_To the Rescue_
"Why should we run?" the voice of Sitsumi suddenly rang out in the
control room. "Must we admit in the very beginning of our revolution
that we are vulnerable? Must we confess the fears to which all humanity
is heir? We had not thought ourselves liable to attack, but there still
is a way to destroy these upstarts. To your places, everyone! We shall
fight these winged upstarts and destroy them!"
The denizens of the space ship were at their stations. Jeter and Eyer
could imagine the minions of Sitsumi and the Three, below the floor of
the white globe, standing-to on platforms about the unseen engines which
gave life and movability to this ship of the stratosphere. How many
there were of them there was no way of knowing. They had guessed two
hundred. There might have been a thousand. It scarcely mattered.
Sitsumi's face was set in a firm mask. He, of all the "lords of the
stratosphere," seemed to possess endless courage. His example fired the
three.
"What do you plan?" asked Wang Li.
Jeter and Eyer listened with all their ears.
"We have only one weapon in this unexpected emergency," said Sitsumi
quietly. "We cannot direct the ray upward or laterally: it is not so
constructed. But we can attack with the space ship itself! And remember
that so long as our outer rind remains intact and hard we are invisible
to attackers."
Jeter and Eyer exchanged glances.
"If only we could find the way to break or soften that outer rind," said
Jeter.
"What can we do?" asked Eyer. "If it is impervious to the cold of these
heights; if it is so strong that it is impervious to the tremendous
pressure inside the globe--which must be kept at a certain degree to
maintain human life--what can we do? We tried bullets. We might as well
have used peas and pea-shooters. If our friends try bombs they will
still be unsuccessful. If only we could somehow open up the outer rind
or soften it, so that our friends could see the inner globe and reach it
with their bombs!"
Jeter's face was now dead white. His eyes were aglow with excitement.
"Tema," he whispered, "Tema, that's their vulnerability! That's what
they fear! They're scared that the outer rind may be broken--which would
spell destruction to the space ship and everybody in it."
"Including us," replied Eyer, "but, anyway--well, what's the odds? We're
only two--and with this thing destroyed the nightmare will end. Of
course there should be some way to raid the Lake Baikal area and destroy
any other ships in the making, besides ferreting out the secret of the
invisible substance and the elements of the gravity inverter. If we
somehow survive, and this ship is destroyed, that's the next thing to
do."
Jeter nodded and signaled Eyer to cease whispering.
* * * * *
They devoted their attention now to the six planes. They were coming up
in battle formation. They were in plain view and through the telescopes
it could be seen that each was armed with bombs of some kind. Useless
against the invisible space ship as matters now stood; but what would
those bombs do to the inner globe?
It still lacked several hours of the time allowed in the ultimatum to
Jeter and Eyer of Sitsumi and the Three, when the six planes leveled off
within a couple of miles of the space ship. They knew about where the
stratosphere had swallowed up Jeter and Eyer. Now they were casting
about for a sign, like bloodhounds seeking the spoor of an enemy.
Jeter and Eyer held their breaths as they watched. Now and again they
stole glances at Sitsumi and the Three, who were watching the six planes
with the intensity of eagles preparing to dive.
Naka stepped up close to Jeter.
"When the time comes," he said menacingly, "and it appears that we may
be in difficulties with the fools who think to thwart Sitsumi and the
Three and rescue you, it shall give me great pleasure to destroy you
with your own automatic."
"Pleasant fellow," said Eyer. "Shall I smash him, Lucian?"
Jeter shook his head.
"Our friends out there will look after that, Tema," he said in a natural
tone of voice. "I'll bet you two to one they get this ship within an
hour. Not that a bet will mean anything, as they'll get us, too!"
"Your friends," said Naka, "will be destroyed. They will not even be
given the opportunity you were given. Sitsumi and the Three will waste
but little time on them!"
"What," said Jeter calmly "is Sitsumi's hurry? Why is he scared?"
"Scared?" Naka seemed on the point of hitting Jeter for the blasphemy.
"Scared? He fears nothing. We'll down your friends long before their
motors--"
Sitsumi suddenly turned and looked at Naka. The look in Sitsumi's eyes
was murderous, Naka went dead white.
"I think your master believes you talk too much, Naka," said Jeter, but
Jeter's eyes were gleaming, too.
As soon as Sitsumi had turned back to his station Jeter's lips began to
move.
"See?" he said. "It isn't their machine guns these people fear. It isn't
their bombs--it's their motors! I wonder why...."
* * * * *
By now the six planes were flying abreast, in battle formation, almost
above the space ship, at perhaps a thousand feet greater elevation. A
strange humming sound was traveling through the space ship. The whole
inner globe was vibrating, shaking--and vibration was a menace to glass
or crystal!
"We've got the answer!" said Jeter. "The outer rind, while capable of
being softened--in sections at least, with safety--for special reasons,
such as happened when we were 'swallowed,' can be hardened to the point
of disruption. It can be shattered, Tema, by vibration! That's why the
space ship keeps far above the roar of cities! The humming of countless
automobile engines might shatter the rind! God, I hope this is the
answer!"
In his mind's eye Eyer could picture it--the outer rind "freezing"
solid, and cracking with the thunderous report of snapping ice on a
forest lake. No wonder Sitsumi and the Three must destroy the six
planes.
"Now!" yelled Sitsumi. "Shift positions! The space ship will be hurled
directly at the formation of planes! Wang Li, to the beam controls!"
