"Hello, Tom?"
The telephone rattled in a peeved sort of way. "Yes, it is. What now?
And when am I going to see you in a social sort of way again?"
"Not for a long, long time; I'm busy. I'm busy right now as a matter of
fact. I'm calling up the vice-president of Faragaut Interplanetary
Lines, and I want to place an order."
"Why bother me? We have clerks, you know, for that sort of thing,"
suggested Faragaut in a pained voice.
"Tom, do you know how much I'm worth now?"
"Not much," replied Faragaut promptly. "What of it? I hear, as a matter
of fact that you're worth even less in a business way. They're talking
quite a lot down this way about an alleged bank you're setting up on
Luna. I hear it's got more protective devices, and armor than any IP
station in the System, that you even had it designed by an IP designer,
and have a gang of Colonels and Generals in charge. I also hear that
you've succeeded in getting rid of money at about one million dollars a
day--just slightly shy of that."
"You overestimate me, my friend. Much of that is merely contracted for.
Actually it'll take me nearly nine months to get rid of it. And by that
time I'll have more. Anyway, I think I have something like ten million
left. And remember that way back in the twentieth century some old
fellow beat my record. Armour, I think it was, lost a million dollars a
day for a couple of months running.
"Anyway, what I called you up for was to say I'd like to order five
hundred thousand tons of mercury, for delivery as soon as possible."
"What! Oh, say, I thought you were going in for business." Faragaut gave
a slight laugh of relief.
"Tom, I am. I mean exactly what I say. I want
five--hundred--thousand--_tons_ of metallic mercury, and just as soon as
you can get it."
"Man, there isn't that much in the system."
"I know it. Get all there is on the market for me, and contract to take
all the 'Jupiter Heavy-Metals' can turn out. You send those orders
through, and clean out the market completely. Somebody's about to pay
for the work I've been doing, and boy, they're going to pay through the
nose. After you've got that order launched, and don't make a christening
party of the launching either, why just drop out here, and I'll show you
why the value of mercury is going so high you won't be able to follow it
in a space ship."
"The cost of that," said Faragaut, seriously now, "will be
about--fifty-three million at the market price. You'd have to put up
twenty-six cash, and I don't believe you've got it."
Buck laughed. "Tom, loan me a dozen million, will you? You send that
order through, and then come see what I've got. I've got a break, too!
Mercury's the best metal for this use--and it'll stop gamma rays too!"
"So it will--but for the love of the system, what of it?"
"Come and see--tonight. Will you send that order through?"
"I will, Buck. I hope you're right. Cash is tight now, and I'll probably
have to put up nearer twenty million, when all that buying goes through.
How long will it be tied up in that deal, do you think?"
"Not over three weeks. And I'll guarantee you three hundred percent--if
you'll stay in with me after you start. Otherwise--I don't think making
this money would be fair just now."
"I'll be out to see you in about two hours, Buck. Where are you? At the
estate?" asked Faragaut seriously.
"In my lab out there. Thanks, Tom."
McLaurin was there when Tom Faragaut arrived. And General Logan, and
Colonel Gerardhi. There was a restrained air of gratefulness about all
of them that Tom Faragaut couldn't quite understand. He had been looking
up Buck Kendall's famous bank, and more and more he had begun to wonder
just what was up. The list of stockholders had read like a list of IP
heroes and executives. The staff had been a list of IP men with a
slender sprinkling of accountants. And the sixty-million dollar
structure was to be a bank without advertising of any sort! Usually such
a venture is planned and published months in advance. This had sprung up
suddenly, with a strange quietness.
Almost silently, Buck Kendall led the way to the laboratory. A small
metal tank was supported in a peculiar piece of apparatus, and from it
led a small platinum pipe to a domed apparatus made largely of insulum.
A little pool of mercury, with small red crystals floating in it rested
in a shallow hollow surrounded by heavy conductors.
"That's it, Tom. I wanted to show you first what we have, and why I
wanted all that mercury. Within three weeks, every man, woman and child
in the system will be clamoring for mercury metal. That's the perfect
accumulator." Quickly he demonstrated the machine, charging it, and then
discharging it. It was better than 99.95% efficient on the charge, and
was 100% efficient on the discharge.
"Physically, any metal will do. Technically, mercury is best for a
number of reasons. It's a liquid. I can, and do it in this, charge a
certain quantity, and then move it up to the storage tank. Charge
another pool, and move it up. In discharge, I can let a stream flow in
continuously if I required a steady, terrific drain of power without
interruption. If I wanted it for more normal service, I'd discharge a
pool, drain it, refill the receiver, and discharge a second pool. Thus,
mercury is the metal to use.
"Do you see why I wanted all that metal?"
"I do, Buck--Lord, I do," gasped Faragaut. "That is the perfect power
supply."
"No, confound it, it isn't. It's a secondary source. It isn't primary.
We're just as limited in the _supply_ of power as ever--only we have
increased our distribution of power. Lord knows, we're going to need a
power _supply_ badly enough before long--" Buck relapsed into moody
silence.
"What," asked Faragaut, looking around him, "does that mean?"
It was McLaurin who told him of the stranger ship, and Kendall's
interpretation of its meaning. Slowly Faragaut grasped the meaning
behind Buck's strange actions of the past months.
"The Lunar Bank," he said slowly, half to himself. "Staffed by trained
IP men, experts in expert destruction. Buck, you said something about
the profits of this venture. What did you mean?"
Buck smiled. "We're going to stick up IP to the extent necessary to pay
for that fort--er--bank--on Luna. We'll also boost the price so that
we'll make enough to pay for those ships I'm having made. The public
will pay for that."
"I see. And we aren't to stick the price too high, and just make money?"
"That's the general idea."
"The IP Appropriations Board won't give you what you need, Commander,
for real improvements on the IP ships?"
"They won't believe Kendall. Therefore they won't."
"What did you mean about gamma rays, Buck?"
"Mercury will stop them and the Commander here intends to have the
refitted ships built so that the engine room and control room are one,
and completely surrounded by the mercury tanks. The men will be
protected against the gamma rays."
"Won't the rays affect the power stored in the mercury--perhaps release
it?"
"We tried it out, of course, and while we can't get the intensities we
expect, and can't really make any measurements of the gamma-ray energy
impinging on the mercury--it seems to absorb, and store that energy!"
"What's next on the program, Buck?"
"Finish those ships I have building. And I want to do some more
development work. The Stranger will return within six months now, I
believe. It will take all that time, and more for real refitting of the
IP ships."
"How about more forts--or banks, whichever you want to call them. Mars
isn't protected."
"Mars is abandoned," replied General Logan seriously. "We haven't any
too much to protect old Earth, and she must come first. Mars will, of
course, be protected as best the IP ships can. But--we're expecting
defeat. This isn't a case of glorious victory. It will be a case of hard
won survival. We don't know anything about the enemy--except that they
are capable of interstellar flights, and have atomic energy. They are
evidently far ahead of us. Our battle is to survive till we learn how to
conquer. For a time, at least, the Strangers will have possession of
most of the planets of the system. We do not think they will be able to
reach Earth, because Commander McLaurin here will withdraw his ships to
Earth to protect the planet--and the great 'Lunar Bank' will display its
true character."