which opened from the hallway. Through a number of these, light even
brighter than the daylight was streaming; from others, there emerged
only the sound of human voices. The party paused at one of the brightly
lighted doorways, and the Vegan turned to Little.
"These are our quarters," telegraphed the creature. "They have
permitted us to set up everything we needed for comfort. I would invite
you to enter, but you should first find some means of protecting your
skin against the ultraviolet radiators we have arranged. Dark goggles,
such as Earthmen usually wear on Vega Five, would also be advisable.
I shall tell my friends about you; we will converse again whenever
possible. If my ears do not deceive me, your people are quartered along
this same corridor, so we can meet freely--as you guessed we might.
Farewell." The bulky form turned away and hitched itself through the
blue-lit entrance.
* * * * *
The creature's auditory organs had not lied; the human crew was found
occupying a dozen of the less strongly illuminated rooms along the
corridor. Magill, who as quartermaster was senior officer present, had
taken charge and had already begun to organize the group when Little
and his companions arrived. One chamber had already been set aside as
a storeroom and kitchen, and the food was already being placed therein.
When the quartermaster caught sight of Little, he wasted no time in
greetings.
"Doctor, I seem to recall that the Vegan said we could make several
trips for supplies, if necessary. I wish you'd take a dozen men, try to
make these creatures understand what you want, and bring up the rest
of the food. Also, Denham wants that stove--he promises a regular meal
half an hour after you get it here. Can do?" Little nodded; and the
officer told off a dozen men to go with him. The group retraced their
steps to the elevator.
Several of the pentapods were loitering at this end of the corridor.
They made no objection as the doctor investigated the control beside
the elevator door, and finally manipulated it; but two of them entered
the car with Little and half of his crew, and accompanied them to the
ground level. Little obtained one more bit of information as they
started down: the elevator controls were like those of an Earthly
automatic car, simply a row of buttons. He indicated the lowest,
and made a motion as though to push it, meanwhile looking at one of
the guards. This creature came over beside him, and with one of its
tendrils touched a stud less than a third of the way down the panel.
Little smiled. Evidently the fort was more underground than above, and
must be a far larger structure than he had thought. It was nice to know.
They waited at the lower level, while one of the men took the car back
for the others; then, accompanied by several more of the guards, they
went outside. None of the men could discover how the doors of the
entrance chamber were manipulated; none of the creatures accompanying
them appeared to touch a control of any sort. The piles of supplies and
equipment were still in front of the gate; nothing had been touched.
Squads of the pentapods were hurrying this way and that around the
great ship; some were visible, clinging to nets suspended far overhead
against the hull, evidently repairing, cleaning, or inspecting.
A long line of the creatures was passing continually back and forth
between one of the ports of the vessel and a small gate, which the
men had not previously noticed, in the wall of the fort. They were
bearing large crates, which might have contained anything, and various
articles of machinery. Little watched them for a moment, then turned
his attention to their own supplies.
The men loaded up and returned to the elevator, into which the food was
piled. One man started up with the load and the others went back to
the piles. This time Little turned his attention to the stove, which
the cook had demanded. It had already been worked out of its pile and
was awaiting transportation. The doctor first inspected it carefully,
however.
It was an extremely versatile piece of equipment. It contained a tiny
iron converter of its own, but was also designed to draw power from
any normal standard, if desired. Being navy equipment, it also had
to be able to work without electric power, if circumstances required
precautions against detection; and a tube connection at the back
permitted the attachment of a hydrogen or butane tank--there was even a
clamp for the tank.
Little saw a rack of three gas tanks standing by a nearby pile, and
was smitten with an idea. He detached one of them and fastened it into
the stove clamp which, fortunately, it fitted. Four men picked up the
stove and carried it inside. The other tanks were removed from the rack
and carried after it. They contained, it is needless to say, neither
hydrogen nor butane. Little hoped that none of the watching guards had
been present at the actual looting of the _Gomeisa_, and knew where
those tanks came from. He had tried to act normally while he had
fitted the cylinder and given orders to bring the others.
* * * * *
The elevator had not yet returned when they reached its door. The men
set their burden down. To Little's surprise, none of the guards had
accompanied them--they had deduced, from the weight and clumsiness
of the device the men were carrying, that watching them would be
superfluous until the machine was set up. Or, at least, so reasoned the
doctor. He took advantage of the opportunity to tell the men to be very
careful of the cylinders they were carrying. They asked no questions,
though each man had a fairly good idea of the reason for the order.
They already knew that the atomic converter of the stove was in working
order, and that heating gas was, therefore, superfluous.
When the elevator finally arrived, Little ordered the man who had
brought it to help the others bring the rest of the food from outside.
