, life on board _Proserpine_ was a luxury. -The food was good; even though it, like that on the raft, came from -cans, it was prepared with more artistry. There were no facilities for -bathing on the raft, and the streaming water of the shower and rich -suds of the soap was a real sensuous delight. And the beds--well, the -bunks on the raft were good, but there was something about the beds -on the ship that were so eminently sleepable that Nils dropped off -immediately, not even thinking about the physical examination. - - * * * * * - -It was the first thing he thought of, however, when he woke up in -the morning. And he was worried. It seemed, today, very real and -inescapable; last night the idea had been so new that he had not really -been fully aware of what it might mean. - -And immediately after breakfast he was subjected to it. The doctor was -thorough; Nils had to give him credit for that. And at the end, he -said, "Well, Borgmann, it looks like a vacation for you." - -Nils had been dreading those words so much that they were really not -much of a surprise to him. But still there was a dejection that he -could not overcome. He said, "What are the chances of my getting one -more lion before I have to quit?" - -The doctor was surprised. "Generally the men are glad enough to get off -Uranus. We'll have enough trouble getting one of _Proserpine's_ crewmen -to go down there and take your place." - -"I know," Nils said, "but with me it's different. I want one more -chance at a lion." - -"Well," the doctor said, "you'll have to take that up with Captain -Davis. But, my recommendation is that you stay up here on _Proserpine_ -until we go home." - -And so Nils took up the matter with Captain Davis. The captain was also -surprised. "I can't understand it, Nils. You have thirty thousand -dollars in bonuses already, on top of your salary of six thousand for -the year. Why do you want to go down again and take all those chances?" - -Nils was not a man for making speeches, but he did his best to explain -to the Captain that he had seven children, and it took one air lion to -get each of them a college education. He had one child unprovided for, -little Siegfried, and he didn't want to quit until he had taken care of -them all. - -"Well, that's very commendable, Nils, and I can appreciate your point. -But why are you so certain that it will take exactly five thousand -dollars to get each one through college? There are state universities, -you know, and they aren't very expensive. And if they ran short, they -could make their own way for part of the time, you know. Why don't you -just divide the money you have now among the seven kids?" - -"I can see I'm not explaining this so good," Nils said. "But they're -my kids, Captain, and I want to do it right for each of them in my own -way." The image of Eric--the oldest and his favorite--came into his -mind, and his eyes grew warm and moist. - -"Yes, I understand that, Nils, but--" - -"No, Sir, you don't understand. I have a dream, and I'm just about -to have it come true. You can't make me stop short now and change the -dream." He wanted to go on, but the words would not come to him. - -"Well," Captain Davis said, more seriously now, "maybe you are right." -He nodded, soberly. "Nils, you've been on Uranus about six Earth -months, now. The doctor says you shouldn't take even one more plunge. -It's hard work, and it's a strain, and you're wearing out. You're -wearing out gradually--but still faster, much faster, than a man would -on Earth, no matter what he did. But this isn't something that just -happened yesterday, Nils; it's been going on since you got here. You -were lucky we let you sign on, close as you were to the age limit. Who -can say when you finally crossed the danger line? Maybe a month, maybe -two months ago. You've been on borrowed time since then, whenever it -was. You shouldn't have taken that plunge yesterday, or perhaps the -last fifty plunges. Do you realize that?" - -"I guess so." - -"And we're doing you a favor. Instead of gambling with your life, you -can knock off now, take your thirty thousand dollars, and call yourself -the winner." - -"Captain, I don't care what you say. It's my dream, and I want to get -that seventh lion." - -"Nils, you're a stubborn cuss. All right. But the minute you get that -lion on your harpoon, we're hauling you up." - -Nils grinned happily. "That's a deal," he said. - -And so Erskine took Nils back down to the raft. - - * * * * * - -On Uranus there is no sense trying to make a man adapt to any of the -natural divisions of time there, such as the rotation of the moons -or the position of the sun; and as long as man is attuned to the -artificial twenty-four hour day anyway, that is the most convenient -unit of time. You have sixteen hours to yourself, for whatever you want -to do--sleeping, reading, playing the visitapes, or anything else that -strikes your fancy in the limited space of the air bubble, half of -which is always dark and the other half always light. - -But the other eight hours belong to the company. For six of them you -man the pumps or the radio equipment or the cable drum while the other -men plunge, and you make your plunges in the other two. - -When Nils went on duty that day, he was on the radio, and Kerr was -down below. The optimism he had felt after his talk with the captain -was dissipated. He realized that, after all, the air lions were a -disappearing species. He had been here hunting them for six months and -had bagged only six. One a month--yet that was the best record of any -of the men. And here he was, expecting to get his seventh in the next -day or so. - -Kerr was calling for more cable. Nils reassured him absently and -signaled the crew at the drum. - -The hunter said, "What's the matter, Nils? You don't sound happy." - -Nils said into the microphone, "Don't worry about me. You watch out for -those lions." - -He glanced at his watch. He had been on duty now only twenty minutes. -An hour and forty minutes to go before his plunge. Usually you took it -first, in order to be in your best condition, rested and untired. But, -because Nils had got out of order owing to his trip upstairs, he had to -take his plunge after he had already been on duty for two hours. - -That was bad. He would be just a little tired. He wouldn't be quite in -the right condition. His responses would be just a shade off. The work -would be just that much more dangerous. - -And then he thought, What if I don't get back? What if it's my