Captain Future 06 - Star Trail to Glory (Spring 1941) (20 page)

"One speaking!" hummed the powerful voice of the creature, transmitting the words Curt spoke into the microphone of his control. "Attention, all!"

The machine men out on the field obediently gathered in front of the automaton. Curt spoke rapidly into the microphone, and the words issued in loud, humming speech from the mechanical proxy.

"Your work is now finished. The man who brought you here has no further need for you. You may take one of the ships and return to your comet-world."

The machine men hesitated.

"And will the man and other men come to our world some day to rule us?" one asked.

"Yes, men will come there some day," Curt promised through the proxy. "Until then, remain on your comet-world and live as you did before."

IN SIMPLE-MINDED obedience, the machine men trooped toward one of two vessels that had just arrived. It was the black raider-ship that they had used, by means of the time-accelerating force, to seize ships in space. They entered the black craft. A few moments later it rose and departed through the fissure in the roof that led up to Vapor Valley.

"That's done with," Curt breathed. "Those poor metal devils will be better off on their own world in the comet, and won't bother anyone again."

The automaton-proxy relapsed into lifeless metal as Curt cut off his control. Future again disconnected the mechanism's electric "nerve," to make sure it could not be used again.

"The plotter behind this business simply used one of the machine men as a model for this automaton," Curt declared. "But instead of putting a semi-intelligent metal brain into its head, he installed a receiver for his remote control."

"We've smashed his hijacking game, but we haven't got the man himself," hissed Otho. "What about him?"

Curt smiled grimly. "We're going after him now."

They reentered the Zamor and felt their way up through the fissures until they emerged from the gray depths of Vapor Valley into the terrific blaze of the Hot Side. The Zamor streaked for the Twilight Zone.

When they swooped down toward the spaceport of Solar City, they found immense crowds still there. Emerging from the ship, Otho carrying the Brain as though he were merely a scientific instrument, the two pseudo-Rocketeers heard a roar of voices. An official rushed up to them.

"You've won second place in the race! The Rissman came in long ago, but none of the other ships have arrived."

"There comes the Garson now!" someone shouted. "It's third, then!"

"None of the other ships will come in," Curt told the official as he and Otho pushed through the dense, excited crowd toward the Planet Police building.

"So the Rissman wasn't bothered, as usual, and won the race," Otho snarled. "And the Garson also escaped the hijackers and finally limped in."

When they entered the Police building, Grag, Joan and Ezra came hastening to meet them.

"Chief, I was afraid you were lost!" boomed the robot joyfully. "I thought that crazy android got you into real trouble this time."

"Ezra, call the space ship manufacturers in here," Captain Future said. "They're all at the spaceport out there to see the finish of the race. And give me those space ship production figures before you go."

In a few minutes, the magnates appeared. Christian Rissman was first, his aggressive face flushed with triumph.

"A Rissman wins the race for the third time!" he exulted. "They can't beat my ships in space."

"Not when you have most of the other ships stolen by your hijackers!" flared Lan Tark.

"Bah, the same old charges without proof!" Rissman scoffed. "Your ships just won't take it."

"Well, I'm glad my entry at least came in third," Gray Garson muttered. "I was beginning to be afraid it was lost."

Zamor, the Mercurian magnate, rushed toward Curt and Otho.

"Barret, you and Walker did a magnificent job, making second place!"

For answer, Captain Future calmly removed his disguise. As his own features reappeared, the magnates goggled in amazement.

"This is the end of a very neat conspiracy, gentlemen," Curt said calmly. "It has yielded millions, but it's over now. I think the one of you who is guilty knows it's over!"

CAPTAIN FUTURE'S whiplash voice struck the magnates to silence. They stared as he held up the sheet of figures in his hand.

"This is the final proof of what I've suspected. These are the figures on the number of space ships produced by each company in the last year. They point right at the man here who has been disguising stolen ships and selling them as his own."

"You mean that that is what has happened to all those stolen ships?" Lan Tark gasped.

"I guessed it some time ago," Curt replied somberly, "The first essential clue was the fact that no Rissman ship had been stolen by the hijackers."

"I knew it!" Tark flared. "Rissman's the man!"

Curt shook his head. "You're wrong. If Rissman were behind these hijackings, he wouldn't have spared his own ships entirely. That would inevitably direct suspicion at him. It seemed to me that there must be some other explanation. Rissman ships are different in design from all others. That's why the hijacker didn't steal any Rissmans.

"It would be impossible to disguise them and pass them off as his own ships.

"Yet a strong clue pointed to Rissman. He had consulted the stereo-record on the
Star Streak,
which had been sent out to his plant. I knew it was the man who consulted that record, and figured out how to get Kelso's lost weapon from the comet-world, who was behind the hijacking ring. Yet it couldn't be Rissman, so it must be someone else at the Rissman plant who had access there to that record.
You
were employed as superintendent of that plant at that time, Garson!"

Gray Garson stared at Curt. "You surely don't think that I have been the head of this hijacking ring?" he protested.

"I don't think it," Captain Future replied softly. "I know it. Garson, you were smart. You saw in that stereo-record a clue that could lead you to Kelso's mystery weapon and his machine men. So you broke with Rissman, got yourself discharged, and secretly made a daring expedition to the comet-world. You got Kelso's time accelerator there, and brought back a force of machine men who would use it and follow your orders implicitly. Your scheme was simple. You set up a small dummy factory of your own in an isolated location, near some of the big fissures.

