Astounding British Edition, Vol. 9, No. 10 — page 27: what you’re looking at

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

MISSION OF GRAVITY 7: had now seen their captain do several times was almost as bad—perhaps worse. It was not, however, physically impos- sible; and when minds fail, bodies are apt to take over. Every sailor but two jumped; one of the two exceptions climbed—rapidly and well—up the wall of a “house.” The other was Hars, who had first seen the danger. Perhaps his superior physical strength made him slower than the others to panic; perhaps he had more than nor- mal horror of height. Whatever the reason, he was still on the ground when a rock the size of a basketball passed over the spot he was occupying. For practical purposes, it might as well be considered to have struck an equivalent volume of live rubber; the protective “shell” of the Mesklinites was of a material chemically and physically analogous to the chitin of Earthly insects, and had a toughness and elasticity com- mensurate with the general qualities of Mesklinite life. The rock bounded twenty- five feet into the air against three gravities, hurtling entirely over the wall which would normally have brought it to a stop, struck at an angle the wall of the channel on the other side, rebounded, and went clattering from wall to wall up the new channel until its energy was expended. By the time it had returned, - in more leisurely fashion, to the open space the main action was over; Hars was the only sailor still in the plaza. The rest had brought some degree of control into their originally. frantic jumps. and had either already reached the top of the tank beside their captain or were rapidly get- ting there; even the climber had changed his method to the more rapid leaping. Hars, unbelievably tough as he was by Terrestrial standards, could not take the sort of punishment he had just re- ceived completely without injury. He did not have his breath knocked out, since he lacked lungs—the small size of the natives combined with the physical properties of hydrogen to make diffusion a_ perfectly adequate method of getting the gas to the tissues that needed it—but he was scraped, bruised, and dazed by the im- pact. Fully a minute passed before he could control his motions sufficiently to } make a co-ordinated attempt to follow ‘the tank; why he was not attacked during that minute neither Lackland, Barlennan, nor Hars himself was ever able to explain. The Earthman thought that the fact that he was able to move at all after such a blow had frightened any such thoughts out of the minds of the city dwellers; Barlennan, with a more accurate idea of Mesklinite physique, thought that they were more interested in stealing than in killing and simply saw no advantage in attacking the lone sailor. Whatever the reason, Hars was permitted to regain his senses in his own time, and eventually, to regain the company of his fellows. Lackland, finally brought up to date on just what had happened, waited for him; when he finally reached the vehicle two © of the crew had to descend and practically throw him to the roof, where the rest promptly undertook first-aid measures. With all his passengers safely aboard, some of them crowded so close to the edge of the roof that their new-found indif- ference to height was a trifle strained, Lackland headed up hill once more. He had warned the sailors to keep clear of the gun muzzle, and kept the weapon trained ahead of him; but there was no motion on the ridge, and no more rocks fell. Apparently the natives who had launched them had retreated to the tun- nels which evidently led up from their city. This, however, was no assurance that they would not come out again; and everyone on and in the tank kept a sharp lookout for any sort of motion. The channel they were climbing was not the same as the one they had de- scended, and consequently did not lead directly to the sled; but the Bree became visible some distance before they reached the top, owing to the tank’s height. The crew members who had been left behind were still there, all looking with evident anxiety down into the city. Dondragmer muttered something in his own language concerning the stupidity of not keeping an all-around watch, which Barlennan repeated in amplified form in English. Lackland was not enough of an artillerist to control the muzzle velocity of his projectiles, and in any case would have hesitated to play with any but the flattest GConmiGcbdooks (E@) ects: : 4 im ‘er. AL —* ° - : «