William Morrison by Light in Darkness

Author:Light in Darkness
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2012-06-09T15:42:29+00:00

AFTER a time, Marta S’un moved over toward Randall. “Mind if I walk alongside you?” she asked.

“Not at all.”

Mungh Fahz was too close by, and Randall deliberately lagged behind, so that he and the girl were soon alone—except for the Phobian, who hung on their trail with all the persistence of a single-minded robot.

“You needn’t mind him,” she said. “He’s to prevent you from escaping, but he can’t understand what we say.” “That thing isn’t a ‘he’; it’s an ‘it’.”

“It doesn’t matter. For all practical purposes, we’re alone.”

“Why?” he asked sharply. “Why doesn’t Mungh Fahz mind if you talk to me?”

“Because he thinks he knows what I’ll say. I’m supposed to be here—well, for the purpose you thought I had in mind when I first spoke to you.”

Randall nodded. He still wasn’t sure of her, although the atom-pistol had gone a long way toward convincing him. But he changed the subject with a certain abruptness.

“What is mundite?” he asked.

“It’s a mineral discovered only on Tellus-B. It’s supposed to be responsible for this planet’s being here.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Tellus-B is supposed to have come from far out in space by means of a hyperspatial short-cut. Some sort of explosion propelled it through other dimensions, so that it cut across a great many light-years of distance in a short time. Mundite is believed necessary for that explosion. Atomic disintegration is enough to set it off.”

Randall’s mind toyed with the thought. “And Duorr is interested in using mundite as an explosive?”

“That’s it,” she agreed. “A mundite explosion would put an atomic bomb to shame. It would blow an entire city out of this Universe as easily as you could disintegrate a copper coin.”

“I gather that Duorr knows very little about mundite.”

“Nobody knows very much. It was first discovered by a Martian, who didn’t tell a great deal of what he had found before he departed on an unintended hyperspatial journey himself. As a matter of fact, some people believe the whole thing is a hoax.”

“O’Brien didn’t think so? He discovered a lode of the stuff?”

“No one knows how.”

He stared at her. His expression, he knew, must have seemed unaccountable, for there was a puzzled expression on her face. Then she began to flush.

“Mungh Fahz is waiting for us. He’s watching.”

He glanced at the Martian brigand. “I suppose he wants to know how you’re getting along. You may as well turn in an encouraging report.”

He pulled her to him, and very deliberately kissed her. She pushed him away, but she was slow in doing so.

“That wasn’t necessary.”

“It will help convince Mungh Fahz when you tell him that I know where the mundite is, and that you are soon going to find out.”

“You’re bluffing.”

“I’m telling the truth. Do you want me to offer Mungh Fahz some additional evidence?”

She drew away hastily. “I don’t like your idea of evidence. We’d better overtake the others.”

That evening, when they made camp, there were intent expressions on the faces of Duorr and Mungh Fahz. Marta’s report had evidently filled them with hope.

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