The Beast of Space

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  The BEAST of SPACE

  _A tale of the prospectors of the starways--of dangers--_

  by F. E. HARDART

  He staggered back from the lapping pool--the gas--theweight of the girl's body--the dog--]

  Here the dark cave, along which Nat Starrett had been creeping,broadened into what his powerful searchlight revealed to be a low,wide, smoothly circular room. At his feet lapped black, thick-lookingwaves of an underground lake, a pool of viscous substance that gave offa penetrating, poignant odor of acid, sweetish and intoxicating, unlikeany acid he knew. The smell rolled up in a sickening, sultry cloud thatpenetrated his helmet, made him cough and choke. Near its centerprojected from the sticky stuff what appeared to be the nose of aspaceship.

  He looked down near his feet at the edge of the pool where thick,slowly-moving tongues of the liquid appeared to reach up toward him, asif intent on pulling him into its depths. As each hungry wave fellback, it left a slimy, snake-like trail behind.

  Now came a wave of strange music, music such as he had never heardbefore. Faintly it had begun some time back, so faintly he was barelyaware of it. Now it swelled into a smooth, impelling wail lulling himinto drowsiness. He did not wonder why he could hear through thesoundproof space helmet he wore; he ceased to wonder about anything.There was only the strange sweetness of acid and the throbbing music.

  Abruptly the spell was broken by something shrilling in his brain,sending little chills racing up and down his spine. Digger! A small,oddly canine-like creature with telepathic powers, a space-dwellerwhich men found when first they came to the asteroids. The relationshipbetween spacehounds and men was much the same as between man and dog inthe old, earthbound days. Appropriate name for the beast, Digger. Withthose large, incredibly hard claws, designed for rooting in the metalmake-up of the asteroids for vital elements, the spacehound couldeasily have shredded the man's spacesuit and helmet, could, at any time,tear huge chunks out of men's fine ships.

  The half-conscious man jerked his thin form erect. His mouth, which hadgaped loosely, closed with a snap into firm lines.

  "She isn't in this hell hole, Digger. You wouldn't expect her to bewhere we could find her easily."

  Scooping the small beast up under his good arm, he quickly climbed thesteep, slimy slope of the cave. The other arm in his suit hung empty.That empty arm in the spacesuit told the story of an earthman becomevoluntary exile, choosing the desolation of space to the companionshipof other humans who would deluge him with unwonted sympathy. Thespacehound was friendly in its own fashion; fortunately, such complexthings as sympathy were apparently outside its abilities. The two couldinterchange impressions of danger, comfort, pleasure, discomfort, fear,and appreciation of each other's company, but little more. Whether ornot the creature could understand his thoughts, he could not tell.

  As he went on, he reviewed, mentally, the events leading up to hislanding here. The sudden appearance on his teleview screen of theface and slim shoulders of a girl. Her attractiveness plainlydistinguishable through her helmet; for a moment he forgot that hedisliked women. The call for help, cut short ... but not before he hadlearned that apparently she was being held prisoner on Asteroid Moira.He knew he'd have to do what he could even if it meant unwontedcompany for an indefinite length of time. The spell was gone soonafter her face vanished; he remembered former experiences withattractive-looking girls. Damn traditions!

  A change in his course and a landing on Asteroid Moira. Here he'dfound a honeycomb of caves, all leading from one large main tunnel.The cavern walls had been of a translucent, quartz-like substance,ranging in color from yellowish-brown to violet-grey. It lookedvaguely familiar, yet he could not place it. There was not time toexamine it more carefully.

  The room in which he'd found the evil, hungry lake had been the firstone to the right. Now he crossed to the opening in the opposite wall.The mouth of this cave was much larger, wider than the other. He stoodin the opening, slowly swung the beam of his torch around the smoothwalls, still holding Digger, who, by now, was indicating that he'd liketo be set down. Nat released him unthinkingly, his mind fully taken upwith what the light revealed.

  * * * * *

  Spaceships! The room was packed with them--all sizes, old and new. Averitable sargasso. At first, he thought they might be craft belongingto nameless inhabitants of this world, but, as he approached them, herecognized Terrestrial identifications.

  The first was a scout ship of American Spaceways! Nat recognized thename: _Ceres_, remembered a telecast account of its disappearance inspace. There was a neat little reward for information as to itswhereabouts. Nat's lips curled in derision: it wouldn't equal theexpense of his journey out here. There was a deep groove in the smoothmaterial of the floor where the ship had been dragged through thedoorway into the room. What machines could have done this work withoutleaving their own traces? He went to the other ships: all were small,mostly single or two-passenger craft. The last entry in the logs ofmany was to the effect that they were about to land on the AsteroidMoira to rescue a girl held captive there.

  None had crashed; all ships were in perfect order. But all weredeserted. Two doors were gone from the interior of one of the vessels.They might have been removed for any of a hundred reasons--but whyhere?

  Nat's glance swept the room, came to rest on the figure of a heavy dutyrobot of familiar design. Semi-human in form, it looked like somemisshapen, bent, headless giant. He inspected it: _Meyers Robot, Inc._Earth designed for mining operations on Mars.

  "Well, Digger, I can see now how these ships were brought in here; thatrobot could move any one of these with ease. But that doesn't explainwhere the humans have gone. It might be space pirates using thisasteroid for a base, or it might be some alien form of life. We'restill free. Shall we beat it or stay and try to check this out?"

  He did not know how much of this got over to the spacehound, but theimpressions he received in answer were those of approving theirremaining where they were.

  "I suppose the best system is to explore the rest of the caves inorder; let's go."

  Followed by Digger, he walked quietly toward the next cave on the left,slipped through the doorway, and, standing with his back against thewall, swung the light of his torch in a wide, swift arc about the room.Halfway around, he stopped abruptly; a slim, petite figure appearedclearly in the searchlight's glare. The girl he had seen on thetelevisor stood in the middle of the room, facing a telecaster, herback toward him. She did not seem aware of him as he moved forward.What could be wrong; surely that light would arouse her.

  The figure did not turn as he approached. So near was he now that hecould seize her easily, still she made no move. Nat stepped to oneside, flashed his torch in her face. Her beautifully-lashed eyes staredstraight ahead unblinkingly; the expression on her lovely composed facedid not change. A robot! He laughed bitterly. But then, he was not theonly one....

  She was an earth product; Nat opened her helmet and found thetrade-mark of _Spurgin's Robots_ hung like a necklace about her throat.But whoever had lured him here easily could have removed her from oneof the vessels in the front cave. It did not seem like the work ofpirates, more likely unknown intelligent beings.

  He turned to examine the televisor. It, too, was an earth product. Themechanism was of old design; evidently it had been taken from the firstof the ships to land here. Outside of the telecaster and the solitaryrobot, there was nothing to be seen in this cave.

  A sound behind him. He whirled, heat-rod poised for swift, stabbingaction. Nothing--except--small bowling-ball things rolling in
througha narrow door. Ridiculous things of the same yellowish-quartz materialas composed the cave-walls. At regular intervals a dull, bluish lightpoured forth from rounded holes in their smooth sides. And issuingforth from within these comic globes was the same weird, compellingmusic he had heard before. They rolled up to him, brushed against histoes; a shrilling in his brain told him that Digger was aware of them.

  "Back, Digger!" he thought as he drew away from the globes. They pouredtheir penetrating blue light over him, inspectingly, while the musicfrom within rose and fell in regular cadences, sweetly impelling anddulling to the senses as strong oriental incense.

  But Digger was not soothed. The spacehound lunged at one of the globes;instead of slashing its sides, he found himself sailing through theair toward it. Nat received impressions of irritation combined withastonishment. Within the globes, the music rose to a furious whinewhile one of the things shot forth long tentacles from the holes in itsside.