Adventures in the Far Future & Tales of Outer Space — page 91: what you’re looking at

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

century and a half when it was discovered. The other had been missing for eight hundred years. Both were blessedly empty of life when they were found—of course—but both Showed plain signs of what had happened inside them before life went. Madness was only part of it—the smallest, least, and cleanest part of it. | wonder if there are arms on board, thought Brent. The crew could wipe out the rest of us. Best thing, too. His mind went back to the girl. Such a pretty girl! She was traveling with her father, who was an Earth Commerce Commissioner and a Very Important Person indeed. They’d been on Khem IV while Brent was there. He’d seen them with a pattering escort of secret-service men. But Brent had been busy finding out nothing at all. Knem IV was a thinly settled planet with a savagely totalitarian government, but he’d found no indications of Professional interest. He’d merely been trailed everywhere by unskilled detectives. It was pure coincidence that Kit and Brent traveled on the same ship to Loren Il. | wish she’d missed this ship, thought Brent numbly. It didn’t occur to him to wish that he’d missed it. The speaker in the ceiling repeated: “There is no cause for alarm. Be calm. The overdrive field has been cut. That is all. We are in communication with our base. There is no need for uneasiness.” lt occurred to Brent that it was very foolish to keep repeating that message. It would not reassure anybody. Anyone who Knew anything would know it was a lie. The more it was insisted upon, the more frightened the passengers would become. il HE OPENED the door of his cabin and went out. His door opened on the main _ lounge. It was_ full of the Delilah's passengers. He’d never seen so many of them CORniclooo SS CO