The Hero Read online

"between the bunks and thebar."

  "With what?"

  "I know," Banks said eagerly, "where there's a whole pile of stuff. It'snice thin metal, just lying there getting rusty."

  "I think you're premature--"

  "Premature!" Kosalowsky shouted. "Six months you've been chasing thistomato. You call that premature?"

  "Only four by Engrahamic time," Blunt said, insulted.

  "Listen," Kosalowsky said, "that wall goes up tomorrow. And you'resmuggling her in tomorrow night. Or else," he said, glaring at Blunt,"after that it's every man for himself. Check?"

  Blunt, only slightly seen in the light from Kosalowsky's bunk, was whitewith rage. "All right, guys," he said stonily. "I've been trying to doright by this frail. Nothing abrupt or hillbilly. Nothing to hurt herdelicate feelings or her fine mind. But if this is how you wantit--Okay!"

  ----

  The next day the wall went up.

  Hardly a word was said as it was hammered in place. Once up, the placewas G. I.'d thoroughly. The ash trays were washed, the floor vacuumed,and the lights adjusted to achieve the most tellingly seductive effect.Blunt went out at two, thin-lipped and silent.

  "The jerk," Kosalowsky said, "I think he's a lot of hot air. That's what_I_ think."

  The Colonel came in at nightfall and asked about the wall. They told himthat it was to cut off the recreation section from the sleepingquarters, for the protection of those who wanted more sleep to preparefor the grueling winter watches.

  "Very good idea men," the Colonel said, and went upstairs to writeanother chapter in his book.

  At nine the men disappeared into their bunks. O'Connors won theresponsible job of peering through the narrow slit in the wall. Behindhim could be heard the labored breathing of twenty-seven distraught men.One man snored. "Wake up, you stupid ass," Pane told Lanham. "You'llwreck the show."

  At last the door opened and Blunt came in--with the girl.

  She was breath-taking. She wore, O'Connors reported, a dress cut tohere--and her hair was piled high on her patrician head. Blunt had notlied. She was even prettier than the usual run of Engraham girls.

  "He's offering her a drink," O'Connors whispered.

  "She take it?"

  "No--she's sitting at the bar. He's having one, though. He's turning onthe hi-fi."

  He did not have to tell them, since all could hear the soft music. Theyhad selected a program of melodies considered sure-fire.

  "He's talking to her--putting his arm around her waist. Oh-oh. Sheknocked it off. She's laughing, though."

  In the silence they all heard her laugh. Several men moveduncomfortably. "He's leading her toward the couch--oh-oh--she stopped tolook at the radar screen."

  It was the auxiliary radar, not the important one in the control room."What's he doing?"

  "Telling her--he's edging her to the couch again--now she's asking aboutthe Bassett Blaster. They're fooling around with the gun. He's showingher how it works--trying to put his hands--!"

  This last was lost, for there was a sudden, resounding blast. Theirbunks, the entire ship, trembled.

  The meaning was clear to all. They flattened to their bunks, and waitedtensely. They heard a sound, the sound of a foot kicking a body. A handscratched tentatively along the wall.

  No one moved. "She killed him." O'Connors voice was no more than aslight whisper. "Lay low--lay low."'

  Then a woman's voice said, in perfect English, "All right, you men. Comeout of there."

  The door was found and flung open. Catataphinaria stood in the dimlight--still holding the Blaster. She said again, more sharply, "I said,Come out of there!"

  Clumsily, they came down from their bunks.

  "Now," she said, as she had them all against the wall, "call down theothers."

  But this was unnecessary, for the Doctors and the Colonel were alreadydescending the ladder. They turned quite white at the sight of her.Wordlessly, she indicated that they were to join the others. The Doctorsfound it harder to adjust to a purely military sort of emergency. Ankersasked clearly, "What on earth is this nonsense?"

  "No nonsense," the girl said. "Just do as I say. First, surrender allyour papers."

  "Our papers?"

  "Your research. Your conclusions. Everything."

  Henderson said, "I'll go get it, Ma'am."

  "I would also like the Colonel's amusing work on the coming occupation."

  "I know where it is, sir," Martin said swiftly. "I'll get it."

  The Colonel's expression was stony. He nodded to Martin to get it, andit occurred to him that the girl was one of those whom he had personallyselected as the most promising for the puppet governments. But when heasked about her identity, she cut him off without a word.

  "Then, may I ask where you learned such flawless English?"

  "All of us know English," she said. "It is a very stupid language."

  Martin and Henderson returned with the papers. Gingerly they approachedher, handed the papers to her, and darted back to their places in theline. She placed the stack on the bar, leafed through it, all the whilekeeping them covered with the Blaster, and remarked on finishing, "It isexactly what one would expect barbarians to find interesting."

  Flandeau, however, remained a scientist to the last.

  "We find ourselves unhappily deceived," he said. "We were certain--thatyou were utterly without defenses. We were told that you did not know_how_ to lie, cheat, dissemble, or fight."

  "Only not with each other." she said. "It was, so to speak, a lost art."She glanced at Blunt. Several men squirmed. "But it is one that we haveregained," she said.

  "And what will you do with us?" Flandeau asked.

  "We have decided to let you go," she said. "Now that we possess thisweapon,"--she brandished the Blaster--"which we can copy, we think wecan prevent more Explorations. At least this is the opinion of theEleven. So I am instructed to let you leave--at once, of course."

  "You are most charming," said Flandeau.

  "At once," she repeated.

  "Yes, of course. Men! Prepare for blastoff!"

  ----

  The way back was tedious--the floating around, the boredom, the unendingblackness of space--but at least it was going home. After the firstweeks of space-sickness, things returned to near normal, and the Doctorsconferred with the Colonel. It was decided that the best report shouldbe that Engraham was uninviting, bleak, and of no interest to Earthmen.The reputations of all were at stake (the doctors found themselves,stripped of their papers, unable to recollect enough, and the Coloneldesperately feared a court-martial) and the crew was thus advised. Allagreed to keep their mouths shut. Thus their honorable discharges,medals, and life-time pensions would be safe.

  So, with all this decided, and Earth only a few months away, relativecheerfulness reigned. Only Willy Lanham continued to mope.

  "What's biting you?" Kosalowsky asked, one day as they lay strapped inadjacent bunks. "Your face is as long as this ship."

  "I just feel bad," Willy said. "I can feel bad if I want to, can't I?"

  "What the hell, we'll soon be home. We can really raise some hell,then."

  "I miss my girl," Willy blurted out.

  "You'll see her pretty soon."

  "I mean my girl on Engraham."

  It happened that just then several other men, bored with lying still,were floating past. They gripped the edges of Willy's bunk.

  "You mean you had," Kosalowsky said cunningly, "a girl on Engraham?"

  "Sure I did," said Willy defensively. "Didn't all you guys?"

  More and more men joined the knot of bodies around Willy's bunk. Theatmosphere became distinctly menacing.

  "You mean you didn't?" Willy said. "You mean it wasn't a gag we werepulling on Blunt?"

  They were silent. One pair of floating hands neared Willy's throat.

  "Honest," he said. "I didn't think you were that dumb. I thought youwere just letting Blunt make an ass of himself. I t
hought that--well, itwas so easy. I even told Dick a couple of times. You just had to make agrab for 'em."

  Pane suddenly let out a harsh sound, like the cry of a wounded bull.

  "So who was this frail?" Kosalowsky asked heavily.

  "Yeah!" echoed the others.

  "Well, she was just a frail, I guess," Willy said. "I used to see heraround the ship. On guard duty.