The Fire People

by Ray Cummings

  CHAPTER IX.

  FUTILE ATTACKS.

  There seemed to be no pursuit. In a few moments I was clear of the campand hidden in the darkness of the desert. I ran perhaps half a mile, thenI slowed down to a walk, completely winded. Turning, I could see behind methe lights of the camp. I doubted if even now they had missed me. The bombdropped by the airplane and the plane itself falling almost, in theirmidst must have plunged them for the time into confusion.

  I kept on walking rapidly. The desert here was almost pathless;occasionally I would cross a wandering wagon track, but none of themseemed going in my direction. After a time I was not sure what mydirection was; all about me was a luminous darkness--and silence.

  I found myself now almost exhausted from my exertions of the day. Idecided to go possibly a mile farther--to be well away from theMercutians--and then to lie down and sleep until daylight.

  In about fifteen minutes more I concluded I had gone far enough, and,lying down on the sand, was soon fast asleep. When I awoke it wasdaylight, with the sun just rising.

  With returning consciousness I looked about me in sudden fear, but therewas no one in sight. I ate the bread and meat I had in my pocket, and,feeling much refreshed, but thirsty, I started again for Garland.

  I made the town soon after noon that day. The little automobile was stillstanding in the garage, and I started it without trouble. Before I left Iwent up to the porch of the house.

  The bodies of Mercer and the Mercutian were still lying there. I draggedMercer's body down the steps and put it into the back seat of the carThen I started off. I stuck to the main road, and went through Mantua attop speed, apprehensive that some of the Mercutians might be there. Thistown, like Garland, was completely burned. Only the chimneys were leftstanding amid piles of ashes.

  At Frannie I took on two passengers. There was much curiosity on the partof those I met along here, but I was unwilling to explain, deciding itbest to wait and tell my whole story to the military authorities atBillings.

  It was early afternoon when I got back to Billings. This was March 12. Iturned Mercer's body over to the police, who promptly took me in charge. Igave them a brief outline of what had occurred. General Price, whosecommand of the United States military operations against the Mercutianswas announced to the country two days later, had arrived that morning inBillings by airplane. I demanded to see him, and when my business wasexplained to him he granted me an immediate interview.

  General Price was a man about fifty, a kindly gentleman of the oldSouthern type, yet of thoroughly military demeanor. I told him everythingthat had happened to me in detail as complete as I possibly could.Mercer's body was examined that same afternoon. It was found to have beendrilled completely through the chest by a hole about the diameter of alead pencil. This hole did not seem to have been made by the passage ofany foreign object, but had more the aspect of a burn. I understoodthen--Mercer had been killed by a tiny light-ray projector, with a short,effective radius, aimed probably like a revolver.

  What I was able to tell General Price about the Mercutians naturally wasinvaluable to him. He asked me then to remain close to him during theforthcoming operations. We arranged that I was on honor to give nothingout to my paper without his approval.

  The situation, as it appeared during the next few days, was not one ofgrave danger. We were able to gage now with fair probability ofcorrectness the offensive strength of our enemies. They had no means oftransportation--could only move from their present position slowly andwith extreme difficulty. The possibility of the vehicle itself movingoccurred to us; but, as I pointed out, the task of replacing their heavyapparatus in it, and then reassembling the apparatus in a new position,made such a step impractical.

  The only weapon the Mercutians had displayed so far was the light-ray inits several forms. This seemed effective for ten miles at most. That theMercutians could be attacked by our artillery and destroyed seemedcertain.

  By the 20th General Price had mobilized some ten thousand men. Theyencamped on the prairie near Billings. The artillery was moved down to apoint near the Wyoming State line, about fifteen miles directly north ofthe Mercutian camp.

  Six days before this, forty-eight hours after I had returned to Billings,observation planes had reported the establishment of two more light-rays,similar in appearance to the first. During the succeeding days othersrapidly appeared. By the 20th there were probably thirty of themaltogether.

  The reports stated that all were set up within a space seemingly of a fewhundred yards. They were of different diameters; some projected inparallel rays, others spread out fan-shaped. These latter appeared not tocarry so far. The first one that had appeared, it was judged, had thelongest effective radius of them all.

  During these days and nights preceding the 20th the light-rockets had beenfired with increasing frequency, but none was observed to carry over sixor eight miles. By this time the burned area for a circle of ten miles allaround the Mercutian camp was entirely depopulated, and no additionaldestruction was reported.

