In the gloom, Grossman's features could not be seen behind the
quartzite view-pane of his bulger, but by the thick satisfaction in his
voice, Rocky could guess the complacent smirk lingering on his over-red
lips.
"Yes, my friends," he acknowledged, "Grossman. This is somewhat of a
reversal, no? The one you came to apprehend has captured you. My dear
Doctor Roswell, did you consider me a perfect fool? Did you not know
the driver of my roller would report to me that you had followed him to
this spot?"
Rocky said levelly, "Not 'Doctor Roswell,' Grossman. My name is
Russell. Captain Russell of the S.I.D. And it is my duty to advise you
that you stand self-convicted of armed assault upon the persons of
legal officers engaged in the performance of their duties. Anything you
say may later be used against you."
Grossman laughed.
"My soul, Captain, you _are_ a cool one! Not the same man at all as
the learned doctor who was afraid of firearms! It is too bad you have
blundered into this situation. I rather admire your effrontery. We
could have been friends, I think."
"The question," said Rocky dryly, "is open to argument."
Lynn Graham bridled, "This is all very high-handed, Mister Grossman,
and very mysterious. What is all this talk of 'capturing' someone? What
do you intend to do with us?"
Grossman said soothingly, "Have no fear, Miss Graham, you will come
to no harm. But I fear that for the present I shall be compelled to
take you into--well, shall we call it, 'protective custody'? You see,
I have--ah--_certain plans_. It would not do for these plans to be
overthrown at the final moment. Therefore, I must request you to be my
guests until I have succeeded in gaining my objective--"
"Which is," interrupted Rocky harshly, "complete control of Titan?"
"Exactly, Captain Russell."
"And its wealth."
"And its--" Grossman stopped abruptly, the tone of his voice altering.
"Ah! Then you know?"
"Enough," said Russell. "Enough to warn you, Grossman, that it won't
work. This isn't the first time, you know, that an individual has tried
to discard interplanetary law and seize control of some rich plum. The
penal colonies are full of ambitious men like yourself who thought they
could defy the Space Control. But it won't work, Grossman. No man, or
group of men, wields sufficient power to defeat the forces of justice
and order--"
Grossman chuckled again, this time delightedly.
"You know a little, Captain--yes. But not enough! Titan will be
mine--and soon!--because I have found an ally powerful enough to win me
my demands. You doubt? Very well, you shall see for yourself. Come!"
He spun to his little coterie of followers, snapped commands in the
strange, guttural tongue of Titan. The oddly assorted creatures, some
humanoid in form, some frighteningly animalistic, formed a rough guard
about Rocky and Bud. Grossman hesitated before Lynn.
"You have no protective suit? That is unfortunate. It would, of course,
be fatal for you to accompany us across the sands without one. Yet I
cannot permit you to go free--Grushl!"
"Yes, Master?"
"Take the girl to my office building in the city and keep her there
until I come. She must not escape, nor may she communicate with any
other humans. You understand?"
"Yes, Master."
"Very well. Take her away. And now, gentlemen, if you are quite
ready--Forward, march!"
The Titanians behind Bud and Rocky prodded. Helpless in the face of
vastly superior odds, the two S.I.D. men stumbled forward off the
highway and across the rough desert, toward the hill dully gleaming a
short distance away.
* * * * *
Seated at the controls of the tiny roller, Lynn Graham was thinking
furiously as she drove. Obviously there was no chance of escaping so
long as that flabby-fleshed parody of manhood crouched behind her with
a Haemholtz leveled on the small of her back. Yet somehow she must get
away ... get to the Fort and bring the Patrol....
Guile, that was her only chance. Take advantage of the slow-thinking
Titanian's inferior mentality. She turned and smiled back over her
shoulder.
"Have you ever been to the Patrol Base before?" she asked pleasantly.
Grushl answered mechanically, "Yes. Many times--" Then the implication
of her words penetrated his brute brain. "Before? But we are not going
to the Patrol Base."
"Maybe," retorted Lynn airily, "_you're_ not, but _I_ am. Just as fast
as this roller will carry me."
Grushl's heavy brows gathered in perplexity.
"But, no! You are to drive to the office building, there await the
Master."
Lynn laughed. "What nonsense! So long as I am the driver of this
roller, I will take it where I wish."
