by Ray Cummings
XVI
She came. I suppose it was no more than an hour: It seemed an eternityof apprehension. There was the slight hissing of the seal of my door.The panel slid. I had leaped from my bunk where in the darkness I waslying tense.
"Prince?" I did not dare say "Anita."
"Gregg."
Her voice. My gaze swept the deck as the panel opened. NeitherConiston nor anyone else was in sight, save Anita's dark-robed figurewhich came into my room.
"You got it?" I asked in a low whisper.
I held her for an instant, kissed her. But she pushed me away withquick hands. She was breathless.
"Yes, I have it. Give us a little light--we must hurry!"
In the blue dimness I saw that she was holding one of the Martiancylinders. The smaller size: it would paralyze but not kill.
"Only one, Anita?"
"Yes. And this--"
The invisible cloak. We laid it on my grid, and I adjusted itsmechanism. I donned it and drew its hood, and threw on its current.
"All right, Anita?"
"Yes."
"Can you see me?"
"No." She had stepped back a foot or two. "Not from here. But you mustlet no one approach too close."
Then she came forward, put out her hand, fumbled until she found me.
It was our plan to have me follow her out. Anyone observing us wouldsee only the robed figure of the supposed George Prince, and I wouldescape unnoticed.
The situation about the ship was almost unchanged. Anita had securedthe weapon and the cloak and slipped away to my cubby without beingobserved.
"You're sure of that?"
"I think so, Gregg. I was careful."
Moa was now in the lounge, guarding the passengers. Hahn was asleep inthe chart room. Coniston was in the turret. Coniston would be off dutypresently, Anita said, with Hahn taking his place. There were lookoutsin the forward and stern watch towers, and a guard upon Snap in theradio room.
"Is he inside the room, Anita?"
"Snap? Yes."
"No--the guard."
"The guard was sitting on the spider bridge at the door."
This was unfortunate. That guard could see all the deck clearly. Hemight be suspicious of George Prince wandering around: it would bedifficult to get near enough to assail him. This cylinder, I knew, hadan effective range of only some twenty feet.
"Coniston is the sharpest, Gregg. He will be the hardest to get near."
"Where is Miko?"
The brigand leader had gone below a few moments ago, down into thehull corridor. Anita had seized the opportunity to come to me.
"We can attack Hahn in the chart room first," I whispered. "And getthe other weapons. Are they still there?"
"Yes. But the forward deck is very bright, Gregg."
We were approaching the asteroid. Already its light, like a brilliantmoon, was brightening the forward deck space. It made me realize howmuch haste was necessary.
We decided to go down into the hull corridors. Locate Miko. Fell himand hide him. His nonappearance back on deck would very soon throw theothers into confusion, especially now with our impending landing uponthe asteroid. And, under cover of this confusion, we would try torelease Snap.
We were ready. Anita slid my door open. She stepped through, with mesoundlessly scurrying after her. The empty, silent deck wasalternately dark with shadow patches and bright with blobs ofstarlight. A sheen of the Sun's corona was mingled with it; and fromforward came the radiance of the asteroid's mellow silver glow.
Anita turned to seal my door; within my faintly humming cloak I stoodbeside her. Was I invisible in this light? Almost directly over us,close under the dome, the lookout sat in his little tower. He gazeddown at Anita.
Amidships, high over the cabin superstructure, the radio room hungdark and silent. The guard on its bridge was visible. He too, lookeddown.
A tense instant. Then I breathed again. There was no alarm. The twoguards answered Anita's gesture.
Anita said aloud into my empty cubby: "Miko will come for youpresently, Haljan. He told me that he wants you at the turret controlsto land us on the asteroid."
She finished sealing my door and turned away; started forward alongthe deck. I followed. My steps were soundless in my elastic-bottomedshoes. Anita swaggered with a noisy tread. Near the door of thesmoking room a small incline passage led downward. We went into it.
The passage was dimly blue lit. We descended its length, came to themain corridor, which ran the length of the hull. A vaulted metalpassage, with doors to the control rooms opening from it. Dim lightsshowed at intervals.
