CHAPTER XIV - The Brigand
Leader
The giant Miko
stood confronting me. He slid my cubby door closed behind him. He stood with
his head towering close against my ceiling. His cloak was discarded. In his
leather clothes, and with his clanking sword-ornament, his aspect carried the
swagger of a brigand of old. He was bareheaded; the light from one of my tubes
fell upon his grinning, leering gray face.
"So, Gregg
Haljan? You have come to your senses at last. You do not wish me to write my
name upon your chest? I would not have done that to Dean; he forced me. Sit
back."
I had been on my
bunk. I sank back at the gesture of his huge hairy arm. His forearm was bare
now; the sear of a burn on it was plain to be seen. He remarked my gaze.
"True. You
did that, Haljan, in Great-New York. But I bear you no malice. I want to talk
to you now."
He cast about for
a seat, and took the little stool which stood by my desk. His hand held a small
cylinder of the Martian paralyzing ray; he rested it beside him on the desk.
"Now we can
talk."
I remained
silent. Alert. Yet my thoughts were whirling. Anita was alive. Masquerading now
as her brother. And, with the joy of it, came a shudder. Above everything, Miko
must not know.
"A great
adventure we are upon, Haljan."
My thoughts came
back. Miko was talking with an assumption of friendly comradeship. "All is
well—and we need you, as I have said before. I am no fool. I have been aware of
everything that went on aboard this ship. You, of all the officers, are most
clever at the routine mathematics. Is that so?"
"Perhaps,"
I said.
"You are modest." He fumbled at a pocket
of his jacket, produced a scroll-sheaf. I recognized it: Blackstone's figures;
the calculation Blackstone roughly made of the elements of the asteroid we had
passed.
"I am
interested in these," Miko went on. "I want you to verify them. And
this." He held up another scroll. "This is the calculation of our
present position. And our course. Hahn claims he is a navigator. We have set
the ship's gravity plates—see, like this—"
He handed me the
scrolls; he watched me keenly as I glanced over them.
"Well?"
I said.
"You are
sparing of words, Haljan. By the devils of the airways, I could make you talk!
But I want to be friendly."
I handed him back
the scrolls. I stood up; I was almost within reach of his weapon, but with a
sweep of his great arm he abruptly knocked me back to my bunk.
"You
dare?" Then he smiled. "Let us not come to blows!"
"No," I
said. I returned his smile. In truth, physical violence could get me nothing in
dealing with this fellow. I would have to try guile. And I saw now that his
face was flushed and his eyes unnaturally bright. He had been drinking
alcolite; not enough to befuddle him—but enough to make him triumphantly
talkative.
"Hahn may
not be much of a mathematician," I suggested. "But there is your Sir
Arthur Coniston." I managed a sarcastic grin. "Is that his
name?"
"Almost.
Haljan, will you verify these figures?"
"Yes. But
why? Where are we going?"
He laughed.
"You are afraid I will not tell you! Why should I not? This great
adventure of mine is progressing perfectly. A tremendous stake, Haljan. A
hundred millions of dollars in gold-leaf; there will be fabulous riches for us
all, when that radium ore is sold for a hundred million in gold-leaf."
"But where
are we going?"
"To that
asteroid," he said abruptly. "I must get rid of these passengers. I
am no murderer."
With half a dozen
killings in the recent fight this was hardly convincing. But he was obviously
wholly serious. He seemed to read my thoughts.
"I kill only
when necessary. We will land upon the asteroid. A perfect place to maroon the
passengers. Is it not so? I will give them the necessities of life. They will
be able to signal. And in a month or so, when we are safely finished with our
adventure, a police ship no doubt will rescue them."
"And then,
from the asteroid," I suggested, "we are going—"
"To the
Moon, Haljan. What a clever guesser you are! Coniston and Hahn are calculating
our course. But I have no great confidence in them. And so I want you."
"You have me."
"Yes. I have
you. I would have killed you long ago—I am an impulsive fellow—but my sister
restrained me."
