Part 3

He had timed them wrong. He had missed a minute. Certainly. They were going to start sagging now. Now.

Another minute went by. Another minute. The men sat there, looking straight at him through the tele-screen. There was a cynical smile on their faces, as if they knew the camera was on them--as if they could actually see him.

Another minute passed.

Another minute.

Baker leaped to his feet. "Die, damn you!" he screamed.

The two men burst into laughter that exploded all over the screen. With a curse, Baker switched off the set and stood there, breathing hard. A moment later, he flicked it on again. The two men were leaving the booth. "Come back," he yelled.

They turned, part way. Their indifference was maddening.

"Come up here," Baker commanded. "I want to see your invention. I want to buy it."

"Not interested."

"Damn you, you must!" Baker shouted, his heart beating furiously. His hypnotized eyes kept swinging back to the clock. At least eleven minutes had passed!

"We're not walking into any trap, Colonel," Harvey Flanders said. "If you want to do any dickering, you'll have to come see us. You know where to get us if you want us."

The two men started up the road. Baker watched them with sick eyes as they went with firm steps to Harvey Flanders' house, and disappeared inside the doorway.

* * * * *

Inside Harvey Flanders' doorway, Dr. Lurie staggered. Harvey caught him, but didn't have the strength to hold him, and both sagged to the floor. "Quick, Ruth," Harvey said, gasping.

She was waiting with the oxygen packs. Red Brace was with her. They fitted the masks quickly over the faces of the two men on the floor, and anxiously watched their rapid, intense breathing.

In a little while, Harvey and Dr. Lurie were breathing at a normal rate. They got up and sat at the table, where Ruth had breakfast ready.

"Do you think he'll come?" Dr. Lurie said.

"He has to," Harvey said. "He can't afford to let anybody spread a new gospel among his people."

"Would you guys mind explaining what this is all about?" growled Red Brace.

Harvey laughed. "Sure, Red. It's nothing complicated; not very, anyway. Baker keeps plugging away at the fact that this is the same as living at a 27,000-foot altitude. It struck me suddenly that if that were really the case, some of us would be suffering from nose bleeds and other symptoms you get when you go up to a thin atmosphere, where the outside pressure is less than the body's blood pressure. But nothing like that has happened. So obviously, the atmospheric pressure must be about normal--the same pressure we have on Earth. There's less oxygen, but there's more carbon dioxide and there must be more of other gases, like nitrogen, to make up the full amount of pressure.

"So you see where Baker figured wrong. He figured that if the amount of oxygen here is the equivalent of what exists at 27,000 feet, on Earth, then the survival time here ought to be the same as at 27,000 feet. But the analogy is wrong. At 27,000 feet above Earth, the atmospheric pressure is so light that whatever oxygen is in your blood bubbles out pretty fast. But here, where we have normal pressure, the atmosphere is pushing in on us a lot harder and keeps the oxygen in the blood longer. You follow me?

"Anyway, I put all this to Doc Lurie last night and he said I must be right. So he got out some of his books and did some figuring, and what he came up with was this: If we rested--didn't move--while we breathed from our packs, getting our blood a hundred percent saturated, then we could take off the packs and go as long as fourteen or fifteen minutes before we keeled over. Long enough to convince that old buzzard that we've invented a new gimmick for giving oxygen by injection. He's up there in his palace now tearing out his hair--or more probably hotfooting this way."

Red Brace leaned against the doorpost and grunted contentedly. "Boy, when I get my mitts on him."

"Red," Harvey said, "this time you can get as rough as you like. I don't care what happens to him. You keep a lookout at the window. Soon as Baker gets close, everybody take off your oxygen mask and stow it out of sight. We don't want him getting suspicious about the Lurie invention. Another thing: We'll need something for him to see when he walks in the door--a box that looks as if it contains some sort of instruments."

"I've got some boxes," Ruth said, going back into the bedroom.

"Okay. Now, Doc, you'll do the talking, and Red and I will do the grabbing. But look casual as hell when he walks in."

Ruth placed a covered box on the table. "Impressive," Harvey said. "Now, everybody, sit down and relax. It might be a long wait."

"Not so long," said Red Brace a little while later. "They're coming over the crest right now."

"Who's with him?"

"Looks like Carsing."

"I might have guessed that." Harvey watched a while at the window, then turned back. "Okay, everybody, masks out of sight."

* * * * *

There was a pause; a sound on the outside step. Then into the doorway walked Carsing. His hand made a swift motion inside his coat and out again.

The squat, ugly barrel of an explosive scatter-gun glinted at them.

"Everybody back against the wall," Carsing said. "Colonel Baker doesn't want to be crowded."

Slowly, tensely, staring at each other, they moved to the wall opposite the doorway. Baker walked in. His eyes made a quick circuit of the room, stopped briefly at the box, then turned to them.

