Part 2

We simply lay there for a long while, not speaking, breathing in that intoxicating air. I had never really known how I missed it until now; never had I known that the stars could be so close and so brilliant, until I glimpsed a handful of them through those few square inches of space.

At last McGowan carefully plugged that opening with a few bits of rock. He turned to me and said: "We must wait 'til tomorrow; we will bring the others."

It seemed to me that tomorrow would never come. At last, however, our next sleep period rolled around, and we met in our secret place. McGowan held a special, final little conclave.

"There is something," he said, "that I have withheld from you until now. As you all undoubtedly know, we are not entirely abandoned here; that is to say, twice a year an official Earth ship sets down to leave supplies and take aboard the radite we have mined. And I know what most of you have been thinking: that if we can once reach the surface, and get Marnick out of the way, we can hide out until that Earth ship comes, then overpower the crew and escape."

Murmurs of approval came from the six of us, especially from the group of Earthmen.

"I'm sorry," McGowan went on, "but that's not the way the thing's going to work out."

Sounds of discontent arose.

"Because I have a better plan. The Earth ship won't arrive here for two more months. Its crew outnumbers us, and they are well armed. Therefore, we won't wait for it at all; instead we'll take Marnick's own ship.

"Yes!" he exclaimed, smiling at the amazement on our faces, "he has a cruiser here. That's what I didn't want you to know until the last moment, for there is a difficulty. There are seven of us here, and the cruiser will accommodate only five at the most; it will take five across to Callisto, and there I can make connections that will mean safety for us."

* * * * *

We looked blankly around at each other, and no man knew what the other was thinking. McGowan smiled in a way I did not like, as if he somehow knew which five it would be.

"Furthermore," he went on, "there will soon be eight of us. For now Elson's got to come along."

"Elson!" exclaimed a chorus of voices, mine among them.

"Yes." McGowan's eyes narrowed infinitesimally. "I haven't steered you wrong yet, have I? I've worked out this entire plan, so believe me when I say that Elson is very necessary to our endeavor."

I thought of Elson, and wondered why he was necessary. He, to put it cruelly, was the least among us; the butt of all our jokes; for even hopeless men such as we must sometimes have amusement. Elson had been here probably as long as McGowan, but he had suffered much more. Elson always seemed to suffer Marnick's wrath when the latter couldn't decide upon a more suitable victim. Elson was twisted and misshapen now, the result of a fall through the shaft, so I had heard; and he was blank-eyed and feeble-witted.

Now McGowan sent for him, and he came shuffling into our cave with a bewildered look. Tersely McGowan explained the situation. Elson smiled crookedly; he had always had a special fondness for McGowan, and obeyed him implicitly in everything.

We began the climb. An hour later we stood panting but unbowed upon the surface, staring at stars most of us had not seen in years! We were eight men, determined, but armed only with the short metal hook we had used for digging out the rock. McGowan carried it. He gestured with it to the left, as he whispered:

"This way. We must be about a mile from the ravine where Marnick's located. Stay in sight of each other now, and watch your step--no noise!"

The terrain was rocky and rough; the horizon of the tiny planet seemed very near, and curved sharply down. The night was pitch black and boundless, with only the pinpoints of stars to guide us.

Hours later, it seemed, we glimpsed another pinpoint of light that was not a star. It was too low against the blackness for that; we knew it was a light from Marnick's abode, at the entrance of a rocky little canyon perhaps a quarter of a mile away. We proceeded with infinite caution.

Suddenly, I felt that awful agony through every nerve again, and I knew we had stumbled into more of Marnick's detector beams. This time we may have blundered far enough to set off an alarm, but I didn't especially care. I fell to the ground as the warning along my nerves persisted. For a minute I was almost violently ill. Luckily, the others stopped instantly. McGowan dragged me back and waited until I had recovered.

"Our human beam detector. Lucky we've got you with us, Reed!" But there was no humor in his voice, in fact I caught a note of pity. I think he already realized, just as I was slowly beginning to--

But I shall not think of that. McGowan spoke a few words to Elson that we could not hear. Elson nodded obediently. We moved away at a sharp angle to the right, but now I noticed Elson did not accompany us.

I was still dizzy and weak, but I clenched my teeth and determined to see this thing through to the finish. I guided us away from those beams. As near as I could determine, they rayed out in a sort of semi-circular barrier, invisible, of course. Carefully we skirted the edge of it, toward the far wall of the canyon that sheltered Marnick's house. How I stayed on my feet I cannot understand, for every step was an agony as the faintest out-reaches of those rays stabbed fiercely through me. The others, of course, felt nothing.

"We've got to get past it," McGowan whispered tensely to me, "or we're finished!"

I nodded curtly. I didn't know what McGowan had in mind, but I realized we had to get closer to Marnick's house. We came nearer and nearer to the canyon and then the power of the beams began to diminish. We pressed flat against the rocky walls and moved swiftly forward. Suddenly we were beyond the barrier. The squat stone dwelling was a bare fifty yards from us now, and we could see a little square of light from the side window.

