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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..7ef574c --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #66752 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/66752) diff --git a/old/66752-0.txt b/old/66752-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 8a8ef93..0000000 --- a/old/66752-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,838 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Gunnison's Bonanza, by Dick Purcell - -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: Gunnison's Bonanza - -Author: Dick Purcell - -Release Date: November 16, 2021 [eBook #66752] - -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 GUNNISON'S BONANZA *** - - - - - All his life he had been searching for the - big strike. But always he had failed. Now he had - come to Mars--his last chance. This had to be-- - - Gunnison's Bonanza - - By Dick Purcell - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy - June 1956 - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - -"That's damned expensive," Gunnison said. - -The pilot grinned. "A man wanting to be set down by the Ghanati should -expect to pay high." The pilot had a battered old ship, a forged -license, a questionable bill of sale. He trafficked only in desperate -trips for desperate people and he knew Gunnison would pay the price. - -Scowling, Gunnison counted out the highbinding tribute from a leather -sack containing the coins of all the planets. Terran gold eagles, -Venusian phalada, Mercurian scoz. - -The pilot inspected each coin, bagged the total, "When can you have -your gear aboard?" - -"In twenty minutes." - -"We'll leave at sunfall," the pilot said. "Before the moons lift." - -Gunnison stowed his equipment. He checked his dehydrates and chemical -nutrients carefully. They would constitute his sole food supply for six -months. He also inspected the other vital units of his equipment. - -Then he went to the port restaurant and stowed away a meal of vast -proportions. He ate with gusto, with grim pleasure, savoring the food, -making the meal a sort of farewell symbol; a farewell to his eternally -evil luck. - -He drank heavily, but when he left the restaurant and went back to the -ship he walked erect and his hands were rock-steady. Gunnison had one -requirement of a true adventurer. He could hold his liquor. - -But in another need of the soldier of fortune, he was sadly lacking. He -was not a man of good luck. All his life he had pursued wealth across -the System and beyond without a single smile from fortune's gods. - -Gunnison had certainly done his part. He was shrewd, daring, ruthless, -if the need arose. He was clever and tireless, ever seeking out coups -and strikes. But his coups never quite came off. And someone always -beat him to the strikes. Once on Pluto he arrived at a diamond field -well in advance of the pack but the Johnny-come-latelies walked away -with fortunes while Gunnison grubbed doggedly on his barren claim. - -So now he had spent his years and had but a handful of time left for -a last try. A shot at the Ghanati, and no try could have been more -desperate than this because failure meant death under the new laws. - -Gunnison waited at the ship. The pilot arrived, wiping the last of an -evening meal off his mouth with the back of his hand. The pilot grinned. - -"Still set on going?" - -Gunnison smiled coldly. "If I've changed my mind can I get my money -back?" - -The pilot returned the grin. "I'm afraid I've already spent it." - -Gunnison turned without comment and entered the ship. - - * * * * * - -They lifted from twilight into the bright sun-flare and Gunnison looked -down into the shadows that lay across the dead face of Mars. He saw the -canals and creeks meandering over the old sea bottoms like traceries on -fine lace. He saw the city, half modern, the rest incredibly ancient; a -weird mixture of the old and the new. Then the city and the sea bottom -vanished in a haze as the ship reached up toward the apex of its arc. -Gunnison remained by the port. The next thing he would see would be the -borders of the dread Ghanati. - -Sullen resentment welled up in Gunnison. He had read his history and he -knew how things had changed. In the old days back on Terra, men were -given freedom to seek and find. Why, once they opened half a planet--a -whole hemisphere to those with the courage to move in and take it! Men -and women and even children in shoddy old wagons pushed across the -prairies of his own Mid-America. No fat bureaucrats called the dance in -those fine days. - -But now the scheme of things was gall in Gunnison's mouth. New laws -promulgated under the Interplanetary Charter said only the government -men moved in on new territories; so-called specialists with weapons and -armor who put one timid foot in front of another until the area was -declared safe and open to colonization. And who also--Gunnison bitterly -knew--skimmed off the loose loot for themselves. - -The situation was an excuse for any thinking man's indignation. Why, -even at the moment there were five sections of the red planet awaiting -investigation by the interplanetary government; five lush opportunities -wrapped so tight in governmental red tape that years would pass before -steps were taken. - -And men--fearless adventurers like Gunnison--would be executed for -trespassing on these forbidden grounds. Gunnison spat in disgust. Then, -as the ship tilted downward for the last leg of the jump, he thought of -the Ghanati. His eyes narrowed and he was as close to fear as men like -Gunnison ever came. - -The Ghanati. Probably the only area on Mars where the government's -restrictions were really justified. How much was fact and how much -was rumor, no one could say, but the Ghanati--tortuous cragland--was -inhabited by a race of ugly throwbacks from which viciousness and -ferocity could certainly be expected. A retiring people, they had stood -unmolested for a thousand years and had never moved beyond their own -boundaries. - -A bleak, forbidding land, the Ghanati, wrapped in a silence long -considered deadly. But a land rumored to be bursting with unmined gold. - -The pilot set his ship down expertly in a hundred-yard square of level -land surrounded by angry rock. Off to the north, the crags greatened -and roughened, marking the boundary of the mysterious stronghold of -monsters. - -The pilot helped Gunnison unload his gear and spoke with a mixture of -amusement and admiration. "How did you know about this spot?" When -Gunnison didn't answer, he went on. "But it's the only setdown on the -whole border where you could get past the patrols." - -Gunnison was packed and ready. He strapped on his antigrav belt and -spoke amiably. "I'll be here this day and time six months from now." -The pilot smiled. Gunnison smiled back, adding, "And you'd better be -here, because if you don't show, the universe won't be big enough for -you to hide in." - -The pilot appeared to be calculating the odds as Gunnison turned and -moved away in long, clumsy steps. - - * * * * * - -Soon the going got worse. The crags and razor-sharp rocks reared higher -to form a scowling protectorate around--around what? Gunnison wondered. -He kept his hand gun ready at all times but no living thing did he see. - -The going would have been impossible without the antigrav belt but the -unit was a problem in itself. Set to lift him clear, it would have -dangled him helpless and kicking in space. Set at half power it forced -him to move warily lest it tip him off balance and swing him into the -knife-crags by his own momentum. - -The day progressed. Gunnison labored grimly forward watching for signs -of surface veins. But these were not the formations where nature hid -the yellow metal. Gunnison drank sparingly on chance that his finding -water would be delayed. He refreshed himself with oxygen at intervals -and pressed on. - -Until, late in the day, he made the find. - -The barrier lands had given him their worst and then tilted gently -downward with crag-points and edges less sharp. He made better -progress and soon the geological substances and formations changed. -Gunnison's face grew less grim. He pushed on, bone weary. To come to -the place of a rushing rivulet, of shaggy bush growth. Of gold. - -He smiled as he shucked off his pack, enjoying even, the feeling of -exhaustion. He'd made it! He had arrived for a last joust with fortune -and the arena was all to his favor. He could not miss. The last little -handful of time would pay off. - -After taking nourishment he selected a rocky pocket overhung and -buttressed on three sides and stowed his gear. As the sun lowered, he -lifted himself to the highest knoll and looked over what country he -could see. It was monotonously similar to the area on which he stood. -Rough, basically level country rising very gently to a ridge in the -distance. Beyond, there was probably a drop-off. - -Gunnison returned to his pocket and settled in for the night. Perhaps -this section was inhabited, although he doubted it. He checked his hand -gun and closed his eyes for a night of hair-trigger sleep. - -He awoke at dawn, unmolested and refreshed. He fed on dehydrates and -drank deeply of the water and soon the sun poked its way up over the -forbidden land. He took up his pan and rushed to a likely looking spot -on the creek. - -It was there--glittering yellow in the gray sand. Gunnison, oblivious -of his surroundings, went to his knees and began panning. The results -were good. With a set smile on his face, he worked another panful. -After an hour he became conscious of the pain in his knees. He began to -straighten slowly. He was halfway up when he heard the whistling sound. - -He jerked around, clawing up the gun in the safe motion and faced the -direction of the whistle just in time to hurl himself from the path of -a whizzing missile. The whistle became a shrill screech as the object -hurtled past. - -Gunnison rolled over and studied the thing as it arced upward. His -muscles loosened in relief. - -A bird. A black vicious-beaked hawk of some sort. Its size was -about that of Gunnison's two fists and its angry shrilling told of -indignation against the two-legged intruder. - -As Gunnison watched it keeled over in midair and went into another -power dive. Its courage far outweighed its size as it rocketed down -again--straight at his head. It came in screaming and Gunnison swiped -at it sharply with his pan. He hit one outstretched wing and the scream -of pain was more grating than the previous whistle of rage. - -The bird caromed off drunkenly and missed the ground by inches. -Gunnison watched as it limped frantically back up the air current and -disappeared over a low ridge. Then he went back to his work. - -He stopped for neither food nor drink. Only when the sun left did he -give up his panning and return to camp. Weary and stiff, he munched -his dehydrates moodily, his exhaustion dimming the earlier elation and -allowing him to consider things in true perspective. And force him to -admit with some bitterness that again the gods of fortune had withheld -the munificence his courage and privations merited. - -Not that he had made no strike. He had sought gold and had found it but -not as gold had been found by others--in chunks and nuggets. Not the -luck he felt he was entitled to for the effort expended and the danger -involved. His gold lay in sand to be taken gradually in ounces of dust -and in direct ratio to further effort over the days ahead. - -Thus Gunnison faced a decision. Panned out to the end, this strike -would, in six months, give him enough