LAND OF THE GIANTS
SLINGSHOT FOR A DAVID
James Bradwell

PREFACE

Layered blankets of cloud shrouded the greenish-brown curvature of Earth. Only the distant pin-pricks of alien stars broke the monotony of velvet space as the sub-orbital rocket ship reached its zenith. Flight 703 was on time. "How about coffee, Betty?" Stewardess Betty Hamilton winked at co-pilot Dan Erickson and replied, "How about it, Steve?" For a second, pilot Steve Burton did not answer. His gaze wandered across the horizon, caught momentarily by a weird display of solar energy streaking upwards beyond the blocking mass of the planet. Then, turning his attention to Betty, he grinned. "Forget the wisecracks, honey. I'm thirsty..." "Just because you're thirsty is no reason why I should do extra work." Dan laughed. "Seems we have a mutiny on our hands, Steve." Betty bent over Steve's shoulder, kissed his cheek quickly. "Not me, captain. I'm loyal - to the core." "One coffee coming up?" Steve smiled. Betty shrugged, began opening the interconnecting door that separated crew from passengers. "If you insist, sir!" She blew a kiss and vanished. "Great girl," Dan remarked absently as he turned to check the array of lights blinking and winking on his control panel. "All systems A.O.K. Power reducing for descent . . ." Capable hands moved swiftly across the panel, automatically carrying out duties so familiar as to be commonplace now. "Dan. I've been thinking..." Erickson grinned at his partner. "About coffee - or Betty?" "Neither!" Steve's face had suddenly tensed. "This Fitzhugh - have you given him any thought??" Dan stared at Steve. "No. Should I?" "I've a feeling he's a wrong 'un. The way he clutches his baggage..." Steve shrugged. "I'm half-inclined to notify London. Say," and he glanced at the increasing display of solar flare- up. "That's a massive..." Without warning, the ship shuddered violently. Steve felt the controls almost torn from his hands. "What the...?"

Inside the passenger cabin, Alex Fitzhugh felt his bag ripped from his grasp. He blanched, dived for it only to slam into Betty as she waltzed at a crazy angle down the aisle between the seats. Coffee went flying.

"Dan - we're out of control!" The ship bucked, a tortured groan of plates filling the cabin. Vision ended a few feet beyond the forward windows as the full fury of the solar storm raged round them. "I'll contact London..." Dan grabbed the communicator. "Come in, London ... come in, London. Flight 703 from Los Angeles to London control..." Static erupted in his ear and he grimaced. "It's hopeless, Dan," Steve yelled, fighting the resisting craft. 'I can't hold her..."

The hour seemed an eternity to young Barry Lockridge. He had never experienced anything so frightening in his life yet his thoughts were not on his own sad plight. His gentle hands cuddled Chipper, his steadfast friend and only companion. The dog's small whimpers brought answering cajoles as the boy tried to calm the animal's fears. Betty wanted to comfort boy and dog and couldn't. Ever since the turbulence had reached disastrous proportions she had been belted in her seat - incapable of moving away from the padded chair. She was glad that the company had seen fit to provide thickly-padded seating. Without it they would all have suffered bruises.

"It's.it's easing, Steve." Beyond the windows the blurring spectrum of brilliant light began to fade. Steve was drenched with perspiration. His hands felt numb. All the way he had fought the terrible storm. Now... "I'll try contacting London again," Dan said softly. Steve nodded. He didn't dare speak the words forming in his mind. He was painfully aware of the mysterious readings he'd taken at the height of the storm. Readings he'd never before encountered. They'd been buffeted and bombarded by a fantastic magnetic eruption - and, at one stage, enveloped by dangerous radiation. If Dan could raise London.

Mark Wilson whooshed air from tormented lungs. Across from him, Valerie Scott sat dead-pan, hands fastened in a steeple of fear. The girl had taken it worst of all, Mark thought. She alone had let the terror of their nightmare flight overpower her. The others had been afraid but, apparently, with the easing of the situation they were slowly reverting to their normal selves. Not Valerie. She sat unmoving, frozen into incapability. Mark released his safety-belt, crossed to the girl. His hand rested gently on her shoulder and, suddenly, her eyes widened and a scream ripped from her throat. Mark smiled. At least she'd recovered...

"The radio's dead, Steve." Steve didn't answer. He stared at the black void beyond the ship - a void that, somehow, seemed alien. The memory of the fantastic display of multi-hued lightning they'd encountered remained deeply etched in his mind and he recalled ancient suppositions... "Give it to me straight, Steve" The pilot was aware of a tense atmosphere in the cabin. He glanced at Dan. The light-brown face showed the strain he felt. "Something's wrong, isn't it?" Dan asked quietly. "Yes... yes, I think it is," Steve replied. "What?" Steve took a deep breath. "Maybe I'm haywire, Dan. But I believe we're no longer within our solar system..." Dan frowned. "You're kiddin'..." Steve's finger jabbed impatiently at the instruments. "I saw it, Dan. We registered speeds the ship is unable to obtain. For a good hour we were travelling faster than the indicators could reach. And those lightning effects... I think we've gone through hyper- space!"

Betty smiled at her passengers. "I'll find out when we expect to land," she told them with a confidence she honestly didn't feel. She caught Mark's sarcastic eye and hurriedly opened the connecting door to the pilot's cabin. She felt uncomfortable under Mark's searching gaze. The man was intelligent... probably knew more about the phenomena than she. "Hi, Betty!" Steve shot a warning glance at Dan, forcing a smile as the worried girl faced him. "What's the score?" "We're trying to contact London," Steve replied lightly. "The storm knocked the radio out, though." "How about making us some coffee?" Dan grinned. Betty playfully slapped his cheek. "The last time I did that I was almost killed." She paused, then, "That reminds me. Steve - I think Fitzhugh is carrying contraband!"

Alex Fitzhugh chewed his lower lip, clinging to his bag. The storm had caused a delay - and every minute over flight time increased the risk of revealment. He'd had it worked out to perfection. Board this flight in Los Angeles, reach London before a warning could be flashed via satellite and a quick hop-skip to Paris and safety...

"Look, Steve!" Dan pointed dead-ahead. Lights suddenly broke through the blackness. A pattern of streets emerged - long, narrow strips criss- crossed by other lighted thoroughfares. "Thank goodness," Steve breathed. "I was wrong!" Dan laughed. "You almost had me believing that yarn about leaving our home system, too!"

CHAPTER ONE

THE ship nestled under a protective canopy of leaves, safe now from the falling dew. It had been a herculean task and I was proud of the group. "Well?" Dan Erickson waited for my reply. I sensed his rising impatience. We all felt frustration surging inside us, and the latest encounter hadn't eased our worries any, either. "It should do the trick, Dan. We had to do it. The ship couldn't take another day of that pounding!" Dan stared at the dense undergrowth surrounding us. "I feel sick every time I look at our situation, Steve," he remarked. "See this..." and his hand touched a soaring mushroom-capped stalk. "I ate those with steaks back home. Here - there are no steaks, no ordinary mushrooms. Just things big as a redwood tree." I wanted to laugh - and couldn't. What Dan said was true. Ever since Flight 703 had been hit by an electromagnetic storm and drawn, somehow, beyond the rim of space to this alien planet of giants, we had constantly battled against a nature gone wild. Everything was to scale - but a scale that relegated us to ant-on-a- chocolate-cake size. "Forget it, Dan. We've all got the same feeling of being shipwrecked - marooned in a gigantic land. It seems silly having to erect a protective canopy against dewdrops falling on the ship but without that the hull could have suffered serious structural damage." "Steve," he replied with a lopsided grin now, "I hate this sense of inferiority. On Earth I knew I was inferior to top businessmen like Mark..." "Somebody mention my name?" Mark Wilson smiled easily at Dan. "Yeah - I did!" Dan said. "I was speaking about inferiority complexes." "And I give you one?" Mark asked queriously. Dan laughed. "Not here, Mark. You're too ordinary - like me. The hell of it is, I've got a down on every blade of grass." "Who hasn't? We're all suffering from over-exposure to king- sized surrounds," Mark said. "In time we'll get accustomed to plants larger than ourselves ... and not just trees, either. They're too immense to bother about. I mean - grass and weeds and ordinary little leaves." "And what about cats, dogs and people?" I asked softly. Mark eyed me speculatively. "I thought you were supposed to keep our moral up, Steve." "I am - but I'm still human. I feel Dan's inability to cope, too. We all feel it. You, Betty, Fitzhugh, Valerie, Barry. Why, I'll bet Chipper thinks he's dreaming every time he passes one of these gigantic trees." Mark laughed. Dan shook his head disbelievingly. "What's the serious programme for today, Steve?" "Sleep. It's too dangerous working in daylight. We don't want another run-in with the giants." Silence greeted my words. We all thought back - to that first day when we met the strange inhabitants of this weird planet. I threw aside the mood swiftly. Dwelling upon past troubles served no useful purpose. "Tell the others, Dan. Hit the sack. I'll take the first watch..." "I'll come with you, Steve." Mark gave me a warning glance which Dan failed to catch. I nodded imperceptively, replied, "Alright, Mark. We'll wake you in three hours, Dan." Dan was already part-way across the clearing. He didn't appear to hear. Or, if he did, he was already wondering what Mark wanted to tell me in privacy. Dan was that sort. Always a jump ahead. We'd constructed a shelter for sleeping quarters and a forward observation post. During daylight, we maintained a watch to warn against approaching giants. We'd been almost caught before and we were well aware that the inhabitants of the planet had offered rewards for the capture of "the little people". Mark sat beside me, staring at the nightmarish girth of a huge tree just beyond our "listening post" perimeter. "What was so important Dan couldn't be told?" I asked. His eyes swung slowly to mine. "If we don't get a fresh supply of radium the hydrogen cells will become completely useless, Steve..." I felt fear gnaw at my vitals. The hydrogen cells were our main power source. Without them we would never leave this planet. "I reckon we've got three days," he said. "After that I can't be responsible for repairs to the ship." He wasn't being dramatic. Mark was one of the most successful engineers on Earth. He'd turned his knowledge into a million-dollar corporation and, unlike some tycoons, he had kept in touch with his profession. There wasn't a thing Mark didn't know about motive-power and fuel cells for sub-orbital craft. Even our ship had been built in one of Mark Wilson's super-plants back home. After I'd been forced to crash-land here I'd gladly given Mark the task of getting the ship space-worthy again. Without him we hadn't a prayer of ever seeing Earth. And now... "Can't we do anything else?" "Afraid not, Steve. The rate of deterioration is increasing daily. The crash damaged the cell-housing and we've got a massive seepage taking place. I can repair the housing fast enough but we've lost too much energy already to effectively prevent the cells from imploding." My blood froze. Implosion! The fear of every space-man. If the cells reached critical level the ship would vanish in a puff of wisp-like smoke. It wouldn't even be noticed on this planet. "Then we've got to find you some radium, Mark!" He stared beyond my shoulder. The silence was pregnant with suspense. Where did we find radium? And, when we found it, how did we manage to get it back to the ship? "It's a real problem, Steve. The worst we've faced." I nodded. That was the underestimation of the decade. "I've got to wake the others, Mark. We can't afford sleeping time. Not until..." His hand clapped across my mouth. His whisper sounded disastrously loud in my ear. "Giants! Shush!" Slowly, his hand slipping from my mouth, I turned. Looming above us, faces shrouded in the shadows of early morning reflections, two giants moved through the undergrowth - picking their path carefully, treading softly between the trees. We watched, each conscious that a reckless step, or a hasty movement on our part, could cause destruction. 'This should be about right," one giant said. His voice was the rumble of thunder coming from above us even although they were obviously speaking in conspiratorial whispers. "We can build the platform here." His companion hesitated. I could see the puzzled frown on his face as he peered left and right, up and down. He had staring, wild eyes hidden almost behind thick-lensed spectacles. As he moved his head the light flashed on the lenses, throwing beams of brilliant- reflection through the forest. "What's the matter?" The bespectacled giant shook his head slowly. "I... don't know. I've got a feeling we're being watched. Does it have to be here? Couldn't we...?" "No! I've covered the entire woods and this is the only place where you'll have a clear view of their building." The giant leant against the tree, studying his companion. "Don't you want to go through with the scheme?" "Of course I do! But remember, I'm the one who has to take all the risks. They won't be searching for you. You're sure...?" The first giant laughed. The vibrations buzzed in my ears. Suddenly, I felt sympathy for lesser beings back on Earth. We seldom give them a thought - always believing that our infectious laughter can only bring them joy, too. How wrong we are! How insensitive to the fragile hearing organs of tiny creatures! The laughter stopped. "You can back out if you want!" The second giant shrugged, beaming reflections down near us as his head hung. "Maybe I'm not the right man for this job." He turned away, peering through the gigantic trees at something beyond our field of vision. "Steve - look!" Mark's hand tightened on my arm. As the second giant concentrated on whatever it was he could see, his companion began to smile evilly and, drawing a huge, wickedly-gleaming knife, moved behind the other. "Let's get out of here - quick!" I snapped, grabbing Mark's arm. I could visualize what came next and, if my estimation was right, a giant would soon topple and crash across the spot where our observation post was. We started running. Tangled weeds slowed our progress and we'd barely covered more than a few yards when the terrible gurgle of death reached our ears. I half-turned. There, his knife buried to the hilt, stood the giant - smiling as his companion slowly reached for his back. I was fascinated and only semi-conscious of where I ran until... "Steve! No..." My foot came to an abrupt halt and I pitched forward. My hands ploughed through sticky mud and I slid forward, feeling the abrasive dirt tear at my flesh. Then the ground shook and I felt myself encased in hot, gushing pools of red liquid. I knew what had happened - instinctively. I was trapped - pressed deeper into the mud and blood by the giant's motionless weight. Somehow, I found time to ponder how I was still alive. The giant had toppled exactly as I'd figured and fallen on me - yet, I hadn't felt him. Just the earthquaking upheaval and the final steady pressure as a part of him kept pushing me deeper, deeper into my mud- grave. I couldn't breathe ... and, slowly, as if a great fog was closing round me, I slipped into darkness - and blissful unconsciousness...

