On the desk beneath the note was a small package which contained a
number of stock certificates. They totalled $900,000 face value of
"Piracy Preferred", the preferred stock of a corporation, "Piracy, Inc."
"Piracy! Pirates in the air!" The field manager forced an unnatural
laugh. "In 2126 we have pirates attacking our air lines. _Piracy
Preferred!_ I think I'd prefer the bonds myself. But thank God he did
not kill all those people. Doctor, you look worried! Cheer up. If what
this pirate says is true, we can resuscitate them, and they'll be better
off for the experience!"
The doctor shook his head. "I've been examining your passengers. I'm
afraid that you'll never be able to bring these people back to life
again, sir. I can't detect any heart action even with the amplifier.
Ordinary heart action sounds like a cataract through this instrument. I
can see nothing wrong with the blood; it has not coagulated as I
expected, nor is there any pronounced hydrolysis as yet. But I'm afraid
I'll have to write out the death warrants for all these men and women.
One of the people on that ship was coming to see me. That's how I
happened to be on the field. For her, at least, it may be better so. The
poor woman was suffering from an incurable cancer."
"In this case, Doctor, I hope and believe you are wrong. Read this
note!"
* * * * *
It was two hours before the work of reviving the passengers could be
started. Despite all the laws of physics, their body temperature had
remained constant after it had reached seventy-four, showing that some
form of very slow metabolism was going on. One by one they were put into
large electric blankets, and each was given the correct dose of the
salt. The men waited anxiously for results--and within ten minutes of
the injection the first had regained consciousness!
The work went forward steadily and successfully. Every one of the
passengers and crew was revived. And the Pirate had spoken the truth.
The woman who had been suffering from cancer was free from pain for the
first time in many months. Later, careful examination proved she was
cured!
The papers were issuing extras within five minutes of the time the great
plane had landed, and the radio news service was broadcasting the first
"break" in a particularly dead month. During all of June the news had
been dead, and now July had begun with a bang!
With time to think and investigate, the airport officials went over the
ship with the Air Guard, using a fine-tooth comb. It was soon evident
that the job had been done from the outside, as the Pirate had said. The
emergency pilot testified that when he entered the ship, he found a
small piece of wire securing the air lock from the outside. This had
certainly been put on while the ship was in flight, and that meant that
whoever had done this, had landed on the great ship with a small plane,
had somehow anchored it, then had entered the plane through the air lock
at the ten mile height. He had probably flown across the path of the
plane, leaving a trail of gas in its way to be drawn in through the
ventilator pumps. It had been washed out by the incoming good air later,
for the emergency pilot had not been affected.
Now the investigation led them to the mail-room. Despite the refractory
nature of the metal, the door had been opened by melting or burning out
the lock. And an opening had been burned into the safe itself! Opened by
melting it through!
A bond shipment was due the next day, and the airline officials planned
to be on the watch for it. It would get through safely, they were sure,
for men were put on board in steel chambers hermetically welded behind
them, with oxygen tanks and automatic apparatus sealed within to supply
them with clean air. The front of the tanks were equipped with
bullet-proof glass windows, and by means of electrically operated
controls the men inside could fire machine guns. Thus they were
protected from the Pirate's gas and able to use their weapons.
The ship was accompanied by a patrol of Air Guardsmen. Yet, despite,
this, cancer cases were aboard with the hope of being gassed.
When the plane reached the neighborhood of San Francisco, there had been
no sign of an attack. The Pirate might well retire permanently on a
million, if he were alone, as the singular signature indicated; but it
seemed much more probable that he would attempt another attack in any
case. Well, that just meant watching all the planes from now on, a
tremendous job for the Air Guard to handle.
The leader of the patrol turned in an easy bank to descend the ten miles
to Earth, and his planes followed him. Then suddenly through the
communicator came an unmistakable sound. _The plane automatically
signaling for an emergency pilot!_ That could only mean that the plane
had been gassed under the very eyes of his men!
The bonds were gone and the passengers gassed, and incredibly, the men
in the steel tanks were as thoroughly gassed as the rest.
The note was brief, and as much to the point as was the absence of the
bonds.
To the Officials of the Airport:
Restore as usual. The men in the tanks are asleep
also--I said the gas would penetrate _any_ material. It
does. A mask obviously won't do any good. Don't try that
C-32L mask. I warn you it will be fatal. My gas reacts
to produce a virulent poison when in contact with the
chemicals in the C-32L.