to live comfortably for the rest -of his life. He would acquire but a fraction of what he could carry but -it would be immeasurably better than complete failure. - -So--would he work out the time here--sure of the modest payoff--or -gamble his time in hunting a really big strike? He weighed the problem -at length and decided on the sure thing. Take what fate grudgingly -offered because as sure as destiny, the big take would be withheld in -the end. There was no reason to believe that good luck--a stranger -during all his years--would smile at this late hour. Having made his -decision, he went to sleep, not even bothering to check his gun. - - * * * * * - -He arose the next day and worked again, doggedly piling up the yellow -dust. Early in the day the birds--a pair this time--came to repeat the -previous day's attack. They swept down viciously and Gunnison fended -them off and chased them away with equally vicious swipes of his pan. -When they flew off, he went feverishly back to work. - -And at high noon the natives came. - -From whence, Gunnison did not know so intent was he upon his gray sand. -A shadow tilted across his pan, he whirled, and there they were. - -His first reaction was a curse because his gun lay twenty feet away. -He crouched where he was, staring. They stood by the rushing water, -staring back. Two long minutes passed. - -Time enough for Gunnison to feel revulsion at the hideousness of the -creatures. They were three in number and he got the impression two -were males and one a female although their appearance gave little -indication either way. - -They were bipeds towering some seven feet into the thin Martian -atmosphere. Their bodies were misshapen from any standard Gunnison was -familiar with. Legs far too long for their incredibly wide torsos. They -wore a combination of natural hair and badly tanned leather skirts and -it was hard to tell where one left off and the other began. Their arms -were like snapped-off tree trunks--at complete variance with other -physical proportions. Their faces were probably the most disgusting -aspect of all. Only the beginnings of faces really with mouths, noses, -and eye sockets mere holes punched into the flattened sides of round -heads. - -Even as he crouched there with only the hope of a quick death, Gunnison -could not help marveling. What manner of pitiful throwbacks were these. -Monsters spawned by the century-old atomic bombardment that smashed -the last of the Martian resistance? Caricatures created by nature in a -vindictive mood? - -The natives stared. Gunnison stared back. And began breathing again as -moments passed and the frightful trio did not rush in to annihilate him -or take him for torture. - -Then his fears were overshadowed by interest in these strange people. -The three faces had been plastered with identical grimaces of amazing -hideousness. Gunnison had interpreted it as an expression of cunning -and cruelty. Now he changed his mind. Coupled with the embarrassed -twistings and posturings of the ungainly bodies, the expressions dawned -on Gunnison in truth. - -The natives were grinning. Also, they were glancing continuously into -the sky and Gunnison knew they were fearful. But fearful of what? Had -they experienced the arrival of alien ships at one time or another? He -did not think so. - -Now the one he had tentatively classified as female went to her knees -and brought a hand from behind her back. The hand held forth a dish of -colorless material that Gunnison thought to be food. The creature went -prone and pushed the dish forward on the ground in a veritable agony of -shy embarrassment. - -Without thinking, Gunnison extended his own hand and laid it on the -hideous head. The result was amazing. The monster increased her -senseless writhings twofold and a shade of attractive lavender diffused -her face. - -She was blushing. Gunnison thought: They're entirely harmless, these -creatures. More than that, they're a people shy to the point of pain. -Good lord, what a switch! - -Now the two males went suddenly crazy with fear. They looked into the -sky and went into gibbering gymnastics as they sought to prevail on -Gunnison without touching him. Obviously they wanted him to leave this -terrible place. Why? - -Evidently because of the black bird that circled over head. Gunnison -looked up. The natives babbled inarticulate entreaty as they gestured -toward Gunnison's camp. Then, as the bird gave forth an angry whistle -and went into its dive, they broke and bolted madly for the nearby -crags. - -Gunnison, his eye on the bird, did not see where they went. The bird -arced down and Gunnison clipped it square on the beak, with his pan. -The bird did a somersault, gained its wings, and headed drunkenly for -the ridge, screaming in rage. - -Gunnison turned his eyes on the crags. The natives were nowhere in -sight. He pondered the situation for a few moments and then went back -to work. The natives, he told himself with great satisfaction, were not -a menace. - - * * * * * - -The passing days not only strengthened this belief but augmented it. -They were not merely harmless. Their eagerness to be helpful was almost -pathetic. They came regularly to sit and watch Gunnison at his labors. -At times as many as two dozen crowded about to regard him with obvious -awe. - -Gunnison's identification of male and female was strengthened when two -of the men hauled a woman to the edge of his camp and threw her forward -almost into his gear pile. The woman seemed overcome both by fear and -honor at the same time. The effect was ludicrous and Gunnison risked -displeasure by signifying definitely that he did not want a mate. They -took no offense. The female walked away sadly, her ugly head hanging. - -Gunnison's camp became a depository for weird and useless gifts. -These consisted of