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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..57666b3 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #65691 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/65691) diff --git a/old/65691-0.txt b/old/65691-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 7402ebd..0000000 --- a/old/65691-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,914 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Alien Dies at Dawn, by Alexander Blade - -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 Alien Dies at Dawn - -Author: Alexander Blade - -Release Date: June 24, 2021 [eBook #65691] - -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 ALIEN DIES AT DAWN *** - - - - - The Alien Dies At Dawn - - By Alexander Blade - - Kendall Stone had twelve hours to save a - thousand lives. It wasn't much time, especially - since someone was making sure he didn't use it! - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy - December 1956 - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - -There was a scream of tortured air over the Mojave Spaceport as a -two-man starship dropped on its hot jets toward the wide cementalloy -landing field. It slowed and settled gently to the ground. Before the -faint wisps of smoke had time to dissipate, the airlock door opened, -and a big, broad-shouldered man got out. He dropped lithely to the -ground and started off across the field at a quick trot. - -He nearly bowled over a field attendant who had been coming toward him. -"Hey!" the surprised attendant said. "Don't you want your ship checked?" - -"Don't have time," Kendall Stone called back, as he continued running -toward the Customs Office. He glanced at his watch. 1800. Twelve hours -till dawn. Twelve hours! - -Kendall Stone gritted his teeth and doubled his pace. He was in a -super-plus top-level hurry. He'd practically burned a hole in the -vacuum between Earth and Mars trying to get to Mojave on time. _Twelve -hours!_ At dawn, Galth of Rastol would die in the execution chamber for -the crime of murder. And it was up to Kendall Stone to stop it. - -He opened the door to the Main Lounge of the spaceport building and -pushed his way through the thick, jostling crowd, moving slowly toward -the Customs Office. He hardly noticed the people he shoved aside. There -was only one thought in his mind: _I've only got twelve hours_. - -Personally, Stone didn't give an octangle damn about Galth; he didn't -even know the Rastolian personally--had never heard of him until -a short time ago. But if Galth of Rastol died, so would a thousand -others. The human colony on Rastol III would be wiped out in reprisal. - -Including, Stone thought bitterly, the wife and two sons he had left -behind to go on this purchasing trip. - -The Customs Office was in sight now. He threaded his way through the -mob. Just before he reached the door, he was almost pushed off balance -by a squat, chubby little man who steadied him, apologized profusely, -and went on his way. - -Scowling angrily, Stone stepped inside the Customs Office. A hard-faced -man in uniform sat behind the broad desk, looking up at him boredly. - -"Yes?" - -"I have a cargo of Martian _valdone_ aboard my ship, and I want to -report it," Stone said. - -The official nodded. "Do you have the import permission papers?" - -Kendall shook his head. "I don't intend to import the stuff to Earth; -I'm just stopping over here until I can get some very important -business cleared up. But _valdone_ is a dangerous drug, and I simply -wanted to report the fact that I have a hundred kilograms of it aboard -my ship." - -"I see," said the official, making a note on a minipad. "We'll have to -put a seal on the ship until you are ready to take off again." - -"That's perfectly all right," Kendall agreed. Anything would have -been all right, as long as it didn't take much of the precious time -remaining before dawn. - -The official extended his hand. "Your papers, please." - -Kendall reached inside his jacket pocket for the small booklet of -identification papers. An icy shiver ran down his back. - -The booklet was gone. - -"What's the matter?" the official asked. - -"My ID booklet is gone! I put it in my jacket just before I left the -ship; I must have lost it on my way over here." - -"If that's the case, someone will return it," the Customs official -said. "It's of no use to anyone else. We'll send out a call for it. -Meanwhile, I'm afraid you'll have to remain inside the spaceport." - -Kendall scowled. Of all the lousy time-wasting pieces of red-tape, he -thought. He felt trapped by bureaucracy. He didn't have time to waste -hanging around the spaceport tonight. - -"We'll also ask for confirmation over the subradio," said the official. -"What is your home planet?" - -"Rastol III, near Deneb." - -"Very well. Even if we don't find your ID booklet, we can give you a -temporary pass if you are identified from Rastol by subradio." - -Stone felt a cold trickle of perspiration forming on his forehead. -"That's going to take nearly twenty-four hours," he objected. "Isn't -there a faster way?" - -The official shook his head and shrugged, the timeless gesture of all -bureaucrats. "I'm afraid not. Not unless we find your ID booklet." - - * * * * * - -Like a caged tiger, Kendall Stone paced the administration area of the -spaceport for an hour, hoping doggedly that the ID booklet would turn -up somewhere out on the field. But an hour later, there was still no -sign of the booklet, and Stone felt himself growing desperate. The -glowing ball of Sol had already set behind the western horizon. Night -had fallen--the night whose end would bring the death of Galth of -Rastol and of a thousand innocent, unsuspecting colonists. - -Stone stared at the polychrome hues of the sunset for a long minute, -clenched his fists, and made his decision; there was only one thing to -do. - -He strolled quietly around the spaceport, looking for a way out. -There were none which were unguarded; Earth didn't like unwanted or -unauthorized colonists sneaking in on them. - -Finally, he chose one of the smaller gates at random and walked up to -the guard. The