Adventures in the Far Future & Tales of Outer Space — page 240: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

OPERATION MERCURY Clifford D. Simak OLD CREEPY was down in the control room, sawing lustily on his screeching fiddle. On the sun-blasted plains outside the Mercurian Power Center, the Roman Candles, Snatching their shapes from Creepy’s mind, had assumed the form of Terrestrial hillbillies and were cavorting through the measures of a square dance. Inside the refrigeration room, Mathilde, the cat, stared angrily at the slabs of frozen beef above her head, felt the cold of the place and meowed softly. Up in the office, at the peak of the great photocell that was die center, Curt Craig stared angrily across the desk at Norman Page. One hundred miles away, Knut Anderson, encased in a cumbersome photocell space suit, stared incredulously at what he saw inside the space warp. The communication bank snarled warningly and Craig Swung about in his chair, lifted the handset off the cradle and snapped recognition into the mouthpiece. “This is Knut, chief,” said a voice, badly blurred, by radiations. “Yes,” yelled Craig. “What did you find?” “A big one,” said Knut’s voice. “Where?” CORniclooo SS CO