old bones, scraps of hide, various evil-smelling -concoctions of food. Animal teeth strung in necklaces and laid proudly -at his feet. - -Gunnison was careful to show no annoyance at this expanding pile -of debris. Not that he feared antagonizing them. He was convinced -this could not be done. But out of compassion because they were so -childlike, so innocent of evil save in their appearance. - -He tried to turn them to his advantage. He spent a whole morning -attempting to teach one of the males to use a pan. The results were -nil. The creature was incapable of understanding the difference -between the gray sand and the yellow dust. To him, both were equally -useless--or equally valuable. The only result was the native's -despondency at being unable to please Gunnison. - -But Gunnison was philosophical about it. Even if he had channeled -the native to his purpose the monster would have been of little help -because at sight of the black birds all of them always ran screaming -into the rocks to stay hidden for hours. - -So Gunnison was philosophical. But also bitter, because even so -extraordinary a situation as this still brought him no profit. He had -a tribe of abject slaves at his command. Child-men willing to give him -anything they owned even to the hair off their own hides. But what did -they own? Nothing but old bones and teeth and nauseating concoctions -they used for food. - -Gunnison had explored the area roundabout and had discovered what was -probably the ruins of an ancient city. If so, the place flourished -before the dawn of history because the buildings were only vague heaps -of rubble. The natives lived in these and, Gunnison suspected, in caves -among the rocks. - -Evidently this race was older than he had first suspected. They -squatted here on the ruins of some long-dead civilization. Perhaps -their ancestors conquered the city's founders and these pitiful -creatures were the last remnants of a retrograding race. - -So Gunnison cursed them in his wearier moments and patronized them the -rest of the time. They in turn drooped visibly at the sharpness in his -voice and wriggled in dog-like delight at his kind words. Obviously -yearning to do something for him--to serve this new master. As the -months went by he began thinking of them as the people who feared birds -and pretty much ignored them. He panned tirelessly, increasing his -horde, counting the days and weeks and months. - -And as the fifth month passed, his dust pile was small for the bitter -work expended but a larger stake than he had ever before acquired. It -would keep him in comfort if not in luxury. - -During the first week of the sixth month he learned painfully that the -native's fear of the birds had some foundation. The birds had never -ceased their attacks and he had learned to fend them off pretty much as -a man swats flies. But upon this morning his attention was riveted to a -particularly large reward of yellow dust from his last panning and one -of the black raiders got through. It drove its bill into his neck with -a squawk of triumph and got up and away before his swinging fist could -smash it down. - -He slapped his hand over the puncture and swore at the bird. Damned -nuisances! He looked at his hand and saw blood. - - * * * * * - -He forgot the incident for ten minutes. Then a dull ache brought his -hand again to his neck. He found a lump the size of an egg. First, he -was merely annoyed, then mildly frightened as the dull ache turned into -a sharp pain. - -There were some drugs among his gear. He put down his pan and moved -toward camp. Perhaps the wound should be lanced and disinfected. He had -taken but ten steps when the lump seemed to bulge under his fingers. -The sharp pain shot downward through his neck and into his shoulders. - -Another step and agony such as he had never known took possession of -his body. He tried to scream but his throat was paralyzed. A condition -past all panic seized his mind as the agony became too great to bear. - -In those last few seconds he lost his mind, asking for death with his -last conscious thought. - -And within fifteen minutes of the bird's attack, Gunnison lay dead in -the bleak fastnesses of the Ghanati. - -The natives found him and went into protestations of violent grief. -They groveled and demonstrated their adoration by rubbing their faces -brutally upon the ground. - -But like the children they were, they soon became joyful in the -knowledge that they could serve Gunnison in death far better than in -life. - -They lifted his body and formed a procession as they bore it to the -center of their ruined city. Once there, they went deep into one of -the caves and brought forth those things their heritage taught them -were valuable only to the dead. Things they and their ancestors and the -great race that preceded them gave only to the dead. - -A casket requiring ten carriers for the lifting. A burial robe for the -corpse. Casks and urns and numerous articles to be used by Gunnison in -the next world. - -They buried him reverently as it was given them to understand -reverence. There was singing, dancing, and much joy. - -So Gunnison came thus to his end. A grave deep in the Ghanati and there -is nothing of importance left to tell. Nothing of importance, but one -note of possible interest. - -The casket and the robe and all the farewell gifts were exquisitely -fashioned. - -From purest gold. