Astounding Science Fiction (British Edition) — page 102: what you’re looking at

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

/ 100 ASTOUNDING SCIENCE FICTION an answering grunt. Very much re- lieved, Spence joined in with a faintly sarcastic reproof. “Bennett. Please refrain from stab- bing the gunnery officer. And isn’t it about time you told me what was going on down there?” “Nothing much, sir,’ Bennett’s voice was uneven and a trifle breath- less. He was wriggling at top speed along a tunnel and trying to talk at the same time. “‘We are well past the point in the tunnel at which the digger was stopped. It was a tight squeeze at first, but the tunnel is beginning to widen out a lot. We are about thirty feet above the alien positions. The detector shows four, close-grouped points of mind radiation about one hundred feet to our right and a single point almost directly below us. I expect it’s a guard, but I’m nearly certain it isn’t aware of us. ‘The tunnel is widening out a lot now, we can stand up. We’re going as fast as we can. Harrison is getting ready to knock over the Crawler.” Bennett stopped to get his breath back. Then he went on quickly, “Ill have to shut up in a minute. We’re closing in on him fast, and I dcn’t know if these things can hear or not. But seeing as the tunnel is wide enough for robots down here, wouldn’t it be a good idea to start the digger again? With all of the tunnel as wide as this we could get some of the bigger "mechs down here and speed things up a bit. Do you know how to control the digger?” A little sarcastically, Spence said yes, he’d been able to pick up a few little things in his twelve years in the Force. He’d manage to do that all right. He pressed the necessary number of buttons and asked was there anything else. Bennett didn’t speak for several minutes. The scuffling noises from the speaker seemed to increase in volume. 39 Then he said, with exaggerated light- ness, ““Yes, when the tunnel is wide enough you could send down a barrow for this alien. He looks untidy lying here.” Spence was in no mood for levity. “Right, so you got one. Was there any trouble?”’ “No, but the vibration from the digger is shaking down a lot of dust. The other Crawlers must know we’re here by now. They'll be waiting for us. “Can’t be helped, I’m afraid, but it will be over any time now. The digger is almost through,” said the captain. He was about to ask how they were standing conditions down there generally when Harrison’s voice cut in. It sounded, thought Spence, de- cidedly uneasy. “This looks bad, sir. I’m looking down the tunnel which the alien was guarding. It is perfectly straight, fairly roomy, and it widens to form a sort of room at the other end. The room is artificially lit and there are aliens in it. I can only see two, but the detector says they are all there. They are working at some kind of machine. I don’t like the look of it,” he ended and waited for the captain to speak. Machines, thought Spence, it did look bad. He asked, “Can you tell if the thing is completed or still a-building, or guess at what it’s for?” “No, they’re crowding round it. I can’t even tell what it looks like. Only parts of it show.” A small pickup drifted into the tunnel beside Harrison and stared glassily over his shoulder. Back in the control room Spence saw the Crawler machine, too. It seemed to be a lot of queerly twisted plates built on four wheels. Baffled, he shook his head. He was beginning to wonder if it wouldn’t be better to just pull out. ConmielooolkS.e@ ii