There was still a good deal of it, and it might as well be brought in,
though a large supply had already accumulated in the storeroom. He
finished his orders with:
"You're free to try any smuggling you want, but be careful. They
already know what an ion gun looks like, and we have been told that
they're very good at guessing. We don't know, of course, what articles
besides weapons they don't want us to have; so be careful in taking
anything you think they might object to. I'm going to take this load
up." He slid the door to and pressed the top button.
The same group of guards were waiting at the top. They watched with
interest as several men helped the doctor carry the stove to the room
which was to serve as the kitchen. There was not too much space left,
for food supplies filled all the corners. Little smiled as he saw
them--it seemed as though Magill were anticipating a long stay. He was
probably justified.
Denham, the cook, grinned as he saw the stove. He had cleared a narrow
space for it and fussily superintended the placing. He looked at the
gas tank attached to it, but before he could express any surprise,
Little spoke. He kept his voice and expression normal, for several
pentapods had followed the stove into the room.
"Act as if the tank were just part of the stove, Den," he said, "but
use the iron burner. I assure you that the gas won't heat anything."
Denham kept his face expressionless and said, "O.K., doc. Good work."
As though nothing unusual were occurring, he began digging supplies
from the surrounding heaps, preparing the promised dinner. The doctor
sought out Magill, who had just completed the task of assigning men to
the rooms.
"Have you found out how this place is ventilated?" asked Little, as
soon as he could get the quartermaster's attention.
"Hello, doc. Food in? Yes, we located the ventilators. Ceiling and
floor grilles. Too small to admit a pair of human shoulders, even if we
got the bars out."
"I didn't mean that, exactly. Do you know if the same system handles
the rest of the building? And whether those grilles keep blowing if we
open the window in a room?"
"We can find out the answer to the second, anyway. Come along."
* * * * *
The two entered one of the rooms, which had been set aside as a
sleeping room for three men. All the chambers on this side of the
corridor had transparent ports opening onto the roof; after some
juggling, Magill got one open. Little, standing beneath the ceiling
inlet, was gratified to feel the breeze die away. He nodded slowly.
"I think we should form the habit of keeping the windows open," he
remarked. "Of course, not being too pointed about it. It may get a
trifle cool at night, but we can stand that. By the way, I forgot to
have the men bring up those sleeping bags; I'll tell them the next
time the elevator comes up. Do you think our faithful shadows"--Little
nodded toward the two pentapods standing in the doorway--"would object
if we went out on the roof? They let us open the window, and we could
go out that way, in a pinch. There must be some more regular exit."
"No harm in trying," replied Magill. He led the way into the corridor,
the two watchers moving aside for them, and after a moment's hesitation
turned left, away from the elevator. The guards fell in behind. The
room they had been in was the last of those occupied by the Earthmen,
and several lightless doorways were passed before the end of the
passage was reached. They found it similar in arrangement to the other
end, containing a large, transparent panel through which was visible a
broad expanse of roof.
Magill, who had opened the window in the room, began to examine the
edges of the panel. It proved openable, the control being so high above
the floor as to be almost out of reach. The pentapods could, without
much effort, reach objects eight feet in the air. The quartermaster,
with a little fumbling, finally released the catch and pushed the panel
open.
The guards made no objection as the men went out on the roof, merely
following a few yards behind. This end of the hall opened to the
southeast--calling the sunrise point east--away from the ship. From a
position a few yards outside the panel, it was evident that the prison
quarters occupied a relatively small, rectangular pimple near the north
corner of the half-mile-square roof. The men turned left again and
passed along the side of the protuberance. Some of the crew saw them
through the windows, which Magill beckoned them to open. Denham had
already opened his and cooking odors were beginning to pour forth.
Crossing the few yards to the five-foot parapet at the edge of the
roof, the men found a series of steps which raised them sufficiently
to lean over the two-foot-thick wall. They were facing the forest to
which Albee and the others who had escaped had made their dash. From
this height they could see down the declivity at its edge, and perceive
that a heavy growth of underbrush was present, which would probably
seriously impede travel. No sign of the refugees caught the eye.
* * * * *
The bow of the ship protruded from behind the near corner of the
structure. Little and Magill moved to this wall and looked down.
The line of pentapods was still carrying supplies to the vast ship,
whose hull towered well above the level of the two watchers. It hid
everything that lay to the northwest. After a few minutes' gaze the
officers turned back to the quarters. They were now at the "elevator"
end of the superstructure, and found themselves facing the panel which
had not yet been opened. Two of the men were visible, watching them
from within; and Magill, walking over to the entrance, pointed out the
catch which permitted it to open. No outside control was visible.
"The men have come with the rest of the food, sir," said one as soon as
the panel opened, "and Denham says that dinner is nearly ready."