last -plunge? What if I don't get that air lion? What if I die down there, -Siegfried unprovided for? - -Kerr's voice sounded: "I think I see one." - -"Need anything?" Nils asked. - -"Not so far. But I think there's something moving down there." - -"Good luck," Nils said. But his voice was empty. He was thinking of -himself. There were so many things that might happen to him down there, -and he had only now begun to think of them. - - * * * * * - -An air lion was a big creature. If one charged you, it could rip -you right away from any one or all three of the vital strands that -connected you with the surface--cable, air hose, or radio wire. -Actually, the loss of the radio wire was nothing. When there was a -total deadness in his earphones, the radioman signaled frantically and -the diver was hauled up. But loss of either of the other two was fatal. -If your air hose was cut, you died right away, not of lack of oxygen -but of the liquid methane and ammonium that got into your breathing -apparatus. If your cable was torn loose, there was a faint chance. -You hung on, if you could, until the old cable could be taken off the -drum and a new one put on. Then they sent it down and the other diver -snapped it to your suit. But the air hose alone might not be capable of -sustaining the heavy suit--and if it gave way before the new cable was -attached, you were dead. - -"There's one!" Kerr's voice was excited in his earphones. "I can see -him now. If he gets a little closer, I can get a shot at him." - -"We'll send down Newcomb," Nils said. He stood up and waved to the -installation, where Newcomb was sitting placidly, already hooked up to -cable, hose, and wire. Immediately Newcomb rose and clambered over the -side, down the ladder. - -Nils glanced at his watch again. Well, only an hour and ten minutes to -go. - -If an air lion didn't get you, there was the chance that your cable -would wear loose or that your air hose would get snarled. The air hose, -after all, was rubberoid and came down loose, not taut. You could get -a kink in it very easily and not be aware of it until that sudden -drowsiness that was oxygen starvation hit you. Then, if you could stay -conscious long enough, you could gasp it into the microphone: "My air -line's fouled!" And if they could get you to the surface fast enough, -or even just get the kink high enough to straighten it out, then you -were saved. If it took too long, you were gone. - -Kerr said, "Missed him, damn it." - -"Do you see him, Newcomb?" Nils asked. - -"Not yet," came the cheerful reply. - -"He's a big one," Kerr said. - -Forty-five minutes to go. Well, at least there was a big air lion down -there, if he hadn't been frightened off by Kerr's shot, and maybe he -would still be down there when Nils made his plunge. So there was a -chance, not a big one but a chance all the same, that Nils could pick -up his seventh lion today. - -But even if the lion was down there, it wasn't at all positive that -Nils would get him. That went without saying. After all, when you went -down every weekday for six months and got only six lions, then it was -pretty obvious that you couldn't always bag one when you wanted it. -There were--how many now?--twenty-four men on the raft, and so far -they'd got only forty pelts. About one every four days. Sometimes weeks -went by without a catch. - -"I think I see him now," said Newcomb. "He _is_ a big fellow. I don't -think I've ever seen a bigger one." - -"Can you get a shot at him?" Nils asked. - -"I'll try," Newcomb said. "He's coming straight for me. Lord, what a -monster. I think I--No, damn it, I missed. Here, let me--Damn it! -He's--" And then came that peculiar deadness in Nils's eardrums that -meant the radio wire had been severed. Nils jumped to his feet and -waved wildly to the crew at the drums. They began frantically to pull -Newcomb up. Soon he broke surface and was helped up the ladder. He -stood, bewildered, until one of the men led him into the bubble. - -"His radio wire snapped," Nils explained to Kerr. - -They wouldn't send Newcomb down again today--not after a narrow shave -like that. His nerve would be gone. - -Nils stood up. "I'm going down after that baby," he told the crewmen. -He began to work his way out of the complicated radio equipment, which -snapped on over his helmet to take advantage of the built-in radio in -his suit. "Petrone, you take the radio." - - * * * * * - -Petrone came lumbering over and accepted the rig. Nils sat on the -ready bench and let the other crewmen adjust the equipment he needed. -The rope hooked into the back of his suit; the air hose was connected -to the suit oxygenerator, which was strong enough to support a man in -airlessness but could not stand the pressure of the Uranian atmosphere -and thus needed assistance from the powerful pump on the raft; and the -radio wire attached to his light helmet rig. - -And then he was going over the side. He went down--way, way down--and -then he saw Kerr. - -"How is it?" Nils asked. - -Kerr gestured. "He's off that way. He took a swipe at me, and I tried -to get a shot at him. I think I took his ear off, but that's all. -Anyway, he lit out like a jet. I expect he'll be back, though; probably -he's too mad to think straight." - -They watched. While they watched, the harpoon was lowered to them. -Minutes passed, dragging by with interminable slowness while their -eyes searched the murky depths, the headlamps making strange patterns, -looking for the air lion. - -And then Nils spotted him--too late. "Look out behind you!" he shouted -desperately. - -But he was too late. The air lion's powerful flippers forced him -through the atmosphere with astonishing speed, and he struck Kerr with -tremendous force and impact before the other diver could even turn -around. - -"God!" Nils muttered into his mouthpiece, horrified, as the lines -snapped with the lion's onslaught and Kerr began to hurtle down toward -the bottom of the sea of atmosphere, down to where the Uranian air was -frozen solid. - -"Did it get him?" Petrone's voice sounded in the earphones. - -"Cut him off like a knife," Nils said. - -"We're going to pull you up. That baby's too rough to handle." - -"I'm staying down," Nils said. And the tone of his voice showed that he -meant it. - -"Well, we'll send Newcomb down again," Petrone said. - -"Let him get his rest," Nils said. "I just got here." - -The lion, meanwhile, had seen Nils with his weak eyes and was coming -toward him. Nils held up his pistol and took steady aim. He