by Anthology
CHAPTER VIII
The Duel
Upon seeing this, all hope for life left Ken. He had only six shells left, and at best he could kill only six sealmen. Already, there were more than twenty about him, completely encircling the torpoon. They seemed afraid of it, and yet desirous of finishing it--they hung back, watching warily the thing that could strike and hurt from either end; but Ken knew, of course, that he could not count on their inaction long. One concerted charge would mean his quick end, and the death of most of the men above.
Well, there was only one thing to do--try to hold them off until those men above had climbed out, every one.
With this plan in mind, he maneuvered for a commanding position. Quietly he slid his motor into gear, and slowly the torpoon rose. At this first movement, the wall of hesitating brown bodies broke back a little. It quickly pressed in again, however, as the torpoon came to a halt where Ken wanted it--a position thirty feet beneath, and slightly to one side, of the escaping men above, with an angle of fire commanding the area the sealmen would have to cross to attack them.
Almost at once came action. One of the surrounding creatures swerved suddenly up toward the men. Instinctively angling the torp, Ken sent a nitro-shell at it; and the chance aim was good. The projectile caught the sealman squarely, and, after the convulsion, it began to drift downward, its body torn apart.
"That'll teach you, damn you!" Ken muttered savagely, and, to heighten the effect he had created, he brought his sights to bear on another sealman in the circle around him--and fired and killed.
This sight of sudden death told on the others. They grew obviously more fearful and gave back, though still forming a solid circle around the torpoon. The circle was ever thickening and deepening downward as more of those that the explosion had rendered unconscious returned to life.
And then, above, the first man reached the hole, clawed at its rough edges and levered himself through.
That was a signal. From somewhere beneath, two brown bodies flashed upward in attack. Fearing a general rush at any second, Ken fired twice swiftly. One shell missed, but the other slid to its mark. Almost alongside its fellow, one of the creatures was shattered and torn, and that evidently altered the other's intentions, for it abandoned the attack and sought safety in the mass of its fellows on the farther side.
Another respite. Another man through the hole. And but two nitro-shells left!
* * * * *
The deadly circle, like wolves around a lone trapper who crouches close to his dying fire, pressed in a little; and by their ominous quietness, by the sight of their eyes all turned in on him, their concerted inching closer, Ken sensed the nearness of the charge that would finish him. All this in deep silence, there in the gloomy quarter-light. He could not yell and brandish his fists at them as the trapper by the fire might have done to win a few extra minutes. The only cards he had to play were two shells--and one was needed now!
He fired it with deliberate, sure aim, and grunted as he saw its victim convulse and die, with dark blood streaming. Again the swarm hesitated.
Ken risked a glance above. Only three men left, he saw; and one was pulled through the hole as he watched. Below, in one place, several seal-creatures surged upward.
"Get back, damn you!" he cursed harshly. "All right--take it! That's the last!"
And the last shell hissed out from the gun even as the last man, above, was pulled through up into the air and safety.
Ken felt that he had given half his life with that final shell. Completely surrounded by a hundred or more of the sealmen, he could not possibly hope to maneuver the torpoon up to the hole in the ice and leave it, without being overwhelmed. He had held off the swarm long enough for the others to escape, but for himself it was the end.
So he thought, and wondered just when that end would come. Soon, he knew. It would not take them long to overcome their fear when they saw that he no longer reached out and struck them down in sudden bloody death. Now it was their turn.
"Anyway," the torpooner murmured, "I got 'em out. I saved them."
But had he? Suddenly his mind turned up a dreadful thought. He had saved them from the sealmen, but they were up on the ice without food. There had been no time to apportion rations in the submarine; all the supplies were stacked around him in the torpoon!
Searching planes would eventually appear overhead, but if he could not get the food up to the men it meant their death as surely as if they had stayed locked in the Peary!
But how could he do it without shells, and with that living wall edging inch by inch upon him, visibly on the brink of rushing him. Some carried ropes with which they would lash the torpoon down as they had the others. Must all he and those men had gone through, be in vain? Must he die--and the others? For certainly without food, those men above on the lonely ice fields, all of them weakened by the long siege in the submarine, would perish quickly....
And then a faintly possible plan came to him. It involved an attempt to bluff the seal-creatures.
* * * * *
Thirty feet above the lone man in the torpoon was the hole he had blasted in the ice. He knew that from the cone of light which filtered down; he did not dare to take his eyes for a second from the creatures around him, for all now depended on his judging to a fraction just when the lithe, living wall would leap to overwhelm him.
Now the torpoon was enclosed by what was more a sphere of brown bodies than a circle. But it was not a solid sphere. It stretched thinly to within a few feet of the ice ceiling where, in one place, was the hole Ken had blown in the ice.
He began to play the game. He edged the gears into reverse, gently angled the diving-planes, and slowly the torpoon tilted in response and began to sink back to the dark sea-floor.
Motion appeared in the curved facade of sleek brown heads and bodies in front and to the sides. The creatures behind and below, Ken could not see; he could only trust to the fear inspired by the damage his propeller had wreaked on one of them, to hold them back. However, he could judge the movements of those behind and below by the synchronized movements of those in front; for the sealmen, in this tense siege, seemed to move as one--just as they would move as one when a leader got the courage to charge across the gap to the torpoon.
