Adventures in the Far Future & Tales of Outer Space — page 310: what you’re looking at

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

was visible, taking the full impact of the concentrated fire. Gedso let drive with a’ blasting wand. This and the arc had the sudden effect of lashing the scale spot into flame. It moved on. The flame spread out. It became roasting hot in the turret and Stewie ducked under a floorplate, tugging anxiously at Gedso’s shoelace to get him down. The floorplate clanked into space and Gedso flipped on a fingernail torch. Stewie was trying to grin, but he was racked by shudders. THERE WERE flecks of lather in the comers of his mouth and a not-quite-sane light in his eyes. The wall began to sway anew and then, with earthquake abruptness, shook like the dice in a cup about the dog cell. Gedso put a hand out and pinned Stewie to the far wall to ease the strain of the shock. There was a final crash and then quiet descended save for the far-off snap-snap-snap of mobile guns. “They’re through said Stewie, steadying his voice with an effort. “They’re between us and the barracks; they’re being fought by tanks and pillboxes.” A shudder took hold of him and he fought it off. “That’s what’s been happening more and more often for two months. They care less and less about arc cannon. First time, four years ago, arc cannon Stopped ‘em like mowing down weenies at a picnic. Now we'll get a new weapon, maybe, and it will last a couple of years. All we do is toughen them up! One weapon. The next...and what the hell’s the use of it?” There was a lurch and then another and Stewie whispered, dead-eyed, “The ‘things’ heard us and- they’re looking for us. Ssshhl” They sat in silence, shaken now and then, hearing stones and spun silica crush underweight. CORniclooo SS CO