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GUNNISON'S BONANZA *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <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: Gunnison's Bonanza</p> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Dick Purcell</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: November 16, 2021 [eBook #66752]</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 GUNNISON'S BONANZA ***</div> - -<div class="titlepage"> - -<p>All his life he had been searching for the<br /> -big strike. But always he had failed. Now he had<br /> -come to Mars—his last chance. This had to be—</p> - -<h1>Gunnison's Bonanza</h1> - -<h2>By Dick Purcell</h2> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br /> -Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy<br /> -June 1956<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>"That's damned expensive," Gunnison said.</p> - -<p>The pilot grinned. "A man wanting to be set down by the Ghanati should -expect to pay high." The pilot had a battered old ship, a forged -license, a questionable bill of sale. He trafficked only in desperate -trips for desperate people and he knew Gunnison would pay the price.</p> - -<p>Scowling, Gunnison counted out the highbinding tribute from a leather -sack containing the coins of all the planets. Terran gold eagles, -Venusian phalada, Mercurian scoz.</p> - -<p>The pilot inspected each coin, bagged the total, "When can you have -your gear aboard?"</p> - -<p>"In twenty minutes."</p> - -<p>"We'll leave at sunfall," the pilot said. "Before the moons lift."</p> - -<p>Gunnison stowed his equipment. He checked his dehydrates and chemical -nutrients carefully. They would constitute his sole food supply for six -months. He also inspected the other vital units of his equipment.</p> - -<p>Then he went to the port restaurant and stowed away a meal of vast -proportions. He ate with gusto, with grim pleasure, savoring the food, -making the meal a sort of farewell symbol; a farewell to his eternally -evil luck.</p> - -<p>He drank heavily, but when he left the restaurant and went back to the -ship he walked erect and his hands were rock-steady. Gunnison had one -requirement of a true adventurer. He could hold his liquor.</p> - -<p>But in another need of the soldier of fortune, he was sadly lacking. He -was not a man of good luck. All his life he had pursued wealth across -the System and beyond without a single smile from fortune's gods.</p> - -<p>Gunnison had certainly done his part. He was shrewd, daring, ruthless, -if the need arose. He was clever and tireless, ever seeking out coups -and strikes. But his coups never quite came off. And someone always -beat him to the strikes. Once on Pluto he arrived at a diamond field -well in advance of the pack but the Johnny-come-latelies walked away -with fortunes while Gunnison grubbed doggedly on his barren claim.</p> - -<p>So now he had spent his years and had but a handful of time left for -a last try. A shot at the Ghanati, and no try could have been more -desperate than this because failure meant death under the new laws.</p> - -<p>Gunnison waited at the ship. The pilot arrived, wiping the last of an -evening meal off his mouth with the back of his hand. The pilot grinned.</p> - -<p>"Still set on going?"</p> - -<p>Gunnison smiled coldly. "If I've changed my mind can I get my money -back?"</p> - -<p>The pilot returned the grin. "I'm afraid I've already spent it."</p> - -<p>Gunnison turned without comment and entered the ship.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>They lifted from twilight into the bright sun-flare and Gunnison looked -down into the shadows that lay across the dead face of Mars. He saw the -canals and creeks meandering over the old sea bottoms like traceries on -fine lace. He saw the city, half modern, the rest incredibly ancient; a -weird mixture of the old and the new. Then the city and the sea bottom -vanished in a haze as the ship reached up toward the apex of its arc. -Gunnison remained by the port. The next thing he would see would be the -borders of the dread Ghanati.</p> - -<p>Sullen resentment welled up in Gunnison. He had read his history and he -knew how things had changed. In the old days back on Terra, men were -given freedom to seek and find. Why, once they opened half a planet—a -whole hemisphere to those with the courage to move in and take it! Men -and women and even children in shoddy old wagons pushed across the -prairies of his own Mid-America. No fat bureaucrats called the dance in -those fine days.</p> - -<p>But now the scheme of things was gall in Gunnison's mouth. New laws -promulgated under the Interplanetary Charter said only the government -men moved in on new territories; so-called specialists with weapons and -armor who put one timid foot in front of another until the area was -declared safe and open to colonization. And who also—Gunnison bitterly -knew—skimmed off the loose loot for themselves.</p> - -<p>The situation was an excuse for any thinking man's indignation. Why, -even at the moment there were five sections of the red planet awaiting -investigation by the interplanetary government; five lush opportunities -wrapped so tight in governmental red tape that years would pass before -steps were taken.</p> - -<p>And men—fearless adventurers like Gunnison—would be executed for -trespassing on these forbidden grounds. Gunnison spat in disgust. Then, -as the ship tilted downward for the last leg of the jump, he thought of -the Ghanati. His eyes narrowed and he was as close to fear as men like -Gunnison ever came.</p> - -<p>The Ghanati. Probably the only area on Mars where the government's -restrictions were really justified. How much was fact and how much -was rumor, no one could say, but the Ghanati—tortuous cragland—was -inhabited by a race of ugly throwbacks from which viciousness and -ferocity could certainly be expected. A retiring people, they had stood -unmolested for a thousand years and had never moved beyond their own -boundaries.</p> - -<p>A bleak, forbidding land, the Ghanati, wrapped in a silence long -considered deadly. But a land rumored to be bursting with unmined gold.