"What's the gun for?" Harvey said bitterly.

Baker smiled. "You didn't trust me, hence I didn't trust you. Mistrust begets mistrust. Now, gentlemen," he said briskly, "explain this invention you told me about."

"Before we do any explaining, we want you to know what we want."

"Go right ahead." Baker pulled a chair to the doorway and sat down. "Name your price."

"We'll take the gun."

Baker's eyebrows rose. "Impossible. This is the only weapon on the planet."

"That's all right with us. Hand it over and we'll tell you all about our invention."

"I'm sorry, this weapon must remain in our hands. We're responsible for maintaining order and stability--it wouldn't make sense for anyone else to have custody of it. Now let's get on with the business. This box, I presume--"

"Not a word until we get the gun," Harvey said.

Baker's eyes narrowed. "Young man, you'd better hold your tongue. Dr. Lurie, I'm talking to you. I want the facts--immediately. And I must tell you, you're in no position to negotiate. Now speak up."

"I, sir--I--" Dr. Lurie's voice broke--he began again--"I'll do what Mr. Flanders says--"

"We'll see about that," Baker said grimly. He stood up. "You're coming with me. Carsing, take the box."

Carsing, holding the gun out warily in front of him, moved to the table.

"Don't you dare open it!" Ruth cried out.

Carsing stared at her. Then, holding the gun against his armpit with one hand, a finger on the trigger, he reached with his free hand and unhooked the lid--

Something sprang out of the box at his face--

"Watch out, Carsing!" Baker shouted--but Harvey was already halfway across the room. He dove across the table, one hand aimed at Carsing's chest, the other slamming against the moving weapon, knocking it upward, backward--

Shot spattered through and around the doorway.

Baker had leaped aside as he saw the muzzle swinging in his direction. Now he made a quick move toward Harvey and Carsing, tangled and struggling on the floor--but a blow from Brace's fist caught him on the cheekbone and sent him crashing back against the wall.

Brace darted down at the struggling men. He stood up a moment later, holding the gun. Carsing struggled upward, out of Harvey's grasp and reached for the gun. Brace's foot shot out and crashed with ferocious impact against his jaw. Carsing's head slammed backward against the floor. His body arched a moment, and then went limp all over.

Harvey sat up, breathing hard. Ruth already had her oxygen pack on and quickly adjusted his.

"Get mine," Red Brace said. He was standing in the middle of the floor, the gun trained on Baker, who stood half-slumped against the wall, watching them dazedly.

There was a hissing in the air. A soft, persistent hissing.

"Somebody has a leak!" Dr. Lurie shouted. Harvey, Ruth, Brace frantically felt their oxygen packs--and then their hands stopped, and they stared at Baker.

A jagged hole, caused by a small bit of shot, was visible on the side of his oxygen pack.

"Give the orders, Flanders," Brace said. "Do I blast him?"

"Won't be necessary, Red," Harvey said quietly.

Baker looked from one to the other with puzzled eyes. Then he muttered, "I must be going," and swung away from the wall, and out the door.

He stopped. He felt his pack. He came rushing back, his eyes wide with terror. "A leak!" he shrilled. "I need another pack!"

"Sorry, we've only one apiece," Harvey said. "You know that."

Baker's lips trembled. His face was white. "Your invention! Your invention! I'll make any deal you want. Hurry!"

"There's no invention," Harvey said gently. "Don't you know that by now?"

Suddenly Baker leaped forward, his hands flying. He had the oxygen mask half off Harvey's face before Harvey could untwist his hands and wrench free.

Baker stood there, breathing hard. Abruptly he turned and rushed out to the road. "Somebody!" he yelled. "Somebody give me a pack! I'll pay anything!"

Homesteaders peered at him in amazement from their doorways--then shut their doors as he rushed at them.

"I'll pay anything!" Baker screamed at the pitilessly closed doors.

"This is what he was leading up to for ten years," said Brace.

Harvey looked at the purple box. "A jack-in-the-box," he said softly. "Ruth where in the world did this thing ever come from?"

"I brought it with me," Ruth said defiantly. "I thought maybe it might be hard to get toys here--and maybe we might want toys someday ... for somebody."

Carsing stirred and groaned. "That's a relief--we're going to need the man to show us how to run the oxygen works," Harvey said. "Okay, kids, let's go to work. There's a lot to be done."

"Going to try to get a ship for the trip back home?" asked Brace.

"I don't know," said Harvey. "Maybe we can make a go of it after all," he went on dreamily, "we might be able to pump oxygen into the houses so you don't have to wear a mask when you're home relaxing ... or making love." He put an arm around Ruth's shoulders. "Who knows?--maybe one of these days we might find use for those toys you brought."