sign over the gate said: OFFICIAL PERSONNEL ONLY. - -Kendall walked straight up to the guard as though he had every right -in the galaxy to go through the gate. The man looked up at him -unsuspiciously, as though waiting for Stone to produce his ID booklet. - -Kendall kept walking toward him, putting his hand inside his jacket -and fumbling around as though searching for the booklet. "Must be here -someplace," he murmured, as he came within earshot. - -When he was within three feet of the unsuspecting guard, Stone -withdrew his hand and swung his fist in a hard, short arc which landed -crunchingly on the point of the guard's chin. The man staggered and -groped groggily for his gun. - -"No you don't!" Stone said quietly. He sent another driving fist into -the guard's solar plexus, and the man folded up like an empty potato -sack. - -Stone caught him before he hit the ground. "Sorry, pal," he whispered, -"but I've got work to do." He lowered the guard gently to the ground. - -The sudden shrill blast of a whistle broke the twilight silence -somewhere to his left. Someone had seen the attack. Kendall didn't wait -for further discussion. He ran at top speed through the gate and into -the gathering darkness beyond. - -Fifteen minutes later he was in Mojave City. - - * * * * * - -The city, which had grown up around the spaceport, was a sprawling, -busy place. Stone headed straight into the heart of town. - -He stopped in at the first store he met, and before the shopkeeper -could say anything, he burst out with, "I'm in a hurry, friend. Can you -tell me how to get to the Governor?" - -The merchant, a small, pale man wearing a greasy apron, smiled and -said, "You won't be able to get to him easily, my good sir. You'll have -to see his Secretary. It's the way it's done." - -"All right, where's his Secretary to be found?" Stone barked. He -received full directions on how to reach the Secretary's residence, and -snapped a "Thanks" and left. - -It was a short trip by bus, but Stone decided to walk. Walking would -work off some of the nervous energy that was accumulating in him, -making him tense and keyed-up. - -He reviewed the situation bitterly as he strode through the -brightly-lit streets. - -The Rastolians were a peculiar race. They looked something like -reptiles walking on their hind feet, but they had warm blood and were -mammalian in several respects. The Government of Earth knew that much -about them. - -What the Government didn't seem to know much about was the Rastolian -moral code. The Rastolians did not believe that any government had a -right to kill one of its citizens. Even murder could be punished only -by life imprisonment. Usually, though, a Rastolian convicted of murder -was simply given a gun with one shot in it and left alone in his cell. -Regardless of how despicable his crime may have been, no Rastolian was -so completely without honor that he would refuse to take the proper -steps to punish himself. - -Galth of Rastol had been convicted and condemned. He had, the jury -found, murdered an Earthman in cold blood over a gambling dispute. But -if Earth sent him to the execution chamber, his fellow beings, outraged -over the injury and the insult to their way of life, would take steps -to avenge him. And that would be the end of the small colony of humans -on Rastol III. - -Stone thought of his wife--who looked much too young to be the mother -of two children, who looked as fresh and desirable as she had the day -Stone had married her. She would perish with them. His sons; his home. -He shook his head bitterly. The tragedy could be averted if he could -reach the Governor's Secretary, if he could convince the Secretary that -there must be a stay of execution. The Government had to allow Galth -of Rastol the chance to kill himself in accordance with his people's -customs. - -He glanced up at the street-sign. This was the street. It was a quiet, -residential block, lacking the fluorescent streetlamps of the business -district. He saw the house, and headed for it. - -As he started up the long walk toward the house, two figures stepped -out of the shadows. - -"Put up your hands, Mr. Stone," said the taller of the two. "The -Secretary wants to see you." - -Stone frowned puzzledly, but made no resistance. He didn't care to -argue with a naked gun, and they were taking him where he was heading -anyway. He raised his hands and folded them behind his head, and let -them march him up the concrete pathway. - - * * * * * - -The Secretary was a heavy-set, heavy-jowled man with a smile on his -lips and a calculating look in his eyes. He sat comfortably in an -overinflated pneumochair, smoking a cigar. - -"Well, Mr. Stone," he said, eyeing Kendall coldly, "may I ask you why -you broke away from the spaceport? That is a serious offense, you know." - -Stone moistened dry lips. "I know, Mr. Secretary, but it was an -emergency. I lost my ID booklet, and I had to get to see you before it -was too late." - -The Secretary ignored that. "What is your business, Mr. Stone?" he -asked, narrowing his eyes penetratingly. "Why have you come from Rastol -III?" - -"I came to pick up a hundred pounds of Martian _valdone_," Stone -explained. "We use it on Rastol III to make antivirotic drugs in -combination with extracts from Apler's Weed. The weed only grows on two -planets, Rastol III and Vescalor IX." - -The Secretary grinned complacently, but did not say anything. Stone -began to sweat. - -"While I was on Mars, I heard that the Rastolian native, Galth, was to -be executed, so I came here to ask the Governor to stay the execution." -He went on to explain in detail what would happen if Galth were to be -executed. - -When he finished, he stared at the Secretary, searching the man's face -for some sign of interest. "Would you phone the Governor and tell him -what I've just told you?" he asked hoarsely. - -"I'm afraid we can't do anything like that on the word of an -unidentified man, Mr. Stone," the Secretary said calmly. "As soon as -your identification comes through--" - -"But that will be too late! Can't you see that this may mean the death -of thousands of innocent people?" - -The Secretary held up his hand, palm out, for