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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..633741f --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #63779 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/63779) diff --git a/old/63779-0.txt b/old/63779-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 9b357c4..0000000 --- a/old/63779-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,3209 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Blue Venus, by Emmett McDowell - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this ebook. - -Title: The Blue Venus - -Author: Emmett McDowell - -Release Date: December 05, 2020 [EBook #63779] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Produced by: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BLUE VENUS *** - - - - - THE BLUE VENUS - - By EMMETT McDOWELL - - Out of their mountain hideout came the - terrified band of The Renegade. Through - the valleys of Venus they swept, seeking - a greed-maddened slaver who planned an - experiment so cruel and barbaric it would - destroy the very foundation of mankind. - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Planet Stories Spring 1946. - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - -The hooded figure of a man detached itself from the shadows beside the -door, paused, listening. Nothing stirred. The huge sprawling plantation -house was silent and yet alive with the feel of sleepers. - -Then from below stairs, he heard a door slam. The tinkle of laughter -ascended to his ears. He crouched. His hand slipped inside his coat, -fondled the slug gun nestling in its shoulder holster. The voices -drifted out of hearing. Uneasy silence settled back over the plantation -house. - -The hooded man let his breath escape between his teeth. He slid back -the door, passed inside like a shadow, shut the door behind him. - -The room which he'd entered was lit by the intense, green radiations -from the Venusian vegetation. The cold phosphorescent light streamed -through the open windows, glinted from a glassite desk, soft flexoglas -lounging chairs and sofa. It was the typical office from which the -plantation owners directed the affairs of their feudal estates. - -As silent as a night hawk, the hooded man drifted to the wall, ran his -fingertips over the wood paneling. There was a faint click. The panel -slid back revealing a wall safe. - -A needle ray of light streamed suddenly from the hooded man's hand, -splashed off a paper which he'd drawn from his pocket. He checked the -string of figures printed there, returned the paper to his pocket. He -worked swiftly, surely. Then with a sigh of satisfaction he swung back -the heavy door. - -There was a faint thump in the corridor outside the office that broke -the silence. - -The hooded man snapped erect, the compressed air slug gun in his hand. -He was sharply conscious of the hum of Venusian night life outside the -windows. The room felt sticky, close. His hand was damp with sweat -about the pommel of the slug gun. - -He waited five minutes, ten minutes without moving, but the noise was -not repeated. - -He drew a breath, set to examining the papers in the safe by the aid of -the midget flash. Most of them he put back carefully, just as they'd -been, but two packets he stuffed into an inside coat pocket. He closed -the door, spun the dial. He heard a sharp click behind him, leaped -around. - -At the same instant, the room was flooded with bright white light. - -"Please don't!" said a girl's voice. - -The hooded man arrested his hand halfway to his shoulder holster. - -A startlingly beautiful girl, he saw, was standing in the doorway to -the corridor covering him with a wicked dart gun. She was a tall girl -with the yellowest hair he'd ever seen. She wore a spun glass negligee -and her skin was blue. It was the pastel blue of a Terran dawn flushed -with rose. - -She came all the way inside, slid shut the door. - -"Who are you? What do you want?" - -"Why don't you turn in the alarm?" said the hooded man dryly. The -poisoned needle gun was sending goose flesh quivering up his spine. A -scratch would be fatal. His jaw tightened beneath the hood. His eyes -were hard green discs, the dangerous eyes of a hunted man. - -"Oh no." The blue girl's voice was low. "I wouldn't do that. I'd never -be able to get the safe open by myself." - -"What?" - -"I want you to open the safe for me." - - * * * * * - -The hooded man didn't reply for a moment. At length, he asked: "What -then?" - -The girl giggled. "I take what I want, and you take what you want," she -explained naively. "See. And you'll be blamed for taking it all. Only -you're going to be disappointed!" - -"Disappointed? How?" He took a step toward her. - -"Bemmelman never keeps his money on the plantation. It's all at -Venusport. There aren't fifty monad in the safe." - -"Maybe I'm not after money." He took a second step, his green eyes -opaque. - -She looked at him intently, made a thin gasping noise. "You're the -Renegade!" The dart gun trembled in her small blue fist. "Oh my God! I -didn't guess. You're the Renegade!" - -Without affirming or denying the statement, he asked, "What do you want -from the safe?" and took a third step. - -"Don't come any closer! I'm a very good shot. See!" - -The little gun went spat. The hooded man heard the dart whisper past -his ear, thunk into the paneling behind him. His stomach felt suddenly -hollow. - -"My dear girl," he said dryly; "if you do that again, I won't be able -to open a book, let alone that safe. I'm a mass of jelly now." - -"Then you will open it for me?" - -"What is it you want?" - -"Evidence!" Impulsively she took a step toward him, allowed the -dart gun to waver out of line. "Evidence to send Bemmelman to the -disintegration chamber!" - -The hooded man felt appalled at the sheer animal hate in her violet -eyes. Her skin was too light for her to be a full blooded Jovian -primitive. She must be a cross. He mentally snapped his fingers. That -was it, of course. The Blue Venus! The slave for whom Hal Bemmelman was -asking five thousand monad on the Venusian Slave Mart. He said: - -"You aren't overly fond of Bemmelman?" - -"I loathe him!" With a savage jerk, she yanked her white negligee down -from her left shoulder. "See that?" - -He saw a scar on the pale-blue skin above her breast. It was the shape -of a fern leaf and he could have covered it with his thumb. - -"Branded!" she spat. "My father was a Jovian Dawn Man--an animal! But -my mother was an Earth woman. Hal Bemmelman kidnapped her!" - -The hooded man regarded her pityingly. She was only a kid, he realized. -He said: - -"You can't get Bemmelman like that. He runs the government at -Venusport. He'd never come to trial." He stopped, realizing that she -wasn't listening. - -Nostrils flaring, head erect, the girl was looking through him blankly. -A glimmer of fright flitted across her mobile features. Then she raised -the dart gun, pointed it full at his chest. - -"Put your hands on top of your head, please!" - -His green eyes contracted angrily. He didn't move. - -"I mean it! Put your hands on top of your head, please." - -With a shrug, he obeyed. He saw the door to the corridor slide back. A -heavy red-faced man in his late forties and a wrinkled snuff brown suit -stared in at them. The red-faced man's sparse sandy hair was plastered -to his skull, and he had little mobile brown eyes like a pig. - -"Is that you, Hal?" The blue girl didn't turn around, didn't take her -eyes off the hooded man. "I've caught the Renegade!" - -The red-faced man's jaw dropped. "Yes sir," he said. "Yes sir, it's me, -Sofi." A shrewd gleam flickered in his pig-like eyes. - -"I caught him trying to open the safe." - -"So I see! So I see!" Bemmelman rubbed his hands together, came into -the room. He pulled a dart gun from the belly band of his trousers and -leveled it at the Renegade. "Stand aside, Sofi." - -The hooded man felt his stomach turn slowly upside down. He considered -hurling himself behind the glassite desk, snatching out his slug gun. - -Bemmelman said: "Did you get his gun, Sofi?" - -She shook her yellow head. - -Alarm stiffened the planter's features. "Get it, girl! No! No! Don't -get between us! Get behind him!" - -The hooded man felt the girl's hands pat his chest, draw forth the -heavy slug gun. - -The florid color crept back into Bemmelman's gross features. "You may -go, Sofi. I want a word with the Renegade." - - * * * * * - -Sofi shot him a child-like pouting glance, but retreated obediently -from the room, drawing the door shut behind her. - -The lean young man in the hood watched, weighing his chances. He didn't -say anything. - -"You're surprised, eh, that I don't turn you in to the Security -Patrol?" Bemmelman began. "They'd like to get their hands on the -Renegade, they would. But the fact is I want you more than they do. Yes -sir, this is a piece of luck for me. I've been trying to contact you -for months." - -The hooded man said dryly: "I'm listening," and allowed his hands to -sink to his side. - -"Put your hands back on your head!" Bemmelman's voice registered alarm. -"No tricks. I can use you, lad, but no tricks." He glared speculatively -at the Renegade, added: "Yes sir, that I can. And now, if you'll take -off that hood we'll get down to business." - -"If it's business, I'll keep the hood on." - -"No sir," the planter blustered. "Off with the hood or I shoot. When I -do business with a man, I like to know who he is." - -The hooded man's green eyes were reckless. The law on Venus was harsh, -implacable. There were no pardons. The disintegration chamber at -Venusport yawned for him inexorably. - -"You know, Bemmelman, I'd be completely at your mercy if I unmasked?" - -"You are right now. Yes sir. You can take it off alive, or I'll take it -off of you dead." - -The hooded man was half crouched against the glassite desk. He said -softly: "You don't leave me much choice," and dived beneath the dart -gun. - -His head struck the slave breeder's paunch like a cannon ball. -Bemmelman went, "Ooof!" and sat down with a thud. The dart gun spat a -needle into the ceiling where it quivered viciously. - -The hooded man was on him like a cat. One swipe of his hand knocked the -dart gun clattering under the sofa. Purple faced, gasping Bemmelman -scrambled to his feet. A look of fright swept his gross features, and -he began stabbing a button on the glassite desk. - -The hooded man could hear the shrill clamor of alarm bells pealing -through the rambling building. He leaped for the door, threw it back. - -"Ahhh!" he said. - -Sofi stood in the entrance, her dart gun almost against his chest. - -Like a whip, the hooded man twisted sideways, snatched the gun from the -startled girl. He saw Bemmelman charging across the room. He grinned, -shoved the girl into the planter's arms, slammed the door. - -The sound of shouts drifted up to him. He saw a Venusian serf, armed -with a bell muzzled ray rifle, dash into the corridor. The serf caught -sight of him. A yellow ray streamed from the gun, splashed off the -wall; but the hooded man already had vanished up the stairs. - -Bemmelman burst from the office. "Which way did he go? The force -screens are up! He can't escape!" - -"He got in," Sofi pointed out coolly. - -Half a dozen armed serfs dashed into the hall. The alarm bells were -still ringing. - -"Which way?" Bemmelman roared. - -The serf said: "Up." - -"We've got him. That leads to the roof. He can't get off!" He charged -the steps followed by the pack of Venusians. - -At the roof Bemmelman paused, shoved up the trap. With considerable -respect for his own skin, he ordered one of the serfs through first. - -"Careful," he advised. "The man's desperate." - -The serf climbed fatalistically onto the roof, turned around and around. - -"He's not here." - -"Impossible!" The planter roared and squeezed his bulk through the -opening. - -The green phosphorescent glow of the vegetation lit the flat roof -eerily. A raucous screech from some night flying bird floated down from -the cloud mass overhead. There was no plane, no sign of a plane; but -the man with the hood was gone. - - - II - -Mia MacIver tried to concentrate on her head overseer's report. She -felt hot and sticky and the figures ran together, didn't make sense. -Moreover, the delicate notes of a flute kept scattering her thoughts. -They came through the casement window from the patio outside her study. - -"Damn," said Mia MacIver and wriggled at her desk. - -She was barefooted, clad only in a short yellow tunic, but she felt -as if she were locked in a steam bath. She'd never get used to Venus, -she supposed, to its turkish bath atmosphere, its lush phosphorescent -vegetation, its ridiculous mingling of periods, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, -and the glass age all flourishing together. The Pan-like notes -continued to assail her ears from outside the study. - -She wrinkled her nose, wiped a trickle of sweat from the end. In -despair, she flipped on the Newscaster. - -The features of a plump young man flashed on the screen. - -"Last night," his voice came through the audio, "the plantation of -Councillor Bemmelman was raided by the Renegade. Luckily, he was -discovered immediately and the Security Patrol notified. But as usual -the Renegade had vanished without a trace." - -Mia MacIver snapped to attention. It was absurd, she felt with a surge -of anger that a man could make fools of the Venusian authorities as the -Renegade had done for years. - -She knew little of Venus. Her life had been spent in boarding schools -on Earth. But when she'd received news that her father was dead, -murdered by the Renegade, she'd booked passage to Venusport at once, -determined to manage the plantation herself. - -"Here's a special bulletin," the announcer was saying. "The plantation -owners are subscribing ten thousand monads to be added to the price -already on the Renegade's head. That makes a total of fifty thousand -monads for his capture. A punitive expedition is also being organized -against his headquarters in the Cloud Mountains." - -Mia MacIver switched off the Newscaster, stood up. The notes of the -pipes drifted into her study, exotic, compelling. She bit her lip, -stepped through the window onto the vine roofed patio. - -"Stop that noise, Cosmo! You're driving me insane!" - -Cosmo Horn took the Venusian pipes from his mouth, said dryly, "I -didn't think I was that bad." - -He was sprawled in a hammock, looking like a handsome, rather -distinguished tramp. - -"Did you hear the Newscaster, Cosmo?" - -"No." He shook his head. He had a lean, hawk-like visage, close cropped -brown hair, green eyes. - -"The Renegade was at the Bemmelman plantation last night!" - -"Sure enough?" - -Cosmo sat up, put the reeds in his pocket. He was wearing only coat and -trousers. The brown triangle of hair on his chest extended in a thin -line down his flat belly. "How much did he nick that dealer in flesh -for?" - -"Nothing. They scared him off before he had a chance to take anything. -Cosmo, why can't they catch him?" - -"No one's seen him without his hood. They don't know who he is; they -don't know where to look, or what to look for." - -"On Earth ..." began Mia. - -"On Earth there wouldn't be a Renegade," interrupted Cosmo dryly. -"Earth is unified. It isn't split up into hundreds of independent -countries like Venus. They don't have slavery or serfdom or the feudal -system on Earth. Men aren't driven into outlawry...." - -"Driven!" said Mia in a heated voice. "What makes you think he was -driven? I'd say he was doing exactly as he pleased." - -Cosmo stood up, towering over the girl, took several short paces across -the patio. - -"I don't think anyone would enjoy being constantly hunted. Everyman's -hand against him. Always on guard against treachery, surprise. And no -matter how careful he is, sooner or later he's bound to be caught. He -can't even quit, now. I feel sorry for him." - -"Feel sorry for him! I'd like to see him shot!" - - * * * * * - -Cosmo looked startled. "You're a blood-thirsty little devil." He -grinned suddenly. "What I've been saying must have buzzed in one ear -and out the other." - -Mia said: "He murdered father." - -Cosmo regarded her in surprise. "Great guns, Mia, where did you get -that idea?" - -"Hal Bemmelman told me. He found father down in the tara field -where...." Her voice faltered, but she recovered herself, went on. -"Where the serfs had hacked him to pieces with grass knives. They were -the Renegade's men." - -"Did he? Did he indeed?" Cosmo's voice was grim. "What was Bemmelman -doing there?" - -Mia frowned. "He was trailing a runaway serf. Why?" - -"Of course he was." Her gray eyes widened. She stared at him. "Surely -you aren't accusing Bemmelman of murdering father. Why he's the most -influential member of the Council of Land Owners. He's...." - -"Did you ever hear of the Blue Venus?" he interrupted. - -"The Blue Venus? What's that?" - -Cosmo's face was grim, his green eyes cold. "She's a cross between -a Jovian Dawn Man and an Earth woman. She's supposed to be the most -beautiful girl in the System. She belongs to Bemmelman. He forced her -mother to mate with a Jovian primitive as an experiment. He's asking -five thousand monad for her on the Slave Mart. Hal Bemmelman is a slave -breeder." - -"I don't believe it!" Mia said in horror, then asked with feminine -perversity: "How do you know?" - -Cosmo sat down in the hammock, grinned faintly. "I'm going to tell you -something I've never told anyone but your father, Mia. I think you -ought to know, because you're in danger." His green eyes twinkled. -"Quit chewing your fingernails." - -"Go on," said Mia. "Go on, for the Lord's sake, before I burst." - -He said: "Twenty-six years ago my father owned the Bemmelman -plantation. He was murdered under almost the same circumstances as your -father. So was my mother. My nurse escaped with me, hid me out in the -mountains. I was only five." - -"Who did it?" - -"Jovian Dawn Men. Slaves imported from Jupiter. They run amok during -their rutting season, you know, and they were supposed to be amok at -the time." - -"But ..." began Mia. - -"Wait a moment. Bemmelman held notes on the plantation. He moved in. -But before Bemmelman took over our plantation, he was a slave runner. -He imported Dawn Men from Jupiter for the Venusian Slave Mart." - -"You--you think Hal Bemmelman was in back of it?" - -"Yes," he said flatly. - -"But why? Couldn't he buy land?" - -"No," said Cosmo, "he couldn't. Land here is entailed. It stays in -the same family from generation to generation. Mu is one of the few -countries on Venus where Terrans have been able to settle at all. -Bemmelman's only chance was to have my people murdered and forge notes." - -"Does he know who you are?" - -Cosmo nodded. "He's tried to have me assassinated several times," he -said indifferently. - -Mia swallowed. "You--you said I was in danger." - -"Doesn't it strike you there's a great deal of similarity between -your case and mine. Your father has been murdered, supposedly by the -Renegade. It looks like Bemmelman is getting ready to expand." - -"He--he wouldn't kill me!" said Mia indignantly. "Would he?" - -"No," said Cosmo, a smile quirking the corners of his wide, grim-lipped -mouth. His lean, narrow jaw and thin, hooked nose gave him a saturnine -cast. "But I wouldn't put it past him to kidnap you. Remember the -Blue Venus. I happen to know Bemmelman's been anxious to repeat that -experiment, but a beautiful Terran girl is hard to get." - -She shivered slightly, said: "That's preposterous! He wouldn't dare! -Would he?" - -But Cosmo had leaped to his feet. "There's a plane coming!" he said in -an edgy voice. - -A surface flying car flashed to the edge of the patio, stopped, settled -to the ground. The extreme altitude of the bullet-shaped vehicle -was under three hundred feet, Cosmo knew. But even that height was -impractical for flight on Venus, roofed as the planet was by the -low, swirling cloud blanket. As a rule, the planes barely skimmed the -surface. - -A door in the monoloid hull swung open. A heavy set man got out. - -"Why it's Hal Bemmelman," exclaimed Mia. "What does he want?" - -"Speak of the devil," drawled Cosmo. - - * * * * * - -Bemmelman strode across the patio, his eyes on Cosmo, said in a -disagreeable voice: "If it isn't the fortieth-century troubadour." - -Cosmo's features set blankly. He didn't reply. - -"Mia." Bemmelman took both the girl's hands in his big paws. "I've -bad news. Yes sir, very bad news. Three of my serfs ganged my second -overseer, chopped him to pieces with grass knives." - -"What?" Mia's eyes dilated in horror. - -"They got him from behind, I guess. Then they broke into the arsenal. -They're armed, Mia, and heading this way. I dropped everything to fly -over and warn you." - -"Coming this way?" Mia firmly disengaged her hands. "But why?" - -"They're trying to reach the Cloud Mountains and join the Renegade. -Your place lies directly between mine and the mountains." - -"The Renegade!" Mia's level gray eyes frosted with hate. "The rurals -can't catch him. He makes monkeys out of the Security Patrol. What is -he? A wizard?" - -"You've heard the news?" Bemmelman interrupted. "The Renegade was at -my place last night. I've been worried about you, Mia, alone here on -the edge of the mountains. Yes sir, I came to take you to my plantation -until we have these murderous serfs behind bars." - -"But I'm quite safe. I--I...." - -"This isn't Earth, Mia," he said in a silky voice. "I haven't much -time. No sir. I must return to organize the pursuit. We'll teach those -brutes a lesson they won't soon forget." - -"If you catch them," put in Cosmo in an amused voice. - -"We'll catch them!" Bemmelman turned his small, brown, pig-like eyes on -Cosmo. "Yes sir, and the Renegade, too." - -Mia said with a grimace: "Thanks, Hal, but I'm not coming." - -Bemmelman lowered his head like a bull. "I haven't the men to spare to -guard you, even if I could trust them. I was too good a friend of your -father's, Mia, to leave you here with those three murderers roaming in -the neighborhood. You're coming with me." - -Cosmo, observing quietly, frowned to himself. What was the planter -trying to pull? - -"I'm not," said Mia indignantly. "Really this is preposterous. It's...." - -Bemmelman glared at her, seized her arm. "Girl, don't be a fool. If -those runaways show up here, they'd chop you to pieces. Come along." -Unceremoniously, he began to drag her toward his plane. - -"Cosmo!" Mia's gray eyes snapped open like saucers. - -Cosmo's hand fell on Bemmelman's shoulder, spun him around. - -"You heard Miss MacIver." Two rouge-like spots sprang out on Cosmo's -high cheek bones. His green eyes were opaque. - -"Get your dirty paws off me!" Bemmelman roared in surprise. He almost -choked with rage. "By Jupiter! I'll teach you a lesson you won't soon -forget! Yes sir!" - -With a growl, the red-faced planter lashed out with his fist. The blow -struck Cosmo on his right cheek bone, snapped back his head. - -"You shouldn't have done that," said Cosmo. He turned loose Bemmelman's -shoulder. - -The planter swung again wildly. Cosmo slipped the blow. With a straight -left, he knocked Bemmelman down. - -The planter shook his head. There was a surprised look on his beefy red -features. Sinking his head in his bull neck, he scrambled to his feet. - -Cosmo knocked him down again. - -Bemmelman turned his brown pig-like eyes up to Cosmo. He tried to rise. -Cosmo knocked him down for the third time. - -He said: "Bemmelman, get out of here. If you ever lay hands to me -again, I'll kill you." - -The planter heaved himself to his feet, lip drooling blood. He crossed -to his surface plane, scrambled inside. Then he shook his fist at -Cosmo. - -"I'll get you for this, Horn. You haven't MacIver to protect you now. -I'll get you." - -Cosmo took a step toward the plane. - -Bemmelman hastily slammed the door. The vehicle swooped from the -ground, sped away like a silver bullet. - -"He will," said Mia in a small voice. "You shouldn't have done that, -Cosmo. He's powerful. He controls the Council of Land Owners." - -"He struck me." Cosmo's lean features were like clay. "If he does it -again, I'll kill him." - -Mia shivered. "Do you always get so violent?" - -"He hit me," said Cosmo. "I should have killed him." - -All at once Mia said: "Cosmo!" in a strained, frightened voice. - -He flicked a glance past the startled girl, stiffened in alarm. At the -edge of the patio, three men stood in a silent group. - -One, he saw, was a serf. Naked to the waist, the Venusian was darker, -squatter than the Fozoqls, the killer caste of Venus. But he had the -same venomous green eyes. A grass knife was thrust through his sash, -and he held a ray rifle at a menacing angle. - -It was the second figure, though, that took his breath away. A huge, -naked, blue giant. His only weapon was a club. - -"A Jovian Dawn Man!" said Mia in a stifled voice. - -Cosmo felt his palms dampen. The terrific gravity of Jupiter endowed -the Jovian primitives with superhuman strength. Normally, they were -docile creatures and highly prized among the Venusians as slaves -because of their terrible strength and weird beauty. The Dawn Man faced -them now, nostrils flaring as he tested their scent. He was handsome as -a matinee idol. But somewhere the Jovians had run into an evolutionary -blind pocket. They would never evolve into true men. They were animals. - -Cosmo scarcely noted the third member of the group, the short -barrel-shaped Mercurian. He stood a little apart, smiling blandly and -quietly like an inscrutable Buddha. - -"Look at the scars on their shoulders," Mia whispered hoarsely. "The -fern leaf! That's Bemmelman's brand. They're the runaways!" - -The Venusian raised his rifle. His green eyes burned with hate for the -Earthlings. - -Mia shrank toward Cosmo. "He--he's...." - -"Put down your rifle," said Cosmo in the Venusian dialect of Mu. He -could feel the pulse beat in his ears; his lips felt dry. "Seek you the -Renegade?" - -The Venusian hesitated, indecision reflected in his dark-yellow -features. The Dawn Man shook his club, growled deep in his chest. -Muscles rippled like hawsers beneath his blue hide. - -"Most certainly." It was the Mercurian who spoke. - -Cosmo glanced at him sharply, realized that behind the Mercurian's -smiling mask, he was violently distressed. Mercurians didn't approve of -bloodshed, he recalled. - -Sweat dappled Cosmo's forehead. Then, with a faint shrug, he made a -peculiar gesture with his hand. - -An expression of wonder and comprehension filled their faces. Only the -blue giant continued to rumble deep in his chest. - -"The Renegade!" cried the fat Mercurian, and his yellow eyes twinkled -with relief. He plumped on his knees, repeated the cabalistic symbol. - -With only a moment's hesitation the serf followed suit. "Down, you big -ox!" he shouted at the Jovian and thwacked him behind the knees with -his ray rifle. "Down! That's the Renegade!" - - - III - -Mia MacIver stared at Cosmo in disbelief. "You--you're not the -Renegade! I don't believe it." - -"It's lucky for you, I am," he said dryly. - -She held her hands straight down at her side, small fists clenched. -"Lucky? Father thought you were his friend and you killed him. I'd -rather be dead than owe you anything." - -"Listen, Mia, get this straight. I didn't kill your father." - -"Of course, you'd say that." Her chin trembled; she set her jaw -stubbornly. "Who'd believe the Renegade?" - -Cosmo made a weary gesture, turned back to the runaways who'd been -listening with interest. - -"Get off your knees," he said. His tone was embarrassed. "The Security -Patrol is scouring the countryside for you right now. Take to the -forest where the planes can't follow. Make for the mountains. My -men...." - -"By Nemi!" the Buddha-faced Mercurian ejaculated suddenly. He pointed -at Mia who was slipping through the window to her study. "The girl is -escaping. After her, Tong!" - -The Venusian serf leaped in pursuit, but Cosmo halted him with a lifted -hand. "She won't go far." He turned back to the Mercurian. "I give the -orders," he said. - -The moon-faced little man bowed good-naturedly. Cosmo realized he -wasn't even armed. - -"What are you doing with this pair of cut-throats?" he asked. - -"We understand one another," the Mercurian replied blandly. "I act as -a governor. My presence restrains them from indulging in an excess of -blood letting." - -"Who sent you to me?" Cosmo asked shrewdly. "Was it Penang-ihtok?" - -The Mercurian shuddered. "Yes. A violent man, that Penang-ihtok. An -outcast Fozoql." - -"He's safe then?" Cosmo interrupted. "Bemmelman doesn't suspect him?" - -"No." - -"Good." He frowned, said: "Go now. Your time is short." - -Without a word the odd trio filed off. Cosmo watched them around the -corner of the plantation house, then sprang through the window of Mia's -study. - -The girl was at the telecast. She had tuned in the fat Commissioner of -the Security Patrol. - -"What?" the Commissioner's voice rumbled from the audio. His jowls were -shaking; his image wildly agitated. "Are you sure, Owner MacIver? The -Renegade at your plantation with the serfs from the Bemmelman place?" - -Without waiting for an answer, he turned away from the Visoscreen, but -Cosmo could still hear his voice shouting orders at some underling. - -"Contact the radio patrol planes! Order them to converge on the -MacIver plantation! The Renegade! Good Lord, man, d'ya realize what a -feather it'll be in our caps? Hurry!" - -The fat Commissioner swung back into the visoscreen. "I'll have a dozen -patrol planes there in ten minutes. What does he look like, Owner -MacIver? Who is he?" - -"He is ..." began Mia, then discovered Cosmo standing beside the -boxlike transmitter on the wall. He flashed her a faintly wolfish grin. - - * * * * * - -Mia gasped, brought her hand to her throat. Her high firm breasts -heaved wildly beneath the yellow tunic. - -"What's wrong, Owner MacIver? What's wrong?" came the excited voice -from the audio. - -Mia's wide gray eyes brimmed with hate. - -"He is ..." she began again, but the screen went dead. Cosmo had yanked -the transmitter from the wall. Wires like tentacles dangled from the -back of the box. He dropped it to the gray straw matting. - -"That won't help!" Mia's voice was triumphant as she backed away. "You -can't escape. They'll come from all directions." - -Again Cosmo grinned. He jumped, seized Mia, swung her off her feet. - -"Let me go!" - -"You're coming with me." His voice was grim. "I'd rather the -Commissioner didn't find out I'm the Renegade just yet." - -"Put me down! Are you mad?" Mia's long, bare legs thrashed wildly. She -hammered at his chest. "You can't escape by yourself, let alone with -me." - -He calmly pinioned her flailing legs, strode out the window to the edge -of the patio. Dropping her to her feet, he fumbled in his pocket, drew -forth a whistle, put it to his lips, blew. - -No audible sound resulted. The note was too high, too shrill to be -detected by human ears. - -Mia MacIver quit squirming, gaped at him blankly. - -Cosmo's eyes searched the dense pearl gray cloud ceiling. He blew twice -more on the soundless whistle. - -There was a disturbance in the cloud layer directly overhead as if -tremendous fans were boiling the impenetrable fleecy ceiling into a -froth. Then a huge grotesque shape plummeted from the clouds. With back -flailing wings, the monster settled to the ground. - -Mia screamed, tried to squirm free. - -"Let me go! Let me go!" - -"It's just a bird," he assured her. - -"Just a bird, hell!" Mia shuddered. "That thing's a nightmare. What is -it?" - -"An Ormoo." - -The Ormoo cocked its red-brown eye at Cosmo, rubbed its gunmetal gray -beak against his leg, emitted a pleased raucous squawk. - -Mia flinched. The beak looked capable of severing Cosmo's leg like a -twig. From wing tip to wing tip the Ormoo extended over sixty feet. -Its pearl gray plumage was a perfect camouflage as it drifted through -Venus' eternal cloud blanket. - -"Down!" shouted Cosmo. - -The Ormoo crouched to its breast like a hen setting on her eggs. A -saddle was strapped to its back. - -"Cosmo!" cried Mia in terror, struggling to wrench free. - -The Ormoo cocked its head again, eyed the frantic girl gravely as a -robin might watch a beetle. - -"My God, Cosmo, that thing wants to eat me. I'll--I'll have hysterics." - -He laughed, flung her astride the saddle. Holding onto her naked ankle, -he vaulted up behind. - -"Up!" he shouted. - -The Ormoo lurched to its feet. It took a few ungainly steps, launched -itself into the air with a powerful drive of its legs. The massive -wings lashed the air like flails as it spiraled upward. - -Mia clung to Cosmo with terror. - -"Take me back, Cosmo. I won't tell the Commissioner you're the -Renegade. I'll lie like a Martian diplomat. Only make this monstrosity -go down! Please Cosmo!" - -He put an arm about her waist, steadying her. - -"Don't be frightened. He won't hurt you so long as I'm here." - -"The hell you say," said Mia between chattering teeth. "I tell you that -bird considers me in the same light as a juicy worm." - -Already, the tenuous mist was closing around them. The Ormoo still -spiraled upward. Cosmo saw a patrol flash by beneath them, pause like -a humming bird over the patio. Another, then another streaked in from -different directions. - -Mia MacIver leaned over all at once, shrieked in a despairing voice: -"Help! Help!" - -"You little wretch," Cosmo grinned, clapped his hand over her mouth. -She bit him. - -He jerked his hand away. Before she could cry out again, the wool-like -cloud blanket smothered them. Everything disappeared in moist white -fleece. Mia slumped forlornly in Cosmo's powerful arm. - -"Home," Cosmo shouted. - -The giant bird wheeled off at an angle, wings beating with the rhythmic -swish of waves lapping at a beach. Guided by some peculiar sixth sense, -it headed by the shortest route for the Cloud Mountains. - -For a while, the whish--swish of the Ormoo's wings was the only sound. -It was like flying through a warm blinding blizzard. - -"Does it know where it's going?" Mia twisted about in Cosmo's arm, -curiosity overcoming her terror. Already her brown piquant features -dripped with moisture. Her damp yellow tunic clung to her pliant figure -like skin. - -"Yes. The patrol planes can't navigate in these clouds. But the Ormoo -can. It flys by instinct." - -She relaxed, laid her damp black curls against his shoulder. - -"Cosmo, why did you turn renegade?" - -Her attitude had undergone such an about face that his green eyes -hardened warily. - -"It's a long story." - -Mia snuggled deeper in his arms. "Was it because your father and mother -were killed and Bemmelman stole your plantation?" - -"That was part of it. My nurse fled with me to the Cloud Mountains. -The Jovians trailed us, hunted us for months, then we fell in with a -party of outlaws. They were rough men, but kind. I didn't understand -much that was happening at the time, but later I managed to piece it -together. I swore I'd make Bemmelman pay." - -He laughed mirthlessly. "It was no use. The authorities weren't -interested in hearing anything against him. I thought maybe if I could -get concrete evidence, that would force them to act. I broke into his -manor house. I was discovered, but I got away. I was wearing a hood to -conceal my features. The newscasters played it up. The hooded man. The -Renegade. I suddenly found myself notorious--an outlaw." - -"But you raided other plantations. You stirred up the serfs!" She -couldn't keep the edge of hate and accusation out of her voice. - -"Some," he admitted with a grin, "though we preyed on other outlaws -principally. But whenever the Security Patrol couldn't solve a crime, -they laid it to the Renegade. The list is astounding: murder, rapine, -theft." He chuckled grimly. "I've even been credited with committing -two killings at the same time over five hundred miles apart." - -"But even if you get Bemmelman," Mia pointed out; "what can you gain. -You're still an outlaw. You'll be sent to the disintegration chamber." - -"Oh, they'll get me someday," he replied coolly. "But first, I'll drag -down Bemmelman." - - * * * * * - -The Ormoo flew steadily, strongly. Presently, the girl said: - -"Does the Ormoo really understand your commands?" - -"A few simple ones." - -"Would it obey me?" - -"Try it." - -"Down," cried Mia. - -The Ormoo plummeted toward the surface. Mia clapped her hands, -shrieked: "Up!" Its wings thundered as it gained altitude again. - -She twisted around in the saddle. "It obeys me," she laughed -infectiously. She placed her hands, as if to steady herself on Cosmo's -shoulder. All at once, her gray eyes contracted. She gave him a -tremendous push. - -Caught completely by surprise, Cosmo lunged desperately for the saddle, -missed. He felt himself slipping faster and faster on the bird's wet -back. There he went over with a rush. - -His wildly grabbing hand slid down Mia's bare leg. Like a drowning man -clutching at a straw, his fingers closed about her ankle. - -Mia gave a shriek of terror, rolled over on her stomach, hugged the -saddle. - -"Let go!" she yelled. "You're pulling me off!" She kicked wildly at the -man dangling pendulum-like from her foot. - -Cosmo grunted. He pulled himself up, grabbed her leg just above the -calf. Thrusting his free hand into the Ormoo's feathers, he seized a -large quill, inched himself upward. - -Mia was too busy hanging to the saddle to kick at him. She lay stomach -down across the Ormoo's back clinging with the strength of panic. - -Cosmo released her leg, got a grip on her tunic. It parted halfway up -her back, leaving him dangling wildly from the huge quill. He caught -her leg again, strained upward until he could grasp the saddle and -heave himself astride. - -He sat there, trembling with exhaustion, panting. - -Mia still lay stomach down across the saddle sobbing with frustration. -There were red finger weals on ankle, calf and thigh where Cosmo's iron -fingers had dug into her flesh. - -He flashed her his sudden grin. "You little devil," he panted. "I ought -to dangle you over the Ormoo's side. See how you'd like it." - -A shudder passed through the girl. "I hate you! I hate you!" she sobbed -in frustrated rage. - -There was a soothing tempo to the swish-lift of the giant Ormoo's -flight. Mia dozed as the miles fled past, slumped against Cosmo's chest. - -Then unexpectedly, the bird wheeled, flapped sharply upward. Its huge -wing tips brushed the face of a cliff. Fog swirled, whipped into froth -by the frenzied wings. - -Mia MacIver awakened in terror, clung to Cosmo, pressed her damp -quivering body against him. The bird wheeled again and again, always -gaining altitude. - -"We're in the Mountains of the Clouds." Cosmo's green eyes glittered. -"We'll be at the roost any moment." - -It was colder. Mia shivered. Then the Ormoo began to settle. Wings -thrashing, it came to rest with a jar. - -Nothing was visible but cloud, thick, clinging. The mountains, -thrusting up into Venus' cloud sheath, were perpetually mantled with -the gray vapor. The deep throated roar of a waterfall beat at their -ears like thunder. - -Cosmo slid off the Ormoo's back, shouted at Mia to jump. His voice was -drowned in the waterfall. A dash of spray struck his face. - -He felt for her ankle, yanked. She came tumbling into his arms with a -scream. Cosmo laughed, bore her lightly across the jumble of sticks -which was the Ormoo's nest, down a long slippery flight of steps -descending into the chasm. Spray drenched them both. The roar was -unbearable. - -He paused, fumbled at a section of the cliff. A door swung inward, -revealing a long low chamber hewn from the living rock. - -Cosmo carried the wet and shivering girl across the threshold. - -Fog swirled about them like steam from a turkish bath. He set her on -her feet, shut the door. The roar of the waterfall was blotted out. -Only the hissing of gas jets which lighted the chamber disturbed the -silence. - -"My private entrance." He surveyed his prize. The wet yellow tunic -revealed every subtle curve. "You're a handsome wench, Mia." - -Mia MacIver frowned. "Entrance to what?" - -"The Renegade's abode. The mountain's honeycombed with caves. Come on." - -But Mia hung back dubiously. "What are you going to do with me?" - -He eyed the suspicious girl, said solemnly: "Oh, the usual thing." - -"The usual thing?" She swallowed. "That's what I was afraid of!" - - * * * * * - -"You're easily resigned," he observed dryly, and urged her toward the -door at the rear of the chamber. "You need to get out of that wet -tunic." He grinned, regarded the rent in the back of the garment. "It -isn't doing its duty any longer anyway." - -"I think you're horrible!" She grabbed the tear together, sidled -crabwise through the door, her cheeks hot. - -Cosmo followed chuckling. A long narrow corridor burrowed ahead of them -straight into the heart of the mountain. Flaring gas jets hissed at -regular intervals along the walls. - -All at once the grin was wiped from his face. He seized Mia's arm, -said: "Hold it!" - -Mia bit her lip, gasped. - -Three men had edged into the corridor from a bisecting passage. They -were huge, almost seven feet tall with skin a vivid blue. They were -quite naked and the muscles bulged beneath their blue hides. - -"Jovian Dawn Men!" Mia whispered. "My God! They're running amok!" - -Cosmo felt the cold breath of death blow up his spine. His hand slid -automatically to his shoulder holster. It was empty. With a curse, he -remembered that it had been taken by the Blue Venus. Her dart gun, he'd -tossed aside, once free of the Bemmelman plantation. - -The three naked giants minced daintily closer, nostrils flaring as they -caught their scent. "They're not amok," he said over his shoulder. "The -rutting season is months off yet. There's something else behind this." - -Mia said with incredulity: "Look at their left shoulders. See that -scar. The fern leaf! That's Hal Bemmelman's brand! Cosmo, those are -Bemmelman's slaves!" - -The blue giants crouched. Their violet eyes were passionless, their -handsome faces calm, inscrutable. - -"Back!" Cosmo suddenly shouted in a tone of authority, and took a step -toward them. A low snarl rumbled in their throats. Then like cats on a -mouse, they pounced. - -Mia screamed. - -Cosmo kicked one of them in the belly, heard him grunt. With balled -fist he swung at the placid handsome features of the second blue giant. -Pain, like a hot iron, shot up his arm from his bruised knuckles. The -Jovian shook his head, grabbed Cosmo's wrist, jerked. His arm felt as -if it were being torn from the socket. - -He kicked, slugged the emotionless face with his free hand. The grip -never relaxed. He heard Mia scream again like a rabbit in a steel trap. - -Then the Jovian clouted him brutally alongside the temple with his open -fist. Cosmo's head snapped sideways like a punching bag. His knees -collapsed. He seemed to be falling into the chasm of the waterfall, -down, down into stygian blackness. - - - IV - -Cosmo gradually became aware of a jolting swaying movement. At each -jolt, a flash of pain shot across his eyes. He sat up, cracked his -skull against something solid. A blinding pain jolted him into full -consciousness. - -He was in a cage, he saw, swung on poles like a litter between two of -the blue giants. They were jogging along through a forest. - -At once he became aware of warmth along his side, twisted his head. Mia -was regarding him from wide frightened eyes. They'd been tumbled side -by side into the cage. The girl was almost naked, her yellow tunic in -tatters. - -"You hurt?" he asked. - -She shook her head. - -He closed his eyes against the ache in his skull. If the pain would -only let up. His mind felt fuzzy, his thoughts incoherent. - -"Whew. That brute sure gave me a wallop. What happened?" - -He could feel Mia shiver against him. "It was dreadful," she said. -"They grabbed me--_ugh!_--and stuffed me in this cage. They had it -hidden outside on the trail from the Ormoo's nest. Then they dumped you -in on top of me like a bag of flour. I--I thought you were dead." - -"So did I," said Cosmo dryly. - -She regarded him dubiously, said: "They picked up the cage then and -began to run down the trail. They carried us over the most impossible -places, always down. I died with fright. Just a little while ago we -came out into the forest." - -"I know the trail," he said. "Nothing but Jovian primitives could have -managed it. I wonder why Bemmelman didn't have me killed outright." - -"Bemmelman?" Mia looked puzzled. - -"Sure. They're his slaves. You saw the fern leaf brand on their -shoulders. We walked straight into a trap." - -"But that's impossible. How could they have found your hideout?" - -Cosmo shook his head and immediately regretted it. "One of my men must -be a spy. Bemmelman's shrewder than I've given him credit for being." - -"A spy?" Mia's eyes grew round as saucers. "But why?" - -"I don't know. Unless he's after that fifty thousand monad reward on -my head!" He frowned. "Bemmelman said something odd last night when he -caught me in his house. He said he'd been trying to get in touch with -me." - -The blue giants swung effortlessly through the incredible forest. The -trees were like cathedral columns disappearing in the swirling cloud -blanket. - -"You said we'd walked into a trap," insisted Mia. "How could Bemmelman -know when you'd get back. I don't understand." - -Cosmo snorted. "Anybody could guess I'd head for my hideout after the -alarm at your place. Most likely, Bemmelman tipped that Judas of his by -radio when to expect me. The Dawn Men are animals. They hunt by scent. -That fellow must have given them a piece of my clothing, planted them -in the corridor. It was as simple as that." - -"But what does Bemmelman want with me?" she wailed. - -"Don't forget the Blue Venus. I told you he'd been trying to duplicate -that experiment." - -"I don't believe it," said Mia in a shocked voice. "He wouldn't dare! -Would he?" - -"What's to hinder him? At Venusport they'll think the Renegade abducted -you. Who'd suspect that the eminent Councillor Bemmelman had hijacked -me?" - -"I don't believe it," she repeated indignantly. "You're just trying to -throw mud on him because you think he murdered your parents and stole -your plantation. It's--it's an obsession. You have no proof." - -Cosmo regarded her with cloudy green eyes. "I had the Intersteller -Investigation Bureau dig out his past. I've a man in Bemmelman's -household right now. I know." He looked through the bars of the cage. -They were approaching the edge of the forest. He turned back, said: -"Something besides slave breeding is going on at Bemmelman's. There are -parts of the plantation where my man never has been able to penetrate." - -"What do you think it is?" Mia's voice was a whisper. - -"I don't know. But hasn't it occurred to you that slave breeding must -entail a slow turnover. A child isn't marketable until it's sixteen or -seventeen at least." - -"What are you driving at?" - -"Suppose Bemmelman has discovered some way to speed up growth--to -hasten maturity." - -"An aging process? It's--it's impossible." - -He shook his head. "Plants are forced; why not animals?" - -The blue giants, he saw, had broken through the last of the trees into -a lush meadow of mauve fen grass. - -"Look, Mia!" he pointed toward the center of the meadow. "The second -lap of our journey is provided for. Our kidnapper shows considerable -foresight." - -In the center of the meadow, a small surface plane rested on the fen -grass like a silver bullet. There was no sign of life inside or out. - - * * * * * - -"It's deserted," said Mia in surprise. Cosmo frowned, but didn't reply. - -The Jovian Dawn Men trotted straight to the empty plane. They opened -a door in the side, shoved them within, cage and all. Cosmo heard the -door click shut. The Dawn Men had not followed them inside. - -He glanced curiously about the interior. All the seats had been -removed, even the pilot's chair. - -"Where's the pilot?" asked Mia in a subdued voice. - -He shook his head. Through the port, he could see the blue giants -disappearing among the trees. - -Just then the plane gave a jerk. - -"It's moving!" With a shriek, Mia flung herself onto Cosmo. - -He felt the plane lurch again, then shoot upward. At a hundred feet it -leveled itself off, darted away on what he judged to be a southerly -course. There was still no evidence of a pilot. - -Mia MacIver held onto Cosmo like a drowning man to a straw as the -pilotless plane hurtled southward. - -He drew a long breath. "Robot pilot." He patted her shoulder. "There's -nothing supernatural about it." - -Mia pulled herself away. "I didn't mean to throw myself on you like -that. I ... I...." She halted lamely. - -"Don't apologize." Cosmo flashed her his quick wolfish grin. "I enjoyed -it. You've been hurling yourself at me at fairly regular intervals all -day." - -"I think you're horrid." Mia's cheeks colored, but her gray eyes -twinkled. - -"Mia," he said serious all at once, "if Bemmelman--er--disposes of me, -you'll have to contact my man yourself. I told you I had a spy planted -in his household. His name is Penang-ihtok." - -She looked suddenly startled. - -"He's a Venusian, an outcast Fozoql. You can recognize him by the blue -star tattooed on his forehead. Tell him that my orders are to have the -men raid Bemmelman's plantation and carry you to Venusport." - -"Penang-ihtok," she repeated. - -"Of course," he added dryly; "I'm hopeful Bemmelman won't kill me right -off, and I can contact Penang-ihtok myself. In which case, you won't -need to bother your pretty head about it." - -He yawned, stretched out as comfortably as he could arrange himself in -their confined quarters, closed his eyes. - -"You're not going to sleep," exploded Mia in alarm. - -"Certainly. Nothing else to do." He patted his shoulder. "Make yourself -comfortable." - -She eyed him with suspicion. - -"Go ahead. I haven't any designs on you," he said dryly. - -"Well you don't need to be so assertive about it," said Mia, and laid -her head gingerly on his shoulder. - -"Sure," said Cosmo. He was staring at the roof of the cage. - -Presently, she said in a sleepy voice, "I haven't leprosy either, in -case you're worried." - -"Of course not." - -Mia muttered something unladylike under her breath. - -"What's that?" - -"I think," said Mia distinctly; "that you're a worm!" - -Cosmo chuckled. The plane continued to steer itself arrow-like into the -South of Mu. - -A faint jerk brought Cosmo wide awake as some jungle animal. The plane, -he realized had stopped, settled to Venus. - -It was night. The green phosphorescent light of the luminous vegetation -flooded through the port holes. From somewhere, the sound of a muffled -bell, ringing, ringing, reached his ears. - -Through the port, he could see a corner of a tower, part of a slate -roof. The grotesque arms of a telo-antenna sprouted from the peak of -the tower. He heard a door squeal open. The bell sounded louder, then -it stopped to be replaced by the mutter of voices approaching. - -"Wake up." He shook Mia MacIver gently. - -She opened her eyes, stared at him in bewilderment. "Where are we?" - -"Shhh!" - -The door opened. Cosmo caught sight of Bemmelman's gross features in -the opening. He looked ghastly in the phosphorescent glow. Beyond him -reared an immense gray pile of a building. - -The planter's jaw dropped in disbelief as he recognized his captives. -Then a tide of red swept up from his bull-like neck. - -"You!" he shouted. "What the hell are you doing in there?" - -"Didn't you know?" said Cosmo dryly. "I'm trying to cure myself of -claustrophobia." - -But already, a shrewd gleam of triumph had replaced the disappointment -in Bemmelman's pig-like brown eyes. - -"You're the Renegade." He rubbed his hands together, began to grin. -"Yes sir, you're the Renegade. I should have guessed it before. And -you, Mia." He threw back his head, roared until the court reverberated -with his heavy laughter. - -"Let us in on the joke," said Cosmo. - -Bemmelman stopped laughing, wiped his eyes. "Two birds with one stone. -I didn't expect to catch both of you in the same trap. No sir, that I -didn't." He stepped back, clapped his hands. - - * * * * * - -Two naked Blue Dawn Men appeared, hauled forth the cage, shouldered it. -With Bemmelman following, they bore it across the court, into a doorway -at the base of the lichen covered tower. - -"I feel perfectly ridiculous," whispered Mia, bouncing around in the -cage. "Thank goodness none of my friends can see me." - -Cosmo chuckled, shot a glance after Bemmelman who was crossing the -floor to an intercommunicating telecast. The room appeared to be a -guard room. Weapons were racked against the walls, and a dozen naked -blue giants lay sleeping on the floor. These raised their handsome, -classical heads, surveyed the captives from incurious violet eyes. -Cosmo put his lips against Mia's ear and said: - -"Remember Penang-ihtok." - -He heard Bemmelman say: "Switch on the current in the tower. Send Llana -to me at once." - -A voice from the audio replied: "Right." - -From the corner of his eye, Cosmo saw a sheet of flame sear across the -door leading to the court beyond. Then it vanished. - -"Force screen," he guessed. - -Bemmelman approached, grinning amiably. He was wearing a snuff brown -suit which set on him like a sack. - -"Don't try to escape," cautioned the planter as he inserted a slender -key in the spring lock, threw back the top of the cage. "You'd be -electrocuted if you went through any of the outside doors or windows." - -Cosmo and Mia stood up shakily. - -"We won't bolt, if that's what you mean," Cosmo replied dryly. He -glanced at the handsome, impassive blue giants, discarded any idea of -attacking Bemmelman directly. - -"I'm happy to see you're amenable to reason, Cosmo. I sure am." He -rubbed his nose. "Yes sir. I like a reasonable man. I'm going to be -able to use you, Cosmo." - -"That's what you said last night," Cosmo reminded him, his face blank. -The palms of his hands were sweating. He wanted to run as fast and far -from the sly, red-faced man as he could. Bemmelman, he was beginning -to sense, was as slippery and dangerous as the infamous Venusian swamp -rath. - -A door at the rear of the chamber opened suddenly. Cosmo jumped. A -glance assured him it was only a slave girl. She wasn't a Venusian, -though. He frowned. She was from Earth. - -The Terran girl regarded the prisoners curiously, then faced Bemmelman. -"Rabaul said you wanted me." She was dressed in a green sarong which -reached from her knees to her breasts. On her left shoulder was a -small scar in the shape of a fern leaf: Bemmelman's brand. - -"Yes sir," said the planter; "so I do. So I do, Llana. Be so good as to -escort Miss MacIver to the tower apartment. Don't leave her." - -Mia shuddered, clung tighter to Cosmo. - -"Keep your head, Mia." He gently disengaged her hand. "If you don't go, -they'll drag you off willy-nilly." - -Dispiritedly she followed the slave girl from the guardroom. She was so -woebegone that Cosmo felt a wrench at his heart. He faced the planter, -said in a hard voice, "What did you want with me?" - -Bemmelman's eyelids drooped. He turned on his heel, said shortly, "Come -along, Cosmo," and started for the door. "I want to have a talk with -you. Yes sir, a very interesting talk." - - - V - -Flanked by the two blue giants Cosmo followed his host down a long -corridor, up a flight of steps and into a sumptuously furnished -apartment. A yellow grass mat carpeted the floor from wall to wall. -The furniture was covered with a coarse, woven fabric, barbaric in its -color. - -With a sigh, Bemmelman lowered himself into a lounge chair, indicated -another for Cosmo. - -"You're tired. You've had an uncomfortable journey. I won't keep you up -long." He rang a bell. - -With amazing promptness, a wizened Mercurian scurried through a sliding -wall panel. - -"Krudo juice," said Bemmelman; "cold. And sandwiches. Better bring a -bottle of food concentrates, too." - -The Mercurian disappeared. - -Cosmo was staring at the bank of open windows. They gave onto a -Venusian garden of grotesque beauty, each plant and shrub sparkling -with a cold phosphorescence. Several insects, the huge, bird-like -insects of Venus, winged in from the garden. As they reached the -window, there was a sudden sparkle of flame. The insects dropped dead -to the floor. - -"An excellent warning," Bemmelman said