McVane blinked, biting his lip, then slowly chose one of the little
bits of wood. His hand closed over it, felt it blindly, then he sat
down licking his lips. As an afterthought he reached for the bottle.
Lodar grunted, a satisfied grin distorted his split lips.
"You next." His black eyes burned on Ray.
The younger man took one of the two remaining matches. He exhaled
sharply as he drew out a whole one.
Lodar rasped an oath, drew the remaining match across the room. "You
win!" he ground out.
Ray relaxed slowly. A faint surprise tinged his relief. He had
misjudged Lodar, expecting him at the last moment to renege. Instead,
the big man had merely turned to McVane.
"So you and I are the hostages, eh, Mac?" A grim smile lit his face,
while his hand rested briefly on the other's narrow shoulder. "Come on,
let's get going."
The three men prepared the escape boat. As they loaded the little ship
with extra provisions, Ray was alert for treachery, but the captain
seemed to have taken his fate philosophically. He even tried to cheer
up McVane, though his heavy witticisms only made the little man look
sadder.
"Get that girl in," he growled at last.
Ellenor paused briefly as she entered the escape port. Her eyes sought
Lodar's. "I'm sorry about the things I said," she offered gently. "I--"
"Go on, get in!" Lodar shoved her, then turned to Ray. "You too. Get
set for takeoff. When McVane and I tackle the crew I'll toss a signal
bomb into the corridor. You'll hear it explode. Take off, fast!"
Ray nodded. He shook hands with McVane, hesitated briefly, then offered
his hand to Lodar.
"Go on!" Lodar snarled. "Get out before I get some sense and change my
mind!"
Before Ray closed the inner lock, McVane passed him an envelope. "Give
it to the girlie," he muttered.
Inside the escape ship, Ray closed the little hatch, then touched the
emergency button which swung open the outer port on the _Vulcan's_
hull. With the butt of his gun he hammered a signal. They were ready.
Neither he nor Ellenor spoke as they waited. The seconds dragged in
silence except for the sound of their breathing.
Suddenly a hollow boom resounded, followed by the sharp rattle of metal.
"That's it!" Ray gunned the little escape ship clear.
They were out in space. The black shape of the _Vulcan_ swung behind
them, dwindling. It looked inert and ghostly. It looked a dead ship,
with no sign of the conflict that was raging inside.
Ray turned the escape boat sharply left, away from the sun, and set the
drive for Earth. Behind them the _Vulcan_ was fading into blackness off
to one side of Sol. Now and then a pale gleam touched the dark sides as
it swung sluggishly.
* * * * *
It was all the escape ship could do to gain steady acceleration against
the mighty pull behind them. For a while Ray nursed the tiny converter
along, till he was sure the drive was winning. Then he joined Ellenor
in the cramped little mid-section.
Her brown hair was combed back, starkly outlining the pale face. Her
brown eyes were large, underneath one of them was the ugly bruise from
Lodar's hand.
"We're loaded down with loot," Ray growled disgustedly. "Let's hope
there's grub enough to see us to Earth."
He stared sharply as she remained huddled silently. She was holding the
envelope which McVane had given. As he sat down beside her she passed
him a sheet of paper. He recognized McVane's untidy scrawl.
"Lodar always wanted to end in a blaze of glory," he read, "so this
idea was O.K. with him, too." Ray stared, puzzled.
The girl raised her hand, showing him the two matches that had been
wrapped in the note. They were both unbroken!
"Why," Ray gasped, "that means--"
"Lodar cheated," she said softly.
Ray stared back at the _Vulcan_. His hand was on the controls, poised
to turn back the little ship. It was unthinkable to leave Lodar now!
"It won't do any good," Ellenor said. "Lodar's life was spent anyway.
But McVane--" Suddenly she was crying.
Ray's arm was around her. "He was a hesitant little hero, wasn't he?"
He smiled gently down on the girl. They knew that McVane had never
loved life, was only drinking himself to the grave, but a deep sense of
pity smote him.
Perhaps the fight inside the _Vulcan_ would be over swiftly as Lodar
had his moment of glorious battle. Perhaps McVane would die quite
happily beside his friend.
It wouldn't be entirely in vain.
Ray felt a new purpose in his own life. Lodar's wealth would fight for
the right of the Mutes to life, and Ray would join Ellenor, see that
she was protected, helped in the battle to come with the powers that
sought to enslave her Venus.
It seemed his fate was always to be inextricably tangled with that of
the Mutes.
* * * * *
_Recommendations by the Board of Space Navigators, entered this 3rd
day of November, 2268._