silence. "I'm sorry, Mr. -Stone. I can't take the unsubstantiated word of every crackpot that -comes in here." He reached over and turned on the visiphone. "I'm going -to have to call the police," he said. He looked over at the shorter of -the two men who had brought Stone in. "Miller, take Mr. Stone into the -other room and hold him until the police arrive." - -The squat man took his gun out. "Let's go." - -Kendall turned toward the man named Miller, and for the first time -saw his face clearly. In the darkness outside, he hadn't had a really -good look at the man, and since he'd been in the Secretary's study, he -hadn't paid any attention to the men who stood behind him. But as he -faced the pudgy little man, he realized that the face was definitely -familiar. He struggled to recall where he had seen the man before. - -"In here, fellow," the squat man said, jostling Stone into what was -probably the library. Keeping the gun trained on him with one hand, -Miller lit a cigarette with the other, and a cloud of bluish smoke -curled upward. - -Stone watched him. Suddenly, he remembered the face. The little man -was the same one who had bumped into him in the spaceport terminal, -just outside the Customs Room! He knew now what had happened to his ID -booklet. The fat little man was a pickpocket. - -_And if he was working for the Secretary_-- - -Stone sucked in his breath sharply. This involved more than mere -ignorance about Rastolian customs; this was a conspiracy to wipe out -the colony of Earthmen up there! - -He glanced at the clock on the wall. Not much time left. Overhead, he -heard the gentle whirring of a police helicopter. They weren't wasting -a moment in getting him clamped away where he couldn't do any harm. - -He glanced up at the noise, and Miller automatically glanced up too. -Kendall's hand shot out, enclosing the squat man's gun hand in a -vice-like grip. Miller started to yell, but his antagonist's fist -smashed into his mouth before he could say anything. Miller dropped to -the floor. - -Kendall picked up the gun, shoved it into his pocket, and threw the -little man easily over his shoulder. Then he headed for the French -windows that opened onto the balcony. - -The police copter was landing on the roof as Kendall dropped from the -balcony and sprinted silently across the lawn. He ran to the garage, -opened the door to one of the Secretary's cars, and dumped Miller in -the back seat. It was but the work of a moment to short through the -starting switch. The hum of the turboelectric engine was completely -drowned out by the whirring of the copter blades above. - -Without turning on the headlights, Kendall rolled the car out into the -street and drove toward an aircab stand. He was several blocks from the -Secretary's house before he turned on the headlights. - - * * * * * - -He parked the Secretary's car in a darkened alley a block away from the -aircab office. As he drew back the handbrake, he heard Miller groan -faintly in the back. - -"Quiet, friend," he said soothingly, and tapped him lightly on the head -with the butt of the gun. Rapidly he went through the fat little man's -pockets, tossing out cards of all different sorts before finding what -he was looking for. Sure enough, there was his ID booklet. - -The picture was starting to take shape now, with everything falling -into place except the answer to the big question: _Why?_ - -Why was the Secretary so anxious to see Stone out of the way? What was -the whole business about? He didn't know. - -He pocketed the ID booklet. It wouldn't help him now, not with the -police after him for breaking away from the spaceport, and maybe a -kidnapping charge on top of that. - -Glancing at Miller to make sure he'd be out for a while to come, Stone -got out of the car and walked the block to the aircab office. It was -easy to rent one of them. All he had to do was show the bored clerk his -ID booklet, and sign for the cab. - -"Remember," the clerk cautioned, "you can't take off inside the city -limits. You'll have to drive outside Mojave first." - -"I know," Kendall said as he shoved the bills across the counter. -"Thanks." - -He drove the aircar back to where he had left Miller in the Secretary's -car, and transferred the unconscious man to the rear seat of the -aircab. He looked around; no one in sight. _Good_, he thought. Then, in -direct violation of the law, he lifted the aircar and headed into the -night sky. The moon was bright overhead; the time was running short. - -The Governor's palace was over a hundred and fifty miles away. Stone -figured he'd make it with very little time to spare. He set the -autopilot, and reached back with one big hand to pick up Miller by his -lapels. - -"Wake up, Miller!" - -The fat man shook his head groggily and opened one eye. He groaned. - -Stone slapped him across the face, just hard enough to sting. "Come on, -damn you, wake up!" - -"Lemme alone," Miller murmured. A sharp blow with an open hand brought -him to some attention. "Leggo." - -Stone shook him until his head wobbled. "Get up and look alive. I want -to talk to you." - -"I ain't sayin' nothin'," Miller said sullenly. "I don't know nothin', -and I can't tell you a thing." - -A few seconds' quick persuasion and he had changed his mind. "All -right!" he yelled. "All right! I ain't got anything to lose, anyhow, -unless you want to get me for pickin' your pocket." - -"I won't prosecute you if you talk," Kendall promised. - -"Okay," Miller grunted. "You won't live to use the information anyway." -He sat up and rubbed his jaw. "The Secretary owns a lot of stock in -the colony that's making antivirotic drugs on Vescalor IX. He wanted -to put Rastol III out of commission so that the drugs would have to -be bought from Vescalor IX. So he framed this alien Galth and had him -sentenced to the execution chamber. He knew what would happen if the -Government executed a Rastolian." - -Stone pounded his fist against the seat. "Don't the lives of a thousand -innocent people mean anything to him?" - -"I never asked him, mister." - -Stone started to lash out angrily at Miller, then pulled back the fist. -"Then Galth didn't kill the Earthman?" - -"Nope. Penowski