Monroe K. Ruch

“ Holden managed to say, "that New York is a mass of ruins."
Pictures were forming in his mind; he saw the huge steel and glass towers of the city, tossed and torn by the convulsive writhings of the earth beneath. Great engineers had said that the city was safe, that no tremors would ever disturb it, but they knew nothing of the terrific force of such a shock as this. Those massive buildings, thousands of feet high, would now be mere heaps of twisted junk. Holden closed his eyes to shut out the picture, but to no avail. His sister! God! ”

“ As the light began to creep in toward the base of the cliff, the huge ship rose slightly off the ground, the tubes glowed red and, guided by a powerful searchlight installed on the bow, Edwards pointed his craft toward the gleaming metal patch that marked the position of the pirate cave.
At short range, Holden, Linet, and Erickson opened with the three hexoxen guns. They saw the bursts take effect on the metal. Edwards turned the power on full, and they felt the floor leaping under them. Would the bow of the San Francisco hold? Would they all be crushed to death at the impact? ”

“ The door of the air-lock opened as his party approached. They went in, heard the swish of air entering, and in a few minutes the inner door swung wide. A happy crowd of men and women surrounded them, as they rid themselves of their helmets. Holden felt Jean's arms around him, her sweet lips once more on his. For a second they clung together, then parted, for there was work to be done. The space suits were distributed and, as he led the way back to the San Francisco, Jean told him briefly the details of the long year of imprisonment. ”

“ No doubt, on the earth, as the contours of the moon slowly blurred and became indistinct, with the accumulation of vapor around its now ragged rim, there must have been terror and consternation. And as the moon slowly evaporated in the skies a virtual panic must have ensued among the Earth's people. ”

“ Edwards worked frantically with the controls, diving in a zig-zag path toward the strange craft. Captain Linet rushed in, carrying one of the light hexoxen guns. Holden hurried to help him place it in a specially designed aperture in the bow, while Erickson and the regular radio man endeavored to establish communications with the intruder. A voice suddenly spoke from their instrument.
"You will consider yourselves our captives. Land at once as close as possible to the white spot you see at the base of the cliff. If you do not obey instructions, we will ram you immediately." ”

“ The Ganymede and the Los Angeles left almost immediately, while men from the San Francisco set out to plant the first charges. There were four men to each cartridge, since it was necessary that they travel fast.
Holden smiled as the lean figure of Professor Erickson, almost lost in his space-suit, bounded away in great leaps at the head of his party. In five hours they returned, having had no trouble at all. Edwards manipulated the controls, and the ship rose quickly to an altitude of about five thousand feet and headed for the rim of the Crater of Aristotle, barely visible in the distance. ”

“ Holden struck at him with his now useless pistol as he landed. The blow missed, and, losing his balance, he staggered and fell, past his foe, who quickly turned, raising his bar for a coup de grace which never landed. The familiar flash of a pistol once more illuminated the scene, the bar dropped from dead hands, and Holden scrambled to his feet.
A voice was speaking through his suit phone, and he recognized it as Erickson's. "I just came to, tumbled out of that hole in the pilot room, saw the flash of your pistol, and here I am." ”

“ Its stern tubes were of the ordinary type; they glowed red against the silvery background, as the enemy swooped and circled, trying to get into position for a final, crushing blow.
"Every man in space suits," Holden ordered. "Good work, Linet," he cried, as he saw a sudden pock-mark appear in the pirate's side, where the devastating hexoxen bullet had struck.
"They've certainly got thick plates," remarked the Captain, as another direct hit failed to do more than scratch the metal. ”

“ From the way these chaps fight, it's evident that they have no weapons, other than the bow of their ship, and possibly some short-range ray pistols, or the still more antiquated guns using some form of explosive to expel metal bullets. As soon as the shadow of the cliff throws this section of the crater into darkness, I'm going to do a little exploring, and see if I can't find out where these rats hide, when they're not out in space. Linet, you throw a line of pickets around the ship; Edwards, get started on repairs, and Erickson, keep on trying to get in touch with our companions. ”

“ No man has gone to the moon to see just what conditions are there, and to observe accurately the influence that the moon and earth exercise over each other. But when interplanetary travel does come, when commerce between moon and earth may possibly assume importance in our lives, the influence of the moon upon us may be more accurately determined. ”

