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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..818b229 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #69762 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/69762) diff --git a/old/69762-0.txt b/old/69762-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 6868b7b..0000000 --- a/old/69762-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,8495 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Hellflower, by George O. Smith - -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: Hellflower - -Author: George O. Smith - -Release Date: January 10, 2023 [eBook #69762] - -Language: English - -Produced by: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HELLFLOWER *** - - - - - - HELLFLOWER - - GEORGE O. SMITH - - PYRAMID BOOKS - NEW YORK - - [Transcriber's Note: Extensive research did not uncover any - evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - HELLFLOWER - A PYRAMID BOOK - Published by arrangement with Abelard-Schuman, Inc. - - Abelard-Schuman edition published 1953 - Pyramid edition published November, 1957 - Second printing February, 1969 - - Copyright 1953, by George O. Smith - - All Rights Reserved - - Printed in the United States of America - - PYRAMID BOOKS are published by Pyramid Publications, Inc., - 444 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10022, U.S.A. - - - For Doña - - - - -IT LOOKED AS INNOCENT AS A GARDENIA ... - -But the Hellflower's perfume turned any woman into any man's woman. -The haunting, pungent scent aroused desires too fierce to be slaked by -ordinary passions--and left its victims burnt-out husks! - -Charles Farradyne knew that no woman could resist the Hellflower. Yet -Carolyn, the girl he wanted above all to possess, smiled when he gave -her the deadly bloom--smiled and inhaled the perfumed poison.... - -HELLFLOWER is the fantastic story of a lovely woman who was not quite -human--and of a man who went through heaven and hell to win her. - - - - - 1 - - -The book had been thrown at Charles Farradyne. Then they had added the -composing room, the printing press and the final grand black smear of -printer's ink. So when Howard Clevis located Farradyne working in the -fungus fields of Venus four years later, he found a beaten man who no -longer burned with resentment because he was all burned out. Farradyne -looked up dully when Clevis came into the squalid rooming house. - -"I am Howard Clevis," said the visitor. - -"Fine," mumbled Farradyne. "So?" He looked at one of the few white -shirts in a thousand miles and grunted disapprovingly. - -"I've a job for you, Farradyne." - -"Who do you want killed?" - -"Take it easy. You're the Charles Farradyne who--" - -"Who dumped the Semiramide into The Bog, and you're Santa Claus, here -to undo it?" - -"This is on the level, Farradyne." - -Farradyne laughed shortly, but the sound was all scorn and no humor. -While his raw bark was still echoing in the room, Farradyne added, -"Drop it, Clevis. With a thousand licensed spacemen handy everywhere, -willing to latch onto an honest buck, any man that comes half way -across Venus to offer Farradyne a job can't be on the level." - -Clevis eyed Farradyne calculatingly. "I should think you might enjoy -the chance." - -"I'm a bum, but I'm no murderer." - -"I told you--" - -"You've said a lot of nothing. So you came here to offer me a legit?" - -"Yes." - -"It doesn't look good." - -Clevis smiled calmly. He had the air of a man who knew what he -was doing. He was medium tall, a sprinkle of gray in his hair and -determined lines near the eyes and across the forehead. There was -character in his face, but nothing to show whether this character was -high or low. Just strong and no doubt about it. "I'm here, Farradyne, -just because of the way it looks. The fact is that I need you. I know -you're bitter, but--." - -"Bitter!" roared Farradyne, getting to his feet and stalking across the -wretched little room toward Clevis. "Bitter? My God! They haul me home -on a shutter so they can give me a fair trial before they kick me out. -You don't think I like it in this rat hole, do you?" - -"No, I don't. But listen, will you?" - -"Nobody listened to me, why should I listen to you?" - -"Because I have something to say," said Clevis pointedly. "Do you want -to hear it?" - -"Go ahead." - -"I'm Howard Clevis of the Solar Anti-Narcotics Department." - -"Well, I haven't any. I don't use any. And I don't have much truck with -them that do." - -"No one is on trial here and nothing that you say can be used in any -way. That's why I came alone. You're on the wrong trolley. But I'll -tell you this, Farradyne, if I were in your shoes I'd do anything at -all to get out of this muck field." - -"Some things even a bum won't do. And I don't owe you anything." - -"Wrong. When you dumped the Semiramide into The Bog four years ago, you -killed one of our best operatives. We need you, Farradyne, and you owe -us one. Now?" - -"When I dumped the Semiramide no one would listen to me. Do you want to -listen to me now?" - -"No, I don't." - -"I got a raw deal." - -"So did the man you killed." - -"I didn't kill anybody!" yelled Farradyne. - -Clevis eyed him calmly even though Farradyne was large enough to take -the smaller, older man's hide off. "I am not here to argue that point," -he said. "And I don't intend to. Regardless of how you feel, I'm -offering you a chance to get out of this mess. It's a space job." - -"What makes you think I'll play stool pigeon?" - -"It's no informer's job. It's space piloting." - -"I'll bet." - -"You bet and I'll cover it a thousand to one." - -Farradyne sat down on the dingy bed. "Go ahead and talk, Clevis. I'll -listen." - -Clevis dug into his briefcase and brought out a flower. "Do you know -what this is?" he asked, handing the blossom to Farradyne. - -Farradyne looked at it briefly. "It might be a gardenia, but it isn't." - -"How can you tell?" asked Clevis eagerly. - -"Only because you wouldn't be coming half way across Venus to bring me -a gardenia. So that is a love lotus." - -Clevis looked a bit disappointed. "I thought that maybe you might have -some way--" - -"What makes you think I'd know more than a botanist?" - -Clevis smiled. "Spacemen tend to come up with some oddly interesting -specks of knowledge now and then. No, I didn't really hope that you'd -know more than a botanist. But--" - -"So far as I know, there's only one way of telling. That's to try it -out. Thanks, I'll not have my fun that way. That's one thing you can't -pin on me." - -"I wouldn't try. But listen, Farradyne. In the past twelve years we -have carefully besmirched the names and reputations of six men hoping -that they could get on the inside. For our pains we have lost all six -of them one way and another. The enemy seems to have a good espionage -system. Our men roam up and down the system making like big-time -operators and get nowhere. The love lotus operators seem to be able to -tell a phony louse when they see one." - -"And I am a real louse?" - -"You've a convincing record." - -Farradyne shook his head angrily. "Not that kind," he snapped. "Your -pals sloughed off my license and tossed me out on my duff to scratch, -but no one ever pinned the crooked label on me and made it stick." - -"Then why did they take away your license?" - -"Because someone needed a goat." - -"And you are innocent?" - -Farradyne growled hopelessly. "All right," he said, returning to his -former lethargy. "So just remember that all the evidence was still my -unsupported word against their assumptions. I was acquitted, remember? -Lack of evidence stands on the books. But they took my license and -tossed me out of space and that's as bad as a full conviction. So where -am I? So I'll stop beating my gums about it, Clevis." - -Clevis smiled quietly. "You were a good pilot, Farradyne. Maybe a bit -too good. Your trouble was being too sure of yourself. You collected a -few too many pink tickets for cutting didoes and collecting women to -show off in front of. They'd have marked it off as an accident if it -hadn't been Farradyne. Your record accused you of being the hot-pants -pilot, the fly-fly boy. Maybe that last job of yours was another dido -that caught you. But let's leave the ghost alone. Maybe you've learned -your lesson and are willing to make a stab at it again. We need you." - -Farradyne grunted and his lips twisted a bit. He got up from the unmade -bed and went to the scarred dresser to pour a stiff jolt from an -open bottle into a dirty glass. He took a sip and then walked to the -window and stood there, staring out into the dusk and talking, half to -himself. Clevis listened. - -"I've had my prayer," said Farradyne. "A prayer in a nightmare. A -man fighting against a rigged job, like the girl in that old story -who turned up in her mother's hotel room to find that every trace of -her mother's existence had been erased. Bellhops, and cab driver, -steamship captain and the hotel register, all rigged. Even the police -deny her. Remember? Well, that's Farradyne, too, Clevis. Do you know -what happened? My first error was telling them that someone came into -the control room during landing. They said that no one would do that -because everybody knew the danger of diverting the pilot's attention -during a landing. No one, they said, would take the chance of killing -himself, and the other passengers would stop anyone who tried to go up -the stairs at that time because they knew the danger to themselves. - -"Then they practically scoffed me into jail when I told them that -there were three people in the room. A pilot might just as well be -blindfolded and manacled to his chair during landing. He hasn't time -to play games around tables and chairs. So I heard three people behind -me and couldn't look. All I could do was to snarl for them to get the -hell out. So then we rapped the cliff and dumped into The Bog, and I -got tossed out through the busted observation dome. They salvaged the -Semiramide a few months later and found only one skeleton in the room. -That made me a liar. Besides the skeleton was of a woman, and they -all nodded sagely and said, 'Woman? Well, we know Farradyne!' and I -got the works. So," said Farradyne, bitter-sounding once more, "they -suspended me and took away my license. No jobs for a man trained for -space and nothing else. They wouldn't even let me near a spacer--maybe -they thought I might steal one, forgetting that there is no place to -hide. Maybe they thought I'd steal Mars, too. So if I want a drink they -ask me if it's true that jungle juice gives a man hallucinations. If I -light a cigarette I'm asked if it is real laughing grass. If I ask for -a job they want to know how hard I'll work for my liquor, and so I end -up in this godforsaken marsh, playing nurse-maid to a bunch of stinking -toadstools." Farradyne's voice rose to an angry pitch. "The mold grows -on your hide and under your nails and in your hair, and you forget what -it's like to be clean and you lose hope and ambition because you're -kicked off the bottom of the ladder, but you still dream of someday -being able to show the whole damned solar system that you are not the -louse they made you. Then, instead of getting a chance, a man comes to -you and offers you a job because he needs a professional bastard with a -bad record. It's damned small consolation, Clevis." - -Farradyne sniffed at the glass and then threw it out the window with -a derisive gesture. "I'll ask for a lot of things," he said quietly, -now. "And the first thing is for enough money to buy White Star Trail -instead of this rotgut." - -"That can be done, but can you take it?" - -"It'll be hard," admitted Farradyne. "I've been on this diet of soap -and vitriol too long. But I'll do it. Give me a month." - -"I can't offer you much," said Clevis. "But maybe this can be hope for -you. Help us clean up the hellblossom gang and you'll do a lot toward -erasing that black mark on your record." - -"Just what is the pitch?" - -Clevis took a small leather folder from his briefcase and handed it -over. Farradyne recognized it as a space pilot's license before he -opened it. He read it with a cynical smile before he asked, "Where did -you get it?" - -"It's probably the only official forgery in existence. The Solar -Anti-Narcotics Department--SAND--has a lot of angles to play. First, -that ticket is made of the right paper and printed with the right -type and the right ink because," and Clevis smiled, "it came from the -right office. The big rubber stamp, 'Reinstated,' is the right stamp -and the initials are put on properly, but not by the right man. The -license will get you into and out of spaceports and all the rest of the -privileges. But it has no listing on the master log at the Bureau of -Space Personnel. It's an excellent forgery, it will not be questioned -so long as you stay out of trouble. The only people who will check on -the validity will be the ones we hope to catch. When they discover that -your ticket is invalid, you may get an offer to join 'em." - -"And in the meantime?" - -"In the meantime you'll be running a spacer in the usual way. We've -a couple of sub-contracts you can handle to stay in business. You'll -pick up other business, no doubt. But there are two things to remember, -always." - -"Two?" - -"Two. The first is that you've got to play it flat, no nonsense. Just -remember who and what you are. And just to make sure of it, I'll -remind you again that you are a crumb with a bad reputation. You'll -be running a spacer worth a hell of a lot of dough and there will be a -lot of people asking a lot of other people how you managed the deal. -Probably none of them will ever get around to asking you, but your -attitude is the same as the known gangster whose only visible means -of support for his million-dollar estate and his yacht and his high -living is the small string of hot-dog stands or the dry-goods store. -That he owns all these things is only an indication of thrift and good -management." - -"I get it," grinned Farradyne. - -Clevis snapped, "This is no laughing matter. What goes along with this -is important. You'll play this game as we outline it to you and in no -other way. The first time we find you playing hanky-panky, we'll have -you by the ears in the morning. And if you cut a dido and get pinned -for it, there you'll be with a forged license and a spacer that will -have some very odd-looking registration papers so far as the Master Log -runs. And no one is going to admit that he knows you. Certainly the -SAND office won't. And furthermore, if you do claim any connection at -any time for any reason whatsoever, we'll haul you in for attempting to -impersonate one of us. You're a decoy, a sitting duck with both feet in -the mud, Farradyne, and no damned good to anybody until you get mired -deeper in the same stinking mud. There'll be more later. Now for the -second item." - -"Second? Weren't there ten or twelve in that last delivery?" grunted -Farradyne. - -"That was only the beginning. The second is this. Do not, under any -circumstances, make any attempt to investigate that accident of yours." - -"Now look," snapped Farradyne hotly, "I've spent four years--" - -"In the first place, nothing that you could possibly do would convince -anybody that you were the innocent bystander. So--" - -"But I'm telling you--" - -"The game you are going to play will not permit you to make any attempt -to clear up that mess. As a character of questionable background, your -attitude must be that of a man caught in a bad show and forced to -undergo visible suffering long enough for the public to forget, before -you can resume your role of professional louse. Got this straight?" - -Farradyne looked at Clevis, gaunt has-been looking at success. The -window was dark now, but there were no stars visible from the surface -of Venus, only Terra and Jupiter and Sirius and Vega and a couple of -others that haloed through the haze. The call of the free blackness of -space pulled at Farradyne. He turned back from the window and looked -at the unmade bed, the insect-specked wall, the scarred dresser, the -warped floor. His nose wrinkled tentatively and he cursed inwardly -because he knew that the joint reeked of rancid sweat and mildewed -cloth and unwashed human body, and his nose was so accustomed to this -stink that he could not smell it. - -Farradyne came to understand in those few moments while Clevis watched -him quietly, waiting for his decision, that his oft-repeated statement -that there were some things that even a bum wouldn't do was so much -malarkey. Farradyne would have joined the hellblossom operators for an -opportunity to get out of this Venusian mire. He turned to Clevis. - -"Let's go," he said. - -Clevis cast a pointed look at the dresser. - -"There's nothing in the place but bad memories," said Farradyne. "I'll -leave 'em here. Good, bad or indifferent, Clevis, I'm your man no -matter how you want it played. For the first time in years I seem to -want a bath and a clean shirt." - -As Clevis headed toward the door Farradyne aimed a solid kick at the -dresser, putting one more scar on its marred flank. "I'm behind you," -he said. - - - - - 2 - - -He was rustier than he had realized. For it was not only four years -away from the levers of the control room and the split-second decision -of high speed, it was four years of rotting in skid-row. His muscles -were stringy, his skin was slatey, his eyes were slow and he had -lost tone. He was flab and ache and off his feed. He was slow and -overcompensating in his motions. He missed his aim by yards and -miscalculated his position and his speed and his direction so badly -that Donaldson, who rode in the co-pilot's seat, sat there with his -hands poised over the levers and clutched convulsively or pressed -against the floor with his feet, chewing his lips with concern as -Farradyne flopped the sky cruiser roughly here and there. They -practiced on Mercury where the traffic was very light, in a Lancaster -Eighty-One which was a fine piece of space-cruiser by any man's -opinion, and Farradyne punished the ship like a recruit. - -It took him a month to get the hang of it again. A solid month of -severe discipline, living in the ship and taking exercise and routine -practice to refine his control. He found that making the change from -the rotgut jungle juice to White Star Trail was not too hard because -his mind was busy all the time and he did not need the high-powered -stuff to anesthetize. White Star Trail was a godsend to the man who -liked the flavor of fine Scotch whiskey but could not afford to befog -his coordination by so much as a single ounce of the pure quill. It -was a synthetic drink that tasted like Scotch but lacked the alcoholic -kick, and Farradyne learned soon enough that he could forego the jolt -of high-test liquor in favor of the pleasant flavor because he had -discovered ambition again. - -Eventually they "soloed" him. Donaldson sat in the easy chair in -the salon below talking to Clevis and he could hear them discussing -problems unrelated to him. Their voices came over the squawk-box -clear enough to understand. It gave Farradyne confidence. He took the -Lancaster Eighty-One into the sky and circled Mercury for a landing, -and for a moment relived that black day in his past, vividly. - -He had called the spaceport, "Semiramide calling North Venus Tower." - -"Aye-firm, Semiramide, from North Venus Tower." - -"Semiramide requesting landing instructions, give with the dope, Tower." - -"Tower to Semiramide. Beacon Nine at one hundred thousand feet, Landing -Area Twelve. Traffic is One Middleton Seven-Six Two at thirty thousand -taking off from Beacon Two and one Lincoln Four-Four landing at Beacon -Seven. Keep an eye peeled for a Burbank Eight-Experimental that's been -scooting around at seventy-thousand. That's all." - -"Aye-firm, Tower." - -Then had come the voice of a woman behind him. Just a murmur, perhaps -a sigh of wonder from a woman who had just been shown for the first -time in her life the intricacies of rack and panel, of meter and gage -and lever and shining device that surround the space pilot to demand -every iota of his attention during take-off or landing. In Farradyne's -recollection, there were two kinds of people; one kind stood in the -center of such an array and held their hands together for fear of -upsetting something, and the other kind couldn't keep their hands off a -button or a lever if it meant their own electrocution. - -There were thirty-three people aboard, thirteen of them women and -Farradyne wondered which of them it was. He didn't care. "Get the hell -below," he snarled over his shoulder. The man who had brought her up -made some sound. Farradyne was even shorter with the man. A woman -might wander up, interested, but a man should know that this was a -deadly curiosity. "Take her below, you imbecile," he snapped. - -An older man chimed in with something that sounded like an agreement -with Farradyne's order. There was a brief three-way argument that -lasted until one of them had fallen for the lure of a dark pilot lamp -and an inviting pushbutton. The Semiramide bucked like a wasp-stung -colt and the silver-dull sky over Venus Spaceport whirled.... - - * * * * * - -Farradyne was shocked out of this vivid daydream by the matter-of-fact -voice of the Mercury Port's dispatcher, "Lancaster from Tower, you are -half a degree off landing course. Correct." - -Farradyne responded, "Instructions received, Tower. Will correct. Will -correlate instruments after landing." - -"Aye-firm, Lancaster Eighty-One." - -Farradyne's remembrances ended and his solo landing was firm and easy; -almost as good as he used to do in the days before.... - -He put it out of his mind and went below to Clevis and Donaldson. The -latter asked him what had been the matter with the course. - -"I hit a daydream of the Semiramide," admitted Farradyne. - -"Better forget it," suggested Clevis, drily. - -"I came out of it," said Farradyne shortly. - -"Okay?" Clevis looked at Donaldson. The pilot nodded. "Okay, Farradyne, -you're ready. This is your ship; you're cleared to Ganymede on -speculation. You'll play it from there. There's enough money in the -strong-locker to keep you going for a long time on no pickups at all; -you'll get regular payment for the Pluto run. Play it flat, and help us -out. Just remember, no shenanigans." - -"No games," promised Farradyne. - -Clevis stood up. "I hope you mean that," he said earnestly. "If nothing -else remember that your--er,--misfortune on Venus four years ago may -have put you in a position to be a benefactor to the mankind you hate -at the moment. I hope you'll find that they are as quick to applaud a -hero as to condemn a louse. Don't force me to admit that my hope of -running down the hellblossom outfit was based on a bum hunch. Don't let -me down, Farradyne." - -Clevis left then, before Farradyne could find words. Donaldson left -with him, but stopped at the spacelock to hurl one sentence. "Pilots -are a proud lot, Farradyne. Luck, fella." - -An hour later Farradyne was a-space between Mercury and Ganymede. On -his own in space for the first time in four long, aching years. Not -quite a free man, but at least no prisoner. He took a deep breath -once he was out of control-range and could put the Lancaster on the -autopilot. Gone were the smells and the rotting filth of the fungus -fields and here were the bright, clear stars in the velvety sky. Here -was freedom--freedom of the body, at least. Maybe even freedom of the -soul. But not freedom of the intellect, yet. He had a tough row to hoe -and the tougher row of his innocence to turn up into the light of day. -But for the first time since he was thrown flat on his face he felt he -had a chance. - -Eventually he hit the sack.... - -Ganymede was in nightfall and Jupiter was a half-rim over the horizon -when he landed. He checked in at the Operations Office and listed -his Lancaster as available for a pickup job. The clerk that took his -license to make the listing raised a mild eyebrow at the big rubber -stamp reading "Reinstated" across the face of the card, but made no -comment. Farradyne's was not the only one so stamped and Farradyne -knew it. Pilots had been suspended for making a bounce-landing with -an official aboard or coming in too slantwise instead of following a -beacon down vertically. - -He folded the leather case and slipped it back in his pocket. He looked -at the pickup list which was not too long. Farradyne knew that he had -a fair chance of picking up a job here, and if he did it would add to -whatever backlog Clevis had left him. The space business was an odd -one and Farradyne found himself able to figure his chances as though -he had not spent his time digging mushrooms on Venus. His chances were -excellent; the pilot that owned his own ship outright was a rare one. -The rest were mortgaged to the scuppers and it was a touch and clip -job to make the monthly payments. Some pilots never did get their -ships paid off but managed to scratch out a living anyway. A pilot -with a clear ship could eventually start a string of his own. This was -the ultimate goal which so many aimed at but so few achieved. With no -mortgage to contend with, Farradyne could loaf all over space and still -make out rather well, picking up a job here, a job there. - -He waved a hand at the registry clerk and went out into the dark of the -spaceport. - -Rimming the edge of the field were three distant globs of neon, all -indicating bars. One was as good as the next, so Farradyne headed -toward the nearest. He entered it with the air of a man who had every -right to land his ship anywhere he pleased and head for the nearest -bar. He waggled a finger at the barkeep, called for White Star Trail, -and dropped a ten-spot on the bar with a gesture indicating that he -might be there long enough for a second. - -Then he turned and hooked one heel in the brass rail, leaned back on -the mahogany with his elbows and surveyed the joint like a man with -time and money to spare, looking for what could be found. - -Appropriately, it was called The Spaceman's Bar even though the name -indicated a lack of imagination, for there were about sixteen hundred -Spaceman's Bars rimming spaceports from Pluto to Mercury. The customers -were about the same, too. There were four spacemen playing blackjack -for dimes near the back of the room. Two women were nursing beers, -hoping for someone to come and offer them something more substantial. -Two young fellows were agreeing vigorously with one another about the -political situation which neither of them liked. One character should -have gone home eighteen drinks earlier and was earning a ride home on -a shutter with a broken nose by needling a man who showed diminishing -patience. A woman sat in a booth along the wall, dressed in a copy -of some exclusive model. The copy had neither the material nor the -workmanship to stand up for much more than the initial wearing, and it -looked now as though she had worn it often. The woman herself had the -same tired, overworked look as her dress. She was too young to have -that look, but she had it and Farradyne wondered how she had earned it. -He looked away, disinterested. He favored the vivacious brunette who -sat gayly across the table from a young spaceman and enticed him with -her eyes. - -Farradyne shrugged, the girl had eyes for no one else and she probably -couldn't have been pried away from her young man by any means, fair or -foul. It occurred to Farradyne from the way she was acting, that if -some other guy slipped her a love lotus, the girl would take a deep -breath, get bedroom eyed, and then leave the guy to go looking for her -spaceman. Farradyne grinned at the idea; the hapless spendthrift who -bought the love lotus would probably go roaring back to the seller -raising hob about being rooked on the deal because the lotus hadn't -worked. - -He finished his drink and then turned back to the bar for a refill. As -he turned to face the road again he saw that a man had come in and was -standing just inside the door, blinking at the light. He was eyeing the -customers with a searching look. - -Eventually he addressed the entire room, "Who owns the Lancaster -Eighty-One that just came in?" - -"I do," said Farradyne. - -"Are you free?" - -"Until the third of August." - -"Terran, I see." - -"Right. Anything wrong in being Terran?" - -"Not at all. Just an observation. I'm Timothy Martin of the Martian -Water Commission and I'd like to hire you for a trip to Uranus." - -"My name is Charles Farradyne and maybe we can make a deal. What's the -job, Mr. Martin?" Farradyne eyed the room furtively, wondering if the -mention of his name would ring any cracked bells among the spacemen. It -didn't seem to, and Farradyne did not know whether to be gratified at -man's forgetfulness or depressed. - -"Only three of us and some instruments," said Martin. - -"That's hiking all the way to Uranus empty, you know." - -"I know, but this is of the utmost importance. Government business." - -"It's up to you; I'll haul you out there on a three passenger charter, -since you probably haven't enough gear to make it a payload. Okay?" - -"It's a bit high," objected Martin, "but this is necessity. Can you be -ready for an early morning hop off?" - -"You be there with your gear and we'll hike it at dawn." He turned to -the barkeep and wagged for a refill, then indicated that Martin be -served. The government man took real bourbon but Farradyne stuck to his -White Star Trail. The two of them clinked glasses and drank. Farradyne -was about to say something when he felt a touch against his elbow. Her -glazed eyes were small and glittering, and her face was hardened and -thin-lipped. - -"You're Charles Farradyne?" she asked in a flat voice. Beneath the tone -of dislike and distrust the voice had what could have been a pleasant -throatiness if it had not been strained. - -Farradyne nodded. - -"Farradyne--of the Semiramide?" - -"Yes." He felt a peculiar mixture of gratification and resentment. He -had been recognized at last, but it should have come from a better -source. - -She shut him out by turning to Martin. "Do you know whom you've hired?" -she asked in the same flatness of tone. Profile-wise, she was not much -more than a girl. Maybe twenty-three at the most. Farradyne could not -explain how a woman that young could possibly have crammed into the -brief years all the experience that showed in her face. - -Martin fumbled for words. "Why, er--" he started, lamely. - -"This rum-lushing bum is Charles Farradyne, the hot-rock that dumped -his spacer into The Bog." - -"Is this true?" demanded Martin of Farradyne. - -"I did have an accident there," said Farradyne. "But--" - -The woman sneered. "Accident, you call it. Sorry, aren't you? Reeking -with remorse. But not so grief stricken that you'll not take this man -out and kill him the way you killed my brother." - -Farradyne grunted. "I don't know you from Mother Machree," he said. -"I've had my trouble and I don't like it any more than you do." - -"You're alive, at least," she snarled at him. "Alive and ready to go -around skylarking again. But my brother is dead and you--" - -"Am I supposed to blow out my brains? Would that make up for this -brother of yours?" demanded Farradyne angrily. Some of the anguish -of the affair returned. He recalled all too vividly his own mental -meanderings and the feeling that suicide would erase that memory. But -he had burned himself out with those long periods of self-reproach. - -"Blow your brains out," advised the girl, sharply. "Then the rest of us -will be protected against you." - -"I suppose I'm responsible for you, too?" he asked bitterly. - -Timothy Martin gulped his drink down. "I think I'd better find another -ship," he said hurriedly. - -Farradyne nodded curtly at Martin's back. He looked down at the girl. -He felt again the powerful impulse to plead his case, to explain. But -he knew that this was the wrong thing to do. Martin had refused the -job once Farradyne had been identified. This might be the start of the -game that Clevis wanted. Farradyne could louse it up for fair by saying -the wrong thing here and now. So instead of making some appeal to the -woman, Farradyne eyed her coldly. - -There was something incongruous about her. She looked like the standard -tomato of the spacelanes; she dressed the part and she acted it. The -rough-hewn language and the cynical bitterness were normal enough but -her acceptable grammar and near-perfect diction were strange. He had -catalogued her as a drunken witch but she was neither drunk nor a -witch. Nor was she a thrill-seeking female out slumming for the fun of -it. She belonged in the "Spaceman's Bar" but not among the lushes. - -He caught it then. He had been too far from it for too long. The -glazed, bored eyes, the completely blasé attitude gave it away first; -then the fact that she had become animated at the chance to start a -scene. Dope is dope and all of it works the same way. The first sniff -is far from dangerous, but the second must be larger, and the third -larger still until the body craves a massive dose. In some dope it is -physical, in others the effect is mental. With the love lotus it was -emotional. The woman had been on an emotional toboggan; her capacity -for emotion had been dulled to such an extent that only a scene of real -violence could cut through the emotional scars to give her a reaction. -Someone had slipped the girl a really topnotch dose of hellflower. - -"Who are you?" he asked. - -"Norma Hannon," she snapped. "And I don't suppose you remember Frank -Hannon at all." - -"Never met him." - -"You killed him." - -Farradyne felt a kind of hysteria, he wanted to laugh and he knew that -once he started he could not stop easily. Then the feeling went away -and he looked around the room. - -Every eye in the place was on him, but as he looked at them and -met their eyes, they looked down or aside. He knew the breed, they -were spacemen, a very strange mixture of high intelligence and hard -roughness; Farradyne knew that to a man they understood that the most -damaging thing they could do to him was to deny him the physical -satisfaction of a fight. He could rant and roar and in the end he would -be forced to leave the joint. It would be a lame retreat, a defeat. - -He looked back at the girl. She stood there in front of him with her -hands on her hips, swaying back and forth and relishing the emotional -stimulus of hatred. She wanted more, he could see. Farradyne wanted out -of here; the girl had done her part for him and could do no more. To -take her along as a possible link to the hellblossom operators was less -than a half-baked idea. She would only make trouble because trouble was -what she relished. - -"I've got it now," she blurted. Her voice rose to a fever-pitch, her -face cleared and took on the look of someone who is anticipating a -real thrill. Norma Hannon was at that stage in addiction where bloody, -murderous butchery would thrill her only to the same degree as a normal -woman being kissed goodnight at her front door. "I've got it now," she -said, and her voice rang out through the barroom. "The only kind of a -rascal that could dump a spacer and kill thirty-three people and then -turn up with another spacer, is a big-time operator. You louse!" she -screamed at him. Then she turned to the rest of the room. - -"Fellows, meet Charles Farradyne, the big-time hellflower operator!" - -Farradyne's nerves leaped. He knew his spacemen. A louse they could -ignore but a dope-runner they hated viciously. Their faces changed from -deliberate non-recognition of him to cold and calculated hatred, not -of Farradyne, but of what he represented. Farradyne knew that he had -better get out of here quickly or he would leave most of his skin on -the floor. - -Something touched him on the shoulder, hard. He snapped his -head around. The bartender had rapped him with the muzzle of a -double-barreled shotgun. - -"Get the hell out of here, Farradyne," said the barkeep between -narrowed lips. "And take your rotten money with you!" - -He scooped up the change he had dropped beside Farradyne's glass and -hurled the original ten-dollar bill at him. It went over the bar and -landed in a spittoon between the brass rail and the bar. - -"Pick it up," growled the barkeep coldly. He waved the shotgun and -forced Farradyne to retrieve the soggy bill. "Now get out--quick!" Then -his voice rose above the growing murmur of angry men. "Sit down, God -dammit! Every bloody one of you sit the hell down! We ain't going to -have no trouble in here!" He covered the room with the shotgun. - -Farradyne left. It was an ignominious retreat but it kept him a whole -skin. He burned inwardly, he wanted to have it out, but this was the -game Clevis wanted him to play and it was the price of his freedom from -the fungus fields. So he left, burning mad. He took it on the run to -his Lancaster, knowing that the barman would hold the room at bay only -until a bare escape was made. - -He took the ship up as soon as the landing ramp had been retracted and -only then did his nerves calm down. He looked at the whole affair--he -seemed to have started with a bang. If Clevis wanted a decoy, what -better decoy than to make a noise like a small guy muscling in on a big -racket? The word would travel from bar to bar, from port to port until -it reached the necessary person. - -Time was unimportant now. The word must get around. So instead of -driving to some definite destination, Farradyne set the Lancaster in a -long, lazy course and let the big ship loaf its way into space. - - - - - 3 - - -Big Jupiter and tiny Ganymede were dwindling below by the time -Farradyne was finished at the control panel. He was hungry and he was -tired, so he was going to eat and hit the sack. He turned and saw her. - -Norma Hannon sat in the computer's chair behind the board. Her hands -were folded calmly and her body was listless. She had been quietly -waiting for him to get finished with the important part of his piloting -before she started anything. Farradyne grunted uncertainly because he -was completely ignorant of her attitude, except perhaps the feeling -that she would enjoy violence. - -"Well?" he said. - -"I caught the landing ramp as it came running in." - -"Why?" - -"You owe me a couple," she told him. "You're a lotus runner, you can -give me one. Simple as that." - -"How do you figure?" - -"You killed my brother," she said. There was more vigor in her tone as -the anger flared again. "So you owe me more than a couple of blossoms -for it, at least." - -"What makes you think--" - -"Another thing," she interrupted. "I wanted to come along with you." - -"Now see here--" - -"Don't bother pretending you give a damn for the lives of the people -you sell those things to. Run your dope and get your dough and skip -before you have to see the ruin you bring." The flare of anger was with -her and she wriggled in her chair with an animal relish that was close -to ecstasy. - -"But I can't--" - -"Keep it up," she said. "You'll satisfy me, one way or another." She -eyed him critically. "You can't win, Farradyne. I've had my love lotus, -and all that is left of my feeling is heavy scar-tissue. Pleasure and -surprise are too weak to cut through; only a burning anger or a deep -hatred are strong enough to make me feel the thrill of a rising pulse. -I can get a lift out of hating you, but if you kissed me it would leave -me cold." She paused speculatively. "No, would it? Farradyne, come -here." - -"But why?" - -"Because I hate your guts. Of all the people in the solar system, I -hate you the most. I can keep telling myself that you killed Frank, and -that does it. And I add that you are a love lotus runner and in some -way part and parcel of this addiction of mine and that builds it up. -Now if you came over and kissed me, I'd let you and the very thought -of being kissed and fondled by such a completely rotten reptile as -Farradyne makes me seethe with pleasant anger." - -Farradyne recoiled. - -"Afraid?" she jeered, wriggling again. "You know, as a last thrill I -might kill you. But only as a last thrill. Because then the chance to -hate you actively would be over and finished and there could be no -more. So between hating your guts and getting an occasional hellflower -from the man I hate, I can feel almost alive again." - -Farradyne shook his head. This sort of talk was above and beyond him. -No matter what he said or did it was the wrong thing, which made it -right for Norma Hannon. - -He did not know much about the love lotus. All he knew was from -hearsay. But that did not include this sort of completely illogical -talk. Like many another man, Farradyne had always scorned the use of -any chemical means to lower the inhibitions of a woman. He wanted them -to love him for himself, not because of a sniff of perfume that made -them any man's woman. - -Seeing this end result actually made Farradyne feel better about the -lot he had been cast in. If Clevis was the kind of man who boiled -inwardly from a sense of outraged civic responsibility, Farradyne was -beginning to feel somewhat the same. - -He looked at Norma Hannon more critically. She had been a good-looking -woman not too long ago. She had probably laughed and danced and fended -off wolves and planned on marriage and happy children in a pleasant -home. Someone had cut her out of that future and Farradyne felt that he -wanted to get the man's neck between his hands and squeeze. He shook -himself and wondered whether this addiction to hatred were contagious. - -He said softly, "Who did it, Norma?" - -Her eyes changed. "I loved him," she breathed in a voice that was both -soft and heavy with another kind of anger than the violence she had -shown just a moment before. This was resentment against the past, while -her previous flare had been against the physical present. "I loved -him," she repeated. "I loved the flat-brained animal enough to lead him -into the bedroom if that's what he wanted. But no, the imbecile thought -that the only way I would unfreeze was with a hellflower. So he parted -with half a hundred dollars for one. The idiot could have rented a -hotel room for a ten-dollar bill," she added sourly. "Or bought a -marriage license and had me for the rest of his life for five." - -"Why didn't you refuse it?" he asked. "Or didn't you know that it -wasn't a gardenia?" - -Norma looked up with eyes that started to blaze, but they died and she -was listless again. "Maybe because people like to flirt with danger," -she said. "Maybe because men and women don't understand each other." - -"That's the understatement of the century." - -There was no flicker of amusement in her face. "Look at it this way," -she said. "I did say I loved him. So naturally he wouldn't be the kind -of man who would bring me a love lotus. Or if he did I could wear it -for the lift they bring without any danger, because any man worth -loving would not take advantage of his sweetheart while she's unable to -object. So I wore it and when I woke up after a real orgy instead of a -mild emotional binge, I was on the road toward having no feelings left. -I've been on the road ever since and I've come far." - -She looked at him again. "See what you and your kind have done?" she -demanded. Farradyne knew that she was whipping herself into a fury -again. "I was a nice, healthy woman once, but now I'm a burned out -battery. It takes a spot of violence to make me feel anything. Or maybe -a sniff from a lotus. Maybe by now it would take more than one." - -"But I haven't any." - -She snarled at him. "You can afford to part with one stinking flower." - -Norma leaped out of her chair and came across the room, her face -distorted, her hands clutching at his face. Farradyne fought her away, -and saw with dismay the look of animated pleasure on her face. It -was an unfair fight; Farradyne was trying to keep her from hurting -him without being forced to hurt her. She went at him with heel and -fingernail and teeth. - -He gave up. Taking a cold aim at the point of her jaw, Farradyne let -her have it. Norma recoiled a bit and her face glowed even more. In his -repugnance at hitting a woman he had not struck hard enough. She came -after him again, enjoying the physical violence, looking for more of -the same. Farradyne gritted his teeth and let her have it, hard. - -Norma collapsed with a suddenness that scared him. He caught her before -she hit the metal floor and carried her to the salon below, where he -laid her on the padded bench that ran along one wall. His knowledge of -things medical was not high, but it was enough to let him know that -she did not have a broken jaw. Of one thing there was no doubt: Norma -was out colder than he had ever seen man or woman. - -He carried her to one of the tiny staterooms, and stood there -contemplating her and wondering what to do next. He would have been -puzzled as to the next move if Norma had been a completely normal -woman. As it was, Farradyne decided that no matter what he did it -would be wrong. She would be as angry at one thing as at another. The -cocktail dress would not stand much sleeping in before it came apart at -the seams, but she would surely rave if he took it off to save it for -tomorrow. If he left her in it, she would rave at him for letting her -ruin the only thing she had to wear. - -Farradyne gave up and slipped the hold-down strap across her waist and -let it go at that. - -He would take what happened when she woke up. - -Then he went to his own stateroom and locked the door because he didn't -want any more ruckus and confusion. He slept fitfully even though the -locked door separated him securely from both amour and murder--both of -which added up to the same end with Norma. - -It was a sixty-hour trip from Ganymede to Mars. Each hour was a bit -more trying than the one before. Norma bedeviled him in every way she -knew. She found fault with his cooking but refused to go near the -galley herself. She objected to the brand of cigarettes he smoked. She -made scathing remarks whenever he touched an instrument, reminding him -of his incompetence as a pilot. She scorned him for refusing to bring -her the lotus. - -By the time Farradyne set the Lancaster down at Sun City on Mars, he -had almost arrived at the point where her voice was so much meaningless -noise. - -He landed after the usual discussion of landing space and beacon route -with Sun Tower, and Farradyne found time to wonder whether the word -about his affiliation had been spread yet. For the Tower operator paid -him no more attention than if he had been running in and out of the -spaceport for years. - -He pressed the button that opened the spacelock and ran out the landing -ramp. - -"This is it," he said flatly. - -"This is what?" she asked negatively. - -"The end of the line." - -"I'm staying." - -"No, you're not." - -"I'm staying, Farradyne. I like it here. You go on about your sordid -business, and see that you get enough to spare a couple for me. I'll be -here when you return." - -Farradyne swore. She had moved in on him unwanted and had ridden with -him unwanted. If she wanted to, she could raise her voice, and brother, -that would be it. One yelp and Farradyne would spend a long time -explaining to all sorts of big brass why he was hauling a woman around -the solar system against her wishes. A phenomenal quantity of sheer -hell can be raised by any woman merely by making a howl of shocked -surprise, putting on a look of wounded dignity and pointing a finger at -any man within a pebble's throw. Even men who have been rooked in this -ladylike maneuver are inclined to lean the other way and convict the -man when a woman plays that trick. - -So grunting helplessly, Farradyne left her in the Lancaster and went to -register at Operations. He was received blandly, just as he had been -received on Ganymede. Then he headed into Sun City to stall a bit. He -went to a show, had a drink or two, prowled around a bookstore looking -for something that might inform him about the love lotus and then -bought himself some clothing to augment his scant supply. He succeeded -in forgetting Norma Hannon for four solid hours. - -Then he remembered, and with the air of a man about to visit a dentist -for a painful operation, Farradyne went reluctantly back to his ship. - -The silence that met him was reassuring. Even if she had been sound -asleep, the noise of his arrival should have roused her so that she -would come out to needle him some more. He looked the ship over -carefully, and satisfied himself that Norma Hannon was not present. - -This was too good to miss. - -He raced to the control room, punched savagely at the button that -closed the spacelock and fired up the radio. "Lancaster Eighty-One -calling Tower." - -"Go ahead, Lancaster." - -"Request take-off instructions. Course, Terra." - -"Lancaster, is your passenger aboard?" - -"Passenger?" - -"Check Stateroom Eight, Lancaster. Your passenger informed us that she -was going into town, that you were not to leave without her." - -"Aye-firm, I will check." Farradyne snarled at the closed microphone. -Willfully abandoning a passenger would get him into more trouble than -trying to explain the reason for the presence of his guest. Norma had -done a fine job of bolting the Lancaster to the landing block in her -absence. - -He waited fifty seconds. "Tower from Lancaster Eighty-One. I will wait. -My passenger is not aboard." - -"Lancaster. Hold-down Switches to Safety, Warm-up Switches to -Stand-by. Power Switches to Off. Open your port for visitor." - -"Visitor, Tower?" - -"Civilian requests conference about pickup job. Are you free?" - -"I am free for Terra, Tower." - -"Prepare to receive visitor, Lancaster. Good luck on job." - -"Aye-firm. Over and off." - -Farradyne went below and rode the bottom step of the landing ramp on -its way out of the spacelock. He reached the ground about the same time -as the arrival of a port jeep, which brought his visitor to him. - -"You're Charles Farradyne? I'm Edwin Brenner. I'm told you are free for -Terra. Is that right?" - -"That's right." - -Brenner nodded. He looked around. The jeep was idling and making enough -noise so that the driver sitting in the machine could not possibly hear -anything that was being said. The driver was not even interested in -them; something in the distance had caught his eye and he was giving it -all his attention. Satisfied, Brenner leaned forward and in a low voice -said, "Let me see what you've got." - -Farradyne shook his head. "Who, me?" he asked. - -"You. I'm in the market. If they're in good shape, we can make a deal." - -Farradyne felt that this was as good a time to play cagey as any. "I -don't know what you are talking about." - -"No? I hardly think you are telling the truth." - -Farradyne grinned broadly. "So I'm a liar?" - -"I wouldn't say that." - -"Look, Brenner, I don't know you from Adam's off ox. From somewhere, -you have the idea that I am a runner and you want to get into the -act. In the first place I am not a runner and in the second place you -have about as much chance of getting into a closed racket with that -open-faced act of yours as you have of filling a warehouse with heroin -by asking the local cops where to buy it." - -Brenner smiled. "I can see you're cagey," he said. "I don't blame you. -In fact, I'd not have come out here asking like an open-faced fool if I -hadn't been completely out of stock. I'm a bit desperate." He went into -an inside pocket and came out with an envelope. "This is a credential -or two," he said, "so that when you return this way, we can maybe do -business. The usual way, you know. No questions, or witnesses. Okay?" - -"I'll be back--maybe, Mr.--er, Brenner." - -"You get the idea." - -"I'll--" Farradyne's voice trailed away as he caught sight of the -object that had held the interest of the jeep driver. It was Norma -Hannon, who came around the fins of the Lancaster with the sun behind -her. - -Her errand had been shopping. The overworn cocktail dress was gone -and in its place was a white, silky number that did a lot of fetching -things to her figure. She had also taken the complete course at some -primpmill. She was another woman. Not even Farradyne, who had seen her -for days, could have been convinced that this beautiful perfection was -not Norma's usual appearance. - -Farradyne was silent. But as Brenner caught sight of her coming around -the sunlit tail of the ship, with enough sun shining through her to -make the pulses jump he made a throaty discord. - -"Hello," she said brightly, as though she and Farradyne were reasonably -close acquaintances, but in a tone that indicated that she was paid -passenger and he the driver of the spacer. "I've some parcels being -delivered in a bit. We'll wait, of course?" - -Farradyne agreed dumbly. - -Norma nodded coolly to Brenner and said, "I'm going on in," as though -she did not want to interfere with any business that might be going -on between the two men. She went up the ramp displaying a quantity of -well-filled nylon at every step. - -The roar of the jeep's engine snapped Farradyne's attention back to -Brenner--or where Brenner had been standing. The jeep was taking -Brenner away in a cloud of spaceport dust. - -Farradyne shrugged. That was not the man he really wanted. Call it -close but no cigar. Farradyne did not want a man to buy love lotus, he -wanted a seller of the things, a shipper, a character from the upper -echelon. There might be an avenue through Brenner, but he doubted it. - -With a sigh, Farradyne went into the Lancaster. Norma rose from the -divan along the end of the salon and whirled like a mannequin, her -silken skirt floating. She stopped and let the skirt wrap itself around -her thighs. "Like it?" she asked. - -"It's very neat," he replied flatly. "But where did you get the -wherewithal?" - -"I figured you owed me something so I took it out of the locker in the -control room. You left the key dangling conveniently in the lock." - -Clevis had left Farradyne quite a bit of operating money but far from -enough to go cutting a silken swath across the average fashion mart. -"What's the grand idea?" he asked. - -"You're a cold-blooded bird. You don't give a hoot that you and your -cowboy-spacing killed my brother and that you and your kind made it -possible for some lecher to dope me out of my feelings. I'm told -that half-decent gangsters send flowers to a rival's funeral, but you -wouldn't part with even a love lotus you aren't paid for. So if you -won't give me one, I'm going to force it out of you." - -"But--" - -"You get the idea," she said, smoothing a nonexistent wrinkle over one -round hip. "But I'm honest. You've some change coming." She put her -hand down in the space between her breasts and brought forth a small -roll of bills which she handed to him. Dumbly, he took them. - -They were warm and scented with woman and cologne and would have -been hard on Farradyne's blood pressure if it had not been for the -anticipatory glitter in Norma Hannon's eyes. There was a small -commotion at the spacelock. Farradyne looked to see three men coming -in with fancy-wrapped boxes. He groaned and went aloft to the control -room. Norma had run the gamut without a trace of a doubt. - - - - - 4 - - -Farradyne sat before his control panel with his head in his hands and -tried to think this affair out to a logical conclusion. There had to be -some way out of it all. The only alternative was to go on hauling Norma -back and forth, being the brunt of her needling and her viciousness -and getting nothing done because of it. The mess had started off bad -enough, but had now deteriorated until at the present moment the future -looked completely hopeless. - -Norma's needling and goading had been hard enough to bear. Her -in-between offers of affection had been less difficult because she had -not made an attractive picture in the first place and she had not let -him forget her attitude in the second. But he realized that she was a -smart enough woman; if anything, having her emotional balance dulled -had put her in a rather interesting class of intellects. She was able -to analyze a situation without being involved emotionally herself in -the analysis. She was smart enough and unencumbered enough to realize -that playing soft-pedal on the hate theme might eventually get her what -she needed. - -He was willing to bet his spare money that the boxes she was now -receiving contained whatever could be purchased of the most seductive -clothing she could find. And included in that basic idea was, most -likely, a sharp appreciation of what Farradyne would consider exciting. -Acres of exposed skin or rank nudity would pall on him. He knew it -and he bet she knew it, too. So she would come out with some little -items that might cover her from toe to chin in such a way as to make -him wonder about what was underneath: probably simple stuff with a lot -of line and fine fit and a semi-transparent quality that compelled the -eye. If she coupled this program with a soft voice as she was most -likely to do now that she had shucked the sleazy costume, Norma Hannon -would be well nigh irresistible. And if she even once got the idea that -Farradyne felt protective about her or angry at the man who doped her, -she would see to it that she stopped raving at him. It would demolish -the barrier completely. Before this happened, he had to park her -somewhere that would be binding. - -Had she parents? Friends? - -He hit the control panel with his fist. He hated to think of it, but he -might be able to drop her in one of the sanatoriums that had been set -up for love lotus addicts. They did little good for the victims, but -did serve to keep them out of other people's hair--and he had to get -rid of her. - -It should be parents first. - -Farradyne's forefinger hit the radio button viciously. "Tower? Connect -me to the city telephone." - -"Aye-firm, Lancaster. Wait five." - -A few seconds later he was asking for the Bennington Detective Agency, -an outfit that was system-wide and which advertised enough to make him -remember the name. He got a receptionist first and then a quiet-voiced -man named Lawson. - -Farradyne came to the point. "I want any information you can collect -about the family of a man named Frank Hannon who was killed in the -wreck of the Semiramide in The Bog, on Venus, four years ago." - -"You're Charles Farradyne. The same Farradyne?" - -"Maybe, but is that important?" - -"It might be but it will be held confidential. I'm asking because we -prefer to know the motives of clients. I'd like reassurance that our -investigation will be made for a legal reason." - -"I'll put it this way. I know Frank Hannon was killed in the wreck. -I have reason to believe that he had a sister that disappeared -afterwards. If this is true, I want to know, but I haven't time to find -out through the usual channels. Fact of the matter is, I want no more -information than I could get myself if I had time to go pawing through -issues of newspapers of four years ago. No more. Is this reasonable -enough?" - -"It sounds that way. I'll look through our list of missing persons. I -suggest that you either call back in a couple of hours or better that -you call in person here at my office. There will be no charge for the -initial search, but if this evolves into something more concrete--well, -we can discuss the matter when you call. All right?" - -"It's okay and I'll be in your office at four o'clock." - -Farradyne hung up and considered. If Norma Hannon had a couple of -grieving parents, he could hand her over to them and that would be the -end of that. He lit a cigarette and smoked for a moment and then got up -from the control console, snapped all the switches off and started for -the spacelock. - -He met Norma in the salon. She had changed from her white, silky, -wide-skirted thing into a heavy satin housecoat that molded her arms -to the wrists, clung to her waist and breasts and throat, and outlined -her hips and thighs. Bare feet and painted toenails were provocatively -visible below the hem as she sat there with her legs crossed, tossing -her foot up and down. - -"Thought we were about to take off again?" she asked. Her voice -was soft and personal and friendly. She had obviously dropped the -vindictive tones and was plying the affectionate line as smoothly as -she could. - -Farradyne shook his head. Having a plan of action made him feel better. -"Got a call from the Tower," he said. "More business. I'll be back in a -couple of hours." - -Norma held up her hand for his cigarette and he gave it to her. She -puffed deeply and offered it back. Farradyne refused it. The memory -of her needling and her desire for violence had not had time to fade. -Another twenty hours of this calmness and he would begin to look upon -the sharing of a cigarette as a pleasant gesture of companionship. - -Norma shrugged at his wave of the hand in refusal. "I'll be here -when you get back," she said comfortably, wriggling down against the -cushions, and giving him the benefit of an inviting smile. She looked -for all the world like a woman who would be waiting patiently for her -man to return to her. - -Farradyne left the salon swearing under his breath. If this parking of -her did not work, Farradyne was licked and he knew it. - -Farradyne walked. He didn't like walking but he preferred it to -remaining in the Lancaster with Norma for the next couple of hours. He -tried to think, but he could not come to any conclusion because he had -all his hope tied on the Bennington outfit and what they might turn up. - -He was shown into the office of Peter Lawson, who was a bright-eyed, -elderly man with a body surprisingly lithe for his years. - -"Now, before we go any further," said Lawson, pleasantly, "I'd like to -hear your reasons for becoming interested in this case." - -Farradyne nodded. "As I told you, Frank Hannon was killed in an -accident on a spacecraft I owned. That was four years ago. Recently I -met Norma Hannon in a gin mill on Ganymede and she fastened onto me -like a leech as a person to hate. You know the results of love lotus -addiction?" - -"Yes. Unfortunately, I do." - -"Well, it occurred to me that one way of getting rid of Miss Hannon -would be to turn her over to some relative or friend who would be -deeply interested in her welfare. Does this add up?" - -"Quite logical. Miss Hannon is where you can find her?" - -Farradyne nodded, with a sour look on his face. "She's sitting in my -salon waiting for me to come back so she can bait me some more." - -"Why not just turn her over to the police?" asked Lawson, with a -careful look at Farradyne. - -"Look," said Farradyne testily, "I don't enjoy Miss Hannon's company, -but I can't see jailing her. She isn't really vicious, she's just -another unfortunate victim of the love lotus trap. Maybe I feel a bit -concerned over her brother. Anyway, take it from there." - -"Very well. I shall. The facts are these: Frank Hannon was a lawyer -with a limited but apparently lucrative practice. Norma acted as a -sort of junior partner whose ability with briefs and research made her -valuable to her brother. The case history says that Frank Hannon had -been on his way to Venus to place some case before one of the higher -courts, the nature of which is not a matter for public discussion even -at this late date. I don't know what it was myself. - -"Then Frank was killed, and afterwards Norma dropped her study of law. -Her brother's death seemed quite a blow to her. Before, she dated at -random, nothing very serious. Afterwards she seemed to develop a strong -determination to marry and have children, perhaps as a substitute for -the gap left by the death of her brother. A man named Anthony Walton -became number one boy friend after a few months and they were together -constantly and seemed devoted to one another. She disappeared after -a dinner date with Walton, and Walton is now serving a term on Titan -Colony for possession of love lotus blossoms." - -Farradyne shook his head. "The louse," he said. - -"Everybody agrees." - -"I don't know as much as I might about lotus addiction," continued -Farradyne. "It all seems so quick. One moment we have a well-bred young -woman with ideals and ambition and feeling and the next--?" - -"It's a rather quick thing," said Lawson. "The love lotus or hellflower -is vicious and swift. I've studied early cases. They all seem to have -the same pattern. And oddly enough, love lotus is not an addictive -drug in every case. It is not only an aphrodisiac; it also heightens -the physical senses so that a good drink tastes better and a good play -becomes superb. The touch of her man's hand becomes a magnificent -thrill. And here is the point where addiction begins, Mr. Farradyne. -If the woman's senses and emotions are treated only to the mild -appreciation of food and drink and music and a gentle caress, the -addiction may take years and years to arrive at the point where she -cannot feel these stimuli without a sniff of hellflower. But if she -should be so unlucky as to have her emotions raised to real passion -during the period of dosage, it is like overloading the engine. You -burn her out." - -"I see. And there is no cure?" - -"Some doctors believe that a long period of peace and quiet under -conditions where the mildest of stimuli are available may bring -the addict back. I am of the opinion that such a place does not -exist. They fasten onto hate as an emotion that cuts through their -burned-out emotions and if you should place them among completely -bland surroundings they would find it possible to hate those that -incarcerated them. It becomes almost paranoiac--anything you do is -wrong." - -"So I have discovered. But what do I do with Miss Hannon?" - -"At the time of Miss Hannon's disappearance, her family offered five -thousand dollars for her return." - -"I'd be happy to deliver her FOB her own front porch," said Farradyne. -"Can I hand her over to you and let you take it from there?" - -"She would put up quite a ruckus," said Lawson. "I doubt that Miss -Hannon will go home willingly. It is my opinion that her response to -Walton's lovemaking was extremely high, so that the result was a quick -blunting of her normal capabilities. After this, anger and shame would -cause her--a proud woman of education and breeding--to hide where -she could not be known, where she could possibly get the hellflower -she needed. This would not be in the home of her parents. So she -will not go home willingly, and the alternative is an appeal to the -authorities. I doubt that such a course would be acceptable to either -of us." - -"You're right but--" - -Lawson smiled. "I heard your offer to deliver her free to her home." - -"So?" - -"We'll help you. We'll have an operative collect Miss Hannon at the -Denver Spaceport. All you have to do is live with this trouble for -about fifty more hours. For delivering this information, and for taking -Miss Hannon to Denver, we will be happy to divide the reward." - -"I'll deliver Miss Hannon to Denver," he said, thinking that for -twenty-five hundred he could stick cotton in his ears and sweat it out -at about fifty dollars an hour. - -"Good, Mr. Farradyne. I'll make arrangements to have our Mr. Kingman -meet you at Denver." - -Lawson handed Farradyne a few pages of dossier on the case and showed -him out of the office. Farradyne took a deep breath and decided that -what he wanted was a drink to his good fortune. He could look forward -to getting rid of Norma Hannon, at last. He made the street and glanced -around. Finding a small bar not far from the office door of the -Bennington Agency, he went in to relax and think. - -At a small table with a tiny lamp, he opened the papers that Lawson had -given him, to read them more thoroughly. The waitress was high-breasted -in a manner that invited him to look, but he merely barked, "White Star -Trail," and went back to his reading. - -"Spaceman?" she asked. - -Farradyne nodded in an irritated manner. She flounced off after a -moment of futile attempt to beguile a spaceman. - -So when a moment later someone slid into the bench beside him, -Farradyne turned to tell her to please go because he wasn't having any, -thanks. Instead of looking into a vapidly willing face Farradyne's eyes -were met by an equally cold blue stare from the face of a hard-jawed -man dressed in a jacket tailored to half-conceal the shoulder holster -he wore. Farradyne blinked. - -"Farradyne?" - -"So?" said Farradyne. He tried to think but all he could cover was the -idea that someone was now playing games with guns. - -"Hear tell you're running blossoms." - -"Who says?" - -"People." - -"People say a lot of things. Which people?" - -"Well, are you?" - -"Who, me?" - -"Can it!" snapped the newcomer. - -Farradyne shrugged angrily. "What do you want me to do?" he asked in a -mild tone. "You have the jump on me. You slide into my seat and bar my -exit and then without introducing yourself you start asking questions -that could get me twenty years in poor surroundings with bad company -and no pay." - -"Call me Mike. Michael Cahill is the name." - -"Any identification that doesn't bark for itself?" - -"It's usually good enough." - -"Probably. But the numbers on its calling cards are always someone -else's." - -Mike laughed. "That's not bad, Farradyne. But so far as I know your -number isn't among those present." - -"I'll bet you could change a number fast enough." - -"Could be," nodded Cahill. He turned over his shoulder and called to -the waitress. "Hey, Snookey, make it two instead of one." - -"Mine's White Star." - -"That's all right with me. It's easier to drive this rod with a clear -head." - -"No doubt," said Farradyne. "So now that we are about to drink together -let's face it. You had more in mind than to pass the time of day with a -nervous spaceman who wanted to be alone." - -"Correct. Or as you birds say, 'Aye-firm.' How's the hellblossom -business?" - -"That's easy to answer. I haven't any and I am not in the business. -See?" - -"People say you are." - -Farradyne grunted. "Not too long ago someone accused me openly. The -story started when someone suggested that the only way a guy could come -from down on his bottom to the top of the heap in one large step was -to be among the big-time operators. The heavy-sugar know-how. To the -limited imagination this meant running love lotus." - -Mike Cahill was silent while the waitress brought their drinks. When -she left Cahill lifted his glass to Farradyne. "Is you is or is you -ain't?" he chuckled. - -"I ain't," said Farradyne, drinking with Cahill. - -"Or is it maybe?" - -"Maybe it's maybe." - -"Stop sounding like a parrot. As I heard it that tomato in the bar on -Ganymede must have known something. You spent four years as flat on -your duff as a musclebound wrestler and then you come bouncing along in -a last-year model Lancaster. Since we know damned well that you're no -hellblossom runner, where did you get the stack?" - -"Thrift and good management." - -"Yeah. How'd you do it?" - -"I told you." - -"Maybe it's a rich uncle?" - -"I haven't one. I'm just a capable operator." - -"The label is sour, Farradyne." - -"Then what do you make of this?" asked Farradyne, handing Cahill his -license folder. - -"It looks nice and legal but it is as phony as a ten-cent diamond and -both of us know it. So how did you get it--and the Lancaster to go -along with it?" - -Farradyne sipped his drink. "Look, Cahill, it just happens that it's -none of your damned business! I am not talking." - -"It might make a difference if you did." - -"Let's stop fencing. I may be of use to you. Now it might be that you -are a SAND agent and it might be otherwise, I still may be of use to -you either way. But the first time I start shooting off my trap, you'll -begin to get the idea that I'm not close-mouthed enough for whatever -job you have in mind for me. So let's leave it this way. I have a -ticket that gets me in and out and a spacer that takes me there and -back." - -"And that's your story?" - -"That's my story. Finis." Farradyne sipped his drink and then offered -Cahill a smoke which Cahill took. - -"We've had a rather moist spring," observed Cahill. - -"It was moister on Venus," commented Farradyne. - -"It's on Terra that the weather is fine," said Cahill. "The crops are -coming up excellently, I'm told. Nothing like fresh vegetables." - -Farradyne nodded. "No matter how well we convert the planets to Terra -condition, nothing grows like on earth." - -"Ever enjoy lying on your back in the sun in a field of flowers with -nothing to do but get sunburned?" - -"Not for a long time." - -"Funny how a guy gets out of his kid-habits," mused Cahill. "And even -funnier how he wants to go and do it all over again but never quite -makes it the same." - -"Yeah." - -"Farradyne, you're not sold up on this next jaunt to Terra, are you?" - -"I've plenty of room. Just one passenger going to Denver." - -"Mind if I buy a stateroom?" - -"Not at all." - -"I want to go pick flowers on Terra," yawned Cahill. "If you like, -maybe we can pick some together." - -"Maybe we can," said Farradyne, draining his glass and starting to get -up. Cahill got up, too, and led the way out of the joint. Farradyne -flagged down a taxicab. "Spaceport," he told the driver. "Coming?" he -asked Cahill. - -"Yeah. Might as well. Nothing else to do this week. I'll go along--for -kicks." - - - - - 5 - - -Farradyne took the Lancaster up and set the ship on its course to -Terra. As soon as he could spare the time to think of anything but -handling the ship, he began to wonder about Norma and Mike Cahill. -She had not been visible when they arrived, but no doubt by now she -had made her presence known. It bothered him a bit because he was as -certain as a man can be that Cahill was a hellflower operator, and he -did not want the man to get cold feet because Farradyne was connected -with an addict, if even for a short hop. - -So as soon as he could leave the board, Farradyne went down to the -salon. - -They had met. Norma, for the first time in her trip with Farradyne, was -presiding over the dining table. She was wearing a slinky, sea-green -hostess gown Veed down to about here and slit on both sides to just -below the knees. Her white, bare legs twinkled as she walked and almost -forced the eye to follow them. She was giving Cahill all the benefit of -her physical beauty, and Cahill was enjoying it. Farradyne had a hunch -that Norma was about to start slipping him the old jealousy routine. -He wondered about his reaction. He was extremely wary of Norma, but he -did feel a sort of responsibility for her. She might make him jealous, -but it would not be the jealousy of passion or desire, but the jealous -concern that stems from a desire to protect. - -Norma's lissome figure slipped out of the salon toward the galley and -as she disappeared Cahill wagged a forefinger at Farradyne. - -"That dame's a blank," he said in a very low voice. - -"I know. She's not my woman, Cahill." - -"Maybe not," responded Cahill. "But it sure looks like it from a -distance. What are you doing with her?" - -"Delivering her to her parents in Denver." - -"That all?" - -Farradyne nodded. "She latched onto me on Ganymede; she's the dame that -made the loud announcement of my being a hellflower runner." - -"Maybe she's right." - -"She isn't. I'm not." - -Cahill grinned. "This much we know," he said. - -"You do?" - -"Yes. But maybe she'll be right sooner or later. But get rid of her, -see?" - -Farradyne nodded vigorously. "That I'll do. She has been hell on high -heels to have around." - -"Looks like she might be fun." - -"She hates my guts." - -Cahill nodded. "Probably. They usually end up in a case of anger and -violence. Tough. But--" - -Norma came back with a tray and set food on the table. They ate in -silence, with Norma still giving Cahill the full power of her charm. -Cahill, who had undoubtedly seen many a hellflower girl, still seemed -to enjoy her advances although he accepted them with a calloused, -self-assured smile. Once dinner was finished, Norma began to clear the -table. This act annoyed Farradyne because he could not account for it, -and the only thing that seemed to fit the case was the possibility -that Norma was acting as she did to soften his wariness of her, but -she was carrying the thing too far. He did not think she was so unable -to calculate; she must know that this act now pointed up her former -disdain for any kind of cooperation. - -As she left again, Farradyne turned to Cahill and asked, "How can a man -tell a love lotus from a gardenia?" - -"That takes experience, Farradyne. You'll learn." - -"The thing that stops me," said Farradyne, "is that the Sandmen have -been trying to stamp the things out for about forty years and they -can't even tell where they come from." - -"They'll never find out," said Cahill. "Maybe you won't either." - -"But I--" - -"Better you shouldn't. Just enjoy living off the edges. It's safer that -way. Remember that." - -"Where are we going after we leave Denver?" - -"I'm not too sure we're going anywhere. I'm not too sure of you, -Farradyne. You've some holes to fill in." Cahill lit a cigarette and -leaned back, letting the smoke trickle through his nostrils. "I don't -mind talking to you this way because it would be your word against -mine, if you happen to be a Sandman. Some of your tale rings true. The -rest sticks hard." - -"For instance?" - -"Well, let's suppose you are a Sandman. Humans are a hard-boiled lot, -but somehow I can't see killing thirty-three people just to establish -a bad reputation. So that tends to clear your book. As to the chance -of your laying low for four years until the mess blew over, I might -buy that except for the place. A guy who can ultimately turn up with -enough oil to grease his way into a reinstated license and a late model -Lancaster Eighty-One isn't likely to spend four interim years living in -a fungus field." - -"Maybe I hit it rich?" - -Cahill laughed roughly. "Dug up a platinum-plated toad-stool?" - -"Maybe I just met up with the right guy." - -"Blackmail?" - -"That's a nasty word, Cahill." - -"Sure is. What did he do?" - -"Let's call it maligning. Let's say he played rough at the wrong time -and might have to pay high for it at the present." Farradyne looked at -the ceiling. "And maybe that isn't it." - -Cahill laughed. "Have it your way, Farradyne. Well, tell me, do we have -a layover at Denver, or is it better if we take off immediately for -Mercury?" - -"Cinnabar or Hell City?" - -"Cinnabar, if it makes any difference." - -"Mercury, Schmercury, I didn't know there was anything there but the -central heating plant." - -"Isn't much," admitted Cahill. "But enough. The--" - -His voice trailed away as Norma's high heels came clicking up the -circular stairway, back toward the salon. "I thought I'd have a -cigarette and a drink with company before I go to bed," she announced -in a tone of voice that Farradyne had not heard her use before. With -gracious deftness, Norma made three highballs of White Star and water -and handed two of them to the men. She let her fingers linger over -Farradyne's very briefly, and over Cahill's longer. She lounged in -a chair across from them, all curves and softness, with only that -strange, disinterested look in her eyes to give her away. - -Farradyne found this a bit difficult to explain to himself. The evening -had been a series of paradoxes; Norma's change from vixen to the lady -of languid grace did not ring true. He had been aware of her ability -to reason coldly, brought about by her burned-out emotional balance -which was so dulled that her thinking was mechanically unemotional and -therefore inclined to be frightfully chilled logic. But Farradyne's -grasp of the problem was incomplete. Norma had claimed that she knew -the emotions by name and definition, that once she had felt them, but -that now she only knew how they worked. Farradyne found it hard to -believe that she was so well-schooled in her knowledge that she could -put on the act of having them when she obviously did not. - -She did not even force herself upon them; when her cigarette and her -drink were gone, Norma got up, excused herself and quietly went below. - -"Me too," said Cahill. - -Farradyne led him down to a stateroom and waved him in. "See you in the -morning," he said. Cahill nodded his goodnight and Farradyne went on to -his own room to think. - -He hadn't done bad. Of course he did not really know how far some of -Clevis' other operators had gone, but Farradyne had been on the trail -for less than a hundred hours and already had a lead. Obviously the -fact of the Semiramide was the tip-off; no Sandman would go that far to -establish a shady reputation. - -Farradyne was prepared to go as far as he had to. The idea of actually -running love lotus was not appealing, but the SAND office had been -fighting the things for a half century, watching helplessly while -the moral fibre of the race was being undermined by the nasty things -and somehow it was far better to let a few more lives be wrecked by -hellflowers than to save a few and let the whole thing steamroll -into monumental destruction. Farradyne still had to duck a few people -who might like to nail his hide to a barn door, but sooner or later he -would come out on top of this mess and then he could look his fellow -man in the eye and ask him to forget one bad mistake--that wasn't even -Farradyne's so far as he himself knew. - -Being on his first step eased his mind somewhat. He would be rid of -Norma in the morning sometime and on his way with Cahill, and the -future looked interesting, if not cheerful. He went to sleep easily for -the first time since the meeting with Norma on Ganymede. He dreamed a -pleasant dream of freedom and success that ended with the bark of a -pistol. - -Shocked out of his sleep, he lay stunned and blinking for a moment, and -then leaped out of bed and raced to the corridor. The light blinded him -first, but not enough to stop him from seeing Cahill. - -Cahill came along the tiny corridor listlessly, blood dribbling -from under his left arm, running down his fingers and splashing -on the floor. On Cahill's face was a stunned expression, full of -incomprehension, semi-blank. Blood ran down his leg, across his ankle -and left red footprints on the floor. - -Through the haze that clouded Cahill's eyes, he saw Farradyne. He -stumbled forward and reached out, but collapsed like a limp towel, to -stretch out at Farradyne's feet like a tired baby. His voice sighed out -in a dying moan that sounded like a rundown phonograph ... and then the -shocking rattle of death. - -Steps behind him came Norma Hannon. Her eyes were blazing with an -unholy satisfied light and her body was alive and sinuous. A tiny -automatic dangled from her right hand. Her lips curled in a sneer as -she came up to Cahill and poked at the dead man's hand with her bare -foot. - -"He--" she started to cry in a strident tone. Then the semi-hysteria -faded and she looked down at Cahill again, relishing the idea. - -Farradyne shuddered. Cahill probably had not been able to do more than -clutch at the deep neckline of Norma's nightgown. - -He leaned back against the wall and saw things in a sort of horrid slow -motion. Under any normal circumstances, no jury in the solar system -would have listened to an attempt to prosecute her. Under any normal -circumstances, Farradyne could bury Cahill at space and report the -incident at the first landing. But Farradyne couldn't stand too much -investigation. Norma Hannon was a hellflower addict, a "blank," in -Cahill's words; she couldn't bear investigation. - -Worst of all was the loss of Cahill. - -"Why?" asked Farradyne, bitterly. - -"He--" Her eyes opened wide again as she relived the scene, relished -the violence. - -"Have your fun," gritted Farradyne. - -"I hoped it was you," she said. "I wouldn't have killed you." Her voice -was calm, she might have been saying "kiss" instead of "kill." "Him I -did not like." - -"And you like me?" - -"You I save to hate tomorrow," she said with matter-of-fact flatness. - -"Why didn't you save him?" - -"What was he to you?" - -"He was my source." - -"Source?" Norma looked blank. Then understanding crossed her face. -"Hellblossoms," she said with a sneer that twisted her face. She -stepped past Cahill's body and handed the automatic to Farradyne, who -took it dumbly because it was proffered. She went on into the salon and -sat down. - -Farradyne wanted to hurt her, to reach through that wall and make her -feel something besides anger. - -"Source," he nodded, following her. "Love lotus. I'd have given you -one, Norma." - -She made a sound like a bitter laugh. "No good, Farradyne. What good is -one lotus?" - -"I don't know," he said simply. "I've never had one." - -Her laugh was shrill and insane. Then she bawled at him like a -fishwife. "What an operator you are. You big, fumbling boob with your -stolen spacer and your forged license, making like a big wind. Fah!" - -She got up as suddenly as she had sat down. She paused on her way down -the corridor to kick Cahill's leg. Farradyne stayed where he was until -he heard her door slam shut. He should be moved, thought Farradyne. - -He found himself looking down on the dead man with a strangely detached -feeling, as though he were watching a play. He relived the scene -although he tried to shut it out of his mind. Shutting out would not -work, so he went through it detail by detail minutely, from the sound -of the pistol shot to the last dying groan from Cahill's throat. The -memory of that dying wail jarred on Farradyne's nerves. - -It was a discordant cry. - -He found himself making a completely useless analysis, itemizing things -that surely could not matter. The cry had been a discord. His mind -wandered a bit as he considered the word. A series of atonal notes do -not make a discord. A discord comes when atonal notes are sounded at -the same time. The former can be pleasant to the ear, the latter not. - -And then a chill hit him. He felt like a man who had just been told -that he had one more question to answer before winning the prize on a -quiz show. Cahill's moan had been a full discord. - -With a sudden disconnect of the mind, Farradyne was back in the -Semiramide, hearing three voices behind him. They found one skeleton, -afterwards. Then his mind leaped to Brenner, on Mars, who had emitted -an approving grunt when he saw Norma come around the tail structure -of the Lancaster with the sun shining through her skirt. He had no -proof, no proof. Brenner's grunt had been no discord but nonetheless a -mingling of tones. Three voices? Maybe more? - -Maybe he was not sure of the first. Brenner's voice had been very -brief, maybe he was convincing himself. But Cahill's death cry was most -certainly polytonal. And they were both lotus operators. - -It might mean something, or it might not. Farradyne put his head back -and tried to hum and say something at the same time. Perhaps the stunt -could be cultivated after much practice, and perhaps it was used as a -password. - -More than anything, Farradyne needed corroboration. - -It was a very weak reed, but he stepped over Cahill's body and rapped -on Norma's door. - -She opened the door after a moment and said, "Now what?" - -"Norma, you claim I owe you something, but I think you now owe me -something." - -She made a scornful sound. "For killing your little chum out there?" - -"Maybe," he said as shortly as he knew how. - -"Go on, Farradyne, but make it good." - -He looked down into her glazed eyes, hoping to see some flicker of -expression that showed some interest in anything. - -"Norma, you've a good, logical mind. Tell me, did you notice anything -about Cahill's last cry?" - -"No." - -"Nothing odd?" - -"I've not seen men die very often. What was strange about it?" The eyes -unglazed a bit, but Farradyne could not tell whether this was awakened -interest or merely the recapture of the feeling she had enjoyed before. - -"It sounded to me like a discordant moan." - -"It was discordant." - -"Not the way I mean. It sounded to me like there were three or four -tones all going at once." - -She snorted derisively. "Let me shoot you. I'll make a recording of -your death cry and we'll see how well you sing." - -"I'm serious." - -"Stop beating that dead horse," she told him flatly. "It's the same -chorus you used to sing about the three men in your control room, -remember?" - -"Brenner made a sound like that, too," he said. - -"A pig-like sound," she said scornfully. "Forget it, Farradyne. You've -convinced nobody but yourself, and your evidence consists of one man -surprised at the sight of a good-looking woman and one man whose throat -was coming apart in death. Forget it." She shut the door to her room in -his face abruptly. - -Farradyne looked down at Cahill's body with regret. Not that Cahill's -death touched him in any way but mild shock and distress at the loss of -his link to the hellblossom gang. A gunman and a love lotus operator -was not likely to have his absence noticed among the kind of people who -could afford to start asking a lot of questions of the officials, and -there might be a fair chance that Cahill's disappearance would cause -the same people to ask a question or two of Farradyne. - -He would have liked to keep the body. But hauling a slain corpse--he -did not consider it murder--into a doctor's office and asking for an -autopsy on the throat could not be done. Nor could Farradyne do it -himself. He could perform a fair job of setting a broken bone and he -could treat a burn or a cut, but he would not recognize a larynx if he -saw it. And although he knew better intellectually, he instinctively -considered a vocal cord as a stretched string of some sort that -vibrated in the air-stream. - -Distastefully Farradyne hauled the body to the scuttle-port and -consigned it to space with a terse, "See you in hell, Cahill." - - - - - 6 - - -The Lancaster came down at Denver. Before Farradyne had the landing -ramp out, a spaceport buggy came careening across the field to stop -almost at the base of the ship. - -"Farradyne?" asked the man. - -"You're the Bennington Detective Agency man?" - -"Sidney Kingman," said the other, showing Farradyne a small case with -identification card and license. "Where is she?" - -"Inside." - -Kingman handed Farradyne an envelope. He pocketed it and led Kingman -into the salon. Norma was there, sitting on the divan, smoking. - -"Miss Hannon, Mr. Kingman." - -"Another one of your friends?" she sneered. - -"No. He's one of yours." - -"I have no friends." - -"Yes, you have, Miss Hannon. I have come to take you home." - -Norma leaped to her feet. "You good-for-nothing bum!" she screeched at -Farradyne. "Why did you do it?" - -"You wouldn't leave me alone, Norma," said Farradyne softly. "So I've -brought you home where they'll take care of you and keep you out of my -hair." - -"I'll come after you!" she raved. "I'll get you for this!" - -"Not if I see you first," he told her. "This is it." - -"Why do you hurt everything you touch?" she cried. - -"Now who?" - -"Me." For the first time, Farradyne saw tears of genuine sorrow. There -was anger at him, too, but remorse there was a-plenty. "Why hurt my -people!" she asked. "Why can't they just call me dead and let it go at -that? I'm worse than dead." - -Then her face froze again and she looked at Kingman. "All right," she -said in a hard voice. "Let's go and hurt my folks to death. Let's get -it over with. You pair of money-grubbing ghouls." - -She started toward the spacelock, waving her forefinger at Kingman, who -followed. Her face wore a coldly distant expression as she left the -Lancaster. Kingman's driver took them off. She did not turn back to -look at Farradyne. - -And that was that. Farradyne retracted the ramp, closed the spacelock -and not long afterwards hiked the ship into the sky and headed for -Mercury. - - - - - 7 - - -Cinnabar was inside the sunlight zone by a thousand miles and its -sun was always in the same spot of the sky. It was a well-contrived -city, built so that the streets were lighted either directly or by -reflections. Cinnabar was also one of the show-cities of the system, -but Farradyne found that it did not show him the right things. He could -have learned as much about hellflowers on Terra merely because New York -had a larger public library. - -He tried everything he could think of but made no progress. His trail -had turned to ice after Cahill's death. He loafed and he poked his -nose in here and there and drank a bit and varied his routine from -man-about-town to the spaceman concerned about his future. There was -only one bright spot--his listing had been tentatively taken up by a -group of schoolteachers on a sabbatical, who had seen Mercury and now -wanted a cheap trip to Pluto. - -Farradyne had accepted this job for about three weeks later. It gave -him a payload to Pluto, and when he got there it would be time to -do the subcontracting job Clevis had set up as a combined source of -revenue and a means of contact. Once each month Farradyne was to haul a -shipment of refined thorium ore from Pluto to Terra, a private job that -paid well. In the meantime Farradyne could nose around Mercury to see -what he could see. Then he could haul his schoolteachers to Pluto and -pick up his thorium, which definitely made his actions look reasonably -normal to the official eye. - -On the end of the drums of semi-refined thorium there would be a spot -of fluorescent paint, normally invisible. He was to wash off this spot -so long as he had nothing to report. If it remained, then something -was wrong with Farradyne; he had not turned up or he had something to -report. Clevis would know what to do next. - -And so Farradyne watched the date grow closer and closer and his hopes -of having something to report grow less and less likely. He felt -as though he had been given up, in fact he got to the point where -he wondered how a man could get a love lotus if he wanted one. The -prevalence of the dope seemed high enough, but as far as Farradyne was -concerned it was harder than buying a real gold brick. There did not -seem to be any for sale. He thought that perhaps his method of attack -was wrong, and yet he did not know how to correct it. - -He cursed under his breath at the futility of it, and realized that his -curse must have been audible because he felt a touch on his elbow and a -voice asking, "Is it that bad?" - -He turned slowly, his mind working fast to think of something to say -that would not be leading in the wrong direction. "I was--" he started, -and then he saw that the voice which had been low-pitched enough to -have been the voice of a man had come from the throat of a tall, -dark-haired woman who sat beside him at the bar. "Just wondering what -strangers do for excitement on Mercury," he finished lamely. - -"Spaceman?" - -"Yes." - -"I guessed it." She laughed in her low contralto. "But spacemen aren't -the only ones who drink that watered-down whiskey." - -"I know. But this time it is one." - -She smiled again. "Is Cinnabar so inhospitable?" she asked. - -"To strangers it seems so." - -"To me it seems quite normal. It makes the rest of the solar system -sound like a very exciting place." - -"Born on Mercury?" - -"No," she said, shaking her head. "I was born on Venus. I spent four -years on Terra before my folks brought me to Mercury. But my last space -trip took place when I was nine. Tell me, what is New York like?" - -"Buildings and people and mad rushing around. Any change in the last -hundred years has been for taller buildings, more people and a higher -velocity of humanity. But