Astounding Science Fiction, British Edition — page 40: what you’re looking at

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

38 Jeanie dropped the phone. Her eyes suddenly blazed, and her voice whipped out in anger as she began to size up the situation. “If the lives of your brother and a hundred men mean nothing—!”’ “I don’t feel any better about this than you do, Jeanie.”’ “IT don’t suppose,” she countered, returning to the table, “it would make any difference if Dave and I weren’t getting married, would it?” “It wouldn’t.”’ “SLiar!”’ Dan got up and lit a cigarette with studied calmness. “‘Look, Jeanie, I loved you and I still do—even enough to want to marry you. You had a choice, and you made your decision. I’m not foolish enough to try to change your mind. So...I suggest you don’t try to change mine.” He drew deeply on the cigarette. “How about a cup of coffee before you have to go out in the wind again?” “Thank you. No.” She stepped to the door and paused. Her anger was merged with sorrow. “I should have suspected this, Dan. It’s typical of you. It’s one of the reasons I chose Dave. I loved you too, Dan, but it was different. You'll never understand, just like you can’t understand life. You're a baby, Dan; you’ve always been a baby, a little boy! One of these days you’re going to grow up and see. And you'll discover that Dave was a man.” “Get out of here!” he roared, but she was gone. He had no appetite for the rest of breakfast. The wind played a dismal tune as it howled around the windows. He slumped into a chair in the living room and tried to puzzle things out. The consequences were going to be worse than he’d suspected, he dis- covered, But he was still leery of that ASTOUNDING SCIENCE FICTION wind. In the hope that the meteor- ologists were predicting a letup, he turned on the TV to get the latest news. The newscaster was disappointing. “With winds of sixty miles an hour continuing into tonight, White Sands weather men say no relief is in sight. This is typical weather for this part of the country during the first three months of the year, and they can give no prediction of a break in the present gale-force winds. “In a statement just released, White Sands officials have stated that there is a good possibility a ship could get off the ground with an experienced pilot at the controls. White Sands Operations is ready to let a ship take off at any time. The spaceship Ares and a volunteer flight crew are stand- ing by, but the ship’s regular pilot has been turned down by White Sands space surgeons. However, White Sands has contacted one of their experienced test pilots, Captain Dan Blaine. At last report, Captain Blaine had turned down an immediate take-off, as it is a pilot’s privilege to do. Our latest attempt to contact Captain Blaine for a statement of his reasons has failed. In view of the opinions expressed by White Sands officials regarding the possibility of a take-off at this time, it can be assumed that—’”’ With a roar, Dan heaved an ash tray at the picture tube, but the voice of the announcer droned on. Dis- regarding the broken glass, he walked over and turned it off. He stood there shaking. The tips of his fingers were tingling, and he could feel the flesh of his face grow tight and numb. “What have you got to lose?’ he asked himself out loud. “Are you a good pilot—or did you lose your guts back there somewhere? You can do it! Show them that you can! Show Comichooksnco in