Authentic Science Fiction, December 1951 — page 49: what you’re looking at

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

THE MOON iS HEAVEN 47 the third trailer rocket. I shall pump the hydrogen straight into the fuel tank up there in the main rocket.’’ “Can you do all that without help?” Reina jumps in. ‘‘ I can help with that. I shan’t be cook- ing all day!’’ Clavier smiles. ‘‘ Delighted, mademoiselle.’’ ‘“Well,’’ Atah says, standing up. ‘‘ That takes care of things for now. Let’s get going, shall we?”’ Most everyone has finished drinking tea. You all climb into space suits again and troop through the air-lock. Out on the plain the last two trailer rockets have arrived, intact. “Thank God for that!’’ Atah breathes over the radio. ‘““There’s your compressor, Clavier. And Schnabel’s mining stuff. You two get cracking, eh? Mike, Leeson and I will bring the stuff down from the control room, Reina can be attached to Clavier.’’ Like heck, she can, you think. You’ve got your own ideas who she’s going to be attached to. Clavier and Schnabel go off across the plain towards the trailers, while Reina starts rigging the electrolysis apparatus. She seems to know what she’s doing. You follow Atah and Leeson up the rocks towards the ship, which is standing more or less on its tail, but with a pronounced list, about fifty feet up the slope, in a shallow crevice. Climbing is fairly easy, even in the suits. It’s almost exhilarating to be able to propel yourself upwards by a hefty shove of the hand. But you take care not to catch the suit on one of the jagged points. The woven plastic is tough but you can’t ask too much of it—and momentum has the same value of mass times velocity here as it has on Earth. The ladder presents less difficulty going up than it did coming down. You manage to get through the outer door of the air-lock quite easily. Then, up to the control room, “Throw the mattresses down,’”’ Atah instructs you. ‘* There’s no need to carry them. I’ll bring the chronometer.”’ You bet he will! While you and Leeson drag the mat- comicbooks.com