He walked to the chest and picked up the box of Colt cartridges. Heloaded the weapon again. "This works--and for now I'm not asking why.I'll stay with this scum of the void and try to get something out of himthat'll clear things up. Bill, you determine our position and give it toSparks; then start checking all the other equipment for bugs." He lookedat Joe Silver. "You collect the bodies of the dead officers and preparethem for space burial."
"Why me?" blurted Silver.
Pink gave him a long look. "Because it's an officer's job. Because Itell you to. And Silver--"
"Yeah?"
"I have decided that this is no longer a grade A emergency."
Joe Silver said stiffly, "Yes, sir."
* * * * *
Pink activated the intercom screen, told the crew briefly what hadhappened. Then he raised the mutiny gates, giving a sigh of relief. "Getgoing," he told his officers.
"What about the girl?" asked Jerry suspiciously. "She could still be oneof them."
"Leave her with me. I have six bullets in this thing and forty-eightmore after that." He looked at Circe, who was pale and weary. "Sit down,O. O. Smith," he said gently. "I think you're all right. But you realizewe can't chance anything till we have proof."
"I understand," she said listlessly, and dropped into a foamseat,staring at the fallen giant. The others trooped out.
With the door shut, Pink walked to the head of the creature; it was aswollen and hideous head, but by rights it should have been even morehideous, should have had half a dozen wounds. The yellow hide wasunmarked. Pink said, "You're alive. Can you speak?"
"Certainly." The lips barely moved. "I am but immobilized for themoment."
"What caused it?"
The being sneered at him without answering. Pink said, "I can keep youin this state for a long time, chum. And when we've shown our heels toyour brothers, I'm going to dump you out an air-lock and let you driftaround between the stars."
He knelt beside it. "What did you do to the space drive?"
There was a long pause. Then it evidently made up its mind. "The driveshould be in working order now. Your men will discover so when they tryit. As with the other contrivances, I merely placed a temporary stasison the protons of certain atoms, which rendered them futile. Thereshould be no damage by this time."
Echoing his words, Pink heard the first throbbing murmur of theactivated piles. He looked without conscious volition at Circe, and theyexchanged smiles of vast relief.
"You'll be popping out that air-lock sooner than I'd hoped," said Pinkto the giant. Then he was startled by a great peal of harsh laughter.
"Oh, you pigmy!" shouted the alien. "You flea-brained besotted fool!Your ship is out of control even now, and your hours are numbered on onehand. You've lost, and haven't the brains to see why!"
And, thought Pink, listening to the mirthless laugh while a chill soughtout his belly, the monster's words did not sound remotely like a bluff.
He knew something hidden from the captain, and even in his captivity hefelt himself master of the _Elephant's Child_.
Why? Why? Why?
Then Pink turned and looked at Circe.
CHAPTER XIV
Pink woke from a sweating nightmare. He rolled over and his bandagedribs creaked with a twinge. He had slept nearly a round of the clock;the other ships must be nearing the asteroids. He got up and dressedquickly, wondering who was watching Circe now, holding the revolver onher, praying that if she should change form, the old-fashioned gunwould paralyze her as it had the giant.
The giant. He had to check on that devil immediately. He called hisquarters on the intercom, and Lieutenant Daley's image waved at himreassuringly. The monstrous entity had not moved; its eyes still gleamedwith malevolence.
"Your hours are numbered on one hand," said Pinkham to himself. "Howmany fingers on that mitt, I wonder?"
And even yet he did not believe the thing had been bluffing.
He ate a brisk breakfast in the mess hall, then stalked off to his ownroom, trying to analyze what he now knew of the giants' nature; butCirce's face intruded in his mind. He was in love with her. If she werean alien, then he was in love with the remarkable illusion she hadcreated, of beauty and something more: of a deep integrity of soul thatshone in her eyes and touched every word she uttered. And if that _were_an illusion, then he was a cynic and quite likely a positive misanthropefrom this day forward.
"Get a slug of coffee," he told Daley. "Then hare back and we'll havesome brandy. It looks like a busy day." Daley went out, giving him theColt as he left.