"Then," said Grushl thoughtfully, "I will be forced to shoot you. You
must not escape."
"But you can't do that," Lynn pointed out shrewdly. "Factor Grossman
said nothing about shooting me. He ordered that I was to be kept safely
until he came."
"Yes," pondered the Titanian, "that is true. But I see no other way
to--"
"I am afraid you will have to let me drive to Fort Beausejour. So long
as I am driving, there is nothing you can do to prevent me taking the
roller where I wish."
Grushl, who had been wrestling laboriously with the problem, now
suddenly saw the light. His deepset eyes brightened. "Oh, no! There is
another way!" he cried triumphantly. "_I_ will drive the roller!"
"B-but--" cried Lynn.
"That is the solution. Stop the roller. You and I will change places. I
will drive; you will move back here."
Obediently, Lynn drew the car to a halt, slipped from the driver's
cubicle as the Titanian moved from the rear seat to take her place.
Grushl smiled at her complacently. "You see?" he boasted. "It is really
very simple. Now I can stop the roller wherever I wish. The Master will
be obeyed." He reached for the controls laying his Haemholtz on the
cushion beside him as he did so. That was what Lynn had been waiting
for. In one sudden motion she leaned forward, scooped up the weapon.
"Sorry, Grushl!" she cried. "But it's you or me--"
She slashed the tube down hard upon the Titanian's scalp. Grushl
groaned once, heavily--and sagged. His hands, falling away, dragged
at the steering control-stick. In an instant the car jerked into
convulsive motion, charged toward the edge of the road.
Lynn screamed and tugged at the door beside her. In a moment more she
would have been carried out across the deadly sands without a shield of
any sort. But just as the roller left the road, the girl threw herself
through the door ... fell sprawling on the edge of the roadbed.
The roller bounced out fifty ... a hundred ... two hundred yards into
the desert-land ... then stalled. It lay there, a dark form dimly
outlined against the thin iridescence of the soil, a silent vehicle
bearing a single, unconscious occupant.
Lynn Graham stared at it dolefully for a few moments. Then,
because there was no use crying over spilt milk--or lost means of
transportation--she turned and hurried toward the city as quickly as
possible ... afoot.
* * * * *
As they approached the hill in the darkness, the two S.I.D. men were
aware of much activity going on around them. They heard the cries of
foremen, the grunts of laborers, the chuff-chuff of old-fashioned
combustion engines, and the high, shrill whining of a single
highpowered atomotor.
Rocky glanced at the New Boston factor inquisitively.
"Mining, Grossman--already?"
Grossman chuckled.
"Mining, yes. But not for what you think. Before we mine for wealth, we
must mine for power."
"Mine for power?"
"You shall see in a moment what I mean." Grossman motioned one of
his native aides to him. "Ho, there! He is secure? The mighty one is
shackled as I commanded?"
"Yes, O Master. He is bound wrist and ankle."
"Good! And the excavation?"
"Proceeds on schedule, Master. By dawn it should be finished."
"That is well. For if he still grows--"
"He does, O Master!"
"--dawn will be none too soon. The cavern will no longer hold him."
Bud whispered to his friend and superior, "Say, what goes on here? What
are they talking about?"
"If I'm not greatly mistaken," answered Rocky, "the thing for which
those manacles were made."
Verification of his guess came almost immediately. Again their guards
prodded them forward, and behind Grossman they entered a passageway
dipping into the side of the hill. Through an ancient tunnel, damp and
malodorous, they marched, debouching finally into a gigantic cavern ...
a huge bubble of emptiness blown into the solid rock in some forgotten
geologic age of change.
And there at last before them stood....
No ... it did not stand. There was no longer room for it to stand
upright in an underground cavern whose roof was but three hundred feet
high. It crouched. It knelt upon all fours like a great, mute beast;
knelt and stared with dumbly questioning eyes at the tiny motes now
entering its lair to look upon it.
It had been secured, as the Titanian had said, with great metal
manacles, from the welded joints of which stretched mighty chains so
huge that a man might walk upright through a single loop. Its wrists
were also gyved, and a length of chain swung between the two.
But it made no effort to fight these bonds. It just crouched there in
the strange semi-gloom, watching with pale-gleaming eyes the movements
of its self-proclaimed Master.