in a silky voice. "The force -screens, you know. Yes sir, not only do they discourage guests from -straying; but they keep intruders outside." - -Cosmo repressed a shiver. "Ingenious gadget." - -"Gadget?" The red-faced planter threw back his head, laughed -uproariously. "You're a droll rogue, you are. I like a man with a sense -of humor." He rubbed his nose, then pointed to a picture above the -sofa. "Recognize her, don't you?" - -Cosmo saw a three dimensional photograph of a nude. Her skin was pale -blue, flushed with healthy rose, her hair like molten gold. - -"Sofi," Cosmo said with distaste. "The Blue Venus. I should think, -Bemmelman, you'd have to wait rather long for your profits." - -"So I do. So I do. But it's possible to harvest a yearly crop from a -forest. Trees grow even slower than people. I'll show you the slave -pens tomorrow. I've only the one Blue Venus, though. Unfortunately the -rest have been males." - -Cosmo wondered why the planter had called attention to the Blue Venus. -He suspected that Bemmelman was subtly trying to find out if he had -learned anything from Sofi. - -"What do you do with the males?" he asked, prompted by something in -Bemmelman's voice. - -"They're interesting, but they've no market value. I have them -destroyed." - -Cosmo bit his lip. Bemmelman was a monster. He wondered what the sealed -chambers held, the chambers where his spy Penang-ihtok had never been -able to penetrate. - -"I suppose," said the planter unexpectedly; "you're curious about what -I wanted with you?" - -Cosmo nodded. - -"Well sir, I could have had you killed back in the caves of the Cloud -Mountains. I've had a spy among your men for some time." He paused as -the Mercurian returned, deposited a tray between them. It held a silver -pitcher of krudo juice, thin sandwiches, a bottle of food concentrates. - -"Go ahead," said Cosmo when the Mercurian had departed. He popped two -of the pills into his mouth. - -"Where was I? Oh yes. I could have had you assassinated several times, -but you've some information I want?" - -Cosmo's green eyes narrowed warily. "What information?" - -The planter leaned forward, tapped him on the knee. "That bird. The -Giant Ormoo. Oh yes, I know how you escaped from the roof last night. -Yes sir, and very neat, too." He beamed amiably. "I want to know where -the Ormoos feed." - -Cosmo sat back in surprise. - -"Why?" - -"That's my secret," said the beefy planter. "Yes sir, that's my secret. -But I'm a business man, Cosmo. Show me where the Ormoo feeds, and I'll -make it worth your while." - -"Five thousand monad," Cosmo hazarded. - -Bemmelman didn't blink an eye. "Five thousand monad," he agreed. - - * * * * * - -Cosmo sat back, his face blank. The planter, he realized, had no more -idea of paying him five thousand monad than he had of adopting him. -He'd agreed to the preposterous sum too readily. Cosmo's green eyes -hardened. - -"And suppose I refuse." - -"But you won't. You can't. No sir. If you refused, I'll be forced to -kill you and trace the bird myself." - -"The devil you will." Cosmo could feel sweat starting from his -forehead. "That bird's savage as a tiger. You've already tried to trace -it to its feeding ground, haven't you? That's why you planted a spy -among my men, wasn't it?" - -"Yes sir," Bemmelman admitted with a sigh. "I don't mind telling you he -was supposed to find out what and where the bird ate. But it damn near -tore him to pieces." - -Cosmo didn't say anything. - -Bemmelman leaned forward, tapped his knee again. "Unfortunately, the -birds are rare as the dodo. I've spent quite a bit of money trying to -locate another. The only one that's been caught is in the Solar Apiary -on Earth." - -Mention of the Ormoo in the Solar Apiary stirred Cosmo's memory. He -stared at Bemmelman with narrowed eyes. The Ormoo in its wild state -matured to its full size in a few months. The one which the Terran -expedition had secured, hadn't reached adulthood until its nineteenth -year. The discrepancy had been puzzling ornithologists ever since. -Theories had flooded the scientific journals, but to date, no one had -explained satisfactorily why a wild Ormoo should mature over twenty -times as fast as the same bird in captivity. - -"Well?" Bemmelman rubbed his nose, his eyelids drooping. - -"If I show you where the Ormoo feeds, what guarantee have I that you'll -carry out your side of the bargain?" - -"Just my word," said Bemmelman with a chuckle. "Just my word." - -Two rouge-like spots sprang out on Cosmo's cheek bones. He came halfway -erect in his chair. - -"No violence, please." The planter held up his hand. "Look behind you." - -Cosmo turned his head. The two Jovian primitives were crouched to -spring. He sank back in his chair, managed a tight grin. His lips felt -dry, his stomach hollow. - -"I don't think you appreciate your position, Cosmo," said the planter -silkily. "No sir, I don't." He heaved himself from his chair with a -grunt. "I've something to show you. Come with me." - -The two Jovian Dawn Men fell in beside Cosmo again as he trailed the -planter down three steps, along a short corridor to a sunken court. -Bemmelman paused, pointed to a huge wooden cross in the center of the -court. - -"You weren't depending on him, were you," he smirked. - -Cosmo felt his blood run cold. His fists clenched until the nails bit -into the flesh. - -The body of Penang-ihtok hung from the cross. The outcast Fozoql had -been crucified upside down. - -"You see," said Bemmelman, his voice heavy with assurance; "how futile -it is to oppose me." - -Cosmo turned away from the cross with its grisly burden. He looked -coldly, speculatively at Bemmelman's beefy smiling face. At the look, -fright glimmered in the planter's eyes. He made a quick gesture to the -Jovians who seized Cosmo by either arm. - -"Take him away," he ordered. "We'll talk it over tomorrow." - -Cosmo was conducted into a plainly, but comfortably furnished room. -One of the blue giants immediately stretched himself on the sofa and -went to sleep. The other, though, took a stance by the door, folded his -arms, regarded Cosmo with the unwinking stare of an idol. Obviously, -the Jovian primitives intended to spell each other. - -With a grunt of annoyance, Cosmo retreated into the bathroom. He had -grossly underestimated Bemmelman, he realized with chagrin. A malignant -genius, the slave breeder had no more scruples than his Dawn Men. - -Cosmo heard a soft step behind him, whirled around. His Jovian guard -was standing placidly just within the door. - -"Damn," he snapped, nerves jangling. "I'm not going to crawl out the -drain." - -The blue giant never changed expression by so much as a flicker. - -Cosmo got a grip on himself, shot the giant his flashing grin. "What's -the matter? Cat got your tongue?" - -He stripped off coat and trousers, hung them carefully over the -Jovian's shoulder, stepped under the shower. - -Considerably refreshed, he returned to his sleeping chamber, crawled -raw into the huge bed. But sleep escaped him. That stark cross, the -body illuminated by the radiations of the lichens and mosses, persisted -in thrusting itself before his eyes. He clenched his fists, trembled in -an agony of impotent fury. Somehow, he'd trip up Bemmelman, smash his -disgusting racket. - - * * * * * - -Cosmo awakened in the huge bed, sweating with terror. The echo of some -nameless horror still rang in his ears. He saw the Dawn Man, motionless -as a statue, watching him with animal patience. Then he heard it again. - -It was a girl's scream. It reached him faintly. It went on and on. He -leaped out of bed, tugged on his trousers. - -The Dawn Man sprang across the room to intercept him. Cosmo seized a -metal chair, swung it with the same movement. It caught the blue giant -on his head and shoulders. The blow would have felled an ox. The Jovian -folded onto the carpet, lay still. Cosmo thought he must be dead. - -The second Jovian primitive jumped from the sofa at the crash. He had -awakened like an animal. With a low snarl, he leaped for Cosmo. - -Cosmo ducked under his first rush, crashed the chair down on the back -of his head. The giant staggered groggily, but didn't go down. - -Cosmo measured the distance, walloped him again. The second blue giant -went over like a falling tree. - -Without stopping for coat or shoes, Cosmo hurtled into the hall. The -screaming had been silenced. The building was quiet as a deserted -church. - -He set out at a lope in the direction of the tower where Mia was -confined. That had been Mia screaming, he was sure. He'd recognized the -timbre of her voice. - -His heart thudding, he reached a stair, took the steps two at a time. -It bent sharply to the left, went up another flight. He must be in the -tower itself. The silence was oppressive. He wished fervently he had a -dart gun, a ray projector, anything that would serve as a weapon. The -steps continued to wind upward. - -Gasping for breath, he reached the fifth level. From beneath a door -seeped a crack of light. He sniffed. A peculiar odor impinged on his -nostrils. Then he heard Bemmelman's rough voice like the rasp of iron. - -"That's done. Take her to the slave pens." - -Cosmo's heart contracted. A blinding rage swept him. He'd been too late. - -He rammed the door with his shoulder. It burst open as if exploded. For -a second he was poised in the doorway, big, rangy, naked to the waist, -his hands hooked like claws, his nostrils distended. - -Without a word, he leaped on Bemmelman. - -The planter was standing beside an operating table upon which Mia -MacIver was strapped. He fell back a step, raised his arm in a gesture -of defense. - -Cosmo's rush bowled him over backward. He tried to scramble to his -feet, but Cosmo was on him like a cat on a mouse. Time after time, he -drove his fist into the planter's face. A blinding rage shook him to -the marrow. - -As if from a distance, he heard Mia scream again. - -"Cosmo! Look out behind you!" - -He swung off the insensible Bemmelman, twisted to his feet. He saw -Llana, the Terran slave girl, directly behind him. Her arm was -upraised, her fist clutching a needle like dagger. With a sob, she -plunged it downward toward his heaving chest. - -Cosmo caught her wrist in a grip of iron, tore the dagger from her -fingers. Contemptuously, he tossed the girl into a corner of the room, -turned to Mia. - -"Mia, are you all right?" - -She gave a sob of relief. "Yes, yes! But get me out of this iron lung -before I pass out." - -He fumbled hastily at the clamps. Her hair was tumbled. One shoulder of -her tattered yellow tunic had been torn down to her stomach. He paused -suddenly, his eyes dilating. - -There was an angry red scar above Mia's left breast. He realized what -the smell on the landing outside the tower room had been. It was the -odor of burning flesh. - -Mia MacIver had been branded! - - - VI - -Cosmo said, "Mia, Mia," and gathered her to him. "What have they done -to you?" - -Llana scurried past like a frightened rabbit. - -"She's getting away!" Mia cried. "She'll rouse the house!" - -"Never mind." Cosmo could hear her clatter down the stair. "We've got a -hostage." He gave Mia a wry grin, added, "that is, if I haven't killed -Bemmelman." - -Mia shivered, leaned against him. He glanced down, saw she was -regarding him strangely. With a dry sob she buried her head on his -shoulder. - -"Cosmo, Cosmo, don't ever leave me again." Her voice was almost lost. -"Take me with you--into the mountains." - -He frowned, said: "You crazy kid. You don't know what you're saying. -I'm an outlaw. There's no way to prove Bemmelman murdered my father and -mother. And even if there was, that wouldn't clear me. Every crime the -Security Patrol hasn't been able to solve has been laid at my doorstep." - -"We could run away. We could go to Ganymede." - -He shook his head. "It wouldn't make any difference. As long as the -Renegade is alive they'll hunt. They'd trail me, extradite me." - -"I don't care. I don't care. At least--" - -The brazen clamor of the alarm bells shrilled suddenly in their ears. - -Cosmo tore himself away, knelt beside the unconscious planter. He drew -a dart gun from Bemmelman's pocket, said: "He's alive." - -"What are we going to do, Cosmo?" - -With a grunt, he hoisted the slack body over his shoulder. The alarm -bells were pealing louder. - -"I saw a telo-antenna on the roof of the tower when we were in the -court. I've a hunch the telo-projector is somewhere above us." - -Mia MacIver, clutching the tunic about her shoulder, asked: "But can't -we run for it?" - -"Not while the force screen is operating." - -Bent under his heavy burden, Cosmo strode from the room, up the steps -to the next level. Saying, "What's this?" he pressed the button of a -sliding panel. The door slid back in its oiled grooves. "Whew!" he -said. "My lady's chamber." - -Mia MacIver peered around him wide-eyed. - -It was a large room, octagon shaped and carpeted wall to wall with -the shaggy gray fur of the Polar Aard. But the most startling feature -was the mirrors. The walls were paneled solid in mirrors. It gave the -impression that the room stretched on forever. - -"Well!" said Mia; "if this is the telecast operator's room, he's a -voluptuous creature!" - -Cosmo snorted, stepped across the threshold. At once replicas of -themselves flashed in all the mirrored chambers. - -"I feel wicked just being in a room like this," said Mia. - -Cosmo heard a click behind him, whirled around. The door through which -they'd just passed was shut. In every direction, they were faced by an -endless vista of mirrored chambers. - -Mia gasped. "I'm scared," she said. - -"Who isn't?" said Cosmo shortly and dropped Bemmelman to the floor with -a thud. "What are you staring at?" He whipped around again. - -A second door in the mirrors stood ajar. Framed in the entrance was a -magnificently beautiful girl in skimpy shorts and bra. She was the -twin of the photograph below stairs. - -"Well, if it isn't my old friend, Sofi," said Cosmo without enthusiasm. - -There was no recognition in the Blue Venus' violet eyes. Her flawless -pale-blue features revealed neither shock nor surprise. - -"That's Bemmelman." She indicated the planter. "Is he dead?" - -"No. Only unconscious." - -"Oh. That's too bad," she said in a calm manner, and swept up to the -prostrate slave breeder, planted a kick in the seat of his pants. -"There! I've never had the nerve to do that when he was conscious." - -Mia gasped. - -Cosmo said sharply: "Where's the telecast room?" - -"The next floor. But you can't escape. Nobody ever escapes from this -house." - - * * * * * - -Bemmelman stirred, opened his eyes, sat up groggily. His face was -puffy, swollen. Blood had dried on his chin. He didn't say anything. - -The clatter of many feet resounded on the stair outside the boudoir. -Mia clutched Cosmo's arm, said: "They're coming!" - -Cosmo took the dart gun from his pocket, narrowed his green eyes. "You -go first, Bemmelman, if they rush us. Understand?" - -The slave breeder glared at Cosmo, moistened his battered lips. "What -do you want me to do?" He spoke with difficulty. - -"Clear the tower. Order everyone into the rest of the house." - -Bemmelman nodded sullenly. - -Cosmo saw one of the mirrors shiver violently. Then the panel slid -back. The stair was jammed with naked blue Jovians and Venusian serfs. -The slave girl, Llana, was in the forefront. She pointed at Cosmo, -screamed: "There they are!" - -The Jovians started to surge through the narrow door. - -Cosmo drew a bead on Bemmelman's thick neck, smiled grimly. - -Blood drained out of the planter's face. "Get out!" he cried in panic. - -The rescuers halted, stared stupidly. The ones in the rear continued to -push forward causing momentary confusion. - -"Get out!" Bemmelman raged. "Get out, you fools! D'you want to get me -killed? Clear the tower!" - -They began to withdraw sullenly. - -Cosmo stepped after them, slid shut the panel. He could hear their -footsteps retreating down the stair. He let his breath escape through -his teeth. - -"Keep your eye on the Blue Venus, Mia. She's a shifty wench." - -Mia seized a candlestick from a dainty Martian table, said, "This isn't -going to hurt me half as bad as it will you," to Sofi. - -Cosmo dug the dart gun into Bemmelman's kidneys. "Let's go up to the -telecast room." He pushed the planter ahead of him through the door. - -The stair well was deserted, silent. - -"I smell roses," said Mia. - -Cosmo thought he detected a glint of triumph in the slave breeder's -eyes. "Up the steps," he said grimly. "At the first sign of treachery, -Bemmelman, I'm pulling the trigger." - -They reached the telecast room without opposition. It was a small -square chamber banked with control panels. An opaque screen was built -into the left wall. There was only one chair. - -Cosmo closed the door, motioned Mia and the Blue Venus to one side. -"Now, Bemmelman, call your head overseer; have him shut down the force -screens." - -The red-faced planter laughed shortly, said: "No sir." He had regained -his composure. "No sir, you won't kill me. You'd be throwing away your -only chance to stay alive. The force screen stays up." - -"That's what I thought you'd say." Cosmo slipped the dart gun in his -pocket. His eyes became hard green stones. "What about the Ormoo's -feeding ground? Why do you want to know where they eat?" - -"That's my secret." A sullen note crept into Bemmelman's manner. - -"You don't want me to mess you up, do you, Bemmelman?" Cosmo asked -softly. - -The planter flinched, but didn't answer. - -Cosmo knocked him sprawling against the wall. He heard Mia gasp. He -said evenly: "What about the Ormoo?" - -Bemmelman tasted the blood in his mouth, said: "You'll never leave here -alive, Cosmo. You won't be able to carry tales.... Now wait a moment! -There's a plant the birds eat that contains a drug...." He paused. - -Cosmo's eyes narrowed. He had the impression that the planter was -listening, waiting for something to happen. He said, "Go ahead." - -"The drug accelerates maturity. It acts directly through the glands." - -"How did you hit on the discovery?" A feeling of revulsion made Cosmo's -hands tremble, but his features were inscrutable. - -Bemmelman chuckled amiably. "This information won't do you a bit of -good," he said. "No sir, not a bit." - -"Go ahead." - -Bemmelman shrugged. "Well sir, I've been curious about how much -longer it takes for an Ormoo in captivity to mature than the wild -bird. The wild Ormoo, you know, reaches its full growth in less than -a year. That's an amazing phenomenon when you consider its size. Yes -sir...." He paused again, mouth open, then hastily went on: "Yes sir. I -wondered if it wasn't the wild birds' diet. I sent a man into the Cloud -Mountains to locate an Ormoo. He found your bird's nest." - -Cosmo's green eyes were opaque. Revulsion for the slave breeder welled -in his throat. - - * * * * * - -Bemmelman's manner was derisive. He rubbed his nose, said: "One day my -man found a shrub in the nest. He sent it to me on the chance that it -might be what I was looking for. It was. The leaves contain a drug, -which, when injected into the bloodstream, accelerates maturity at an -unbelievable rate." His lids drew down. "I injected it into one of the -slave children in minute doses every twenty days. The child reached -adolescence in eighteen months. In two years' time, she was full grown." - -"You can breed slaves like guinea pigs now, eh Bemmelman?" Cosmo's -voice was low. "And in two years' time have them ready for the market." - -Bemmelman said, "Certainly," and paused. - -"What are you listening for?" Cosmo asked suddenly. - -"Nothing. Nothing at all." His little eyes darted about the room. -"Unfortunately," he went on hurriedly, "I used up all the drug on -the experiment, and I haven't been able to locate any more of the -plants. No sir, we've scoured the Cloud Mountains. They're difficult to -explore. Infra red rays help some, but not much." - -"Who's the spy you planted among my men?" Cosmo interrupted in a cold -voice. - -Bemmelman shut his mouth with a snap. - -"Who is he? Tell me, Bemmelman, or by heavens, I'll work you over until -your own mother couldn't recognize you." - -Still the planter didn't reply. - -Cosmo hit him in the mouth. The planter's head struck the wall. He slid -down to the floor, said groggily: "It doesn't matter. No sir. I won't -need him any more. He's a Martian. His name's Natal." - -Cosmo wasn't surprised. They'd found the Martian wandering apparently -lost in the mountains. A sly fellow, always curious, always prying. - -Cosmo turned to the telecast. He felt Mia's horrified eyes on him; -the child-like stare of the Blue Venus. He switched on the telecast, -signaled his headquarters in the Cloud Mountains. At the third attempt, -he got through. - -To his surprise, the inscrutable mien of the Mercurian runaway -flashed on the visoscreen. His amber eyes twinkled, a smile split his -Buddha-like face, and he bowed three times until Cosmo could only see -the top of his head. - -"I see you got through all right," said Cosmo dryly. A faint hiss -seemed to be coming through the audio. He tried to tune it out, but the -hiss persisted. - -"Yes," said the Mercurian. "Delightful fellows. But blood-thirsty. You -should hear the tales they've been telling." He shuddered. - -"I've heard them," Cosmo interrupted. "Often. Where's Big Unse?" - -"Playing truk with the men. I'm on duty at the telecast." - -Cosmo frowned. The hissing noise was louder. He said: "I haven't time -for you to call him. I'm at the Bemmelman plantation. I'm holding -Bemmelman himself as a hostage. Tell Big Unse to bring the Ormoo. You -follow in the surface plane with the men. Don't land. Hang in the -clouds above the plantation until I whistle for the Ormoo. Oh yes. Be -sure that Natal, the Martian, comes along. Got it?" - -"Yes." - -Cosmo flipped off the telecast, frowned. The hissing had not stopped. -There was the faintest smell of roses in the air. He felt suddenly -dizzy. Mia gave a small cry and crumpled to the floor. - -"Paralysis gas!" he thought and wheeled toward Bemmelman, almost lost -his balance as he did so. - -The planter's head had dropped on his chest. He raised it groggily, -leered with triumph at Cosmo. "Concealed tubes," he muttered. "Every -room." - -Cosmo swayed. He fumbled at his pocket. His hand emerged with the dart -gun. He strained to elevate the gun, send a poisoned needle into the -slave breeder. His muscles refused to obey him. The gun sagged. His -knees sagged. Then slowly, he toppled sideways. - - - VII - -Cosmo opened his eyes in the office with the glassite desk. He sat up. -Chains rattled. He realized with chagrin that he was manacled hand and -foot. - -Bemmelman was on the sofa. A serf, directed by the slave girl, Llana, -was working over him. Mia and the Blue Venus were stretched out on the -floor beside him, still unconscious. Both of them were manacled. Two -Blue giants watched incuriously. - -In a moment, Bemmelman stirred. He sat up, swung his feet to the floor. -His eyes lit on Cosmo. With a grunt he crossed the room, kicked the -manacled man in the ribs. - -Cosmo's face hardened, but he didn't say anything. - -The planter swung on his servitors, barked: "Get out!" They left the -room, all except Llana. He turned back to Cosmo, said: "I'm through -playing around with you. Yes sir. Where's the Ormoo's feeding ground?" - -Cosmo said nothing. - -Bemmelman's face went purple. He kicked Cosmo viciously in the ribs. -"Where's the feeding ground? Where is it? Where is it?" - -Mia regained consciousness, sat up. She stared wide-eyed at the berserk -planter. - -Bemmelman glanced at her, paused. He rubbed his nose, a fiendish light -shining in his pig-like eyes. He said in a sudden altered tone: "I'm -still willing to bargain, Cosmo." - -"What do you mean?" - -"Either you reveal the location of the feeding grounds, or I hand Miss -MacIver over to the Dawn Men. Yes sir, I'm anxious to repeat that -experiment." He pointed to the Blue Venus who was just coming out from -under the effects of the gas. - -Cosmo's features were inscrutable. He asked: "What happens to Miss -MacIver if I give you that information?" - -"I'll release her in Venusport with her fare back to Earth. I'm holding -personal notes on the MacIver plantation anyway." - -"Notes?" echoed Mia blankly. "Father never mentioned any notes. I--I -don't believe it!" - -A veil dropped before Bemmelman's eyes. "I haven't told you before. -I didn't like to so soon after your father's death. But I lent him -considerable money. Yes sir, considerable." - -Cosmo laughed without humor. "Up to your old tricks, eh Bemmelman?" - -"What d'you mean?" The red-faced planter looked faintly rattled. He -took a threatening step. - -"You kick me again," said Cosmo, "and I'll kill you if I have to bite -you to death." - -Mia giggled nervously. - -"Well?" said Bemmelman. "That's my proposition. Take it or leave it." - -"What about me?" asked Cosmo. - -"You're worth fifty thousand monad on the hoof, Cosmo. Yes sir. I'm -going to turn you and your men over to the Security Patrol." - -"Suppose I talk?" - -"Talk?" Bemmelman threw back his head and roared. "Talk d'you say? -Who'll believe anything the Renegade says?" - -"A nice point," Cosmo conceded dryly. "But what about Mia?" - -"Miss MacIver? What can she tell? Aren't you forgetting, Cosmo, that I -rescued her from you. Yes sir. What's more, I've captured you, and I'm -turning you over to the officials." His eyes twinkled. "Who's she going -to tell, anyway?" - -Cosmo's lean visage was unreadable. So that, he thought, was the line -Bemmelman planned to take. Only Mia MacIver would never be released. -He wondered if the planter really considered him such a fool. He said: -"You don't give me much choice," and twisted to his feet. He hobbled to -the desk, dropped awkwardly into the chair. "Give me pen and paper." - -Bemmelman produced writing material, spread them before him. - -"Here's the Cloud Mountains." Hindered by the manacles, Cosmo sketched -a chain of hills, indicated north with a crude compass. He placed a dot -halfway into the mountains, then laid off a line from the dot running -diagonally into the most rugged sector. He shoved the paper across to -Bemmelman. "The first dot's the Ormoo's nest. You know where it is?" - -Bemmelman nodded, wrote "Ormoo's nest" on the map. - -Cosmo closed his eyes, sighed faintly. "The mountains are impassable -except by plane, and then its all blind flying. Rise to an altitude of -four thousand meters. You'll clear any peaks that way. Starting at the -Ormoo's nest, fly due North, Northwest for a distance of ninety-three -kilometers." He paused. - - * * * * * - -Only the scrape of Bemmelman's pen could be heard as the planter wrote -the directions on the bottom of the map. - -"Drop straight into the valley," Cosmo went on as the pen scratching -ceased. "It's narrow, a canyon. The floor of the valley is at an -altitude of one thousand, seven hundred meters, so you'll be in clouds -all the time. It's tricky navigating." - -Bemmelman stopped writing, waved the paper dry. Then he folded it, put -it away in the wall safe, behind the sliding panel. "This had better be -right," he said ominously. - -Cosmo, opening his eyes, said: "It's right. I've been there a dozen -times. The first time the bird carried me there accidentally before he -was well trained." - -"Good." Bemmelman glanced at his watch. "Now Cosmo, we'll lay a trap -for those men of yours. Yes sir. They should be along any minute. How -many have you?" - -"Nine." Again Cosmo emitted a faint sigh. "What do you want me to do?" -He realized that Mia and Llana both were staring at him with distaste. -Only the Blue Venus seemed untouched. - -"You can't betray your men!" Mia burst out. - -Cosmo's face hardened. He said, "Can you suggest a better way?" - -"You're a sensible man, Cosmo, a sensible man." The planter rubbed -his hands together triumphantly. He snapped on the intercommunicating -telecast on the glassite desk, said into it: "Rabaul!" - -"Right," came the voice from the audio. - -"That was good work with the gas tubes, Rabaul." - -"You can thank Llana," came the voice of the overseer from the audio. -Cosmo recognized the sibilant accent of a Martian. "She gave the alarm." - -Bemmelman