port--anyport.
He kept his line open to Operations, and every minute or so Wyman spoketo him, giving the data on the climbing piles. Ten had been jettisonedin hyperspace, and so had Fourteen and Fifteen. Since their shift tonormal space, it had been necessary also to detach the entire bank ofNineteen, Twenty, and Twenty-one, whose index had risen at a terrifyingrate.
Wyman's voice spoke in his ear. "One, Two, and Three are climbing fast,sir."
"Shoot them away!"
"No good, sir. I've tried. The release mechanism has fused, and thosethree Piles are welded to the ship!"
Evans closed his eyes. That meant that the life of the ship was doomed.There would be no way to save her. But the passengers could still besaved, if they got away soon enough, before the three Piles vaporized.
"Wyman!" he whispered despairingly, "is there any single Pile that isn'theating?"
"No, sir."
"Is there any single Pile that's responding to your dampers?"
"No, sir, not one."
"Then, in your experience, they are all bound to go, sooner or later?"
"I've never seen anything like this in my experience, sir. It looksbad."
The door opened, and Jasperson slunk in. His skin had lost itscushioning, gray folds sagged under his cheek bones, and black hollowsoutlined his glittering blue eyes. The Captain ignored him, and spokeinto the phone.
"Very well. In exactly fifteen minutes I shall sound the alarm and we'llabandon ship. I can't take a chance on waiting any longer. Keep askeleton crew at work on those Piles to hold them down as much aspossible, and have all other crewmen report to their lifeboat stations."
"Right, sir. But Boat C has gone, you remember. When we dumped PileTen."
"Yes. Distribute her passengers among the remaining boats."
He turned to look at Jasperson, who was shivering as though he werefreezing.
"Is there no hope, Josiah? Is this the end?"
"The end of the _Star Lord_, yes. I hope to save the passengers. Youheard me. In fifteen minutes all preparations should be finished, then Isound the alarm. Don't worry, Burl. There's room enough for everybody,your skin is safe."
"But won't the lifeboats be horribly crowded?"
"Crowded, yes, but not impossibly so. If they can carry two hundred andfifty people in fair comfort, they can jam in three hundred by squeezinga bit."
Jasperson shuddered. "So many people! And so close together! I can'tbear crowds, Josiah, you know that. They make me feel sick and confused.It will be terrible!"
"Whether you like it or not, there's nothing else to do if we want tosave lives. I'll sound the alarm in a quarter of an hour. Get yourselfready, but whatever you do, don't tell the others yet. I don't want apanic on my hands until I'm ready to deal with it."
Biting his lip, Jasperson turned, without a word, and shuffled out ofthe cabin.
* * * * *
Once in the corridor, he began to run, a shrivelled old man waddling onwings of fear down the hall to the dining room where empty tables waitedin the elegant silence of gleaming silver and crisp white linen for thebreakfast hour.
Davis was standing at the sideboard, staring blankly at the flashing redlight above the door.
Jasperson ran up to him and clutched his arm. Looking around cunninglyto see that they were alone, he whispered.
"Davis, I want to talk to you."
"Later, sir. That red light means I'm wanted at the briefing room."
"Yes, but wait a minute!"
"I'm supposed to go at once, sir."
"A thousand credits if you'll listen to me a minute!"
As Davis hesitated, Burl went on. "Listen, Davis, the ship is introuble. The Captain is going to launch the lifeboats. You're in chargeof Boat F, aren't you? You know how to operate it?"
"Of course, Mr. Jasperson."
"Then come with me, and we'll take the boat now. I'll pay you well."
"But we can't do that!"
"Why not? The _Star Lord_ is doomed. In fifteen minutes this place willbe a madhouse, and there may not be room for everybody. I want to getout of here before the mob. We'll take Boat F."
Steward Davis' eyes were thoughtful as he replied. "But sir, we can'tjust take a boat for ourselves, like that. There's two hundred andfifty people assigned to Boat F."