waited -until he could quite easily see that the lion did, in fact, lack an -ear. And then he pulled the trigger. - -Nothing happened. - -This occasionally occurred. The pistols were very intricate mechanisms, -designed so that none of the liquid atmosphere could get into them -at the same time that the bullet got out. And like all intricate -mechanisms, occasionally they went wrong. - -The air lion was coming closer, hurtling through the liquid air now -with strong beats of his powerful flippers. - -Nils pulled the trigger again. And again nothing happened. He could -feel the sweat running down his face. - -The lion was looming larger now; it was almost upon him. Nils could see -the creature's ugly, yellow eyes. - -He pulled the trigger a third time. One of the eyes suddenly -disappeared, to be replaced by a hole, from which a yellow fluid poured. - -But the impact of the bullet had not stopped the momentum of the lion. -The body fell into Nils with a sudden jerk. - -Nils dropped suddenly, then stopped with a wrenching snap. - -"What's the matter?" Petrone said in his earphones. - -Nils assessed the damage. - -"I've broken my cable," he said. "I've still got the air hose and radio -wire." - -Petrone swore softly in Italian. - -Nils changed the subject. "Get the harpoon about four feet lower, -quick. I don't want to lose this baby." - -The harpoon came down within his grasp, and he impaled the dead air -lion on it. - -"Okay," Nils said "haul him up." - - * * * * * - -The pale shape of the lion began to rise above him. The idea came to -him of attempting to grab hold of the lion so as to be pulled up with -it. One of the men in his predicament had tried that once; the harpoon -cable had broken and both man and lion had been lost. No, there was -nothing to do but wait--and pray. - -Nils dangled there, in the atmosphere, like a marionette on a single -string. Well, he thought, this may be the end. He tried to puzzle out -why he wasn't frightened. Was it because he was still full of triumph -from getting that seventh lion? Perhaps. But more likely it was because -there was still a chance that he could be saved, and a man never gives -up hope until he thinks that there isn't a chance any more. - -"Hold on, Nils," Petrone's voice said. "Everything's coming all right. -We have to put a new cable on Kerr's drum, too, you know. But we'll -have 'em both ready at about the same time, so that won't slow us down." - -"I think I'll drop my gun," Nils said. "It doesn't weigh very much, but -it may make a difference." - -"And lose the company five hundred smackers?" Petrone asked. "Okay it's -your salary they'll dock. I'd rather let the air lions get me." - -Nils chuckled. He worked the gun loose from his gauntleted hand--rather -an awkward process, for the guns were designed to be held securely by -heavy gloves. Then he released it and watched it plunge down. - -Down. - -Would he be following it? Would his last plunge end that way? - -For the first time he began to feel a twinge of fear. The sweat started -out on his forehead, and he could feel it under his arms. - -He loved his wife and every one of those seven kids. He wished he could -see just one of those kids again. Especially Eric. His memory showed -him Eric's grinning face, and he bit back a sob. - -But to die out here, millions of miles--hundreds of millions of -miles!--away from them, so that they wouldn't even know it for months: -that was too much. - -"We're ready to start," Petrone said. "I'm coming down myself to get -you." - -Nils didn't answer. He was thinking. How long have I been here already? -How much longer can I hold out? - -"Nils?" - -"I'm okay," he managed to mutter. - -What would it be like? How fast would you go? And what would you see, -down there on the bottom of the liquid layer of the Uranian atmosphere? -There would probably be more of those funny brittle yellow plants that -sometimes floated even this high; but no man had ever explored the -floor of the liquid air. Would it be smooth, like a ball? - -Kerr would be down there to keep him company. - -Damn it, he'd liked Kerr. - -Was it his imagination, or was he really starting to slip? The trouble -was that there wasn't anything he could use to measure by, no fixed -point to tell whether he was already going down or not. - -But once the air line broke, he'd be dead like that. He'd never see the -bottom even when he got there. - -Hundreds of millions of miles! "Eric!" - -Petrone's voice said, "What?" - -But Nils ignored him. - -What would it be like to die like that? Would he even know it? Or would -he strangle and gasp and shriek? He was sweating heavily now. - -Just once, O Lord, just once more. Just to see them. - -Well, this was his last plunge, either way. He was going to quit as -soon as he had his seventh lion; he had it now, and he was through. One -way or another. - -"Gotcha!" - -It was Petrone's voice. Nils couldn't hear the new cable click into -place in his back; but he felt it. - -And then he felt the slow and steady pull as he was drawn up out of the -depths. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LAST PLUNGE *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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Sackett. - </title> - <link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg" /> - - <style type="text/css"> - -body { - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - - h1,h2 { - text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ - clear: both; -} - -p { - margin-top: .51em; - text-align: justify; - margin-bottom: .49em; -} - -hr { - width: 33%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - margin-left: 33.5%; - margin-right: 33.5%; - clear: both; -} - -hr.chap {width: 65%; margin-left: 17.5%; margin-right: 17.5%;} -hr.tb {width: 45%; margin-left: 27.5%; margin-right: 27.5%;} - -.center {text-align: center;} - -.right {text-align: right;} - -/* Images */ -.figcenter { - margin: auto; - text-align: center; -} - -div.titlepage { - text-align: center; - page-break-before: always; - page-break-after: always; -} - -div.titlepage p { - text-align: center; - text-indent: 0em; - font-weight: bold; - line-height: 1.5; - margin-top: 3em; -} - - - </style> - </head> -<body> - -<div style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Last Plunge, by S.J. Sackett</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -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 <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: The Last Plunge</p> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: S.J. Sackett</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: October 26, 2021 [eBook #66613]</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 THE LAST PLUNGE ***</div> - -<div class="titlepage"> - -<h1>The Last Plunge</h1> - -<h2>By S. J. Sackett</h2> - -<p>Granting the need for money, a man will do<br /> -any dangerous job that comes along; Borgmann was<br /> -such a man; air lion diving off Uranus—the job!