He gazed at me
slyly. "Moa seems strangely to like you, Haljan."
"Thanks,"
I said. "I'm flattered."
"She still
hopes I may really win you to join us," he went on. "Gold-leaf is a
wonderful thing; there would be plenty for you in this affair. And to be rich,
and have the love of a woman like Moa..."
He paused. I was
trying cautiously to gauge him, to get from him all the information I could. I
said, with another smile, "That is premature, to talk of Moa. I will help
you chart your course. But this venture, as you call it, is dangerous. A
police-ship—"
"There are
not many," he declared. "The chances of us encountering one is very
slim." He grinned at me. "You know that as well as I do. And we now
have those code pass-words—I forced Dean to tell me where he had hidden them.
If we should be challenged, our pass-word answer will relieve suspicion."
"The
Planetara," I objected, "being overdue at Ferrok-Shahn, will cause
alarm. You'll have a covey of patrol-ships after you."
"That will
be two weeks from now," he smiled. "I have a ship of my own in
Ferrok-Shahn. It lies there waiting now, manned and armed. I am hoping that,
with Dean's help, we may be able to flash it a signal. It will join us on the
Moon. Fear not for the danger, Haljan. I have great interests allied with me in
this thing. Plenty of money. We have planned carefully."
He was idly
fingering his cylinder; his gaze roved me as I sat docile on my bunk. "Did
you think George Prince was a leader of this? A mere boy. I engaged him a year
ago—his knowledge of ores is valuable."
My heart was
pounding, but I strove not to show it. He went on calmly.
"I told you
I am impulsive. Half a dozen times I have nearly killed George Prince, and he
knows it." He frowned. "I wish I had killed him, instead of his
sister. That was an error."
There was a note
of real concern in his voice. Did he love Anita Prince? It seemed so.
He added,
"That is done—nothing can change it. George Prince is helpful to me. Your
friend Dean is another. I had trouble with him, but he is docile now."
I said abruptly,
"I don't know whether your promise means anything or not, Miko. But George
Prince said you would use no more torture."
"I won't.
Not if you and Dean obey me."
"You tell
Dean I have agreed to that. You say he gave you the code-words we took from
Johnson?"
"Yes. There
was a fool! That Johnson! You blame me, Haljan, for the killing of Captain
Carter? You need not. Johnson offered to try and capture you. Take you alive.
He killed Carter because he was angry at him. A stupid, vengeful fool! He is
dead, and I am glad of it."
My mind was on
Miko's plans. I ventured. "This treasure on the Moon—did you say it was on
the Moon?"
"Don't be an
idiot," he retorted. "I know as much about Grantline as you do."
"That's very
little."
"Perhaps."
"Perhaps you
know more, Miko. The Moon is a big place. Where, for instance, is Grantline
located?"
I held my breath.
Would he tell me that? A score of questions—vague plans—were in my mind. How
skilled at mathematics were these brigands? Miko, Hahn, Coniston—could I fool
them? If I could learn Grantline's location on the Moon, and keep the Planetara
away from it. A pretended error of charting. Time lost—and perhaps Snap could
find an opportunity to signal Earth, get help.
Miko answered my
question as bluntly as I asked it. "I don't know where Grantline is
located. But we will find out. He will not suspect the Planetara. When we get
close to the Moon, we will signal and ask him. We can trick him into telling
us. You think I do not know what is on your mind, Haljan? There is a secret
code of signals arranged between Dean and Grantline. I have forced Dean to
confess it. Without torture! Prince helped me in that. He persuaded Dean not to
defy me. A very persuasive fellow, George Prince. More diplomatic than I am, I
give him credit."
I strove to hold
my voice calm. "If I should join you, Miko—my word, if I ever gave it, you
would find dependable—I would say George Prince is very valuable to us. You
should rein your temper. He is half your size—you might some time, without
intention do him injury."
He laughed.
"Moa says so. But have no fear—"
"I was
thinking," I persisted, "I'd like to have a talk with George
Prince."
