by Earl
Jon tensed. A small ship suddenly appeared before him. Was it a bandit? But then Jon relaxed as he saw the white star on its nose. It was a one-man Space Patrol ship, such as the kind in which he had once roamed among the planets.
“Ahoy, armored ship!” radioed the other ship. “The Superintendent of Saturn Mines just contacted me, asking me to escort you to Earth as an added precaution. Heave to and I’ll come aboard and introduce myself.”
Jon pulled the door levers, as a figure in a spacesuit jumped across from the police ship. The tremendous doors were opened by powerful machinery. No bandits could ever get inside with those doors locked, not even with explosives.
A uniformed figure in green and gold stepped in, and Jon extended his hand. Then Jon stopped, gasping. He knew the man all right.
But it was not one of his former buddies. It was Planet Pete, the space outlaw!
Jon reached for his gun, but the bandit already had him covered, and forced Jon to drop it. “Well, well!” chortled the outlaw, also recognizing Jon. “If it isn’t Jon Jarl, the copper who tried to bring me in! Or should I say ex-copper?” Laughing, the bandit went on. “And you did me more than one good turn. Because after escaping in your own cop ship, I found this spare uniform in the closet. Disguised as a Space Cop, I’ve been able to pull a lot of little jobs around the planets. But this is the biggest haul yet. I planned this out carefully. I knew it was no use to attack this armored ship. I had to use a trick to get inside. Now I’ll take the jewels.”
The bandit grabbed the sack. Jon groaned. Tricked again, by this same bandit! The other time, Jon had been discharged from the service. This time he would be fired from his new and promising job! Twice this cunning bandit had ruined his career!
But as the bandit turned for the door, Jon grinned. “By the way,” he drawled. “You’ve just been tricked. Planet Pete. That sack only holds phony jewels. The real jewels are locked in that safe in the corner.”
“Huh?” The criminal whirled. “What safe?” Now his eyes were off Jon.
Jon leaped like a human tiger. Before Planet Pete could swing and fire at him. Jon had tackled his legs and thrown him. Then, swinging the sack of jewels like a club, Jon knocked the bandit cold.
When Planet Pete again opened his eyes, Jon was grinning, holding up shining jewels from the sack. “You tricked me twice,” he said. “And I tricked you twice in turn. The jewels you had were the real ones all the time!”
Planet Pete held up his hands. “Blast it!” he snarled. “And I’m in handcuffs again!”
“You’re going to stay in them this time,” Jon Jarl promised grimly, “until I deliver you in front of the Chief. I’m going to trade you in for my badge and uniform!”
The career of Mr. Jon Jarl, Chief Pilot of Saturn Mines Corporation, was over. The career of Lieutenant Jon Jarl of the Space Patrol would now resume again.
SPACE SCAVENGER HUNT
The recorder tape read—“Comet Calhoun, Wanted Man! Expert in blackmail, kidnapping and extortion! Last seen heading for moons of Saturn! Watch for him!”
Lieutenant Jon Jarl of the Space Patrol read this message and then spun his rocketship toward the moons of Saturn. “Not an easy job to find him,” Jon muttered to himself. “Saturn has twelve moons! It’ll be like searching for a needle in a haystack.”
Upon reaching Saturn, Jon began patrolling out among its many moons. Most likely, Comet Calhoun would hide out on one of the uninhabited ones. Hyperion might be the one. Jon cruised over it eyes searching.
He jerked to attention. A spaceship flamed out of black space and thundered down for a landing on Hyperion. It couldn’t be a trade ship for there was nobody to trade with. It couldn’t be an exploring ship, for Jon had a list of such expeditions, and none was scheduled for Hyperion. Was it Comet Calhoun?
Jon’s pulse quickened as he landed his own ship just out of sight, and then crept up with his raygun ready. The door of the other ship was opening. Jon tightened his finger on the trigger. If it were Comet Calhoun, Jon was ready.
He took careful sight as the door swung open. He must shoot first and wound the desperado.
“Jumping Jupiter!” This exclamation tore out of Jon’s throat, at the sight he saw. Instead of a desperate criminal, a half dozen youngsters piled out of the spaceship, yelling exuberantly—three boys and three girls, all teen-agers. Jon couldn’t have been more surprised if six apes had come out. What in the world were these kids doing on an uninhabited little planetoid? Just enjoying a little lark? Having a picnic? Or what?
