Astounding British Edition, Vol. 9, No. 7 — page 46: what you’re looking at

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

\- Wrill By Sha 24 & See, ba 4 é - Ws A ‘eae! us : tH Ait s) ata f Mie ak Oe - é . net ve : Ded to clear away the screaming, incredu- _ lous puzzlement that tormented him. He had to get away, but he couldn’t run. _ The creature was too fast. He knew his presence there was incredible; something in his mind tried to tell him not to believe it, that it wasn’t true—but he felt the gritty sand under his sweating palms, and it was very, very real. And the sand-cat moved closer— In a burst of speed he ran zigzagging down the slope and up the next, watch- ing over his shoulder for the flash of yellow movement. With each change in direction, the sand-cat also shifted, stalk- ing faithfully. If only he could get out of its sight for a moment! If it wasn’t too bright, if that savage brain were starved enough, he might force it into a pattern response— He ran ten feet to the right, paused, and rushed on ten feet to the left, heading toward the huge boulder which stood up like a naked sentinel on the dune ahead. The sand-cat followed, moving to the right, then to the left. Again Cox sped, sure now that the pattern would be fol- lowed, moving right, then left. A long run away from the rock, then a long run toward it. The cat was closer, just twenty yards away closing the distance between them with each run. Panting, Cox tried to catch his breath, taking a steel grip on his nerves. He knew that panic could kill him. Swiftly, he scuttled up over the edge of the dune, far to the right of the boulder, then abruptly switched back, keeping the boulder between him and the cat, reach- ing it, peering cautiously around— Warm excitement flooded his mind. Slowly, ever so slowly the sand-cat was edging up over the dune, peering down in the direction he had run, slipping up over the dune on its belly, freezing, peer- ing, a savage, baffled snarl coming from its dripping mouth. Eagerly Cox searched the sand around the boulder, picked up a chunk of sandstone as big as a brick. Then he took a huge breath, and plunged from behind the boulder, toward the cat, moving silently in the soft, hot sand. With - a mixture of fury and fear he fell on the beast, raising the stone, bringing it down with all his might on the flat yellow head. The sand-cat snarled and whirled, claws ™ slashing the air; his hot, rank breath caught Cox full, gagging him as he raised the stone again and again, bringing it down onthe creature’s skull. Razor claws ripped at his side, until the cat screamed and convulsed, and lay twitching— And suddenly there was darkness, and ‘a cold winter breeze in his face, a the stars were twinkling in the frigid night air above him. The sand-cat was gone, the desert; the Joshua trees. He lay in a ditch, half-soaked in icy mud, and his side was bleeding angrily. He stared around him, and shivered. He was at the bottom of a ditch, his body lying in an icy rivulet of water. Above him, he could see the embankment, topped by a small iron fence. A road! Painfully he dragged himself up toward the top, peered over. The strip of polished metal gleamed in the starlight, as icy gusts of wind and snow swept down to bite his ears and bring tears to his eyes. The tears froze on his eyelids, and the sharp cold- ness of the dark air bit into his lungs, bringing pain with every breath. - In the distance he heard a rumbling sound, felt the road tremble as the gar- gantuan vehicles approached. Instinctively Cox ducked below the road surface, froze immobile as the long line of grotesque metallic. monsters roared by, glimmering within their dull fluorescent force-shields. They showed no sign of life, but rumbled past him, moving steadily down the glitter- ing highway. He could see the curious turrets, the gunlike projections, stark against the bleak night sky. Weapons, he thought, huge, tanklike engines which lumbered and roared along the road on some errand of death. Suddenly the last of the convoy lumbered past, and he eased himself cautiously up onto the road. A burst of thunder roared in his ears, and abruptly it began to pour, huge icy drops that splattered with the force of machine- gun bullets, stinging his skin and soaking his hair and clothes. He shuddered, miserably, his mind groping in confusion. If he could only find a place to think, “ASTOUNDING SCIENCE FICTION _ ees somewhere to rest and collect himself, somewhere to try to dress the wound in his side. In the gloom across the road he thought he could make out the gaunt ruins GOmicbooks,.co m .