Mutiny -- Fiction; Science fiction; Short stories; Space pirates -- Fiction; Space ships -- Fiction
Gilligan stood up, smiling broadly. Manool's obvious terror of him
seemed to have reassured him considerably. He winked confidently.
"Manool," he said. "Your business is to keep the air clean, and that's
all you have to do. Except to keep your mouth shut, too. 'Cause if
you peep to the Captain, or to Navigator Rogers, you'll be the first
to die when we cut loose. _But_--" He winked again and his smile
broadened. "You keep the wind fair and the trap closed, and you won't
be forgotten."
* * * * *
He gave one final wink and stepped out, closing the door behind him.
And he left Manool in a turmoil of uncertainty. The little farmer knew
well where his duty lay. If he did the right thing, he'd go at once to
Captain Tarrant and inform him of the impending rebellion. But, if he
did, Gilligan would surely get him. He knew well that the threat the
thin mate had made had been no idle one.
But if he didn't inform the captain--if he didn't, he'd be a mutineer,
too. And he'd have to take his share, and leave the earth, a fugitive,
and probably cast his lot with the infamous Huddersfield. He certainly
didn't want to do that, either.
He strode back and forth in the tank-room, a victim of uncertainty. He
didn't know _what_ to do, he told himself, plaintively.... He still
didn't know, when dinner time came.
Manool's abstraction at the dinner table was so noticeable that young
Captain Tarrant was forced to speak of it.
"Where's your appetite, Sarouk?" he asked. "You haven't even finished
your soup. Aren't you feeling well?"
Manool's face reddened as he answered, but old Doc Slade looked up and
eyed Manool keenly.
"You better come in and see me after dinner, Sarouk," he suggested.
"Maybe you got something wrong and I'll have some work to do. You stop
in and see me."
Manool was about to insist that he had nothing wrong with him, when he
caught Doc's eye, and realized that the old man knew something. And
then he realized that here was opportunity knocking. He could go in and
see Doc Slade, and Gilligan would never suspect anything. He rose from
the table murmuring: "I'll be in and see you in a few minutes, Doc."
Then hurried back to the farm.
He entered the tank-room and checked everything again. He put on a
clean shirt, and brushed his teeth and combed his straight black hair.
Then, after a moment's consideration, he brushed his teeth again. Doc
might take a notion to examine him, and he certainly didn't want his
teeth to be soiled, if Doc looked at his mouth and throat.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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