Subconsciously Rocky Russell had been expecting just some such
revelation as this. Even so, it was one case where realization of an
idea far surpassed speculation. A gasp of sheer astonishment wrenched
itself from his lips; he stared at the giant with shocked incredulity.
"Colossus!" he choked. "Lord--the Colossus himself, come to life!
Grossman, where did you find this--?"
Grossman smiled urbanely.
"Not a bad name for him, Captain. Your brief period of masquerade as a
mythologist apparently left some impression on you. Colossus--yes! But
this time no brainless monster of brass. A living creature, intelligent
and obedient to my commands. You, there!" He turned and addressed his
slave, again utilizing the menavisal unit. "You know your orders? You
know what must be done?"
* * * * *
The creature had telepathic power commensurate with its bulk. The
mental answer came rolling into the brains of the Earthmen with almost
audible force.
"_I know my orders. I know what must be done._"
"And who is Master? Whose will must be obeyed?"
This, thought Rocky with swift distaste, was sheer braggadocio, and
typical of Grossman. It was not necessary to bludgeon a servile answer
out of the gigantic captive. He had already proven his point.
But if the question had been intended to elicit a humble deference, it
failed in its purpose. For the Colossus did not answer. Instead, it
continued to stare down at its accoster mutely, speculatively. Almost,
thought Rocky, defiantly.
"Well?" repeated Grossman. "Who is Master here?"
And this time, whipping a tube from his holster, he accompanied
the question with a rapier-like lash of fire that swept across the
Colossus' hurriedly upraised palm. For at sight of the gun, at the
crackle of the heat-beam, the giant had begun to stammer a hasty
answer--
"_You, O Master! You are Master! You--_"
And then, as suddenly as it had begun--it stopped! And over its
features spread a strange, strained look. What that expression meant,
Rocky could not guess. It seemed to mirror surprise. Vast, pleased
surprise. The giant lifted the palm across which Grossman's ray had
swept and studied it with sluggish interest. It drew a finger of its
other hand across what should be a badly burned piece of flesh ... and
began smiling. It was an evil smile. There was no mirth in it. Just
grim, savage exultation. And determination!
Then deliberately it reached forward--and attempted to grasp Grossman!
This time it was the Factor who fell back hurriedly. A cry burst
from his lips, he pointed the Haemholtz at the giant and coldly,
murderously, turned its ray to the maximum concentration. The air of
the confined quarters seethed and crackled with blistering heat as the
livid flame blasted its way to its target.
But the Colossus ... _laughed_!
It was the first time human ears had ever heard a sound from that
inhuman throat. Nor did those who heard it ever want to hear it again.
From those great, gaping lips towering yards above them peeled a
deep-pitched torrent like the simultaneous rolling of a thousand summer
thunders. It was a sound to batter, blast and deafen the eardrums.
Were it not for the bulgers in which they were clad, the Earthen would
in that moment have been stricken with instantaneous deafness. As it
was, Rocky's ears rang fearsomely with the vibrations of the Colossus'
laughter, muted, as the sound was, through his helmet diaphragm.
And Grossman's flame ... meant nothing. The Colossus ignored it as if
it were a dancing sunbeam briefly flickering across his flesh. Again he
stretched forth an avid, clutching hand....
Grossman screamed aloud in panic fear ... and ran! Into the narrow
tunnel he darted, where that mighty hand could not follow and close
about him. Through the tunnel, out and up from the depths of the
underground cavern. Behind him ran the unguarded duo he had called his
captives.
At the mouth of the tunnel, attracted by the tumult, were gathered a
knot of Titanians. To these Grossman panted swift commands.
"The mouth of the tunnel ... close and block it immediately. The
Colossus has gone mad. And the excavation, stop working on it!"
"But, Master ... it is almost finished!"
"All the worse! Fill it in again. He must not break free. He
will destroy us all!" Grossman turned to Rocky and pawed at him
beseechingly. "Russell, call the Base! Tell the Colonel to send men
here ... guns! This creature--"
* * * * *
Russell said sternly, "Rather sudden change of heart, Grossman. A few
short minutes ago the Colossus was your ally, the aide through whose
efforts you were going to force the Patrol off Titan and gain sole
possession for yourself."
"That doesn't matter now. I was ambitious ... yes. I had dreams of
being a king, an emperor. You know why, Russell. You are a clever man.
