Mutiny in Space Read Online Free PDF Page A

fired. It had landed, and flared, directly in the path of the attack. And it had quite disrupted it. The scarlet and black forms milled in noisy confusion. Then one of them darted off at right angles to the smoke. A second one followed, then a third, then all of them. Cutting across the hillside, they would — any moment now — make a left wheel and attack down-slope again. Jory lifted the shooter, fired again.
    They had started the howl again, but when the second burst of smoke arose, the noise stopped, abruptly. In the silence Jory could hear one of the men quietly praying. The insect-like figures scurried about like ants; then, still like ants, they came together in a knot. Most of them. One broke away and, followed by another, but by no more, came charging down the rise between the two fan-shaped columns of smoke.
    Howling, howling and leaping, and waving long and glittering things above their heads, they came. Scarlet, black, scarlet and black, scarlet on black, black on scarlet, howling and leaping, running, ever closer, closer, they came. Someone screamed, “Shoot them, shoot them, Captain —
please
!”
    Jory once more raised his hand. He had no idea how much force a flare-charge carried, or if he could hit his target. If he could at least knock one of the things off balance … he hefted his makeshift spear, sighted as best he could down the sightless barrel of the flare-shooter —
    — howling, running, scarlet —
    “ — please — ”
    — leaping, and in mid-air twisting, crumpling, falling, broken —
    — one —
    — and the other coming on —
    — fired —
    — down on one knee, back on one hand, thrusting, thrusting, scarlet gauntlet, black-palmed paw, thrusting now with both hands at the spurting smoke —
    “One for each of us, Mister Cane,” said the voice of Captain Rond. “Take this one alive, smartly, now, men … smartly!”
    It had the smoking flare caught up in one waving, smoking paw, now suddenly torn off … and then the men were on it, bringing it down, down, and Rond was shouting — “Alive! Alive! Not even hurt!” And Jory on it, too, staring into the hideous mask, the circles, triangles, crescents, whorls and loops, all scarlet and black, black on scarlet. Both his hands were on it, [knowing (somehow), though later knowing he did not know how he knew in that moment when there was no knowledge at all and only instinct — ]
    — and pulled —
    — the men yelling, the thing writhing —
    — for one flash of a second his own head thrust up and seeing the horde pouring back over the crest of the hill and the other thing lying fallen and broken —
    — and pulled — and pulled it off —
    — and looked down into her face —

three
    H ER RED-GOLD HAIR HAD COME UNCOILED . H ER LEAF-COLORED eyes stared at him. Her mouth had been bruised and a tiny trickle of blood ran from one corner. Still, Jory stared. Awkwardly, he brushed with his sleeve at the blood.
    Said Levvis, “What do you think, Mr. Cane? Little Joe’s mother?”
    “Sure looks like him,” Mars said.
    And Duston wondered aloud if she thought they were kidnapers. “No wonder they come after us like that … I don’t blame them … now, probably the other kid gave the alarm.”
    And still Jory stared.
    “We’ve got to get out of this,” Captain Rond’s voice was at his ear. “This is a very unpromising beginning…. Tie the woman’s hand, some of you. There — cut off those tapes on her … clothes — no — armor. Gently, gently. I want bonds, Storm, not tourniquets. Ah. Good. And now, where is the boy?”
    Little Joe raised his head when they called to him. He had not been touched, apparently. He looked over the deserted field of battle, gazed in wonder at the fan-shaped smoke, still rising black and thick.
“Ahhh …”
at sight of the dead warrior and
“Ohhh …”
at sight of the living one.
    She was on her knees now, not resisting being bound, no longer looking at Jory. Her eyes were on something