_The Masquerader_
A moment when beyond all thought of the nearby brigand--or the
possibility of an eavesdropping ray trained now upon my little cubby--a
moment while Anita and I held each other; and whispered those things
which could mean nothing to the world, but which were all the world to
us.
Then it was she whose wits brought us back from the shining fairyland of
our love, into the sinister reality of the _Planetara_.
"Gregg, if they are listening--"
I pushed her away. This brave little masquerader! Not for my life, or
for all the lives on the ship, would I consciously have endangered her.
"But the ore," I said aloud. "There was, in Grantline's message--See
here, Prince."
Coniston was too far away on the deck to hear us. Anita went to my door
again and waved at him reassuringly. I put my ear to the door opening,
and listened at the space across the grid of the ventilator over my
bunk. The hum of a vibration would have been audible at those two
points. But there was nothing.
"It's all right," I whispered. "Anita--not you who was killed! I can
hardly realize it now. Not you whom they buried yesterday morning."
We stood and whispered, and she clung to me--so small beside me. With
the black robe thrown aside, it seemed that I could not miss the curves
of her woman's figure. A dangerous game she was playing. Her hair had
been cut short to the base of her neck, in the fashion of her dead
brother. Her eyelashes had been clipped; the line of her brows altered.
And now, in the light of my ray tube as it shone upon her earnest face,
I could remark other changes. Glutz, the little beauty specialist, was
in this secret. With plastic skill he had altered the set of her jaw
with his wax--put masculinity there.
She was whispering: "It was--was poor George whom Miko shot."
* * * * *
I had now the true version of what had occurred. Miko had been forcing
his wooing upon Anita. George Prince was a weakling whose only good
quality was a love for his sister. Some years ago he had fallen into
evil ways. Been arrested, and then discharged from his position with the
Federated Radium Corporation. He had taken up with evil companions in
Great-New York. Mostly Martians. And Miko had met him. His technical
knowledge, his training with the Federated Corporation, made him
valuable to Miko's enterprise. And so Prince had joined the brigands.
Of all this, Anita had been unaware. She had never liked Miko. Feared
him. And it seemed that the Martian had some hold upon her brother,
which puzzled and frightened Anita.
Then Miko had fallen in love with her. George had not liked it. And that
night on the _Planetara_, Miko had come and knocked upon Anita's door.
Incautiously she opened it; he forced himself in. And when she repulsed
him, struggled with him, George had been awakened.
She was whispering to me now. "My room was dark. We were all three
struggling. George was holding me--the shot came--and I screamed."
And Miko had fled, not knowing whom his shot had hit in the darkness.
"And when George died, Captain Carter wanted me to impersonate him. We
planned it with Dr. Frank, to try and learn what Miko and the others
were doing. Because I never knew that poor George had fallen into such
evil things."
* * * * *
I could only hold her thankfully in my arms. The lost
what-might-have-been seemed coming back to us.
"And they cut my hair, Gregg, and Glutz altered my face a little, and I
did my best. But there was no time--it came upon us so quickly."
And she whispered, "But I love you, Gregg. I want to be the first to say
it: I love you--I love you."
But we had the sanity to try and plan.
"Anita, when you go back, tell Miko we discussed radium ores. You'll
have to be careful, clever. Don't say too much. Tell him we estimate the
treasure at a hundred and thirty millions."
I told her what Miko had vouchsafed me of his plans. She knew all that.
And Snap knew it. She had had a few moments alone with Snap. Gave me now
a message from him:
"We'll pull out of this, Gregg."
With Snap she had worked out a plan. There were Snap and I; and Shac and
Dud Ardley, upon whom we could doubtless depend. And Dr. Frank. Against
us were Miko and his sister; and Coniston and Hahn. Of course there were
the members of the crew. But we were numerically the stronger when it
came to true leadership. Unarmed and guarded now. But if we could break
loose--recapture the ship....
I sat listening to Anita's eager whispers. It seemed feasible. Miko did
not altogether trust George Prince; Anita was now unarmed.
"But I can make opportunity! I can get one of their ray cylinders, and
an invisible cloak equipment."
That cloak--it had been hidden in Miko's room when Carter searched for
it in A20--was now in the chart-room by Johnson's body. It had been
repaired now; Anita thought she could get possession of it.
* * * * *
We worked out the details of the plan. Anita would arm herself, and come
and release me. Together, with a paralyzing ray, we could creep aboard
the ship, overcome these brigands one by one. There were so few of the
leaders. With them felled, and with us in control of the turret and the
helio-room we could force the crew to stay at their posts. There were,
Anita said, no navigators among Miko's crew. They would not dare oppose
us.
"But it should be done at once, Anita. In a few hours we will be at the
asteroid."
"Yes. I will go now--try and get the weapons."
"Where is Snap?"
"Still in the helio-room. One of the crew guards him."
Coniston was roaming the ship; he was still loitering on the deck,
watching our door. Hahn was in the turret. The morning watch of the crew
were at their posts in the hull-corridors; the stewards were preparing a
morning meal. There were nine members of subordinates altogether, Anita
had calculated. Six of them were in Miko's pay; the other three--our own
men who had not been killed in the fighting--had joined the brigands.
"And Dr. Frank, Anita?"
He was in the lounge. All the passengers were herded there, with Miko
and Moa alternating on guard.
"I will arrange it with Venza," Anita whispered swiftly. "She will tell
the others. Dr. Frank knows about it now. He thinks it can be done."
* * * * *
The possibility of it swept me anew. The brigands were of necessity
scattered singly about the ship. One by one, creeping under cover of an
invisible cloak, I could fell them, and replace them without alarming
the others. My thoughts leaped to it. We would strike down the guard in
the helio-room. Release Snap. At the turret we could assail Hahn, and
replace him with Snap.
Coniston's voice outside broke in upon us. "Prince."
He was coming forward. Anita stood in the doorway. "I have the figures,
Coniston. By God, this Haljan is with us! And clever! We think it will
total a hundred and thirty millions. What a stake!"
She whispered, "Gregg, dear--I'll be back soon. We can do it--be ready."
"Anita--be careful of yourself! If they should suspect you...."
"I'll be careful. In an hour, Gregg, or less, I'll come back. All right,
Coniston. Where is Miko? I want to see him. Stay where you are, Haljan!
All in good time Miko will trust you with your liberty. You'll be rich
like us all, never fear."
She swaggered out upon the deck, waved at the brigand, and banged my
cubby door in my face.
I sat upon my bunk. Waiting. Would she come back? Would she be
successful?