Magnus Ridolph Omnibus by Jack Vance

Author:Jack Vance
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: mystery, detective, SF, omnibus, SSC
ISBN: 9781619470019
Publisher: Spatterlight Press
Published: 2012-06-14T00:00:00+00:00

The fourth day arrived. At breakfast Thifer engaged Magnus Ridolph in jovial conversation, plied him with questions about his ill-fated zoo, remarked several times at the surprising expense of feeding the exotic animals. Magnus Ridolph replied curtly. The mystery had eaten at his sheath of equanimity. And in spite of a distaste for using himself as bait he could conceive no other method by which the puzzle might be resolved.

He loaded the hopper with such equipment as he considered might be useful — plastron rope, a grenade-rifle, a case of condensed provisions, tanks of water, brandy, an infra-red viewer, binoculars, a high-pressure atomizer which he loaded with fluorescent dye, thinking that if invisible creatures manifested themselves, he could discern that nature by spraying them with dye. Also included was a portable TV transmitter by means of which he planned to keep in touch with Thifer.

Thifer watched the preparations with detached amusement. At last Magnus Ridolph was ready to depart. As if by sudden thought he looked ingenuously toward Thifer. “Perhaps you’d like to accompany me? You must be curious.”

Thifer snorted his mastodonic snort. “Not that curious! I was curious to the extent of a hundred thirty-two thousand munits, that’s enough.”

Magnus Ridolph nodded regretfully. “Well, goodby.”

“Goodby,” said Thifer. “Turn on the transmitter as soon as you arrive. I want to see what happens.”

The hopper rose on its four cross-arms. The propulsive jets took hold, the little platform slid off across the waste.

Thifer watched the hopper become a pink mote, then returned inside the dome. He removed his air-suit, brewed a gallon of tea, sat beside the telescreen.

Two hours later the call-light glowed. Thifer pushed the switch. A view of C appeared on the screen and he heard Magnus Ridolph’s voice.

“Everything is about as usual. No sign of anything strange. I’m hovering at twenty feet. Trip lines are threaded entirely around the oasis. A snake could not approach without signaling its presence. The sun is setting, as you see.

“I think I’ll turn on the flood-lights.” Thifer saw a sudden increase of illumination. “At intervals I plan to spray the area with the fluorescent dye. If anything more solid than the vacuum is present it should show up.”

Magnus Ridolph’s voice faded off. And Thifer, watching intently, saw the view on his screen change as Magnus Ridolph slid the hopper here and there around the oasis.

Darkness came, dead black sightlessness beyond the reach of the floodlights. On Thifer’s screen the oasis showed in harsh black and white contrast, the glass leaves on the trees glinting and twinkling like spray. Several hours passed, during which, at intervals, Magnus Ridolph made terse reports.

“Nothing unusual. No disturbance of any sort.”

Then Thifer heard him say, in a tone of puzzlement, “There’s a peculiar feeling — indescribable. A presence of —”

The words broke off, the view in the screen gave a tremendous blurring swing.

Thifer was gazing into blackness. He slowly arose. “Mmph,” he muttered. “Looks like the old goat earned his money the hard way.”

The following day when he

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