  On the night of the 20th, firing by directions from captive balloons, theUnited States artillery began its bombardment from the Montana-Wyomingline. After sending over some twenty shells, the firing ceased. It waslearned then that they had proven utterly ineffective. The diverging raysof the Mercutian light had thrown a barrage around their position. Theshells striking the light had all exploded harmlessly in the air.

  Subsequent bombardments made that night met with no better success. Thefact became obvious then that to artillery fire the Mercutians wereimpregnable. For several days no further military operations wereattempted, with the exception of an occasional shell futilely thrownagainst the light-rays.

  The newspapers during these days were full of discussions--scientific andotherwise--as to how this strange enemy of mankind could be destroyed ordislodged. This was like no other warfare in history. The newspaperstatements gave the inference that General Price was entirely at a losshow to proceed.

  As a matter of fact, the press was quite correct in that assumption; and,since the Mercutians were making no offensive moves, General Price decidedto do nothing until he was better informed.

  I was fortunate enough to be present the next day at a conference thegeneral had with several scientific men who had come to Billings to meethim. It was the opinion of these men of science that no artillery firecould penetrate the light-barrage the Mercutians had thrown about them. Noairplane attack was practical, and to attack them from the ground withinfantry would be absurd.

  On the other hand, it seemed obvious that the Mercutians could make nooffensive move either. They had probably already done all the damage thatthey could. If matters were allowed to remain as they now were--thusavoiding the useless sacrifice of men--inevitably the time would come whenthe food supply the Mercutians had brought with them would be exhausted.Meanwhile, if the invaders decided to move in their vehicle to anotherlocation, they could not do so suddenly without abandoning theirapparatus.

  Any lessening in the number of light-rays in operation could be taken asan indication that a move of this kind was in preparation, and the warningwould give General Price time to execute any attack that in the meantimemight be planned.

  It was decided then to remain comparatively inactive and awaitdevelopments from the opposite side.

  During the three months that followed this decision artillery bases werelocated at intervals on a circumference of about fifteen miles around theMercutian center. These were all on desert country. Lines of communicationbetween them were established, and the air above was thoroughly patrollednight and day.

  The ten thousand men under General Price it was not thought necessary oradvisable to augment. They were deployed around this circumference infront of the artillery, nearer the ten-mile limit. Machine-gun outposts,manned by volunteers exclusively, were established in Garland, Mantua andother points within the area controlled by the light. These were for thepurpose of preventing, or reporting, any possible movements on fo
ot of theMercutians.

  During this time the government was, naturally, subjected to much harshcriticism for its waiting attitude. It was suggested that armoredtanks--relics of the World War--could be put into commission. These, undercover of darkness, could be used to rush the Mercutian position. Thisobviously was an absurd plan, since the light-ray would instantly raisethe temperature of the metal composing the car to such a height that themen inside would be killed--not to mention the fact that all explosivesin the car would be instantly detonated.

  Another suggestion was that a night raid be made upon the outposts of thecamp by a few men armed with machine guns fired from the shoulder, in aneffort to capture one of the Mercutians garbed in a suit impervious to thelight. With this suit even one man with a machine gun would probably beable to clean out the Mercutian camp.

  This plan evoked much favorable comment. This black material, once in ourpossession, could be analyzed and possibly be duplicated in quantity byus. It seemed the logical way of making progress.

  But, unfortunately, conditions around the Mercutian camp at present werenot the same as that night when I escaped. At that time it would have beenfeasible; now it was impossible, for all the invaders were within thesmall circle of projectors, and the ground outside this circle was neverfree from the diverging rays of the light. Also, as one newspaper articlereplied, even with such a suit of armor a man with a machine gun could dolittle, for the light would instantly render useless the gun itself.

  So the controversy went on, and General Price waited, knowing that eachday must bring the enemy nearer starvation. Such was the condition ofaffairs in the latter part of June.

  Then, one morning, I received a telegram from Alan Newland in Florida. Ihad been corresponding with him at intervals, but he had never given me ahint of what had happened down there.

  The telegram read:

  Important Mercutian development here. Keep absolutely secret. Join us here at once. Answer.

  I wired him immediately. Three days later I was at Bay Head.