grunted. "Take twenty Jovians," he said, "and a dozen serfs. -Arm the serfs with Ray Rifles. Hide them about the roof. The Renegade's -men will try to land shortly and I'd like to prepare a welcome for 'em." - -"Right," came Rabaul's voice. - -The planter switched off the telecast. He looked at Cosmo, smiled, -said: "Whistle 'em down, Cosmo, that's all. My Jovians will take care -of the rest." - -"It's daylight," said the Blue Venus with an air of childish surprise. -She was looking out the windows. - -Cosmo was aware of the heat, all at once. It curled about him like a -steaming towel. He looked at Mia. There were circles under her eyes. -Her hair was tangled, her tunic in threads. "Poor kid," he said. - -Bemmelman glanced at his watch. "Your men should be up in the clouds -now, waiting? Eh, Cosmo?" - -Cosmo said: "They'll be up there." - -"We'll give them another hour," said Bemmelman, "to be on the safe -side." He rang for a servant, ordered breakfast served in the office. - -They picked at their food listlessly when it arrived. Bemmelman kept -glancing at his watch. At length, he stood up, turned to the slave -girl. "Call the Security Patrol, Llana." - -Cosmo frowned, but said nothing. - -"What should I tell them?" asked Llana snapping on the telecast. - -"Get hold of the Commissioner. Tell him we've caught the Renegade." He -chuckled amiably. "That should make him sit up. Yes sir. Tell him to -get right out here, though, because the Renegade's men are trying to -rescue him." - -A girl's features, horsefaced, blonde, formed on the screen. "Venusport -Security Patrol," she said. - -"The Commissioner," said Llana. "This is the Bemmelman plantation -calling." - -The screen blanked out as the horsefaced girl switched to the -Commissioner's office. In a moment, the fat face and shoulders of the -Commissioner blotted out half the screen. His eyes were puffy. His -jowls sagged. He looked as if he were suffering from a hangover. - -"Well?" he asked. - -"We've captured the Renegade." - -"What?" His eyes snapped open. - -"We've got the Renegade here at the plantation. But hurry! His men are -trying to rescue him. Please hurry!" - -"I'm on my way!" - -The Commissioner leaped out of vision forgetting to shut off the -telecast. They could hear his bull-like voice roaring orders. Llana -snapped off the machine, turned indifferently to the windows. - -Bemmelman chuckled, said, "Keep your eyes on Miss MacIver, Llana. Don't -let Sofi go galavanting around either." He took the chains off Cosmo's -ankles, but left his hands manacled. Next he went to his desk, took out -a dart gun. He said, "Come along," to Cosmo and led the way into the -corridor. - - * * * * * - -They didn't go through the trap this time, but up in the tower where a -door gave directly onto the flat roof. Cosmo saw that the chamber just -inside the door was jammed with naked blue giants and Venusian serfs. - -A tall, black eyed Martian, foppishly dressed in spite of the heat came -to meet them. He wrinkled his nose at the stale odor of sweat already -thick in the room, picked his way through the men. - -"I didn't deploy them on the roof," he said in the sibilant accent of -the Red Planet, "because there's no cover. They'd be spotted at once. -They can rush the Renegade's men through the door." He examined Cosmo -curiously. - -Bemmelman rubbed his hands together, said: "That's right, Rabaul. Yes -sir, I'm glad you thought of that." He glanced through the door at the -low swirling cloud mass, then turned back to Cosmo. "Get out on the -roof. Whistle 'em down. No tricks, now." - -Cosmo stepped through the door into the hot, dim daylight. He glanced -aloft, put two fingers in his mouth, whistled loudly. He had trouble -managing the cuffs, but he blew again and again. - -His eyes swept the heavens, but no sign of bird or plane appeared -through the veiling clouds. - -"What's wrong?" called Bemmelman in a low nervous voice. - -Cosmo shook his head. He put his fingers back in his mouth, whistled -until he was red in the face. He might as well have whistled for a wind. - -Bemmelman stamped out of the tower. He scoured the low roof of clouds, -an ominous glitter in his pig-like eyes. - -"Where are they?" - -"You know as much about it as I do." Cosmo shrugged. "They're not there -or they'd come down." - -"If you're tricking me...." - -"How the hell would I be tricking you?" Cosmo asked irritably. "You -heard me give my orders over the telecast. They're not there, that's -all. And I'm damn glad they're not!" - -The planter continued to stare at him suspiciously. Cosmo could feel -his plan hanging precariously in the balance, then Bemmelman said: "It -doesn't matter, I suppose. They can be rounded up later. The Security -Patrol will be here any moment." He shoved Cosmo ahead of him into the -tower. - -Cosmo let his breath escape evenly. He could feel little beads of sweat -on his forehead. - -The red-faced planter slipped the dart gun out of his pocket. "Rabaul," -he ordered grumpily; "Get the men back to their quarters." - -The Martian elevated his eyebrows, but Bemmelman vouchsafed no -explanation. The planter watched his overseer herd the men down -the stair, then turned to Cosmo as the last of the Jovians were -disappearing. The dart gun dangled in his fist at his side. His eyes -were mean. - -"Get a move on," he said sharply. - -"All right," said Cosmo. He was right beside the planter. - -In that instant Bemmelman sensed danger. His eyes widened. He tried to -whip up the dart gun. Then Cosmo's manacles smashed the planter along -side the head. - -It was a terrible blow. The red-faced slave breeder caved to the floor -as if his bones had turned to jelly. For a moment, Cosmo thought he'd -killed him. He stooped, found Bemmelman's pulse. It was weak but -steady. Grim-lipped, he leaped back to the roof. - -Cursing his manacles, Cosmo fumbled a whistle from his pocket. He wet -his lips, blew. As the time he'd summoned the Ormoo to carry off Mia, -the high shrill note was inaudible to human ears. - -Bemmelman, Cosmo thought grimly, had been a bit too clever. The planter -had heard him say whistle over the telecast. It hadn't occurred to him -that the Ormoo might be trained only to notes in the higher register. - -He glanced aloft. The cloud blanket began to boil suddenly. Then the -Ormoo plummeted soundlessly to the roof. Big Unse, the blue star of the -Fozoql caste tattooed on his yellow forehead, his face split by a grin, -leaped silently from its back. - -The bird stretched out its beak, rubbed it against Cosmo's leg. - -"Quick!" said Big Unse. "On to the bird. We'll be spotted in a minute." - -Cosmo shook his head, watching a surface plane nose cautiously down -from the clouds. "There's a girl below stairs." - -Big Unse scowled in disgust. "Why," he asked practically, "do you have -to have that particular one?" - -The surface plane came to rest lightly beside the Ormoo. The door was -flung open and eight men piled out, weapons in their hands. There was -no word spoken. Five were swarthy Venusian serfs. There was the yellow -eyed Mercurian, bland, smiling unarmed. There was Natal, the traitorous -Martian, and the blue Jovian. - -"We're going to get a girl," said Big Unse. - -Cosmo slapped the Ormoo on the side. It launched itself silently into -the air. "The plane won't be noticed," he said; "but that bird would -catch the eye of a dead man." He nodded toward the tower. Like wolves -they followed him silently inside. - -"The manacles." Cosmo's voice was low as he held out his arms. -"Bemmelman has the key." - -Big Unse dropped beside the unconscious planter. He dug out the key, -unlocked Cosmo's wrists. - -"Put them on Bemmelman," said Cosmo. As soon as the planter was -securely cuffed, he said, "pick him up. Bring him along." - - * * * * * - -They crept down the stairs, fanned out like hunting dogs. Without -appearing to do so, Cosmo kept Natal, the spy, under observation. They -reached the corridor, started for the office. A serf came out of a -bisecting passage. He saw them, drew back, tried to yell. Two of the -Venusians were on him like tigers. They clamped a hand over his mouth, -held him so that he couldn't wriggle. - -Cosmo said, "Bring him along too." - -Big Unse put his face down close to the serf's, said, "Don't cry out, -or by the star on my forehead, I'll skin you alive." - -The serf's eyes rolled. He nodded vigorously trying to convey his -absolute willingness to cooperate. - -There was a faint amused gleam in Cosmo's eyes. He paused before the -office, then slid the panel back. - -Mia and the Blue Venus, still manacled, stumbled to their feet. Llana, -the slave woman jerked around from the windows, her jaw dropping. Then -she bit her lip, glanced at the button on the glassite desk. - -"Stay away from the desk, Llana," Cosmo admonished her. He stood aside, -allowed his men to file into the office. They deposited Bemmelman on -the sofa. Cosmo saw that Natal was safely inside, shut the door. At his -nod, Big Unse unlocked both the girls. - -Mia said: "But ... but...." Then a look of fright wiped away the relief -on her wide gray eyes. "The Security Patrol! Cosmo, they'll be here any -moment! Please Cosmo, don't let them catch you!" - -The buzzer on the telecast began to sound. - -"It's too late." Cosmo smiled grimly. "I've a hunch that's the Security -Patrol now." He turned to the Terran slave girl, said: "Llana, string -along with me, and I'll promise that both you and your daughter are -provided with passage to Earth." - -The telecast continued to buzz impatiently. - -"My daughter!" The slave girl clapped her hand to her mouth. "You know." - -"I've suspected," he corrected her. "There's a resemblance. So Sofi -really is your daughter." - -Mia looked from the Blue Venus to Llana in bewilderment. There didn't -seem to be over five years difference in their ages. "It's ... it's -impossible!" she blurted out. - -The Blue Venus smiled enigmatically. - -Cosmo said: "I thought, Llana, that Sofi was the hold Bemmelman had -over you." - -At mention of the planter's name Llana stiffened. "He'll kill Sofi if I -betray him!" - -Cosmo shook his head. - -"You haven't any evidence against him," she insisted. "Even if you had, -they wouldn't believe the Renegade." - -"Exactly," said Cosmo. "Answer the telecast, Llana." - -Her face set. She went to the audio, switched it on. - -"The Security Patrol is here," came Rabaul's voice. "What shall I do -with them?" - -Llana glanced deadfaced at Cosmo, who said in an undertone: "Tell him -to send the Commissioner here. Have his men served with refreshments." - -She repeated the orders tonelessly into the telecast. - -"Right," said Rabaul. The instrument went dead. - -Cosmo went behind the glassite desk, sat down. He leveled his dart gun -straight at Natal, the Martian. - -"Natal," he said in a cold manner. "Bemmelman sold you down the river. -He told me you were his spy." - -The Martian blanched, but his black eyes were hard as marbles. "I -should have guessed the pig would betray me." - -"Get his gun, Big Unse," said Cosmo. - -The Fozoql catfooted behind the Martian, relieved him of his weapon. - -"Follow my lead," said Cosmo to Natal, concealing the dart gun up his -sleeve. "Because, so help me, if you don't, you're a dead Martian." - -Natal nodded, stiff faced but willing. - -Bemmelman groaned, sat up. He regarded the scene in disbelief. Then his -little pig eyes narrowed. He didn't say anything and Cosmo ignored him. - -There was a knock on the door. - -"That's the Commissioner," said Cosmo. "Let him in, Big Unse." - -Mia looked wretched, frightened. "No," she said and bit her lip to -stifle the rest of the protest. - -Big Unse slid back the panel. - -The fat commissioner waddled inside. He was even fatter than he -appeared over the visoscreen. He bulged in his clothes like a sausage. - -"Well, Hal," he began in a hearty voice, "you lucky dog. The fifty -thou...." The words stuck in his throat. He stared at the hard faced -green eyed man behind the desk, at Bemmelman in irons. He revolved -slowly, taking in the silent men about the walls, the three girls. -"Wh-what's this?" He sputtered, but there was a sick, frightened look -in his eyes. "Where's the Renegade?" - -"There he is, Commissioner," replied Cosmo dryly. "All done up in -irons." He pointed at Bemmelman lying manacled on the sofa. - - - VIII - -Bemmelman was the first to recover his voice. His neck swelled. He -laughed hoarsely. "Nobody's fool enough to believe I'm the Renegade, -Cosmo." - -"You're crazy, young man," the Commissioner burst out as he caught his -breath. "If this is a joke, it's in remarkably poor taste." - -"It's no joke." Cosmo's eyes hardened. - -"You lying rogue," Bemmelman shouted. "This has gone far enough. -There's your Renegade, Commissioner." - -"Keep him quiet, Big Unse," said Cosmo softly, "until I finish. He can -talk his head off then." - -Big Unse doubled his fist, shook it in Bemmelman's face. The planter -subsided, but a cunning gleam winked in his little brown eyes. - -The Commissioner drew a handkerchief from his pocket, dabbed at his -forehead. He sank into a chair with a groan. "Talk fast, young man," -he said. "And it had better be good." He eyed Cosmo with obvious -distrust. - -Cosmo took a moisture-proof cigarette case from his pocket, snapped it -open. "I realize, Commissioner, this must be quite a shock. Bemmelman's -been powerful in politics. He has allies in high places. But when they -learn he's the Renegade, they'll be the first to disown him." He took -a cigarette out of the case, eyed it critically, put it back. "Even -rats," he added, glancing up at the Commissioner, "have sense enough to -leave a sinking ship." - -"Um," said the Commissioner. He looked discomfited, shot a sly glance -at the manacled planter. - -Bemmelman started to roar a protest, but Big Unse grinned, shook his -hammer-like fist in his face. - -"I'd better sketch in his background," said Cosmo judicially. "He was -an organic chemist on Earth, but got involved in a forgery case. He -next showed up smuggling Jovian primitives to Venus. The T.I.S. got on -his trail, but they were never able to pin anything on him." - -"How do you know all this?" the Commissioner asked. - -"You don't need to take my word. It's all in the records. You can -investigate them yourself." - -"Um," said the Commissioner again and dabbed at his forehead. He -purposefully avoided Bemmelman's eye. - -Cosmo glanced at Mia who was regarding him in sheer amazement. He -smiled at her, said: "Bemmelman figured it'd be safer to breed slaves -here on Venus rather than run the risk of capture by the Empire's -Patrol Spacers. But he found that land on Venus can't be bought except -in rare cases." He paused, looked at the apoplectic slave breeder. - -"Bemmelman murdered my father having first provided himself with forged -notes to the plantation. You'll remember, he was mixed up with a -forgery case on Earth." - -"Wh-why," the Commissioner sputtered indignantly, "that's preposterous." - -"Here are the notes." Cosmo pulled two packets of papers from his -pocket, tossed them to the Commissioner's lap. "You'll find notes for -old MacIver's plantation there, too. Bemmelman had decided to grab it -off too." - -The fat Commissioner examined them curiously. - -"They're good," said Cosmo. "But it won't be too hard to prove they're -forgeries." - -The Commissioner rustled the papers. "But what's all this to do with -the Renegade? I came out here to collar him, not rattle old bones." - -Cosmo pointed his right hand lazily at Natal, the Martian spy. It was -the arm with the dart gun up its sleeve. Natal blanched. - -"Ask him," said Cosmo blandly. "He's one of the Renegade's men." - -Everyone stared at the Martian. - -"Well?" thundered the Commissioner. - -"Natal wanted to quit. Bemmelman had tried to sell him out." Cosmo -subtly reminded the Martian of the planter's treachery. "He came to me." - -"Why to you?" the Commissioner wanted to know. - -"He knew I was trying to prove Bemmelman murdered my father and mother -and stole my plantation." Cosmo shrugged, added in a pointed tone. -"I told him that if he would--ah--share his information with you, -Commissioner, that the two of you could split the fifty thousand monad -reward. I'd be satisfied with regaining my plantation." - -The fat Commissioner's eyes shone with cupidity. He and the astounded -Martian exchanged glances. - -Bemmelman, who hadn't missed this by-play, roared and half flung -himself from the sofa. - -"He's trying to frame me!" - - * * * * * - -The Commissioner regarded Bemmelman with a frown. Then he turned away, -asked in a changed voice: "Will Natal go on the witness stand?" - -"Go ahead, Natal," said Cosmo. - -Natal ran the tip of his tongue over his thin lips. He gave Bemmelman -a venomous glance, said: "He's the Renegade all right. We holed up in -the Cloud Mountains. Bemmelman gave us our orders, for the most part, -over a special frequency radio phone. He never let anyone here on the -plantation guess he was the Renegade. He played a dual role." - -"A Jekyll and Hyde role," interposed Cosmo smoothly. - -"Lies! Lies!" shouted Bemmelman. - -The Commissioner ignored him, kept his eyes on Natal. "You can show us -the hideout?" - -"Certainly." - -"What about the other men." - -"They escaped," Cosmo interposed, quickly. - -"Um," said the Commissioner. He didn't appear anxious to pursue that -line. - -"Natal's not the only witness," said Cosmo. He pointed at Mia. "The -Renegade kidnapped Miss MacIver. She tried to reach you by telecast." - -"She did!" The Commissioner enthusiastically smacked his right fist in -his left palm. "By heaven, she did! But when my men got there, he'd -gotten away with her." - -"I don't think she'll object to taking the witness stand either," said -Cosmo in a thoughtful voice. "After all, Bemmelman murdered her father." - -"No." Mia's voice was so low that the Commissioner had to bend forward -to hear her. "No. I won't mind being a witness. Bemmelman kidnapped me." - -"I didn't kidnap her. I rescued her from the Renegade." The sweat was -pouring from the planter's forehead. - -The girl's head jerked up. She said in a ringing voice, "Then how do -you explain this?" and exposed the brand on her shoulder. - -The Commissioner's eyes started from their sockets. - -"You might call the head overseer and check on Bemmelman's movements," -suggested Cosmo. - -The Commissioner nodded. - -Llana switched on the telecast. "Rabaul," she said, "the Commissioner -wants you in the office." - -"Right," came the voice of the Martian. - -"There's the safe, too," said Cosmo. - -The Commissioner heaved himself from his chair, waddled across to -Bemmelman. - -"What's the combination, Hal?" - -The planter's little eyes were bloodshot. Obscenity burst from his -mouth. - -A laugh rumbled up from the Commissioner's belly, shook all three of -his chins. "You're done for, Hal. What's the combination?" - -Grudgingly Bemmelman told him. "But you won't find anything there," he -added vindictively. "I'm going to sink you." - -Cosmo opened the safe, waved the Commissioner forward to investigate. - -"Um," said the Commissioner in disappointment, leafing through the -papers. "Maybe we can dig something incriminating out of this mess. -I don't know. Hey! What's this?" He held up the paper upon which -Bemmelman had written the directions for reaching the Ormoo's feeding -ground. "Looks like a map!" - -"It is a map," replied Cosmo grimly. "I wouldn't be surprised if it -isn't the location of the loot from the plantations Bemmelman's men -have raided." - -There was a knock on the door. - -"Come in," snapped the excited Commissioner. - -The Martian overseer stalked into the office, glanced about him in -surprise. - -"Tell these fools I'm not the Renegade!" Bemmelman roared. - -Rabaul regarded his employer blankly. "You're certainly not the -Renegade so far as I know." - -"Of course not," interrupted the Commissioner. "We don't expect you to -be able to identify him. We only want to ask you a few questions." - -The Martian pursed his lips, shrugged. "Anything I know, Commissioner." - -"Where was Bemmelman yesterday morning?" - -"I don't know." The Martian overseer looked surprised. "He left in his -surface plane in the direction of the MacIver plantation." - -"Alone?" - -Rabaul nodded. - -"Um. Has he ever received messages from the Cloud Mountains? Radio -calls?" - -"Yes," admitted Rabaul grudgingly. "Though I can't tell you what -they're about. I've instructions to call him immediately when the call -signals come through. He takes them personally." - -"Have you ever known him to make trips into the mountains?" - -Again the Martian nodded. "Yes. He's made expeditions into them after -botanical specimens, I believe." - -"We got him!" said the Commissioner and Cosmo could see him counting -his half of the reward. "That map is the most damning evidence of all. -It's in his handwriting, isn't it?" - -"You can have it checked," said Cosmo complacently. "But there's one -thing more." - -"Eh?" - -"Motive." - - * * * * * - -Cosmo's face hardened. "Slaves aren't cattle. After Bemmelman started -his slave farm he couldn't expect profits for eighteen years. He -needed money, lots of money to carry on certain experiments. He was an -organic chemist. He believed it possible to force humans the same way a -gardener forces plants. An aging process isn't a new idea, but it took -Bemmelman to find a commercial use for it." - -"It fits like a glove," said the Commissioner, "but how do you know -about the experiment?" - -"I can tell you about the experiments," interposed Llana suddenly. - -Everyone stared at her. - -She bit her lip. "I'm a Terran. He--he kidnapped me, mated me with a -Dawn Man as an experiment. Sofi is my daughter." - -"Not a bad experiment," said the Commissioner admiringly. His eyes ran -over the Blue Venus. - -"That was only the beginning!" said Llana. "I found out he's got a -laboratory below stairs where he's constantly experimenting with the -slave children. He's obsessed with the scheme of maturing the children -quicker so that he can reap faster profits. Bemmelman is a monster." - -"Go on," said the Commissioner eagerly. - -"He--he succeeded at last." - -"What do you mean?" - -Llana pointed at the Blue Venus. "Sofi," she said in a low voice. "Sofi -is only seven years old!" - -Absolute silence gripped the room. - -"You'll swear to that?" asked the Commissioner at length. - -"Of course. Half the serfs in the house know her age anyway." - -"We've got him," cried the Commissioner jubilantly. "We've got him dead -to rights." - -"It's a frame up," shouted Bemmelman in despair. "A dirty frame up, I -tell you." - -Cosmo regarded the planter with opaque green eyes. "Save your breath, -Bemmelman," he counseled him dryly. "No one's going to believe the -Renegade--remember?" - -From the flat roof of the manor house, Cosmo and Mia watched the -Security Patrol planes take off one by one for Venusport. The head -overseer was to take charge of the plantation until the courts -confirmed Cosmo's claims. Llana and Sofi planned to visit Earth after -Bemmelman's trial. - -Cosmo had taken Big Unse aside, sent him off secretly with the men -to destroy any evidence in their hideout. They were to return to the -plantation. "I want the lot of you under my eyes," Cosmo had explained -with a grin, "where you won't be tempted to raid my plantation." - -As the last of the Patrol Planes rose from the roof, Cosmo turned to -Mia. "That's finis for the Renegade!" - -"Bemmelman isn't the Renegade, really?" said Mia, half in doubt. "Is -he?" - -"Maybe not _the_ Renegade," grinned Cosmo, "but he's certainly a -renegade." - -Mia gulped suddenly, said, "The map! Good heavens! What will the -Commissioner do when he doesn't find anything but bird food?" - -"Bird food, the devil," Cosmo said dryly. "I haven't the remotest idea -where the Ormoos feed. That map will lead him straight to the spot -where I've hidden every stick of loot I've--ah--accumulated." He pulled -the Ormoo's whistle from his pocket. - -Mia eyed it in alarm. "What are you going to do?" - -"Take you to Venusport." He blew twice on the whistle. "We're going -before the registrar today!" - -"But Cosmo. Not on that--that monstrosity. I refuse to do it. I won't -go." There was a disturbance in the cloud blanket directly overhead. A -huge gray shape plunged Venusward. "Besides," she added in haste; "I -can't go to Venusport like this--can I?" - -"We'll stop by your plantation, spruce up a bit." - -The Ormoo lit with a thud. It gave a pleased raucous squawk, eyed them -with amiable red-brown eyes. - -"Oh well," said Mia between her teeth. "I might as well get used to -traveling on the darn thing, I suppose." - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BLUE VENUS *** - -***** This file should be named 63779-0.txt or 63779-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/3/7/7/63779/ - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this ebook. - -Title: The Blue Venus - -Author: Emmett McDowell - -Release Date: December 05, 2020 [EBook #63779] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Produced by: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BLUE VENUS *** -</pre> -<div class="titlepage"> - -<h1>THE BLUE VENUS</h1> - -<h2>By EMMETT McDOWELL</h2> - -<p>Out of their mountain hideout came the<br /> -terrified band of The Renegade. Through<br /> -the valleys of Venus they swept, seeking<br /> -a greed-maddened slaver who planned an<br /> -experiment so cruel and barbaric it would<br /> -destroy the very foundation of mankind.</p> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br /> -Planet Stories Spring 1946.<br /> -Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that<br /> -the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>The hooded figure of a man detached itself from the shadows beside the -door, paused, listening. Nothing stirred. The huge sprawling plantation -house was silent and yet alive with the feel of sleepers.</p> - -<p>Then from below stairs, he heard a door slam. The tinkle of laughter -ascended to his ears. He crouched. His hand slipped inside his coat, -fondled the slug gun nestling in its shoulder holster. The voices -drifted out of hearing. Uneasy silence settled back over the plantation -house.</p> - -<p>The hooded man let his breath escape between his teeth. He slid back -the door, passed inside like a shadow, shut the door behind him.</p> - -<p>The room which he'd entered was lit by the intense, green radiations -from the Venusian vegetation. The cold phosphorescent light streamed -through the open windows, glinted from a glassite desk, soft flexoglas -lounging chairs and sofa. It was the typical office from which the -plantation owners directed the affairs of their feudal estates.</p> - -<p>As silent as a night hawk, the hooded man drifted to the wall, ran his -fingertips over the wood paneling. There was a faint click. The panel -slid back revealing a wall safe.</p> - -<p>A needle ray of light streamed suddenly from the hooded man's hand, -splashed off a paper which he'd drawn from his pocket. He checked the -string of figures printed there, returned the paper to his pocket. He -worked swiftly, surely. Then with a sigh of satisfaction he swung back -the heavy door.</p> - -<p>There was a faint thump in the corridor outside the office that broke -the silence.</p> - -<p>The hooded man snapped erect, the compressed air slug gun in his hand. -He was sharply conscious of the hum of Venusian night life outside the -windows. The room felt sticky, close. His hand was damp with sweat -about the pommel of the slug gun.</p> - -<p>He waited five minutes, ten minutes without moving, but the noise was -not repeated.</p> - -<p>He drew a breath, set to examining the papers in the safe by the aid of -the midget flash. Most of them he put back carefully, just as they'd -been, but two packets he stuffed into an inside coat pocket. He closed -the door, spun the dial. He heard a sharp click behind him, leaped -around.</p> - -<p>At the same instant, the room was flooded with bright white light.</p> - -<p>"Please don't!" said a girl's voice.</p> - -<p>The hooded man arrested his hand halfway to his shoulder holster.