Astounding Science Fiction (UK Edition) — page 12: what you’re looking at

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

10 ASTOUNDING SCIENCE-FICTION er dismay. “It’s too dark to assess the dam- age now. Let’s go back te bed.” Down below, Hartley cautiously closed the door of their room behind them. “You took it calmly.” “Why not?” asked Travis, wearily. “The rat pushed them over, of course, but there isn’t a vestige of proof. The earthquake might have done it, you know. But it serves to tip us off to what to expect.” — “Like?” “That Driscoll’s preparations for survey- ing this accursed fogbound land are not so hot . . . that Lorimer is by now on his payroll, and probably tipped him off to the excellent performance of the Maggy . . that that umpire up in the stratosphere is probably not his creature after all, but just a dope. Otherwise Driscoll wouldn’t have slogged over here through the mud to make us those fancy offers. I knew then that he was afraid of us, but I didn’t expect him to act so quickly. He was slick about it, too. Our evidence is nothing but surmise that would be laughed out of any court in the world.” “Then you think we’re licked?” Travis gave a short, hard laugh. “After we dig the Maggy out of the muck in the morning Ill tell you more. There’s no use worrying about it now.” Neither one of them went to sleep at once. For Travis’ part he felt a sense of relief that the first blow was struck. It was outright warfare now, even if veiled. It served to remove inhibitions. Neither Travis nor Hartley had come to Venus inspired by greed. Their motives were otherwise— a compound of scientific curiosity; pride in their miracle-working machine; and to some extent the love of adventure. Vaguely behind it all there was the sober conviction that the human race must have new frontiers or stifle. They needed money, to be sure, as did everyone, but only in reasonable quantities. Yet Driscoll’s avarice was such that he was attempting to defraud them of even that. Very well. The only retaliation the land shark could appreciate would be in kind. His lies and sabotage must be countered with blows where they hurt-—in the pocketbook. Travis considered that angle dreamily, and then dropped off to sleep. The severity of their loss did not become apparent until well after the dim, slow- creeping dawn. They found the fragments of the diorama deep in the slush beside the ship. It was broken into three big chunks and marred with jagged cracks. Glumly Hartley fished the pieces out and washed them off. But except for a few chips irre- trievably lost, it could be fitted together and cemented back into a serviceable map. The Maggy that lay under it was different ——it was beyond salvage. It must have fallen first and then received the impact of the heavy mass of glass. Its unique tubes and delicate coils were hope- lessly smashed. There were spare parts on board to make good some of the damage, but to fully restore the instrument meant a trip back to Earth. That they could not afford to do. Departure now would forfeit all they had gained. “We're sunk,” said Hartley, gloomily. “You're never sunk until you admit you are,” reminded Travis, grimly. “We still have the helios and the bolos, and a few other tricks up our sleeve.” “Like?” “T’ve got a hunch | want to play. We'll talk about that later.” They carried the topographic model in- side and repaired it. Then they took photo- graphs of it and locked it away in the hold. The Maggy they sadly consigned to a vacant bin. The advantage it gave them was gone. From then on they would have to explore Venus the hard way. “Pile our stuff into the crawler, Hartley, and warm the motor up.” Then Travis called the chief umpire by redio. He spoke with restraint, but he was firm in his demands. The umpire had cer- tain duties and he should perform them. The stratosphere was not the place. He should bring his ship down to the surface and park it between the two contestants. Travis went on to report Lorimer’s panic on the flight down and his subsequent “‘care- lessness” in tumbling their equipment over- board while ostensibly trying. to secure it. He wanted Lorimer’s immediate replace- ment, and a guard for the ship, for he in- tended leaving it to carry out the required field work. He did not propose to submit tamely to being stabbed in the back while he was gone, and concluded by reminding the umpire what happened to some negligent officials after the scandals on Mars. The umpire sputtered indignantly but said he would come on down. An hour later Travis and Hartley piloted the slithering, splashing crawler away. Travis grinned at recalling the umpire’s re- action when they showed him the map. The Ccomiclbooks.c©