[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
Planet Stories Spring 1942.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
Oh, the science of Man has narrowed the span
Between the near and the far,
With thunderous roar the great ships soar
From Earth to the dimmest star;
But though in their lust for gold they thrust
From planet to asteroid
The Will of the Great Astronomer still
Is the Will of the cosmic void.
And from Earth's own Sol to the ebon hole
Of the Coalsack's gaping maw
Though Man may jet, he is subject yet
To the Universal Law.
_For whoever shall plot for another's lot,_
_Be he brother or foe or friend_
_Who seeks his gain of a fellowman's pain_
_Has a price to pay in the end._
I
Now, Dougal MacNeer was a pioneer.
Just one of a million such
Who labor and toil in unmapped soil
With shovel and pick and hutch.
He was six-foot-two, and a man whom few
Would care to engage in a fight,
With shoulders as firm as a pachyderm;
A tower of granite might.
He had eyes of gray, and a quiet way
Of minding his own affairs;
He never came down to a commerce town
Save for fueling or ship repairs.
Thus it was that he roused the _whys?_ and _hows?_
In the minds of the spaceport clique
When he landed at Krull[1] with his tanks half full
And rented a berth for a week.
The cradle-monk[2] stared, then boldly dared,
"By golly, you've struck it rich!
I always knew some day you'd come through,
You lucky son-of-a----"
"Which,"
Asked Doug MacNeer with a smile sincere,
"Is the best joy-joint in Krull?
I've lived alone till my mind's ingrown;
This prospecting life is dull.
"I want to go play from the dusk of day
Till I waken to morning bells."
The attendant said, with a nod of the head,
"You amble to Venus Nell's.
It's the hottest place in this end of space,
Just a couple of minutes' jaunt;
Nell's got music and games, and likker and dames
--And anything else you want!"
"Thanks, that sounds great!" said Mac. But, "Wait!"
Begged the other, "Gimme a break!
Help me out of this rut, MacNeer, and cut
Me in on a share of the take?"
"The take?" asked Doug with a little shrug,
"But _I_ haven't made any find!"
And he strolled away with a whistle gay
While the monkey glowered behind.
In a moment or two, Doug wandered through
The gaudily-neoned door
Of a feverish-gay, bright cabaret;
Below, on the mirrored floor
Of the dancehall swayed a cavalcade
Of every breed and race
Whose daughters and sons defy the suns
To journey the ways of space.
A miner from Mars, pockmarked with scars
Pressed close to a woman from Io,
A Jovian baby drawled lazily, "Maybe--"
To pleas of a tar from Ohio;
A vicious-mouthed slattern from faraway Saturn
Sang ditties to make the hair curl.
And then--curtains parted, and Doug MacNeer started
To see such a beautiful girl!
[Footnote 1: _Krull, a mining town in N. Campbell Terr., Mars. 84 m. SW
of Sand City; pop. 3,587._]
[Footnote 2: _Cradle-monkey; spaceport attendant._]