* * * * *

We paused there in a huddled little group, wondering what McGowan's next move would be. Apparently he was waiting for something. And a second later we knew what it was, as a ringing alarm shattered the silence! I knew it must have been Elson out there who had set it off, according to McGowan's instructions. I glanced sharply at McGowan and he seemed satisfied, as he cautioned us to silence.

Another square of light appeared and we glimpsed the tall form of Marnick in the open doorway. But he knew better than to remain there long against the light. He stepped quickly outside, but not before we glimpsed an atom-pistol in his hand.

"This is it!" McGowan whispered. "I only wanted to get him outside." We moved silently across the space toward the side of the house that hid us from Marnick. There we could peer into the lighted window. I saw a large room quite like a library, and I was amazed at how richly it was furnished, with books and tables and tapestries and a fireplace at one end. It seemed utterly incongruous here on this dark, mad planet.

But I didn't have much time to think about it. McGowan was fumbling at the window, and at last it swung silently open. "I've got to get hold of a weapon!" he whispered. "The rest of you wait here. I don't think Marnick will come around to this side, but keep a sharp lookout anyway." With that he climbed through the window and moved silently across the room.

Anxiously, I watched him, expecting Marnick to return at any moment. McGowan searched the room thoroughly, opening drawers and tumbling books in disarray, but no weapon was forthcoming. He did find a small flashlight, however, and with it in hand he moved into another dark room leading off this one, there to continue his search. He was out of my sight now, but I glimpsed his light flashing around cautiously. The seconds seemed like eternities.

I was so interested in watching the inside of the house that I had almost forgotten my companions behind me. Suddenly, I heard a muffled commotion near by, and whirled quickly around.

The two Jovians had crept silently upon us out of the darkness; perhaps Marnick, as a cautionary measure, had sent them out to scout around the house. At any rate, there was a silent struggle of bodies behind me, and all I could distinguish clearly was one of the Jovians who had seized V'Narik's neck in his two powerful hands. Blakely was standing there with the heavy metal hook upraised, and it seemed to me that he hesitated about ten seconds too long before he brought it crashing down on the Jovian's skull. But by that time V'Narik was dead, and it suddenly dawned on me that Blakely's hesitation had been deliberate; and that left only seven of us instead of eight.

The other Jovian was more than holding his own, and Blakely seemed content to watch. I seized the heavy bar from him and leaped into the mêlée, waiting for an opening. I brought the bar wildly down, and by pure luck it landed on the Jovian skull, crushing it like an eggshell. The others staggered weakly up.

I leaped back to the window, for I thought surely Marnick must have returned; what I didn't realize then was that scarcely a minute had yet elapsed since the alarm had sounded. But McGowan had found his weapon. He held an atom-pistol in his hand as he crossed the lighted room to the window, and climbed back out to us.

It was not until that moment that I had my curious foreboding. McGowan, if he had wanted to kill Marnick, could easily have crossed that room to the front door that was still open, and rayed Marnick down from behind. He wanted to kill Marnick all right, but in his own way. He had his own special revenge mapped out. I suddenly remembered that, and I knew that McGowan was going to carry it through.

"So far so good," he murmured as he rejoined us. He weighed the atom-pistol familiarly in his hand. "Now, if only Elson out there comes through all right--Come on, let's see where Marnick is. Not too far from the house, I hope. And remember, all of you, this is strictly my party; so no interference."

Those last words struck an ominous note in me, but I said nothing, nor did the others as we followed McGowan along to the far corner of the house. There we could see the long, dim rectangle of light from the room streaming out onto the barren rock. Marnick was not in sight but we knew he must be somewhere very near, waiting in the darkness, watching for whoever had set off that alarm.

* * * * *

Seemingly, for a long while we waited, but it couldn't have been more than a minute; we crowded close to each other, staring, trying to accustom our eyes to the night. Then McGowan pointed, and we saw a darker shape very near the house, and we knew it was Marnick, waiting.

Again that curious feeling of impending drama overwhelmed me, and I wanted to act to prevent something, but I didn't know how--or what--

McGowan's gesture shifted imperiously, and we saw another vague blur of a figure out there and we knew it was Elson. McGowan, in that moment, reminded me of a stage director, proud of his work and trying to impress its subtleties upon us. My gaze went back to the slouching figure of Elson, and I realized he was moving toward us.

Marnick saw him at the same time. Marnick straightened up, leaned tautly forward and seemed to be peering. Then Marnick's hated voice came stabbing through the darkness to us, but not directed at us:

"I see you out there. Whoever you are, it was foolish of you to try to come near my house, for you have set off a detector beam. Stop immediately or I will blast you. I have an atom-pistol trained on you at this moment."

For a single instant everything seemed to stand still. Elson stood still. McGowan, close beside me, caught his breath sharply in his throat. Then Elson moved forward again, and McGowan breathed a slow sigh of relief.

