Authentic Science Fiction Monthly No. 44 — page 59: what you’re looking at

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

TWO MEN IN A SHIP THAT CAN CARRY ONLY ONE. BOTH WITH A BURNING AMBITION TO BE THE— FIRST DOWN by KENNETH BULMER John Curry had just cut the rockets, leaving the far-off silver wheel of the space station a dwindling pearl against the broad dark flank of the Earth, when he heard the knock on the door. He ignored it, checking the fuel gauges, his thin, intense fea- tures pulled down into a puzzled frown. The knock was repeated . and he knuckled his ears. “I may be heading out to the Moon by myself,” he said aloud, severely. “But that’s no excuse for getting space cafard already and hearing things.” The knock came again, an impatient tattoo on the inner airlock door. “According to all the scien- tific facts” —Curry reached for the door safety switch—“‘‘this can never happen. And ac- cording to all the scientific fiction, it invariably does.” As he looked down at the airlock hatch in the centre of 58 the cabin floor the cover rose jerkily and a _ space helmet and space-suited shoul- ders came into sight. Curry waited quietly, relaxed and lounging in the control chair, his legs perfectly comfortable, whilst the newcomer swung the hatch back and stood up. After all, there wasn’t very much he could do, not at present. The discarded suit dis- closed a small, sharp-faced, nervous man. His narrow face was tensed and white, as though he had been labour- ing under some intolerable strain, and he ran a finger round the collar of his cover- alls as if they were too small for him. The suit floated to one wall of the tiny cabin and the stranger hastily seized a hand- rail. Curry saw that he wasn’t completely at home in free fall. Curry sighed disappoint- edly. “I was hoping my stow- conmnicloooks.conrn