"I know where you can get a new slug just for picking it up."
One of his hands reached out and wrapped around my neck, and he started
shaking. "Where is it then!" he gritted. "Out with it!"
"I didn't say I was going to tell you," I reminded him, as soon as I
started breathing again. "I'm willing to talk about it, though."
"I'm listening. But talk fast, chum."
"Cut the girl loose, and me too."
Stoneface waved a command, and in a moment we were rubbing the
circulation back into our wrists. Betty wasn't looking at me.
"Here's my proposition," I said. "I'll trade you the slug for the girl.
You give her a suit with full tanks and rations and turn her loose now.
That will give her enough head start so you won't be able to find her.
Then in the morning I'll show you where this slug is, and as soon as
you get it you take off and we'll all be happy. That saves you a six
months' wait and a fight with the Patrol."
"Tom!" Betty broke out. "You're not going to let these apes get away!"
"Sorry, Betty. It's the only way."
"Oh, you--!" She stamped her foot. She was crying. I couldn't blame her
for being mad. She was not the kind to stop fighting anywhere this
side of the last ditch. Well, for me it was the last ditch when he put
his hand on her.
"Can the chatter, you two," Stony gritted. "Look, how do I even know
you got a slug?"
"You don't," I agreed. "That's the chance you take."
"Yeah. And you know the chance you're taking if you don't produce?"
"I can imagine," I assured him.
"Okay," he decided. "I'll play. But I'm warning you, chum, if you're
trying to run a bluff--you'll be sorry!" He turned to Betty. "Come on,
babe, climb into your rubber pants and scram!"
Betty didn't even glance in my direction while she was putting on her
space-suit. She gave me one look as she went out through the air lock,
and one was enough. It was pure poison.
V
I was glad before morning that the nights on Vesta were only six hours
long. Soon after Betty left, a couple of Stony's gorillas went over
to the ship and sent back the two that had been left on watch. The
new ones weren't any prettier to look at, and they scoffed up just as
big a share of rations as the others had, and with even less manners,
if possible. After that one of them got out a deck of mouldy-looking
cards, and the whole crew sat down to a game of poker.
They had me tied down on the chair again by this time, and after the
second bottle of juice had been around once or twice they hit on the
quaint idea of using me for stakes. Each winner of a pot was to have
the right to choose which portion of my anatomy he would separate from
the rest of me by force and violence in case I didn't come through with
the power slug in the morning.
By the time they had reached the stage of marking out their respective
territories with chalk, Stony made them quit. He told them that when
he got through with me there wouldn't be enough left for them to argue
about.
My ribs weren't doing me any good, either....
Someone was cuffing me on the head. I opened my eyes and it was a
bright day.
"On your feet," Stony gritted. "You and me have got a date for a little
game of truth or consequences. Remember?"
I staggered up and scrubbed some of the fatigue out of my face with
my hands. Someone shoved a bulger at me. I saw that it was mine, and
the tanks and ration kits were full. I crawled in and clamped down the
fishbowl.
I led the way into the lock, with Stony and several of his lads at my
heels. In a minute the lock clicked and I opened the door and stepped
outside. The sun was only a couple of degrees high and the long shadows
of the blister and the ship lay sharp and dark across the gray-white
terrain. The stars burned against the black sky, very remote and
indifferent. I tried to swallow the dryness in my mouth and throat, but
it wouldn't go down.
A nudge from the muzzle of a blaster brought me back to the business in
hand. I set off across the rocks, taking it as easy as I could without
making my convoy too impatient. I headed straight for the Aspera. No
need stalling now. Either Betty had had time to hide herself by now or
it didn't matter.
When we pulled up at the scene of the wreck and I pointed to the pile
of boulders and gravel that hid the remains of the ship, I thought
Stony was going to share me out among his men without stopping to
argue. I managed to show him a corner of bent hull plate sticking out
of the rubble just in time. He put the boys to work tossing rocks.
It took a long time. I had counted on that. By the time the air lock
was clear the sun was half-way down the sky again. Jockeying the slug
out of the reaction chamber and getting it into its lead case was slow
work, too. While it was going on Stony and I waited in the cabin, along
with Karns. It seemed the boss fancied him as a gun-pointer.
I had a hard time to manage to retrieve my hand sextant from the corner
where it had fallen without attracting their attention, but I made it.
I stuffed it into my possum pouch and nobody made any objection.
Except for that, Stony had played it smart all along. The only other
mistake he made was at the end, when his gang came back into the cabin
with the slug all snugged down in its shield. He let me crawl out
first. It was black dark outside by now, and I jumped without even
waiting to get to my feet. And this time I kept on jumping.
* * * * *
They didn't spend much time trying to find me. I was out of range of
their headlights in two leaps, and why would Stony think it made any
difference to have me floating in the dark, with no weapons? Of course
he would have blasted me down before he took off if I had been on
hand--I wasn't fooling myself about that--but he had too good a head
for the main chance to waste time on such a minor pleasure. The way he
had it figured, Betty and I would both be dead long before another ship
touched Vesta, and even if we weren't, we would say we were raided by
Venusian pirates, and he would be long gone.
They headed straight back to the ship, and Stony put as many of his
crew as weren't needed for changing slugs to looting the blister. I
could see their lights going back and forth for an hour, and then they
all crawled into the ship and buttoned down.
I figured they wouldn't leave the blister standing, and I was right.
One HE shell took care of that. Then they blasted off. I had my sextant
and watch on them, and was writing down data on my knee-pad as fast as
I could take them. I was using Altair and Vega for a fix, and throwing
in Polaris every now and then for good measure. I kept it up most of
the night. Their jet-flare winked out suddenly just before I lost them
over the horizon.
After that there was nothing to do but go back to where the blister
used to be and wait.
Betty came in just after the sun lifted over the horizon. She wouldn't
let me get close enough to touch helmets so that I could explain. I
gave up after a few attempts and we just sat.
It was a long wait. I rummaged around in the debris and rigged up some
fair-sized sheets of dural to keep off the sun--one for me and one
for Betty. At least she was willing to use it. After a while I poked
around some more and found a copy of Spatial Navigation Tables that
wasn't completely reduced to confetti, and started trying to work up my
figures.
About noon the next day, Vesta time, we picked up the jet-flare
of a ship breaking in. She came in fast, under about three G's of
acceleration. That looked like Patrol style to me, and sure enough, as
soon as the dust settled I could see the blue star on her nose. That
was good. I was afraid it might be the expedition ship coming back, and
guns were indicated for the next hand in this game.
We didn't even wait for them to get out the ladder. Betty leaped for
the port as soon as they cracked the hatch, and I was right after her.
I slammed the hatch shut and motioned the landing party back inside.
The shavetail in charge wasn't happy about it, but I didn't give him a
chance to object. In a minute he got the idea that I meant business,
and opened the inner door.