</p> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br /> -Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy<br /> -October 1955<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>When you are only about ninety degrees from absolute zero, it is not -hot, despite the fact that the sun is shining down on you twenty-four -hours a day. The answer to this riddle is that you are on Uranus, in -the arctic circle, where the sun is a bright star almost directly -overhead. And what are you doing on Uranus? You need the money.</p> - -<p>Nils Borgmann, however, was sweating. And the reason was that the -heating unit on his space suit, like the heating units on almost all -space suits, was not functioning properly. The breathing mechanism was -in good shape, however, and the oxygenerator on the raft pumped in -fresh air in satisfying amounts.</p> - -<p>Nils needed money badly, for he had a wife and seven children. So he -said, "Let me down a little farther." For he saw a big, white shape -dimly through the murk—an air lion.</p> - -<p>Up on the raft, where they heard the message, the drum went round and -paid out another twenty feet of the cable by which Nils Borgmann was -suspended in the Uranian atmosphere. Borgmann took aim and fired.</p> - -<p>The shape kept moving. An air lion's hide is so tough that you have to -hit it right under the ribs or through the eye in order to kill it, and -Nils could not see that one clearly enough, despite the headlamp on his -helmet.</p> - -<p>"Get it?" came the voice in his earphones.</p> - -<p>"I'll tell you when I've got one," Nils said.</p> - -<p>"We're sending down Petrone."</p> - -<p>"How about running the harpoon down to where I am?"</p> - -<p>"Okay, Nils. Sorry," the voice said.</p> - -<p>The radio was very comforting to Nils Borgmann. Through it he felt -close to the surface, as if he had friends ready to help him at any -moment. It made him forget the real dangers of his situation.</p> - -<p>Nils saw the harpoon come jerking down into his reach. He grabbed it -with his left hand, then held out his right for another shot at the air -lion.</p> - -<p>"Take it easy," Petrone's voice came into his eardrums. "Don't get me -with that thing."</p> - -<p>"Can you see it? It's getting away from me."</p> - -<p>"I think so," Petrone said. "I think it's coming my way."</p> - -<p>"Oh," Nils said. That was one more bonus he wouldn't get. He looked -around, hoping to sight another lion.</p> - -<p>The sound of a muffled report came in over Nil's earphones. Then -Petrone swore in Italian. Nils always had to laugh because Petrone -would never swear in English.</p> - -<p>And then the white shape came looming through the murkiness right at -Nils's pistol. He could even see the animal's eye, whereas usually you -were lucky if you could distinguish the head. He raised his gun and -fired and had the satisfaction of seeing the lion flounder and thrash -and finally subside, floating aimlessly in the air.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus.jpg" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>"Got it," Nils said, grinning. That was another bonus, and each time -Nils got a bonus, one of his kids had enough money to get through -college. He threw the harpoon and snagged the beast just behind it's -right foreflipper. Pulling in the harpoon cable, he made certain that -the weapon was firmly embedded in the lion's flesh.</p> - -<p>"Pull away," he said.</p> - -<p>"We think you'd better come up, too," they said on the raft.</p> - -<p>"Okay," Nils said. There was only one more child to earn an education -for, and then he was going to quit.</p> - -<p>He and the dead lion were pulled up through the atmosphere slowly and -gently, but side by side, so that he could look closely at the beast he -had killed.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Evolution had been kind to the air lion of Uranus. To the only animal -inhabitant of a planet whose surface temperature is -180 degrees -Centigrade, Evolution had granted the thickest fur coat of any -animal known to man and a cold-blooded circulatory system. To the -inhabitant of a planet whose atmosphere is mostly hydrogen and methane, -Evolution had given a complicated respiratory apparatus that breathed -in hydrogen and exhaled hydrogen sulfide. To retain the balance of -Uranian chemistry, Evolution had provided a brittle, yellow, rootless -plant-life that inhaled hydrogen sulfide and exhaled hydrogen. To the -inhabitant of a planet where most of the atmosphere was in a liquid -state, Evolution had seen to it that the air lion was perfectly capable -of living entirely in a liquid environment: a thick skin and heavy bone -structure enabled the air lion to withstand the heavy pressures of the -Uranian depths, gills made it possible for him to breathe liquids, -and his powerful flippers made him the strongest swimmer in the solar -system.</p> - -<p>One would say that a bountiful Providence had been good to the air -lion. Granted the inconveniences of its environment, certainly the air -lion was efficiently equipped by Nature to live on its home planet. -But Providence also provided the air lion with a natural enemy which -bade fair to exterminate the species. And that enemy was women—the -same women (or rather, their descendants) who caused the extermination -of the egret. Women on Earth had taken a fancy to air lion coats; and, -despite the high cost of these coats (between forty and fifty thousand -dollars), the number of air lions was decreasing more rapidly than any -species could withstand.</p> - -<p>To begin with, air lions were limited to the "northern" hemisphere -of Uranus. Uranus is a topsy-turvey planet, tipped on its axis and -rolling around the sun in the plane of its equator. The "northern" -hemisphere, then, is that side of the planet which is always turned -toward the sun—for which the sun is the pole star. This restriction on -the area in which air lions may thrive imposed a natural limitation on -the number of animals which there were in the first place. The demand -for air lion pelts—despite the fact that the beasts were so large -that an entire coat might be made from one of them—caused a dangerous -depletion.