The Sargasso of Space Read online

back out of the liner.

  They worked their way out of the wreck-pack with much greater speed thanthat with which they had entered, needing only an occasional braceagainst a ship's side to send them floating over the wrecks. They cameto the wreck-pack's edge at a little distance from the _Pallas_, andhastened toward it.

  They found the outer door of the _Pallas'_ airlock open, and entered,Krell remaining with them. As the outer door closed and air hissed intothe lock, Kent and the rest removed their helmets. The inner door slidopen as they were doing this, and from inside almost a score of menleapt upon them!

  Kent, stunned for a moment, saw Jandron among their attackers, bellowingorders to them, and even as he struck out furiously he comprehended.Jandron and the men of the _Martian Queen_ had somehow captured the_Pallas_ from Crain and had been awaiting their return!

  * * * * *

  The struggle was almost instantly over, for, outnumbered and hampered asthey were by their heavy space-suits, Kent and Liggett and theirfollowers had no chance. Their hands, still in the suits, were boundquickly behind them at Jandron's orders.

  Kent heard an exclamation, and saw Marta starting toward him frombehind Jandron's men. But a sweep of Jandron's arm brushed her rudelyback. Kent strained madly at his bonds. Krell's face had a triumphantlook.

  "Did it all work as I told you it would, Jandron?" he asked.

  "It worked," Jandron answered impassively. "When they saw fifteen of uscoming from the wreck-pack in space-suits, they opened right up to us."

  Kent understood, and cursed Krell's cunning. Crain, seeing the fifteenfigures approaching from the wreck-pack, had naturally thought they wereKent's party, and had let them enter to overwhelm his half-dozen men.

  "We put Crain and his men over in the _Martian Queen_," Jandroncontinued, "and took all their helmets so they can't escape. The girl webrought over here. Did you find a wreck with fuel?"

  Krell nodded. "A Pluto liner a quarter-mile back, and we can pump thefuel over here by connecting tube-lines. What the devil--"

  Jandron had made a signal at which three of his men had leapt forward onKrell, securing his hands like those of the others.

  "Have you gone crazy, Jandron?" cried Krell, his face red with anger andsurprise.

  "No," Jandron replied impassively; "but the men are as tired as I am ofyour bossing ways, and have chosen me as their sole leader."

  "You dirty double-crosser!" Krell raged. "Are you men going to let himget away with this?"

  The men paid no attention, and Jandron motioned to the airlock. "Takethem over to the _Martian Queen_ too," he ordered, "and make surethere's no space-helmet left there. Then get back at once, for we've gotto get the fuel into this ship and make a getaway."

  * * * * *

  The helmets of Kent and Krell and the other helpless prisoners were putupon them, and, with hands still bound, they were herded into theairlock by eight of Jandron's men attired in space-suits also. Theprisoners were then joined one to another by a strand of metal cable.

  Kent, glancing back into the ship as the airlock's inner door closed,saw Jandron giving rapid orders to his followers, and noticed Marta heldback from the airlock by one of them. Krell's eyes glittered venomouslythrough his helmet. The outer door opened, and their guards jerked themforth into space by the connecting cable.

  They were towed helplessly along the wreck-pack's rim toward the_Martian Queen_. Once inside its airlock, Jandron's men removed theprisoners' space-helmets and then used the duplicate-control inside theairlock itself to open the inner door. Through this opening they thrustthe captives, those inside the ship not daring to enter the airlock.Jandron's men then closed the inner door, re-opened the outer one, andstarted back toward the _Pallas_ with the helmets of Kent and hiscompanions.

  Kent and the others soon found Crain and his half-dozen men who rapidlyundid their bonds. Crain's men still wore their space-suits, but, likeKent's companions, were without space-helmets.

  "Kent, I was afraid they'd get you and your men too!" Crain exclaimed."It's all my fault, for when I saw Jandron and his men coming from thewreck-pack I never doubted but that it was you."

  "It's no one's fault," Kent told him. "It's just something that wecouldn't foresee."

