CHAPTER V
_The Hawk and the Kite_
In the deck of the control cabin, between a bank of instruments andthe starboard wall, was another man-hole that gave entrance from the'tween hulls compartment to the cabin.
Only two men besides Carse knew of its existence. The adventurer forgood reasons of his own had it built in; and so cunningly was itscover fitted on that its outlines were not visible.
Beneath it, now, on the three-rung ladder that led up from the lowershell, Hawk Carse waited.
He could hear quite clearly the angry, snarling voice of Judd theKite, haranguing his men.
"Rinker, you go down and see what's wrong. Just because Jake and Sakodon't come back right away, you guys seem to think the ship's haunted!Haunted! By Betelguese! A sweet bunch of white-livered cowards I'vegot for a crew--"
"Ah, lay off!" growled a deep, sullen voice. "I ain't scared, but thislooks fishy to me. Something's wrong down there 'tween the hulls--damnwrong, I tell you. We only found four skeletons, an' four, ain't thefull crew for a ship like this. There oughta to be a couple moresomewhere. Carse, blast him! he's got nine lives. How do we know hewas one of the four?"
Another spoke up, as Rinker evidently hesitated. "I say we all go downand investigate together."
"Stow it!" thundered Judd. "They didn't get their space-suits out, didthey? Why, they hadn't a chance to escape--none of 'em. They werekilled, every one, quick! And four's plenty to work this ship. Carseis dead, see, dead! This was one trick he didn't know--one time hecouldn't worm out. He was clever, all right, but he couldn't quitestack up against me. I swore I'd get him and I did. He's dead!"
"Judd," said a low, clear voice.
* * * * *
The Kite whirled around. He stared. The hand-flash he was holdingdropped to the deck with a clang. His hands went limp, and his voicewas suddenly weak and dazed.
"My God--Carse! Hawk Carse!"
"Yes," a whisper answered. "Hawk Carse. And not dead."
It was a scene that might have puzzled a newcomer to the frontiers ofspace. Certainly there seemed to be nothing menacing about the slenderfigure that stood by the now open man-hole, both arms hanging easilyat his sides; the advantage, on the contrary, appeared to be all withthe men whom he confronted. All but one was big, and each was fullyarmed with a brace of ray-guns and knives.
But, though there were four guns to one, they made no attempt to draw.For it was the Hawk they faced, the fastest, most accurate shot in allthose millions of leagues of space, and in his two icy eyes was amenace that filled the control cabin with fine-drawn silence.
At last Judd the Kite opened his lips and wetted them.
"Where did you come from?" he stammered.
"No matter," came the answer from the thinly smiling mouth. "Friday!"
"Yes, suh!" boomed the big black's distant voice.
Judd's three men turned their heads and saw Carse's famous satellitestep into the control cabin, a ray-gun in each capacious hand. He wasall flashing white teeth, so wide was his grin.
"Well, well!" he chuckled. "Ain't this the pleasure! Certainly ampleased to meet old friends like this--yes, suh! Jus' drop in?"
But the Kite's head had not turned; he seemed not to hear Friday'swords; his eyes were held fascinated by Carse's. The attention ofeveryone came back to the two leaders.
"Ku Sui is in back of this?" asked the Hawk.
Judd licked his lips again. He had to spar for time: to divert for awhile the vengeance he knew possessed the other's mind, so that hemight find some chance, some loop-hole.
"That's right," he began eagerly, "it was Ku Sui. I had to do this,Carse: I hadn't any choice. He's got something on me: I had to gothrough with it. Had to!"
* * * * *
The Hawk's eyes were glacial; the ghost of a smile hovered once morearound the corners of his lips.
"Go on," he said. "What was that fungus?"
"I don't know. Ku Sui developed it in his laboratory. He just gave mea sealed cartridge of the spores with instructions to raid your ranch,as you saw, and plant them in a drilled-out phanti horn. There was asimple mechanism in the cartridge that allowed us to release thespores by a radio wave from our ship. When I wanted them to grow Isimply--"
"I see. A clever scheme," Carse said. "Quite up to Ku Sui's standard.The idea of those three men running for the jungle when I came down onIapetus was to insure my taking the horn cargo aboard, of course. Theraid was only incidental to your scheme to get me. And Crane, theradio operator, was dead when I received that S.O.S. It was faked, tobring me quickly for your schedule."
Judd stared at him. "How in hell did you know that? Damn you, Carse,you're--"
"Where," interrupted the adventurer coldly, "is Ku Sui?"
The pirate's eyes shifted nervously. "I don't know," he muttered.
"Where," came the steady question again, "is Ku Sui?"
The other licked his lips. His fingers clenched, unclenched, grippedtight. "I don't know!" he protested. His eyes widened as he saw theHawk's left hand stir slightly, and he started as he heard thewhip-like word:
"Talk!"