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Nils's helmet broke atmosphere, and then hands were grappling him, -helping him up the ladder, and pulling him aboard the "raft." The raft -actually was a well constructed metal vessel; but, as it did not need -a powerful engine, its motor was so weak that it hardly counted. Its -gunwales rose only a few feet out of the air.</p> - -<p>Nils, as usual, fell to the deck with a clatter. One of the -space-suited men on the raft knelt down to look at him. "Hi, Borgmann," -the man said. "Congratulations." His name was Kerr.</p> - -<p>Nils smiled. Yes, it was worth congratulations. He was now only one -lion—only one bonus—away from his goal, and then he could quit. And -he'd be glad to quit. Dangling by a cable in liquid atmosphere is not -safe work, and Borgmann was getting old for that kind of thing.</p> - -<p>Another man squatted down and said, "Yeah, Nils. Happy birthday."</p> - -<p>Birthday! Nils had forgotten all about it. That was right—he was -thirty-five today. Realizing that he must have looked puzzled, he -laughed. "It slipped my mind completely," he explained. "When you're -on another planet, Earth dates get all mixed up."</p> - -<p>Kerr said, "The captain's ordered you aloft for a physical check-up. It -came over the radio while you were down."</p> - -<p>Nils Borgmann stopped laughing. That could mean he'd never get a chance -to make another plunge, never have another crack at an air lion, never -collect that seventh bonus. They'd rotate him, put him on the mother -ship and fill in on the raft with a substitute.</p> - -<p>Nils clambered to his feet, helped by Kerr and the other man, and -walked over to take a look at the air lion he had just killed. It was -a good, big beast, its fur still that faint yellowish color that was -bleached out on Earth. It looked something like a walrus, but without -any tusks.</p> - -<p>"Just one more," Nils said, "and I'm going to quit. I've got thirty -thousand dollars in bonuses, on top of my pay."</p> - -<p>Kerr said, "That's almost enough to buy your wife an air lion coat. -That'd be a nice present, so that you could be reminded of your happy -days on Uranus every time she wore it."</p> - -<p>Nils laughed and said, "Go to hell." He was feeling pretty good again. -Kerr always perked him up. After all, a physical examination might be -just routine; they might find out that he could go on hunting air -lions for five more years if he wanted to.</p> - -<p>The scout came roaring over the horizon; but no one could hear it in -the airlessness. Somebody saw it and said, "Here comes Erskine!" and -everybody turned to watch. The scout was a gaudy red and came in low -over the surface of the atmosphere. It put out its pontoons and came to -a landing near the raft. Then it taxied over slowly, its jets running -at their lowest speed. When it got very close it cut its motors and men -in clumsy space suits grappled it and made it fast with ropes.</p> - -<p>Erskine hopped out of the scout. You could tell who it was from the -cocky stride and the colorfully decorated suit, which he spent hours in -painting and shining. "Who's Nils Borgmann?" he asked. "The lucky man -gets a trip upstairs for tonight. You scow jockeys will have to sleep -out in the cold again."</p> - -<p>Actually, the raftsmen lived in an air-filled bubble in the center of -the raft which was comfortable and warm. But it was a standing joke -that the men "upstairs," in the ship that wheeled idly in its orbit -around Uranus, slept in feather beds every night with all the comforts -of home except women—and some rumors even gave them that advantage.</p> - -<p>"Here I am," Borgmann said.</p> - -<p>"Let's go," Erskine said. "This smell offends my nostrils. I just don't -know how you guys stand it down here."</p> - -<p>Somebody guffawed, and somebody else began singing, "Swing low, sweet -chariot, comin' for to carry me home...."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Borgmann walked to Erskine's side and let the scout pilot boost him -into the cabin. "So long, suckers," Erskine said as he climbed into -the scout and clanged the door shut behind him. He pressed a button -which cleared out the faint traces of Uranian atmosphere in the cabin -and pumped in an Earth-type mixture. Then he unscrewed his helmet and -grinned at Nils, who by then was struggling with his own. "I hear you -got your sixth one today," he said, starting up the jets.</p> - -<p>"That's right," Nils answered self-consciously.</p> - -<p>"Well, that's good. There aren't many men with six lions to their -credit." He took off, and Nils could feel the scout rising, heading out -into space.</p> - -<p>Erskine was busy with his navigation, and Nils was glad that there -was little time for conversation. He leaned back and closed his eyes. -He was always tired after a plunge. But sleep would not come, and he -roused himself and peered out of the porthole.</p> - -<p>By this time the raft had dwindled to a speck on the vast, featureless -surface, and the scout had climbed high above it. The sky was black, -even though it was a region of eternal day. On the raft, far below, -little sparkles of light moved in a random dance—the headlamps of the -men.</p> - -<p>But out and away the scout moved until the horizon lay between it and -the raft. High and higher it went until the planet was a smooth, gray -ball beneath and behind it. And then, out of the black daylight sky, -a pattern of red and green lights seemed to take shape above them and -ahead. It was <i>Proserpine</i>, their ship.</p> - -<p>The scout and the ship fell toward each other at tremendous speeds: -the ship loomed huge, like a great silver cigar, then like a curved -wall, then like a metal hand someone was holding up just outside the -portholes so that you could not see out. It seemed to Nils that it was -inevitable that they crash. Erskine flipped the ship over, but there -was no discomfort because neither he nor Nils had any weight to be -displaced. And then Nils saw him flip the toggle that turned on the -scout's magnetic grapple. There was a scrape and a jarring bump that -sent Nils floating out into weightlessness. And the scout had arrived -home.