The Dying Tentacle
Half an hour later, Verger, Anderson, and LeDoux stole forth from the
rocket-ship. Each of the men had a box-shaped object strapped on his
back. All three of them carried coils of insulated wire, which they
unwound as they advanced.
When they were about a mile from the Goddard, Anderson removed the
burden from his back and opened the package. It was a small but
remarkably efficient phonograph, which was equipped with a powerful
loud speaker and a device for automatically changing records.
After Professor Anderson had attached one of the wires to the
phonograph and had adjusted the mechanism, he covered it with vines.
Then they walked for approximately another mile in a direction which
took them away from the space-ship at a slightly different angle.
At this point, which happened to be in the midst of a thicket, they
unpacked the second phonograph and connected it up to one of the
insulated wires. The third phonograph was similarly installed and
camouflaged at a point about three miles distant from the Goddard.
Guided by the wires, the three Earthmen tramped back to the space-ship.
They had scarcely reached their destination when ghostly tongues of
magenta, orange and lavender began to flame above the distant horizon,
giving warning of the impending dawn of Jupiter.
"Hurry, fellows," Captain Verger cried. "Al, will you please wake up
the ladies? Tell them we're going for a little hike and that each one
of them must bring her own instrument. Professor, will you please get
your ultra-sound device? I'll carry the storage batteries."
"What's the idea?" LeDoux demanded.
"I'll tell you later. Time's a-wasting, so let's get going!"
A few moments later he was leading the entire party toward a thickly
wooded forest which was about two hundred meters distant, on the
opposite side of the space-ship from the places where the phonographs
had been concealed.
In accordance with Verger's instructions, LeDoux carried the three
coils of wire, unwinding them as he advanced.
When they had penetrated the woods far enough to be completely
concealed, the captain called a halt and proceeded to elucidate his
peculiar orders.
"This is just a little game of hide and seek," he explained. "All you
have to do is keep out of sight and notice what happens."
Peeping through the spongy foliage at the edge of the forest, he
watched the slug-men as they emerged from their homes and flocked
toward the space-ship. He waited until twenty or thirty of them had
entered the Goddard and had subsequently poured out again, rushing
about in apparent excitement. Then he connected one of the wires to the
storage battery.
From the distant loud-speaker came the faint but unmistakable sounds
of a brass band playing a stirring march in six-eight time. The
slug-men must have heard it, for they all stopped and turned their
heads in the direction of the concealed phonograph.
For an instant they hesitated; then, like rats following the Pied
Piper, they all trooped after the mysterious music, which they
obviously assumed was being produced by the band of Earth-Folk.
Verger glanced at his wrist-watch, estimating the amount of time which
the Callisto natives would require to reach the first phonograph. Then
he disconnected the wires, waited a while, and switched the current to
the second phonograph. In a similar manner he timed the intervening
interval before connecting the third phonograph to the battery.
Having thus tricked the enemy into a wild goose chase, Captain Verger
herded his party back toward the space-ship.
"Don't go in yet, ladies," he ordered. Then to Anderson he said, "Let's
see what your supersonic dohickey will do to that tentacle thing that's
holding our ship down."
* * * * *
Acting on this suggestion, Anderson aimed his invention at the thick
coil of sinew which held the Goddard captive, adjusted the mechanism
carefully, and turned on the power.
The thing began to writhe like a python in its death throes. Captain
Verger fancied he could almost hear his beloved rocket-ship groan as
the massive coils tightened convulsively around it. But the staunch
plates of super-alloy, built to withstand the terrific pressures
incident to interplanetary travel, held firm.
Bracing himself to keep from falling to the ground, which was trembling
like a miniature earthquake, Anderson continued to shoot the powerful
waves at the struggling tentacle. Finally, as the vibrations cut
through the massive tissues, the folds which encircled the ship
uncoiled and slithered inertly to the ground.
As he jumped backward to escape being hit by the dying thing, Anderson
collided with Helen Green who had been standing right behind him.
He helped her to her feet and then said angrily, "What are you doing
here? Why didn't you stand back where you belong, with the other girls?"
"I'm sorry," she apologized. "I wanted to find out how that new gun of
yours works, so I stood right behind you and watched you operate it."
A second later, when Captain Verger rushed into the Goddard's control
compartment, he was nearly startled out of his wits. Barring his way
was an enormous slug-man, who had obviously been left behind to guard
the space-ship.
With a beastly snarl which sent cold shivers racing along the
Earthman's spine, the creature seized him in its slimy arms and lifted
his two hundred pound body as easily as if he had been a baby. Verger
had barely time enough to shout a warning, "Look out, Al!" to LeDoux,
when the monster whirled him about and crashed his head against the
metal floor of the space-ship.
Drawing his ray-gun, LeDoux fired point-blank at the slug-man. The
powerful blast, which would have instantly disintegrated the body of
a human being or other mammal, seemed to have absolutely no effect on
the boneless body of the Callistonian. One of its weird, three-fingered
hands shot out, grabbed the weapon and wrenched it out of LeDoux's
grasp. Then it turned the ray-gun on the Earthman.
The mechanism, of course, was unfamiliar to the monstrosity, and
this undoubtedly saved the space-pilot's life. After fumbling for a
second or two in an unsuccessful attempt to operate the weapon, the
creature dropped it with a grunt of disgust and tackled LeDoux with its
powerful, sinuous arms.
Attracted by the noise, Helen Green and two of the other girls rushed
to the door of the control room. One of them uttered a low moan and
fainted dead away. The second girl ran screaming out of the space-ship.
Helen was the only one who kept her head. Turning to Professor
Anderson, who was right behind her, she snatched the Supersonic
Projector out of his hand, thrust its muzzle into the slug-man's side
and squeezed the trigger.
Like a deflated balloon, the huge body collapsed, flopping to the floor
in a shapeless mass. Into it plumped LeDoux, his fall cushioned as if
he had dropped into a quivering heap of jelly.
Although he was trembling like an ash-tree in an earthquake, LeDoux,
thanks to his long experience in facing emergencies, instantly took
command of the situation.
"Quick, Anderson!" he shouted. "Make sure all the women are inside!
Then close the hatch and clamp it tight! Girls! Climb into your
hammocks instantly!"
As he was strapping himself into the control seat, he glanced through
the observation ports. What he saw put extra speed into his fumbling
fingers.
Already the natives of Callisto were rushing back to the Goddard.
Apparently the tremors of the dying tentacle had told them that they
had been outwitted. Although they were still nearly a mile away, they
were racing along at such a rapid speed that their arrival was only a
matter of minutes. On they came--thousands of them. Even at a distance,
LeDoux could sense the menace of their furious features and their
threatening movements.
Nevertheless, LeDoux made sure that all the women were safe in their
hammocks before he snapped on the gravity-nullifier and sent the
Goddard rocketing through Callisto's stratosphere.