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CHAPTER TWO

"STEVE ... can you hear me, Steve?" Distant entreaties brought me round. I could feel frantic hands clawing and tugging and the mud kept clinging, sucking at me. "Snap out of it, Steve. Help me..." Warm liquid coated my face, glued my eyelids. I forced them open and tried to smile. My face was unable to move and panic hit me until I realised I was covered in drying mud and blood. I could faintly see Mark's hands now - digging to form a cup-shaped hollow under my face. "Thank God!" Mark grinned then. A huge, flesh-coloured stump lay alongside my cheek and I could discern the clumped hairs on its surface. Now I knew how fortunate I'd been. When the giant had toppled his hand only had fallen over me. The stump near my face was a finger - motionless, bloody, gigantic. "Can you wriggle, Steve?" Mark crawled closer. "Are you hurt?" I tried moving and, except for a slight stabbing pain in the lower region of my back, I felt fine. "There doesn't appear to be anything broken, Mark," I told him, seeing the flooding relief spread across his face. "Give me your hands, Steve. I'll try pulling you free." I slowly edged my hands upwards, from under me, feeling the mud drag. With a superhuman effort I managed to scoop them from the mud and then, Mark was clasping me, pulling mightily against the suctioning mud's desire to claim me for its own. "You're... coming... out!" I felt myself slide more easily now and wriggled from under the giant's dead hand. My legs squirmed, kicked - and I was lying beside Mark, breathing laboriously as I gazed along the giant's length. He seemed an impossible size stretched in death. The massive head was turned away from us but the matted hair was a forest of coarse-grained vines springing from a pale-fleshed skull. "The other one took off after killing him," Mark explained. "I waited as long as I dared before coming to see what had happened. You know," and he grinned then, "I'll never forget how you looked when he fell on you!" I stopped working on my face. My handkerchief was a crimson- muddy mess but, now, I could move every muscle. I grinned. "Thanks, I'll remember that. If you ever should..." "Wait, Steve!" He was tense, kneeling, staring at the giant. I followed his gaze. Nothing seemed extraordinary to me. Nothing except the giant. "His watch!" Not far from where we were, the giant's wrist lay partially encased in mud. Strapped round the huge, hairy wrist was a gleaming- faced watch - immense in comparison to our tiny timepieces. "It's phosphorescent!" Mark climbed quickly to his feet, hurried along the giant's arm, halted directly opposite the watch. "Steve - here's our radium supply!" He swung on me, overjoyed. "All we've got to do is get it off and." His features darkened and he turned again to the watch, a puzzled frown replacing the previous pleasure. "How, Steve? How do we get that off?" We considered the problem in silence. Certainly we couldn't lift that gigantic hand. Not even with the help of our companions. The watch was bigger than either of us - round, thick-cased, heavy. Its steady ticking sounded like the thud-thud of a steam-hammer in our minute ears. And, the strap was fastened under the giant's wrist, beyond our reach. "Get back to the ship, Mark. Tell the others. This is going to be a united effort!" Mark stared at me. "How much time do we have?" I laughed. The situation was ridiculous. We wanted a simple, day-glow wrist-watch yet we were bothered bothered by a lack of time. I understood the problem - only too well. In this land our strength counted for very little. We were only little people! "I don't know yet, Mark. But hurry... it's about the only hope we have of getting your radium!" I watched as he swung and raced away. Alone with the deceased giant, I walked up and down his considerable length. It was a weird sensation parading back and forth along a dead man. No matter how we considered these alien people, they were men. Giant humans. Super beings - yet so far behind our own race in scientific advancement. Their instrumentation was crude - almost fifty years in arrears of Earth. Blood seeped from the knife wound in the giant's back. The soaring haft of the knife still protruded from his clothing. I studied his face as, once, I circled him. There was something pathetically soft about the frozen features. Any hardness he had shown in life had vanished with the last spark of existence. And, looking into those glazed eyes, I wondered what he and the killer had been scheming. They'd spoken about building a platform... I shuddered. What if the killer returned and went ahead with his plans? For us, the observation post was a long way from the ship but not for giants. Anything erected here must come perilously close to destroying us - and the ship. At all costs, we had to prevent this happening. But what good was a platform in the woods? And which building could they see only from this point? I was puzzled but the problem remained a mystery then as... "Steve... Steve..." I hurried round the gigantic head. Mark and the others stood there, impatiently waiting for me. "I've got it figured, Steve," Dan shouted as I reached them. He waved a section of ramp, exclaimed, "We can lever his hand off the mud with this..." I examined the instrument. It was metal, strong enough to support an elephant - Earth-size! "It could work, Dan," I allowed. "We're just about the size of his palm. Allow one of his fingers to weigh the same as an ordinary man and that makes five of us to lever the fingers up. But his palm must be seven times heavier so what then?" "And," Valerie Scott said softly, "we've got to lift his wrist, too!" "Bright girl," Betty replied with a smile of congratulation. Fitzhugh snorted. Ever since we landed the man had shown us the difference between the criminal mind and that of a normal, law- abiding citizen. The feeling of above-it and work-is-for-the-suckers attitude was a constant irritation where Fitzhugh was concerned. Only young Barry seemed able to penetrate the man's tough hide and even that was a result of hero-worship. Barry, for some strange, unfathomable reason, considered Fitzhugh the perfect example of mankind. I guessed it was because Alex Fitzhugh had been forced, through disassociation with the adults, to nurture a friendship with our orphan passenger and had poured tales of heroic proportions into an avid young ear. "If you ask me," Fitzhugh commented, "you are raising a storm in a mud-heap. All this trouble for a giant's watch. If it's the passing of time you wish to measure then, please, allow me to offer my own admirable watch for your experiments." Mark scowled. Dan frowned, shrugged when he caught my gaze and let his flesh wrinkle into a suffering smile. "Fitzhugh," I said, "perhaps I'd better explain..." "Indeed, Captain." Ignoring his sarcasm, I continued, "Mark tells me we require radium if we're ever going to leave this planet. The hydrogen cells aboard the ship are leaking. Unless we get fresh radium the cells will become useless and we all can appreciate what that means." "Steve..." I smiled down at Barry. His small, urchin-intelligent face was wreathed in puzzlement. "How will the giant's watch get us radium? Wouldn't our watches do the same thing?" I patted his head. When we returned to Earth I'd see that Barry found a decent home. I knew we all thought along those lines. He was a good kid and his love for Chipper had been a lesson for us all. "Our watches are too small to be of use, Barry. This one..." and I motioned at the giant's, "contains enough crude phosphorous to enable Mark to make temporary repairs. You see, radium is found in phosphorous..." "I see, Steve," Barry replied, placing Chipper at his feet. "Stay there, Chipper. I've got a lot of work to do." He turned his gaze on Fitzhugh. "Haven't we, Mr. Fitzhugh?" We waited as Fitzhugh blustered. The man was an asset - when he decided to co-operate. Right then he was torn between his image and a desire to avoid manual labour, at any cost. "It is a debatable question, Barry," Fitzhugh remarked. "Always providing we could manage to remove the watch, "and his eyes swung to regard the giant with disgust, "which I find difficult to believe, there is a serious doubt in my mind whether Mark can effectively remove the radium in large enough quantities to revitalize the hydrogen cells." He stood puffing out his chest, master of the situation. "If we stand talking we'll never accomplish anything," Dan said with a loaded glance at Fitzhugh. The man was immune to sarcasm. He was aloof from our entreaties. He was the great criminal brain. "Let's try it anyway, Mr. Fitzhugh," Barry cajoled. Fitzhugh glared at his young soul-companion and reluctantly moved in the right direction - wordlessly offering his services. I grinned, said, "Okay, Mark - you're in command of the operation." "Dan - bring the lever over here..." Mark was already in action, directing his workmen - and workwomen - with his customary authority. Earth had lost a genius when our ship was drawn off-course to the land of the giants. But we had gained a valuable asset. In Mark's engineering ability lay our hope of salvation.