Sparks reported the _Cottabus_ and _Diogenes_ had joined their routesand would be alongside within half an hour. Pink sat down and looked atCirce, asleep on the couch. He switched his gaze after a while to theenemy, who watched him steadily. It said, "A favor, Captain."
"No," he told it.
"Only a sip, a drop of brandy to wet these cold lips!"
"Cold lips, cold heart: old proverb." For the first time in his life,Pinkham wanted to torture someone. "You bastard," he said grimly, "youmurdered eleven men, eleven good officers, and spoiled Kinkare's facefor him. And you want a drink of brandy."
"Rubbing alcohol, then. Only a touch on my mouth. Drop it in my eye ifyou wish," said the thing pitifully.
"No--hey, wait a second. You told me your breed doesn't eat or drink.You don't need any outside element. Why the alcohol?"
It heaved what was possibly a sigh. "I can absorb certain portions ofthe carbon atoms of _al-kuhl_," it said. "It is the greatest pleasureknown to my race. And, save for the paltry drops of gin in that bottleyesterday, I have not--let us say 'tasted'--it for some hundreds ofyears!"
"_Al-kuhl?_" repeated Pinkham.
"The Arabic slips easily from my tongue after all those years," saidthe thing, half to itself.
Arabic! "You weren't lying," said Pink, "when you told us you came fromEarth, then."
"I was not lying. Give me some alcohol, Captain."
"No. How do I know it won't revive you?"
"My word on it."
Pink gave the hardest and briefest bark of laughter ever heard on thespaceways. It became silent. Finally he leaned forward to stare at it."Your eyes have faded," he said. "By God, I think you aren't paralyzed.I think you're dying!"
After another silence it said, "Yes. I am dying."
"I couldn't be happier," said Pinkham viciously. "I even hope it'spainful."
"It is not. The only pain came with the passage through my molecules ofthe l--" it halted abruptly.
"Ah," said Pink, hefting the Colt. "Of the lead. It had to be that, ofcourse; but thanks for reassuring me. Your tribe's allergic to lead in arather high degree."
* * * * *
The flames leaped in its eyes. "I haven't told you anything sovaluable," it said, with a kind of weak bravado. "There are too many ofus, too few of you, and not enough lead in this whole system to conquerus. You have found the secret, but you'll never carry it back to Earth.My people shall go there instead, when they have sucked the methods fromyour broken body."
"When will you die?" he asked it. In spite of his hatred, humanity wasrising in him. It was beaten and he was too much of a man to crow forlong.
"I hear remorse in your tone," said the alien. "For the love of God,then, give me some alcohol."
He remembered the headless corpse of Wright. He said, "No."
Perhaps a quarter of an hour passed. It began to talk to itself in amonotone, a sort of feverish delirium.
"I never thought of it, at least not often, for I steered my mind awayfrom it; but once a decade or every thirty years I would remember,perhaps one of us would say, 'Oh, to have a flagon of palm wine,' andthen the agony of desire would wrack me until I must fight my body andtear it proton from proton so that I hurt badly and the remembrancewould leave me. _Al-kuhl, al-kuhl!_ Why in all the universe must therebe this one combination of stupid elements which drags every fleck ofyearning from me like wat
er wrung from a cloth? My race needs nothing,nothing--we long for nothing--we are the only self-sufficient beings increation--why do we remember the _al-kuhl?_"
"Like a _keef_-smoker," said Pinkham quietly. "You don't long foranything else." After a little he added, "And you fear nothing savelead."
"True," said the being distractedly. "If it were not for lead andalcohol we would be perfect gods."
"Who are you?" Pink asked, conscious that his throat was constrictedwith excitement. "When did you leave Earth? Why don't I recognize you,out of history? What are you called?"
He had tried too hard. The alien rolled its dimmed eyes at him. "I wishI could smile now," it said through motionless lips. "Ah, if I couldonly smile knowingly! You will die today with that curiosity unslaked."
He was balefully angry at that; he leaped to his feet, thrusting out therevolver. "If I throw another slug into you, it just might hurt somemore," he roared.
