The Magic Labyrinth Read Online Free PDF Page A

chief of my marines. The latter, by the way, was once a full general in the United States army during the Civil War. He’s a full-blooded American Indian, a Seneca chief. Ely S. Parker or, to use his Iroquois name, Donehogawa, which means ‘Keeper of the West Gate.’ He is highly educated and was a construction engineer on Earth. He served on General Ulysses S. Grant’s staff during the war.”
    Sam next explained the controls and instruments used by the pilot. He sat in a chair on each side of which were two long metal rods projecting from the floor. By moving the control sticks forward or backward, he could control the forward or backward rotations of the paddle wheels. Also, their rate of speed of turning. Before him was a panel with many dials and gauges and several oscilloscopes.
    “One is a sonarscope,” Sam said. “Reading that, the pilot can tell exactly how deep the bottom of The River is and how far from the bank the boat is and also if there are any dangerously large objects in the water. By switching that dial marked AUTO CRUISE to ON , he doesn’t have to do a thing then except keep an eye on the sonarscope and another on the banks. If the automatic system should malfunction, he can switch to a backup system while the other is being repaired.”
    “Piloting must be easy,” a man said.
    “It is. But only an experienced pilot can handle emergencies, which is why most of them are Mississippi boat veterans.”
    He pointed out that the deck of the control room was ninety feet above the surface of The River. He also called to their attention that the pilothouse structure was, unlike that on the riverboats on Earth, located on the starboard side, not in the middle of the deck.
    “Which makes the Not For Hire resemble an aircraft carrier even more.”
    They watched the marines drilling on the flight deck and the men and women busy practicing the martial arts, sword, spear, knife, and ax fighting, and archery.
    “Every member of this crew, including myself, has to become proficient with all weapons. In addition, each person has to become fully qualified to handle any post. They go to school to learn electricity, electronics, plumbing, officering, and piloting. Half of them have taken lessons on the piano or with other musical instruments. This boat contains t more individuals with more varied skills and professions than any other area on this planet.”
    “Does everybody take turns being the captain?” said the woman who’d angered him.
    “No. That is the exception,” Sam said, his thick eyebrows forming a frown. “I wouldn’t want to put ideas into anybody’s head.”
    He strode to the control panel and punched a button. Sirens began to wail, and the exec, John Byron, asked the communications officer to send the “Bridges, clearing” warning over the general intercom. Sam went to a starboard window and urged the others to gather by him. They gasped when they saw long thick metal beams slide out from the three lower decks.
    “If we can’t sink the Rex ,” Clemens said, “we’ll board it over those bridges.”
    The woman said, “That’s fine. But the crew of the Rex can also board your vessel on your own bridges.”
    Sam’s blue-green eyes glared above his falcon nose.
    However, the others of the group were so awed, so astounded, that Sam’s hairy chest puffed from joy. He had always been fascinated by mechanical devices, and he liked others to share his enthusiasm. On Earth his interest in novel gadgets had been responsible for his going bankrupt. He’d put a fortune into the unworkable Paige typesetting machine.
    The woman said, “But all this iron and aluminum and other metals? This planet is so mineral-poor. Where did you get these?”
    “First,” Sam said, pleased to recount his exploits, “a giant nickel-iron meteorite fell into The Valley. Do you remember when, many years ago, the grailstones on the right bank ceased operating? That was because the falling star severed the