Astounding Science Fiction (British Edition), April 1944 — page 12: what you’re looking at

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

10 > [2 i] De SaaS eS” + 2 ee! ‘g¢ , = i) Be af r) Pa Tal) Bu all over the axis of the Station doing just that. Come a-running!” Channing circled the little ship high to the North and came down toward the axis of the Station. He accelerated fiercely for a portion of the time, and then made a slam- bang turnabout that caused some of the plates to complain. A pilot light on the in- strument panel gleamed, indicating that some of the plates were strained and that the ship was leaking air. Another light lit, indicating that the automatic pressure con- trol was functioning, and the pressure was maintained, though it might not be too long. Then in deceleration, Channing fought the ship on to a die-straight line with the open door at the North end. He fixed the long, long passageway in the center of his sights, and prayed. The ship hit the opening squarely, and only then did their terrific speed become apparent. Past bulkhead after bulkhead they drove, and a thin scream came to their ears as the atmosphere down in the bowels of the Station was compressed by the tiny ship’s passage. Doors slammed behind the ship as it passed, and air locks were opened, permit- ting the Station’s center to fill to its normal pressure once more. Then the rocketing ship slowed. Chan- ning saw a flash of green and knew that the Martial saw grass was halfway down the three-mile length of the Station. He zipped ASTOUNDING SCIENCE-FICTION 184s past storeroom and rooms filled with machinery, and then the ship scraped lightly against one of the bulkheads. It caromed from this bulkhead against the next, hitting it in a quartering slice. From side to side the ship bounced, crushing the bulkheads and tearing great slices from the flanks of the ship. It slowed, and came to rest against a large room full of packing cases, and was im- mediately swarmed over by the men from the Relay Station. They found Channing partly conscious. His nose was bleeding, but otherwise he seemed all right. Arden was completely out, though a quick check by the Station’s medical staff assured Don that she would be all right as soon as they gave her a work- out. He was leaving the center of the Station when Franks came puffing up the stairway from the next lowest level. “Gosh,” he said. “It’s a real job trying to guess where you stopped. I’ve been hitting every hundred feet and asking. Well, that was one for the book.” “Yeah,” groaned Don. “Come along, Walt. I want a shower. You can give the résumé of the activities whilst I’m showering and trying to soak this adhesive off. Arden, lucky girl, will be unconscious when the doc rips it off, but I never liked the way they remove tape.” “There isn’t much to tell,” said Franks. “But what there is, I'll tell you.” CcomicbooksS.c©