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CHAPTER THREE

EVERY attempt to raise the giant's wrist had met with abject failure. The mud around the area failed to provide a solid base for the lever and our combined strength was not enough to lift the arm without some other method of purchase. Perspiration covered each of us and, most of all, Fitzhugh. I had to admit, the man had worked as hard as any but now, when success was a distant hope, he folded. "Enough! I refuse to expend more energy." He slumped to the ground and panted his objections. "This is senseless, Captain. We'll never raise that dead arm enough to enable someone to crawl underneath. Even if we did - can you guarantee one person's strength will be enough to loosen the strap?" Mark frowned blackly. I could see he, too, had overlooked that vital part of the operation. Fitzhugh was right. Our efforts had been doomed before we began. "Can't we cut the strap?" I stared at Barry. The boy held his head at an angle, considering the watch and Chipper who was nosing round the extended dead fingers. "With what?" Valerie asked. Mark and Dan and I examined our equipment. We always carried a sawing instrument when we went on jobs like this but the strap was, to us anyway, two inches thick and about eighteen inches wide. "We could manage it, Steve." Dan raced a finger lightly along the edge. "It'll take a lot of hacking, though." Mark shivered unconsciously. I felt his apprehension. Whatever we thought about the giants, to start "hacking" when flesh lay under the strap did not appeal. "There's got to be another..." Mark began, stopped with head inclined. We stiffened. Each of us heard the noise. Thump-thump... crack! "Giants! Chipper... here, boy! Come on, Chipper!" Barry bolted forward, grabbing the startled dog, sweeping it protectively under his arm. "Move the stuff - fast!" I assumed command, immediately. Each grabbed something and Dan, Mark and I struggled with the lever. It was wedged - its end deep in the clinging mud. Every second, the heavy thud of approaching footsteps grew louder and the crash of branches breaking sounded almost in our ears. "Leave it!" I barked. "Start running for cover!" We made it, just in time to see three giants emerge from the gigantic trees. The killer was there, grinning as he stared down at his victim... "Take his ankles! We can't afford any slips now!" he ordered. From our vantage point further into the undergrowth, we could see the other two giants seize the dead one's feet and begin to drag his body through the forest. I watched as the extended arm slid through the mud, snagging our lever, drawing it with the watch across the broken terrain. "There goes our last chance of ever getting off this planet," Dan whispered. I couldn't speak. I felt suddenly tired, old. We were almost certainly condemned to stay on the planet of giants and my voice refused to betray the outward confidence I gave as an example for the others. "Steve... it's not too late! Look!" I followed Betty's outflung hand. My heart pounded. Perhaps... "Come on... come on!" Dan prayed fervently. The watch-strap had caught on a rock and was pulling - forced to yield by the strength of the two giants dragging the corpse. Slowly, frighteningly slowly, the strap stretched - to the very limit of its resilience. "It...it...it..." Barry gasped. Snap! I wanted to grab Valerie and dance. The corpse slid away from us - leaving behind the precious watch. "Steve... I can't believe this!" Dan murmured prayfully. "I've heard of miracles but never anything like this. If I was the slightest way religious I'd erect a church - or a shrine on that rock!" Looking around me, and knowing my innermost feelings, too, I could see they all felt a sensation of supreme guidance at that moment. Fate had, for once, dealt us a king-sized kindness. "The long-arm of coincidence!" Fitzhugh said softly. "There is no doubt in my mind," and he smiled tenderly down at Barry, "that my guardian angel has followed me across space to this dreadful place. I remember, many years ago..." "Not now, Fitzhugh." Fitzhugh glared at Valerie. "Young woman, it may never occur to one so inexperienced in the affairs of men to quietly reap the rewards of wisdom stored in my head but, I can assure you, past events have a bearing here." He glanced at each of us, waiting for further interruption. When none came, he continued, "I recall a similar incident when I was less inclined to take advantage of golden opportunities..." "You mean chances to steal other people's belongings?" Dan said with a huge grin. Fitzhugh snorted, seized Barry's hand, said haughtily, "I am not appreciated in this company. You and I, Barry, shall return to the ship - immediately." "Not before we collect the watch, Fitzhugh," I cautioned. His eyes bored into me. "I am exhausted, Captain. Surely you can get along without risking my health?" "Fitzhugh," I hid a grin as I tried to sound authoritative, "we need everyone - including Barry. If Chipper could carry something he'd be included, too." Like an automaton, Fitzhugh walked into the open, head high, affecting the attitude of a misunderstood martyr. The rest followed, gathered round the watch and, bending backs, hoisted the heavy object aloft. Each step became an unbearable agony that had to be endured as the weight of the giant watch increased with distance. We staggered along a familiar path, the watch swaying precariously as we negotiated obstacles until, finally, we reached the shelter. Then, watch on the ground and covered temporarily under a patchwork of leaves, Fitzhugh wandered off on his own, sulking no doubt. "Steve, why is Mr. Fitzhugh always going against what the rest of us want?" I smiled as Chipper licked my hand. Barry held the dog in a fond embrace, watching my face closely. I could have said many things concerning Alex Fitzhugh yet I didn't feel inclined to spoil a boy's dream. There was an almost pathetic wish expressed on Barry's face - a wish to find his hero had feet of concrete, not clay. "Every man has his own specific ideas how to do things, Barry," I told him. "If we all thought alike inventors would never have discovered the telephone, electricity, solid fuel for rocket- propulsion systems, and millions of other useful devices. Fitzhugh does not run with the herd. He believes, rightly or wrongly, that he is unique. Inside his head he feels he is a very important person. More so than any of us." Barry smiled. "But he isn't, eh?" Mark laughed. "No, he isn't, kid." Dan placed his arm around the boy and winked at us. "I've a confession to make, Barry. I think Fitzhugh is a wonderful man. He needs you to help him communicate with us..." "Huh? " Barry frowned. "I mean," Dan hastened to add, "he thinks above our heads. When he's with you he can simplify his language." "Oh! I see." Barry was far from understanding but he'd asked his question quota and he was not a boy to overburden anyone with senseless queries. "Run along, Barry. Take Chipper and maybe Fitzhugh will explain what happened when he was less experienced in the wiles of the world," Dan laughed. The boy shrugged, spoke directly to Chipper. "Come on, boy. Mr. Fitzhugh makes more sense than all of them!" With that he grinned, raced off, Chipper yapping and jumping at his heels. "A real nice kid," Dan remarked softly. "So nice he's melting Fitzhugh," Betty said. Valerie gave her a peculiar look. "Mark," I changed the subject quickly, "you'd better get some sleep. You'll want to work on the watch tonight." "I could start now, Steve." I was adamant. "No. We stick to the rules - we work only at night. Let's accept the miracle of the watch and trust in our own good judgement to stay out of the giants' hair. I think we can forget the observation post today. They won't be back Famous last words!

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CHAPTER FOUR

IN the half-light of dusk the undergrowth assumed the special magic of all forests. Shadows played strange tricks and ordinary objects became nightmarish projections stretching imagination into realms of dark, mysterious suspense. I stood in deep shadow, watching the infiltrating fingers of night reach through the grass. All around, the strained silence grew heavier - and denser. Not far away, the outline of a giant formed an integral part of a monstrous tree - towering above the darker ground so that, about his head, a halo of fading light formed a viewable aura. I waited, silent as he, motionless as he - ready to jump in the opposite direction once he moved. I recognized him. There was no mistaking that evil face, nor forgetting how he had knifed his former companion. About twenty yards away, Dan signalled me. His dark-skin blended into the falling night but the lighter colour of his uniform was easily discernible at this stage. I followed the direction of his gestures. There, frozen again into immobility, was another giant. We were surrounded... if such can be said of two huge men out-flanking our tiny home. Faintly, through the forest, the flickering pin-pricks of city lights leapt into being. At first, when we landed here, the nearness of the city scared us but, as time passed, we grew used to having the giants on our doorstep. They seldom ventured into the area around us. A few times, after the initial discovery that little people existed on their planet, they had sent parties into the forest searching for us. But it's hard work trying to locate things the size of a mere hand - especially if those same things are intelligent human beings with the ability to move fast and take cover at the first approach of danger. After their abortive sorties they'd left us alone, occasionally setting traps that even we knew they expected to fail. As the distant lights grew brighter, the two giants moved. The trembling ground alone could have warned us of their presence. To us, the intimate caress of sole on earth brought a violent reaction something like an Earth "quake". Vibrations shook me and the ear- shattering noise almost deafened. I could see Dan cover his ears in agony. Then... Their voices were whispers to them but booming stage asides for us to contemplate. "Everything's quiet now. Signal the others to proceed with caution." "Must we build the platform under cover of darkness?" "Fool! Of course we must. We dare not take the slightest risk. If they suspect anything's amiss we've lost our chance to get him. Remember, he only visits headquarters once a month. None of us can count on being available this time next month, either." They stood there, dark blobs against the darker forest, heads almost together, seemingly inseparable yet, from the tensed atmosphere, so at odds. I began to wonder if they'd ever move again when, suddenly, a huge blossom of light burst into being. It blinked, shone, cut off only to burst into brilliance several more times. "What are they doing, Steve?" Dan moved closer to me, staring up at the giants. "I'm beginning to get an idea," I told him, "and I don't enjoy what is going round and round in my head. I think they're plotting to assassinate one of the security men." Dan gasped. "They can't, Steve! If they do." He looked at me in sheer agony. I understood his feelings. If I was right in my assumption there'd be hell to pay and every possibility we'd be unearthed. Naturally, the security men would come searching for clues and that would bring us to light. We couldn't move the ship - not far enough, away. "Tell the others to stay out of sight, Dan. I'll stay here and glean whatever information I can but," and I patted his back reassuringly, "I'd say this is our worst break to date." "Good luck," he said and melted into the night. As I waited, the giants worked. There were seven of them now - and the muffled noises they made were thunderous roars to me. I knew they couldn't be heard down there, in the city. But the knowledge was small comfort. When they spoke, which was seldom, their every word was clearly heard. I had my proof now. They were constructing a platform - like a hunting blind on Earth - from where a gunman could draw a bead on the security headquarters. And, horrors, their target was the security chief himself. More than ever, I knew we'd have to do something to stop them. Or prevent their proposed victim from appearing. At last, their work was finished and the camouflaged platform was erected. They'd done an excellent job. Even as they guardedly shone flashlights over it I could tell it would be impossible to spot it during daylight. It rested on a spread of high branches and formed an integral part of the tree now. Leaves shielded it from below and the sides. All that remained was for one of the giants to climb onto it with his gun... "They'll never see it," one giant rumbled. "We've got to be absolutely sure of that," the killer giant replied grimly. "One of us stays up there until the day after tomorrow. We can work shifts - it won't be difficult making a switch during the day. Nobody will notice somebody taking a walk in the woods and if they do they'll see same one come out again." A third giant laughed. "I like that. What do we do? Wear distinctive clothing?" "Exactly! Now, you go first. I'll have you relieved in the morning." The laughing giant ceased guffawing, chewed his nails nervously. "Er. not me." "You!" The firm command helped the giant decide to obey. Perhaps he was remembering their dead companion. Perhaps he was loyal to their cause. Whatever the reason, he climbed into the tree and fastened the draped curtain of leaves across the platform. "How does it feel?" "Not bad. Don't leave me here too long, though. I could start getting cramped." The killer laughed softly. "If you do - don't get down. A little suffering won't do you any harm." Muttered oaths followed the rest as they departed then. I sympathized with the watcher. Just sitting up there with nothing to occupy his mind except thoughts of betrayal would be murder. And there must always be the nagging worry of a traitor in every illegal camp. When one of their number could be cold-bloodily murdered the terror would be ten-fold. Back at the camp, I faced my companions. Each face showed the strain we felt. Not many hours ago we'd offered thanks for the watch. Now, we were finding that the gift had strings attached. Strangulation cords, at that. "What's the verdict, Steve?" Do we abandon the ship?" I answered Mark's question before expressing my opinions. I had several but they could wait. "Not on your life, Mark. The ship is our castle; our flying exit from this alien land." "A castle without walls; a flying machine without means of propulsion!" Fitzhugh lowered himself to the ground and cradled head in hands, rocking back and forth. "We've got to face facts. There is no hope, no tomorrow. Gentlemen," his hands dropped away and he looked at us, one by one, including the girls with an acknowledging nod. "Ladies, and gentlemen - our doom is sealed. Life has run its course and the beyond beckons this night. I say, leave the ship and run. Hide. Find a cave and crawl inside to die. Go now while there is yet time." Dan scowled and bent over Fitzhugh. "Where do you get off telling us how to protect ourselves? What have you ever done to justify your being here? Tell me, Fitzhugh, who gave you the authority to say we quit fighting?" Fitzhugh got his look of hurt but the man's innate belief in his abilities was stronger. He stood up, faced Dan. "I, Alexander Fitzhugh, am my own master. If I die it is because I alone have made the decision. Be heroic, my good pilot. Be an idiot and stay until the giants come to slaughter you all. But not Alex Fitzhugh." "Mr. Fitzhugh..." The million-dollar crook glared down at Barry. The boy's face was a picture of utter confusion. "Don't you care about getting home any more?" "Of course, I do." "Then you'll stay and help us save the ship?" Anxious eyes held their hero in weakening admiration. Fitzhugh avoided a direct answer. He avoided Barry's gaze, too. Again we were seeing the miracle of Barry working on the hard-shelled criminal. "Barry, come with me. Forget the ship. It is incapable of movement. Unless the hydrogen cells are repaired it will fold within itself in a terrific implosion..." "What does implosion mean, Mr. Fitzhugh?" Barry asked with a thirst for knowledge not even Fitzhugh could ignore. "You know what an explosion is, don't you?" Barry nodded. "Well, implosion is the same but different," Fitzhugh explained with the grace of a university don imparting a mathematical formula to a kindergarten class. Mark grinned, said, "Implosion, Barry, is when a thing explodes inwardly. Usually expanding matter bursts outwards but certain chemicals and combinations of molecules react inwardly..." Barry laughed, clutching Chipper tighter to his chest. "I see it now. Thanks, Mr. Wilson. And Mr. Fitzhugh." Fitzhugh glared at Mark but refused to be drawn into a further discussion. It was enough that Barry understood the basic difference between ex- and implosion. I'd been doing some quick thinking. We were in a nasty spot. Seven of us could not be expected to tackle one giant - let alone this entire group. We were hunted creatures on the planet and, especially, wanted by the security men. We couldn't walk into security headquarters and inform them of the plot against their leader. Nor could we write an anonymous note. Even our largest handwriting would be microscopic to the giants. "Mark, working throughout the night and all day tomorrow, is it possible to repair the cells before they perform their assassination attempt?" Mark frowned. "I doubt it, Steve. There's a lot to do before I can get at the cell-housing. The watch has to be dismantled. Radium scraped off the luminous face and treated with a solution of acid. I've got new housing to make and then, if everything else goes according to schedule, the cells themselves have to be rearranged so that the weakest and strongest are linked in series. No, it'll take three days non-stop work for a couple of us." I stood in the doorway of our shelter gazing at the night. Faint reflections from the city lights formed a permanent backdrop of blue- purple behind the trees. I was reminded of taking a journey through the Rockies in moonlight. Everything had grown immensely so that the smallest mountain looked like Everest. On this planet everything was gigantic but, at night, it was worse. I felt so terribly insignificant. We were all less than a microbe in an ocean of terror. I swung and faced them. "Mark, you and whoever you want as an assistant start working on the hydrogen cells at once. Betty and Valerie take turns on guard duty - right here. Until this affair blows over the forward observation post is out. Anyway," and I smiled reassuringly, "if an intruder does happen along our giant spy will give ample warning from his marksman's platform." Dan opened his mouth to ask a question but I silenced him with a gesture. "Wait, Dan! Let's hear what Mark wants first." Mark glanced at each of us in turn. He was trying to evaluate our capabilities - trying to pick the best worker, the one liable to prove least trouble in his arduous task. "Fitzhugh - you and Barry can help me!" I grinned. Given an opportunity to make his selection in advance, I would never have picked Fitzhugh. Barry - yes. The boy was intelligent, eager, capable of obeying direct instructions. But Fitzhugh.? Fitzhugh bowed and remarked, "A wise choice, indeed. It may interest you all to know," and he gave us the benefit of a benevolent smile, "that I have a flair for mechanics." "Including safes, eh?" Dan laughed. "Yes, including the most intricate of safes," Fitzhugh allowed. "That's enough!" I said. Once Fitzhugh got unwound he could hold the floor for hours discussing his merits. "Dan - you and I are expendable..." "No, Steve!" Betty sounded annoyed. She stood with hands on hips, eyes blazing. "You or Dan are needed to get us back home. None of us are able to pilot the ship. Let Dan stay here - in command. I'll come with you wherever you're going." "She's right, Steve." Mark waited for my reply. I could see Dan's disappointment yet he, too, knew the wisdom of Betty's statement. It was foolish to risk both of us in one mission. I relented and said, "Betty and I..." with a grin. "are expendable!" Betty shrugged. Her pretty face was tensed in concentration. I felt sorry for her. A girl with a real zest for living should not be here. Valerie, included. "What's on the menu?" Dan asked softly. "We're going to security headquarters. I want to get the layout in my mind. There probably won't be anything we can do to stop the assassination but I don't intend to sit back and let it happen if there's the slightest chance we can abort their plan. Not that I care if the giants start a civil war and wipe each other off the face of their planet. That would solve all our problems but - well, you all know the seriousness of the situation; this could bring giants pouring into the area and, I have no doubts, we'll be discovered." Betty shrugged. "Security headquarters!" "I could go alone..." I suggested. "No!" She straightened defiantly. "I'm with you through big and small." She smiled weakly at her reply. "I feel like a female David preparing to face an army of Goliaths." I turned to Dan and spoke in a whisper. "If we don't get back, Dan, do what you can to help Mark. Once you've got enough power - take off! Even if it is only to another part of the planet. Things could get mighty rough here." He nodded. "You'll be back, Steve. Take care..." I waved farewell as Betty joined me. Together, we walked into the night - two little people ready to confront the giants in their lair. We had one advantage, though. Our size. It took a good pair of eyes to notice something as small as us in the dark.