"I saw those fissures beside your plant, but didn't suspect them. You had the machine men use the time accelerator weapon to snatch away new ships in space and bring them to the underground main base. There, under the orders of the automaton-proxy you could control from a distance, the machine men refinished the stolen ships, disguised them as new
Garson
ships. Then they brought them through the maze of fissures right up to your little dummy factory. Naturally you had a few of your own ships stolen to avoid suspicion. These figures show you've produced exactly as many ships as have been stolen!"

Captain Future had watched Gray Garson narrowly as he spoke. He saw the Earthman's rugged countenance hardening, his eyes narrowing. Curt would have been prepared for it if Garson had drawn an atom pistol. But Garson's hand made a slight movement inside his jacket. The criminal Earthman suddenly vanished!

"He had a time accelerator on, with the plate under his cap!" Otho yelled.

BUT Captain Future had already snapped the switch of the time accelerator he was still wearing. As he was plunged into faster timeframes, everyone else in the office seemed to have been turned into motionless statues. He darted out between them, into the street. The dense throngs still crowded the brightly lighted avenue. Their mouths were frozen open in the act of cheering, feet raised in air in mid-step, hands seemingly petrified as they waved. But through this weirdly motionless throng, one man was running. It was Garson, making for the ships out on the spaceport.

"No, you don't!" Curt muttered fiercely.

He ran between the motionless people who, in their slower time, could not even see him. Ahead Gray Garson was frenziedly sprinting. Curt called on all his speed. The spurt brought him to Garson's heels. A flying tackle sent him at the Earthman's legs like a projectile. He and Garson rolled over and over, the criminal seeking to tear himself away from Curt Newton. As they battled furiously, all around them the petrified, motionless crowds remained frozen.

Then Captain Future got his hand on the thin cable of Garson's time accelerator. Garson's hand was clawing for his eyes. Unheeding the danger, Curt tore at the cable. It broke from the accelerator case. Instantly Gray Garson became a statue. He had been plunged back into slower time.

Curt dragged the unresisting prisoner back into the Planet Police building. Grag and Ezra and Joan stood exactly as before. All this had taken but a second in their time. Otho's hand was just beginning to reach toward his own time accelerator. Captain Future clicked metal magnet-chains around Garson's wrists and ankles. Turning off his own time accelerator, he was plunged back into normal time.

"Howlin' space-demons!" yelled Ezra Gurney. "What happened? First Garson's gone, then you're gone. Then you're here again with him a prisoner, before I can bat an eye!"

"The main thing is that he is a prisoner," Curt Newton answered grimly. "Take good care of him, Ezra. He's got a long voyage to make — all the way out to Pluto's prison moon."

OVER on the dark Cold Side, much later, the metal barracks and hangars of Suicide Station gleamed beneath the stars. In front of the barracks, a group of veteran Rocketeers appreciatively watched Ka Kardak inspecting a line of new young pilots.

"Of all the miserable, weak-kneed excuses for would-be Rocketeers, you're the worst yet!" bellowed the brawny Jovian chief Rocketeer. "I thought they couldn't come any worse, but you've proved they can!"

"But we haven't done anything wrong, sir," a young Martian said timidly. "We'll do our best. We all hope to be crack racing pilots and test pilots some day."

"You want to win the Round-the-System Race, eh? You think because all that space ship hijacking's been stopped, there won't be any more danger to it. You're wrong. By the nine planets, you'll wish you'd never heard of the Rocketeers before I get through with you. I'll —"

A small, oddly teardrop-shaped vessel was diving down toward the tarmac.

The suicidal rush brought cries of apprehension from the watching veteran pilots.

"What fool is that landing on his nose?" yelled Ka Kardak. "Whoever he is, I'll make an example of him, by —"

"Say, it looks like Captain Future's
Comet!"

The ship had come to rest on the tarmac with a flare of spuming fire from its bow-tubes. Its door opened. Out of it came young Jan Walker, the Earthman Rocketeer. Behind him strode a tall, gray-eyed, red-haired man. At sight of him a gasp of respect went up from veterans and novices alike.

"That's Future himself!"

"Hello, Kardak!" greeted Curt Newton. "I'm bringing you back one of your pilots, Jan Walker. He's a good pilot, too."

Walker flushed with pleasure at the praise. But Ka Kardak stared at Curt.

"You know me, Captain Future?" he rumbled surprisedly.

Curt grinned. "Sure I know you. I was Ray Barret, one of your amateurs, remember? I'll always be grateful for the lessons in spacemanship you pounded into me,"

From the gathered Rocketeers went up a chorus of shouts of laughter that split the darkness. Ka Kardak smacked his head with his hand.

"Good Gods of Jupiter!" he gasped. "I was giving lessons to Captain Future!"

"See you Rocketeers again on the spaceways," chuckled Curt. "Clear space and good luck to you all!"

"Clear space and good luck, Captain Future!" went up the spacemen's shout to the famous planeteer.

THE
Comet
swooped upward at a dizzy angle and tore off into the star-gemmed vault with a speed that took it out of sight almost at once. "He's going back to that home of his on Earth's Moon, he and the Futuremen," said one of the Rocketeers in a voice tinged with awe. "He'll be there till the President calls him again with that North Pole signal. Then he'll be burning up the space-ways again."

"Yes, and God help those he goes after," said another Rocketeer.

Ka Kardak still looked stunned by his discovery that he had been lecturing Captain Future. His new pilots were grinning at him.

"Wipe that smirk off your faces!" roared the Jovian. "There's none of you who's a Captain Future in disguise!"

THE END