Air Wonder Stories, August 1929 — page 18: what you’re looking at

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

112 AIR WONDER STORIES anti-nullifiers from the ground. In either case we expect a difficult time.” : ~““What' will you do to protect this ship?” Addison asked. -It seemed hopeless to continue. on the mission now that he had seen the frightful effect of the weapons, and they were now reasonably sure that the enemy expected them. “We'll turn on all of our disrupting guns and. then spin on our longitudinal axis. That will cut deep gashes in the-ground for miles around and possibly destroy their defensive equipment. Of coutse, it is a desperate chance that we are taking, but the world is in a desperate condition at present so we feel that we are justified,” Desperate Moments DDISON turned: this idea over in his mind but was interrupted by a flash of red light from the instrument boatd-on the wall. Lieutenant Evenrude cut out the gyroscopic control. The captain came over and stood beside Addison’s chair to. watch the instruments and: give orders. “Close the master switch,” he said calmly to the gunner. “We are directly over the. objective,” and to Evenrude, “Spin!” Addison clung to the chair in desperation, -forget- ting that he was strappedin. He felt his body thrown this way and that until his senses reeled. By an- effort of his will he controlled himself and looked at the calm officers at the keys and then up at the screens. ‘First one and-then another, in rapid rotation, flashed into brilliant light! He noticed the-red light. Sometimes it was gleam- ing brightly and again it went dark, only to flash up again, each-charige being accompanied by a jar of the ship. AWhat is the red light?” he gasped. “Anti-nullifier indicator,” said the captain. “In other words; when the red light is on our nullifiers are paralyzed and we are falling.” “Change the course to three points east of north,” said the commander. “We've gone beyond our objec- tive.” Addison watched the dials on the- wall and was horrified to see the altimeter sink rapidly while the ted light was on but mount when it was extinguished. But they were losing altitude continually; nearer to the earth with each flash of red! “T had no idea that they were so well protected,” said the captain with a frown. “I£ we don’t destroy their antinullifiers soon we're lost.” _ As they drew nearer to the earth the blinding glare that flashed successively over the screens became so bright that- Addison was forced to turn his swimming eyes away. He watched the instruments, and the wild spinning of inclinometers, levels, compasses, and. others he knew nothing of, gave him~an idea of the wild contortions the ship was going through. But,he-could feel it, too, as his body-was thrown this way and that. One of the advantages of eating pills of synthetic food rather than the old time bulky meals, occurred-to him now. They were only two miles above the earth’s surface and: Addison had tensed hitnself for the frightful shock he felt must surely come, when the red flashes from the instrument board became more intermittent and finally ceased altogether. The commander gave an order and the flashes on the screens ceased, the instru- ments steadied and all came to rest. “Put her in neutral and we'll hold this position until morning,” said the Captain. “Apparently we have destroyed their anti-nullifiers since they have gradually ceased to function.” Addison leaned back to gather together his senses. As time passed and he listened to the silence he dozed, nor did he realize that he had slept until the captain spoke to him. —~ “Do you wish to go outside?” Addison started and looked questioningly up at the grim smile on the commander's face. “Do you wish to go outside?” he repeated. “Oh, yes, by all means.” The sun was just peering up overt the mountains to the east when Allison. stepped from the ladder to view the landscape. And what a Jandscape! As though some giant had gone over the mountains and valleys with a hige plow, cutting bottomless fur- rows promiscuously in every: direction as far as the eye could reach, the territory was a riot-of frightful destruction ! Addison gasped in horror. He stared at the captain with blank amazement. “This treatment is meant to be a-trifle disconcerting to the enemy,” the officer smiled. “It is only the second time in history: that any battle-ship has torn up the ground in this fashion. In fact, we ate not per- mitted to do it except under exceptional circumstances, But go over and look into one of the furrows.” — Although -the captain knew: what to. expect, the other members of the crew had never seen stich havoc and crowded along the crevice into which Addison was staring. They could: not see the bottom of the cut, but were intensely interested in the sides. When the atoms had taken up energy to again form molecules, they had crystallized into fantastic shapes of metal and quartz that glistened and sparkled in the sunlight as though striving to atone for the frightful wounds, They explored farther down the canyon, jumping over the two foot gashes.. They found the bodies of several unfortunate Orientals who had been caught in the’ flaming destruction, and around_a turn, two fighting vessels similar to their own. Addison traced the fur- rows down the mountain side, through the ships and up the other side of the canyon—nothing escaped. The ships had: beef cut this way and that into many sec- tions, the edges of the incisions, as always, fringed with glittering crystals. An Old-Fashioned Weapon QUPPENLY the captain stopped. Beyond the ships, the canyon floor widened to about a thousand feet and here, as though the fateful plow had struck a huge flat rock: and-slid harmlessly over. The ground was untouched. “All hands. aboard the ship,” he ordered quietly. - “Battle stations,” Addison was about to inquire as to the cause of this sudden-order when another quiet voice broke the grim stillness. “All hands in the air,” The hands of the Occidental crew instantly reached upward and the visitor turned to see who had taken charge of the situation. He turned cold and_ froze in his tracks! With some twenty-five men at his back, each atmed as was he, stood a man with a small molecule disrupter leveled at the exploring party! “Search them,” ordered the stranger. While the leader kept the first group covered with Pecomicbooks7co