anybody can find anything he wants somewhere -in New York, if he has the money to buy it." - -She smiled calmly. "I'll show you that Cinnabar is not an inhospitable -place," she said. "You may take me to dinner if you wish." - -"I wish," he chuckled. "And since we haven't a mutual friend to -introduce us, I'm Charles Farradyne." - -"How do you do?" she said solemnly, putting a lithe hand in his. "I'm -Carolyn Niles." She took a little step out from the bar and made him a -slight curtsey. He saw that she was almost as tall as he was, and he -grinned as he thought that her figure was far better than his. - -"How shall we meet?" he asked. - -"We shall not meet," said Carolyn. "We shall play it very bright and -very interesting. You shall drive me home where we will have cocktails -with my folks and you will meet them. You will be an old friend of -Michael's, who is a sort of school-chum of my brother. After cocktails -I will run upstairs to change and you will make polite conversation -with my family--none of whom eat personable young men, though they may -scare them to death by having Father show them the fine collection of -Terran shotguns he owns. Then we will go out to your spacecraft, and -you will change while I roam around and investigate the insides. This I -will like because it's been some time since I have seen the insides of -a spacer." - -"Done," agreed Farradyne. - -Something rapped him on the elbow and he had to look down before he saw -a boy of ten or so with a green-paper lined box containing flowers. The -young merchant had an eye for business; he eyed Farradyne knowingly and -smiled at Carolyn fetchingly. "Corsage? One dollar." - -Farradyne grinned and then almost recoiled before he realized that -nowhere in the solar system could a love lotus be purchased for a -dollar. These were definitely gardenias. He bought one to cover up -his confusion, and handed it to Carolyn. She pinned the gardenia in -her dark hair as she smiled her thanks, then led him from the bar to -an open roadster almost as low and long as the curb it was parked -against. Carolyn handed him her keys and Farradyne drove according to -her directions until they came to a rather large rambling house just -outside the city limits. - -She introduced him, and he was received graciously. Her father was a -tall, distinguished man with a dab of gray at the temples and a rather -stern face that became completely unstern whenever he smiled, which was -frequently. Carolyn's mother was tall and dark with only a sprinkle of -gray. The brother was not present, which made it completely easy for -Farradyne who could not have given any account of his friendship for -the unknown Michael, stated friend of Robert Niles. - -Mr. Niles mixed a pitcher of martinis and inquired about the spaceman -business. Farradyne explained how it was. Mrs. Niles laughed at his -story of fish one day and fins the next and said that she thought -it couldn't be quite that bad, really. Farradyne grinned. Mr. Niles -observed that a man who can operate a spacer and pay off a mortgage on -the craft must not be entirely penniless or without prospects. - -Mrs. Niles countered with, "I suppose it takes money to operate, Mr. -Farradyne." - -"A fair amount. A spaceman begins to think in large figures so much -that he wonders how he can get along on a more humanly reasonable -amount. To clear a reasonable standard of living, a rather staggering -amount of money comes in one hand and goes out the other. Operating -expenses are high, but so are charges." - -"But do you land on Mercury often, Mr. Farradyne?" - -Farradyne smiled. "Perhaps less frequently in the past than in the -future." - -"Now that's sheer flattery," laughed Carolyn. - -"Better enjoy it," observed her father with a chuckle. "Charles, you -are welcome here any time you land." - -"Thank you," smiled Farradyne. "But all things considered, I should -think that you'd take a dim view of any man that brought your daughter -home wearing a gardenia." - -"Gardenia? Oh. You mean that it might be--" Mr. Niles laughed. "I think -that Carolyn has enough judgment to take up with the right kind of -young man, Charles." - -"Of course," said Mrs. Niles. "Robert and Michael wouldn't stay friends -with the wrong kind." - -"So you see?" laughed Mr. Niles. - -"By the way," asked Mrs. Niles. "How is Michael?" - -"Quite well, the last time I saw him," said Farradyne, quite sure that -this was the right thing to say at any time. - -"You're sure?" - -"Of course." - -"I'm very happy to hear it," said Mrs. Niles. "We knew he was with you, -but we didn't know how long he stayed." - -Farradyne gulped imperceptibly, and he hoped that they did not notice. -"You did? Then he must have mentioned me." - -"Oh, he did. Tell me, Charles, what happened to Michael?" - -"Did something happen to him?" - -Mr. Niles eyed Farradyne rather pointedly. "Mike took off with you from -Mars. He did not land at Denver, Mr. Farradyne. So what happened to -Mike Cahill?" - -Farradyne gulped, and this time it was a full-throated gulp that left -him with his Adam's apple high in his throat. - -Carolyn cooed, "Yes, Charles, what happened to Michael Cahill?" - -A shiver crossed Farradyne's nerves and he felt the muscle-loosening -tingle of fear. His thinking mechanism stopped functioning. His mind -buzzed with a frenetic insistence that he say something, but he was -completely unprepared. And he dimly knew that his long speechlessness -was as damning as any story he could have prepared after such a pause. -He thought all the way around in a circle, coming back to the fact that -he should say something but that his mind was so busy insisting that he -fill in this bizarre event that it did not furnish him with anything to -say. - -Then it occurred to him that he need not say anything. The die had -been cast and he stood accused, twice; once by the Niles family and -once by his own shocked reaction. What he must do was act for the next -moment because the passed moment was irreparable. One of two things was -evident: either Cahill was a double-dealing rat or the man was hand in -glove with the Niles and that meant-- - -Farradyne laughed at his own simplicity. It was a sort of brief, -scornful bark. - -"What is funny?" asked Mr. Niles. - -"It just occurred to me--the brilliant concept that you people are -either innocent or guilty." - -"Very sage," commented Niles drily. "You don't seem quite that bright, -Mr. Farradyne. Not even that bright. Now, what happened to Cahill?" - -Only for a fleeting moment did Farradyne follow the possibility that -Niles was innocent. There had been no attempt on Cahill's part to -contact anybody from the time Farradyne met him until he saw him last -alive. Ergo, the Niles must have been forearmed with Cahill's plan. -This was the place that Cahill would have brought him; it had just -taken him a bit longer to get here without the proper guide. - -He leaned back, trying to relax. He took a sip of his martini, not that -he wanted it, but to see if his hand were still trembling. It did not -seem to shake. - -He said, "If you knew Cahill and his whereabouts, you also know quite -a bit about me. You'll have heard that I was recognized in a bar on -Ganymede by a woman named Norma Hannon, who is a hellflower addict. She -hated my guts because I am Charles Farradyne and her brother was among -those present when I had the accident in The Bog. She hung onto me for -the emotional ride it gave her. I succeeded in locating the home of her -parents and was going to take her home when I met Cahill, who offered -to come along after a bit of talk. Then during the night, Cahill made a -pass at Norma, and she shot him. I put his body out through the scuttle -port." - -"Cahill was always a damned fool," nodded Niles. "He was a dame-crazy -idiot and it served him right. Some men prefer money, power or model -railroads. Women are poison." - -"I seem to have followed one of them like a little lamb," said -Farradyne. "But I was picked up and brought here for a purpose, so -let's get down to cases." - -"You're a rather quick-on-the-trigger man, aren't you? What makes you -assume that this purpose was anything beyond finding out about Cahill?" - -"Because you have tipped your hand," said Farradyne feeling more at -ease. "You could have accomplished the same thing by tipping the -police and waiting for the case to be newscast. If Cahill admitted to -hellflower running, it was for a purpose, too. I call the same logic in -you, Niles." - -"Please. _Mister_ Niles. I'm a bit your senior." - -"All right. Mr. Niles. I've learned one thing so far: I can tell a love -lotus operator from the rest of the system." - -"How?" They all leaned forward eagerly. - -"Because it is the real operators that take an amused view of my -alleged machinations. They know the facts." - -"Very sage. You are a bit brighter than you appeared a moment ago." - -"May I ask why you let me cool my heels for almost a month before you -hauled me in?" He looked at Carolyn with a wry smile. "I would make -a mild bet you weren't more than a few hundred feet from me all the -while?" - -"You are a blind man, Farradyne," she said calmly. - -Mr. Niles smiled knowingly. "There are a lot of unexplained items -in your past, Farradyne. We never could be too sure that you were -not a Sandman. Of course, it does seem a bit hard to believe that a -government operative would crash a spacer and kill thirty-three people -just to establish a bad reputation, especially when his own neck was -involved in the affair. Still, such a deal might have been managed. So -we have been checking on you and from that angle you are clean. Then -comes the question of Cahill. It might be that you thought turning in a -hellflower operator would help to smooth your lot in life, mayhap get -you a bit of a reward. So we waited. No Cahill. Cahill started to bring -you here; he would either have turned up with or without you. Or he -would have gotten in touch with us. Unless Cahill was dead. You would -know the answer. Norma Hannon is keeping her mouth shut, so far as we -know. Of course no one would believe a blank anyway, and she probably -knows that. So it stands to reason that you know more about Cahill than -anybody else." - -"No more than I've told you. Cahill came and made me a sort of sidelong -offer." - -"That much of it rings as true as the other. But there are still holes -in your story." - -Farradyne nodded. "Let's put it this way: there are ways of getting -money and things. I found one way, which is an obvious fact. But I have -been told time and again that the entering wedge to a full confession -is a willingness to talk. Do you follow me?" - -"I do. But--" - -Farradyne smiled. "I don't care to face it. Not in company, Mr. Niles." -Farradyne's emphasis on the "Mister" was heavy with sarcasm. Niles -looked at him piercingly. - -"You are a bit belligerent and a trifle sure of yourself. Close-mouthed -and apparently able to get along. You'll be out on a lonely limb for -some time, Farradyne, but we can use you." - -"I can use the sugar," said Farradyne. - -"Naturally. Anybody can use money. In fact everybody needs money. What -visible means of support have you?" - -"I've a subcontract. Once each month I'm to lug a load of thorium -refines from Pluto to Terra." - -"It's a start but it isn't enough." - -"I'll pick up more, doubtless." - -Niles leaned back and put the tips of his fingers together -pontifically. "One of the hardest jobs in this business is to justify -your standard of living. The financial rewards are large and the hours -involved are small. It is patent that a man who has not been granted a -large inheritance or perhaps stumbled on a lucrative asteroid, cannot -live in a semi-royal manner without having to work in a semi-royal -fury. One of the great risks in this business is the acceptance of a -recruit whose appearance causes discussion. The day when a man can -build a fifty-thousand-dollar home on a five-thousand-dollar salary -without causing more than a raised eyebrow has gone. If a man has a -hidden income, he must appear busy enough to warrant it--or at least -provide a reasonable facsimile." - -"This I can understand." - -"For a job like this," explained Niles, "we prefer the natural-born -spaceman, with sand in his shoes or space dust in his eyes. Because -the man with a bad case of wanderlust always looks busy even when he -is idling. You seem to be that sort, but we never can tell until it is -tried. Unless, of course, you turn out to be woman-crazy." - -"I'm a normal enough male," said Farradyne. "I'll remind you that -Cahill was the guy that tried and failed." - -"How normal are you?" demanded Niles. "We'd have less liking for a -misogynist than for a satyr here." - -Farradyne smiled serenely. "I have enough sense to keep my hands off -Norma Hannon, but I have enough red blood to come home with Carolyn. -That good enough?" - -Niles thought a moment. "Could be. Anyway we'll find out. For one -thing, Farradyne, you'll be in no position to hurt anyone but yourself -if you're playing games. Once we're really sure of you, it won't matter -any more because you will be in a position to get hurt plenty. We'll -try it, and see. Now, when do you go to Pluto?" - -"I've some schoolteachers to haul out there tomorrow. I've taken them -on--" - -"Good. Gives you a good background without much labor. Now, when you -land on Terra, you'll not bother posting your ship for a job because -you have already contracted for a job. Carolyn will be there on a -business trip for me and will have chartered your ship for a hauling -job back to Mercury. During this trip you will get some more details on -how you are to operate. This much I can tell you now, Farradyne: you -will be an inbetweener, in fact almost the operator you set yourself up -to be. But with one difference, we'll inform you just who is and who is -not to be trusted. In other words, you'll have your regular customers -and you will sell to no one else. They'll take your entire supply, -pay for it and you will take your profit. The remainder you will use -to purchase your supply from the upper source. Advancement may come -slow or fast, depending on you. You'll get the details later, as for -now--" Niles leaned back in his chair and smiled. "Farradyne, you met -my daughter in a cocktail lounge and several people heard the two of -you planning an evening together. So you will go dancing and dining and -have a drink or two and maybe a bit of lovemaking, which is an entirely -natural performance. And from this moment you will be Charles and I -shall be Mr. Niles and we'll have no nonsense. Understand?" - -"I do." - -"Good. Now have another martini while Carolyn dresses for dinner." - -Niles poured. Carolyn disappeared. Mrs. Niles leaned forward and -asked, "Charles, why did you become a spaceman?" Her tone of voice and -attitude made her seem like all the other fathers and mothers who have -asked the same question. For the moment he forgot about her position -in this odd scheme of things just because she looked precisely fitted -to the role she played for public consumption. Almost mechanically, -Farradyne began to explain. He knew the story by rote because he had -told it so often in the same manner and to the same sort of person. -This gave his mind a chance to consider them, partly. - -Mr. and Mrs. Niles appeared to be the successful businessman and his -wife. The aura of respectability extended to include the house and -its spacious grounds, so that Farradyne burned with resentment at any -proposition whereby he, who had not committed anything more than a few -misdemeanors and some rather normal fun and games which are listed on -the books but are likely to be overlooked, should be less cultured, -less successful and less poised than this family of low-grade vultures. -If anything, the attitude of Mrs. Niles shocked him more than the acts -of her husband. Men were the part of the race that play the rough games -and run up the score, according to Farradyne. Women occupied one of -two positions: they were patterned after Farradyne's mother who had -been a poised, mature woman of education and breeding, if a trifle -puritanical; or they were slatterns and sluts and they looked as well -as acted the part. So instead of Mrs. Niles presiding over the mansion -as a gracious lady, she should be loud and cheap. That she was poised -and gracious offended Farradyne's sense of fitness. - -As for Carolyn, who was equally engaged in this loathsome game, -Farradyne felt annoyed because there was nothing about her outward -appearance that would permit him to scorn her. Like her parents, she -gave the impression of success, as though the business they were all -engaged in were both honorable and beneficial. Farradyne yearned for -the moment when he could pull the pedestal out from under them and dump -them into the mud where they damned well belonged. - -Farradyne became, in those few moments, a more mature man. He -understood Clevis' attitude. Always before, he wondered why a clever -man would work for peanuts at a thankless job which included anonymity -when he could have put his efforts into some sort of business and -emerge wealthy and famous. Now Farradyne was beginning to understand -the personal satisfaction that could be gained by following in the -footsteps of a man like Clevis. In Niles' own words, some men like -money, others like power and still others build model railroads. Well, -some achieve their personal gain by rooting out the lice that undermine -the moral fiber of the race, and this gives them the same satisfaction -that amassing a billion dollars gives a man whose ambition is wealth. - -Money had never been Farradyne's god. He had not wanted more than -enough to exchange for the fun and games he preferred, and these -did not come high. He found himself elated to have discovered a new -outlet for his nervous energy and his urge to do something. Performing -a thankless job in anonymity could provide for Farradyne a deep -satisfaction in proving that he was smarter than people like Niles and -family. - -He smiled as his mouth got to the point in his story where he was -telling about the time he had landed the training ship perfectly--but -nine feet above ground, so that the ship dropped the nine feet and -nearly flunked him out of spaceman's school. He knew that his smile was -hypocritical and he enjoyed this sort of thing. If Niles could play -the hypocritical game, so could Farradyne. But Farradyne could play -it better because his own kind of hypocrisy was--he hated to call it -righteous but could not find a better word to describe it. He could -play Niles' game, and he could even go along with Mrs. Niles, although -he wondered how a woman that looked as honorable as Mrs. Niles could -justify her willingness to have a daughter engaged in the vile game -of hellflower running. He could play their game because he would have -little contact with them. - -But he wondered whether he could play the game Carolyn expected. He -did not know exactly what she expected but his guess was that anybody -amoral enough to run dope would hardly cavil at anything else. He -knew that many a man could lie in his teeth and play the role of spy -convincingly, but when the role included making love to a woman whose -background was distasteful to a man, Farradyne believed that this -distaste would show through anything he did. - -And then Carolyn came down the stairs in a white strapless evening -dress and Farradyne knew that he was going to have trouble remembering -that she was worthy of only shapeless, gray prison denim. "You have to -dress, too, Charles," she said in a soft voice, reminding him of their -plans for the evening. - -Farradyne nodded and got up. He wondered how she could possibly act -this part of a young, marriageable woman pleased with a date when -at the same time she was engaged in a hellishly illegal operation. -He realized at the same time that Carolyn had most likely spent her -entire life this way and was attuned to it. Such was her natural way of -living, and there was not going to be any possibility of weaning her -into a life of honorable struggle. - -Then she put her hand into his elbow and gave a little squeeze and -Farradyne found it not too hard to put his personal attitude into a -small compartment in his mind and half-close the door. The bait was -very attractive and only the image of Norma Hannon and her dulled eyes -remained with Farradyne to keep that compartment of his mind open to -the character of Carolyn Niles. - - - - - 8 - - -In the salon of the Lancaster, Farradyne smiled knowingly. "The plan -was to let you investigate this ship while I dressed, but I gather you -have seen your share of spacers." - -"I admit it," she replied. "For that I am sorry, Charles. But I -couldn't very well have played the know-it-all, could I?" - -"I suppose not. Well, park yourself somewhere while I get into whites." - -She sat down and stretched. "A highball and a cigarette?" she inquired. - -"The cigarette is easy," he said, handing one to her and flipping his -lighter. "But the highball may be more difficult. I've nothing but -White Star Trail aboard." - -She nodded at him. "With water," she said. She relaxed into the -cushions. Farradyne went and mixed her highball. She sipped it and -nodded approvingly. "Charles, please go dress but fast--I am rather -more hungry than curious about the insides of a spacer." - -"Of course." He turned to go. - -"Charles?" She rose and came forward, lifting her hands to put them on -his shoulders. He stood woodenly. "Charles," she asked in a soft voice, -"are you unhappy because I am not the girl you hoped I'd be?" - -Farradyne wanted to hurt her. "How many men have you played this role -for?" he asked. - -A wry smile twisted her face. "I should slap your face for that," she -said. "Because when I tell you the answer you won't believe me." - -Caution came to him. He was the rookie hellflower operator, not the -young man who has discovered that his girl has been playing games -behind his back. He tried to fit himself into her picture and decided -that according to her code of loused-up ethics she might possibly be -thinking of a future: a pleasant home with rambling roses and a large -lawn and a devoted husband and maybe a handful of happy children all -creating the solid-citizen facade for dope running, just as her parents -were doing. If this were the case, Farradyne was to play the suitor. -He must carry roses for his wife in one hand, toys for the kids in the -other and his hip pocket must be filled with hellflowers. - -He played it. He relaxed and put his hands on her waist. "I admit -to being a bit of a louse," he said with a brief laugh. "But that's -because I'm a bit new at a very rough game." - -She leaned forward a bit. "Even rough games have their rules." - -"I'll play according to the rules as soon as I learn them." - -She looked at him. "You know them," she said quietly. "All men and -women learn them at home, in school, in church. They're sensible -rules and they keep people out of trouble, mostly. If you adhere to -the rules, people will have nothing to which their attention can be -directed. That's what Father was trying to say when he suggested that -you provide a visible means of support for yourself. Play by these -rules and we'll get along. It's especially important when we must not -have people looking in our direction, Charles." - -She sighed and leaned against him softly. "You asked me a question, -Charles. The answer is three. One of them preferred a blonde and they -are living quietly and happily on Callisto. The second couldn't have -jelled because he was the kind of man who would work eighteen hours a -day. Some men are that way and some women like it that way, but not -me. The third, Charles, was Michael. Mike didn't last long. Only long -enough to prove to me that he was a woman-chaser. The fourth could be -you, and maybe there mightn't be a fifth." - -"Three men in your life," he said. - -She smiled up into his eyes. "Three men in my life," she said with a -happy little nod of her head, "but, Charles, it isn't three men in my -bedroom." Carolyn cocked an eyebrow. "The only way the fourth will get -in is to make sure there won't be a fifth. So now you know. You can -play it from there." - -His arms did not slip around the slender waist, but the hands pulled -her close to him. He kissed her gently, and for a moment she clung to -him with her body. Her response was affectionate, only bordering on -passion. Then she leaned back and smiled into his face. "You need a -shave," she told him. "So let go of me until you can kiss me without -scratching my skin off." Then to prove that she didn't really mean it, -Carolyn kissed him again briefly, and ended it by rubbing her forehead -against his chin. - -Farradyne went to his stateroom and showered. He shaved, and dressed -carefully in white slacks and shirt, and the last remaining holdover -from a Victorian period, a dark necktie. He returned to the salon to -find Carolyn waiting for him calmly and patiently. She looked him over -and nodded approvingly, then got up and rubbed her cheek against his, -cooing pleasantly, but moved away again when he tried to kiss her. - -Then she tucked her hand under his elbow and said, "Dinner, man-thing." - -Farradyne chuckled. "Dinner," he repeated. - -She hugged his arm. He led her down the landing ramp and into her car, -and at her direction drove to her preference in a dinner spot. The food -was good. Carolyn was a fine dancer with a high sense of rhythm and a -graceful body. Farradyne decided that if this were a thankless job that -gave no chance for fame and fortune, there were plenty of very pleasant -facets to it.... Her shoulder rubbed his as he drove her home hours -later. - -He handed her out of the car and walked to the front door with her. She -gave him her key and he opened the door; she walked in, to wait for -him just inside. She came into his arms as the door closed behind them -and she clung to him, returning his kiss and his embrace; matching his -rising fervor with a passion of her own. They parted minutes afterward. -Farradyne moved her slightly, settling her body into a more comfortable -fit against him. - -"It's late," she breathed. - -Farradyne chuckled. "With the sun shining like that?" - -She kissed him, amused. "It's always like that, silly. You're on -Mercury, remember?" - -Farradyne held her close and kissed her again. A minute passed before -he came up for air. He looked at her, leaning his head back so that he -could see her face without looking crosseyed. "I'll bet you are a real -hellion in the dark." - -Carolyn laughed, and shook her head. "Like all the rest of the women -on Mercury, I'm scared to pieces of the dark. But it is late, Charles, -and you've just got to go." She hugged his head down so that he could -look at her wrist watch on the arm about his neck. "It's five o'clock -and you are to take off at nine. Charles, please don't crack up just -because of lack of sleep." - -"Okay," he said regretfully, "okay." - -She held him close. "It's been a nice evening, Charles. So kiss me -good-bye, and remember that it won't be long until I see you on Terra." - -"It gets dark on Terra," he told her. He tightened his arms and she -pressed against him. - -Against his lips she murmured, "I might not be afraid of the dark, -Charles." - -The promise of her last embrace stayed with him. There were only three -hours of sleep between the time he left her and the time of awakening -for the take-off, but dreams of Carolyn filled them all. They were -pleasant dreams and they were unpleasant dreams; he saw Carolyn coming -to him with her past renounced, he saw her coming to him as a secret -agent who was in the hellish business for the same reason he was. And -he dreamed of her waving him a good-bye with her dark eyes filled -with tears as she was taken off to the Titan Penal Colony. He even -entertained notion of joining her, justifying himself by thinking that -people who fall in love with love lotus addiction are the weaklings of -the human race and could be eradicated to the advantage of the general -level. This he recognized as sophistry. - -But, be it as it may, Carolyn was a pleasant, attractive companion, -and if her presence could only be known for a very short time, it was -none the less pleasant. It was a rough game they were playing and many -people were bound to get hurt. More people--innocent people--would -get hurt if he called it off. So by the time Farradyne and his dreams -came to the conclusion that he could afford to take what pleasure out -of life this situation offered for the moment and let Tomorrow exact -its tribute, it was time to get out of bed and start the pre-flight -check-off. - -He had work to do. Schoolmarms to haul to Pluto and some refined -thorium ore to bring to Terra. He would make no signal this trip, he -was still far from being on the inside. Maybe the next. Or the one -after that, depending upon his progress. But in the meantime he would -be seeing Carolyn Niles on Terra. - -Farradyne began his check-up, already anticipating the reunion which -was at least ten days away. - - - - - 9 - - -They came aboard a half hour later and Farradyne saw at once that -this trip would be free of trouble and danger. They were all mild and -wide-eyed curious. They obviously knew their place and how to go about -in life with a minimum of friction. - -Their leader was a Professor Martin, an agile gentleman of about sixty -years who led them up the ramp and then stood there introducing each -and every one of them to Farradyne as they came in. They became a sea -of faces and a sound of disconnected names except for a few of the more -vivid ones. Miss Otis, who giggled like a schoolgirl but hadn't been of -schoolgirl age for at least thirty years; a Mr. Hughes, dark of skin -and smiling, who tried to convey the impression that he knew his way -around in space; a very prim dame named Miss Higginbotham who probably -had every kid in her class scared of her; a Mrs. Logan who was far too -beautiful to be part of Farradyne's narrow pattern for schoolteachers. -Miss Tilden seemed to know something about spacing, and her friend, -who was old enough to be Miss Tilden's mother, Miss Carewe, knew more -about spacing than Miss Tilden. And a Mr. Forbes who seemed completely -impressed by everything he laid eyes on. - -And so they came, a prim and strait-laced lot, the like of which -Farradyne had not seen in a long, long time. - -Certainly nothing of the hellflower flavor among this group. It made -Farradyne feel easier, and after a bit he began to smile at their -innocence and their wholehearted interest. He came to understand -that this trip was to be a bit different for them, or it could be if -he cared to make it so. It was obvious that their previous hops had -been made under pilots who treated them with the usual aloofness that -spacemen hold for their passengers. Farradyne felt more sympathetic -about them; he wanted to help, wanted to show them what could be seen. - -Part of this desire to help them have a good time was born in the idea -that someday Farradyne would probably be looking for some character -witnesses and if he treated these schoolteachers with cordial interest -and a willingness to explain and demonstrate his spacecraft, they -would be inclined to accept him as a man of understanding, honesty and -ability. - -They took off after Farradyne delivered a very short talk on the rigors -of take-off maneuvering and the necessity of staying strapped down -whenever the spacer was about to cut didoes. - -It was even less of a strain than Farradyne anticipated. They helped. -Miss Carewe was a home economics teacher and she took care of the -galley in a highly efficient manner. Mr. Forbes taught manual training -or something of the sort; he requisitioned an oilcan and removed the -squeaks from a couple of doors and took care of some of the minor -details that Farradyne was inclined to ignore because he had other -things on his mind. Someone, Farradyne never found out who, made beds -and policed the ship, cleaning the salon and passengers' quarters -until the rooms and hallways shone. Whoever it was did not recognize -the faint stains of blood apparently, because there were no questions -asked about the evidence of Mike Cahill's death. - -Miss Tilden spent quite a bit of time making a small oil painting for -the space above the bar which she said looked vacant. The degree of -their tolerance was high, too. None of them cared for drinking, but -they approved of Farradyne and his White Star Trail. - -In return, Farradyne took them into the control room and showed them -how the ship was run. Professor Hughes toyed with the computer by the -hour because he was a mathematics teacher, and Miss Tilden listened to -Farradyne by the hour as he recounted some of his adventures in space -because she was a teacher of modern history. - -The beautiful Mrs. Logan taught science, so Farradyne took her below to -explain the atomic pile and how it worked. - -With a pre-recorded tape from the course computer running through the -autopilot, Farradyne pointed out the motion on the control rods that -regulated the activity of the pile. Above the pile, he explained, was -a huge tank of water that was used as a reaction-mass. Water was fed -through the pile and its energy was raised to some tremendous degree, -then hurled out through the throat of the reaction motor. - -Mrs. Logan then pointed to the series of little ports in the hull. - -Farradyne explained, "Now and then it is necessary to replace the -control rods because they become transmuted into metals that have too -little absorption factor. To get rid of them on a spaceport would mean -the trouble of disposing of quite a bit of metal that is dangerously -radioactive. So we take the convenient method of tossing them out in -space where they can't harm anything." - -"But where do they land?" she asked. "Isn't that dangerous?" - -"Not at all. We use discretion. Look. In a few hours we will be -halfway to Pluto. Our velocity will be tremendous because we have been -accelerating all the way from Mercury. To land on Pluto we'll have to -make a turn-over at halfway and start decelerating. If I wanted to -replace control rods, I'd do it just before turn-over. The velocity of -the ship and the rods would be a good many times the escape velocity -of the entire solar system, so the rods would continue on and on, and -actually they'd pass out of the solar system beyond Pluto in a matter -of hours. Long before we got there." - -"But supposing one did land on Terra, for instance?" - -"It would make an interesting looking meteorite; it would melt in -mid-air. Then the total radioactivity would spread thin and do no -damage." - -She was satisfied, and Farradyne led her back to the salon. - -For the first time in years Farradyne began to feel at ease with the -universe. His mind, previously busy with his main problem, found time -to consider other things. And, like the rest of the spaceman breed, -Farradyne was something of a gadgeteer. - -Spacing, in a sense, was very much like the manning of a sailing ship -of the nineteenth century. When something needed attention, in space -it was during maneuver for landing, take-off, or turn-over; on sea -it was coming about on a tack or setting sail, a full-time attention -was necessary. Between periods of activity, the spaceman sat on his -duff and waited for one of the silent twinkles to detach itself from -the stellar curtain above his observation dome and become a planet or -destination. - -Some spacemen reverted to the point where they built spacecraft in old -bottles, others spent their time in tinkering. - -Farradyne had always been one of the latter. And so as his mind felt at -ease, he began to tinker with the gear down in the repair shop. It was -a small room below the passenger section hardly large enough to hold -the machinery it contained. But Farradyne, like many of his fellows, -enjoyed making things, repairing things and generally experimenting. -Every spaceman hoped to come up with something that would make him rich -and famous, and some of them had done it. They had plenty of time, a -good grasp of things scientific as well as manual dexterity. - -So Farradyne tinkered happily. - -The shop was silent; the usual milling around of his passengers stopped -as they went to bed. Now there was only the occasional groan of -metal-upon-metal or the faint whine as a motor somewhere wound up to -do some automatic job. The click and clack of relays were just barely -audible; they would have been unheard by someone whose training had -been other than that of a spaceman. In the background was the muted -sibilant of the reaction motor, a sound like the shush of a distant -seashore. Farradyne heard these sounds unconsciously. They were as -pleasant to the ears of the spaceman as the sounds of a sailing ship -were to the old-time seaman. - -But another faint sound came to disturb him, rising up into the level -of audibility very slowly. - -It was a ringing in Farradyne's ears. - -Ringing in the ears can come from too much alcohol, or a shot of dope, -or a slap on the side of the head. Or a change in air-pressure. -Farradyne had not been drinking nor taking the needle, but he had spent -many years in an environment where the supply of air was important. -He had become oversensitive to it. He sniffed automatically, the -gesture of a man who has reason to suspect the quality of the air he is -breathing. He shook his head. He did feel a bit light-headed. There was -the bare trifle of a dull pain above his eyes and a sting in his nose. -He sneezed and brought forth a dribble of blood. - -Farradyne raced aloft; he could settle nothing standing in the -workshop. The bulkhead door between the hold of the Lancaster and the -passengers' section was closed. He pushed it and it opened with slight -difficulty to let a blow of air hit his face. He grunted in puzzlement. -Any change in air-pressure in any part of the ship should have started -a clangor of the puncture alarm, a racket loud enough to waken the dead. - -He went through the stateroom corridor and listened carefully as he -went. Some rooms were silent and others sounded like the song of the -cross-cut saw working its way through a burl of maple. There were -gradations of snores between these extremes. Nothing that a suspicious -man could put his finger on. He did not pause in the salon, which was -silent and darkened, but not completely black. There was nothing out of -the way here. - -In fact the only thing that was out of line was the queer fact that the -ship was silent when the alarm should have been sounding. He went up to -the control room. - -Lamps told him the story in a series of quick appraisals, because of -some long-forgotten genius that had insisted that whenever possible, -warning devices should not be fused, should not be turn-offable and -should not be destructible. The Lancaster was a fine ship, designed -well, but a frontal attack on a panel with metal cutting tools made -the exception to the "whenever possible" part of the design of warning -signals. - -The ship's bell-system had been opened like a tin can. - -But the pilot lamp system was strung here and there behind the panels -and it would have taken a major overhaul to ruin it; the saboteur would -have spent all night opening cans instead of doing his dirty work. -Farradyne should have been asleep, then he would not have noticed the -blaze of lamps. - -They told him the tale in a glance. The low-pressure portion of the -ship was down in the pile-bay, and the reason was that one of the -scuttle-doors was open. The pressure in the reaction-mass bay was low, -and now that Farradyne had come aloft, the pressure in the upper -levels was as low as the reaction-mass bay. As he watched, another one -of the scuttle ports swung open and its warning lamp flared into life. - -Farradyne went into action. He ripped open the cabinet that held his -space-suit and clawed the thing from its hook. He started down the -stairway on a stumbling run, getting into the suit by leaps, jumps and -pauses. He realized that he could have moved faster if he stopped to do -one thing at a time, but his frantic mind would not permit him to make -haste slowly. So he stumbled and he fell against the walls, and the -tanks of his back rapped against his shoulder-blades, and the helmet -cut a divot out of the bridge of his nose. Luckily it did not make him -bleed, but it hurt like the very devil. - -He zipped up the airtight clotures by the time he reached the little -workshop and he ducked in there to get a weapon of some sort. He -reached past the hammer, ignored the obvious chisel because it was not -heavy enough, even though it was sharp, and picked up a fourteen-inch -half-round wood-working rasp. He hefted it in his gloved hand and it -felt about right. - -The air-break on the topside was open, and Farradyne closed it. He -fretted at the seconds necessary to equalize the pressure, and to -check the workings of the space-suit. He also located the cause of the -air-leakage; normally the air-break doors were airtight. A sliver of -wool or cotton string lay in the rubber gasket and produced a channel -for the escape of some of the air into the pile-bay. Farradyne stopped, -his attention attracted by this trifle of evidence. It was neither wool -nor cotton, but a match torn from a giveaway book and used to light a -cigarette for Mrs. Logan a good many hours before. - -He threw it aside and went in, his attention once more on the important -business before him. He ran along the curved corridor. And there, a -figure in a space-suit was quietly levering one of the control rods out -of its slot and preparing to hurl it into the void. - -Farradyne understood the whole act in that one glance; it was the sort -of thing that he would do if sabotage were his intention. The single -scuttle-port had been opened first by hand. Then the saboteur had -scuttled the stock of spare control rods, and since the Lancaster was -reasonably new, there had been quite a batch of them. Furthermore they -were long, unwieldy, heavy things that took time to handle. Naturally -this was the first act, because the next act would cause the ship's -acceleration to rise. The rise in acceleration would make the rods too -heavy to carry and would also cause investigation as soon as people -became aware of the increasing pressure. - -Then the working rods would be hurled out, leaving the ship heading -toward some anonymous star at about eight gravities of acceleration. -The passengers and crew would be helpless--and dead long before they -got within any appreciable fraction of a distance to any planet. - -Maybe two or three of the rods had been scuttled already. The rest, -functioning on the automatic, would have been shoved in farther -to compensate; Farradyne could feel no change in the acceleration -pressure. But once the working rods were all the way home, the removal -of the next would cause the ship to take off, literally with the -throttle tied down. Farradyne was willing to bet the rest of his life -that the safety-valve that furnished the water-mass to the pile was -either welded open or damaged in such a way that the supply could not -be stopped. - -Then--and Farradyne had to admire the vandal's precautions--he would -make his way to the escape hatch and let the helpless passengers go -on ... and on.... - -Victims of another case of "Lost in Space." - -The saboteur was well prepared. His suit was a high efficiency job -capable of maintaining a man alive for a long time in space. It had a -little radio for calling and a small and expensive chemical motor for -mild maneuvering, even though it would not be strong enough to permit -planetary landing. The man had friends, obviously, lying in wait out -there, who would pick him up. - -A parcel of ice-cold-blooded murderers. - -Farradyne saw the man through a red haze that clouded down over his -eyes. His evaluation of the act was made in a glance, and in the bare -instant that it took for Farradyne to see the man he got his feet in -motion. He plunged forward with a bellow that hurt his own ears. - - - - - 10 - - -The man whirled and sent a heavy-gloved hand back against Farradyne's -face glass. Farradyne lifted the file for a second swing and caught the -gleam of a heavy knife just as it swung upward at his face. The blade -jabbed at the face glass and blunted slightly before Farradyne's eyes, -splintering the glass and sending a shard or two against his cheek. - -Farradyne's second swing caught a shoulder and sent the man staggering -back; the knife came up and the gleaming edge sliced close to -Farradyne's arm. The man stumbled and fell, and Farradyne came forward -to take advantage of the opportunity. The long lever used to handle -the radioactive control rod chopped against Farradyne's shins and cut -his feet out from under him; he landed on his face and the other man -kicked out with heavy space boots. The heels rammed Farradyne's helmet -hard down into his shoulders, and the top of his helmet hit the top of -Farradyne's head, stunning him. - -The other scrambled forward and landed on Farradyne's back. He pulled -up and back on the fittings of Farradyne's helmet until the pilot's -spine ached with the tension. Then the man thrust forward and slammed -Farradyne's face down on the deck. The splintered safety glass cracked -further and there came the thin, high screech of air escaping through a -sharp-edged hole. - -Farradyne lashed out and around just in time to parry a slash of the -knife. Blade met file in a glint of metal-spark and both weapons were -shocked out of the gloved hands to go skittering across the deck. - -The man left Farradyne to scramble across the floor after his knife. -Farradyne jumped to his feet, took three fast steps and leaped, -coming down with both feet on the man's back. The other collapsed and -Farradyne fell, turning his right wrist underneath him. The other made -a kick that caught Farradyne in the side, turning him over. And as -Farradyne rolled, the bent hand touched metal and he came out of the -roll clutching a heavy pair of repair pliers. He could cut bolts with -them, and had. - -He faced the killer, standing again; armed again, spaceman's pliers -against assassin's knife. He plunged forward and felt the knife bite -against his suit, he swung the pliers as a club and caught the killer's -upper arm; he opened the jaws and bit down, twisting and pulling. - -A three-cornered tear ripped and came away with the point between the -jaws until the heavy outer cloth gave way. The knife came up and bit -through Farradyne's suit across the knuckles of the hand that held -the pliers. Farradyne kicked, sent the killer staggering and followed -him probing at the tear to get at the thin inner suit. The other man -struggled, hurled Farradyne back, but Farradyne staggered back with the -thin lining between the jaws of the pliers. The suit ripped and there -came a puff of white vapor as the air blew into the void. - -The struggling killer stopped as though shocked by an electric current; -he stood there stiffly, his hands slowly falling to his sides, limp. -Farradyne took a step back, breathing hard. He could see now that his -head was not jerked back and forth behind the cracked glass. He peered, -in time to watch the froth of blood foam out of Hughes' nose. - -Hughes! The math professor. The wise guy who had created the part of -dumb bunny by making sounds of knowing too much, who pretended to know -his way around in space. - -Farradyne wondered whether Hughes had cried out in a polytonal -voice--then he hauled him into the air-break and slammed the door shut. -He felt for a pulse and found one fluttering; he turned him on his face -and pumped the ribs in, out, in, out, wondering whether he was wasting -his time. - -Hughes groaned painfully. His groans echoed and reechoed in the tiny -space, but Farradyne could not hear more than the wreaking moan of a -man hurt very deeply. Hughes stirred and opened one eye. Then he closed -it again and sobbed under his breath. Farradyne checked the heart and -found it beating weakly; the pulse was not fluttering any more, and -the breath was coming naturally, even though the man's chest heaved -high and dropped low and there was a foghorn sound in the throat as he -gasped huge lungfuls of air. - -Whatever, Hughes would give Farradyne no trouble for some time. -Farradyne carried the unconscious man to his stateroom and dropped -him on the bed. Then he went below and closed the little hatches, -reinserted the control rod, and wondered whether missing a few would -louse up his landing. - -He went up to the control room and replaced the wiring torn out of the -audible-alarm system. The phalanx of warning lamps had winked out and -the clangor of the alarm did not come. - -Farradyne went back to Hughes; the man was in a semicoma. - -"Can you hear me?" demanded Farradyne. - -Hughes roused slightly and looked at Farradyne through heavy eyes, -mumbling unintelligibly. - -"You dirty louse!" fumed Farradyne. "I'd have let you die if it hadn't -occurred to me that you might be good for some information. What makes, -Hughes? Or should we have an accident below?" - -Hughes mumbled something that sounded like defiance. - -"Think your friends will give you a raise for this fumble?" jeered -Farradyne. - -Hughes roused a bit more and looked at Farradyne more directly. "Smart -guy," he said in a toneless voice, "you can't--" - -Farradyne smiled cynically. "Yes, I can and I have," he snapped. Then -he leaned down and put his face close to Hughes' and said carefully, -"Hughes, sing me a trio." - -Hughes' control was good. His eyes widened only a sliver and the catch -in his breath was faint; anybody not watching for these signs of sudden -alarm would not have noticed anything amiss. Then the eyes dimmed again -and Hughes said, weakly, "Sing nothing." - -"What's your pitch, Hughes?" - -"I don't know what you're talking about." - -"The hell you don't," said Farradyne harshly. "And if you won't talk -without it, I can make you yelp real loud. First I break all your -fingers, one by one, and then your toes, and then if you're still -playing stupid, there's always the trick of slipping a soldering iron -under your armpit and then plugging it in. Between the time the current -goes on and the time you really start to feel it burn should be long -enough to make a lot of gab." - -Hughes looked at Farradyne directly. "You'd better kill me," he said -flatly. "Because you can't hold me." - -"I'll make you a bet," sneered Farradyne. "I'll bet that I can hang -onto you, and if I do, you'll pay off by talking. Even-steven, Hughes." - -Farradyne went to his small medicine chest and came back with a -hypodermic, which he loaded with deliberation. He made a dramatic scene -out of pushing the plunger, watching the droplet form on the end of the -needle and then adjusting that dose against the scale on the side of -the cylinder. - -"Marcoleptine," he said conversationally. "A fine pain-killer, Hughes. -Just the thing a man would do to help a very ill comrade. It'll keep -you quiet until we can discuss the situation without having your -screams disturbing the passengers. Slip me your arm, old man. This -won't hurt much." - -Hughes mouthed a curse, but Farradyne paid no more attention to the -man's objections than he would have to the objections of a child. -Farradyne caught Hughes' wrist and brought the man's hand up under his -armpit, then braced his forearm under Hughes' elbow. Then he lifted an -arm-bar, which raised Hughes' shoulder from the cot; Farradyne slid the -needle into the elbow easily with his free arm, probed for the vein and -discharged the hypodermic. - -"I wonder," mused Farradyne aloud, "whether marcoleptine is really -non-habit-forming." He sat there on the edge of the bed watching Hughes -very carefully. Hughes struggled to keep his eyes wide, fighting off -the narcotic. But then the eyelids grew heavier and started to close. - -In a weakened, drugged voice, Hughes mumbled, "Easier to slip -under--now--can't do anything--will ..." and he was gone. His breathing -grew regular and his body was completely flaccid. Farradyne waited -until Hughes was well under the dope and then he stopped watching the -man critically and began to plan his next move. - -Hughes was going to be a sick man. Therefore the marks of battle should -not be visible to his companions when they wanted to look in on the -ill professor. Farradyne got a washcloth, soaped it well and went to -work. He let the hot cloth soak into Hughes' face for a minute or two -massaging the face under the cloth with agile fingers. Then he began to -scrub. - -The caked blood came away. And so did some dark pigment that stained -the cloth. The dark-complected Hughes lightened in color; the lines in -his face seemed to become less deep as the shadowing pigment was washed -away. Schoolteacher Hughes came off into Farradyne's washcloth and what -was left was the would-be hellflower trader, Brenner. - -"Brenner," breathed Farradyne in astonishment. - -But the dope had taken effect and Brenner was out cold. Farradyne -bemoaned his enthusiasm for doping the man because questions would -fall on deaf ears. Then Farradyne took a more rational view. There -would be plenty of time to question the hellflower operator after the -schoolteachers left. Meanwhile, Brenner would be kept doped, quiet and -nailed-down for the duration. He left Brenner and went to his own bed -where--to his surprise--he went to sleep at once instead of lying awake -with the myriad questions in his mind.... - -He carried his book on Medicology with him to the breakfast table the -following morning, and at the questioning looks, Farradyne made his -announcement, "We have a sick man aboard. Hughes." - -Professor Martin asked, "What happened, Mr. Farradyne?" - -"It must have been about midnight, I was working below. I heard a -rather strange noise up in the passengers' section and went up to find -out what was going on. I found Mr. Hughes coughing and sneezing in the -passageway, obviously in distress. I inspected him as best as I knew -how and we got out my Medicology and compared symptoms. I'll read this -section: - -"'Coryosis, one of the nine allied infections which are frequently -grouped under the ambiguous term "Common Cold," is extremely contagious -but fatal only in cases of extreme sensitivity. Treatments consist of -isolation amounting to a formal quarantine, and frequent injections of -MacDonaldson's Formula 2, Ph-D3; Ra7. The patient is to be kept warm -at all times and must remain quiet.' - -"So we went to his cabin and I slipped him a shot and he went to bed. -Now I'll read a bit more: - -"'Contagion measures: Since the source of infection is a filterable -virus, care must be taken to remain outside of the twenty-foot range -of water droplets resulting from a cough or sneeze. All things touched -by the patient must be either sterilized or burned. It is suggested -that only one person tend the patient and that this person be immunized -with MacDonaldson's Formula at regular intervals. Visiting should be -discouraged, and if necessary must be carried on at a distance and -for a very few minutes only. The incubation period is very short; the -duration of coryosis is approximately fourteen days. It is, however, -possible for a re-infection to take place which often resembles the -initial infection, thus giving rise to the six-week cold.' - -"There's more along this line but I think we have the picture well -enough," Farradyne concluded. - -Professor Martin's face was grave. "What must we do?" he asked -anxiously. - -"Nothing," said Farradyne firmly. - -"But he shouldn't stay on Pluto." - -"That is correct. Pluto is very cold, even with the Terra conversion -program going on. Mr. Hughes should be returned to Terra." - -"But--" - -Farradyne smiled. "I've got to make a freight pickup on Pluto for -Terra," he said quietly. "I'll take Mr. Hughes back home." - -"That would be very considerate of you, Mr. Farradyne." - -Farradyne shook his head in disclaimer. "It's only what any man would -do," he said. "What do we know about Mr. Hughes?" - -Miss Tilden said, "Not very much, I'm afraid. Mr. Hughes teaches -Ancient History in Des Moines, Iowa. He joined us on Mercury, you know." - -"No," said Farradyne, "I didn't know. I thought you were all together." - -"Apparently Mr. Hughes was traveling alone until he heard of our -group," offered Professor Martin. "He was, he said, seeking a -reduced-rate trip to Pluto--as we were--when he noticed our flight-plan -filed on the bulletin board. He got in touch with me and offered to -join." - -Farradyne nodded. "There's really plenty of time," he said. "No use -getting excited. I'll contact the Des Moines Board of Education -later--after we've made our landing and take-off, and are close enough -to Terra to make the radio effective. It'll save us some money that -way." The latter, he thought, would appeal to these people. - -It was left that way. Farradyne did not assume for one moment that -Hughes was a complete fake. One of two ideas was certainly true: either -there was a real schoolteacher named Hughes who looked like the made-up -Brenner, or Brenner had been masquerading as Hughes and really taught -school in Des Moines when he was not peddling hellflowers. - -There were more important things to be considered, too. Was there -another hellflower operator in the ship? Farradyne watched them all -like the proverbial hawk but he could see no evidence of another -hellflower man. He decided to take no chances; it would be very much -like the higher-ups in this racket to have put a second operator aboard -the Lancaster to take over in the case of Brenner's failure; the second -undercover man could escape as easily as could Brenner and in the same -way as soon it became evident that the Lancaster had been properly -sabotaged. To forestall this possibility, Farradyne built a small -photoelectric alarm and put it across the stairway that led from the -passengers' cabin to the below-deck section of the ship. - -Some of Hughes' friends went with Farradyne to watch him tend the -stricken one. They stood in the doorway while Farradyne gave Hughes his -shot of marcoleptine out of an ampoule carefully labeled "MacDonaldson -Formula 2, Ph-D3; Ra7." There was no doubt in their faces; Farradyne -was a fine man, doing all he could to relieve the illness of another -man. - -The rest of the trip was uneventful. Farradyne was asked periodically -about Hughes' condition and he replied carefully and cheerfully, once -going so far as to remark with a slightly bitter laugh, "Hughes will -probably feel fit as a fiddle by the time I get back to Terra, and -he'll then hate me for lugging him home. But we couldn't leave him on -Pluto with that coryosis, could we?" - -Since none of them cared to have a man coughing and sneezing in their -midst, they all agreed solemnly. - -Then, inevitably, the trip wore to a close. Pluto loomed large in the -sky, and Farradyne went below to see Hughes-Brenner about an hour -before they were due to land. - - - - - 11 - - -Farradyne found Brenner awake but logy. "How do you feel?" he asked -Brenner. - -"I feel dopy," admitted Brenner dully. - -"Good. You've been a very sick man, Brenner. Or should I call you -Hughes? Which is your name?" - -"What difference can it make?" - -"I like to know these things," said Farradyne. "I seem to collect a -lot of information, one way and another, and I admit a lot of it is -useless, but I find it interesting. For instance, Brenner, can you make -that triple-tongued sound?" - -"What triple-tongued sound?" - -"Come off it, Brenner. You know what I'm talking about." - -"Do I?" - -"You do and I intend to find out," said Farradyne. He loaded his needle -and approached Brenner with it. "This is for the last time, Brenner. -And I've ideas on how to make a man talk--or sing a trio." - -"You're a devil from hell," Brenner snarled. - -"And you're an angel from heaven, ripping out the control rods to give -us the Long Ride? Brenner, I owe you a lot that I'm going to collect. -You'll wish you had died, Brenner. And you probably will die not long -after your friends find out that you've talked." - -Brenner eyed Farradyne wearily. "You haven't won your bet yet," he -said. "And even if you do, there's the problem of extracting payment." - -Farradyne shrugged. "You'll talk," he said flatly. Then he reached for -Brenner's arm, imprisoned it so that Brenner could not move without -dislocating the shoulder, and slid the needle home. "Just to be sure," -he told the man, who was showing all the defiance that a man in a -weakened condition could display, "I gave you a slightly larger dose. -The Medicology says that this is accepted practice with marcoleptine, -when the patient is in some danger of an excitement-crisis." - -He waited until Brenner's eyes closed and the breathing became deep -and regular. Then Farradyne left Brenner, went aloft and made contact -with Pluto Spaceport. He came down with one hand poised above the power -lever; at the first glimmer of any hanky-panky, Farradyne was going to -slam the power home and take off for space at full power. Questions -could be asked afterwards. - -The landing was as good as any that Farradyne had ever made, but -he was almost a nervous wreck worrying about the possibility of a -recurrence of the Semiramide incident. He relaxed only after he had -peeked, unobserved, at Hughes, still doped, and then led the covey of -schoolteachers down the landing ramp. - -It was a happy parting, with just the right tone of regret and a -large amount of congratulations as to his ability, helpfulness and -willingness to explain things to them that other pilots brushed away. -They shook his hand and Miss Carewe permitted him to kiss her cheek -and called him "Son" and Miss Tilden giggled and lifted her face for -a chaste peck. Mrs. Logan's lips were warm and soft but completely -uncooperative. - -Then Professor Martin made an "ahem" in his throat and said, "Young -man, we've all decided that you should have something to show our -gratitude. Unfortunately it cannot be expensive or exotic although we -have all agreed that an appropriate gift should be both. So since we -cannot go to the high extreme that we all feel, we have decided that -the next best thing is something completely valueless except for its -sentiment." - -He fumbled in his side pocket and brought out a small piece of slate, -broken from some outcropping, somewhere. - -"On this slate we've signed our names with a sharp instrument. I hope -you like it, Charles." - -Farradyne took the bit of slate. It said, "To Charles Farradyne, Pilot -First Class, in memory of a very pleasant flight." It was signed by all -of them. - -"Thanks," he said, shortly. A lump hit his throat and his eyeballs -stung. He felt ashamed. He had been playing games and holding high -intrigue almost under their noses and they had responded with this very -simple gesture of sincerity: Pilot, First Class--with a forged license -and a record of hell-raising. "Thanks," he said again. - -"It's signed by everybody but Mr. Hughes," said Professor Martin. "But -you can ask him to sign it before you leave him. He will be happy to, I -know." - -There was a sound at the spacelock. "I'll sign it now!" said Hughes. - -They all whirled. Hughes, eyes alight, the smile on his pale face -eager, came down the ramp with his suitcase in one hand. - -"But you--" said Professor Martin. - -Hughes laughed and his voice was hearty, "I kept telling Mr. Farradyne -that he was too heavy with the medicine." Hughes poked Farradyne -humorously on the shoulder. "Coryosis, Mr. Farradyne, is nowhere near -as violent an illness as you have been led to believe. Our ancestors -called it the common cold and most of them spent a few weeks each year -fighting one form or another, frequently several forms at the same -time. Sleep and isolation cured me. I'm quite all right now." - -"You're certain?" Farradyne managed. - -"I'll let any doctor on Pluto look down my throat," promised Hughes. -"And I'll go back with you if he doesn't say I'm fit. I'm a bit pale, I -admit, and I won't regain my color until we get back sunward, but I'm -telling you that I am quite cured of my brief encounter with coryosis." - -The spaceport bus came to a stop at that moment and Hughes, pausing -to scratch his name on the plaque, thanked Farradyne for the thorough -medication that had kept him quiet, got on the bus, waved and was -whisked away. - -Farradyne, stunned, could only wave like a reluctant schoolboy. - -So Hughes-Brenner disappeared again, wandering away under the -protection of a group of honest, unsuspecting human beings who would -have been aghast at the first cry of villain against one of their -number. - -Farradyne felt like a seven-year-old who had just been trapped into -admitting that he has been a naughty boy. But out of the maze of items -one thing was obvious. - -Hughes or Brenner or whatever he called himself was a very -extraordinary man. He had been able to walk off the ship with his eyes -bright and his system hale, when he should have been flat on his spine -with a brainful of marcoleptine. And marcoleptine was one of the most -completely paralyzing drugs that had ever been synthesized. Hughes had -feigned his doped slumber and his helplessness because he had known -that Farradyne would not attempt to ask questions until he had Hughes -alone. He had also lulled Farradyne into thinking him drugged so that -he could come out nice and easy to join his fellow-travelers in such -a way as to turn Farradyne's own explanation against him. Then he had -walked away without a murmur of dissent from Farradyne who had no legal -right to raise a cry against him. - -Hughes-Brenner was a very remarkable fellow. - -Farradyne watched the truck bringing out his shipment of refined -thorium ore. Outpointed, outsmarted, outnumbered, the evidence he had -was so very meager. He sneered at himself. Evidence? It was more a mere -belief. - -But what was a case history but snippets and bits of inconclusive -evidence that somehow fitted together like the sections of an -interlocking jigsaw puzzle? What did he have to fit together? A common -pattern of love lotus background. A man who died with a discordant -moan. A man who grunted in a polytone when surprised, and who could -take a paralyzing dose of marcoleptine and then walk out jauntily. -A family of apparently well-to-do formality with a proud place in -the community, and a girl who worked hand-in-glove with hellflower -manipulators but who obviously had never had her delicate nose near one -of the hellish things. Or maybe she was immune, as Hughes was immune to -marcoleptine? And did _she_ make multiple-toned sounds when she -was startled? - -A few very remarkable people.... - - * * * * * - -Farradyne took off for Newark with his cargo, still trying to think -the matter out. Two things were certain: Farradyne himself was afraid -to take a needleful of marcoleptine because he knew damned well that -he was not immune; Farradyne could not make a polytonal sound with his -vocal cords. - -He sat in the salon, alone and quietly thinking, and finally realized -that he was completely isolated from everyone else in the solar system. -He could sing crazily or go to bed, and no one would know which he did. - -He essayed a sound. It sounded like the croak of a Terran tree-frog. He -made the whimper of a cocker spaniel and succeeded in getting a cramp -in his throat trying to get down an octave below his normal register. -He hummed and he spoke in a falsetto that made his tongue ache way down -deep in back, and he tried humming and speaking and groaning at the -same time and the result of that was a toneless croak. - -It struck him funny after a bit, and while he was laughing at himself, -he concocted a ludicrous picture of himself kissing Carolyn Niles, and -she responding in a three-toned moan. - -Alone and lost in his own thoughts, Farradyne slipped deeper and deeper -into his daydream, until he answered her throaty little sound with an -audible reply. - -"I love you," he said, straining at his vocal cords. It sounded like an -over-age choir boy whose voice was not ready to stay in one key yet. -Soprano and baritone and tenor sounded the words, but they came out in -sequence instead of all at once. A bit sing-songy, like Chinese. - -The sound, at discordant odds with the smooth, pleasant daydream, -jarred Farradyne's mind into wakefulness. The chances were that if he -had been able to create a three-toned reply he might have gone on with -the pleasant reverie. But now aware, Farradyne tried it again. - -"I love you," he said aloud. He was not particularly aware of the -meaning of the words, they had just been appropriate to the dream. If -Farradyne had been daydreaming about dinner he probably would have been -trying the strange triple tone on, "Please pass the mashed potatoes." - -He tried it again. What Farradyne wanted to do was to say "I" in _F_; -"Love" in _A Natural_; and "You" in _E Flat_, which would have been a -nice chord in _B Flat Minor_ and somehow appropriate to the context of -the words. "I hate you" would have been just as likely. - -Old Brenner-Hughes might have said, "That's very neat!" when he had -seen Norma Hannon with the sun shining through her skirt. Or its -equivalent, all coming out in one surprised grunt. - -Carrying this line of thought still farther, Farradyne considered -the original saboteur, who might have said, "That takes care of you, -Farradyne," as he clobbered the relays in the Semiramide. And Mike -Cahill, who might have cried, "I've been shot!" or more probably -something completely unprintable. - -Farradyne sat bolt upright. As a countersign to tell another hellflower -operator your own identity it was a fine job. But could a whole -language be constructed out of this three-tongued hodgepodge? - -Or was his entire trend of thought based upon the ultimate hope of -discovering something that would absolve him from the responsibility -of the wreck of the Semiramide? Actually, what did he have to go on? -An exclamation, a surprised grunt, a death cry. Absolutely nothing but -his own suspicion. That plus the fact that Farradyne's ship had been -subjected to some intercepted sabotage, by a hellflower operator, who -had made a sound that might have been polytonal. - -If nothing else, the fact that the dope-running gang was trying to clip -him was enough for Farradyne to seek Clevis' help. He went down into -the hold and started to wash the ends of the thorium drums. - -Then he spent a lot of time tinkering with a little semi-circle of soft -plastic material across the opening of which he stretched two, thin, -flat strips of hard-surfaced waterproofed paper. As a boy, Farradyne -had been bilked out of fifty cents for a gadget advertised in a cheap -magazine that purported to give the user the powers of ventriloquism. -It hadn't enabled Farradyne to throw his voice into a trunk but it had -made a rather interesting bird call. Such a gimmick now might enable -him to make a multiple tone. - -Farradyne spent the remaining time of his trip from Pluto to Terra -building the gizmo and practising with it until he could make a very -odd moaning cry in three notes. Meanwhile he wondered whether Carolyn -Niles would actually be on Terra to meet him. - - - - - 12 - - -Farradyne wondered how soon the fuss would start once the drums of -refined thorium went under some hidden beams of ultra-violet light. -He watched the drums being trundled off, and they disappeared, and -Farradyne waited and watched until it was evening in that part of New -Jersey, but no one came on the double-run to ask him leading questions. - -He took off about nine o'clock, finally, and made the looping run from -New Jersey to Los Angeles in time to get him there just about dusk. - -He checked into the control tower. - -"Regular listing?" asked the registration clerk, looking at the license -without turning an eyebrow. - -"No, I've a charter run," said Farradyne. - -"Then why register here?" - -Farradyne thought fast. "This is one of those things," he said. "A -darned good hope but no down payment. I was told to land here this -evening and if nothing had changed while I was on the run to Pluto and -back, I could have a rider to Mercury. But if this passenger does not -show up, I want to be registered for anything heading Mercury-ward. -I'll be going there in two days anyway, but I'd rather go loaded." - -"Reasonable. Tell you what, Farradyne, I'll make yours a tentative -listing. If your passenger doesn't show by tomorrow morning, you'll go -up on the board as having registered tonight." - -"Thanks," said Farradyne. He took the opened license back and slid a -finger into an inside slip-pocket. "Got a picture here you might be -interested in. A portrait of one of our early presidents." - -"I'm a bit of a collector," said the clerk. - -"Well, in that case, you can have it for the favor. I just keep it -around for a curiosity." - -The clerk pocketed the bill easily and Farradyne went over to the -mail-listing window. "Anything for Charles Farradyne?" - -"Expecting something?" - -"At least one, a payment voucher from Eastern Atomic. Come yet?" - -The mail clerk disappeared; came back with one envelope. "Nothing from -Eastern Atomic," he said. "But here's a letter for Charles Farradyne, -Pilot of ship's registry Six-Eight-Three, a Lancaster Eighty-One. That -must be yours." - -"It's mine. But keep an eye peeled for a landwire payment voucher, -will you? I had to leave Newark before it was ready and the guy at -the shipping office said he'd notify the company that the stuff was -received at port, and that I'd be in Los Angeles. Okay?" - -"Aye-firm." - -The letter was from Carolyn. A brief note telling him that she would be -ready for the trip on the morning of the fifth. This suited Farradyne; -he had been afraid that Carolyn might be waiting at the spaceport for -him, and that they'd be taking off before Clevis had a chance to find -out about the washed drum-ends. - -She also suggested as a postscript that she might possibly be at her -hotel and free about nine any evening, and there was some reference to -her being a bit squeamish about the dark. Farradyne was half-inclined -to believe her. Carolyn Niles lived on Mercury--a planet that knew no -night. - -He looked at his watch, he had a couple of idle hours left. He started -to wander the streets of Los Angeles, wondering just how a man went -about buying a hellflower. He had done that before, but that was on -Mercury where such things might be more difficult to find. There were -two places in America where, for generations, a man could get anything -he had enough money to buy and knew where to look. He was in one; the -other was three thousand miles across the continent, in New York. All -that remained was the problem of finding out where to look. - -Farradyne had to admit he had a difficulty. He was in a position -similar to a teetotaler in a prohibition area who suddenly decides to -buy a drink and cannot, from lack of experience, locate a speakeasy. -And dope, which had been with the human race ever since the first -caveman took a bite out of a bit of saw-toothed weed, and was sold on -the street by peddlers, was singularly hidden from the clutch of a man -who just casually wanted to collect a packet. - -So Farradyne spent some time wandering. He went into a florist shop and -tried to buy a corsage. He could buy a corsage for a few dollars, but -not for fifty. At least, for fifty he could get nothing smaller than a -garland. - -In one place Farradyne tried his tonal throat gadget. The florist eyed -him curiously and asked him if he had something wrong with his throat. - -And then, about fifteen minutes before he reached Carolyn's hotel a man -sidled up alongside him and said, "Say, Jack, lookin' for somethin'?" - -"Who isn't?" - -"Might be able to fix you up, Jack. Got five?" - -Farradyne knew that this was not the price, so he looked at his watch -and said, "I've got fifteen." - -"Won't take that long. Try the stand in the Essex Lounge." - -Farradyne blinked. The Essex was no more than six years old, right -in the middle of the city, and considered one of the plush joints of -Terra. Selling hellflowers at the Essex was like selling the things on -the steps of the Terran Capitol Building. - -"Yeah?" he asked sourly. - -"Yeah. Tell 'em Lovejoy sent you to pick up his flowers. Cost you -fifty, Jack. Willin' to pay?" - -"I've got it; and I'm willing." - -"See ya, Jack." - -The character sidled away, leaving a slight scent of decaying cloth -mingled with a faint fragrance of gardenia. It was, according to -Farradyne's standards, one god-awful mixture. - -Farradyne went to the Essex and into the florist shop. A girl who was -undeniably beautiful came forward. Farradyne smiled knowingly. - -"I'm a friend of Mr. Lovejoy," he said. "He asked me to stop by and -pick up his corsage." - -"Of course." The girl disappeared and returned with a transparent -plastic box containing a gardenia--or a love lotus. "That will be five -dollars," she said with a piercing look at Farradyne. - -Farradyne took a fifty out of his wallet and handed it to her. She rang -up five on the register, and Farradyne walked out, wondering if anybody -ever considered that Mr. Lovejoy must have a number of peculiar habits -and rather easy-going friends that could be imposed upon. - -At Carolyn's hotel a few minutes later, the desk clerk informed him -that Miss Niles was expecting him and he should go right up. - -Carolyn greeted him warmly, took him by the hand and drew him into the -hotel room. Once the door was closed she came into his arms and kissed -him, not too fervently, but very pleasantly, with her body pressing -his briefly. Then she moved out of his arms and accepted the flower. -"Lovely," she said. - -She opened it and breathed the fragrance deeply. She held the white -flower at arm's length, admiring its beauty. Then she held it to her -nose and took a deep breath, letting the fragrance fill her lungs. - -Farradyne's mind did a flip-flop. First he felt like a louse, as she -smiled at him over the edge of the flower and then took another sniff -of the fifty-dollar blossom. "Maybe," she said archly, "I shouldn't do -this." - -Well, she was immune--or she wasn't. Could be that it wasn't -even a hellblossom. But she should know. He hoped his smile was -honest-looking. "You are stuck already," he grinned wolfishly. - -Carolyn took another luxuriant breath and tucked the blossom in her -hair. She came into his arms and kissed him sweetly. Then she relaxed, -leaning back in his arms to look into his eyes. "I'm not afraid of you, -Charles," she said in a low, throaty voice. - -"No?" - -She laughed at him and then turned out of his arms. She went to a tiny -sideboard and waved a hand at glasses and a bottle of Farradyne's -favorite liquor. He nodded, and she mixed. "Don't disappoint me, -Charles," she said. - -"How?" he asked, wondering what she was driving at, and feeling that -this had nothing to do with hellflowers. - -She handed him the highball. - -She sipped at her drink and flirted with him over the top of the glass -for a moment. "I don't think anybody will call me overinflated if I -admit for a moment that my family is a long way from poverty; if, for -an instant, I admit that I know that I am very well equipped with -physical charm. I also flatter myself that I have a mind large enough -to absorb some of the interesting factors of this rather awesomely -beautiful universe." - -"I will grant you the truth of all three." - -"Thanks," she said with a sly-looking smile. "But the point -is, Charles, that a girl with a bit of money in the top of her -stocking--and a brain in her head--wonders whether the gentleman is -interested in the money, or the shape of her stocking. She is more -interested in having the man want her for the aforementioned brain, I -think. She'd like to feel that the gentleman in question would still be -interested if the shape of the stocking changed for the worst with age -and the money disappeared." - -Farradyne looked at her and wondered again what she was and what she -was after. If nothing else, Carolyn was a consummate actress. He wanted -very much to take his face in his hands and ponder this problem deeply, -but there was no time. He had to reply at once or have the appearance -of a man who must make a careful answer. He walked across the room -and took Carolyn by the shoulders and shook her gently. He bent down -and kissed her and he found that the warm and eager response was back -again, even though he touched her only with his lips and his hands on -her warm shoulders. - -"Let's leave it just that way," he told her. "Sooner or later something -will give me away--and then you will know whether I am after your -body, your money or your mind." Farradyne kissed her again, and again -lightly. "Until you know, nothing I say will convince you of anything." - -Farradyne still had her shoulders under his palms; Carolyn moved -forward into his arms and rested against him. She put up her face for -his kiss, and held herself against him, close. Then she said dreamily, -"You're a nice sort of guy, Charles, and I'll be very happy to leave it -that way. Maybe you'll be the one who stays." - -Farradyne recoiled mentally and hoped that his instinctive revulsion -was not noticed. It was too easy to forget what Carolyn represented -when Carolyn went soft and sweet and eager. He wanted to be a male -Mata Hari; he wanted to lure her on, to caress her into breathless -acquiescence and then walk out with a cold smile to show his contempt. - -Then he relaxed--and hoped that the muscles of his body had not -undergone the change that his mind had--and decided if this were part -of the game he had to play to cut the hellblossom-hellflower-love lotus -ring out of the human culture, it was nice work. He recalled reading in -history, as a child, another, but mild drug, marijuana, had multiple -names.... His job would have been infinitely more difficult if Carolyn -had been a gawky ugly duckling with buck teeth and a pasty complexion. - -"Charles," she breathed, "take me out into the dark?" - -He laughed lightly. "Where?" - -She leaned way back, arching her fine back. "I want to go out to -some dark gin mill and dance among the smoke and the natives and the -throbbing of tomtoms." - -Their evening was a repetition of the evening on Mercury except that on -Terra it was dark outside. They danced and there was a steak dinner at -midnight, and there was Carolyn relaxed in his arms in the taxi on the -way back to her hotel at three. - -He took her up to her room, and Carolyn came into his arms again, soft -and sweet. Her response was deep and passionate in a mature way that -Farradyne was not prepared for. The woman in his arms was all woman -and there could be no mistaking the fact, but there was also the -mysterious ability of the woman to know when to call a halt. She smiled -softly and put her head on his chest. - -"It's been wonderful again, Charles," she said quietly. "I hope it -always is." - -Farradyne rubbed his chin against the top of her head. Then Carolyn -swirled away. "It's incredibly late again. I'm going to come aboard -your ship at seven tomorrow night so we can take off before the crack -of dawn. This much I'll tell you and no more, now." - -"But--" - -"Easy, sweetheart, easy. Take it slow and lovely. Tomorrow night. -Tonight I need my beauty sleep." - -He eyed her humorously. - -"Think it doesn't help?" Then she laughed happily. "Charles, do me a -favor. Put this gardenia in your refrigerator for me. Please?" - -Farradyne nodded dumbly. He watched Carolyn put the thing into its -plastic box, he watched her tie it up in the original ribbon. She -handed it to him, and then, chuckling because he had one hand full, she -came into his arms again for one last caress. - -"Go," she told him with a wistful smile. "Go and dream about tomorrow -night." - -Farradyne went, half-propelled by her hands, his reluctance partly -honest and partly curious. But he went. - -On the street he hailed a taxi and spent the time on the way to the -spaceport wondering whether sharpers had clipped him for fifty for -a five-dollar gardenia. He wanted to toss the thing out of the cab -window, but he did not because Carolyn would ask for it tomorrow. He -even cursed himself for being willing to save it for her. - -Farradyne walked into his spacer feeling like a man who had put his -last dollar on the turn of a card, and lost. Lost at least until he -could get somewhere and draw another stake from the bank. Futility and -wonder confused him; in one moment he was on top of the world with -everything going according to plan and the next his world was kicked -out from underneath him and he was dropped back into the mire of -fumbling, helpless ignorance again. - -Farradyne walked into the salon of the Lancaster and stopped short. The -last peg had been pulled out of the creaky ladder of his success. - -"What's the matter, Farradyne? Aren't you glad to see me?" - -There was plenty the matter and he was not glad to see her. - -Her eyes widened a bit and she came up out of her chair and toward -him. "Farradyne," she said, with more eagerness in her voice than he -had ever heard before, "you've brought me a love lotus!" - -He let her have it, and watched as her rapid fingers tore away the -ribbon. - -Norma lifted the flower from its nest in the box, buried her nose deep -in the center of the blossom and inhaled with a deep shuddering sob. -Her eyes closed, then opened serenely to look up at Farradyne from -beneath half-closed lids. She relaxed. The tension went out of her -body and she sank back against the cushions. She put her head back -and rested. And now Farradyne could see her face more clearly. Her -features had lost their chiseled immobility and her eyes had lost the -glassy stare. Her face became alive, and pleasant color flooded it. -Her muscles took on tone and Norma became alive and young-bodied and -beautiful. She was a new person. - -Her lips parted slightly and curved into sweet lines. The hand that -held the flower lay idly on the seat beside her, the other lay palm -up on the other side. She looked like a young girl who had just been -kissed. Slowly, Norma lifted the blossom to her face and inhaled again -the fragrance from the center of the flower. - -"Thanks, Farradyne," she said softly. - -Farradyne's mouth was open and his mind refused to work on any but -the single thought. It was a hellflower. It had had no visible effect -on Carolyn--why? Then the attitude of the woman sitting on the divan -forced the other thought from his mind. - -Not that Norma's attitude had changed in the past minute or so. She was -still relaxed, alive and obviously at peace with both the world and -herself. But Farradyne had been expecting much more; he had expected -an onslaught of passion, of hate, of violence, of emotion. It might be -either a demanding lust or the pleading languor of a woman bereft of -her defenses. Or.... But in any case Farradyne expected passion, of a -wanton depth. - -He was wholly unprepared for this calm return to young and healthy -womanhood. - -He wondered whether Norma would react normally to a gesture of -affection and absently he took a step toward her. He felt once again -that flush of pity for her and righteous anger for the rotten devils -that had done this to her; he wanted to comfort her. She had changed -visibly from a hardened woman whose beauty was stiff and unnatural to a -girl whose loveliness was vivid enough to shine through the hard facade -of heavy makeup. - -"Norma," he said. - -She smiled at him warmly but shook her head. Her arms raised as she -tucked the hellflower in the heavy hair over one ear. The gesture -slimmed her waist and raised her breasts, and through the triangle of -her arms he could see her eyes. They were sultry as they contemplated -him, but she shook her head. - -"No," she said and Farradyne stopped. "You are a nice sort of fumbling -idiot, Charles, and I've stopped hating you for the moment, but that -doesn't mean I want any part of your caresses." - -"I--" - -She smiled at him knowingly. "You were, Charles. You were. But don't." -The odor of the love lotus, identical to the heady perfume of a -gardenia, permeated the room and Norma sniffed at the air, lifting her -face as she inhaled. "The smell of this is all I want." - -Farradyne looked down at her and swore under his breath. This was the -story then. The future under such conditions must be insufferable. He -contemplated a man with an addicted wife; he would go on slaving night -and day to buy this damnable and beautiful hellflower for her just to -see her make this swift, sweet return to the normal woman he had once -known, only to discover time and again that she had no use for him. - -A smile crossed her face and Farradyne realized that Norma had dozed -off in an ecstasy of relaxation. He wondered what to do next; his mind -was mingled with the desire to protect her by letting her sleep the -effects of the love lotus off, and the certain knowledge that if he -did, Norma would never leave him in time for his meeting with Carolyn -Niles. Of the two, the latter was by far the more important. - - - - - 13 - - -As Farradyne stood there wondering what to do, a knuckle-on-metal rap -came at the spacelock and he turned to see Clevis standing there. He -waved Clevis in. - -Clevis came through the inner lock and caught sight of Norma. He -stopped stock-still and looked the woman over from head to toe and back -again. His eyes were bleak, his face bitter and hard as he turned away -from Norma to face the other man. - -"Farradyne, is this the contact you've managed to make?" The tone was -heavy with sarcasm. - -Farradyne shook his head sourly. "She's the one that got me started on -the road to find out--" He was about to explain but Clevis cut him off -with a scowl. - -"You do seem to have started," said Clevis. "That's a real hellflower -she's doping, you know. If I'd known--" - -"Oh, for God's sake, listen!" snapped Farradyne. His shout rang through -the salon and echoed up and down the ship's corridors. Norma stirred -and came awake. She looked at Farradyne happily first, then her eyes -settled on Clevis. - -"Company? Hello, Howard," she said cheerfully. - -"How do you do?" said Clevis, coldly. - -"Not bad, thank you. In fact, I'm feeling in very topnotch shape, -thanks to Mr. Farradyne." - -"You're--" - -"I must admit. A shame, too, but there it is." - -"There's a reward out for you, Miss Hannon." - -Norma's eyes twinkled a bit. "I know. He tried to collect on it. In -fact, I think he did collect on it. But I couldn't sit around and watch -a couple of fine old people tearing their hearts out over the ruin -of their daughter. That's a hell of a way to end an otherwise happy -existence--a son killed, a daughter doped. So I left." - -Farradyne looked at Norma and Clevis sharply, he was lost; he could -only wait for Clevis' next move. - -Clevis shrugged, Norma nodded and relaxed again. She said, quietly, "If -you gentlemen want to talk business, do it somewhere else. Or better, -Charles, may I have my old room again for the night?" - -Farradyne nodded, speechless in his furious bewilderment, and led -Clevis up into the control room. Here, in a low voice, he explained -how Norma had announced his connection with the hellflower racket, -how Cahill had been killed and how he had picked up Carolyn Niles and -the subsequent sabotage by Brenner, sometimes called Hughes, and the -rest of it. At the end he spread out his hands and said, "This isn't -hard work and good management, Clevis. But here I am. It isn't even -good thinking, but I have a couple of questions that I'd like to have -answered." - -"Yes?" - -"Carolyn Niles wore the hellflower for six or seven hours without -turning a corpuscle. Norma Hannon proved that it was no gardenia. There -is something fishy here. Does medical history indicate any immunes to -the love lotus?" - -"Some. Not many. Some doctors have even gone so far as to claim that -the hellflower is no more dangerous than tobacco." - -Farradyne swore. "Not according to Norma Hannon, it isn't," he said -harshly. - -Clevis eyed Farradyne carefully. "You're not a bit soft-headed over -Norma, are you?" - -"I doubt it," said Farradyne honestly. "She's a poor kid that got -clipped and it makes my blood boil, and I want to go out and rap a -half-dozen scum-brained heads together for what they did to her. -Norma, she'd be the kind of woman I could fall in love with, Clevis, -but Norma is a real blank. You know, if you doped up enough women with -hellflowers, the birthrate would take a decline that would alarm a -marble statue." - -"It's something to think about," nodded Clevis. - -"Of course, I've never seen a woman after she has just taken her first -sniff so I don't know what it really adds up to, and I don't know how -long after the first sniff a woman's libido is still capable of being -excited, or even how high the libido can get under hellflowers. But by -the time they get to Norma's state, a love lotus only changes their -attitude from a completely scar-tissued emotional system to something -barely normal whose only desire is to sniff the flower." Farradyne -shook his head roughly. "Anyway," he said, after a moment of thought, -"you can get a couple of ships to follow me day after tomorrow morning. -We're going out somewhere--destination unknown--to make a rendezvous -with someone who is high-up. And no matter what, Clevis, I think it -wise for you fellows to keep on my trail, because at least one faction -of their gang is out to clip me hard. Sooner or later--if my luck holds -out as it has--they'll be sending someone of large proportions to -clobber me and then I'd like to have your gang move in fast. Preferably -before the clobbering gets too thick. And there's more to it--" - -"Give," said Clevis in a flat tone. - -"All right, you asked for it." Farradyne took the throat-whistle out of -his pocket and tucked it back against the curve of his tongue. He tried -it and produced a three-toned sound, brief and musical. - -"That's the sort of thing I was telling people about," he said. "At the -Semiramide's crack-up. Three voices, I thought--then." - -"That's the sort of half-witted story you tried to use at your trial." - -"That's the sort of noise that Cahill made as he died. It's the sort of -noise made by Brenner-Hughes. Clevis, could it be the rudiments of some -odd new language?" - -"How could you use it?" - -"I don't know. Maybe a polysyllabic word like 'manifest' might turn out -to be a single chord with certain articulation spoken in three distinct -tones." - -"How would you articulate?" asked Clevis. - -"Well, you'd have to utter the same vocal sound sequence for all -registers of the word. The word I just used for an example is a rather -complicated series of sounds, with definitions I am not familiar with, -like dental fricative, and sub-dental stop. Regardless of the names of -the tongue-flappings," said Farradyne, "the word itself would have to -be revised in pronunciation." - -Clevis shook his head. "With a gizmo such as you are choking on," he -said, "you'd have a hard time making a tone other than the one it's -tuned for. You're asking a lot, Farradyne. Furthermore, I gather that -you have a fair-to-middling ear." - -"It isn't absolute pitch by a hell of a long way, but it is good enough -to make my face turn sour when the third violinist hits a crab on his -strings." - -Clevis leaned back in the chair. "I'd