Adventures in the Far Future & Tales of Outer Space — page 322: what you’re looking at

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

that they'll talk about for years. This is kidnapping!” “This is necessity,” said Gedso. “I am sorry. Drive, Stewie.” An astonished patrol on the outer wall gazed upon the spectacle of a charging tank which swiftly burned its way through the spun silica and raced into the rocky distance to be lost in the immensity where no tank or ship or division had ever ventured before. At the far end of the vaulted chamber, Technician Brown, deaf to the violent stream of objection which stormed about him, consulted a chart of his own drawing. “Ahead, over that hump,” said Gedso, “there should be another tunnel, probably not more than two kilometers wide. You will need much power for the going will be very rough and the grade very steep.” “Aye, aye,” said Stewie. “Why don’t you bat those guys one and make ‘em shut up?” This speech from a convict gunner was entirely too much for General Drummond. His eyes dilated and his nostrils flared like those of a battle horse of Gerlon about to charge. Thus, Stewie had the desired quiet long enough to get the tank through a particularly rough area and climb the indicated hump. There ahead was the passage which Gedso had predicted and Stewie spent a little breath in admiration. “Gee, how'd you know that that was going to turn up right there? You act like you’d been here before.” “No man has ever been here before,” mourned Blufore, a-wallow in self-pity, “and no man will ever be again.” Drummond was given much satisfaction as soon as they Started down into the mouth of the ascending tunnel for, in a space of instants, a weaving mass threw itself in their way. The “things” choked the channel and then swept back along its sides until both the advance and the retreat of the tank CORniclooo SS CO