"I would rather die in pain than see your questions answered. I knowwell that curiosity is the worst torment to an Englishman."
"I'm not English," said Pink.
"It's all the same. I might as well have said 'human.'"
Pink recalled that he had the Colt, and so could take a few chances."I'll trade you. One drop of brandy for each answer."
It considered. Then, without budging, it gave the effect of a shrug."Why not? You'll be dead soon."
"You're so sure," said Pink.
"Look at your scanner."
There was something in the words that sent Pink racing. He was only justin time to see the finish of all his new-born hopes.
The _Cottabus_ and _Diogenes_ were approaching at a slowing pace; the_Elephant's Child_ had deactivated her drive to wait for them. Whetherthe captains of the sister ships saw them or not, Pink could not tell;but a number of the space giants, so reduced in size as to be mere blotson the screen, hovered in the area.
As the ships gradually lost speed, a giant appeared atop each, growingrapidly from eight feet to a thousand, till they straddled the greatships like riders on Shetland ponies.
The thing on the floor chuckled. "We are much more comfortable at thatsize, you see, Captain. We don't like to cramp our molecular structureinto these puny dimensions. We can get into bottles--but we prefer toexpand as you see." Then it laughed. "Yes, there is one of us on yourown flagship at this instant, where he has been waiting, compressed,till the others caught their seats. Your ships are captured as surelyas in a net. You cannot dislodge them, as you know. You must carry themto Earth so, or capitulate and let them inside."
There was no scrap of fear that he would carry these devils to Earth,naturally. But for the moment, Pink could see no sure way to escape thedoom that now lay over him and all his men. They would have to remain inthis asteroid belt ... perhaps forever.
CHAPTER XV
The three spaceships lay together in the void.
In the _Elephant's Child_, 57 men, seven officers, and Circe Smith wereseated in the demolished recreation room, which was the only placebesides the mess hall with enough chairs to accommodate them all. Radiocommunication with the other ships was handled over an extension setconnected to the main radio room by a triple quancord laid down withfurious energy by Sparks.
"What we need, and need fast, is this," said Pinkham. "A method by whichwe can project lead, in pellets or spray or any damn form, withaccuracy, using our platinum guns. There aren't any other weapons thatwill fire from within."
"As you know, we've tried a few methods. One of the gunners of the_Cottabus_ went into an air-lock and tossed a lead ball at the giant onthe _Diogenes_, using a sling-gun. He found the range was too long; andwhen the captain attempted to bring the _Cottabus_ nearer, the thing on_Diogenes_ simply reared his ship up by shifting his weight backward. Solong as they can maneuver our ships as easily as toy boats, we can't usethat simple method.
"Then _Diogenes_ tried to smash our giant off his perch by simplyramming him headlong. Take a look at the screen and you'll see that_Diogenes_ has a dented nose for her pains. Five men died in that try."
"Captain," said a hydroponics engineer, "isn't it possible that, if wekeep trying to oppose these aliens, they may simply tear their way intothe ships and retaliate?"
"Quite possible. Their strength is equal to picking the _Elephant'sChild_ apart, I'm sure." He glared at the men. "Listen: I don't have topull punches with you. The chances of our getting rid of these giantsand making it to Earth are damned remote. There may be a chance, though,so we have to keep trying for it.
"The most important thing we have to do is keep this life-form of theasteroids from going to Earth. We of the armada are a terrible dangerto mankind, through no fault of ours. We're so many Typhoid Marys,potential carriers of something worse than any disease. Even if we'reall killed, the giants might manage to learn the control of the ships,and take them to Terra alone.
"So if we can't wipe out the enemy, our only course is to destroyourselves and our ships. Every officer in the armada has instructions toblow up his ship if the giants should break into it. The thing is soimportant that I've issued orders to do that even though the use oflead-thrower weapons might conquer the invaders.
"If giants seize a ship and it is not destroyed within five minutes, theother two will turn their platinum guns on it.
"Any questions?"
Jackson, who was spokesman for the crew, answered promptly, "Noquestions, sir."