</p> - -<p>A startlingly beautiful girl, he saw, was standing in the doorway to -the corridor covering him with a wicked dart gun. She was a tall girl -with the yellowest hair he'd ever seen. She wore a spun glass negligee -and her skin was blue. It was the pastel blue of a Terran dawn flushed -with rose.</p> - -<p>She came all the way inside, slid shut the door.</p> - -<p>"Who are you? What do you want?"</p> - -<p>"Why don't you turn in the alarm?" said the hooded man dryly. The -poisoned needle gun was sending goose flesh quivering up his spine. A -scratch would be fatal. His jaw tightened beneath the hood. His eyes -were hard green discs, the dangerous eyes of a hunted man.</p> - -<p>"Oh no." The blue girl's voice was low. "I wouldn't do that. I'd never -be able to get the safe open by myself."</p> - -<p>"What?"</p> - -<p>"I want you to open the safe for me."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The hooded man didn't reply for a moment. At length, he asked: "What -then?"</p> - -<p>The girl giggled. "I take what I want, and you take what you want," she -explained naively. "See. And you'll be blamed for taking it all. Only -you're going to be disappointed!"</p> - -<p>"Disappointed? How?" He took a step toward her.</p> - -<p>"Bemmelman never keeps his money on the plantation. It's all at -Venusport. There aren't fifty monad in the safe."</p> - -<p>"Maybe I'm not after money." He took a second step, his green eyes -opaque.</p> - -<p>She looked at him intently, made a thin gasping noise. "You're the -Renegade!" The dart gun trembled in her small blue fist. "Oh my God! I -didn't guess. You're the Renegade!"</p> - -<p>Without affirming or denying the statement, he asked, "What do you want -from the safe?" and took a third step.</p> - -<p>"Don't come any closer! I'm a very good shot. See!"</p> - -<p>The little gun went spat. The hooded man heard the dart whisper past -his ear, thunk into the paneling behind him. His stomach felt suddenly -hollow.</p> - -<p>"My dear girl," he said dryly; "if you do that again, I won't be able -to open a book, let alone that safe. I'm a mass of jelly now."</p> - -<p>"Then you will open it for me?"</p> - -<p>"What is it you want?"</p> - -<p>"Evidence!" Impulsively she took a step toward him, allowed the -dart gun to waver out of line. "Evidence to send Bemmelman to the -disintegration chamber!"</p> - -<p>The hooded man felt appalled at the sheer animal hate in her violet -eyes. Her skin was too light for her to be a full blooded Jovian -primitive. She must be a cross. He mentally snapped his fingers. That -was it, of course. The Blue Venus! The slave for whom Hal Bemmelman was -asking five thousand monad on the Venusian Slave Mart. He said:</p> - -<p>"You aren't overly fond of Bemmelman?"</p> - -<p>"I loathe him!" With a savage jerk, she yanked her white negligee down -from her left shoulder. "See that?"</p> - -<p>He saw a scar on the pale-blue skin above her breast. It was the shape -of a fern leaf and he could have covered it with his thumb.</p> - -<p>"Branded!" she spat. "My father was a Jovian Dawn Man—an animal! But -my mother was an Earth woman. Hal Bemmelman kidnapped her!"</p> - -<p>The hooded man regarded her pityingly. She was only a kid, he realized. -He said:</p> - -<p>"You can't get Bemmelman like that. He runs the government at -Venusport. He'd never come to trial." He stopped, realizing that she -wasn't listening.</p> - -<p>Nostrils flaring, head erect, the girl was looking through him blankly. -A glimmer of fright flitted across her mobile features. Then she raised -the dart gun, pointed it full at his chest.</p> - -<p>"Put your hands on top of your head, please!"</p> - -<p>His green eyes contracted angrily. He didn't move.</p> - -<p>"I mean it! Put your hands on top of your head, please."</p> - -<p>With a shrug, he obeyed. He saw the door to the corridor slide back. A -heavy red-faced man in his late forties and a wrinkled snuff brown suit -stared in at them. The red-faced man's sparse sandy hair was plastered -to his skull, and he had little mobile brown eyes like a pig.</p> - -<p>"Is that you, Hal?" The blue girl didn't turn around, didn't take her -eyes off the hooded man. "I've caught the Renegade!"</p> - -<p>The red-faced man's jaw dropped. "Yes sir," he said. "Yes sir, it's me, -Sofi." A shrewd gleam flickered in his pig-like eyes.</p> - -<p>"I caught him trying to open the safe."</p> - -<p>"So I see! So I see!" Bemmelman rubbed his hands together, came into -the room. He pulled a dart gun from the belly band of his trousers and -leveled it at the Renegade. "Stand aside, Sofi."</p> - -<p>The hooded man felt his stomach turn slowly upside down. He considered -hurling himself behind the glassite desk, snatching out his slug gun.</p> - -<p>Bemmelman said: "Did you get his gun, Sofi?"</p> - -<p>She shook her yellow head.</p> - -<p>Alarm stiffened the planter's features. "Get it, girl! No! No! Don't -get between us! Get behind him!"</p> - -<p>The hooded man felt the girl's hands pat his chest, draw forth the -heavy slug gun.</p> - -<p>The florid color crept back into Bemmelman's gross features. "You may -go, Sofi. I want a word with the Renegade."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Sofi shot him a child-like pouting glance, but retreated obediently -from the room, drawing the door shut behind her.</p> - -<p>The lean young man in the hood watched, weighing his chances. He didn't -say anything.</p> - -<p>"You're surprised, eh, that I don't turn you in to the Security -Patrol?" Bemmelman began. "They'd like to get their hands on the -Renegade, they would. But the fact is I want you more than they do. Yes -sir, this is a piece of luck for me. I've been trying to contact you -for months."</p> - -<p>The hooded man said dryly: "I'm listening," and allowed his hands to -sink to his side.</p> - -<p>"Put your hands back on your head!" Bemmelman's voice registered alarm. -"No tricks. I can use you, lad, but no tricks." He glared speculatively -at the Renegade, added: "Yes sir, that I can. And now, if you'll take -off that hood we'll get down to business."</p> - -<p>"If it's business, I'll keep the hood on."</p> - -<p>"No sir," the planter blustered. "Off with the hood or I shoot. When I -do business with a man, I like to know who he is."</p> - -<p>The hooded man's green eyes were reckless. The law on Venus was harsh, -implacable. There were no pardons. The disintegration chamber at -Venusport yawned for him inexorably.</p> - -<p>"You know, Bemmelman, I'd be completely at your mercy if I unmasked?"</p> - -<p>"You are right now. Yes sir. You can take it off alive, or I'll take it -off of you dead."</p> - -<p>The hooded man was half crouched against the glassite desk. He said -softly: "You don't leave me much choice," and dived beneath the dart -gun.</p> - -<p>His head struck the slave breeder's paunch like a cannon ball. -Bemmelman went, "Ooof!" and sat down with a thud. The dart gun spat a -needle into the ceiling where it quivered viciously.</p> - -<p>The hooded man was on him like a cat. One swipe of his hand knocked the -dart gun clattering under the sofa. Purple faced, gasping Bemmelman -scrambled to his feet. A look of fright swept his gross features, and -he began stabbing a button on the glassite desk.</p> - -<p>The hooded man could hear the shrill clamor of alarm bells pealing -through the rambling building. He leaped for the door, threw it back.</p> - -<p>"Ahhh!" he said.</p> - -<p>Sofi stood in the entrance, her dart gun almost against his chest.</p> - -<p>Like a whip, the hooded man twisted sideways, snatched the gun from the -startled girl. He saw Bemmelman charging across the room. He grinned, -shoved the girl into the planter's arms, slammed the door.</p> - -<p>The sound of shouts drifted up to him. He saw a Venusian serf, armed -with a bell muzzled ray rifle, dash into the corridor. The serf caught -sight of him. A yellow ray streamed from the gun, splashed off the -wall; but the hooded man already had vanished up the stairs.</p> - -<p>Bemmelman burst from the office. "Which way did he go? The force -screens are up! He can't escape!"</p> - -<p>"He got in," Sofi pointed out coolly.</p> - -<p>Half a dozen armed serfs dashed into the hall. The alarm bells were -still ringing.</p> - -<p>"Which way?" Bemmelman roared.</p> - -<p>The serf said: "Up."</p> - -<p>"We've got him. That leads to the roof. He can't get off!" He charged -the steps followed by the pack of Venusians.</p> - -<p>At the roof Bemmelman paused, shoved up the trap. With considerable -respect for his own skin, he ordered one of the serfs through first.</p> - -<p>"Careful," he advised. "The man's desperate."</p> - -<p>The serf climbed fatalistically onto the roof, turned around and around.</p> - -<p>"He's not here."</p> - -<p>"Impossible!" The planter roared and squeezed his bulk through the -opening.</p> - -<p>The green phosphorescent glow of the vegetation lit the flat roof -eerily. A raucous screech from some night flying bird floated down from -the cloud mass overhead. There was no plane, no sign of a plane; but -the man with the hood was gone.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">II</p> - -<p>Mia MacIver tried to concentrate on her head overseer's report. She -felt hot and sticky and the figures ran together, didn't make sense. -Moreover, the delicate notes of a flute kept scattering her thoughts. -They came through the casement window from the patio outside her study.</p> - -<p>"Damn," said Mia MacIver and wriggled at her desk.</p> - -<p>She was barefooted, clad only in a short yellow tunic, but she felt -as if she were locked in a steam bath. She'd never get used to Venus, -she supposed, to its turkish bath atmosphere, its lush phosphorescent -vegetation, its ridiculous mingling of periods, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, -and the glass age all flourishing together. The Pan-like notes -continued to assail her ears from outside the study.</p> - -<p>She wrinkled her nose, wiped a trickle of sweat from the end. In -despair, she flipped on the Newscaster.</p> - -<p>The features of a plump young man flashed on the screen.</p> - -<p>"Last night," his voice came through the audio, "the plantation of -Councillor Bemmelman was raided by the Renegade. Luckily, he was -discovered immediately and the Security Patrol notified. But as usual -the Renegade had vanished without a trace."</p> - -<p>Mia MacIver snapped to attention. It was absurd, she felt with a surge -of anger that a man could make fools of the Venusian authorities as the -Renegade had done for years.</p> - -<p>She knew little of Venus. Her life had been spent in boarding schools -on Earth. But when she'd received news that her father was dead, -murdered by the Renegade, she'd booked passage to Venusport at once, -determined to manage the plantation herself.</p> - -<p>"Here's a special bulletin," the announcer was saying. "The plantation -owners are subscribing ten thousand monads to be added to the price -already on the Renegade's head. That makes a total of fifty thousand -monads for his capture. A punitive expedition is also being organized -against his headquarters in the Cloud Mountains."</p> - -<p>Mia MacIver switched off the Newscaster, stood up. The notes of the -pipes drifted into her study, exotic, compelling. She bit her lip, -stepped through the window onto the vine roofed patio.</p> - -<p>"Stop that noise, Cosmo! You're driving me insane!"</p> - -<p>Cosmo Horn took the Venusian pipes from his mouth, said dryly, "I -didn't think I was that bad."</p> - -<p>He was sprawled in a hammock, looking like a handsome, rather -distinguished tramp.</p> - -<p>"Did you hear the Newscaster, Cosmo?"</p> - -<p>"No." He shook his head. He had a lean, hawk-like visage, close cropped -brown hair, green eyes.</p> - -<p>"The Renegade was at the Bemmelman plantation last night!"</p> - -<p>"Sure enough?"</p> - -<p>Cosmo sat up, put the reeds in his pocket. He was wearing only coat and -trousers. The brown triangle of hair on his chest extended in a thin -line down his flat belly. "How much did he nick that dealer in flesh -for?"</p> - -<p>"Nothing. They scared him off before he had a chance to take anything. -Cosmo, why can't they catch him?"</p> - -<p>"No one's seen him without his hood. They don't know who he is; they -don't know where to look, or what to look for."</p> - -<p>"On Earth ..." began Mia.</p> - -<p>"On Earth there wouldn't be a Renegade," interrupted Cosmo dryly. -"Earth is unified. It isn't split up into hundreds of independent -countries like Venus. They don't have slavery or serfdom or the feudal -system on Earth. Men aren't driven into outlawry...."</p> - -<p>"Driven!" said Mia in a heated voice. "What makes you think he was -driven? I'd say he was doing exactly as he pleased."</p> - -<p>Cosmo stood up, towering over the girl, took several short paces across -the patio.</p> - -<p>"I don't think anyone would enjoy being constantly hunted. Everyman's -hand against him. Always on guard against treachery, surprise. And no -matter how careful he is, sooner or later he's bound to be caught. He -can't even quit, now. I feel sorry for him."</p> - -<p>"Feel sorry for him! I'd like to see him shot!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Cosmo looked startled. "You're a blood-thirsty little devil." He -grinned suddenly. "What I've been saying must have buzzed in one ear -and out the other."</p> - -<p>Mia said: "He murdered father."</p> - -<p>Cosmo regarded her in surprise. "Great guns, Mia, where did you get -that idea?"</p> - -<p>"Hal Bemmelman told me. He found father down in the tara field -where...." Her voice faltered, but she recovered herself, went on. -"Where the serfs had hacked him to pieces with grass knives. They were -the Renegade's men."</p> - -<p>"Did he? Did he indeed?" Cosmo's voice was grim. "What was Bemmelman -doing there?"</p> - -<p>Mia frowned. "He was trailing a runaway serf. Why?"</p> - -<p>"Of course he was." Her gray eyes widened. She stared at him. "Surely -you aren't accusing Bemmelman of murdering father. Why he's the most -influential member of the Council of Land Owners. He's...."</p> - -<p>"Did you ever hear of the Blue Venus?" he interrupted.</p> - -<p>"The Blue Venus? What's that?"</p> - -<p>Cosmo's face was grim, his green eyes cold. "She's a cross between -a Jovian Dawn Man and an Earth woman. She's supposed to be the most -beautiful girl in the System. She belongs to Bemmelman. He forced her -mother to mate with a Jovian primitive as an experiment. He's asking -five thousand monad for her on the Slave Mart. Hal Bemmelman is a slave -breeder."</p> - -<p>"I don't believe it!" Mia said in horror, then asked with feminine -perversity: "How do you know?"</p> - -<p>Cosmo sat down in the hammock, grinned faintly. "I'm going to tell you -something I've never told anyone but your father, Mia. I think you -ought to know, because you're in danger." His green eyes twinkled. -"Quit chewing your fingernails."</p> - -<p>"Go on," said Mia. "Go on, for the Lord's sake, before I burst."</p> - -<p>He said: "Twenty-six years ago my father owned the Bemmelman -plantation. He was murdered under almost the same circumstances as your -father. So was my mother. My nurse escaped with me, hid me out in the -mountains. I was only five."</p> - -<p>"Who did it?"</p> - -<p>"Jovian Dawn Men. Slaves imported from Jupiter. They run amok during -their rutting season, you know, and they were supposed to be amok at -the time."</p> - -<p>"But ..." began Mia.</p> - -<p>"Wait a moment. Bemmelman held notes on the plantation. He moved in. -But before Bemmelman took over our plantation, he was a slave runner. -He imported Dawn Men from Jupiter for the Venusian Slave Mart."</p> - -<p>"You—you think Hal Bemmelman was in back of it?"</p> - -<p>"Yes," he said flatly.</p> - -<p>"But why? Couldn't he buy land?"</p> - -<p>"No," said Cosmo, "he couldn't. Land here is entailed. It stays in -the same family from generation to generation. Mu is one of the few -countries on Venus where Terrans have been able to settle at all. -Bemmelman's only chance was to have my people murdered and forge notes."</p> - -<p>"Does he know who you are?"</p> - -<p>Cosmo nodded. "He's tried to have me assassinated several times," he -said indifferently.</p> - -<p>Mia swallowed. "You—you said I was in danger."</p> - -<p>"Doesn't it strike you there's a great deal of similarity between -your case and mine. Your father has been murdered, supposedly by the -Renegade. It looks like Bemmelman is getting ready to expand."</p> - -<p>"He—he wouldn't kill me!" said Mia indignantly. "Would he?"</p> - -<p>"No," said Cosmo, a smile quirking the corners of his wide, grim-lipped -mouth. His lean, narrow jaw and thin, hooked nose gave him a saturnine -cast. "But I wouldn't put it past him to kidnap you. Remember the -Blue Venus. I happen to know Bemmelman's been anxious to repeat that -experiment, but a beautiful Terran girl is hard to get."</p> - -<p>She shivered slightly, said: "That's preposterous! He wouldn't dare! -Would he?"</p> - -<p>But Cosmo had leaped to his feet. "There's a plane coming!" he said in -an edgy voice.</p> - -<p>A surface flying car flashed to the edge of the patio, stopped, settled -to the ground. The extreme altitude of the bullet-shaped vehicle -was under three hundred feet, Cosmo knew. But even that height was -impractical for flight on Venus, roofed as the planet was by the -low, swirling cloud blanket. As a rule, the planes barely skimmed the -surface.</p> - -<p>A door in the monoloid hull swung open. A heavy set man got out.</p> - -<p>"Why it's Hal Bemmelman," exclaimed Mia. "What does he want?"</p> - -<p>"Speak of the devil," drawled Cosmo.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Bemmelman strode across the patio, his eyes on Cosmo, said in a -disagreeable voice: "If it isn't the fortieth-century troubadour."</p> - -<p>Cosmo's features set blankly. He didn't reply.</p> - -<p>"Mia." Bemmelman took both the girl's hands in his big paws. "I've -bad news. Yes sir, very bad news. Three of my serfs ganged my second -overseer, chopped him to pieces with grass knives."</p> - -<p>"What?" Mia's eyes dilated in horror.</p> - -<p>"They got him from behind, I guess. Then they broke into the arsenal. -They're armed, Mia, and heading this way. I dropped everything to fly -over and warn you."</p> - -<p>"Coming this way?" Mia firmly disengaged her hands. "But why?"</p> - -<p>"They're trying to reach the Cloud Mountains and join the Renegade. -Your place lies directly between mine and the mountains."</p> - -<p>"The Renegade!" Mia's level gray eyes frosted with hate. "The rurals -can't catch him. He makes monkeys out of the Security Patrol. What is -he? A wizard?"</p> - -<p>"You've heard the news?" Bemmelman interrupted. "The Renegade was at -my place last night. I've been worried about you, Mia, alone here on -the edge of the mountains. Yes sir, I came to take you to my plantation -until we have these murderous serfs behind bars."</p> - -<p>"But I'm quite safe. I—I...."</p> - -<p>"This isn't Earth, Mia," he said in a silky voice. "I haven't much -time. No sir. I must return to organize the pursuit. We'll teach those -brutes a lesson they won't soon forget."</p> - -<p>"If you catch them," put in Cosmo in an amused voice.</p> - -<p>"We'll catch them!" Bemmelman turned his small, brown, pig-like eyes on -Cosmo. "Yes sir, and the Renegade, too."</p> - -<p>Mia said with a grimace: "Thanks, Hal, but I'm not coming."</p> - -<p>Bemmelman lowered his head like a bull. "I haven't the men to spare to -guard you, even if I could trust them. I was too good a friend of your -father's, Mia, to leave you here with those three murderers roaming in -the neighborhood. You're coming with me."</p> - -<p>Cosmo, observing quietly, frowned to himself. What was the planter -trying to pull?</p> - -<p>"I'm not," said Mia indignantly. "Really this is preposterous. It's...."</p> - -<p>Bemmelman glared at her, seized her arm. "Girl, don't be a fool. If -those runaways show up here, they'd chop you to pieces. Come along." -Unceremoniously, he began to drag her toward his plane.</p> - -<p>"Cosmo!" Mia's gray eyes snapped open like saucers.</p> - -<p>Cosmo's hand fell on Bemmelman's shoulder, spun him around.</p> - -<p>"You heard Miss MacIver." Two rouge-like spots sprang out on Cosmo's -high cheek bones. His green eyes were opaque.</p> - -<p>"Get your dirty paws off me!" Bemmelman roared in surprise. He almost -choked with rage. "By Jupiter! I'll teach you a lesson you won't soon -forget! Yes sir!"</p> - -<p>With a growl, the red-faced planter lashed out with his fist. The blow -struck Cosmo on his right cheek bone, snapped back his head.</p> - -<p>"You shouldn't have done that," said Cosmo. He turned loose Bemmelman's -shoulder.</p> - -<p>The planter swung again wildly. Cosmo slipped the blow. With a straight -left, he knocked Bemmelman down.</p> - -<p>The planter shook his head. There was a surprised look on his beefy red -features. Sinking his head in his bull neck, he scrambled to his feet.</p> - -<p>Cosmo knocked him down again.</p> - -<p>Bemmelman turned his brown pig-like eyes up to Cosmo. He tried to rise. -Cosmo knocked him down for the third time.</p> - -<p>He said: "Bemmelman, get out of here. If you ever lay hands to me -again, I'll kill you."</p> - -<p>The planter heaved himself to his feet, lip drooling blood. He crossed -to his surface plane, scrambled inside. Then he shook his fist at -Cosmo.</p> - -<p>"I'll get you for this, Horn. You haven't MacIver to protect you now. -I'll get you."</p> - -<p>Cosmo took a step toward the plane.</p> - -<p>Bemmelman hastily slammed the door. The vehicle swooped from the -ground, sped away like a silver bullet.</p> - -<p>"He will," said Mia in a small voice. "You shouldn't have done that, -Cosmo. He's powerful. He controls the Council of Land Owners."</p> - -<p>"He struck me." Cosmo's lean features were like clay. "If he does it -again, I'll kill him."</p> - -<p>Mia shivered. "Do you always get so violent?"</p> - -<p>"He hit me," said Cosmo. "I should have killed him."</p> - -<p>All at once Mia said: "Cosmo!" in a strained, frightened voice.</p> - -<p>He flicked a glance past the startled girl, stiffened in alarm. At the -edge of the patio, three men stood in a silent group.</p> - -<p>One, he saw, was a serf. Naked to the waist, the Venusian was darker, -squatter than the Fozoqls, the killer caste of Venus. But he had the -same venomous green eyes. A grass knife was thrust through his sash, -and he held a ray rifle at a menacing angle.</p> - -<p>It was the second figure, though, that took his breath away. A huge, -naked, blue giant. His only weapon was a club.</p> - -<p>"A Jovian Dawn Man!" said Mia in a stifled voice.</p> - -<p>Cosmo felt his palms dampen. The terrific gravity of Jupiter endowed -the Jovian primitives with superhuman strength. Normally, they were -docile creatures and highly prized among the Venusians as slaves -because of their terrible strength and weird beauty. The Dawn Man faced -them now, nostrils flaring as he tested their scent. He was handsome as -a matinee idol. But somewhere the Jovians had run into an evolutionary -blind pocket. They would never evolve into true men. They were animals.</p> - -<p>Cosmo scarcely noted the third member of the group, the short -barrel-shaped Mercurian. He stood a little apart, smiling blandly and -quietly like an inscrutable Buddha.</p> - -<p>"Look at the scars on their shoulders," Mia whispered hoarsely. "The -fern leaf! That's Bemmelman's brand. They're the runaways!"</p> - -<p>The Venusian raised his rifle. His green eyes burned with hate for the -Earthlings.</p> - -<p>Mia shrank toward Cosmo. "He—he's...."</p> - -<p>"Put down your rifle," said Cosmo in the Venusian dialect of Mu. He -could feel the pulse beat in his ears; his lips felt dry. "Seek you the -Renegade?"</p> - -<p>The Venusian hesitated, indecision reflected in his dark-yellow -features. The Dawn Man shook his club, growled deep in his chest. -Muscles rippled like hawsers beneath his blue hide.</p> - -<p>"Most certainly." It was the Mercurian who spoke.</p> - -<p>Cosmo glanced at him sharply, realized that behind the Mercurian's -smiling mask, he was violently distressed. Mercurians didn't approve of -bloodshed, he recalled.</p> - -<p>Sweat dappled Cosmo's forehead. Then, with a faint shrug, he made a -peculiar gesture with his hand.</p> - -<p>An expression of wonder and comprehension filled their faces. Only the -blue giant continued to rumble deep in his chest.</p> - -<p>"The Renegade!" cried the fat Mercurian, and his yellow eyes twinkled -with relief. He plumped on his knees, repeated the cabalistic symbol.</p> - -<p>With only a moment's hesitation the serf followed suit. "Down, you big -ox!" he shouted at the Jovian and thwacked him behind the knees with -his ray rifle. "Down! That's the Renegade!"</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">III</p> - -<p>Mia MacIver stared at Cosmo in disbelief. "You—you're not the -Renegade! I don't believe it."</p> - -<p>"It's lucky for you, I am," he said dryly.</p> - -<p>She held her hands straight down at her side, small fists clenched. -"Lucky? Father thought you were his friend and you killed him. I'd -rather be dead than owe you anything."</p> - -<p>"Listen, Mia, get this straight. I didn't kill your father."</p> - -<p>"Of course, you'd say that." Her chin trembled; she set her jaw -stubbornly. "Who'd believe the Renegade?"</p> - -<p>Cosmo made a weary gesture, turned back to the runaways who'd been -listening with interest.</p> - -<p>"Get off your knees," he said. His tone was embarrassed. "The Security -Patrol is scouring the countryside for you right now. Take to the -forest where the planes can't follow. Make for the mountains. My -men...."</p> - -<p>"By Nemi!" the Buddha-faced Mercurian ejaculated suddenly. He pointed -at Mia who was slipping through the window to her study. "The girl is -escaping. After her, Tong!"</p> - -<p>The Venusian serf leaped in pursuit, but Cosmo halted him with a lifted -hand. "She won't go far." He turned back to the Mercurian. "I give the -orders," he said.</p> - -<p>The moon-faced little man bowed good-naturedly. Cosmo realized he -wasn't even armed.</p> - -<p>"What are you doing with this pair of cut-throats?" he asked.</p> - -<p>"We understand one another," the Mercurian replied blandly. "I act as -a governor. My presence restrains them from indulging in an excess of -blood letting."</p> - -<p>"Who sent you to me?" Cosmo asked shrewdly. "Was it Penang-ihtok?"</p> - -<p>The Mercurian shuddered. "Yes. A violent man, that Penang-ihtok. An -outcast Fozoql."</p> - -<p>"He's safe then?" Cosmo interrupted. "Bemmelman doesn't suspect him?"</p> - -<p>"No."</p> - -<p>"Good." He frowned, said: "Go now. Your time is short."</p> - -<p>Without a word the odd trio filed off. Cosmo watched them around the -corner of the plantation house, then sprang through the window of Mia's -study.</p> - -<p>The girl was at the telecast. She had tuned in the fat Commissioner of -the Security Patrol.</p> - -<p>"What?" the Commissioner's voice rumbled from the audio. His jowls were -shaking; his image wildly agitated. "Are you sure, Owner MacIver? The -Renegade at your plantation with the serfs from the Bemmelman place?"</p> - -<p>Without waiting for an answer, he turned away from the Visoscreen, but -Cosmo could still hear his voice shouting orders at some underling.</p> - -<p>"Contact the radio patrol planes! Order them to converge on the -MacIver plantation! The Renegade! Good Lord, man, d'ya realize what a -feather it'll be in our caps? Hurry!"</p> - -<p>The fat Commissioner swung back into the visoscreen. "I'll have a dozen -patrol planes there in ten minutes. What does he look like, Owner -MacIver? Who is he?"</p> - -<p>"He is ..." began Mia, then discovered Cosmo standing beside the -boxlike transmitter on the wall. He flashed her a faintly wolfish grin.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Mia gasped, brought her hand to her throat. Her high firm breasts -heaved wildly beneath the yellow tunic.</p> - -<p>"What's wrong, Owner MacIver? What's wrong?" came the excited voice -from the audio.</p> - -<p>Mia's wide gray eyes brimmed with hate.</p> - -<p>"He is ..." she began again, but the screen went dead. Cosmo had yanked -the transmitter from the wall. Wires like tentacles dangled from the -back of the box. He dropped it to the gray straw matting.