Wang Li sprang to the table, pressed a button. The humming sound in the
space ship grew to mighty proportions. The trembling increased.
Jeter and Eyer kept their eyes glued to the six planes above. Without
tilting their noses the six planes seemed to plunge straight down toward
the surface of the space ship. Thus the two knew that the space ship was
in motion--itself being bodily hurled, as its only present weapon of
offense, against the earthling attackers.
A split second--
One of the planes struck the surface solidly and crashed. Instantly its
wheels and its motor were caught in the outer rind.
The other five ships scattered wildly, escaping the collision by some
sixth sense, or through pure chance.
"Poor devil!" said Jeter. "But his buddies can see his plane and know
that it marks the spot where they could conveniently drop their bombs."
Eyer was on the point of nodding when Sitsumi shouted.
"Quickly, Wang Li! Spin the outer shell before the enemy uses the
wrecked plane as an aiming point!"
* * * * *
A whirring sound. The plane whirled around as though it were twirled on
the end of a string. To the five other pilots it must have seemed that
the plane had struck some invisible obstruction, been smashed, and now
was whirling away to destruction after a strange, incomprehensible
hesitation in the heart of the stratosphere.
"Quickly, you fool!" shouted Sitsumi at Wang Li. "You're napping! You
should have got all those planes! And you should have spun the outer
globe instantly, before the remaining enemy had a chance to find out our
location."
"I can move away a half mile," suggested Wang Li.
"We've got to silence those motors, fool!" yelled Sitsumi. "You know
very well that we can't run. Charge them again, and take care this time
that you crash into the middle of their formation."
"They're scattered over too great an area. I should wait for them to
reform."
"Fool! Fool! Don't you think I know the weakness in my own invention?
The proper vibration will destroy us! If the rind is softened we become
visible. We dare not wait for them to reform! Attack each plane
separately if necessary, and at top speed!"
Jeter began to speak rapidly out of the corner of his mouth. Even Naka's
attention was fastened on the five planes and Wang Li's efforts to
destroy them.
"Gag Naka!" said Jeter. "The keys! In some way we've got to get to our
plane. It's barely possible. If we can start the motor.... Hurry! Now,
while the whole outfit is watching our friends out there!"
Eyer rose and reached for Naka with his right hand.
He dared not miss his lunge. He did not. His huge hand fastened in the
throat of their keeper. Nobody--neither Sitsumi nor the Three--turned as
Naka gasped and struggled. Eyer pulled the man back over the table and,
his neck thus within reach of both hands, snapped it as he would have
broken the neck of a chicken.
Jeter was already searching the body for the keys. He found them.
Their leg irons were just falling free when Sitsumi turned. Eyer was
feeling for the automatics in Naka's belt.
"We won't need them!" yelled Jeter. "There isn't time. Let's go!"
Jeter was away at top speed, almost pulling Eyer off his feet because
their hands were still fastened together with the handcuffs.
They were outside on the floor level.
And through many doors denizens of the lower control room, hurried out
by the commands of Sitsumi, were racing to head them off. But nothing
could stop them. One man got in their way and Eyer's right fist caved in
his face with one deadly, devastating blow. They had now reached the
stairs.
* * * * *
The space ship was being hurled at the five remaining planes. Even as
the two men reached the stairs and started up, another of the dauntless
rescuers paid with his life for his courage. Several bombs exploded as
his plane struck the space ship, but they caused no damage whatever. The
hard outer rind seemed to be impervious to the explosions. Obviously no
explosive could destroy the space ship.
"Quickly, Tema," said Jeter. "The rind can be shattered by vibration,
and we've got to do it somehow."
"And after that?" panted Eyer.
"Our friends out there can then see the inner globe. They'll drop bombs.
They'll smash in the globe and--"
"I know," said Eyer. "Its inhabitants, including us, will start off in
all directions through the stratosphere, with great speed, and probably
in many pieces."
Jeter laughed. Eyer laughed with him. They didn't fear death, for now
they felt they were on the verge of destroying this monster of space.
Their pursuers were following them closely.
Jeter frantically tried to unfasten the handcuffs as they ran. He didn't
manage it until the door was almost reached. He left one cuff dangling
on his right wrist.
Then, they were through the door.
"Now, Tema," shouted Jeter, "if you believe in God--if you have
faith--pray for strength to move this plane!"
"Where?"
"So that its wheels and nose go through this open door! Then it won't
travel forward when we start the motor--and our pursuers won't be able
to get through to stop us."
"You think of everything, don't you?" There was a grin on Eyer's face.
But his eyes were stern. He wasn't belittling their deadly danger. And
there was also a chance that Jeter's vibration idea was wrong.
"Those four planes," panted Jeter, as the two tried to get their plane
in motion toward the door, "cause, from a distance, through thin air, a
slight vibration, varying with their distance from the globe; our plane
motor racing and actually in contact with the globe, can set up a
tremendous vibration by its great motor speed. If we can vibrate the
globe up to its shattering point there's a chance!"
"We can't pull her, Lucian," said Eyer. "I'll do a Horatius at the door.
You get in, start the motor, taxi her until the wheels go through. I'll
keep the crowd back."
"Right!"
Jeter went through the doors into the plane. In a few seconds the
propeller kicked over, hesitated, kicked again. Then the motor coughed,
coughed again, and broke into a steady roaring.