did. The tall guy who was with me in the Secretary's -place." - -Kendall reached out one hand and clamped it tightly on the small man's -shoulder. Miller winced. "You're going to tell the Governor your -story," Stone said. "Every word." - -Miller shook his head. "Oh, no. You can slap me around all you want, -but I ain't gonna get myself in hot water that way. No, sir, brother. -If the--LOOK OUT!" - -Stone whirled and saw an aircar approaching, dropping down on his tail. -A white-hot beam flashed from it, blistering the paint on Stone's ship. - - * * * * * - -Luckily, it was difficult for the other man to aim. The aircars were -flying at close to three hundred miles an hour. - -He snapped off the switch of the autopilot and sent the little aircar -into a high, screaming climb. Another beam flashed by. - -Kendall spun the ship into a back loop and barrel-rolled, bringing him -in on the tail of the other aircar. But the other driver was cagey; he -went into a hard right turn and tried to come up under Stone's vehicle. - -Stone could see that the other aircraft definitely was not a -police craft. An official car would have externally-mounted, -automatically-controlled guns that would have shot Stone out of -the skies with the first blast. No; this was a highly unofficial, -extra-legal affair. - -Another beam sizzled by so close that it gouged a spot out of the side -of the ship. Stone reached down, groping for the gun he'd taken from -Miller. It had been lying on the seat beside him, but it was gone now. -Stone cursed. It must have slid to the floor when he spun the ship -around. - -"Never mind, Stone," Miller said coldly. "I got the gun now." - -Kendall said nothing. He didn't even have time to curse. He was too -busy trying to avoid the white-hot blasts from the other aircar. He -sent the ship into a power dive and shoved in on the throttle. He -didn't know if the little car would take what he was going to give it, -but it was his only chance. If he survived--well, that was fine. If he -didn't, the last hope of the little colony was dead. - -"You'll kill us!" yelled Miller. He put the gun against Kendall's neck. -"Stop it! You'll kill us!" - -"Shut up and put that gun away, Miller," Stone snapped without moving -his head. "If you shoot me, we'll both die. This is the only way we can -keep your pals from murdering both of us." - -Miller said nothing, but the cold pressure of the muzzle left Stone's -neck. - -Suddenly, Kendall heaved back on the control wheel, pulling the aircar -out of its dive. He hung on grimly as the centrifugal force of the -pullout dragged the blood from his brain. Then he blacked out. - -When consciousness returned, the sturdy little aircar was climbing -skyward. Stone glanced around. Miller was still unconscious, lying -slumped in a rotund heap down at the floor of the aircab. Stone hauled -him up, applied a hard punch to the jaw to make sure he'd stay that -way, and let him sag back down. Then he grabbed the gun from the -unconscious man's lap. - -The other aircar was about half a mile away, heading toward him. -Evidently the other pilot had blacked out, too. Overhead the moon -glittered brightly. The night was wearing along. And when the sun's -rays trickled over the horizon-- - -Holding on to the wheel with his right hand, Kendall opened the window -a tiny bit and stuck his left hand out. The blast of air that tore past -almost ripped the gun from his hand. - -He gripped it harder, until the knuckles whitened, and turned the ship -to face his assailant. A chill wind blew through the cabin. Sighting -the pistol by instinct alone, he squeezed the trigger. - -The blue-white beam speared out, burning off part of the control -surfaces of the other car. It shuddered and spun, and then began to -spiral downward. - -Kendall Stone closed the window, grasped the controls, and pointed the -aircar toward the Governor's palace. - - * * * * * - -The Governor yawned sleepily as Kendall Stone finished his story. He -glanced at Miller, who was pinioned securely between two burly Security -Guards. - -"Well?" - -"It's true," the fat man said. - -"Oh?" Stone asked. "Why the sudden nobility, Miller?" - -"It's not nobility," Miller said. "They came after your ship knowing -I was in it--and that didn't keep them from shooting me down. Why -shouldn't I turn them in, if it'll save my own skin?" - -"You should have known," Kendall said, "that people like those two -wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice you. They'd already planned to kill a -whole colony, you know." - -The Governor, who had watched the whole interchange of conversation -rather impatiently, smiled grimly. "Mr. Stone, I think we all owe you -an apology. This has been a gross miscarriage of justice." He was wide -awake now. He turned to one of the guards. - -"Fallon, get the Warden on the phone right away. Tell him the sentence -of death on Galth of Rastol has been commuted. Tell him that the real -murderer will be punished." - -The guard returned a moment later. - -"Well?" the Governor demanded. - -"They were just leading him into the death cell when the message -arrived," the guard said. "They've returned him to confinement pending -the written pardon." - -Kendall Stone sank down limply on a chair. - -He glanced at his watch. 0545. - -Outside the window, the first rays of dawn were breaking through the -murky night. He thought of his family awakening light years away. The -sun would be coming up too on Rastol.... - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ALIEN DIES AT DAWN *** - -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. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following -the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use -of the Project Gutenberg 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 <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. 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. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: The Alien Dies at Dawn</p> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Alexander Blade</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: June 24, 2021 [eBook #65691]</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net</div> - -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ALIEN DIES AT DAWN ***</div> - -<div class="titlepage"> - -<h1>The Alien Dies At Dawn</h1> - -<h2>By Alexander Blade</h2> - -<p>Kendall Stone had twelve hours to save a<br /> -thousand lives. It wasn't much time, especially<br /> -since someone was making sure he didn't use it!</p> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br /> -Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy<br /> -December 1956<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>There was a scream of tortured air over the Mojave Spaceport as a -two-man starship dropped on its hot jets toward the wide cementalloy -landing field. It slowed and settled gently to the ground. Before the -faint wisps of smoke had time to dissipate, the airlock door opened, -and a big, broad-shouldered man got out. He dropped lithely to the -ground and started off across the field at a quick trot.</p> - -<p>He nearly bowled over a field attendant who had been coming toward him. -"Hey!" the surprised attendant said. "Don't you want your ship checked?"</p> - -<p>"Don't have time," Kendall Stone called back, as he continued running -toward the Customs Office. He glanced at his watch. 1800. Twelve hours -till dawn. Twelve hours!</p> - -<p>Kendall Stone gritted his teeth and doubled his pace. He was in a -super-plus top-level hurry. He'd practically burned a hole in the -vacuum between Earth and Mars trying to get to Mojave on time. <i>Twelve -hours!</i> At dawn, Galth of Rastol would die in the execution chamber for -the crime of murder. And it was up to Kendall Stone to stop it.</p> - -<p>He opened the door to the Main Lounge of the spaceport building and -pushed his way through the thick, jostling crowd, moving slowly toward -the Customs Office. He hardly noticed the people he shoved aside. There -was only one thought in his mind: <i>I've only got twelve hours</i>.</p> - -<p>Personally, Stone didn't give an octangle damn about Galth; he didn't -even know the Rastolian personally—had never heard of him until -a short time ago. But if Galth of Rastol died, so would a thousand -others. The human colony on Rastol III would be wiped out in reprisal.</p> - -<p>Including, Stone thought bitterly, the wife and two sons he had left -behind to go on this purchasing trip.</p> - -<p>The Customs Office was in sight now. He threaded his way through the -mob. Just before he reached the door, he was almost pushed off balance -by a squat, chubby little man who steadied him, apologized profusely, -and went on his way.</p> - -<p>Scowling angrily, Stone stepped inside the Customs Office. A hard-faced -man in uniform sat behind the broad desk, looking up at him boredly.</p> - -<p>"Yes?"</p> - -<p>"I have a cargo of Martian <i>valdone</i> aboard my ship, and I want to -report it," Stone said.</p> - -<p>The official nodded. "Do you have the import permission papers?"</p> - -<p>Kendall shook his head. "I don't intend to import the stuff to Earth; -I'm just stopping over here until I can get some very important -business cleared up. But <i>valdone</i> is a dangerous drug, and I simply -wanted to report the fact that I have a hundred kilograms of it aboard -my ship."</p> - -<p>"I see," said the official, making a note on a minipad. "We'll have to -put a seal on the ship until you are ready to take off again."</p> - -<p>"That's perfectly all right," Kendall agreed. Anything would have -been all right, as long as it didn't take much of the precious time -remaining before dawn.</p> - -<p>The official extended his hand. "Your papers, please."</p> - -<p>Kendall reached inside his jacket pocket for the small booklet of -identification papers. An icy shiver ran down his back.</p> - -<p>The booklet was gone.</p> - -<p>"What's the matter?" the official asked.</p> - -<p>"My ID booklet is gone! I put it in my jacket just before I left the -ship; I must have lost it on my way over here."</p> - -<p>"If that's the case, someone will return it," the Customs official -said. "It's of no use to anyone else. We'll send out a call for it. -Meanwhile, I'm afraid you'll have to remain inside the spaceport."</p> - -<p>Kendall scowled. Of all the lousy time-wasting pieces of red-tape, he -thought. He felt trapped by bureaucracy. He didn't have time to waste -hanging around the spaceport tonight.</p> - -<p>"We'll also ask for confirmation over the subradio," said the official. -"What is your home planet?"</p> - -<p>"Rastol III, near Deneb."</p> - -<p>"Very well. Even if we don't find your ID booklet, we can give you a -temporary pass if you are identified from Rastol by subradio."</p> - -<p>Stone felt a cold trickle of perspiration forming on his forehead. -"That's going to take nearly twenty-four hours," he objected. "Isn't -there a faster way?"</p> - -<p>The official shook his head and shrugged, the timeless gesture of all -bureaucrats. "I'm afraid not. Not unless we find your ID booklet."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Like a caged tiger, Kendall Stone paced the administration area of the -spaceport for an hour, hoping doggedly that the ID booklet would turn -up somewhere out on the field. But an hour later, there was still no -sign of the booklet, and Stone felt himself growing desperate. The -glowing ball of Sol had already set behind the western horizon. Night -had fallen—the night whose end would bring the death of Galth of -Rastol and of a thousand innocent, unsuspecting colonists.</p> - -<p>Stone stared at the polychrome hues of the sunset for a long minute, -clenched his fists, and made his decision; there was only one thing to -do.</p> - -<p>He strolled quietly around the spaceport, looking for a way out. -There were none which were unguarded; Earth didn't like unwanted or -unauthorized colonists sneaking in on them.</p> - -<p>Finally, he chose one of the smaller gates at random and walked up to -the guard. The sign over the gate said: OFFICIAL PERSONNEL ONLY.</p> - -<p>Kendall walked straight up to the guard as though he had every right -in the galaxy to go through the gate. The man looked up at him -unsuspiciously, as though waiting for Stone to produce his ID booklet.