Red Planet by Heinlein Robert A

Author:Heinlein, Robert A. [Heinlein, Robert A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science Fiction, Young Adult, Classics, Fantasy, Adventure
ISBN: 9780307497536
Amazon: 0307497534
Goodreads: 6998595
Publisher: Del Rey
Published: 1949-01-01T08:00:00+00:00

“FRANK!”

“Uh? Yes, what is it, Jim?” Frank’s voice was listless.

“What do you see ahead?”

“Ahead?” Frank tried manfully to make his eyes focus, to chase the fuzz from them. “Uhh, it’s the canal, the green belt I mean. I guess we made it.”

“And what else? Don’t you see a tower?”

“What? Where? Oh, there—Yes, I guess I do. It’s a tower all right.”

“Well, for heaven’s sake, don’t you know what that means? Martians!”

“Yeah, I suppose so.”

“Well, show some enthusiasm!”

“Why should I?”

“They’ll take us in, man! Martians are good people; you’ll have a warm place to rest, before we go on.”

Frank looked a bit more interested, but said nothing. “They might even know Gekko,” Jim went on. “This is a real break.”

“Yeah, maybe so.”

It took another hour of foot-slogging before the little Martian town was reached. It was so small that it boasted only one tower, but to Jim it was even more beautiful than Syrtis Major. They followed its wall and presently found a gate.

They had not been inside more than a few minutes when Jim’s hopes, so high, were almost as low as they could be. Even before he saw the weed-choked central garden, the empty walks and silent courts had told him the bad truth: the little town was deserted.

Mars must once have held a larger native population than it does today. Ghost cities are not unknown and even the greater centers of population, such as Charax, Syrtis Major and Minor, and Hesperidum, have areas which are no longer used and through which tourists from Earth may sometimes be conducted. This little town, apparently never of great importance, might have been abandoned before Noah laid the keel of his ship.

Jim paused in the plaza, unwilling to speak. Frank stopped and sat down on a metal slab, its burnished face bright with characters that an Earthly scholar would have given an arm to read. “Well,” said Jim, “rest a bit, then I guess we had better find a way to get down onto the canal.”

Frank answered dully, “Not for me. I’ve come as far as I can.”

“Don’t talk that way.”

“I’m telling you, Jim, that’s how it is.”

Jim puzzled at it. “I tell you what—I’ll search around. These places are always honeycombed underneath. I’ll find a place for us to hole up overnight.”

“Just as you like.”

“You just stay here.” He started to leave, then suddenly became aware that Willis was not with him. He then recalled that the bouncer had jumped down when they entered the city. “Willis—where’s Willis?”

“How would I know?”

“I’ve got to find him. Oh, Willis! Hey, Willis! Come, boy!” His voice echoed around the dead square.

“Hi, Jim!”

It was Willis, rightly enough, his voice reaching Jim from some distance. Presently he came into sight. But he was not alone; he was being carried by a Martian.

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