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CHAPTER FIVE

FROM where we stood amid a row of huge ferns the concrete bunker of security headquarters appeared like a super-sized rocket complex for galactic exploration. It was enormous, gleaming in the concentrated cones of a dozen floodlights. Armed guards patrolled back and forth - their king-sized feet shaking the ground beneath us. "Now what?" Betty asked, hand on my arm. "I don't know - yet!" I squeezed her hand. Every muscle of her was tensed, and her face showed the extent of her mounting fears. "Relax, Betty. We're not going to try anything foolish. I guarantee that." She forced a small smile. "Sorry, Steve. It's . . . well, they're so big!" I had to do something positive. We couldn't stand here all night contemplating the place. "Stay here, Betty. Keep out of sight. I'm going to examine the possibilities..." Her hand tightened on my arm again. "Steve..." she wailed. "Hey - take it easy." The hand dropped away - slowly. Her wide-staring eyes held mine. "Don't blame me, Steve. Let me come with you. Doing something - anything - will help quiet my nerves." I relented. Her fears were ones we all shared on this alien planet. Being with one of her own kind could eliminate the dread of watching gigantic guards walk back and forth. "All right, Betty. Calm yourself. Do everything I say without question. We may get caught in a tough spot but don't worry - I'll be with you all the way." She straightened, gave me a confident smile, said, "Thanks, I won't cause any trouble, Steve." I concentrated on the guards, timing their back and forth walks. If we had been their height, the distance between us and the wall was about ten feet. But we weren't. Ten feet of their distance represented a considerable spurt if we were to make it without being spotted. Split-second take-off was essential and, when I'd finally worked out the schedule, I told Betty, "Give me your hand. When I squeeze it - get ready to run. When I tug - go, girl, go!" She leant against my shoulder and smiled coyly. "Oh, sir - how could I resist when you squeeze my hand!" I grinned. "Betty..." "Forget it, Steve! Let's save the goo-goo eyes for back home. I was only kiddin'." Her eyes sparkled. I was sorely tempted to leave her behind. Female moods are never very trustworthy and when a girl gets like Betty was then - anything could happen. And it did! Now the two guards met and exchanged fleeting remarks - whirled, began their patrol again, bathed in those damnable floodlights. We were precisely between them and, as they separated, I squeezed Betty's hand, feeling her brace for the take-off. Slow, ponderous strides took the guards further apart ... away ... away from us ... to a half-point of their patrol. It was now. I tugged her hand and started running. Her ragged breathing sounded loud in my ears as she matched me stride for stride. The wall loomed larger ... closer and the ground trembled beneath the giants' feet. Clumps of weed-like plant-life grew against the wall and I headed for these, heart pounding as I gave the final spurt everything. Time was slipping away and already the sound of the guards' feet slowing told me they'd reached the end of their patrol. In another second... I saw the gleaming wire at the last moment! "Jump, Betty.jump!" I took off, not caring that I would slam into the weeds as I soared above the wire - wondering if... Clanging bells almost shattered my eardrums. My hands hit the weeds, pushed through to smash against the roughened concrete wall. I felt bone and sinew rebel as my onrush hurled me hard into the suffocating growth, into the unyielding wall. As I crumpled against the wall, Betty slithered through the weeds - headfirst, body relaxed and uncontrolled. I knew what had happened. She hadn't been able to leap over the wire. We were trapped! Running feet sounded above the sonorous clang of bells and yelling voices added to the confusion. Once, a barking rifle ripped the cacophonous night as I picked myself up and bent over Betty. She was unconscious - a massive swelling beginning to rise on her temple. Cautiously, I peered through the clumped weeds. Guards were frenziedly searching along the wall, tracing the trip-wire to locate the point where an intruder had caught it. Within seconds they would see the raised wire and then it would be all over. Even they were intelligent enough to realise that it had to be the little people. I straightened and leant against the wall - and almost toppled through the hole. I swung... My smile was instantaneous. There was no time to be lost. I grabbed Betty's shoulders and pulled her towards the air-vent. The squared network of holes were small enough to stop a mouse but not a determined spaceman. I scrambled through, dragging Betty with me and, as the thunder of probing instruments got nearer, lay in the darkened metal tunnel with Betty at my side. Once, as the gaping black maw of a gun poked against the vent mesh I thought we had had it. Then, the gun withdrew and the slap-whish of weeds rebounding on the grill told me that, for the moment, we were safe. I looked down the long, dark tunnel. A faint glimmer of light formed a conical pin-prick in the distance - reflecting in spiral shadows along the length of the metallic tube. Smooth, cold aluminum gave an eerie stillness to the tunnel and, as the disturbance outside moved away from the entrance, the quiet became an irritating pressure. Betty moaned. I helped her sit up as consciousness slowly, painfully returned. The bruise on her temple was a multi-hued egg now and she touched it tentatively, "ouching" as her fingers probed the tenderest spot. "Easy, Betty," I sympathised. Her eyes searched the gloom of my face. "How...? What...?" "Trip-wire alarm system set close to the ground!" I laughed softly. "It had to be darned close or we couldn't have fouled it." "I heard you yell for me to jump," she whispered, darting frightened glances round her, puzzled by the metallic surroundings. "Where are we, anyway?" "Inside an air-vent." "In security?" Her face was strained. "Yes." "Oh, Steve..." I started to calm her but, suddenly, she grinned and brushed my arm from her shoulder. "I'm acting like a stupid, frightened little bitch," she said firmly. "I deserve to have my bottom smacked. I'm all right now, Steve. Sorry - it won't happen again, I promise." Thank heaven for girls like Betty. I was extremely glad it wasn't Valerie Scott by my side. The heiress had never shown any inclination to cool-headed acceptance of her situation. Money had spoilt her and she acted with the petulant mischievousness of a naughty child trying to undermine the authority of a governess. Yet, I had to admit, when the chips were down, Valerie had more than once arisen to meet the odds with certain neurotic courage. "What next, commander?" I grinned down at Betty's determination-etched features. I offered a silent prayer she would get back to Earth. She deserved all that life could offer - home, adoring husband, children. She had beauty and understanding aplenty. All she needed was opportunity. "Whether or not we agree, we're inside security headquarters. I suggest we venture along this air-shaft and see what lies beyond the light-source there." I pointed to the steady pin-prick of light. "Take the front-running position. I'm not that brave. She climbed unsteadily to her feet. I was worried about the egg-sized bump on her temple. It looked ugly and was still rising. My hands steadied her. "Wow! I feel woozy," she remarked. "Something sure socked it to me!" Travelling the smooth-roundel of aluminum was a nightmare. Betty's unsure feet slipped and slithered as I supported her and with each step her strength seemed to evaporate. More than once I caught her fighting to keep her eyes open. Finally, when it was apparent she could advance no further, I eased her to the tube's gently rounded floor and said, "Stay here, Betty. You're safe until I return." Her eyes thanked me silently. Her hand a reassuring squeeze. I'd only taken a few steps when... "Steve..." I swung, seeing her sprawling body resting on the hard aluminum. "Don't get lost," she beseeched. I grinned. "Don't worry about me, Betty. Get comfortable. Try resting that bump on the cold metal. It might help stop the swelling." She waved wearily. "It's more than a bump, Steve. I feel so weak and disinterested. Don't be long. I don't know how it's going to feel being left alone." I hesitated momentarily. She was certainly in a bad way. Could I effectively explore the air-vent knowing, all the while, that she was incapable of coherent thought? It was evidently a damaging blow she'd suffered. Then, I thought about the others and the forthcoming assassination attempt. I had to go on - alone. It was imperative. The safety of the ship came foremost. Betty and I were the expendables. This mission was vital. Somehow, somewhere, someway, there was a solution to the problem confronting us. Maybe it lay ahead - where the pin-prick of light had now become a roundel of near brilliance. "Relax," I told her. "Don't think about disasters. Believe in what we're doing. Visualize how it will be when we manage to get the ship fully-powered again and start back to Earth. That should cheer you up." I smiled. She sat looking at me with a pathetic girl-lost expression. I wanted desperately to quit, to take her back to the others. Yet... "I don't know what's wrong with me, Steve. One second I feel brave and adventurous - the next, weak, disheartened and afraid of every shadow. Go ahead, don't stop for anything, least of all me." She waved weakly, sank to the aluminum tube. I swung abruptly, pushing Betty from my confused thoughts. The job came first, as she said. It was hard going in the tunnel. The slippery, curving aluminum took a lot of energy to negotiate. By the time I had reached the light source I felt worn out, sick of slithering along the cold, smooth tube. Artificial light spilled through another grill. I stared down into an airless, sterile room containing sparse furnishings of the office variety - filing cabinets in dull grey, straight-backed chairs and a bare, rough table around which three giants were seated. They were silently playing cards, small piles of money heaped before each. It wasn't difficult to tell they'd been doing this day in, day out for ages. Their expressions spoke of boredom, frustration, suspicion, intolerance born of daily passing of time under these exact same circumstances. However, it wasn't the gambling giants that held my attention. It was the massive steel door with its variety of bolts, locks and bars that caught my eye. I wondered what could be behind it. From where I crouched inside the air-vent it appeared impregnable - yet, they had positioned three armed guards to further protect the hidden secret. Another door gave entrance to the sterile room. This one was a normal jail-door. Bars set in thick steel with a huge lock midway down the thick support. And, down each side of the doorway, a series of racing, blinking lights alternating in intensity as the bulbs winked on, off, on and off. I didn't need a guide book to tell me what they were - electronic scanners wired to trigger an alarm system when the beams were broken. And the bottom ones were only half an inch from the floor which meant that not even one of us could safely pass through without setting off the alarm. I was intrigued, the old urge to investigate racing through my curious mind. Something very important lay behind the heavy steel door. But would it help us? I doubted it very much. I forced myself to forget the mystery of the steel door and slowly edged past the grill. Other small circles of light showed further along the tube. Perhaps. Using hands and feet in an X-shaped waggle, I continued along the vent, unable to get my mind off the steel door. Something kept urging me to return to the grill and study that room again yet, to what advantage I could not tell. Come to think about it, there didn't appear much sense being in here anyway. What could I, alone, do to eliminate the threat to our security? I couldn't converse with. I grinned at the sheening aluminum tubing. Couldn't converse! But - I could! Or, at least, one of the others could! The walkie-talkie pack in my pocket suddenly seemed more valuable than gold. Our voices were, naturally, weaker than other noises on this strange planet. We'd grown accustomed to speaking in whispers when giants were around yet it was unnecessary. They couldn't hear us. A shout, to them, was probably no louder than a cricket's rubbing noises to an Earth-bound listener. Just a lower order making a racket for the hell of it! But the walkie-talkie had volume control. If I positioned it near an intake grill then maybe we could communicate with the giants! It was worth a thought. Providing what we had to say meant something to the giants! I worked my weary way back to Betty. For a minute I thought she'd had it then, as I stood over her, she moved - raised her head and smiled ever so tiredly. "Well?" she asked. "Nothing much but I've got an idea. Let's get back to the others. Can you walk if I support you?" "I hope I can, Steve. Lift me - I feel so uncoordinated." She was lightweight but the smooth-surfaced tube made things difficult. We managed, though. When we finally reached the exit-grill I was panting. Betty grinned, asked sweetly - with sarcasm, "Do you feel run down and out of sorts?" I slapped her bottom. "She gives me a medical commercial," I grinned. "It's about time - right now - for you to carry on under your own steam." Her fingers lightly touched the egg-shaped bump on her forehead, "Chivalry isn't dead yet, Steve. A girl has to keep her spirits up even if she feels rotten." That's what I liked most about Betty. Always ready with a quip or to expend her last ounce of energy in the interests of the majority. She'd been the bastion between command and passenger safety. She was one of Earth's unique people - the perfect stewardess. Her own opinions and well-being counted for less than those of her charges. "Lean on me," I smiled. "Although it's utter rubbish, men have to prove they are the dominant, stronger sex." "They are," she remarked with a twinkle in her eye. "Until women decide to put them quietly in their place." Ignoring her cynical truth, I peered through the grill. The guards hadn't settled into systematic patrols yet. Lights additional to the floods bathing the security fortress probed and wandered - every now and then swinging unexpectedly to pin-point a specific area. We could hear the frustrated, grumping voices of guards as they examined every inch of the fortress perimeter. Security took very few chances and, I smiled inwardly, it only went to prove how insecure they really felt. Like most dictatorships and police states, the regime here was open to attack - and they defended their power citadel with all the zealousness of a tyrant authority. "We can't escape yet, Steve." My eyes registered the scene. Guards - large feet stomping across my limited range of vision - moved in discordant puppetry along the walls as the noise of sniffling, snarling canines added to my dismay. Once, as we cowered behind the cold, aloof grill I thought sure a dog had unearthed us but then, with a rumbling throaty growl, the animal moved off - seeking more pleasant smells to amuse his nostrils. "Phew!" Betty gripped my arm. "Relax, Steve," she grinned. I squirmed, facing her now. The bump had reached its zenith and purpled into ugliness. Her eyes shone with her normal brightness. Gone was the lethargic inability to comprehend. "Okay, bright eyes, let's have the formula for evasion." She wriggled past me, peered through the vent. For seconds she studied the movements of the guards then. "We've just got to chance it, Steve. We couldn't schedule their erratic duties. Are you willing to go first?" I nodded. "Good! Help me out. I'll wait until you reach safety before starting to run." She smiled, squeezed my arm. "Don't worry, Steve. I've got a plan." My subconscious shouted warnings. Betty's plans could be anything - and worse. "What is it?" I asked suspiciously. "Ohhh. wait and see." "Betty." "Steve, you worry too much. Leave it to me. I guarantee it won't cause us any more trouble. Now, come on, help me get out of this infernal tunnel." What could I do? There wasn't any percentage arguing with her. I simply helped her slide through the grill until she stood in the open, hidden from prying eyes by the clumped weeds. Then, I followed - less energetically, still bothered by her sudden-found surety. "Get going," she commanded when I landed at her side. Before I left her I asked, "You're sure?" She pushed me - hard. Murmuring, "Positive." Taking one final glance, seeing her determined features dare me to refuse her generous offer of safety, I gritted my teeth, darted forward. I'd hardly covered twenty yards when. Alarm bells sounded again! Guards began shouting afresh. Dogs - brought in for the kill - barked furiously. "Don't stop," Betty's voice yelled in my ear. "Keep running. They'll be busy after that!" They certainly were . almost too busy. They seemed to converge on us, thudding feet sounding like the forerunners of doom. I wasn't so worried about the guards then. We'd overcome the first hurdle now. The long stretch of emptiness was behind us and the wonderful ferns provided a shield between them and us. But the dogs could be a menace. Once they got our scent... Betty's spurt of energy vanished fast. Her face was pale and drawn. She gasped for each breath as she tried to keep up with my flying feet. Slowly, step by step, she fell back, labouring. I stopped and caught her even as she started to crumple. "Sorry. Steve," she panted, sagging heavy in my arms. "Don't worry, Betty. I'll carry you until..." "No!" Her eyes flashed briefly. "I'll make it in my own time. You get back and warn the others." I didn't argue. I grabbed her and cradled her pliable weight in my arms. She snuggled happily against my chest as, staggering, I heard her murmur, "Thanks, but I meant it. I could manage alone." Behind us, not far distant, the rising sound of dogs on the trail became an ominous clamour.

