Black Eyes and the Daily Grind

  Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the OnlineDistributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net

  _When Black Eyes needed a nap--everybody slept!_]

  BLACK EYES _and the_ DAILY GRIND

  By MILTON LESSER

  _The little house pet from Venus didn't like New York, so New York had to change._

  He liked the flat cracking sound of the gun. He liked the way it slappedback against his shoulder when he fired. Somehow it did not seem a partof the dank, steaming Venusian jungle. Probably, he realized with asmile, it was the only old-fashioned recoil rifle on the entire planet.As if anyone else would want to use one of those old bone-crackingrelics today! But they all failed to realize it made sport much moreinteresting.

  "I haven't seen anything for a while," his wife said. She had a young,pretty face and a strong young body. If you have money these days, youcould really keep a thirty-five-year-old woman looking trim.

  Not on Venus, of course. Venus was an outpost, a frontier, a hot, wet,evil-smelling place that beckoned only the big-game hunter. He said,"That's true. Yesterday we could bag them one after the other, as fastas I could fire this contraption. Today, if there's anything bigger thana mouse, it's hiding in a hole somewhere. You know what I think, Lindy?"

  "What?"

  "I think there's a reason for it. A lot of the early Venusian hunterssaid there were days like this. An area filled with big lizards and catsand everything else the day before suddenly seems to clear out, for noreason. It doesn't make sense."

  "Why not? Why couldn't they all just decide to make tracks for someplaceelse on the same day?"

  He slapped at an insect that was buzzing around his right ear, thenmopped his sweating brow with a handkerchief. His name was Judd Whitney,and people said he had a lot of money. Now he laughed, patting hiswife's trim shoulder under the white tunic. "No, Lindy. It just doesn'twork that way. Not on Earth and not on Venus, either. You think there'sa pied-piper or something which calls all the animals away?"

  "Maybe. I don't know much about those things."

  "No. I don't think they went anyplace. They're just quiet. They didn'tcome out of their holes or hovels or down from the trees. But why?"

  "Well, let's forget it. Let's go back to camp. We can try againtomor--look! Look, there's something!"

  Judd followed her pointing finger with his eyes. Half-hidden by thecreepers and vines clinging to an old tree-stump, something was watchingthem. It wasn't very big and it seemed in no hurry to get away.

  "What is it?" Lindy wanted to know.

  "Don't know. Never saw anything like it before. Venus is still anunknown frontier; the books only name a couple dozen of the biggestanimals. But hell, Lindy, that's not _game_. I don't think it weighsfive pounds."

  "It's cute, and it has a lovely skin."

  Judd couldn't argue with that. Squatting on its haunches, the creaturewas about twenty inches tall. It had a pointed snout and two thin, longears. Its eyes were very big and very round and quite black. They lookedsomething like the eyes of an Earthian tarsier, but the tarsier werebloody little beasts. The skin was short and stiff and was a kind ofsilvery white. Under the sheen, however, it seemed to glow. A diamond iscolorless, Judd thought, but when you see it under light a whole rainbowof colors sparkle deep within it. This creature's skin was like that,Judd decided.

  "If we could get enough of them," Lindy was saying, "I'd have the mostunusual coat! Do you think we could find enough, Judd?"

  "I doubt it. Never saw anything like it before, never heard of anythinglike it. You'd need fifty of 'em, anyway. Let's forget about it--toosmall to shoot, anyway."

  "No, Judd. I want it."

  "Well, I'm not going to stalk a five-pound--hey, wait a minute! I taughtyou how to use this rifle, so why don't you bag it?"

  Lindy grinned. "That's a fine idea. I was a little scared of some ofthose big lizards and cats and everything, but now I'm going to take youup on it. Here, give me your gun."

  Judd removed the leather thong from his shoulder and handed the weaponto her. She looked at it a little uncertainly, then took the clip ofshells which Judd offered and slammed it into the chamber. The littlecreature sat unmoving.

