Adventure stories; Cold War -- Fiction; Moon -- Fiction; Science fiction; Space flight to the moon -- Fiction; Spy stories
The superintendent rambled at length. The agent listened, thinking it
was the same old story. The men in the moon were all great men. They had
been fine, upstanding boys, all bright with spotless records. Well, of
course that was to be expected in view of the rigorous weeding out
program which had resulted in their selections. Only one of them was a
traitor. Which one? The question drummed against his mind.
"Martin wasn't just a study drudge," the superintendent was saying. "He
was a fine athlete. The star forward of the Maple Hill Orphanage
basketball team for three years," he added proudly. He leaned forward
and lowered his voice as if taking the agent into his confidence.
"We're conducting a drive to build the orphanage a new gym. Maybe you
can guess the name we've selected for it?"
"The Martin Larkwell Gymnasium," the agent said drily.
"Right." The superintendent beamed. "That's how much we think of Martin
Larkwell."
As it turned out, the superintendent wasn't the only one who remembered
Martin Larkwell with fondness. A druggist, a grocer, a gas station
operator and a little gray lady who ran a pet shop remembered the orphan
boy with surprising affection. They and many others. That's the way the
chips fall, the agent thought philosophically. Let a man become famous
and the whole world remembers him. Well, his job was to separate the
wheat from the chaff.
In the days to follow he painstakingly traced Martin Larkwell's trail
from the Maple Hill Orphanage to New York, to various construction jobs
along the East Coast and, finally, through other agents, to a two-year
stint in Argentina as construction boss for an American equipment firm.
Later the trail led back to America and, finally, to construction
foreman on Project Step One. His selection as a member of the Aztec Crew
stemmed from his excellent work and construction ability displayed
during building of the drones. All in all, the agent thought, the record
was clear and shiny bright.
Martin Larkwell, Gordon Nagel, Max Prochaska, Adam Crag--four eager
scrub-faced American boys, each outstanding in his field. There was only
one hitch. Who was the traitor?
* * * * *
Crag filled Gotch in on the latest developments in Crater Arzachel. The
Colonel listened without interruption until he was through, then
retaliated with a barrage of questions. What was the extent of the
radioactive field? What were the dimensions of Red Dog? Had any progress
been made toward salvaging the cargo of Drone Baker? How was the airlock
in the rill progressing? Would he please describe the rocket launcher
the enemy had used to destroy the Aztec? Crag gritted his teeth to keep
from exploding, barely managing civil replies. Finally he could hold it
no longer.
"Listen," he grated, "this is a four-man crew, not a damn army."
"Certainly," Gotch interrupted, "I appreciate your difficulties. I was
just--in a manner of speaking--outlining what has to be done."
"As if I didn't know."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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