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CHAPTER SIX

"STEVE!" Dan shot from the undergrowth, closely followed by the others. His brown face wreathed into a wide grin. "We heard the alarm. I just had to come," and he gestured as the others crowded round us now, "and they insisted on following." He was already taking Betty from my arms. Gratefully, I transferred her into Dan's arms. I wanted to bawl the hell out of him for disobeying orders yet, at this moment, I was more inclined to congratulate him for coming to our rescue. "Let's get moving," I told them all. "If the dogs..." Mark waved a rag before me. It stank of rocket fuel. "They won't like this, Steve. Go ahead, I'll do an old Injun trick and wipe the trail clean." He started sweeping the cloth across the grass, covering the area where we stood, shouting, "Get lost! There's no time for consultations." Dan and I headed for the narrow path back to the ship. I noticed that Fitzhugh, Barry and Valerie took a different route. "We planned it this way, Steve," Dan explained. "Mark will try to halt the dogs with the fuel-rag but if it falls they'll still have to decide which scent to chase." "What about the giant in the tree, Dan?" We were moving fairly fast now, crashing through low growth towards an area we knew - an area that had always been avoided on normal sorties. "He certainly came awake with a start," Dan laughed. "We heard him cursing fitfully as the floodlights came on." Stones trickled underfoot and Dan eased his speed. Betty clung tightly as she felt Dan's rolling gait. Even in the semi-darkness the area was treacherous. Footing, for people as small as us, was a matter of slowly picking each pebble and testing it with increasing weight before proceeding further. "Put me down, Dan," Betty said. "You can't cross this with my bulk in your arms." Dan smiled. "Bulk? A trim, sleek miss saying she's bulky. Nuts!" Nevertheless, he gently set her down and, with an arm each, we picked our way across the barren lands, occasionally halting to allow Betty a chance to recover. She was in poor shape again and I seriously began to worry about the nasty bump on her head. It appeared to be bigger and I remembered the sudden switches of mood since she'd hit the wall. Betty caught my thoughts, said, "I'll take a long rest when we get back to the ship, Steve." The sound of dogs baying at the moon saved me from making unnecessary comment upon her condition. Our safety, and that of the ship, depended on such a slender thread of hope. In a way, I was sorry I'd allowed Betty to make the decisions back at security headquarters. Setting off the alarm again had served no useful purpose except to prove our ability to cope with a given situation as a unit. But Fate came to our rescue in the most remarkable way. Fate shaped like a giant! We'd barely taken three steps into the lush undergrowth when a terrific crash sounded to the right and, as we flattened behind a friendly decaying stump, the giant burst into sight. His eyes rolled wildly, arms flung outwards in a gesture of defiance, head thrown back so that, from our position, it appeared he had lost the top of his head. Three thunderous explosions rent the night and, with a strangled gasp, the giant sank to his knees, blood spurting from his chest. Like a streak of dark lightning, a huge, slobbering dog leapt from the brush and stood snarling over the stricken giant. For a minute or two I fully expected the beast to rip the man apart but. "Steve! Look!" My eyes adjusted to the shadows. There, a gun smoking in his fist, stood the killer-giant. He sneered down at his dying companion, snapped a curt command to the dog and, melting into the dark, vanished from sight. "Did you see his uniform?" Betty asked breathlessly. I nodded, signalling her to stay quiet. As she spoke, the dog ceased his snarling and moved his large head in our direction, nostrils twitching and sniffing. We lay still, hardly daring to exhale. The wind blew into our faces and, I suppose, this saved us. Plus the giant's moans as he clutched his chest and sank even further towards the ground. The dog's puzzled gaze changed into one of bestial amusement and he concentrated on his enemy. Low growls menaced the dying giant. "There he is!" Two guards broke from the underbrush and stood over the fatally- wounded giant. They approached warily, bending to examine his gunshot injuries. "Who.?" one asked softly. "Three times in the chest," the other said. "Not a rifle, either." He hefted his own rifle, staring at his companion's sidearm holstered on his hip. "We'd better notify the others." "No!" The first guard smiled, withdrew his pistol and aimed at the ground. His finger whitened round the trigger. "No, we've made the arrest. You discovered him - I fired the shots." Betty gasped as Dan and I covered our ears. The three explosions erupted in rapid succession. At this close range it was almost impossible for us to hear after the rolling reverberations ceased. It was bad enough to stand so near a firing gun held in an Earthman's hand but a giant letting loose three shots into the ears of minute creatures was tantamount to torture. Prolonged torment as the echoes rolled relentlessly through the tiny clearing. While my ear-drums played truant and refused to accept further punishment, I watched the silent tableau enacted. The guard who had fired the shots holstered his pistol, grabbed the dying giant and forced him erect. Blood belched from the open wounds. I knew the dog was still growling - his mouth opened, closed, slobbered excitedly. I could see the giants hold a hurried conversation yet not a word penetrated the deathly quiet that followed the rupturing explosions. Only when the giants had dragged their victim into the forest did my hearing return - and even then it was a humming, ringing eerieness that filled my head to the exclusion of practically all other noise. " . . . see . . . what . . . could they have . . . doing . . . " I probed my ears and yanked at the lobes. Then, after a terrific yawn, I strained to hear what Dan was saying. Wax cackled somewhere deep inside the drums. "...don't believe it's possible for us to evade their search now, Steve." I grinned, said, "Let's start again, Dan. I was deafened. What you just said came to me in short, interrupted bursts of crackly noise." "Boiling it down, Steve," he replied with a shrug, "I said: we're in trouble now. It doesn't matter what the dogs pick up - they're going to look for accomplices and that means real trouble for us, Steve. We can't hide forever if they start searching in earnest." He was right - but not one hundred per cent right. I felt secure. Even the giants would reckon that their victim could not have triggered off the alarms twice. They'd made a thorough search and found a blank. Then, a second alarm had sounded. By finding one giant they'd probably assume they had been alerted by a roaming creature - and not necessarily one of us - and accept their victim as a bonus of security's vigilance. Something bothered me. I asked, "What about the killer, Dan?" He scowled. "I'd like to know his game, too. From the uniform he wore he's definitely security." Betty shook her head negatively. "Not so, Dan. He could have stolen that from another giant he'd killed." "And I have another question, too," I remarked drily. "Does this eliminate the assassination attempt?" Dan laughed bitterly. "What am I? The ouija board that gives all the answers or just a stranded spaceman on a gigantic planet?" I grinned. "You're doing the talking, Dan. Supply a few answers." He snorted disgustedly. "Like hell I will! Right now I'm worried about the ship. If I'm correct in assuming they'll make a search we're up the creek without a paddle. If wrong, no harm done. But I'd hate to be right." "How's Mark corning along with the hydrogen cell repairs?" Dan eyed me speculatively. "With this going on how do you think?" "You mean," I remarked coldly, "that Betty and I have taken up valuable time?" "If you want it bluntly," Dan replied, "yes!" Betty laughed. "That's unfair, Dan. Steve and I." "It's not a laughing matter, Betty," Dan told her sternly. "Mark is geared to repair the cells or bust. Frankly, the security headquarters jaunt was, in my opinion, lost time." "How come, Dan?" He glared at me. "If it had given us a slight leeway you'd have mentioned the fact before now." I shrugged. "It depends. We infiltrated their ventilation system. There's a way in and an easy exit providing you watch the trip-wire gimmicks. I had an idea back there of using our walkie-talkie communicators to inform the giants of the pending assassination but now - I'm not so sure!" Dan growled, "Our killer in security uniform, eh?" "Precisely, Dan; I'd like to know exactly where he fits before we start blowing whistles on the attempt." "Which leaves us... where?" he asked. "Back at square one." He seized Betty's arm and growled, "Let's get back to camp. This is a decision affecting every one of us. I think it should be talked out. I'm not bucking you, Steve. Far from it - but I have listened to what they've been saying since you left us." I grinned. "And it wasn't exactly complimentary, eh?" "Not in the least," he agreed. "Okay!" I glanced at Betty. Her face was a picture of doubt. "Don't you worry, Betty. It wasn't your fault." "Maybe not! Maybe yes!" she replied calmly. "I was a wet blanket on the mission, Steve. I realise now Dan should have gone with you. Men are so much better at arranging things. I fouled it up and I'm sorry. That's all I can say." Dan gave a snort of derision and started moving. I matched him stride for stride with Betty partially supported between us. I did a lot of thinking as we wandered back to the shelter. We were by no means out of the pot. One fire had been extinguished but, and of this I felt positive, the killer was too determined to let a failure ruin his grandiose scheme. He'd killed once and fatally wounded another giant. Two deaths meant nothing to him. He would try again ... and again ... until he succeeded. But why? What could he gain? His actions were far from rational. He didn't appear to be the type of person to risk his all for a cause. He was far too callous to be a humanitarian. And, ridding the planet of a police state chief called for a true humanitarian. Not a cold-blooded killer. When we returned to camp, the others were already waiting. I felt their mood when we entered the shelter. Fitzhugh's mostly.