</p> - -<p>"That won't help!" Mia's voice was triumphant as she backed away. "You -can't escape. They'll come from all directions."</p> - -<p>Again Cosmo grinned. He jumped, seized Mia, swung her off her feet.</p> - -<p>"Let me go!"</p> - -<p>"You're coming with me." His voice was grim. "I'd rather the -Commissioner didn't find out I'm the Renegade just yet."</p> - -<p>"Put me down! Are you mad?" Mia's long, bare legs thrashed wildly. She -hammered at his chest. "You can't escape by yourself, let alone with -me."</p> - -<p>He calmly pinioned her flailing legs, strode out the window to the edge -of the patio. Dropping her to her feet, he fumbled in his pocket, drew -forth a whistle, put it to his lips, blew.</p> - -<p>No audible sound resulted. The note was too high, too shrill to be -detected by human ears.</p> - -<p>Mia MacIver quit squirming, gaped at him blankly.</p> - -<p>Cosmo's eyes searched the dense pearl gray cloud ceiling. He blew twice -more on the soundless whistle.</p> - -<p>There was a disturbance in the cloud layer directly overhead as if -tremendous fans were boiling the impenetrable fleecy ceiling into a -froth. Then a huge grotesque shape plummeted from the clouds. With back -flailing wings, the monster settled to the ground.</p> - -<p>Mia screamed, tried to squirm free.</p> - -<p>"Let me go! Let me go!"</p> - -<p>"It's just a bird," he assured her.</p> - -<p>"Just a bird, hell!" Mia shuddered. "That thing's a nightmare. What is -it?"</p> - -<p>"An Ormoo."</p> - -<p>The Ormoo cocked its red-brown eye at Cosmo, rubbed its gunmetal gray -beak against his leg, emitted a pleased raucous squawk.</p> - -<p>Mia flinched. The beak looked capable of severing Cosmo's leg like a -twig. From wing tip to wing tip the Ormoo extended over sixty feet. -Its pearl gray plumage was a perfect camouflage as it drifted through -Venus' eternal cloud blanket.</p> - -<p>"Down!" shouted Cosmo.</p> - -<p>The Ormoo crouched to its breast like a hen setting on her eggs. A -saddle was strapped to its back.</p> - -<p>"Cosmo!" cried Mia in terror, struggling to wrench free.</p> - -<p>The Ormoo cocked its head again, eyed the frantic girl gravely as a -robin might watch a beetle.</p> - -<p>"My God, Cosmo, that thing wants to eat me. I'll—I'll have hysterics."</p> - -<p>He laughed, flung her astride the saddle. Holding onto her naked ankle, -he vaulted up behind.</p> - -<p>"Up!" he shouted.</p> - -<p>The Ormoo lurched to its feet. It took a few ungainly steps, launched -itself into the air with a powerful drive of its legs. The massive -wings lashed the air like flails as it spiraled upward.</p> - -<p>Mia clung to Cosmo with terror.</p> - -<p>"Take me back, Cosmo. I won't tell the Commissioner you're the -Renegade. I'll lie like a Martian diplomat. Only make this monstrosity -go down! Please Cosmo!"</p> - -<p>He put an arm about her waist, steadying her.</p> - -<p>"Don't be frightened. He won't hurt you so long as I'm here."</p> - -<p>"The hell you say," said Mia between chattering teeth. "I tell you that -bird considers me in the same light as a juicy worm."</p> - -<p>Already, the tenuous mist was closing around them. The Ormoo still -spiraled upward. Cosmo saw a patrol flash by beneath them, pause like -a humming bird over the patio. Another, then another streaked in from -different directions.</p> - -<p>Mia MacIver leaned over all at once, shrieked in a despairing voice: -"Help! Help!"</p> - -<p>"You little wretch," Cosmo grinned, clapped his hand over her mouth. -She bit him.</p> - -<p>He jerked his hand away. Before she could cry out again, the wool-like -cloud blanket smothered them. Everything disappeared in moist white -fleece. Mia slumped forlornly in Cosmo's powerful arm.</p> - -<p>"Home," Cosmo shouted.</p> - -<p>The giant bird wheeled off at an angle, wings beating with the rhythmic -swish of waves lapping at a beach. Guided by some peculiar sixth sense, -it headed by the shortest route for the Cloud Mountains.</p> - -<p>For a while, the whish—swish of the Ormoo's wings was the only sound. -It was like flying through a warm blinding blizzard.</p> - -<p>"Does it know where it's going?" Mia twisted about in Cosmo's arm, -curiosity overcoming her terror. Already her brown piquant features -dripped with moisture. Her damp yellow tunic clung to her pliant figure -like skin.</p> - -<p>"Yes. The patrol planes can't navigate in these clouds. But the Ormoo -can. It flys by instinct."</p> - -<p>She relaxed, laid her damp black curls against his shoulder.</p> - -<p>"Cosmo, why did you turn renegade?"</p> - -<p>Her attitude had undergone such an about face that his green eyes -hardened warily.</p> - -<p>"It's a long story."</p> - -<p>Mia snuggled deeper in his arms. "Was it because your father and mother -were killed and Bemmelman stole your plantation?"</p> - -<p>"That was part of it. My nurse fled with me to the Cloud Mountains. -The Jovians trailed us, hunted us for months, then we fell in with a -party of outlaws. They were rough men, but kind. I didn't understand -much that was happening at the time, but later I managed to piece it -together. I swore I'd make Bemmelman pay."</p> - -<p>He laughed mirthlessly. "It was no use. The authorities weren't -interested in hearing anything against him. I thought maybe if I could -get concrete evidence, that would force them to act. I broke into his -manor house. I was discovered, but I got away. I was wearing a hood to -conceal my features. The newscasters played it up. The hooded man. The -Renegade. I suddenly found myself notorious—an outlaw."</p> - -<p>"But you raided other plantations. You stirred up the serfs!" She -couldn't keep the edge of hate and accusation out of her voice.</p> - -<p>"Some," he admitted with a grin, "though we preyed on other outlaws -principally. But whenever the Security Patrol couldn't solve a crime, -they laid it to the Renegade. The list is astounding: murder, rapine, -theft." He chuckled grimly. "I've even been credited with committing -two killings at the same time over five hundred miles apart."</p> - -<p>"But even if you get Bemmelman," Mia pointed out; "what can you gain. -You're still an outlaw. You'll be sent to the disintegration chamber."</p> - -<p>"Oh, they'll get me someday," he replied coolly. "But first, I'll drag -down Bemmelman."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The Ormoo flew steadily, strongly. Presently, the girl said:</p> - -<p>"Does the Ormoo really understand your commands?"</p> - -<p>"A few simple ones."</p> - -<p>"Would it obey me?"</p> - -<p>"Try it."</p> - -<p>"Down," cried Mia.</p> - -<p>The Ormoo plummeted toward the surface. Mia clapped her hands, -shrieked: "Up!" Its wings thundered as it gained altitude again.</p> - -<p>She twisted around in the saddle. "It obeys me," she laughed -infectiously. She placed her hands, as if to steady herself on Cosmo's -shoulder. All at once, her gray eyes contracted. She gave him a -tremendous push.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus1.jpg" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>Caught completely by surprise, Cosmo lunged desperately for the saddle, -missed. He felt himself slipping faster and faster on the bird's wet -back. There he went over with a rush.</p> - -<p>His wildly grabbing hand slid down Mia's bare leg. Like a drowning man -clutching at a straw, his fingers closed about her ankle.</p> - -<p>Mia gave a shriek of terror, rolled over on her stomach, hugged the -saddle.</p> - -<p>"Let go!" she yelled. "You're pulling me off!" She kicked wildly at the -man dangling pendulum-like from her foot.</p> - -<p>Cosmo grunted. He pulled himself up, grabbed her leg just above the -calf. Thrusting his free hand into the Ormoo's feathers, he seized a -large quill, inched himself upward.</p> - -<p>Mia was too busy hanging to the saddle to kick at him. She lay stomach -down across the Ormoo's back clinging with the strength of panic.</p> - -<p>Cosmo released her leg, got a grip on her tunic. It parted halfway up -her back, leaving him dangling wildly from the huge quill. He caught -her leg again, strained upward until he could grasp the saddle and -heave himself astride.</p> - -<p>He sat there, trembling with exhaustion, panting.</p> - -<p>Mia still lay stomach down across the saddle sobbing with frustration. -There were red finger weals on ankle, calf and thigh where Cosmo's iron -fingers had dug into her flesh.</p> - -<p>He flashed her his sudden grin. "You little devil," he panted. "I ought -to dangle you over the Ormoo's side. See how you'd like it."</p> - -<p>A shudder passed through the girl. "I hate you! I hate you!" she sobbed -in frustrated rage.</p> - -<p>There was a soothing tempo to the swish-lift of the giant Ormoo's -flight. Mia dozed as the miles fled past, slumped against Cosmo's chest.</p> - -<p>Then unexpectedly, the bird wheeled, flapped sharply upward. Its huge -wing tips brushed the face of a cliff. Fog swirled, whipped into froth -by the frenzied wings.</p> - -<p>Mia MacIver awakened in terror, clung to Cosmo, pressed her damp -quivering body against him. The bird wheeled again and again, always -gaining altitude.</p> - -<p>"We're in the Mountains of the Clouds." Cosmo's green eyes glittered. -"We'll be at the roost any moment."</p> - -<p>It was colder. Mia shivered. Then the Ormoo began to settle. Wings -thrashing, it came to rest with a jar.</p> - -<p>Nothing was visible but cloud, thick, clinging. The mountains, -thrusting up into Venus' cloud sheath, were perpetually mantled with -the gray vapor. The deep throated roar of a waterfall beat at their -ears like thunder.</p> - -<p>Cosmo slid off the Ormoo's back, shouted at Mia to jump. His voice was -drowned in the waterfall. A dash of spray struck his face.</p> - -<p>He felt for her ankle, yanked. She came tumbling into his arms with a -scream. Cosmo laughed, bore her lightly across the jumble of sticks -which was the Ormoo's nest, down a long slippery flight of steps -descending into the chasm. Spray drenched them both. The roar was -unbearable.</p> - -<p>He paused, fumbled at a section of the cliff. A door swung inward, -revealing a long low chamber hewn from the living rock.</p> - -<p>Cosmo carried the wet and shivering girl across the threshold.</p> - -<p>Fog swirled about them like steam from a turkish bath. He set her on -her feet, shut the door. The roar of the waterfall was blotted out. -Only the hissing of gas jets which lighted the chamber disturbed the -silence.</p> - -<p>"My private entrance." He surveyed his prize. The wet yellow tunic -revealed every subtle curve. "You're a handsome wench, Mia."</p> - -<p>Mia MacIver frowned. "Entrance to what?"</p> - -<p>"The Renegade's abode. The mountain's honeycombed with caves. Come on."</p> - -<p>But Mia hung back dubiously. "What are you going to do with me?"</p> - -<p>He eyed the suspicious girl, said solemnly: "Oh, the usual thing."</p> - -<p>"The usual thing?" She swallowed. "That's what I was afraid of!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"You're easily resigned," he observed dryly, and urged her toward the -door at the rear of the chamber. "You need to get out of that wet -tunic." He grinned, regarded the rent in the back of the garment. "It -isn't doing its duty any longer anyway."</p> - -<p>"I think you're horrible!" She grabbed the tear together, sidled -crabwise through the door, her cheeks hot.</p> - -<p>Cosmo followed chuckling. A long narrow corridor burrowed ahead of them -straight into the heart of the mountain. Flaring gas jets hissed at -regular intervals along the walls.</p> - -<p>All at once the grin was wiped from his face. He seized Mia's arm, -said: "Hold it!"</p> - -<p>Mia bit her lip, gasped.</p> - -<p>Three men had edged into the corridor from a bisecting passage. They -were huge, almost seven feet tall with skin a vivid blue. They were -quite naked and the muscles bulged beneath their blue hides.</p> - -<p>"Jovian Dawn Men!" Mia whispered. "My God! They're running amok!"</p> - -<p>Cosmo felt the cold breath of death blow up his spine. His hand slid -automatically to his shoulder holster. It was empty. With a curse, he -remembered that it had been taken by the Blue Venus. Her dart gun, he'd -tossed aside, once free of the Bemmelman plantation.</p> - -<p>The three naked giants minced daintily closer, nostrils flaring as they -caught their scent. "They're not amok," he said over his shoulder. "The -rutting season is months off yet. There's something else behind this."</p> - -<p>Mia said with incredulity: "Look at their left shoulders. See that -scar. The fern leaf! That's Hal Bemmelman's brand! Cosmo, those are -Bemmelman's slaves!"</p> - -<p>The blue giants crouched. Their violet eyes were passionless, their -handsome faces calm, inscrutable.</p> - -<p>"Back!" Cosmo suddenly shouted in a tone of authority, and took a step -toward them. A low snarl rumbled in their throats. Then like cats on a -mouse, they pounced.</p> - -<p>Mia screamed.</p> - -<p>Cosmo kicked one of them in the belly, heard him grunt. With balled -fist he swung at the placid handsome features of the second blue giant. -Pain, like a hot iron, shot up his arm from his bruised knuckles. The -Jovian shook his head, grabbed Cosmo's wrist, jerked. His arm felt as -if it were being torn from the socket.</p> - -<p>He kicked, slugged the emotionless face with his free hand. The grip -never relaxed. He heard Mia scream again like a rabbit in a steel trap.</p> - -<p>Then the Jovian clouted him brutally alongside the temple with his open -fist. Cosmo's head snapped sideways like a punching bag. His knees -collapsed. He seemed to be falling into the chasm of the waterfall, -down, down into stygian blackness.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">IV</p> - -<p>Cosmo gradually became aware of a jolting swaying movement. At each -jolt, a flash of pain shot across his eyes. He sat up, cracked his -skull against something solid. A blinding pain jolted him into full -consciousness.</p> - -<p>He was in a cage, he saw, swung on poles like a litter between two of -the blue giants. They were jogging along through a forest.</p> - -<p>At once he became aware of warmth along his side, twisted his head. Mia -was regarding him from wide frightened eyes. They'd been tumbled side -by side into the cage. The girl was almost naked, her yellow tunic in -tatters.</p> - -<p>"You hurt?" he asked.</p> - -<p>She shook her head.</p> - -<p>He closed his eyes against the ache in his skull. If the pain would -only let up. His mind felt fuzzy, his thoughts incoherent.</p> - -<p>"Whew. That brute sure gave me a wallop. What happened?"</p> - -<p>He could feel Mia shiver against him. "It was dreadful," she said. -"They grabbed me—<i>ugh!</i>—and stuffed me in this cage. They had it -hidden outside on the trail from the Ormoo's nest. Then they dumped you -in on top of me like a bag of flour. I—I thought you were dead."</p> - -<p>"So did I," said Cosmo dryly.</p> - -<p>She regarded him dubiously, said: "They picked up the cage then and -began to run down the trail. They carried us over the most impossible -places, always down. I died with fright. Just a little while ago we -came out into the forest."</p> - -<p>"I know the trail," he said. "Nothing but Jovian primitives could have -managed it. I wonder why Bemmelman didn't have me killed outright."</p> - -<p>"Bemmelman?" Mia looked puzzled.</p> - -<p>"Sure. They're his slaves. You saw the fern leaf brand on their -shoulders. We walked straight into a trap."</p> - -<p>"But that's impossible. How could they have found your hideout?"</p> - -<p>Cosmo shook his head and immediately regretted it. "One of my men must -be a spy. Bemmelman's shrewder than I've given him credit for being."</p> - -<p>"A spy?" Mia's eyes grew round as saucers. "But why?"</p> - -<p>"I don't know. Unless he's after that fifty thousand monad reward on -my head!" He frowned. "Bemmelman said something odd last night when he -caught me in his house. He said he'd been trying to get in touch with -me."</p> - -<p>The blue giants swung effortlessly through the incredible forest. The -trees were like cathedral columns disappearing in the swirling cloud -blanket.</p> - -<p>"You said we'd walked into a trap," insisted Mia. "How could Bemmelman -know when you'd get back. I don't understand."</p> - -<p>Cosmo snorted. "Anybody could guess I'd head for my hideout after the -alarm at your place. Most likely, Bemmelman tipped that Judas of his by -radio when to expect me. The Dawn Men are animals. They hunt by scent. -That fellow must have given them a piece of my clothing, planted them -in the corridor. It was as simple as that."</p> - -<p>"But what does Bemmelman want with me?" she wailed.</p> - -<p>"Don't forget the Blue Venus. I told you he'd been trying to duplicate -that experiment."</p> - -<p>"I don't believe it," said Mia in a shocked voice. "He wouldn't dare! -Would he?"</p> - -<p>"What's to hinder him? At Venusport they'll think the Renegade abducted -you. Who'd suspect that the eminent Councillor Bemmelman had hijacked -me?"</p> - -<p>"I don't believe it," she repeated indignantly. "You're just trying to -throw mud on him because you think he murdered your parents and stole -your plantation. It's—it's an obsession. You have no proof."</p> - -<p>Cosmo regarded her with cloudy green eyes. "I had the Intersteller -Investigation Bureau dig out his past. I've a man in Bemmelman's -household right now. I know." He looked through the bars of the cage. -They were approaching the edge of the forest. He turned back, said: -"Something besides slave breeding is going on at Bemmelman's. There are -parts of the plantation where my man never has been able to penetrate."</p> - -<p>"What do you think it is?" Mia's voice was a whisper.</p> - -<p>"I don't know. But hasn't it occurred to you that slave breeding must -entail a slow turnover. A child isn't marketable until it's sixteen or -seventeen at least."</p> - -<p>"What are you driving at?"</p> - -<p>"Suppose Bemmelman has discovered some way to speed up growth—to -hasten maturity."</p> - -<p>"An aging process? It's—it's impossible."</p> - -<p>He shook his head. "Plants are forced; why not animals?"</p> - -<p>The blue giants, he saw, had broken through the last of the trees into -a lush meadow of mauve fen grass.</p> - -<p>"Look, Mia!" he pointed toward the center of the meadow. "The second -lap of our journey is provided for. Our kidnapper shows considerable -foresight."</p> - -<p>In the center of the meadow, a small surface plane rested on the fen -grass like a silver bullet. There was no sign of life inside or out.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"It's deserted," said Mia in surprise. Cosmo frowned, but didn't reply.</p> - -<p>The Jovian Dawn Men trotted straight to the empty plane. They opened -a door in the side, shoved them within, cage and all. Cosmo heard the -door click shut. The Dawn Men had not followed them inside.</p> - -<p>He glanced curiously about the interior. All the seats had been -removed, even the pilot's chair.</p> - -<p>"Where's the pilot?" asked Mia in a subdued voice.</p> - -<p>He shook his head. Through the port, he could see the blue giants -disappearing among the trees.</p> - -<p>Just then the plane gave a jerk.</p> - -<p>"It's moving!" With a shriek, Mia flung herself onto Cosmo.</p> - -<p>He felt the plane lurch again, then shoot upward. At a hundred feet it -leveled itself off, darted away on what he judged to be a southerly -course. There was still no evidence of a pilot.</p> - -<p>Mia MacIver held onto Cosmo like a drowning man to a straw as the -pilotless plane hurtled southward.</p> - -<p>He drew a long breath. "Robot pilot." He patted her shoulder. "There's -nothing supernatural about it."</p> - -<p>Mia pulled herself away. "I didn't mean to throw myself on you like -that. I ... I...." She halted lamely.</p> - -<p>"Don't apologize." Cosmo flashed her his quick wolfish grin. "I enjoyed -it. You've been hurling yourself at me at fairly regular intervals all -day."</p> - -<p>"I think you're horrid." Mia's cheeks colored, but her gray eyes -twinkled.</p> - -<p>"Mia," he said serious all at once, "if Bemmelman—er—disposes of me, -you'll have to contact my man yourself. I told you I had a spy planted -in his household. His name is Penang-ihtok."</p> - -<p>She looked suddenly startled.</p> - -<p>"He's a Venusian, an outcast Fozoql. You can recognize him by the blue -star tattooed on his forehead. Tell him that my orders are to have the -men raid Bemmelman's plantation and carry you to Venusport."</p> - -<p>"Penang-ihtok," she repeated.</p> - -<p>"Of course," he added dryly; "I'm hopeful Bemmelman won't kill me right -off, and I can contact Penang-ihtok myself. In which case, you won't -need to bother your pretty head about it."</p> - -<p>He yawned, stretched out as comfortably as he could arrange himself in -their confined quarters, closed his eyes.</p> - -<p>"You're not going to sleep," exploded Mia in alarm.</p> - -<p>"Certainly. Nothing else to do." He patted his shoulder. "Make yourself -comfortable."</p> - -<p>She eyed him with suspicion.</p> - -<p>"Go ahead. I haven't any designs on you," he said dryly.</p> - -<p>"Well you don't need to be so assertive about it," said Mia, and laid -her head gingerly on his shoulder.</p> - -<p>"Sure," said Cosmo. He was staring at the roof of the cage.</p> - -<p>Presently, she said in a sleepy voice, "I haven't leprosy either, in -case you're worried."</p> - -<p>"Of course not."</p> - -<p>Mia muttered something unladylike under her breath.</p> - -<p>"What's that?"</p> - -<p>"I think," said Mia distinctly; "that you're a worm!"</p> - -<p>Cosmo chuckled. The plane continued to steer itself arrow-like into the -South of Mu.</p> - -<p>A faint jerk brought Cosmo wide awake as some jungle animal. The plane, -he realized had stopped, settled to Venus.</p> - -<p>It was night. The green phosphorescent light of the luminous vegetation -flooded through the port holes. From somewhere, the sound of a muffled -bell, ringing, ringing, reached his ears.</p> - -<p>Through the port, he could see a corner of a tower, part of a slate -roof. The grotesque arms of a telo-antenna sprouted from the peak of -the tower. He heard a door squeal open. The bell sounded louder, then -it stopped to be replaced by the mutter of voices approaching.</p> - -<p>"Wake up." He shook Mia MacIver gently.</p> - -<p>She opened her eyes, stared at him in bewilderment. "Where are we?"</p> - -<p>"Shhh!"</p> - -<p>The door opened. Cosmo caught sight of Bemmelman's gross features in -the opening. He looked ghastly in the phosphorescent glow. Beyond him -reared an immense gray pile of a building.</p> - -<p>The planter's jaw dropped in disbelief as he recognized his captives. -Then a tide of red swept up from his bull-like neck.</p> - -<p>"You!" he shouted. "What the hell are you doing in there?"</p> - -<p>"Didn't you know?" said Cosmo dryly. "I'm trying to cure myself of -claustrophobia."</p> - -<p>But already, a shrewd gleam of triumph had replaced the disappointment -in Bemmelman's pig-like brown eyes.</p> - -<p>"You're the Renegade." He rubbed his hands together, began to grin. -"Yes sir, you're the Renegade. I should have guessed it before. And -you, Mia." He threw back his head, roared until the court reverberated -with his heavy laughter.</p> - -<p>"Let us in on the joke," said Cosmo.</p> - -<p>Bemmelman stopped laughing, wiped his eyes. "Two birds with one stone. -I didn't expect to catch both of you in the same trap. No sir, that I -didn't." He stepped back, clapped his hands.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Two naked Blue Dawn Men appeared, hauled forth the cage, shouldered it. -With Bemmelman following, they bore it across the court, into a doorway -at the base of the lichen covered tower.</p> - -<p>"I feel perfectly ridiculous," whispered Mia, bouncing around in the -cage. "Thank goodness none of my friends can see me."</p> - -<p>Cosmo chuckled, shot a glance after Bemmelman who was crossing the -floor to an intercommunicating telecast. The room appeared to be a -guard room. Weapons were racked against the walls, and a dozen naked -blue giants lay sleeping on the floor. These raised their handsome, -classical heads, surveyed the captives from incurious violet eyes. -Cosmo put his lips against Mia's ear and said:</p> - -<p>"Remember Penang-ihtok."</p> - -<p>He heard Bemmelman say: "Switch on the current in the tower. Send Llana -to me at once."</p> - -<p>A voice from the audio replied: "Right."</p> - -<p>From the corner of his eye, Cosmo saw a sheet of flame sear across the -door leading to the court beyond. Then it vanished.</p> - -<p>"Force screen," he guessed.</p> - -<p>Bemmelman approached, grinning amiably. He was wearing a snuff brown -suit which set on him like a sack.</p> - -<p>"Don't try to escape," cautioned the planter as he inserted a slender -key in the spring lock, threw back the top of the cage. "You'd be -electrocuted if you went through any of the outside doors or windows."</p> - -<p>Cosmo and Mia stood up shakily.</p> - -<p>"We won't bolt, if that's what you mean," Cosmo replied dryly. He -glanced at the handsome, impassive blue giants, discarded any idea of -attacking Bemmelman directly.</p> - -<p>"I'm happy to see you're amenable to reason, Cosmo. I sure am." He -rubbed his nose. "Yes sir. I like a reasonable man. I'm going to be -able to use you, Cosmo."</p> - -<p>"That's what you said last night," Cosmo reminded him, his face blank. -The palms of his hands were sweating. He wanted to run as fast and far -from the sly, red-faced man as he could. Bemmelman, he was beginning -to sense, was as slippery and dangerous as the infamous Venusian swamp -rath.</p> - -<p>A door at the rear of the chamber opened suddenly. Cosmo jumped. A -glance assured him it was only a slave girl. She wasn't a Venusian, -though. He frowned. She was from Earth.</p> - -<p>The Terran girl regarded the prisoners curiously, then faced Bemmelman. -"Rabaul said you wanted me." She was dressed in a green sarong which -reached from her knees to her breasts. On her left shoulder was a -small scar in the shape of a fern leaf: Bemmelman's brand.</p> - -<p>"Yes sir," said the planter; "so I do. So I do, Llana. Be so good as to -escort Miss MacIver to the tower apartment. Don't leave her."</p> - -<p>Mia shuddered, clung tighter to Cosmo.</p> - -<p>"Keep your head, Mia." He gently disengaged her hand. "If you don't go, -they'll drag you off willy-nilly."</p> - -<p>Dispiritedly she followed the slave girl from the guardroom. She was so -woebegone that Cosmo felt a wrench at his heart. He faced the planter, -said in a hard voice, "What did you want with me?"</p> - -<p>Bemmelman's eyelids drooped. He turned on his heel, said shortly, "Come -along, Cosmo," and started for the door. "I want to have a talk with -you. Yes sir, a very interesting talk."</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">V</p> - -<p>Flanked by the two blue giants Cosmo followed his host down a long -corridor, up a flight of steps and into a sumptuously furnished -apartment. A yellow grass mat carpeted the floor from wall to wall. -The furniture was covered with a coarse, woven fabric, barbaric in its -color.</p> - -<p>With a sigh, Bemmelman lowered himself into a lounge chair, indicated -another for Cosmo.</p> - -<p>"You're tired. You've had an uncomfortable journey. I won't keep you up -long." He rang a bell.</p> - -<p>With amazing promptness, a wizened Mercurian scurried through a sliding -wall panel.</p> - -<p>"Krudo juice," said Bemmelman; "cold. And sandwiches. Better bring a -bottle of food concentrates, too."</p> - -<p>The Mercurian disappeared.</p> - -<p>Cosmo was staring at the bank of open windows. They gave onto a -Venusian garden of grotesque beauty, each plant and shrub sparkling -with a cold phosphorescence. Several insects, the huge, bird-like -insects of Venus, winged in from the garden. As they reached the -window, there was a sudden sparkle of flame. The insects dropped dead -to the floor.</p> - -<p>"An excellent warning," Bemmelman said in a silky voice. "The force -screens, you know. Yes sir, not only do they discourage guests from -straying; but they keep intruders outside."</p> - -<p>Cosmo repressed a shiver. "Ingenious gadget."