Ah, my pounding,
tumultuous heart! But I was smiling calmly. And I tried to put into my voice a
shrewd note of cupidity. "I really know very little about this treasure,
Miko. If there were a million or two of gold-leaf in it for me—"
"Perhaps
there would be."
"I was
thinking. Suppose you let me have a talk with Prince? I have some knowledge of
radium ores. His skill and mine—a calculation of what Grantline's treasure may
really be. You don't know; you are only assuming."
I paused.
Whatever may have been in Miko's mind I cannot say. But abruptly he stood up. I
had left my bunk, but he waved me back.
"Sit down. I
am not like Moa. I would not trust you just because you protested you would be
loyal." He picked up his cylinder. "We will talk again." He
gestured to the scrolls he had left upon my desk. "Work on those. I will
judge you by the results."
He was no fool,
this brigand leader.
"Yes,"
I agreed. "You want a true course now to the asteroid?"
"Yes. I will
get rid of these passengers. Then we will plan further. Do your best, Haljan—no
error! By the Gods, I warn you I can check up on you!"
I said meekly,
"Very well. But you ask Prince if he wants my calculations of Grantline's
ore-body."
I shot Miko a
foxy look as he stood by my door. I added, "You think you are clever.
There is plenty you don't know. Our first night out from the Earth—Grantline's
signals—didn't it ever occur to you that I might have some figures on his
treasure?"
It startled him.
"Where are they?"
I tapped my
forehead. "You don't suppose I was foolish enough to record them. You ask
Prince if he wants to talk to me. A high thorium content in ore—you ask Prince.
A hundred millions, or two hundred. It would make a big difference, Miko."
"I will
think about it." He backed out and sealed the door upon me once again
But Anita did not
come. I verified Hahn's figures, which were very nearly correct. I charted a
course for the asteroid; it was almost the one which had been set.
Coniston came for
my results. "I say, we are not so bad as navigators, are we? I think we're
jolly good, considering our inexperience. Not bad at all, eh?"
"No."
I did not think
it wise to ask him about Prince.
"Are you
hungry, Haljan?" he demanded.
"Yes."
A steward came
with a meal. The saturnine Hahn stood at my door with a weapon upon me while I
ate. They were taking no chances—and they were wise not to.
The day passed. Day
and night, all the same of aspect here in the starry vault of Space. But with
the ship's routine it was day.
And then another
time of sleep. I slept, fitfully, worrying, trying to plan. Within a few hours
we would be nearing the asteroid.
The time of sleep
was nearly passed. My chronometer marked five A. M. of our original Earth
starting time. The seal of my cubby door hissed. The door slowly, opened.
Anita!
She stood there
with her cloak around her. A distance away on the shadowed deck-space Coniston
was loitering.
"Anita!"
I whispered it.
"Gregg,
dear!"
She turned and
gestured to the watching brigand. "I will not be long, Coniston."
She came in and
half closed the door upon us, leaving it open enough so that we could make sure
that Coniston did not advance.
I stepped back
where he could not see us.
"Anita!"
She flung herself
into my opened arms.
CHAPTER XV - 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?
CHAPTER XVI - In the Blue-lit
Corridor
She came. I
suppose it was no more than an hour: it seemed an eternity of apprehension.
There was the slight hissing of the seal of my door. The panel slid. I had
leaped from my bunk where in the darkness I was lying tense.
"Prince?"
I did not dare say, "Anita."
"Gregg."
Her voice. My
gaze swept the deck as the panel opened. Neither Coniston nor anyone else was
in sight, save Anita's dark-robed figure which came into my room.
"You got
it?" I asked her in a low whisper.
I held her for an
instant, kissed her. But she pushed me away with quick hands.
"Gregg,
dear—"
She was
breathless. My kisses, and the tenseness of what lay before us were to blame.
"Gregg, see,
I have it. Give us a little light—we must hurry!"
In the blue
dimness I saw that she was holding one of the Martian cylinders. The smallest
size; it would paralyze, but not kill.
"Only one,
Anita?"