</p> - -<p>Kendall kept walking toward him, putting his hand inside his jacket -and fumbling around as though searching for the booklet. "Must be here -someplace," he murmured, as he came within earshot.</p> - -<p>When he was within three feet of the unsuspecting guard, Stone -withdrew his hand and swung his fist in a hard, short arc which landed -crunchingly on the point of the guard's chin. The man staggered and -groped groggily for his gun.</p> - -<p>"No you don't!" Stone said quietly. He sent another driving fist into -the guard's solar plexus, and the man folded up like an empty potato -sack.</p> - -<p>Stone caught him before he hit the ground. "Sorry, pal," he whispered, -"but I've got work to do." He lowered the guard gently to the ground.</p> - -<p>The sudden shrill blast of a whistle broke the twilight silence -somewhere to his left. Someone had seen the attack. Kendall didn't wait -for further discussion. He ran at top speed through the gate and into -the gathering darkness beyond.</p> - -<p>Fifteen minutes later he was in Mojave City.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The city, which had grown up around the spaceport, was a sprawling, -busy place. Stone headed straight into the heart of town.</p> - -<p>He stopped in at the first store he met, and before the shopkeeper -could say anything, he burst out with, "I'm in a hurry, friend. Can you -tell me how to get to the Governor?"</p> - -<p>The merchant, a small, pale man wearing a greasy apron, smiled and -said, "You won't be able to get to him easily, my good sir. You'll have -to see his Secretary. It's the way it's done."</p> - -<p>"All right, where's his Secretary to be found?" Stone barked. He -received full directions on how to reach the Secretary's residence, and -snapped a "Thanks" and left.</p> - -<p>It was a short trip by bus, but Stone decided to walk. Walking would -work off some of the nervous energy that was accumulating in him, -making him tense and keyed-up.</p> - -<p>He reviewed the situation bitterly as he strode through the -brightly-lit streets.</p> - -<p>The Rastolians were a peculiar race. They looked something like -reptiles walking on their hind feet, but they had warm blood and were -mammalian in several respects. The Government of Earth knew that much -about them.</p> - -<p>What the Government didn't seem to know much about was the Rastolian -moral code. The Rastolians did not believe that any government had a -right to kill one of its citizens. Even murder could be punished only -by life imprisonment. Usually, though, a Rastolian convicted of murder -was simply given a gun with one shot in it and left alone in his cell. -Regardless of how despicable his crime may have been, no Rastolian was -so completely without honor that he would refuse to take the proper -steps to punish himself.</p> - -<p>Galth of Rastol had been convicted and condemned. He had, the jury -found, murdered an Earthman in cold blood over a gambling dispute. But -if Earth sent him to the execution chamber, his fellow beings, outraged -over the injury and the insult to their way of life, would take steps -to avenge him. And that would be the end of the small colony of humans -on Rastol III.</p> - -<p>Stone thought of his wife—who looked much too young to be the mother -of two children, who looked as fresh and desirable as she had the day -Stone had married her. She would perish with them. His sons; his home. -He shook his head bitterly. The tragedy could be averted if he could -reach the Governor's Secretary, if he could convince the Secretary that -there must be a stay of execution. The Government had to allow Galth -of Rastol the chance to kill himself in accordance with his people's -customs.</p> - -<p>He glanced up at the street-sign. This was the street. It was a quiet, -residential block, lacking the fluorescent streetlamps of the business -district. He saw the house, and headed for it.</p> - -<p>As he started up the long walk toward the house, two figures stepped -out of the shadows.</p> - -<p>"Put up your hands, Mr. Stone," said the taller of the two. "The -Secretary wants to see you."</p> - -<p>Stone frowned puzzledly, but made no resistance. He didn't care to -argue with a naked gun, and they were taking him where he was heading -anyway. He raised his hands and folded them behind his head, and let -them march him up the concrete pathway.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The Secretary was a heavy-set, heavy-jowled man with a smile on his -lips and a calculating look in his eyes. He sat comfortably in an -overinflated pneumochair, smoking a cigar.</p> - -<p>"Well, Mr. Stone," he said, eyeing Kendall coldly, "may I ask you why -you broke away from the spaceport? That is a serious offense, you know."</p> - -<p>Stone moistened dry lips. "I know, Mr. Secretary, but it was an -emergency. I lost my ID booklet, and I had to get to see you before it -was too late."</p> - -<p>The Secretary ignored that. "What is your business, Mr. Stone?" he -asked, narrowing his eyes penetratingly. "Why have you come from Rastol -III?"</p> - -<p>"I came to pick up a hundred pounds of Martian <i>valdone</i>," Stone -explained. "We use it on Rastol III to make antivirotic drugs in -combination with extracts from Apler's Weed. The weed only grows on two -planets, Rastol III and Vescalor IX."</p> - -<p>The Secretary grinned complacently, but did not say anything. Stone -began to sweat.</p> - -<p>"While I was on Mars, I heard that the Rastolian native, Galth, was to -be executed, so I came here to ask the Governor to stay the execution." -He went on to explain in detail what would happen if Galth were to be -executed.</p> - -<p>When he finished, he stared at the Secretary, searching the man's face -for some sign of interest. "Would you phone the Governor and tell him -what I've just told you?" he asked hoarsely.</p> - -<p>"I'm afraid we can't do anything like that on the word of an -unidentified man, Mr. Stone," the Secretary said calmly. "As soon as -your identification comes through—"</p> - -<p>"But that will be too late! Can't you see that this may mean the death -of thousands of innocent people?"