Astounding Science Fiction, February 1952 (British Edition) — page 26: what you’re looking at

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

24 _ ASTOUNDING SCIENCE FICTION sun still stood a good two hands high. He remembered now, standing on the ridge- top, that he had been a little nervous, but not really apprehensive. It had been un- thinkable, then, that a man could get him- self lost in an hour’s walk out of camp. Now the sun was gone and the cold was creeping in and the wind had a Ienely sound he had not noticed when the light was good. One more rise, he decided. One more ridge, and if that is not the one, I'll give up until morning. Find a sheltered place some- Where, a rock face of some sort that will give me some,-protection and reflect a camp- fire’s heat—if I can find anything with which to make a campfire. He stood and listened to the wind moan- ing across the land behind him and it seemed to him there was a whimper in the sound, as,if the wind were anxious, that it might be following on his track, sniffing out his scent. Then he heard the other sound, the soft, padding sound that came up the hill toward him. Ira Warren sat at his desk and stared accusingly at the paper work stacked in front of him. Reluctantly he took some of the papers off the stack and laid them on the desk. That fool Falkner, he thought. I’ve told them and I’ve told them that they have tc stick together, that no one must go wander- jng off alone. A bunch of babies, he told himself savagely. Just a bunch of drooling kids, fresh out of college, barely dry behind the ears and all hopped up with erudition, but without any common sense. And not a one of them would listen. That was the worst of it, not a one of them would listen. Someone scratched on the canvas of the . tent, “Come in,” called Warren. Dr. Morgan entered. “Good evening, commander,” he said. - “Well,” said Warren irritably, “what now?” “Why, now,” said Dr. Morgan, sweating just a little. “Its the matter of the serum.” “The serum?” —~ Lies seruni, any good.” “What do you mean?” asked Warren. “IT have troubles, doctor. I can’t play patty-cake with you about your serum.” “It’s too old,” said Morgan. “A good ten years too oid. You can’t use old serum. 1. You see, it might— said Dr. Morgan. “It isn’t “Stop chattering,’ commanded Warren, sharply. “The serum is too old, you say. When did you find this out?” “Just now.’ “You mean this very moment?” Morgan nodded miserably. Warren pushed the papers to one side very carefully and deliberately. He placed his hands on the desk in front of him and made a tent out of his fingers. “Tell me this, doctor,” said Warren, speaking cautiously, as if he were hunting in his mind for the exact words which he must use, “how long has this expedition been on Landro?” “Why,” said Morgan, “quite some time, I'd say.” He counted mental fingers. “Six weeks, to be exact.” “And the serum has been here all that time?” “Why, of course,” said Morgan. “It was unloaded from the ship at the same time as all the other stuff.” “It wasn’t left around somewhere, so that you just found it? It was taken to your tent at once?” “Of course it was,” said Morgan. “The very first thing. I always insist upon that procedure.” 7 “At any time in the last six weeks, at any given moment in any day of that whole six weeks, you could have inspected the serum and found it was no good? Isn’t that correct, doctor?” “I suppose I could have,” admitted. “It was just that—” “You didn’t have the time,” suggested Warren, sweetly. “Well, not that,” said Morgan. “You were, perhaps, too pressed with other interests?” “Well, not exactly.” “You were aware that up to a week ago we could have contacted the ship by radio and it could have turned back and took us off. They would have done that if we had let them know about the serum.” “IT know that—” “And you know now that they’re outside our radio range. We can’t let them know. We can’t call them back. We won’t have any contact with the human race for the next two years.” “1,” said Morgan, weakly, “I—” “It’s been lovely knowing you,” Warren told him. “Just how long do you figure it will be before we are dead?” “It will be another week or so before we'll become susceptible to the virus,” Morgan Eomichooks.com