Astounding Science Fiction (British Edition) — page 14: what you’re looking at

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

12 Carlos was still polishing his cera- veza glasses, his back turned to them and his humming continuing un- broken. - Cullin turned back to Knight. “That didn’t sound like Greek to me. | If your friend tries anything, you know where you'll get it.” “You would prefer to not arouse the village by doing any shooting in here, wouldn’t you?” Knight asked. “These Mexicans might not like the idea of a stranger shooting up their town.” “’m not worried about these sleepy Mexicans. And I’ve changed my mind about killing you—if you co-operate with me. Tell me all the things I want to know, and Ill let you go free.” “Under such circumstances, the gun in your hand is no threat,” Knight pointed out. “Dead, I can’t answer your questions. Alive, why should 1?” “Alive and not answering my ques- tions, you are of no value to me,” Cullin said grimly. “I came here to hire a boat to take me to a certain place several miles down the beach where a submarine will pick me up. This was both my first and last trip down here. I can get by without hiring a boat—I have a truck with a four- wheel drive and oversize tires for sand. I can kill you and be in it and gone before these Mexicans wake up, and they could never follow me _ through that sand in your own pickup. “So—you can go with me and be released after you answer our ques- tions on the submarine or you can refuse and I'll let you have it now, with nothing to lose.” “lm pretty sure that my release from the submarine would be over the side of it with my hands tied be- hand my back and a weight tied to my “neck, Cullin. That’s why I quoted the pseudo-Greek phrase. I have a Papago boy working in my department at | ASTOUNDING SCIENCE FICTION Center, and Carlos’ mother was a Papago. Have you noticed him lately?” Cullin turned his head quickly, but | the muzzle of his pistol remained shoved hard against Knight’s stomach. Carlos was still humming, but he was no longer polishing glasses. One elbow was leaning on the bar and in the hand of that arm he held an an- cient .45 revolver. The muzzle gaped blackly at Cullin’s back and the big spiked hammer was reared back. Carlos was peering down the sights of it with a malevolently glittering black eye and there was satanic anticipation in the arch of his heavy black brows. Cullin turned slowly back to Knight. “I should have had sense enough to cover you both. And now what? I’m not going to take my gun out of your stomach until your friend takes his gun off my back. It seems to be a stalemate, Knight.” “‘Looks like it, doesn’t it?” “Stalemate,’’ Cullin repeated. “So we'll just have to settle for me letting you live and your friend letting me live. It doesn’t matter much—lI’ve built up an espionage system that consistently gives satisfactory results. I’ve liquidated the weak and the in- competent and my work here is done; this was to be my last trip, as I said. I’m changing sides, Knight—I’m going across to where the ability to achieve results is rewarded; where a leader is expected to use his men, not pamper them.” “You ought to enjoy that.” “Tt will. Over there I'll have a free hand—no more hiding or secrecy. Before ’m through Ill be head of Dovorski’s State Police, and the man who controls a state’s police can con- trol the state in the end. Pll use them to make every man, woman and child in Russo-Asia a cog in my machine.” “You sound rather vainglorious— but go on.” EComichoo im SSO)