</p> - -<p>The pilot set his ship down expertly in a hundred-yard square of level -land surrounded by angry rock. Off to the north, the crags greatened -and roughened, marking the boundary of the mysterious stronghold of -monsters.</p> - -<p>The pilot helped Gunnison unload his gear and spoke with a mixture of -amusement and admiration. "How did you know about this spot?" When -Gunnison didn't answer, he went on. "But it's the only setdown on the -whole border where you could get past the patrols."</p> - -<p>Gunnison was packed and ready. He strapped on his antigrav belt and -spoke amiably. "I'll be here this day and time six months from now." -The pilot smiled. Gunnison smiled back, adding, "And you'd better be -here, because if you don't show, the universe won't be big enough for -you to hide in."</p> - -<p>The pilot appeared to be calculating the odds as Gunnison turned and -moved away in long, clumsy steps.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Soon the going got worse. The crags and razor-sharp rocks reared higher -to form a scowling protectorate around—around what? Gunnison wondered. -He kept his hand gun ready at all times but no living thing did he see.</p> - -<p>The going would have been impossible without the antigrav belt but the -unit was a problem in itself. Set to lift him clear, it would have -dangled him helpless and kicking in space. Set at half power it forced -him to move warily lest it tip him off balance and swing him into the -knife-crags by his own momentum.</p> - -<p>The day progressed. Gunnison labored grimly forward watching for signs -of surface veins. But these were not the formations where nature hid -the yellow metal. Gunnison drank sparingly on chance that his finding -water would be delayed. He refreshed himself with oxygen at intervals -and pressed on.</p> - -<p>Until, late in the day, he made the find.</p> - -<p>The barrier lands had given him their worst and then tilted gently -downward with crag-points and edges less sharp. He made better -progress and soon the geological substances and formations changed. -Gunnison's face grew less grim. He pushed on, bone weary. To come to -the place of a rushing rivulet, of shaggy bush growth. Of gold.</p> - -<p>He smiled as he shucked off his pack, enjoying even, the feeling of -exhaustion. He'd made it! He had arrived for a last joust with fortune -and the arena was all to his favor. He could not miss. The last little -handful of time would pay off.</p> - -<p>After taking nourishment he selected a rocky pocket overhung and -buttressed on three sides and stowed his gear. As the sun lowered, he -lifted himself to the highest knoll and looked over what country he -could see. It was monotonously similar to the area on which he stood. -Rough, basically level country rising very gently to a ridge in the -distance. Beyond, there was probably a drop-off.</p> - -<p>Gunnison returned to his pocket and settled in for the night. Perhaps -this section was inhabited, although he doubted it. He checked his hand -gun and closed his eyes for a night of hair-trigger sleep.</p> - -<p>He awoke at dawn, unmolested and refreshed. He fed on dehydrates and -drank deeply of the water and soon the sun poked its way up over the -forbidden land. He took up his pan and rushed to a likely looking spot -on the creek.</p> - -<p>It was there—glittering yellow in the gray sand. Gunnison, oblivious -of his surroundings, went to his knees and began panning. The results -were good. With a set smile on his face, he worked another panful. -After an hour he became conscious of the pain in his knees. He began to -straighten slowly. He was halfway up when he heard the whistling sound.</p> - -<p>He jerked around, clawing up the gun in the safe motion and faced the -direction of the whistle just in time to hurl himself from the path of -a whizzing missile. The whistle became a shrill screech as the object -hurtled past.</p> - -<p>Gunnison rolled over and studied the thing as it arced upward. His -muscles loosened in relief.</p> - -<p>A bird. A black vicious-beaked hawk of some sort. Its size was -about that of Gunnison's two fists and its angry shrilling told of -indignation against the two-legged intruder.</p> - -<p>As Gunnison watched it keeled over in midair and went into another -power dive. Its courage far outweighed its size as it rocketed down -again—straight at his head. It came in screaming and Gunnison swiped -at it sharply with his pan. He hit one outstretched wing and the scream -of pain was more grating than the previous whistle of rage.</p> - -<p>The bird caromed off drunkenly and missed the ground by inches. -Gunnison watched as it limped frantically back up the air current and -disappeared over a low ridge. Then he went back to his work.</p> - -<p>He stopped for neither food nor drink. Only when the sun left did he -give up his panning and return to camp. Weary and stiff, he munched -his dehydrates moodily, his exhaustion dimming the earlier elation and -allowing him to consider things in true perspective. And force him to -admit with some bitterness that again the gods of fortune had withheld -the munificence his courage and privations merited.</p> - -<p>Not that he had made no strike. He had sought gold and had found it but -not as gold had been found by others—in chunks and nuggets. Not the -luck he felt he was entitled to for the effort expended and the danger -involved. His gold lay in sand to be taken gradually in ounces of dust -and in direct ratio to further effort over the days ahead.</p> - -<p>Thus Gunnison faced a decision. Panned out to the end, this strike -would, in six months, give him enough to live comfortably for the rest -of his life. He would acquire but a fraction of what he could carry but -it would be immeasurably better than complete failure.