"Yes. I had
it before, but Miko took it from me. It was in his room. And this—"
The invisible
cloak. We laid it on my grid, and I adjusted its mechanism.A cloak of the
reflecting-absorbing variety.[A]
I donned it, and
drew its hood, and threw on its current.
"All right,
Anita?"
"Yes."
"Can you see
me?"
"No."
She stepped back a foot or two further. "Not from here. But you must let
no one approach too close."
Then she came
forward, put out her hand, fumbled until she found me.
It was our plan
to have me follow her out. Anyone observing us would see only the robed figure
of the supposed George Prince, and I would escape notice.
The situation
about the ship was almost unchanged. Anita had secured the weapon and the cloak
and slipped away to my cubby without being observed.
"You're sure
of that?"
"I think so,
Gregg. I was careful."
Moa was now in
the lounge, guarding the passengers. Hahn was asleep in the chart-room;
Coniston was in the turret. Coniston would be off duty presently, Anita said,
with Hahn taking his place. There were look-outs in the forward and stern
watch-towers, and a guard upon Snap in the helio-room.
"Is he
inside the room, Anita?"
"Snap?
Yes."
"No—the
guard."
"No. He was
sitting upon the spider bridge at the door."
This was
unfortunate. That guard could see all the deck clearly. He might be suspicious
of George Prince wandering around; it would be difficult to get near enough to
assail him. This cylinder, I knew, had an effective range of only some twenty
feet.
Anita and I were
swiftly whispering. It was necessary now to decide exactly what we were to do;
once under observation outside, there must be no hesitation, no fumbling.
"Coniston is
sharpest, Gregg. He will be the hardest to get near."
The
languid-spoken Englishman was the one Anita most feared. His alert eyes seemed
to miss nothing. Perhaps he was suspicious of this George Prince—Anita thought
so.
"But where
is Miko?" I whispered.
The brigand
leader had gone below a few moments ago, down into the hull-corridor. Anita had
seized the opportunity to come to me.
"We can
attack Hahn in the chart-room first," I suggested. "And get the other
weapons. Are they still there?"
"Yes. But
Gregg, the forward deck is very bright."
We were
approaching the asteroid. Already its light like a brilliant moon was
brightening the forward deck-space. It made me realize how much haste was
necessary.
We decided to go
down into the hull-corridors. Locate Miko. Fell him, and hide him. His
non-appearance back on deck would very soon throw the others into confusion,
especially now with our impending landing upon the asteroid. And under cover of
this confusion we would try and release Snap.
We had been
arguing no more than a minute or two. We were ready. Anita slid my door wide.
She stepped through, with me soundlessly scurrying after her. The empty, silent
deck was alternately dark with shadow-patches and bright with blobs of
starlight. A sheen of the Sun's corona was mingled with it; and from forward
came the radiance of the asteroid's mellow silver glow.
Anita turned to
seal my door; within my faintly humming cloak I stood beside her. Was I
invisible in this light? Almost directly over us, close under the dome, the
look-out sat in his little tower. He gazed down at Anita.
Amidships, high
over the cabin superstructure, the helio-room hung dark and silent. The guard
on its bridge was visible. He, too, looked down.
A tense instant.
Then I breathed again. There was no alarm. The two guards answered Anita's
gesture.
Anita said aloud
into my empty cubby: "Miko will come for you presently, Haljan. He told me
to tell you that he wants you at the turret controls to land us on the
asteroid."
She finished
sealing my door and turned away; started forward along the deck. I followed. My
steps were soundless in my elastic-bottomed shoes. Anita swaggered with a noisy
tread. Near the door of the smoking room a small incline passage led downward.
We went into it.
The passage was
dimly blue-lit. We descended its length, came to the main corridor, which ran
the length of the hull. A vaulted metal passage, with doors to the control
rooms opening from it. Dim lights showed at intervals.
The humming of
the ship was more apparent here. It drowned the slight humming of my cloak. I
crept after Anita; my hand under the cloak clutched the ray weapon.
A steward passed
us. I shrank aside to avoid him.
