Authentic Science Fiction, December 1951 — page 63: what you’re looking at

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

THE MOON IS HEAVEN 61 quite high up and the exertion is telling on you. You begin to wish that you’d let Clavier find his own way back. And then you see him. Obviously he’s found the climb a bit arduous, too. He’s sitting dejectedly on a. stump of rock with his helmet in his hands, the nearest he can get to cupping his. chin, you suppose. You come up behind him and while still some distance away you speak to him. ‘‘ Hullo, Clavier. Having a quiet think?” He spins round as if you’ve threatened to clout him with a tock. Then he jumps to his feet, sails a couple of feet. into the air and lands in a sprawling position that can’t be doing any good to his dignity. He stands up and faces you. ‘““ Why did you come after me? I will not go back. Not even for you, Mike, will I go back!” ‘Take it easy,’ you-say. ‘‘If you don’t want to go back, then don’t. Why should I worry ?”’ He slumps down again and looks up at you. ‘‘ I’m sorry, Mike. My nerves, you know, they are not so well. That pig of a Schnabel” ‘ He suddenly stops and you know what’s going through his mind. “‘ It’s all right, Clavier,” you tell him. ‘‘ They can’t hear you. Everyone’s in the dome, with their helmets off.’’ ‘* All right, then.- That pig of a Schnabel, he comes down soon after you leave—oh, yes, I saw you go. I was not asleep! He comes down and he starts on me as soon as he enters the dome. First the air is stuffy. It is not good air. There is not enough of oxygen and too much of carbon dioxide. Then the apparatus—my apparatus is not working properly. Not efficient. It needs a technologist.”’ : Clavier is working himself up again. You try to calm him down but it doesn’t do much good. “He goes over to my apparatus,’’ he goes on. ‘I tell him not to touch it. He touches it. He tries to alter the settings. I get up and go over to him, trying to convince him, Mike, that I know the best settings—after ‘all, it is-the problem I have studied most of all. Then he insults.me. comicbooks.com