Poisoned Air

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  Transcriber's Note:

  This etext was produced from Astounding Stories March 1932. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.

  _Dr. Bird fell back under the ferocity of her attack._]

  Poisoned Air

  By Capt. S. P. Meek

  * * * * *

  [Sidenote: Again Dr. Bird closes with the evil Saranoff--this timenear the Aberdeen Proving Ground, in a deadly, mysterious blanket offog.]

  A telephone bell jangled insistently. The orderly on duty dropped hisfeet from the desk to the floor and lifted the receiver with amuttered curse.

  "Post hospital, Aberdeen Proving Ground," he said sleepily, rubbinghis eyes.

  A burst of raucous coughing answered him. Several times it ceased foran instant and a voice tried to speak, but each time a fresh spasm ofdeep-chested wracking coughing interrupted.

  "Who is this?" demanded the now aroused orderly. "What's the matter?"

  Between intervals of coughing difficultly enunciated words reachedhim.

  "This is--_uch! uch!_--Lieutenant Burroughs atthe--_uch!_--Michaelville range. We have been--_uch!_--caught in acloud of poison--_uch!_ _uch!_--gas. Send an ambulance anda--_uch!_--surgeon at once. Better bring--_uch!_--gas masks."

  "At the Michaelville range, sir? How many men are down there?"

  "_Uch! uch! uch!_--five--all help--_uch! uch!_--helpless. Hurry!"

  "Yes, sir. I'll start two ambulances down at once, sir."

  "Don't forget the--_uch! uch!_--gas--_uch!_--masks."

  "No, sir; I'll send them, sir."

  * * * * *

  Five minutes later two ambulances rolled out of the garage and tookthe four-mile winding ribbon of concrete which separated theMichaelville water impact range from the main front of the AberdeenProving Ground. On each ambulance was a hastily awakened and partiallyclothed medical officer. For three miles they tore along the curvingroad at high speed. Without warning the leading machine slowed down.The driver of the second ambulance shoved home his brake just in timeto keep from ramming the leading vehicle.

  "What's the matter?" he shouted.

  As he spoke he gave a muttered curse and switched on his amberfog-light. From the marshes on either side of the road a deep blanketof fog rolled up and enveloped the vehicle, almost shutting off theroad from sight. The forward ambulance began to grope its way slowlyforward. The senior medical officer sniffed the fog critically andshouted to his driver.

  "Stop!" he cried. "There's something funny about this fog. Every oneput on gas masks."

  He coughed slightly as he adjusted his mask. His orders were shoutedto the ambulance in the rear but before the masks could be adjusted,every member of the crew was vying with the rest in the frequency andviolence of the coughs which he could emit. The masks did not seem toshut out the poisonous fog which crept in between the masks and themen's faces and seemed to take bodily possession of their lungs.

  "I don't believe we'll ever make the last mile to Michaelville throughthis, Major," cried the driver between intervals of coughing. "Hadn'twe better turn back while we can?"

  "Drive on!" cried the medical officer. "We'll keep going as long as wecan. Imagine what those poor devils on the range are going throughwithout masks of any sort."

  * * * * *

  On through the rapidly thickening fog, the two ambulances groped theirway. The road seemed interminable, but at length the flood lights ofthe Michaelville end of the range came dimly into view. As thevehicles stopped the two surgeons jumped to the ground and gropedtheir way forward, stretcher bearers following them closely. PresentlyMajor Martin stumbled over a body which lay at full length on theconcrete runway between the two main buildings. He stooped andexamined the man with the aid of a pocket flashlight.

  "He's alive," he announced in muffled tones through his mask. "Takehim to the ambulance and fit a mask on him."

  Three more unconscious men were carried to the ambulances before theprone form of Lieutenant Burroughs was found by the searchers. Thelieutenant lay on his back not far from the telephone and directlyunder the glare of a huge arc-light. His eyes were open and he wasconscious, but when he tried to speak, only a murmur came from hislips. There was a rattle in his chest and faint coughs tried in vainto force their way out between his stiffened lips.

  "Easy, Lieutenant," said Major Martin as he bent over him; "don't tryto talk just now. You're all right and we'll have a mask on you in ajiffy. That damned gas isn't as thick right here as it is down theroad a way."

  Two medical corps men lifted the lieutenant onto a stretcher andstarted to fit a mask over his face. He feebly raised a hand to stopthem. His lips formed words which he could not enunciate, but MajorMartin understood them.

  "Your men?" he said between intervals of coughing. "We've got them allin the ambulance, I think. There were four besides yourself, weren'tthere?"

  The lieutenant nodded.

  "Right. We have them all. Now we'll take you back to the hospital andhave you fixed up in a jiffy."

  * * * * *

  The entire rescue crew were coughing violently as the ambulances leftMichaelville. For a mile they drove through fog that was thicker thanhad been seen in Maryland for years. They reached the point where theyhad encountered the congealed moisture on the way out, but now therewas no diminution of its density. The main post was less than twomiles away when they burst out into a clear night and increased theirspeed.

  As the two machines drew up in front of the post hospital, the driverof the leading ambulance swayed in his seat. Blindly he pulled on hisemergency brake and then slumped forward in his seat, his breathcoming in wheezing gasps. Major Martin hastily tore the mask from hisface and glanced at it.

  "Take him in with the rest!" he cried. "His mask must have leaked."

  As they entered the hospital, a sickening weakness overcame MajorMartin. From all sides a black pall seemed to roll in on him and bitsof ice seemed to form in his brain. He reeled and caught at theshoulder of a corps man who was passing. The orderly caught at him andlooked for a moment at his livid face.

  "Sergeant Connors!" he cried.

  A technical sergeant hastened up. Major Martin forced words withdifficulty through stiffening lips.

  "Call Captain Murdock," he wheezed, "and have him get CaptainWilliams. I'm down and probably Dr. Briscoe will be down in a fewminutes. Telephone the commanding officer and tell him to quarantinethe whole proving ground. Have the telephone orderly wake everyone onthe post and order them to close all windows in all buildings and notto venture outside until they get fresh orders. This seems to be thesame stuff they had in Belgium last December."

  As the last words came from his lips he slowly stiffened and slumpedtoward the ground. The sergeant and the orderly picked him up andcarried him to a bed in the emergency ward. The orderly hurried awayto close all of the hospital windows while Sergeant Connors took downthe receiver of the telephone and began to carry out the Major'sorders.

  * * * * *

  Dr. Bird glanced at the news-paper clipping which Operative Carnes ofthe United States Secret Service laid on his desk. Into his eyes camea curious glitter, sure evidence that the famous scientist's interestwas aroused.

  "Last December when we discussed this matter, Doctor," said thedetective, "you gave it as your opinion that Ivan Saranoff was at thebottom of it and that the same plague which devastated the Meu
seValley in Belgium would eventually make an appearance in the UnitedStates. You were right."

  Dr. Bird bounded to his feet.

  "Is Saranoff back on this side of the Atlantic?" he demanded.

  "Officially, he is not. Every customs inspector and immigrationofficer has his photograph and no report of his arrest has come in,but we know Saranoff well enough to discount negative evidence wherehe is concerned. Whether he is here or not, the plague is."

  "When did it appear?"

  "Last night at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland. It has killedeight or ten and twice as many more are sick. The place is quarantinedand a rigid censorship has been placed over the telephones, but it isonly a matter of time before some press man will get the story. I havea car waiting below and a pass signed by the Secretary of