Chapter XIV

HUMAN PROJECTILES.

"Steady, Jack! He's got her!"

We could hear his voice through the door-slide. Calmly ironical.

"Well, and so you have me!" came Croat's voice. "It took you a fair long time to find me—find us—did it not? Sit quiet, Rowena!"

Grenfell came shoving his way through the group of horror-stricken men behind me. "Dean, what—good God, it's Croat!"

We stood stricken with upraised, futilely gesturing weapons; we held each other back, fearful that one of us would make an incautious move to startle or anger Croat into killing Rowena. He could so easily do it by the merest pressure of his finger against that cylinder in his hand.

Gibbons stammered, "The air in there—I left it at five pounds."

"It is quite comfortable now," came Croat's slow voice. And I realized that the door-slide was slightly ajar. "This girl—Rowena Palisse, is she not? By your gods, a woman worthy of mastering Mercury. They will say, 'Croat's mate chosen from all the Universe could be no better suited to him.' I had no idea!"

We stood dumb, with horror, listening to him. Past his great thick shoulder Rowena's white face peered at us.

"Quiet, Rowena." His arm tightened around her. "Do not be foolish or, as I told you, I will have to kill you. And that would be a pity. Sit still, while I tell them what they must do."

Dr. Grenfell stood at the pane. He was unarmed; he had shoved us behind him with a warning command. He put his hands up on the pane of the door and his face close to it.

"You are Croat, the Mercutian?"

"Why, yes." Croat shifted so as to face the door more comfortably. I saw now that he had both of Rowena's hands pinned by the tightness of his encircling arm. "Yes, I am Croat, the Mercutian. You seem to know me. That is strange." His gray face gazed insolently at Grenfell, though he was obviously puzzled. "My fame must have spread quickly to Earth. How did you—"

Grenfell waved it away. He had recovered from his first shock of horror. He stood calmly calculating; his shoulders hunched, every muscle tense.

"That's not important. We know you. I am in command here. You cannot escape."

"Escape? For a commander you are stupid! Escape? And you make still another error—you are not in command. You were, but now you are not. I command here."

I heard Dr. Grenfell answering, but it hardly registered on my mind. It seemed that Rowena was trying to attract my attention. I caught her glance, and the vague gesture of her head to indicate something behind her. And Jimmy was plucking at me, whispering, "When I first saw him he was starting to robe them in those Moon-landing suits. Then he stopped. Look, he's got the Moon-suits behind him."

I saw then what Rowena was indicating: the pressure suits and helmets for disembarking upon an airless world. We had brought them in case of unforeseen necessity. My mind flashed back to what undoubtedly Croat had done: stolen the rector's aëro to carry him from Maine to southern Jersey; hidden himself on the cube, having boarded it during the confusion of loading for our departure.

We found later that he had hidden in the small lower room where raw bulk foodstuffs were stored—those which obviously we would not need during the first part of the voyage. Then, while she slept, he had captured Rowena; forced her to tell him of the Moon equipment.

He had secured two of the helmeted suits—elastic, rubberite affairs, double-shelled, with interior air-pressure circulating system to withstand the explosive pressure of fifteen pounds to the square inch; and great goggled helmets like an old-fashioned sea-diver. Croat had been about to use them when Jimmy came upon him.

Use them? For what? And why had he tarried?

He was arguing calmly with Grenfell. He had said: "I am a different race from you. Perhaps you think I would not dare kill this girl and meet my own death almost at once? Perhaps an Earth-man would be afraid to make good his threat? But that, I promise you, is exactly what I shall do. If you cross me—attempt to stop me—I promise it."

And we did not dare take the chance! Grenfell stood there alert. Gibbons was beside him. The door-slide was ajar. In a matter of five seconds Gibbons could have widened that slit, fired in and killed Croat. But in those five seconds the watchful Mercutian would have bored Rowena with the deadly blast from his little cylinder.

Rowena suddenly moved, twisting violently to test him. If she could distract his attention even for a moment—

It alarmed Grenfell. He warned sharply: "Don't do that, child!"

Croat did not turn; his arm again tightened to hold her. And Rowena called:

"He sent an ether-signal for his ship. A flare—didn't you see it? His ship is coming!"

"We have been waiting for it," said Croat; and he added sharply: "Close that door!"

His weapon came up. Swung at us, and back at Rowena. His gray face, the darting fire of his dark eyes, seemed suddenly unhuman. This was a man of a different world. He would plunge heedlessly into murder and suicide.

Gibbons snapped the deck slide closed. Baker exclaimed: "Grenfell—his ship is in sight. It was down by the Moon!"

The Mercutian ship coming! Then it had not gone back to Mercury, but had been waiting out here, perhaps for a signal from Croat? And I saw Croat now menacing Rowena, making her draw on the Moon-suit.

I plucked at Jimmy. "Come! We've got to get other suits!"

No one noticed us as we dashed away along the deck. Grenfell was murmuring to his companions—trying to plan something—watching, trying to dare make an opportunity to open the slide and leap in upon Croat.

We were gone only a minute or two. I came back alone, robed in a pressure-suit; and Jimmy was still searching for another for himself. I passed Baker.

"Where are you going?" He stopped short, turned and followed me back. I carried the helmet in my hand. Baker was stammering: "You got one, Dean? I thought—He's taking her outside!"

The group at the slide stood transfixed with horrified confusion. Within the lock now were two grotesque figures. Round goggled helmets in place; humps on the shoulders where the pressure-batteries were assembled. Bloated figures, with the air-pressure in the suits already operating. I saw that the rubberite of Croat's garment was stretched by his great height. He bent at the outer door-slide. Rowena was struggling now, but he held her; and turned with his weapon to menace the men on the deck.

Grenfell opened the inner slide; closed it again in a panic. The men were all shouting different orders at once. If Croat were to open the outer slide simultaneously with the opening of the inner one, all the air in the ship would go out with a blast. Death to every one on board!

I came with a wild rush. A sudden madness was on me. I calculated nothing—chanced everything. Grenfell and the others scattered before me. They were all shouting, but I did not hear them. I jammed on the helmet; locked it; started up the mechanisms. My suit began bloating; the pressure made my head roar. Then it cleared. Through the visor-pane I could see the deck, and the door-slide to the lock.

I rushed at the manuals. Baker was ahead of me. He swung the lever; pushed me through the opening slide. I stumbled into the lock. The slide closed instantly after me.

And in the next instant Croat opened the outer door. The lock-air went out with a rush; a torrent of pressure escaping into the outside vacuum.

Like projectiles, we three in the lock were hurled into the black void of Space!