In reverse, slowly, the torpoon backed downward. Every minute seemed a separate eternity of time, for Ken dared not move fast at this juncture, and he needed to retreat not less than fifty feet.
Fifty feet! Would they hold off long enough for him to make it?
Foot by foot the torpoon edged down at her forty-five-degree angle, and with every foot the watching bodies became visibly bolder. There was no light inside the torpoon--inner light would decrease the visibility outside--but Ken knew her controls as does the musician his instrument. Slowly the propeller whirled over, the torpoon dropped, slowly the diffused light from the hole above diminished--and slowly the eager wall of sealmen followed and crept in.
Twenty-five feet down; and then, after a long time, thirty-five feet, and forty. Seventy feet up, in all, to the hole in the ice....
Ken wanted seventy-five feet, but he could not have it. For the wall of sleek bodies broke. One or two of the creatures surged forward; other followed; they were coming!
The slim torpoon leaped under the unleashed power of her motors--forward.
* * * * *
For one awful moment Ken thought he was finished. The vision of the hole was obscured by a twisting, whirling maelstrom of bodies, and the torpoon quivered and shook like a living thing in agony under glancing blows.
But then came a patch of light, a pathway of light, leading straight up at a forty-five-degree angle to the hole in the ice above.
Sealmen and torpoon had leaped forward at the same moment. Doubtless the creatures had not expected the shell to move so suddenly and decisively ahead, so that when it did, those in the van swerved to escape head-on contact.
The torpoon gained speed all too slowly for her pilot. It naturally took time to g
ain full forward speed from a standing start. But she moved, and she moved fast, and after her poured the full tide of sealmen, now that they saw their prey running in retreat.
From somewhere ahead appeared a rope, noosed to catch the fleeing prey. It slipped off the side. Another touched the bow, but it too was thrown off. The torpoon's forward momentum was now great; she was sweeping up at the full speed Ken had gone back to be able to attain. He needed full speed! The plan would fail at the last moment without it!
Another rope; but it was the seal-creature's last gesture. Through the side plates of quarsteel the light grew fast; the ice was only ten feet away; a slight directional correction brought the hole dead ahead--and at full speed, twenty-four miles an hour, the torpoon passed through and into the thin air of the world of light and life.
Right out of the hole, a desperate fugitive from below, she leaped, her propeller suddenly screaming, and arched high through the air before she dove with a rending, splintering crash onto the upper side of the sheet ice.
And the sun of a cloudless, perfect Arctic day beat down on her; and men were all around, eagerly reaching to open her entrance port. It was done.
* * * * *
Kenneth Torrance, dazed, battered, hurting in every joint but conscious, found the torpoon's port open, and felt hands reach in and clasp him. Wearily he helped them lift him out into the thin sunlight. Sitting down, slitting his eyes against the sudden glare, he peered around.
Captain Sallorsen was beside him, supporting him with one hand and pounding him on the back with the other; and there in front was the bearded scientist, Lawson, and the rest of the men.
Ken took a great gulp of the clean, cold air.
"Gosh!" was all he could say. "Gosh, that tastes good!"
"Man, you did it!" shouted Sallorsen. "How, in God's name, I don't know--but you did it!"
"He did!" said Lawson. "And he did it all himself. Even to the food, which should keep us till a plane comes by. If they haven't stopped searching for us."
His words reminded Ken of something.
"Oh, there'll be a plane over," he said. "Forgot to tell you, but I stole this torpoon--see?--and told the fellows they could come and get it somewhere right around here."
Kenneth Torrance grinned, and glanced down at the battered steel shell which had borne him out of the water below.
"And here it is," he finished. "A little damaged--but then I didn't promise it would be as good as new!"
* * *
Contents
ELEGY
By Charles Beaumont
"Would you mind repeating that?"
"I said, sir, that Mr. Friden said, sir, that he sees a city."
"A city?"
"Yes sir."
Captain Webber rubbed the back of his hand along his cheek.
"You realize, of course, that that is impossible?"
"Yes sir."
"Send Mr. Friden in to see me, at once."
The young man saluted and rushed out of the room. He returned with a somewhat older man who wore spectacles and frowned.
"Now then," said Captain Webber, "what's all this Lieutenant Peterson tells me about a city? Are you enjoying a private little joke, Friden?"
Mr. Friden shook his head emphatically. "No sir."
"Then perhaps you'd like to explain."
"Well, sir, you see, I was getting bored and just for something to do, I thought I'd look through the screen--not that I dreamed of seeing anything. The instruments weren't adjusted, either; but there was something funny, something I couldn't make out exactly."
"Go on," said Captain Webber, patiently.
"So I fixed up the instruments and took another look, and there it was, sir, plain as could be!"
"There what was?"
"The city, sir. Oh, I couldn't tell much about it, but there were houses, all right, a lot of them."
"Houses, you say?"
"Yes sir, on an asteroid."