  "Isn't it peculiar that it doesn't run away, Judd?"

  "Sure is. Nothing formidable about that animal, so unless it has ahidden poison somewhere, just about anything in this swamp could do itin. To survive it would have to be fast as hell and it would have tokeep running all the time. Beats me, Lindy."

  "Well, I'm going to get myself one pelt toward that coat, anyway. Watch,Judd: is this the way?" She lifted the rifle to her shoulder andsquinted down the sights toward the shining creature.

  "Yeah, that's the way. Only relax. Relax. Shoulder's so tense you'reliable to dislocate it with the kick. There--that's better."

  Now Lindy's finger was wrapped around the trigger and she rememberedJudd had told her to squeeze it, not to pull it. If you pulled thetrigger you jerked the rifle and spoiled your aim. You had to squeeze itslowly....

  The animal seemed politely interested.

  Suddenly, a delicious languor stole over Lindy. It possessed her all atonce and she had no idea where it came from. Her legs had been stiff andtired from the all-morning trek through the swamp, but now they feltfine. Her whole body was suffused in a warm, satisfied glow ofwell-being. And laziness. It was an utterly new sensation and she couldeven feel it tingling at the roots of her hair. She sighed and loweredthe rifle.

  "I don't want to shoot it," she said.

  "You just told me you did."

  "I know, but I changed my mind. What's the matter, can't I change mymind?"

  "Of course you can change your mind. But I thought you wanted a coat ofthose things."

  "Yes, I suppose I do. But I don't want to shoot it, that's all."

  Judd snorted. "I think you have a streak of softness someplace in thatpretty head of yours!"

  "Maybe. I don't know. But I'd still like the pelt. Funny, isn't it?"

  "Okay, okay! But don't ask to use the gun again." Judd snatched it fromher hands. "If you don't want to shoot it, then I will. Maybe we canmake you a pair of gloves or something from the pelt."

  And Judd pointed his ancient rifle at the little animal preparing tosnap off a quick shot. It would be a cinch at this distance. Even Lindywouldn't have missed, if she hadn't changed her mind.

  Judd yawned. He'd failed to realize he was so tired. Not an aching kindof tiredness, but the kind that makes you feel good all over. He yawnedagain and lowered the rifle. "Changed my mind," he said. "I don't wantto shoot it, either. What say we head back for camp?"

  Lindy gripped his hand impulsively. "All right, Judd--but I had abrainstorm! I want it for a pet!"

  "A pet?"

  "Yes. I think it would be the cutest thing. Everyone would look andwonder and I'll adore it!"

  "We don't know anything about it. Maybe Earth would be too cold, or toodry, or maybe we don't have anything it can eat. There are liable to bea hundred different strains of bacteria that can kill it."

  "I said I want it for a pet. See? Look at it! We can call it BlackEyes."

  "Black Eyes--" Judd groaned.

  "Yes, Black Eyes. If you don't do this one thing for me, Judd--"

  "Okay--okay. But I'm not going to do anything. You want it, you takeit."

  Lindy frowned, looked at him crossly, then sloshed across the swamptoward Black Eyes. The creature waited on its stump until she came quiteclose, and then, with a playful little bound, it hopped onto hershoulder, still squatting on its haunches. Lindy squealed excitedly andbegan to stroke its silvery fur.

  * * * * *

  A mon
th later, they returned to Earth. Judd and Lindy and Black Eyes.The hunting trip had been a success--Judd's trophies were on their wayhome on a slow freighter, and he'd have some fine heads and skins forhis study-room. Even Black Eyes had been no trouble at all. It atescraps from their table, forever sitting on its haunches and staring atthem with its big black eyes. Judd thought it would make one helluvalousy pet, but he didn't tell Lindy. Trouble was, it never did anything.It merely sat still, or occasionally it would bounce down to the floorand mince along on its hind-legs for a scrap of food. It never