Anita spoke to
him. "Where is Miko, Ellis?"
"In the
ventilator-room, Mr. Prince. There was difficulty with the air renewal."
Anita nodded, and
moved on. I could have felled that steward as he passed me. Oh, if I only had,
how different things might have been!
But it seemed
needless. I let him go, and he turned into a nearby door which led to the
galley.
Anita moved
forward. If we could come upon Miko alone. Abruptly she turned, and whispered,
"Gregg, if other men are with him, I'll draw him away. You watch your
chance."
What little
things may overthrow one's careful plans! Anita had not realized how close to
her I was following. And her turning so unexpectedly caused me to collide with
her sharply.
"Oh!"
She exclaimed it involuntarily. Her outflung hand had unwittingly gripped my
wrist, caught the electrode there. The touch burned her, and close-circuited my
robe. There was a hiss. My current burned out the tiny fuses.
My invisibility
was gone! I stood, a tall black-hooded figure, revealed to the gaze of anyone
who might be near!
The futile plans
of humans! We had planned so carefully! Our calculations, our hopes of what we
could do, came clattering now in a sudden wreckage around us.
"Anita,
run!"
If I were seen
with her, then her own disguise would probably be discovered. That above
everything would be disaster!
"Anita, get
away from me! I must try it alone!"
I could hide
somewhere, repair the cloak perhaps. Or, since now I was armed, why could I not
boldly start an assault?
"Gregg, we
must get you back to your cubby!" She was clinging to me in a panic.
"No! You
run! Get away from me! Don't you understand? George Prince has no business here
with me! They'd kill you!"
Or worse—- Miko
would discover it was Anita, not George Prince.
"Gregg,
let's get back to the deck."
I pushed at her.
Both of us in sudden confusion.
From behind me
there came a shout. That accursed steward! He had returned, to investigate
perhaps what George Prince was doing in this corridor. He heard our voices; his
shout in the silence of the ship sounded horribly loud. The white-clothed shape
of him was in the nearby doorway. He stood stricken in surprise at seeing me.
And then turned to run.
I fired my
paralyzing cylinder through my cloak. Got him! He fell. I shoved Anita violently.
"Run! Tell
Miko to come—tell him you heard a shout! He won't suspect you!"
"But
Gregg—"
"You mustn't
be found out! You're our only hope, Anita! I'll hide, fix the cloak, or get
back to my cubby. We'll try it again."
It decided her.
She scurried down the corridor. I whirled the other way. The steward's shout
might not have been heard.
Then realization
flashed to me. That steward would be revived. He was one of Miko's men: for two
voyages he had been a spy upon the Planetara. He would be revived and tell what
he had seen and heard. Anita's disguise would be revealed.
A cold-blooded
killing I do protest went against me. But it was necessary. I flung myself upon
him. I beat his skull with the metal of my cylinder.
I stood up. My
hood had fallen back from my head. I wiped my bloody hands on my useless cloak.
I had smashed the cylinder.
"Haljan!"
Anita's voice! A
sharp note of horror and warning. I became aware that in the corridor, forty
feet down its dim length, Miko had appeared, with Anita behind him. His
rifle-bullet-projector was leveled. It spat at me. But Anita had pulled at his
arm.
The explosive
report was sharply deafening in the confined space of the corridor. With a
spurt of flame the leaden pellet struck over my head against the vaulted
ceiling.
Miko was
struggling with Anita. "Prince, you idiot!"
"Miko,
don't! It's Haljan! Don't kill him—"
The turmoil
brought members of the crew. From the shadowed oval near me they came running.
I flung the useless cylinder at them. But I was trapped in the narrow passage.
I might have
fought my way out. Or Miko might have shot me. But there was the danger that,
in her horror, Anita would betray herself.
I backed against
the wall. "Don't kill me! See, I will not fight!"
I flung up my
arms. And the crew, emboldened, and courageous under Miko's gaze, leaped on me
and bore me down.
The futile plans
of humans! Anita and I had planned so carefully, and in a few brief minutes of
action it had come only to this!
