the Moon is Hell by John Campbell

Author:John Campbell [Campbell, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2011-01-01T01:23:15.390000+00:00

EPILOGUE

ON JANUARY 30, against all advice, the Relief ship had taken off from Mojave on the long trip, after less than three weeks of training for the pilots. It shot into the heavens with all its power, striving to gather it's utmost speed before the detachable fuel-rocket tail was dropped. At a height of one thousand five hundred miles this was blown off, and hurled back. Now the main body of the rocket began to spout flame, and the ship continued on. Straight into space they bored, and five days later they were circling the Moon, in a steadily diminishing orbit, turning and moving with the utmost care as they accustomed themselves to the machine and the lesser gravity. They had located the Dome, and as they flashed around the satellite they sent back word to Earth. Then the door of the famous Castle was discovered, and radio messages sent. This was late evening of February 6,1982. They received no answer, and realized that the men were either dead, or so nearly so as to be unable to reach the apparatus. They strove desperately to reach the surface. Yet it was nearly noon, February 7, that they landed, a mile and three quarters from Page 126 the Castle, on an open space, the abandoned road to the Dome, actually.

Hurriedly the men prepared to start, each loaded with his space suit, two tanks of oxygen, batteries for heating and light, and great quantities of food and medicines. They were: Rocket Pilot Donald Murray, Rocket Pilot James R. Montey, Rocket Engineer and Mechanician

Bruce MacGregor and Dr. James Caldwell.

They reached the sealed door of the airlock, hurriedly glanced at the instructions, which they had already memorized from Rice's messages sent over a month ago, and entered. The manuscripts inside were at once picked up, and glanced at before any move was made to enter further.

Would the inner door open? The outer door was opened by hand, but the inner door operated electrically, and was controlled by the pumps. MacGregor threw the lever. The lights flashed on, and at once air rushed in, their distended suits relaxed somewhat, and the men rapidly released the air in them till they breathed the pure oxygen under three pounds pressure that was the Castle's atmosphere.

The inner door swung open! A lighted corridor extended before them, branching ahead, bathed in white light from a dozen electric lights fixed in the ceiling. The air was clean and sweet, and from somewhere came a low, smooth drone, a generator, and the soft sugh-chugh-sugh of air purifiers. But no other sound!

Caldwell halloed. No answer! Their hearts sank, as they ran forward, and turned down the corridor they knew lead to the main Hall and the men's quarters. New tunnels branched, tunnels not mentioned in the message sent, and five precious'minutes were wasted when they turned off into a wrong tunnel, lighted like the others, that had thrown Rice's careful directions askew.

They found the right one, and hurried down. In the Hall they stopped.

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