Jon strode up sternly. “Wait a minute, you kids,” he said. “It’s dangerous landing on uninhabited worlds. What’s the idea? Better get back home.”
They all turned, surprised. One boy stepped forward then, grinning. “Aw, officer, have a heart. Don’t chase us away. We’re on a scavenger hunt among the moons of Saturn.”
“Scavenger hunt?” Jon was startled. Then it was a game! “They must be from the Earth Colony on the planet Saturn,” he thought.
Jon began shaking his head. “This is too dangerous for kids . . .”
“Aw please,” pleaded the boy. I’m Roy Jimson. My father is manager of the Saturn Mines! He gave us permission. And I’m a licensed junior space pilot. You see, we have to beat the other team and bring back three rare things from the moons of Saturn. All we need here is a rare flower. Don’t spoil our fun, officer!”
How could Jon resist the plea? “All right, go ahead,” he agreed. “Just be careful.”
Jon watched as the eager group split up to search for a rare Hyperion flower. Roy Jimson began climbing a steep cliff, and when he reached the top, he let out a yell of triumph, waving an uprooted blossom. “I’ve got it! The Hyperion Rose—help!”
A portion of cliff had suddenly crumbled under him. The boy began falling with a five hundred foot drop down to hard rocks! Jon was frozen in alarm for only a second. Then he sprinted for the base of the cliff and held out his arms, bracing himself. Roy landed with enough force to knock them both down, but the boy’s life was saved. “Th-thanks,” gulped the boy.
Jon glared at him. “Only one thing saved you,” he muttered. “On Earth or any big planet, you and I both would have been killed if I tried to catch you. But on this small world, with a low gravitation, you only weighed one-tenth of your normal weight. So it was no worse than catching a fifteen-pound package.”
Jon turned away. “But that settles it. This scavenger hunt is too risky for you kids to play. I’m going to radio Headquarters and report this. They’ll order you home officially.”
Jon stopped. He met six pairs of accusing eyes. The others had come up. Six mouths turned down. Six boisterous young souls looked at him as if he were some sort of monster who hated to see them have fun.
Jon threw up his hands. “All right, all right,” he snapped. “So I won’t report this. Go on with your scavenger hunt. I was young once, too.”
Yelling, they sprang into their ship and rocketed off. Jon followed, with a wry grin. “Got to follow them and see they don’t run into more trouble. Now I’m a nursemaid for kids! Oh well, it’s harmless fun!”
Jon had reason to doubt those words later, as he followed them to Phoebe, another barren moon. Here, Roy led his group into a dark cave. “Come on,” he yelled. “We’ll get a specimen of the Singing Bat here!”
But Jon ran up with his ray gun as a hideout roar came from the cave. Inside, Jon saw the six youngsters huddled in a corner with a giant nameless beast about to pounce on them. Jon emptied his gun, but the wounded monster still had strength enough to turn on Jon with raking claws. Jon picked up a boulder and managed to crush its skull.
“Gee! Wasn’t that thrilling?” said an excited voice.
“Thrilling?” Jon exploded. “You brainless kids are flirting with death! That did it. I’m going to report to Headquarters and force you to go home. That’s final.”
But as Jon tried to radio from his ship, he was greeted by howling space static which prevented his message
from going through. And then he gasped. The other spaceship, loaded with the kids, was zooming off into space. They had sneaked away!
Jon sped after them. “They all deserve a good spanking,” he promised himself. But their ship was powerful and fast and lost itself in black space. Which moon had they gone to next? Jon could only guess. Two more were uninhabited, Dione and Mimas. Jon wasted hours searching tiny Dione and then sped for Mimas. “Fool kids,” he grunted. “I’ll bet they’re in trouble again. I should be searching for Comet Calhoun, but instead I have to follow up reckless kids and see that they get home alive.”
Reaching Mimas and cruising over its lifeless surface, Jon suddenly saw two ships parked below. Mystified, Jon landed out of sight and crept up on foot. Jon’s eyes widened as he saw the scene before him. The six kids sat in an unhappy group, faced by a black-bearded man holding a ray gun at them. The kids were really in trouble now, captives of none other than Comet Calhoun, the space criminal!
