attempt to sneak offthe planet approached, it was essential that he attend to thecompletion of his personal preparations. Above the mantel of thelodge's thermionic fireplace was hung a brilliant cascading stereo ofYosemite Falls in misty motion. Dollard pressed a hidden button. Themantel sank to ground level and the stereo swung outward, bringinginto view a shining cubical locker of beryllium steel.
From this hiding place, Dollard withdrew two loaded hydroflamepistols. These he strapped under each armpit. Next, he brought out apalm-sized stunner which he concealed in his hand by aid of awrist-strap. The fourth object to emerge was a small chunky bag fromwhich dangled tightly-drawn leather thongs. Dollard opened the pouchand poured the contents on to his sweaty palm; a thousand carats ofglistening "Syrtis diamonds" from his own private mines. The rarityand value of these jewels, he knew, would be increased by the collapseof the terrestrial civilization that had refined them and cut andpolished their rainbow facets.
These gleaming objects of unfixed price were the guardians that wouldstand by him during the months it would take to reestablish himselfamong the colonies on Venus. Not only would they purchase luxuries,but also new servants, fabrication plants, ore boats; possibly, evengovernments. Above all, they would serve to bribe Dollard's waythrough the tight network of Venusian immigration officials who mightseek--in accord with the laws of their sparsely-settled butindependent world--to forbid his landing as a refugee from a diseasedplanet.
* * * * *
A full hour passed before Garth returned, an hour that Edwin Dollardspent pacing the narrow confines of the lodge's central room. His eyesconstantly consulted the slow march of minutes on the luminescent dialof his platinum chronometer ... for while it was not imperative thatthe space yacht he had refurbished should soar starward at the precisehour agreed upon, there did reign a crucial period of four or fivehours immediately at hand, during which the most advantageous passageto Venus should be commenced.
When Garth finally reappeared through the steel doorway, his thin longface reflected the strain he also felt as departure time neared.
"I checked the roadway two miles up the valley," he reported. "Noactivity in sight. There was a riot at Leevining, or so one of yourguards told me--and a big pitched battle in Bishop between lowlandersand highlanders."
"Another day or two and they'd be swarming all over this region,"Dollard said.
"You can bet their first reaction would be to dismantle the ship atsight," Garth informed him. "Lucky we're getting out in time. If themobs couldn't pilot the vessel themselves, it'd be human nature to seeto it that nobody else got to do so, either. Misery lovescompany--even in the face of death."
"The scum," said Dollard. He donned a jaunty space cap he had oftenworn on pleasure flights to his outlying holdings. Hooking his thumbsin his belt, he grinned: "Well, Garth, shall we go?"
Garth nodded. He detached a torch that was clasped to his waist, thenopened the tunnel door that was carved out of a braced section of therear wall where the lodge had been built to shore into themountainside. Entering, the two men threaded a winding route through anarrow dripping passageway, guided by the thin yellow beam of Garth'slight. They emerged several hundred feet farther on in a valley oflong shadows, cut off from the world on three sides by abrupt cliffs.No ravines opened on this valley. Only by a desperate climb over thesurrounding peaks could it be reached--and hence it had been immuneto spying eyes. Here, amounting to a feat of superb pilotage initself, Dollard's vessel had been landed weeks earlier in anticipationof just such a need as it now served.
Sturdy shrubbery screened the tunnel exit, although concealment hadnot proved to be necessary. As they broke into the light, Dollard andGarth pushed aside stunted conifers and half-stumbled, half-ran down ashale-strewn incline which led them to the valley's floor.
A short northward walk brought them in view of the refitted spacecraft. Based on stubby fins, it pointed vertically at the sky.
The high sharp ridges surrounding the valley blotted out the lateafternoon sun, casting gloom upon the sheer rock walls and overhangingescarpments, and, despite his previous acclimatization to Sierraaltitudes, the thin sharp air made breathing difficult for Dollard.
A short distance from where the vessel was cradled, the bodies of fivecoveralled workmen lay in stiff huddled forms. At the sight, Dollardgrunted. "Efficient toxin," he commented. "Good work."
