Part 22 (1/2)
_Concluding a Thrilling New Serial of Interplanetary Life and Travel by Edward E. Smith, Ph.D._
_Author of ”Skylark of s.p.a.ce,” and ”Skylark Three”_
PART III
s.p.a.cehounds of IPC
_The question of rays--their expanding power for good and evil--is receiving increasing attention from scientists. The x-ray has been found to be very beneficial, given in certain quant.i.ties, but extremely inimical to health, and even fatal, if too much exposure is given. The powers of the cosmic rays have not been fully discovered as yet. And there is no reason to doubt the theory that there may be found still more destructive and powerful rays. Even wars are becoming a more dangerous plaything for nations of our world--to say nothing of other possible enemies from other parts of our universe. Stevens and Nadia Newton meet with thrilling experiences galore in this concluding instalment._
What Went Before:
The Interplanetary Vessel _Arcturus_ sets out for Mars, with Breckenridge as chief pilot, carrying on board, besides its regular crew and some pa.s.sengers, the famous Dr. Stevens, designer of s.p.a.ce s.h.i.+ps and computer. He checks computations made by astronomers stationed in floating observatories, and after he has located any trouble and suggests a plan for minimizing the hazards of the trip from the earth to Mars he reports his findings and suggestions to Mr. Newton, chief of the Interplanetary Corporation.
Stevens then takes Nadia, Mr. Newton's beautiful young daughter, on a specially conducted sight-seeing tour of the _Arcturus_ and thoroughly explains to her all of the works of the vessel.
Nadia has herself had a good science education. While they are down at the bottom of the s.h.i.+p--nearing the end of their tour--Stevens feels a barely perceptible movement of the vessel from its course. When he turns on the visiplate, he is horrified to find that a mysterious ray of unparalleled power has neatly sliced the _Arcturus_ in several places.
Nadia and Stevens are completely separated from the rest of the crew and pa.s.sengers of the s.h.i.+p, so they get into a lifeboat, which is equipped for a limited amount of s.p.a.ce travel. Despite the strict and apparently effective vigilance of the enemy destroyer, Stevens and Nadia make their getaway in the lifeboat, which they aptly call ”Forlorn Hope,” and finally make a safe landing on Ganymede, where Stevens almost completes a power-plant and a radio transmitter, to enable him to communicate with the earth or with the IPV _Sirius_, which is used by Westfall and Brandon (two of the world's best scientists) as a floating laboratory.
They start for Cantrell's Comet, where Stevens acquires the necessary material for his giant transmitting tube, heads back to Ganymede, when their s.h.i.+p is cut, top and bottom, by a strong ray-beam. Stevens and Nadia soon find that the other s.h.i.+p is manned by friendly beings from Saturn. Together they plan against their common foes--the Hexans--who are enemies of the universe.
After helping the Saturnians to repair their power plant, they start back to Ganymede, aided by their new friends from the frigid civilization. Finally, however, Stevens succeeds in connecting, by radio, with the _Sirius_ and his scientist friends on board it, who rush to the aid of the two castaways. It is while the castaways are captives of the Hexans that help looms near.
CHAPTER IX
The _Sirius_ Takes a Hand
The _Sirius_ loafed along through the ether at normal acceleration just outside the orbit of Mars and a million miles north of the ecliptic plane. In the control room, which had been transformed into a bewilderingly complete laboratory, Norman Brandon strode up and down, waving his arms, his unruly black hair on end, addressing savagely his friend and fellow-scientist, who sat unmoved and at ease.
”For cat's sake, Quince, let's get busy! They're outside somewhere, since the police have scoured every cubic kilometer within range of the power plants without finding a trace of them. We've got the power question licked right now--with these fields we can draw sixty thousand kilofranks from cosmic radiation, which is lots more than we'll ever need. We haven't drawn a frank from a plant in a month, and we've had to cut our field strength down to a whisper to keep from burning out our acc.u.mulators. We can hunt as far as Neptune easy--we can go to Alpha Centauri if we want to. This thing of piffling and monkeying around here's pulling my cork, and for the ten thousand four hundred and sixty seventh time I say _let's prowl_ and _prowl now_! In fact, I'm getting so sick of sticking around doing nothing that I'm going out anyway, if I have to go alone in a lifeboat!”
[Ill.u.s.tration: _The flying fortresses were finally wrenched from the ground and hurled upward._]
Impetuous and violent as Brandon had always been, never before had he gone to such lengths as to suggest a disruption of the partners.h.i.+p; and Westfall, knowing that Brandon, in his most violent moments, never threatened idly, thought long before he replied.
”You will not go alone, of course. If you insist upon going without further preparation I will go too, no matter how foolish I think such a course to be. We have power, it is true, but in all other respects we are in no condition to meet an opponent having command of such resources as must certainly be possessed by those who attacked the _Arcturus_.
Our detectors are inefficient, our system of vision is crude, to say the least, and many other things are still in the experimental stage.
We have not the slightest idea whom or what we may encounter. It is all too probable that we would simply be throwing away uselessly the lives of more good men. It is also foolish from a general viewpoint, for as you already know, we and our a.s.sistants happen to be in better position to study these things than is any one else at the present time. However, I will compromise with you. We can learn much in a month if you will really try, instead of wasting time in fuming around the s.h.i.+p and indulging in these idiotic tantrums. If you will buckle down and really study the problems confronting us for thirty days, we will set out at the end of that time, ready or not.”
”All x. I hate to do it, but we've been together too long to bust it up now,” and Brandon turned toward his bench. Scarcely had he reached it when a series of dots and dashes roared from an amplifier. Both men leaped for the receiver which had so unexpectedly burst into sound, reaching it just as it relapsed into silence, and from the tape of the recorder they read the brief message.
”...h four seven ganymede point oh four seve....”
”That's Steve!” yelled Brandon. ”n.o.body else could build an ultra-sender! Direction?”
”No need of calculating distance or direction. Ganymede is the third major satellite of Jupiter.”