Captain Webber looked for a long moment at Mr. Friden and began to pace nervously.
"I take it you know what this might mean?"
"Yes sir, I do. That's why I wanted Lieutenant Peterson to tell you about it."
"I believe, Friden, that before we do any more talking I'll see this city for myself."
* * * * *
Captain Webber, Lieutenant Peterson and Mr. Friden walked from the room down a long corridor and into a smaller room. Captain Webber put his eye to a circular glass and tapped his foot.
He stepped back and rubbed his cheek again.
"Well, you were right. That is a city--or else we've all gone crazy. Do you think that we have?"
"I don't know, sir. It's not impossible."
"Lieutenant, go ask Mr. Milton if he can land us on an asteroid. Give him all the details and be back in ten minutes." Captain Webber sighed. "Whatever it is," he said, "it will be a relief. Although I never made a special announcement, I suppose you knew that we were lost."
"Oh yes, sir."
"And that we ran almost entirely out of fuel several months ago, in fact shortly after we left?"
"We knew that."
The men were silent.
"Sir, Mr. Milton says he thinks he can land us but he can't promise exactly where."
"Tell Mr. Milton that's good enough."
Captain Webber waited for the young man to leave, then looked again into the glass.
"What do you make of it, sir?"
"Not much, Friden, not much. It's a city and that's an asteroid; but how the devil they got there is beyond me. I still haven't left the idea that we're crazy, you know."
Mr. Friden looked.
"We're positioning to land. Strange--"
"What is it?"
"I can make things out a bit more clearly now, sir. Those are earth houses."
Captain Webber looked. He blinked.
"Now, that," he said, "is impossible. Look here, we've been floating about in space for--how long is it?"
"Three months, sir."
"Exactly. For three months we've been bobbling aimlessly, millions of miles from earth. No hope, no hope whatever. And now we're landing in a city just like the one we first left, or almost like it. Friden, I ask you, does that make any sense at all?"
"No, sir."
"And does it seem logical that there should be an asteroid where no asteroid should be?"
"It does not."
They stared at the glass, by turns.
"Do you see that, Friden?"
"I'm afraid so, sir."
"A lake. A lake and a house by it and trees ... tell me, how many of us are left?"
Mr. Friden held up his right hand and began unbending fingers.
"Yourself, sir, and myself; Lieutenant Peterson, Mr. Chitterwick, Mr. Goeblin, Mr. Milton and...."
"Great scott, out of thirty men?"
"You know how it was, sir. That business with the Martians and then, our own difficulties--"
"Yes. Our own difficulties. Isn't it ironic, somehow, Friden? We band together and fly away from war and, no sooner are we off the earth but we begin other wars.... I've often felt that if Appleton hadn't been so aggressive with that gun we would never have been kicked off Mars. And why did we have to laugh at them? Oh, I'm afraid I haven't been a very successful captain."
"You're in a mood, sir."
"Am I? I suppose I am. Look! There's a farm, an actual farm!"
"Not really!"
"Why, I haven't seen one for twenty years."
The door flew open and Lieutenant Peterson came in, panting. "Mr. Milton checked off every instruction, sir, and we're going down now."
"He's sure there's enough fuel left for the brake?"
"He thinks so, sir."
"Lieutenant Peterson."
"Yes sir?"
"Come look into this glass, will you."
The young man looked.
"What do you see?"
"A lot of strange creatures, sir. Are they dangerous? Should we prepare our weapons?"
"How old are you, Lieutenant?"
"Nineteen, Captain Webber."
"You have just seen a herd of cows, for the most part--" Captain Webber squinted and twirled knobs "--Holsteins."
"Holsteins, sir?"
"You may go. Oh, you might tell the others to prepare for a crash landing. Straps and all that."
The young man smiled faintly and left.
"I'm a little frightened, Friden; I think I'll go to my cabin. Take charge and have them wait for my orders."
Captain Webber saluted tiredly and walked back down the long corridor. He paused as the machines suddenly roared more life, rubbed his cheek and went into the small room.
"Cows," said Captain Webber bracing himself.
* * * * *
The fiery leg fell into the cool air, heating it, causing it to smoke; it burnt into the green grass and licked a craterous hole. There were fireflags and firesparks, hisses and explosions and the weary groaning sound of a great beast suddenly roused from sleep.
The rocket landed. It grumbled and muttered for a while on its finny tripod, then was silent; soon the heat vanished also.
"Are you all right, sir?"
"Yes. The rest?"
"All but Mr. Chitterwick. He broke his glasses and says he can't see."
Captain Webber swung himself erect and tested his limbs. "Well then, Lieutenant, has the atmosphere been checked?"
"The air is pure and fit to breathe, sir."
"Instruct the others to drop the ladder."
"Yes sir."
A door in the side of the rocket opened laboriously and men began climbing out: "Look!" said Mr. Milton, pointing. "There are trees and grass and--over there, little bridges going over the water."
He pointed to a row of small white houses with green gardens and stony paths.
Beyond the trees was a brick lodge, extended over a rivulet which foamed and bubbled. Fishing poles protruded from the lodge window.
"And there, to the right!"