</p> - -<p>"Gadget?" The red-faced planter threw back his head, laughed -uproariously. "You're a droll rogue, you are. I like a man with a sense -of humor." He rubbed his nose, then pointed to a picture above the -sofa. "Recognize her, don't you?"</p> - -<p>Cosmo saw a three dimensional photograph of a nude. Her skin was pale -blue, flushed with healthy rose, her hair like molten gold.</p> - -<p>"Sofi," Cosmo said with distaste. "The Blue Venus. I should think, -Bemmelman, you'd have to wait rather long for your profits."</p> - -<p>"So I do. So I do. But it's possible to harvest a yearly crop from a -forest. Trees grow even slower than people. I'll show you the slave -pens tomorrow. I've only the one Blue Venus, though. Unfortunately the -rest have been males."</p> - -<p>Cosmo wondered why the planter had called attention to the Blue Venus. -He suspected that Bemmelman was subtly trying to find out if he had -learned anything from Sofi.</p> - -<p>"What do you do with the males?" he asked, prompted by something in -Bemmelman's voice.</p> - -<p>"They're interesting, but they've no market value. I have them -destroyed."</p> - -<p>Cosmo bit his lip. Bemmelman was a monster. He wondered what the sealed -chambers held, the chambers where his spy Penang-ihtok had never been -able to penetrate.</p> - -<p>"I suppose," said the planter unexpectedly; "you're curious about what -I wanted with you?"</p> - -<p>Cosmo nodded.</p> - -<p>"Well sir, I could have had you killed back in the caves of the Cloud -Mountains. I've had a spy among your men for some time." He paused as -the Mercurian returned, deposited a tray between them. It held a silver -pitcher of krudo juice, thin sandwiches, a bottle of food concentrates.</p> - -<p>"Go ahead," said Cosmo when the Mercurian had departed. He popped two -of the pills into his mouth.</p> - -<p>"Where was I? Oh yes. I could have had you assassinated several times, -but you've some information I want?"</p> - -<p>Cosmo's green eyes narrowed warily. "What information?"</p> - -<p>The planter leaned forward, tapped him on the knee. "That bird. The -Giant Ormoo. Oh yes, I know how you escaped from the roof last night. -Yes sir, and very neat, too." He beamed amiably. "I want to know where -the Ormoos feed."</p> - -<p>Cosmo sat back in surprise.</p> - -<p>"Why?"</p> - -<p>"That's my secret," said the beefy planter. "Yes sir, that's my secret. -But I'm a business man, Cosmo. Show me where the Ormoo feeds, and I'll -make it worth your while."</p> - -<p>"Five thousand monad," Cosmo hazarded.</p> - -<p>Bemmelman didn't blink an eye. "Five thousand monad," he agreed.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Cosmo sat back, his face blank. The planter, he realized, had no more -idea of paying him five thousand monad than he had of adopting him. -He'd agreed to the preposterous sum too readily. Cosmo's green eyes -hardened.</p> - -<p>"And suppose I refuse."</p> - -<p>"But you won't. You can't. No sir. If you refused, I'll be forced to -kill you and trace the bird myself."</p> - -<p>"The devil you will." Cosmo could feel sweat starting from his -forehead. "That bird's savage as a tiger. You've already tried to trace -it to its feeding ground, haven't you? That's why you planted a spy -among my men, wasn't it?"</p> - -<p>"Yes sir," Bemmelman admitted with a sigh. "I don't mind telling you he -was supposed to find out what and where the bird ate. But it damn near -tore him to pieces."</p> - -<p>Cosmo didn't say anything.</p> - -<p>Bemmelman leaned forward, tapped his knee again. "Unfortunately, the -birds are rare as the dodo. I've spent quite a bit of money trying to -locate another. The only one that's been caught is in the Solar Apiary -on Earth."</p> - -<p>Mention of the Ormoo in the Solar Apiary stirred Cosmo's memory. He -stared at Bemmelman with narrowed eyes. The Ormoo in its wild state -matured to its full size in a few months. The one which the Terran -expedition had secured, hadn't reached adulthood until its nineteenth -year. The discrepancy had been puzzling ornithologists ever since. -Theories had flooded the scientific journals, but to date, no one had -explained satisfactorily why a wild Ormoo should mature over twenty -times as fast as the same bird in captivity.</p> - -<p>"Well?" Bemmelman rubbed his nose, his eyelids drooping.</p> - -<p>"If I show you where the Ormoo feeds, what guarantee have I that you'll -carry out your side of the bargain?"</p> - -<p>"Just my word," said Bemmelman with a chuckle. "Just my word."</p> - -<p>Two rouge-like spots sprang out on Cosmo's cheek bones. He came halfway -erect in his chair.</p> - -<p>"No violence, please." The planter held up his hand. "Look behind you."</p> - -<p>Cosmo turned his head. The two Jovian primitives were crouched to -spring. He sank back in his chair, managed a tight grin. His lips felt -dry, his stomach hollow.</p> - -<p>"I don't think you appreciate your position, Cosmo," said the planter -silkily. "No sir, I don't." He heaved himself from his chair with a -grunt. "I've something to show you. Come with me."</p> - -<p>The two Jovian Dawn Men fell in beside Cosmo again as he trailed the -planter down three steps, along a short corridor to a sunken court. -Bemmelman paused, pointed to a huge wooden cross in the center of the -court.</p> - -<p>"You weren't depending on him, were you," he smirked.</p> - -<p>Cosmo felt his blood run cold. His fists clenched until the nails bit -into the flesh.</p> - -<p>The body of Penang-ihtok hung from the cross. The outcast Fozoql had -been crucified upside down.</p> - -<p>"You see," said Bemmelman, his voice heavy with assurance; "how futile -it is to oppose me."</p> - -<p>Cosmo turned away from the cross with its grisly burden. He looked -coldly, speculatively at Bemmelman's beefy smiling face. At the look, -fright glimmered in the planter's eyes. He made a quick gesture to the -Jovians who seized Cosmo by either arm.</p> - -<p>"Take him away," he ordered. "We'll talk it over tomorrow."</p> - -<p>Cosmo was conducted into a plainly, but comfortably furnished room. -One of the blue giants immediately stretched himself on the sofa and -went to sleep. The other, though, took a stance by the door, folded his -arms, regarded Cosmo with the unwinking stare of an idol. Obviously, -the Jovian primitives intended to spell each other.</p> - -<p>With a grunt of annoyance, Cosmo retreated into the bathroom. He had -grossly underestimated Bemmelman, he realized with chagrin. A malignant -genius, the slave breeder had no more scruples than his Dawn Men.</p> - -<p>Cosmo heard a soft step behind him, whirled around. His Jovian guard -was standing placidly just within the door.</p> - -<p>"Damn," he snapped, nerves jangling. "I'm not going to crawl out the -drain."</p> - -<p>The blue giant never changed expression by so much as a flicker.</p> - -<p>Cosmo got a grip on himself, shot the giant his flashing grin. "What's -the matter? Cat got your tongue?"</p> - -<p>He stripped off coat and trousers, hung them carefully over the -Jovian's shoulder, stepped under the shower.</p> - -<p>Considerably refreshed, he returned to his sleeping chamber, crawled -raw into the huge bed. But sleep escaped him. That stark cross, the -body illuminated by the radiations of the lichens and mosses, persisted -in thrusting itself before his eyes. He clenched his fists, trembled in -an agony of impotent fury. Somehow, he'd trip up Bemmelman, smash his -disgusting racket.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Cosmo awakened in the huge bed, sweating with terror. The echo of some -nameless horror still rang in his ears. He saw the Dawn Man, motionless -as a statue, watching him with animal patience. Then he heard it again.</p> - -<p>It was a girl's scream. It reached him faintly. It went on and on. He -leaped out of bed, tugged on his trousers.</p> - -<p>The Dawn Man sprang across the room to intercept him. Cosmo seized a -metal chair, swung it with the same movement. It caught the blue giant -on his head and shoulders. The blow would have felled an ox. The Jovian -folded onto the carpet, lay still. Cosmo thought he must be dead.</p> - -<p>The second Jovian primitive jumped from the sofa at the crash. He had -awakened like an animal. With a low snarl, he leaped for Cosmo.</p> - -<p>Cosmo ducked under his first rush, crashed the chair down on the back -of his head. The giant staggered groggily, but didn't go down.</p> - -<p>Cosmo measured the distance, walloped him again. The second blue giant -went over like a falling tree.</p> - -<p>Without stopping for coat or shoes, Cosmo hurtled into the hall. The -screaming had been silenced. The building was quiet as a deserted -church.</p> - -<p>He set out at a lope in the direction of the tower where Mia was -confined. That had been Mia screaming, he was sure. He'd recognized the -timbre of her voice.</p> - -<p>His heart thudding, he reached a stair, took the steps two at a time. -It bent sharply to the left, went up another flight. He must be in the -tower itself. The silence was oppressive. He wished fervently he had a -dart gun, a ray projector, anything that would serve as a weapon. The -steps continued to wind upward.</p> - -<p>Gasping for breath, he reached the fifth level. From beneath a door -seeped a crack of light. He sniffed. A peculiar odor impinged on his -nostrils. Then he heard Bemmelman's rough voice like the rasp of iron.</p> - -<p>"That's done. Take her to the slave pens."</p> - -<p>Cosmo's heart contracted. A blinding rage swept him. He'd been too late.</p> - -<p>He rammed the door with his shoulder. It burst open as if exploded. For -a second he was poised in the doorway, big, rangy, naked to the waist, -his hands hooked like claws, his nostrils distended.</p> - -<p>Without a word, he leaped on Bemmelman.</p> - -<p>The planter was standing beside an operating table upon which Mia -MacIver was strapped. He fell back a step, raised his arm in a gesture -of defense.</p> - -<p>Cosmo's rush bowled him over backward. He tried to scramble to his -feet, but Cosmo was on him like a cat on a mouse. Time after time, he -drove his fist into the planter's face. A blinding rage shook him to -the marrow.</p> - -<p>As if from a distance, he heard Mia scream again.</p> - -<p>"Cosmo! Look out behind you!"</p> - -<p>He swung off the insensible Bemmelman, twisted to his feet. He saw -Llana, the Terran slave girl, directly behind him. Her arm was -upraised, her fist clutching a needle like dagger. With a sob, she -plunged it downward toward his heaving chest.</p> - -<p>Cosmo caught her wrist in a grip of iron, tore the dagger from her -fingers. Contemptuously, he tossed the girl into a corner of the room, -turned to Mia.</p> - -<p>"Mia, are you all right?"</p> - -<p>She gave a sob of relief. "Yes, yes! But get me out of this iron lung -before I pass out."</p> - -<p>He fumbled hastily at the clamps. Her hair was tumbled. One shoulder of -her tattered yellow tunic had been torn down to her stomach. He paused -suddenly, his eyes dilating.</p> - -<p>There was an angry red scar above Mia's left breast. He realized what -the smell on the landing outside the tower room had been. It was the -odor of burning flesh.</p> - -<p>Mia MacIver had been branded!</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">VI</p> - -<p>Cosmo said, "Mia, Mia," and gathered her to him. "What have they done -to you?"</p> - -<p>Llana scurried past like a frightened rabbit.</p> - -<p>"She's getting away!" Mia cried. "She'll rouse the house!"</p> - -<p>"Never mind." Cosmo could hear her clatter down the stair. "We've got a -hostage." He gave Mia a wry grin, added, "that is, if I haven't killed -Bemmelman."</p> - -<p>Mia shivered, leaned against him. He glanced down, saw she was -regarding him strangely. With a dry sob she buried her head on his -shoulder.</p> - -<p>"Cosmo, Cosmo, don't ever leave me again." Her voice was almost lost. -"Take me with you—into the mountains."</p> - -<p>He frowned, said: "You crazy kid. You don't know what you're saying. -I'm an outlaw. There's no way to prove Bemmelman murdered my father and -mother. And even if there was, that wouldn't clear me. Every crime the -Security Patrol hasn't been able to solve has been laid at my doorstep."</p> - -<p>"We could run away. We could go to Ganymede."</p> - -<p>He shook his head. "It wouldn't make any difference. As long as the -Renegade is alive they'll hunt. They'd trail me, extradite me."</p> - -<p>"I don't care. I don't care. At least—"</p> - -<p>The brazen clamor of the alarm bells shrilled suddenly in their ears.</p> - -<p>Cosmo tore himself away, knelt beside the unconscious planter. He drew -a dart gun from Bemmelman's pocket, said: "He's alive."</p> - -<p>"What are we going to do, Cosmo?"</p> - -<p>With a grunt, he hoisted the slack body over his shoulder. The alarm -bells were pealing louder.</p> - -<p>"I saw a telo-antenna on the roof of the tower when we were in the -court. I've a hunch the telo-projector is somewhere above us."</p> - -<p>Mia MacIver, clutching the tunic about her shoulder, asked: "But can't -we run for it?"</p> - -<p>"Not while the force screen is operating."</p> - -<p>Bent under his heavy burden, Cosmo strode from the room, up the steps -to the next level. Saying, "What's this?" he pressed the button of a -sliding panel. The door slid back in its oiled grooves. "Whew!" he -said. "My lady's chamber."</p> - -<p>Mia MacIver peered around him wide-eyed.</p> - -<p>It was a large room, octagon shaped and carpeted wall to wall with -the shaggy gray fur of the Polar Aard. But the most startling feature -was the mirrors. The walls were paneled solid in mirrors. It gave the -impression that the room stretched on forever.</p> - -<p>"Well!" said Mia; "if this is the telecast operator's room, he's a -voluptuous creature!"</p> - -<p>Cosmo snorted, stepped across the threshold. At once replicas of -themselves flashed in all the mirrored chambers.</p> - -<p>"I feel wicked just being in a room like this," said Mia.</p> - -<p>Cosmo heard a click behind him, whirled around. The door through which -they'd just passed was shut. In every direction, they were faced by an -endless vista of mirrored chambers.</p> - -<p>Mia gasped. "I'm scared," she said.</p> - -<p>"Who isn't?" said Cosmo shortly and dropped Bemmelman to the floor with -a thud. "What are you staring at?" He whipped around again.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus2.jpg" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>A second door in the mirrors stood ajar. Framed in the entrance was a -magnificently beautiful girl in skimpy shorts and bra. She was the -twin of the photograph below stairs.</p> - -<p>"Well, if it isn't my old friend, Sofi," said Cosmo without enthusiasm.</p> - -<p>There was no recognition in the Blue Venus' violet eyes. Her flawless -pale-blue features revealed neither shock nor surprise.</p> - -<p>"That's Bemmelman." She indicated the planter. "Is he dead?"</p> - -<p>"No. Only unconscious."</p> - -<p>"Oh. That's too bad," she said in a calm manner, and swept up to the -prostrate slave breeder, planted a kick in the seat of his pants. -"There! I've never had the nerve to do that when he was conscious."</p> - -<p>Mia gasped.</p> - -<p>Cosmo said sharply: "Where's the telecast room?"</p> - -<p>"The next floor. But you can't escape. Nobody ever escapes from this -house."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Bemmelman stirred, opened his eyes, sat up groggily. His face was -puffy, swollen. Blood had dried on his chin. He didn't say anything.</p> - -<p>The clatter of many feet resounded on the stair outside the boudoir. -Mia clutched Cosmo's arm, said: "They're coming!"</p> - -<p>Cosmo took the dart gun from his pocket, narrowed his green eyes. "You -go first, Bemmelman, if they rush us. Understand?"</p> - -<p>The slave breeder glared at Cosmo, moistened his battered lips. "What -do you want me to do?" He spoke with difficulty.</p> - -<p>"Clear the tower. Order everyone into the rest of the house."</p> - -<p>Bemmelman nodded sullenly.</p> - -<p>Cosmo saw one of the mirrors shiver violently. Then the panel slid -back. The stair was jammed with naked blue Jovians and Venusian serfs. -The slave girl, Llana, was in the forefront. She pointed at Cosmo, -screamed: "There they are!"</p> - -<p>The Jovians started to surge through the narrow door.</p> - -<p>Cosmo drew a bead on Bemmelman's thick neck, smiled grimly.</p> - -<p>Blood drained out of the planter's face. "Get out!" he cried in panic.</p> - -<p>The rescuers halted, stared stupidly. The ones in the rear continued to -push forward causing momentary confusion.</p> - -<p>"Get out!" Bemmelman raged. "Get out, you fools! D'you want to get me -killed? Clear the tower!"</p> - -<p>They began to withdraw sullenly.</p> - -<p>Cosmo stepped after them, slid shut the panel. He could hear their -footsteps retreating down the stair. He let his breath escape through -his teeth.</p> - -<p>"Keep your eye on the Blue Venus, Mia. She's a shifty wench."</p> - -<p>Mia seized a candlestick from a dainty Martian table, said, "This isn't -going to hurt me half as bad as it will you," to Sofi.</p> - -<p>Cosmo dug the dart gun into Bemmelman's kidneys. "Let's go up to the -telecast room." He pushed the planter ahead of him through the door.</p> - -<p>The stair well was deserted, silent.</p> - -<p>"I smell roses," said Mia.</p> - -<p>Cosmo thought he detected a glint of triumph in the slave breeder's -eyes. "Up the steps," he said grimly. "At the first sign of treachery, -Bemmelman, I'm pulling the trigger."</p> - -<p>They reached the telecast room without opposition. It was a small -square chamber banked with control panels. An opaque screen was built -into the left wall. There was only one chair.</p> - -<p>Cosmo closed the door, motioned Mia and the Blue Venus to one side. -"Now, Bemmelman, call your head overseer; have him shut down the force -screens."</p> - -<p>The red-faced planter laughed shortly, said: "No sir." He had regained -his composure. "No sir, you won't kill me. You'd be throwing away your -only chance to stay alive. The force screen stays up."</p> - -<p>"That's what I thought you'd say." Cosmo slipped the dart gun in his -pocket. His eyes became hard green stones. "What about the Ormoo's -feeding ground? Why do you want to know where they eat?"</p> - -<p>"That's my secret." A sullen note crept into Bemmelman's manner.</p> - -<p>"You don't want me to mess you up, do you, Bemmelman?" Cosmo asked -softly.</p> - -<p>The planter flinched, but didn't answer.</p> - -<p>Cosmo knocked him sprawling against the wall. He heard Mia gasp. He -said evenly: "What about the Ormoo?"</p> - -<p>Bemmelman tasted the blood in his mouth, said: "You'll never leave here -alive, Cosmo. You won't be able to carry tales.... Now wait a moment! -There's a plant the birds eat that contains a drug...." He paused.</p> - -<p>Cosmo's eyes narrowed. He had the impression that the planter was -listening, waiting for something to happen. He said, "Go ahead."</p> - -<p>"The drug accelerates maturity. It acts directly through the glands."</p> - -<p>"How did you hit on the discovery?" A feeling of revulsion made Cosmo's -hands tremble, but his features were inscrutable.</p> - -<p>Bemmelman chuckled amiably. "This information won't do you a bit of -good," he said. "No sir, not a bit."</p> - -<p>"Go ahead."</p> - -<p>Bemmelman shrugged. "Well sir, I've been curious about how much -longer it takes for an Ormoo in captivity to mature than the wild -bird. The wild Ormoo, you know, reaches its full growth in less than -a year. That's an amazing phenomenon when you consider its size. Yes -sir...." He paused again, mouth open, then hastily went on: "Yes sir. I -wondered if it wasn't the wild birds' diet. I sent a man into the Cloud -Mountains to locate an Ormoo. He found your bird's nest."</p> - -<p>Cosmo's green eyes were opaque. Revulsion for the slave breeder welled -in his throat.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Bemmelman's manner was derisive. He rubbed his nose, said: "One day my -man found a shrub in the nest. He sent it to me on the chance that it -might be what I was looking for. It was. The leaves contain a drug, -which, when injected into the bloodstream, accelerates maturity at an -unbelievable rate." His lids drew down. "I injected it into one of the -slave children in minute doses every twenty days. The child reached -adolescence in eighteen months. In two years' time, she was full grown."</p> - -<p>"You can breed slaves like guinea pigs now, eh Bemmelman?" Cosmo's -voice was low. "And in two years' time have them ready for the market."</p> - -<p>Bemmelman said, "Certainly," and paused.</p> - -<p>"What are you listening for?" Cosmo asked suddenly.</p> - -<p>"Nothing. Nothing at all." His little eyes darted about the room. -"Unfortunately," he went on hurriedly, "I used up all the drug on -the experiment, and I haven't been able to locate any more of the -plants. No sir, we've scoured the Cloud Mountains. They're difficult to -explore. Infra red rays help some, but not much."</p> - -<p>"Who's the spy you planted among my men?" Cosmo interrupted in a cold -voice.</p> - -<p>Bemmelman shut his mouth with a snap.</p> - -<p>"Who is he? Tell me, Bemmelman, or by heavens, I'll work you over until -your own mother couldn't recognize you."</p> - -<p>Still the planter didn't reply.</p> - -<p>Cosmo hit him in the mouth. The planter's head struck the wall. He slid -down to the floor, said groggily: "It doesn't matter. No sir. I won't -need him any more. He's a Martian. His name's Natal."</p> - -<p>Cosmo wasn't surprised. They'd found the Martian wandering apparently -lost in the mountains. A sly fellow, always curious, always prying.</p> - -<p>Cosmo turned to the telecast. He felt Mia's horrified eyes on him; -the child-like stare of the Blue Venus. He switched on the telecast, -signaled his headquarters in the Cloud Mountains. At the third attempt, -he got through.</p> - -<p>To his surprise, the inscrutable mien of the Mercurian runaway -flashed on the visoscreen. His amber eyes twinkled, a smile split his -Buddha-like face, and he bowed three times until Cosmo could only see -the top of his head.</p> - -<p>"I see you got through all right," said Cosmo dryly. A faint hiss -seemed to be coming through the audio. He tried to tune it out, but the -hiss persisted.</p> - -<p>"Yes," said the Mercurian. "Delightful fellows. But blood-thirsty. You -should hear the tales they've been telling." He shuddered.</p> - -<p>"I've heard them," Cosmo interrupted. "Often. Where's Big Unse?"</p> - -<p>"Playing truk with the men. I'm on duty at the telecast."</p> - -<p>Cosmo frowned. The hissing noise was louder. He said: "I haven't time -for you to call him. I'm at the Bemmelman plantation. I'm holding -Bemmelman himself as a hostage. Tell Big Unse to bring the Ormoo. You -follow in the surface plane with the men. Don't land. Hang in the -clouds above the plantation until I whistle for the Ormoo. Oh yes. Be -sure that Natal, the Martian, comes along. Got it?"</p> - -<p>"Yes."</p> - -<p>Cosmo flipped off the telecast, frowned. The hissing had not stopped. -There was the faintest smell of roses in the air. He felt suddenly -dizzy. Mia gave a small cry and crumpled to the floor.</p> - -<p>"Paralysis gas!" he thought and wheeled toward Bemmelman, almost lost -his balance as he did so.</p> - -<p>The planter's head had dropped on his chest. He raised it groggily, -leered with triumph at Cosmo. "Concealed tubes," he muttered. "Every -room."</p> - -<p>Cosmo swayed. He fumbled at his pocket. His hand emerged with the dart -gun. He strained to elevate the gun, send a poisoned needle into the -slave breeder. His muscles refused to obey him. The gun sagged. His -knees sagged. Then slowly, he toppled sideways.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">VII</p> - -<p>Cosmo opened his eyes in the office with the glassite desk. He sat up. -Chains rattled. He realized with chagrin that he was manacled hand and -foot.</p> - -<p>Bemmelman was on the sofa. A serf, directed by the slave girl, Llana, -was working over him. Mia and the Blue Venus were stretched out on the -floor beside him, still unconscious. Both of them were manacled. Two -Blue giants watched incuriously.</p> - -<p>In a moment, Bemmelman stirred. He sat up, swung his feet to the floor. -His eyes lit on Cosmo. With a grunt he crossed the room, kicked the -manacled man in the ribs.</p> - -<p>Cosmo's face hardened, but he didn't say anything.</p> - -<p>The planter swung on his servitors, barked: "Get out!" They left the -room, all except Llana. He turned back to Cosmo, said: "I'm through -playing around with you. Yes sir. Where's the Ormoo's feeding ground?"</p> - -<p>Cosmo said nothing.</p> - -<p>Bemmelman's face went purple. He kicked Cosmo viciously in the ribs. -"Where's the feeding ground? Where is it? Where is it?"</p> - -<p>Mia regained consciousness, sat up. She stared wide-eyed at the berserk -planter.</p> - -<p>Bemmelman glanced at her, paused. He rubbed his nose, a fiendish light -shining in his pig-like eyes. He said in a sudden altered tone: "I'm -still willing to bargain, Cosmo."</p> - -<p>"What do you mean?"</p> - -<p>"Either you reveal the location of the feeding grounds, or I hand Miss -MacIver over to the Dawn Men. Yes sir, I'm anxious to repeat that -experiment." He pointed to the Blue Venus who was just coming out from -under the effects of the gas.</p> - -<p>Cosmo's features were inscrutable. He asked: "What happens to Miss -MacIver if I give you that information?"</p> - -<p>"I'll release her in Venusport with her fare back to Earth. I'm holding -personal notes on the MacIver plantation anyway."</p> - -<p>"Notes?" echoed Mia blankly. "Father never mentioned any notes. I—I -don't believe it!"</p> - -<p>A veil dropped before Bemmelman's eyes. "I haven't told you before. -I didn't like to so soon after your father's death. But I lent him -considerable money. Yes sir, considerable."</p> - -<p>Cosmo laughed without humor. "Up to your old tricks, eh Bemmelman?"</p> - -<p>"What d'you mean?" The red-faced planter looked faintly rattled. He -took a threatening step.</p> - -<p>"You kick me again," said Cosmo, "and I'll kill you if I have to bite -you to death."</p> - -<p>Mia giggled nervously.</p> - -<p>"Well?" said Bemmelman. "That's my proposition. Take it or leave it."</p> - -<p>"What about me?" asked Cosmo.</p> - -<p>"You're worth fifty thousand monad on the hoof, Cosmo. Yes sir. I'm -going to turn you and your men over to the Security Patrol."</p> - -<p>"Suppose I talk?"</p> - -<p>"Talk?" Bemmelman threw back his head and roared. "Talk d'you say? -Who'll believe anything the Renegade says?"</p> - -<p>"A nice point," Cosmo conceded dryly. "But what about Mia?"</p> - -<p>"Miss MacIver? What can she tell? Aren't you forgetting, Cosmo, that I -rescued her from you. Yes sir. What's more, I've captured you, and I'm -turning you over to the officials." His eyes twinkled. "Who's she going -to tell, anyway?"</p> - -<p>Cosmo's lean visage was unreadable. So that, he thought, was the line -Bemmelman planned to take. Only Mia MacIver would never be released. -He wondered if the planter really considered him such a fool. He said: -"You don't give me much choice," and twisted to his feet. He hobbled to -the desk, dropped awkwardly into the chair. "Give me pen and paper."</p> - -<p>Bemmelman produced writing material, spread them before him.</p> - -<p>"Here's the Cloud Mountains." Hindered by the manacles, Cosmo sketched -a chain of hills, indicated north with a crude compass. He placed a dot -halfway into the mountains, then laid off a line from the dot running -diagonally into the most rugged sector. He shoved the paper across to -Bemmelman. "The first dot's the Ormoo's nest. You know where it is?"</p> - -<p>Bemmelman nodded, wrote "Ormoo's nest" on the map.</p> - -<p>Cosmo closed his eyes, sighed faintly. "The mountains are impassable -except by plane, and then its all blind flying. Rise to an altitude of -four thousand meters. You'll clear any peaks that way. Starting at the -Ormoo's nest, fly due North, Northwest for a distance of ninety-three -kilometers." He paused.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Only the scrape of Bemmelman's pen could be heard as the planter wrote -the directions on the bottom of the map.