</p> - -<p>So—would he work out the time here—sure of the modest payoff—or -gamble his time in hunting a really big strike? He weighed the problem -at length and decided on the sure thing. Take what fate grudgingly -offered because as sure as destiny, the big take would be withheld in -the end. There was no reason to believe that good luck—a stranger -during all his years—would smile at this late hour. Having made his -decision, he went to sleep, not even bothering to check his gun.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>He arose the next day and worked again, doggedly piling up the yellow -dust. Early in the day the birds—a pair this time—came to repeat the -previous day's attack. They swept down viciously and Gunnison fended -them off and chased them away with equally vicious swipes of his pan. -When they flew off, he went feverishly back to work.</p> - -<p>And at high noon the natives came.</p> - -<p>From whence, Gunnison did not know so intent was he upon his gray sand. -A shadow tilted across his pan, he whirled, and there they were.</p> - -<p>His first reaction was a curse because his gun lay twenty feet away. -He crouched where he was, staring. They stood by the rushing water, -staring back. Two long minutes passed.</p> - -<p>Time enough for Gunnison to feel revulsion at the hideousness of the -creatures. They were three in number and he got the impression two -were males and one a female although their appearance gave little -indication either way.</p> - -<p>They were bipeds towering some seven feet into the thin Martian -atmosphere. Their bodies were misshapen from any standard Gunnison was -familiar with. Legs far too long for their incredibly wide torsos. They -wore a combination of natural hair and badly tanned leather skirts and -it was hard to tell where one left off and the other began. Their arms -were like snapped-off tree trunks—at complete variance with other -physical proportions. Their faces were probably the most disgusting -aspect of all. Only the beginnings of faces really with mouths, noses, -and eye sockets mere holes punched into the flattened sides of round -heads.</p> - -<p>Even as he crouched there with only the hope of a quick death, Gunnison -could not help marveling. What manner of pitiful throwbacks were these. -Monsters spawned by the century-old atomic bombardment that smashed -the last of the Martian resistance? Caricatures created by nature in a -vindictive mood?</p> - -<p>The natives stared. Gunnison stared back. And began breathing again as -moments passed and the frightful trio did not rush in to annihilate him -or take him for torture.</p> - -<p>Then his fears were overshadowed by interest in these strange people. -The three faces had been plastered with identical grimaces of amazing -hideousness. Gunnison had interpreted it as an expression of cunning -and cruelty. Now he changed his mind. Coupled with the embarrassed -twistings and posturings of the ungainly bodies, the expressions dawned -on Gunnison in truth.</p> - -<p>The natives were grinning. Also, they were glancing continuously into -the sky and Gunnison knew they were fearful. But fearful of what? Had -they experienced the arrival of alien ships at one time or another? He -did not think so.</p> - -<p>Now the one he had tentatively classified as female went to her knees -and brought a hand from behind her back. The hand held forth a dish of -colorless material that Gunnison thought to be food. The creature went -prone and pushed the dish forward on the ground in a veritable agony of -shy embarrassment.</p> - -<p>Without thinking, Gunnison extended his own hand and laid it on the -hideous head. The result was amazing. The monster increased her -senseless writhings twofold and a shade of attractive lavender diffused -her face.</p> - -<p>She was blushing. Gunnison thought: They're entirely harmless, these -creatures. More than that, they're a people shy to the point of pain. -Good lord, what a switch!</p> - -<p>Now the two males went suddenly crazy with fear. They looked into the -sky and went into gibbering gymnastics as they sought to prevail on -Gunnison without touching him. Obviously they wanted him to leave this -terrible place. Why?</p> - -<p>Evidently because of the black bird that circled over head. Gunnison -looked up. The natives babbled inarticulate entreaty as they gestured -toward Gunnison's camp. Then, as the bird gave forth an angry whistle -and went into its dive, they broke and bolted madly for the nearby -crags.</p> - -<p>Gunnison, his eye on the bird, did not see where they went. The bird -arced down and Gunnison clipped it square on the beak, with his pan. -The bird did a somersault, gained its wings, and headed drunkenly for -the ridge, screaming in rage.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus.jpg" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>Gunnison turned his eyes on the crags. The natives were nowhere in -sight. He pondered the situation for a few moments and then went back -to work. The natives, he told himself with great satisfaction, were not -a menace.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The passing days not only strengthened this belief but augmented it. -They were not merely harmless. Their eagerness to be helpful was almost -pathetic. They came regularly to sit and watch Gunnison at his labors. -At times as many as two dozen crowded about to regard him with obvious -awe.</p> - -<p>Gunnison's identification of male and female was strengthened when two -of the men hauled a woman to the edge of his camp and threw her forward -almost into his gear pile. The woman seemed overcome both by fear and -honor at the same time. The effect was ludicrous and Gunnison risked -displeasure by signifying definitely that he did not want a mate. They -took no offense. The female walked away sadly, her ugly head hanging.