be in bad shape," he said. "I'm -tone-deaf. Someone would say, 'Clevis, have a drink?' and I'd shake my -head because it sounded like 'Do you like radishes?'" - -Farradyne eyed Clevis for a moment. "Supposing for the moment that this -odd evidence I have--" - -"Based upon a grunt, a cry and an exclamation." - -"--is true. Then mightn't they prefer to let people into their -organization who, they know, have a good pitch sense?" - -Clevis looked back at Farradyne. "We've spent years following less -rational will-o-the-wisps than that. Perhaps we should follow this -crackpot idea for a couple." - -"Well, let me toss you one more. During the next few days I am going to -startle Carolyn Niles, and I hope she cries out or whatever in three -notes. Then I'll have a tie-up." - -"How so?" - -"She has a hellflower-operator background. She'll have a three-noted -cry. And she'll be immune to the God damned flowers her gang deals in. -And there is something more than money in this." - -"Okay, for the time being that's your game. But in the meantime, what -are you going to do with Norma?" - -Farradyne eyed Clevis carefully. "You are going to drive off with her." - -"What makes you think I'm going to drive off with a doped-to-the-eyes -hellflower addict?" - -"Because one of the games I'm playing is nosey-nosey with Carolyn -Niles, and there's going to be no addict cluttering up my spacer. -She'd crumb up the whole deal for fair. You obviously know her, know -where she belongs. Take her to a sanatorium. That'll keep her out of -everyone's hair, especially mine, and she's on my trail." - -"I guess this move is up to me. I hate to drop her in a sanatorium." - -"What else can anybody do?" asked Farradyne, wistfully, spreading his -hand. - -"Not much, but I feel that I owe her more than that kind of handling. -Not much more than a jail, you know." Clevis sighed. - -"I can imagine. But what can you do for people cursed with a disease -that no one knows how to cure?" - -"Segregate 'em," growled Clevis. "Well, let's see what we can do about -carting Norma out of the ship. When you ship out you will be followed -at extreme military radar range. You'll have hard-boiled company -watching you, Farradyne." - -They went below and found Norma stretched out on the divan. She was -sleeping, relaxed as a kitten, with one leg drawn up to uncover the -other shapely leg. Her hands were outstretched over her head and open. -Her breathing was regular, and normal. The hellflower still cast its -heady perfume through the room, and Norma was smiling. - -Farradyne plucked the flower from her hair. "This I'll need," he said -quietly. - -Clevis nodded. "I'll carry her," he said. The Sandman picked Norma up -gently as she sleepily protested, but put her arms around Clevis' neck -and her head against his cheek and let herself be carried from the -salon. - -Watching from the port, Farradyne reflected that they looked like a -happy party-couple, leaving after too many cocktails, with the girl -dozing on her man's shoulder. - -Farradyne shrugged. Clevis had bought himself a bundle of trouble--when -she awoke, with Clevis, and without the love lotus.... He smiled -cynically, and went to bed.... - -Carolyn came aboard that evening and her first request was for her -"gardenia." She put it in her hair and stood there inviting him with -her eyes. Farradyne kissed her briefly and waved her to a seat. - -"Tired of me, Charles?" - -"I've had no time to get used to you, let alone tired of you," he told -her. "But I'm more than a trifle curious about this trip we'll be -taking in the morning." - -"Why not let it wait until then?" - -Farradyne looked at her boldly, made no attempt to hide his careful -appraisal of her figure and face. She accepted his brazen eyeing and -colored a bit. Then he said, "Let's admit it, there's nothing I'd -rather do than spend the night making love. It's my favorite indoor -sport. It's fun outdoors, too. But there are at least two things -against it." - -"Two?" - -He smiled. "You've made affectionate noises and a few statements -regarding your previous affections which lead me to believe that you -would not applaud me if I slung you over one shoulder and carried you -down to your stateroom. The second item is that the way to get ahead is -to marry the boss' daughter, not make her your mistress. Also if you -think for one moment that I have enough ice in my spine or hardening in -my arteries to make with happy-talk from now until six ack-emma, you're -wrong." - -Carolyn leaned back and laughed. - -"Carolyn, have you ever heard of _noblesse oblige_?" - -"What has that to do with me--and you?" - -"It applies. You are a damned attractive female, and as such you should -not use this attraction unless you want the man you are luring. Follow?" - -Carolyn nodded. "I'll behave," she said. "I like you, Charles. No other -man has ever talked to me like that." - -"Well, be careful or I'll prove to you that I am just like all the -rest. Now, how about this other deal? Or should we talk about the -weather--or chess, tiddly-winks, astronomy?" - -"Astronomy. We see no stars on Mercury, you know." - -"So it's up to the telescope. Come on." - -Farradyne shook his head in amused concern. It was apparent that -Carolyn liked to play with fire; either that or she wanted to show her -own superiority to herself. She could hardly have known about the visit -of Norma Hannon, so she would not be aware of the fact that Farradyne -had been able to establish the validity of the hellflower. Mentally -Farradyne kicked himself. All he had done was to put the woman on her -guard. She knew it was a hellflower, she must know it. So this nice -little game she was playing was known to be a game. - -So that made it even--both of them knew it was the real thing, both of -them knew she was immune. - -This might be cricket, but it was not good management. This was not a -contest for the Glory of Good Old Siwash or to win the Golden Fleece. -This was a game where the loser never came to bat again, and once he -was Out, started polishing the Golden Gates or riding gain on the -servo-amplifiers for Mephisto's atomic hellfire. He had to pull a part -of this play back out of danger. - -He had pulled a fluff--the obvious way to remove it was to admit it. - -In the darkened control room, Farradyne reached forward and removed the -love lotus from her hair. He threw it into the chute that eventually -led into the incandescent reaction blast. - -She turned and her face was dim in the starlight. - -"Why did you do that?" she asked. - -Farradyne lied calmly, "Because when I give you your next corsage, it -will be a bona fide gardenia if I have to get a pedigree from the guy -who grew it." - -Her smile was a trifle bitter. "What would you have done if it had -worked?" - -Farradyne laughed. "I didn't expect it to work." - -"But--" - -He went on swiftly. "Like several million other people I've been -wondering how you can tell a gardenia from a hellflower. Honestly, I -expected that you would take one look at the thing and then coldly -inform me that you knew the difference. Then I was going to ask you to -prove it. I was even going to be indignant over your thinking that I -would do such a thing. Upset, fraught with unrequited love and all that -bosh. I was prepared to maintain that I had bought the corsage in good -faith and that some joker like Cahill had played a gag on me, just for -kicks. Sooner or later you'd have told me how one could determine the -difference." He laughed bitterly and it was not hard when he thought of -Norma Hannon. - -"Then," he went on, "you accepted it and put it in your hair, and I -know damned well that you can tell them apart. That made me think, and -I remembered that there are cases of women being immune. So I found -myself sheepishly afraid to explain, and let it go at that. Carolyn, I -just couldn't explain last night. But I do want to be honest with you." - -He waited, hoping he had done a good job. - -Carolyn put a soft hand against his face and then looked down. He -reached for her chin and lifted it. She blinked a few times, and then -smiled faintly. "Of course I knew what it was," she said. "And I know -that I am immune, so I took it and wore it. I wanted to see how you -would react. I wanted to find out why you did it. If you had done -it for the usual reason, I was going to lead you on until you were -incapable of control and then I was going to laugh at you and send you -packing." She looked up at him shyly. "I didn't want to think it was -for the usual reason." - -She leaned toward him, but he took her by the shoulders and turned her -to face the telescope. At this, Carolyn put her head back against her -shoulder and rubbed her cheek against his. - -"None of that," he said with a sharp laugh. "Hell, woman, you do fine -without a hellflower." - -She turned in his arms and melted against him. He held her close -for awhile and then pushed her away from him. "We're running by the -rules, remember?" he said softly. "No fair, Carolyn. Think of my poor, -broken-down blood pressure, woman. Let's get back to astronomy. I may -live longer that way." - -Astronomy is a fascinating hobby. Besides, this study required quite -a bit of close proximity, with his arms loosely around her so that he -could handle the setting-wheels on the telescope or Carolyn leaning -back against him as he looked over her shoulder to set the piece on -another object in the sky. - -At midnight Farradyne showed her to her stateroom, and it was only -after he was in his own room that he remembered that she had carefully -ducked the explanation of how he could tell a love lotus from a -gardenia. He wondered at that. Maybe she thought he had not noticed the -careful steering away from the subject--and maybe a man who was going -into the business for what it was worth would not have noticed the -evasion. - -Then there was the question of his own moral sense. So far as he had -appraised himself he had damned little such sense and most of this was -a matter of personal taste rather than observance of a set of rules. -More strange was the moral sense of the Niles family. It seemed to be -high except for their completely amoral disregard for what happened to -the hapless victims of their racket. - -He went to sleep murmuring a line from a poem many hundreds of years -old that he had read as a youngster. - - "... their honor rooted in dishonor...." - -Take-off was scheduled for six o'clock and Farradyne barely made it. -Fortunately there was only an Albemarle Seventy-One coming in on a -landing beam and he could take his Lancaster up with his eyes closed. -The Tower signed him out with a few remarks about sleepy people who -just got up and a yawn over the near-at-hand bedtime. Then the contact -was closed and Farradyne was a-space on the next leg of his journey. - -Free from the control board, Farradyne had two choices. In his role -of lover he could rap on her door because he wanted to be near her, -or he could let her sleep because he did not want to disturb her. -He listened at her door on his way to the galley but he could hear -nothing; apparently she did not snore. He went on down and built -himself a plate of ham and eggs and a large pot of coffee, and thankful -for the quiet and the solitude and the freedom, he ate his breakfast -and then loafed in the salon, trying to plan his future course. - -Carolyn made her appearance at ten o'clock and reproached him. He gave -her the stock answer, against which there could be no rebuttal, and -offered her breakfast. He was solicitous and gentle. He felt that with -four hours of nerve-soothing quiet behind him, he could play it with a -bit more relaxation. - -"Where are we?" she asked. - -"About a half-million miles out from Terra, I can figure it out for you -if you want it precisely." - -She smiled at him. "It's important. How close is that 'about' a -half-million miles?" - -Farradyne leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes as he went -through the familiar formula, tossing out the figures beyond three -significants. It took him half a minute of plain mental arithmetic -to come up with the answer, "Four hours at one gravity makes it six -hundred sixty thousand miles. There's some error there, caused by the -fact that our apparent gravity just at take-off was not much more -than one-point-three, and the pull of the earth was replaced by true -accelerations as the Terran gravity diminished. But those figures -should be close enough." - -"I didn't think you could guess that close." - -"That was no guess, it was a practiced estimate. I can come closer than -that with some thought. After all, a shoe salesman should be able to -call off the sizes of the shoes he sees on the street, and you know the -Classical Chinese Carpenter?" - -"No." - -"The Chinese Carpenter is an oriental who comes in and takes a careful -look where the plaster fell out of the ceiling, and then goes away and -cuts a hunk of plasterboard that exactly fits the holes without any -cutting or even shaving." - -Carolyn laughed politely. - -"But this is neither here nor there. There are two things to consider: -one is breakfast and the other is that we are on our way, but your -pilot does not know where he's going." - -"Can you strike a line between Terra and Polaris at a distance of three -hundred million miles?" - -"Duck soup," replied Farradyne. "But how fast?" - -"Zero with respect to Terra at three hundred million." - -"Let's go up and start computing," he suggested. "I'll construct you -some grub after we get the first approximation and we get the ship on -the preliminary correction course." - -He led her up to the course computer in the control room where she -added the time of rendezvous to the rest of the figures. He plucked at -the keyboard steadily for a minute, then sat back while the calculator -machine went through the program of arithmetical operations for which -it was designed. He took the punched paper strip from the machine and -fed it into the autopilot, and then said, "Now we'll go below and eat." - -"You haven't been waiting for me?" - -He nodded, hoping that he looked a bit lovesick. - -"You shouldn't have." - -They went below and she eyed the dirty dishes with womanly amusement. -"You are a sweet sort of liar, Charles," she said, turning and coming -into his arms. - -He returned her kiss, thinking, these are the "dames" that try men's -souls. - - - - - 14 - - -Carolyn's eyes were fastened on the telescope, her attention was rapt. -There was a tiny signal pip at the extreme range on the long-range -radar that controlled the telescope, but the object was still too far -away. The range was closing slowly, but they would meet somewhere out -there, three hundred million miles above Terra to the astronomical -North. - -Farradyne knew his instruments and his attention was therefore free to -think of other matters. Carolyn was busy at the "scope," so Farradyne -carefully and quietly slipped a long fluorescent lamp from its -terminals and stood it carefully on one end beside him. He balanced -it carefully and took a couple of silent steps toward Carolyn before -the tube lost its balance and fell to the floor with an ear-shattering -explosion. - -It even shocked Farradyne, who knew it was coming. - -Carolyn reacted like a person stabbed with a red-hot spear. Every -muscle in her body tensed as her nervous system twitched and she stood -there for a full ten seconds as stiff as a figure of concrete while the -shock gripped her. Then adrenalin poured into her veins and she started -to bundle up muscularly at the same time that she realized that there -really was no danger. Farradyne could see the relaxation of her body -taking place almost inch by inch. - -The tension crept out of her silently until her breasts began to fall -in a shuddering exhalation. Then she sighed, and her tuneful voice was -a wordless trill of relief. - -Farradyne's attention snapped into full awareness and he felt a thrill -of exultation run through him. Carolyn Niles' voice was a quavering -trill in _three lilting tones_. - -Then the spell was gone and she relaxed against a brace holding one -hand under her left breast and breathing heavily. "What on earth--?" - -"Lamp fell out of its moorings," said Farradyne. "My fault. That's -one of the pre-flight check-ups that I didn't have time to make this -morning. Stay where you are and I'll clean up this mess." - -"Do you mind if I sit down? I haven't been that startled in years. I -thought the ship had exploded." - -"Park yourself in the pilot's seat," he said. "But be careful. Broken -fluorescent tubing is doubly dangerous. The gook they put on the inside -is as poisonous as hell and the glass is as sharp as a razor." - -She nodded and picked her way through the glass. She looked up at him -and said, "You don't seem to have been startled at all." - -"I had a few millionths of a second to get my nerves in readiness," he -said. "I saw it come down. You took a beating." - -"I guess I did," she admitted weakly. - -Farradyne laughed; it was a forced laugh but he hoped it was -convincing. "Someone told me once that when a person is excited he -always reverts to his native tongue." Her eyes widened and her mouth -started to open, but Farradyne went on as though he hadn't been -watching avidly for some sign. "But I didn't think your native tongue -was Upper Irish Banshee." - -Her eyes half-closed and her mouth snapped back from slack wonder to -toned self-control. "What did I say?" she asked with a half-humorous -smile, which Farradyne knew to be false. - -"It sounded like, 'I am slain to pieces' but I don't know Upper Irish -Banshee very well." - -"You're making fun of me," she complained pettishly. - -"No I'm not. Not really. Anyone can be scared right out of his skin -when something like that happens unexpectedly." - -"All right," she said, and the humor was gone from her voice. "So you -are not making fun of me. You've been playing a very serious game with -me, haven't you?" - -Farradyne thought fast but came up with only, "What makes you think--" - -"Let's drop our masks, Charles." - -"Masks? Look, Carolyn, I'd rather go clean up this glass." - -"Sweep it up, then. But while you're cleaning up, we'll talk seriously." - -"About what?" He got a brush from the locker and a square of cardboard -from the bottom of a ream of paper, and started to collect the debris. - -"What do you know about our language?" - -"Damned little. Frankly, I'd had only a very insecure suspicion right -up to the moment that you admitted it that there was any language -involved." - -"So I gave it away myself?" - -"Yes." - -"I knew you were smart, Charles. But none of us thought that you were -smart enough--" - -"Thanks, m'lady." - -"Stop it!" she cried. "What do you want of me?" - -"What do I want of anybody?" he whispered in a voice thick with anger. -"I had four brutal years clipped out of the middle of my life by a -three-voiced unknown party who wanted to commit suicide bad enough to -take thirty-three innocent victims along with him. They blamed it on -Hot-Rock Farradyne, the spur-wearing spaceman." His voice came back -and he was half-roaring. "I've seen the results of the hellflower in a -ruined personality that might have been a brilliant and gracious woman. -I've seen a man plugged through the middle, to die at my feet. And on -top of that, I've seen a family of prosperous stability calmly making -their place in 'society' by dealing in the stinking things that brought -the ruin and the death to millions." His voice calmed to a cold, -brittle determination. "What do I want of you? Your lovely, flawless -hide skinned alive and spread seductively before a fireplace. That's -all." - -She shrank away from him; looked wildly at the stairway and back into -his face as she realized there was no place in the spacecraft where she -could hide. - -He sneered at her fear. "I'm not going to hurt you, now." His voice was -heavy with derision. "You're beneath my hurting you." - -Carolyn drew herself together; somehow her self-confidence was -returning; perhaps it was the realization that he was not going to do -anything violent. "Why take your hatred out on me?" she asked. "Have I -done anything but--" - -"You?" he asked. "You? How in hell should I know what slimy game you -are playing? You're all painted out of the same can, and the color is -black. I know that I am not the guy responsible for the Semiramide -affair, but who's to prove it? Who's the character that started tossing -the con-rods out of the Lancaster? What was your former boyfriend -doing on my ship? Setting me up for another kiss-off? Jesus Christ, -woman, you'll be asking me not to take these things personally next!" - -"You shouldn't. They're the fortunes of war." - -Farradyne roared, so loud that his voice echoed and reechoed up and -down the ship. "Fortunes of war be damned!" Then he stopped suddenly -and looked at her again. "War?" he asked. "Between whom or between what -and where? Who and what are you and your ilk? I--" He sat down and put -one hand to his head. Carolyn started to speak. "Charles--" but he -looked up and said, "Shut the hell up and let me think!" - -"But I--" - -"Shut up or I'll slap you shut!" Farradyne meant it, and Carolyn must -have understood that slapping her senseless did not conflict with his -aversion to violence. Not now. Not any more. - -He had enough evidence to make a shrewd guess if he could only sort out -the hodgepodge, throw out the dross, hang the material end to end and -then take an impersonal look at it to fill in the gaps. - -Some of it had to do with a combined suicide and wanton mass-murder in -a wrecked spacecraft; he should study that incident with the view of -discovering why it was done, and not why it had been done to Charles -Farradyne. There were the Nileses who probably went to church on -Sunday, belonged to the Chamber of Commerce and the Ladies' Aid and the -Civic Welfare and considered running hellflowers a proper business. -And the daughter, Carolyn, who wanted marriage and a home and a bunch -of kids to bring up into the same hellish business so well run by -their grandfather--just as she had been raised. Something important -hinged on the triple-toned voice which now had become more than a hasty -impression made under stress and excitement. Women who were immune to -the solar system's most devastating narcotic and used their immunity to -deal in the things with safety, bringing ruin to other women. It was -more than jealousy between women, it went farther than that. It was -a form of warfare, and this idea indicated an organization large and -well-integrated; capable of out-maneuvering capable and brilliant men -who had dedicated their lives to stamping out the racket--and who died -under the juggernaut instead of destroying it. - -Well, there it was and what could he make of it? - -No, there was more to be added. Brenner-Hughes, who tried to remove the -control rods of the reaction pile, and who was immune to marcoleptine. -That was an oddly shaped piece of the puzzle that suddenly dropped into -place with a click and coupled up two isolated chunks to make one solid -corner. - -Farradyne put himself in the position of Professor Martin, who might -have been a survivor of the Lancaster foundering. Martin might ask why -someone had tried to kill him, just as Farradyne had so often asked -himself why Party X had tried to kill Farradyne in the Semiramide. -The answer was that Brenner-Hughes had not directed his efforts at -Martin, but at Farradyne, who had some knowledge that was dangerous -to the hellflower ring. Martin would have been the same sort of -innocent victim to the second episode as Farradyne had been to the -first. Party X had wrecked the Semiramide because there was someone -aboard with dangerous knowledge. There was a coldly operating group of -persons, immune themselves to drugs, who were efficiently undermining -the rest of the human race by preying on weakness, lust and escapist -factors that lie somewhere near the surface in the strongest of human -characters. - -He raised his head and looked at Carolyn Niles. - -She faced him squarely and asked, "Have you figured it out?" - -"I think so," he said coldly. "There are a couple of gaps yet which you -can fill in." - -"What makes you think I'll do it?" - -"You'll do it," he said in a brittle voice. "For instance, what are -you, real or artificial mutant?" - -Her laugh was strained and cynical. "Brilliant!" she said. "_Homo -Superior_, Charles." - -"All right then, keep it clammed. But we'll find out." - -"You haven't found out yet," she remarked pointedly. - -"We didn't always have electric lamps, either." - -Carolyn shook her head in a superior manner. "You did not discover -this thing either," she said calmly. "You were shown most of it -deliberately." - -"Indeed?" His voice was sarcastic. - -"We knew that someone high-up and undercover had furnished you with a -spacecraft and a forged license and set you to running into us, hoping -that your reputation would establish you as a racketeer. He used you -efficiently, so we used you more efficiently. There are two ends to a -fishline, Charles, and the fish and the fisherman never meet until one -pulls the other in. We caught Howard Clevis on the wrong end of the -line, so to speak. We also--" - -"You caught Clevis?" - -"As soon as we knew who your contact was we pulled him in. So if you -are expecting a flight of military craft to come racing up in time -to intercept the rendezvous ship we have out there, forget it. The -military are still on the landing blocks at the spaceport." - -Farradyne whirled and peered into the radar. The single pip was close -and closing the range swiftly but there was nothing else on the -"scope." It was a huge ship, if the size of the radar response meant -anything and Farradyne peered into the coupled telescope. - -Nothing like it could ever have been built in secret anywhere among the -habitable planets of the solar system. The size of it was such that the -metal alone, even if one piece were placed with each manufacturer to -conceal the process, would have attracted notice, and the rest of the -project would require the resources of a planet to feed it and the men -that built it. It would be like trying to build a four-hundred-inch -telescope in secret; the very least that could happen would be some -avid press agent taking note of a massive casting and using it in an -advertisement, and that would start the parade. - -Farradyne turned away from the telescope. "Baby, what a sucker you -played me for!" he jeered. "So I was to be your lover, your husband? -Together, hand in hand we go to cement the first interstellar union. -The mating of a jackass and a triple-tongued canary, that the fruit of -such union will be half-assed and bird-brained." Farradyne's voice went -hard. "Well, if it's war your people want, we'll give it to you!" - -Farradyne strode across the room toward the controls and as he came, -Carolyn's hand moved swiftly, catching up the microphone in a single -swoop and bringing it to her mouth. She had had the radio turned on all -the while, obviously, and Farradyne's tirade had been going out. - -Carolyn cried a sing-songy rhythm into the mike. It reminded Farradyne -of an exotic trio chanting a ritual celebration of some heathen rite of -sacrifice. - -He slapped the microphone out of her hand; the thing hurled out to the -end of its cord and jerked free, to crash against the far wall leaving -the cord-ends dangling open like a raw sore. - -He caught her by the hair, lifted her out of the seat and hurled her -across the room. She fell and went rolling in a welter of arms and legs -until she came up against the wall beside the mike. She scooped it up -and hurled it at Farradyne's head, but he caught it in one hand and -dropped it to the floor. - -He dropped into the seat and hit the levers with both hands. The -Lancaster surged upward, throwing Carolyn back to the floor in a -painful heap. The acceleration rose to three gravities, then to four. - -"This trick we take," he gloated. - -Carolyn moaned; it sounded like attempted laughter. - -He looked into the radarscope and saw that despite his four gravities -of acceleration the monstrous spacecraft was matching him and closing -the range. - - - - - 15 - - -Farradyne watched Carolyn uncaringly as she fought herself out of the -crumpled position and succeeded in flopping over on her back where -the four gravities were not making her body press against her arms -and legs. She spreadeagled on the floor and her chest labored with -the effort. Then she relaxed, because four gravities are not too -uncomfortable when lying on the back, even though the floor below is -hard. - -"Forget it, Charles," she said slowly, and with some difficulty. "You -can't run away from a ship--that can go--faster than light." - -"I can try." - -"You can't win." - -The radio speaker came alive, "Surrender, Farradyne! Stop and submit or -we fire!" - -Farradyne's lips tightened as he fought the controls so that the ship -slid sidewise, putting another vector in its course. He twirled the -volume knob to zero on the radio with a violent twist of his wrist. -"They're your friends, and they don't mind killing you," he sneered. - -"I'm not afraid to die." - -"I am," grunted Farradyne. "I have some knowledge that I don't want to -die without telling." - -"That's why I'm willing--to keep you from telling." - -His hands danced on the levers and the Lancaster turned end for end -and sped back at the huge craft almost on a sideswiping course. Out -here intrinsic velocity meant nothing, the only thing that counted -was the Lancaster's velocity with respect to the velocity of the -spacecraft from the stars. He had one advantage, his ship was smaller -and therefore it must be more maneuverable. Furthermore he had the -advantage of surprise. He could go where he pleased, and the other -pilot must follow him. Since Farradyne's changes of pace and course -would come without warning, each switch would take a few fractions of -a second to follow. On land a few fractions of a second mean little, -but in space they mean miles. On land a quartering flight meant closing -of the range; in space where the pursuer could not dig a heel into -the ground and turn on a dime, quartering flight meant adding another -vector to the course. - -He widened the gap. - -Somehow Farradyne realized that because a ship could exceed the speed -of light, it did not follow that the ship would be able to catch an -elusive quarry. - -He looked at Carolyn, plastered against the floor by four gravities and -realized that her race could be no more hardy than his, and therefore -four gravities was about all they could take over an extended period of -time. Maybe the more hardened space-dogs could take five or six, with -training and special seats and wearing equipment. His outfit protected -him more than the flimsy stuff she wore. - -Here at least he was on an equal footing with the other spacer. It was -obvious to Farradyne that interstellar velocities did not depend in -any way upon reaching that speed by plain acceleration. A force field -of some unknown kind was needed, and this force field must not be one -that permitted the body to stand, say a thousand gravities or this -force field would go on and the other ship would catch him as easily -as a greyhound could catch a rabbit--and here in space there were no -brambles in which to hide. - -He snapped his Lancaster around and crossed behind the course of the -other ship. Again he widened the gap. - -He had only one thing to worry about. To the present moment and until -it became evident that he would get free of pursuit, this new and -sudden enemy was hoping to take him alive. So until it became evident -that he could make his escape he had nothing to fear. Once he was free -of them, he would have to face the terror of target-seeking missiles -capable of several hundred gravities of acceleration and equally -capable of turning in midflight if he managed to make them miss him. - -He wished desperately for a cargo of bowling balls or steel castings -that he could strew in his wake. He cursed his lack of foresight in not -having the control rods replaced, because a few of them might have done -the trick. - -Farradyne stopped cursing. He struggled to the computer and played a -long tune on the keys, ignoring the fact that the enemy had finally -lined up on his course from behind again and was closing range. -Recollection of Brenner-Hughes and the depredations in the pile-bay -had started a train of thought that Farradyne followed with growing -interest. It was long and involved and it depended upon a large amount -of luck, good planning and ability. He hoped all three were with him. - -The Lancaster made one more complex turn as the end of the punched tape -entered the autopilot. Then, if Farradyne's computations were correct, -the Lancaster's nose was pointed at Terra. - -The spaceliner behind, fooled again, made a turn and began to pick up -the space that had been lost. - -Farradyne saw that he had plenty of time. He waited until the punchings -on the tape cut the drive a bit, and then he went below and came -back into the control room with Brenner-Hughes' space-suit. He got -out patching material and carefully repaired the triangular rip. He -cleaned out the strong-locker, putting the greenbacks into one of the -many pouches of the suit. Then he set about checking it, testing the -air-supply and purifier, filling the food pouch and the water tank. Men -had been known to last seventy-two hours in a suit like this without -any discomfort other than the confinement. The primary danger was -running out of oxygen and the secondary danger was thirst. How much -longer than the three days depended upon the character of the man and -when he had last eaten and taken his fill of water. - -The suit was checked to Farradyne's satisfaction and he started to put -it on. "How handy are your friends with that big spacer?" he asked. - -"Good enough," she said. - -"You'd better pray for them to be better," he said. "Because your life -depends upon how handy they are." - -"Charles, you can't possibly make it." - -Farradyne paused; he wanted to take time for a last cigarette. He lit -one and puffed before he said, "Honeychild, I could outguess that gang -until Sol freezes over, except that sooner or later they'll get sick -and tired of the chase and end it by launching a target-seeking missile -and that would be that. I have no intention of sitting here and letting -them catch me, either." - -"So what are you going to do?" - -Farradyne reached up and stopped the clock. "I've punched a very -interesting autopilot tape. It'll dodge and swoop along at about four -gravities and lead your pals a long and devious way after you and I -part company. Four gee is enough to keep you flat on your attractive -behind so you can't louse it up. Since you can't measure time too -accurately, when they grab you, you won't be able to tell 'em just when -I took off and they'll have a fine time combing space for a man-sized -mote, making his course to Terra." - -"Charles?" - -Farradyne snubbed his cigarette out and dropped on his hands and knees -so that he could look down into her face. "You've pitched me many a -low, soft curve to the inside," he told her quietly. "Now you are -lying there looking helpless, with those big eyes telling me that I am -leaving you here to die. Good act, Carolyn, but this time you didn't -think it out far enough. By now you should have known Farradyne well -enough to realize that staying here will kill us both because I won't -be taken alive! By scramming, maybe we'll both live. This is one battle -you lose. And the last. But maybe we'll meet somewhere again to take it -up later." - -He bent down with a cynical smile and kissed her on the lips. To his -surprise he found her lips responsive, but he had neither the time nor -inclination to carry the emotion any further. - -"So long, Carolyn," he chuckled. "Some of this has been a lot of fun." - -He finished donning the space-suit and then with a careless wave of -his hand he went down the stairs. She was not looking at him, but at -the ruined microphone and the raw cord-ends, and the radio equipment -far out of her reach. Panic showed in her face and it gave her some -strength, but not enough to fight the four gravities that held her flat. - -Then as Farradyne lost sight of her, his jaunty self-confidence faded. -Up until not too long ago he had been complimenting himself on being -able to find out more about the hellflower operation than the Sandmen. -Now he knew the hellflower gang had been using him in a more efficient -manner than Clevis and the Solar Anti-Narcotics Department. It became -obvious to Farradyne that fighting a gang of cut-throats and fighting -an enemy race of intelligent people were about as different as he -really was from the brilliant operator he imagined himself to be. - -It also required that he change his plans for escape. He knew that he -could flee the big ship and had a fine chance of being picked up by a -Space Guard scooter as soon as he could get within calling distance of -Luna. - -But the chances were high that the hellflower people would have their -entire undercover outfit alerted and at the first touch of radio call -they would be swarming the neighborhood to pick him up. He would call -and several ships would answer; there would be a lot of calling back -and forth with the result that some "commercial spaceliner" would pick -him up, reporting the incident to the Space Guard, who would not even -take off from the station on Luna. Then Farradyne would be delivered -right back to the place he was leaving now. - -He paused by the spacelock and cracked the big portal, and stood there -eyeing the huge starship, a tiny dot in the distance below, visible -only because its reaction flare limned the ship, making an annular -object against the cold twinkling stars. He kept the spacelock open -long enough to make it look like a real escape to Carolyn, who would be -watching the indicator lamp and marking the time. - -Then he closed the spacelock and went down and down in the Lancaster -until he found the lowermost inspection cubby. He crawled in and -closed the hatch behind him. He settled down to wait with about the -same amount of wondering concern as the school boy summoned to the -principal's office without being told why. - -Even the small amount of evidence that he now could use had been given -to him as bait to catch the one man who would be willing to listen to -him. He groaned and swore aloud and the sound of his voice echoed and -reechoed within the confines of his helmet. - -Time creaked past and the Lancaster turned and curved according -to the punchings on the autopilot tape. Farradyne had only one -prayer--that the enemy would not get tired of the chase and fire a -missile that would end the whole game with a wave of intolerable heat -and indescribably bright light. Only Carolyn's presence aboard might -prevent that until the last moment. - -Then the hour-period ended with the Lancaster pointing up and a -quartering course from Terra and Sol and a long, long way from the -point of supposed escape. Not long after that Farradyne felt the clink -of the magnetic grapples. - -He tensed again. Would they fine-comb the Lancaster? Or would the -inevitable question and answer session that must ensue, once they found -Carolyn alone, convince them that he had abandoned ship? Would they -take her off and blast the Lanc' or would they deem it of value and -keep it? - -His mind went on and on--how good was the radar? How alert was their -radar operator? Were both good enough to state unequivocally that there -had been no minute object leaving the ship on a tangential course, or -would there have been the usual clutter of noise and interference and -lack of anticipation so that someone could assume that he had left the -ship? Someone was going to get chewed for it in any case. Then assuming -that the enemy considered the ship valuable, where would they take it -and what would they do with it? - -Far from feeling gratified at his maneuver, Farradyne was only -satisfied to be alive and temporarily out of the hands of the enemy. -What happened from here on in must be played by ear against an unknown -score for three voices. - -The drive of the Lancaster dropped from four gravities to about one, -and Farradyne could hear, dimly, the clumpings of heavy feet coming in -through the rooms above him. Then the drive diminished again, remaining -at about a quarter-gravity or maybe less, and there were sounds of feet -above his head. He tensed and he tasted the acid in his mouth; he found -his heavy automatic and clutched it clumsily in the heavy space-glove. -Capture might be preferable to death, except that Farradyne was fairly -well convinced that the enemy could not permit him to stay alive -with what he knew about them, even though it was precious little and -unsupported. - -The cubby he was hiding in was angularly shaped; to one side was -space beyond the hull-plates. Inside was the water-jacket that cooled -the throat of the reaction motor. Farradyne moved quietly around the -central pillar until he was on the opposite side from the inspection -hatch and settled down again. - -On the plates above his head there were footsteps and the scraping of -something heavy being hauled across the deck. - -He heard the sound of triple-tongued voices barking musical and -discordant sounds, distorted and muffled by the deck and the helmet -he wore. One fiddled with the inspection hatch and Farradyne found -the scuttlebutt and valved the air out into space knowing the enemy -would have a hard time cracking the hatch against the pressure of -one atmosphere. They gave up after a moment; then came the sound of -drilling on the deckplates above him. A cloud of whitish vapor spurted -downward and the sound of alien voices rose sharply as the drill came -through. Three more spurts of escaping air blasted downward and skirred -around the room to go in a fading draw toward the scuttlebutt. - -Plugs filled the four holes and Farradyne turned his head torch on -them. They were heavy self-tapping bolts being turned in from above. - -The maneuver was repeated three times, ninety degrees apart. Then there -was a softer sound of scraping and gradually the clumping of feet and -the sound of men at work faded away. - -Farradyne took a deep breath and realized that his skin was itching -from the cold perspiration of fear that bathed him. The taste in his -mouth was brackish and his heart was pounding, his breath shallow and -rapid. He opened his mouth to gasp and discovered that he had been -clenching his teeth so hard that his jaw ached and his molars hurt. - -He closed the scuttlebutt, but did not valve any air into his hiding -place. He put the top of his helmet against the deckplate above him and -listened. Far above he could hear them, still at work but they were -going higher and higher in the ship. He relaxed, waiting.... - -Three more hours passed, as nerve-wracking a three hours as Farradyne -had ever spent. Then, with absolutely no warning the drive went off -completely. He floated from the deck and scrabbled around to grab a -stanchion. He held on, finally getting his magnetic shoes against a -girder where they held him at an odd angle. - -The drive went on to a full one gravity and hurled Farradyne flat -against the bottom of the cubby, wrenching his ankles slightly. The -drive went off again, on and finally off. This time it stayed off. - -Floating free, with only his feet for mooring, was like resting in -a tub of body-temperature water, and as the lulling muscle-freeing -sensation went on and on, Farradyne dozed. From the doze, which was -fitful for quite some time, he dropped off into a deep slumber. - - - - - 16 - - -Farradyne awoke to the pressure of about one gravity and he consulted -his watch. Either fourteen hours had passed, or thirty-eight, but he -could not believe the latter. A full clock-around was hardly possible -for Farradyne, even when he was dead tired, so one clock-around plus -fourteen hours was unthinkable. - -He put his slumber at fourteen hours and then set his mind on other, -more important things. - -The ship was silent. His suit hung from him limply, indicating that air -had seeped into the cubby again. He tried the scuttlebutt but no hiss -of air came. The Lancaster was a-planet. - -It might be Terra, Venus or Pluto according to the pull of gravity, -but Farradyne did not think it likely to be any one of the three. He -suspected that whatever the gizmo was the enemy had installed on the -deck above him, it had something to do with transcending the limiting -velocity of light. He was probably grounded on enemy soil ... somewhere. - -For a moment his mind grappled with the problem of interstellar travel -and lost the fight. It was possible, proven by the starship of the -aliens. But to come aboard with a gadget under one arm and install it, -like putting in a radio set, seemed entirely too simple. On the other -hand, Farradyne was sufficiently aware of basic physics to understand -that anything that could be used to create a condition where gross -matter could exceed the velocity of light would be something that did -not have to perform in conjunction with a matter-operated reaction -motor. He remembered, dimly, some fanciful theories written by some of -the white-tower boys in one of the big universities. These had been -experiments in field-theory and group-theory which had indicated that -under certain conditions, some rather minute spherical volumes of space -could be made to misbehave. - -The difference was that with the physicists and their operations, a -vast room full of gear had been used to make a five millimeter sphere, -and the contrast was marked. - -The meat of this matter was that the gizmo that made it possible -to travel faster than light must be some sort of field-generator, -and such a field-generator might well be packaged in small form for -installation. Whatever the science and whatever the location, Farradyne -could not hope to learn anything penned up here. - -Again he listened. The ship was silent as the proverbial grave. He -cracked the inspection hatch and peered out. It was dark as the grave, -too. - -Boldly he opened the hatch and stepped out. Under the light of his -headlamp, Farradyne inspected four rectangular metal boxes, painted a -nondescript gray. Cables led from one to another, terminating in white -metal connectors. The boxes were bolted to the deck by the self-tapping -bolts that had come through his ceiling. - -From one of the boxes ran a cable that led to a wall-connector. - -Like all other Solarian spacecraft, the Lancaster was well supplied -with a network of cables running up and down the length of the ship to -serve as test connections and spares for this or that equipment. This -made it possible to install some bit of gear for pleasure, comfort or -added maneuvering without having to tear half the ship apart to run the -necessary wiring. - -The enemy had re-connected their multi-line cable to one of the -standard Terran connectors and plugged the cable into the Lancaster's -cable-plate. - -Farradyne could see nothing about the metal boxes that would tell -him anything, so he left them and went aloft, cautiously. He doffed -the space-suit at the next level and hung it in a suit locker, and -continued to walk up the stairway that would lead him to the spacelock -and the salon. - -Out of one porthole he could see the spaceport. It was broad and dark -except for a bouquet of searchlights that drilled into the sky around -the rim, a wash of floodlamps that surrounded one of the vast starships -many miles distant, and the far-off blur of bright, red light that -probably read "Spaceman's Bar" in whatever the natives used for a -printed language. - -He left the viewport and went higher in his ship until he came to -the salon. He peered into it from floor level, but it was dark and -untenanted. The spacelock was open and Farradyne looked out of the -large round opening across the field to another starship standing a few -hundred yards from the Lancaster. The other ship was just as dark as -his, except for one small porthole that gleamed like a headlight in the -darkness. - -The problem of where he was called him to the control room. - -He looked into the sky, hunting for familiar constellations. The -Pleiades were there, but warped quite a bit and Farradyne found -that, while he knew they were distorted as an aggregation of stellar -positions, he could not remember their proper relationship. Orion was -visible, but the hero had hiked his belt up after a swing of his sword -at the mythical enemy. The Great Bear was sitting on his haunches -instead of prowling and the smaller Bear had lost his front feet. -Cassiopeia had gained some weight, enough to squash her throne and -Sirius no longer blazed in Canis Major. Procyon had taken off for parts -unknown, while several other bright stars dotted the skies in places -where no stars had been on Terra. It was likely that some of these were -merely displaced stars, but no one could tell Sirius from anything else -without a set of astronomical instruments and a few years of study -unless he knew which way Sirius was from this position. - -Coldly and calmly Farradyne scanned the skies. Providing they had not -travelled more than forty or fifty light years, the constellations -before and behind the direct line of flight should be reasonably -undistorted, except for those stars that would have been bypassed en -route. This would only add a star or two to a constellation behind and -subtract the same from a constellation dead ahead. The ones to the side -of the line of flight would be misshapen and warped. - -It would have been easier if he could have viewed the entire sky, -but he had to be content with one hemisphere. If he could find an -undistorted constellation with a few stars missing he had come in that -direction and, conversely, if there were stars added, he had gone away -from it past some of the stars between Sol and this enemy system. - -He tried to recall visits to the big stellartarium in New York where -the lecturer displayed the skies as seen from various well known stars -that were within half a hundred light years of Sol. Certain sky-marks -and their displacement would be very helpful, if he could remember -them. But he found that he had not been as visually attentive as he -might have been, or that he had seen and been entertained and then -discarded the data as interesting but useless in a scientific culture -that firmly believed in the limiting velocity of light. - -Finally he gave up hoping to establish his whereabouts by visual -inspection. He found a small pad of paper and began to make layouts of -the familiar constellations as he saw them. Someone among the planets -of Sol would be able to measure the angles and changes and come up with -the right answer within a few light years, and stars were sufficiently -separated so that the chances were good for a reasonable identification. - -He put a dozen small pages in his pocket and then took his first look -at the control room. He could see nothing changed at first, but then he -found a small auxiliary panel beside the pilot's seat which contained a -bar-topped toggle switch and three pilot lamps that were different in -appearance from the rest of the Lancaster's standard equipment. - -He felt an urge to try the toggle, but fought it down. It was too much -like playing with toy building blocks made of sub-critical masses of -plutonium, and Farradyne wanted to stay alive long enough to watch -the downfall of the enemy, not participate in the explosion. Curbing -his human curiosity to fiddle with strange gadgets, Farradyne turned -away from the board and went to the cupboard where he took out his -binoculars. - -He was astonished to find out how far away the starship really was, and -how big it was when it leaped into closer view in the glasses. It was -still as dark as an untenanted building except for that one lighted -porthole, but the angle into the cabin beyond was too steep. Farradyne -could see nothing more than the corner between the opposite wall and -the ceiling. He toyed with the idea of trying to lift himself to the -top of the dome, but gave it up because he realized, once he removed -the binoculars from his eyes, that the additional few feet of height -would not change the distant angle enough to make it worth his while. - -The question of what to do next perplexed him. Obviously there was no -answer. There could be no plan. He would have to play it by ear again, -with the other guy calling the moves. He grunted unhappily; he could -not even smoke because he feared to show even the smallest light. But-- - -Farradyne went down to his galley and opened a can of mixed space -rations which he shovelled in cold. It filled him adequately but not -tastily and he realized that the best of fine food would have been -stowed away in a frenzy of nervous listening for the inevitable sounds -of the enemy's return. With haste, Farradyne cleaned up the evidence of -his presence, thinking how ridiculous it was to be stealing from his -own spacecraft. - -He was finishing up this job when the faint glint of a distant flash -of light caught his eye. He hurried to the porthole from which the -glint had come, and peered out. A large caravan of heavy trucks was -snaking around the corner of a distant building and turning onto the -spacefield. Their headlamps cut forward like scythes of light, cutting -a brilliant path toward the Lancaster. - -Farradyne did not deem it wise to sit this out. They might have been -heading for the other side of the field, but if they weren't he was -trapped. He went aloft to the salon and scuttered down the landing -ramp, around the back side of the poised spacer and away from the -direction of the trucks, running in the shadow cast by the Lancaster. -Five or six hundred yards away was another spacer, and it was -completely dark. Farradyne scurried around the widespread tail fins of -the monster and stood there, peering at the caravan from between the -angle made by the tail fin and the in-curving body of the spacecraft. - -The trucks came around the Lancaster, surrounded it in a circle, and -then a blaze of lights came, lighting the Terran ship from dome to -reaction funnel. Ladders were sent aloft and a huge crane lifted. The -calls of workers and the directions of their superintendent came to -Farradyne clearly. He wondered what they were doing and saying; except -for the three-toned voices that added an audible complement of women -and children to the gang, it sounded like any work party on earth -yammering in a strange tongue. - -He watched for an hour, and then he saw that the distant sky was -beginning to show a very faint glow of gray. Sunrise--or perhaps a -false sunrise, he could not tell. - -He scuttled like a human spider away from the direction of the work -party until its flood lights were a distant miniature stage setting. -He wound in and among silent, dark spacecraft, avoiding those with -lights even though he had to detour wide for the sake of this safety. -Eventually he came to the far side of the spaceport. - -He cased the place warily from behind the fin of a spacer, looking at -the dark, silent buildings and wondering if this gang of aliens had -ever heard of night watchmen. He did not trust the quiet darkness of -the apparently uninhabited spaceport because he was suspicious and he -knew that other people were as suspicious as he was. He was glad that -he did not barge in brashly, for along about the first glimmers of real -graying sky, a man came out from between two of the buildings waving a -searchlight. He sauntered along in front of the nearest building and -disappeared between it and the next. - -Farradyne skipped across the space and went into the gangway the -watchman had just come out of. He walked warily through and came to -a high wire fence. Keeping to the building side of the clearance-way -between fence and building, Farradyne skulked along in the direction -opposite to that taken by the watchman. - -He needed a minimum of two items: A set of Planet X clothing and a way -out of this rattrap. - -He found the way out a few minutes later. - -A dim striking of a bell alarmed him until he realized that it was -tolling, rather than clamoring an alarm. He followed the tolling for -seventeen bongs and came upon a small sentry house perched beside an -open gate. As the tolling stopped, the man in the house stretched, -yawned and got up, picking up a searchlight. He stepped outside and -looked around in a bored manner. - -The watchman took one look at the open gate some ten feet from his -position and shrugged. He turned his back on it and disappeared between -a couple of buildings not far from Farradyne's place. - -Farradyne grinned. Obviously it had been so long ago since any trouble -had been this way that the guard-system had become lax. Farradyne -praised laziness and complacency highly as he sped across the open -space on silent feet and passed the gate on his way to the outside. - -Dawn was breaking and the chill of the morning nipped at him. He had -broken free, but it was just as dangerous for him to remain in front of -the open gate as it might have been for him to be roaming around the -spaceport in the full light of day. He turned to the right and started -to walk along the road toward a group of small buildings a few hundred -yards from the spaceport. - -The second item Farradyne needed came later. He had sauntered along -several deserted streets in the gray of dawn and down a couple of -alleys and through a vacant lot or two until he was quite some distance -from the spaceport. Here, in a dimly lighted district Farradyne met -his Planet X clothing. - -The stranger did not have a chance. He had been drinking or sniffing -whatever the enemy used for celebration and he had used too much. -Farradyne's hard fist came out of somewhere and the stranger went down -like a log, silently. Farradyne dragged him into an alley and stripped -him to the skin. - -His own clothing Farradyne stuffed in a trash barrel, pushing the -bundle down below the rest of the rubbish in the hope that the barrel -would be collected by a couple of hard-working and uncurious men who -would never note the alien cut to the cloth. - -He left the fellow naked to suffer both a hangover and a lot of -embarrassment. - -Then in the pleasantly bright dawn, Farradyne walked boldly down the -city street jingling a bunch of native coins in the side pocket of -his costume and feeling just a trifle silly, like an introvert at a -fancy-dress ball. The trousers were striped gaudily and the loose -jacket hugged his waist a bit on the too-tight side. There was a widish -hat and a pair of shoes that could have been put on either foot. He -looked like a character out of an old-time musical comedy and he hoped -that his costume was not the kind worn by Planet X-ians as formal -evening wear because then he would look silly to them wandering around -in the morning light like a man caught far from home at six ack-emma in -a tuxedo. - -Eventually he passed a shop window and saw other garb like the junk he -was wearing and he felt better. - -He had every faith in the belief that people are disciplined against -striking up an acquaintance with a total stranger, and so he turned -into what was obviously a main thoroughfare and strolled along it until -the streets began to fill with people. - - - - - 17 - - -There was no doubt about the alien quality of the city. But in its -functional qualities, it was very familiar. These, he realized, were -developments that had been found to be effective over a long time of -sheer operation; functions that would have been mechanically similar -on any planet no matter how alien, so long as its inhabitants breathed -air, ate food and perambulated. Buildings were mostly squarish blocks -cut with windows and doors; shops had broad windows for displaying -their wares and even the wares were not too exotic. Clothing stores -and gewgaw stores and food shops and now and then one that sold stuff -that was not to be identified by a stranger. - -The streets and alleys and gutters and sidewalks were normal. Traffic -ran to the left, however, which gave Farradyne some trouble because -he had been used to stepping from the curb and glancing to the -right. Drivers squawked at him with their horns and swore at him -in their multi-tongued voices. Farradyne forced himself to learn -this left-handed traffic problem; he did not want to be handed a -traffic ticket, nor did he want to be asked by some policeman for an -explanation of his stupidity. - -By now the sun was well above the horizon and the streets began to -teem. The air began to sing with the noise of people chattering, -greeting one another, and generally making a racket resembling a -Chinese laundry in an air-raid. He heard the clash of metal on metal -and turned to watch a couple of drivers arguing over their dented -fenders. As he walked with his head turned, Farradyne bumped into -someone and the man chittered something at him angrily. Farradyne -nodded humbly and grunted under his breath and hurried on. So did -the other man, who merely replied to Farradyne's grunt with a single -three-toned discord before veering off and away. - -He had to be careful, he told himself; he had found this city so -closely resembling a city of his own system that he had become -careless. He knew by now that if he conducted himself without -attracting attention and if he walked without cringing, no one would -think to stop him for questioning. - -What had Carolyn said? Something about their springing from the same -basic stock some fifty thousand years ago? Well, anyway, these were -of the same family of curious apes who were gregarious enough to band -together and still individualistic enough to resent any intrusion upon -privacy. There would most certainly be three-toned hell to pay if he -opened his own trap, but so long as he kept it shut, they had no way of -telling him from any of their own kind. - -And so he walked among them for hours, until the crowd thinned and the -traffic became less boisterous and frantic and the city settled down to -the quieter routine. - -Farradyne found it hard to place this cosmopolitan culture in the same -niche with the society that appeared to be systematically undermining -the Solarian civilization. It was quite similar to the paradox he had -found in the Niles family. It was as though murder was an honorable -enterprise and that the dope-sales were listed on the daily stock -exchange under the commodities section. - -Farradyne had expected to find some monstrous ugliness here. A police -or slave state would not have surprised him; it was such a culture that -usually fostered villainy. Instead he found a city much like his own -and it was hard for Farradyne to shake off the feeling that the only -misunderstanding between them was the age-old barrier of tongue. - -Eventually he came upon an ornately carved building that stood with the -doors open. People were sauntering in and out with no obvious barrier, -and so Farradyne followed one group at a little distance and went into -the building. - -It could have been any museum on Terra, for the lifeforms displayed -were as bizarre as any of the stranger bits of art work on the earth -or other of Sol's planets. He came upon a quiet hallway that had a -non-scale model of the solar system; it was a working orrery that told -Farradyne nothing other than that this system had eleven planets and -a batch of satellites. None of the planets had rings like Saturn. He -looked for something that could identify the parent sun for him, but he -found nothing familiar about any of the displays, except one. - -There was a small model of Sol and its planets on a pedestal, and while -the sight was familiar, the lettering below the display was not. If the -legend said anything about distance and direction, it was not only in -the alien's terms, but in the alien's written language. - -To find out where in the sky he was, Farradyne needed a fast course in -Planet X-ian language, and then a six months' concentrated course in -uranography. He began to understand that the matter of being lost is -only a dislocation of your own frame of reference. Cities do not have -large signs around the streets saying "This is Chicago" because any man -in his right senses knows that he is not in Detroit, and if he does -not, there are better places for him than either city. - -He shunned the opportunity of visiting the enemy planetarium. Having -some lecturer explain the heavens as seen from Planet X in a trio-voice -would get him nowhere. - -He left the museum and began to trudge back toward the spaceport. He -was hungry again, and the morning and early fore-afternoon had been -frustrating, even though it had been enlightening to find that the -aliens lived and breathed and enjoyed themselves like people instead of -the cold inhuman monsters he had expected. - -Again Farradyne watched his fellows carefully. It seemed that one -medium slug would buy him a wad of paper that could be nothing other -than the afternoon news, after which he would get two smaller slugs in -change. He strode to the newsstand with a what-the-hell feeling and -tossed down one of the medium slugs. He scooped up one of the papers -and two of the smaller slugs and walked away without saying a word. The -newsman watched the transaction without turning an eye. Then Farradyne -folded the paper through the middle and tucked it under his arm and -sauntered along like the absent-minded professor until he found a -quick-grab joint that opened on the sidewalk. - -He stood at the counter scanning the wall-menu as though he knew what -it said until the waitress sounded off at him. He looked down at -her with a frown of irritation, and then waved two fingers at a hot -plate full of flat square things floating in an oily sea of juice. He -unfolded his paper and immersed himself in a page while the waitress -scooped two of the flat things from the plate and slid them between -folds of something like a bun. She shoved them beneath the lower edge -of Farradyne's paper on a flat plate and stood there mewing at him like -a trio of alley cats. - -Acting in an absent manner Farradyne took two of the larger slugs -from his pocket and dropped them on the bar. The waitress took one, -deposited it in a register with a shrug, as if she had seen oddly -absorbed characters before, and returned with three of the smaller -slugs which she piled on the bar beside Farradyne's remaining coin. - -He munched his greasy God-knows-whats and while he mentally complained -about the flavor and the greasiness, he was forced to admit that they -were more satisfying than his earlier cold can of mixed space rations. - -Then he folded his paper (wondering whether he had been absorbed -in a lonely hearts column, the local stock market, or a nice lurid -sex-slaying) and sauntered off toward the spaceport. He made it in -easy steps, angling this way and that and wandering like Haroun al -Raschid, but feeling more like that other fabled Arabian who was forced -to remain in the body of a stork because his bird's mouth could not -pronounce the magic word in the proper language. No one paid him any -attention. - -The sum and substance of his adventure was the feeling that a hyena can -walk through a monkey cage so long as the hyena has enough sense to -wear monkey clothing and keep his big bazoo shut, and an opinion that -it was a damned shame that such nice-appearing folks could be such lice. - -By the time Farradyne returned to the vicinity of the spaceport it was -getting along toward late afternoon. It was a long day on Planet X -and if Farradyne's judgment of time were anything worth mention, the -day had still some hours to go until the real darkness came. He had -no watch. A watch would have come in handy for time estimating even -though there stood an excellent probability that the length of the day -did not match anything like the Terran standard of time. He had dumped -his wrist watch along with his own clothing because it was obviously -alien; the watch he wore was his victim's but it was calibrated in -Planet X time and Farradyne had not had a chance to compare times, nor -to sit quietly and observe the relative motions of the several hands -around the dial. - -He was too early, but he had no other place to go. He could see across -the spaceport to the Lancaster, where the cranes still poised high and -the work went on, but still he had no more urge to return to the city. - -Farradyne observed the entry of others carefully, and discovered that -there were a couple of smaller ships taking on passengers, and that a -number of people were coming along to watch them off. It looked like -the operations on the average civilian spaceport, where people were -not herded around nor treated with suspicion. It caused Farradyne to -think that obviously the people of Planet X were all in accord on the -plans of their undercover attack on Sol. Farradyne smiled sourly, on -the planets of Sol any such venture would have been greeted with every -shade of reaction from eager applause to outright hostility. - -Farradyne was more than willing to take advantage of their obvious -self-confidence or lack of concern over the possibility of sabotage, -espionage, or enemy action. He was fitting himself unobtrusively into a -group of people who were entering the main gate of the spaceport when -he heard the raucous toot of an automobile horn. - -Like all the rest, Farradyne turned to look. An official looking -limousine was slowly coming up that broad drive. In it were driver, -three guards, and-- - -"Norma Hannon!" he said with astonishment. - -Then Farradyne felt the cold chill of fear crawl down his spine because -he knew that he had made a hideous mistake. He turned away slowly, -hoping that the others were turning as slowly to go about their own -business. He started toward the spaceport, only to find a uniformed -guard barring his way. - -The guard chimed at him tersely. - -Farradyne took his guts firmly and eyed the guard with a contempt that -he did not feel. "Talk Terran," he snapped. - -The guard blinked and chimed some more, less tersely but no less -demandingly. - -"Talk Terran," snapped Farradyne firmly. "Or I don't hear you. I know -too many who've let down too often and relaxed into their own tongue. -They aren't alive." - -"I don't speak Terran very well." - -"Well, damn it, learn it!" roared Farradyne. "You'll be needing it soon -enough. Now, what did you have to say to me?" - -"You heard me, but I'd rather--" - -Farradyne relaxed with a grin. "No, I didn't. You could impugn my -wife's virtue and I wouldn't listen to you. So now let's start over -again." - -"I was going to ask--" - -"No," said Farradyne shortly. "Not that way. I said 'start' and I meant -that we'd start _thinking_ in Terran, like I've learned to do. -Now, you addressed me properly and I said, 'Talk Terran!'" - -"Oh. Er, look, you're not going to make me repeat it?" - -"Why not?" - -"I'd feel like a fool. After all, a mistake is a mistake, isn't it? I -could hardly know that you were one of the Terra group, could I? After -all, you're not dressed in Terran clothing." - -Farradyne saw a glimmer of doubt in the guard's face; Farradyne should -have been in Terran clothing if his intention was to stay as Terran -as possible until the bitter end. He merely smiled, thinking fast. -He said, "Don't want to attract any more attention here than I do on -Terra. Frankly, I'm masquerading here. See?" - -"I guess you're right. You can speak to your own group, but others can -see you. Tell me, sir, what is it like? On the planets of Sol?" - -"Pleasant enough." - -"Is that so? I've heard they were rich. But the people? Are they as bad -as I've heard?" - -"Worse," said Farradyne, thinking that propaganda was as universal as -anything could be. He began to itch. How could he break this off before -he really did give himself away? The cold sweat that had been running -down his spine at the time of the guard's first hail, which had dried -in the exultation of knowing that he had succeeded in turning the -guard's suspicion away, now started to itch again as another sweat came -out to wet the dried salt. - -Farradyne was saved the trouble. The car tooted for attention again and -Farradyne turned to see it coming back from the spaceport. - -"There goes the other one," said the guard, nodding at the car. It -passed them and Farradyne saw, with less astonishment this time, that -the new one was Howard Clevis. - -"Sure does," chuckled Farradyne. "And now so do I." - -"You've plenty of time before they hop off for the colony. But go on, -and good luck! I'll remember what you said about thinking in Terran." - -Farradyne waved and went into the spaceport. He was walking on wobbly -legs, because he did not know whether the guard would suddenly begin -to suspect him and let fly. But as he passed beyond range around the -fantail of a big spacer he relaxed once more. - -Farradyne walked slowly out across the field, feeling let down. He had -learned nothing from the day's wandering, but while he dawdled all over -town, Norma Hannon and Howard Clevis had been within a shout of his -Lancaster. Not that he could have done anything, but just being able to -talk it over might have brought something out of meeting up with them. - -Night was slow in coming, but Farradyne loafed along on his mile and a -half walk through the tails of the parked spacecraft until darkness was -well on its way. - -Two things he noted: - -The work-crew around the Lancaster were polishing off the last bits -and some of the trucks were folding down their ladders and preparing -to take off for home. The other item was the position of the lonely -lighted porthole in the big starship. It had changed. To Farradyne this -meant only one thing. Clevis had been in one stateroom from early that -morning or late last night, but Norma had been missing. Now Norma was -back to her own stateroom and Clevis was off, possibly being questioned. - -Could he--should he--? Questions raced through his mind. And if he did, -would Norma be able to tell him anything? He had his own plans; to hide -back in his Lancaster and wait out developments. At least long enough -to throw a hard hammerlock on whatever pilot came to drive the Lanc' -and twist information out of him. - -Norma, he thought then, might know one thing: Their location. It would -be a help to know. For if push came to shove, Farradyne was going to -enter the Lancaster and take her up and then he was going to experiment -with that auxiliary drive. He might die, but he was going to try the -thing as soon as he knew that he could never find out without taking -the long gamble. - -One of the work trucks made up his mind for him. It turned from the -Lancaster and its headlamps cut a swath across the field, swinging -toward Farradyne. It took Farradyne less than the proverbial half -a jiffy to come to the conclusion that bamboozling a guard at the -gate was one thing, but to be found slinking around either near the -Lancaster or the big starship was something else again. - -He avoided the lights of the truck by scooting up the landing ramp of -the starship and into the spacelock. It occurred to Farradyne as he -went that the lack of people, including guards, out in this region of -the spacefield was in a way its own protection. Any distant watcher -seeing a figure out here would know automatically that the person was -an intruder; perhaps the only reason Farradyne had not been hailed down -was due to the known presence of workmen. - -Farradyne lay with his chin on the sill of the spacelock and peered -out as the truck went by. It would be some time before they were all -finished, he concluded, and so he decided to kill the time in action. - -Feeling his way along the dark corridors, Farradyne made his way aloft, -up the stairways and around the circular floors until he came upon -the one door with a streak of light coming underneath it. The light -helped him see; the door was secured with a single bolt of the sliding -variety, easy to open from the outside but impossible to move from -within. - -Farradyne slid the bolt and pushed open the door. - -Norma was standing inside, poised defiantly with her hands on her hips, -waiting. For a moment she did not recognize him, then her face twisted -and said, "Well! If it isn't our interstellar man-about-space, Charles -Farradyne!" - - - - - 18 - - -"Now see here," he said shortly, "Clevis must have told you about me." - -"I knew that you and Clevis had something cooked up together the first -time I saw him come into the Lancaster without a blazing gun in each -hand," she said sourly. - -"Well, then you ought to know that I'm--" - -"You're a damned idiot, Farradyne! You bumbling fool!" - -"But look, I'm here--" - -"Where?" - -"I was hiding in the inspection hatch. I couldn't see out. Don't you -know where we are?" - -"They didn't think I'd find it necessary to know," she replied -bitingly. "You fancy pants!" - -Farradyne swore in his throat. "Now I'll ask you whose side you're on," -he snapped. "I came here to--" - -"Whose side I'm on?" she laughed harshly. "Whose side are _you_ -on, Farradyne? I hope you're on their side; you're bound to louse them -up sooner or later." - -"Look, Norma--" - -"So you come bubbling home with the bait in your mouth, unable to feel -the hook, and hand it to Howard to get caught on. Go back where you got -that monkey costume and die." - -"Norma, answer me one thing. Who was Frank Hannon?" - -"Frank? Frank was Howard's right hand undercover man, Farradyne. He -had the goods on a man whose name no one knows; he didn't say because -he didn't have the chance. He had it all with him when you dumped the -Semiramide." - -Farradyne eyed her coldly. "There's one thing you've got to admit," he -said. "That tale of my three-tongued people was no lotus-dream." - -Her silence was as good as a grudging affirmation. - -"So part of the pattern is clearing up," he went on. "But if Clevis -found me because I'd had four rotten years mucking toadstools on Venus, -I'm not above wondering if this was not part of some master plan. Could -someone have wrecked the Semiramide and saved me to act someday as bait -for Clevis?" - -"Isn't that just a bit far-fetched?" - -"Maybe and maybe not. Just think. We're not merely fighting an -apparently well-integrated mob of dope-runners. We're fighting a -blind battle against a whole culture that is calmly and maliciously -undermining the moral fiber of the whole race so they can move in and -take over with little or no opposition. Doesn't that make sense? Such a -program has plans that extend for years; I may be only one small angle, -although mine happens to be the angle that worked. Don't tell me you -expect warfare to be run like a football game, complete with referees -and penalties for kneeing a fallen contestant in the kidneys." - -Norma considered it a moment. "I suppose it does make sense. Any formal -declaration of war is an openly expressed intention of committing -suicide. But you explain yourself if you can." - -Farradyne shrugged. "Maybe for the first time I out-guessed them," he -said hopefully. He went on to explain how he had done it in a few quick -sentences. "Then," he finished, "the big ship didn't even try to find -me--the little man that didn't escape. I also doubt that they knew -where I was, or they'd not have let me run free all over town." He went -on and finished the tale of his peregrinations. - -"We saw them catch the Lancaster," she said. "We wondered just why you -suddenly went dead at the stick after giving them such a chase. Well, I -guess that's it. I'll go on the assumption that you aren't a hellflower -devil." - -"Thanks," he said bitterly. "And, why the sudden change?" - -"I've heard this three-toned language that everybody was so scornful -about. I've heard a lot of it. I know that a full-scale organization -such as this bunch can and will pull some rather complicated capers, -so I am no longer sure that it was your inept handling of a spacecraft -that caused the death of my brother. He was on someone's trail and -I've assumed it was you. Maybe it wasn't. And if it wasn't then the -Semiramide affair was not even an accident on your part. So, damn you, -I can't hate you any more." - -"You can't hate me?" - -"Not unless you turn out to be one of this outfit. And for the life of -me I can't see just what you hope to learn from me that I didn't spill -during their questionings." - -"Did they--" he let the rest of the sentence hang because he didn't -know just how to express it. - -"They know everything I know," she said. "I've been filled to the -gills with something they shot out of a needle that made me as happily -loquacious as a babbling marmoset." - -"Did they explain why they brought you back here? It seems to me they'd -imprison you." - -"That's for later. They're now comparing my tale with Howard's and -after they get done comparing notes they'll bring Howard back and we'll -take a little jaunt to what they call their 'Detention Planet' where -I'll meet a certain number of other Solarians who have gotten a bit -too sharp for their liking. It's in another stellar system, I believe, -completely safe and far from home and as a last lever in this war -they'll hold the lives of a few hundred thousand men and women over the -heads of Terra." - -Farradyne swore. "The stinking bastards!" - -Norma shook her head coolly. "That's emotion, Charles. I don't know -exactly what their purpose is, but I do understand that this is a -conflict of eventual survival, and rule of an economic empire." - -"But--" - -Norma shook her head. "Try the shoe on the other foot, Charles. Suppose -you had come upon these people with the rest of your kind--how would -you see them?" - -"As possible allies and friends." - -"Balderdash! You'd have seen them as possible customers and people to -be exploited and maybe enemies after you'd seen their history. Their -attitude is as arrogant as ours and their personal justification as -high. By some obscure luck of science they got to interstellar travel -before we did and they automatically place us in an inferior position, -but they also know that this inferiority is not so great as to make -us a pushover. We are scientifically capable of discovering their -interstellar drive at any moment, and why we have not is probably just -a matter of our not combining the right sciences. Our knowledge of -medicine is far vaster than theirs, for instance." - -"How can you know this?" he asked. - -Norma opened a few buttons at her throat and slipped her dress down -over one shoulder. There was a small circular bandage stuck to one -spot. "They took a sample of me," she said. "Because I seem to be -immune to several diseases that should give me trouble. When I asked -about this, they told me that they hoped to discover just what cell -change took place when we take our anti-cancer immunization. This thing -they have yet to discover. Oh they use our immunization," she said, -slipping the dress up but forgetting to rebutton it, "but they use it -as an African witch doctor might use a typhoid serum." - -She nodded as she went on thinking, "This thing you have to remember, -Charles, that if Terrans had arrived there first there would have been -the same conflict, but conducted from the other side." - -Farradyne shook his head angrily. "We're not inclined to ruin--" - -"Stop sounding like one of King Arthur's Knights. Men of sense and -good judgment don't request their enemies to meet them on a field of -honor. Instead, a state of war is assumed and from that instant on, A -is looking for a chance to stab B in the back because he knows that B -will cut him off at the hips if he turns his back for a moment. Honor -on the battlefield is accorded only to a defeated enemy; up to the time -he is defeated, anything goes. And if both sides know that open warfare -means total destruction, the process on either side is one of boring -from within, or gnawing at the foundation. But this a bad place to get -involved in a discussion of ethics. Where do we go from here?" - -"If I knew how to run that ka-dodie in the Lancaster we'd head for -Sol--if I knew where Sol was from here." - -"And how about Howard?" - -"I don't know about Clevis," he told her. "The thing to do would be -to hike home as fast as we could and spill our tale to the people who -would know what to do about it. Let's face it, Norma. They can mingle -with Terrans because they can speak our language. But I couldn't mingle -with them to locate Howard. I'd be picked up in a minute." - -"So how do we get back?" - -"Why do you think they brought the Lancaster?" - -"Probably to fit her out as a bona fide hellflower runner." - -"Okay. We'll hide out in my cubby until they run her back." - -"You go hide out," said Norma. "If they find me missing, they'll know -something smells bad." - -Farradyne chuckled. "From what I know of them, they're as arrogantly -secure as the Gods of Olympus. Some part of their gang is still -expecting me to turn up near Terra on an escape course, and the only -smart thing I have done is to be where they didn't plan me to be. So -we'll be where they don't expect us to be and maybe we'll get away with -it. Come on, let's hide out." - -The hitch in their plans came when Farradyne led Norma down the stairs -to the last deck below and stopped, holding up a warning hand. - -"What's the matter?" she whispered. - -He pointed. The hatch he had used was lying to one side and a beam -of diffuse light was coming up from below. There came also the -triple-tongued voices of two men. - -Farradyne led Norma one deck above where he could speak without -attracting the attention of the men below. "They've installed the space -drive in the inspection cubby," he said. "That's probably what all the -work was about. It's been taken from the bottom deck and permanently -installed down in the cubby where it wouldn't attract attention on a -casual tour. Maybe a different unit, I wouldn't know; the temporary job -might have been only a harness-job to be used until they could haul the -Lanc' to base for a real tear-down and rebuild." - -"I didn't see any work-wagon," said Norma. - -"Maybe not, but the workman is here, and tuning up the drive. We can't -get below now." - -"So what do we do?" - -"I've half a hunch that they won't leave this ship standing idle long. -Let's hide in the cargo hold until they stop tinkering." - -Norma nodded thoughtfully. "Let's wait it out," she said. "Then if we -have trouble, I can slope and run out of here like a startled rabbit -and draw the chase away from you." - -"You make the escape," he suggested, "I'll do the hare and the hounds." - -Norma shook her head. "Let's use logic, and not emotion," she said -calmly. "I'm known to be here, you're not. So if I cut and run and they -catch me, that's it. But if you're caught running loose on this joint, -they'll also start looking for me. If I carry my point, you'll still be -unexpected. Follow? And someone may get back--the other way, no?" - -"I suppose you are right." - -"You know I am. It's just false chivalry. You get caught and we're all -licked." - -He took a deep breath. "You're right, of course." - -"Now, here we are and can we be safe here?" - -"I think--" He held up a hand abruptly. His ears, attuned to life -aboard a spacer, had caught the sound of someone coming up the landing -ramp and into the salon a few decks above. Then faint as if it were a -hundred yards away but audible in the silence of the ship, they could -hear the triple-tongued piping of a man. - -He was answered by Carolyn Niles. "Speak Terran!" - -Farradyne nudged Norma. "That's the line I used and it worked," he -chuckled. - -Carolyn's companion said, "Why use this mono-voice junk?" - -"You know the rules. It's not smart to relax, you idiot." - -"All right. So what's the answer?" - -"Ask me in Terran." - -"All right, Your Highness. I was merely inquiring as to the imminence -of your take-off." - -"Don't be insolent! We're taking off as soon as we're all aboard. Now -get along with your work!" - -The next voice scared them both out of a year's growth; they had -been straining to hear Carolyn and her companion high above them in -the salon, and now, with every nerve tense, the sound of the ship's -intercom roared at them with terrifying volume. "Carolyn Niles! Go -aloft, will you, and put the--" there came a triple-voiced syllable -"--into stand-by!" - -Carolyn's voice replied, "Aye-firm. But look, boys, shouldn't we have -some Terran term for the space drive?" - -"We ought to," acknowledged one of the men in the inspection cubby. -"But how do you translate it into Terran terms when they have no term -for it themselves?" - -The other man said, "We could always use 'space drive'." - -"No good. Better we didn't mention it at all. Leave it as it is." - -Farradyne whispered, "They're a canny bunch. Talk the language always, -act the part always, live the life always; and cut your enemy short -when he's looking for something alien." - -Another pair of feet came up the landing ramp, and Carolyn said, almost -at the same time. "It's on. How's she working?" - -"Fine. We're finished. Coming up." - -"I want to see." - -"Okay, so you come down and see. We're coming up and getting started." - -"Pincered!" said Farradyne to Norma. - -He drew her to the cargo hold and handed her down the service ladder. -He followed, closing the door behind him and then, before he snapped -out the lights, he reached up and removed one of them, saying, "I -don't think we'll have an inspection, but if we do, having one lamp -missing will cast a shadow we can stand in. This is a dimly lit joint -at best." He waved at the shadow caused by the empty socket and then -snapped the lamp off. - -Their weight upon the cushion of flowers was released[1] and sat with -their feet pulled up beneath them, not daring to say a word. Her -breathing, and the faint pressure of her shoulder against his told him -of her presence beside him. - -[Footnote 1: Transcriber's Note: Possible printer error. This line is -repeated on the next page that seems to be more appropriate to the -story.] - -They waited in the dark silence, listening, and occasionally tensing -instinctively when someone clumped past the wall outside or seemed to -come near the cargo hatch above their heads. There were voices and -calls and running feet from time to time, and then the humming sound of -the conveyor-belt. - -The hatch above was opened wide but the lights were not put on. - -And then from the end of the loose-cargo conveyor came a tumbling -shower of hellblossoms. They landed on the floor in a conical heap and -kept coming until both Farradyne and Norma were shoulder deep in them. -The air filled with the thick, syrupy perfume. Farradyne felt a slight -spell of dizziness from the heady odor and then wondered with horrified -interest just what effect this completely unpredictable overdose of -dope would do to the woman. - -The shower of hellflowers came on and on, and Farradyne was forced to -stand because of their depth. Still they came and he found himself -swimming off his depth in them; it reminded him of treading in a -haymow. The rain of blossoms ceased as the hold filled and the lights -went on briefly for an inspection. - -Farradyne was propped neck deep, his head barely below the ceiling and -he felt quite safe from detection unless the inspectors put their heads -down into the hatch to peer around the edges of the cylindrical hold. -He looked at Norma. She had scrabbled up and a-top the pile and was -lying on her back with her arms thrown over her head. Her eyes were -closed, but as she drew in a deep breath, the lids went half-up and she -looked over at Farradyne and smiled ecstatically. - -The hatch slammed down, and she said huskily, "Such nice friends you -have, Charles." - -He wanted to ask her if she didn't find this friendship a bit -overpowering, but instead he said, "They're certainly no friends of -mine." - -"Nor mine. But this is ..." and her voice trailed away to a whisper -that he could not catch. - -Pressure came upsurging and Farradyne felt that he did not have to -explain that the Lancaster was on its way to space and perhaps back -toward home. In the midst of the take-off pressure she found his hand -and drew it toward her, she snuggled her face against his palm. Her -free hand came over and touched his cheek, then ran back around his -head. She pulled him forward until she could rest her head against his -shoulder with her forehead against his face. - -Her fingers ran through his hair and pressed his face to hers. He tried -to free himself, but he could not escape without being rough about -it and he believed that any bold move to elude her would bring forth -either pleas or bitter demands loud enough to bring the enemy on the -run. He struggled a bit, his hands closed on either side of her waist -but instead of moving away, her body came forward against his. - -Then, abruptly, the pressure of the drive went off and they floated -free. - -Their weight upon the cushion of flowers was released and the -springiness of the hellblossoms thrust them up, hard, hurling them -against the ceiling. - -Norma's hands were dragged free of his head and, in clutching at him -frantically, her fingernails raked his cheek. The pressure he held -against her waist thrust her away as soon as she lost her leverage. Her -head hit the ceiling with a dull thunk, followed by the soft sound of -her body hitting flat. A sigh came from her lips, but it was the sigh -of an unconscious person. - -The hold was filled with hellflowers floating free and spread apart by -the tiny pressure of the ends of their leaves and petals; Farradyne -fought them away frantically, but only succeeded in digging himself -deeper in the room. - -Eventually he found the service ladder and clung to it, waving himself -a breathing space by pushing the floating blossoms back. - -Norma's inert hand touched him limply. Farradyne toyed with the idea -of reviving her but gave it up instantly; let her sleep it off, and -preferably alone and elsewhere in this hold. He gave the hand a push -and she floated from him in the dark, pushing through the free mass by -her heavier inertia. - -The exertion had called upon his reserves and he drank in lungfuls of -air that was stickily laden with the heavy perfume. It made him dizzy -again and he fought for air, only succeeding in drawing more of the -thick scent into his system. He wondered haphazardly what the effect of -an overdose of love lotus might have on a man; the experiment had been -tried but not to this extent. So far all it did was to make him feel as -though he were being doctored with a dose of nitrous oxide. - -He scrabbled up the ladder and opened the hatch cautiously. It was -as dark outside as it was inside and Farradyne pushed the hatch up -further to put his face in the clean air and take a deep breath. Then, -because he felt better, he climbed out of the hold and floated free -in the air above the hatch. He latched onto a handrail and closed the -hatch carefully with a breathed, "You like 'em, baby. You breathe 'em -until I get back!" - -Then he sat in mid-air with one hand hooked in the rail and with deep -breaths of the clean air, tried to think what to do next. - - - - - 19 - - -He prowled the cargo hold level, floating along the circular corridor. -He knew it was not the safest thing to do but preferred anything to -a return to the hold. He did not stop to decide whether