Lucky Starr The And The Moons of Jupiter (ls-5) by Isaac Asimov

Author:Isaac Asimov [Asimov, Isaac]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: sf
ISBN: SBN 0-345-31623-1
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Published: 1983-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

9. The Agrav Ship

Norrich cried out, "I don't know what you're doing, but Space, man, don't do anything sudden or Mutt will jump you!"

"You know exactly what I'm doing," said Bigman, "because you can see well enough I'm drawing my needle-gun, and I think you've heard I'm a dead shot. If your dog moves in my direction, it's the end for him."

"Don't hurt Mutt. Please!"

Bigman was taken aback by the sudden anguish in the other's voice. He said, "Just keep him quiet then and come with me and no one will be hurt. We'll go see Lucky. And if we pass anyone in the corridor, don't you say anything but 'Good day.' I'll be right beside you, you know."

Norrich said, "I can't go without Mutt."

"Sure you can," said Bigman. "It's only five steps down the corridor. Even if you were really blind, you could manage that-a fellow who can do threedees and all."

Lucky lifted the viewer from his head at the sound of the door opening and said, "Good day, Norrich. Where's Mutt?"

Bigman spoke before the other had a chance to answer. "Mutt's in Norrich's room, and Norrich doesn't need him. Sands of Mars. Lucky, Norrich isn't any blinder than we are!"

"What?"

Norrich began, "Your friend is quite mistaken, Mr. Starr. I want to say-"

Bigman snapped. "Quiet, you! I'll talk, and then when you're invited, you can make some remarks."

Lucky folded his arms. "If you don't mind, Mr. Norrich, I'd like to hear what Bigman has on his mind. And meanwhile, Bigman, suppose you put away the needle-gun."

Bigman did so with a grimace. He said, "Look, Lucky, I suspected this cobber from the beginning. Those threedee puzzles of his set me to thinking. He was just a little too good. I got to wondering right away that he might be the spy."

"That's the second time you've called me a spy," Norrich cried. "I won't stand for that."

"Look, Lucky," said Bigman, ignoring Norrich's outcry, "it would be a clever move to have a spy a supposed blind man. He could see an awful lot no one would think he was seeing. People wouldn't cover up. They wouldn't hide things. He could be staring right at some vital document and they'd think, 'It's only poor Norrich. He can't see.' More likely they wouldn't give it a thought at all. Sands of Mars, it would be a perfect setup!"

Norrich was looking more astonished with every moment. "But I am blind. If it's the threedee puzzles or the chess, I've explained-"

"Oh, sure, you've explained," Bigman said scornfully. "You've been practicing explanations for years. How come you sit in the privacy of your room with the lights on, though? When I walked in, Lucky, about half an hour ago, the light was on. He hadn't just put it on for me. The switch was too far away from where he was sitting. Why?"

"Why not?" said Norrich. "It makes no difference to me whether it's on or not, so it might as well be on as long as I'm awake for the convenience of those who come visiting, like you.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.