"Carse. I swear it! No one knows where he is. When he wants to see mepersonally, he comes out of darkness--out of empty space. I don't knowwhether it's done by invisibility or the fourth dimension, but onemoment his ship's not there; the next it is; I don't know where hisbase is; and if he knew I'd told you what I have, he'd--"
"How do you arrange your meetings, then?"
"They're always in a different place. The next is in seven days. Idon't remember the figures: they're in the log of my ship."
Carse nodded. "All right. I believe you. And now--there are a fewaccounts to be settled."
* * * * *
During the few minutes the Hawk had questioned Judd, the brigand crewin the cabin had stood silent, their breath bated, their eyes watchingfascinated. But now they started, and shifted uneasily. They suspectedwhat was coming. The inexorable, seemingly inhuman adventurer went onemotionlessly:
"Six of my men were killed on Iapetus, treacherously, without achance. Four more were slaughtered by the fungus. That's ten. Back upto your men, Judd."
Judd knew all too well what that order portended. He could not move.His cunning eyes protruded with fear as they shifted down and rivetedon the shabby holster that hung on Carse's left side. His breath cameunevenly, in short, ragged gasps through parted lips.
"Back, Judd!"
The stinging, icy force of the voice jolted him back despite his will.One short retreating step after another he took, until at length hewas standing with his three men against the side wall of the cabin,the dividing line between it and the engine room. Friday's guns werestill covering the pirates.
"You goin' to shoot us down in cold blood?" one of them askedhoarsely.
The Hawk surveyed the speaker until the man shivered. Beneath theircoldness, his gray eyes were faintly contemptuous.
"No--I leave that for yellow-streaked hi-jacking rats such as you. I'mgoing to give you a chance: more than a chance. Friday," he called.
"Yes, suh?"
"Do you want to come in on this?"
Without the slightest hesitation the negro answered, grinning:
"Yes, suh!"
"I thought you would. Come here alongside me, then sheathe your guns."
Friday did so. He stood in position beside his master, just in frontof the opening that led below. The four brigands were some fifteenfeet away. The two groups faced each other squarely.
"Good," whispered Carse.
* * * * *
They stood there, four men to two, deadly enemies; yet not one handmoved toward a ray-gun. Again, an outsider would have marveled whyJudd, the numbers on his side did not draw and fire; why he waited;why his face was pale, his eyes nervous. But he knew too well what theleast sign of a draw on his part would entail; he preferred to wait,to rece
ive the advantage of the cold vanity in Carse which demanded,in gun-play, that the odds of numbers be against him. Perhaps thistime that vanity would lead the Hawk a little too far. Perhaps evenyet a loop-hole for strategy might appear.
So the Kite waited, but fear was strong within him.
"A little earlier," the Hawk's frigid voice went on, "there was somecounting. To the number five. Remember, Judd? Well, since you managedso poorly before, perhaps you'll count again."
"You mean to count to five?"
"Yes. And on the fifth count, we draw and fire."
Judd's eyes narrowed, shifted, while thoughts clashed and meshed inhis brain. Hawk Carse smiled icily.
"Is that clear?" he asked.
Judd said after a while:
"All right."
Friday noted one of the pirates: a brawny, black-browed giant almostas large as himself, and decided to go for him when the time came. Hewhispered this to Carse; then, keeping his gaze on the man, he stoodready.
"Begin, I'm waiting," reminded Hawk Carse.
* * * * *
The Kite crouched, drew a deep breath--but before his lips could formthe first count there was a quick, sharp stir of movement from thebrigand to his right; Carse's left hand seemed to vanish; a hissfollowed, a streak of wicked blue light. Friday grunted, not yet quiterealizing what had happened; Judd, gaped at Carse's lowering weapon,then turned his eyes to the right--and choked out an oath.
The brawny giant by his side was standing, but his face was creasedand puzzled. One hand was at a holster; the other grasped agun--unfired. Accurate to an inch, between his eyebrows there hadappeared is if by magic a neatly seared, round hole.
His knees crumpled. His gun clanged to the deck. His head bowed; hebent; he pitched forward, sprawled face downward. Then he quivered andlay still. A burnt odor was in the air....
"I'm still waiting, Judd," came an ironic whisper.
"My God!" stammered one of the pirate chief's two remaining men. "He'sa devil. Fast as light!"
Judd's eyes had returned to the Hawk, and they still showed some ofhis reaction of surprise to what had happened, when a peculiar thingoccurred. For a split second his gaze shot past Carse, took insomething, then switched back again. And when he had done so his faceshowed a faint but unmistakable feeling of relief.
This was old stuff to the Hawk, but he could not afford to takechances. Instantly he rapped:
"Look behind. Friday! Quick!"
The negro jerked his head around. He was too late. He had a glimpse ofa man standing in the man-hole behind--a glimpse of a short steel barthat flashed to Carse's head in a vicious arc, and again to his own.He was rocked by pain is blackness came across his vision; andtogether, white man and black crumpled to the deck....