</p> - -<p>The scout was swung into the ship by powerful motors, and after the -ringing of the bell which signified that the scout's berth was filled -with air, the two men emerged from the small craft and went into the -ship. Captain Davis was there to greet them. "Good trip," he told -Erskine. "Borgmann, I'll bet you're happy to get aboard ship again." He -shook hands vigorously. "We have a good hot dinner waiting for you, and -then a bath and a soft bed. You'll see Dr. Carpenter in the morning."</p> - -<p>And, after months on the raft, life on board <i>Proserpine</i> was a luxury. -The food was good; even though it, like that on the raft, came from -cans, it was prepared with more artistry. There were no facilities for -bathing on the raft, and the streaming water of the shower and rich -suds of the soap was a real sensuous delight. And the beds—well, the -bunks on the raft were good, but there was something about the beds -on the ship that were so eminently sleepable that Nils dropped off -immediately, not even thinking about the physical examination.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>It was the first thing he thought of, however, when he woke up in -the morning. And he was worried. It seemed, today, very real and -inescapable; last night the idea had been so new that he had not really -been fully aware of what it might mean.</p> - -<p>And immediately after breakfast he was subjected to it. The doctor was -thorough; Nils had to give him credit for that. And at the end, he -said, "Well, Borgmann, it looks like a vacation for you."</p> - -<p>Nils had been dreading those words so much that they were really not -much of a surprise to him. But still there was a dejection that he -could not overcome. He said, "What are the chances of my getting one -more lion before I have to quit?"</p> - -<p>The doctor was surprised. "Generally the men are glad enough to get off -Uranus. We'll have enough trouble getting one of <i>Proserpine's</i> crewmen -to go down there and take your place."</p> - -<p>"I know," Nils said, "but with me it's different. I want one more -chance at a lion."</p> - -<p>"Well," the doctor said, "you'll have to take that up with Captain -Davis. But, my recommendation is that you stay up here on <i>Proserpine</i> -until we go home."</p> - -<p>And so Nils took up the matter with Captain Davis. The captain was also -surprised. "I can't understand it, Nils. You have thirty thousand -dollars in bonuses already, on top of your salary of six thousand for -the year. Why do you want to go down again and take all those chances?"</p> - -<p>Nils was not a man for making speeches, but he did his best to explain -to the Captain that he had seven children, and it took one air lion to -get each of them a college education. He had one child unprovided for, -little Siegfried, and he didn't want to quit until he had taken care of -them all.</p> - -<p>"Well, that's very commendable, Nils, and I can appreciate your point. -But why are you so certain that it will take exactly five thousand -dollars to get each one through college? There are state universities, -you know, and they aren't very expensive. And if they ran short, they -could make their own way for part of the time, you know. Why don't you -just divide the money you have now among the seven kids?"</p> - -<p>"I can see I'm not explaining this so good," Nils said. "But they're -my kids, Captain, and I want to do it right for each of them in my own -way." The image of Eric—the oldest and his favorite—came into his -mind, and his eyes grew warm and moist.</p> - -<p>"Yes, I understand that, Nils, but—"</p> - -<p>"No, Sir, you don't understand. I have a dream, and I'm just about -to have it come true. You can't make me stop short now and change the -dream." He wanted to go on, but the words would not come to him.</p> - -<p>"Well," Captain Davis said, more seriously now, "maybe you are right." -He nodded, soberly. "Nils, you've been on Uranus about six Earth -months, now. The doctor says you shouldn't take even one more plunge. -It's hard work, and it's a strain, and you're wearing out. You're -wearing out gradually—but still faster, much faster, than a man would -on Earth, no matter what he did. But this isn't something that just -happened yesterday, Nils; it's been going on since you got here. You -were lucky we let you sign on, close as you were to the age limit. Who -can say when you finally crossed the danger line? Maybe a month, maybe -two months ago. You've been on borrowed time since then, whenever it -was. You shouldn't have taken that plunge yesterday, or perhaps the -last fifty plunges. Do you realize that?"</p> - -<p>"I guess so."</p> - -<p>"And we're doing you a favor. Instead of gambling with your life, you -can knock off now, take your thirty thousand dollars, and call yourself -the winner."</p> - -<p>"Captain, I don't care what you say. It's my dream, and I want to get -that seventh lion."</p> - -<p>"Nils, you're a stubborn cuss. All right. But the minute you get that -lion on your harpoon, we're hauling you up."</p> - -<p>Nils grinned happily. "That's a deal," he said.</p> - -<p>And so Erskine took Nils back down to the raft.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>On Uranus there is no sense trying to make a man adapt to any of the -natural divisions of time there, such as the rotation of the moons -or the position of the sun; and as long as man is attuned to the -artificial twenty-four hour day anyway, that is the most convenient -unit of time. You have sixteen hours to yourself, for whatever you want -to do—sleeping, reading, playing the visitapes, or anything else that -strikes your fancy in the limited space of the air bubble, half of -which is always dark and the other half always light.</p> - -<p>But the other eight hours belong to the company. For six of them you -man the pumps or the radio equipment or the cable drum while the other -men plunge, and you make your plunges in the other two.</p> - -<p>When Nils went on duty that day, he was on the radio, and Kerr was -down below. The optimism he had felt after his talk with the captain -was dissipated. He realized that, after all, the air lions were a -disappearing species. He had been here hunting them for six months and -had bagged only six. One a month—yet that was the best record of any -of the men. And here he was, expecting to get his seventh in the next -day or so.</p> - -<p>Kerr was calling for more cable. Nils reassured him absently and -signaled the crew at the drum.</p> - -<p>The hunter said, "What's the matter, Nils? You don't sound happy."</p> - -<p>Nils said into the microphone, "Don't worry about me. You watch out for -those lions."