Don Wilcox Earth Stealers

Archiwum

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It was a tunnel coming through vertically from the outside. Perhaps there was a mile or more of it. It was
not quite complete.
The thing which interested June most, however, was the mechanism which was cutting the tunnel. It was a
long, red. cigar-shaped space ship, and she recognized it at once as a Battering Ram.
It isn t smoke, after all, Diana Scott observed. It s just a lot of waves through that funny glass stuff.
Vibrations, I guess you would say. What s happening? It looks as if that thing is a big borer, coming right
up through.
June was so happy she could hardly answer. It s good news; that s what it is.
Twenty minutes later the Battering Ram nosed up through the surface and came down with a bouncing
motion upon the smooth amber floor. The great boring mechanism on its nose idled to a stop.
June wheeled the space flivver around until it was within fifteen yards of the mammoth Battering Ram.
Then at last the radio brought her something besides the bad news from the Earth.
June Allison! As I live and breathe! Greetings from Mercury!
June could almost feel Lester s arms around her, the way he was chuckling into the microphone.
We ve been chasing the Earth ever since the day before yesterday. Twice we thought it was a losing
race. But after we finally caught up, it didn t take us long to get a solid hitch. Did you see how we cut our
way through? Say, what are you doing up here anyway?
Looking for you, said June. We have been combing the skies. We just got away in time. The storms
are furious. They say that cities are being blown down.
June and Diana could hear the two men mumbling to each other.
We are not surprised, exactly, said Allison. We could see that the Earth was off center inside this
shell. The shell is turning, too, only not very fast. When we first hitched on, this side was nearest the Sun,
and the Earth was already leaning that way. We had better get together on our planes
Aren t you going to let me talk? Diana Scott suddenly exploded. Is that dark man with all the whiskers
by any chance Kirk Riley?
Diana, darling! Is that you? came Kirk s voice.
Gee, honey, I was so afraid but you are really alive! Put your face up to the window so I can see
you.
A somewhat bewhiskered Kirk could be seen grinning from the side window of the Battering Ram,
waving and making comic motions. Then there was more rapid-fire chatter from the radio, with such
heart-warming sentiments that Lester said he would have to put a stop to it before someone burned out
the wires.
It was not advisable to transfer from one ship to the other, partly because of the rarity of the atmosphere,
partly because the gravitational forces at this point were almost perfectly balanced. The ships barely clung
to the surface. It was reasonable to guess that they would have descended to the Earth if that planet had
been more nearly centered within the shell.
I have just one wisp of a plan at present, said Allison. If we are doomed, we are doomed. But I have
a hunch that before the Earth checks in I may learn something from Professor Haycox. Have you kept in
touch with him, June?
He kept calling. He wanted to see you again. But he didn t give me any message.
Are you game for a flight to his laboratory? It has probably been blown to smithereens. But he had a
queer biological specimen laid out on the basement floor when I was there last. I want to see it again. We
may have to dig through snow to find him, but if you are willing to take a chance
We are on our way, said June.
CHAPTER XIX
The Professor Has the Blues
IN THE blinding blizzards, nothing but mountain landmarks could have shown Allison the way. But at last
he and his party fought their way through the makeshift storm barriers which had been erected out of the
ruins of some of the Institute buildings. Like burrowing animals they padded along through the icy tunnels,
and at last they were within the basement rooms of what had once been the Institute.
Professor Haycox and his staff, such of them as remained, were a silent and dreary lot. They were
stupefied by the swift destruction that had come upon them. Most of their projects had been ruined
completely. A few experiments which had been located in the lower rooms were still being tended by
halfhearted laboratory workers. No one could see the use of going ahead with such things. Every radio
report indicated that the Earth was being accelerated in its movement away from the solar system. The [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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