Adventures in the Far Future & Tales of Outer Space — page 311: what you’re looking at

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

Gedso took out the two apples and gave one to Stewie who repressed a nervous giggle and bit avidly into it. The gesture had not been intended as a demonstration of aplomb, but Stewie took it that way and appreciated it Ninety-three minutes later, by Gedso’s watch, all movement in the rubbish ceased. The snap-snap-snap dwindled away. There was silence. They waited a little time and then Gedso went to work. Stewie was stricken with awed respect at- the sight of the seemingly commonplace Gedso pushing out of the rubble like a Superdrive tank, so much amazed, in fact, that he nearly forgot to follow. When Gedso was on top of the blasted remains he made sure all was clear and then, reaching down, snagged Stewie's collar and yanked him forth like a caught minnow. The break had not been without damage to the inner defenses, for two towers spread their disassembled parts upon the ground and a rampart was crushed like a slapped cardboard box. A thousand-yard section of the outer wall had been smashed and lay like an atomized dust pile. A clearing crew, hauling a dead “thing” behind four huge tractors, stopped work to stare in surprise at the pair who had erupted from the debris. Gedso and Stewie picked their way over the scored and littered ground, depressed by the fumes arising from the mountainous dead “things.” A silica-spinning sled almost Knocked them down as it rushed to the repair of the defenses and as they leaped out of the way an officer spotted the convict uniform. Stewie was snatched up and cast into the arms of a straggler patrol which flashed away without any attention to Gedso’s protest. That evening—or at the beginning of the third period— Gedso sat at the table in his quarters eating his dinner out CORniclooo SS CO