Astounding Science Fiction (British Edition), April 1944 — page 36: what you’re looking at

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

34 “Stranger,” he said, and he almost hissed the words, “get this straight, this place is fenced-in territory. There ain’t never a lot of people gonna come down here. The world’d go mad if it was ever found out that there was a town in the Moon where it’s possible to live forever. Now, do you see why we've got to shut off that machine, and cut ourselves off from the outside? We got somethin’ down here that people’d com- mit murder to have. “Wait’—his voice beat at Pendrake— “I’m gonna show you what happens to guys who get any other kind of idea. Come along.” Pendrake came. Big Oaf ran along the street straight into the open country, and Pendrake, bounding along behind, saw after a moment where he was heading: the cliff. Bif Oaf reached it first. He pointed down. “Look!” he cried hoarsely. Pendrake approached@the edge of the abyss cautiously, and peered over. He found himself staring down a wall of cliff that descended smooth and straight for a dis- tance of about five hundred feet. There was brush at the bottom and a grassy plain and— Pendrake gasped. Then he felt faint. He swayed dizzily—and then with a terrible effort caught his whirling mind. And looked again, trembling. The yellow-green-blue-red beast in the pit was sitting on its haunches. It looked as big as a horse. Its head was tilted, its bale- ful eyes glaring up at the two men. And the hideously long teeth that protruded from its jowls confirmed Pendrake’s first mind-shaking comprehension: The devil-beast was a _ sabre-toothed tiger. Slowly, his breathing returned to normal, his pounding heart slowed. The great won- der came: How many zons that machine must have been focussed on that trail there on Earth, to have caught such a prehistoric monster. And how tremendously long ago the people who had built the machine and the village must have died. The thought passed. With narrowed eyes he stared at Big Oaf. The creature-man was kneeling at the abyss edge a dozen feet away, watching him intently. Pendrake said softly : “It must have been fed. It must have been kept alive on purpose.” Blue-gray eyes that were slatehard, met his own. “At first,” said Big Oaf, “I kept ASTOUNDING SCIENCE-FICTION it alive for company. I used to sit on the cliff and shout at it. Then when the blue men came with a bunch of buffalo, I got the idea that maybe it would come in handy. It knows me now.” He finished darkly: “There’s plenty of men inside it, and there’ll be more. Better not be one of ’em, Pendrake.” Pendrake said steadily, slowly: “I’m be- ginning to see the light. All this attention you’re lavishing on me—you said something about shutting off the machine—and I’m the only man who ever came here who knows anything about machinery. Am I] getting warm, Big Oaf?” Big Oaf climbed to his feet; and Pen- drake did the same. They backed away from the cliff’s edge step by step, staring at each other. It was Big Oaf who said finally: “Pendrake, I’m gonna offer you half of everything. You and me’ll be the bosses here, with first choice of the women and all the good things. You know we can’t let the world in on this place. It just ain’t possible. We'll live here forever, and maybe if you ever get all the machines on this place workin’, we can step out and get what we want from anywhere.” “Heil Hitler,” said Pendrake sardonically. “Big Oaf, have you ever heard of an election?” “Uh!” The pig eyes stared at him sus- piciously. “What’s that?” Pendrake explained; and the hairy beast gaped at him incredulously. “You mean,” he exploded, “if those lame brains don’t like the way I run things they could kick me out?” “That’s it,” said Pendrake. “And it’s the only way I'll play ball.” “To hell with that,’ was the snarling response. And on the way back to the town Big Oaf said in an ugly tone: “Somebody told me you’ve been talkin’ to Devlin, Pen- drake. You—” He broke off. The anger died from him as if he had cut it out with a surgical knife, cleanly. As Pendrake watched the transfor- mation in narrow-eyed astonishment, a grin spread over the apish face: “Just lissen to me gettin’ mad,” Big Oaf said, ‘“‘a feller that’s lived a million years and is gonna live another million if he plays his cards straight.” Pendrake was silent, conscious of the man eyeing him. He was staring, too, . thoughtful. In every way Big Oaf was show- ing himself to be an immensely dangerous “feller.” comicbooo S (©)