Dan Kearns, sick and shaking, could
already hear them talk: "Yeah, come in on
the Kearns beam--it's a new way to die!"
[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
Planet Stories Fall 1947.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
It happened so fast that for a minute he just stood there absolutely
incapable of taking it in. One instant the big Earth-Venus rocket
freighter was sizzling through the fog to a perfect landing on the
field below. Then suddenly she dipped, undershot the field and vanished
in a flash and a thundering explosion that shook the observation tower.
In the dream-like quiet that followed, Dan Kearns heard the faint yells
of the landing crew. He saw the big searchlights switch on, cutting
wide swaths of light through the boiling fog. Tiny white-coated medics
crossed the patches of light, running frantically. Dan sat down in the
chair feeling sick and very tired. Then the door of the tower room
opened and Rawlins, the supervisor, stepped in.
"All right, Kearns," he said curtly, "you're through. And if anyone
asks me about your ability as an electronics engineer, I'll write out
the blackest recommendation I can think of."