"But there is. Planet X. An eccentricity in the orbit of Pluto
indicates there must be a planet beyond. For years astronomers have
known this, but no telescope has been able to pick it out."
Mark grinned weakly. "So that's where we're headed. I guess you know
it'd be awfully easy to overshoot a mark like that!"
"Not with the Frequency Tuner. I understand very little of it, but the
Professor assures me it's a directional finder as well as a power unit."
"Sure, sure. And assuming we locate Planet X and manage to land--what
do you expect to find there?"
* * * * *
Janus' eyes were flecked with dancing lights. "What do we hope to find?
George Ketrik! And if you know the man at all, you know that means
adventure and riches."
Ketrik! Mark's mind went back. He began piecing together things he had
heard, fragments and rumors. The man Ketrik and his amazing exploits
had become almost a legend!
"But I have heard," Mark voiced slowly, "that Ketrik died! Plunged into
the sun while trying to negotiate a landing on Vulcan."
"You don't really believe that? Sure, every few years you hear those
stories, but Ketrik always shows up again." Janus sighed. "You know,
I've almost come to believe that he's not human. Where other men
go--men like us--they find that Ketrik has been there first. I've
personally made two fortunes, and lost them, in following his trail!"
Mark was skeptical. "But even he wouldn't dare try for Planet X! He
hasn't the speed that we have. It would take him--"
"Ketrik would dare anything! Why, six months ago I heard that he was
planning this venture; that's why we're here. We five men pooled our
savings to finance Brownell's Frequency Tuner and build this spacer,
in secret, of course. Sure--it would take Ketrik maybe three months to
reach Planet X in some dilapidated little rocket-powered craft. We'll
make it in three days--but I'll wager he's already there!"
"With the whole populace kow-towing at his feet, most likely." It was
Driscoll who spoke as he entered the room, followed by the other men.
"Sure, I'll back the luck of Ketrik every time!"
Dethman shook his head. "Planet X is probably uninhabitable. But I'll
bet my last pair of socks Ketrik's located a cave of diamonds, or
maybe a platinum vein. Toss him in a Venusian sink-hole, he'd come up
wreathed in swamp pearls!"
"He's that sort," Janus agreed. "It was platinum on Mars, cinnabar on
Mercury, plumes on Venus. By the way, I got in on the plumes--made a
fortune. And the other time I saw Ketrik--"
"I recall the time he showed up at the Venusian Prison Swamp," Driscoll
put in. "One day he wasn't there, the next day he was--just like that.
Inside a week he had organized a group of us for a getaway attempt.
Hundreds of others had tried it and failed. Well, he led us safely
across two hundred miles of swamp, supposed to be impassable. Know what
was on the other side? A spaceship, all waiting and ready. He just
wanted to prove it could be done, I guess."
"I only saw him once," Kaarj shrilled eagerly. "That was on Deimos. He
had discovered the secret shrine of the Deimian ancients. He came out
of that shrine decked from head to foot with blazing jewels--but the
Deimians were waiting for him. They're a blood-thirsty tribe, and they
were plenty angry...."
"I never heard this story before," Janus said. "What happened?"
"I stayed a safe distance away in my spaceship, watching and this is
what happened. Ketrik made them a speech! I swear it! He climbed up on
a block of stone in full range of their weapons--and do you know what
his speech consisted of? The entire first chapter of the 'Advanced
Principles of Space Navigation'. He quoted it most violently. Those
Deimians didn't understand a word of it, but I swear to you, when
Ketrik had finished they weren't angry any more! They cheered him! He
walked calmly over to his space-cruiser and blasted away, jewels and
all!"
"I came across him once on Mercury," Dethman contributed. "The
barbarians from the dark side were warring on the race inhabiting the
twilight strip. Well, if it hadn't been for Ketrik, the whole colony
would've been wiped out. They almost made a superman out of him, wanted
him to marry a thousand wives to make sure he'd leave plenty of his
descendants there. And by Jupiter, he almost did! When I left he was
still there, married to ten wives--or was it twelve?"
Mark was enjoying all this. He looked to Ferris, who seemed to be the
only one without a story to tell. Ferris lit a venomous Venusian cigar,
and sneered:
"I don't hold with all this hero-worship, and I don't believe more'n a
tenth of it. Don't think we'll find Ketrik out here either. I've sunk a
year's takin's from my placer on Mars into this venture--"
"And afraid you won't get it back, is that it?" Driscoll snapped. "Why,
that placer you're yapping about was Ketrik's in the first place, and
you know it! Sure, you'd rather hide out some place and manufacture
more Frequency Tuners."
"We'll do that, too, once we make a strike," Janus said thoughtfully.
"We'll equip a whole fleet with 'em, and really exploit the outer
planets. That should give that addle-brained Earth Council something to
really think about!"
* * * * *
On the third day they crossed the orbit of Pluto. Mark was in the
control room with Janus and the Professor. The latter pointed to a thin
thread of liquid helium in the directional-finder, surging slightly off
center.
"Pluto's the nearest body now. It must be heavy, to drag us that way."
He gave a touch to the Tuner's impellator, and the helium line came
back to center as their acceleration increased.
The Sun had long since been a pin-point of light. The darkness ahead
was no different from the darkness behind, but the men felt infinitely
more alone. Behind were the known planets. Ahead was X--the unknown. It
might be days more, or merely hours. No one slept now.
It was only hours later when the Finder began acting erratically again.
Brownell, who seemed indefatigable, took over the controls from Janus.
But he didn't try to adjust direction now.
"It's Planet X," he said. "Has to be! We'll let the Finder take us
right there!" He switched on the visipanel and adjusted the lens to
fullest power.
"It must be a dark planet," Mark pointed out. "Certainly the Sun's
light doesn't reach it. How do you hope to see it in the panel?"
"Ordinarily I'd say you were right," Brownell nodded. "But look! There
it is!"
Barely discernible on the screen, they saw a vague pin-point of light.
Brownell glanced at the proximity indicator and gasped.
"Over three million miles--it can't be! Not the way it's pulling us
now. Unless," he added thoughtfully, "it has a gravity grab equal
to that of Jupiter at half the distance! Good Lord!" He tested
instruments, gave experimental side thrusts with the Tuner, but they
came back irresistably into the pull of the planet ahead.
Hour after hour they came nearer. The planet resolved into a dark disc
with a peculiar surrounding halo.
"I don't like it," Janus reflected the thoughts of them all. "That
light--where does it come from? Not the Sun! The Sun doesn't even touch
Pluto!"
"Maybe it has a Sun of its own," ventured Kaarj. "On the other side."
"If it does, the sun moves right along with it in it's orbit!"
"You can tell from here that the planet has no axial rotation,"
Brownell announced. He looked a little worried. "This gravity drag is
getting worse. We're accelerating. Better get into your harness." He
set the example, and the men followed. "I think I can control it with
the Tuner in reverse, but it pays to be safe. You never can tell, out
here; these are strange conditions."
The planet was looming fast. The Professor's hand on the deceleration
lever revealed the strain he was under. Below them now they glimpsed
vast dark plains, and as they came nearer, huge stretches of forest.
Mountains loomed. Far ahead was faint light, a few miles of "twilight
strip" much as that on the planet Mercury.
The Professor was heading for this strip but Mark didn't think they'd
make it. They were losing altitude with sickening speed. Mark had
a final vision of the little Professor tugging desperately on the
deceleration lever, of huge greenish-gray plants coming up beneath them.
Then a rending crash, a confusion of flying legs and arms. Just before
Mark blanked out he knew their ship was still ploughing forward.