* *
Alice joined him in wandering about the decks, kibitzing on the games ofthe other passengers, and watching the stars and galaxies on thetelescopic screens. It was on one of these that they first saw theshadow out in space. Small at first, the black shadow crossed a singlestar and made it wink. That was what caught Mel's attention, a winkingstar in the dead night of space.
When he was sure, he called Alice's attention to it. "There's somethingmoving out there." By now it had shape, like a tiny black bullet.
"Where? I don't see anything."
"It's crossing that patch of stars. Watch, and you can see it blot themout as it moves."
"It's another ship!" Alice exclaimed. "That's exciting! To think we'repassing another ship in all this great emptiness of space! I wonderwhere it's coming from?"
"And where it's going to."
They watched its slow, precise movement across the stars. After severalminutes a steward passed by. Mel hailed him and pointed to the screen."Can you tell us what that other ship is?"
The steward glanced and seemed to recognize it instantly. But he pausedin replying. "That's the Mars liner," he said finally. "In just a fewminutes the public address system will announce contact and change ofship."
"Change of ship?" Mel asked, puzzled. "I never heard anything about achange of ship."
"Oh, yes," the steward said. "This is only the shuttle that we're onnow. We transfer to the liner for the remainder of the trip. I'm surethat was explained to you at the time you purchased your tickets." Hehurried away.
Mel was quite sure no such thing had been explained to him when hepurchased tickets. He turned back to the screen and watched the blackship growing swiftly larger now as it and the Martian Princessapproached on contact courses.
The public address system came alive suddenly. "This is your Captain.All passengers will now prepare to leave the shuttle and board the Marsliner. Hand luggage should be made ready. All luggage stowed in the holdwill be transferred without your attention. It has been a pleasure tohave you aboard. Contact with the liner will be made in fifteenminutes."
From the buzz around him Mel knew that this was as much a surprise toeveryone else as it was to him, but it was greeted with excitement andwithout question.
Even Alice was growing excited now and others crowded around them whenit was discovered what they were viewing. "It looks _big_," said Alicein subdued voice. "Bigger than this ship by far."
Mel moved away and let the others have his place before the screen. Hissense of uneasiness increased as he contemplated the approach of thathuge black ship. And he was convinced its color _was_ black, that it wasnot just the monotone of the view screen that made it so.
Why should there be such a transfer of passengers in mid-space? TheMartian Princess was certainly adequate to make the journey to Mars.Actually they were more than a third of the way there, already. Hewasn't sure why he felt so certain something was amiss. Surely there wasno possibility that the great Connemorra Lines would plan any procedureto the detriment of the more than five thousand passengers aboard theship. His uneasiness was pretty stupid, he thought.
But it wouldn't go away.
He returned to the crowd clustered at the viewing screen and took Aliceby the arm to draw her away.
She looked quizzically at him. "This is the most exciting thing yet. Iwant to watch it."
"We haven't got much time," Mel said. "We've got a lot of things to getin our suitcases. Let's go down to our stateroom."
"Everyone else has to pack, too. There's no hurry."
"Fifteen minutes, the Captain said. We don't want to be the last ones."
Unwillingly, Alice followed. Their stateroom was a long way from thesalon. The fifteen minutes were almost up by the time they reached it.
* * * * *
Mel closed the door to their room and put his hands on Alice'sshoulders. He glanced about warily. "Alice--I don't want to go aboardthat ship. There's something wrong about this whole thing. I don't knowwhat it is, but we're not going aboard."
Alice stared at him. "Have you lost your mind? After all our hopes andall our planning you don't want to go on to Mars?"
Mel felt as if a wall had suddenly sprung up between them. He clutchedAlice's shoulders desperately in his hands. "Alice--I don't think thatship out there is going to Mars. I know it sounds crazy, but pleaselisten to me--we weren't told anything about the Martian Princess beingmerely a shuttle and that we'd transfer to another ship out here. No onewas told. The Martian Princess is a space liner perfectly capable ofgoing to Mars. There's no reason why such a huge ship should be usedmerely as a shuttle."
"That ship out there is bigger."
"Why? Do we need any more room to finish the journey?"
Alice shook herself out of his grasp. "I don't know the answers to thosequestions and I don't care to know them!" she said angrily.
"If you think I'm going to give up this vacation and turn right aroundhere in space and go back home you're crazy. If you go back you'll goback alone!"
Alice whirled and ran to the door. Mel ran after her, but she wasthrough the door and was melting into the moving throng by the time hereached the door. He took a step to follow, then halted. He couldn'tdrag her forcibly back into the stateroom. Maybe she'd return in a fewminutes to pack her bags. He went back in the room and closed the door.
* * * * *
Even as he did so he knew that he was guessing wrong. Alice would bematching him in a game of nerves. She'd go on to the other ship,expecting him to pack the bags and follow. He sat down on the bed andput his head in his hands for a moment. A faint shudder passed throughthe ship and he heard the hollow ring of clashing metal. The unknownship had made contact with the Martian Princess. Their airlocks werebeing mated now.
From the porthole he could see the incredible mass of the ship. Hecrossed the room and pressed the curtains aside. His impression had beenright. The ship _was_ black. Black, nameless, and blind. No insignia orportholes were visible anywhere on the hull within his range of vision.
He didn't know what he was going to do, but he knew above all else thathe wasn't going to board that ship. He paced the floor telling himselfit was a stupid, neurotic apprehension that filled his mind, that thegreat Connemorra Lines could not be involved in any nefarious actsinvolving five thousand people--or even one person. They couldn't affordsuch risk.
He couldn't shake it. He was certain that, no matter what the cost, hewas not going to board that black ship.
He looked about the stateroom. He couldn't remain here. They'd certainlyfind him. He had to hide somewhere. He stood motionless, staring out theporthole. There was no place he could hide with assurance inside theship.
But what about outside?
His thoughts crumpled in indecision as he thought of Alice. Yet whateverthe black ship meant, he could help no one if he went aboard. He had toget back to Earth and try to find out what it was all about and alertthe authorities. Only in that way could he hope to help Alice.
* * * * *
He opened the stateroom door cautiously and stepped out. The corridorwas filled with hurrying passengers, carrying hand luggage, laughingwith each other in excitement. He joined them, moving slowly, alert forcrew members. There seemed to be none of the latter in the corridors.
Keeping close to the wall, he moved with the crowd until he reached therounded niche that marked an escape chamber. As if pushed by thehurrying throng, he backed into it, the automatic doors opening andclosing to receive him.
The chamber was one of scores stationed throughout the ship as requiredby law. The escape chambers contained space suits for personal exit fromthe ship in case of emergency. They were never expected to be used. Inany emergency requiring abandonment of the vessel it would be assuicidal to go into space in a suit as to remain with the ship. Butfusty lawmakers had decreed their necessity, and passengers received aperfunctory briefing in the use of the cham
bers and the suits--whichthey promptly forgot.
Mel wrestled now with what he remembered of the instructions. Heinspected a suit hanging in its cabinet and then was relieved to findthat the instructions were repeated on a panel of the cabinet. Slowly,he donned the suit, following the step by step instructions as he went.He began to sweat profusely from his exertions and from his fear ofdiscovery.
He finally succeeded in getting the cumbersome gear adjusted andfastened without being detected. He did not know if the airlock of thechamber had some kind of alarm that would alert the crew when it wasopened. That was a chance he had to take. He discovered that it wasarranged so that it could be opened only by a key operated from
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