You guessed the reason for the T-radiation. But I did not dream, when
the egg was hatched two days ago, that its occupant would continue to
grow ... and _grow_ ... and GROW!" Grossman's voice rose hysterically.
"It is a madness from space, come to kill us all. I thought at first I
could use It, bend It to my will. It was afraid of flame. But now It
has grown too large, Its flesh too thick, to mind such puny weapons.
It is strong, Russell ... inconceivably strong. It is practically
invulnerable--"
Bud said, "But what you're doing ought to hold it in check. If you bury
it alive ... don't feed it..."
"Feed it!" Grossman laughed mirthlessly. "It doesn't _need_ feeding!
Don't you understand ... it has never been fed a mouthful in its life!"
"Never been--!" Rocky stared at the shaking Factor. "But--but do you
realize what that means? It does not eat--yet it continues to grow.
From _somewhere_ it must be deriving the nourishment to gorge its
cells. From somewhere--"
"Rocky!" Bud's voice interrupted him suddenly. It was a voice cracked
with terror and strain. "Rocky--quick! We've got to get out of here!
Look! The earth! Quaking--"
His warning was superfluous. All present had experienced the trembling
at the same time, a violent, insistent rocking of the soil beneath
their feet. Now gaunt Titanians, panic-stricken, were fleeing in all
directions. Grossman had stumbled and fallen to his knees. Rocky bent
over him, lifted him by main force and howled into his ear,
"A roller, Grossman! You must have a private roller somewhere around
here! Where is it?"
"O-over there!" The Factor pointed uncertainly at a gray bulk dim in
the gloom.
"Then come on!" snapped Rocky. "We've got to get to New Boston!"
"N-new Boston? The city? But--but why? We want to get to the Patrol
Base--"
"New Boston," Rocky grated, "first. That's where you sent Lynn
Graham--remember? Gad! I didn't think he could do it! But he is! Start
this roller, Grossman, and let's get out of here--quick! Look! The
Colossus--"
* * * * *
The others stared, and a little whimper escaped Grossman's slack lips
as he saw the final act of the drama which had begun with the trembling
of the earth beneath them.
The thin iridiscence of the hillside was seamed and cracked with a
myriad of tiny black veins. The whole hummock quivered and trembled as
though stricken with some petrologic ague. And then, suddenly, with a
crash like that of rolling doom, the whole crown of the hill seemed
to erupt explosively before them. Gigantic boulders ripped loose from
ancient bedrock and raced wildly down tattered slopes. A myriad tiny
fragments burst skyward, sifted down as a hail of deadly debris. There
came the rending, tearing, grating sound of stone grinding against
stone ... cacophonous background for the cries of maddened Titanians,
the screech of roller motors roaring into action, the moans of injured
and dying natives. Then--
Then Colossus burst from the womb of the hampering earth! Rose to stand
upright in the prison he had outgrown. He shook himself, and detritus
scattered about the terrified watchers. He raised a great palm, and
with demoniac deliberation brought it squarely down upon a tiny band
of huddled and terrified natives. When he lifted his palm again ... it
dripped redly!
Rocky thrust the fumbling Grossman from the controls. "Move over! Let
me at the stick--"
In a flash he had started the roller's motor, sent the speedster
tearing headlong and recklessly across the broken desert flooring.
Not a moment too soon. For the Colossus, having once shed blood, now
swung into a literal orgy of savage destruction. Like a huge, brainless
automaton he flailed the hillside about him clean of every moving
thing ... beating with gigantic, steel-hard fists at anything and
everything he saw, until that thing lay like a flattened pulp upon the
ground.
And all the while horrendous laughter peeled incessantly from his
contorted lips. Laughter which carried to New Boston, miles away; even
to the Patrol Base beyond the city. Laughter which struck terror into
the hearts of listeners who did not know as yet--happily!--whence it
came, or the awful fate which lay in store for them.
For Colossus wearied, now, of lingering in his pit. He placed a palm
on either side of the chasm he had opened for his escape, and vaulted
easily to the surface. The enormous manacles with which his captors had
hoped to hold him dangled uselessly. The ground shuddered beneath him.
Where his feet met earth they forced depressions. Colossus was drawing
sustenance, now, at ever-increasing speed from the soil which fed
his odd, unnatural appetite. Already he was taller than New Boston's
highest building. More than a quarter mile he towered into the air. And
still he grew....