"Worse than that! Three hundred! One lifeboat has been lost already.It's dangerous to wait--there'll be a stampede and the lifeboats mighteven be wrecked. No, we must take her alone, Davis. I'll give you tenthousand credits if you'll do it, and as long as you live you'll have meas a friend."
The steward's Little eyes looked sidewise at the pleading man. "But I'dbe found out for sure, Mr. Jasperson, and then what would become of me?I'd never get another job as long as I lived. I'd have to change myname, disguise myself, and maybe live on some other planet, and all thatwould take money. I'm a poor man, and I don't see how I could affordit."
"But if I have to squeeze into one of those boats with three hundredother people crowding against me, I'll go crazy! We'll go to someout-of-the-way planet, and you can change your identity and be perfectlysafe. Can't you understand, man? My life is at stake, and my sanity.I'll give you fifteen thousand credits!"
"Well," said Davis. "Could you make it twenty-five?"
"Done! Meet me at Boat F in five minutes."
Jasperson rushed to his cabin. Yanking open the wall safe he dragged outhis brief case and the locked memorandum book, thrust his pistol intohis pocket, and ran to the door.
"Follow me!" he called to his startled secretary, and hurried from theroom.
Running past the library door, he glimpsed Tanya at work, her auburnhead bent over her sketching. On impulse, he stopped and ran back.
Panting from the physical punishment of running, nearly smothered by thepounding of his terrified heart, he gasped out his invitation.
"Tanya! The ship is going to blow up! Don't tell anyone. Come with menow, before the crowd, and I'll get you off safely in my lifeboat. I'lltake care of you, Tanya."
She pulled away. "Have you lost your mind, Mr. Jasperson?"
"Don't argue. There's no time. Come, I'll protect you. We'll have plentyof room. If you wait, it may be too late."
"Go with you, and leave the others? You're mad!"
"But if you wait, you'll be trampled to death by the mob. I'm giving youa chance to save your life."
"But you can't take that boat for yourself. What would happen to theother people? That would be murder. Get away from me! I'm going to callCaptain Evans."
As she ran to the phone and pressed the dial, he padded out of the doorand resumed his flight to Boat F where Davis waited, peering nervouslyup and down the hall. Waving his secretary to follow, Jasperson rushedthrough the port.
"Everything ready, Davis? Provisions all in?"
"All set. I saw the tail end of the truck leaving just as I got here,but I'll just check--"
"Hurry, man! There's no time to waste." He cocked his head, listening tothe low rumble of an approaching motor. Davis ran inside, and togetherthey watched from the port.
Coming swiftly down the corridor was a small motor truck. It stopped,and the driver jumped out and shouted.
"Get out of that boat! She's not ready yet! What are you--"
With a steady hand Jasperson drew his pistol and pressed the trigger.The man fell without a sound.
"What are you waiting for, Davis? Shove off!"
The port door slid shut. A few seconds delay, and Lifeboat F, carryingthree persons, shot away from the _Star Lord_ into space.
* * * * *
Alarm bells rang, red lights flashed.
Sickening with the inexorable rise of her fevered power units, the _StarLord_ trembled with the clangor of bells ringing in library and nursery,in lounges and dance hall, in bar and cabins, in dining rooms andtheaters. The orchestra crashed to a stop, the dancers halted, startledand vaguely frightened, half laughing at themselves as they listened t
othe bells.
Then silence, and the voice of Captain Evans.
"Ladies and gentlemen. Do not be alarmed. Because of certain mechanicaldifficulties the _Star Lord_ has shifted to normal space. There is noimmediate danger, but purely as a precautionary measure we shall launchthe lifeboats. Remember, there is no danger, but I ask each of you toproceed at once, in calm orderly fashion, to the station to which youare assigned, and there obey the orders of the officer in charge. Thepassengers formerly assigned to Boat C will be placed in other boats. Donot wait to go to your cabins. Proceed