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CHAPTER SEVEN

The shelter had been extended during my absence to allow Mark elbow- room for the removal of the watch-face. He'd done wonders already and the glass shield had been expertly taken off and, I could see, so had one of the hands. Betty stood close to me, silent support against my accusers. Even Dan had moved to join the sullen group confronting me. "There's the extent of my work," Mark began, gesturing at the partially dismantled watch. "Not much for a most-important project. I think I speak for all of us, Steve." and he gazed at each in turn, getting nods in encouragement. "We realise that you are capable of assessing the situation and finding a logical solution to the problem but isn't it high time we voted on procedure?" "Keep talking, Mark," I said softly. "Apparently, during my visit to security, you've discussed this and reached a decision how it should be handled." He shrugged. "Not exactly, Steve. We know there are factors we cannot explain away and a high probability that any effort will be abortive should the giants swoop - but we've got to have definite understanding of every step we make. There's nothing to be gained from speculation. We decide on a course of action and stick to it until we cannot proceed further." "Lovely, Mark. Just dandy. Only - kindly tell me how we come to a conclusion without having more details of the assassination attempt?" Fitzhugh snorted and stepped forward. Barry stared at him - eager, anticipating a pronouncement of wisdom from his hero. "If experience of the criminal mentality is a criterion I can state that the attempt will take place. However, I disagree with voiced opinions regarding the reasons for an assassination. This is a police state and the giants are constantly involved in mass-extermination - as we have seen previously." He paused. I knew he was letting each of us remember certain encounters with the giants. Especially one when Alex Fitzhugh had been conned into an exploit of extreme danger. And that, too, had involved an underground movement dedicated to the overthrow of the tyrant security chief. "All right, Fitzhugh," Dan growled. "Make your point." Fitzhugh smiled benignly at us. "I believe this killer is solely interested in taking over security for his own ends. He is not disloyal to the state but simply removing an obstacle to his personal advancement." He puffed out his chest and waited for our replies then. Betty sighed. She didn't go along with Fitzhugh and let us see her objection. Valerie, however, apparently agreed with the crook. She nodded at him and remarked drily, "That's it!" Mark and Dan were not going along with Fitzhugh one hundred per cent. Fitzhugh had made his assumptions appear feasible but in the absence of legitimate proof it was just an opinion. "I dunno," Dan murmured. "Nor do I," Mark added. "I do," I said firmly. "Fitzhugh could be right. If the killer is part of an internal plot to overthrow the present administration we're batting zero no matter what we try. I can't see one man trying to gain control. We already know he has accomplices and, probably, more inside the organisation, too. We have a choice to sit back and hope that whatever happens blows over our heads or make a concerted effort to foil the assassination. I, personally, intend to do everything possible to safeguard the ship and passengers. It's my duty and nothing, nobody can stop me." Dan smiled, took two steps towards me. "After that how can I say anything! I'm duty-bound, too." Mark walked directly to the dismantled watch. His hands moved slowly over the luminous dial, touching the raised figures. He spoke almost to himself. "My duty is also clear. Repairs must be carried out and soon. Nothing can alter that fact. Do what must be done but leave me alone to work uninterrupted. Fitzhugh, Barry - start taking this other hand off." He swung then, faced me defiantly. "I warn you, Steve. All the alarm bells in creation won't make me stop again. Until the ship is secure from disaster I won't halt." I grinned reassuringly at him. "That's what I admire, Mark - determination and dedication to duty. Like mine. I've got to protect the rest of you from outside complications. This time, though, Dan will accompany me." I shot a worried glance at Betty. She smiled weakly. "Valerie will see to Betty's head. If anything should happen to either Dan or myself then you're in automatic command, Mark." The engineer sighed. "It'd better not, Steve. I can build one of a dozen rocket ships but I can't pilot them." Dan laughed. "That means, buddy, we've got to succeed. And fast. Let's go..." He started to walk towards the shelter exit. "Where?" I asked. "Where the action is - inside security headquarters." "And what will you do there?" Fitzhugh asked as, stopping work, he glared at us from the watch dial. "Depends," Dan grinned. "Maybe we'll find you another watch to dismantle. That would give you something worthwhile to do until we leave this planet. I've heard that experts can make a bomb from an ordinary watch. Just think how nice an explosion we could get from a giant watch!" He winked at the glaring fat man and left. I didn't stick around for Fitzhugh's retort. I followed Dan outside, hearing the first rumbles coming from the antagonistic crook. "You're riding him strongly, Dan." "So what? He deserves a little knock now and then! Anyway, he gets my goat with his so-called righteousness. After all, Steve, if we'd landed at London on schedule he'd be sitting in a British jail waiting for extradition back to the States." The sound of hammers came from inside the shelter. Small sounds in a huge night of weird shapeless shadows. "Fitzhugh is a lonely man, Dan. I honestly think he'll be a different person when we return to Earth. Barry has done wonders for him and, frankly, I'll vouch for him if the authorities will give a suspended sentence." His eyes were white orbs in that dark face. "You, friend, are nuts!" he laughed. "Imagine - first you're gonna try making a home for Barry and now, man you are crazy! - going bail for a million-dollar crook called Alexander Fitzhugh! Wow, won't the airlines love you!" We were almost halfway to the forward observation post and the snufflings from deep inside the forest sounded very close, very dangerous. We all knew the terrors of coming across animals unexpectedly. Once, just after we landed, we'd been faced with a gigantic cat which almost ripped the ship to pieces. Only a burst of power had saved us. "I wonder what we can do?" Dan halted, grabbed my arm excitedly. "I've got it, Steve." "What?" "Security headquarters must be honeycombed with air vents. You covered a small part of it but supposing we could somehow set off an explosion...?" I brushed aside a dew-kissed leaf and continued walking by his side. My mind was churning over the possibility. Fitzhugh was our man - with Mark's help naturally. But could we afford the time for them to make a bomb and set it off? "Well?" Dan asked. "It's possible, Dan. Let's consider it from every angle. We make a bomb and plant it - where?" "Where they least expect it," he grumped. "That's not what I meant, Dan. They'd never expect an explosive charge going off inside headquarters. But where inside? We've got to choose the right place. Somewhere vital. hey, wait!" We grinned at one another in the reflected light of the town. "The guarded area!" Dan said. "If only we could discover what's so important in there." "Be my guest, Steve. Let's find out!" He was right. We walked the rest of the way in silence. I didn't particularly care for a second journey inside the air-vent but we had to find out why security considered that room worth having three guards permanently stationed there. The steel door still intrigued me. When we reached the ferns we stopped. The guards patrolled again, more alert but most of the excitement had died down and we could easily manage the quick sprint across between them. I listened for signs of the dogs but, apparently, they'd called them in. "There it is, Dan!" I pointed where the weeds hid the vent opening. "When the patrol nears the end of its walk we run. Okay?" "When you're ready, Steve." We waited, letting the guards make three complete patrols - making sure they didn't deviate one step from a set pattern. At last, satisfied, I signalled Dan and got ready to take off. The guards separated, moved apart. Then. I started running. I could hear the pounding noise of Dan's feet and wondered if the giants could also hear it. They didn't. We parted the weeds and dived into the grillwork, slithering through before the weeds had even ceased rustling. The circular tube stretched into a roundel of shimmering light as it had before. Placing my mouth close to Dan's ear, I whispered, "Where the light shines through another grill - that's it!" He nodded, motioning for me to proceed ahead of him. I started walking, feet spread, arms outstretched to balance me on the curving bottom of the tube. Apprehension filled me and I suddenly realised that I had whispered. Why? Our voices didn't carry far in this strange world. Yet, deep inside, I had the distinct impression something awaited our arrival inside the tube. "Steve!" I almost jumped out of my skin. Dan's hand on my shoulder and his imperative yell scared me stiff. I swung, lost balance and was grabbed by Dan. I steadied, glared at his grinning face. "What was that for?" "Sorry, pal," he grinned. "Didn't mean to startle you but." He pointed at the aluminum tube, placed his palm on it and tensed. I followed his example. My palm tingled. "Electric current running through the tube," he said softly. I suddenly knew what had bothered me. "Let's get the hell." I began, then stopped as, turning, I saw the ugly muzzle of a gun poking at the grill entrance. Dan saw it, too. His grin faded. "Quick, Dan!" I swung, hurrying now, trying to negotiate the tricky, slick tunnel in my haste to get away from the probing gun muzzle. Dan slithered after me, his ragged breath sounding like a nightmare on my heels. "Slow down, Steve. they won't dare fire into this!" His hand held me back and I slowed, glancing round. His face seemed darker than ever in the half-light of the tunnel. Behind him, smaller now, the gun muzzle held steady. "Why not?" I asked, unconvinced. "They'd ruin a damned good..." CRACCCCK! The explosion ripped at our ears, deafening us. I slammed a fist into Dan's stomach, throwing myself flat at the exact same second. The whine of a bullet wheened over our heads, bouncing, smacking, keening as it whistled along the tube. My head erupted in protest as a second bullet followed the first, the explosive roar magnified ten-fold within the confining tube. Dan crowded the curved floor of the tube, me stretched before him, watching the silvery missile rip past, careening in the wake of the other, kicking chunks from the aluminum as it rebounded from side to side into wobbling ineffectiveness. We waited, working jaws to relieve the ear-pressures built by the explosions, jamming fingers into the ears to bring a return of hearing. Then, after what seemed to be an eternity, I could hear again - with that eerie cackle that always follows a shattering noise. "The fools!" Dan yelled. I grinned. I didn't feel in a humorous mood but