Under this light gravity, the leap took me well above the cliffs. I
could see a glint of sunlight on the Mitchell in the distance, and a
spacesuit-clad figure coming over the surface in long leaps. One jump
had been enough for me--I hung onto my ribs and did my best to walk.
That isn't easy with a gravity a couple of hundredths Earth normal, but
at least when you fall you don't hit very hard.
In a minute or two I came up with my rescuer, and we touched helmets to
talk. I stared through the faceplate of the other suit. "Hello, Betty,"
I said. Then I passed out.
* * * * *
When I woke up someone was swabbing my face with a damp cloth. It was
very pleasant. I opened my eyes, and it was Betty, all right.
"Hello yourself," she said, and smiled. It was the old smile, crinkled
nose and all. I took back what I had told myself about being a fool. I
sat up and reached out my arms, but the ribs got in the way.
"Tom!" she cried. "What's the matter?"
"I bent a couple of ribs a little too far," I answered. "Nothing vital."
"Here, let me help!"
Between us we pulled the bulger off me and got rid of my packet and
shirt. Betty crossed the room and began to rummage in a locker. I
looked around. I was on a folding cot in one of the sleeping cubicles
of a Mitchell. Apparently Betty had carried me in after I collapsed.
That was not as had as it sounds--I only weighed three or four pounds
here, and I was light-headed besides. The old girls with the spinning
wheel seemed to have changed their minds after they blew my jet for
me. They send me an asteroid, and it comes near enough to land on more
or less and there is a party on it, and it is the Day expedition,
including Betty. Thanks, girls! I would have bowed to them, but on
account of my ribs I only nodded.
Betty came back with a pair of scissors and a roll of plaster, cut
loose my undershirt, and began building a straightjacket. I averted my
attention from the fact that it would have to come off some time.
"Where's your uncle and the rest of the crew?" I asked.
"Everyone but me is off on a field trip to Thule. Opposition was a week
or two ago, and they're due back any time. Thule seems to be our last
chance. We haven't found out a thing so far. But Thule is half-way to
Jupiter from here and right on the edge of the Warp, or where the Warp
ought to be. If they don't bring back some significant data from there
we may begin to think you are right after all and there isn't any such
thing."
"I knew it all along," I informed her. "Not that I'm likely to have a
chance to prove it, with the Aspera dead and buried."
"Be still a minute--how am I going to tape you up if you keep on
talking? Blow out your breath." She ripped off half a meter of tape and
slapped it onto my side.
Presently she stepped back to inspect the job. "It'll do, I guess," she
said, frowning critically. "For the time being, anyway. Uncle Ed will
be back in a couple of days, and he can fix it right."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account