“ Eager interest shone on all faces. Jack Holden was known and liked by many of these men, despite his youth. His discovery of hexoxen, the chemical which turned solid matter into almost intangible vapor, had created quite a stir in scientific circles.
He now continued his address.
"If all the resources of Earth are made use of, it would be possible to produce hundreds of tons of hexoxen and sufficient amounts of the element Europium to act as a catalyst. That would be plenty to reduce the moon to a gaseous state. ”

“ I will resign my position when we reach San Francisco, and will await your orders."
"But, Captain," Holden asked, "how did you know that I was head of the expedition?"
"Oh, the news has been broadcast everywhere, with instructions to give you any aid possible. But no information was given as to the exact nature of the trip. Could I be trusted—?"
"Why certainly. We are going to destroy the moon, wipe it out of existence, so that it will cease to exert the tremendous gravitational pull that has been causing—." ”

“ The men spent as much time as they could in their bunks, for there was hard dangerous work ahead of them. Huge cartridges had to be filled with hexoxen, caps of Europium placed on top, and adjustments made so that, after a certain time had elapsed, the catalyst would come into contact with the hexoxen, causing a reaction to take place which would continue almost as long as there was solid material present to be vaporized. One slip of tired hands, one miscalculation and many men, perhaps the entire party, would suffer a terrible fate. ”

“ Linet smiled. "While your orders didn't cover that matter, sir, I took the liberty to bring with me a very complete arsenal of small arms, and three of the newly developed rapid-fire disintegrators, using your hexoxen as the material for the bullets. Very effective, I may add."
"Fine. As soon as a man is searched, and has been entirely cleared of all shadow of suspicion, arm him."
Erickson departed with Captain Linet, and Holden remained in the pilot room, helping Edwards work the ship onward. After about an hour and a half, they had reached an area free from meteorites of dangerous size. ”

“ No particular interest had been taken in our satellite since the first exploratory expeditions nearly fifty years before, when it had been determined that the moon was of no value to Earthmen, either as an outpost for colonization or a station for the production of power from the sun's rays. ”

“ Holden said in a low voice. "Tell the Los Angeles to pull out. The first charges are scarcely two hundred miles from here, and I'm not certain how fast the reaction will travel."
Five minutes. Two minutes. The silver shape of the Los Angeles was already fading in the distance. Suddenly a sharp shock rocked the stony bed on which the Ganymede was resting. Simultaneously five figures appeared, racing at full speed for the ship. Shock after shock tore at the ground beneath their feet. Holden stood at the controls, waiting for the signal that his five comrades were safely aboard. ”

“ Someone tampered with the timing device that controls the feeding of the charges. We can have it repaired in a few hours."
"Good," snapped Edwards. "Give me all the power you can from the emergency tubes, and keep the main stern tubes going full." Turning to Holden, he continued, "I'll try to steer out of this shower by means of the deceleration tubes, but I don't dare use up too much of their power, and they can't be recharged until after we land."
"Captain Linet," Holden ordered, "start a search of the ship. Go over every man's room first, and pay especial attention to their baggage. ”

“ Captain Linet's hand, hidden under the loose jacket he was wearing, pressed the release on his short-range ray pistol, a light bluish streak touched the man's breast, and he fell forward, his heart literally shattered by the energy of the ray.
Holden reached him first, and rolled him over. His face was faintly familiar, and doubt changed to recognition as Captain Linet exclaimed, "It's Chambers, a former petty officer on my airliner."
It was the man who had come up to the Captain while Holden and Erickson were conversing with him on the bridge.
"What on earth could the man have been up to? ”

“ The hand of a terrible fate, or the coming of the end of the world, must have been shouted from city to city as the only explanation of this apparent disaster in the heavens.
But the work had to go on.... ”

“ The emergency lights had been switched on, and they could see fairly well by the dim illumination. They hurried into the pilot house at the bow. Edwards was struggling with the controls, pale but determined.
"There's something wrong with the steering apparatus we've run into a group of tiny meteorites, but, thank God, they didn't hit hard enough to penetrate the shell. The other ships seem to be in good shape; they're standing by a few hundred miles away, for I've signaled them not to get themselves tangled up with this shower."
At that moment a breathless tube-man came running in. ”

“ Holden and Erickson picked many from among the scientific men of their acquaintance, all experts in their lines. The Interplanetary Transportation Company recommended several of their best men for the positions on board requiring technical knowledge of the handling of space ships, and Captain Linet also picked up a few of his friends—brave, strong men. There were to be fifty on each ship. ”