I couldn't help but see the funny side of Dan's expression. He'd convinced himself they wouldn't shoot - now, all the disbelief and anger showed on his coloured skin. "They've ruined a damned good vent," I remarked caustically. He glared at me. "Quit being sarcastic. They know we're in here." He eyed the tube speculatively. "They can't get inside but I'll bet they've got a few tricks prepared for us." I'd already figured that for myself. "It's up to us then to supply the surprises, Dan." "All right, genius - like what?" I climbed to my feet. The gun muzzle had been withdrawn now. We were safe from further danger in that direction. "Let's get past the first exit vent. The deeper in we go the less chance they'll have of getting to us." "They won't stop trying, Steve." I knew the giants would throw everything in the book at us. Positions reversed, I'd have a few other lines of defence prepared once the danger was known. I hadn't ever expected them to shoot. From what had happened previously I understood the giants wanted us alive. Their scientific knowledge was behind Earth's. They knew we were from another planet and they wanted the secret of interplanetary flight. They wanted it bad enough to risk - how much? That was the question, as friend Shakespeare once remarked. From the recent attempt on our lives they didn't want it bad enough to risk security's security. "We're forewarned, Dan. Don't relax for a moment. It could be they'll use gas..." He laughed. "No! They can't. Not without emptying security and they won't dare do that. Remember, this is a totalitarian state. They've got records and data stored inside this building they wouldn't want the masses to see. No, Steve, gas is out!" I paid scant heed to Dan's opinion. I remembered his last attempt and the shattering explosions had done much to eliminate his judgement. I agreed that any gas the giants possessed could possibly be harmful to them but, nevertheless, it was all within the realm of probability they would use it. Gas could be of the nerve-type. It didn't necessarily have to be poisonous. "Whatever they try - be ready. If it should be a gas run for the exit. There's air out there." "It isn't gas, Steve." His voice was deathly calm. I was watching him as he spoke and his face went pale, taut with suppressed emotion. I saw his interest and swung... Gleaming eyes fixed on us! My heart pounded with devastating force. I wanted to scream - and couldn't. Deadly claws scraped loudly on the aluminum tubing. Huge, gnawing teeth bared as the monster wriggled into the tube. "It's.it's a rat!" Dan's voice was panic-stricken. I wanted to run - but there was nowhere to go. Forward and we faced the giant rat. To the rear, fresh air and giants patiently waiting for our reappearance. We were trapped. Rats in a rat-trap! "Wait!" My voice sounded foreign in my ears. "Look at it, Dan. the chain..." The giant rat was held by a small, clinking chain round his neck. I could see now where they had removed the first grill and let the beast into the tube. But hope springs eternal in mankind and the chain gave me more reason to feel confident than the menacing rat. Slowly, with agonising surety, the chain was paid out by our hidden foe. The rat snarled, scrabbling closer, off-balance all the while. "The bullet!" I barked the words as I noted the rat approach one of the spent bullets lying in the tube. Its snout was partially buried in the aluminum but one jerk and it would rattle free - under the advancing rat's feet. "Dan, get your knife out ready." I heard the snick as Dan's flick-knife snapped open. I held my own knife ahead of me, slowly starting to move towards the rat. Fear welled inside me. Unfathomable fear. Maybe it was the knowledge that rats' can snap and grip and cling even after death. Perhaps just the ugliness of our enemy with gleaming, evil eyes fixed on us - tasty morsels as we appeared to the predator. The rat was only inches from the embedded bullet now. "Rush him, Dan!!" I yelled, bounding forward with knife held out, ready to strike. I heard Dan's gasp, then the slithering scuffle of his feet as he followed my suicide rush forward. The rat blinked, halted, surged forward as it slobbered. It scented victory and these tiny creatures presented no danger. Suddenly, the foreclaws skidded off the bullet, sought for safe grip and slithered over the dislodged slug. The noise of metal on metal, claws on metal, sounded like a thunderous waterfall. I closed my ears to the racket, lunged.. The squeal sent me reeling back, into Dan, round Dan, seeing him leap forward, plunge his knife into the bared throat as the rat scrambled helplessly to gain its footing. I still had my knife, blood dripping from its sharp blade. As Dan staggered back I aimed, flung the weapon. The chain whipped against the aluminum tube, cracking, clinking, whipping back and forth as the rat writhed in agony. Blood spurted from its throat, eyes glazing. Dan's arm swept me aside as the front paws slashed in defiance and then, heaped against the smooth tubular aluminum, we watched as the monster rat tensed, straightened, toppled. "Let's get past it," Dan shouted, surging forward, retrieving his flick-knife, squirming over the coarse-haired beast. I followed him, conscious of crawling sensations down my spine as I clambered around the dead rat. Earth-sized rats did something to me. Giant-sized the fears were multiplied. I wanted to be sick but managed to hold back the gagging feeling until we had circumnavigated the inert animal. Then, the open grill beckoning and the linked chain motionless on the tubular surface, I bent, retched violently. Finally. "Can we get past that without being seen?" I wanted to thank Dan for not commenting on my weakness. I didn't. His eyes told me he, too, wanted to vomit but something inside him was stronger than what made me sick. The grill was open, and the chain snapped as an unseen hand tried to coax the dead rat into movement. "We can try," I ventured. "Let's," Dan grinned, shrugging off the episode of the rat. "If we're fast enough they won't notice two tiny men rush by." Quickly, before the giants got the right answer to the chain-snapping impatience, we started along the tunnel, halting at the edge of the open grill. We could see into the room now. "Wow!" Dan murmured. The guards had been reinforced. There were at least ten in the room now and the cards had been cleared from the lone table. One giant held the end of the chain, flicking it angrily as he got no response from the rat. Something seemed to motivate Dan and, with a yell of, "Geronimo," he flung his small knife at the giant's head. Fascinated, I watched the gleaming sliver of metal curve through the void and prick the giant's brow. The chain snapped once, twice, then relaxed into immobility. The giant roared, lifting his hand to brush away the pitifully-small blade from above his eye. "Go, man, go!" Dan was a black streak dashing past the opening. I kicked off, feeling the slippery aluminum hinder my onrushing feet, knowing also that I was shooting, sliding past the grill. I collided with Dan, careening along the tube, propelled by fear - and a desire to accomplish something more than my last trip into security's secret tunnels...

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CHAPTER EIGHT

AFTER a decade, or so it seemed, we reached the sloping area of security's upper chambers. It had been a hard, frustrating climb. For every progressive step we'd taken several back, slithering down the smooth walls of the vent-system. But now, finally, we'd reached the inner sanctum. "Steve, let's have a rest." Dan slumped to the cold, smooth surface of the vent. "I'm bushed." His fingers coiled round the grillwork of an opening as he held on, panting. I clung to the same opening, staring down into an airy, spacious office with more comforts than we'd previously seen in this sterile building. A giant sat at a huge desk, papers scattered before him, smoke wreathing from an enormous cigar he held clamped in his teeth. "Dan." Dan shifted his weight, glared at me. "Don't ask me to do anything for at least five minutes," he gasped. "I tell you, Steve - I'm incapable of taking one little step." "Stay where you are - I'm beat, too. But look there. see him?" Dan drew himself closer to the grill and gazed down into the room. The giant wore some sort of high-ranking uniform. Insignias on his shoulders showed position which was definitely enhanced by the status of his surroundings. "So...?" "Recognise him?" Dan stared again. Just then, the giant sat back and raced thick fingers through his coarse hair. I heard Dan's involuntary gasp and he swung to gaze at me in bewilderment. "It's the killer!" I nodded. "Steve - this doesn't make sense. I'd say he was high enough in security to be next door to chief." "Which makes me wonder - are we correct in assuming it's the security chief he wants killed," I remarked thoughtfully. Dan grinned. "If it isn't we've nothing to fear. Let's suppose that security themselves are executing one of the higher-up politicians. They plan it to look like assassination by an undercover group of malcontents. But security knows it isn't so, they'll soft-peddle any instigation of the death. I'd reckon this joker will go straight to the platform, shoot whoever is there and make a claim for fame by showing he smelt out the killers. Probably, he may even round-up some of the others but it's almost safe to say there won't be a mass examination of the forest." He leant back, satisfied with his reasoning. I knew he was waiting for me to agree - or, tear his logic apart. I did... tear it apart! "For argument, Dan, we'll suppose they're going to assassinate one of the government members. Now, think what could happen as a result. Hue and cry. Heads rolling. Everyone trying to shield everyone else. Nobody daring to make an overt move in case they brought too much limelight on themselves. Our killer there won't tip his hand. He'll throw forces into the forest and let them snuff his lord-high executioner. He'll sit back, claiming immunity." Dan snorted. "Could be. What exactly did they say about their target visiting security headquarters once a month?" I tried to think - and couldn't recall the precise words. But I got the drift of Dan's thoughts. "We figured that meant the security chief, didn't we?" "That's what we agreed." "Now - well, who else would want to visit this place? Above security there must be a department for internal affairs. That could mean a cabinet member. Or, perhaps, the dictator himself!" I stared at Dan in dismay. "There'd be no let-up if he was the target, Steve," he said for me. I stared down into the room. If only... "Dan, we're waiting until he leaves. Then - I'm going down to snoop around his desk." "You're crazy, man. How?" I'd already considered his question. I pointed to a far corner of the room. There, almost hidden by a huge, grey-metal filing cabinet, was another air-vent duct. "That's how, Dan. We've got to locate that grill. If we continue along this tube we should meet an intersecting network of vents. One will take us down there." "Oh, happy day," Dan moaned. "Rested enough?" I smiled. "No - but let's go! The sooner you commit suicide the sooner I get back to the ship." He grinned, started crawling.