  * * * * *

  Crain's eyes fell on Krell. "But what's he doing here?" he exclaimed.Kent briefly explained Jandron's treachery toward Krell, and Crain'sbrows drew ominously together.

  "So Jandron put you here with us! Krell, I am a commissioned captain ofa space-ship, and as such can legally try you and sentence you to deathhere without further formalities."

  Krell did not answer, but Kent intervened. "There's hardly time for thatnow, sir," he said. "I'm as anxious to settle with Krell as anyone, butright now our main enemy is Jandron, and Krell hates Jandron worse thanwe do, if I'm not mistaken."

  "You're not," said Krell grimly. "All I want right now is to get withinreach of Jandron."

  "There's small chance of any of us doing that," Crain told them."There's not a single space-helmet on the _Martian Queen_."

  "You've searched?" Liggett asked.

  "Every cubic inch of the ship," Crain told him. "No, Jandron's men madesure there were no helmets left here, and without helmets this ship isan inescapable prison."

  "Damn it, there must be some way out!" Kent exclaimed. "Why, Jandron andhis men must be starting to pump that fuel into the _Pallas_ by now!They'll be sailing off as soon as they do it!"

  Crain's face was sad. "I'm afraid this is the end, Kent. Withouthelmets, the space between the _Martian Queen_ and the _Pallas_ is agreater barrier to us than a mile-thick wall of steel. In this shipwe'll stay, until the air and food give out, and death releases us."

  "Damn it, I'm not thinking of myself!" Kent cried. "I'm thinking ofMarta! The _Pallas_ will sail out of here with her in Jandron's power!"

  "The girl!" Liggett exclaimed. "If she could bring us over space-helmetsfrom the _Pallas_ we could get out of here!"

  Kent was thoughtful. "If we could talk to her--she must still have thatsuit-phone I gave her. Where's another?"

  * * * * *

  Crain quickly detached the compact suit-phone from inside the neck ofhis own space-suit, and Kent rapidly tuned it to the one he had givenMarta Mallen. His heart leapt as her voice came instantly from it:

  "Rance! Rance Kent--"

  "Marta--this is Rance!" he cried.

  He heard a sob of relief. "I've been calling you for minutes! I washoping that you'd remember to listen!

  "Jandron and ten of the others have gone to that wreck in which youfound the fuel," she added swiftly. "They unreeled a tube-line behindthem as they went, and I can hear them pumping in the fuel now."

  "Are the others guarding you?" Kent asked quickly.

  "They're down in the lower deck at the tanks and airlocks. They won'tallow me down on that deck. I'm up here in the middle-deck, absolutelyalone.

  "Jandron told me that we'd start out of here as soon as the fuel wasin," she added, "and he and the men were laughing about Krell."

  "Marta, could you in any way get space-helmets and get out to bring themover here to us?" Kent asked eagerly.

  "There's a lot of space-suits and helmets here," she answered, "but Icouldn't get out with them, Rance! I couldn't get to the airlocks withJandron's seven or eight men down there guarding them!"

  Kent felt despair; then as an idea suddenly flamed in him, he almostshouted into the instrument:

  "Marta, unless you can get over here with helmets for us, we're alllost. I want you to put on a space-suit and helmet at once!"

  * * * * *

  There was a short silence, and then her voice came, a little muffled."I've got the suit and helmet on, Rance. I'm wearing the suit-phoneinside it."

  "Good! Now, can you get up to the pilot-house? There's no one guardingit or the upper-deck? Hurry up there, then, at once."

&nb
sp; Crain and the rest were staring at Kent. "Kent, what are you going tohave her do?" Crain exclaimed. "It'll do no good for her to start the_Pallas_: those guards will be up there in a minute!"

  "I'm not going to have her start the _Pallas_," said Kent grimly."Marta, you're in the pilot-house? Do you see the heavy little steeldoor in the wall beside the instrument-panel?"

  "I'm at it, but it's locked with a