</p> - -<p>He glanced at his watch. He had been on duty now only twenty minutes. -An hour and forty minutes to go before his plunge. Usually you took it -first, in order to be in your best condition, rested and untired. But, -because Nils had got out of order owing to his trip upstairs, he had to -take his plunge after he had already been on duty for two hours.</p> - -<p>That was bad. He would be just a little tired. He wouldn't be quite in -the right condition. His responses would be just a shade off. The work -would be just that much more dangerous.</p> - -<p>And then he thought, What if I don't get back? What if it's my last -plunge? What if I don't get that air lion? What if I die down there, -Siegfried unprovided for?</p> - -<p>Kerr's voice sounded: "I think I see one."</p> - -<p>"Need anything?" Nils asked.</p> - -<p>"Not so far. But I think there's something moving down there."</p> - -<p>"Good luck," Nils said. But his voice was empty. He was thinking of -himself. There were so many things that might happen to him down there, -and he had only now begun to think of them.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>An air lion was a big creature. If one charged you, it could rip -you right away from any one or all three of the vital strands that -connected you with the surface—cable, air hose, or radio wire. -Actually, the loss of the radio wire was nothing. When there was a -total deadness in his earphones, the radioman signaled frantically and -the diver was hauled up. But loss of either of the other two was fatal. -If your air hose was cut, you died right away, not of lack of oxygen -but of the liquid methane and ammonium that got into your breathing -apparatus. If your cable was torn loose, there was a faint chance. -You hung on, if you could, until the old cable could be taken off the -drum and a new one put on. Then they sent it down and the other diver -snapped it to your suit. But the air hose alone might not be capable of -sustaining the heavy suit—and if it gave way before the new cable was -attached, you were dead.</p> - -<p>"There's one!" Kerr's voice was excited in his earphones. "I can see -him now. If he gets a little closer, I can get a shot at him."</p> - -<p>"We'll send down Newcomb," Nils said. He stood up and waved to the -installation, where Newcomb was sitting placidly, already hooked up to -cable, hose, and wire. Immediately Newcomb rose and clambered over the -side, down the ladder.</p> - -<p>Nils glanced at his watch again. Well, only an hour and ten minutes to -go.</p> - -<p>If an air lion didn't get you, there was the chance that your cable -would wear loose or that your air hose would get snarled. The air hose, -after all, was rubberoid and came down loose, not taut. You could get -a kink in it very easily and not be aware of it until that sudden -drowsiness that was oxygen starvation hit you. Then, if you could stay -conscious long enough, you could gasp it into the microphone: "My air -line's fouled!" And if they could get you to the surface fast enough, -or even just get the kink high enough to straighten it out, then you -were saved. If it took too long, you were gone.</p> - -<p>Kerr said, "Missed him, damn it."</p> - -<p>"Do you see him, Newcomb?" Nils asked.</p> - -<p>"Not yet," came the cheerful reply.</p> - -<p>"He's a big one," Kerr said.</p> - -<p>Forty-five minutes to go. Well, at least there was a big air lion down -there, if he hadn't been frightened off by Kerr's shot, and maybe he -would still be down there when Nils made his plunge. So there was a -chance, not a big one but a chance all the same, that Nils could pick -up his seventh lion today.</p> - -<p>But even if the lion was down there, it wasn't at all positive that -Nils would get him. That went without saying. After all, when you went -down every weekday for six months and got only six lions, then it was -pretty obvious that you couldn't always bag one when you wanted it. -There were—how many now?—twenty-four men on the raft, and so far -they'd got only forty pelts. About one every four days. Sometimes weeks -went by without a catch.</p> - -<p>"I think I see him now," said Newcomb. "He <i>is</i> a big fellow. I don't -think I've ever seen a bigger one."</p> - -<p>"Can you get a shot at him?" Nils asked.</p> - -<p>"I'll try," Newcomb said. "He's coming straight for me. Lord, what a -monster. I think I—No, damn it, I missed. Here, let me—Damn it! -He's—" And then came that peculiar deadness in Nils's eardrums that -meant the radio wire had been severed. Nils jumped to his feet and -waved wildly to the crew at the drums. They began frantically to pull -Newcomb up. Soon he broke surface and was helped up the ladder. He -stood, bewildered, until one of the men led him into the bubble.</p> - -<p>"His radio wire snapped," Nils explained to Kerr.</p> - -<p>They wouldn't send Newcomb down again today—not after a narrow shave -like that. His nerve would be gone.</p> - -<p>Nils stood up. "I'm going down after that baby," he told the crewmen. -He began to work his way out of the complicated radio equipment, which -snapped on over his helmet to take advantage of the built-in radio in -his suit. "Petrone, you take the radio."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Petrone came lumbering over and accepted the rig. Nils sat on the -ready bench and let the other crewmen adjust the equipment he needed. -The rope hooked into the back of his suit; the air hose was connected -to the suit oxygenerator, which was strong enough to support a man in -airlessness but could not stand the pressure of the Uranian atmosphere -and thus needed assistance from the powerful pump on the raft; and the -radio wire attached to his light helmet rig.</p> - -<p>And then he was going over the side. He went down—way, way down—and -then he saw Kerr.</p> - -<p>"How is it?" Nils asked.</p> - -<p>Kerr gestured. "He's off that way. He took a swipe at me, and I tried -to get a shot at him. I think I took his ear off, but that's all. -Anyway, he lit out like a jet. I expect he'll be back, though; probably -he's too mad to think straight."</p> - -<p>They watched. While they watched, the harpoon was lowered to them. -Minutes passed, dragging by with interminable slowness while their -eyes searched the murky depths, the headlamps making strange patterns, -looking for the air lion.</p> - -<p>And then Nils spotted him—too late. "Look out behind you!" he shouted -desperately.