"We'll be in shortly," said the quartermaster. "You may tell the men
they are free to come out and explore, if they wish."
"I would still like to know if the ventilator intake is on this roof,"
remarked Little as they walked on. "It must be somewhere, and the wall
we saw was perfectly smooth. There doesn't seem to be anything out in
the middle of this place, so if it's anywhere, it must be hiding in the
shadow of the parapet. Can you see any irregularities near the edges?"
"No," said Magill after straining his eyes in every direction. "I
can't. But we're half a mile from two of the walls, and might easily
miss such a thing at a much shorter distance. If it's here, one of the
men will find it sooner or later. Why do you worry about it, if you
want us to use outdoor air directly?"
"I thought it might be a useful item of knowledge," replied Little. "I
succeeded in smuggling up my three remaining cylinders of geletane,
disguised as part of the stove. I don't suppose there's enough to put
the whole garrison out--but still, it would be nice to know their
ventilating system."
"Good job, doctor. After we eat we'll find out what else, if anything,
the boys succeeded in bringing up, and more or less take inventory.
Then perhaps we can arrange some plan for getting out of here. I wish
we knew what has become of the _Gomeisa_; I don't suppose we could
manage the controls on that ship outside." Magill made this remark with
such perfect seriousness that Little was forced to grin.
"You may be a little optimistic. Keys. Remember the Vegans, who are far
from stupid creatures, have been here for some time and have failed to
get to first base to date."
"They are handicapped physically, doc. They can't live for long outside
without supplementary ultraviolet sources, and they have to plan with
that in mind. Furthermore, this gravity is nearly twice that of Vega
Five, and they can't move at any rate better than a crawl."
Little was forced to admit the justice of this argument, but remained,
in Magill's opinion, pessimistic. He had developed a healthy respect
for their captors, along with a slight comprehension of their motives.
The trouble was, the Vegan's description of the way the pentapods
seemed to guess the purpose of a device before it was completed did not
tie in very well with his theory concerning those motives. More thought
was indicated. He indulged in it while Magill steered him back to the
prison and dinner.
* * * * *
The meal was good. There was no reason why it shouldn't be, of course,
since the cook had all the usual supplies and equipment; but Little was
slightly surprised to find himself enjoying dinner while in durance
vile as much as if he were on his own ship. It didn't seem natural.
They ate in the hallway, squatted in a circle in front of the kitchen
door. The Vegans, whose quarters were directly opposite, watched from
their doorways. They also commented from time to time, but were very
seldom answered, since both hands are required to speak Vegan. They
would probably have felt slighted if one of them--not the one who had
acted as interpreter--had not understood some English. He got about
two words in every five, and succeeded in keeping his race in the
conversation.
The meal concluded, the meeting of the ways and means committee,
which consisted of all human beings and Vegans in the neighborhood,
was immediately called to order. The presence of nonmembers, though
resented, was perforce permitted, and discussion began under the
watchful eyes of eight or ten pentapods. Little, rather than Magill,
presided.
"The first thing we need to know," he said, "is everything possible
about our five-sided friends. The Vegans have been with them longer,
and probably know more than we; but owing to the relative slowness
of their speech, we will save their contribution until last. You who
understand English may translate the substance of our discussion to
your fellows if you wish, but we will hold a second meeting afterward
and go over everything in your own language. First, then, will anyone
who succeeded in smuggling any weapons or probable-contraband tools up
here please report? Keep your hands in your pockets and your eyes on me
while you do so; there is a high order of probability that our friends
are very good at interpreting gestures--even human gestures."
A man directly across the circle from Little raised a hand. The doctor
nodded to him.
"When we were loading food, before we made that break, I dropped my
testing kit into my pack first of all. I didn't try to cover it up and
I concentrated on boxed articles of food afterward to make it look
natural." The speaker was one of Goldthwaite's assistants, a tall
fellow with the insignia of a technician's mate. Little knew him fairly
well. He had been born on Earth but showed plainly a background of
several generations on the colony-planet Regulus Six--big bones, dark
skin, quick reactions.
"Good work, Dennis. What is in the kit?"
"Pliers, volt-ammeter, about sixty feet of assorted sizes of silver
wire, two-thousand-line grating, midget atomic wire-welder, six
plano-convex lenses of various focal lengths, support rod and two
mirrors to go with them, and a small stroboscope."
"Item, one portable laboratory," remarked Little. "Congratulations.
Leo, I suppose you have outdone your brother?"
Leo Dennis, the twin brother of the first speaker, shook his head.
"Just an old-fashioned manual razor. I'll start accepting offers
tomorrow." Little smiled and fingered his chin.