it was the -perfume of the lotus or the presence of the doped woman that kept him -away from his cover. - -An hour passed, then two, and Farradyne was growing bolder by the -minute. He had covered the entire lower level of his Lancaster and had -stopped above his former hiding place speculating whether to hide or -not. - -He decided not, and went floating upward through the ship until he -came to the stateroom level. He floated around the corridor noticing -that the little flags that indicated that the door was locked from the -inside were all down except one. One of his "guests" did not trust his -fellow travellers completely. - -He floated on upstairs to the salon and almost ruined his silent flight -by trying to put on the brakes. On the divan lay a man in his clothing, -restrained by the hold-down safety strap. He was sound asleep. - -Farradyne floated over, and then taking hold of the strap to keep -himself from flying free with the motions, he deepened the man's -slumber with a vicious cut of his revolver. - -He floated on into the control room, where the silent and distant stars -watched. Some of them were moving down; these would be the nearby -stars, while the rest stood as immobile as he had always known them. -He would have preferred to stay and watch the effect of travelling -faster than light, for the aspect of the sky directly above was very -strange in color and in constellation. But he knew that he had started -something and he could see this odd, stellar phenomenon at some more -leisured time. - -He took a roll of two-inch adhesive tape from the medicine supplies and -taped the unconscious man's wrists and ankles and then slapped a length -over the mouth that sealed up the gash along the side of the head at -the same time. Then he went down to his own quarters and opened the -door slowly. - -A second man slept there, but Farradyne did not lash out with the -pistol. He holstered the gun and clipped the enemy along the side of -the jaw with a sharp chop of his hand. Tape was applied quickly and -effectively. - -That made two. - -He considered the situation carefully. So long as his batting average -stayed at one thousand he was in fine shape. All it had to meet was one -error and he was out of the game. His chances were not too good, but -they were helped by the fact that he was an unknown enemy among them. - -This was some sort of undeclared war, but the Lancaster could hardly -have been termed a warship, since there were no space battles to fight. -The ship ran itself, there was nothing to watch, so they did what all -spacemen do, sleep. If he could catch them one by one.... - -He opened Stateroom One. It was empty. That put a different light on -things. Maybe this was not a fully loaded transport. Maybe it was just -like the average cargo-haul with only a couple of passengers. - -He opened Stateroom Two and found it empty. That sort of proved it. -He opened Stateroom Three and found a man asleep in the bunk. The -enemy was stirring as Farradyne scanned the room, and he moved just -as Farradyne hastily launched himself across the cabin. Haste ruined -his aim so that his down-slashing hand clipped the man on the skull -instead of hitting him alongside the ear. The man grunted and swung out -blindly, hitting Farradyne and moving him up and away. Farradyne caught -the upright of the bunk, staying his free flight, levered himself -around and swung again. - -The enemy parried the blow and let out a roar that sounded like three -angry locomotives tooting for the right of way. Farradyne pulled -himself down and around, then kicked out with both feet, catching -the man in the face and chest. The force drove his man deep into the -mattress, from which he rebounded to fold up over the hold-down strap. -He flopped up and down, limp, an inert mass caught between two springs. -The same force drove Farradyne out toward the open door. - -His aim was still bad, his outsweeping hand caught the leading edge of -the door and he and it swung on the hinges until he came flat against -the wall behind the door. He fought his body around and came out of the -room feet first. - -Catching at the handrail he stabilized his flight, then he took notice -of his surroundings, expecting the whole enemy horde to come boiling -out of their staterooms. - -A door down the hall opened and a man came sailing out. He caught sight -of Farradyne and launched himself at the spaceman. Farradyne met him -with a slash of the pistol, which was parried by a block of the man's -forearm against Farradyne's wrist. It stopped the enemy's flight but -tore Farradyne's hold loose. - -Farradyne recovered first, hauling himself erect just in time to let -the other man peer down the barrel of the gun. "Hold it, friend," he -snapped. - -The enemy, about to kick himself forward, took a firm hold on the -handrail behind him and retracted his feet from against the wall. - -"You can't get away with it, Farradyne." - -"I can try, Brenner. So happy to meet you again." - -Warily he listened. There were no other sounds along the corridor, only -the one he expected, and soon the little flag on the lock went in and -the door opened. Carolyn Niles came out in pajamas and coat, her eyes -blinking slightly. "What's the--" Then she gasped. "Charles!" - -"Howdedo. Any more hiding in the dark, Carolyn?" - -"How did you get here?" - -"I walked," he said flatly. He turned to Brenner. "You stay there, -schoolmaster. I'm scared to death and a bit touchy." - -Brenner shook his head. "I know you're scared. I'm scared, too. Scared -to move." - -"Relax--but do it slowly. Now turn around and make it hand over hand -toward the salon. You follow the gentleman," he said to Carolyn. - -Farradyne followed them both, calling to Brenner that if he tried any -tricks, Carolyn might get in the way of the shot intended for him. They -went up the stairway, one, two, three, and floated into the salon, -Farradyne making a bit of a time of it because of his full gun-hand. He -hooked his legs around the guard rail and eyed them coldly. - -"Carolyn, let's see how good a job you can do on Brenner's wrists with -a chunk of this tape." He tossed the roll at her and she clutched -wildly and missed. - -"Go get it!" - -Carolyn performed some intricate free-flight maneuvers before she -caught the roll. Then she went to Brenner, who held his hands out -behind him while she ran tape around the wrists. - -"I'd be willing to bet that's a slipshod job," said Farradyne. "But -it will probably hold until I can relax. Carolyn, coast over here and -force yourself to sit in the straight chair." - -Farradyne taped her to the chair by the wrists and the ankles and took -a slight hitch in the hold-down strap. Then he added some security -to Brenner's bond and taped the man to the legs of the divan at the -ankles. With his hands behind him and the strap tight across the man's -hips, Farradyne felt that Brenner would be thoroughly immobilized. -He propped the still unconscious one up near Brenner and taped him -similarly. - -Then he took time to go below and collect the third from his cabin -and bring him up. The man was struggling against the wide tape and -glaring at Farradyne over the plaster on his lips. Farradyne hurled him -backside first at the divan and followed him, to catch the man on the -rebound from the divan. He taped him as he had taped the others, then -he took a small flight to the bar, where he perched on top of it by -hooking his feet around one of the bar stools. - -"Aren't we a good-looking bunch?" he chuckled. "Shall we sing?" - -"Stop it, Farradyne," snapped Brenner. - -Farradyne's twisted smile faded. "We'll play this game according to my -rules for awhile." - -"How long do you think you'll be able--" - -"Long enough. I'm running this show." - -"You can't get away with it." - -"You said that before. Convince me, Brenner." - -"Why bother with you? I'm the one that counts." - -"Cut it out," Farradyne said contemptuously. "I should think your -position would feel a bit awkward for a conqueror." - -"The sooner you free us, the--" - -Farradyne laughed in one loud humorless bark. "So I'm still your -prisoner?" - -"In a way. You wouldn't care to die without telling what you know about -us. You'll do anything to stay alive." - -"You damn well bet! And I'll do anything to learn a bit more." - -"You can't make me talk." - -"Want to bet? I don't think I could squeeze anything out of you by -torture, but I have a hunch you'll sing loud and long after you watch -me take Carolyn's fingernails off with long-nosed pliers and listen to -her stifled sobbing. An old-fashioned torture, but still effective." - -Carolyn looked at Farradyne coldly. "Come to think of it, Charles, I -don't think you have enough sadism to perform the operation on me." - -Farradyne looked at her. He held enough dislike of what she stood for -to do almost anything with cold deliberation, for he thought any pain -was small retribution. But she was still a woman. - -Carolyn sniffed cynically, and Farradyne realized that he had mumbled -the last few words of his thoughts. "Just retribution, Charles, but -have you the guts to collect your revenge?" - -He looked down at her. "No, I haven't. But I've someone with me who -might." - -He took aim and sailed down the stairs. He soared around the stateroom -corridor and ran full-tilt into a flurry of floating skirts. He hurled -Norma from him and recoiled. When he caught himself again, he had one -hand braced against the handrail and the pistol aimed at the middle of -her stomach. She righted herself as he let out his breath and relaxed -his gun-hand. - -"Don't ever do that!" he said sharply. - -She looked at the gun and her face went white with the realization of -how close it had been. She looked at him searchingly as if seeking -company for her fright. She apparently found it, for her face relaxed -and she took a deep breath, let it out slowly. Then she fought the hem -of her skirt down again and blushed. - -Farradyne chuckled, "Go into Number Four and swipe a pair of Carolyn -Niles' pajamas," he said. "They don't float. Then come up to the salon." - -He turned and headed back slowly, stalling until he heard her return to -the corridor. - -He went first and helped her make the curve around the railing at the -top. Solicitously, he steered her to the divan and fastened the seat -strap. - -Then he faced Carolyn and the rest. "Speaking of retribution," he -said slowly. "I'd like you to meet a woman I know. Miss Norma Hannon. -She's a hellflower addict. Whatever she does is basically your -responsibility." He said directly to Carolyn, "You have me fairly well -pegged. I couldn't do it. But I think that Miss Hannon might enjoy -a bit of an emotional binge with the people who fed her the first -hellflower and caused the death of her brother." Farradyne turned and -sailed across the room to Norma's side. He reached out quietly and -removed the love lotus from Norma's hair, then recrossed the room to -hurl it into the disposal chute. - -"Just sit there quietly until the effects of that thing wear off," -he told her. "I'm going to take a tour of inspection of the gewgaw -they installed in my ship. I'll be back when they decide to answer -questions." - -Farradyne dived down the stairway again. He had no idea how long it -might take, especially after Norma had been literally sleeping in a -smothering roomful of the things for hours. Probably long enough for -them all to get the whim-whams just thinking about it, he concluded. - -He conned every stateroom on his way down. He was reasonably certain -that the ruckus would have awakened them all, but he wanted to make -sure that no one in them was lying doggo until he could make his bid. -They were all empty, so Farradyne went on down in the Lancaster, -checking the supply rooms and the galley and workshop, the other cargo -lock and the storage room. He looked into the inspection cubbies and -the wiring hatches until he had covered every nook and cranny that was -large enough to contain a human being. - -The ship was clean. - -He stopped once more to eye the four metal cases bolted to the floor -and discovered that the gentleman who had occupied the place when he -and Norma tried to hide had put nuts on the bolt ends and run the -cables neatly below-deck so they no longer trailed. He went up, then, -all the way. - -"Any talk?" he asked brightly as he soared through the salon. - -"Farradyne, you can't do this!" snapped Brenner. - -"Who, me?" asked Farradyne, in mock surprise. "I'm not doing anything!" - -Norma was still sitting in her seat on the divan. She had not changed -position. But her face was losing its softness and her attention was no -longer diverted easily. "I'm waiting," she told him as he passed upward -to the control room. - -Somehow, Farradyne believed, it would not be very long waiting. - - - - - 20 - - -Farradyne paid no attention to the oddness of the sky because it could -tell him nothing and he had more interesting things to inspect. The -little auxiliary panel was gone. The controls had been incorporated in -the main panel, neatly and as if they had always been there; in such a -way as to make any but a completely critical inspection pass them over. -They blended with the other myriad controls, so that only the pilot of -the ship would be able to find them. - -There was a small meter, calibrated arbitrarily in three sectors of -colors. The needle stood high in the middle of the blue region. Below -the meter was a cross-bar toggle switch and on either side of the -toggle were flat buttons set flush with the panel, blue to the right -and red to the left. The wiring was concealed, Farradyne found by -looking under the panel that it had been neatly inserted into the main -bundle of cables and wires as though it had been installed with the -Lancaster's construction. - -He considered the installation carefully. - -In the history of warfare, Farradyne had heard of no one installing -a device that would blow up a whole equipment if the operator used -the wrong combination. In fact, designers worked hard to make such -equipment fool-proof because they knew how rattled a man can get in the -heat of battle. The worst he could do was probably the blowing of a -fuse if he tampered with it. On the other hand.... - -So much for that, he thought, and went on to the next matter: -destruction charges. - -Big prime movers like battlecraft and stationary installations seldom -fell into the hands of an enemy in any condition to be reused. Either -the big stuff was shot to hell before the enemy captured it and was -therefore unfunctional, or there was time for the crew to render the -big stuff useless long before the installation was abandoned. There -were booby-traps, of course, but these were usually improvised on the -spot, or at least installed from a stock closet at the time of possible -capture. No thinking nation would ever install a booby-trap permanently -because of the possibility of the operator punching the wrong button. - -Self-destruction devices were another item. These came shortly after -the Military discovered the electron, and at a time when there were -basic new designs of equipment the function of which it had been -necessary to keep secret from the enemy. Countless pieces of apparatus -had been equipped with self-destruction charges heavy enough to addle -the insides of the gear, and possibly bulge the case a bit. But a man -could sit on one of them while the charge went off and the most he -would get would be a sharp kick in the pants. - -But such destruction charges were controlled from a separate panel. -There could be no mistake or error; no one could hit the wrong button. -Destruction must be performed with deliberation. - -And so Farradyne eyed the new installation calmly. It might hold a -self-destruction charge, but the probabilities of having the control -handy enough to be used in the heat of excitement were remote, -especially since such a condition would leave a ship and crew marooned -in the depths of interstellar space to die because someone's finger -slipped. Farradyne was even certain that not much could happen if he -tinkered with the toggle, so long as they were in deep space by some -light years distant from anything large and hard. - -He took the toggle bar in his right hand and pulled. It did not pull -so he pushed. It did not push. He turned the cross-bar slightly and -exerted effort. The bar moved downward in a wide arc and as it moved, -the seat of the chair slammed upwards against the seat of his pants, -and all of a sudden up was up and down was down, and the stars were all -in their right places. The toggle came to a stop and the accelerometer -read one gravity. The needle on the meter still read halfway into the -blue. - -Farradyne chuckled aloud. He had it now. If the traffic lights flared -blue-green for "GO" and red-orange for "STOP" he had this combination -as well. Start your spacecraft and punch the blue button for start. -That was the beginning and the warm-up and nothing could happen until -the meter read into the blue section of its scale. Then the toggle -controlled the action of whatever generator of force was used, more -or less as the toggle was advanced or depressed. The equipment stayed -in readiness all the time. The red button was undoubtedly the cut-off -button to close the gear down once the flight was completed. - -It was as simple as that. Farradyne had spent many an hour in -spacemen's bars up and down the solar system in spacemen's happy -arguments regarding the complexities of exotic equipment, so he -could theorize on both sides. The pro side was a matter of insisting -that electromechanical principles were universal and therefore an -alien bit of gear would function in a recognizable manner. The con -side considered the fruitless arguments that something new might be -discovered or that the evolution of instruments from the original -principles would follow the normal dexterity of the alien life-form -involved. But Farradyne knew that buttons are buttons and therefore -meant to be pushed, not pulled; and similarly, D'Arsonval had invented -the same kind of galvanometer as Ugthrybb, on Vega, with a moving -coil between the poles of a magnet, and just because one race was -right-handed and the other left, the principle did not change. - -Then, being of a practical frame of mind, Farradyne forgot the subject -and began to wonder about his position and what he was going to do -about it. He squinted into the point-of-drive telescope and caught -sight of a tiny yellow star on the cross-hairs. That must be Sol, -distant, small, and far weaker than Sol as seen from Pluto. It was a -true stellar point from here. - -Then he looked through the point-of-departure periscope and -automatically cut the drive so that the flare would not blind him. - -Behind was the constellation of Lyra and on the cross-hairs was another -star of no particular consequence. No more important than Sol. He -got out the Spaceman's Star Catalog and opened it to Lyra. Among the -listings were a number of the F, G, and K classifications, and one of -them, about twenty-seven light years from Sol was listed for the right -position in the constellation. Farradyne grunted; it meant nothing to -him. It was merely Lyra. - -The sound of a whimper cut into his thought and he remembered the -possibilities of the scene in the salon. He waited. He snapped on the -intercom and listened, wondering whether he could sit there and let -Norma go to work on Carolyn. Man's inhumanity to man was a pale and -insignificant affair compared to the animal ferocity of a woman about -to settle up a long-standing account with another woman. - -"Charles, come down here and take this madwoman away!" cried Carolyn. - -Farradyne sauntered down the stairs. Norma stood before the bound -Carolyn. Her eyes were glassy, her face cold. In one hand she held a -small bottle of acid from Farradyne's workshop, in the other a small, -pointed brush. As he came down the stairs, Norma dipped the brush in -the acid and approached Carolyn, holding the brush as she would a -pencil. - -Farradyne held her hand. "Wait!" he said. - -Norma looked at him with a trace of anger in her eyes. "Don't stop -me," she said. "I'm going to write 'Hellflower' across that alabaster -forehead--among other words." - -Farradyne shuddered. His imagination had stopped working at the -point of removing fingernails and applying lighted cigarettes to the -skin. Now it leaped forward again and he could see the outcome of -this assault upon the woman's pride and beauty. A formerly flawless -skin covered with scar-tissue lettering of accusals, viciousness and -probably lewdness. - -"Take her away!" said Carolyn. "There is no point in this." - -"Why not? Or are you ready to talk?" - -"I'll talk. I'll talk because you will never get a chance to use it." - -"You talk and I'll take my chances on that. Give me the works." - -Norma struggled a bit. "Please, Farradyne?" - -"Maybe later," he said soothingly. "Sit down now, and wait." - -Angrily, Norma turned and headed for the divan. - -He turned to Carolyn. "What the hell is going on and why?" - -"This is war," she said. - -"Like hell it's war. This is backstabbing. But it'll be war as soon as -we can fight back." - -"It is war," she repeated. "Let it go at that. The process should -not be unfamiliar to you; you've done it yourselves time and again. -First you weaken the enemy by undermining his resources, lowering his -resistance, by turning his efforts toward advancement against some -stumbling block. Then--" - -"I presume that doping the women of a race is a right and honorable -practice?" sneered Farradyne. - -"It is better than dropping a mercurite bomb. Face the fact, Charles. -We got to interstellar space first and met another people as racially -jealous as we are. We could have made a landing openly, but if we had, -the warfare you are threatening would have been here and done with -long ago and there would be nothing left of either of our people but -smouldering planets to mark the meeting place of two stellar peoples." - -"You can say this knowing that no Solan has the barest notion of how -this doodad in the hold can permit us to travel faster than light?" - -Carolyn looked at him with pity. "I'll tell you what would happen," -she said. "You'd greet us with cheers and invite us in--long enough -to steal our warp-generator. You'd trade us your medical science for -our chemistry and your electronics for our gravities, and then you'd -meet us face to face to prove to yourselves that even though you got a -second-place start, you could move faster and hit harder than we could. -You'd carry your war to us, and we'd carry our war to you, and there -would be cause and effect and attack and retaliation with each blow a -bit more vicious until your people would be planting mercurite at the -same time we were. And then, as I say, the next interstellar race to -visit this section of the sky would find the radioactive remains of two -cultures. I know because our people come of the same stock." - -He looked at her cynically. "Is that so? Where I come from it takes -three people to sing a trio, Carolyn. How do you explain that?" - -"That's a recessive mutation." - -"All right," he snapped. "So you've justified your own actions to -yourself." - -"Of course. Everybody is self-justified." - -"And you justify the doping of our race by calling it better than -meeting us face to face." - -"Remember your own history. Even before the First Atomic War everybody -realized that warfare was a bankrupt measure to be undertaken after all -else had failed. You conducted your conflicts undercover, by boring -from within, by undermining the moral fiber and lowering resistance. -So, when your people have lost the ability to fight back, we'll move in -quietly and make an asset of you instead of a vicious enemy; ultimately -a ruined structure that must be rebuilt completely before it is of any -use to us." - -"Got it all figured out, haven't you?" sneered Farradyne. "All except a -few of us who happen to catch on. Then what--if we don't exactly cotton -to the idea?" - -There was a yelp from behind him and he turned just in time to -intercept Norma. She was advancing on Brenner with her acid-brush -poised. "Don't, Norma," he said gently, turning her aside. - -"But you said--" - -"Later." He gave her a gentle shove toward the side of the room and she -went reluctantly. "Brenner," he said sharply, "I want information." - -"Ask," replied Brenner. "What can we lose?" - -"Navigational data," said Farradyne, ignoring the question. "Where are -we and how fast does that gizmo run us?" - -"I'd guess about six light years out from Sol. The warp generator -permits a top speed of about two light years per hour in Terran -figures. So go ahead and drive this can somewhere so we can get this -fool rigmarole over with. But take the dame aloft with you. I don't -want my face lettered like a washroom wall." - -"Somehow it seems appropriate," chuckled Farradyne, but he took Norma -by the hand and led her up the stairs. She followed like an automaton -until they were out of sight, and then she came alive. - -Visibly she relaxed. The granite set to her face faded and became soft. -Her lips curved gently and her eyes were animated. She walked briskly -across the control room, and turned down the outgoing gain before she -turned to face Farradyne. - -"Charles, that was the hardest acting job I've ever done." - -She snapped her acid bottle into one of the spring-containers so that -it wouldn't float all over the place under weightlessness and then she -went to the co-pilot's seat and dropped into it casually. She relaxed -with her head leaned back. - -"How long after a sniff of hellflower does the effect last?" asked -Farradyne. - -"Depends. I could feel the euphoria fading shortly after you took -mine out of my hair. The odd part of it was that it seemed different, -somehow. I feel so odd. Dizzy and weak and somehow frightened. I'd like -to be held, gently, and caressed like a kitten." She sat up and half -turned to look over the back of the co-pilot's seat. "This is honest, -Charles. I know, I can feel it; it's true and it's good, Charles. Oh, -yes," she said in a matter-of-fact voice, "I remember everything. This -isn't an act, Charles. This is the real thing. I've seemed to regain my -feelings again. Actually, I can almost feel sorry for them, you know?" -Her voice ended on an upward note. - -Farradyne looked at her. Bemused, he said, "Could it be the hair of the -dog?" - -"Hair of the dog?" she repeated automatically. - -"The one that bit you," he said. "You were in an awful overload dose, -Norma; maybe the overload burned the dross out, like fire cleansing a -wound. Maybe--" - -Norma blushed. "You were very gentle," she said. - -He realized what she meant. He recalled the stories he had heard of -sophisticates who took their hellflowers to heighten the emotional -thrill of a symphony or a dinner; of men who had enough love for -their women to let them plumb the depths of emotion without using the -exhilarant as the cold means to a crude end. He had been with her -through her emotional binge and he had seen her through it quietly. -The fact that he had not wanted her, in fact repulsed her, had helped. -She had not been burned by piling passion a-top a heightened emotional -response. - -He looked into her eyes critically. They were alive and soft. Could it -be that an overdose of the same devilish stuff could cure the effects -of its own? - -"How do you feel?" he asked gently. - -"Weak, washed out, but I can go on and on," she said confidently. She -didn't look it, but maybe she could, he thought. Excitement would carry -a person through a lot of trials. He looked at her again and understood -that he was right. She would go on and on, until the strain was over -and then she would probably come completely unglued for some time. - -Farradyne put out a hand and stroked her cheek. She sighed against -his hand and moved her head from side to side. She reached up and -pulled his face down to kiss him on the lips. It was brief but warmly -satisfying. - -She laid back in the co-pilot's seat, relaxed. "It's all there again," -she said dreamily. "That same fast pulse and the tingle--and the -rather interesting feeling of danger. I'm a woman again, Charles; just -a very little bit concerned about being marooned in a spacecraft with -you. Let's get back home where I can enjoy my feelings. Please?" - -Farradyne gave her hand a squeeze. "Done!" he glowed. Silently he -wondered whether she were really cured. He looked at her, at the glow -in her eyes and at the blush on her face, and he hoped so. - -He slipped over the back of the pilot's seat and pushed down hard on -the toggle bar. The weightlessness came, and the compressed springs of -their seats tossed them up against the restraining straps. From below -there came a moan, but beside him, Norma relaxed in full confidence and -watched him work the controls with interest. - -Two light years an hour ... Farradyne ran the Lancaster for exactly -three hours and then cut the super-drive. Together they inspected the -heavens and found a brilliant yellow star on their quarter. Farradyne -turned the ship to face it and pushed the toggle up and down. The star -reappeared without change. He kept his eye to the point-of-flight -telescope and raised the toggle slowly. Sol changed color, racing -toward the blue and the violet first and then turning a dull red and -rising through the spectrum again until it became violet once more. It -went through another spectrum change and started to increase in size. - -Whatever caused this phenomeonon could not be explained by Farradyne; -perhaps by no living Solan physicist until many years of research -brought forth a theory. - -But regardless of the theories-to-come, Sol grew in size like a toy -balloon hitched to a high-pressure air line until its flare frightened -the pilot. He shoved the toggle down and Sol winked back into the -familiar disc of blinding sun, about the size as seen from Mars. - -Farradyne oriented himself with his knowledge of common celestial -navigation, consulted the spaceman's ephemeris and pointed at a large -unwinking spot. "Home," he said. - -Two light years an hour ... Farradyne went to the computer and made -some calculations. He returned, pointed the Lancaster at Terra and -flicked the toggle up and down, counting off a few seconds for drive. -Sol whiffled past, changing in color as its position changed in the -astrodome, and when Farradyne drove the toggle down, Terra was a -distant disc in the sky above them. - -Farradyne turned the outgoing gain on the intercom. "Terra dead ahead," -he called to the prisoners below. "Still want to bet?" - -Brenner growled. "You've got your bet. It's our lives against yours." - -"Done!" - -"Don't try to collect too soon," snapped Brenner. "You're not leading -your squadron of spacebombers yet." - -Farradyne picked up his throat-whistle and put it in his mouth. He -worked it back with his tongue and said, "The hell you say, Brenner." -The result was a humming, whining, groaning travesty. - - - - - 21 - - -"We'll not repeat," said Farradyne. "Norma, hike below and see that -our visitors stay taped to their chairs. I'm going to land this crate -without interference." - -Norma nodded and went down to the salon. "They're still secure," she -reported over the intercom. - -Farradyne replied, "Aye-firm," and then made his first ranging-radar -contact with Terra. He set his deceleration drive accordingly and -the integrator-needle crept over to the center-scale zero, informing -Farradyne that zero separation from the surface of the spaceport would -result in zero velocity of the Lancaster. - -Then Farradyne fired up the radio and called: "Washington Tower. This -is a Lancaster Eighty-One requesting landing instructions. Registry -Six-Eight-Three. Farradyne piloting." - -"Tower to Six-Eight-Three. Take Beacon Nine at one twenty thousand, -Landing Area Five. Traffic is zero-zero, but eight repeat eight -Spaceguard cutters are in formation at sixty thousand." The voice -changed in tone slightly. "Spaceguard, Code Watchung. Calling Watchung." - -"Watchung to Tower, go ahead." - -"Tower. Watchung, we are away from Beacon Nine. Lancaster Eighty-One -coming in. Give position and course." - -"Watchung to Tower. Position azimuth six seven zero, altitude sixty -thousand, distance nine miles. Course twenty-seven North azimuth. Will -miss Beacon Nine by thirty-three miles. Recheck?" - -"Recheck and aye-firm, Watchung. Tower to Six-Eight-Three: Did you -follow that?" - -"Aye-firm!" called Farradyne. - -"Watchung to Six-Eight-Three: Pilot identify yourself." - -"Pilot Farradyne here, Watchung." - -"Aye-firm. Watchung Five, assume command of Six, Seven and Eight. Take -alert pattern at two hundred thousand feet and stand by. Watchung Two, -Three and Four compute and take closing course on Six-Eight-Three and -convey to Landing Area Five. Farradyne, prepare to accept convoy." - -"Deny, Watchung. Request reasons." - -"Prepare to accept inspection, Six-Eight-Three." - -Farradyne growled angrily and dropped the radio formalities. "Why?" he -snapped. - -"You are suspected of hauling a cargo of hellflowers. Prepare to stand -inspection upon landing." - -From down in the salon came the sound of cynical laughter. Brenner -said, "We'll let your own people punish you, Farradyne. Hellblossom -running, resisting arrest, kidnapping, operating with a forged license, -operating a ship with a questionable registry. I'll bet that life you -offered." - -Farradyne knew what Brenner meant. Taped tight in his ship were -Carolyn Niles, daughter of one of Mercury's leading citizens, and a -schoolteacher supposedly named Hughes. There would no doubt be a lot -of other witnesses prepared to perjure him into three hundred years of -hard labor on Titan. He wondered how they had managed this; certainly -they had not been prepared for losing their captured spacecraft -so quickly. Yet the counter-preparation looked as though such an -eventuality had been expected. - -"Six-Eight-Three, respond!" - -Farradyne snapped his mike-switch and said, "I resent the accusation -and demand an explanation!" - -"There is no accusation. We have an anonymous tip-off. You are -not accused of illegal operations, only suspect. Will you permit -inspection?" - -"No!" snapped Farradyne. "Deny!" - -"Code Watchung: Intercept Six-Eight-Three. Prepare to fire." - -"Fire and be damned," said Farradyne in a growl. His hand reached for -the toggle and shoved it home for ten seconds. When he turned the -ultradrive off, they were far a-space and the radio was silent. - -"Give it up, Charles," said Carolyn from below. - -"Go to hell!" - -Brenner said, "You might as well, Farradyne. No matter how you figure -it, you'll either be grabbed by your own people or get picked up by -ours. We can't lose." - -Farradyne went below and faced them. "And what happens if I dump you -out of the spacelock and your cargo with you?" - -"You could do that to Cahill," said Carolyn, "because Cahill was not -registered as a paying passenger. I am, and when the authorities find -me missing--as they will very soon if they haven't been so informed -already--you'll be called to account for me." - -"Just what sort of act do you suggest?" Farradyne asked cynically. - -"Surrender and turn this ship over to us. You will be detained as a -prisoner of war and imprisoned among your own kind." - -"Doing what kind of prison labor? Growing hellflowers?" - -"Not at all. We wouldn't consider that ethical." - -"What a cockeyed code of ethics you have!" - -"Let's not discuss ethics now. Surrender and you'll be placed on a -Terra-conformed planet with every freedom among your own kind except -the right to space flight." - -"No, thanks," said Farradyne drily. "I had four years of slogging in a -fungus marsh because of your kind. I'm disinclined to give up after one -miss. It--" - -"Charles!" cried Norma through the squawk-box. "Come up here! Radar -trace!" - -Farradyne raced up the stairs just in time to see the long green line -of the radar settling down to a solid signal pip at the extreme end. He -flipped the switch that coupled the telescope to the radar and looked -through the eyepiece. At the extreme range of the radar beam was a -spacecraft, either the same starship that had chased him before or its -sister ship. It was closing the range fast. - -Farradyne dropped into his chair and snapped the belt. He turned the -Lancaster by ninety degrees and grasped the toggle on the ultradrive. -Ten seconds later he resumed normal flight for a few seconds and then, -at another angle, he used the ultradrive some more. - -He paused here long enough to take his space bearing, then plunged the -ship down between the orbits of Jupiter and Saturn, far to the south of -the ecliptic with a flick of the enemy switch. - -"Norma," he asked quietly, after he had inspected the sky to be certain -of their freedom, "who is Howard Clevis' boss?" - -"Howard reports to Solon Forrester directly." - -"Oh fine," groaned Farradyne. "Getting to the Solon is no picnic. How -do we go about it?" - -From the intercom came a suggestion: "Walk into his fourth -under-assistant sub-secretary's office wearing a hellflower and ask for -an audience." - -A flick of color caught Farradyne's eye and he turned to look at -the radar. The line had wiggled slightly and, as he watched, its -extreme end formed into a signal pip. He looked through the telescope -and saw the starship again. Whether they had one with supervelocity -tracking methods or several hundred covering the solar system like an -interception net, it made no difference. They were on his trail. - -Farradyne played with the high-space drive again, cutting some more -didoes back and forth across space, ending up this time not too far -from Mercury. - -"Having fun?" asked Brenner. - -"Shut up!" snapped Farradyne. - -From below there came a rapid conversation in multitones, like someone -dusting off the keys on a pipe organ played in mute. - -Farradyne swore as he sat there looking at the big chronometer on -the wall, counting off the seconds. Seventy of them went under the -sweep hand before the radar trace hiked up into the same, familiar -extreme-range warning. - -Deliberately, Farradyne turned his ship toward Terra and hit the -ultradrive. "They called me a hot-pants pilot," he gritted. "Now I'll -really be one!" - -Yellow-green Terra raced up and up and up through the spectrum and -burst in size from an unwinking pin-point of light to a shockingly -large disc that zoomed toward them frighteningly. They saw its -roundness come out of the sky in a myriad colors until it filled the -dome above them. Norma screamed, but by the time her voice had stopped -echoing through the control room, Terra was past them by a good many -miles of clean miss and Farradyne had cut the ultradrive. He grunted -unhappily because he was now as far from Terra on the other side as -he had been before he took the chance. This mad use of the enemy -ultradrive in ducking around the solar system was something similar -to trying to make a fifty-ton clam-shell digger split a cigarette -paper; at two light years per hour, their speed was enough to take them -from Sol to Pluto in one second flat. He could not control it finely -enough to do more than zoom off out of sight. Without a doubt the big -starship could maneuver at ultra-velocity with their drive cut in at -microsecond intervals mechanico-electrically, of course, which was a -setup that Farradyne did not have. - -He shrugged, and then he patted Norma on the shoulder. "I don't think -that my aim is good enough to hit the thing," he said. He turned the -Lancaster end for end abruptly and tried a quick flick of the toggle. -Once more Terra leaped at them, a swirling kaleidoscope of color, -looming into monster size, flicking past. - -When they came out of it Terra was again behind them by a few million -miles. Farradyne thought for a moment, started to say, "Maybe we--" -when he reached out and pressed the red button on the auxiliary panel, -"--are being traced by the generator doodad they put below." - -"But what are we going to do now?" - -"Hit for Terra!" - -Farradyne set the drive for Terra and then sat there, tense and -waiting. He had not long to wait. The radar wiggled its warning trace -almost dead ahead. - -They moved to intercept him, but Farradyne raised the drive to four -gravities and plunged on. The starship grew and behind it Terra grew, -but slower. The radio burst into sound and Farradyne grabbed the -microphone and said, "Come and get me, fellows!" - -"Stop," came the demand, "or we fire!" - -"Start a shooting match here and you'll have all of Terra wondering why -the fireworks," Farradyne said. - -"Stop!" - -"No!" - -"One last warning. Stop!" - -Farradyne touched a lever. "Maybe you'd like to polish a few rivets?" - -The Lancaster turned ever so slightly until the starship was directly -on the point-of-drive. His other hand touched the drive and the -acceleration increased a bit. Caustically, Farradyne said, "Go ahead -and shoot! You'll find your own living room full of by-products if you -do!" - -He was right. The Lancaster was on collision course with the starship -and if the Lancaster was blasted at this moment shards and fragments of -the spacecraft would spread like a shotgun charge, and if the starship -escaped being hit with a rather uncomfortably large mass of jagged -metal it would be because of sheer luck. - -"Veer off!" came the strident cry. - -"I'm going to ram you, damn you!" roared Farradyne. - -The starship flared at its tail and at the same time a torpedo-port -winked as a missile blasted off. Farradyne gauged the missile and the -starship and kept his nose on the starship's lead. Gritting his -teeth he watched the missile come at him as he held his course by -sheer nerve. At the last moment the missile veered aside, obviously -controlled by the enemy to keep from hitting him. It was a war of -nerves. - -The starship loomed big in the astrodome and Farradyne aimed the -Lancaster amidships. The interstellar monster grew rapidly until the -individual plates could be seen. Then with a silent, dark flicker that -was as shocking as a loud blast and a searing flare might have been, -the starship quietly ceased to exist as an obstacle in front of them. -They had resorted to the ultradrive at the last moment. The sky was -clear.... - -Except for the missile, seeking them and with no control to stop it. - -It had curved in a vast circle behind them and was now closing in from -behind. The radar pip leaked across the screen; the missile must be -coming at them by several thousand gravities. - -"You'll have to take this," gritted Farradyne to Norma. "Hunker down in -the seat." - -His hands ran across the board and the Lancaster turned in space -slightly while the drive went up to six gravities. The flare behind -them lengthened with the increased power, and the Lancaster took -a slight side-vector to its course as the flare was aimed at the -seeking-missile that was homing on them. - -Insensate, unable to understand the maneuver, the missile followed its -finding-gear and roared up into the long trail of reaction flare. The -flare was a by-product of water, stored in its tank as a reaction-mass. -It was heated by the atomic pile to an energy that destroyed the -molecular affinity of hydrogen for oxygen and then stripped the -electrons from their orbits, and when that was done, the nucleus of -the oxygen broke up into eight protons and eight neutrons and added -their binding energy to the drive. The flare was sheer gamma and sheer -bombardment and the word "heat" had no real meaning, until the reaction -blast touched something that was massive enough to absorb the energy. - -The missile absorbed this energy, was bombarded back from the -Lancaster, and ultimately melted to join with the flare because its -mechanism could not function to start the fission of the atomics in the -warhead. - -There was a sparkling burst from behind, like a monster signal flare. -That was all. - -Farradyne cut the drive back to a more comfortable level and relaxed a -moment to let his body rest. Norma had blacked out briefly, but came to -as soon as the drive had been cut. - -Ahead of them Terra loomed moon-sized in the middle of the astrodome, -and behind them the radar wiggled its tail at extreme-range again. -The range closed, and Farradyne with a grunt juggled his levers. The -drive rose once more and the pressure increased. The range closed more -slowly, but still the starship came on. - -"You can't make it, Farradyne," the radio blared exultantly. - -Farradyne laughed into the microphone and cut it dead with a flick of -his hand. "We may not make it," he told Norma, "but we won't end up as -live cowards!" - -Terra loomed larger and larger as the range closed between the -Lancaster and the ship behind it. Norma cried out, and Farradyne looked -through the telescope to see the giveaway annular flare. The enemy had -fired another torpedo. - -He laughed and Norma touched his arm; he turned to smile at the deep -concern and puzzlement on her face. - -"They know we can louse it with our drive," he said. "And they know -that while that thing is coming up from behind we cannot possibly make -a turn-over and start decelerating for a landing. It's a thoughtful -tactic on their part--they hope." - -"But I don't see--" - -"Well, they know I won't pile up on Terra. I'll steer to miss. No doubt -they have another starship on the other side of the planet, waiting -to intercept us out here after I elude the missile. Maybe they have a -whole space net flung out. So hunker down, while I cut some didoes." - -The radar showed the picture. The starship, now fearful of being -detected by one of the long-range jobs on Terra, veered away on a -tangent, while between them came the missile. Before them, the huge, -solid-looking pip that indicated the bulking Terra, crept closer and -closer. Farradyne cranked the rate-of-change dials and looked at the -figures and nodded; the enemy had computed their missile's drive -beautifully. It would meet the Lancaster at about the same time the -Lancaster met Terra. Since everybody knew that Farradyne was not going -to plow into Terra head on, he would have to steer to one side, but in -order to keep from being hit by the missile, he would have to keep on -driving right past Terra and out into space again--into the arms of the -net on the other side, waiting outside the radar range from Terra. - -The alternative was to cut the drive and try to land, and if this were -tried the missile would blast the Lancaster far above Terra, long -before the ship could signal its home planet that there was danger in -space. - -The missile's range closed home and Farradyne hiked the drive until the -reaction-trail was a sun-bright fury and consumed the missile in its -fierceness. - -He cut the drive dead just in time to hear the first screaming -complaint of the superstratosphere. Farradyne hit the upper reaches of -Terra's air blanket at a point so high that the air there was a fairly -hard vacuum, but the speed of the ship was high enough to pile quite -a bit of air in front of it. The accelerometer went crazy, reading -peg-stop against the end of the scale to the left. Their seat belts cut -their thighs and the blood rushed to their heads. Norma's arms were -flung above her head, but Farradyne fought the pressure that tried to -lift his arms; he kept his hands on the control panel and caressed his -levers gently so that the Lancaster pinwheeled. - -The screaming of the air grew louder as the ship turned broadside, then -diminished as its tail came around to align itself with the course of -flight. Then with the pressure coming from the right direction again, -Farradyne waited until the scream of tortured upper stratosphere -faded away and the braking pressure stopped. He hit the drive as the -Lancaster soared on past Terra. - -Though the enemy must have been awaiting him on the line of flight past -Terra, the Lancaster came nowhere near them. Its course had changed -from the usual straight line to a long ellipse and the first turn of -the curve had wound their course so far from the anticipated point that -the enemy could not move over in time to intercept him. Terra rotated -madly below and to the side, then came moving up in the angle of vision -until it was at forty-five degrees off the nose and still rising. - -Once more Terra loomed close and once more came the scream of air, -deeper and yet shriller as Farradyne cut the drive and let the -air-brake take over. They went on around Terra in a close ellipse, the -air-screech rising and falling as their altitude changed. - -Three times around Terra they went, then Farradyne turned his tail -straight down with a few hard blasts and started to drop like a plummet. - -Far to one side came a light flare and the radio gabbled something -that Farradyne was too busy to catch; in the distance a jet freighter -trailed a line of vapor and far to the south ultra-brightness of -a spacecraft take-off trail climbed into the sky. Farradyne, busy -checking the controls, the autopilot and the computing radar altimeter, -aimed the Lancaster for the southern edge of Lake Superior, and they -came down in a screaming fall. - -The flare parted the waters of the Lake and sent up a billow of steam -for about a hundredth of a second. The autopilot cut the drive and the -violence ceased as the Lancaster sank into the deep, cool waters, to -stop, to come rising buoyantly toward the surface again. - -Farradyne hit the switch that opened the scuttlebutt of the water tank -and the lake waters rushed in, killing their buoyancy. - -The astrodome porpoised once, gently, and then the Lancaster sank -very slowly. Farradyne waited until the ship was resting tail down on -the bottom; he turned it slightly to one side and opened the drive by -a bare fraction. Water churned below them and the ship moved logily -sideways, toward the shore. He wondered whether he had enough power -coming from the motor to cut up a stream of bubbles and steam, hoping -that the cooling water would kill the rising turbulence so as to -conceal his operation. - -He spent an hour testing and trying the depth along the shore until -he found a place that was just deep enough to let the Lancaster stand -upright with its dome a foot or two below the surface. - -A small fish goggled at the shining metal hungrily. - -Farradyne stretched. "We got this far anyway!" - -Norma looked at him dizzily. "How?" - -"My pappy used to tell me about this sort of come-in," he said. "Seems -as how he once knew a gent that had piloted one of the old chemical -rockets that used braking ellipses for landings. That was a heck of -a long time ago, before we had power to burn. But anyway, it wasn't -expected, I gather, because we succeeded." - -"Now what?" - -Farradyne grinned. "This is going to be a bit wet," he said. He took -the retractible antenna from its stowage and wound it with insulating -tape half way up its length. Then he pulled out the astrodome plug -and ignoring the stream of water that splashed on the control-room -floor, he shoved the antenna into the hole and made it fast. The water -stopped. The upper half of the antenna projected above the surface of -the lake. - -Farradyne tuned the radio to a local broadcast station, and waited, -relaxing in his seat, until the music stopped for a station break. "The -latest news flashes on the system-wide hunt for Charles Farradyne. -The search for the notorious hellflower operator still goes on. It -has narrowed down to North America because of several reports, some -official and some unofficial, of activity a-space in this region. - -"Farradyne is also charged with complicity in the disappearance of -Howard Clevis, high undercover operative for the SAND Office. It is -believed in some circles that Farradyne may be much higher in the love -lotus ring than a mere handler or distributor. Some officials have -indicated that Farradyne may be _Mr. Big himself_. - -"An early interception and arrest is anticipated. Keep tuned to this -station for the latest news." - -The music returned. - - - - - 22 - - -"Very neat," said Brenner. - -"I thought so," replied Farradyne coldly. - -Brenner's smile was serene and it made Farradyne want to push his face -in. "Glad you made it. I wouldn't want to die in space. Now that we've -landed it's going to be easier to pick you up." - -"Stop crowing, Brenner. I'm not licked yet." - -"Why don't you give up? You can't begin to realize how isolated you are -from the men who might listen to you--if you could get to them." - -"Look, Brenner, I've no doubt that you have your henchmen neatly -planted in many high offices. But you can't cover them all." - -"How can you tell which is which?" laughed Brenner. "You can't get -through, Farradyne." - -Carolyn stirred and groaned. Farradyne looked at her as she opened her -eyes. "Can't take it?" he sneered. "But how you can dish it out!" - -"Where are we?" groaned Carolyn. - -"Wouldn't tell you on a bet," he snapped. "You might be telepathic as -well as multitonal. I--" - -Farradyne's eye caught a flicker of motion and he whirled. The other -two men were struggling against the tape that bound their wrists and -ankles, and they glared at him over the white sheet of tape beneath -their noses. - -"Shut up!" roared Farradyne. - -Brenner sneered. "Just how do you hope to do anything?" - -"I have a few ideas." - -"With every roadway plugged from top to bottom? And if you did succeed -in getting to a SANDoffice without being shot to bits, how would you -convince them of anything?" - -"Sometimes it's better to start at the bottom and work your way up," -said Farradyne. "The idea is to make enough noise so that a large -cross-section of the population can hear you." - -Brenner laughed. "You think you can convince the public?" - -"You may be surprised." - -Farradyne lit a cigarette and relaxed. "We'll wait until dusk to be -sure," he said. - -Hourly, the radio went on telling how Farradyne was being cornered. -Radar nets and radio-contact squadrons were scouring the North American -continent with special attention being given to the North Middlewest. -A ship of the enemy must have arrived with some information that could -be pieced together, for another report said, "Charles Farradyne, sought -on many charges involving hellflower operations, has been implicated in -the disappearance of Carolyn Niles, according to her family. Her father -indicated that Miss Niles had not returned home after a date with the -criminal. This is a familiar pattern with hellflower dopesters. Be -careful. The man is cornered and desperate. He will not hesitate to -shoot, he may even bomb a village or neighborhood if his freedom is -threatened!" - -Brenner and Carolyn did not even jeer at him. The situation was -obvious; Farradyne and his white flag would be shot to pieces before he -could tell his name, let alone make explanations. - -But now it was dark outside. The stars were bright above the astrodome -and they danced with the motion of the water. To one side a wavy trail -passed across the sky and high above there was the flicker of a space -patrol crossing the sky at fifty or sixty miles. The radio was alive -with reports and the police bands were busy with their myriad reports -and directions. Farradyne pricked off their calls on a map with a -drawing pencil. Ground and air patrols were combing a vast area and -space squadrons were holding a dragnet high in the sky above. For a -very brief interval Farradyne could hear a distant network in operation -which indicated that the same sort of complete search was underway in -other districts across the face of the continent. - -He inspected his map and hoped that he had them all. Then, very -cautiously, he lifted the nose of the Lancaster above the water line -and eyed his radar. Pips showed here and there, a couple within a few -miles of him. He waited until they turned away, waited until they went -beyond the radar horizon. - -Using just enough power to waft the Lancaster into the air, Farradyne -placed the ship in a gully a few hundred yards from a state highway. -The trees covered it from direct observation at night and the flat -hills and ravines would cover it from radar detection.... - -It was almost two o'clock in the morning when a lonely moving van came -along the highway. The brakes screeched as the driver caught sight of -a crumpled body lying alongside the road. Red sogginess contrasted -with the length of white thigh, uncovered by a ripped skirt, and more -redness dribbled wet from the corner of Norma's mouth. The driver piled -out of one door and his helper from the other. They ran to kneel by the -woman's side. - -Then they smelled the ketchup and stood up, raising their hands -immediately. - -"That's not blood spilled," said the driver loudly. "Let's keep it that -way." - -The driver's helper added, "This is a bum job, friend. We're carting -second-hand furniture, not gold." - -"I don't want your load," said Farradyne, stepping into the glare of -the headlights while Norma got up and dusted herself off. "I want your -truck." - -They looked at him and he saw recognition in their faces. Obviously -every news agency had his picture presented in full color. He saw that -they apparently understood why he wanted the truck, for there was also -contempt on their frightened faces. - -"What's the next move, Farradyne?" asked the driver in a surly tone. -"Do we take the high jump?" - -"No. I just want your truck." - -"Getting a bit brash?" - -"Maybe I have to. Driver, what's your name?" - -"Morgan. This is Roberts." - -"Morgan, you drive that truck into the ravine there and I'll see that -Roberts plays hostage. Get it?" - -"Behave, Al," pleaded Roberts. - -"I will, but I think we'll get it anyway." - -"Act like you believe that and you will," snapped Farradyne. "I have -neither time nor patience." - -Morgan climbed into the truck and drove it from the road through the -trees until they came to the Lancaster. Both men goggled at the big -ship parked there and Farradyne let them look at it for a moment. Then -he waved his gun. "Unload it!" he said sharply. - -It took them an hour to move the load from the truck to the ground, and -Farradyne spent that hour in nervous watching. He could not trust them -not to make a break, nor could he hope to explain. When the van was -emptied, he faced Roberts against it and said, "Norma, tape Morgan's -hands behind him." - -She did, and while Farradyne stood over them, she taped Roberts. Each -man knew that the other's life was dependent on him and, while either -man might have made some break for safety, he would not so long as the -other might suffer. - -Their lips curled in contempt as the conveyor-belt came out of the -cargo lock and the white blossoms tumbled along it to drop into the -van. Both Morgan and Roberts were honest men, but they lacked the -higher education that was necessary to be pilot of a spacecraft; -therefore, they resented the fact that Farradyne had this training yet -used it to such ends. They were rough-hewn and hard-boiled and, perhaps -like other transcontinental truckers, they had a woman at either end of -the line and a few strung along the way, but their love conquests were -lustily honest and they scorned the idea of hellflowers as an aid to -passion. Even in their fright they sneered at the spaceman. - -Farradyne left them sitting there on the ground after the loading -was finished. He and Norma went into the salon and he faced Brenner. -"Better take this quietly," he said. "It's inevitable, Brenner." - -The radio made him pause: - -"Ladies and gentlemen, the late news: The system-wide search for -Charles Farradyne is hurrying to a close. Indications are now that -the infamous hellblossom king is hiding in the Lake Superior region -and all forces are being hurried to that area to create the most -leakproof dragnet in the history of man's manhunt. A special session -of the planning committee of the Solar Anti-Narcotics Department has -been called to deal with the problem, and any information pertaining -to Charles Farradyne may be delivered by picking up your telephone and -calling SAND, One-thousand. - -"This information is being disseminated freely. We know that Farradyne -is listening to this broadcast, and the Sandmen have instructed all -radio stations and networks to deliver the following announcement: - -"'To Charles Farradyne! A reward of fifty thousand dollars has been -offered for your capture dead or alive. You cannot escape. The forces -that are blanketing the Lake Superior area are being augmented hourly -by additional men and materiel. You will be arrested and brought to -trial for your life. However, the reward of fifty thousand dollars will -be turned over to you to be used in your own defense if you surrender -at once.'" - -Farradyne grunted. "Very tasty dish," he said sourly. "Very competent -people you have, boys and girls. Someone really thought that one out -most thoroughly. Can you picture me walking up to a patrol and saying -'Fellers, I've come to give myself up so I can have the reward' and -then have the patrol take me in on that basis? I'd go in on a shutter, -and the patrol would divide the loot. To hell with you, we'll play it -my way. Norma, go ahead." - -Norma slipped off one high-heeled shoe and advanced on Brenner. The -enemy agent tried to shy away, but Farradyne went over and caught his -head between the palms of his hands and held Brenner fixed. Norma swung -the slipper and crashed the heel against Brenner's jaw. - -Brenner slumped, and the heelprint on his jaw oozed a dribble of blood -mixed with mud. - -Farradyne slung Brenner over his shoulder and carried the inert man -out. He propped Brenner in the helper's seat and handed Norma into the -driver's seat. He stood on the runningboard and watched Norma strip -the tape from Brenner's wrists and replace it with fresh tape from the -truck's own first-aid kit. - -"The ankles, too," he warned her. "You have to cover up the tape-marks." - -Norma taped Brenner's ankles. Then she looked up at Farradyne. "I'm -shaky." - -"I know," he said. "But you have to hold yourself together until this -gambit is played out." - -She smiled wanly. "That's what is holding me together. Charles, wish me -luck!" - -He leaned into the truck window and put his lips to hers. It was a -very pleasant kiss, their first kiss of real affection and mutual -confidence, though it lacked a compelling passion. Then he swung down -from the truck with a wave of his hand and Norma put the big engine in -gear with a grind that set Morgan's teeth on edge. - -The truck turned onto the highway and roared off down the road. - -Morgan asked, "What do we do now?" - -"We wait in the spacer," Farradyne replied, "and go back under water." - -Roberts shrugged. "Hope we like the trip," he said. "I've never been in -a spacer before." - -They went up the landing ramp and into the salon, to stop short as they -saw Carolyn and the other pair. - -"Quite a collection you have here," said Morgan. "Is this Carolyn -Niles?" - -"I am," replied Carolyn. "Aren't you going to do something about it?" - -Morgan showed her his taped wrists. "Not in this garb," he said. "This -man-about-space has too many things his own way." - -Farradyne smiled and left them. He went aloft and returned the -Lancaster to the lake. "Now," he said, "we'll wait it out." - -Morgan shook his head. "With the net they've set up you'll never see -your girl or the truck again, or the hellflowers." - -"Maybe I want it that way." - -"Oh? Putting the finger on the bird you carted out of here?" - -"Precisely." - -"And how about the dame?" - -Farradyne laughed. "In this cockeyed society of ours, even a -streetwalking slut can rip her dress open, point at a man, and -holler 'Rape' and half the community will start yelling 'lynch the -sonofabitch' without looking too hard at either of them. She'll get by, -but it may go hard with him." - -With some amusement he saw two different expressions looking at him -silently. Morgan and Roberts were scornful, angry and ready at any -instant to do whatever they could to overcome him. Only the tape kept -them from trying. But on Carolyn's face was an expression of mingled -defeat and admiration. She knew as well as Farradyne that Brenner was -in for a rough time. - -Farradyne relaxed. He lit a cigarette and mixed himself a highball. -Carolyn groaned and tried to flex the wrists that were secured to the -arms of the chair. Morgan growled at the sight of her helplessness and -asked if Farradyne had harmed her. Carolyn replied, "Not yet. I happen -to be immune to hellflowers." - -"Scorpions," said Farradyne, pointedly, "are immune to their own -poison." - -It made no difference. Morgan and Roberts still wanted to get free so -they could take him on in a rough and tumble, and Farradyne knew that -either one of them would be more than a match for him. Tooling a truck -was not hard in this day of mechanical and electrical aids to human -muscle, but manipulating furniture was something else again. Either one -of them was capable of bending him double and straightening him out -again afterwards. - -He listened to them discuss him. It was amusing, in a way. The first -remark was made with a sly glance in his direction to see how he -reacted. As he merely smiled, their observations became bolder and -more damning. They wondered how and why his degradation had been so -complete. They considered his family for a number of generations of -inbreeding and illegitimacy. - -In all of this he had to admire Carolyn's ability to dissemble even -while she was playing a losing battle. She was determined to carry on -high until the bitter end, and she added to the slander with a fine -regard for the well-turned phrase and amplified all the truckmen said. -They were working on his chances for a painful Hereafter when the -radio music faded again: - -"And here is the latest news on Charles Farradyne. Within the past half -hour the area of search has been narrowed to a ten-mile circle by the -interception of a moving van laden with hellflowers. The arrest was -made by a state highway patrol with the aid of a woman who gave her -name as Norma Hannon. - -"Miss Hannon was in a state of hysterical collapse after days of -imprisonment at the hands of the lotus ring, a brutal physical assault, -and threats of being forced into love lotus addiction. The driver -of the truck was carrying a license made out to Walter Morgan, but -information from the Bureau of Identification indicates that Morgan -is also known as Lewis Hughes, a prominent teacher of Ancient History -in a Des Moines school. During the struggle Miss Hannon succeeded in -rendering the alleged criminal unconscious by hitting him on the jaw -with her slipper, after which she taped--" - -Farradyne chuckled. "You see?" he glowed. - -Morgan grunted, "My license!" - -Roberts cried, "Our truck!" - -Carolyn said, "And what's it got you, Charles?" - -"--the first-aid kit," went on the announcer. "Morgan or Hughes is -being held on a John Doe warrant pending the true identification of the -man, charged with hellflower possession, abduction, illegal restraint, -assault and battery, rape and driving an interstate truck with an -improper license. - -"Miss Hannon collapsed after driving the truck to within sight of the -dragnet set out for Farradyne. Her statement will be taken by the Sand -Office as soon as she is recovered. The point of hospitalization has -been kept secret by the Sandmen, who are now confident of an early -arrest. Indications are that Hughes or Morgan has turned state's -evidence and is willing to inform on his racket-boss." - -"Hah!" glowed Carolyn. - -"Did you a lot of good, didn't it, Farradyne?" snarled Morgan. - -Farradyne ignored Morgan and spoke to Carolyn. "Unless Norma is being -tended by some one of your gang, this is the end, baby." - -She eyed him superciliously. "How long will they believe her after they -discover she's an addict herself?" - -"Maybe she isn't." - -Carolyn laughed, "Everybody knows there is no cure." - -"And how about our pal, Brenner-Hughes-Morgan?" - -"You leave me out of this!" snapped Morgan. - -"Sorry," said Farradyne with a smile. "I didn't mean to include you, -Walter." - -Carolyn said, in a self-confident voice, "Brenner is one of us. He is -just as willing to die for our cause as--" She suddenly remembered -the truckmen present, who were probably as puzzled as men can be over -the trend of conversation. But she didn't have to finish. Farradyne -realized with a start that the enemy culture and training must include -a high degree of blind patriotism which demanded that the agent in -danger of discovery must be ready to eliminate his discoverer even -though it cause the death of both of them. The Semiramide-- - -A searchlight swept across the lake and its light, refracted downward -from the waves, caught Farradyne's eye. He left them in the salon -and raced up the stairs to the control room. Through the astrodome, -distorted by the water, Farradyne could see the headlamps of a big -truck. The searchbeam crossed the water again and flashed ever so -briefly on the slender rod of the antenna. The truck paused in its -course, the beam swept the woody shore and stopped; the truck turned -toward something in the woods and rumbled off through the trees. - -The radio music died again. "Ladies and gentlemen, we are about to -bring you a very startling program. John Bundy, our special events -newscaster, has joined the forces scouring the Lake Superior region -for Charles Farradyne. Inasmuch as an early arrest is expected, and -possibly a running gun battle, John Bundy will take the air with an -on-the-spot account. Come in, John Bundy!" - -"Hello, this is John Bundy! Our convoy of trucks, men, guns, radar and -radio control resembles a war convoy. We have everything from trench -knives to one-fifty-five rifles aboard as we scour the northwoods for -the criminal who has been so successful up to this time. We arrived -at a point along Lake Superior which must be close to Farradyne's -operations, according to the description given to us by the arrested -truck driver. Sand and mud from Miss Hannon's shoes correspond to that -district. - -"Flying above us now are eight squadron bombers carrying heavy depth -charges because Farradyne is believed to be hiding his spacecraft in -the waters of the Lake. A submarine from the Great Lakes Geodetic -Survey has been hastily equipped with some ranging sonar from the War -Museum at Chicago and is seeking the submerged spacecraft. It--" - -There came a distant crash in the radio and seconds afterward the -Lancaster resounded with the thunder of an underwater explosion. - -"One of the depth charge patterns has been dropped," explained Bundy -excitedly. "Perhaps this is--no, it's not. Sorry. Just a hope, but the -submarine has just covered the explosion area and reported only an -underwater mountain peak instead of a hidden spacecraft. No place will -be left unsearched--" - -A thin, pure ping of a pitch so high it was on the upper limit of -Farradyne's ability to hear came and lasted for less than a tenth of -a second. It came again in about twenty seconds, repeating at like -intervals again and again. The interval dropped; the volume of the ping -increased noticeably until the singing tinkle, something like tapping a -silver table knife on Haviland china, was coming fast. - -Ping! Ping! Ping! - -Farradyne looked above. Circling there were skytrails of jet bombers -making loops in the sky. There came another flash of the searchbeam -against the antenna. - -Ping! Abruptly the pinging changed in tone. It became frequency -modulated so that it rose in a chirp, and Farradyne knew that the -submarine was coming closer. - -_Norma! Get through, wherever you are!_ - -Along the shoreline something blossomed with an orange flash. Seconds -later there was an eruption fifty yards from the Lancaster that shook -the ship hard enough to make the plates groan. A trickle of lake water -oozed through the ceiling of the astrodome. - -The pinging came louder. - -Underwater bursts ricocheted and flashed and hurled their gusts of -force against the spacer, buffeting the Lancaster. - -Farradyne's hands hung above his controls. He could escape this -holocaust; all he had to do was to blast free from the water, make -a brief run for it, and then come down hard on the enemy ultradrive -toggle-bar and his Lancaster would virtually disappear right under the -guns of the squadrons that sought him. He could hide in space for a day -or a week and return after Norma explained. - -But this was wrong. To be sure he had the enemy equipment in his hold -and enemy agents in his salon who could explain the science behind the -device. Eventually it could be reproduced--but only if there were time. - -For Farradyne realized that his act had been the first overt move that -could start the First Interstellar War--but the enemy would not permit -Sol to take the second move. Once their secret was out the starships -would hover over Sol's planets with their loads of mercurite and it -would be slavery or death. He would land to find a ruined Sol and a -few remnants of humankind reduced to savagery. The only result would be -the locating of a mercurite stockpile and a blow of retaliation. - -And then someday, another sentience would come to visit the stars and -find only the smouldering ruins of two systems that could neither live -with each other nor permit each other to have supremacy. - -Another bouncing crash shook the Lancaster. - -The radio was rambling on and on as John Bundy gave the world a blow by -blow description of the first action made toward its ultimate death. - -"--and to those people who have stood out against the expenditure of -monies for arms and training, I say they should witness this attack -upon an enemy of society. Yes, warfare is dead, but the conflict goes -on against evil and ruthlessness, and only by preparedness of strength -and preparedness of mind--to be as ruthless as the fiends that bore -from within--can mankind combat his own weaknesses. - -"They are evacuating the area now. Farradyne is trapped and unless he -surrenders within the next half hour, atomic weapons will be used. We -may never learn the thoughts of the mind that has directed the decay of -the moral fiber of our people. We may never know why a man, given the -opportunities that many finer men have been denied, chose as his life's -work--" - -Carolyn laughed hysterically and Farradyne went below for a look. - -Morgan and Roberts fell upon him and hauled him down the stairs. They -pinned him to the deck and held him there. Carolyn stood above him. - -"We don't mind dying," she said, "in order to take you with us! You and -your money and your paid agents and your bribed officials! Permit you -to surrender? To stand mock trial and be acquitted? Never!" - -The Lancaster shook with the throb of depth charges. - -Farradyne struggled against his captors. He'd been as blind a fool as -he had ever been, to let them sit there without taping them separately. - -"Let me up!" he stormed. "Let me up so we can escape this bombing--" - -"Shut the hell up!" - -Farradyne struggled. - -There was a blasting roar that stunned them all; it shook the Lancaster -viciously. The trickle of water through the astrodome was covered by -the ear-splitting thunder, but less shockingly loud as the Lancaster -hiked into the open air and braved the fire of the squadrons. - -Farradyne fought himself awake. "Let him escape and we--" - -Carolyn's shrill laugh drowned out his weak voice. - -The radio went on as accursedly unanswerable as always. "Farradyne's -spacecraft has been trapped and fired upon and now the pilot himself -has been flushed from cover. He is making the criminal's last-stand. -The rascal is hoping to flee through the most thorough skycover that -has ever been assembled. He cannot hope to win though, ladies and -gentlemen. I wish we had video here in the early morning light, so that -you could see this vivid spectacle of the eternal battle between the -forces of good and evil! - -"But we'll all be there when Farradyne goes down to the death of flame -he so richly deserves. Above him now are the jet bombers and above them -lie the Interplanetary Space Guard to fire the final coup de grace--if -Farradyne can run this gauntlet of righteous wrath that far. - -"His flare trail is dimmed by the pinpoints of flashing death that -seek him out. On every side of me are ships vomiting torpedoes, guided -missiles with target-seeking radar in their sleek noses that will end -this reign of terror and dissolution once they find their mark." - -Farradyne looked up at Carolyn and saw a glow of excitement in her -eyes. She looked down at him and said, "Charles, you almost succeeded--" - -The radio clicked audibly and a forceful voice came on: "Attention! -Attention! All listeners hear this. This is the office of the Secretary -of Solar Defense, Under Secretary Marshall White speaking. All persons, -whether official or unofficial, whether citizen or military, are -hereby charged with the safety of Charles Farradyne and the Lancaster -model Eighty-One in his possession. This is a 'Cease Fire' order. All -citizens and military personnel, officials and non-officials are hereby -ordered to offer Charles Farradyne whatever he may request in the -nature of manpower, machinery, supplies, protection, material and safe -conduct so that he may deliver his spacecraft to the Terran Arsenal at -Terre Haute, Indiana." - -Morgan looked at Farradyne with a scowl. - -Carolyn cried, "Friends in high places!" - -Roberts spat on Farradyne's face. - -The Under Secretary's voice went on, "Within the hour, Miss Norma -Hannon, one-time associate of Howard Clevis, undercover agent attached -to this office on free duty, has presented irrevocable evidence to -show that the hellflower operations have been a part and parcel of -an unsuspected plot against humanity by denizens of an extra-solar -culture. Since Farradyne's spacecraft contains the only known device -enabling matter to exceed the velocity of light, its delivery to the -Arsenal is deemed top priority. All persons are charged--" - -Farradyne shrugged himself out of the grip of the truckmen. "Go the -hell aloft and grab that bastard running the ship!" he snarled at them. - -The other enemy rushed forward and Roberts caught a hard fist on the -jaw and reeled back. Farradyne wheeled with a wide swing and chopped -the edge of his hand hard against the side of the alien face. The blow -hurled the other back against the little bar, against which he crumpled -and slipped to the floor in a flaccid heap. - -"Watch her!" Farradyne yelled to Roberts, who was recovering from his -blow. Morgan dashed up the stairs and Farradyne was at his heels. - -The truckman raced across the control room and caught the enemy pilot -by his right wrist, whipped it out, around, down, back and up in a -hammerlock. He jerked once and then lifted the screaming pilot out of -the chair; hammerlock in one hand, his other arm clenched around the -pilot's throat. - -Farradyne slipped into the pilot's chair and reversed the controls. He -oriented himself, and then boldly turned the Lancaster on its side and -sent the ship screaming through the upper air towards Indiana. - -In the control room there were some flashes high in the sky. Terran -forces had made contact with the enemy. - - * * * * * - -He turned in his pilot's chair as he heard them struggling up the -stairs. Carolyn was fighting her way up with tooth and nail and crying, -"I've got to see him!" Roberts was still stunned from the blow, a bit -groggy and also a bit reluctant to lash out and crush a few bones. - -Farradyne jeered, "So I couldn't get through?" - -Carolyn faced him, "You poor simpleton," she said, "you've just sealed -your own doom." - -Farradyne shrugged. "Sometimes it's better to kill the dog than let the -fleas multiply. It saves the rest of the dogs." - -"Do you realize what you're doing? You're giving up! You're admitting--" - -"Oh, shut up, Carolyn. What's your alternative? To surrender quietly -and let your rapacious gang walk in? Of course we can't win. But you -can't win either because we're going to deprive you of victory. When -the next galactic race comes this way they'll find a couple of glowing -monuments to a culture that preferred death to slavery." - -"But you couldn't possibly--" - -"Oh yes, I can. That's why we're heading for the arsenal now. I'll get -my load of mercurite there, and deliver it to your system while you and -your gang are ruining ours. I call it retribution." - -"You don't offer any alternative, either," she whispered. - -"Complete surrender," he suggested. - -"And you know what that would mean." - -Farradyne looked at her. It was an impasse and he knew it as well as -she did. The law of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth is only -good when there is a higher authority to see that it goes no further. -When there is no just authority to pass judgment, the loss of an eye -is revenged with interest, and the anger and resentment and desire for -counter-revenge grow and pyramid until nations and planets and solar -systems are involved in punitive wars that leave both sides weak and -broken. Primitive and ruinous it was. But then, so was all revenge. - -It need not be ruinous. There could be a better way to pride, to -personal or national integrity. It had been done before in the middle -of the Twentieth Century and it had been the start of a consolidated -Terra. For there is personal pride in knowing that you have let your -defeated enemy live; in letting your defeated enemy know that you feel -strong and secure enough to hold his efforts in contempt. - -Farradyne looked at Carolyn. "Surrender," he suggested to her. "Then -we'll move in quietly and count off your people. We've lost many of -ours, so we'll just tally off so many men to be murdered in cold blood. -So many virgins to be ravished. So many wives to be left without -husbands and so many husbands left without wives. Children left -homeless to such and such a number." His voice rose. "So much hunger; -so much pestilence; so much famine; so much death. What in the hell do -you think we are, Carolyn, a race of God damned vultures?" - -"What do you want me to do?" she whimpered. "You're in the driver's -seat." - -"No, I'm not!" yelled Farradyne. "And I'm not going to be held -responsible for anything that wasn't my idea in the first place. Your -outfit started this and now if your outfit does not care for the -end-game, it's for you to say. Now--do we drop mercurite?" - -She searched his face and saw nothing but hard determination. She -shook her arm from Roberts' clutch and walked to the radio. Into the -microphone she began to singsong. She went on for some time; staccato, -musical now and discordant then, her triple-tongued voice rising and -falling as she spoke rapidly. - -Then she turned from the radio. "You win," she said. "Somehow you -always win. And maybe--maybe I'm glad it's all over!" - -Tears welled in her eyes and she turned away from them to stumble down -the stairway blindly. - - - - - 23 - - -Farradyne looked down at the white face, almost as pale as the hospital -sheets. Norma looked up at him, her face wan and her smile weak but -genuine. He reached down and pressed her hand gently. "Relax, Norma, -it's all over and done with." - -"You're sure?" - -"Of course I'm sure. Dr. Fawcett told me this morning that you were -obviously on your way to a cure." - -"I'm feeling fine," she said. "I'm weak, but I do feel better. This is -just from the strain. I held my nerves together too long and it's left -me sort of washed out. But I'll be all right." - -"You've got to be," he said seriously. "This is all too good to miss." - -"What's happened? Charles, you talk. I'm--" - -"Sure. Well, you never saw so much gold-braid and striped-trousers -a-space before in your life. After I set the Lancaster down at Terre -Haute, they came aboard and sat on two of the guys for hostages against -my return, and a bunch of us went to Lyra Three Fifty Seven with -Carolyn as interpreter. We made 'em cough up Clevis and about a hundred -other bright guys who'd been too smart for 'em. They--the gold-braid -and striped-trouser set--moved in and they've been conferring ever -since. Seems as how I guessed right; both sides seem to think that -there's been enough strife, and that more can be gained by pooling -our efforts. Anyway, it's out of my hands now and I'm just a spaceman -again." - -Farradyne took a deep breath and chuckled. "I've my license back, clear -and honest. There's nothing too good for Farradyne, former bona fide -louse. I've also got enough interstellar shipping contracts to set me -up in rare style. Within a year I'll own a whole fleet and then I can -retire and pay someone else to go a-spacing. Does that sound good, -honey?" - -Norma looked up at him out of soft eyes. "Is this a proposal of -marriage?" - -"In the first degree," he said. - -Norma pulled him down and gave him her lips. They were soft and warm -and pleasantly affectionate, as they had been on the road in Wisconsin. -Then she let him go and he stood up. He saw her eyes fill with tears. - -"Norma?" he said. - -"Charles, it wouldn't work." - -"But--" - -She smiled gently. "It's not that, Charles," she said slowly. "I'm not -thinking about Frank and the years of hate. Since then I've come to -know you and admire you, but you see, I don't really love you, Charles. -I--" - -He saw something in her eyes and understood; he hoped she would not get -involved in any long discussion and, to forestall it, he asked, "It's -Howard?" - -She nodded. "I loved him before Frank--" Her eyes glowed a bit and were -dry again. "Howard is a strong man, Charles. He used Frank, and then he -used me, and then he used you. And the hellflowers took Frank, and then -they took me from Howard and finally they took Howard, too. But you've -brought them all back but Frank. To me, Charles, and I've got--" - -He bent down and stopped the flow of words with his lips. "Be happy, -baby," he said against her cheek. "I'll finish it all up in fine style." - -Farradyne left the room quickly. In the corridor he paused long enough -to shake the growing vacuum away, and then he went down to the waiting -room.... - -"Howard? She's awake and feeling fine, although she's still weak as a -kitten. A bit of the sight and touch of you would work wonders, Howard. -She wants you." - -Clevis got up and gripped Farradyne's hand hard. "You're quite a guy, -Charles," he said. - -"I want to be second-best man, Howard." - -"Any damned day in the week," replied Clevis. He left and Farradyne was -alone. - -Farradyne sat down and lit a cigarette. He blew smoke at his toes and -wondered at himself. He should have been feeling despondent. Instead, -he felt a peculiarly satisfying glow of contentment. He couldn't win -everything; somehow this single loss was meant to be and it was right -that he should not have Norma. - -And then the plume of smoke curled around a pair of slender ankles and -Farradyne realized that his loss of Norma was not a loss at all; the -slight vacuum filled full as Farradyne knew where his last piece of -unfinished business was. - -The waiting room resounded with a gentle musical chord. It was operatic -in quality; angel, hoyden and devil singing bacchanal. He smiled and -looked up at her. - -"Any damned day in the week," he promised, getting to his feet. - -Against his face, Carolyn laughed softly. "But you can't even pronounce -my name." - -"I'll get along," he said. "We'll figure out something." - -Arm in arm they went out into the bright sunshine. - - - * * * * * - - - - -Once He had Been a Star Master--Now He Dealt in Soul-Shattering Ruin.... - - -Farradyne had committed the one unpardonable error a Space Master could -make. He didn't die along with the other 32 passengers when his ship -smashed into the Bog on Venus. - -They broke him--exiled him to the rotting fungus fields of Venus. - -Now his only desire in existence was to return to the cool, gleaming -sea of deep space. - -And there was a way--only one. But he would have to become the vilest -parasite in the universe--peddler of a poison that stripped the spirit, -before it consumed the body.... - - - A PYRAMID BOOK 60¢ - Cover: J. 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Smith—A Project Gutenberg eBook - </title> - <link rel="icon" href="images/cover.jpg" type="image/x-cover"> - <style> - -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.tb {width: 45%; margin-left: 27.5%; margin-right: 27.5%;} -hr.chap {width: 65%; margin-left: 17.5%; margin-right: 17.5%;} -@media print { hr.chap {display: none; visibility: hidden;} } -hr.full {width: 95%; margin-left: 2.5%; margin-right: 2.5%;} - -.blockquot { - margin-left: 5%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - -.center {text-align: center;} - -.right {text-align: right;} - -.smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} - -/* Images */ - -img { - max-width: 100%; - height: auto; -} -img.w100 {width: 100%;} - -.figcenter { - margin: auto; - text-align: center; - page-break-inside: avoid; - max-width: 100%; -} - -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; -} - -/* Footnotes */ -.footnotes {border: 1px dashed;} - -.footnote {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 0.9em;} - -.footnote .label {position: absolute; right: 84%; text-align: right;} - -.fnanchor { - vertical-align: super; - font-size: .8em; - text-decoration: - none; -} - -.ph1 { text-align: center; text-indent: 0em; } -.ph1 { font-size: medium; margin: .67em auto; } - -/* Illustration classes */ -.illowp44 {width: 44%;} -.x-ebookmaker .illowp44 {width: 100%;} - - </style> -</head> -<body> -<p style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Hellflower, by George O. Smith</p> -<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: Hellflower</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: George O. Smith</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: January 10, 2023 [eBook #69762]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HELLFLOWER ***</div> - -<div class="figcenter x-ebookmaker-drop"> - <img src="images/illusc.jpg" alt=""> -</div> - -<div class="titlepage"> - -<h1>HELLFLOWER</h1> - -<h2>GEORGE O. SMITH</h2> - -<p>PYRAMID BOOKS<br> -NEW YORK</p> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: Extensive research did not uncover any<br> -evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]</p> - -<p>HELLFLOWER<br> -A PYRAMID BOOK<br> -Published by arrangement with Abelard-Schuman, Inc.</p> - -<p>Abelard-Schuman edition published 1953<br> -Pyramid edition published November, 1957<br> -Second printing February, 1969</p> - -<p>Copyright 1953, by George O. Smith</p> - -<p>All Rights Reserved</p> - -<p>Printed in the United States of America</p> - -<p>PYRAMID BOOKS are published by Pyramid Publications, Inc.,<br> -444 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10022, U.S.A.</p> -</div> - -<hr class="chap"> - -<p class="ph1">For Doña</p> - -<hr class="chap"> -<p class="ph1">IT LOOKED AS INNOCENT AS A GARDENIA ...</p> - -<p>But the Hellflower's perfume turned any woman into any man's woman. -The haunting, pungent scent aroused desires too fierce to be slaked by -ordinary passions—and left its victims burnt-out husks!</p> - -<p>Charles Farradyne knew that no woman could resist the Hellflower. Yet -Carolyn, the girl he wanted above all to possess, smiled when he gave -her the deadly bloom—smiled and inhaled the perfumed poison....</p> - -<p>HELLFLOWER is the fantastic story of a lovely woman who was not quite -human—and of a man who went through heaven and hell to win her.</p> - -<hr class="chap"> - -<p class="ph1">1</p> - - -<p>The book had been thrown at Charles Farradyne. Then they had added the -composing room, the printing press and the final grand black smear of -printer's ink. So when Howard Clevis located Farradyne working in the -fungus fields of Venus four years later, he found a beaten man who no -longer burned with resentment because he was all burned out. Farradyne -looked up dully when Clevis came into the squalid rooming house.</p> - -<p>"I am Howard Clevis," said the visitor.</p> - -<p>"Fine," mumbled Farradyne. "So?" He looked at one of the few white -shirts in a thousand miles and grunted disapprovingly.</p> - -<p>"I've a job for you, Farradyne."</p> - -<p>"Who do you want killed?"</p> - -<p>"Take it easy. You're the Charles Farradyne who—"</p> - -<p>"Who dumped the Semiramide into The Bog, and you're Santa Claus, here -to undo it?"</p> - -<p>"This is on the level, Farradyne."</p> - -<p>Farradyne laughed shortly, but the sound was all scorn and no humor. -While his raw bark was still echoing in the room, Farradyne added, -"Drop it, Clevis. With a thousand licensed spacemen handy everywhere, -willing to latch onto an honest buck, any man that comes half way -across Venus to offer Farradyne a job can't be on the level."</p> - -<p>Clevis eyed Farradyne calculatingly. "I should think you might enjoy -the chance."</p> - -<p>"I'm a bum, but I'm no murderer."</p> - -<p>"I told you—"</p> - -<p>"You've said a lot of nothing. So you came here to offer me a legit?"</p> - -<p>"Yes."</p> - -<p>"It doesn't look good."</p> - -<p>Clevis smiled calmly. He had the air of a man who knew what he -was doing. He was medium tall, a sprinkle of gray in his hair and -determined lines near the eyes and across the forehead. There was -character in his face, but nothing to show whether this character was -high or low. Just strong and no doubt about it. "I'm here, Farradyne, -just because of the way it looks. The fact is that I need you. I know -you're bitter, but—."</p> - -<p>"Bitter!" roared Farradyne, getting to his feet and stalking across the -wretched little room toward Clevis. "Bitter? My God! They haul me home -on a shutter so they can give me a fair trial before they kick me out. -You don't think I like it in this rat hole, do you?"</p> - -<p>"No, I don't. But listen, will you?"</p> - -<p>"Nobody listened to me, why should I listen to you?"</p> - -<p>"Because I have something to say," said Clevis pointedly. "Do you want -to hear it?"</p> - -<p>"Go ahead."</p> - -<p>"I'm Howard Clevis of the Solar Anti-Narcotics Department."</p> - -<p>"Well, I haven't any. I don't use any. And I don't have much truck with -them that do."</p> - -<p>"No one is on trial here and nothing that you say can be used in any -way. That's why I came alone. You're on the wrong trolley. But I'll -tell you this, Farradyne, if I were in your shoes I'd do anything at -all to get out of this muck field."</p> - -<p>"Some things even a bum won't do. And I don't owe you anything."</p> - -<p>"Wrong. When you dumped the Semiramide into The Bog four years ago, you -killed one of our best operatives. We need you, Farradyne, and you owe -us one. Now?"</p> - -<p>"When I dumped the Semiramide no one would listen to me. Do you want to -listen to me now?"</p> - -<p>"No, I don't."</p> - -<p>"I got a raw deal."</p> - -<p>"So did the man you killed."</p> - -<p>"I didn't kill anybody!" yelled Farradyne.</p> - -<p>Clevis eyed him calmly even though Farradyne was large enough to take -the smaller, older man's hide off. "I am not here to argue that point," -he said. "And I don't intend to. Regardless of how you feel, I'm -offering you a chance to get out of this mess. It's a space job."</p> - -<p>"What makes you think I'll play stool pigeon?"</p> - -<p>"It's no informer's job. It's space piloting."</p> - -<p>"I'll bet."</p> - -<p>"You bet and I'll cover it a thousand to one."