</p> - -<p>But he was too late. The air lion's powerful flippers forced him -through the atmosphere with astonishing speed, and he struck Kerr with -tremendous force and impact before the other diver could even turn -around.</p> - -<p>"God!" Nils muttered into his mouthpiece, horrified, as the lines -snapped with the lion's onslaught and Kerr began to hurtle down toward -the bottom of the sea of atmosphere, down to where the Uranian air was -frozen solid.</p> - -<p>"Did it get him?" Petrone's voice sounded in the earphones.</p> - -<p>"Cut him off like a knife," Nils said.</p> - -<p>"We're going to pull you up. That baby's too rough to handle."</p> - -<p>"I'm staying down," Nils said. And the tone of his voice showed that he -meant it.</p> - -<p>"Well, we'll send Newcomb down again," Petrone said.</p> - -<p>"Let him get his rest," Nils said. "I just got here."</p> - -<p>The lion, meanwhile, had seen Nils with his weak eyes and was coming -toward him. Nils held up his pistol and took steady aim. He waited -until he could quite easily see that the lion did, in fact, lack an -ear. And then he pulled the trigger.</p> - -<p>Nothing happened.</p> - -<p>This occasionally occurred. The pistols were very intricate mechanisms, -designed so that none of the liquid atmosphere could get into them -at the same time that the bullet got out. And like all intricate -mechanisms, occasionally they went wrong.</p> - -<p>The air lion was coming closer, hurtling through the liquid air now -with strong beats of his powerful flippers.</p> - -<p>Nils pulled the trigger again. And again nothing happened. He could -feel the sweat running down his face.</p> - -<p>The lion was looming larger now; it was almost upon him. Nils could see -the creature's ugly, yellow eyes.</p> - -<p>He pulled the trigger a third time. One of the eyes suddenly -disappeared, to be replaced by a hole, from which a yellow fluid poured.</p> - -<p>But the impact of the bullet had not stopped the momentum of the lion. -The body fell into Nils with a sudden jerk.</p> - -<p>Nils dropped suddenly, then stopped with a wrenching snap.</p> - -<p>"What's the matter?" Petrone said in his earphones.</p> - -<p>Nils assessed the damage.</p> - -<p>"I've broken my cable," he said. "I've still got the air hose and radio -wire."</p> - -<p>Petrone swore softly in Italian.</p> - -<p>Nils changed the subject. "Get the harpoon about four feet lower, -quick. I don't want to lose this baby."</p> - -<p>The harpoon came down within his grasp, and he impaled the dead air -lion on it.</p> - -<p>"Okay," Nils said "haul him up."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The pale shape of the lion began to rise above him. The idea came to -him of attempting to grab hold of the lion so as to be pulled up with -it. One of the men in his predicament had tried that once; the harpoon -cable had broken and both man and lion had been lost. No, there was -nothing to do but wait—and pray.</p> - -<p>Nils dangled there, in the atmosphere, like a marionette on a single -string. Well, he thought, this may be the end. He tried to puzzle out -why he wasn't frightened. Was it because he was still full of triumph -from getting that seventh lion? Perhaps. But more likely it was because -there was still a chance that he could be saved, and a man never gives -up hope until he thinks that there isn't a chance any more.</p> - -<p>"Hold on, Nils," Petrone's voice said. "Everything's coming all right. -We have to put a new cable on Kerr's drum, too, you know. But we'll -have 'em both ready at about the same time, so that won't slow us down."</p> - -<p>"I think I'll drop my gun," Nils said. "It doesn't weigh very much, but -it may make a difference."</p> - -<p>"And lose the company five hundred smackers?" Petrone asked. "Okay it's -your salary they'll dock. I'd rather let the air lions get me."</p> - -<p>Nils chuckled. He worked the gun loose from his gauntleted hand—rather -an awkward process, for the guns were designed to be held securely by -heavy gloves. Then he released it and watched it plunge down.</p> - -<p>Down.</p> - -<p>Would he be following it? Would his last plunge end that way?</p> - -<p>For the first time he began to feel a twinge of fear. The sweat started -out on his forehead, and he could feel it under his arms.</p> - -<p>He loved his wife and every one of those seven kids. He wished he could -see just one of those kids again. Especially Eric. His memory showed -him Eric's grinning face, and he bit back a sob.</p> - -<p>But to die out here, millions of miles—hundreds of millions of -miles!—away from them, so that they wouldn't even know it for months: -that was too much.</p> - -<p>"We're ready to start," Petrone said. "I'm coming down myself to get -you."</p> - -<p>Nils didn't answer. He was thinking. How long have I been here already? -How much longer can I hold out?</p> - -<p>"Nils?"</p> - -<p>"I'm okay," he managed to mutter.</p> - -<p>What would it be like? How fast would you go? And what would you see, -down there on the bottom of the liquid layer of the Uranian atmosphere? -There would probably be more of those funny brittle yellow plants that -sometimes floated even this high; but no man had ever explored the -floor of the liquid air. Would it be smooth, like a ball?</p> - -<p>Kerr would be down there to keep him company.</p> - -<p>Damn it, he'd liked Kerr.</p> - -<p>Was it his imagination, or was he really starting to slip? The trouble -was that there wasn't anything he could use to measure by, no fixed -point to tell whether he was already going down or not.</p> - -<p>But once the air line broke, he'd be dead like that. He'd never see the -bottom even when he got there.</p> - -<p>Hundreds of millions of miles! "Eric!"</p> - -<p>Petrone's voice said, "What?"</p> - -<p>But Nils ignored him.</p> - -<p>What would it be like to die like that? Would he even know it? Or would -he strangle and gasp and shriek? He was sweating heavily now.</p> - -<p>Just once, O Lord, just once more. Just to see them.</p> - -<p>Well, this was his last plunge, either way. He was going to quit as -soon as he had his seventh lion; he had it now, and he was through. One -way or another.</p> - -<p>"Gotcha!"</p> - -<p>It was Petrone's voice. Nils couldn't hear the new cable click into -place in his back; but he felt it.</p> - -<p>And then he felt the slow and steady pull as he was drawn up out of the -depths.</p> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LAST PLUNGE ***</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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