Jon heard the crook’s gloating voice. “Well, well! How nice of you young chumps to drop right into my hands. I was hiding out on Mimas here. You’re all rich kids, eh? Your folks would pay plenty to have you back. So I’m holding you for ransom, see?”
Jon gritted his teeth and sprang forward silently. But a pebble clattered under his feet. The criminal whirled and shot. Jon was taken unaware. The gun spun out of his hands. Jon was unarmed!
“Hello, Space Copper,” leered Comet Calhoun. “Now you’re my prisoner, too. But I’m not going to hold you for ransom. I’m going to plug you right on the spot, as a lesson to these kids so they’ll see I mean business. Then they’ll write notes to their parents, begging to be ransomed at any price.”
Cold-bloodedly, the space desperado aimed his gun straight for Jon. Jon gave up hope. But the criminal had his back turned to the kids, and Roy was whispering to the two other boys. Suddenly, all three boys leaped forward, like football players, and tackled the crook by the legs. And Roy daringly snatched his gun away as he fell.
“Thanks, boys, that’s all I need,” said Jon grimly, striding forward with his fists raised. A minute later a very bruised and battered criminal was begging for mercy through cracked lips.
Jon turned to glare at the kids now. “You and your silly scavenger hunt,” he scolded. “See what trouble it got you into?”
“We’re sorry,” chorused the group. “We realize how foolish and dangerous the hunt was. We won’t ever come here again.” But we did help you catch a dangerous crook—maybe you won’t report us.”
“Uh—er—!” Jon choked for a minute and then grinned. “You win, kids. I won’t report your escapade, as long as you go right home now.”
“We’ll go home if . . .” Roy whispered the rest in Jon’s ear, and Jon nodded.
Later, at a luxurious Saturn estate where the game had originated, Roy proudly faced the other team and said, “We win the scavenger hunt! We not only brought back the Hyperion Rose and the Singing Bat, but . . .”
He stopped and waved at Comet Calhoun, handcuffed to Jon Jarl. “We also brought back a space criminal from the moons of Saturn! Beat that if you can!”
Jon turned away with his prisoner. “Let’s go, Comet Calhoun. I was on a scavenger hunt, too! I caught a scavenger of space!”
INVISIBLE DOOM
At the Universe Observatory, on the moon, a giant telescope probed into the sky, with the power to detect any and all bodies in space for billions of miles. If it could not see them visually, it could record them by radar. It was the wonder telescope of 2261 A.D.
The staff of astronomers was excited. An amazing new phenomenon had been discovered.
“It’s an invisible comet!” said the chief astronomer. “Speeding in from outer space. Unlike other comets, its tail shines only with infra-red light, unseen to the eye. And the head of the comet is a dense black, which can’t be seen against the blackness of space. It might be a menace as it crosses through the solar system, like an invisible bomb . . .”
At that moment, the orbit checker turned from his complex mechanical brain machine, yelling. “It is a menace, a bad one! It’s heading straight for Iapetus, moon of Saturn. It will collide with Iapetus in forty-eight hours!”
Faces turned to each other, stricken. “And on Iapetus exists an Earth colony, which will be wiped out when the comet strikes!”
The chief astronomer whirled to his visi-phone and contacted the Headquarters of the Space Patrol, giving the grim news. Headquarters then sent the warning over its interplanetary radio transmitter, which was able to contact all the solar system. But there was only one trouble—no reply came from Iapetus.
“Space static is drowning us out!” groaned the Chief of the Space Patrol. “We’re not getting through. The people on Iapetus are going about their business, not knowing that the invisible comet will smash down on them in forty-eight hours! There’s one more chance . . .”
He turned and surveyed a huge map of the solar system, which was covered with pins. Each pin represented a ship of the Space Patrol out on duty. There was one pin cruising between Jupiter and Saturn. It was the nearest one to the threatened world. It was labeled—Lieutenant Jon Jarl.
Luckily, space static did not interfere with the message that Jon Jarl picked up later on his radio. “Attention, Lieutenant Jon Jarl! Invisible comet will collide with Iapetus in forty-eight hours! Radio warning to them failed to get through. Fly there at top speed and warn them in person! Hurry!”