</p> - -<p>The Secretary held up his hand, palm out, for silence. "I'm sorry, Mr. -Stone. I can't take the unsubstantiated word of every crackpot that -comes in here." He reached over and turned on the visiphone. "I'm going -to have to call the police," he said. He looked over at the shorter of -the two men who had brought Stone in. "Miller, take Mr. Stone into the -other room and hold him until the police arrive."</p> - -<p>The squat man took his gun out. "Let's go."</p> - -<p>Kendall turned toward the man named Miller, and for the first time -saw his face clearly. In the darkness outside, he hadn't had a really -good look at the man, and since he'd been in the Secretary's study, he -hadn't paid any attention to the men who stood behind him. But as he -faced the pudgy little man, he realized that the face was definitely -familiar. He struggled to recall where he had seen the man before.</p> - -<p>"In here, fellow," the squat man said, jostling Stone into what was -probably the library. Keeping the gun trained on him with one hand, -Miller lit a cigarette with the other, and a cloud of bluish smoke -curled upward.</p> - -<p>Stone watched him. Suddenly, he remembered the face. The little man -was the same one who had bumped into him in the spaceport terminal, -just outside the Customs Room! He knew now what had happened to his ID -booklet. The fat little man was a pickpocket.</p> - -<p><i>And if he was working for the Secretary—</i></p> - -<p>Stone sucked in his breath sharply. This involved more than mere -ignorance about Rastolian customs; this was a conspiracy to wipe out -the colony of Earthmen up there!</p> - -<p>He glanced at the clock on the wall. Not much time left. Overhead, he -heard the gentle whirring of a police helicopter. They weren't wasting -a moment in getting him clamped away where he couldn't do any harm.</p> - -<p>He glanced up at the noise, and Miller automatically glanced up too. -Kendall's hand shot out, enclosing the squat man's gun hand in a -vice-like grip. Miller started to yell, but his antagonist's fist -smashed into his mouth before he could say anything. Miller dropped to -the floor.</p> - -<p>Kendall picked up the gun, shoved it into his pocket, and threw the -little man easily over his shoulder. Then he headed for the French -windows that opened onto the balcony.</p> - -<p>The police copter was landing on the roof as Kendall dropped from the -balcony and sprinted silently across the lawn. He ran to the garage, -opened the door to one of the Secretary's cars, and dumped Miller in -the back seat. It was but the work of a moment to short through the -starting switch. The hum of the turboelectric engine was completely -drowned out by the whirring of the copter blades above.</p> - -<p>Without turning on the headlights, Kendall rolled the car out into the -street and drove toward an aircab stand. He was several blocks from the -Secretary's house before he turned on the headlights.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>He parked the Secretary's car in a darkened alley a block away from the -aircab office. As he drew back the handbrake, he heard Miller groan -faintly in the back.</p> - -<p>"Quiet, friend," he said soothingly, and tapped him lightly on the head -with the butt of the gun. Rapidly he went through the fat little man's -pockets, tossing out cards of all different sorts before finding what -he was looking for. Sure enough, there was his ID booklet.</p> - -<p>The picture was starting to take shape now, with everything falling -into place except the answer to the big question: <i>Why?</i></p> - -<p>Why was the Secretary so anxious to see Stone out of the way? What was -the whole business about? He didn't know.</p> - -<p>He pocketed the ID booklet. It wouldn't help him now, not with the -police after him for breaking away from the spaceport, and maybe a -kidnapping charge on top of that.</p> - -<p>Glancing at Miller to make sure he'd be out for a while to come, Stone -got out of the car and walked the block to the aircab office. It was -easy to rent one of them. All he had to do was show the bored clerk his -ID booklet, and sign for the cab.</p> - -<p>"Remember," the clerk cautioned, "you can't take off inside the city -limits. You'll have to drive outside Mojave first."</p> - -<p>"I know," Kendall said as he shoved the bills across the counter. -"Thanks."</p> - -<p>He drove the aircar back to where he had left Miller in the Secretary's -car, and transferred the unconscious man to the rear seat of the -aircab. He looked around; no one in sight. <i>Good</i>, he thought. Then, in -direct violation of the law, he lifted the aircar and headed into the -night sky. The moon was bright overhead; the time was running short.</p> - -<p>The Governor's palace was over a hundred and fifty miles away. Stone -figured he'd make it with very little time to spare. He set the -autopilot, and reached back with one big hand to pick up Miller by his -lapels.</p> - -<p>"Wake up, Miller!"</p> - -<p>The fat man shook his head groggily and opened one eye. He groaned.</p> - -<p>Stone slapped him across the face, just hard enough to sting. "Come on, -damn you, wake up!"</p> - -<p>"Lemme alone," Miller murmured. A sharp blow with an open hand brought -him to some attention. "Leggo."</p> - -<p>Stone shook him until his head wobbled. "Get up and look alive. I want -to talk to you."</p> - -<p>"I ain't sayin' nothin'," Miller said sullenly. "I don't know nothin', -and I can't tell you a thing."</p> - -<p>A few seconds' quick persuasion and he had changed his mind. "All -right!" he yelled. "All right! I ain't got anything to lose, anyhow, -unless you want to get me for pickin' your pocket."</p> - -<p>"I won't prosecute you if you talk," Kendall promised.</p> - -<p>"Okay," Miller grunted. "You won't live to use the information anyway." -He sat up and rubbed his jaw. "The Secretary owns a lot of stock in -the colony that's making antivirotic drugs on Vescalor IX. He wanted -to put Rastol III out of commission so that the drugs would have to -be bought from Vescalor IX. So he framed this alien Galth and had him -sentenced to the execution chamber. He knew what would happen if the -Government executed a Rastolian."