"Okay. Now let's have the technicians' report."
A lean, angular man rose. "I've checked all the books, Captain. There isno way to substitute a charge of lead for the war-head in the curiumshells."
There was a stillness. "You mean we can't shoot lead at the giantsexcept with the few handguns in my possession," said Pink heavily.
"That's right, Captain."
"The giants are too alert to be caught that way," said Bill Calico. "Ihave an idea--not much of a one, but it's a try."
"Let's have it."
Jerry waved a hand. "Please remove O. O. Smith first."
Circe flared, "I think you're just afraid I'll get your job, youincompetent--"
"Take her out," said Pink to Joe Silver.
Calico then outlined his plan. Pinkham said at once, "I'll relay it tothe other ships. We'll try it immediately." They all nodded agreement.Pink bent over the radio; he gave the co-captains instructions in anancient language which they all knew, but which he felt sure wouldbaffle any eavesdropping giants--an old, old tongue known as Pig Latin.
The officers and men scattered to their stations. Pink and Jerry tookCirce to the captain's quarters, where Pink took his seat for the plan'sdirection, Jerry holding the Colt on Circe and the dying giant.
The space drives of the three ships were activated, and in side-by-sideformation they moved slowly forward, as Pink watched keenly fora sign of objection from the gigantic "jockeys" atop them. None sofar ... probably they thought Pink was under the instructions of theirbrother inside. Five minutes went by. Eight. Fifteen.
The largest asteroid in this part of the belt appeared ahead; it wasroughly fourteen miles in diameter. The ships dipped their noses as ifto pass well under it. They drew very close. Pink bent to his speakerand bellowed, "Now!"
* * * * *
As one, the auxiliary jets of each ship roared into life. _Cottabus_ and_Diogenes_ leaped out beside their flagship, and like three hotshotpilots buzzing an airdrome, the captains took the enormous spacecrafthurtling for the surface of the asteroid. Passing beneath it--or,thought Pink irrelevantly, while every nerve and sinew concentrated onthe dangerous task, perhaps they were flying over it upside down--theybrought their years of training and experience to bear on the problem ofmissing that knobbed gray surface by the smallest margin possible._Diogenes_ actually scraped her superstructure, with a noise that madeevery hair on her captain's neck stand upright; the others missed theplanetoid by no more than a foot or two. Then they were clear and againin the void.
Accordin
g to orders, they slowed at a distance of four hundred miles,and eagerly scanned one another in their viewscreens for signs of thegiants.
Pink gave a loud shout of relief, and took a second to realize that hisco-captains had each groaned....
The riders on _Cottabus_ and _Diogenes_ had vanished, and wereundoubtedly back there by the asteroid, reconstituting their bashed-upbodies angrily. But Pink now heard, with a sinking heart, that his giantwas still with him. It had leaned backward from the knees, lying flat onthe hull which it had gripped with legs and arms. Somehow it had graspedPink's plan in time to prepare itself. The asteroid had flattened itsface and chest like a plane smoothing wood, and it was now formingitself anew, with, so they told Pink, a truly malicious scowl on itsreformed lips.
Jerry was standing with a hand on Pink's shoulder; he had forgottenCirce in the tenseness of the bid for freedom. She came up on the otherside and put her own hand on the captain's other shoulder. He wasstartled, and realizing that she could have killed or captured themboth, had she wished, chalked up another doubt in his mind against thetheory of her alienness.
"Please come outside," she said urgently. "I want to suggest somethingto you."
He rose at once and followed her to the door, while Jerry frowned andthe dying giant watched him out of faded red eyes. In the hall, shesaid, "You're almost licked, Captain. It's time for desperationmeasures." Pink laughed, but before he could ask her what the hell they_had_ been trying, she hurried on. "Find out where the home of thesemonsters is; it must be an asteroid. Then go there. Land and get outwith your guns. They will think our friend in there brought us tothem--and you'll have the advantage of surprise. You have about a dozenfirearms that will take lead bullets. That's enough for twelve of us. Ithink we'd stand a chance of success."