ron Goulart - Challengers of the Unknown Read Online Free PDF Page A

cathedrals, red tile roofs, broad streets and twisting lanes.
    Ace Morgan, who'd designed the ship, was at the controls and in communication with the San James airport.
    June Robbins touched her fingertips to the viewport beside her seat. "What's all that fringing the city?"
    "You're not supposed to notice," said Prof. "They call that the barrio
    "Up in the States, during the Depression," amplified Red, "they were called shantytowns and Hoovervilles. You know, makeshift towns built on the edges of the big cities. Lots of jobless, homeless people in America in those distant days."
    "Citizens now flock to San James from all over Ereguay," said Prof. "Tired of the agricultural life, looking for a better deal and maybe a little luck in an urban setting. Well, cities have always been a magnet. Trouble is Ereguay's economy isn't quite in good enough shape to support its poor. So they throw together a shack and wait."
    "Wait for what?" asked Rocky.
    "Ah, there's the rub," said Red.
    Prof said, "We can ignore the barrio this trip, June. It's got nothing to do with our mission."
    "Look at how much ground those terrible shacks and huts cover," persisted June. "There must be thousands of people living there, or trying to live. People sick, starving."
    "Hey, you're supposed to be working for Newsmag," Red reminded her. "Newsmag newspersons don't have hearts. Don't blow our cover by getting sentimental, kid."
    "Red, sometimes I think you—"
    "We have arrived," announced Ace.
    "Kee-rist," rumbled Rocky, "talk about your smooth landings."
    "She handles very well, doesn't she?" said Ace, grinning proudly.
    "There is a chap out there on the field with a homespun grin and an attache case." Red was unbuclding his safety gear, gazing out the doorport. "He is now trotting toward our ship. Bet he's Hentoff's boy."
    Standing over the control panel, Ace flipped a toggle. The door whooshed open. "Check him out," he said.
    Red posed casually in the hatchway. "Afternoon," he said amiably out at the large young man who was hurrying toward their ship.
    "I'm Denny Yewell," the broad-faced young man called.
    "That must be a great source of comfort to you."
    "You've got to be Red Ryan."
    "Going to have to start wearing a hat." Red placed a foot on the top rung of the disembarking stairs. "Hentoff mentioned your name, Yewell. Got any little special phrases to pass on."
    Yewell halted a few feet from the ship, blinking up at Red. "Phrases? Oh, you mean you want to go through all that cloak-and-dagger routine." He laughed, scratched at his close-cropped blond hair. "I keep forgetting how gung ho Hentoff is."
    "Us, too," said Prof, who'd joined his Challenger teammate on the stairs. "We find identifying phrases are a big help in sorting the good guys out from the bad guys."
    "Once that is established," added Red, "we know whom to shoot and whom not to shoot."
    "Okay, okay." Yewell blushed, swallowed. "I'm supposed to say . . . 'O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done.' Then you respond with . . ."
    " 'The ship has weathered every rack, the prize we sought is won,'" supplied Red.
    Nodding with satisfaction, Yewell asked, "Can I come closer now?"
    "You know the right lines, you must be okay." Prof sidestepped down the metal ladder, held out his hand to the American agent.
    It was a dry, warm day in the capital city.
    After shaking hands vigorously, Yewell said, "I was able to rent a very nice house for you in a nice section of San James. You're not superstitious, I hope?"
    "Why?" asked Red, joining them on the field.
    "Oh, the defense minister from a couple regimes back was murdered in the house," the agent said. "That was over two years ago and it was a very neat killing, knife-in-the-back sort of thing. There aren't any bullet holes in the plaster or anything. Yet some people refuse to—"
    "Not us," Red assured him. "The more haunted a house is, the better we like it. Does the defense minister roam the halls at midnight rattling his chains?"
    "I don't