</p> - -<p>Gunnison's camp became a depository for weird and useless gifts. -These consisted of old bones, scraps of hide, various evil-smelling -concoctions of food. Animal teeth strung in necklaces and laid proudly -at his feet.</p> - -<p>Gunnison was careful to show no annoyance at this expanding pile -of debris. Not that he feared antagonizing them. He was convinced -this could not be done. But out of compassion because they were so -childlike, so innocent of evil save in their appearance.</p> - -<p>He tried to turn them to his advantage. He spent a whole morning -attempting to teach one of the males to use a pan. The results were -nil. The creature was incapable of understanding the difference -between the gray sand and the yellow dust. To him, both were equally -useless—or equally valuable. The only result was the native's -despondency at being unable to please Gunnison.</p> - -<p>But Gunnison was philosophical about it. Even if he had channeled -the native to his purpose the monster would have been of little help -because at sight of the black birds all of them always ran screaming -into the rocks to stay hidden for hours.</p> - -<p>So Gunnison was philosophical. But also bitter, because even so -extraordinary a situation as this still brought him no profit. He had -a tribe of abject slaves at his command. Child-men willing to give him -anything they owned even to the hair off their own hides. But what did -they own? Nothing but old bones and teeth and nauseating concoctions -they used for food.</p> - -<p>Gunnison had explored the area roundabout and had discovered what was -probably the ruins of an ancient city. If so, the place flourished -before the dawn of history because the buildings were only vague heaps -of rubble. The natives lived in these and, Gunnison suspected, in caves -among the rocks.</p> - -<p>Evidently this race was older than he had first suspected. They -squatted here on the ruins of some long-dead civilization. Perhaps -their ancestors conquered the city's founders and these pitiful -creatures were the last remnants of a retrograding race.</p> - -<p>So Gunnison cursed them in his wearier moments and patronized them the -rest of the time. They in turn drooped visibly at the sharpness in his -voice and wriggled in dog-like delight at his kind words. Obviously -yearning to do something for him—to serve this new master. As the -months went by he began thinking of them as the people who feared birds -and pretty much ignored them. He panned tirelessly, increasing his -horde, counting the days and weeks and months.</p> - -<p>And as the fifth month passed, his dust pile was small for the bitter -work expended but a larger stake than he had ever before acquired. It -would keep him in comfort if not in luxury.</p> - -<p>During the first week of the sixth month he learned painfully that the -native's fear of the birds had some foundation. The birds had never -ceased their attacks and he had learned to fend them off pretty much as -a man swats flies. But upon this morning his attention was riveted to a -particularly large reward of yellow dust from his last panning and one -of the black raiders got through. It drove its bill into his neck with -a squawk of triumph and got up and away before his swinging fist could -smash it down.</p> - -<p>He slapped his hand over the puncture and swore at the bird. Damned -nuisances! He looked at his hand and saw blood.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>He forgot the incident for ten minutes. Then a dull ache brought his -hand again to his neck. He found a lump the size of an egg. First, he -was merely annoyed, then mildly frightened as the dull ache turned into -a sharp pain.</p> - -<p>There were some drugs among his gear. He put down his pan and moved -toward camp. Perhaps the wound should be lanced and disinfected. He had -taken but ten steps when the lump seemed to bulge under his fingers. -The sharp pain shot downward through his neck and into his shoulders.</p> - -<p>Another step and agony such as he had never known took possession of -his body. He tried to scream but his throat was paralyzed. A condition -past all panic seized his mind as the agony became too great to bear.</p> - -<p>In those last few seconds he lost his mind, asking for death with his -last conscious thought.</p> - -<p>And within fifteen minutes of the bird's attack, Gunnison lay dead in -the bleak fastnesses of the Ghanati.</p> - -<p>The natives found him and went into protestations of violent grief. -They groveled and demonstrated their adoration by rubbing their faces -brutally upon the ground.</p> - -<p>But like the children they were, they soon became joyful in the -knowledge that they could serve Gunnison in death far better than in -life.</p> - -<p>They lifted his body and formed a procession as they bore it to the -center of their ruined city. Once there, they went deep into one of -the caves and brought forth those things their heritage taught them -were valuable only to the dead. Things they and their ancestors and the -great race that preceded them gave only to the dead.</p> - -<p>A casket requiring ten carriers for the lifting. A burial robe for the -corpse. Casks and urns and numerous articles to be used by Gunnison in -the next world.</p> - -<p>They buried him reverently as it was given them to understand -reverence. There was singing, dancing, and much joy.</p> - -<p>So Gunnison came thus to his end. A grave deep in the Ghanati and there -is nothing of importance left to tell. Nothing of importance, but one -note of possible interest.</p> - -<p>The casket and the robe and all the farewell gifts were exquisitely -fashioned.</p> - -<p>From purest gold.</p> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GUNNISON'S BONANZA ***</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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