Captain Future 10 - Outlaws of the Moon (Spring 1942) (19 page)

THE vast Western Sea of the planet Jupiter glittered bluely under the light of the tiny Sun. At one point, there rose from the surface a small, rocky island. Down through space, there shot with screaming roar of rockets a small space flyer. Captain Future was alone in the little craft.

He brought it hastily down to a landing by the island shore. Nearby the
Comet
was already parked. Curt hastened toward the craft, and the Brain came gliding to meet him.

“I got your message, Simon!” Curt said hastily. “I used our little experimental flyer to come on at once. What’s wrong?”

The Brain answered hurriedly.

“Otho and Grag and Joan Randall are trapped down there at the floor of the sea.”

“How the devil did they get here?” Curt cried bewilderedly. “I thought you four made this trip to Jupiter, in order to arrange for the transfer of the Lunarian population to the moon Europa.”

“Yes, that’s what we came for,” the Brain admitted. “And we arranged to have most of that jungle moon off Jupiter set aside for the Lunarians. They’ll have a fine home there and be able to live in the Sun again, just as they did ages ago. Everything’s all ready for them to migrate.”

“You still haven’t explained how the others got down there!” Curt Newton interrupted, pointing at the heaving blue ocean.

“Well, it was Otho’s idea —” Simon Wright began reluctantly.

“I’ll bet it was!” Curt burst out. “Go on!”

“Otho said we’d never had an opportunity to explore the ancient Jovian ruins submerged under this sea, and that now was a good time,” the Brain continued. “Grag approved the idea, and I was curious about the ruins myself. They improvised a diving bell from one of the
Comet
’s air-tanks, and went down in it. Joan insisted on going along with them.”

“They didn’t come back up,” Simon concluded. “Finally I got worried, for you know there’s a fierce anthropoidal sub-sea race in these oceans. I didn’t dare take the
Comet
down — couldn’t risk it. So I decided to call you at once.”

Captain Future exploded.

“That crazy android! I might have known he’d pull something like this! When I get my hands on him —”

Curt was already donning a space-suit. He screwed its helmet tight, grasped his proton-pistol, and strode into the water.

The lead soles of the suit held him on the sea floor as he marched down an oozy slope. Flame-fish and hydras swam past him in the green deeps. The space-suit was a perfect diving suit for his purpose. He strode deeper and deeper until he glimpsed a bright gleam of light ahead.

It came from the Futuremen’s diving bell. The improvised bell was an upright cylinder of transparent metal, that stood now amid crumbling black ruins which were half covered by ooze. Curt glimpsed Otho, Grag and Joan clearly, inside the bell, which had a makeshift rocket tube for ascending.

The diving bell had been fastened tightly to the ocean’s slippery floor. Chains attached to the bell’s underside had been securely pegged down. And around it were circling a dozen fiercely excited sub-sea men, of the race long known to inhabit the depths of Jupiter’s waters.

The scaled, anthropoidal green monsters glimpsed Curt and rushed toward him, leveling their rude spears.

CAPTAIN FUTURE’S proton-pistol flashed streaks of flaming force through the water. The anthropoidal seamen fell back in alarm. Curt tired again over their heads. The now terrified creatures darted away in a panic through the green depths.

“Now for that crack-brain android and robot!” Curt muttered, striding toward the prisoned diving bell.

He put his hand against it, so that sound would carry to him by conduction.

“Are you people all right?”

Otho, Grag and Joan all shouted at once.

“Sure, we’re all right, Chief!” cried Otho. “But we’re darned glad to see you come to release us!”

“What are you talking about?” Curt retorted coolly. “I’m not going to release you. You got yourselves into this pickle. Now get out of it.”

“Aw, Chief, have a heart!” Grag pleaded. “We know we had no business poking around down here, but we’ll never do it again.”

“No, cross my heart!” vowed Otho. “Once I get out of this and back to the Moon laboratory, I’ll never hunt trouble again. So help me!”

“You’ve always played that same tune,” Captain Future said darkly.

“Yes, but this time I mean it!” the android pleaded.

“All right. I guess you’ve had your lesson,” growled Curt Newton.

He dug loose the pegs with which the sea-men had pinned the bell to the ocean floor. Hastily, Otho operated the makeshift rocket-power of the diving bell. It rose swiftly to the surface of the sea.

When Captain Future tramped up out of the water onto the island shore, the others were already there awaiting him. Otho eagerly held out a tablet of stone inscribed with a half crumbled map.

“Look at this, Chief — we got hold of it down in those submerged ruins!” the android exclaimed excitedly. “It’s a map of the ancient Jovian civilization. And it shows they had a big city west of the Fire Sea here — a city that might still be intact!”

“What about it?” Curt demanded, his eyes narrowing ominously.

Otho rushed blithely on.

“Well, I know the Fire Sea region is dangerous.

But I thought as long as we were here, we might go over there and explore for the ancient city. And —”

He suddenly saw Captain Future’s face. Otho turned and dived hastily for the
Comet
.

THE END