Jon sat up, snapped a quick answer back, and leaped to his controls. The drum beat of his rear rockets grew to a deafening clatter as he drove his tiny ship toward Saturn at top speed.
“I’m a sort of Paul Revere,” Jon mused grimly. “But when I reach Iapetus, instead of yelling that the redcoats are coming. I’ll be telling them the invisible comet is coming! I’ll get there in twenty-four hours! That will give them another twenty-four hours to evacuate the planet. The crash will probably cause violent earthquakes and floods. But after it all subsides, the Earth colony can return.”
Without sleep, nursing more speed out of his straining motor, Jon finally saw Iapetus loom before him, enlarging in space. There was no sign of the onrushing comet. It was invisible to the eye. It was like a thief in the night, sneaking into the solar system.
Jon prepared for landing. He cased out his breath. His rocket motor, driven relentlessly for twenty-four hours, had held up. But suddenly there was a cough—a miss! Jon’s heart stopped as the motor spluttered wildly and gave up with a tired sigh. And Jon had not yet landed!
Frantically, he worked the air vanes and managed to slant the ship down to avoid a head-on crash with the ground. But the landing was still a crashing, smashing nightmare. The ship burst into flying pieces, and Jon’s form was flung through the air, to land in a clump of bushes. Only this saved Jon from death.
Staggering to his feet, his uniform half torn away and the rest hanging in rags, he stared bewilderedly at the smashed ship. Then he stared around at the Iapetan landscape, puzzled. Finally, he looked down at his own scratched and bruised body. He felt a painful lump on his head. There was a blank stare in his eye. His voice came out in a croak. “Wh-where am I? And—who am I?”
Jon Jarl had amnesia! His mind and memory utterly blank, Jon staggered away from the wreck. He didn’t know who he was. He didn’t know where he was nor where he was going. And worst of all, he didn’t know that an invisible comet was streaking down toward this world, due to land in twenty-four hours! Jon Jarl had come to warn Iapetus—only his message would never be delivered.
Later, at the Earth colony, the tattered figure arrived. People turned and stared. A local policeman stopped Jon with the inevitable question. “Just a minute, stranger! Who are you?”
“I—I don’t know,” Jon mumbled, shaking his head.
“Where did you come from? What do you want?”
Again Jon could only shake his head helplessly.
“Amnesia!” said the policeman, sympathetically. “But you must carr
y some sort of papers or identification.”
The policeman searched him. But Jon’s clothes were mere rags. His wallet and his identification papers had all been lost at the wreck.
The policeman frowned, surveying the disheveled figure. “You must be some sort of space hobo or tramp, I guess! Well, we don’t allow vagrants here—unless they do some useful work. Come along. I’ll find something for you to do.”
Without a murmur of protest, Jon allowed himself to be led away. He was given a meal and a drab suit of clothes and put to work sweeping up a small office in town. The office was that of the local Space Patrolman on duty on Iapetus. As Jon saw the bright uniform of the officer, something stirred in his mind—and then died out. Jon went on with his humble janitorial duties.
The officer was talkative. “This is a boring job,” he yawned. “Nothing exciting ever happens on Iapetus. It’s always so quiet and safe.”
Safe! The officer could not know that an invisible comet was plunging down at them, nearer and nearer each moment. Only Jon knew—with his mind blank.
But the officer was wrong on another count. There was more excitement in store for him. The door suddenly burst open and two men with guns charged in. The officer tried to draw, but a quick shot spun his gun out of his hand.
“Okay, copper,” rasped one of the men. “We’re crooks. We just came from Titan.”
The officer grinned then. “What are you going to steal here? There isn’t a cent of loot for you.”
But the criminals moved purposefully. “We want your atomic bomb, which we know all Space Patrol officers carry for emergencies. With that, we’re going to hustle back to Titan and blow up the Interplanetary Bank, and loot it of a cool billion!”
They took the officer’s keys. The atomic bomb was locked behind a steel door. But Jon stood before that door, staring dumbly. “Out of the way, you!” barked one criminal. When Jon did not move quickly enough, the criminal raised his gun and cracked it on Jon’s skull.