"Good," he murmured in my ear, though I am sure he was not conscious that I was there. "I knew Elson would obey me. Elson obeys me in everything." And then: "Poor Elson."

In that sudden moment I realized what was going to happen; I knew McGowan had planned this step by step from start to finish, and I knew _Elson was going to die_! I started forward with a cry in my throat, but McGowan's hand clamped roughly over my mouth and his fingers dug cruelly into my arm.

I could see, though, and I saw Elson come forward in his slouching, ungainly gait, arms dangling at his side and an idiotic grin on his face. I heard Marnick's warning once more, and I saw the almost invisible beam of his atom-pistol slashing the darkness. I saw Elson stumble and plough forward on his face and lay still. And not until then did McGowan release me.

But then it was too late. Elson was dead, and I heard a sound that was almost a chuckle deep in McGowan's throat. Then his voice slashed through the darkness and I realized that here was the acme of triumph in all his years of planning:

"Drop your pistol, Marnick."

Marnick whirled toward his voice and took a tense step toward us; but McGowan's pistol rayed across the rock and slashed dangerously near Marnick's feet. Marnick's pistol dropped from his fingers with a clanging sound.

"That's better. You're a madman, Marnick, but not too mad to fail to realize when the game is over. I'm going to kill you, I want you to know that; and I want you to know who is speaking. This is McGowan. But before I kill you I want you to realize what you've done tonight. You've killed a man. Know who it is? Go take a look."

Marnick stood there hesitant. I could almost picture the indecision on his face. But McGowan's pistol rayed again, very close to his feet, and Marnick stumbled out to where Elson lay.

"Good," McGowan went on. "Now look at 'im. It's Elson, you see?" McGowan's voice seemed different now than I had ever heard it. It wasn't his voice at all. But it went on inexorably, and I felt chills chasing up and down my spine.

"Do you know who Elson really is, Marnick? No, of course, you don't. I saw to that. He came to this prison planet about the same time I did. He was tall and straight and youthful then, but somehow you couldn't stand that; you made him your special victim, you tortured and maimed him and now you've killed him. Look very closely, Marnick. You still do not know? Then I suggest you turn him over--that's right. And I suggest you look very closely on the outer part of his left thigh. A curious blemish is there, an unmistakable birthmark. You realize now? Yes, I see that you do.

"Your son, Marnick, never died on Mars. I was one of that party of men who--Well, I don't care to think about that now. The others left him there beside his mother, thinking him dead, but I knew better. I went back and took him, and kept him with me until he was sixteen, when we parted. Perhaps he inherited some of his criminal ways from his association with me. Anyway, when I was sentenced here, and he came a little later, I knew what I must do!"

* * * * *

It was a nightmare. I couldn't believe it. I glimpsed Marnick out there huddling over the body of the man he had just slain ... his own son ... and even at that distance and through that dimness there was something that made me feel sorry for him.

He arose very slowly, turned to face McGowan and tried to speak something but could not. He took a few faltering steps in our direction and then McGowan rayed him down. There was still a satisfied little smile on McGowan's lips as he did it. I hated McGowan in that moment as much as I had ever hated Marnick, but I could do nothing, for my mind was a little numbed.

"I waited seven years for that," McGowan said, and he breathed very deeply. Then he walked through us and strode back to where the two Jovians lay, and V'Narik.

"V'Narik's dead," he said as if he'd just discovered it. "He always had a hunch he wouldn't get away from here, didn't he? But he got to see the stars and Mars again, just as he wanted to. And Elson's dead, of course. That still leaves six of us." He looked at me significantly.

I knew what he meant. I had known all the time that I would never set foot on Earth again, and McGowan had known it, too. "Make it five," I said, "for I'm staying."

The others didn't quite understand, and they didn't much care. They went rushing off to find Marnick's cruiser that would bear them safely to Callisto. McGowan stepped forward with that enigmatic smile on his lips, and seized my hand.

"Thanks," he said simply. "Thanks for all you've done for us, and don't hate me too much."

"Just go away," I said, "and leave me alone. I want to think. You might leave me that atom-pistol if you want to."

It is a good thing they left as quickly as they did, or I would have killed McGowan. I watched their cruiser blast up and away into the dark void. I said I wanted to think, and I have thought. And whenever I remember that terrible revenge, I must decide that McGowan was the madman, not Marnick. Perhaps they were both mad. Anyway, it does not matter any more.

I only know that I shall soon die; for my constant proximity to those detector beams in the past several weeks, in conjunction with these radite emanations, has produced a curious illness in me from which I know I should never recover. The symptoms become stronger hourly, and the agony is almost unbearable. Perhaps soon, if it continues, I shall--

But I must finish this document first. I have been writing it, here in Marnick's study, for the past twenty-four hours. I hope it will be found when the next Earth supply ship comes. I think it even likely that those other unfortunate men, in the tunnels below, will continue to work as usual until then, unknowing of what has taken place up here; for they have become automatons.

I can only hope that this document will serve, in the future, to make the fate of such men a little less severe.

Well, now I think it is finished.