The Old Man of the Stars Read Online Free PDF Page A

Anything startling?”
    â€œNo It won’t come very close. As far as my calculations go, I should say that it comes regularly into this area—about once in three hundred years, roughly. One of the travellers. That’s assuming it has a fixed orbit, of course: it may be one of the rogues.”
    â€œIn which case it might hit us.”
    â€œI don’t think so. It won’t even give us any bad weather, as far as I can tell.”
    â€œAny reports from any of the other towns?”
    Clifford’s lip curled. “Nobody else seems interested. Sometimes I can’t even make radio contact with them—they don’t answer calls, or else they leave their sets switched off altogether.”
    Matthew glanced at him with affection. He liked this boy. Clifford was one of the few speculative types left in this self-satisfied world. He was a scientist and an adventurer of the mind: he wanted to know why things happened; he wanted to make things work. He was driven on by a splendid discontent. In the old days, back on Earth, he would have been the sort of boy who at the age of three or four years takes a watch to pieces, and puts it back together again.
    Suddenly Clifford leaned forward and muttered:
    â€œHello, what’s the fuss?”
    A man had run in from the direction of the observatory and was looking about him. Clifford shouted and waved.
    The man below looked up and shouted.
    â€œCan’t hear a word,” said Clifford. “Better go down. Bellhouse looks worked-up about something.”
    He slid expertly down the slope, caught the edge of the airlock door, and lowered himself down the flimsy ladder to the ground. He and Bellhouse talked for a moment, and then they were waving Matthew down. Matthew fetched Alida and helped her back to ground level. He found Clifford already fuming with impatience.
    â€œA message from Martinstown,” he said at once, as soon as Matthew had reached him. “Incredible. They’ve been attacked.”
    â€œAttacked? By whom?”
    â€œThree spaceships.”
    Spaceships.... Matthew’s first reaction was one of incredulous joy. Spaceships, messengers from home or at least from some civilisation in contact with Earth! Then the hope faded. It was too much to expect. And, as the meaning of what Clifford had said sank in, he demanded:
    â€œBut what reason was there for attacking Martinstown? Nobody on this planet would do it. Besides, we haven’t got three spaceships anywhere here. They’re not things you can construct in secret. And who’d want to?”
    â€œNevertheless,” said Clifford, “they reported a devastating attack on the town—a great blaze spreading from the outskirts, and the ships coming back for another attempt—and then they went dead. Not a sound. Cut off completely.”
    â€œI just don’t understand. No race that I’ve ever known came out of the skies and starting destroying towns and people for no reason whatever. Was there no attempt to establish normal contact?”
    â€œIf there was,” said Clifford grimly, “the operator didn’t tell me. He said the ships circled low over the town for a minute or two; and of course everyone came out to have a look; and then the firing started.”
    They looked at one another, all possessed by the same thought at once.
    Alida said: “We must tell our own people. At once.”
    Bellhouse went racing back to the observatory. The others followed, crossing the springy turf to the knoll on which the smaller building stood.
    Clifford said, taking Alida’s arm as they hurried up the steps: “Do you think they’ll make for our own town now—or are the others to suffer first? We must send out a general alarm.”
    â€œIf you can make anybody listen,” said Matthew savagely. “If they haven’t got their receivers switched off!”
    They found Bellhouse already sending out his signal.
    â€œNo