The humming of the ship was more apparent here. It drowned the lighthumming of my cloak. I crept after Anita; my hand under the cloakclutched the ray weapon.
A steward passed us. I shrank aside to avoid him.
Anita spoke to him. "Where is Miko, Ellis?"
"In the ventilator room, Miss. Prince. There was difficulty with theair renewal."
Anita nodded and moved on. I could have felled that steward as hepassed me. Oh, if I only had, how different things might have been!
But it seemed needless. I let him go, and he turned into a nearby doorwhich led to the galley.
Anita moved forward. If we could come upon Miko alone! Abruptly sheturned and whispered, "Gregg, if other men are with him, I'll draw himaway. You watch your chance."
What little things can overthrow one's careful plans! Anita had notrealized how close to her I was following. And her turning sounexpectedly caused me to collide with her sharply.
"Oh!" She exclaimed it involuntarily. Her outflung hand hadunwittingly gripped my wrist, caught the electrode there. The touchburned her, and short-circuited my robe. There was a hiss. My currentburned out the tiny fuses.
My invisibility was gone! I stood, a tall, blackhooded figure,revealed to the gaze of anyone who might be near!
The futile plans of humans! We had planned so carefully! Ourcalculations, our hopes of what we could do, came clattering now in asudden wreckage around us.
"Anita! Run!"
If I were seen with her, then her own disguise would probably bediscovered. That above everything, would be disaster.
"Anita, get away from me! I must try it alone!"
I could hide somewhere, repair the cloak perhaps. Or, since now I wasarmed, why could not I boldly start an assault?
"Gregg, we must get you back to your cubby!" She was clinging to me inpanic.
"No. You run! Get away from me! Don't you understand? George Princehas no business here with me! They'll kill you!"
"Gregg, let's get back to the deck."
I pushed at her, both of us in confusion.
From behind me there came a shout. That accursed steward! He hadreturned, to investigate perhaps what George Prince was doing in thiscorridor. He heard our voices. His shout in the silence of the shipsounded horribly loud. The white-cloaked shape of him was in thenearby doorway. He stood stricken with surprise at seeing me. And thenturned to run.
I fired my paralyzing cylinder through my cloak. Got him! He fell. Ishoved Anita violently.
"Run! Tell Miko to come--tell him you heard a shout. He won't suspectyou!"
"But, Gregg--"
"You mustn't be found out. You're our only hope, Anita! I'll hide, fixthe cloak, or get back to my cubby. We'll try again."
It decided her. She scurried down the corridor. I whirled the otherway. The steward's shout might not have been heard.
Then realization flashed to me. That steward would be revived. He wasone of Miko's men. He would be revived and tell what he had seen andheard. Anita's disguise would be revealed.
A cold-blooded killing, I do protest, went against me. But it wasnecessary. I flung myself upon him. I beat his skull with the metal ofmy cylinder.
I stood up. My hood had fallen back from my head. I wiped my bloodyhands on my useless cloak. I had smashed the cylinder.
"Haljan!"
Anita's voice! A sharp note of horror and warning
. I became aware thatin the corridor, forty feet down its dim length, Miko had appearedwith Anita behind him. His bullet projector was leveled. It spat atme. But Anita had pulled at his arm.
The explosive report was sharply deafening in the confined space ofthe corridor. With a spurt of flame the leaden pellet struck over myhead against the vaulted ceiling.
Miko was struggling with Anita. "Prince, you idiot!"
"Miko, it's Haljan! Don't kill him--"
The turmoil brought members of the crew. From the shadowed oval nearme they came running. I flung the useless cylinder at them. But I wastrapped in the narrow passage.
I might have fought my way out. Or Miko might have shot me. But therewas the danger that, in her horror, Anita would betray herself.
I backed against the wall. "Don't kill me! See, I will not fight!"
I flung up my arms. And the crew, emboldened and courageous underMiko's gaze, leaped on me and bore me down.
The futile plans of humans! Anita and I had planned so carefully. Andin a few brief minutes of action it had come only to this!