</p> - -<p>Farradyne sat down on the dingy bed. "Go ahead and talk, Clevis. I'll -listen."</p> - -<p>Clevis dug into his briefcase and brought out a flower. "Do you know -what this is?" he asked, handing the blossom to Farradyne.</p> - -<p>Farradyne looked at it briefly. "It might be a gardenia, but it isn't."</p> - -<p>"How can you tell?" asked Clevis eagerly.</p> - -<p>"Only because you wouldn't be coming half way across Venus to bring me -a gardenia. So that is a love lotus."</p> - -<p>Clevis looked a bit disappointed. "I thought that maybe you might have -some way—"</p> - -<p>"What makes you think I'd know more than a botanist?"</p> - -<p>Clevis smiled. "Spacemen tend to come up with some oddly interesting -specks of knowledge now and then. No, I didn't really hope that you'd -know more than a botanist. But—"</p> - -<p>"So far as I know, there's only one way of telling. That's to try it -out. Thanks, I'll not have my fun that way. That's one thing you can't -pin on me."</p> - -<p>"I wouldn't try. But listen, Farradyne. In the past twelve years we -have carefully besmirched the names and reputations of six men hoping -that they could get on the inside. For our pains we have lost all six -of them one way and another. The enemy seems to have a good espionage -system. Our men roam up and down the system making like big-time -operators and get nowhere. The love lotus operators seem to be able to -tell a phony louse when they see one."</p> - -<p>"And I am a real louse?"</p> - -<p>"You've a convincing record."</p> - -<p>Farradyne shook his head angrily. "Not that kind," he snapped. "Your -pals sloughed off my license and tossed me out on my duff to scratch, -but no one ever pinned the crooked label on me and made it stick."</p> - -<p>"Then why did they take away your license?"</p> - -<p>"Because someone needed a goat."</p> - -<p>"And you are innocent?"</p> - -<p>Farradyne growled hopelessly. "All right," he said, returning to his -former lethargy. "So just remember that all the evidence was still my -unsupported word against their assumptions. I was acquitted, remember? -Lack of evidence stands on the books. But they took my license and -tossed me out of space and that's as bad as a full conviction. So where -am I? So I'll stop beating my gums about it, Clevis."</p> - -<p>Clevis smiled quietly. "You were a good pilot, Farradyne. Maybe a bit -too good. Your trouble was being too sure of yourself. You collected a -few too many pink tickets for cutting didoes and collecting women to -show off in front of. They'd have marked it off as an accident if it -hadn't been Farradyne. Your record accused you of being the hot-pants -pilot, the fly-fly boy. Maybe that last job of yours was another dido -that caught you. But let's leave the ghost alone. Maybe you've learned -your lesson and are willing to make a stab at it again. We need you."</p> - -<p>Farradyne grunted and his lips twisted a bit. He got up from the unmade -bed and went to the scarred dresser to pour a stiff jolt from an -open bottle into a dirty glass. He took a sip and then walked to the -window and stood there, staring out into the dusk and talking, half to -himself. Clevis listened.</p> - -<p>"I've had my prayer," said Farradyne. "A prayer in a nightmare. A -man fighting against a rigged job, like the girl in that old story -who turned up in her mother's hotel room to find that every trace of -her mother's existence had been erased. Bellhops, and cab driver, -steamship captain and the hotel register, all rigged. Even the police -deny her. Remember? Well, that's Farradyne, too, Clevis. Do you know -what happened? My first error was telling them that someone came into -the control room during landing. They said that no one would do that -because everybody knew the danger of diverting the pilot's attention -during a landing. No one, they said, would take the chance of killing -himself, and the other passengers would stop anyone who tried to go up -the stairs at that time because they knew the danger to themselves.</p> - -<p>"Then they practically scoffed me into jail when I told them that -there were three people in the room. A pilot might just as well be -blindfolded and manacled to his chair during landing. He hasn't time -to play games around tables and chairs. So I heard three people behind -me and couldn't look. All I could do was to snarl for them to get the -hell out. So then we rapped the cliff and dumped into The Bog, and I -got tossed out through the busted observation dome. They salvaged the -Semiramide a few months later and found only one skeleton in the room. -That made me a liar. Besides the skeleton was of a woman, and they -all nodded sagely and said, 'Woman? Well, we know Farradyne!' and I -got the works. So," said Farradyne, bitter-sounding once more, "they -suspended me and took away my license. No jobs for a man trained for -space and nothing else. They wouldn't even let me near a spacer—maybe -they thought I might steal one, forgetting that there is no place to -hide. Maybe they thought I'd steal Mars, too. So if I want a drink they -ask me if it's true that jungle juice gives a man hallucinations. If I -light a cigarette I'm asked if it is real laughing grass. If I ask for -a job they want to know how hard I'll work for my liquor, and so I end -up in this godforsaken marsh, playing nurse-maid to a bunch of stinking -toadstools." Farradyne's voice rose to an angry pitch. "The mold grows -on your hide and under your nails and in your hair, and you forget what -it's like to be clean and you lose hope and ambition because you're -kicked off the bottom of the ladder, but you still dream of someday -being able to show the whole damned solar system that you are not the -louse they made you. Then, instead of getting a chance, a man comes to -you and offers you a job because he needs a professional bastard with a -bad record. It's damned small consolation, Clevis."</p> - -<p>Farradyne sniffed at the glass and then threw it out the window with -a derisive gesture. "I'll ask for a lot of things," he said quietly, -now. "And the first thing is for enough money to buy White Star Trail -instead of this rotgut."</p> - -<p>"That can be done, but can you take it?"</p> - -<p>"It'll be hard," admitted Farradyne. "I've been on this diet of soap -and vitriol too long. But I'll do it. Give me a month."</p> - -<p>"I can't offer you much," said Clevis. "But maybe this can be hope for -you. Help us clean up the hellblossom gang and you'll do a lot toward -erasing that black mark on your record."</p> - -<p>"Just what is the pitch?"</p> - -<p>Clevis took a small leather folder from his briefcase and handed it -over. Farradyne recognized it as a space pilot's license before he -opened it. He read it with a cynical smile before he asked, "Where did -you get it?"</p> - -<p>"It's probably the only official forgery in existence. The Solar -Anti-Narcotics Department—SAND—has a lot of angles to play. First, -that ticket is made of the right paper and printed with the right -type and the right ink because," and Clevis smiled, "it came from the -right office. The big rubber stamp, 'Reinstated,' is the right stamp -and the initials are put on properly, but not by the right man. The -license will get you into and out of spaceports and all the rest of the -privileges. But it has no listing on the master log at the Bureau of -Space Personnel. It's an excellent forgery, it will not be questioned -so long as you stay out of trouble. The only people who will check on -the validity will be the ones we hope to catch. When they discover that -your ticket is invalid, you may get an offer to join 'em."</p> - -<p>"And in the meantime?"</p> - -<p>"In the meantime you'll be running a spacer in the usual way. We've -a couple of sub-contracts you can handle to stay in business. You'll -pick up other business, no doubt. But there are two things to remember, -always."</p> - -<p>"Two?"</p> - -<p>"Two. The first is that you've got to play it flat, no nonsense. Just -remember who and what you are. And just to make sure of it, I'll -remind you again that you are a crumb with a bad reputation. You'll -be running a spacer worth a hell of a lot of dough and there will be a -lot of people asking a lot of other people how you managed the deal. -Probably none of them will ever get around to asking you, but your -attitude is the same as the known gangster whose only visible means -of support for his million-dollar estate and his yacht and his high -living is the small string of hot-dog stands or the dry-goods store. -That he owns all these things is only an indication of thrift and good -management."</p> - -<p>"I get it," grinned Farradyne.</p> - -<p>Clevis snapped, "This is no laughing matter. What goes along with this -is important. You'll play this game as we outline it to you and in no -other way. The first time we find you playing hanky-panky, we'll have -you by the ears in the morning. And if you cut a dido and get pinned -for it, there you'll be with a forged license and a spacer that will -have some very odd-looking registration papers so far as the Master Log -runs. And no one is going to admit that he knows you. Certainly the -SAND office won't. And furthermore, if you do claim any connection at -any time for any reason whatsoever, we'll haul you in for attempting to -impersonate one of us. You're a decoy, a sitting duck with both feet in -the mud, Farradyne, and no damned good to anybody until you get mired -deeper in the same stinking mud. There'll be more later. Now for the -second item."</p> - -<p>"Second? Weren't there ten or twelve in that last delivery?" grunted -Farradyne.</p> - -<p>"That was only the beginning. The second is this. Do not, under any -circumstances, make any attempt to investigate that accident of yours."</p> - -<p>"Now look," snapped Farradyne hotly, "I've spent four years—"</p> - -<p>"In the first place, nothing that you could possibly do would convince -anybody that you were the innocent bystander. So—"</p> - -<p>"But I'm telling you—"</p> - -<p>"The game you are going to play will not permit you to make any attempt -to clear up that mess. As a character of questionable background, your -attitude must be that of a man caught in a bad show and forced to -undergo visible suffering long enough for the public to forget, before -you can resume your role of professional louse. Got this straight?"</p> - -<p>Farradyne looked at Clevis, gaunt has-been looking at success. The -window was dark now, but there were no stars visible from the surface -of Venus, only Terra and Jupiter and Sirius and Vega and a couple of -others that haloed through the haze. The call of the free blackness of -space pulled at Farradyne. He turned back from the window and looked -at the unmade bed, the insect-specked wall, the scarred dresser, the -warped floor. His nose wrinkled tentatively and he cursed inwardly -because he knew that the joint reeked of rancid sweat and mildewed -cloth and unwashed human body, and his nose was so accustomed to this -stink that he could not smell it.</p> - -<p>Farradyne came to understand in those few moments while Clevis watched -him quietly, waiting for his decision, that his oft-repeated statement -that there were some things that even a bum wouldn't do was so much -malarkey. Farradyne would have joined the hellblossom operators for an -opportunity to get out of this Venusian mire. He turned to Clevis.</p> - -<p>"Let's go," he said.</p> - -<p>Clevis cast a pointed look at the dresser.</p> - -<p>"There's nothing in the place but bad memories," said Farradyne. "I'll -leave 'em here. Good, bad or indifferent, Clevis, I'm your man no -matter how you want it played. For the first time in years I seem to -want a bath and a clean shirt."</p> - -<p>As Clevis headed toward the door Farradyne aimed a solid kick at the -dresser, putting one more scar on its marred flank. "I'm behind you," -he said.</p> - -<hr class="chap"> - -<p class="ph1">2</p> - - -<p>He was rustier than he had realized. For it was not only four years -away from the levers of the control room and the split-second decision -of high speed, it was four years of rotting in skid-row. His muscles -were stringy, his skin was slatey, his eyes were slow and he had -lost tone. He was flab and ache and off his feed. He was slow and -overcompensating in his motions. He missed his aim by yards and -miscalculated his position and his speed and his direction so badly -that Donaldson, who rode in the co-pilot's seat, sat there with his -hands poised over the levers and clutched convulsively or pressed -against the floor with his feet, chewing his lips with concern as -Farradyne flopped the sky cruiser roughly here and there. They -practiced on Mercury where the traffic was very light, in a Lancaster -Eighty-One which was a fine piece of space-cruiser by any man's -opinion, and Farradyne punished the ship like a recruit.</p> - -<p>It took him a month to get the hang of it again. A solid month of -severe discipline, living in the ship and taking exercise and routine -practice to refine his control. He found that making the change from -the rotgut jungle juice to White Star Trail was not too hard because -his mind was busy all the time and he did not need the high-powered -stuff to anesthetize. White Star Trail was a godsend to the man who -liked the flavor of fine Scotch whiskey but could not afford to befog -his coordination by so much as a single ounce of the pure quill. It -was a synthetic drink that tasted like Scotch but lacked the alcoholic -kick, and Farradyne learned soon enough that he could forego the jolt -of high-test liquor in favor of the pleasant flavor because he had -discovered ambition again.</p> - -<p>Eventually they "soloed" him. Donaldson sat in the easy chair in -the salon below talking to Clevis and he could hear them discussing -problems unrelated to him. Their voices came over the squawk-box -clear enough to understand. It gave Farradyne confidence. He took the -Lancaster Eighty-One into the sky and circled Mercury for a landing, -and for a moment relived that black day in his past, vividly.</p> - -<p>He had called the spaceport, "Semiramide calling North Venus Tower."</p> - -<p>"Aye-firm, Semiramide, from North Venus Tower."</p> - -<p>"Semiramide requesting landing instructions, give with the dope, Tower."</p> - -<p>"Tower to Semiramide. Beacon Nine at one hundred thousand feet, Landing -Area Twelve. Traffic is One Middleton Seven-Six Two at thirty thousand -taking off from Beacon Two and one Lincoln Four-Four landing at Beacon -Seven. Keep an eye peeled for a Burbank Eight-Experimental that's been -scooting around at seventy-thousand. That's all."</p> - -<p>"Aye-firm, Tower."</p> - -<p>Then had come the voice of a woman behind him. Just a murmur, perhaps -a sigh of wonder from a woman who had just been shown for the first -time in her life the intricacies of rack and panel, of meter and gage -and lever and shining device that surround the space pilot to demand -every iota of his attention during take-off or landing. In Farradyne's -recollection, there were two kinds of people; one kind stood in the -center of such an array and held their hands together for fear of -upsetting something, and the other kind couldn't keep their hands off a -button or a lever if it meant their own electrocution.</p> - -<p>There were thirty-three people aboard, thirteen of them women and -Farradyne wondered which of them it was. He didn't care. "Get the hell -below," he snarled over his shoulder. The man who had brought her up -made some sound. Farradyne was even shorter with the man. A woman -might wander up, interested, but a man should know that this was a -deadly curiosity. "Take her below, you imbecile," he snapped.</p> - -<p>An older man chimed in with something that sounded like an agreement -with Farradyne's order. There was a brief three-way argument that -lasted until one of them had fallen for the lure of a dark pilot lamp -and an inviting pushbutton. The Semiramide bucked like a wasp-stung -colt and the silver-dull sky over Venus Spaceport whirled....</p> - -<hr class="tb"> - -<p>Farradyne was shocked out of this vivid daydream by the matter-of-fact -voice of the Mercury Port's dispatcher, "Lancaster from Tower, you are -half a degree off landing course. Correct."</p> - -<p>Farradyne responded, "Instructions received, Tower. Will correct. Will -correlate instruments after landing."</p> - -<p>"Aye-firm, Lancaster Eighty-One."</p> - -<p>Farradyne's remembrances ended and his solo landing was firm and easy; -almost as good as he used to do in the days before....</p> - -<p>He put it out of his mind and went below to Clevis and Donaldson. The -latter asked him what had been the matter with the course.</p> - -<p>"I hit a daydream of the Semiramide," admitted Farradyne.</p> - -<p>"Better forget it," suggested Clevis, drily.</p> - -<p>"I came out of it," said Farradyne shortly.</p> - -<p>"Okay?" Clevis looked at Donaldson. The pilot nodded. "Okay, Farradyne, -you're ready. This is your ship; you're cleared to Ganymede on -speculation. You'll play it from there. There's enough money in the -strong-locker to keep you going for a long time on no pickups at all; -you'll get regular payment for the Pluto run. Play it flat, and help us -out. Just remember, no shenanigans."</p> - -<p>"No games," promised Farradyne.</p> - -<p>Clevis stood up. "I hope you mean that," he said earnestly. "If nothing -else remember that your—er,—misfortune on Venus four years ago may -have put you in a position to be a benefactor to the mankind you hate -at the moment. I hope you'll find that they are as quick to applaud a -hero as to condemn a louse. Don't force me to admit that my hope of -running down the hellblossom outfit was based on a bum hunch. Don't let -me down, Farradyne."</p> - -<p>Clevis left then, before Farradyne could find words. Donaldson left -with him, but stopped at the spacelock to hurl one sentence. "Pilots -are a proud lot, Farradyne. Luck, fella."</p> - -<p>An hour later Farradyne was a-space between Mercury and Ganymede. On -his own in space for the first time in four long, aching years. Not -quite a free man, but at least no prisoner. He took a deep breath -once he was out of control-range and could put the Lancaster on the -autopilot. Gone were the smells and the rotting filth of the fungus -fields and here were the bright, clear stars in the velvety sky. Here -was freedom—freedom of the body, at least. Maybe even freedom of the -soul. But not freedom of the intellect, yet. He had a tough row to hoe -and the tougher row of his innocence to turn up into the light of day. -But for the first time since he was thrown flat on his face he felt he -had a chance.</p> - -<p>Eventually he hit the sack....</p> - -<p>Ganymede was in nightfall and Jupiter was a half-rim over the horizon -when he landed. He checked in at the Operations Office and listed -his Lancaster as available for a pickup job. The clerk that took his -license to make the listing raised a mild eyebrow at the big rubber -stamp reading "Reinstated" across the face of the card, but made no -comment. Farradyne's was not the only one so stamped and Farradyne -knew it. Pilots had been suspended for making a bounce-landing with -an official aboard or coming in too slantwise instead of following a -beacon down vertically.</p> - -<p>He folded the leather case and slipped it back in his pocket. He looked -at the pickup list which was not too long. Farradyne knew that he had -a fair chance of picking up a job here, and if he did it would add to -whatever backlog Clevis had left him. The space business was an odd -one and Farradyne found himself able to figure his chances as though -he had not spent his time digging mushrooms on Venus. His chances were -excellent; the pilot that owned his own ship outright was a rare one. -The rest were mortgaged to the scuppers and it was a touch and clip -job to make the monthly payments. Some pilots never did get their -ships paid off but managed to scratch out a living anyway. A pilot -with a clear ship could eventually start a string of his own. This was -the ultimate goal which so many aimed at but so few achieved. With no -mortgage to contend with, Farradyne could loaf all over space and still -make out rather well, picking up a job here, a job there.</p> - -<p>He waved a hand at the registry clerk and went out into the dark of the -spaceport.</p> - -<p>Rimming the edge of the field were three distant globs of neon, all -indicating bars. One was as good as the next, so Farradyne headed -toward the nearest. He entered it with the air of a man who had every -right to land his ship anywhere he pleased and head for the nearest -bar. He waggled a finger at the barkeep, called for White Star Trail, -and dropped a ten-spot on the bar with a gesture indicating that he -might be there long enough for a second.</p> - -<p>Then he turned and hooked one heel in the brass rail, leaned back on -the mahogany with his elbows and surveyed the joint like a man with -time and money to spare, looking for what could be found.</p> - -<p>Appropriately, it was called The Spaceman's Bar even though the name -indicated a lack of imagination, for there were about sixteen hundred -Spaceman's Bars rimming spaceports from Pluto to Mercury. The customers -were about the same, too. There were four spacemen playing blackjack -for dimes near the back of the room. Two women were nursing beers, -hoping for someone to come and offer them something more substantial. -Two young fellows were agreeing vigorously with one another about the -political situation which neither of them liked. One character should -have gone home eighteen drinks earlier and was earning a ride home on -a shutter with a broken nose by needling a man who showed diminishing -patience. A woman sat in a booth along the wall, dressed in a copy -of some exclusive model. The copy had neither the material nor the -workmanship to stand up for much more than the initial wearing, and it -looked now as though she had worn it often. The woman herself had the -same tired, overworked look as her dress. She was too young to have -that look, but she had it and Farradyne wondered how she had earned it. -He looked away, disinterested. He favored the vivacious brunette who -sat gayly across the table from a young spaceman and enticed him with -her eyes.</p> - -<p>Farradyne shrugged, the girl had eyes for no one else and she probably -couldn't have been pried away from her young man by any means, fair or -foul. It occurred to Farradyne from the way she was acting, that if -some other guy slipped her a love lotus, the girl would take a deep -breath, get bedroom eyed, and then leave the guy to go looking for her -spaceman. Farradyne grinned at the idea; the hapless spendthrift who -bought the love lotus would probably go roaring back to the seller -raising hob about being rooked on the deal because the lotus hadn't -worked.</p> - -<p>He finished his drink and then turned back to the bar for a refill. As -he turned to face the road again he saw that a man had come in and was -standing just inside the door, blinking at the light. He was eyeing the -customers with a searching look.</p> - -<p>Eventually he addressed the entire room, "Who owns the Lancaster -Eighty-One that just came in?"</p> - -<p>"I do," said Farradyne.</p> - -<p>"Are you free?"</p> - -<p>"Until the third of August."</p> - -<p>"Terran, I see."</p> - -<p>"Right. Anything wrong in being Terran?"</p> - -<p>"Not at all. Just an observation. I'm Timothy Martin of the Martian -Water Commission and I'd like to hire you for a trip to Uranus."</p> - -<p>"My name is Charles Farradyne and maybe we can make a deal. What's the -job, Mr. Martin?" Farradyne eyed the room furtively, wondering if the -mention of his name would ring any cracked bells among the spacemen. It -didn't seem to, and Farradyne did not know whether to be gratified at -man's forgetfulness or depressed.</p> - -<p>"Only three of us and some instruments," said Martin.</p> - -<p>"That's hiking all the way to Uranus empty, you know."</p> - -<p>"I know, but this is of the utmost importance. Government business."</p> - -<p>"It's up to you; I'll haul you out there on a three passenger charter, -since you probably haven't enough gear to make it a payload. Okay?"</p> - -<p>"It's a bit high," objected Martin, "but this is necessity. Can you be -ready for an early morning hop off?"</p> - -<p>"You be there with your gear and we'll hike it at dawn." He turned to -the barkeep and wagged for a refill, then indicated that Martin be -served. The government man took real bourbon but Farradyne stuck to his -White Star Trail. The two of them clinked glasses and drank. Farradyne -was about to say something when he felt a touch against his elbow. Her -glazed eyes were small and glittering, and her face was hardened and -thin-lipped.</p> - -<p>"You're Charles Farradyne?" she asked in a flat voice. Beneath the tone -of dislike and distrust the voice had what could have been a pleasant -throatiness if it had not been strained.</p> - -<p>Farradyne nodded.</p> - -<p>"Farradyne—of the Semiramide?"</p> - -<p>"Yes." He felt a peculiar mixture of gratification and resentment. He -had been recognized at last, but it should have come from a better -source.</p> - -<p>She shut him out by turning to Martin. "Do you know whom you've hired?" -she asked in the same flatness of tone. Profile-wise, she was not much -more than a girl. Maybe twenty-three at the most. Farradyne could not -explain how a woman that young could possibly have crammed into the -brief years all the experience that showed in her face.</p> - -<p>Martin fumbled for words. "Why, er—" he started, lamely.</p> - -<p>"This rum-lushing bum is Charles Farradyne, the hot-rock that dumped -his spacer into The Bog."</p> - -<p>"Is this true?" demanded Martin of Farradyne.</p> - -<p>"I did have an accident there," said Farradyne. "But—"</p> - -<p>The woman sneered. "Accident, you call it. Sorry, aren't you? Reeking -with remorse. But not so grief stricken that you'll not take this man -out and kill him the way you killed my brother."</p> - -<p>Farradyne grunted. "I don't know you from Mother Machree," he said. -"I've had my trouble and I don't like it any more than you do."</p> - -<p>"You're alive, at least," she snarled at him. "Alive and ready to go -around skylarking again. But my brother is dead and you—"</p> - -<p>"Am I supposed to blow out my brains? Would that make up for this -brother of yours?" demanded Farradyne angrily. Some of the anguish -of the affair returned. He recalled all too vividly his own mental -meanderings and the feeling that suicide would erase that memory. But -he had burned himself out with those long periods of self-reproach.</p> - -<p>"Blow your brains out," advised the girl, sharply. "Then the rest of us -will be protected against you."</p> - -<p>"I suppose I'm responsible for you, too?" he asked bitterly.</p> - -<p>Timothy Martin gulped his drink down. "I think I'd better find another -ship," he said hurriedly.</p> - -<p>Farradyne nodded curtly at Martin's back. He looked down at the girl. -He felt again the powerful impulse to plead his case, to explain. But -he knew that this was the wrong thing to do. Martin had refused the -job once Farradyne had been identified. This might be the start of the -game that Clevis wanted. Farradyne could louse it up for fair by saying -the wrong thing here and now. So instead of making some appeal to the -woman, Farradyne eyed her coldly.</p> - -<p>There was something incongruous about her. She looked like the standard -tomato of the spacelanes; she dressed the part and she acted it. The -rough-hewn language and the cynical bitterness were normal enough but -her acceptable grammar and near-perfect diction were strange. He had -catalogued her as a drunken witch but she was neither drunk nor a -witch. Nor was she a thrill-seeking female out slumming for the fun of -it. She belonged in the "Spaceman's Bar" but not among the lushes.</p> - -<p>He caught it then. He had been too far from it for too long. The -glazed, bored eyes, the completely blasé attitude gave it away first; -then the fact that she had become animated at the chance to start a -scene. Dope is dope and all of it works the same way. The first sniff -is far from dangerous, but the second must be larger, and the third -larger still until the body craves a massive dose. In some dope it is -physical, in others the effect is mental. With the love lotus it was -emotional. The woman had been on an emotional toboggan; her capacity -for emotion had been dulled to such an extent that only a scene of real -violence could cut through the emotional scars to give her a reaction. -Someone had slipped the girl a really topnotch dose of hellflower.</p> - -<p>"Who are you?" he asked.</p> - -<p>"Norma Hannon," she snapped. "And I don't suppose you remember Frank -Hannon at all."</p> - -<p>"Never met him."</p> - -<p>"You killed him."</p> - -<p>Farradyne felt a kind of hysteria, he wanted to laugh and he knew that -once he started he could not stop easily. Then the feeling went away -and he looked around the room.</p> - -<p>Every eye in the place was on him, but as he looked at them and -met their eyes, they looked down or aside. He knew the breed, they -were spacemen, a very strange mixture of high intelligence and hard -roughness; Farradyne knew that to a man they understood that the most -damaging thing they could do to him was to deny him the physical -satisfaction of a fight. He could rant and roar and in the end he would -be forced to leave the joint. It would be a lame retreat, a defeat.</p> - -<p>He looked back at the girl. She stood there in front of him with her -hands on her hips, swaying back and forth and relishing the emotional -stimulus of hatred. She wanted more, he could see. Farradyne wanted out -of here; the girl had done her part for him and could do no more. To -take her along as a possible link to the hellblossom operators was less -than a half-baked idea. She would only make trouble because trouble was -what she relished.</p> - -<p>"I've got it now," she blurted. Her voice rose to a fever-pitch, her -face cleared and took on the look of someone who is anticipating a -real thrill. Norma Hannon was at that stage in addiction where bloody, -murderous butchery would thrill her only to the same degree as a normal -woman being kissed goodnight at her front door. "I've got it now," she -said, and her voice rang out through the barroom. "The only kind of a -rascal that could dump a spacer and kill thirty-three people and then -turn up with another spacer, is a big-time operator. You louse!" she -screamed at him. Then she turned to the rest of the room.</p> - -<p>"Fellows, meet Charles Farradyne, the big-time hellflower operator!"</p> - -<p>Farradyne's nerves leaped. He knew his spacemen. A louse they could -ignore but a dope-runner they hated viciously. Their faces changed from -deliberate non-recognition of him to cold and calculated hatred, not -of Farradyne, but of what he represented. Farradyne knew that he had -better get out of here quickly or he would leave most of his skin on -the floor.</p> - -<p>Something touched him on the shoulder, hard. He snapped his -head around. The bartender had rapped him with the muzzle of a -double-barreled shotgun.</p> - -<p>"Get the hell out of here, Farradyne," said the barkeep between -narrowed lips. "And take your rotten money with you!"</p> - -<p>He scooped up the change he had dropped beside Farradyne's glass and -hurled the original ten-dollar bill at him. It went over the bar and -landed in a spittoon between the brass rail and the bar.</p> - -<p>"Pick it up," growled the barkeep coldly. He waved the shotgun and -forced Farradyne to retrieve the soggy bill. "Now get out—quick!" Then -his voice rose above the growing murmur of angry men. "Sit down, God -dammit! Every bloody one of you sit the hell down! We ain't going to -have no trouble in here!" He covered the room with the shotgun.</p> - -<p>Farradyne left. It was an ignominious retreat but it kept him a whole -skin. He burned inwardly, he wanted to have it out, but this was the -game Clevis wanted him to play and it was the price of his freedom from -the fungus fields. So he left, burning mad. He took it on the run to -his Lancaster, knowing that the barman would hold the room at bay only -until a bare escape was made.</p> - -<p>He took the ship up as soon as the landing ramp had been retracted and -only then did his nerves calm down. He looked at the whole affair—he -seemed to have started with a bang. If Clevis wanted a decoy, what -better decoy than to make a noise like a small guy muscling in on a big -racket? The word would travel from bar to bar, from port to port until -it reached the necessary person.</p> - -<p>Time was unimportant now. The word must get around. So instead of -driving to some definite destination, Farradyne set the Lancaster in a -long, lazy course and let the big ship loaf its way into space.</p> - -<hr class="chap"> - -<p class="ph1">3</p> - - -<p>Big Jupiter and tiny Ganymede were dwindling below by the time -Farradyne was finished at the control panel. He was hungry and he was -tired, so he was going to eat and hit the sack. He turned and saw her.</p> - -<p>Norma Hannon sat in the computer's chair behind the board. Her hands -were folded calmly and her body was listless. She had been quietly -waiting for him to get finished with the important part of his piloting -before she started anything. Farradyne grunted uncertainly because he -was completely ignorant of her attitude, except perhaps the feeling -that she would enjoy violence.</p> - -<p>"Well?" he said.</p> - -<p>"I caught the landing ramp as it came running in."</p> - -<p>"Why?"</p> - -<p>"You owe me a couple," she told him. "You're a lotus runner, you can -give me one. Simple as that."</p> - -<p>"How do you figure?"</p> - -<p>"You killed my brother," she said. There was more vigor in her tone as -the anger flared again. "So you owe me more than a couple of blossoms -for it, at least."</p> - -<p>"What makes you think—"</p> - -<p>"Another thing," she interrupted. "I wanted to come along with you."</p> - -<p>"Now see here—"</p> - -<p>"Don't bother pretending you give a damn for the lives of the people -you sell those things to. Run your dope and get your dough and skip -before you have to see the ruin you bring." The flare of anger was with -her and she wriggled in her chair with an animal relish that was close -to ecstasy.</p> - -<p>"But I can't—"</p> - -<p>"Keep it up," she said. "You'll satisfy me, one way or another." She -eyed him critically. "You can't win, Farradyne. I've had my love lotus, -and all that is left of my feeling is heavy scar-tissue. Pleasure and -surprise are too weak to cut through; only a burning anger or a deep -hatred are strong enough to make me feel the thrill of a rising pulse. -I can get a lift out of hating you, but if you kissed me it would leave -me cold." She paused speculatively. "No, would it? Farradyne, come -here."</p> - -<p>"But why?"</p> - -<p>"Because I hate your guts. Of all the people in the solar system, I -hate you the most. I can keep telling myself that you killed Frank, and -that does it. And I add that you are a love lotus runner and in some -way part and parcel of this addiction of mine and that builds it up. -Now if you came over and kissed me, I'd let you and the very thought -of being kissed and fondled by such a completely rotten reptile as -Farradyne makes me seethe with pleasant anger."</p> - -<p>Farradyne recoiled.</p> - -<p>"Afraid?" she jeered, wriggling again. "You know, as a last thrill I -might kill you. But only as a last thrill. Because then the chance to -hate you actively would be over and finished and there could be no -more. So between hating your guts and getting an occasional hellflower -from the man I hate, I can feel almost alive again."</p> - -<p>Farradyne shook his head. This sort of talk was above and beyond him. -No matter what he said or did it was the wrong thing, which made it -right for Norma Hannon.</p> - -<p>He did not know much about the love lotus. All he knew was from -hearsay. But that did not include this sort of completely illogical -talk. Like many another man, Farradyne had always scorned the use of -any chemical means to lower the inhibitions of a woman. He wanted them -to love him for himself, not because of a sniff of perfume that made -them any man's woman.</p> - -<p>Seeing this end result actually made Farradyne feel better about the -lot he had been cast in. If Clevis was the kind of man who boiled -inwardly from a sense of outraged civic responsibility, Farradyne was -beginning to feel somewhat the same.</p> - -<p>He looked at Norma Hannon more critically. She had been a good-looking -woman not too long ago. She had probably laughed and danced and fended -off wolves and planned on marriage and happy children in a pleasant -home. Someone had cut her out of that future and Farradyne felt that he -wanted to get the man's neck between his hands and squeeze. He shook -himself and wondered whether this addiction to hatred were contagious.</p> - -<p>He said softly, "Who did it, Norma?"</p> - -<p>Her eyes changed. "I loved him," she breathed in a voice that was both -soft and heavy with another kind of anger than the violence she had -shown just a moment before. This was resentment against the past, while -her previous flare had been against the physical present. "I loved -him," she repeated. "I loved the flat-brained animal enough to lead him -into the bedroom if that's what he wanted. But no, the imbecile thought -that the only way I would unfreeze was with a hellflower. So he parted -with half a hundred dollars for one. The idiot could have rented a -hotel room for a ten-dollar bill," she added sourly. "Or bought a -marriage license and had me for the rest of his life for five."</p> - -<p>"Why didn't you refuse it?" he asked. "Or didn't you know that it -wasn't a gardenia?"</p> - -<p>Norma looked up with eyes that started to blaze, but they died and she -was listless again. "Maybe because people like to flirt with danger," -she said. "Maybe because men and women don't understand each other."</p> - -<p>"That's the understatement of the century."</p> - -<p>There was no flicker of amusement in her face. "Look at it this way," -she said. "I did say I loved him. So naturally he wouldn't be the kind -of man who would bring me a love lotus. Or if he did I could wear it -for the lift they bring without any danger, because any man worth -loving would not take advantage of his sweetheart while she's unable to -object. So I wore it and when I woke up after a real orgy instead of a -mild emotional binge, I was on the road toward having no feelings left. -I've been on the road ever since and I've come far."</p> - -<p>She looked at him again. "See what you and your kind have done?" she -demanded. Farradyne knew that she was whipping herself into a fury -again. "I was a nice, healthy woman once, but now I'm a burned out -battery. It takes a spot of violence to make me feel anything. Or maybe -a sniff from a lotus. Maybe by now it would take more than one."</p> - -<p>"But I haven't any."</p> - -<p>She snarled at him. "You can afford to part with one stinking flower."</p> - -<p>Norma leaped out of her chair and came across the room, her face -distorted, her hands clutching at his face. Farradyne fought her away, -and saw with dismay the look of animated pleasure on her face. It -was an unfair fight; Farradyne was trying to keep her from hurting -him without being forced to hurt her. She went at him with heel and -fingernail and teeth.</p> - -<p>He gave up. Taking a cold aim at the point of her jaw, Farradyne let -her have it. Norma recoiled a bit and her face glowed even more. In his -repugnance at hitting a woman he had not struck hard enough. She came -after him again, enjoying the physical violence, looking for more of -the same. Farradyne gritted his teeth and let her have it, hard.</p> - -<p>Norma collapsed with a suddenness that scared him. He caught her before -she hit the metal floor and carried her to the salon below, where he -laid her on the padded bench that ran along one wall. His knowledge of -things medical was not high, but it was enough to let him know that -she did not have a broken jaw. Of one thing there was no doubt: Norma -was out colder than he had ever seen man or woman.</p> - -<p>He carried her to one of the tiny staterooms, and stood there -contemplating her and wondering what to do next. He would have been -puzzled as to the next move if Norma had been a completely normal -woman. As it was, Farradyne decided that no matter what he did it -would be wrong. She would be as angry at one thing as at another. The -cocktail dress would not stand much sleeping in before it came apart at -the seams, but she would surely rave if he took it off to save it for -tomorrow. If he left her in it, she would rave at him for letting her -ruin the only thing she had to wear.</p> - -<p>Farradyne gave up and slipped the hold-down strap across her waist and -let it go at that.</p> - -<p>He would take what happened when she woke up.</p> - -<p>Then he went to his own stateroom and locked the door because he didn't -want any more ruckus and confusion. He slept fitfully even though the -locked door separated him securely from both amour and murder—both of -which added up to the same end with Norma.</p> - -<p>It was a sixty-hour trip from Ganymede to Mars. Each hour was a bit more -trying than the one before. Norma bedeviled him in every way she knew. -She found fault with his cooking but refused to go near the galley -herself. She objected to the brand of cigarettes he smoked. She made -scathing remarks whenever he touched an instrument, reminding him of -his incompetence as a pilot. She scorned him for refusing to bring her -the lotus.</p> - -<p>By the time Farradyne set the Lancaster down at Sun City on Mars, he -had almost arrived at the point where her voice was so much meaningless -noise.</p> - -<p>He landed after the usual discussion of landing space and beacon route -with Sun Tower, and Farradyne found time to wonder whether the word -about his affiliation had been spread yet. For the Tower operator paid -him no more attention than if he had been running in and out of the -spaceport for years.</p> - -<p>He pressed the button that opened the spacelock and ran out the landing -ramp.</p> - -<p>"This is it," he said flatly.</p> - -<p>"This is what?" she asked negatively.</p> - -<p>"The end of the line."</p> - -<p>"I'm staying."</p> - -<p>"No, you're not."</p> - -<p>"I'm staying, Farradyne. I like it here. You go on about your sordid -business, and see that you get enough to spare a couple for me. I'll be -here when you return."</p> - -<p>Farradyne swore. She had moved in on him unwanted and had ridden with -him unwanted. If she wanted to, she could raise her voice, and brother, -that would be it. One yelp and Farradyne would spend a long time -explaining to all sorts of big brass why he was hauling a woman around -the solar system against her wishes. A phenomenal quantity of sheer -hell can be raised by any woman merely by making a howl of shocked -surprise, putting on a look of wounded dignity and pointing a finger at -any man within a pebble's throw. Even men who have been rooked in this -ladylike maneuver are inclined to lean the other way and convict the -man when a woman plays that trick.</p> - -<p>So grunting helplessly, Farradyne left her in the Lancaster and went to -register at Operations. He was received blandly, just as he had been -received on Ganymede. Then he headed into Sun City to stall a bit. He -went to a show, had a drink or two, prowled around a bookstore looking -for something that might inform him about the love lotus and then -bought himself some clothing to augment his scant supply. He succeeded -in forgetting Norma Hannon for four solid hours.</p> - -<p>Then he remembered, and with the air of a man about to visit a dentist -for a painful operation, Farradyne went reluctantly back to his ship.</p> - -<p>The silence that met him was reassuring. Even if she had been sound -asleep, the noise of his arrival should have roused her so that she -would come out to needle him some more. He looked the ship over -carefully, and satisfied himself that Norma Hannon was not present.</p> - -<p>This was too good to miss.</p> - -<p>He raced to the control room, punched savagely at the button that -closed the spacelock and fired up the radio. "Lancaster Eighty-One -calling Tower."</p> - -<p>"Go ahead, Lancaster."</p> - -<p>"Request take-off instructions. Course, Terra."</p> - -<p>"Lancaster, is your passenger aboard?"</p> - -<p>"Passenger?"</p> - -<p>"Check Stateroom Eight, Lancaster. Your passenger informed us that she -was going into town, that you were not to leave without her."</p> - -<p>"Aye-firm, I will check." Farradyne snarled at the closed microphone. -Willfully abandoning a passenger would get him into more trouble than -trying to explain the reason for the presence of his guest. Norma had -done a fine job of bolting the Lancaster to the landing block in her -absence.</p> - -<p>He waited fifty seconds. "Tower from Lancaster Eighty-One. I will wait. -My passenger is not aboard."</p> - -<p>"Lancaster. Hold-down Switches to Safety, Warm-up Switches to -Stand-by. Power Switches to Off. Open your port for visitor."</p> - -<p>"Visitor, Tower?"</p> - -<p>"Civilian requests conference about pickup job. Are you free?"</p> - -<p>"I am free for Terra, Tower."</p> - -<p>"Prepare to receive visitor, Lancaster. Good luck on job."</p> - -<p>"Aye-firm. Over and off."</p> - -<p>Farradyne went below and rode the bottom step of the landing ramp on -its way out of the spacelock. He reached the ground about the same time -as the arrival of a port jeep, which brought his visitor to him.</p> - -<p>"You're Charles Farradyne? I'm Edwin Brenner. I'm told you are free for -Terra. Is that right?"</p> - -<p>"That's right."</p> - -<p>Brenner nodded. He looked around. The jeep was idling and making enough -noise so that the driver sitting in the machine could not possibly hear -anything that was being said. The driver was not even interested in -them; something in the distance had caught his eye and he was giving it -all his attention. Satisfied, Brenner leaned forward and in a low voice -said, "Let me see what you've got."</p> - -<p>Farradyne shook his head. "Who, me?" he asked.</p> - -<p>"You. I'm in the market. If they're in good shape, we can make a deal."</p> - -<p>Farradyne felt that this was as good a time to play cagey as any. "I -don't know what you are talking about."</p> - -<p>"No? I hardly think you are telling the truth."</p> - -<p>Farradyne grinned broadly. "So I'm a liar?"</p> - -<p>"I wouldn't say that."</p> - -<p>"Look, Brenner, I don't know you from Adam's off ox. From somewhere, -you have the idea that I am a runner and you want to get into the -act. In the first place I am not a runner and in the second place you -have about as much chance of getting into a closed racket with that -open-faced act of yours as you have of filling a warehouse with heroin -by asking the local cops where to buy it."</p> - -<p>Brenner smiled. "I can see you're cagey," he said. "I don't blame you. -In fact, I'd not have come out here asking like an open-faced fool if I -hadn't been completely out of stock. I'm a bit desperate." He went into -an inside pocket and came out with an envelope. "This is a credential -or two," he said, "so that when you return this way, we can maybe do -business. The usual way, you know. No questions, or witnesses. Okay?"</p> - -<p>"I'll be back—maybe, Mr.—er, Brenner."</p> - -<p>"You get the idea."</p> - -<p>"I'll—" Farradyne's voice trailed away as he caught sight of the -object that had held the interest of the jeep driver. It was Norma -Hannon, who came around the fins of the Lancaster with the sun behind -her.</p> - -<p>Her errand had been shopping. The overworn cocktail dress was gone -and in its place was a white, silky number that did a lot of fetching -things to her figure. She had also taken the complete course at some -primpmill. She was another woman. Not even Farradyne, who had seen her -for days, could have been convinced that this beautiful perfection was -not Norma's usual appearance.</p> - -<p>Farradyne was silent. But as Brenner caught sight of her coming around -the sunlit tail of the ship, with enough sun shining through her to -make the pulses jump he made a throaty discord.</p> - -<p>"Hello," she said brightly, as though she and Farradyne were reasonably -close acquaintances, but in a tone that indicated that she was paid -passenger and he the driver of the spacer. "I've some parcels being -delivered in a bit. We'll wait, of course?"</p> - -<p>Farradyne agreed dumbly.</p> - -<p>Norma nodded coolly to Brenner and said, "I'm going on in," as though -she did not want to interfere with any business that might be going -on between the two men. She went up the ramp displaying a quantity of -well-filled nylon at every step.</p> - -<p>The roar of the jeep's engine snapped Farradyne's attention back to -Brenner—or where Brenner had been standing. The jeep was taking -Brenner away in a cloud of spaceport dust.</p> - -<p>Farradyne shrugged. That was not the man he really wanted. Call it -close but no cigar. Farradyne did not want a man to buy love lotus, he -wanted a seller of the things, a shipper, a character from the upper -echelon. There might be an avenue through Brenner, but he doubted it.</p> - -<p>With a sigh, Farradyne went into the Lancaster. Norma rose from the -divan along the end of the salon and whirled like a mannequin, her -silken skirt floating. She stopped and let the skirt wrap itself around -her thighs. "Like it?" she asked.</p> - -<p>"It's very neat," he replied flatly. "But where did you get the -wherewithal?"</p> - -<p>"I figured you owed me something so I took it out of the locker in the -control room. You left the key dangling conveniently in the lock."</p> - -<p>Clevis had left Farradyne quite a bit of operating money but far from -enough to go cutting a silken swath across the average fashion mart. -"What's the grand idea?" he asked.</p> - -<p>"You're a cold-blooded bird. You don't give a hoot that you and your -cowboy-spacing killed my brother and that you and your kind made it -possible for some lecher to dope me out of my feelings. I'm told -that half-decent gangsters send flowers to a rival's funeral, but you -wouldn't part with even a love lotus you aren't paid for. So if you -won't give me one, I'm going to force it out of you."</p> - -<p>"But—"</p> - -<p>"You get the idea," she said, smoothing a nonexistent wrinkle over one -round hip. "But I'm honest. You've some change coming." She put her -hand down in the space between her breasts and brought forth a small -roll of bills which she handed to him. Dumbly, he took them.</p> - -<p>They were warm and scented with woman and cologne and would have -been hard on Farradyne's blood pressure if it had not been for the -anticipatory glitter in Norma Hannon's eyes. There was a small -commotion at the spacelock. Farradyne looked to see three men coming -in with fancy-wrapped boxes. He groaned and went aloft to the control -room. Norma had run the gamut without a trace of a doubt.</p> - -<hr class="chap"> - -<p class="ph1">4</p> - - -<p>Farradyne sat before his control panel with his head in his hands and -tried to think this affair out to a logical conclusion. There had to be -some way out of it all. The only alternative was to go on hauling Norma -back and forth, being the brunt of her needling and her viciousness -and getting nothing done because of it. The mess had started off bad -enough, but had now deteriorated until at the present moment the future -looked completely hopeless.</p> - -<p>Norma's needling and goading had been hard enough to bear. Her -in-between offers of affection had been less difficult because she had -not made an attractive picture in the first place and she had not let -him forget her attitude in the second. But he realized that she was a -smart enough woman; if anything, having her emotional balance dulled -had put her in a rather interesting class of intellects. She was able -to analyze a situation without being involved emotionally herself in -the analysis. She was smart enough and unencumbered enough to realize -that playing soft-pedal on the hate theme might eventually get her what -she needed.</p> - -<p>He was willing to bet his spare money that the boxes she was now -receiving contained whatever could be purchased of the most seductive -clothing she could find. And included in that basic idea was, most -likely, a sharp appreciation of what Farradyne would consider exciting. -Acres of exposed skin or rank nudity would pall on him. He knew it -and he bet she knew it, too. So she would come out with some little -items that might cover her from toe to chin in such a way as to make -him wonder about what was underneath: probably simple stuff with a lot -of line and fine fit and a semi-transparent quality that compelled the -eye. If she coupled this program with a soft voice as she was most -likely to do now that she had shucked the sleazy costume, Norma Hannon -would be well nigh irresistible. And if she even once got the idea that -Farradyne felt protective about her or angry at the man who doped her, -she would see to it that she stopped raving at him. It would demolish -the barrier completely. Before this happened, he had to park her -somewhere that would be binding.</p> - -<p>Had she parents? Friends?</p> - -<p>He hit the control panel with his fist. He hated to think of it, but he -might be able to drop her in one of the sanatoriums that had been set -up for love lotus addicts. They did little good for the victims, but -did serve to keep them out of other people's hair—and he had to get -rid of her.</p> - -<p>It should be parents first.</p> - -<p>Farradyne's forefinger hit the radio button viciously. "Tower? Connect -me to the city telephone."</p> - -<p>"Aye-firm, Lancaster. Wait five."</p> - -<p>A few seconds later he was asking for the Bennington Detective Agency, -an outfit that was system-wide and which advertised enough to make him -remember the name. He got a receptionist first and then a quiet-voiced -man named Lawson.</p> - -<p>Farradyne came to the point. "I want any information you can collect -about the family of a man named Frank Hannon who was killed in the -wreck of the Semiramide in The Bog, on Venus, four years ago."</p> - -<p>"You're Charles Farradyne. The same Farradyne?"</p> - -<p>"Maybe, but is that important?"</p> - -<p>"It might be but it will be held confidential. I'm asking because we -prefer to know the motives of clients. I'd like reassurance that our -investigation will be made for a legal reason."</p> - -<p>"I'll put it this way. I know Frank Hannon was killed in the wreck. -I have reason to believe that he had a sister that disappeared -afterwards. If this is true, I want to know, but I haven't time to find -out through the usual channels. Fact of the matter is, I want no more -information than I could get myself if I had time to go pawing through -issues of newspapers of four years ago. No more. Is this reasonable -enough?"</p> - -<p>"It sounds that way. I'll look through our list of missing persons. I -suggest that you either call back in a couple of hours or better that -you call in person here at my office. There will be no charge for the -initial search, but if this evolves into something more concrete—well, -we can discuss the matter when you call. All right?"</p> - -<p>"It's okay and I'll be in your office at four o'clock."</p> - -<p>Farradyne hung up and considered. If Norma Hannon had a couple of -grieving parents, he could hand her over to them and that would be the -end of that. He lit a cigarette and smoked for a moment and then got up -from the control console, snapped all the switches off and started for -the spacelock.</p> - -<p>He met Norma in the salon. She had changed from her white, silky, -wide-skirted thing into a heavy satin housecoat that molded her arms -to the wrists, clung to her waist and breasts and throat, and outlined -her hips and thighs. Bare feet and painted toenails were provocatively -visible below the hem as she sat there with her legs crossed, tossing -her foot up and down.</p> - -<p>"Thought we were about to take off again?" she asked. Her voice -was soft and personal and friendly. She had obviously dropped the -vindictive tones and was plying the affectionate line as smoothly as -she could.</p> - -<p>Farradyne shook his head. Having a plan of action made him feel better. -"Got a call from the Tower," he said. "More business. I'll be back in a -couple of hours."</p> - -<p>Norma held up her hand for his cigarette and he gave it to her. She -puffed deeply and offered it back. Farradyne refused it. The memory -of her needling and her desire for violence had not had time to fade. -Another twenty hours of this calmness and he would begin to look upon -the sharing of a cigarette as a pleasant gesture of companionship.</p> - -<p>Norma shrugged at his wave of the hand in refusal. "I'll be here -when you get back," she said comfortably, wriggling down against the -cushions, and giving him the benefit of an inviting smile. She looked -for all the world like a woman who would be waiting patiently for her -man to return to her.</p> - -<p>Farradyne left the salon swearing under his breath. If this parking of -her did not work, Farradyne was licked and he knew it.</p> - -<p>Farradyne walked. He didn't like walking but he preferred it to -remaining in the Lancaster with Norma for the next couple of hours. He -tried to think, but he could not come to any conclusion because he had -all his hope tied on the Bennington outfit and what they might turn up.</p> - -<p>He was shown into the office of Peter Lawson, who was a bright-eyed, -elderly man with a body surprisingly lithe for his years.</p> - -<p>"Now, before we go any further," said Lawson, pleasantly, "I'd like to -hear your reasons for becoming interested in this case."</p> - -<p>Farradyne nodded. "As I told you, Frank Hannon was killed in an -accident on a spacecraft I owned. That was four years ago. Recently I -met Norma Hannon in a gin mill on Ganymede and she fastened onto me -like a leech as a person to hate. You know the results of love lotus -addiction?"</p> - -<p>"Yes. Unfortunately, I do."</p> - -<p>"Well, it occurred to me that one way of getting rid of Miss Hannon -would be to turn her over to some relative or friend who would be -deeply interested in her welfare. Does this add up?"</p> - -<p>"Quite logical. Miss Hannon is where you can find her?"</p> - -<p>Farradyne nodded, with a sour look on his face. "She's sitting in my -salon waiting for me to come back so she can bait me some more."</p> - -<p>"Why not just turn her over to the police?" asked Lawson, with a -careful look at Farradyne.</p> - -<p>"Look," said Farradyne testily, "I don't enjoy Miss Hannon's company, -but I can't see jailing her. She isn't really vicious, she's just -another unfortunate victim of the love lotus trap. Maybe I feel a bit -concerned over her brother. Anyway, take it from there."</p> - -<p>"Very well. I shall. The facts are these: Frank Hannon was a lawyer -with a limited but apparently lucrative practice. Norma acted as a -sort of junior partner whose ability with briefs and research made her -valuable to her brother. The case history says that Frank Hannon had -been on his way to Venus to place some case before one of the higher -courts, the nature of which is not a matter for public discussion even -at this late date. I don't know what it was myself.</p> - -<p>"Then Frank was killed, and afterwards Norma dropped her study of law. -Her brother's death seemed quite a blow to her. Before, she dated at -random, nothing very serious. Afterwards she seemed to develop a strong -determination to marry and have children, perhaps as a substitute for -the gap left by the death of her brother. A man named Anthony Walton -became number one boy friend after a few months and they were together -constantly and seemed devoted to one another. She disappeared after -a dinner date with Walton, and Walton is now serving a term on Titan -Colony for possession of love lotus blossoms."</p> - -<p>Farradyne shook his head. "The louse," he said.</p> - -<p>"Everybody agrees."</p> - -<p>"I don't know as much as I might about lotus addiction," continued -Farradyne. "It all seems so quick. One moment we have a well-bred young -woman with ideals and ambition and feeling and the next—?"</p> - -<p>"It's a rather quick thing," said Lawson. "The love lotus or hellflower -is vicious and swift. I've studied early cases. They all seem to have -the same pattern. And oddly enough, love lotus is not an addictive -drug in every case. It is not only an aphrodisiac; it also heightens -the physical senses so that a good drink tastes better and a good play -becomes superb. The touch of her man's hand becomes a magnificent -thrill. And here is the point where addiction begins, Mr. Farradyne. -If the woman's senses and emotions are treated only to the mild -appreciation of food and drink and music and a gentle caress, the -addiction may take years and years to arrive at the point where she -cannot feel these stimuli without a sniff of hellflower. But if she -should be so unlucky as to have her emotions raised to real passion -during the period of dosage, it is like overloading the engine. You -burn her out."</p> - -<p>"I see. And there is no cure?"</p> - -<p>"Some doctors believe that a long period of peace and quiet under -conditions where the mildest of stimuli are available may bring -the addict back. I am of the opinion that such a place does not -exist. They fasten onto hate as an emotion that cuts through their -burned-out emotions and if you should place them among completely -bland surroundings they would find it possible to hate those that -incarcerated them. It becomes almost paranoiac—anything you do is -wrong."</p> - -<p>"So I have discovered. But what do I do with Miss Hannon?"</p> - -<p>"At the time of Miss Hannon's disappearance, her family offered five -thousand dollars for her return."</p> - -<p>"I'd be happy to deliver her FOB her own front porch," said Farradyne. -"Can I hand her over to you and let you take it from there?"</p> - -<p>"She would put up quite a ruckus," said Lawson. "I doubt that Miss -Hannon will go home willingly. It is my opinion that her response to -Walton's lovemaking was extremely high, so that the result was a quick -blunting of her normal capabilities. After this, anger and shame would -cause her—a proud woman of education and breeding—to hide where -she could not be known, where she could possibly get the hellflower -she needed. This would not be in the home of her parents. So she -will not go home willingly, and the alternative is an appeal to the -authorities. I doubt that such a course would be acceptable to either -of us."</p> - -<p>"You're right but—"</p> - -<p>Lawson smiled. "I heard your offer to deliver her free to her home."</p> - -<p>"So?"</p> - -<p>"We'll help you. We'll have an operative collect Miss Hannon at the -Denver Spaceport. All you have to do is live with this trouble for -about fifty more hours. For delivering this information, and for taking -Miss Hannon to Denver, we will be happy to divide the reward."</p> - -<p>"I'll deliver Miss Hannon to Denver," he said, thinking that for -twenty-five hundred he could stick cotton in his ears and sweat it out -at about fifty dollars an hour.</p> - -<p>"Good, Mr. Farradyne. I'll make arrangements to have our Mr. Kingman -meet you at Denver."</p> - -<p>Lawson handed Farradyne a few pages of dossier on the case and showed -him out of the office. Farradyne took a deep breath and decided that -what he wanted was a drink to his good fortune. He could look forward -to getting rid of Norma Hannon, at last. He made the street and glanced -around. Finding a small bar not far from the office door of the -Bennington Agency, he went in to relax and think.</p> - -<p>At a small table with a tiny lamp, he opened the papers that Lawson had -given him, to read them more thoroughly. The waitress was high-breasted -in a manner that invited him to look, but he merely barked, "White Star -Trail," and went back to his reading.</p> - -<p>"Spaceman?" she asked.</p> - -<p>Farradyne nodded in an irritated manner. She flounced off after a -moment of futile attempt to beguile a spaceman.</p> - -<p>So when a moment later someone slid into the bench beside him, -Farradyne turned to tell her to please go because he wasn't having any, -thanks. Instead of looking into a vapidly willing face Farradyne's eyes -were met by an equally cold blue stare from the face of a hard-jawed -man dressed in a jacket tailored to half-conceal the shoulder holster -he wore. Farradyne blinked.</p> - -<p>"Farradyne?"</p> - -<p>"So?" said Farradyne. He tried to think but all he could cover was the -idea that someone was now playing games with guns.</p> - -<p>"Hear tell you're running blossoms."</p> - -<p>"Who says?"</p> - -<p>"People."</p> - -<p>"People say a lot of things. Which people?"</p> - -<p>"Well, are you?"</p> - -<p>"Who, me?"</p> - -<p>"Can it!" snapped the newcomer.</p> - -<p>Farradyne shrugged angrily. "What do you want me to do?" he asked in a -mild tone. "You have the jump on me. You slide into my seat and bar my -exit and then without introducing yourself you start asking questions -that could get me twenty years in poor surroundings with bad company -and no pay."</p> - -<p>"Call me Mike. Michael Cahill is the name."</p> - -<p>"Any identification that doesn't bark for itself?"</p> - -<p>"It's usually good enough."</p> - -<p>"Probably. But the numbers on its calling cards are always someone -else's."</p> - -<p>Mike laughed. "That's not bad, Farradyne. But so far as I know your -number isn't among those present."</p> - -<p>"I'll bet you could change a number fast enough."</p> - -<p>"Could be," nodded Cahill. He turned over his shoulder and called to -the waitress. "Hey, Snookey, make it two instead of one."</p> - -<p>"Mine's White Star."</p> - -<p>"That's all right with me. It's easier to drive this rod with a clear -head."</p> - -<p>"No doubt," said Farradyne. "So now that we are about to drink together -let's face it. You had more in mind than to pass the time of day with a -nervous spaceman who wanted to be alone."</p> - -<p>"Correct. Or as you birds say, 'Aye-firm.' How's the hellblossom -business?"</p> - -<p>"That's easy to answer. I haven't any and I am not in the business. -See?"</p> - -<p>"People say you are."</p> - -<p>Farradyne grunted. "Not too long ago someone accused me openly. The -story started when someone suggested that the only way a guy could come -from down on his bottom to the top of the heap in one large step was -to be among the big-time operators. The heavy-sugar know-how. To the -limited imagination this meant running love lotus."</p> - -<p>Mike Cahill was silent while the waitress brought their drinks. When -she left Cahill lifted his glass to Farradyne. "Is you is or is you -ain't?" he chuckled.</p> - -<p>"I ain't," said Farradyne, drinking with Cahill.</p> - -<p>"Or is it maybe?"</p> - -<p>"Maybe it's maybe."</p> - -<p>"Stop sounding like a parrot. As I heard it that tomato in the bar on -Ganymede must have known something. You spent four years as flat on -your duff as a musclebound wrestler and then you come bouncing along in -a last-year model Lancaster. Since we know damned well that you're no -hellblossom runner, where did you get the stack?"</p> - -<p>"Thrift and good management."</p> - -<p>"Yeah. How'd you do it?"</p> - -<p>"I told you."</p> - -<p>"Maybe it's a rich uncle?"</p> - -<p>"I haven't one. I'm just a capable operator."</p> - -<p>"The label is sour, Farradyne."</p> - -<p>"Then what do you make of this?" asked Farradyne, handing Cahill his -license folder.</p> - -<p>"It looks nice and legal but it is as phony as a ten-cent diamond and -both of us know it. So how did you get it—and the Lancaster to go -along with it?"</p> - -<p>Farradyne sipped his drink. "Look, Cahill, it just happens that it's -none of your damned business! I am not talking."</p> - -<p>"It might make a difference if you did."</p> - -<p>"Let's stop fencing. I may be of use to you. Now it might be that you -are a SAND agent and it might be otherwise, I still may be of use to -you either way. But the first time I start shooting off my trap, you'll -begin to get the idea that I'm not close-mouthed enough for whatever -job you have in mind for me. So let's leave it this way. I have a -ticket that gets me in and out and a spacer that takes me there and -back."</p> - -<p>"And that's your story?"</p> - -<p>"That's my story. Finis." Farradyne sipped his drink and then offered -Cahill a smoke which Cahill took.</p> - -<p>"We've had a rather moist spring," observed Cahill.</p> - -<p>"It was moister on Venus," commented Farradyne.</p> - -<p>"It's on Terra that the weather is fine," said Cahill. "The crops are -coming up excellently, I'm told. Nothing like fresh vegetables."</p> - -<p>Farradyne nodded. "No matter how well we convert the planets to Terra -condition, nothing grows like on earth."</p> - -<p>"Ever enjoy lying on your back in the sun in a field of flowers with -nothing to do but get sunburned?"</p> - -<p>"Not for a long time."</p> - -<p>"Funny how a guy gets out of his kid-habits," mused Cahill. "And even -funnier how he wants to go and do it all over again but never quite -makes it the same."</p> - -<p>"Yeah."</p> - -<p>"Farradyne, you're not sold up on this next jaunt to Terra, are you?"</p> - -<p>"I've plenty of room. Just one passenger going to Denver."</p> - -<p>"Mind if I buy a stateroom?"</p> - -<p>"Not at all."</p> - -<p>"I want to go pick flowers on Terra," yawned Cahill. "If you like, -maybe we can pick some together."</p> - -<p>"Maybe we can," said Farradyne, draining his glass and starting to get -up. Cahill got up, too, and led the way out of the joint. Farradyne -flagged down a taxicab. "Spaceport," he told the driver. "Coming?" he -asked Cahill.</p> - -<p>"Yeah. Might as well. Nothing else to do this week. I'll go along—for -kicks."</p> - -<hr class="chap"> - -<p class="ph1">5</p> - - -<p>Farradyne took the Lancaster up and set the ship on its course to -Terra. As soon as he could spare the time to think of anything but -handling the ship, he began to wonder about Norma and Mike Cahill. -She had not been visible when they arrived, but no doubt by now she -had made her presence known. It bothered him a bit because he was as -certain as a man can be that Cahill was a hellflower operator, and he -did not want the man to get cold feet because Farradyne was connected -with an addict, if even for a short hop.</p> - -<p>So as soon as he could leave the board, Farradyne went down to the -salon.</p> - -<p>They had met. Norma, for the first time in her trip with Farradyne, was -presiding over the dining table. She was wearing a slinky, sea-green -hostess gown Veed down to about here and slit on both sides to just -below the knees. Her white, bare legs twinkled as she walked and almost -forced the eye to follow them. She was giving Cahill all the benefit of -her physical beauty, and Cahill was enjoying it. Farradyne had a hunch -that Norma was about to start slipping him the old jealousy routine. -He wondered about his reaction. He was extremely wary of Norma, but he -did feel a sort of responsibility for her. She might make him jealous, -but it would not be the jealousy of passion or desire, but the jealous -concern that stems from a desire to protect.</p> - -<p>Norma's lissome figure slipped out of the salon toward the galley and -as she disappeared Cahill wagged a forefinger at Farradyne.</p> - -<p>"That dame's a blank," he said in a very low voice.</p> - -<p>"I know. She's not my woman, Cahill."</p> - -<p>"Maybe not," responded Cahill. "But it sure looks like it from a -distance. What are you doing with her?"</p> - -<p>"Delivering her to her parents in Denver."</p> - -<p>"That all?"</p> - -<p>Farradyne nodded. "She latched onto me on Ganymede; she's the dame that -made the loud announcement of my being a hellflower runner."</p> - -<p>"Maybe she's right."</p> - -<p>"She isn't. I'm not."</p> - -<p>Cahill grinned. "This much we know," he said.</p> - -<p>"You do?"</p> - -<p>"Yes. But maybe she'll be right sooner or later. But get rid of her, -see?"</p> - -<p>Farradyne nodded vigorously. "That I'll do. She has been hell on high -heels to have around."</p> - -<p>"Looks like she might be fun."</p> - -<p>"She hates my guts."</p> - -<p>Cahill nodded. "Probably. They usually end up in a case of anger and -violence. Tough. But—"</p> - -<p>Norma came back with a tray and set food on the table. They ate in -silence, with Norma still giving Cahill the full power of her charm. -Cahill, who had undoubtedly seen many a hellflower girl, still seemed -to enjoy her advances although he accepted them with a calloused, -self-assured smile. Once dinner was finished, Norma began to clear the -table. This act annoyed Farradyne because he could not account for it, -and the only thing that seemed to fit the case was the possibility -that Norma was acting as she did to soften his wariness of her, but -she was carrying the thing too far. He did not think she was so unable -to calculate; she must know that this act now pointed up her former -disdain for any kind of cooperation.</p> - -<p>As she left again, Farradyne turned to Cahill and asked, "How can a man -tell a love lotus from a gardenia?"</p> - -<p>"That takes experience, Farradyne. You'll learn."</p> - -<p>"The thing that stops me," said Farradyne, "is that the Sandmen have -been trying to stamp the things out for about forty years and they -can't even tell where they come from."</p> - -<p>"They'll never find out," said Cahill. "Maybe you won't either."</p> - -<p>"But I—"</p> - -<p>"Better you shouldn't. Just enjoy living off the edges. It's safer that -way. Remember that."</p> - -<p>"Where are we going after we leave Denver?"</p> - -<p>"I'm not too sure we're going anywhere. I'm not too sure of you, -Farradyne. You've some holes to fill in." Cahill lit a cigarette and -leaned back, letting the smoke trickle through his nostrils. "I don't -mind talking to you this way because it would be your word against -mine, if you happen to be a Sandman. Some of your tale rings true. The -rest sticks hard."</p> - -<p>"For instance?"</p> - -<p>"Well, let's suppose you are a Sandman. Humans are a hard-boiled lot, -but somehow I can't see killing thirty-three people just to establish -a bad reputation. So that tends to clear your book. As to the chance -of your laying low for four years until the mess blew over, I might -buy that except for the place. A guy who can ultimately turn up with -enough oil to grease his way into a reinstated license and a late model -Lancaster Eighty-One isn't likely to spend four interim years living in -a fungus field."</p> - -<p>"Maybe I hit it rich?"</p> - -<p>Cahill laughed roughly. "Dug up a platinum-plated toad-stool?"</p> - -<p>"Maybe I just met up with the right guy."</p> - -<p>"Blackmail?"</p> - -<p>"That's a nasty word, Cahill."</p> - -<p>"Sure is. What did he do?"</p> - -<p>"Let's call it maligning. Let's say he played rough at the wrong time -and might have to pay high for it at the present." Farradyne looked at -the ceiling. "And maybe that isn't it."</p> - -<p>Cahill laughed. "Have it your way, Farradyne. Well, tell me, do we have -a layover at Denver, or is it better if we take off immediately for -Mercury?"</p> - -<p>"Cinnabar or Hell City?"</p> - -<p>"Cinnabar, if it makes any difference."</p> - -<p>"Mercury, Schmercury, I didn't know there was anything there but the -central heating plant."</p> - -<p>"Isn't much," admitted Cahill. "But enough. The—"</p> - -<p>His voice trailed away as Norma's high heels came clicking up the -circular stairway, back toward the salon. "I thought I'd have a -cigarette and a drink with company before I go to bed," she announced -in a tone of voice that Farradyne had not heard her use before. With -gracious deftness, Norma made three highballs of White Star and water -and handed two of them to the men. She let her fingers linger over -Farradyne's very briefly, and over Cahill's longer. She lounged in -a chair across from them, all curves and softness, with only that -strange, disinterested look in her eyes to give her away.</p> - -<p>Farradyne found this a bit difficult to explain to himself. The evening -had been a series of paradoxes; Norma's change from vixen to the lady -of languid grace did not ring true. He had been aware of her ability -to reason coldly, brought about by her burned-out emotional balance -which was so dulled that her thinking was mechanically unemotional and -therefore inclined to be frightfully chilled logic. But Farradyne's -grasp of the problem was incomplete. Norma had claimed that she knew -the emotions by name and definition, that once she had felt them, but -that now she only knew how they worked. Farradyne found it hard to -believe that she was so well-schooled in her knowledge that she could -put on the act of having them when she obviously did not.</p> - -<p>She did not even force herself upon them; when her cigarette and her -drink were gone, Norma got up, excused herself and quietly went below.</p> - -<p>"Me too," said Cahill.</p> - -<p>Farradyne led him down to a stateroom and waved him in. "See you in the -morning," he said. Cahill nodded his goodnight and Farradyne went on to -his own room to think.</p> - -<p>He hadn't done bad. Of course he did not really know how far some of -Clevis' other operators had gone, but Farradyne had been on the trail -for less than a hundred hours and already had a lead. Obviously the -fact of the Semiramide was the tip-off; no Sandman would go that far to -establish a shady reputation.</p> - -<p>Farradyne was prepared to go as far as he had to. The idea of actually -running love lotus was not appealing, but the SAND office had been -fighting the things for a half century, watching helplessly while -the moral fibre of the race was being undermined by the nasty things -and somehow it was far better to let a few more lives be wrecked by -hellflowers than to save a few and let the whole thing steamroll -into monumental destruction. Farradyne still had to duck a few people -who might like to nail his hide to a barn door, but sooner or later he -would come out on top of this mess and then he could look his fellow -man in the eye and ask him to forget one bad mistake—that wasn't even -Farradyne's so far as he himself knew.</p> - -<p>Being on his first step eased his mind somewhat. He would be rid of -Norma in the morning sometime and on his way with Cahill, and the -future looked interesting, if not cheerful. He went to sleep easily for -the first time since the meeting with Norma on Ganymede. He dreamed a -pleasant dream of freedom and success that ended with the bark of a -pistol.</p> - -<p>Shocked out of his sleep, he lay stunned and blinking for a moment, and -then leaped out of bed and raced to the corridor. The light blinded him -first, but not enough to stop him from seeing Cahill.</p> - -<p>Cahill came along the tiny corridor listlessly, blood dribbling -from under his left arm, running down his fingers and splashing -on the floor. On Cahill's face was a stunned expression, full of -incomprehension, semi-blank. Blood ran down his leg, across his ankle -and left red footprints on the floor.</p> - -<p>Through the haze that clouded Cahill's eyes, he saw Farradyne. He -stumbled forward and reached out, but collapsed like a limp towel, to -stretch out at Farradyne's feet like a tired baby. His voice sighed out -in a dying moan that sounded like a rundown phonograph ... and then the -shocking rattle of death.</p> - -<p>Steps behind him came Norma Hannon. Her eyes were blazing with an -unholy satisfied light and her body was alive and sinuous. A tiny -automatic dangled from her right hand. Her lips curled in a sneer as -she came up to Cahill and poked at the dead man's hand with her bare -foot.</p> - -<p>"He—" she started to cry in a strident tone. Then the semi-hysteria -faded and she looked down at Cahill again, relishing the idea.</p> - -<p>Farradyne shuddered. Cahill probably had not been able to do more than -clutch at the deep neckline of Norma's nightgown.</p> - -<p>He leaned back against the wall and saw things in a sort of horrid slow -motion. Under any normal circumstances, no jury in the solar system -would have listened to an attempt to prosecute her. Under any normal -circumstances, Farradyne could bury Cahill at space and report the -incident at the first landing. But Farradyne couldn't stand too much -investigation. Norma Hannon was a hellflower addict, a "blank," in -Cahill's words; she couldn't bear investigation.</p> - -<p>Worst of all was the loss of Cahill.</p> - -<p>"Why?" asked Farradyne, bitterly.</p> - -<p>"He—" Her eyes opened wide again as she relived the scene, relished -the violence.</p> - -<p>"Have your fun," gritted Farradyne.</p> - -<p>"I hoped it was you," she said. "I wouldn't have killed you." Her voice -was calm, she might have been saying "kiss" instead of "kill." "Him I -did not like."</p> - -<p>"And you like me?"</p> - -<p>"You I save to hate tomorrow," she said with matter-of-fact flatness.</p> - -<p>"Why didn't you save him?"</p> - -<p>"What was he to you?"</p> - -<p>"He was my source."</p> - -<p>"Source?" Norma looked blank. Then understanding crossed her face. -"Hellblossoms," she said with a sneer that twisted her face. She -stepped past Cahill's body and handed the automatic to Farradyne, who -took it dumbly because it was proffered. She went on into the salon and -sat down.</p> - -<p>Farradyne wanted to hurt her, to reach through that wall and make her -feel something besides anger.</p> - -<p>"Source," he nodded, following her. "Love lotus. I'd have given you -one, Norma."</p> - -<p>She made a sound like a bitter laugh. "No good, Farradyne. What good is -one lotus?"</p> - -<p>"I don't know," he said simply. "I've never had one."</p> - -<p>Her laugh was shrill and insane. Then she bawled at him like a fishwife. -"What an operator you are. You big, fumbling boob with your stolen -spacer and your forged license, making like a big wind. Fah!"</p> - -<p>She got up as suddenly as she had sat down. She paused on her way down -the corridor to kick Cahill's leg. Farradyne stayed where he was until -he heard her door slam shut. He should be moved, thought Farradyne.</p> - -<p>He found himself looking down on the dead man with a strangely detached -feeling, as though he were watching a play. He relived the scene -although he tried to shut it out of his mind. Shutting out would not -work, so he went through it detail by detail minutely, from the sound -of the pistol shot to the last dying groan from Cahill's throat. The -memory of that dying wail jarred on Farradyne's nerves.</p> - -<p>It was a discordant cry.</p> - -<p>He found himself making a completely useless analysis, itemizing things -that surely could not matter. The cry had been a discord. His mind -wandered a bit as he considered the word. A series of atonal notes do -not make a discord. A discord comes when atonal notes are sounded at -the same time. The former can be pleasant to the ear, the latter not.</p> - -<p>And then a chill hit him. He felt like a man who had just been told -that he had one more question to answer before winning the prize on a -quiz show. Cahill's moan had been a full discord.</p> - -<p>With a sudden disconnect of the mind, Farradyne was back in the -Semiramide, hearing three voices behind him. They found one skeleton, -afterwards. Then his mind leaped to Brenner, on Mars, who had emitted -an approving grunt when he saw Norma come around the tail structure -of the Lancaster with the sun shining through her skirt. He had no -proof, no proof. Brenner's grunt had been no discord but nonetheless a -mingling of tones. Three voices? Maybe more?</p> - -<p>Maybe he was not sure of the first. Brenner's voice had been very -brief, maybe he was convincing himself. But Cahill's death cry was most -certainly polytonal. And they were both lotus operators.</p> - -<p>It might mean something, or it might not. Farradyne put his head back -and tried to hum and say something at the same time. Perhaps the stunt -could be cultivated after much practice, and perhaps it was used as a -password.</p> - -<p>More than anything, Farradyne needed corroboration.</p> - -<p>It was a very weak reed, but he stepped over Cahill's body and rapped -on Norma's door.</p> - -<p>She opened the door after a moment and said, "Now what?"</p> - -<p>"Norma, you claim I owe you something, but I think you now owe me -something."</p> - -<p>She made a scornful sound. "For killing your little chum out there?"</p> - -<p>"Maybe," he said as shortly as he knew how.</p> - -<p>"Go on, Farradyne, but make it good."</p> - -<p>He looked down into her glazed eyes, hoping to see some flicker of -expression that showed some interest in anything.</p> - -<p>"Norma, you've a good, logical mind. Tell me, did you notice anything -about Cahill's last cry?"</p> - -<p>"No."</p> - -<p>"Nothing odd?"</p> - -<p>"I've not seen men die very often. What was strange about it?" The eyes -unglazed a bit, but Farradyne could not tell whether this was awakened -interest or merely the recapture of the feeling she had enjoyed before.</p> - -<p>"It sounded to me like a discordant moan."</p> - -<p>"It was discordant."</p> - -<p>"Not the way I mean. It sounded to me like there were three or four -tones all going at once."</p> - -<p>She snorted derisively. "Let me shoot you. I'll make a recording of -your death cry and we'll see how well you sing."</p> - -<p>"I'm serious."</p> - -<p>"Stop beating that dead horse," she told him flatly. "It's the same -chorus you used to sing about the three men in your control room, -remember?"</p> - -<p>"Brenner made a sound like that, too," he said.</p> - -<p>"A pig-like sound," she said scornfully. "Forget it, Farradyne. You've -convinced nobody but yourself, and your evidence consists of one man -surprised at the sight of a good-looking woman and one man whose throat -was coming apart in death. Forget it." She shut the door to her room in -his face abruptly.</p> - -<p>Farradyne looked down at Cahill's body with regret. Not that Cahill's -death touched him in any way but mild shock and distress at the loss of -his link to the hellblossom gang. A gunman and a love lotus operator -was not likely to have his absence noticed among the kind of people who -could afford to start asking a lot of questions of the officials, and -there might be a fair chance that Cahill's disappearance would cause -the same people to ask a question or two of Farradyne.</p> - -<p>He would have liked to keep the body. But hauling a slain corpse—he -did not consider it murder—into a doctor's office and asking for an -autopsy on the throat could not be done. Nor could Farradyne do it -himself. He could perform a fair job of setting a broken bone and he -could treat a burn or a cut, but he would not recognize a larynx if he -saw it. And although he knew better intellectually, he instinctively -considered a vocal cord as a stretched string of some sort that -vibrated in the air-stream.</p> - -<p>Distastefully Farradyne hauled the body to the scuttle-port and -consigned it to space with a terse, "See you in hell, Cahill."</p> - -<hr class="chap"> - -<p class="ph1">6</p> - - -<p>The Lancaster came down at Denver. Before Farradyne had the landing -ramp out, a spaceport buggy came careening across the field to stop -almost at the base of the ship.</p> - -<p>"Farradyne?" asked the man.</p> - -<p>"You're the Bennington Detective Agency man?"</p> - -<p>"Sidney Kingman," said the other, showing Farradyne a small case with -identification card and license. "Where is she?"</p> - -<p>"Inside."</p> - -<p>Kingman handed Farradyne an envelope. He pocketed it and led Kingman -into the salon. Norma was there, sitting on the divan, smoking.</p> - -<p>"Miss Hannon, Mr. Kingman."</p> - -<p>"Another one of your friends?" she sneered.</p> - -<p>"No. He's one of yours."</p> - -<p>"I have no friends."</p> - -<p>"Yes, you have, Miss Hannon. I have come to take you home."</p> - -<p>Norma leaped to her feet. "You good-for-nothing bum!" she screeched at -Farradyne. "Why did you do it?"</p> - -<p>"You wouldn't leave me alone, Norma," said Farradyne softly. "So I've -brought you home where they'll take care of you and keep you out of my -hair."</p> - -<p>"I'll come after you!" she raved. "I'll get you for this!"</p> - -<p>"Not if I see you first," he told her. "This is it."</p> - -<p>"Why do you hurt everything you touch?" she cried.</p> - -<p>"Now who?"</p> - -<p>"Me." For the first time, Farradyne saw tears of genuine sorrow. There -was anger at him, too, but remorse there was a-plenty. "Why hurt my -people!" she asked. "Why can't they just call me dead and let it go at -that? I'm worse than dead."</p> - -<p>Then her face froze again and she looked at Kingman. "All right," she -said in a hard voice. "Let's go and hurt my folks to death. Let's get -it over with. You pair of money-grubbing ghouls."</p> - -<p>She started toward the spacelock, waving her forefinger at Kingman, who -followed. Her face wore a coldly distant expression as she left the -Lancaster. Kingman's driver took them off. She did not turn back to -look at Farradyne.</p> - -<p>And that was that. Farradyne retracted the ramp, closed the spacelock -and not long afterwards hiked the ship into the sky and headed for -Mercury.</p> - -<hr class="chap"> - -<p class="ph1">7</p> - - -<p>Cinnabar was inside the sunlight zone by a thousand miles and its -sun was always in the same spot of the sky. It was a well-contrived -city, built so that the streets were lighted either directly or by -reflections. Cinnabar was also one of the show-cities of the system, -but Farradyne found that it did not show him the right things. He could -have learned as much about hellflowers on Terra merely because New York -had a larger public library.</p> - -<p>He tried everything he could think of but made no progress. His trail -had turned to ice after Cahill's death. He loafed and he poked his -nose in here and there and drank a bit and varied his routine from -man-about-town to the spaceman concerned about his future. There was -only one bright spot—his listing had been tentatively taken up by a -group of schoolteachers on a sabbatical, who had seen Mercury and now -wanted a cheap trip to Pluto.</p> - -<p>Farradyne had accepted this job for about three weeks later. It gave -him a payload to Pluto, and when he got there it would be time to -do the subcontracting job Clevis had set up as a combined source of -revenue and a means of contact. Once each month Farradyne was to haul a -shipment of refined thorium ore from Pluto to Terra, a private job that -paid well. In the meantime Farradyne could nose around Mercury to see -what he could see. Then he could haul his schoolteachers to Pluto and -pick up his thorium, which definitely made his actions look reasonably -normal to the official eye.</p> - -<p>On the end of the drums of semi-refined thorium there would be a spot -of fluorescent paint, normally invisible. He was to wash off this spot -so long as he had nothing to report. If it remained, then something -was wrong with Farradyne; he had not turned up or he had something to -report. Clevis would know what to do next.</p> - -<p>And so Farradyne watched the date grow closer and closer and his hopes -of having something to report grow less and less likely. He felt -as though he had been given up, in fact he got to the point where -he wondered how a man could get a love lotus if he wanted one. The -prevalence of the dope seemed high enough, but as far as Farradyne was -concerned it was harder than buying a real gold brick. There did not -seem to be any for sale. He thought that perhaps his method of attack -was wrong, and yet he did not know how to correct it.</p> - -<p>He cursed under his breath at the futility of it, and realized that his -curse must have been audible because he felt a touch on his elbow and a -voice asking, "Is it that bad?"</p> - -<p>He turned slowly, his mind working fast to think of something to say -that would not be leading in the wrong direction. "I was—" he started, -and then he saw that the voice which had been low-pitched enough to -have been the voice of a man had come from the throat of a tall, -dark-haired woman who sat beside him at the bar. "Just wondering what -strangers do for excitement on Mercury," he finished lamely.</p> - -<p>"Spaceman?"</p> - -<p>"Yes."</p> - -<p>"I guessed it." She laughed in her low contralto. "But spacemen aren't -the only ones who drink that watered-down whiskey."</p> - -<p>"I know. But this time it is one."</p> - -<p>She smiled again. "Is Cinnabar so inhospitable?" she asked.</p> - -<p>"To strangers it seems so."</p> - -<p>"To me it seems quite normal. It makes the rest of the solar system -sound like a very exciting place."</p> - -<p>"Born on Mercury?"</p> - -<p>"No," she said, shaking her head. "I was born on Venus. I spent four -years on Terra before my folks brought me to Mercury. But my last space -trip took place when I was nine. Tell me, what is New York like?"</p> - -<p>"Buildings and people and mad rushing around. Any change in the last -hundred years has been for taller buildings, more people and a higher -velocity of humanity. But anybody can find anything he wants somewhere -in New York, if he has the money to buy it."</p> - -<p>She smiled calmly. "I'll show you that Cinnabar is not an inhospitable -place," she said. "You may take me to dinner if you wish."</p> - -<p>"I wish," he chuckled. "And since we haven't a mutual friend to -introduce us, I'm Charles Farradyne."</p> - -<p>"How do you do?" she said solemnly, putting a lithe hand in his. "I'm -Carolyn Niles." She took a little step out from the bar and made him a -slight curtsey. He saw that she was almost as tall as he was, and he -grinned as he thought that her figure was far better than his.</p> - -<p>"How shall we meet?" he asked.</p> - -<p>"We shall not meet," said Carolyn. "We shall play it very bright and -very interesting. You shall drive me home where we will have cocktails -with my folks and you will meet them. You will be an old friend of -Michael's, who is a sort of school-chum of my brother. After cocktails -I will run upstairs to change and you will make polite conversation -with my family—none of whom eat personable young men, though they may -scare them to death by having Father show them the fine collection of -Terran shotguns he owns. Then we will go out to your spacecraft, and -you will change while I roam around and investigate the insides. This I -will like because it's been some time since I have seen the insides of -a spacer."</p> - -<p>"Done," agreed Farradyne.</p> - -<p>Something rapped him on the elbow and he had to look down before he saw -a boy of ten or so with a green-paper lined box containing flowers. The -young merchant had an eye for business; he eyed Farradyne knowingly and -smiled at Carolyn fetchingly. "Corsage? One dollar."</p> - -<p>Farradyne grinned and then almost recoiled before he realized that -nowhere in the solar system could a love lotus be purchased for a -dollar. These were definitely gardenias. He bought one to cover up -his confusion, and handed it to Carolyn. She pinned the gardenia in -her dark hair as she smiled her thanks, then led him from the bar to -an open roadster almost as low and long as the curb it was parked -against. Carolyn handed him her keys and Farradyne drove according to -her directions until they came to a rather large rambling house just -outside the city limits.