Authentic Science Fiction, December 1951 — page 56: what you’re looking at

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

54 THE MOON IS HEAVEN to come, deep down inside herself. But that line of thought comes near to hurting at times, so you drop it. Instead you think that she’d better calm down a bit or else learn to shut her radio off when she wants to let fly. You reckon a man like Schnabel doesn’t react at all well to being called an arrogant beast. Even if he is one. But is he? That’s a problem you've been trying to solve for years, with Schnabel and other people. Right now he’s up there, working on the ship. Trying to get the air-lock repaired so that everybody will leave safely. He’s wrestling with steel and rivets while you just lie and stare at the dim ceiling. Can a man who does that be arrogant? But you still don’t get a chance to work it out, because you hear a noise and look up to see that Atah is getting off his mattress. You don’t respond for a moment. You just lie there and watch him. Fully dressed like everybody else, he stands there for a moment rubbing his chin. The stubble is beginning to make itself felt. Then he jerks the hand up and sweeps his untidy forelock back into place somewhere on the top of his head. He stoops and picks up his helmet. Time to speak, you reckon. ““ Going out, Atah?’’ you say in a low voice so’s not to wake the others. “'Yes,’’ he replies, fingering the helmet. ‘‘ I’ve had enough sleep, Thought I’d make a short survey. Get a little farther afield.”’ He stops, still fingering the helmet. Suddenly you catch on. He’d like someone to go with him. Not because he’s frightened or anything like that. You know why he wants someone else. A witness. So that if he comes across some- thing incredible, there’ll be someone to bear him out. Scientific confirmation, he’d probably call it. “ Mind if I come with you?”’ you ask. ‘‘ I won’t get in the way. Besides, I ought to come along so’s to write it up later,’”’ comicbooks.com