The Moon Destroyers, Page 2

gateman, the two scientistshurried up the ladder that had been dropped for them; again came theshouted "Cast off," and the huge liner, impelled by powerful motors,rose rapidly to the high altitude at which she traveled.

  "Message for you, sir," said a pleasant voice at Holden's elbow, and heturned. A neatly uniformed boy held out to him a thin envelope. Breakingthe seal, he read rapidly.

  "Will you show us in to the Captain, please," he addressed the boy as hefinished the message.

  The lad nodded, and led them down a long hall to the bow of the ship andup to the bridge.

  "Mr. Holden, I presume? And Professor Erickson? I am Captain Linet."

  The Captain was an immense man, well over six feet, with the build of aprizefighter. His face was pleasant, but there was an expression ofintense sorrow in his deep blue eyes.

  "I understand that you have been appointed to head an expedition to themoon, the nature of which has not been revealed, but which will do awayforever with the earthquakes which have become so prevalent. I wish tojoin that expedition. My beloved wife was in New York at the time of thelast quake. You understand."

  Holden nodded sympathetically. He would be glad to have all the men likethis he could find, and he expressed that opinion to the Captain.

  "Thank you. I will resign my position when we reach San Francisco, andwill await your orders."

  "But, Captain," Holden asked, "how did you know that I was head of theexpedition?"

  "Oh, the news has been broadcast everywhere, with instructions to giveyou any aid possible. But no information was given as to the exactnature of the trip. Could I be trusted--?"

  "Why certainly. We are going to destroy the moon, wipe it out ofexistence, so that it will cease to exert the tremendous gravitationalpull that has been causing--."

  At that moment a petty officer appeared behind the Captain.

  "Have you any further orders concerning the cargo to be dumped at NewOrleans?"

  "No. I thought I gave you to understand that there were to be no moreadditions to that cargo. Didn't you hear me?"

  "I beg your pardon, sir," the man said, and walked away.

  "I wonder how much of our conversation he heard?" mused Erickson. "Butthen, I suppose it makes no difference."

  After a few minutes of conversation, Holden asked the Captain if theycould be shown their cabins, so that they could get a few hours of restbefore reaching their destination. The request was readily granted, andin a few minutes Holden was alone in a neat little room, furnished witha comfortable chair, tables along two walls, and a very pleasant lookingberth built into the third side. The professor had a similar place a fewdoors down the hall.

  Holden threw off his shoes and coat and tumbled into the berth. Theevents of the last weeks were spinning in his head, and a procession ofvisions passed before his eyes. That terrible catastrophe, the trip toEurope, to the capitol of the World Union, and now, the appointment asleader of the most important expedition in the history of the universe,with the possible exception of that first epoch-making voyage to Marsback in 2350.

  Another vision appeared before his eyes. Jean! Jean, his own sweetheart,the one person in the world who mattered, gone now for a full year. Whyhad she decided to make the voyage to Mars? What could have happened tothe ill-fated _Gloriana_, with her hundreds of passengers and valuablecargo? A year ago she had left; and, as some people said, merely driftedout into space, never to be heard from again.

  A deep sob shook Holden's body as he thought of that beautiful girl,who, laughing at his fears, had stepped into the space flyer with asmile on her lips, promising to come back in a year and marry him.

  At last, however, these memories gave way before exhaustion, and he fellinto a sleep, troubled by strange dreams. It seemed that a great serpenthad attacked him, and, flinging its coils about his body, was slowlysqueezing out his life. Suddenly, he was wide awake. Strong hands wereon his throat, the thumbs were pressed tight against his larynx.

  He struggled to gain his breath, to shout for help, but the pressureclosed his throat. In another moment it would be too late. Then his mindcleared; raising both hands to the back of his neck, he grasped thelittle fingers of his assailant, and pulled with all his strength. Theman gave a cry of pain and anger and relaxed his grip. Holden gulped ina breath of air, and flung himself from his berth, endeavoring to catchand hold the coward who had attacked in the dark. The man, however, waswiry and quick. With a sudden jerk he wriggled loose, gained the doorand was gone. When Holden reached the corridor, no one was in sight.Quickly he walked to Professor Erickson's room, awakened him, and toldhim what had happened.

  Erickson rang up a steward, who promised to do everything in his powerto apprehend the culprit.

  "Who could it have been?" asked Erickson.

  "I haven't the slightest idea. I have no enemies that I know of. I'm notcarrying any valuables. It was probably a case of mistaken identity."

  The incident was dismissed with that interpretation, and it was severalweeks before Holden thought of it again, but then he wished ferventlythat he had investigated more thoroughly.