</p> - -<p>She introduced him, and he was received graciously. Her father was a -tall, distinguished man with a dab of gray at the temples and a rather -stern face that became completely unstern whenever he smiled, which was -frequently. Carolyn's mother was tall and dark with only a sprinkle of -gray. The brother was not present, which made it completely easy for -Farradyne who could not have given any account of his friendship for -the unknown Michael, stated friend of Robert Niles.</p> - -<p>Mr. Niles mixed a pitcher of martinis and inquired about the spaceman -business. Farradyne explained how it was. Mrs. Niles laughed at his -story of fish one day and fins the next and said that she thought -it couldn't be quite that bad, really. Farradyne grinned. Mr. Niles -observed that a man who can operate a spacer and pay off a mortgage on -the craft must not be entirely penniless or without prospects.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Niles countered with, "I suppose it takes money to operate, Mr. -Farradyne."</p> - -<p>"A fair amount. A spaceman begins to think in large figures so much -that he wonders how he can get along on a more humanly reasonable -amount. To clear a reasonable standard of living, a rather staggering -amount of money comes in one hand and goes out the other. Operating -expenses are high, but so are charges."</p> - -<p>"But do you land on Mercury often, Mr. Farradyne?"</p> - -<p>Farradyne smiled. "Perhaps less frequently in the past than in the -future."</p> - -<p>"Now that's sheer flattery," laughed Carolyn.</p> - -<p>"Better enjoy it," observed her father with a chuckle. "Charles, you -are welcome here any time you land."</p> - -<p>"Thank you," smiled Farradyne. "But all things considered, I should -think that you'd take a dim view of any man that brought your daughter -home wearing a gardenia."</p> - -<p>"Gardenia? Oh. You mean that it might be—" Mr. Niles laughed. "I think -that Carolyn has enough judgment to take up with the right kind of -young man, Charles."</p> - -<p>"Of course," said Mrs. Niles. "Robert and Michael wouldn't stay friends -with the wrong kind."</p> - -<p>"So you see?" laughed Mr. Niles.</p> - -<p>"By the way," asked Mrs. Niles. "How is Michael?"</p> - -<p>"Quite well, the last time I saw him," said Farradyne, quite sure that -this was the right thing to say at any time.</p> - -<p>"You're sure?"</p> - -<p>"Of course."</p> - -<p>"I'm very happy to hear it," said Mrs. Niles. "We knew he was with you, -but we didn't know how long he stayed."</p> - -<p>Farradyne gulped imperceptibly, and he hoped that they did not notice. -"You did? Then he must have mentioned me."</p> - -<p>"Oh, he did. Tell me, Charles, what happened to Michael?"</p> - -<p>"Did something happen to him?"</p> - -<p>Mr. Niles eyed Farradyne rather pointedly. "Mike took off with you from -Mars. He did not land at Denver, Mr. Farradyne. So what happened to -Mike Cahill?"</p> - -<p>Farradyne gulped, and this time it was a full-throated gulp that left -him with his Adam's apple high in his throat.</p> - -<p>Carolyn cooed, "Yes, Charles, what happened to Michael Cahill?"</p> - -<p>A shiver crossed Farradyne's nerves and he felt the muscle-loosening -tingle of fear. His thinking mechanism stopped functioning. His mind -buzzed with a frenetic insistence that he say something, but he was -completely unprepared. And he dimly knew that his long speechlessness -was as damning as any story he could have prepared after such a pause. -He thought all the way around in a circle, coming back to the fact that -he should say something but that his mind was so busy insisting that he -fill in this bizarre event that it did not furnish him with anything to -say.</p> - -<p>Then it occurred to him that he need not say anything. The die had -been cast and he stood accused, twice; once by the Niles family and -once by his own shocked reaction. What he must do was act for the next -moment because the passed moment was irreparable. One of two things was -evident: either Cahill was a double-dealing rat or the man was hand in -glove with the Niles and that meant—</p> - -<p>Farradyne laughed at his own simplicity. It was a sort of brief, -scornful bark.</p> - -<p>"What is funny?" asked Mr. Niles.</p> - -<p>"It just occurred to me—the brilliant concept that you people are -either innocent or guilty."</p> - -<p>"Very sage," commented Niles drily. "You don't seem quite that bright, -Mr. Farradyne. Not even that bright. Now, what happened to Cahill?"</p> - -<p>Only for a fleeting moment did Farradyne follow the possibility that -Niles was innocent. There had been no attempt on Cahill's part to -contact anybody from the time Farradyne met him until he saw him last -alive. Ergo, the Niles must have been forearmed with Cahill's plan. -This was the place that Cahill would have brought him; it had just -taken him a bit longer to get here without the proper guide.</p> - -<p>He leaned back, trying to relax. He took a sip of his martini, not that -he wanted it, but to see if his hand were still trembling. It did not -seem to shake.</p> - -<p>He said, "If you knew Cahill and his whereabouts, you also know quite -a bit about me. You'll have heard that I was recognized in a bar on -Ganymede by a woman named Norma Hannon, who is a hellflower addict. She -hated my guts because I am Charles Farradyne and her brother was among -those present when I had the accident in The Bog. She hung onto me for -the emotional ride it gave her. I succeeded in locating the home of her -parents and was going to take her home when I met Cahill, who offered -to come along after a bit of talk. Then during the night, Cahill made a -pass at Norma, and she shot him. I put his body out through the scuttle -port."</p> - -<p>"Cahill was always a damned fool," nodded Niles. "He was a dame-crazy -idiot and it served him right. Some men prefer money, power or model -railroads. Women are poison."</p> - -<p>"I seem to have followed one of them like a little lamb," said -Farradyne. "But I was picked up and brought here for a purpose, so -let's get down to cases."</p> - -<p>"You're a rather quick-on-the-trigger man, aren't you? What makes you -assume that this purpose was anything beyond finding out about Cahill?"</p> - -<p>"Because you have tipped your hand," said Farradyne feeling more at -ease. "You could have accomplished the same thing by tipping the -police and waiting for the case to be newscast. If Cahill admitted to -hellflower running, it was for a purpose, too. I call the same logic in -you, Niles."</p> - -<p>"Please. <i>Mister</i> Niles. I'm a bit your senior."</p> - -<p>"All right. Mr. Niles. I've learned one thing so far: I can tell a love -lotus operator from the rest of the system."</p> - -<p>"How?" They all leaned forward eagerly.</p> - -<p>"Because it is the real operators that take an amused view of my -alleged machinations. They know the facts."</p> - -<p>"Very sage. You are a bit brighter than you appeared a moment ago."</p> - -<p>"May I ask why you let me cool my heels for almost a month before you -hauled me in?" He looked at Carolyn with a wry smile. "I would make -a mild bet you weren't more than a few hundred feet from me all the -while?"</p> - -<p>"You are a blind man, Farradyne," she said calmly.</p> - -<p>Mr. Niles smiled knowingly. "There are a lot of unexplained items -in your past, Farradyne. We never could be too sure that you were -not a Sandman. Of course, it does seem a bit hard to believe that a -government operative would crash a spacer and kill thirty-three people -just to establish a bad reputation, especially when his own neck was -involved in the affair. Still, such a deal might have been managed. So -we have been checking on you and from that angle you are clean. Then -comes the question of Cahill. It might be that you thought turning in a -hellflower operator would help to smooth your lot in life, mayhap get -you a bit of a reward. So we waited. No Cahill. Cahill started to bring -you here; he would either have turned up with or without you. Or he -would have gotten in touch with us. Unless Cahill was dead. You would -know the answer. Norma Hannon is keeping her mouth shut, so far as we -know. Of course no one would believe a blank anyway, and she probably -knows that. So it stands to reason that you know more about Cahill than -anybody else."</p> - -<p>"No more than I've told you. Cahill came and made me a sort of sidelong -offer."</p> - -<p>"That much of it rings as true as the other. But there are still holes -in your story."</p> - -<p>Farradyne nodded. "Let's put it this way: there are ways of getting -money and things. I found one way, which is an obvious fact. But I have -been told time and again that the entering wedge to a full confession -is a willingness to talk. Do you follow me?"</p> - -<p>"I do. But—"</p> - -<p>Farradyne smiled. "I don't care to face it. Not in company, Mr. Niles." -Farradyne's emphasis on the "Mister" was heavy with sarcasm. Niles -looked at him piercingly.</p> - -<p>"You are a bit belligerent and a trifle sure of yourself. Close-mouthed -and apparently able to get along. You'll be out on a lonely limb for -some time, Farradyne, but we can use you."</p> - -<p>"I can use the sugar," said Farradyne.</p> - -<p>"Naturally. Anybody can use money. In fact everybody needs money. What -visible means of support have you?"</p> - -<p>"I've a subcontract. Once each month I'm to lug a load of thorium -refines from Pluto to Terra."</p> - -<p>"It's a start but it isn't enough."</p> - -<p>"I'll pick up more, doubtless."</p> - -<p>Niles leaned back and put the tips of his fingers together -pontifically. "One of the hardest jobs in this business is to justify -your standard of living. The financial rewards are large and the hours -involved are small. It is patent that a man who has not been granted a -large inheritance or perhaps stumbled on a lucrative asteroid, cannot -live in a semi-royal manner without having to work in a semi-royal -fury. One of the great risks in this business is the acceptance of a -recruit whose appearance causes discussion. The day when a man can -build a fifty-thousand-dollar home on a five-thousand-dollar salary -without causing more than a raised eyebrow has gone. If a man has a -hidden income, he must appear busy enough to warrant it—or at least -provide a reasonable facsimile."</p> - -<p>"This I can understand."</p> - -<p>"For a job like this," explained Niles, "we prefer the natural-born -spaceman, with sand in his shoes or space dust in his eyes. Because -the man with a bad case of wanderlust always looks busy even when he -is idling. You seem to be that sort, but we never can tell until it is -tried. Unless, of course, you turn out to be woman-crazy."</p> - -<p>"I'm a normal enough male," said Farradyne. "I'll remind you that -Cahill was the guy that tried and failed."</p> - -<p>"How normal are you?" demanded Niles. "We'd have less liking for a -misogynist than for a satyr here."</p> - -<p>Farradyne smiled serenely. "I have enough sense to keep my hands off -Norma Hannon, but I have enough red blood to come home with Carolyn. -That good enough?"</p> - -<p>Niles thought a moment. "Could be. Anyway we'll find out. For one -thing, Farradyne, you'll be in no position to hurt anyone but yourself -if you're playing games. Once we're really sure of you, it won't matter -any more because you will be in a position to get hurt plenty. We'll -try it, and see. Now, when do you go to Pluto?"</p> - -<p>"I've some schoolteachers to haul out there tomorrow. I've taken them -on—"</p> - -<p>"Good. Gives you a good background without much labor. Now, when you -land on Terra, you'll not bother posting your ship for a job because -you have already contracted for a job. Carolyn will be there on a -business trip for me and will have chartered your ship for a hauling -job back to Mercury. During this trip you will get some more details on -how you are to operate. This much I can tell you now, Farradyne: you -will be an inbetweener, in fact almost the operator you set yourself up -to be. But with one difference, we'll inform you just who is and who is -not to be trusted. In other words, you'll have your regular customers -and you will sell to no one else. They'll take your entire supply, -pay for it and you will take your profit. The remainder you will use -to purchase your supply from the upper source. Advancement may come -slow or fast, depending on you. You'll get the details later, as for -now—" Niles leaned back in his chair and smiled. "Farradyne, you met -my daughter in a cocktail lounge and several people heard the two of -you planning an evening together. So you will go dancing and dining and -have a drink or two and maybe a bit of lovemaking, which is an entirely -natural performance. And from this moment you will be Charles and I -shall be Mr. Niles and we'll have no nonsense. Understand?"</p> - -<p>"I do."</p> - -<p>"Good. Now have another martini while Carolyn dresses for dinner."</p> - -<p>Niles poured. Carolyn disappeared. Mrs. Niles leaned forward and -asked, "Charles, why did you become a spaceman?" Her tone of voice and -attitude made her seem like all the other fathers and mothers who have -asked the same question. For the moment he forgot about her position -in this odd scheme of things just because she looked precisely fitted -to the role she played for public consumption. Almost mechanically, -Farradyne began to explain. He knew the story by rote because he had -told it so often in the same manner and to the same sort of person. -This gave his mind a chance to consider them, partly.</p> - -<p>Mr. and Mrs. Niles appeared to be the successful businessman and his -wife. The aura of respectability extended to include the house and -its spacious grounds, so that Farradyne burned with resentment at any -proposition whereby he, who had not committed anything more than a few -misdemeanors and some rather normal fun and games which are listed on -the books but are likely to be overlooked, should be less cultured, -less successful and less poised than this family of low-grade vultures. -If anything, the attitude of Mrs. Niles shocked him more than the acts -of her husband. Men were the part of the race that play the rough games -and run up the score, according to Farradyne. Women occupied one of -two positions: they were patterned after Farradyne's mother who had -been a poised, mature woman of education and breeding, if a trifle -puritanical; or they were slatterns and sluts and they looked as well -as acted the part. So instead of Mrs. Niles presiding over the mansion -as a gracious lady, she should be loud and cheap. That she was poised -and gracious offended Farradyne's sense of fitness.</p> - -<p>As for Carolyn, who was equally engaged in this loathsome game, -Farradyne felt annoyed because there was nothing about her outward -appearance that would permit him to scorn her. Like her parents, she -gave the impression of success, as though the business they were all -engaged in were both honorable and beneficial. Farradyne yearned for -the moment when he could pull the pedestal out from under them and dump -them into the mud where they damned well belonged.</p> - -<p>Farradyne became, in those few moments, a more mature man. He -understood Clevis' attitude. Always before, he wondered why a clever -man would work for peanuts at a thankless job which included anonymity -when he could have put his efforts into some sort of business and -emerge wealthy and famous. Now Farradyne was beginning to understand -the personal satisfaction that could be gained by following in the -footsteps of a man like Clevis. In Niles' own words, some men like -money, others like power and still others build model railroads. Well, -some achieve their personal gain by rooting out the lice that undermine -the moral fiber of the race, and this gives them the same satisfaction -that amassing a billion dollars gives a man whose ambition is wealth.</p> - -<p>Money had never been Farradyne's god. He had not wanted more than -enough to exchange for the fun and games he preferred, and these -did not come high. He found himself elated to have discovered a new -outlet for his nervous energy and his urge to do something. Performing -a thankless job in anonymity could provide for Farradyne a deep -satisfaction in proving that he was smarter than people like Niles and -family.</p> - -<p>He smiled as his mouth got to the point in his story where he was -telling about the time he had landed the training ship perfectly—but -nine feet above ground, so that the ship dropped the nine feet and -nearly flunked him out of spaceman's school. He knew that his smile was -hypocritical and he enjoyed this sort of thing. If Niles could play -the hypocritical game, so could Farradyne. But Farradyne could play -it better because his own kind of hypocrisy was—he hated to call it -righteous but could not find a better word to describe it. He could -play Niles' game, and he could even go along with Mrs. Niles, although -he wondered how a woman that looked as honorable as Mrs. Niles could -justify her willingness to have a daughter engaged in the vile game -of hellflower running. He could play their game because he would have -little contact with them.</p> - -<p>But he wondered whether he could play the game Carolyn expected. He -did not know exactly what she expected but his guess was that anybody -amoral enough to run dope would hardly cavil at anything else. He -knew that many a man could lie in his teeth and play the role of spy -convincingly, but when the role included making love to a woman whose -background was distasteful to a man, Farradyne believed that this -distaste would show through anything he did.</p> - -<p>And then Carolyn came down the stairs in a white strapless evening -dress and Farradyne knew that he was going to have trouble remembering -that she was worthy of only shapeless, gray prison denim. "You have to -dress, too, Charles," she said in a soft voice, reminding him of their -plans for the evening.</p> - -<p>Farradyne nodded and got up. He wondered how she could possibly act -this part of a young, marriageable woman pleased with a date when -at the same time she was engaged in a hellishly illegal operation. -He realized at the same time that Carolyn had most likely spent her -entire life this way and was attuned to it. Such was her natural way of -living, and there was not going to be any possibility of weaning her -into a life of honorable struggle.</p> - -<p>Then she put her hand into his elbow and gave a little squeeze and -Farradyne found it not too hard to put his personal attitude into a -small compartment in his mind and half-close the door. The bait was -very attractive and only the image of Norma Hannon and her dulled eyes -remained with Farradyne to keep that compartment of his mind open to -the character of Carolyn Niles.</p> - -<hr class="chap"> - -<p class="ph1">8</p> - - -<p>In the salon of the Lancaster, Farradyne smiled knowingly. "The plan -was to let you investigate this ship while I dressed, but I gather you -have seen your share of spacers."</p> - -<p>"I admit it," she replied. "For that I am sorry, Charles. But I -couldn't very well have played the know-it-all, could I?"</p> - -<p>"I suppose not. Well, park yourself somewhere while I get into whites."</p> - -<p>She sat down and stretched. "A highball and a cigarette?" she inquired.</p> - -<p>"The cigarette is easy," he said, handing one to her and flipping his -lighter. "But the highball may be more difficult. I've nothing but -White Star Trail aboard."</p> - -<p>She nodded at him. "With water," she said. She relaxed into the -cushions. Farradyne went and mixed her highball. She sipped it and -nodded approvingly. "Charles, please go dress but fast—I am rather -more hungry than curious about the insides of a spacer."</p> - -<p>"Of course." He turned to go.</p> - -<p>"Charles?" She rose and came forward, lifting her hands to put them on -his shoulders. He stood woodenly. "Charles," she asked in a soft voice, -"are you unhappy because I am not the girl you hoped I'd be?"</p> - -<p>Farradyne wanted to hurt her. "How many men have you played this role -for?" he asked.</p> - -<p>A wry smile twisted her face. "I should slap your face for that," she -said. "Because when I tell you the answer you won't believe me."</p> - -<p>Caution came to him. He was the rookie hellflower operator, not the -young man who has discovered that his girl has been playing games -behind his back. He tried to fit himself into her picture and decided -that according to her code of loused-up ethics she might possibly be -thinking of a future: a pleasant home with rambling roses and a large -lawn and a devoted husband and maybe a handful of happy children all -creating the solid-citizen facade for dope running, just as her parents -were doing. If this were the case, Farradyne was to play the suitor. -He must carry roses for his wife in one hand, toys for the kids in the -other and his hip pocket must be filled with hellflowers.</p> - -<p>He played it. He relaxed and put his hands on her waist. "I admit -to being a bit of a louse," he said with a brief laugh. "But that's -because I'm a bit new at a very rough game."</p> - -<p>She leaned forward a bit. "Even rough games have their rules."</p> - -<p>"I'll play according to the rules as soon as I learn them."</p> - -<p>She looked at him. "You know them," she said quietly. "All men and -women learn them at home, in school, in church. They're sensible -rules and they keep people out of trouble, mostly. If you adhere to -the rules, people will have nothing to which their attention can be -directed. That's what Father was trying to say when he suggested that -you provide a visible means of support for yourself. Play by these -rules and we'll get along. It's especially important when we must not -have people looking in our direction, Charles."</p> - -<p>She sighed and leaned against him softly. "You asked me a question, -Charles. The answer is three. One of them preferred a blonde and they -are living quietly and happily on Callisto. The second couldn't have -jelled because he was the kind of man who would work eighteen hours a -day. Some men are that way and some women like it that way, but not -me. The third, Charles, was Michael. Mike didn't last long. Only long -enough to prove to me that he was a woman-chaser. The fourth could be -you, and maybe there mightn't be a fifth."</p> - -<p>"Three men in your life," he said.</p> - -<p>She smiled up into his eyes. "Three men in my life," she said with a -happy little nod of her head, "but, Charles, it isn't three men in my -bedroom." Carolyn cocked an eyebrow. "The only way the fourth will get -in is to make sure there won't be a fifth. So now you know. You can -play it from there."</p> - -<p>His arms did not slip around the slender waist, but the hands pulled -her close to him. He kissed her gently, and for a moment she clung to -him with her body. Her response was affectionate, only bordering on -passion. Then she leaned back and smiled into his face. "You need a -shave," she told him. "So let go of me until you can kiss me without -scratching my skin off." Then to prove that she didn't really mean it, -Carolyn kissed him again briefly, and ended it by rubbing her forehead -against his chin.</p> - -<p>Farradyne went to his stateroom and showered. He shaved, and dressed -carefully in white slacks and shirt, and the last remaining holdover -from a Victorian period, a dark necktie. He returned to the salon to -find Carolyn waiting for him calmly and patiently. She looked him over -and nodded approvingly, then got up and rubbed her cheek against his, -cooing pleasantly, but moved away again when he tried to kiss her.</p> - -<p>Then she tucked her hand under his elbow and said, "Dinner, man-thing."</p> - -<p>Farradyne chuckled. "Dinner," he repeated.</p> - -<p>She hugged his arm. He led her down the landing ramp and into her car, -and at her direction drove to her preference in a dinner spot. The food -was good. Carolyn was a fine dancer with a high sense of rhythm and a -graceful body. Farradyne decided that if this were a thankless job that -gave no chance for fame and fortune, there were plenty of very pleasant -facets to it.... Her shoulder rubbed his as he drove her home hours -later.</p> - -<p>He handed her out of the car and walked to the front door with her. She -gave him her key and he opened the door; she walked in, to wait for -him just inside. She came into his arms as the door closed behind them -and she clung to him, returning his kiss and his embrace; matching his -rising fervor with a passion of her own. They parted minutes afterward. -Farradyne moved her slightly, settling her body into a more comfortable -fit against him.</p> - -<p>"It's late," she breathed.</p> - -<p>Farradyne chuckled. "With the sun shining like that?"</p> - -<p>She kissed him, amused. "It's always like that, silly. You're on -Mercury, remember?"</p> - -<p>Farradyne held her close and kissed her again. A minute passed before -he came up for air. He looked at her, leaning his head back so that he -could see her face without looking crosseyed. "I'll bet you are a real -hellion in the dark."</p> - -<p>Carolyn laughed, and shook her head. "Like all the rest of the women -on Mercury, I'm scared to pieces of the dark. But it is late, Charles, -and you've just got to go." She hugged his head down so that he could -look at her wrist watch on the arm about his neck. "It's five o'clock -and you are to take off at nine. Charles, please don't crack up just -because of lack of sleep."</p> - -<p>"Okay," he said regretfully, "okay."</p> - -<p>She held him close. "It's been a nice evening, Charles. So kiss me -good-bye, and remember that it won't be long until I see you on Terra."</p> - -<p>"It gets dark on Terra," he told her. He tightened his arms and she -pressed against him.</p> - -<p>Against his lips she murmured, "I might not be afraid of the dark, -Charles."</p> - -<p>The promise of her last embrace stayed with him. There were only three -hours of sleep between the time he left her and the time of awakening -for the take-off, but dreams of Carolyn filled them all. They were -pleasant dreams and they were unpleasant dreams; he saw Carolyn coming -to him with her past renounced, he saw her coming to him as a secret -agent who was in the hellish business for the same reason he was. And -he dreamed of her waving him a good-bye with her dark eyes filled -with tears as she was taken off to the Titan Penal Colony. He even -entertained notion of joining her, justifying himself by thinking that -people who fall in love with love lotus addiction are the weaklings of -the human race and could be eradicated to the advantage of the general -level. This he recognized as sophistry.</p> - -<p>But, be it as it may, Carolyn was a pleasant, attractive companion, -and if her presence could only be known for a very short time, it was -none the less pleasant. It was a rough game they were playing and many -people were bound to get hurt. More people—innocent people—would -get hurt if he called it off. So by the time Farradyne and his dreams -came to the conclusion that he could afford to take what pleasure out -of life this situation offered for the moment and let Tomorrow exact -its tribute, it was time to get out of bed and start the pre-flight -check-off.</p> - -<p>He had work to do. Schoolmarms to haul to Pluto and some refined -thorium ore to bring to Terra. He would make no signal this trip, he -was still far from being on the inside. Maybe the next. Or the one -after that, depending upon his progress. But in the meantime he would -be seeing Carolyn Niles on Terra.</p> - -<p>Farradyne began his check-up, already anticipating the reunion which -was at least ten days away.</p> - -<hr class="chap"> - -<p class="ph1">9</p> - - -<p>They came aboard a half hour later and Farradyne saw at once that -this trip would be free of trouble and danger. They were all mild and -wide-eyed curious. They obviously knew their place and how to go about -in life with a minimum of friction.</p> - -<p>Their leader was a Professor Martin, an agile gentleman of about sixty -years who led them up the ramp and then stood there introducing each -and every one of them to Farradyne as they came in. They became a sea -of faces and a sound of disconnected names except for a few of the more -vivid ones. Miss Otis, who giggled like a schoolgirl but hadn't been of -schoolgirl age for at least thirty years; a Mr. Hughes, dark of skin -and smiling, who tried to convey the impression that he knew his way -around in space; a very prim dame named Miss Higginbotham who probably -had every kid in her class scared of her; a Mrs. Logan who was far too -beautiful to be part of Farradyne's narrow pattern for schoolteachers. -Miss Tilden seemed to know something about spacing, and her friend, -who was old enough to be Miss Tilden's mother, Miss Carewe, knew more -about spacing than Miss Tilden. And a Mr. Forbes who seemed completely -impressed by everything he laid eyes on.</p> - -<p>And so they came, a prim and strait-laced lot, the like of which -Farradyne had not seen in a long, long time.</p> - -<p>Certainly nothing of the hellflower flavor among this group. It made -Farradyne feel easier, and after a bit he began to smile at their -innocence and their wholehearted interest. He came to understand -that this trip was to be a bit different for them, or it could be if -he cared to make it so. It was obvious that their previous hops had -been made under pilots who treated them with the usual aloofness that -spacemen hold for their passengers. Farradyne felt more sympathetic -about them; he wanted to help, wanted to show them what could be seen.</p> - -<p>Part of this desire to help them have a good time was born in the idea -that someday Farradyne would probably be looking for some character -witnesses and if he treated these schoolteachers with cordial interest -and a willingness to explain and demonstrate his spacecraft, they -would be inclined to accept him as a man of understanding, honesty and -ability.</p> - -<p>They took off after Farradyne delivered a very short talk on the rigors -of take-off maneuvering and the necessity of staying strapped down -whenever the spacer was about to cut didoes.</p> - -<p>It was even less of a strain than Farradyne anticipated. They helped. -Miss Carewe was a home economics teacher and she took care of the -galley in a highly efficient manner. Mr. Forbes taught manual training -or something of the sort; he requisitioned an oilcan and removed the -squeaks from a couple of doors and took care of some of the minor -details that Farradyne was inclined to ignore because he had other -things on his mind. Someone, Farradyne never found out who, made beds -and policed the ship, cleaning the salon and passengers' quarters -until the rooms and hallways shone. Whoever it was did not recognize -the faint stains of blood apparently, because there were no questions -asked about the evidence of Mike Cahill's death.</p> - -<p>Miss Tilden spent quite a bit of time making a small oil painting for -the space above the bar which she said looked vacant. The degree of -their tolerance was high, too. None of them cared for drinking, but -they approved of Farradyne and his White Star Trail.</p> - -<p>In return, Farradyne took them into the control room and showed them -how the ship was run. Professor Hughes toyed with the computer by the -hour because he was a mathematics teacher, and Miss Tilden listened to -Farradyne by the hour as he recounted some of his adventures in space -because she was a teacher of modern history.</p> - -<p>The beautiful Mrs. Logan taught science, so Farradyne took her below to -explain the atomic pile and how it worked.</p> - -<p>With a pre-recorded tape from the course computer running through the -autopilot, Farradyne pointed out the motion on the control rods that -regulated the activity of the pile. Above the pile, he explained, was -a huge tank of water that was used as a reaction-mass. Water was fed -through the pile and its energy was raised to some tremendous degree, -then hurled out through the throat of the reaction motor.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Logan then pointed to the series of little ports in the hull.</p> - -<p>Farradyne explained, "Now and then it is necessary to replace the -control rods because they become transmuted into metals that have too -little absorption factor. To get rid of them on a spaceport would mean -the trouble of disposing of quite a bit of metal that is dangerously -radioactive. So we take the convenient method of tossing them out in -space where they can't harm anything."</p> - -<p>"But where do they land?" she asked. "Isn't that dangerous?"</p> - -<p>"Not at all. We use discretion. Look. In a few hours we will be -halfway to Pluto. Our velocity will be tremendous because we have been -accelerating all the way from Mercury. To land on Pluto we'll have to -make a turn-over at halfway and start decelerating. If I wanted to -replace control rods, I'd do it just before turn-over. The velocity of -the ship and the rods would be a good many times the escape velocity -of the entire solar system, so the rods would continue on and on, and -actually they'd pass out of the solar system beyond Pluto in a matter -of hours. Long before we got there."</p> - -<p>"But supposing one did land on Terra, for instance?"</p> - -<p>"It would make an interesting looking meteorite; it would melt in -mid-air. Then the total radioactivity would spread thin and do no -damage."</p> - -<p>She was satisfied, and Farradyne led her back to the salon.</p> - -<p>For the first time in years Farradyne began to feel at ease with the -universe. His mind, previously busy with his main problem, found time -to consider other things. And, like the rest of the spaceman breed, -Farradyne was something of a gadgeteer.</p> - -<p>Spacing, in a sense, was very much like the manning of a sailing ship -of the nineteenth century. When something needed attention, in space -it was during maneuver for landing, take-off, or turn-over; on sea -it was coming about on a tack or setting sail, a full-time attention -was necessary. Between periods of activity, the spaceman sat on his -duff and waited for one of the silent twinkles to detach itself from -the stellar curtain above his observation dome and become a planet or -destination.</p> - -<p>Some spacemen reverted to the point where they built spacecraft in old -bottles, others spent their time in tinkering.</p> - -<p>Farradyne had always been one of the latter. And so as his mind felt at -ease, he began to tinker with the gear down in the repair shop. It was -a small room below the passenger section hardly large enough to hold -the machinery it contained. But Farradyne, like many of his fellows, -enjoyed making things, repairing things and generally experimenting. -Every spaceman hoped to come up with something that would make him rich -and famous, and some of them had done it. They had plenty of time, a -good grasp of things scientific as well as manual dexterity.</p> - -<p>So Farradyne tinkered happily.</p> - -<p>The shop was silent; the usual milling around of his passengers stopped -as they went to bed. Now there was only the occasional groan of -metal-upon-metal or the faint whine as a motor somewhere wound up to -do some automatic job. The click and clack of relays were just barely -audible; they would have been unheard by someone whose training had -been other than that of a spaceman. In the background was the muted -sibilant of the reaction motor, a sound like the shush of a distant -seashore. Farradyne heard these sounds unconsciously. They were as -pleasant to the ears of the spaceman as the sounds of a sailing ship -were to the old-time seaman.</p> - -<p>But another faint sound came to disturb him, rising up into the level -of audibility very slowly.</p> - -<p>It was a ringing in Farradyne's ears.</p> - -<p>Ringing in the ears can come from too much alcohol, or a shot of dope, -or a slap on the side of the head. Or a change in air-pressure. -Farradyne had not been drinking nor taking the needle, but he had spent -many years in an environment where the supply of air was important. -He had become oversensitive to it. He sniffed automatically, the -gesture of a man who has reason to suspect the quality of the air he is -breathing. He shook his head. He did feel a bit light-headed. There was -the bare trifle of a dull pain above his eyes and a sting in his nose. -He sneezed and brought forth a dribble of blood.</p> - -<p>Farradyne raced aloft; he could settle nothing standing in the -workshop. The bulkhead door between the hold of the Lancaster and the -passengers' section was closed. He pushed it and it opened with slight -difficulty to let a blow of air hit his face. He grunted in puzzlement. -Any change in air-pressure in any part of the ship should have started -a clangor of the puncture alarm, a racket loud enough to waken the dead.</p> - -<p>He went through the stateroom corridor and listened carefully as he -went. Some rooms were silent and others sounded like the song of the -cross-cut saw working its way through a burl of maple. There were -gradations of snores between these extremes. Nothing that a suspicious -man could put his finger on. He did not pause in the salon, which was -silent and darkened, but not completely black. There was nothing out of -the way here.</p> - -<p>In fact the only thing that was out of line was the queer fact that the -ship was silent when the alarm should have been sounding. He went up to -the control room.</p> - -<p>Lamps told him the story in a series of quick appraisals, because of -some long-forgotten genius that had insisted that whenever possible, -warning devices should not be fused, should not be turn-offable and -should not be destructible. The Lancaster was a fine ship, designed -well, but a frontal attack on a panel with metal cutting tools made -the exception to the "whenever possible" part of the design of warning -signals.</p> - -<p>The ship's bell-system had been opened like a tin can.</p> - -<p>But the pilot lamp system was strung here and there behind the panels -and it would have taken a major overhaul to ruin it; the saboteur would -have spent all night opening cans instead of doing his dirty work. -Farradyne should have been asleep, then he would not have noticed the -blaze of lamps.</p> - -<p>They told him the tale in a glance. The low-pressure portion of the -ship was down in the pile-bay, and the reason was that one of the -scuttle-doors was open. The pressure in the reaction-mass bay was low, -and now that Farradyne had come aloft, the pressure in the upper -levels was as low as the reaction-mass bay. As he watched, another one -of the scuttle ports swung open and its warning lamp flared into life.</p> - -<p>Farradyne went into action. He ripped open the cabinet that held his -space-suit and clawed the thing from its hook. He started down the -stairway on a stumbling run, getting into the suit by leaps, jumps and -pauses. He realized that he could have moved faster if he stopped to do -one thing at a time, but his frantic mind would not permit him to make -haste slowly. So he stumbled and he fell against the walls, and the -tanks of his back rapped against his shoulder-blades, and the helmet -cut a divot out of the bridge of his nose. Luckily it did not make him -bleed, but it hurt like the very devil.</p> - -<p>He zipped up the airtight clotures by the time he reached the little -workshop and he ducked in there to get a weapon of some sort. He -reached past the hammer, ignored the obvious chisel because it was not -heavy enough, even though it was sharp, and picked up a fourteen-inch -half-round wood-working rasp. He hefted it in his gloved hand and it -felt about right.</p> - -<p>The air-break on the topside was open, and Farradyne closed it. He -fretted at the seconds necessary to equalize the pressure, and to -check the workings of the space-suit. He also located the cause of the -air-leakage; normally the air-break doors were airtight. A sliver of -wool or cotton string lay in the rubber gasket and produced a channel -for the escape of some of the air into the pile-bay. Farradyne stopped, -his attention attracted by this trifle of evidence. It was neither wool -nor cotton, but a match torn from a giveaway book and used to light a -cigarette for Mrs. Logan a good many hours before.</p> - -<p>He threw it aside and went in, his attention once more on the important -business before him. He ran along the curved corridor. And there, a -figure in a space-suit was quietly levering one of the control rods out -of its slot and preparing to hurl it into the void.</p> - -<p>Farradyne understood the whole act in that one glance; it was the sort -of thing that he would do if sabotage were his intention. The single -scuttle-port had been opened first by hand. Then the saboteur had -scuttled the stock of spare control rods, and since the Lancaster was -reasonably new, there had been quite a batch of them. Furthermore they -were long, unwieldy, heavy things that took time to handle. Naturally -this was the first act, because the next act would cause the ship's -acceleration to rise. The rise in acceleration would make the rods too -heavy to carry and would also cause investigation as soon as people -became aware of the increasing pressure.</p> - -<p>Then the working rods would be hurled out, leaving the ship heading -toward some anonymous star at about eight gravities of acceleration. -The passengers and crew would be helpless—and dead long before they -got within any appreciable fraction of a distance to any planet.</p> - -<p>Maybe two or three of the rods had been scuttled already. The rest, -functioning on the automatic, would have been shoved in farther -to compensate; Farradyne could feel no change in the acceleration -pressure. But once the working rods were all the way home, the removal -of the next would cause the ship to take off, literally with the -throttle tied down. Farradyne was willing to bet the rest of his life -that the safety-valve that furnished the water-mass to the pile was -either welded open or damaged in such a way that the supply could not -be stopped.</p> - -<p>Then—and Farradyne had to admire the vandal's precautions—he would -make his way to the escape hatch and let the helpless passengers go -on ... and on....</p> - -<p>Victims of another case of "Lost in Space."</p> - -<p>The saboteur was well prepared. His suit was a high efficiency job -capable of maintaining a man alive for a long time in space. It had a -little radio for calling and a small and expensive chemical motor for -mild maneuvering, even though it would not be strong enough to permit -planetary landing. The man had friends, obviously, lying in wait out -there, who would pick him up.</p> - -<p>A parcel of ice-cold-blooded murderers.</p> - -<p>Farradyne saw the man through a red haze that clouded down over his -eyes. His evaluation of the act was made in a glance, and in the bare -instant that it took for Farradyne to see the man he got his feet in -motion. He plunged forward with a bellow that hurt his own ears.</p> - -<hr class="chap"> - -<p class="ph1">10</p> - - -<p>The man whirled and sent a heavy-gloved hand back against Farradyne's -face glass. Farradyne lifted the file for a second swing and caught the -gleam of a heavy knife just as it swung upward at his face. The blade -jabbed at the face glass and blunted slightly before Farradyne's eyes, -splintering the glass and sending a shard or two against his cheek.</p> - -<p>Farradyne's second swing caught a shoulder and sent the man staggering -back; the knife came up and the gleaming edge sliced close to -Farradyne's arm. The man stumbled and fell, and Farradyne came forward -to take advantage of the opportunity. The long lever used to handle -the radioactive control rod chopped against Farradyne's shins and cut -his feet out from under him; he landed on his face and the other man -kicked out with heavy space boots. The heels rammed Farradyne's helmet -hard down into his shoulders, and the top of his helmet hit the top of -Farradyne's head, stunning him.</p> - -<p>The other scrambled forward and landed on Farradyne's back. He pulled -up and back on the fittings of Farradyne's helmet until the pilot's -spine ached with the tension. Then the man thrust forward and slammed -Farradyne's face down on the deck. The splintered safety glass cracked -further and there came the thin, high screech of air escaping through a -sharp-edged hole.</p> - -<p>Farradyne lashed out and around just in time to parry a slash of the -knife. Blade met file in a glint of metal-spark and both weapons were -shocked out of the gloved hands to go skittering across the deck.</p> - -<p>The man left Farradyne to scramble across the floor after his knife. -Farradyne jumped to his feet, took three fast steps and leaped, -coming down with both feet on the man's back. The other collapsed and -Farradyne fell, turning his right wrist underneath him. The other made -a kick that caught Farradyne in the side, turning him over. And as -Farradyne rolled, the bent hand touched metal and he came out of the -roll clutching a heavy pair of repair pliers. He could cut bolts with -them, and had.</p> - -<p>He faced the killer, standing again; armed again, spaceman's pliers -against assassin's knife. He plunged forward and felt the knife bite -against his suit, he swung the pliers as a club and caught the killer's -upper arm; he opened the jaws and bit down, twisting and pulling.</p> - -<p>A three-cornered tear ripped and came away with the point between the -jaws until the heavy outer cloth gave way. The knife came up and bit -through Farradyne's suit across the knuckles of the hand that held -the pliers. Farradyne kicked, sent the killer staggering and followed -him probing at the tear to get at the thin inner suit. The other man -struggled, hurled Farradyne back, but Farradyne staggered back with the -thin lining between the jaws of the pliers. The suit ripped and there -came a puff of white vapor as the air blew into the void.</p> - -<p>The struggling killer stopped as though shocked by an electric current; -he stood there stiffly, his hands slowly falling to his sides, limp. -Farradyne took a step back, breathing hard. He could see now that his -head was not jerked back and forth behind the cracked glass. He peered, -in time to watch the froth of blood foam out of Hughes' nose.</p> - -<p>Hughes! The math professor. The wise guy who had created the part of -dumb bunny by making sounds of knowing too much, who pretended to know -his way around in space.</p> - -<p>Farradyne wondered whether Hughes had cried out in a polytonal -voice—then he hauled him into the air-break and slammed the door shut. -He felt for a pulse and found one fluttering; he turned him on his face -and pumped the ribs in, out, in, out, wondering whether he was wasting -his time.</p> - -<p>Hughes groaned painfully. His groans echoed and reechoed in the tiny -space, but Farradyne could not hear more than the wreaking moan of a -man hurt very deeply. Hughes stirred and opened one eye. Then he closed -it again and sobbed under his breath. Farradyne checked the heart and -found it beating weakly; the pulse was not fluttering any more, and -the breath was coming naturally, even though the man's chest heaved -high and dropped low and there was a foghorn sound in the throat as he -gasped huge lungfuls of air.</p> - -<p>Whatever, Hughes would give Farradyne no trouble for some time. -Farradyne carried the unconscious man to his stateroom and dropped -him on the bed. Then he went below and closed the little hatches, -reinserted the control rod, and wondered whether missing a few would -louse up his landing.</p> - -<p>He went up to the control room and replaced the wiring torn out of the -audible-alarm system. The phalanx of warning lamps had winked out and -the clangor of the alarm did not come.</p> - -<p>Farradyne went back to Hughes; the man was in a semicoma.</p> - -<p>"Can you hear me?" demanded Farradyne.</p> - -<p>Hughes roused slightly and looked at Farradyne through heavy eyes, -mumbling unintelligibly.</p> - -<p>"You dirty louse!" fumed Farradyne. "I'd have let you die if it hadn't -occurred to me that you might be good for some information. What makes, -Hughes? Or should we have an accident below?"</p> - -<p>Hughes mumbled something that sounded like defiance.</p> - -<p>"Think your friends will give you a raise for this fumble?" jeered -Farradyne.</p> - -<p>Hughes roused a bit more and looked at Farradyne more directly. "Smart -guy," he said in a toneless voice, "you can't—"</p> - -<p>Farradyne smiled cynically. "Yes, I can and I have," he snapped. Then -he leaned down and put his face close to Hughes' and said carefully, -"Hughes, sing me a trio."</p> - -<p>Hughes' control was good. His eyes widened only a sliver and the catch -in his breath was faint; anybody not watching for these signs of sudden -alarm would not have noticed anything amiss. Then the eyes dimmed again -and Hughes said, weakly, "Sing nothing."</p> - -<p>"What's your pitch, Hughes?"</p> - -<p>"I don't know what you're talking about."</p> - -<p>"The hell you don't," said Farradyne harshly. "And if you won't talk -without it, I can make you yelp real loud. First I break all your -fingers, one by one, and then your toes, and then if you're still -playing stupid, there's always the trick of slipping a soldering iron -under your armpit and then plugging it in. Between the time the current -goes on and the time you really start to feel it burn should be long -enough to make a lot of gab."</p> - -<p>Hughes looked at Farradyne directly. "You'd better kill me," he said -flatly. "Because you can't hold me."</p> - -<p>"I'll make you a bet," sneered Farradyne. "I'll bet that I can hang -onto you, and if I do, you'll pay off by talking. Even-steven, Hughes."</p> - -<p>Farradyne went to his small medicine chest and came back with a -hypodermic, which he loaded with deliberation. He made a dramatic scene -out of pushing the plunger, watching the droplet form on the end of the -needle and then adjusting that dose against the scale on the side of -the cylinder.</p> - -<p>"Marcoleptine," he said conversationally. "A fine pain-killer, Hughes. -Just the thing a man would do to help a very ill comrade. It'll keep -you quiet until we can discuss the situation without having your -screams disturbing the passengers. Slip me your arm, old man. This -won't hurt much."</p> - -<p>Hughes mouthed a curse, but Farradyne paid no more attention to the -man's objections than he would have to the objections of a child. -Farradyne caught Hughes' wrist and brought the man's hand up under his -armpit, then braced his forearm under Hughes' elbow. Then he lifted an -arm-bar, which raised Hughes' shoulder from the cot; Farradyne slid the -needle into the elbow easily with his free arm, probed for the vein and -discharged the hypodermic.</p> - -<p>"I wonder," mused Farradyne aloud, "whether marcoleptine is really -non-habit-forming." He sat there on the edge of the bed watching Hughes -very carefully. Hughes struggled to keep his eyes wide, fighting off -the narcotic. But then the eyelids grew heavier and started to close.</p> - -<p>In a weakened, drugged voice, Hughes mumbled, "Easier to slip -under—now—can't do anything—will ..." and he was gone. His breathing -grew regular and his body was completely flaccid. Farradyne waited -until Hughes was well under the dope and then he stopped watching the -man critically and began to plan his next move.</p> - -<p>Hughes was going to be a sick man. Therefore the marks of battle should -not be visible to his companions when they wanted to look in on the -ill professor. Farradyne got a washcloth, soaped it well and went to -work. He let the hot cloth soak into Hughes' face for a minute or two -massaging the face under the cloth with agile fingers. Then he began to -scrub.</p> - -<p>The caked blood came away. And so did some dark pigment that stained -the cloth. The dark-complected Hughes lightened in color; the lines in -his face seemed to become less deep as the shadowing pigment was washed -away. Schoolteacher Hughes came off into Farradyne's washcloth and what -was left was the would-be hellflower trader, Brenner.</p> - -<p>"Brenner," breathed Farradyne in astonishment.</p> - -<p>But the dope had taken effect and Brenner was out cold. Farradyne -bemoaned his enthusiasm for doping the man because questions would -fall on deaf ears. Then Farradyne took a more rational view. There -would be plenty of time to question the hellflower operator after the -schoolteachers left. Meanwhile, Brenner would be kept doped, quiet and -nailed-down for the duration. He left Brenner and went to his own bed -where—to his surprise—he went to sleep at once instead of lying awake -with the myriad questions in his mind....</p> - -<p>He carried his book on Medicology with him to the breakfast table the -following morning, and at the questioning looks, Farradyne made his -announcement, "We have a sick man aboard. Hughes."</p> - -<p>Professor Martin asked, "What happened, Mr. Farradyne?"</p> - -<p>"It must have been about midnight, I was working below. I heard a -rather strange noise up in the passengers' section and went up to find -out what was going on. I found Mr. Hughes coughing and sneezing in the -passageway, obviously in distress. I inspected him as best as I knew -how and we got out my Medicology and compared symptoms. I'll read this -section:</p> - -<p>"'Coryosis, one of the nine allied infections which are frequently -grouped under the ambiguous term "Common Cold," is extremely contagious -but fatal only in cases of extreme sensitivity. Treatments consist of -isolation amounting to a formal quarantine, and frequent injections of -MacDonaldson's Formula 2, Ph-D3; Ra7. The patient is to be kept warm -at all times and must remain quiet.'</p> - -<p>"So we went to his cabin and I slipped him a shot and he went to bed. -Now I'll read a bit more:</p> - -<p>"'Contagion measures: Since the source of infection is a filterable -virus, care must be taken to remain outside of the twenty-foot range -of water droplets resulting from a cough or sneeze. All things touched -by the patient must be either sterilized or burned. It is suggested -that only one person tend the patient and that this person be immunized -with MacDonaldson's Formula at regular intervals. Visiting should be -discouraged, and if necessary must be carried on at a distance and -for a very few minutes only. The incubation period is very short; the -duration of coryosis is approximately fourteen days. It is, however, -possible for a re-infection to take place which often resembles the -initial infection, thus giving rise to the six-week cold.'</p> - -<p>"There's more along this line but I think we have the picture well -enough," Farradyne concluded.</p> - -<p>Professor Martin's face was grave. "What must we do?" he asked -anxiously.</p> - -<p>"Nothing," said Farradyne firmly.</p> - -<p>"But he shouldn't stay on Pluto."</p> - -<p>"That is correct. Pluto is very cold, even with the Terra conversion -program going on. Mr. Hughes should be returned to Terra."</p> - -<p>"But—"</p> - -<p>Farradyne smiled. "I've got to make a freight pickup on Pluto for -Terra," he said quietly. "I'll take Mr. Hughes back home."</p> - -<p>"That would be very considerate of you, Mr. Farradyne."</p> - -<p>Farradyne shook his head in disclaimer. "It's only what any man would -do," he said. "What do we know about Mr. Hughes?"</p> - -<p>Miss Tilden said, "Not very much, I'm afraid. Mr. Hughes teaches -Ancient History in Des Moines, Iowa. He joined us on Mercury, you know."</p> - -<p>"No," said Farradyne, "I didn't know. I thought you were all together."</p> - -<p>"Apparently Mr. Hughes was traveling alone until he heard of our -group," offered Professor Martin. "He was, he said, seeking a -reduced-rate trip to Pluto—as we were—when he noticed our flight-plan -filed on the bulletin board. He got in touch with me and offered to -join."</p> - -<p>Farradyne nodded. "There's really plenty of time," he said. "No use -getting excited. I'll contact the Des Moines Board of Education -later—after we've made our landing and take-off, and are close enough -to Terra to make the radio effective. It'll save us some money that -way." The latter, he thought, would appeal to these people.</p> - -<p>It was left that way. Farradyne did not assume for one moment that -Hughes was a complete fake. One of two ideas was certainly true: either -there was a real schoolteacher named Hughes who looked like the made-up -Brenner, or Brenner had been masquerading as Hughes and really taught -school in Des Moines when he was not peddling hellflowers.</p> - -<p>There were more important things to be considered, too. Was there -another hellflower operator in the ship? Farradyne watched them all -like the proverbial hawk but he could see no evidence of another -hellflower man. He decided to take no chances; it would be very much -like the higher-ups in this racket to have put a second operator aboard -the Lancaster to take over in the case of Brenner's failure; the second -undercover man could escape as easily as could Brenner and in the same -way as soon it became evident that the Lancaster had been properly -sabotaged. To forestall this possibility, Farradyne built a small -photoelectric alarm and put it across the stairway that led from the -passengers' cabin to the below-deck section of the ship.</p> - -<p>Some of Hughes' friends went with Farradyne to watch him tend the -stricken one. They stood in the doorway while Farradyne gave Hughes his -shot of marcoleptine out of an ampoule carefully labeled "MacDonaldson -Formula 2, Ph-D3; Ra7." There was no doubt in their faces; Farradyne -was a fine man, doing all he could to relieve the illness of another -man.</p> - -<p>The rest of the trip was uneventful. Farradyne was asked periodically -about Hughes' condition and he replied carefully and cheerfully, once -going so far as to remark with a slightly bitter laugh, "Hughes will -probably feel fit as a fiddle by the time I get back to Terra, and -he'll then hate me for lugging him home. But we couldn't leave him on -Pluto with that coryosis, could we?"</p> - -<p>Since none of them cared to have a man coughing and sneezing in their -midst, they all agreed solemnly.</p> - -<p>Then, inevitably, the trip wore to a close. Pluto loomed large in the -sky, and Farradyne went below to see Hughes-Brenner about an hour -before they were due to land.</p> - -<hr class="chap"> - -<p class="ph1">11</p> - - -<p>Farradyne found Brenner awake but logy. "How do you feel?" he asked -Brenner.</p> - -<p>"I feel dopy," admitted Brenner dully.</p> - -<p>"Good. You've been a very sick man, Brenner. Or should I call you -Hughes? Which is your name?"</p> - -<p>"What difference can it make?"</p> - -<p>"I like to know these things," said Farradyne. "I seem to collect a -lot of information, one way and another, and I admit a lot of it is -useless, but I find it interesting. For instance, Brenner, can you make -that triple-tongued sound?"</p> - -<p>"What triple-tongued sound?"</p> - -<p>"Come off it, Brenner. You know what I'm talking about."</p> - -<p>"Do I?"</p> - -<p>"You do and I intend to find out," said Farradyne. He loaded his needle -and approached Brenner with it. "This is for the last time, Brenner. -And I've ideas on how to make a man talk—or sing a trio."</p> - -<p>"You're a devil from hell," Brenner snarled.</p> - -<p>"And you're an angel from heaven, ripping out the control rods to give -us the Long Ride? Brenner, I owe you a lot that I'm going to collect. -You'll wish you had died, Brenner. And you probably will die not long -after your friends find out that you've talked."</p> - -<p>Brenner eyed Farradyne wearily. "You haven't won your bet yet," he -said. "And even if you do, there's the problem of extracting payment."</p> - -<p>Farradyne shrugged. "You'll talk," he said flatly. Then he reached for -Brenner's arm, imprisoned it so that Brenner could not move without -dislocating the shoulder, and slid the needle home. "Just to be sure," -he told the man, who was showing all the defiance that a man in a -weakened condition could display, "I gave you a slightly larger dose. -The Medicology says that this is accepted practice with marcoleptine, -when the patient is in some danger of an excitement-crisis."</p> - -<p>He waited until Brenner's eyes closed and the breathing became deep -and regular. Then Farradyne left Brenner, went aloft and made contact -with Pluto Spaceport. He came down with one hand poised above the power -lever; at the first glimmer of any hanky-panky, Farradyne was going to -slam the power home and take off for space at full power. Questions -could be asked afterwards.</p> - -<p>The landing was as good as any that Farradyne had ever made, but -he was almost a nervous wreck worrying about the possibility of a -recurrence of the Semiramide incident. He relaxed only after he had -peeked, unobserved, at Hughes, still doped, and then led the covey of -schoolteachers down the landing ramp.</p> - -<p>It was a happy parting, with just the right tone of regret and a -large amount of congratulations as to his ability, helpfulness and -willingness to explain things to them that other pilots brushed away. -They shook his hand and Miss Carewe permitted him to kiss her cheek -and called him "Son" and Miss Tilden giggled and lifted her face for -a chaste peck. Mrs. Logan's lips were warm and soft but completely -uncooperative.</p> - -<p>Then Professor Martin made an "ahem" in his throat and said, "Young -man, we've all decided that you should have something to show our -gratitude. Unfortunately it cannot be expensive or exotic although we -have all agreed that an appropriate gift should be both. So since we -cannot go to the high extreme that we all feel, we have decided that -the next best thing is something completely valueless except for its -sentiment."</p> - -<p>He fumbled in his side pocket and brought out a small piece of slate, -broken from some outcropping, somewhere.</p> - -<p>"On this slate we've signed our names with a sharp instrument. I hope -you like it, Charles."</p> - -<p>Farradyne took the bit of slate. It said, "To Charles Farradyne, Pilot -First Class, in memory of a very pleasant flight." It was signed by all -of them.</p> - -<p>"Thanks," he said, shortly. A lump hit his throat and his eyeballs -stung. He felt ashamed. He had been playing games and holding high -intrigue almost under their noses and they had responded with this very -simple gesture of sincerity: Pilot, First Class—with a forged license -and a record of hell-raising. "Thanks," he said again.</p> - -<p>"It's signed by everybody but Mr. Hughes," said Professor Martin. "But -you can ask him to sign it before you leave him. He will be happy to, I -know."</p> - -<p>There was a sound at the spacelock. "I'll sign it now!" said Hughes.</p> - -<p>They all whirled. Hughes, eyes alight, the smile on his pale face -eager, came down the ramp with his suitcase in one hand.</p> - -<p>"But you—" said Professor Martin.</p> - -<p>Hughes laughed and his voice was hearty, "I kept telling Mr. Farradyne -that he was too heavy with the medicine." Hughes poked Farradyne -humorously on the shoulder. "Coryosis, Mr. Farradyne, is nowhere near -as violent an illness as you have been led to believe. Our ancestors -called it the common cold and most of them spent a few weeks each year -fighting one form or another, frequently several forms at the same -time. Sleep and isolation cured me. I'm quite all right now."</p> - -<p>"You're certain?" Farradyne managed.</p> - -<p>"I'll let any doctor on Pluto look down my throat," promised Hughes. -"And I'll go back with you if he doesn't say I'm fit. I'm a bit pale, I -admit, and I won't regain my color until we get back sunward, but I'm -telling you that I am quite cured of my brief encounter with coryosis."</p> - -<p>The spaceport bus came to a stop at that moment and Hughes, pausing -to scratch his name on the plaque, thanked Farradyne for the thorough -medication that had kept him quiet, got on the bus, waved and was -whisked away.</p> - -<p>Farradyne, stunned, could only wave like a reluctant schoolboy.</p> - -<p>So Hughes-Brenner disappeared again, wandering away under the -protection of a group of honest, unsuspecting human beings who would -have been aghast at the first cry of villain against one of their -number.</p> - -<p>Farradyne felt like a seven-year-old who had just been trapped into -admitting that he has been a naughty boy. But out of the maze of items -one thing was obvious.</p> - -<p>Hughes or Brenner or whatever he called himself was a very -extraordinary man. He had been able to walk off the ship with his eyes -bright and his system hale, when he should have been flat on his spine -with a brainful of marcoleptine. And marcoleptine was one of the most -completely paralyzing drugs that had ever been synthesized. Hughes had -feigned his doped slumber and his helplessness because he had known -that Farradyne would not attempt to ask questions until he had Hughes -alone. He had also lulled Farradyne into thinking him drugged so that -he could come out nice and easy to join his fellow-travelers in such -a way as to turn Farradyne's own explanation against him. Then he had -walked away without a murmur of dissent from Farradyne who had no legal -right to raise a cry against him.</p> - -<p>Hughes-Brenner was a very remarkable fellow.</p> - -<p>Farradyne watched the truck bringing out his shipment of refined -thorium ore. Outpointed, outsmarted, outnumbered, the evidence he had -was so very meager. He sneered at himself. Evidence? It was more a mere -belief.</p> - -<p>But what was a case history but snippets and bits of inconclusive -evidence that somehow fitted together like the sections of an -interlocking jigsaw puzzle? What did he have to fit together? A common -pattern of love lotus background. A man who died with a discordant -moan. A man who grunted in a polytone when surprised, and who could -take a paralyzing dose of marcoleptine and then walk out jauntily. -A family of apparently well-to-do formality with a proud place in -the community, and a girl who worked hand-in-glove with hellflower -manipulators but who obviously had never had her delicate nose near one -of the hellish things. Or maybe she was immune, as Hughes was immune to -marcoleptine? And did <i>she</i> make multiple-toned sounds when she -was startled?</p> - -<p>A few very remarkable people....</p> - -<hr class="tb"> - -<p>Farradyne took off for Newark with his cargo, still trying to think -the matter out. Two things were certain: Farradyne himself was afraid -to take a needleful of marcoleptine because he knew damned well that -he was not immune; Farradyne could not make a polytonal sound with his -vocal cords.</p> - -<p>He sat in the salon, alone and quietly thinking, and finally realized -that he was completely isolated from everyone else in the solar system. -He could sing crazily or go to bed, and no one would know which he did.</p> - -<p>He essayed a sound. It sounded like the croak of a Terran tree-frog. He -made the whimper of a cocker spaniel and succeeded in getting a cramp -in his throat trying to get down an octave below his normal register. -He hummed and he spoke in a falsetto that made his tongue ache way down -deep in back, and he tried humming and speaking and groaning at the -same time and the result of that was a toneless croak.</p> - -<p>It struck him funny after a bit, and while he was laughing at himself, -he concocted a ludicrous picture of himself kissing Carolyn Niles, and -she responding in a three-toned moan.</p> - -<p>Alone and lost in his own thoughts, Farradyne slipped deeper and deeper -into his daydream, until he answered her throaty little sound with an -audible reply.</p> - -<p>"I love you," he said, straining at his vocal cords. It sounded like an -over-age choir boy whose voice was not ready to stay in one key yet. -Soprano and baritone and tenor sounded the words, but they came out in -sequence instead of all at once. A bit sing-songy, like Chinese.</p> - -<p>The sound, at discordant odds with the smooth, pleasant daydream, -jarred Farradyne's mind into wakefulness. The chances were that if he -had been able to create a three-toned reply he might have gone on with -the pleasant reverie. But now aware, Farradyne tried it again.</p> - -<p>"I love you," he said aloud. He was not particularly aware of the -meaning of the words, they had just been appropriate to the dream. If -Farradyne had been daydreaming about dinner he probably would have been -trying the strange triple tone on, "Please pass the mashed potatoes."</p> - -<p>He tried it again. What Farradyne wanted to do was to say "I" in -<i>F</i>; "Love" in <i>A Natural</i>; and "You" in <i>E Flat</i>, -which would have been a nice chord in <i>B Flat Minor</i> and somehow -appropriate to the context of the words. "I hate you" would have been -just as likely.</p> - -<p>Old Brenner-Hughes might have said, "That's very neat!" when he had -seen Norma Hannon with the sun shining through her skirt. Or its -equivalent, all coming out in one surprised grunt.</p> - -<p>Carrying this line of thought still farther, Farradyne considered -the original saboteur, who might have said, "That takes care of you, -Farradyne," as he clobbered the relays in the Semiramide. And Mike -Cahill, who might have cried, "I've been shot!" or more probably -something completely unprintable.</p> - -<p>Farradyne sat bolt upright. As a countersign to tell another hellflower -operator your own identity it was a fine job. But could a whole -language be constructed out of this three-tongued hodgepodge?</p> - -<p>Or was his entire trend of thought based upon the ultimate hope of -discovering something that would absolve him from the responsibility -of the wreck of the Semiramide? Actually, what did he have to go on? -An exclamation, a surprised grunt, a death cry. Absolutely nothing but -his own suspicion. That plus the fact that Farradyne's ship had been -subjected to some intercepted sabotage, by a hellflower operator, who -had made a sound that might have been polytonal.</p> - -<p>If nothing else, the fact that the dope-running gang was trying to clip -him was enough for Farradyne to seek Clevis' help. He went down into -the hold and started to wash the ends of the thorium drums.</p> - -<p>Then he spent a lot of time tinkering with a little semi-circle of soft -plastic material across the opening of which he stretched two, thin, -flat strips of hard-surfaced waterproofed paper. As a boy, Farradyne -had been bilked out of fifty cents for a gadget advertised in a cheap -magazine that purported to give the user the powers of ventriloquism. -It hadn't enabled Farradyne to throw his voice into a trunk but it had -made a rather interesting bird call. Such a gimmick now might enable -him to make a multiple tone.</p> - -<p>Farradyne spent the remaining time of his trip from Pluto to Terra -building the gizmo and practising with it until he could make a very -odd moaning cry in three notes. Meanwhile he wondered whether Carolyn -Niles would actually be on Terra to meet him.</p> - -<hr class="chap"> - -<p class="ph1">12</p> - - -<p>Farradyne wondered how soon the fuss would start once the drums of -refined thorium went under some hidden beams of ultra-violet light. -He watched the drums being trundled off, and they disappeared, and -Farradyne waited and watched until it was evening in that part of New -Jersey, but no one came on the double-run to ask him leading questions.</p> - -<p>He took off about nine o'clock, finally, and made the looping run from -New Jersey to Los Angeles in time to get him there just about dusk.</p> - -<p>He checked into the control tower.</p> - -<p>"Regular listing?" asked the registration clerk, looking at the license -without turning an eyebrow.</p> - -<p>"No, I've a charter run," said Farradyne.</p> - -<p>"Then why register here?"</p> - -<p>Farradyne thought fast. "This is one of those things," he said. "A -darned good hope but no down payment. I was told to land here this -evening and if nothing had changed while I was on the run to Pluto and -back, I could have a rider to Mercury. But if this passenger does not -show up, I want to be registered for anything heading Mercury-ward. -I'll be going there in two days anyway, but I'd rather go loaded."</p> - -<p>"Reasonable. Tell you what, Farradyne, I'll make yours a tentative -listing. If your passenger doesn't show by tomorrow morning, you'll go -up on the board as having registered tonight."</p> - -<p>"Thanks," said Farradyne. He took the opened license back and slid a -finger into an inside slip-pocket. "Got a picture here you might be -interested in. A portrait of one of our early presidents."</p> - -<p>"I'm a bit of a collector," said the clerk.</p> - -<p>"Well, in that case, you can have it for the favor. I just keep it -around for a curiosity."</p> - -<p>The clerk pocketed the bill easily and Farradyne went over to the -mail-listing window. "Anything for Charles Farradyne?"</p> - -<p>"Expecting something?"</p> - -<p>"At least one, a payment voucher from Eastern Atomic. Come yet?"</p> - -<p>The mail clerk disappeared; came back with one envelope. "Nothing from -Eastern Atomic," he said. "But here's a letter for Charles Farradyne, -Pilot of ship's registry Six-Eight-Three, a Lancaster Eighty-One. That -must be yours."</p> - -<p>"It's mine. But keep an eye peeled for a landwire payment voucher, -will you? I had to leave Newark before it was ready and the guy at -the shipping office said he'd notify the company that the stuff was -received at port, and that I'd be in Los Angeles. Okay?"</p> - -<p>"Aye-firm."</p> - -<p>The letter was from Carolyn. A brief note telling him that she would be -ready for the trip on the morning of the fifth. This suited Farradyne; -he had been afraid that Carolyn might be waiting at the spaceport for -him, and that they'd be taking off before Clevis had a chance to find -out about the washed drum-ends.</p> - -<p>She also suggested as a postscript that she might possibly be at her -hotel and free about nine any evening, and there was some reference to -her being a bit squeamish about the dark. Farradyne was half-inclined -to believe her. Carolyn Niles lived on Mercury—a planet that knew no -night.</p> - -<p>He looked at his watch, he had a couple of idle hours left. He started -to wander the streets of Los Angeles, wondering just how a man went -about buying a hellflower. He had done that before, but that was on -Mercury where such things might be more difficult to find. There were -two places in America where, for generations, a man could get anything -he had enough money to buy and knew where to look. He was in one; the -other was three thousand miles across the continent, in New York. All -that remained was the problem of finding out where to look.</p> - -<p>Farradyne had to admit he had a difficulty. He was in a position -similar to a teetotaler in a prohibition area who suddenly decides to -buy a drink and cannot, from lack of experience, locate a speakeasy. -And dope, which had been with the human race ever since the first -caveman took a bite out of a bit of saw-toothed weed, and was sold on -the street by peddlers, was singularly hidden from the clutch of a man -who just casually wanted to collect a packet.</p> - -<p>So Farradyne spent some time wandering. He went into a florist shop and -tried to buy a corsage. He could buy a corsage for a few dollars, but -not for fifty. At least, for fifty he could get nothing smaller than a -garland.</p> - -<p>In one place Farradyne tried his tonal throat gadget. The florist eyed -him curiously and asked him if he had something wrong with his throat.</p> - -<p>And then, about fifteen minutes before he reached Carolyn's hotel a man -sidled up alongside him and said, "Say, Jack, lookin' for somethin'?"</p> - -<p>"Who isn't?"</p> - -<p>"Might be able to fix you up, Jack. Got five?"</p> - -<p>Farradyne knew that this was not the price, so he looked at his watch -and said, "I've got fifteen."</p> - -<p>"Won't take that long. Try the stand in the Essex Lounge."</p> - -<p>Farradyne blinked. The Essex was no more than six years old, right -in the middle of the city, and considered one of the plush joints of -Terra. Selling hellflowers at the Essex was like selling the things on -the steps of the Terran Capitol Building.</p> - -<p>"Yeah?" he asked sourly.</p> - -<p>"Yeah. Tell 'em Lovejoy sent you to pick up his flowers. Cost you -fifty, Jack. Willin' to pay?"</p> - -<p>"I've got it; and I'm willing."</p> - -<p>"See ya, Jack."</p> - -<p>The character sidled away, leaving a slight scent of decaying cloth -mingled with a faint fragrance of gardenia. It was, according to -Farradyne's standards, one god-awful mixture.</p> - -<p>Farradyne went to the Essex and into the florist shop. A girl who was -undeniably beautiful came forward. Farradyne smiled knowingly.</p> - -<p>"I'm a friend of Mr. Lovejoy," he said. "He asked me to stop by and -pick up his corsage."</p> - -<p>"Of course." The girl disappeared and returned with a transparent -plastic box containing a gardenia—or a love lotus. "That will be five -dollars," she said with a piercing look at Farradyne.</p> - -<p>Farradyne took a fifty out of his wallet and handed it to her. She rang -up five on the register, and Farradyne walked out, wondering if anybody -ever considered that Mr. Lovejoy must have a number of peculiar habits -and rather easy-going friends that could be imposed upon.</p> - -<p>At Carolyn's hotel a few minutes later, the desk clerk informed him -that Miss Niles was expecting him and he should go right up.</p> - -<p>Carolyn greeted him warmly, took him by the hand and drew him into the -hotel room. Once the door was closed she came into his arms and kissed -him, not too fervently, but very pleasantly, with her body pressing -his briefly. Then she moved out of his arms and accepted the flower. -"Lovely," she said.</p> - -<p>She opened it and breathed the fragrance deeply. She held the white -flower at arm's length, admiring its beauty. Then she held it to her -nose and took a deep breath, letting the fragrance fill her lungs.</p> - -<p>Farradyne's mind did a flip-flop. First he felt like a louse, as she -smiled at him over the edge of the flower and then took another sniff -of the fifty-dollar blossom. "Maybe," she said archly, "I shouldn't do -this."</p> - -<p>Well, she was immune—or she wasn't. Could be that it wasn't -even a hellblossom. But she should know. He hoped his smile was -honest-looking. "You are stuck already," he grinned wolfishly.</p> - -<p>Carolyn took another luxuriant breath and tucked the blossom in her -hair. She came into his arms and kissed him sweetly. Then she relaxed, -leaning back in his arms to look into his eyes. "I'm not afraid of you, -Charles," she said in a low, throaty voice.</p> - -<p>"No?"</p> - -<p>She laughed at him and then turned out of his arms. She went to a tiny -sideboard and waved a hand at glasses and a bottle of Farradyne's -favorite liquor. He nodded, and she mixed. "Don't disappoint me, -Charles," she said.</p> - -<p>"How?" he asked, wondering what she was driving at, and feeling that -this had nothing to do with hellflowers.</p> - -<p>She handed him the highball.</p> - -<p>She sipped at her drink and flirted with him over the top of the glass -for a moment. "I don't think anybody will call me overinflated if I -admit for a moment that my family is a long way from poverty; if, for -an instant, I admit that I know that I am very well equipped with -physical charm. I also flatter myself that I have a mind large enough -to absorb some of the interesting factors of this rather awesomely -beautiful universe."</p> - -<p>"I will grant you the truth of all three."</p> - -<p>"Thanks," she said with a sly-looking smile. "But the point -is, Charles, that a girl with a bit of money in the top of her -stocking—and a brain in her head—wonders whether the gentleman is -interested in the money, or the shape of her stocking. She is more -interested in having the man want her for the aforementioned brain, I -think. She'd like to feel that the gentleman in question would still be -interested if the shape of the stocking changed for the worst with age -and the money disappeared."</p> - -<p>Farradyne looked at her and wondered again what she was and what she -was after. If nothing else, Carolyn was a consummate actress. He wanted -very much to take his face in his hands and ponder this problem deeply, -but there was no time. He had to reply at once or have the appearance -of a man who must make a careful answer. He walked across the room -and took Carolyn by the shoulders and shook her gently. He bent down -and kissed her and he found that the warm and eager response was back -again, even though he touched her only with his lips and his hands on -her warm shoulders.</p> - -<p>"Let's leave it just that way," he told her. "Sooner or later something -will give me away—and then you will know whether I am after your -body, your money or your mind." Farradyne kissed her again, and again -lightly. "Until you know, nothing I say will convince you of anything."</p> - -<p>Farradyne still had her shoulders under his palms; Carolyn moved -forward into his arms and rested against him. She put up her face for -his kiss, and held herself against him, close. Then she said dreamily, -"You're a nice sort of guy, Charles, and I'll be very happy to leave it -that way. Maybe you'll be the one who stays."</p> - -<p>Farradyne recoiled mentally and hoped that his instinctive revulsion -was not noticed. It was too easy to forget what Carolyn represented -when Carolyn went soft and sweet and eager. He wanted to be a male -Mata Hari; he wanted to lure her on, to caress her into breathless -acquiescence and then walk out with a cold smile to show his contempt.</p> - -<p>Then he relaxed—and hoped that the muscles of his body had not -undergone the change that his mind had—and decided if this were part -of the game he had to play to cut the hellblossom-hellflower-love lotus -ring out of the human culture, it was nice work. He recalled reading in -history, as a child, another, but mild drug, marijuana, had multiple -names.... His job would have been infinitely more difficult if Carolyn -had been a gawky ugly duckling with buck teeth and a pasty complexion.</p> - -<p>"Charles," she breathed, "take me out into the dark?"</p> - -<p>He laughed lightly. "Where?"</p> - -<p>She leaned way back, arching her fine back. "I want to go out to -some dark gin mill and dance among the smoke and the natives and the -throbbing of tomtoms."</p> - -<p>Their evening was a repetition of the evening on Mercury except that on -Terra it was dark outside. They danced and there was a steak dinner at -midnight, and there was Carolyn relaxed in his arms in the taxi on the -way back to her hotel at three.</p> - -<p>He took her up to her room, and Carolyn came into his arms again, soft -and sweet. Her response was deep and passionate in a mature way that -Farradyne was not prepared for. The woman in his arms was all woman -and there could be no mistaking the fact, but there was also the -mysterious ability of the woman to know when to call a halt. She smiled -softly and put her head on his chest.</p> - -<p>"It's been wonderful again, Charles," she said quietly. "I hope it -always is."</p> - -<p>Farradyne rubbed his chin against the top of her head. Then Carolyn -swirled away. "It's incredibly late again. I'm going to come aboard -your ship at seven tomorrow night so we can take off before the crack -of dawn. This much I'll tell you and no more, now."</p> - -<p>"But—"</p> - -<p>"Easy, sweetheart, easy. Take it slow and lovely. Tomorrow night. -Tonight I need my beauty sleep."</p> - -<p>He eyed her humorously.</p> - -<p>"Think it doesn't help?" Then she laughed happily. "Charles, do me a -favor. Put this gardenia in your refrigerator for me. Please?"</p> - -<p>Farradyne nodded dumbly. He watched Carolyn put the thing into its -plastic box, he watched her tie it up in the original ribbon. She -handed it to him, and then, chuckling because he had one hand full, she -came into his arms again for one last caress.</p> - -<p>"Go," she told him with a wistful smile. "Go and dream about tomorrow -night."</p> - -<p>Farradyne went, half-propelled by her hands, his reluctance partly -honest and partly curious. But he went.</p> - -<p>On the street he hailed a taxi and spent the time on the way to the -spaceport wondering whether sharpers had clipped him for fifty for -a five-dollar gardenia. He wanted to toss the thing out of the cab -window, but he did not because Carolyn would ask for it tomorrow. He -even cursed himself for being willing to save it for her.</p> - -<p>Farradyne walked into his spacer feeling like a man who had put his -last dollar on the turn of a card, and lost. Lost at least until he -could get somewhere and draw another stake from the bank. Futility and -wonder confused him; in one moment he was on top of the world with -everything going according to plan and the next his world was kicked -out from underneath him and he was dropped back into the mire of -fumbling, helpless ignorance again.</p> - -<p>Farradyne walked into the salon of the Lancaster and stopped short. The -last peg had been pulled out of the creaky ladder of his success.</p> - -<p>"What's the matter, Farradyne? Aren't you glad to see me?"</p> - -<p>There was plenty the matter and he was not glad to see her.</p> - -<p>Her eyes widened a bit and she came up out of her chair and toward -him. "Farradyne," she said, with more eagerness in her voice than he -had ever heard before, "you've brought me a love lotus!"</p> - -<p>He let her have it, and watched as her rapid fingers tore away the -ribbon.</p> - -<p>Norma lifted the flower from its nest in the box, buried her nose deep -in the center of the blossom and inhaled with a deep shuddering sob. -Her eyes closed, then opened serenely to look up at Farradyne from -beneath half-closed lids. She relaxed. The tension went out of her -body and she sank back against the cushions. She put her head back -and rested. And now Farradyne could see her face more clearly. Her -features had lost their chiseled immobility and her eyes had lost the -glassy stare. Her face became alive, and pleasant color flooded it. -Her muscles took on tone and Norma became alive and young-bodied and -beautiful. She was a new person.</p> - -<p>Her lips parted slightly and curved into sweet lines. The hand that -held the flower lay idly on the seat beside her, the other lay palm -up on the other side. She looked like a young girl who had just been -kissed. Slowly, Norma lifted the blossom to her face and inhaled again -the fragrance from the center of the flower.</p> - -<p>"Thanks, Farradyne," she said softly.</p> - -<p>Farradyne's mouth was open and his mind refused to work on any but -the single thought. It was a hellflower. It had had no visible effect -on Carolyn—why? Then the attitude of the woman sitting on the divan -forced the other thought from his mind.</p> - -<p>Not that Norma's attitude had changed in the past minute or so. She was -still relaxed, alive and obviously at peace with both the world and -herself. But Farradyne had been expecting much more; he had expected -an onslaught of passion, of hate, of violence, of emotion. It might be -either a demanding lust or the pleading languor of a woman bereft of -her defenses. Or.... But in any case Farradyne expected passion, of a -wanton depth.</p> - -<p>He was wholly unprepared for this calm return to young and healthy -womanhood.</p> - -<p>He wondered whether Norma would react normally to a gesture of -affection and absently he took a step toward her. He felt once again -that flush of pity for her and righteous anger for the rotten devils -that had done this to her; he wanted to comfort her. She had changed -visibly from a hardened woman whose beauty was stiff and unnatural to a -girl whose loveliness was vivid enough to shine through the hard facade -of heavy makeup.</p> - -<p>"Norma," he said.</p> - -<p>She smiled at him warmly but shook her head. Her arms raised as she -tucked the hellflower in the heavy hair over one ear. The gesture -slimmed her waist and raised her breasts, and through the triangle of -her arms he could see her eyes. They were sultry as they contemplated -him, but she shook her head.</p> - -<p>"No," she said and Farradyne stopped. "You are a nice sort of fumbling -idiot, Charles, and I've stopped hating you for the moment, but that -doesn't mean I want any part of your caresses."</p> - -<p>"I—"</p> - -<p>She smiled at him knowingly. "You were, Charles. You were. But don't." -The odor of the love lotus, identical to the heady perfume of a -gardenia, permeated the room and Norma sniffed at the air, lifting her -face as she inhaled. "The smell of this is all I want."</p> - -<p>Farradyne looked down at her and swore under his breath. This was the -story then. The future under such conditions must be insufferable. He -contemplated a man with an addicted wife; he would go on slaving night -and day to buy this damnable and beautiful hellflower for her just to -see her make this swift, sweet return to the normal woman he had once -known, only to discover time and again that she had no use for him.</p> - -<p>A smile crossed her face and Farradyne realized that Norma had dozed -off in an ecstasy of relaxation. He wondered what to do next; his mind -was mingled with the desire to protect her by letting her sleep the -effects of the love lotus off, and the certain knowledge that if he -did, Norma would never leave him in time for his meeting with Carolyn -Niles. Of the two, the latter was by far the more important.</p> - -<hr class="chap"> - -<p class="ph1">13</p> - - -<p>As Farradyne stood there wondering what to do, a knuckle-on-metal rap -came at the spacelock and he turned to see Clevis standing there. He -waved Clevis in.</p> - -<p>Clevis came through the inner lock and caught sight of Norma. He -stopped stock-still and looked the woman over from head to toe and back -again. His eyes were bleak, his face bitter and hard as he turned away -from Norma to face the other man.</p> - -<p>"Farradyne, is this the contact you've managed to make?" The tone was -heavy with sarcasm.</p> - -<p>Farradyne shook his head sourly. "She's the one that got me started on -the road to find out—" He was about to explain but Clevis cut him off -with a scowl.</p> - -<p>"You do seem to have started," said Clevis. "That's a real hellflower -she's doping, you know. If I'd known—"</p> - -<p>"Oh, for God's sake, listen!" snapped Farradyne. His shout rang through -the salon and echoed up and down the ship's corridors. Norma stirred -and came awake. She looked at Farradyne happily first, then her eyes -settled on Clevis.</p> - -<p>"Company? Hello, Howard," she said cheerfully.</p> - -<p>"How do you do?" said Clevis, coldly.</p> - -<p>"Not bad, thank you. In fact, I'm feeling in very topnotch shape, -thanks to Mr. Farradyne."</p> - -<p>"You're—"</p> - -<p>"I must admit. A shame, too, but there it is."</p> - -<p>"There's a reward out for you, Miss Hannon."</p> - -<p>Norma's eyes twinkled a bit. "I know. He tried to collect on it. In -fact, I think he did collect on it. But I couldn't sit around and watch -a couple of fine old people tearing their hearts out over the ruin -of their daughter. That's a hell of a way to end an otherwise happy -existence—a son killed, a daughter doped. So I left."</p> - -<p>Farradyne looked at Norma and Clevis sharply, he was lost; he could -only wait for Clevis' next move.</p> - -<p>Clevis shrugged, Norma nodded and relaxed again. She said, quietly, "If -you gentlemen want to talk business, do it somewhere else. Or better, -Charles, may I have my old room again for the night?"</p> - -<p>Farradyne nodded, speechless in his furious bewilderment, and led -Clevis up into the control room. Here, in a low voice, he explained -how Norma had announced his connection with the hellflower racket, -how Cahill had been killed and how he had picked up Carolyn Niles and -the subsequent sabotage by Brenner, sometimes called Hughes, and the -rest of it. At the end he spread out his hands and said, "This isn't -hard work and good management, Clevis. But here I am. It isn't even -good thinking, but I have a couple of questions that I'd like to have -answered."</p> - -<p>"Yes?"</p> - -<p>"Carolyn Niles wore the hellflower for six or seven hours without -turning a corpuscle. Norma Hannon proved that it was no gardenia. There -is something fishy here. Does medical history indicate any immunes to -the love lotus?"</p> - -<p>"Some. Not many. Some doctors have even gone so far as to claim that -the hellflower is no more dangerous than tobacco."</p> - -<p>Farradyne swore. "Not according to Norma Hannon, it isn't," he said -harshly.</p> - -<p>Clevis eyed Farradyne carefully. "You're not a bit soft-headed over -Norma, are you?"</p> - -<p>"I doubt it," said Farradyne honestly. "She's a poor kid that got -clipped and it makes my blood boil, and I want to go out and rap a -half-dozen scum-brained heads together for what they did to her. -Norma, she'd be the kind of woman I could fall in love with, Clevis, -but Norma is a real blank. You know, if you doped up enough women with -hellflowers, the birthrate would take a decline that would alarm a -marble statue."</p> - -<p>"It's something to think about," nodded Clevis.</p> - -<p>"Of course, I've never seen a woman after she has just taken her first -sniff so I don't know what it really adds up to, and I don't know how -long after the first sniff a woman's libido is still capable of being -excited, or even how high the libido can get under hellflowers. But by -the time they get to Norma's state, a love lotus only changes their -attitude from a completely scar-tissued emotional system to something -barely normal whose only desire is to sniff the flower." Farradyne -shook his head roughly. "Anyway," he said, after a moment of thought, -"you can get a couple of ships to follow me day after tomorrow morning. -We're going out somewhere—destination unknown—to make a rendezvous -with someone who is high-up. And no matter what, Clevis, I think it -wise for you fellows to keep on my trail, because at least one faction -of their gang is out to clip me hard. Sooner or later—if my luck holds -out as it has—they'll be sending someone of large proportions to -clobber me and then I'd like to have your gang move in fast. Preferably -before the clobbering gets too thick. And there's more to it—"</p> - -<p>"Give," said Clevis in a flat tone.</p> - -<p>"All right, you asked for it." Farradyne took the throat-whistle out of -his pocket and tucked it back against the curve of his tongue. He tried -it and produced a three-toned sound, brief and musical.</p> - -<p>"That's the sort of thing I was telling people about," he said. "At the -Semiramide's crack-up. Three voices, I thought—then."</p> - -<p>"That's the sort of half-witted story you tried to use at your trial."</p> - -<p>"That's the sort of noise that Cahill made as he died. It's the sort of -noise made by Brenner-Hughes. Clevis, could it be the rudiments of some -odd new language?"</p> - -<p>"How could you use it?"