* * * * *
Walking contemptuously past the bodies, the tycoon approached a workshack which had housed the space ship mechanics. He picked up analuminum platform-ladder which rested on the trampled grass. Swingingit above his head, he brought it back to the vessel and hooked itagainst the rear fin so that the tubular platform lodged itselfagainst the ship's lowest loading hatch.
He turned to Garth. "Too bad we can't run an engine-to-mech check,before taking off. But no mechanics."
Garth said, "Knocking off the men was your idea."
"My conscience'll rest easy with it," Dollard returned. "I was makinga joke."
"Very funny joke," said Garth.
"Very funny for you, too," said Dollard.
His fingers squeezed the rubber-mounted grips of the stunner concealedin the palm of his left hand. A slight eye-stinging flash burst in thefading light. As the wave moved outward from the tiny device, Garthstiffened and pitched forward, bouncing perceptibly before his bodyfinally succumbed to the compulsion of gravity.
Dollard aimed the hard toe of his metallic shoe and kicked himviciously in the temple. Garth's body did not stir.
"I would have liked an engine-to-mechanic check very much," Dollardsaid thoughtfully. "But these things can't always be planned neatenough to meet every detail. There has to be leeway for diversiveaction--should the situation merit it. In this case, the situationseems to have merited it rather fully."
He began to climb the narrow aluminum rungs of the propped-up ladder.After reaching the platform, he stood on the grilled support, his fatpanting bulk braced against the upper chord of the stabilizer fin. Helooked back briefly at Garth's unconscious form on the ground.
"You were a fool, Garth! A fool to believe that I would take you alongwith me--to share a new empire. Know when I lost complete respect foryour intelligence? It was when you banked that past services for mewould assure you of future salvation. Very stupid. Didn't you knowyour usefulness would end for me the moment I left Terra? Why should Ihave dragged you along to drink up my oxygen, eat my food ... andundermine me later on? No, friend Garth, you were--all along--just asmuch a tool as those uniformed carcasses you poisoned on my behalf.May you join them in the sad reflection they must now beexperiencing...."
Garth's paralyzed body lay still.
Dollard pressed against the outer panel of the hatch and stepped intothe opening that was made by the sliding section. He disappeared intothe bowels of the ship, and the hatch closed after him.
A few seconds later, a rumbling inside announced the vessel's engineshad come to life. Stubby atmospheric wings unfolded into place on theshining metal sides. Rocket vents below the scorched tail surfacebegan to glow a cherry red as fused gases bit into the pitted ground.The ship's entire length trembled slightly as it left the surface.Climbing into the blue with an ever-increasing _whoosh_, it describedan arc over the jagged peaks and vanished.
* * * * *
Another half hour passed, before the cataleptic effect of the stunnereased sufficiently for Garth to sit up and rest his chest and armsupon his knees. He rubbed his forehead, felt the bruise at his templeand gazed speculatively at the sky. Then, he studied the bubblingearth only a few feet away from him and realized how close he had beento death from the space vessel's back-blasts. He shuddered a moment.
After his head cleared, he struggled to his feet and walked over thedamp grass to the work shack. Entering, he searched through a chemicalcabinet until he found the vials he wanted. From them, he compounded aliquid mixture which he forced into the ampou
le of a hypodermicneedle.
When he stepped outside again, he saw the sky had darkened quicklywith evening. He walked over to the stricken mechanics andadministered an injection into the neck muscles of each man. Thecounter-toxin took hold, speedily erasing the depressant effect of thedrug Garth had originally fed the men--a non-fatal dosage of anirritant similar to the one Dollard had ordered be used to slay them.
He'd supervised a lot of Dollard's underhanded work for him, Garthtold himself as he waited for the hypo stimulant to react. Butmurdering helpless men had been something he had rebelled at. And nowthat Dollard had deserted him, at least he would have company on Terraduring his last days of life. It was an outcome Garth had anticipated,although he had been unable to predict just when Dollard would launchhis surprise attack.
The