THE STAR OF SATAN By HENRY HASSE More than the wreck of the _Martian Princess_ lay on the lazily spinning asteroid. That uncharted star of Satan harbored madness in awful, human form. [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from Planet Stories Fall 1941. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] Hype Garth was suddenly awake. He lay there on his cot in the dark, listening intently for the sound he knew would shortly come through the receptor. It almost frightened him, this subconscious awareness of his. He often wondered about it and wished he could explain it. Always, during their sleep period, just a minute before a message came through he was wide awake and waiting, knowing. He supposed nerves had something to do with it. Or the time he'd spent out here? Nerves were bound to go raw and perhaps play strange tricks when two men were thrown together in this black isolated hell of outer space. And Garth had been out here for twenty-three full years and seen his partners come and go. From the other side of the room came Prokle's slow, sonorous breathing. Garth suddenly hated his partner for his ability to sleep at this moment. Garth reached out and touched the huge, nine-foot receptube by his bed; a faintly glowing violet permeated the darkness. His whole attention centered in a strained, concentrated listening. Then the sound came, as he knew it would: first the crisp, crackling static; then the familiar and hated voice of the sender at Martian headquarters, stabbing the darkness almost viciously: "Salvage Station M3! Attention M3! Passenger liner _Callisto_, enroute Jupiter to Mars, radios they have just encountered uncharted asteroid swarm on the Martian side of the belt. They have passed through unscathed. But attention to this, M3: Captain Lambert of the _Callisto_ reports that he detected a light on the surface of one of the larger masses! This may have been a distress signal-flare, and if so, can mean but one thing: that the sole remaining life-boat unaccounted for from the wreck of the _Martian Princess_ twenty days ago landed on this asteroid; and the party, or some of them, have managed to survive. This seems hardly possible, but we must investigate. "Proceed at once in search of this uncharted swarm. Approximate position when encountered by the _Callisto_, exact center of the belt, two hours behind the Lanisar group, orbital plane about twenty degrees from regular passenger route. Mass in question cannot be mistaken, largest of the group, about twenty miles diameter. Proceed at once, M3! End of message." Garth knew it was not the end of the message. That Martian sender always reserved some little sardonic touch to send to Garth. Garth's jaw tightened, he waited about five seconds, and then, raspingly, it came: