Astounding Science Fiction, British Edition — page 118: what you’re looking at

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

116 keep out of trouble for a few weeks, until we get our nerves and digestions back up here? Every time the Bree is held up, everyone’ on this moon ages about ten years.” ‘Just who got me into this trouble?” retorted the Mesklinite. “If I hadn’t been advised to seek shelter from a certain storm—which it turned out I could have weathered better on the open sea—I’d certainly never had met these glider makers. I can’t say that I’m very sorry I did, myself; I learned a lot, and I know at least some of your friends wouldn’t have missed the show for anything. From my point of view this trip has been rather dull so far; the few encounters we have had have all terminated very tamely, and with a surprising amount of profit.” “Just which do you like best, any- way; adventure or cash?” ‘““Well—I’m not sure. Every now and then I let myself in for something just because it looks interesting; but I’m much happier in the end if I make something out of it.” “Then please concentrate on what you're making out of this trip. If it will help you any to do that, we’ll collect a hundred or a thousand shiploads of those spices you just got rid of and store them for you where the Bree wintered ; it would still pay us, if you'll get that information we need.” “Thanks, I expect to make profit enough. You'd take all the fun out of life.’ “I was afraid you’d feel that way. All right, I can’t order you around, but please remember what this means to us.” Barlennan agreed, more or less sin- cerely, and swung his ship once more southward. For some days the island they had left was visible behind them, and often they had to change course to avoid others. Several times they saw ASTOUNDING SCIENCE FICTION gliders skimming the waves on the way from one island to another, but these always gave the ship a wide berth. Evidently news spread rapidly among these people. Eventually the last visible bit of land slipped below the horizon, and the human beings said that there was no more ahead—good fixes could once more be obtained with the weather in its present clear state. : Southward they went, shifting course now and then as before to take advan- tage of winds predicted from above. The predictions themselves grew ever- more detailed and accurate as the meteorologists grew more and more familiar with Mesklin’s weird climate. One more storm was encountered, which the Bree weathered safely at sea —there was no land which the Earth- men could see for three thousand miles. After that the weather men were able to chart hurricane formation so far ahead that such disturbances could be completely avoided. They were maintaining a list of predicted course changes for the Bree as much as five Earth days ahead, and betting on their fulfillment; in a few weeks they had to offer large odds in order to find takers. . At about forty-gravity latitude they directed the ship on a more south- easterly course to avoid the land mass which, as Reejaaren had said, swung far to the east ahead of her. Actually the ship was following a relatively nar- row passage between two major seas, but the strait was far too wide for that fact to be noticeable from shipboard. The Bree never came within fifteen hundred ‘miles of the nearer main shore, though her course line on the great globe kept on Toorey to show her wanderings seemed to hug the coast through the passage. Once through, the heading straight south was re- sumed, and weight gradually continued its climb. Connicloooks COL