</p> - -<p>Stone pounded his fist against the seat. "Don't the lives of a thousand -innocent people mean anything to him?"</p> - -<p>"I never asked him, mister."</p> - -<p>Stone started to lash out angrily at Miller, then pulled back the fist. -"Then Galth didn't kill the Earthman?"</p> - -<p>"Nope. Penowski did. The tall guy who was with me in the Secretary's -place."</p> - -<p>Kendall reached out one hand and clamped it tightly on the small man's -shoulder. Miller winced. "You're going to tell the Governor your -story," Stone said. "Every word."</p> - -<p>Miller shook his head. "Oh, no. You can slap me around all you want, -but I ain't gonna get myself in hot water that way. No, sir, brother. -If the—LOOK OUT!"</p> - -<p>Stone whirled and saw an aircar approaching, dropping down on his tail. -A white-hot beam flashed from it, blistering the paint on Stone's ship.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Luckily, it was difficult for the other man to aim. The aircars were -flying at close to three hundred miles an hour.</p> - -<p>He snapped off the switch of the autopilot and sent the little aircar -into a high, screaming climb. Another beam flashed by.</p> - -<p>Kendall spun the ship into a back loop and barrel-rolled, bringing him -in on the tail of the other aircar. But the other driver was cagey; he -went into a hard right turn and tried to come up under Stone's vehicle.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus.jpg" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>Stone could see that the other aircraft definitely was not a -police craft. An official car would have externally-mounted, -automatically-controlled guns that would have shot Stone out of -the skies with the first blast. No; this was a highly unofficial, -extra-legal affair.</p> - -<p>Another beam sizzled by so close that it gouged a spot out of the side -of the ship. Stone reached down, groping for the gun he'd taken from -Miller. It had been lying on the seat beside him, but it was gone now. -Stone cursed. It must have slid to the floor when he spun the ship -around.</p> - -<p>"Never mind, Stone," Miller said coldly. "I got the gun now."</p> - -<p>Kendall said nothing. He didn't even have time to curse. He was too -busy trying to avoid the white-hot blasts from the other aircar. He -sent the ship into a power dive and shoved in on the throttle. He -didn't know if the little car would take what he was going to give it, -but it was his only chance. If he survived—well, that was fine. If he -didn't, the last hope of the little colony was dead.</p> - -<p>"You'll kill us!" yelled Miller. He put the gun against Kendall's neck. -"Stop it! You'll kill us!"</p> - -<p>"Shut up and put that gun away, Miller," Stone snapped without moving -his head. "If you shoot me, we'll both die. This is the only way we can -keep your pals from murdering both of us."</p> - -<p>Miller said nothing, but the cold pressure of the muzzle left Stone's -neck.</p> - -<p>Suddenly, Kendall heaved back on the control wheel, pulling the aircar -out of its dive. He hung on grimly as the centrifugal force of the -pullout dragged the blood from his brain. Then he blacked out.</p> - -<p>When consciousness returned, the sturdy little aircar was climbing -skyward. Stone glanced around. Miller was still unconscious, lying -slumped in a rotund heap down at the floor of the aircab. Stone hauled -him up, applied a hard punch to the jaw to make sure he'd stay that -way, and let him sag back down. Then he grabbed the gun from the -unconscious man's lap.</p> - -<p>The other aircar was about half a mile away, heading toward him. -Evidently the other pilot had blacked out, too. Overhead the moon -glittered brightly. The night was wearing along. And when the sun's -rays trickled over the horizon—</p> - -<p>Holding on to the wheel with his right hand, Kendall opened the window -a tiny bit and stuck his left hand out. The blast of air that tore past -almost ripped the gun from his hand.</p> - -<p>He gripped it harder, until the knuckles whitened, and turned the ship -to face his assailant. A chill wind blew through the cabin. Sighting -the pistol by instinct alone, he squeezed the trigger.</p> - -<p>The blue-white beam speared out, burning off part of the control -surfaces of the other car. It shuddered and spun, and then began to -spiral downward.</p> - -<p>Kendall Stone closed the window, grasped the controls, and pointed the -aircar toward the Governor's palace.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The Governor yawned sleepily as Kendall Stone finished his story. He -glanced at Miller, who was pinioned securely between two burly Security -Guards.</p> - -<p>"Well?"</p> - -<p>"It's true," the fat man said.</p> - -<p>"Oh?" Stone asked. "Why the sudden nobility, Miller?"</p> - -<p>"It's not nobility," Miller said. "They came after your ship knowing -I was in it—and that didn't keep them from shooting me down. Why -shouldn't I turn them in, if it'll save my own skin?"</p> - -<p>"You should have known," Kendall said, "that people like those two -wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice you. They'd already planned to kill a -whole colony, you know."</p> - -<p>The Governor, who had watched the whole interchange of conversation -rather impatiently, smiled grimly. "Mr. Stone, I think we all owe you -an apology. This has been a gross miscarriage of justice." He was wide -awake now. He turned to one of the guards.</p> - -<p>"Fallon, get the Warden on the phone right away. Tell him the sentence -of death on Galth of Rastol has been commuted. Tell him that the real -murderer will be punished."</p> - -<p>The guard returned a moment later.</p> - -<p>"Well?" the Governor demanded.</p> - -<p>"They were just leading him into the death cell when the message -arrived," the guard said. "They've returned him to confinement pending -the written pardon."</p> - -<p>Kendall Stone sank down limply on a chair.</p> - -<p>He glanced at his watch. 0545.</p> - -<p>Outside the window, the first rays of dawn were breaking through the -murky night. He thought of his family awakening light years away. 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