"You're too late, unless someone brought scissors to start with. Safety
razors weren't built to cope with a ten-day growth, more or less. Never
mind, we may find a use for it--it's a cutting tool, anyway. Next?"
* * * * *
There was a pause, with everybody looking expectantly at his neighbor.
Evidently the total had been reached. Little spoke again.
"Did anybody try to smuggle something and fail?"
"I tried to salvage Goldy's liquor, and had it taken from me," answered
another man. "I guess they're firmly convinced it's lethal. I wish them
luck in analyzing the stuff--we never could."
"How far did you get before they took it from you?"
"They let me pick up the bottles that were lying around, and put them
in the case; half a dozen of them watched me while I did that. But when
I started to carry the case toward the gate--of course, that was some
job, as Goldy found out--they all walked up and just took it away. They
didn't get violent or anything like that."
"Then it wasn't really a case of detected smuggling; you made no effort
to mask your real intentions. Is that right?"
"Yes, sir. I don't quite see how any one could hide either that case or
the bottles; I was just sort of hoping against hope."
Little nodded and called for more contributions. A gunner responded.
"I found a couple of cases of grenades and stuck several into my
pockets. The next thing I knew, one of the starfish was holding my
arms, and another taking them out again. He handled them as though he
knew what they were."
"I suppose you checked the safeties before you pocketed the bombs?"
"Of course, sir."
Little nodded wearily. "Of course. And that was enough for our
admittedly astute friends. I admit it's usually a very good idea to
obey regulations, but there are exceptions to every rule. I think the
present circumstances constitute an exception to most of them. Any
others?"
Apparently no one else had seen anything he coveted sufficiently to
attempt to sneak out of the piles. The doctor didn't care particularly;
he believed he had enough data from that source, and an idea was
rapidly growing. Unfortunately, the primary principle of that idea
required him to learn even more, though not about his captors. Possibly
the Vegans could supply the information, but Little was not prepared to
bet on it.
Magill closed the discussion by mentioning the anæsthetic which Little
had made available, and requesting an early communication of all ideas.
The men withdrew into smaller groups, talking in low tones among
themselves, and gradually drifted through the doors to their rooms, or
out onto the roof. Magill followed to take a small group down again for
the sleeping bags.
* * * * *
Little remained with the Vegans. He had a good deal to ask them, and
material which could be covered in an hour of verbal conversation would
probably take three or four hours of arm-waving. He sat just outside
the fan of intense light from one of the doorways, and the creatures
formed a semicircle just inside--the door was wide enough for the four
of them, since it had been constructed to admit the pentapods. The
doctor opened the conversation.
"How long have you been here?" was his first question. It was answered
by the individual who had acted as interpreter.
"Since our arrival there have passed about two hundred of the days of
this planet. We are not sure just how long they are, but we believe
they are about thirty of your hours. We have no idea of the length of
time that elapsed between our capture and our arrival at this place,
however. We were driving a small private ship on a sightseeing trip
to a world which had recently been reported near the galactic center
by one of our official exploring vessels, and were near its reported
position when we were taken. They simply engulfed us--moved up and
dragged our ship into a cargo lock with magnets. We were on their ship
a long time before they put us off here and left again, and we were not
allowed to obtain any of our belongings except food and ultraviolet
lamps until we arrived; so we don't know how long the trip lasted. One
of us"--the Vegan indicated the individual--"got up courage enough to
venture onto the roof one night and saw what he thinks was the Galaxy;
so we believe this world lies in the Cloud. You will be able to tell
better for yourselves--you can stand the dark longer than we, and your
eyes are better at locating faint details."
"You may be right. We were heading toward the Cloud when we were
taken," answered Little. "How freely have you been permitted to move
about this fort?"
"We may go almost anywhere above ground level," was the answer. "Some
of these watchers"--a supple antenna gestured toward the ever-present
guards--"are always with us, and they prevent us from taking the
elevators any lower. Then there are a few rooms on the upper levels
which are always sealed, and two or three which are open but whose
thresholds we are not permitted to cross."
"How do they prevent your entering?"
"They simply get in front of us, and push us back if we persist. They
have never used violence on us. They never need to; we are in no
position to dispute their wishes. There is no comparison between them
and us physically, and we are very much out of our natural environment."
"Have you been able to deduce the nature or purpose of the rooms from
which you are barred?"
"We assume that they are control rooms, communication offices, or chart
rooms. One of them contains several devices which look like ordinary
television screens. Whether they are for long-range use or are merely
part of a local system, of course we cannot tell." Little pondered for
several moments before speaking again.
"You mentioned constructing several devices to aid in escape, only to
have them taken away from you just before they were completed. Could
you give me more details on just what happened? What were you doing,
and at what stage were you interrupted? How did you expect to get away
from the planet?"