</p> - -<p>"I don't know. Maybe a polysyllabic word like 'manifest' might turn out -to be a single chord with certain articulation spoken in three distinct -tones."</p> - -<p>"How would you articulate?" asked Clevis.</p> - -<p>"Well, you'd have to utter the same vocal sound sequence for all -registers of the word. The word I just used for an example is a rather -complicated series of sounds, with definitions I am not familiar with, -like dental fricative, and sub-dental stop. Regardless of the names of -the tongue-flappings," said Farradyne, "the word itself would have to -be revised in pronunciation."</p> - -<p>Clevis shook his head. "With a gizmo such as you are choking on," he -said, "you'd have a hard time making a tone other than the one it's -tuned for. You're asking a lot, Farradyne. Furthermore, I gather that -you have a fair-to-middling ear."</p> - -<p>"It isn't absolute pitch by a hell of a long way, but it is good enough -to make my face turn sour when the third violinist hits a crab on his -strings."</p> - -<p>Clevis leaned back in the chair. "I'd be in bad shape," he said. "I'm -tone-deaf. Someone would say, 'Clevis, have a drink?' and I'd shake my -head because it sounded like 'Do you like radishes?'"</p> - -<p>Farradyne eyed Clevis for a moment. "Supposing for the moment that this -odd evidence I have—"</p> - -<p>"Based upon a grunt, a cry and an exclamation."</p> - -<p>"—is true. Then mightn't they prefer to let people into their -organization who, they know, have a good pitch sense?"</p> - -<p>Clevis looked back at Farradyne. "We've spent years following less -rational will-o-the-wisps than that. Perhaps we should follow this -crackpot idea for a couple."</p> - -<p>"Well, let me toss you one more. During the next few days I am going to -startle Carolyn Niles, and I hope she cries out or whatever in three -notes. Then I'll have a tie-up."</p> - -<p>"How so?"</p> - -<p>"She has a hellflower-operator background. She'll have a three-noted -cry. And she'll be immune to the God damned flowers her gang deals in. -And there is something more than money in this."</p> - -<p>"Okay, for the time being that's your game. But in the meantime, what -are you going to do with Norma?"</p> - -<p>Farradyne eyed Clevis carefully. "You are going to drive off with her."</p> - -<p>"What makes you think I'm going to drive off with a doped-to-the-eyes -hellflower addict?"</p> - -<p>"Because one of the games I'm playing is nosey-nosey with Carolyn -Niles, and there's going to be no addict cluttering up my spacer. -She'd crumb up the whole deal for fair. You obviously know her, know -where she belongs. Take her to a sanatorium. That'll keep her out of -everyone's hair, especially mine, and she's on my trail."</p> - -<p>"I guess this move is up to me. I hate to drop her in a sanatorium."</p> - -<p>"What else can anybody do?" asked Farradyne, wistfully, spreading his -hand.</p> - -<p>"Not much, but I feel that I owe her more than that kind of handling. -Not much more than a jail, you know." Clevis sighed.</p> - -<p>"I can imagine. But what can you do for people cursed with a disease -that no one knows how to cure?"</p> - -<p>"Segregate 'em," growled Clevis. "Well, let's see what we can do about -carting Norma out of the ship. When you ship out you will be followed -at extreme military radar range. You'll have hard-boiled company -watching you, Farradyne."</p> - -<p>They went below and found Norma stretched out on the divan. She was -sleeping, relaxed as a kitten, with one leg drawn up to uncover the -other shapely leg. Her hands were outstretched over her head and open. -Her breathing was regular, and normal. The hellflower still cast its -heady perfume through the room, and Norma was smiling.</p> - -<p>Farradyne plucked the flower from her hair. "This I'll need," he said -quietly.</p> - -<p>Clevis nodded. "I'll carry her," he said. The Sandman picked Norma up -gently as she sleepily protested, but put her arms around Clevis' neck -and her head against his cheek and let herself be carried from the -salon.</p> - -<p>Watching from the port, Farradyne reflected that they looked like a -happy party-couple, leaving after too many cocktails, with the girl -dozing on her man's shoulder.</p> - -<p>Farradyne shrugged. Clevis had bought himself a bundle of trouble—when -she awoke, with Clevis, and without the love lotus.... He smiled -cynically, and went to bed....</p> - -<p>Carolyn came aboard that evening and her first request was for her -"gardenia." She put it in her hair and stood there inviting him with -her eyes. Farradyne kissed her briefly and waved her to a seat.</p> - -<p>"Tired of me, Charles?"</p> - -<p>"I've had no time to get used to you, let alone tired of you," he told -her. "But I'm more than a trifle curious about this trip we'll be -taking in the morning."</p> - -<p>"Why not let it wait until then?"</p> - -<p>Farradyne looked at her boldly, made no attempt to hide his careful -appraisal of her figure and face. She accepted his brazen eyeing and -colored a bit. Then he said, "Let's admit it, there's nothing I'd -rather do than spend the night making love. It's my favorite indoor -sport. It's fun outdoors, too. But there are at least two things -against it."</p> - -<p>"Two?"</p> - -<p>He smiled. "You've made affectionate noises and a few statements -regarding your previous affections which lead me to believe that you -would not applaud me if I slung you over one shoulder and carried you -down to your stateroom. The second item is that the way to get ahead is -to marry the boss' daughter, not make her your mistress. Also if you -think for one moment that I have enough ice in my spine or hardening in -my arteries to make with happy-talk from now until six ack-emma, you're -wrong."</p> - -<p>Carolyn leaned back and laughed.</p> - -<p>"Carolyn, have you ever heard of <i>noblesse oblige</i>?"</p> - -<p>"What has that to do with me—and you?"</p> - -<p>"It applies. You are a damned attractive female, and as such you should -not use this attraction unless you want the man you are luring. Follow?"</p> - -<p>Carolyn nodded. "I'll behave," she said. "I like you, Charles. No other -man has ever talked to me like that."</p> - -<p>"Well, be careful or I'll prove to you that I am just like all the -rest. Now, how about this other deal? Or should we talk about the -weather—or chess, tiddly-winks, astronomy?"</p> - -<p>"Astronomy. We see no stars on Mercury, you know."</p> - -<p>"So it's up to the telescope. Come on."</p> - -<p>Farradyne shook his head in amused concern. It was apparent that -Carolyn liked to play with fire; either that or she wanted to show her -own superiority to herself. She could hardly have known about the visit -of Norma Hannon, so she would not be aware of the fact that Farradyne -had been able to establish the validity of the hellflower. Mentally -Farradyne kicked himself. All he had done was to put the woman on her -guard. She knew it was a hellflower, she must know it. So this nice -little game she was playing was known to be a game.</p> - -<p>So that made it even—both of them knew it was the real thing, both of -them knew she was immune.</p> - -<p>This might be cricket, but it was not good management. This was not a -contest for the Glory of Good Old Siwash or to win the Golden Fleece. -This was a game where the loser never came to bat again, and once he -was Out, started polishing the Golden Gates or riding gain on the -servo-amplifiers for Mephisto's atomic hellfire. He had to pull a part -of this play back out of danger.</p> - -<p>He had pulled a fluff—the obvious way to remove it was to admit it.</p> - -<p>In the darkened control room, Farradyne reached forward and removed the -love lotus from her hair. He threw it into the chute that eventually -led into the incandescent reaction blast.</p> - -<p>She turned and her face was dim in the starlight.</p> - -<p>"Why did you do that?" she asked.</p> - -<p>Farradyne lied calmly, "Because when I give you your next corsage, it -will be a bona fide gardenia if I have to get a pedigree from the guy -who grew it."</p> - -<p>Her smile was a trifle bitter. "What would you have done if it had -worked?"</p> - -<p>Farradyne laughed. "I didn't expect it to work."</p> - -<p>"But—"</p> - -<p>He went on swiftly. "Like several million other people I've been -wondering how you can tell a gardenia from a hellflower. Honestly, I -expected that you would take one look at the thing and then coldly -inform me that you knew the difference. Then I was going to ask you to -prove it. I was even going to be indignant over your thinking that I -would do such a thing. Upset, fraught with unrequited love and all that -bosh. I was prepared to maintain that I had bought the corsage in good -faith and that some joker like Cahill had played a gag on me, just for -kicks. Sooner or later you'd have told me how one could determine the -difference." He laughed bitterly and it was not hard when he thought of -Norma Hannon.</p> - -<p>"Then," he went on, "you accepted it and put it in your hair, and I -know damned well that you can tell them apart. That made me think, and -I remembered that there are cases of women being immune. So I found -myself sheepishly afraid to explain, and let it go at that. Carolyn, I -just couldn't explain last night. But I do want to be honest with you."</p> - -<p>He waited, hoping he had done a good job.</p> - -<p>Carolyn put a soft hand against his face and then looked down. He -reached for her chin and lifted it. She blinked a few times, and then -smiled faintly. "Of course I knew what it was," she said. "And I know -that I am immune, so I took it and wore it. I wanted to see how you -would react. I wanted to find out why you did it. If you had done -it for the usual reason, I was going to lead you on until you were -incapable of control and then I was going to laugh at you and send you -packing." She looked up at him shyly. "I didn't want to think it was -for the usual reason."</p> - -<p>She leaned toward him, but he took her by the shoulders and turned her -to face the telescope. At this, Carolyn put her head back against his -shoulder and rubbed her cheek against his.</p> - -<p>"None of that," he said with a sharp laugh. "Hell, woman, you do fine -without a hellflower."</p> - -<p>She turned in his arms and melted against him. He held her close -for awhile and then pushed her away from him. "We're running by the -rules, remember?" he said softly. "No fair, Carolyn. Think of my poor, -broken-down blood pressure, woman. Let's get back to astronomy. I may -live longer that way."</p> - -<p>Astronomy is a fascinating hobby. Besides, this study required quite -a bit of close proximity, with his arms loosely around her so that he -could handle the setting-wheels on the telescope or Carolyn leaning -back against him as he looked over her shoulder to set the piece on -another object in the sky.</p> - -<p>At midnight Farradyne showed her to her stateroom, and it was only -after he was in his own room that he remembered that she had carefully -ducked the explanation of how he could tell a love lotus from a -gardenia. He wondered at that. Maybe she thought he had not noticed the -careful steering away from the subject—and maybe a man who was going -into the business for what it was worth would not have noticed the -evasion.</p> - -<p>Then there was the question of his own moral sense. So far as he had -appraised himself he had damned little such sense and most of this was -a matter of personal taste rather than observance of a set of rules. -More strange was the moral sense of the Niles family. It seemed to be -high except for their completely amoral disregard for what happened to -the hapless victims of their racket.</p> - -<p>He went to sleep murmuring a line from a poem many hundreds of years -old that he had read as a youngster.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>"... their honor rooted in dishonor...."</p> -</div> - -<p>Take-off was scheduled for six o'clock and Farradyne barely made it. -Fortunately there was only an Albemarle Seventy-One coming in on a -landing beam and he could take his Lancaster up with his eyes closed. -The Tower signed him out with a few remarks about sleepy people who -just got up and a yawn over the near-at-hand bedtime. Then the contact -was closed and Farradyne was a-space on the next leg of his journey.</p> - -<p>Free from the control board, Farradyne had two choices. In his role -of lover he could rap on her door because he wanted to be near her, -or he could let her sleep because he did not want to disturb her. -He listened at her door on his way to the galley but he could hear -nothing; apparently she did not snore. He went on down and built -himself a plate of ham and eggs and a large pot of coffee, and thankful -for the quiet and the solitude and the freedom, he ate his breakfast -and then loafed in the salon, trying to plan his future course.</p> - -<p>Carolyn made her appearance at ten o'clock and reproached him. He gave -her the stock answer, against which there could be no rebuttal, and -offered her breakfast. He was solicitous and gentle. He felt that with -four hours of nerve-soothing quiet behind him, he could play it with a -bit more relaxation.</p> - -<p>"Where are we?" she asked.</p> - -<p>"About a half-million miles out from Terra, I can figure it out for you -if you want it precisely."</p> - -<p>She smiled at him. "It's important. How close is that 'about' a -half-million miles?"</p> - -<p>Farradyne leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes as he went -through the familiar formula, tossing out the figures beyond three -significants. It took him half a minute of plain mental arithmetic -to come up with the answer, "Four hours at one gravity makes it six -hundred sixty thousand miles. There's some error there, caused by the -fact that our apparent gravity just at take-off was not much more -than one-point-three, and the pull of the earth was replaced by true -accelerations as the Terran gravity diminished. But those figures -should be close enough."</p> - -<p>"I didn't think you could guess that close."</p> - -<p>"That was no guess, it was a practiced estimate. I can come closer than -that with some thought. After all, a shoe salesman should be able to -call off the sizes of the shoes he sees on the street, and you know the -Classical Chinese Carpenter?"</p> - -<p>"No."</p> - -<p>"The Chinese Carpenter is an oriental who comes in and takes a careful -look where the plaster fell out of the ceiling, and then goes away and -cuts a hunk of plasterboard that exactly fits the holes without any -cutting or even shaving."</p> - -<p>Carolyn laughed politely.</p> - -<p>"But this is neither here nor there. There are two things to consider: -one is breakfast and the other is that we are on our way, but your -pilot does not know where he's going."</p> - -<p>"Can you strike a line between Terra and Polaris at a distance of three -hundred million miles?"</p> - -<p>"Duck soup," replied Farradyne. "But how fast?"</p> - -<p>"Zero with respect to Terra at three hundred million."</p> - -<p>"Let's go up and start computing," he suggested. "I'll construct you -some grub after we get the first approximation and we get the ship on -the preliminary correction course."</p> - -<p>He led her up to the course computer in the control room where she -added the time of rendezvous to the rest of the figures. He plucked at -the keyboard steadily for a minute, then sat back while the calculator -machine went through the program of arithmetical operations for which -it was designed. He took the punched paper strip from the machine and -fed it into the autopilot, and then said, "Now we'll go below and eat."</p> - -<p>"You haven't been waiting for me?"</p> - -<p>He nodded, hoping that he looked a bit lovesick.</p> - -<p>"You shouldn't have."</p> - -<p>They went below and she eyed the dirty dishes with womanly amusement. -"You are a sweet sort of liar, Charles," she said, turning and coming -into his arms.</p> - -<p>He returned her kiss, thinking, these are the "dames" that try men's -souls.</p> - -<hr class="chap"> - -<p class="ph1">14</p> - - -<p>Carolyn's eyes were fastened on the telescope, her attention was rapt. -There was a tiny signal pip at the extreme range on the long-range -radar that controlled the telescope, but the object was still too far -away. The range was closing slowly, but they would meet somewhere out -there, three hundred million miles above Terra to the astronomical -North.</p> - -<p>Farradyne knew his instruments and his attention was therefore free to -think of other matters. Carolyn was busy at the "scope," so Farradyne -carefully and quietly slipped a long fluorescent lamp from its -terminals and stood it carefully on one end beside him. He balanced -it carefully and took a couple of silent steps toward Carolyn before -the tube lost its balance and fell to the floor with an ear-shattering -explosion.</p> - -<p>It even shocked Farradyne, who knew it was coming.</p> - -<p>Carolyn reacted like a person stabbed with a red-hot spear. Every -muscle in her body tensed as her nervous system twitched and she stood -there for a full ten seconds as stiff as a figure of concrete while the -shock gripped her. Then adrenalin poured into her veins and she started -to bundle up muscularly at the same time that she realized that there -really was no danger. Farradyne could see the relaxation of her body -taking place almost inch by inch.</p> - -<p>The tension crept out of her silently until her breasts began to fall -in a shuddering exhalation. Then she sighed, and her tuneful voice was -a wordless trill of relief.</p> - -<p>Farradyne's attention snapped into full awareness and he felt a thrill -of exultation run through him. Carolyn Niles' voice was a quavering -trill in <i>three lilting tones</i>.</p> - -<p>Then the spell was gone and she relaxed against a brace holding one -hand under her left breast and breathing heavily. "What on earth—?"</p> - -<p>"Lamp fell out of its moorings," said Farradyne. "My fault. That's -one of the pre-flight check-ups that I didn't have time to make this -morning. Stay where you are and I'll clean up this mess."</p> - -<p>"Do you mind if I sit down? I haven't been that startled in years. I -thought the ship had exploded."</p> - -<p>"Park yourself in the pilot's seat," he said. "But be careful. Broken -fluorescent tubing is doubly dangerous. The gook they put on the inside -is as poisonous as hell and the glass is as sharp as a razor."</p> - -<p>She nodded and picked her way through the glass. She looked up at him -and said, "You don't seem to have been startled at all."</p> - -<p>"I had a few millionths of a second to get my nerves in readiness," he -said. "I saw it come down. You took a beating."</p> - -<p>"I guess I did," she admitted weakly.</p> - -<p>Farradyne laughed; it was a forced laugh but he hoped it was -convincing. "Someone told me once that when a person is excited he -always reverts to his native tongue." Her eyes widened and her mouth -started to open, but Farradyne went on as though he hadn't been -watching avidly for some sign. "But I didn't think your native tongue -was Upper Irish Banshee."</p> - -<p>Her eyes half-closed and her mouth snapped back from slack wonder to -toned self-control. "What did I say?" she asked with a half-humorous -smile, which Farradyne knew to be false.</p> - -<p>"It sounded like, 'I am slain to pieces' but I don't know Upper Irish -Banshee very well."</p> - -<p>"You're making fun of me," she complained pettishly.</p> - -<p>"No I'm not. Not really. Anyone can be scared right out of his skin -when something like that happens unexpectedly."</p> - -<p>"All right," she said, and the humor was gone from her voice. "So you -are not making fun of me. You've been playing a very serious game with -me, haven't you?"</p> - -<p>Farradyne thought fast but came up with only, "What makes you think—"</p> - -<p>"Let's drop our masks, Charles."</p> - -<p>"Masks? Look, Carolyn, I'd rather go clean up this glass."</p> - -<p>"Sweep it up, then. But while you're cleaning up, we'll talk seriously."</p> - -<p>"About what?" He got a brush from the locker and a square of cardboard -from the bottom of a ream of paper, and started to collect the debris.</p> - -<p>"What do you know about our language?"</p> - -<p>"Damned little. Frankly, I'd had only a very insecure suspicion right -up to the moment that you admitted it that there was any language -involved."</p> - -<p>"So I gave it away myself?"</p> - -<p>"Yes."</p> - -<p>"I knew you were smart, Charles. But none of us thought that you were -smart enough—"</p> - -<p>"Thanks, m'lady."</p> - -<p>"Stop it!" she cried. "What do you want of me?"</p> - -<p>"What do I want of anybody?" he whispered in a voice thick with anger. -"I had four brutal years clipped out of the middle of my life by a -three-voiced unknown party who wanted to commit suicide bad enough to -take thirty-three innocent victims along with him. They blamed it on -Hot-Rock Farradyne, the spur-wearing spaceman." His voice came back -and he was half-roaring. "I've seen the results of the hellflower in a -ruined personality that might have been a brilliant and gracious woman. -I've seen a man plugged through the middle, to die at my feet. And on -top of that, I've seen a family of prosperous stability calmly making -their place in 'society' by dealing in the stinking things that brought -the ruin and the death to millions." His voice calmed to a cold, -brittle determination. "What do I want of you? Your lovely, flawless -hide skinned alive and spread seductively before a fireplace. That's -all."</p> - -<p>She shrank away from him; looked wildly at the stairway and back into -his face as she realized there was no place in the spacecraft where she -could hide.</p> - -<p>He sneered at her fear. "I'm not going to hurt you, now." His voice was -heavy with derision. "You're beneath my hurting you."</p> - -<p>Carolyn drew herself together; somehow her self-confidence was -returning; perhaps it was the realization that he was not going to do -anything violent. "Why take your hatred out on me?" she asked. "Have I -done anything but—"</p> - -<p>"You?" he asked. "You? How in hell should I know what slimy game you -are playing? You're all painted out of the same can, and the color is -black. I know that I am not the guy responsible for the Semiramide -affair, but who's to prove it? Who's the character that started tossing -the con-rods out of the Lancaster? What was your former boyfriend -doing on my ship? Setting me up for another kiss-off? Jesus Christ, -woman, you'll be asking me not to take these things personally next!"</p> - -<p>"You shouldn't. They're the fortunes of war."</p> - -<p>Farradyne roared, so loud that his voice echoed and reechoed up and -down the ship. "Fortunes of war be damned!" Then he stopped suddenly -and looked at her again. "War?" he asked. "Between whom or between what -and where? Who and what are you and your ilk? I—" He sat down and put -one hand to his head. Carolyn started to speak. "Charles—" but he -looked up and said, "Shut the hell up and let me think!"</p> - -<p>"But I—"</p> - -<p>"Shut up or I'll slap you shut!" Farradyne meant it, and Carolyn must -have understood that slapping her senseless did not conflict with his -aversion to violence. Not now. Not any more.</p> - -<p>He had enough evidence to make a shrewd guess if he could only sort out -the hodgepodge, throw out the dross, hang the material end to end and -then take an impersonal look at it to fill in the gaps.</p> - -<p>Some of it had to do with a combined suicide and wanton mass-murder in -a wrecked spacecraft; he should study that incident with the view of -discovering why it was done, and not why it had been done to Charles -Farradyne. There were the Nileses who probably went to church on -Sunday, belonged to the Chamber of Commerce and the Ladies' Aid and the -Civic Welfare and considered running hellflowers a proper business. -And the daughter, Carolyn, who wanted marriage and a home and a bunch -of kids to bring up into the same hellish business so well run by -their grandfather—just as she had been raised. Something important -hinged on the triple-toned voice which now had become more than a hasty -impression made under stress and excitement. Women who were immune to -the solar system's most devastating narcotic and used their immunity to -deal in the things with safety, bringing ruin to other women. It was -more than jealousy between women, it went farther than that. It was -a form of warfare, and this idea indicated an organization large and -well-integrated; capable of out-maneuvering capable and brilliant men -who had dedicated their lives to stamping out the racket—and who died -under the juggernaut instead of destroying it.</p> - -<p>Well, there it was and what could he make of it?</p> - -<p>No, there was more to be added. Brenner-Hughes, who tried to remove the -control rods of the reaction pile, and who was immune to marcoleptine. -That was an oddly shaped piece of the puzzle that suddenly dropped into -place with a click and coupled up two isolated chunks to make one solid -corner.</p> - -<p>Farradyne put himself in the position of Professor Martin, who might -have been a survivor of the Lancaster foundering. Martin might ask why -someone had tried to kill him, just as Farradyne had so often asked -himself why Party X had tried to kill Farradyne in the Semiramide. -The answer was that Brenner-Hughes had not directed his efforts at -Martin, but at Farradyne, who had some knowledge that was dangerous -to the hellflower ring. Martin would have been the same sort of -innocent victim to the second episode as Farradyne had been to the -first. Party X had wrecked the Semiramide because there was someone -aboard with dangerous knowledge. There was a coldly operating group of -persons, immune themselves to drugs, who were efficiently undermining -the rest of the human race by preying on weakness, lust and escapist -factors that lie somewhere near the surface in the strongest of human -characters.</p> - -<p>He raised his head and looked at Carolyn Niles.</p> - -<p>She faced him squarely and asked, "Have you figured it out?"</p> - -<p>"I think so," he said coldly. "There are a couple of gaps yet which you -can fill in."</p> - -<p>"What makes you think I'll do it?"</p> - -<p>"You'll do it," he said in a brittle voice. "For instance, what are -you, real or artificial mutant?"</p> - -<p>Her laugh was strained and cynical. "Brilliant!" she said. "<i>Homo -Superior</i>, Charles."</p> - -<p>"All right then, keep it clammed. But we'll find out."</p> - -<p>"You haven't found out yet," she remarked pointedly.</p> - -<p>"We didn't always have electric lamps, either."</p> - -<p>Carolyn shook her head in a superior manner. "You did not discover -this thing either," she said calmly. "You were shown most of it -deliberately."</p> - -<p>"Indeed?" His voice was sarcastic.</p> - -<p>"We knew that someone high-up and undercover had furnished you with a -spacecraft and a forged license and set you to running into us, hoping -that your reputation would establish you as a racketeer. He used you -efficiently, so we used you more efficiently. There are two ends to a -fishline, Charles, and the fish and the fisherman never meet until one -pulls the other in. We caught Howard Clevis on the wrong end of the -line, so to speak. We also—"</p> - -<p>"You caught Clevis?"</p> - -<p>"As soon as we knew who your contact was we pulled him in. So if you -are expecting a flight of military craft to come racing up in time -to intercept the rendezvous ship we have out there, forget it. The -military are still on the landing blocks at the spaceport."</p> - -<p>Farradyne whirled and peered into the radar. The single pip was close -and closing the range swiftly but there was nothing else on the -"scope." It was a huge ship, if the size of the radar response meant -anything and Farradyne peered into the coupled telescope.</p> - -<p>Nothing like it could ever have been built in secret anywhere among the -habitable planets of the solar system. The size of it was such that the -metal alone, even if one piece were placed with each manufacturer to -conceal the process, would have attracted notice, and the rest of the -project would require the resources of a planet to feed it and the men -that built it. It would be like trying to build a four-hundred-inch -telescope in secret; the very least that could happen would be some -avid press agent taking note of a massive casting and using it in an -advertisement, and that would start the parade.</p> - -<p>Farradyne turned away from the telescope. "Baby, what a sucker you -played me for!" he jeered. "So I was to be your lover, your husband? -Together, hand in hand we go to cement the first interstellar union. -The mating of a jackass and a triple-tongued canary, that the fruit of -such union will be half-assed and bird-brained." Farradyne's voice went -hard. "Well, if it's war your people want, we'll give it to you!"</p> - -<p>Farradyne strode across the room toward the controls and as he came, -Carolyn's hand moved swiftly, catching up the microphone in a single -swoop and bringing it to her mouth. She had had the radio turned on all -the while, obviously, and Farradyne's tirade had been going out.</p> - -<p>Carolyn cried a sing-songy rhythm into the mike. It reminded Farradyne -of an exotic trio chanting a ritual celebration of some heathen rite of -sacrifice.</p> - -<p>He slapped the microphone out of her hand; the thing hurled out to the -end of its cord and jerked free, to crash against the far wall leaving -the cord-ends dangling open like a raw sore.</p> - -<p>He caught her by the hair, lifted her out of the seat and hurled her -across the room. She fell and went rolling in a welter of arms and legs -until she came up against the wall beside the mike. She scooped it up -and hurled it at Farradyne's head, but he caught it in one hand and -dropped it to the floor.</p> - -<p>He dropped into the seat and hit the levers with both hands. The -Lancaster surged upward, throwing Carolyn back to the floor in a -painful heap. The acceleration rose to three gravities, then to four.</p> - -<p>"This trick we take," he gloated.</p> - -<p>Carolyn moaned; it sounded like attempted laughter.</p> - -<p>He looked into the radarscope and saw that despite his four gravities -of acceleration the monstrous spacecraft was matching him and closing -the range.</p> - -<hr class="chap"> - -<p class="ph1">15</p> - - -<p>Farradyne watched Carolyn uncaringly as she fought herself out of the -crumpled position and succeeded in flopping over on her back where -the four gravities were not making her body press against her arms -and legs. She spreadeagled on the floor and her chest labored with -the effort. Then she relaxed, because four gravities are not too -uncomfortable when lying on the back, even though the floor below is -hard.</p> - -<p>"Forget it, Charles," she said slowly, and with some difficulty. "You -can't run away from a ship—that can go—faster than light."</p> - -<p>"I can try."</p> - -<p>"You can't win."</p> - -<p>The radio speaker came alive, "Surrender, Farradyne! Stop and submit or -we fire!"</p> - -<p>Farradyne's lips tightened as he fought the controls so that the ship -slid sidewise, putting another vector in its course. He twirled the -volume knob to zero on the radio with a violent twist of his wrist. -"They're your friends, and they don't mind killing you," he sneered.</p> - -<p>"I'm not afraid to die."</p> - -<p>"I am," grunted Farradyne. "I have some knowledge that I don't want to -die without telling."</p> - -<p>"That's why I'm willing—to keep you from telling."</p> - -<p>His hands danced on the levers and the Lancaster turned end for end -and sped back at the huge craft almost on a sideswiping course. Out -here intrinsic velocity meant nothing, the only thing that counted -was the Lancaster's velocity with respect to the velocity of the -spacecraft from the stars. He had one advantage, his ship was smaller -and therefore it must be more maneuverable. Furthermore he had the -advantage of surprise. He could go where he pleased, and the other -pilot must follow him. Since Farradyne's changes of pace and course -would come without warning, each switch would take a few fractions of -a second to follow. On land a few fractions of a second mean little, -but in space they mean miles. On land a quartering flight meant closing -of the range; in space where the pursuer could not dig a heel into -the ground and turn on a dime, quartering flight meant adding another -vector to the course.</p> - -<p>He widened the gap.</p> - -<p>Somehow Farradyne realized that because a ship could exceed the speed -of light, it did not follow that the ship would be able to catch an -elusive quarry.</p> - -<p>He looked at Carolyn, plastered against the floor by four gravities and -realized that her race could be no more hardy than his, and therefore -four gravities was about all they could take over an extended period of -time. Maybe the more hardened space-dogs could take five or six, with -training and special seats and wearing equipment. His outfit protected -him more than the flimsy stuff she wore.</p> - -<p>Here at least he was on an equal footing with the other spacer. It was -obvious to Farradyne that interstellar velocities did not depend in -any way upon reaching that speed by plain acceleration. A force field -of some unknown kind was needed, and this force field must not be one -that permitted the body to stand, say a thousand gravities or this -force field would go on and the other ship would catch him as easily -as a greyhound could catch a rabbit—and here in space there were no -brambles in which to hide.</p> - -<p>He snapped his Lancaster around and crossed behind the course of the -other ship. Again he widened the gap.</p> - -<p>He had only one thing to worry about. To the present moment and until -it became evident that he would get free of pursuit, this new and -sudden enemy was hoping to take him alive. So until it became evident -that he could make his escape he had nothing to fear. Once he was free -of them, he would have to face the terror of target-seeking missiles -capable of several hundred gravities of acceleration and equally -capable of turning in midflight if he managed to make them miss him.</p> - -<p>He wished desperately for a cargo of bowling balls or steel castings -that he could strew in his wake. He cursed his lack of foresight in not -having the control rods replaced, because a few of them might have done -the trick.</p> - -<p>Farradyne stopped cursing. He struggled to the computer and played a -long tune on the keys, ignoring the fact that the enemy had finally -lined up on his course from behind again and was closing range. -Recollection of Brenner-Hughes and the depredations in the pile-bay -had started a train of thought that Farradyne followed with growing -interest. It was long and involved and it depended upon a large amount -of luck, good planning and ability. He hoped all three were with him.</p> - -<p>The Lancaster made one more complex turn as the end of the punched tape -entered the autopilot. Then, if Farradyne's computations were correct, -the Lancaster's nose was pointed at Terra.</p> - -<p>The spaceliner behind, fooled again, made a turn and began to pick up -the space that had been lost.</p> - -<p>Farradyne saw that he had plenty of time. He waited until the punchings -on the tape cut the drive a bit, and then he went below and came -back into the control room with Brenner-Hughes' space-suit. He got -out patching material and carefully repaired the triangular rip. He -cleaned out the strong-locker, putting the greenbacks into one of the -many pouches of the suit. Then he set about checking it, testing the -air-supply and purifier, filling the food pouch and the water tank. Men -had been known to last seventy-two hours in a suit like this without -any discomfort other than the confinement. The primary danger was -running out of oxygen and the secondary danger was thirst. How much -longer than the three days depended upon the character of the man and -when he had last eaten and taken his fill of water.</p> - -<p>The suit was checked to Farradyne's satisfaction and he started to put -it on. "How handy are your friends with that big spacer?" he asked.</p> - -<p>"Good enough," she said.</p> - -<p>"You'd better pray for them to be better," he said. "Because your life -depends upon how handy they are."</p> - -<p>"Charles, you can't possibly make it."</p> - -<p>Farradyne paused; he wanted to take time for a last cigarette. He lit -one and puffed before he said, "Honeychild, I could outguess that gang -until Sol freezes over, except that sooner or later they'll get sick -and tired of the chase and end it by launching a target-seeking missile -and that would be that. I have no intention of sitting here and letting -them catch me, either."</p> - -<p>"So what are you going to do?"</p> - -<p>Farradyne reached up and stopped the clock. "I've punched a very -interesting autopilot tape. It'll dodge and swoop along at about four -gravities and lead your pals a long and devious way after you and I -part company. Four gee is enough to keep you flat on your attractive -behind so you can't louse it up. Since you can't measure time too -accurately, when they grab you, you won't be able to tell 'em just when -I took off and they'll have a fine time combing space for a man-sized -mote, making his course to Terra."</p> - -<p>"Charles?"</p> - -<p>Farradyne snubbed his cigarette out and dropped on his hands and knees -so that he could look down into her face. "You've pitched me many a -low, soft curve to the inside," he told her quietly. "Now you are -lying there looking helpless, with those big eyes telling me that I am -leaving you here to die. Good act, Carolyn, but this time you didn't -think it out far enough. By now you should have known Farradyne well -enough to realize that staying here will kill us both because I won't -be taken alive! By scramming, maybe we'll both live. This is one battle -you lose. And the last. But maybe we'll meet somewhere again to take it -up later."</p> - -<p>He bent down with a cynical smile and kissed her on the lips. To his -surprise he found her lips responsive, but he had neither the time nor -inclination to carry the emotion any further.</p> - -<p>"So long, Carolyn," he chuckled. "Some of this has been a lot of fun."</p> - -<p>He finished donning the space-suit and then with a careless wave of -his hand he went down the stairs. She was not looking at him, but at -the ruined microphone and the raw cord-ends, and the radio equipment -far out of her reach. Panic showed in her face and it gave her some -strength, but not enough to fight the four gravities that held her flat.</p> - -<p>Then as Farradyne lost sight of her, his jaunty self-confidence faded. -Up until not too long ago he had been complimenting himself on being -able to find out more about the hellflower operation than the Sandmen. -Now he knew the hellflower gang had been using him in a more efficient -manner than Clevis and the Solar Anti-Narcotics Department. It became -obvious to Farradyne that fighting a gang of cut-throats and fighting -an enemy race of intelligent people were about as different as he -really was from the brilliant operator he imagined himself to be.</p> - -<p>It also required that he change his plans for escape. He knew that he -could flee the big ship and had a fine chance of being picked up by a -Space Guard scooter as soon as he could get within calling distance of -Luna.</p> - -<p>But the chances were high that the hellflower people would have their -entire undercover outfit alerted and at the first touch of radio call -they would be swarming the neighborhood to pick him up. He would call -and several ships would answer; there would be a lot of calling back -and forth with the result that some "commercial spaceliner" would pick -him up, reporting the incident to the Space Guard, who would not even -take off from the station on Luna. Then Farradyne would be delivered -right back to the place he was leaving now.</p> - -<p>He paused by the spacelock and cracked the big portal, and stood there -eyeing the huge starship, a tiny dot in the distance below, visible -only because its reaction flare limned the ship, making an annular -object against the cold twinkling stars. He kept the spacelock open -long enough to make it look like a real escape to Carolyn, who would be -watching the indicator lamp and marking the time.</p> - -<p>Then he closed the spacelock and went down and down in the Lancaster -until he found the lowermost inspection cubby. He crawled in and -closed the hatch behind him. He settled down to wait with about the -same amount of wondering concern as the school boy summoned to the -principal's office without being told why.</p> - -<p>Even the small amount of evidence that he now could use had been given -to him as bait to catch the one man who would be willing to listen to -him. He groaned and swore aloud and the sound of his voice echoed and -reechoed within the confines of his helmet.</p> - -<p>Time creaked past and the Lancaster turned and curved according -to the punchings on the autopilot tape. Farradyne had only one -prayer—that the enemy would not get tired of the chase and fire a -missile that would end the whole game with a wave of intolerable heat -and indescribably bright light. Only Carolyn's presence aboard might -prevent that until the last moment.</p> - -<p>Then the hour-period ended with the Lancaster pointing up and a -quartering course from Terra and Sol and a long, long way from the -point of supposed escape. Not long after that Farradyne felt the clink -of the magnetic grapples.</p> - -<p>He tensed again. Would they fine-comb the Lancaster? Or would the -inevitable question and answer session that must ensue, once they found -Carolyn alone, convince them that he had abandoned ship? Would they -take her off and blast the Lanc' or would they deem it of value and -keep it?</p> - -<p>His mind went on and on—how good was the radar? How alert was their -radar operator? Were both good enough to state unequivocally that there -had been no minute object leaving the ship on a tangential course, or -would there have been the usual clutter of noise and interference and -lack of anticipation so that someone could assume that he had left the -ship? Someone was going to get chewed for it in any case. Then assuming -that the enemy considered the ship valuable, where would they take it -and what would they do with it?</p> - -<p>Far from feeling gratified at his maneuver, Farradyne was only -satisfied to be alive and temporarily out of the hands of the enemy. -What happened from here on in must be played by ear against an unknown -score for three voices.</p> - -<p>The drive of the Lancaster dropped from four gravities to about one, -and Farradyne could hear, dimly, the clumpings of heavy feet coming in -through the rooms above him. Then the drive diminished again, remaining -at about a quarter-gravity or maybe less, and there were sounds of feet -above his head. He tensed and he tasted the acid in his mouth; he found -his heavy automatic and clutched it clumsily in the heavy space-glove. -Capture might be preferable to death, except that Farradyne was fairly -well convinced that the enemy could not permit him to stay alive -with what he knew about them, even though it was precious little and -unsupported.</p> - -<p>The cubby he was hiding in was angularly shaped; to one side was -space beyond the hull-plates. Inside was the water-jacket that cooled -the throat of the reaction motor. Farradyne moved quietly around the -central pillar until he was on the opposite side from the inspection -hatch and settled down again.</p> - -<p>On the plates above his head there were footsteps and the scraping of -something heavy being hauled across the deck.</p> - -<p>He heard the sound of triple-tongued voices barking musical and -discordant sounds, distorted and muffled by the deck and the helmet -he wore. One fiddled with the inspection hatch and Farradyne found -the scuttlebutt and valved the air out into space knowing the enemy -would have a hard time cracking the hatch against the pressure of -one atmosphere. They gave up after a moment; then came the sound of -drilling on the deckplates above him. A cloud of whitish vapor spurted -downward and the sound of alien voices rose sharply as the drill came -through. Three more spurts of escaping air blasted downward and skirred -around the room to go in a fading draw toward the scuttlebutt.</p> - -<p>Plugs filled the four holes and Farradyne turned his head torch on -them. They were heavy self-tapping bolts being turned in from above.</p> - -<p>The maneuver was repeated three times, ninety degrees apart. Then there -was a softer sound of scraping and gradually the clumping of feet and -the sound of men at work faded away.</p> - -<p>Farradyne took a deep breath and realized that his skin was itching -from the cold perspiration of fear that bathed him. The taste in his -mouth was brackish and his heart was pounding, his breath shallow and -rapid. He opened his mouth to gasp and discovered that he had been -clenching his teeth so hard that his jaw ached and his molars hurt.</p> - -<p>He closed the scuttlebutt, but did not valve any air into his hiding -place. He put the top of his helmet against the deckplate above him and -listened. Far above he could hear them, still at work but they were -going higher and higher in the ship. He relaxed, waiting....</p> - -<p>Three more hours passed, as nerve-wracking a three hours as Farradyne -had ever spent. Then, with absolutely no warning the drive went off -completely. He floated from the deck and scrabbled around to grab a -stanchion. He held on, finally getting his magnetic shoes against a -girder where they held him at an odd angle.</p> - -<p>The drive went on to a full one gravity and hurled Farradyne flat -against the bottom of the cubby, wrenching his ankles slightly. The -drive went off again, on and finally off. This time it stayed off.</p> - -<p>Floating free, with only his feet for mooring, was like resting in -a tub of body-temperature water, and as the lulling muscle-freeing -sensation went on and on, Farradyne dozed. From the doze, which was -fitful for quite some time, he dropped off into a deep slumber.</p> - -<hr class="chap"> - -<p class="ph1">16</p> - - -<p>Farradyne awoke to the pressure of about one gravity and he consulted -his watch. Either fourteen hours had passed, or thirty-eight, but he -could not believe the latter. A full clock-around was hardly possible -for Farradyne, even when he was dead tired, so one clock-around plus -fourteen hours was unthinkable.</p> - -<p>He put his slumber at fourteen hours and then set his mind on other, -more important things.</p> - -<p>The ship was silent. His suit hung from him limply, indicating that air -had seeped into the cubby again. He tried the scuttlebutt but no hiss -of air came. The Lancaster was a-planet.</p> - -<p>It might be Terra, Venus or Pluto according to the pull of gravity, -but Farradyne did not think it likely to be any one of the three. He -suspected that whatever the gizmo was the enemy had installed on the -deck above him, it had something to do with transcending the limiting -velocity of light. He was probably grounded on enemy soil ... somewhere.</p> - -<p>For a moment his mind grappled with the problem of interstellar travel -and lost the fight. It was possible, proven by the starship of the -aliens. But to come aboard with a gadget under one arm and install it, -like putting in a radio set, seemed entirely too simple. On the other -hand, Farradyne was sufficiently aware of basic physics to understand -that anything that could be used to create a condition where gross -matter could exceed the velocity of light would be something that did -not have to perform in conjunction with a matter-operated reaction -motor. He remembered, dimly, some fanciful theories written by some of -the white-tower boys in one of the big universities. These had been -experiments in field-theory and group-theory which had indicated that -under certain conditions, some rather minute spherical volumes of space -could be made to misbehave.</p> - -<p>The difference was that with the physicists and their operations, a -vast room full of gear had been used to make a five millimeter sphere, -and the contrast was marked.</p> - -<p>The meat of this matter was that the gizmo that made it possible -to travel faster than light must be some sort of field-generator, -and such a field-generator might well be packaged in small form for -installation. Whatever the science and whatever the location, Farradyne -could not hope to learn anything penned up here.</p> - -<p>Again he listened. The ship was silent as the proverbial grave. He -cracked the inspection hatch and peered out. It was dark as the grave, -too.</p> - -<p>Boldly he opened the hatch and stepped out. Under the light of his -headlamp, Farradyne inspected four rectangular metal boxes, painted a -nondescript gray. Cables led from one to another, terminating in white -metal connectors. The boxes were bolted to the deck by the self-tapping -bolts that had come through his ceiling.</p> - -<p>From one of the boxes ran a cable that led to a wall-connector.</p> - -<p>Like all other Solarian spacecraft, the Lancaster was well supplied -with a network of cables running up and down the length of the ship to -serve as test connections and spares for this or that equipment. This -made it possible to install some bit of gear for pleasure, comfort or -added maneuvering without having to tear half the ship apart to run the -necessary wiring.</p> - -<p>The enemy had re-connected their multi-line cable to one of the -standard Terran connectors and plugged the cable into the Lancaster's -cable-plate.</p> - -<p>Farradyne could see nothing about the metal boxes that would tell -him anything, so he left them and went aloft, cautiously. He doffed -the space-suit at the next level and hung it in a suit locker, and -continued to walk up the stairway that would lead him to the spacelock -and the salon.</p> - -<p>Out of one porthole he could see the spaceport. It was broad and dark -except for a bouquet of searchlights that drilled into the sky around -the rim, a wash of floodlamps that surrounded one of the vast starships -many miles distant, and the far-off blur of bright, red light that -probably read "Spaceman's Bar" in whatever the natives used for a -printed language.</p> - -<p>He left the viewport and went higher in his ship until he came to -the salon. He peered into it from floor level, but it was dark and -untenanted. The spacelock was open and Farradyne looked out of the -large round opening across the field to another starship standing a few -hundred yards from the Lancaster. The other ship was just as dark as -his, except for one small porthole that gleamed like a headlight in the -darkness.</p> - -<p>The problem of where he was called him to the control room.</p> - -<p>He looked into the sky, hunting for familiar constellations. The -Pleiades were there, but warped quite a bit and Farradyne found -that, while he knew they were distorted as an aggregation of stellar -positions, he could not remember their proper relationship. Orion was -visible, but the hero had hiked his belt up after a swing of his sword -at the mythical enemy. The Great Bear was sitting on his haunches -instead of prowling and the smaller Bear had lost his front feet. -Cassiopeia had gained some weight, enough to squash her throne and -Sirius no longer blazed in Canis Major. Procyon had taken off for parts -unknown, while several other bright stars dotted the skies in places -where no stars had been on Terra. It was likely that some of these were -merely displaced stars, but no one could tell Sirius from anything else -without a set of astronomical instruments and a few years of study -unless he knew which way Sirius was from this position.</p> - -<p>Coldly and calmly Farradyne scanned the skies. Providing they had not -travelled more than forty or fifty light years, the constellations -before and behind the direct line of flight should be reasonably -undistorted, except for those stars that would have been bypassed en -route. This would only add a star or two to a constellation behind and -subtract the same from a constellation dead ahead. The ones to the side -of the line of flight would be misshapen and warped.</p> - -<p>It would have been easier if he could have viewed the entire sky, -but he had to be content with one hemisphere. If he could find an -undistorted constellation with a few stars missing he had come in that -direction and, conversely, if there were stars added, he had gone away -from it past some of the stars between Sol and this enemy system.</p> - -<p>He tried to recall visits to the big stellartarium in New York where -the lecturer displayed the skies as seen from various well known stars -that were within half a hundred light years of Sol. Certain sky-marks -and their displacement would be very helpful, if he could remember -them. But he found that he had not been as visually attentive as he -might have been, or that he had seen and been entertained and then -discarded the data as interesting but useless in a scientific culture -that firmly believed in the limiting velocity of light.</p> - -<p>Finally he gave up hoping to establish his whereabouts by visual -inspection. He found a small pad of paper and began to make layouts of -the familiar constellations as he saw them. Someone among the planets -of Sol would be able to measure the angles and changes and come up with -the right answer within a few light years, and stars were sufficiently -separated so that the chances were good for a reasonable identification.</p> - -<p>He put a dozen small pages in his pocket and then took his first look -at the control room. He could see nothing changed at first, but then he -found a small auxiliary panel beside the pilot's seat which contained a -bar-topped toggle switch and three pilot lamps that were different in -appearance from the rest of the Lancaster's standard equipment.</p> - -<p>He felt an urge to try the toggle, but fought it down. It was too much -like playing with toy building blocks made of sub-critical masses of -plutonium, and Farradyne wanted to stay alive long enough to watch -the downfall of the enemy, not participate in the explosion. Curbing -his human curiosity to fiddle with strange gadgets, Farradyne turned -away from the board and went to the cupboard where he took out his -binoculars.</p> - -<p>He was astonished to find out how far away the starship really was, and -how big it was when it leaped into closer view in the glasses. It was -still as dark as an untenanted building except for that one lighted -porthole, but the angle into the cabin beyond was too steep. Farradyne -could see nothing more than the corner between the opposite wall and -the ceiling. He toyed with the idea of trying to lift himself to the -top of the dome, but gave it up because he realized, once he removed -the binoculars from his eyes, that the additional few feet of height -would not change the distant angle enough to make it worth his while.</p> - -<p>The question of what to do next perplexed him. Obviously there was no -answer. There could be no plan. He would have to play it by ear again, -with the other guy calling the moves. He grunted unhappily; he could -not even smoke because he feared to show even the smallest light. But—</p> - -<p>Farradyne went down to his galley and opened a can of mixed space -rations which he shovelled in cold. It filled him adequately but not -tastily and he realized that the best of fine food would have been -stowed away in a frenzy of nervous listening for the inevitable sounds -of the enemy's return. With haste, Farradyne cleaned up the evidence of -his presence, thinking how ridiculous it was to be stealing from his -own spacecraft.</p> - -<p>He was finishing up this job when the faint glint of a distant flash -of light caught his eye. He hurried to the porthole from which the -glint had come, and peered out. A large caravan of heavy trucks was -snaking around the corner of a distant building and turning onto the -spacefield. Their headlamps cut forward like scythes of light, cutting -a brilliant path toward the Lancaster.</p> - -<p>Farradyne did not deem it wise to sit this out. They might have been -heading for the other side of the field, but if they weren't he was -trapped. He went aloft to the salon and scuttered down the landing -ramp, around the back side of the poised spacer and away from the -direction of the trucks, running in the shadow cast by the Lancaster. -Five or six hundred yards away was another spacer, and it was -completely dark. Farradyne scurried around the widespread tail fins of -the monster and stood there, peering at the caravan from between the -angle made by the tail fin and the in-curving body of the spacecraft.</p> - -<p>The trucks came around the Lancaster, surrounded it in a circle, and -then a blaze of lights came, lighting the Terran ship from dome to -reaction funnel. Ladders were sent aloft and a huge crane lifted. The -calls of workers and the directions of their superintendent came to -Farradyne clearly. He wondered what they were doing and saying; except -for the three-toned voices that added an audible complement of women -and children to the gang, it sounded like any work party on earth -yammering in a strange tongue.</p> - -<p>He watched for an hour, and then he saw that the distant sky was -beginning to show a very faint glow of gray. Sunrise—or perhaps a -false sunrise, he could not tell.</p> - -<p>He scuttled like a human spider away from the direction of the work -party until its flood lights were a distant miniature stage setting. -He wound in and among silent, dark spacecraft, avoiding those with -lights even though he had to detour wide for the sake of this safety. -Eventually he came to the far side of the spaceport.</p> - -<p>He cased the place warily from behind the fin of a spacer, looking at -the dark, silent buildings and wondering if this gang of aliens had -ever heard of night watchmen. He did not trust the quiet darkness of -the apparently uninhabited spaceport because he was suspicious and he -knew that other people were as suspicious as he was. He was glad that -he did not barge in brashly, for along about the first glimmers of real -graying sky, a man came out from between two of the buildings waving a -searchlight. He sauntered along in front of the nearest building and -disappeared between it and the next.</p> - -<p>Farradyne skipped across the space and went into the gangway the -watchman had just come out of. He walked warily through and came to -a high wire fence. Keeping to the building side of the clearance-way -between fence and building, Farradyne skulked along in the direction -opposite to that taken by the watchman.</p> - -<p>He needed a minimum of two items: A set of Planet X clothing and a way -out of this rattrap.</p> - -<p>He found the way out a few minutes later.</p> - -<p>A dim striking of a bell alarmed him until he realized that it was -tolling, rather than clamoring an alarm. He followed the tolling for -seventeen bongs and came upon a small sentry house perched beside an -open gate. As the tolling stopped, the man in the house stretched, -yawned and got up, picking up a searchlight. He stepped outside and -looked around in a bored manner.</p> - -<p>The watchman took one look at the open gate some ten feet from his -position and shrugged. He turned his back on it and disappeared between -a couple of buildings not far from Farradyne's place.</p> - -<p>Farradyne grinned. Obviously it had been so long ago since any trouble -had been this way that the guard-system had become lax. Farradyne -praised laziness and complacency highly as he sped across the open -space on silent feet and passed the gate on his way to the outside.</p> - -<p>Dawn was breaking and the chill of the morning nipped at him. He had -broken free, but it was just as dangerous for him to remain in front of -the open gate as it might have been for him to be roaming around the -spaceport in the full light of day. He turned to the right and started -to walk along the road toward a group of small buildings a few hundred -yards from the spaceport.</p> - -<p>The second item Farradyne needed came later. He had sauntered along -several deserted streets in the gray of dawn and down a couple of -alleys and through a vacant lot or two until he was quite some distance -from the spaceport. Here, in a dimly lighted district Farradyne met -his Planet X clothing.</p> - -<p>The stranger did not have a chance. He had been drinking or sniffing -whatever the enemy used for celebration and he had used too much. -Farradyne's hard fist came out of somewhere and the stranger went down -like a log, silently. Farradyne dragged him into an alley and stripped -him to the skin.</p> - -<p>His own clothing Farradyne stuffed in a trash barrel, pushing the -bundle down below the rest of the rubbish in the hope that the barrel -would be collected by a couple of hard-working and uncurious men who -would never note the alien cut to the cloth.</p> - -<p>He left the fellow naked to suffer both a hangover and a lot of -embarrassment.</p> - -<p>Then in the pleasantly bright dawn, Farradyne walked boldly down the -city street jingling a bunch of native coins in the side pocket of -his costume and feeling just a trifle silly, like an introvert at a -fancy-dress ball. The trousers were striped gaudily and the loose -jacket hugged his waist a bit on the too-tight side. There was a widish -hat and a pair of shoes that could have been put on either foot. He -looked like a character out of an old-time musical comedy and he hoped -that his costume was not the kind worn by Planet X-ians as formal -evening wear because then he would look silly to them wandering around -in the morning light like a man caught far from home at six ack-emma in -a tuxedo.</p> - -<p>Eventually he passed a shop window and saw other garb like the junk he -was wearing and he felt better.</p> - -<p>He had every faith in the belief that people are disciplined against -striking up an acquaintance with a total stranger, and so he turned -into what was obviously a main thoroughfare and strolled along it until -the streets began to fill with people.</p> - -<hr class="chap"> - -<p class="ph1">17</p> - - -<p>There was no doubt about the alien quality of the city. But in its -functional qualities, it was very familiar. These, he realized, were -developments that had been found to be effective over a long time of -sheer operation; functions that would have been mechanically similar -on any planet no matter how alien, so long as its inhabitants breathed -air, ate food and perambulated. Buildings were mostly squarish blocks -cut with windows and doors; shops had broad windows for displaying -their wares and even the wares were not too exotic. Clothing stores -and gewgaw stores and food shops and now and then one that sold stuff -that was not to be identified by a stranger.</p> - -<p>The streets and alleys and gutters and sidewalks were normal. Traffic -ran to the left, however, which gave Farradyne some trouble because -he had been used to stepping from the curb and glancing to the -right. Drivers squawked at him with their horns and swore at him -in their multi-tongued voices. Farradyne forced himself to learn -this left-handed traffic problem; he did not want to be handed a -traffic ticket, nor did he want to be asked by some policeman for an -explanation of his stupidity.</p> - -<p>By now the sun was well above the horizon and the streets began to -teem. The air began to sing with the noise of people chattering, -greeting one another, and generally making a racket resembling a -Chinese laundry in an air-raid. He heard the clash of metal on metal -and turned to watch a couple of drivers arguing over their dented -fenders. As he walked with his head turned, Farradyne bumped into -someone and the man chittered something at him angrily. Farradyne -nodded humbly and grunted under his breath and hurried on. So did -the other man, who merely replied to Farradyne's grunt with a single -three-toned discord before veering off and away.</p> - -<p>He had to be careful, he told himself; he had found this city so -closely resembling a city of his own system that he had become -careless. He knew by now that if he conducted himself without -attracting attention and if he walked without cringing, no one would -think to stop him for questioning.</p> - -<p>What had Carolyn said? Something about their springing from the same -basic stock some fifty thousand years ago? Well, anyway, these were -of the same family of curious apes who were gregarious enough to band -together and still individualistic enough to resent any intrusion upon -privacy. There would most certainly be three-toned hell to pay if he -opened his own trap, but so long as he kept it shut, they had no way of -telling him from any of their own kind.</p> - -<p>And so he walked among them for hours, until the crowd thinned and the -traffic became less boisterous and frantic and the city settled down to -the quieter routine.</p> - -<p>Farradyne found it hard to place this cosmopolitan culture in the same -niche with the society that appeared to be systematically undermining -the Solarian civilization. It was quite similar to the paradox he had -found in the Niles family. It was as though murder was an honorable -enterprise and that the dope-sales were listed on the daily stock -exchange under the commodities section.</p> - -<p>Farradyne had expected to find some monstrous ugliness here. A police -or slave state would not have surprised him; it was such a culture that -usually fostered villainy. Instead he found a city much like his own -and it was hard for Farradyne to shake off the feeling that the only -misunderstanding between them was the age-old barrier of tongue.</p> - -<p>Eventually he came upon an ornately carved building that stood with the -doors open. People were sauntering in and out with no obvious barrier, -and so Farradyne followed one group at a little distance and went into -the building.</p> - -<p>It could have been any museum on Terra, for the lifeforms displayed -were as bizarre as any of the stranger bits of art work on the earth -or other of Sol's planets. He came upon a quiet hallway that had a -non-scale model of the solar system; it was a working orrery that told -Farradyne nothing other than that this system had eleven planets and -a batch of satellites. None of the planets had rings like Saturn. He -looked for something that could identify the parent sun for him, but he -found nothing familiar about any of the displays, except one.</p> - -<p>There was a small model of Sol and its planets on a pedestal, and while -the sight was familiar, the lettering below the display was not. If the -legend said anything about distance and direction, it was not only in -the alien's terms, but in the alien's written language.</p> - -<p>To find out where in the sky he was, Farradyne needed a fast course in -Planet X-ian language, and then a six months' concentrated course in -uranography. He began to understand that the matter of being lost is -only a dislocation of your own frame of reference. Cities do not have -large signs around the streets saying "This is Chicago" because any man -in his right senses knows that he is not in Detroit, and if he does -not, there are better places for him than either city.</p> - -<p>He shunned the opportunity of visiting the enemy planetarium. Having -some lecturer explain the heavens as seen from Planet X in a trio-voice -would get him nowhere.</p> - -<p>He left the museum and began to trudge back toward the spaceport. He -was hungry again, and the morning and early fore-afternoon had been -frustrating, even though it had been enlightening to find that the -aliens lived and breathed and enjoyed themselves like people instead of -the cold inhuman monsters he had expected.</p> - -<p>Again Farradyne watched his fellows carefully. It seemed that one -medium slug would buy him a wad of paper that could be nothing other -than the afternoon news, after which he would get two smaller slugs in -change. He strode to the newsstand with a what-the-hell feeling and -tossed down one of the medium slugs. He scooped up one of the papers -and two of the smaller slugs and walked away without saying a word. The -newsman watched the transaction without turning an eye. Then Farradyne -folded the paper through the middle and tucked it under his arm and -sauntered along like the absent-minded professor until he found a -quick-grab joint that opened on the sidewalk.</p> - -<p>He stood at the counter scanning the wall-menu as though he knew what -it said until the waitress sounded off at him. He looked down at -her with a frown of irritation, and then waved two fingers at a hot -plate full of flat square things floating in an oily sea of juice. He -unfolded his paper and immersed himself in a page while the waitress -scooped two of the flat things from the plate and slid them between -folds of something like a bun. She shoved them beneath the lower edge -of Farradyne's paper on a flat plate and stood there mewing at him like -a trio of alley cats.</p> - -<p>Acting in an absent manner Farradyne took two of the larger slugs -from his pocket and dropped them on the bar. The waitress took one, -deposited it in a register with a shrug, as if she had seen oddly -absorbed characters before, and returned with three of the smaller -slugs which she piled on the bar beside Farradyne's remaining coin.</p> - -<p>He munched his greasy God-knows-whats and while he mentally complained -about the flavor and the greasiness, he was forced to admit that they -were more satisfying than his earlier cold can of mixed space rations.</p> - -<p>Then he folded his paper (wondering whether he had been absorbed -in a lonely hearts column, the local stock market, or a nice lurid -sex-slaying) and sauntered off toward the spaceport. He made it in -easy steps, angling this way and that and wandering like Haroun al -Raschid, but feeling more like that other fabled Arabian who was forced -to remain in the body of a stork because his bird's mouth could not -pronounce the magic word in the proper language. No one paid him any -attention.</p> - -<p>The sum and substance of his adventure was the feeling that a hyena can -walk through a monkey cage so long as the hyena has enough sense to -wear monkey clothing and keep his big bazoo shut, and an opinion that -it was a damned shame that such nice-appearing folks could be such lice.</p> - -<p>By the time Farradyne returned to the vicinity of the spaceport it was -getting along toward late afternoon. It was a long day on Planet X -and if Farradyne's judgment of time were anything worth mention, the -day had still some hours to go until the real darkness came. He had -no watch. A watch would have come in handy for time estimating even -though there stood an excellent probability that the length of the day -did not match anything like the Terran standard of time. He had dumped -his wrist watch along with his own clothing because it was obviously -alien; the watch he wore was his victim's but it was calibrated in -Planet X time and Farradyne had not had a chance to compare times, nor -to sit quietly and observe the relative motions of the several hands -around the dial.</p> - -<p>He was too early, but he had no other place to go. He could see across -the spaceport to the Lancaster, where the cranes still poised high and -the work went on, but still he had no more urge to return to the city.</p> - -<p>Farradyne observed the entry of others carefully, and discovered that -there were a couple of smaller ships taking on passengers, and that a -number of people were coming along to watch them off. It looked like -the operations on the average civilian spaceport, where people were -not herded around nor treated with suspicion. It caused Farradyne to -think that obviously the people of Planet X were all in accord on the -plans of their undercover attack on Sol. Farradyne smiled sourly, on -the planets of Sol any such venture would have been greeted with every -shade of reaction from eager applause to outright hostility.</p> - -<p>Farradyne was more than willing to take advantage of their obvious -self-confidence or lack of concern over the possibility of sabotage, -espionage, or enemy action. He was fitting himself unobtrusively into a -group of people who were entering the main gate of the spaceport when -he heard the raucous toot of an automobile horn.</p> - -<p>Like all the rest, Farradyne turned to look. An official looking -limousine was slowly coming up that broad drive. In it were driver, -three guards, and—</p> - -<p>"Norma Hannon!" he said with astonishment.</p> - -<p>Then Farradyne felt the cold chill of fear crawl down his spine because -he knew that he had made a hideous mistake. He turned away slowly, -hoping that the others were turning as slowly to go about their own -business. He started toward the spaceport, only to find a uniformed -guard barring his way.</p> - -<p>The guard chimed at him tersely.</p> - -<p>Farradyne took his guts firmly and eyed the guard with a contempt that -he did not feel. "Talk Terran," he snapped.</p> - -<p>The guard blinked and chimed some more, less tersely but no less -demandingly.</p> - -<p>"Talk Terran," snapped Farradyne firmly. "Or I don't hear you. I know -too many who've let down too often and relaxed into their own tongue. -They aren't alive."</p> - -<p>"I don't speak Terran very well."</p> - -<p>"Well, damn it, learn it!" roared Farradyne. "You'll be needing it soon -enough. Now, what did you have to say to me?"</p> - -<p>"You heard me, but I'd rather—"</p> - -<p>Farradyne relaxed with a grin. "No, I didn't. You could impugn my -wife's virtue and I wouldn't listen to you. So now let's start over -again."</p> - -<p>"I was going to ask—"</p> - -<p>"No," said Farradyne shortly. "Not that way. I said 'start' and I meant -that we'd start <i>thinking</i> in Terran, like I've learned to do. -Now, you addressed me properly and I said, 'Talk Terran!'"</p> - -<p>"Oh. Er, look, you're not going to make me repeat it?"</p> - -<p>"Why not?"</p> - -<p>"I'd feel like a fool. After all, a mistake is a mistake, isn't it? I -could hardly know that you were one of the Terra group, could I? After -all, you're not dressed in Terran clothing."</p> - -<p>Farradyne saw a glimmer of doubt in the guard's face; Farradyne should -have been in Terran clothing if his intention was to stay as Terran -as possible until the bitter end. He merely smiled, thinking fast. -He said, "Don't want to attract any more attention here than I do on -Terra. Frankly, I'm masquerading here. See?"</p> - -<p>"I guess you're right. You can speak to your own group, but others can -see you. Tell me, sir, what is it like? On the planets of Sol?"</p> - -<p>"Pleasant enough."</p> - -<p>"Is that so? I've heard they were rich. But the people? Are they as bad -as I've heard?"</p> - -<p>"Worse," said Farradyne, thinking that propaganda was as universal as -anything could be. He began to itch. How could he break this off before -he really did give himself away? The cold sweat that had been running -down his spine at the time of the guard's first hail, which had dried -in the exultation of knowing that he had succeeded in turning the -guard's suspicion away, now started to itch again as another sweat came -out to wet the dried salt.</p> - -<p>Farradyne was saved the trouble. The car tooted for attention again and -Farradyne turned to see it coming back from the spaceport.</p> - -<p>"There goes the other one," said the guard, nodding at the car. It -passed them and Farradyne saw, with less astonishment this time, that -the new one was Howard Clevis.</p> - -<p>"Sure does," chuckled Farradyne. "And now so do I."</p> - -<p>"You've plenty of time before they hop off for the colony. But go on, -and good luck! I'll remember what you said about thinking in Terran."</p> - -<p>Farradyne waved and went into the spaceport. He was walking on wobbly -legs, because he did not know whether the guard would suddenly begin -to suspect him and let fly. But as he passed beyond range around the -fantail of a big spacer he relaxed once more.</p> - -<p>Farradyne walked slowly out across the field, feeling let down. He had -learned nothing from the day's wandering, but while he dawdled all over -town, Norma Hannon and Howard Clevis had been within a shout of his -Lancaster. Not that he could have done anything, but just being able to -talk it over might have brought something out of meeting up with them.</p> - -<p>Night was slow in coming, but Farradyne loafed along on his mile and a -half walk through the tails of the parked spacecraft until darkness was -well on its way.</p> - -<p>Two things he noted:</p> - -<p>The work-crew around the Lancaster were polishing off the last bits -and some of the trucks were folding down their ladders and preparing -to take off for home. The other item was the position of the lonely -lighted porthole in the big starship. It had changed. To Farradyne this -meant only one thing. Clevis had been in one stateroom from early that -morning or late last night, but Norma had been missing. Now Norma was -back to her own stateroom and Clevis was off, possibly being questioned.</p> - -<p>Could he—should he—? Questions raced through his mind. And if he did, -would Norma be able to tell him anything? He had his own plans; to hide -back in his Lancaster and wait out developments. At least long enough -to throw a hard hammerlock on whatever pilot came to drive the Lanc' -and twist information out of him.</p> - -<p>Norma, he thought then, might know one thing: Their location. It would -be a help to know. For if push came to shove, Farradyne was going to -enter the Lancaster and take her up and then he was going to experiment -with that auxiliary drive. He might die, but he was going to try the -thing as soon as he knew that he could never find out without taking -the long gamble.</p> - -<p>One of the work trucks made up his mind for him. It turned from the -Lancaster and its headlamps cut a swath across the field, swinging -toward Farradyne. It took Farradyne less than the proverbial half -a jiffy to come to the conclusion that bamboozling a guard at the -gate was one thing, but to be found slinking around either near the -Lancaster or the big starship was something else again.</p> - -<p>He avoided the lights of the truck by scooting up the landing ramp of -the starship and into the spacelock. It occurred to Farradyne as he -went that the lack of people, including guards, out in this region of -the spacefield was in a way its own protection. Any distant watcher -seeing a figure out here would know automatically that the person was -an intruder; perhaps the only reason Farradyne had not been hailed down -was due to the known presence of workmen.</p> - -<p>Farradyne lay with his chin on the sill of the spacelock and peered -out as the truck went by. It would be some time before they were all -finished, he concluded, and so he decided to kill the time in action.</p> - -<p>Feeling his way along the dark corridors, Farradyne made his way aloft, -up the stairways and around the circular floors until he came upon -the one door with a streak of light coming underneath it. The light -helped him see; the door was secured with a single bolt of the sliding -variety, easy to open from the outside but impossible to move from -within.</p> - -<p>Farradyne slid the bolt and pushed open the door.</p> - -<p>Norma was standing inside, poised defiantly with her hands on her hips, -waiting. For a moment she did not recognize him, then her face twisted -and said, "Well! If it isn't our interstellar man-about-space, Charles -Farradyne!"</p> - -<hr class="chap"> - -<p class="ph1">18</p> - - -<p>"Now see here," he said shortly, "Clevis must have told you about me."</p> - -<p>"I knew that you and Clevis had something cooked up together the first -time I saw him come into the Lancaster without a blazing gun in each -hand," she said sourly.</p> - -<p>"Well, then you ought to know that I'm—"</p> - -<p>"You're a damned idiot, Farradyne! You bumbling fool!"</p> - -<p>"But look, I'm here—"</p> - -<p>"Where?"</p> - -<p>"I was hiding in the inspection hatch. I couldn't see out. Don't you -know where we are?"</p> - -<p>"They didn't think I'd find it necessary to know," she replied -bitingly. "You fancy pants!"</p> - -<p>Farradyne swore in his throat. "Now I'll ask you whose side you're on," -he snapped. "I came here to—"</p> - -<p>"Whose side I'm on?" she laughed harshly. "Whose side are <i>you</i> -on, Farradyne? I hope you're on their side; you're bound to louse them -up sooner or later."</p> - -<p>"Look, Norma—"</p> - -<p>"So you come bubbling home with the bait in your mouth, unable to feel -the hook, and hand it to Howard to get caught on. Go back where you got -that monkey costume and die."</p> - -<p>"Norma, answer me one thing. Who was Frank Hannon?"</p> - -<p>"Frank? Frank was Howard's right hand undercover man, Farradyne. He -had the goods on a man whose name no one knows; he didn't say because -he didn't have the chance. He had it all with him when you dumped the -Semiramide."</p> - -<p>Farradyne eyed her coldly. "There's one thing you've got to admit," he -said. "That tale of my three-tongued people was no lotus-dream."</p> - -<p>Her silence was as good as a grudging affirmation.</p> - -<p>"So part of the pattern is clearing up," he went on. "But if Clevis -found me because I'd had four rotten years mucking toadstools on Venus, -I'm not above wondering if this was not part of some master plan. Could -someone have wrecked the Semiramide and saved me to act someday as bait -for Clevis?"</p> - -<p>"Isn't that just a bit far-fetched?"</p> - -<p>"Maybe and maybe not. Just think. We're not merely fighting an -apparently well-integrated mob of dope-runners. We're fighting a -blind battle against a whole culture that is calmly and maliciously -undermining the moral fiber of the whole race so they can move in and -take over with little or no opposition. Doesn't that make sense? Such a -program has plans that extend for years; I may be only one small angle, -although mine happens to be the angle that worked. Don't tell me you -expect warfare to be run like a football game, complete with referees -and penalties for kneeing a fallen contestant in the kidneys."</p> - -<p>Norma considered it a moment. "I suppose it does make sense. Any formal -declaration of war is an openly expressed intention of committing -suicide. But you explain yourself if you can."</p> - -<p>Farradyne shrugged. "Maybe for the first time I out-guessed them," he -said hopefully. He went on to explain how he had done it in a few quick -sentences. "Then," he finished, "the big ship didn't even try to find -me—the little man that didn't escape. I also doubt that they knew -where I was, or they'd not have let me run free all over town." He went -on and finished the tale of his peregrinations.</p> - -<p>"We saw them catch the Lancaster," she said. "We wondered just why you -suddenly went dead at the stick after giving them such a chase. Well, I -guess that's it. I'll go on the assumption that you aren't a hellflower -devil."</p> - -<p>"Thanks," he said bitterly. "And, why the sudden change?"</p> - -<p>"I've heard this three-toned language that everybody was so scornful -about. I've heard a lot of it. I know that a full-scale organization -such as this bunch can and will pull some rather complicated capers, -so I am no longer sure that it was your inept handling of a spacecraft -that caused the death of my brother. He was on someone's trail and -I've assumed it was you. Maybe it wasn't. And if it wasn't then the -Semiramide affair was not even an accident on your part. So, damn you, -I can't hate you any more."</p> - -<p>"You can't hate me?"</p> - -<p>"Not unless you turn out to be one of this outfit. And for the life of -me I can't see just what you hope to learn from me that I didn't spill -during their questionings."</p> - -<p>"Did they—" he let the rest of the sentence hang because he didn't -know just how to express it.</p> - -<p>"They know everything I know," she said. "I've been filled to the -gills with something they shot out of a needle that made me as happily -loquacious as a babbling marmoset."</p> - -<p>"Did they explain why they brought you back here? It seems to me they'd -imprison you."</p> - -<p>"That's for later. They're now comparing my tale with Howard's and -after they get done comparing notes they'll bring Howard back and we'll -take a little jaunt to what they call their 'Detention Planet' where -I'll meet a certain number of other Solarians who have gotten a bit -too sharp for their liking. It's in another stellar system, I believe, -completely safe and far from home and as a last lever in this war -they'll hold the lives of a few hundred thousand men and women over the -heads of Terra."</p> - -<p>Farradyne swore. "The stinking bastards!"</p> - -<p>Norma shook her head coolly. "That's emotion, Charles. I don't know -exactly what their purpose is, but I do understand that this is a -conflict of eventual survival, and rule of an economic empire."</p> - -<p>"But—"</p> - -<p>Norma shook her head. "Try the shoe on the other foot, Charles. Suppose -you had come upon these people with the rest of your kind—how would -you see them?"</p> - -<p>"As possible allies and friends."</p> - -<p>"Balderdash! You'd have seen them as possible customers and people to -be exploited and maybe enemies after you'd seen their history. Their -attitude is as arrogant as ours and their personal justification as -high. By some obscure luck of science they got to interstellar travel -before we did and they automatically place us in an inferior position, -but they also know that this inferiority is not so great as to make -us a pushover. We are scientifically capable of discovering their -interstellar drive at any moment, and why we have not is probably just -a matter of our not combining the right sciences. Our knowledge of -medicine is far vaster than theirs, for instance."</p> - -<p>"How can you know this?" he asked.</p> - -<p>Norma opened a few buttons at her throat and slipped her dress down -over one shoulder. There was a small circular bandage stuck to one -spot. "They took a sample of me," she said. "Because I seem to be -immune to several diseases that should give me trouble. When I asked -about this, they told me that they hoped to discover just what cell -change took place when we take our anti-cancer immunization. This thing -they have yet to discover. Oh they use our immunization," she said, -slipping the dress up but forgetting to rebutton it, "but they use it -as an African witch doctor might use a typhoid serum."</p> - -<p>She nodded as she went on thinking, "This thing you have to remember, -Charles, that if Terrans had arrived there first there would have been -the same conflict, but conducted from the other side."</p> - -<p>Farradyne shook his head angrily. "We're not inclined to ruin—"</p> - -<p>"Stop sounding like one of King Arthur's Knights. Men of sense and -good judgment don't request their enemies to meet them on a field of -honor. Instead, a state of war is assumed and from that instant on, A -is looking for a chance to stab B in the back because he knows that B -will cut him off at the hips if he turns his back for a moment. Honor -on the battlefield is accorded only to a defeated enemy; up to the time -he is defeated, anything goes. And if both sides know that open warfare -means total destruction, the process on either side is one of boring -from within, or gnawing at the foundation. But this a bad place to get -involved in a discussion of ethics. Where do we go from here?"</p> - -<p>"If I knew how to run that ka-dodie in the Lancaster we'd head for -Sol—if I knew where Sol was from here."</p> - -<p>"And how about Howard?"</p> - -<p>"I don't know about Clevis," he told her. "The thing to do would be -to hike home as fast as we could and spill our tale to the people who -would know what to do about it. Let's face it, Norma. They can mingle -with Terrans because they can speak our language. But I couldn't mingle -with them to locate Howard. I'd be picked up in a minute."</p> - -<p>"So how do we get back?"</p> - -<p>"Why do you think they brought the Lancaster?"</p> - -<p>"Probably to fit her out as a bona fide hellflower runner."</p> - -<p>"Okay. We'll hide out in my cubby until they run her back."</p> - -<p>"You go hide out," said Norma. "If they find me missing, they'll know -something smells bad."</p> - -<p>Farradyne chuckled. "From what I know of them, they're as arrogantly -secure as the Gods of Olympus. Some part of their gang is still -expecting me to turn up near Terra on an escape course, and the only -smart thing I have done is to be where they didn't plan me to be. So -we'll be where they don't expect us to be and maybe we'll get away with -it. Come on, let's hide out."</p> - -<p>The hitch in their plans came when Farradyne led Norma down the stairs -to the last deck below and stopped, holding up a warning hand.</p> - -<p>"What's the matter?" she whispered.</p> - -<p>He pointed. The hatch he had used was lying to one side and a beam -of diffuse light was coming up from below. There came also the -triple-tongued voices of two men.</p> - -<p>Farradyne led Norma one deck above where he could speak without -attracting the attention of the men below. "They've installed the space -drive in the inspection cubby," he said. "That's probably what all the -work was about. It's been taken from the bottom deck and permanently -installed down in the cubby where it wouldn't attract attention on a -casual tour. Maybe a different unit, I wouldn't know; the temporary job -might have been only a harness-job to be used until they could haul the -Lanc' to base for a real tear-down and rebuild."</p> - -<p>"I didn't see any work-wagon," said Norma.</p> - -<p>"Maybe not, but the workman is here, and tuning up the drive. We can't -get below now."</p> - -<p>"So what do we do?"</p> - -<p>"I've half a hunch that they won't leave this ship standing idle long. -Let's hide in the cargo hold until they stop tinkering."</p> - -<p>Norma nodded thoughtfully. "Let's wait it out," she said. "Then if we -have trouble, I can slope and run out of here like a startled rabbit -and draw the chase away from you."</p> - -<p>"You make the escape," he suggested, "I'll do the hare and the hounds."</p> - -<p>Norma shook her head. "Let's use logic, and not emotion," she said -calmly. "I'm known to be here, you're not. So if I cut and run and they -catch me, that's it. But if you're caught running loose on this joint, -they'll also start looking for me. If I carry my point, you'll still be -unexpected. Follow? And someone may get back—the other way, no?"</p> - -<p>"I suppose you are right."</p> - -<p>"You know I am. It's just false chivalry. You get caught and we're all -licked."</p> - -<p>He took a deep breath. "You're right, of course."</p> - -<p>"Now, here we are and can we be safe here?"</p> - -<p>"I think—" He held up a hand abruptly. His ears, attuned to life -aboard a spacer, had caught the sound of someone coming up the landing -ramp and into the salon a few decks above. Then faint as if it were a -hundred yards away but audible in the silence of the ship, they could -hear the triple-tongued piping of a man.</p> - -<p>He was answered by Carolyn Niles. "Speak Terran!"</p> - -<p>Farradyne nudged Norma. "That's the line I used and it worked," he -chuckled.</p> - -<p>Carolyn's companion said, "Why use this mono-voice junk?"</p> - -<p>"You know the rules. It's not smart to relax, you idiot."</p> - -<p>"All right. So what's the answer?"</p> - -<p>"Ask me in Terran."</p> - -<p>"All right, Your Highness. I was merely inquiring as to the imminence -of your take-off."</p> - -<p>"Don't be insolent! We're taking off as soon as we're all aboard. Now -get along with your work!"</p> - -<p>The next voice scared them both out of a year's growth; they had -been straining to hear Carolyn and her companion high above them in -the salon, and now, with every nerve tense, the sound of the ship's -intercom roared at them with terrifying volume. "Carolyn Niles! Go -aloft, will you, and put the—" there came a triple-voiced syllable -"—into stand-by!"</p> - -<p>Carolyn's voice replied, "Aye-firm. But look, boys, shouldn't we have -some Terran term for the space drive?"</p> - -<p>"We ought to," acknowledged one of the men in the inspection cubby. -"But how do you translate it into Terran terms when they have no term -for it themselves?"</p> - -<p>The other man said, "We could always use 'space drive'."</p> - -<p>"No good. Better we didn't mention it at all. Leave it as it is."</p> - -<p>Farradyne whispered, "They're a canny bunch. Talk the language always, -act the part always, live the life always; and cut your enemy short -when he's looking for something alien."</p> - -<p>Another pair of feet came up the landing ramp, and Carolyn said, almost -at the same time. "It's on. How's she working?"</p> - -<p>"Fine. We're finished. Coming up."</p> - -<p>"I want to see."</p> - -<p>"Okay, so you come down and see. We're coming up and getting started."</p> - -<p>"Pincered!" said Farradyne to Norma.</p> - -<p>He drew her to the cargo hold and handed her down the service ladder. -He followed, closing the door behind him and then, before he snapped -out the lights, he reached up and removed one of them, saying, "I -don't think we'll have an inspection, but if we do, having one lamp -missing will cast a shadow we can stand in. This is a dimly lit joint -at best." He waved at the shadow caused by the empty socket and then -snapped the lamp off.</p> - -<p>Their weight upon the cushion of flowers was released<a id="FNanchor_1" href="#Footnote_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> and sat with -their feet pulled up beneath them, not daring to say a word. Her -breathing, and the faint pressure of her shoulder against his told him -of her presence beside him.</p> - -<p>They waited in the dark silence, listening, and occasionally tensing -instinctively when someone clumped past the wall outside or seemed to -come near the cargo hatch above their heads. There were voices and -calls and running feet from time to time, and then the humming sound of -the conveyor-belt.</p> - -<p>The hatch above was opened wide but the lights were not put on.</p> - -<p>And then from the end of the loose-cargo conveyor came a tumbling -shower of hellblossoms. They landed on the floor in a conical heap and -kept coming until both Farradyne and Norma were shoulder deep in them. -The air filled with the thick, syrupy perfume. Farradyne felt a slight -spell of dizziness from the heady odor and then wondered with horrified -interest just what effect this completely unpredictable overdose of -dope would do to the woman.</p> - -<p>The shower of hellflowers came on and on, and Farradyne was forced to -stand because of their depth. Still they came and he found himself -swimming off his depth in them; it reminded him of treading in a -haymow. The rain of blossoms ceased as the hold filled and the lights -went on briefly for an inspection.</p> - -<p>Farradyne was propped neck deep, his head barely below the ceiling and -he felt quite safe from detection unless the inspectors put their heads -down into the hatch to peer around the edges of the cylindrical hold. -He looked at Norma. She had scrabbled up and a-top the pile and was -lying on her back with her arms thrown over her head. Her eyes were -closed, but as she drew in a deep breath, the lids went half-up and she -looked over at Farradyne and smiled ecstatically.</p> - -<p>The hatch slammed down, and she said huskily, "Such nice friends you -have, Charles."</p> - -<p>He wanted to ask her if she didn't find this friendship a bit -overpowering, but instead he said, "They're certainly no friends of -mine."</p> - -<p>"Nor mine. But this is ..." and her voice trailed away to a whisper -that he could not catch.</p> - -<p>Pressure came upsurging and Farradyne felt that he did not have to -explain that the Lancaster was on its way to space and perhaps back -toward home. In the midst of the take-off pressure she found his hand -and drew it toward her, she snuggled her face against his palm. Her -free hand came over and touched his cheek, then ran back around his -head. She pulled him forward until she could rest her head against his -shoulder with her forehead against his face.</p> - -<p>Her fingers ran through his hair and pressed his face to hers. He tried -to free himself, but he could not escape without being rough about -it and he believed that any bold move to elude her would bring forth -either pleas or bitter demands loud enough to bring the enemy on the -run. He struggled a bit, his hands closed on either side of her waist -but instead of moving away, her body came forward against his.</p> - -<p>Then, abruptly, the pressure of the drive went off and they floated -free.</p> - -<p>Their weight upon the cushion of flowers was released and the -springiness of the hellblossoms thrust them up, hard, hurling them -against the ceiling.</p> - -<p>Norma's hands were dragged free of his head and, in clutching at him -frantically, her fingernails raked his cheek. The pressure he held -against her waist thrust her away as soon as she lost her leverage. Her -head hit the ceiling with a dull thunk, followed by the soft sound of -her body hitting flat. A sigh came from her lips, but it was the sigh -of an unconscious person.</p> - -<p>The hold was filled with hellflowers floating free and spread apart by -the tiny pressure of the ends of their leaves and petals; Farradyne -fought them away frantically, but only succeeded in digging himself -deeper in the room.</p> - -<p>Eventually he found the service ladder and clung to it, waving himself -a breathing space by pushing the floating blossoms back.</p> - -<p>Norma's inert hand touched him limply. Farradyne toyed with the idea -of reviving her but gave it up instantly; let her sleep it off, and -preferably alone and elsewhere in this hold. He gave the hand a push -and she floated from him in the dark, pushing through the free mass by -her heavier inertia.</p> - -<p>The exertion had called upon his reserves and he drank in lungfuls of -air that was stickily laden with the heavy perfume. It made him dizzy -again and he fought for air, only succeeding in drawing more of the -thick scent into his system. He wondered haphazardly what the effect of -an overdose of love lotus might have on a man; the experiment had been -tried but not to this extent. So far all it did was to make him feel as -though he were being doctored with a dose of nitrous oxide.</p> - -<p>He scrabbled up the ladder and opened the hatch cautiously. It was -as dark outside as it was inside and Farradyne pushed the hatch up -further to put his face in the clean air and take a deep breath. Then, -because he felt better, he climbed out of the hold and floated free -in the air above the hatch. He latched onto a handrail and closed the -hatch carefully with a breathed, "You like 'em, baby. You breathe 'em -until I get back!"</p> - -<p>Then he sat in mid-air with one hand hooked in the rail and with deep -breaths of the clean air, tried to think what to do next.</p> - -<hr class="chap"> - -<p class="ph1">19</p> - - -<p>He prowled the cargo hold level, floating along the circular corridor. -He knew it was not the safest thing to do but preferred anything to -a return to the hold. He did not stop to decide whether it was the -perfume of the lotus or the presence of the doped woman that kept him -away from his cover.</p> - -<p>An hour passed, then two, and Farradyne was growing bolder by the -minute. He had covered the entire lower level of his Lancaster and had -stopped above his former hiding place speculating whether to hide or -not.</p> - -<p>He decided not, and went floating upward through the ship until he -came to the stateroom level. He floated around the corridor noticing -that the little flags that indicated that the door was locked from the -inside were all down except one. One of his "guests" did not trust his -fellow travellers completely.</p> - -<p>He floated on upstairs to the salon and almost ruined his silent flight -by trying to put on the brakes. On the divan lay a man in his clothing, -restrained by the hold-down safety strap. He was sound asleep.</p> - -<p>Farradyne floated over, and then taking hold of the strap to keep -himself from flying free with the motions, he deepened the man's -slumber with a vicious cut of his revolver.</p> - -<p>He floated on into the control room, where the silent and distant stars -watched. Some of them were moving down; these would be the nearby -stars, while the rest stood as immobile as he had always known them. -He would have preferred to stay and watch the effect of travelling -faster than light, for the aspect of the sky directly above was very -strange in color and in constellation. But he knew that he had started -something and he could see this odd, stellar phenomenon at some more -leisured time.</p> - -<p>He took a roll of two-inch adhesive tape from the medicine supplies and -taped the unconscious man's wrists and ankles and then slapped a length -over the mouth that sealed up the gash along the side of the head at -the same time. Then he went down to his own quarters and opened the -door slowly.</p> - -<p>A second man slept there, but Farradyne did not lash out with the -pistol. He holstered the gun and clipped the enemy along the side of -the jaw with a sharp chop of his hand. Tape was applied quickly and -effectively.</p> - -<p>That made two.</p> - -<p>He considered the situation carefully. So long as his batting average -stayed at one thousand he was in fine shape. All it had to meet was one -error and he was out of the game. His chances were not too good, but -they were helped by the fact that he was an unknown enemy among them.</p> - -<p>This was some sort of undeclared war, but the Lancaster could hardly -have been termed a warship, since there were no space battles to fight. -The ship ran itself, there was nothing to watch, so they did what all -spacemen do, sleep. If he could catch them one by one....</p> - -<p>He opened Stateroom One. It was empty. That put a different light on -things. Maybe this was not a fully loaded transport. Maybe it was just -like the average cargo-haul with only a couple of passengers.</p> - -<p>He opened Stateroom Two and found it empty. That sort of proved it. -He opened Stateroom Three and found a man asleep in the bunk. The -enemy was stirring as Farradyne scanned the room, and he moved just -as Farradyne hastily launched himself across the cabin. Haste ruined -his aim so that his down-slashing hand clipped the man on the skull -instead of hitting him alongside the ear. The man grunted and swung out -blindly, hitting Farradyne and moving him up and away. Farradyne caught -the upright of the bunk, staying his free flight, levered himself -around and swung again.</p> - -<p>The enemy parried the blow and let out a roar that sounded like three -angry locomotives tooting for the right of way. Farradyne pulled -himself down and around, then kicked out with both feet, catching -the man in the face and chest. The force drove his man deep into the -mattress, from which he rebounded to fold up over the hold-down strap. -He flopped up and down, limp, an inert mass caught between two springs. -The same force drove Farradyne out toward the open door.</p> - -<p>His aim was still bad, his outsweeping hand caught the leading edge of -the door and he and it swung on the hinges until he came flat against -the wall behind the door. He fought his body around and came out of the -room feet first.</p> - -<p>Catching at the handrail he stabilized his flight, then he took notice -of his surroundings, expecting the whole enemy horde to come boiling -out of their staterooms.</p> - -<p>A door down the hall opened and a man came sailing out. He caught sight -of Farradyne and launched himself at the spaceman. Farradyne met him -with a slash of the pistol, which was parried by a block of the man's -forearm against Farradyne's wrist. It stopped the enemy's flight but -tore Farradyne's hold loose.</p> - -<p>Farradyne recovered first, hauling himself erect just in time to let -the other man peer down the barrel of the gun. "Hold it, friend," he -snapped.</p> - -<p>The enemy, about to kick himself forward, took a firm hold on the -handrail behind him and retracted his feet from against the wall.</p> - -<p>"You can't get away with it, Farradyne."</p> - -<p>"I can try, Brenner. So happy to meet you again."</p> - -<p>Warily he listened. There were no other sounds along the corridor, only -the one he expected, and soon the little flag on the lock went in and -the door opened. Carolyn Niles came out in pajamas and coat, her eyes -blinking slightly. "What's the—" Then she gasped. "Charles!"</p> - -<p>"Howdedo. Any more hiding in the dark, Carolyn?"</p> - -<p>"How did you get here?"</p> - -<p>"I walked," he said flatly. He turned to Brenner. "You stay there, -schoolmaster. I'm scared to death and a bit touchy."</p> - -<p>Brenner shook his head. "I know you're scared. I'm scared, too. Scared -to move."</p> - -<p>"Relax—but do it slowly. Now turn around and make it hand over hand -toward the salon. You follow the gentleman," he said to Carolyn.</p> - -<p>Farradyne followed them both, calling to Brenner that if he tried any -tricks, Carolyn might get in the way of the shot intended for him. They -went up the stairway, one, two, three, and floated into the salon, -Farradyne making a bit of a time of it because of his full gun-hand. He -hooked his legs around the guard rail and eyed them coldly.</p> - -<p>"Carolyn, let's see how good a job you can do on Brenner's wrists with -a chunk of this tape." He tossed the roll at her and she clutched -wildly and missed.</p> - -<p>"Go get it!"</p> - -<p>Carolyn performed some intricate free-flight maneuvers before she -caught the roll. Then she went to Brenner, who held his hands out -behind him while she ran tape around the wrists.</p> - -<p>"I'd be willing to bet that's a slipshod job," said Farradyne. "But -it will probably hold until I can relax. Carolyn, coast over here and -force yourself to sit in the straight chair."</p> - -<p>Farradyne taped her to the chair by the wrists and the ankles and took -a slight hitch in the hold-down strap. Then he added some security -to Brenner's bond and taped the man to the legs of the divan at the -ankles. With his hands behind him and the strap tight across the man's -hips, Farradyne felt that Brenner would be thoroughly immobilized. -He propped the still unconscious one up near Brenner and taped him -similarly.</p> - -<p>Then he took time to go below and collect the third from his cabin -and bring him up. The man was struggling against the wide tape and -glaring at Farradyne over the plaster on his lips. Farradyne hurled him -backside first at the divan and followed him, to catch the man on the -rebound from the divan. He taped him as he had taped the others, then -he took a small flight to the bar, where he perched on top of it by -hooking his feet around one of the bar stools.</p> - -<p>"Aren't we a good-looking bunch?" he chuckled. "Shall we sing?"</p> - -<p>"Stop it, Farradyne," snapped Brenner.</p> - -<p>Farradyne's twisted smile faded. "We'll play this game according to my -rules for awhile."</p> - -<p>"How long do you think you'll be able—"</p> - -<p>"Long enough. I'm running this show."</p> - -<p>"You can't get away with it."</p> - -<p>"You said that before. Convince me, Brenner."</p> - -<p>"Why bother with you? I'm the one that counts."</p> - -<p>"Cut it out," Farradyne said contemptuously. "I should think your -position would feel a bit awkward for a conqueror."</p> - -<p>"The sooner you free us, the—"</p> - -<p>Farradyne laughed in one loud humorless bark. "So I'm still your -prisoner?"</p> - -<p>"In a way. You wouldn't care to die without telling what you know about -us. You'll do anything to stay alive."</p> - -<p>"You damn well bet! And I'll do anything to learn a bit more."</p> - -<p>"You can't make me talk."</p> - -<p>"Want to bet? I don't think I could squeeze anything out of you by -torture, but I have a hunch you'll sing loud and long after you watch -me take Carolyn's fingernails off with long-nosed pliers and listen to -her stifled sobbing. An old-fashioned torture, but still effective."</p> - -<p>Carolyn looked at Farradyne coldly. "Come to think of it, Charles, I -don't think you have enough sadism to perform the operation on me."</p> - -<p>Farradyne looked at her. He held enough dislike of what she stood for -to do almost anything with cold deliberation, for he thought any pain -was small retribution. But she was still a woman.</p> - -<p>Carolyn sniffed cynically, and Farradyne realized that he had mumbled -the last few words of his thoughts. "Just retribution, Charles, but -have you the guts to collect your revenge?"</p> - -<p>He looked down at her. "No, I haven't. But I've someone with me who -might."</p> - -<p>He took aim and sailed down the stairs. He soared around the stateroom -corridor and ran full-tilt into a flurry of floating skirts. He hurled -Norma from him and recoiled. When he caught himself again, he had one -hand braced against the handrail and the pistol aimed at the middle of -her stomach. She righted herself as he let out his breath and relaxed -his gun-hand.</p> - -<p>"Don't ever do that!" he said sharply.</p> - -<p>She looked at the gun and her face went white with the realization of -how close it had been. She looked at him searchingly as if seeking -company for her fright. She apparently found it, for her face relaxed -and she took a deep breath, let it out slowly. Then she fought the hem -of her skirt down again and blushed.</p> - -<p>Farradyne chuckled, "Go into Number Four and swipe a pair of Carolyn -Niles' pajamas," he said. "They don't float. Then come up to the salon."</p> - -<p>He turned and headed back slowly, stalling until he heard her return to -the corridor.</p> - -<p>He went first and helped her make the curve around the railing at the -top. Solicitously, he steered her to the divan and fastened the seat -strap.</p> - -<p>Then he faced Carolyn and the rest. "Speaking of retribution," he -said slowly. "I'd like you to meet a woman I know. Miss Norma Hannon. -She's a hellflower addict. Whatever she does is basically your -responsibility." He said directly to Carolyn, "You have me fairly well -pegged. I couldn't do it. But I think that Miss Hannon might enjoy -a bit of an emotional binge with the people who fed her the first -hellflower and caused the death of her brother." Farradyne turned and -sailed across the room to Norma's side. He reached out quietly and -removed the love lotus from Norma's hair, then recrossed the room to -hurl it into the disposal chute.</p> - -<p>"Just sit there quietly until the effects of that thing wear off," -he told her. "I'm going to take a tour of inspection of the gewgaw -they installed in my ship. I'll be back when they decide to answer -questions."</p> - -<p>Farradyne dived down the stairway again. He had no idea how long it -might take, especially after Norma had been literally sleeping in a -smothering roomful of the things for hours. Probably long enough for -them all to get the whim-whams just thinking about it, he concluded.</p> - -<p>He conned every stateroom on his way down. He was reasonably certain -that the ruckus would have awakened them all, but he wanted to make -sure that no one in them was lying doggo until he could make his bid. -They were all empty, so Farradyne went on down in the Lancaster, -checking the supply rooms and the galley and workshop, the other cargo -lock and the storage room. He looked into the inspection cubbies and -the wiring hatches until he had covered every nook and cranny that was -large enough to contain a human being.</p> - -<p>The ship was clean.</p> - -<p>He stopped once more to eye the four metal cases bolted to the floor -and discovered that the gentleman who had occupied the place when he -and Norma tried to hide had put nuts on the bolt ends and run the -cables neatly below-deck so they no longer trailed. He went up, then, -all the way.</p> - -<p>"Any talk?" he asked brightly as he soared through the salon.</p> - -<p>"Farradyne, you can't do this!" snapped Brenner.</p> - -<p>"Who, me?" asked Farradyne, in mock surprise. "I'm not doing anything!"</p> - -<p>Norma was still sitting in her seat on the divan. She had not changed -position. But her face was losing its softness and her attention was no -longer diverted easily. "I'm waiting," she told him as he passed upward -to the control room.</p> - -<p>Somehow, Farradyne believed, it would not be very long waiting.</p> - -<hr class="chap"> - -<p class="ph1">20</p> - - -<p>Farradyne paid no attention to the oddness of the sky because it could -tell him nothing and he had more interesting things to inspect. The -little auxiliary panel was gone. The controls had been incorporated in -the main panel, neatly and as if they had always been there; in such a -way as to make any but a completely critical inspection pass them over. -They blended with the other myriad controls, so that only the pilot of -the ship would be able to find them.</p> - -<p>There was a small meter, calibrated arbitrarily in three sectors of -colors. The needle stood high in the middle of the blue region. Below -the meter was a cross-bar toggle switch and on either side of the -toggle were flat buttons set flush with the panel, blue to the right -and red to the left. The wiring was concealed, Farradyne found by -looking under the panel that it had been neatly inserted into the main -bundle of cables and wires as though it had been installed with the -Lancaster's construction.</p> - -<p>He considered the installation carefully.</p> - -<p>In the history of warfare, Farradyne had heard of no one installing -a device that would blow up a whole equipment if the operator used -the wrong combination. In fact, designers worked hard to make such -equipment fool-proof because they knew how rattled a man can get in the -heat of battle. The worst he could do was probably the blowing of a -fuse if he tampered with it. On the other hand....</p> - -<p>So much for that, he thought, and went on to the next matter: -destruction charges.</p> - -<p>Big prime movers like battlecraft and stationary installations seldom -fell into the hands of an enemy in any condition to be reused. Either -the big stuff was shot to hell before the enemy captured it and was -therefore unfunctional, or there was time for the crew to render the -big stuff useless long before the installation was abandoned. There -were booby-traps, of course, but these were usually improvised on the -spot, or at least installed from a stock closet at the time of possible -capture. No thinking nation would ever install a booby-trap permanently -because of the possibility of the operator punching the wrong button.</p> - -<p>Self-destruction devices were another item. These came shortly after -the Military discovered the electron, and at a time when there were -basic new designs of equipment the function of which it had been -necessary to keep secret from the enemy. Countless pieces of apparatus -had been equipped with self-destruction charges heavy enough to addle -the insides of the gear, and possibly bulge the case a bit. But a man -could sit on one of them while the charge went off and the most he -would get would be a sharp kick in the pants.</p> - -<p>But such destruction charges were controlled from a separate panel. -There could be no mistake or error; no one could hit the wrong button. -Destruction must be performed with deliberation.</p> - -<p>And so Farradyne eyed the new installation calmly. It might hold a -self-destruction charge, but the probabilities of having the control -handy enough to be used in the heat of excitement were remote, -especially since such a condition would leave a ship and crew marooned -in the depths of interstellar space to die because someone's finger -slipped. Farradyne was even certain that not much could happen if he -tinkered with the toggle, so long as they were in deep space by some -light years distant from anything large and hard.</p> - -<p>He took the toggle bar in his right hand and pulled. It did not pull -so he pushed. It did not push. He turned the cross-bar slightly and -exerted effort. The bar moved downward in a wide arc and as it moved, -the seat of the chair slammed upwards against the seat of his pants, -and all of a sudden up was up and down was down, and the stars were all -in their right places. The toggle came to a stop and the accelerometer -read one gravity. The needle on the meter still read halfway into the -blue.</p> - -<p>Farradyne chuckled aloud. He had it now. If the traffic lights flared -blue-green for "GO" and red-orange for "STOP" he had this combination -as well. Start your spacecraft and punch the blue button for start. -That was the beginning and the warm-up and nothing could happen until -the meter read into the blue section of its scale. Then the toggle -controlled the action of whatever generator of force was used, more -or less as the toggle was advanced or depressed. The equipment stayed -in readiness all the time. The red button was undoubtedly the cut-off -button to close the gear down once the flight was completed.</p> - -<p>It was as simple as that. Farradyne had spent many an hour in -spacemen's bars up and down the solar system in spacemen's happy -arguments regarding the complexities of exotic equipment, so he -could theorize on both sides. The pro side was a matter of insisting -that electromechanical principles were universal and therefore an -alien bit of gear would function in a recognizable manner. The con -side considered the fruitless arguments that something new might be -discovered or that the evolution of instruments from the original -principles would follow the normal dexterity of the alien life-form -involved. But Farradyne knew that buttons are buttons and therefore -meant to be pushed, not pulled; and similarly, D'Arsonval had invented -the same kind of galvanometer as Ugthrybb, on Vega, with a moving -coil between the poles of a magnet, and just because one race was -right-handed and the other left, the principle did not change.</p> - -<p>Then, being of a practical frame of mind, Farradyne forgot the subject -and began to wonder about his position and what he was going to do -about it. He squinted into the point-of-drive telescope and caught -sight of a tiny yellow star on the cross-hairs. That must be Sol, -distant, small, and far weaker than Sol as seen from Pluto. It was a -true stellar point from here.</p> - -<p>Then he looked through the point-of-departure periscope and -automatically cut the drive so that the flare would not blind him.</p> - -<p>Behind was the constellation of Lyra and on the cross-hairs was another -star of no particular consequence. No more important than Sol. He -got out the Spaceman's Star Catalog and opened it to Lyra. Among the -listings were a number of the F, G, and K classifications, and one of -them, about twenty-seven light years from Sol was listed for the right -position in the constellation. Farradyne grunted; it meant nothing to -him. It was merely Lyra.</p> - -<p>The sound of a whimper cut into his thought and he remembered the -possibilities of the scene in the salon. He waited. He snapped on the -intercom and listened, wondering whether he could sit there and let -Norma go to work on Carolyn. Man's inhumanity to man was a pale and -insignificant affair compared to the animal ferocity of a woman about -to settle up a long-standing account with another woman.</p> - -<p>"Charles, come down here and take this madwoman away!" cried Carolyn.</p> - -<p>Farradyne sauntered down the stairs. Norma stood before the bound -Carolyn. Her eyes were glassy, her face cold. In one hand she held a -small bottle of acid from Farradyne's workshop, in the other a small, -pointed brush. As he came down the stairs, Norma dipped the brush in -the acid and approached Carolyn, holding the brush as she would a -pencil.</p> - -<p>Farradyne held her hand. "Wait!" he said.</p> - -<p>Norma looked at him with a trace of anger in her eyes. "Don't stop -me," she said. "I'm going to write 'Hellflower' across that alabaster -forehead—among other words."</p> - -<p>Farradyne shuddered. His imagination had stopped working at the -point of removing fingernails and applying lighted cigarettes to the -skin. Now it leaped forward again and he could see the outcome of -this assault upon the woman's pride and beauty. A formerly flawless -skin covered with scar-tissue lettering of accusals, viciousness and -probably lewdness.</p> - -<p>"Take her away!" said Carolyn. "There is no point in this."</p> - -<p>"Why not? Or are you ready to talk?"</p> - -<p>"I'll talk. I'll talk because you will never get a chance to use it."</p> - -<p>"You talk and I'll take my chances on that. Give me the works."</p> - -<p>Norma struggled a bit. "Please, Farradyne?"</p> - -<p>"Maybe later," he said soothingly. "Sit down now, and wait."</p> - -<p>Angrily, Norma turned and headed for the divan.</p> - -<p>He turned to Carolyn. "What the hell is going on and why?"</p> - -<p>"This is war," she said.</p> - -<p>"Like hell it's war. This is backstabbing. But it'll be war as soon as -we can fight back."</p> - -<p>"It is war," she repeated. "Let it go at that. The process should -not be unfamiliar to you; you've done it yourselves time and again. -First you weaken the enemy by undermining his resources, lowering his -resistance, by turning his efforts toward advancement against some -stumbling block. Then—"</p> - -<p>"I presume that doping the women of a race is a right and honorable -practice?" sneered Farradyne.</p> - -<p>"It is better than dropping a mercurite bomb. Face the fact, Charles. -We got to interstellar space first and met another people as racially -jealous as we are. We could have made a landing openly, but if we had, -the warfare you are threatening would have been here and done with -long ago and there would be nothing left of either of our people but -smouldering planets to mark the meeting place of two stellar peoples."</p> - -<p>"You can say this knowing that no Solan has the barest notion of how -this doodad in the hold can permit us to travel faster than light?"</p> - -<p>Carolyn looked at him with pity. "I'll tell you what would happen," -she said. "You'd greet us with cheers and invite us in—long enough -to steal our warp-generator. You'd trade us your medical science for -our chemistry and your electronics for our gravities, and then you'd -meet us face to face to prove to yourselves that even though you got a -second-place start, you could move faster and hit harder than we could. -You'd carry your war to us, and we'd carry our war to you, and there -would be cause and effect and attack and retaliation with each blow a -bit more vicious until your people would be planting mercurite at the -same time we were. And then, as I say, the next interstellar race to -visit this section of the sky would find the radioactive remains of two -cultures. I know because our people come of the same stock."</p> - -<p>He looked at her cynically. "Is that so? Where I come from it takes -three people to sing a trio, Carolyn. How do you explain that?"</p> - -<p>"That's a recessive mutation."</p> - -<p>"All right," he snapped. "So you've justified your own actions to -yourself."</p> - -<p>"Of course. Everybody is self-justified."</p> - -<p>"And you justify the doping of our race by calling it better than -meeting us face to face."</p> - -<p>"Remember your own history. Even before the First Atomic War everybody -realized that warfare was a bankrupt measure to be undertaken after all -else had failed. You conducted your conflicts undercover, by boring -from within, by undermining the moral fiber and lowering resistance. -So, when your people have lost the ability to fight back, we'll move in -quietly and make an asset of you instead of a vicious enemy; ultimately -a ruined structure that must be rebuilt completely before it is of any -use to us."</p> - -<p>"Got it all figured out, haven't you?" sneered Farradyne. "All except a -few of us who happen to catch on. Then what—if we don't exactly cotton -to the idea?"</p> - -<p>There was a yelp from behind him and he turned just in time to -intercept Norma. She was advancing on Brenner with her acid-brush -poised. "Don't, Norma," he said gently, turning her aside.</p> - -<p>"But you said—"</p> - -<p>"Later." He gave her a gentle shove toward the side of the room and she -went reluctantly. "Brenner," he said sharply, "I want information."</p> - -<p>"Ask," replied Brenner. "What can we lose?"</p> - -<p>"Navigational data," said Farradyne, ignoring the question. "Where are -we and how fast does that gizmo run us?"</p> - -<p>"I'd guess about six light years out from Sol. The warp generator -permits a top speed of about two light years per hour in Terran -figures. So go ahead and drive this can somewhere so we can get this -fool rigmarole over with. But take the dame aloft with you. I don't -want my face lettered like a washroom wall."</p> - -<p>"Somehow it seems appropriate," chuckled Farradyne, but he took Norma -by the hand and led her up the stairs. She followed like an automaton -until they were out of sight, and then she came alive.</p> - -<p>Visibly she relaxed. The granite set to her face faded and became soft. -Her lips curved gently and her eyes were animated. She walked briskly -across the control room, and turned down the outgoing gain before she -turned to face Farradyne.</p> - -<p>"Charles, that was the hardest acting job I've ever done."</p> - -<p>She snapped her acid bottle into one of the spring-containers so that -it wouldn't float all over the place under weightlessness and then she -went to the co-pilot's seat and dropped into it casually. She relaxed -with her head leaned back.</p> - -<p>"How long after a sniff of hellflower does the effect last?" asked -Farradyne.</p> - -<p>"Depends. I could feel the euphoria fading shortly after you took -mine out of my hair. The odd part of it was that it seemed different, -somehow. I feel so odd. Dizzy and weak and somehow frightened. I'd like -to be held, gently, and caressed like a kitten." She sat up and half -turned to look over the back of the co-pilot's seat. "This is honest, -Charles. I know, I can feel it; it's true and it's good, Charles. Oh, -yes," she said in a matter-of-fact voice, "I remember everything. This -isn't an act, Charles. This is the real thing. I've seemed to regain my -feelings again. Actually, I can almost feel sorry for them, you know?" -Her voice ended on an upward note.</p> - -<p>Farradyne looked at her. Bemused, he said, "Could it be the hair of the -dog?"</p> - -<p>"Hair of the dog?" she repeated automatically.</p> - -<p>"The one that bit you," he said. "You were in an awful overload dose, -Norma; maybe the overload burned the dross out, like fire cleansing a -wound. Maybe—"</p> - -<p>Norma blushed. "You were very gentle," she said.</p> - -<p>He realized what she meant. He recalled the stories he had heard of -sophisticates who took their hellflowers to heighten the emotional -thrill of a symphony or a dinner; of men who had enough love for -their women to let them plumb the depths of emotion without using the -exhilarant as the cold means to a crude end. He had been with her -through her emotional binge and he had seen her through it quietly. -The fact that he had not wanted her, in fact repulsed her, had helped. -She had not been burned by piling passion a-top a heightened emotional -response.</p> - -<p>He looked into her eyes critically. They were alive and soft. Could it -be that an overdose of the same devilish stuff could cure the effects -of its own?</p> - -<p>"How do you feel?" he asked gently.</p> - -<p>"Weak, washed out, but I can go on and on," she said confidently. She -didn't look it, but maybe she could, he thought. Excitement would carry -a person through a lot of trials. He looked at her again and understood -that he was right. She would go on and on, until the strain was over -and then she would probably come completely unglued for some time.</p> - -<p>Farradyne put out a hand and stroked her cheek. She sighed against -his hand and moved her head from side to side. She reached up and -pulled his face down to kiss him on the lips. It was brief but warmly -satisfying.</p> - -<p>She laid back in the co-pilot's seat, relaxed. "It's all there again," -she said dreamily. "That same fast pulse and the tingle—and the -rather interesting feeling of danger. I'm a woman again, Charles; just -a very little bit concerned about being marooned in a spacecraft with -you. Let's get back home where I can enjoy my feelings. Please?"</p> - -<p>Farradyne gave her hand a squeeze. "Done!" he glowed. Silently he -wondered whether she were really cured. He looked at her, at the glow -in her eyes and at the blush on her face, and he hoped so.</p> - -<p>He slipped over the back of the pilot's seat and pushed down hard on -the toggle bar. The weightlessness came, and the compressed springs of -their seats tossed them up against the restraining straps. From below -there came a moan, but beside him, Norma relaxed in full confidence and -watched him work the controls with interest.</p> - -<p>Two light years an hour ... Farradyne ran the Lancaster for exactly -three hours and then cut the super-drive. Together they inspected the -heavens and found a brilliant yellow star on their quarter. Farradyne -turned the ship to face it and pushed the toggle up and down. The star -reappeared without change. He kept his eye to the point-of-flight -telescope and raised the toggle slowly. Sol changed color, racing -toward the blue and the violet first and then turning a dull red and -rising through the spectrum again until it became violet once more. It -went through another spectrum change and started to increase in size.</p> - -<p>Whatever caused this phenomeonon could not be explained by Farradyne; -perhaps by no living Solan physicist until many years of research -brought forth a theory.</p> - -<p>But regardless of the theories-to-come, Sol grew in size like a toy -balloon hitched to a high-pressure air line until its flare frightened -the pilot. He shoved the toggle down and Sol winked back into the -familiar disc of blinding sun, about the size as seen from Mars.</p> - -<p>Farradyne oriented himself with his knowledge of common celestial -navigation, consulted the spaceman's ephemeris and pointed at a large -unwinking spot. "Home," he said.</p> - -<p>Two light years an hour ... Farradyne went to the computer and made -some calculations. He returned, pointed the Lancaster at Terra and -flicked the toggle up and down, counting off a few seconds for drive. -Sol whiffled past, changing in color as its position changed in the -astrodome, and when Farradyne drove the toggle down, Terra was a -distant disc in the sky above them.</p> - -<p>Farradyne turned the outgoing gain on the intercom. "Terra dead ahead," -he called to the prisoners below. "Still want to bet?"</p> - -<p>Brenner growled. "You've got your bet. It's our lives against yours."</p> - -<p>"Done!"</p> - -<p>"Don't try to collect too soon," snapped Brenner. "You're not leading -your squadron of spacebombers yet."</p> - -<p>Farradyne picked up his throat-whistle and put it in his mouth. He -worked it back with his tongue and said, "The hell you say, Brenner." -The result was a humming, whining, groaning travesty.</p> - -<hr class="chap"> - -<p class="ph1">21</p> - - -<p>"We'll not repeat," said Farradyne. "Norma, hike below and see that -our visitors stay taped to their chairs. I'm going to land this crate -without interference."</p> - -<p>Norma nodded and went down to the salon. "They're still secure," she -reported over the intercom.</p> - -<p>Farradyne replied, "Aye-firm," and then made his first ranging-radar -contact with Terra. He set his deceleration drive accordingly and -the integrator-needle crept over to the center-scale zero, informing -Farradyne that zero separation from the surface of the spaceport would -result in zero velocity of the Lancaster.</p> - -<p>Then Farradyne fired up the radio and called: "Washington Tower. This -is a Lancaster Eighty-One requesting landing instructions. Registry -Six-Eight-Three. Farradyne piloting."</p> - -<p>"Tower to Six-Eight-Three. Take Beacon Nine at one twenty thousand, -Landing Area Five. Traffic is zero-zero, but eight repeat eight -Spaceguard cutters are in formation at sixty thousand." The voice -changed in tone slightly. "Spaceguard, Code Watchung. Calling Watchung."</p> - -<p>"Watchung to Tower, go ahead."</p> - -<p>"Tower. Watchung, we are away from Beacon Nine. Lancaster Eighty-One -coming in. Give position and course."</p> - -<p>"Watchung to Tower. Position azimuth six seven zero, altitude sixty -thousand, distance nine miles. Course twenty-seven North azimuth. Will -miss Beacon Nine by thirty-three miles. Recheck?"</p> - -<p>"Recheck and aye-firm, Watchung. Tower to Six-Eight-Three: Did you -follow that?"</p> - -<p>"Aye-firm!" called Farradyne.</p> - -<p>"Watchung to Six-Eight-Three: Pilot identify yourself."</p> - -<p>"Pilot Farradyne here, Watchung."</p> - -<p>"Aye-firm. Watchung Five, assume command of Six, Seven and Eight. Take -alert pattern at two hundred thousand feet and stand by. Watchung Two, -Three and Four compute and take closing course on Six-Eight-Three and -convey to Landing Area Five. Farradyne, prepare to accept convoy."</p> - -<p>"Deny, Watchung. Request reasons."</p> - -<p>"Prepare to accept inspection, Six-Eight-Three."</p> - -<p>Farradyne growled angrily and dropped the radio formalities. "Why?" he -snapped.</p> - -<p>"You are suspected of hauling a cargo of hellflowers. Prepare to stand -inspection upon landing."</p> - -<p>From down in the salon came the sound of cynical laughter. Brenner -said, "We'll let your own people punish you, Farradyne. Hellblossom -running, resisting arrest, kidnapping, operating with a forged license, -operating a ship with a questionable registry. I'll bet that life you -offered."</p> - -<p>Farradyne knew what Brenner meant. Taped tight in his ship were -Carolyn Niles, daughter of one of Mercury's leading citizens, and a -schoolteacher supposedly named Hughes. There would no doubt be a lot -of other witnesses prepared to perjure him into three hundred years of -hard labor on Titan. He wondered how they had managed this; certainly -they had not been prepared for losing their captured spacecraft -so quickly. Yet the counter-preparation looked as though such an -eventuality had been expected.</p> - -<p>"Six-Eight-Three, respond!"</p> - -<p>Farradyne snapped his mike-switch and said, "I resent the accusation -and demand an explanation!"</p> - -<p>"There is no accusation. We have an anonymous tip-off. You are -not accused of illegal operations, only suspect. Will you permit -inspection?"</p> - -<p>"No!" snapped Farradyne. "Deny!"</p> - -<p>"Code Watchung: Intercept Six-Eight-Three. Prepare to fire."</p> - -<p>"Fire and be damned," said Farradyne in a growl. His hand reached for -the toggle and shoved it home for ten seconds. When he turned the -ultradrive off, they were far a-space and the radio was silent.</p> - -<p>"Give it up, Charles," said Carolyn from below.</p> - -<p>"Go to hell!"</p> - -<p>Brenner said, "You might as well, Farradyne. No matter how you figure -it, you'll either be grabbed by your own people or get picked up by -ours. We can't lose."</p> - -<p>Farradyne went below and faced them. "And what happens if I dump you -out of the spacelock and your cargo with you?"</p> - -<p>"You could do that to Cahill," said Carolyn, "because Cahill was not -registered as a paying passenger. I am, and when the authorities find -me missing—as they will very soon if they haven't been so informed -already—you'll be called to account for me."</p> - -<p>"Just what sort of act do you suggest?" Farradyne asked cynically.</p> - -<p>"Surrender and turn this ship over to us. You will be detained as a -prisoner of war and imprisoned among your own kind."</p> - -<p>"Doing what kind of prison labor? Growing hellflowers?"</p> - -<p>"Not at all. We wouldn't consider that ethical."</p> - -<p>"What a cockeyed code of ethics you have!"</p> - -<p>"Let's not discuss ethics now. Surrender and you'll be placed on a -Terra-conformed planet with every freedom among your own kind except -the right to space flight."</p> - -<p>"No, thanks," said Farradyne drily. "I had four years of slogging in a -fungus marsh because of your kind. I'm disinclined to give up after one -miss. It—"</p> - -<p>"Charles!" cried Norma through the squawk-box. "Come up here! Radar -trace!"</p> - -<p>Farradyne raced up the stairs just in time to see the long green line -of the radar settling down to a solid signal pip at the extreme end. He -flipped the switch that coupled the telescope to the radar and looked -through the eyepiece. At the extreme range of the radar beam was a -spacecraft, either the same starship that had chased him before or its -sister ship. It was closing the range fast.</p> - -<p>Farradyne dropped into his chair and snapped the belt. He turned the -Lancaster by ninety degrees and grasped the toggle on the ultradrive. -Ten seconds later he resumed normal flight for a few seconds and then, -at another angle, he used the ultradrive some more.</p> - -<p>He paused here long enough to take his space bearing, then plunged the -ship down between the orbits of Jupiter and Saturn, far to the south of -the ecliptic with a flick of the enemy switch.</p> - -<p>"Norma," he asked quietly, after he had inspected the sky to be certain -of their freedom, "who is Howard Clevis' boss?"</p> - -<p>"Howard reports to Solon Forrester directly."</p> - -<p>"Oh fine," groaned Farradyne. "Getting to the Solon is no picnic. How -do we go about it?"</p> - -<p>From the intercom came a suggestion: "Walk into his fourth -under-assistant sub-secretary's office wearing a hellflower and ask for -an audience."</p> - -<p>A flick of color caught Farradyne's eye and he turned to look at -the radar. The line had wiggled slightly and, as he watched, its -extreme end formed into a signal pip. He looked through the telescope -and saw the starship again. Whether they had one with supervelocity -tracking methods or several hundred covering the solar system like an -interception net, it made no difference. They were on his trail.</p> - -<p>Farradyne played with the high-space drive again, cutting some more -didoes back and forth across space, ending up this time not too far -from Mercury.</p> - -<p>"Having fun?" asked Brenner.</p> - -<p>"Shut up!" snapped Farradyne.</p> - -<p>From below there came a rapid conversation in multitones, like someone -dusting off the keys on a pipe organ played in mute.</p> - -<p>Farradyne swore as he sat there looking at the big chronometer on -the wall, counting off the seconds. Seventy of them went under the -sweep hand before the radar trace hiked up into the same, familiar -extreme-range warning.</p> - -<p>Deliberately, Farradyne turned his ship toward Terra and hit the -ultradrive. "They called me a hot-pants pilot," he gritted. "Now I'll -really be one!"</p> - -<p>Yellow-green Terra raced up and up and up through the spectrum and -burst in size from an unwinking pin-point of light to a shockingly -large disc that zoomed toward them frighteningly. They saw its -roundness come out of the sky in a myriad colors until it filled the -dome above them. Norma screamed, but by the time her voice had stopped -echoing through the control room, Terra was past them by a good many -miles of clean miss and Farradyne had cut the ultradrive. He grunted -unhappily because he was now as far from Terra on the other side as -he had been before he took the chance. This mad use of the enemy -ultradrive in ducking around the solar system was something similar -to trying to make a fifty-ton clam-shell digger split a cigarette -paper; at two light years per hour, their speed was enough to take them -from Sol to Pluto in one second flat. He could not control it finely -enough to do more than zoom off out of sight. Without a doubt the big -starship could maneuver at ultra-velocity with their drive cut in at -microsecond intervals mechanico-electrically, of course, which was a -setup that Farradyne did not have.</p> - -<p>He shrugged, and then he patted Norma on the shoulder. "I don't think -that my aim is good enough to hit the thing," he said. He turned the -Lancaster end for end abruptly and tried a quick flick of the toggle. -Once more Terra leaped at them, a swirling kaleidoscope of color, -looming into monster size, flicking past.</p> - -<p>When they came out of it Terra was again behind them by a few million -miles. Farradyne thought for a moment, started to say, "Maybe we—" -when he reached out and pressed the red button on the auxiliary panel, -"—are being traced by the generator doodad they put below."</p> - -<p>"But what are we going to do now?"</p> - -<p>"Hit for Terra!"</p> - -<p>Farradyne set the drive for Terra and then sat there, tense and -waiting. He had not long to wait. The radar wiggled its warning trace -almost dead ahead.</p> - -<p>They moved to intercept him, but Farradyne raised the drive to four -gravities and plunged on. The starship grew and behind it Terra grew, -but slower. The radio burst into sound and Farradyne grabbed the -microphone and said, "Come and get me, fellows!"</p> - -<p>"Stop," came the demand, "or we fire!"</p> - -<p>"Start a shooting match here and you'll have all of Terra wondering why -the fireworks," Farradyne said.</p> - -<p>"Stop!"</p> - -<p>"No!"</p> - -<p>"One last warning. Stop!"</p> - -<p>Farradyne touched a lever. "Maybe you'd like to polish a few rivets?"</p> - -<p>The Lancaster turned ever so slightly until the starship was directly -on the point-of-drive. His other hand touched the drive and the -acceleration increased a bit. Caustically, Farradyne said, "Go ahead -and shoot! You'll find your own living room full of by-products if you -do!"</p> - -<p>He was right. The Lancaster was on collision course with the -starship and if the Lancaster was blasted at this moment shards and -fragments of the spacecraft would spread like a shotgun charge, and if -the starship escaped being hit with a rather uncomfortably large mass -of jagged metal it would be because of sheer luck.</p> - -<p>"Veer off!" came the strident cry.</p> - -<p>"I'm going to ram you, damn you!" roared Farradyne.</p> - -<p>The starship flared at its tail and at the same time a torpedo-port -winked as a missile blasted off. Farradyne gauged the missile and the -starship and kept his nose on the starship's lead. Gritting his -teeth he watched the missile come at him as he held his course by -sheer nerve. At the last moment the missile veered aside, obviously -controlled by the enemy to keep from hitting him. It was a war of -nerves.</p> - -<p>The starship loomed big in the astrodome and Farradyne aimed the -Lancaster amidships. The interstellar monster grew rapidly until the -individual plates could be seen. Then with a silent, dark flicker that -was as shocking as a loud blast and a searing flare might have been, -the starship quietly ceased to exist as an obstacle in front of them. -They had resorted to the ultradrive at the last moment. The sky was -clear....</p> - -<p>Except for the missile, seeking them and with no control to stop it.</p> - -<p>It had curved in a vast circle behind them and was now closing in from -behind. The radar pip leaked across the screen; the missile must be -coming at them by several thousand gravities.</p> - -<p>"You'll have to take this," gritted Farradyne to Norma. "Hunker down in -the seat."</p> - -<p>His hands ran across the board and the Lancaster turned in space -slightly while the drive went up to six gravities. The flare behind -them lengthened with the increased power, and the Lancaster took -a slight side-vector to its course as the flare was aimed at the -seeking-missile that was homing on them.</p> - -<p>Insensate, unable to understand the maneuver, the missile followed its -finding-gear and roared up into the long trail of reaction flare. The -flare was a by-product of water, stored in its tank as a reaction-mass. -It was heated by the atomic pile to an energy that destroyed the -molecular affinity of hydrogen for oxygen and then stripped the -electrons from their orbits, and when that was done, the nucleus of -the oxygen broke up into eight protons and eight neutrons and added -their binding energy to the drive. The flare was sheer gamma and sheer -bombardment and the word "heat" had no real meaning, until the reaction -blast touched something that was massive enough to absorb the energy.</p> - -<p>The missile absorbed this energy, was bombarded back from the -Lancaster, and ultimately melted to join with the flare because its -mechanism could not function to start the fission of the atomics in the -warhead.</p> - -<p>There was a sparkling burst from behind, like a monster signal flare. -That was all.</p> - -<p>Farradyne cut the drive back to a more comfortable level and relaxed a -moment to let his body rest. Norma had blacked out briefly, but came to -as soon as the drive had been cut.</p> - -<p>Ahead of them Terra loomed moon-sized in the middle of the astrodome, -and behind them the radar wiggled its tail at extreme-range again. -The range closed, and Farradyne with a grunt juggled his levers. The -drive rose once more and the pressure increased. The range closed more -slowly, but still the starship came on.</p> - -<p>"You can't make it, Farradyne," the radio blared exultantly.</p> - -<p>Farradyne laughed into the microphone and cut it dead with a flick of -his hand. "We may not make it," he told Norma, "but we won't end up as -live cowards!"</p> - -<p>Terra loomed larger and larger as the range closed between the -Lancaster and the ship behind it. Norma cried out, and Farradyne looked -through the telescope to see the giveaway annular flare. The enemy had -fired another torpedo.</p> - -<p>He laughed and Norma touched his arm; he turned to smile at the deep -concern and puzzlement on her face.</p> - -<p>"They know we can louse it with our drive," he said. "And they know -that while that thing is coming up from behind we cannot possibly make -a turn-over and start decelerating for a landing. It's a thoughtful -tactic on their part—they hope."</p> - -<p>"But I don't see—"</p> - -<p>"Well, they know I won't pile up on Terra. I'll steer to miss. No doubt -they have another starship on the other side of the planet, waiting -to intercept us out here after I elude the missile. Maybe they have a -whole space net flung out. So hunker down, while I cut some didoes."</p> - -<p>The radar showed the picture. The starship, now fearful of being -detected by one of the long-range jobs on Terra, veered away on a -tangent, while between them came the missile. Before them, the huge, -solid-looking pip that indicated the bulking Terra, crept closer and -closer. Farradyne cranked the rate-of-change dials and looked at the -figures and nodded; the enemy had computed their missile's drive -beautifully. It would meet the Lancaster at about the same time the -Lancaster met Terra. Since everybody knew that Farradyne was not going -to plow into Terra head on, he would have to steer to one side, but in -order to keep from being hit by the missile, he would have to keep on -driving right past Terra and out into space again—into the arms of the -net on the other side, waiting outside the radar range from Terra.</p> - -<p>The alternative was to cut the drive and try to land, and if this were -tried the missile would blast the Lancaster far above Terra, long -before the ship could signal its home planet that there was danger in -space.</p> - -<p>The missile's range closed home and Farradyne hiked the drive until the -reaction-trail was a sun-bright fury and consumed the missile in its -fierceness.</p> - -<p>He cut the drive dead just in time to hear the first screaming -complaint of the superstratosphere. Farradyne hit the upper reaches of -Terra's air blanket at a point so high that the air there was a fairly -hard vacuum, but the speed of the ship was high enough to pile quite -a bit of air in front of it. The accelerometer went crazy, reading -peg-stop against the end of the scale to the left. Their seat belts cut -their thighs and the blood rushed to their heads. Norma's arms were -flung above her head, but Farradyne fought the pressure that tried to -lift his arms; he kept his hands on the control panel and caressed his -levers gently so that the Lancaster pinwheeled.</p> - -<p>The screaming of the air grew louder as the ship turned broadside, then -diminished as its tail came around to align itself with the course of -flight. Then with the pressure coming from the right direction again, -Farradyne waited until the scream of tortured upper stratosphere -faded away and the braking pressure stopped. He hit the drive as the -Lancaster soared on past Terra.</p> - -<p>Though the enemy must have been awaiting him on the line of flight past -Terra, the Lancaster came nowhere near them. Its course had changed -from the usual straight line to a long ellipse and the first turn of -the curve had wound their course so far from the anticipated point that -the enemy could not move over in time to intercept him. Terra rotated -madly below and to the side, then came moving up in the angle of vision -until it was at forty-five degrees off the nose and still rising.</p> - -<p>Once more Terra loomed close and once more came the scream of air, -deeper and yet shriller as Farradyne cut the drive and let the -air-brake take over. They went on around Terra in a close ellipse, the -air-screech rising and falling as their altitude changed.</p> - -<p>Three times around Terra they went, then Farradyne turned his tail -straight down with a few hard blasts and started to drop like a plummet.</p> - -<p>Far to one side came a light flare and the radio gabbled something -that Farradyne was too busy to catch; in the distance a jet freighter -trailed a line of vapor and far to the south ultra-brightness of -a spacecraft take-off trail climbed into the sky. Farradyne, busy -checking the controls, the autopilot and the computing radar altimeter, -aimed the Lancaster for the southern edge of Lake Superior, and they -came down in a screaming fall.</p> - -<p>The flare parted the waters of the Lake and sent up a billow of steam -for about a hundredth of a second. The autopilot cut the drive and the -violence ceased as the Lancaster sank into the deep, cool waters, to -stop, to come rising buoyantly toward the surface again.</p> - -<p>Farradyne hit the switch that opened the scuttlebutt of the water tank -and the lake waters rushed in, killing their buoyancy.</p> - -<p>The astrodome porpoised once, gently, and then the Lancaster sank -very slowly. Farradyne waited until the ship was resting tail down on -the bottom; he turned it slightly to one side and opened the drive by -a bare fraction. Water churned below them and the ship moved logily -sideways, toward the shore. He wondered whether he had enough power -coming from the motor to cut up a stream of bubbles and steam, hoping -that the cooling water would kill the rising turbulence so as to -conceal his operation.</p> - -<p>He spent an hour testing and trying the depth along the shore until -he found a place that was just deep enough to let the Lancaster stand -upright with its dome a foot or two below the surface.</p> - -<p>A small fish goggled at the shining metal hungrily.</p> - -<p>Farradyne stretched. "We got this far anyway!"</p> - -<p>Norma looked at him dizzily. "How?"</p> - -<p>"My pappy used to tell me about this sort of come-in," he said. "Seems -as how he once knew a gent that had piloted one of the old chemical -rockets that used braking ellipses for landings. That was a heck of -a long time ago, before we had power to burn. But anyway, it wasn't -expected, I gather, because we succeeded."</p> - -<p>"Now what?"</p> - -<p>Farradyne grinned. "This is going to be a bit wet," he said. He took -the retractible antenna from its stowage and wound it with insulating -tape half way up its length. Then he pulled out the astrodome plug -and ignoring the stream of water that splashed on the control-room -floor, he shoved the antenna into the hole and made it fast. The water -stopped. The upper half of the antenna projected above the surface of -the lake.</p> - -<p>Farradyne tuned the radio to a local broadcast station, and waited, -relaxing in his seat, until the music stopped for a station break. "The -latest news flashes on the system-wide hunt for Charles Farradyne. -The search for the notorious hellflower operator still goes on. It -has narrowed down to North America because of several reports, some -official and some unofficial, of activity a-space in this region.</p> - -<p>"Farradyne is also charged with complicity in the disappearance of -Howard Clevis, high undercover operative for the SAND Office. It is -believed in some circles that Farradyne may be much higher in the love -lotus ring than a mere handler or distributor. Some officials have -indicated that Farradyne may be <i>Mr. Big himself</i>.</p> - -<p>"An early interception and arrest is anticipated. Keep tuned to this -station for the latest news."</p> - -<p>The music returned.</p> - -<hr class="chap"> - -<p class="ph1">22</p> - - -<p>"Very neat," said Brenner.</p> - -<p>"I thought so," replied Farradyne coldly.</p> - -<p>Brenner's smile was serene and it made Farradyne want to push his face -in. "Glad you made it. I wouldn't want to die in space. Now that we've -landed it's going to be easier to pick you up."</p> - -<p>"Stop crowing, Brenner. I'm not licked yet."</p> - -<p>"Why don't you give up? You can't begin to realize how isolated you are -from the men who might listen to you—if you could get to them."</p> - -<p>"Look, Brenner, I've no doubt that you have your henchmen neatly -planted in many high offices. But you can't cover them all."</p> - -<p>"How can you tell which is which?" laughed Brenner. "You can't get -through, Farradyne."</p> - -<p>Carolyn stirred and groaned. Farradyne looked at her as she opened her -eyes. "Can't take it?" he sneered. "But how you can dish it out!"</p> - -<p>"Where are we?" groaned Carolyn.</p> - -<p>"Wouldn't tell you on a bet," he snapped. "You might be telepathic as -well as multitonal. I—"</p> - -<p>Farradyne's eye caught a flicker of motion and he whirled. The other -two men were struggling against the tape that bound their wrists and -ankles, and they glared at him over the white sheet of tape beneath -their noses.</p> - -<p>"Shut up!" roared Farradyne.</p> - -<p>Brenner sneered. "Just how do you hope to do anything?"</p> - -<p>"I have a few ideas."</p> - -<p>"With every roadway plugged from top to bottom? And if you did succeed -in getting to a SANDoffice without being shot to bits, how would you -convince them of anything?"</p> - -<p>"Sometimes it's better to start at the bottom and work your way up," -said Farradyne. "The idea is to make enough noise so that a large -cross-section of the population can hear you."</p> - -<p>Brenner laughed. "You think you can convince the public?"</p> - -<p>"You may be surprised."</p> - -<p>Farradyne lit a cigarette and relaxed. "We'll wait until dusk to be -sure," he said.</p> - -<p>Hourly, the radio went on telling how Farradyne was being cornered. -Radar nets and radio-contact squadrons were scouring the North American -continent with special attention being given to the North Middlewest. -A ship of the enemy must have arrived with some information that could -be pieced together, for another report said, "Charles Farradyne, sought -on many charges involving hellflower operations, has been implicated in -the disappearance of Carolyn Niles, according to her family. Her father -indicated that Miss Niles had not returned home after a date with the -criminal. This is a familiar pattern with hellflower dopesters. Be -careful. The man is cornered and desperate. He will not hesitate to -shoot, he may even bomb a village or neighborhood if his freedom is -threatened!"</p> - -<p>Brenner and Carolyn did not even jeer at him. The situation was -obvious; Farradyne and his white flag would be shot to pieces before he -could tell his name, let alone make explanations.</p> - -<p>But now it was dark outside. The stars were bright above the astrodome -and they danced with the motion of the water. To one side a wavy trail -passed across the sky and high above there was the flicker of a space -patrol crossing the sky at fifty or sixty miles. The radio was alive -with reports and the police bands were busy with their myriad reports -and directions. Farradyne pricked off their calls on a map with a -drawing pencil. Ground and air patrols were combing a vast area and -space squadrons were holding a dragnet high in the sky above. For a -very brief interval Farradyne could hear a distant network in operation -which indicated that the same sort of complete search was underway in -other districts across the face of the continent.</p> - -<p>He inspected his map and hoped that he had them all. Then, very -cautiously, he lifted the nose of the Lancaster above the water line -and eyed his radar. Pips showed here and there, a couple within a few -miles of him. He waited until they turned away, waited until they went -beyond the radar horizon.</p> - -<p>Using just enough power to waft the Lancaster into the air, Farradyne -placed the ship in a gully a few hundred yards from a state highway. -The trees covered it from direct observation at night and the flat -hills and ravines would cover it from radar detection....</p> - -<p>It was almost two o'clock in the morning when a lonely moving van came -along the highway. The brakes screeched as the driver caught sight of -a crumpled body lying alongside the road. Red sogginess contrasted -with the length of white thigh, uncovered by a ripped skirt, and more -redness dribbled wet from the corner of Norma's mouth. The driver piled -out of one door and his helper from the other. They ran to kneel by the -woman's side.</p> - -<p>Then they smelled the ketchup and stood up, raising their hands -immediately.</p> - -<p>"That's not blood spilled," said the driver loudly. "Let's keep it that -way."</p> - -<p>The driver's helper added, "This is a bum job, friend. We're carting -second-hand furniture, not gold."</p> - -<p>"I don't want your load," said Farradyne, stepping into the glare of -the headlights while Norma got up and dusted herself off. "I want your -truck."</p> - -<p>They looked at him and he saw recognition in their faces. Obviously -every news agency had his picture presented in full color. He saw that -they apparently understood why he wanted the truck, for there was also -contempt on their frightened faces.</p> - -<p>"What's the next move, Farradyne?" asked the driver in a surly tone. -"Do we take the high jump?"</p> - -<p>"No. I just want your truck."</p> - -<p>"Getting a bit brash?"</p> - -<p>"Maybe I have to. Driver, what's your name?"</p> - -<p>"Morgan. This is Roberts."</p> - -<p>"Morgan, you drive that truck into the ravine there and I'll see that -Roberts plays hostage. Get it?"</p> - -<p>"Behave, Al," pleaded Roberts.</p> - -<p>"I will, but I think we'll get it anyway."</p> - -<p>"Act like you believe that and you will," snapped Farradyne. "I have -neither time nor patience."</p> - -<p>Morgan climbed into the truck and drove it from the road through the -trees until they came to the Lancaster. Both men goggled at the big -ship parked there and Farradyne let them look at it for a moment. Then -he waved his gun. "Unload it!" he said sharply.</p> - -<p>It took them an hour to move the load from the truck to the ground, and -Farradyne spent that hour in nervous watching. He could not trust them -not to make a break, nor could he hope to explain. When the van was -emptied, he faced Roberts against it and said, "Norma, tape Morgan's -hands behind him."</p> - -<p>She did, and while Farradyne stood over them, she taped Roberts. Each -man knew that the other's life was dependent on him and, while either -man might have made some break for safety, he would not so long as the -other might suffer.</p> - -<p>Their lips curled in contempt as the conveyor-belt came out of the -cargo lock and the white blossoms tumbled along it to drop into the -van. Both Morgan and Roberts were honest men, but they lacked the -higher education that was necessary to be pilot of a spacecraft; -therefore, they resented the fact that Farradyne had this training yet -used it to such ends. They were rough-hewn and hard-boiled and, perhaps -like other transcontinental truckers, they had a woman at either end of -the line and a few strung along the way, but their love conquests were -lustily honest and they scorned the idea of hellflowers as an aid to -passion. Even in their fright they sneered at the spaceman.</p> - -<p>Farradyne left them sitting there on the ground after the loading -was finished. He and Norma went into the salon and he faced Brenner. -"Better take this quietly," he said. "It's inevitable, Brenner."</p> - -<p>The radio made him pause:</p> - -<p>"Ladies and gentlemen, the late news: The system-wide search for -Charles Farradyne is hurrying to a close. Indications are now that -the infamous hellblossom king is hiding in the Lake Superior region -and all forces are being hurried to that area to create the most -leakproof dragnet in the history of man's manhunt. A special session -of the planning committee of the Solar Anti-Narcotics Department has -been called to deal with the problem, and any information pertaining -to Charles Farradyne may be delivered by picking up your telephone and -calling SAND, One-thousand.</p> - -<p>"This information is being disseminated freely. We know that Farradyne -is listening to this broadcast, and the Sandmen have instructed all -radio stations and networks to deliver the following announcement:</p> - -<p>"'To Charles Farradyne! A reward of fifty thousand dollars has been -offered for your capture dead or alive. You cannot escape. The forces -that are blanketing the Lake Superior area are being augmented hourly -by additional men and materiel. You will be arrested and brought to -trial for your life. However, the reward of fifty thousand dollars will -be turned over to you to be used in your own defense if you surrender -at once.'"</p> - -<p>Farradyne grunted. "Very tasty dish," he said sourly. "Very competent -people you have, boys and girls. Someone really thought that one out -most thoroughly. Can you picture me walking up to a patrol and saying -'Fellers, I've come to give myself up so I can have the reward' and -then have the patrol take me in on that basis? I'd go in on a shutter, -and the patrol would divide the loot. To hell with you, we'll play it -my way. Norma, go ahead."</p> - -<p>Norma slipped off one high-heeled shoe and advanced on Brenner. The -enemy agent tried to shy away, but Farradyne went over and caught his -head between the palms of his hands and held Brenner fixed. Norma swung -the slipper and crashed the heel against Brenner's jaw.</p> - -<p>Brenner slumped, and the heelprint on his jaw oozed a dribble of blood -mixed with mud.</p> - -<p>Farradyne slung Brenner over his shoulder and carried the inert man -out. He propped Brenner in the helper's seat and handed Norma into the -driver's seat. He stood on the runningboard and watched Norma strip -the tape from Brenner's wrists and replace it with fresh tape from the -truck's own first-aid kit.</p> - -<p>"The ankles, too," he warned her. "You have to cover up the tape-marks."</p> - -<p>Norma taped Brenner's ankles. Then she looked up at Farradyne. "I'm -shaky."</p> - -<p>"I know," he said. "But you have to hold yourself together until this -gambit is played out."</p> - -<p>She smiled wanly. "That's what is holding me together. Charles, wish me -luck!"</p> - -<p>He leaned into the truck window and put his lips to hers. It was a -very pleasant kiss, their first kiss of real affection and mutual -confidence, though it lacked a compelling passion. Then he swung down -from the truck with a wave of his hand and Norma put the big engine in -gear with a grind that set Morgan's teeth on edge.</p> - -<p>The truck turned onto the highway and roared off down the road.</p> - -<p>Morgan asked, "What do we do now?"</p> - -<p>"We wait in the spacer," Farradyne replied, "and go back under water."</p> - -<p>Roberts shrugged. "Hope we like the trip," he said. "I've never been in -a spacer before."</p> - -<p>They went up the landing ramp and into the salon, to stop short as they -saw Carolyn and the other pair.</p> - -<p>"Quite a collection you have here," said Morgan. "Is this Carolyn -Niles?"</p> - -<p>"I am," replied Carolyn. "Aren't you going to do something about it?"</p> - -<p>Morgan showed her his taped wrists. "Not in this garb," he said. "This -man-about-space has too many things his own way."</p> - -<p>Farradyne smiled and left them. He went aloft and returned the -Lancaster to the lake. "Now," he said, "we'll wait it out."</p> - -<p>Morgan shook his head. "With the net they've set up you'll never see -your girl or the truck again, or the hellflowers."</p> - -<p>"Maybe I want it that way."</p> - -<p>"Oh? Putting the finger on the bird you carted out of here?"</p> - -<p>"Precisely."</p> - -<p>"And how about the dame?"</p> - -<p>Farradyne laughed. "In this cockeyed society of ours, even a -streetwalking slut can rip her dress open, point at a man, and -holler 'Rape' and half the community will start yelling 'lynch the -sonofabitch' without looking too hard at either of them. She'll get by, -but it may go hard with him."</p> - -<p>With some amusement he saw two different expressions looking at him -silently. Morgan and Roberts were scornful, angry and ready at any -instant to do whatever they could to overcome him. Only the tape kept -them from trying. But on Carolyn's face was an expression of mingled -defeat and admiration. She knew as well as Farradyne that Brenner was -in for a rough time.</p> - -<p>Farradyne relaxed. He lit a cigarette and mixed himself a highball. -Carolyn groaned and tried to flex the wrists that were secured to the -arms of the chair. Morgan growled at the sight of her helplessness and -asked if Farradyne had harmed her. Carolyn replied, "Not yet. I happen -to be immune to hellflowers."</p> - -<p>"Scorpions," said Farradyne, pointedly, "are immune to their own -poison."</p> - -<p>It made no difference. Morgan and Roberts still wanted to get free so -they could take him on in a rough and tumble, and Farradyne knew that -either one of them would be more than a match for him. Tooling a truck -was not hard in this day of mechanical and electrical aids to human -muscle, but manipulating furniture was something else again. Either one -of them was capable of bending him double and straightening him out -again afterwards.</p> - -<p>He listened to them discuss him. It was amusing, in a way. The first -remark was made with a sly glance in his direction to see how he -reacted. As he merely smiled, their observations became bolder and -more damning. They wondered how and why his degradation had been so -complete. They considered his family for a number of generations of -inbreeding and illegitimacy.</p> - -<p>In all of this he had to admire Carolyn's ability to dissemble even -while she was playing a losing battle. She was determined to carry on -high until the bitter end, and she added to the slander with a fine -regard for the well-turned phrase and amplified all the truckmen said. -They were working on his chances for a painful Hereafter when the -radio music faded again:</p> - -<p>"And here is the latest news on Charles Farradyne. Within the past half -hour the area of search has been narrowed to a ten-mile circle by the -interception of a moving van laden with hellflowers. The arrest was -made by a state highway patrol with the aid of a woman who gave her -name as Norma Hannon.</p> - -<p>"Miss Hannon was in a state of hysterical collapse after days of -imprisonment at the hands of the lotus ring, a brutal physical assault, -and threats of being forced into love lotus addiction. The driver -of the truck was carrying a license made out to Walter Morgan, but -information from the Bureau of Identification indicates that Morgan -is also known as Lewis Hughes, a prominent teacher of Ancient History -in a Des Moines school. During the struggle Miss Hannon succeeded in -rendering the alleged criminal unconscious by hitting him on the jaw -with her slipper, after which she taped—"</p> - -<p>Farradyne chuckled. "You see?" he glowed.</p> - -<p>Morgan grunted, "My license!"</p> - -<p>Roberts cried, "Our truck!"</p> - -<p>Carolyn said, "And what's it got you, Charles?"</p> - -<p>"—the first-aid kit," went on the announcer. "Morgan or Hughes is -being held on a John Doe warrant pending the true identification of the -man, charged with hellflower possession, abduction, illegal restraint, -assault and battery, rape and driving an interstate truck with an -improper license.</p> - -<p>"Miss Hannon collapsed after driving the truck to within sight of the -dragnet set out for Farradyne. Her statement will be taken by the Sand -Office as soon as she is recovered. The point of hospitalization has -been kept secret by the Sandmen, who are now confident of an early -arrest. Indications are that Hughes or Morgan has turned state's -evidence and is willing to inform on his racket-boss."</p> - -<p>"Hah!" glowed Carolyn.</p> - -<p>"Did you a lot of good, didn't it, Farradyne?" snarled Morgan.</p> - -<p>Farradyne ignored Morgan and spoke to Carolyn. "Unless Norma is being -tended by some one of your gang, this is the end, baby."</p> - -<p>She eyed him superciliously. "How long will they believe her after they -discover she's an addict herself?"</p> - -<p>"Maybe she isn't."</p> - -<p>Carolyn laughed, "Everybody knows there is no cure."</p> - -<p>"And how about our pal, Brenner-Hughes-Morgan?"</p> - -<p>"You leave me out of this!" snapped Morgan.</p> - -<p>"Sorry," said Farradyne with a smile. "I didn't mean to include you, -Walter."</p> - -<p>Carolyn said, in a self-confident voice, "Brenner is one of us. He is -just as willing to die for our cause as—" She suddenly remembered -the truckmen present, who were probably as puzzled as men can be over -the trend of conversation. But she didn't have to finish. Farradyne -realized with a start that the enemy culture and training must include -a high degree of blind patriotism which demanded that the agent in -danger of discovery must be ready to eliminate his discoverer even -though it cause the death of both of them. The Semiramide—</p> - -<p>A searchlight swept across the lake and its light, refracted downward -from the waves, caught Farradyne's eye. He left them in the salon -and raced up the stairs to the control room. Through the astrodome, -distorted by the water, Farradyne could see the headlamps of a big -truck. The searchbeam crossed the water again and flashed ever so -briefly on the slender rod of the antenna. The truck paused in its -course, the beam swept the woody shore and stopped; the truck turned -toward something in the woods and rumbled off through the trees.</p> - -<p>The radio music died again. "Ladies and gentlemen, we are about to -bring you a very startling program. John Bundy, our special events -newscaster, has joined the forces scouring the Lake Superior region -for Charles Farradyne. Inasmuch as an early arrest is expected, and -possibly a running gun battle, John Bundy will take the air with an -on-the-spot account. Come in, John Bundy!"</p> - -<p>"Hello, this is John Bundy! Our convoy of trucks, men, guns, radar and -radio control resembles a war convoy. We have everything from trench -knives to one-fifty-five rifles aboard as we scour the northwoods for -the criminal who has been so successful up to this time. We arrived -at a point along Lake Superior which must be close to Farradyne's -operations, according to the description given to us by the arrested -truck driver. Sand and mud from Miss Hannon's shoes correspond to that -district.</p> - -<p>"Flying above us now are eight squadron bombers carrying heavy depth -charges because Farradyne is believed to be hiding his spacecraft in -the waters of the Lake. A submarine from the Great Lakes Geodetic -Survey has been hastily equipped with some ranging sonar from the War -Museum at Chicago and is seeking the submerged spacecraft. It—"</p> - -<p>There came a distant crash in the radio and seconds afterward the -Lancaster resounded with the thunder of an underwater explosion.</p> - -<p>"One of the depth charge patterns has been dropped," explained Bundy -excitedly. "Perhaps this is—no, it's not. Sorry. Just a hope, but the -submarine has just covered the explosion area and reported only an -underwater mountain peak instead of a hidden spacecraft. No place will -be left unsearched—"</p> - -<p>A thin, pure ping of a pitch so high it was on the upper limit of -Farradyne's ability to hear came and lasted for less than a tenth of -a second. It came again in about twenty seconds, repeating at like -intervals again and again. The interval dropped; the volume of the ping -increased noticeably until the singing tinkle, something like tapping a -silver table knife on Haviland china, was coming fast.</p> - -<p>Ping! Ping! Ping!</p> - -<p>Farradyne looked above. Circling there were skytrails of jet bombers -making loops in the sky. There came another flash of the searchbeam -against the antenna.</p> - -<p>Ping! Abruptly the pinging changed in tone. It became frequency -modulated so that it rose in a chirp, and Farradyne knew that the -submarine was coming closer.</p> - -<p><i>Norma! Get through, wherever you are!</i></p> - -<p>Along the shoreline something blossomed with an orange flash. Seconds -later there was an eruption fifty yards from the Lancaster that shook -the ship hard enough to make the plates groan. A trickle of lake water -oozed through the ceiling of the astrodome.</p> - -<p>The pinging came louder.</p> - -<p>Underwater bursts ricocheted and flashed and hurled their gusts of -force against the spacer, buffeting the Lancaster.</p> - -<p>Farradyne's hands hung above his controls. He could escape this -holocaust; all he had to do was to blast free from the water, make a -brief run for it, and then come down hard on the enemy ultradrive -toggle-bar and his Lancaster would virtually disappear right under the -guns of the squadrons that sought him. He could hide in space for a day -or a week and return after Norma explained.</p> - -<p>But this was wrong. To be sure he had the enemy equipment in his hold -and enemy agents in his salon who could explain the science behind the -device. Eventually it could be reproduced—but only if there were time.</p> - -<p>For Farradyne realized that his act had been the first overt move that -could start the First Interstellar War—but the enemy would not permit -Sol to take the second move. Once their secret was out the starships -would hover over Sol's planets with their loads of mercurite and it -would be slavery or death. He would land to find a ruined Sol and a -few remnants of humankind reduced to savagery. The only result would be -the locating of a mercurite stockpile and a blow of retaliation.</p> - -<p>And then someday, another sentience would come to visit the stars and -find only the smouldering ruins of two systems that could neither live -with each other nor permit each other to have supremacy.</p> - -<p>Another bouncing crash shook the Lancaster.</p> - -<p>The radio was rambling on and on as John Bundy gave the world a blow by -blow description of the first action made toward its ultimate death.</p> - -<p>"—and to those people who have stood out against the expenditure of -monies for arms and training, I say they should witness this attack -upon an enemy of society. Yes, warfare is dead, but the conflict goes -on against evil and ruthlessness, and only by preparedness of strength -and preparedness of mind—to be as ruthless as the fiends that bore -from within—can mankind combat his own weaknesses.</p> - -<p>"They are evacuating the area now. Farradyne is trapped and unless he -surrenders within the next half hour, atomic weapons will be used. We -may never learn the thoughts of the mind that has directed the decay of -the moral fiber of our people. We may never know why a man, given the -opportunities that many finer men have been denied, chose as his life's -work—"</p> - -<p>Carolyn laughed hysterically and Farradyne went below for a look.</p> - -<p>Morgan and Roberts fell upon him and hauled him down the stairs. They -pinned him to the deck and held him there. Carolyn stood above him.</p> - -<p>"We don't mind dying," she said, "in order to take you with us! You and -your money and your paid agents and your bribed officials! Permit you -to surrender? To stand mock trial and be acquitted? Never!"</p> - -<p>The Lancaster shook with the throb of depth charges.</p> - -<p>Farradyne struggled against his captors. He'd been as blind a fool as -he had ever been, to let them sit there without taping them separately.</p> - -<p>"Let me up!" he stormed. "Let me up so we can escape this bombing—"</p> - -<p>"Shut the hell up!"</p> - -<p>Farradyne struggled.</p> - -<p>There was a blasting roar that stunned them all; it shook the Lancaster -viciously. The trickle of water through the astrodome was covered by -the ear-splitting thunder, but less shockingly loud as the Lancaster -hiked into the open air and braved the fire of the squadrons.</p> - -<p>Farradyne fought himself awake. "Let him escape and we—"</p> - -<p>Carolyn's shrill laugh drowned out his weak voice.</p> - -<p>The radio went on as accursedly unanswerable as always. "Farradyne's -spacecraft has been trapped and fired upon and now the pilot himself -has been flushed from cover. He is making the criminal's last-stand. -The rascal is hoping to flee through the most thorough skycover that -has ever been assembled. He cannot hope to win though, ladies and -gentlemen. I wish we had video here in the early morning light, so that -you could see this vivid spectacle of the eternal battle between the -forces of good and evil!</p> - -<p>"But we'll all be there when Farradyne goes down to the death of flame -he so richly deserves. Above him now are the jet bombers and above them -lie the Interplanetary Space Guard to fire the final coup de grace—if -Farradyne can run this gauntlet of righteous wrath that far.</p> - -<p>"His flare trail is dimmed by the pinpoints of flashing death that -seek him out. On every side of me are ships vomiting torpedoes, guided -missiles with target-seeking radar in their sleek noses that will end -this reign of terror and dissolution once they find their mark."</p> - -<p>Farradyne looked up at Carolyn and saw a glow of excitement in her -eyes. She looked down at him and said, "Charles, you almost succeeded—"</p> - -<p>The radio clicked audibly and a forceful voice came on: "Attention! -Attention! All listeners hear this. This is the office of the Secretary -of Solar Defense, Under Secretary Marshall White speaking. All persons, -whether official or unofficial, whether citizen or military, are -hereby charged with the safety of Charles Farradyne and the Lancaster -model Eighty-One in his possession. This is a 'Cease Fire' order. All -citizens and military personnel, officials and non-officials are hereby -ordered to offer Charles Farradyne whatever he may request in the -nature of manpower, machinery, supplies, protection, material and safe -conduct so that he may deliver his spacecraft to the Terran Arsenal at -Terre Haute, Indiana."</p> - -<p>Morgan looked at Farradyne with a scowl.</p> - -<p>Carolyn cried, "Friends in high places!"</p> - -<p>Roberts spat on Farradyne's face.</p> - -<p>The Under Secretary's voice went on, "Within the hour, Miss Norma -Hannon, one-time associate of Howard Clevis, undercover agent attached -to this office on free duty, has presented irrevocable evidence to -show that the hellflower operations have been a part and parcel of -an unsuspected plot against humanity by denizens of an extra-solar -culture. Since Farradyne's spacecraft contains the only known device -enabling matter to exceed the velocity of light, its delivery to the -Arsenal is deemed top priority. All persons are charged—"</p> - -<p>Farradyne shrugged himself out of the grip of the truckmen. "Go the -hell aloft and grab that bastard running the ship!" he snarled at them.</p> - -<p>The other enemy rushed forward and Roberts caught a hard fist on the -jaw and reeled back. Farradyne wheeled with a wide swing and chopped -the edge of his hand hard against the side of the alien face. The blow -hurled the other back against the little bar, against which he crumpled -and slipped to the floor in a flaccid heap.</p> - -<p>"Watch her!" Farradyne yelled to Roberts, who was recovering from his -blow. Morgan dashed up the stairs and Farradyne was at his heels.</p> - -<p>The truckman raced across the control room and caught the enemy pilot -by his right wrist, whipped it out, around, down, back and up in a -hammerlock. He jerked once and then lifted the screaming pilot out of -the chair; hammerlock in one hand, his other arm clenched around the -pilot's throat.</p> - -<p>Farradyne slipped into the pilot's chair and reversed the controls. He -oriented himself, and then boldly turned the Lancaster on its side and -sent the ship screaming through the upper air towards Indiana.</p> - -<p>In the control room there were some flashes high in the sky. Terran -forces had made contact with the enemy.</p> - -<hr class="tb"> - -<p>He turned in his pilot's chair as he heard them struggling up the -stairs. Carolyn was fighting her way up with tooth and nail and crying, -"I've got to see him!" Roberts was still stunned from the blow, a bit -groggy and also a bit reluctant to lash out and crush a few bones.</p> - -<p>Farradyne jeered, "So I couldn't get through?"</p> - -<p>Carolyn faced him, "You poor simpleton," she said, "you've just sealed -your own doom."</p> - -<p>Farradyne shrugged. "Sometimes it's better to kill the dog than let the -fleas multiply. It saves the rest of the dogs."</p> - -<p>"Do you realize what you're doing? You're giving up! You're admitting—"</p> - -<p>"Oh, shut up, Carolyn. What's your alternative? To surrender quietly -and let your rapacious gang walk in? Of course we can't win. But you -can't win either because we're going to deprive you of victory. When -the next galactic race comes this way they'll find a couple of glowing -monuments to a culture that preferred death to slavery."</p> - -<p>"But you couldn't possibly—"</p> - -<p>"Oh yes, I can. That's why we're heading for the arsenal now. I'll get -my load of mercurite there, and deliver it to your system while you and -your gang are ruining ours. I call it retribution."</p> - -<p>"You don't offer any alternative, either," she whispered.</p> - -<p>"Complete surrender," he suggested.</p> - -<p>"And you know what that would mean."</p> - -<p>Farradyne looked at her. It was an impasse and he knew it as well as -she did. The law of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth is only -good when there is a higher authority to see that it goes no further. -When there is no just authority to pass judgment, the loss of an eye -is revenged with interest, and the anger and resentment and desire for -counter-revenge grow and pyramid until nations and planets and solar -systems are involved in punitive wars that leave both sides weak and -broken. Primitive and ruinous it was. But then, so was all revenge.</p> - -<p>It need not be ruinous. There could be a better way to pride, to -personal or national integrity. It had been done before in the middle -of the Twentieth Century and it had been the start of a consolidated -Terra. For there is personal pride in knowing that you have let your -defeated enemy live; in letting your defeated enemy know that you feel -strong and secure enough to hold his efforts in contempt.</p> - -<p>Farradyne looked at Carolyn. "Surrender," he suggested to her. "Then -we'll move in quietly and count off your people. We've lost many of -ours, so we'll just tally off so many men to be murdered in cold blood. -So many virgins to be ravished. So many wives to be left without -husbands and so many husbands left without wives. Children left -homeless to such and such a number." His voice rose. "So much hunger; -so much pestilence; so much famine; so much death. What in the hell do -you think we are, Carolyn, a race of God damned vultures?"</p> - -<p>"What do you want me to do?" she whimpered. "You're in the driver's -seat."</p> - -<p>"No, I'm not!" yelled Farradyne. "And I'm not going to be held -responsible for anything that wasn't my idea in the first place. Your -outfit started this and now if your outfit does not care for the -end-game, it's for you to say. Now—do we drop mercurite?"</p> - -<p>She searched his face and saw nothing but hard determination. She -shook her arm from Roberts' clutch and walked to the radio. Into the -microphone she began to singsong. She went on for some time; staccato, -musical now and discordant then, her triple-tongued voice rising and -falling as she spoke rapidly.</p> - -<p>Then she turned from the radio. "You win," she said. "Somehow you -always win. And maybe—maybe I'm glad it's all over!"</p> - -<p>Tears welled in her eyes and she turned away from them to stumble down -the stairway blindly.</p> - -<hr class="chap"> - -<p class="ph1">23</p> - - -<p>Farradyne looked down at the white face, almost as pale as the hospital -sheets. Norma looked up at him, her face wan and her smile weak but -genuine. He reached down and pressed her hand gently. "Relax, Norma, -it's all over and done with."</p> - -<p>"You're sure?"</p> - -<p>"Of course I'm sure. Dr. Fawcett told me this morning that you were -obviously on your way to a cure."</p> - -<p>"I'm feeling fine," she said. "I'm weak, but I do feel better. This is -just from the strain. I held my nerves together too long and it's left -me sort of washed out. But I'll be all right."</p> - -<p>"You've got to be," he said seriously. "This is all too good to miss."</p> - -<p>"What's happened? Charles, you talk. I'm—"</p> - -<p>"Sure. Well, you never saw so much gold-braid and striped-trousers -a-space before in your life. After I set the Lancaster down at Terre -Haute, they came aboard and sat on two of the guys for hostages against -my return, and a bunch of us went to Lyra Three Fifty Seven with -Carolyn as interpreter. We made 'em cough up Clevis and about a hundred -other bright guys who'd been too smart for 'em. They—the gold-braid -and striped-trouser set—moved in and they've been conferring ever -since. Seems as how I guessed right; both sides seem to think that -there's been enough strife, and that more can be gained by pooling -our efforts. Anyway, it's out of my hands now and I'm just a spaceman -again."</p> - -<p>Farradyne took a deep breath and chuckled. "I've my license back, clear -and honest. There's nothing too good for Farradyne, former bona fide -louse. I've also got enough interstellar shipping contracts to set me -up in rare style. Within a year I'll own a whole fleet and then I can -retire and pay someone else to go a-spacing. Does that sound good, -honey?"</p> - -<p>Norma looked up at him out of soft eyes. "Is this a proposal of -marriage?"</p> - -<p>"In the first degree," he said.</p> - -<p>Norma pulled him down and gave him her lips. They were soft and warm -and pleasantly affectionate, as they had been on the road in Wisconsin. -Then she let him go and he stood up. He saw her eyes fill with tears.</p> - -<p>"Norma?" he said.</p> - -<p>"Charles, it wouldn't work."</p> - -<p>"But—"</p> - -<p>She smiled gently. "It's not that, Charles," she said slowly. "I'm not -thinking about Frank and the years of hate. Since then I've come to -know you and admire you, but you see, I don't really love you, Charles. -I—"</p> - -<p>He saw something in her eyes and understood; he hoped she would not get -involved in any long discussion and, to forestall it, he asked, "It's -Howard?"</p> - -<p>She nodded. "I loved him before Frank—" Her eyes glowed a bit and were -dry again. "Howard is a strong man, Charles. He used Frank, and then he -used me, and then he used you. And the hellflowers took Frank, and then -they took me from Howard and finally they took Howard, too. But you've -brought them all back but Frank. To me, Charles, and I've got—"</p> - -<p>He bent down and stopped the flow of words with his lips. "Be happy, -baby," he said against her cheek. "I'll finish it all up in fine style."</p> - -<p>Farradyne left the room quickly. In the corridor he paused long enough -to shake the growing vacuum away, and then he went down to the waiting -room....</p> - -<p>"Howard? She's awake and feeling fine, although she's still weak as a -kitten. A bit of the sight and touch of you would work wonders, Howard. -She wants you."</p> - -<p>Clevis got up and gripped Farradyne's hand hard. "You're quite a guy, -Charles," he said.</p> - -<p>"I want to be second-best man, Howard."</p> - -<p>"Any damned day in the week," replied Clevis. He left and Farradyne was -alone.</p> - -<p>Farradyne sat down and lit a cigarette. He blew smoke at his toes and -wondered at himself. He should have been feeling despondent. Instead, -he felt a peculiarly satisfying glow of contentment. He couldn't win -everything; somehow this single loss was meant to be and it was right -that he should not have Norma.</p> - -<p>And then the plume of smoke curled around a pair of slender ankles and -Farradyne realized that his loss of Norma was not a loss at all; the -slight vacuum filled full as Farradyne knew where his last piece of -unfinished business was.</p> - -<p>The waiting room resounded with a gentle musical chord. It was operatic -in quality; angel, hoyden and devil singing bacchanal. He smiled and -looked up at her.</p> - -<p>"Any damned day in the week," he promised, getting to his feet.</p> - -<p>Against his face, Carolyn laughed softly. "But you can't even pronounce -my name."</p> - -<p>"I'll get along," he said. "We'll figure out something."</p> - -<p>Arm in arm they went out into the bright sunshine.</p> - -<hr class="chap"> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a id="Footnote_1" href="#FNanchor_1" class="label">[1]</a> Transcriber's Note: Possible printer error. This line is -repeated on the next page that seems to be more appropriate to the -story.</p></div> - -<hr class="chap"> - -<div class="figcenter illowp44" id="bpage" style="max-width: 18.375em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/bpage.jpg" alt=""> -</div> - - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HELLFLOWER ***</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. 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