</p> - -<p>"Drop straight into the valley," Cosmo went on as the pen scratching -ceased. "It's narrow, a canyon. The floor of the valley is at an -altitude of one thousand, seven hundred meters, so you'll be in clouds -all the time. It's tricky navigating."</p> - -<p>Bemmelman stopped writing, waved the paper dry. Then he folded it, put -it away in the wall safe, behind the sliding panel. "This had better be -right," he said ominously.</p> - -<p>Cosmo, opening his eyes, said: "It's right. I've been there a dozen -times. The first time the bird carried me there accidentally before he -was well trained."</p> - -<p>"Good." Bemmelman glanced at his watch. "Now Cosmo, we'll lay a trap -for those men of yours. Yes sir. They should be along any minute. How -many have you?"</p> - -<p>"Nine." Again Cosmo emitted a faint sigh. "What do you want me to do?" -He realized that Mia and Llana both were staring at him with distaste. -Only the Blue Venus seemed untouched.</p> - -<p>"You can't betray your men!" Mia burst out.</p> - -<p>Cosmo's face hardened. He said, "Can you suggest a better way?"</p> - -<p>"You're a sensible man, Cosmo, a sensible man." The planter rubbed -his hands together triumphantly. He snapped on the intercommunicating -telecast on the glassite desk, said into it: "Rabaul!"</p> - -<p>"Right," came the voice from the audio.</p> - -<p>"That was good work with the gas tubes, Rabaul."</p> - -<p>"You can thank Llana," came the voice of the overseer from the audio. -Cosmo recognized the sibilant accent of a Martian. "She gave the alarm."</p> - -<p>Bemmelman grunted. "Take twenty Jovians," he said, "and a dozen serfs. -Arm the serfs with Ray Rifles. Hide them about the roof. The Renegade's -men will try to land shortly and I'd like to prepare a welcome for 'em."</p> - -<p>"Right," came Rabaul's voice.</p> - -<p>The planter switched off the telecast. He looked at Cosmo, smiled, -said: "Whistle 'em down, Cosmo, that's all. My Jovians will take care -of the rest."</p> - -<p>"It's daylight," said the Blue Venus with an air of childish surprise. -She was looking out the windows.</p> - -<p>Cosmo was aware of the heat, all at once. It curled about him like a -steaming towel. He looked at Mia. There were circles under her eyes. -Her hair was tangled, her tunic in threads. "Poor kid," he said.</p> - -<p>Bemmelman glanced at his watch. "Your men should be up in the clouds -now, waiting? Eh, Cosmo?"</p> - -<p>Cosmo said: "They'll be up there."</p> - -<p>"We'll give them another hour," said Bemmelman, "to be on the safe -side." He rang for a servant, ordered breakfast served in the office.</p> - -<p>They picked at their food listlessly when it arrived. Bemmelman kept -glancing at his watch. At length, he stood up, turned to the slave -girl. "Call the Security Patrol, Llana."</p> - -<p>Cosmo frowned, but said nothing.</p> - -<p>"What should I tell them?" asked Llana snapping on the telecast.</p> - -<p>"Get hold of the Commissioner. Tell him we've caught the Renegade." He -chuckled amiably. "That should make him sit up. Yes sir. Tell him to -get right out here, though, because the Renegade's men are trying to -rescue him."</p> - -<p>A girl's features, horsefaced, blonde, formed on the screen. "Venusport -Security Patrol," she said.</p> - -<p>"The Commissioner," said Llana. "This is the Bemmelman plantation -calling."</p> - -<p>The screen blanked out as the horsefaced girl switched to the -Commissioner's office. In a moment, the fat face and shoulders of the -Commissioner blotted out half the screen. His eyes were puffy. His -jowls sagged. He looked as if he were suffering from a hangover.</p> - -<p>"Well?" he asked.</p> - -<p>"We've captured the Renegade."</p> - -<p>"What?" His eyes snapped open.</p> - -<p>"We've got the Renegade here at the plantation. But hurry! His men are -trying to rescue him. Please hurry!"</p> - -<p>"I'm on my way!"</p> - -<p>The Commissioner leaped out of vision forgetting to shut off the -telecast. They could hear his bull-like voice roaring orders. Llana -snapped off the machine, turned indifferently to the windows.</p> - -<p>Bemmelman chuckled, said, "Keep your eyes on Miss MacIver, Llana. Don't -let Sofi go galavanting around either." He took the chains off Cosmo's -ankles, but left his hands manacled. Next he went to his desk, took out -a dart gun. He said, "Come along," to Cosmo and led the way into the -corridor.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>They didn't go through the trap this time, but up in the tower where a -door gave directly onto the flat roof. Cosmo saw that the chamber just -inside the door was jammed with naked blue giants and Venusian serfs.</p> - -<p>A tall, black eyed Martian, foppishly dressed in spite of the heat came -to meet them. He wrinkled his nose at the stale odor of sweat already -thick in the room, picked his way through the men.</p> - -<p>"I didn't deploy them on the roof," he said in the sibilant accent of -the Red Planet, "because there's no cover. They'd be spotted at once. -They can rush the Renegade's men through the door." He examined Cosmo -curiously.</p> - -<p>Bemmelman rubbed his hands together, said: "That's right, Rabaul. Yes -sir, I'm glad you thought of that." He glanced through the door at the -low swirling cloud mass, then turned back to Cosmo. "Get out on the -roof. Whistle 'em down. No tricks, now."</p> - -<p>Cosmo stepped through the door into the hot, dim daylight. He glanced -aloft, put two fingers in his mouth, whistled loudly. He had trouble -managing the cuffs, but he blew again and again.</p> - -<p>His eyes swept the heavens, but no sign of bird or plane appeared -through the veiling clouds.</p> - -<p>"What's wrong?" called Bemmelman in a low nervous voice.</p> - -<p>Cosmo shook his head. He put his fingers back in his mouth, whistled -until he was red in the face. He might as well have whistled for a wind.</p> - -<p>Bemmelman stamped out of the tower. He scoured the low roof of clouds, -an ominous glitter in his pig-like eyes.</p> - -<p>"Where are they?"</p> - -<p>"You know as much about it as I do." Cosmo shrugged. "They're not there -or they'd come down."</p> - -<p>"If you're tricking me...."</p> - -<p>"How the hell would I be tricking you?" Cosmo asked irritably. "You -heard me give my orders over the telecast. They're not there, that's -all. And I'm damn glad they're not!"</p> - -<p>The planter continued to stare at him suspiciously. Cosmo could feel -his plan hanging precariously in the balance, then Bemmelman said: "It -doesn't matter, I suppose. They can be rounded up later. The Security -Patrol will be here any moment." He shoved Cosmo ahead of him into the -tower.</p> - -<p>Cosmo let his breath escape evenly. He could feel little beads of sweat -on his forehead.</p> - -<p>The red-faced planter slipped the dart gun out of his pocket. "Rabaul," -he ordered grumpily; "Get the men back to their quarters."</p> - -<p>The Martian elevated his eyebrows, but Bemmelman vouchsafed no -explanation. The planter watched his overseer herd the men down -the stair, then turned to Cosmo as the last of the Jovians were -disappearing. The dart gun dangled in his fist at his side. His eyes -were mean.</p> - -<p>"Get a move on," he said sharply.</p> - -<p>"All right," said Cosmo. He was right beside the planter.</p> - -<p>In that instant Bemmelman sensed danger. His eyes widened. He tried to -whip up the dart gun. Then Cosmo's manacles smashed the planter along -side the head.</p> - -<p>It was a terrible blow. The red-faced slave breeder caved to the floor -as if his bones had turned to jelly. For a moment, Cosmo thought he'd -killed him. He stooped, found Bemmelman's pulse. It was weak but -steady. Grim-lipped, he leaped back to the roof.</p> - -<p>Cursing his manacles, Cosmo fumbled a whistle from his pocket. He wet -his lips, blew. As the time he'd summoned the Ormoo to carry off Mia, -the high shrill note was inaudible to human ears.</p> - -<p>Bemmelman, Cosmo thought grimly, had been a bit too clever. The planter -had heard him say whistle over the telecast. It hadn't occurred to him -that the Ormoo might be trained only to notes in the higher register.</p> - -<p>He glanced aloft. The cloud blanket began to boil suddenly. Then the -Ormoo plummeted soundlessly to the roof. Big Unse, the blue star of the -Fozoql caste tattooed on his yellow forehead, his face split by a grin, -leaped silently from its back.</p> - -<p>The bird stretched out its beak, rubbed it against Cosmo's leg.</p> - -<p>"Quick!" said Big Unse. "On to the bird. We'll be spotted in a minute."</p> - -<p>Cosmo shook his head, watching a surface plane nose cautiously down -from the clouds. "There's a girl below stairs."</p> - -<p>Big Unse scowled in disgust. "Why," he asked practically, "do you have -to have that particular one?"</p> - -<p>The surface plane came to rest lightly beside the Ormoo. The door was -flung open and eight men piled out, weapons in their hands. There was -no word spoken. Five were swarthy Venusian serfs. There was the yellow -eyed Mercurian, bland, smiling unarmed. There was Natal, the traitorous -Martian, and the blue Jovian.</p> - -<p>"We're going to get a girl," said Big Unse.</p> - -<p>Cosmo slapped the Ormoo on the side. It launched itself silently into -the air. "The plane won't be noticed," he said; "but that bird would -catch the eye of a dead man." He nodded toward the tower. Like wolves -they followed him silently inside.</p> - -<p>"The manacles." Cosmo's voice was low as he held out his arms. -"Bemmelman has the key."</p> - -<p>Big Unse dropped beside the unconscious planter. He dug out the key, -unlocked Cosmo's wrists.</p> - -<p>"Put them on Bemmelman," said Cosmo. As soon as the planter was -securely cuffed, he said, "pick him up. Bring him along."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>They crept down the stairs, fanned out like hunting dogs. Without -appearing to do so, Cosmo kept Natal, the spy, under observation. They -reached the corridor, started for the office. A serf came out of a -bisecting passage. He saw them, drew back, tried to yell. Two of the -Venusians were on him like tigers. They clamped a hand over his mouth, -held him so that he couldn't wriggle.</p> - -<p>Cosmo said, "Bring him along too."</p> - -<p>Big Unse put his face down close to the serf's, said, "Don't cry out, -or by the star on my forehead, I'll skin you alive."</p> - -<p>The serf's eyes rolled. He nodded vigorously trying to convey his -absolute willingness to cooperate.</p> - -<p>There was a faint amused gleam in Cosmo's eyes. He paused before the -office, then slid the panel back.</p> - -<p>Mia and the Blue Venus, still manacled, stumbled to their feet. Llana, -the slave woman jerked around from the windows, her jaw dropping. Then -she bit her lip, glanced at the button on the glassite desk.</p> - -<p>"Stay away from the desk, Llana," Cosmo admonished her. He stood aside, -allowed his men to file into the office. They deposited Bemmelman on -the sofa. Cosmo saw that Natal was safely inside, shut the door. At his -nod, Big Unse unlocked both the girls.</p> - -<p>Mia said: "But ... but...." Then a look of fright wiped away the relief -on her wide gray eyes. "The Security Patrol! Cosmo, they'll be here any -moment! Please Cosmo, don't let them catch you!"</p> - -<p>The buzzer on the telecast began to sound.</p> - -<p>"It's too late." Cosmo smiled grimly. "I've a hunch that's the Security -Patrol now." He turned to the Terran slave girl, said: "Llana, string -along with me, and I'll promise that both you and your daughter are -provided with passage to Earth."</p> - -<p>The telecast continued to buzz impatiently.</p> - -<p>"My daughter!" The slave girl clapped her hand to her mouth. "You know."</p> - -<p>"I've suspected," he corrected her. "There's a resemblance. So Sofi -really is your daughter."</p> - -<p>Mia looked from the Blue Venus to Llana in bewilderment. There didn't -seem to be over five years difference in their ages. "It's ... it's -impossible!" she blurted out.</p> - -<p>The Blue Venus smiled enigmatically.</p> - -<p>Cosmo said: "I thought, Llana, that Sofi was the hold Bemmelman had -over you."</p> - -<p>At mention of the planter's name Llana stiffened. "He'll kill Sofi if I -betray him!"</p> - -<p>Cosmo shook his head.</p> - -<p>"You haven't any evidence against him," she insisted. "Even if you had, -they wouldn't believe the Renegade."</p> - -<p>"Exactly," said Cosmo. "Answer the telecast, Llana."</p> - -<p>Her face set. She went to the audio, switched it on.</p> - -<p>"The Security Patrol is here," came Rabaul's voice. "What shall I do -with them?"</p> - -<p>Llana glanced deadfaced at Cosmo, who said in an undertone: "Tell him -to send the Commissioner here. Have his men served with refreshments."</p> - -<p>She repeated the orders tonelessly into the telecast.</p> - -<p>"Right," said Rabaul. The instrument went dead.</p> - -<p>Cosmo went behind the glassite desk, sat down. He leveled his dart gun -straight at Natal, the Martian.</p> - -<p>"Natal," he said in a cold manner. "Bemmelman sold you down the river. -He told me you were his spy."</p> - -<p>The Martian blanched, but his black eyes were hard as marbles. "I -should have guessed the pig would betray me."</p> - -<p>"Get his gun, Big Unse," said Cosmo.</p> - -<p>The Fozoql catfooted behind the Martian, relieved him of his weapon.</p> - -<p>"Follow my lead," said Cosmo to Natal, concealing the dart gun up his -sleeve. "Because, so help me, if you don't, you're a dead Martian."</p> - -<p>Natal nodded, stiff faced but willing.</p> - -<p>Bemmelman groaned, sat up. He regarded the scene in disbelief. Then his -little pig eyes narrowed. He didn't say anything and Cosmo ignored him.</p> - -<p>There was a knock on the door.</p> - -<p>"That's the Commissioner," said Cosmo. "Let him in, Big Unse."</p> - -<p>Mia looked wretched, frightened. "No," she said and bit her lip to -stifle the rest of the protest.</p> - -<p>Big Unse slid back the panel.</p> - -<p>The fat commissioner waddled inside. He was even fatter than he -appeared over the visoscreen. He bulged in his clothes like a sausage.</p> - -<p>"Well, Hal," he began in a hearty voice, "you lucky dog. The fifty -thou...." The words stuck in his throat. He stared at the hard faced -green eyed man behind the desk, at Bemmelman in irons. He revolved -slowly, taking in the silent men about the walls, the three girls. -"Wh-what's this?" He sputtered, but there was a sick, frightened look -in his eyes. "Where's the Renegade?"</p> - -<p>"There he is, Commissioner," replied Cosmo dryly. "All done up in -irons." He pointed at Bemmelman lying manacled on the sofa.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph1">VIII</p> - -<p>Bemmelman was the first to recover his voice. His neck swelled. He -laughed hoarsely. "Nobody's fool enough to believe I'm the Renegade, -Cosmo."</p> - -<p>"You're crazy, young man," the Commissioner burst out as he caught his -breath. "If this is a joke, it's in remarkably poor taste."</p> - -<p>"It's no joke." Cosmo's eyes hardened.</p> - -<p>"You lying rogue," Bemmelman shouted. "This has gone far enough. -There's your Renegade, Commissioner."</p> - -<p>"Keep him quiet, Big Unse," said Cosmo softly, "until I finish. He can -talk his head off then."</p> - -<p>Big Unse doubled his fist, shook it in Bemmelman's face. The planter -subsided, but a cunning gleam winked in his little brown eyes.</p> - -<p>The Commissioner drew a handkerchief from his pocket, dabbed at his -forehead. He sank into a chair with a groan. "Talk fast, young man," -he said. "And it had better be good." He eyed Cosmo with obvious -distrust.</p> - -<p>Cosmo took a moisture-proof cigarette case from his pocket, snapped it -open. "I realize, Commissioner, this must be quite a shock. Bemmelman's -been powerful in politics. He has allies in high places. But when they -learn he's the Renegade, they'll be the first to disown him." He took -a cigarette out of the case, eyed it critically, put it back. "Even -rats," he added, glancing up at the Commissioner, "have sense enough to -leave a sinking ship."</p> - -<p>"Um," said the Commissioner. He looked discomfited, shot a sly glance -at the manacled planter.</p> - -<p>Bemmelman started to roar a protest, but Big Unse grinned, shook his -hammer-like fist in his face.</p> - -<p>"I'd better sketch in his background," said Cosmo judicially. "He was -an organic chemist on Earth, but got involved in a forgery case. He -next showed up smuggling Jovian primitives to Venus. The T.I.S. got on -his trail, but they were never able to pin anything on him."</p> - -<p>"How do you know all this?" the Commissioner asked.</p> - -<p>"You don't need to take my word. It's all in the records. You can -investigate them yourself."</p> - -<p>"Um," said the Commissioner again and dabbed at his forehead. He -purposefully avoided Bemmelman's eye.</p> - -<p>Cosmo glanced at Mia who was regarding him in sheer amazement. He -smiled at her, said: "Bemmelman figured it'd be safer to breed slaves -here on Venus rather than run the risk of capture by the Empire's -Patrol Spacers. But he found that land on Venus can't be bought except -in rare cases." He paused, looked at the apoplectic slave breeder.</p> - -<p>"Bemmelman murdered my father having first provided himself with forged -notes to the plantation. You'll remember, he was mixed up with a -forgery case on Earth."</p> - -<p>"Wh-why," the Commissioner sputtered indignantly, "that's preposterous."</p> - -<p>"Here are the notes." Cosmo pulled two packets of papers from his -pocket, tossed them to the Commissioner's lap. "You'll find notes for -old MacIver's plantation there, too. Bemmelman had decided to grab it -off too."</p> - -<p>The fat Commissioner examined them curiously.</p> - -<p>"They're good," said Cosmo. "But it won't be too hard to prove they're -forgeries."</p> - -<p>The Commissioner rustled the papers. "But what's all this to do with -the Renegade? I came out here to collar him, not rattle old bones."</p> - -<p>Cosmo pointed his right hand lazily at Natal, the Martian spy. It was -the arm with the dart gun up its sleeve. Natal blanched.</p> - -<p>"Ask him," said Cosmo blandly. "He's one of the Renegade's men."</p> - -<p>Everyone stared at the Martian.</p> - -<p>"Well?" thundered the Commissioner.</p> - -<p>"Natal wanted to quit. Bemmelman had tried to sell him out." Cosmo -subtly reminded the Martian of the planter's treachery. "He came to me."</p> - -<p>"Why to you?" the Commissioner wanted to know.</p> - -<p>"He knew I was trying to prove Bemmelman murdered my father and mother -and stole my plantation." Cosmo shrugged, added in a pointed tone. -"I told him that if he would—ah—share his information with you, -Commissioner, that the two of you could split the fifty thousand monad -reward. I'd be satisfied with regaining my plantation."</p> - -<p>The fat Commissioner's eyes shone with cupidity. He and the astounded -Martian exchanged glances.</p> - -<p>Bemmelman, who hadn't missed this by-play, roared and half flung -himself from the sofa.</p> - -<p>"He's trying to frame me!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The Commissioner regarded Bemmelman with a frown. Then he turned away, -asked in a changed voice: "Will Natal go on the witness stand?"</p> - -<p>"Go ahead, Natal," said Cosmo.</p> - -<p>Natal ran the tip of his tongue over his thin lips. He gave Bemmelman -a venomous glance, said: "He's the Renegade all right. We holed up in -the Cloud Mountains. Bemmelman gave us our orders, for the most part, -over a special frequency radio phone. He never let anyone here on the -plantation guess he was the Renegade. He played a dual role."</p> - -<p>"A Jekyll and Hyde role," interposed Cosmo smoothly.</p> - -<p>"Lies! Lies!" shouted Bemmelman.</p> - -<p>The Commissioner ignored him, kept his eyes on Natal. "You can show us -the hideout?"</p> - -<p>"Certainly."</p> - -<p>"What about the other men."</p> - -<p>"They escaped," Cosmo interposed, quickly.</p> - -<p>"Um," said the Commissioner. He didn't appear anxious to pursue that -line.</p> - -<p>"Natal's not the only witness," said Cosmo. He pointed at Mia. "The -Renegade kidnapped Miss MacIver. She tried to reach you by telecast."</p> - -<p>"She did!" The Commissioner enthusiastically smacked his right fist in -his left palm. "By heaven, she did! But when my men got there, he'd -gotten away with her."</p> - -<p>"I don't think she'll object to taking the witness stand either," said -Cosmo in a thoughtful voice. "After all, Bemmelman murdered her father."</p> - -<p>"No." Mia's voice was so low that the Commissioner had to bend forward -to hear her. "No. I won't mind being a witness. Bemmelman kidnapped me."</p> - -<p>"I didn't kidnap her. I rescued her from the Renegade." The sweat was -pouring from the planter's forehead.</p> - -<p>The girl's head jerked up. She said in a ringing voice, "Then how do -you explain this?" and exposed the brand on her shoulder.</p> - -<p>The Commissioner's eyes started from their sockets.</p> - -<p>"You might call the head overseer and check on Bemmelman's movements," -suggested Cosmo.</p> - -<p>The Commissioner nodded.</p> - -<p>Llana switched on the telecast. "Rabaul," she said, "the Commissioner -wants you in the office."</p> - -<p>"Right," came the voice of the Martian.</p> - -<p>"There's the safe, too," said Cosmo.</p> - -<p>The Commissioner heaved himself from his chair, waddled across to -Bemmelman.</p> - -<p>"What's the combination, Hal?"</p> - -<p>The planter's little eyes were bloodshot. Obscenity burst from his -mouth.</p> - -<p>A laugh rumbled up from the Commissioner's belly, shook all three of -his chins. "You're done for, Hal. What's the combination?"</p> - -<p>Grudgingly Bemmelman told him. "But you won't find anything there," he -added vindictively. "I'm going to sink you."</p> - -<p>Cosmo opened the safe, waved the Commissioner forward to investigate.</p> - -<p>"Um," said the Commissioner in disappointment, leafing through the -papers. "Maybe we can dig something incriminating out of this mess. -I don't know. Hey! What's this?" He held up the paper upon which -Bemmelman had written the directions for reaching the Ormoo's feeding -ground. "Looks like a map!"</p> - -<p>"It is a map," replied Cosmo grimly. "I wouldn't be surprised if it -isn't the location of the loot from the plantations Bemmelman's men -have raided."</p> - -<p>There was a knock on the door.</p> - -<p>"Come in," snapped the excited Commissioner.</p> - -<p>The Martian overseer stalked into the office, glanced about him in -surprise.</p> - -<p>"Tell these fools I'm not the Renegade!" Bemmelman roared.</p> - -<p>Rabaul regarded his employer blankly. "You're certainly not the -Renegade so far as I know."</p> - -<p>"Of course not," interrupted the Commissioner. "We don't expect you to -be able to identify him. We only want to ask you a few questions."</p> - -<p>The Martian pursed his lips, shrugged. "Anything I know, Commissioner."</p> - -<p>"Where was Bemmelman yesterday morning?"</p> - -<p>"I don't know." The Martian overseer looked surprised. "He left in his -surface plane in the direction of the MacIver plantation."</p> - -<p>"Alone?"</p> - -<p>Rabaul nodded.</p> - -<p>"Um. Has he ever received messages from the Cloud Mountains? Radio -calls?"</p> - -<p>"Yes," admitted Rabaul grudgingly. "Though I can't tell you what -they're about. I've instructions to call him immediately when the call -signals come through. He takes them personally."</p> - -<p>"Have you ever known him to make trips into the mountains?"</p> - -<p>Again the Martian nodded. "Yes. He's made expeditions into them after -botanical specimens, I believe."</p> - -<p>"We got him!" said the Commissioner and Cosmo could see him counting -his half of the reward. "That map is the most damning evidence of all. -It's in his handwriting, isn't it?"</p> - -<p>"You can have it checked," said Cosmo complacently. "But there's one -thing more."</p> - -<p>"Eh?"</p> - -<p>"Motive."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Cosmo's face hardened. "Slaves aren't cattle. After Bemmelman started -his slave farm he couldn't expect profits for eighteen years. He -needed money, lots of money to carry on certain experiments. He was an -organic chemist. He believed it possible to force humans the same way a -gardener forces plants. An aging process isn't a new idea, but it took -Bemmelman to find a commercial use for it."</p> - -<p>"It fits like a glove," said the Commissioner, "but how do you know -about the experiment?"</p> - -<p>"I can tell you about the experiments," interposed Llana suddenly.</p> - -<p>Everyone stared at her.</p> - -<p>She bit her lip. "I'm a Terran. He—he kidnapped me, mated me with a -Dawn Man as an experiment. Sofi is my daughter."</p> - -<p>"Not a bad experiment," said the Commissioner admiringly. His eyes ran -over the Blue Venus.</p> - -<p>"That was only the beginning!" said Llana. "I found out he's got a -laboratory below stairs where he's constantly experimenting with the -slave children. He's obsessed with the scheme of maturing the children -quicker so that he can reap faster profits. Bemmelman is a monster."</p> - -<p>"Go on," said the Commissioner eagerly.</p> - -<p>"He—he succeeded at last."</p> - -<p>"What do you mean?"</p> - -<p>Llana pointed at the Blue Venus. "Sofi," she said in a low voice. "Sofi -is only seven years old!"</p> - -<p>Absolute silence gripped the room.</p> - -<p>"You'll swear to that?" asked the Commissioner at length.</p> - -<p>"Of course. Half the serfs in the house know her age anyway."</p> - -<p>"We've got him," cried the Commissioner jubilantly. "We've got him dead -to rights."</p> - -<p>"It's a frame up," shouted Bemmelman in despair. "A dirty frame up, I -tell you."</p> - -<p>Cosmo regarded the planter with opaque green eyes. "Save your breath, -Bemmelman," he counseled him dryly. "No one's going to believe the -Renegade—remember?"</p> - -<p>From the flat roof of the manor house, Cosmo and Mia watched the -Security Patrol planes take off one by one for Venusport. The head -overseer was to take charge of the plantation until the courts -confirmed Cosmo's claims. Llana and Sofi planned to visit Earth after -Bemmelman's trial.</p> - -<p>Cosmo had taken Big Unse aside, sent him off secretly with the men -to destroy any evidence in their hideout. They were to return to the -plantation. "I want the lot of you under my eyes," Cosmo had explained -with a grin, "where you won't be tempted to raid my plantation."</p> - -<p>As the last of the Patrol Planes rose from the roof, Cosmo turned to -Mia. "That's finis for the Renegade!"</p> - -<p>"Bemmelman isn't the Renegade, really?" said Mia, half in doubt. "Is -he?"</p> - -<p>"Maybe not <i>the</i> Renegade," grinned Cosmo, "but he's certainly a -renegade."</p> - -<p>Mia gulped suddenly, said, "The map! Good heavens! What will the -Commissioner do when he doesn't find anything but bird food?"</p> - -<p>"Bird food, the devil," Cosmo said dryly. "I haven't the remotest idea -where the Ormoos feed. That map will lead him straight to the spot -where I've hidden every stick of loot I've—ah—accumulated." He pulled -the Ormoo's whistle from his pocket.</p> - -<p>Mia eyed it in alarm. "What are you going to do?"</p> - -<p>"Take you to Venusport." He blew twice on the whistle. "We're going -before the registrar today!"</p> - -<p>"But Cosmo. Not on that—that monstrosity. I refuse to do it. I won't -go." There was a disturbance in the cloud blanket directly overhead. A -huge gray shape plunged Venusward. "Besides," she added in haste; "I -can't go to Venusport like this—can I?"</p> - -<p>"We'll stop by your plantation, spruce up a bit."</p> - -<p>The Ormoo lit with a thud. It gave a pleased raucous squawk, eyed them -with amiable red-brown eyes.</p> - -<p>"Oh well," said Mia between her teeth. "I might as well get used to -traveling on the darn thing, I suppose."</p> - -<pre style='margin-top:6em'> -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BLUE VENUS *** - -This file should be named 63779-h.htm or 63779-h.zip - -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: -http://www.gutenberg.org/6/3/7/7/63779/ - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. 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