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CHAPTER NINE

DISTANT rumbles echoed through the venting system and gusts of warm air sifted gently along the heating aluminum tubing. The temperature rose slowly, almost unnoticed until, suddenly, we were bathed in perspiration. Inside the executive office, the killer sat at his desk, mopping a beaded forehead with a voluminous handkerchief. A fan whirred noisily on the desk, riffling papers and his hair as it swung back and forth in monotonous rhythm. It had taken us practically an hour of trial and error crawling to locate the correct vent and, since arriving there, we'd waited almost as long again - hopefully wishing the killer's departure. The giant was a glutton for work. He seldom slackened, pen viciously ripping across his papers, making notations on index cards, scribbling notes on a thick, much used desk-book. The giant climbed to his feet and walked across the office. He opened the door, yelled: "What's happened to the heating unit?" Faintly, came a reply. "Sorry, sir - we're trying to force the little people out by turning up the heat." The giant snorted, scowled. "That won't work. They're too small to be affected by heat. Tell them to lower the temperature. I can't work in this." "If you say so..." The giant bellowed, "I do. Immediately!" He slammed the door and muttered to himself as he returned to his desk. "Phew!" Dan groaned. "I wish somebody had told me I didn't feel the heat." He wiped his sweating face and stretched flat on the curvature of tube. Within minutes the gusting heat eased to a steady flow of temperate air. Then, this too finished and a trickle of cooling breeze wafted along the tubing. Dan sat up, smiling now. "That's much better. Congratulations to our killer. What's he doing, anyway?" The giant was parcelling papers into a folder. His face was a study in hate. Furrows wrinkled his brow, the eyes mere slits of viciousness as, stopping, he held a photograph at arm's length and glared at the picture. "Two more days," he murmured. Dan nudged me hard. "That's." "The proposed victim - yes!" The picture meant nothing to us. We could clearly see it. Even from this distance it was larger than a full-sized man. The face was soft, friendly-looking and there was a definite quality of mercy expressed in every line of the excellent portraiture. The victim was a giant I felt would be sympathetic to our predicament - and all the anxieties I'd felt suddenly meant nothing against the strong desire to prevent this killer from carrying out his devious scheme. "Dan - somehow, we've got to find out where he lives." My co-pilot stared at me. His head shook slowly. "Man, like we haven't got enough troubles now he wants to become Rescue Two." In a flash he chuckled. "Steve, you're a wonder! I get it, finally." "If we could only enlist support of a high-ranking giant we could be off this damnable planet within no time flat, Dan," I enthused. "Possible, Steve. Possible. But you're overlooking one very important item - to wit, how do we get his address and, when we do, how do we go about finding it and making contact with the giant?" "There's got to be a way," I replied firmly. The killer was moving towards the door again and we quieted to watch. He glanced round the office, puzzled as his eyes lit on the air-vent grill. He hesitated then, slowly, head cocked, he came across and bent down. Dan and I flattened against the aluminum tube, one on either side of the grill, hardly daring to breathe. We could see the gigantic whites of the killer's eyes, hear the grunting raggedness of his exhalations. A stubby finger poked tentatively at the grill, pushing at it, testing the firmness of the workmanship. Then, with a rush of air from open lips, he straightened and hurriedly crossed the office again - to his desk. I crawled closer to the metalwork grill, watching him. He rummaged through two drawers until he exclaimed, "Ahhh," and removed a cardboard drawing. He held it out and I could see that it was one we'd come up against several times before. It showed, to scale, a large hand slightly cupped with a small figure of a man standing on the palm. To one side, marked off in measurements unfamiliar to us, were notations depicting the height of the "little man" compared to a giant's hand. The killer laughed, extracted a rule from his desk and came back to the grill. We were just in time ducking aside. His rule carefully measured the openwork of the grill and returned to gauge the scale drawing of our likeness. He grunted angrily and straightened, his shadow blacking out our view now. Dan bent close and whispered, "He's suspicious! I wouldn't mind betting he'll..." He went silent as light spilled through the grill only to shut off almost immediately. "He did! "Dan whispered triumphantly. The killer had blocked his grill. From a tiny chink of light creeping round a corner of the heavy board wedged tight against the vent we could tell that our entry to the office had been eliminated with one action. "And now, genius?" Dan asked, squatting on the tube. I shrugged. What could I say? Everything I had planned on doing had been erased by the giant's action. We were dealing with a careful giant. An automatically suspicious killer. "There's something inside that office to give us a clue," I said. "He's too careful for it to contain just ordinary papers. If only we could shove that thing aside." Dan grinned. "Or, if we could do something to make it impossible for them to fire the fatal shot!" He whistled a pleasant tune as he rubbed palms together. I waited. He would tell me what scheme his mind had devised when the time was ripe. Dan liked dramatics and I had no intention of being his straight-man. Minutes ticked into history as he played with me, Then, he shrugged, said, "Fire!" It clicked. Fire! Of course... "Shall we depart?" I nodded. It would be a risk. If they didn't rush to extinguish the flames our ship could be in peril. If ... a small word with a world of meaning. If we didn't act all was lost. If we did - the result could still be the same. "Yes, let's go! This one requires a vote." "I can hear Fitzhugh already," Dan sighed, taking the first step. He laughed bitterly. "Providing, of course, they haven't made our exit into a trap."

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CHAPTER TEN

We made it back to the shelter without mishap. There was no doubt the giants had tried to set traps. We'd avoided at least ten on route to the forest. What saved us was the giants' inability to think small. They reckoned in terms of reference according to what they "thought" we should be; on how we should act. They overlooked our diminutive size and our intelligence to spot traps. Actually, by trusting to mechanical gimmicks and trying to be nonchalant about everything else they gave us carte blanche in the getaway. They'd dropped the dogs - their best ally, in fact. They'd stuck to regular patrols around security's perimeter. They'd cut off half the floodlights hoping, no doubt, to allay our normal suspicious nature in an alien land. And here we were, back "home", safe. Mark stood alongside the watch, normal-sized screwdriver in his hand; but pathetically inadequate for the task of removing a section of spring from the gigantic interior. Fitzhugh sat on a rough log-bench fashioned from a small branch with Barry and Chipper seated on the ground nearby. Valerie and Betty stood side by side, giving one another female companionship and intuitive comfort. Dan had the floor and, as I listened, I watched the reaction to his impassioned plea. I felt he deserved better response. Not one face reflected anything close to sympathetic agreement. All faces showed horror and doubt and, Fitzhugh expected, a definite nay before Dan finished. "There's no doubt that the assassination attempt will remove a giant friend. We've seen his picture. He looks like a person one could trust and, probably, that's why they want rid of him. Our killer is filled with hate for this giant. If I'm any judge of character he'll do everything in his power to make the assassination work. But, if we could just delay the attempt we've a chance to ingratiate ourselves with this friendly one. I suggest we set fire to the tree holding the platform. I know it's a definite risk to the ship - and ourselves. If I'm wrong in assuming the giants will rush to douse the fire then we suffer most. If I'm right, they'll discover the platform and arrest the assassin and that's the end of the search for clues. But it's a fifty-fifty chance. The decision is up to you - on a vote." Fitzhugh rose slowly from his seat and glared at Dan. The man was set for one of his frequent lectures but, for once, none of us rushed to silence him. This was a vital vote and everyone had the right to dissent. Even Fitzhugh. "Fire under controlled circumstances could work but can we claim immunity to a holocaust if the security guards do nothing to quell the flames? The answer is 'no!'. We are too small to contain a conflagration once it starts. Plus the fact," and he beamed triumphantly at Dan, "that we have no means of setting a fire without the giant on the platform being aware of our plan in advance." Dan smiled. "You're wrong, Fitzhugh. Mark has the ability to start an instantaneous fire. You have, too, if you'd put your mind to constructive thoughts instead of objections." Fitzhugh glared balefully at me. "It's Dan's show," I said cheerfully. Fitzhugh snorted and turned to Barry. He went all milk-and-honey as he said, "This concerns you, Barry. Would you like to see Chipper burnt to a frazzle?" Dan exploded. "That's unjust, Fitzhugh. It's worse - what you suggest is inhumane and cruel. I understood that Barry was your friend but now, I can see, he's an instrument of your warped mentality - someone to be twisted into absolute obedience with the master's wishes." Barry grinned, hugged Chipper to his chest. "Mr. Fitzhugh isn't trying to make me agree with him, Dan. He's just showing what could happen if things go wrong." Frankly, I felt like slugging Fitzhugh. His smug countenance beamed down at Barry. He'd won another round for the boy's allegiance. But he'd also planted the fire-bug in every heart. "Dan's perfectly correct in assuming that security wouldn't want a fire that close to their doorstep," I remarked. "But, supposing they didn't rush to put it out - we've got an alternative once Mark has the hydrogen calls repaired. We'll have enough power to take-off out of the hazard." Mark glowered at me. "I could run behind time, Steve," he warned. "We've hit so many snags it's getting dangerously near disaster point. How can we work with tools that are too small?" He gestured with his screwdriver. "This is nonsensical. Not one fitting can be eased off without expending our total supply of energy." "Dan and I will help," I said. "We'll all chip in and help!" I glared at Fitzhugh. The fat man dropped his defiant glance and concentrated on the floor. "Won't we, Fitzhugh?" His eyes raised and a small grin spread across his features. "I've been helping, captain." I nodded. "And you'll continue to do so. Until Mark has all he needs to effect his repairs." Fitzhugh bowed magnanimously. "As you say, captain." Barry laughed and spoke directly to his dog. "Chipper, people are stupid. They argue and fight and what does it get 'em? Nothing! In the end they have to agree or else." Chipper barked happily. Dan grinned. "Let's vote," he said. Fitzhugh glared at me, said, "I'm against fire." Mark shrugged. "Providing we come to an arrangement regarding safety I'll go along with it." Valerie sighed. "I'm for anything that will get us off this terrible planet. I vote yes." "Sorry, Steve. I'm against!" I couldn't believe my ears. The one sure ally Dan and I could have was Betty - now she'd turned against us. She was entitled to her opinion. That was where a free vote entered into our fraternity. Yet, somehow, I felt saddened by her objection. "I, naturally, am for," Dan remarked, giving Betty a dirty glance. "And so am I." My eyes counted for and against and then I announced, "Three definitely for with a provisional yes from Mark. Two against. For has it." "Don't I get a vote, Steve?" I smiled as Barry solemnly stood facing me. "Of course you do, Barry. What is it - yes or no?" Barry inclined his head, said, "Chipper isn't a human but he's a real intelligent dog from Earth. He stands to." his young eyes watered briefly as, clearing his throat, he continued bravely, ". you know! I think I should have a vote for Chipper, too." Foolish me! I didn't stop to consider that Barry would be against me. It was unthinkable. I said, laughingly, "Right. Two votes - one for you, one for Chipper." "We're both against fire," Barry replied fast, avoiding my startled gaze. Fitzhugh smiled broadly, finished counting for me. "That, captain, makes it even. And if you can't give us valid reasons for causing a conflagration and also providing for our safety it stands at five against." My feelings were indescribable. From deep inside the urge to throw myself on a bed and sleep through their decision-period came boiling to the surface. Light streaked the sky and the sounds of a world awakening filtered into the shelter. I'd been up all day and night and, maybe, it was weariness and frustration that made me angry. Maybe not. "To hell with it." I spun, shoved from the shelter. A chilly breeze whispered through the gigantic trees, rustled the grass around me. I walked, not caring where. The glint of sunlight playing along metallic sides brought me back to reality. The ship stood silent, deserted before me. I jabbed the door release and listened as it wheened into its slot. Inside, the starkness of fact smacked me into full awareness. The empty ship, the sensation of hopeless metal waiting for power to surge through it, gave me reason again. The control cabin seemed different, somehow. And then I saw why. Mark had already taken the cell housing apart and the seeping hydrogen holders stared back at me from a dark, eerie space between deck and hull. The familiarity of the ship gave me confidence. I walked her length and breadth, pausing here and there to examine fittings torn loose when we crash-landed. Nothing serious. Nothing to stop our eventual take-off - always providing we managed to raise power. "I won't guarantee anything at this stage, Steve - but if you help there's a possibility we could lift her for a few minutes." Mark smiled from the doorway ramp. He looked weary, too. His handsome face was haggard and dark circles had begun to form under his eyes. "What good will a few minutes do, Mark?" "It could set fire to a tree!" He spoke calmly, pointedly. He entered the ship, gazing down the passenger cabin towards the rocket-cavity in the rear. "One good blast and we'd have ourselves one beautiful blaze." "No matter about the vote, eh?" "You allowed your tender feelings to interfere with that, Steve. Barry needs comforting but not to the extent that our best ideas can be shelved." "And what if she refuses to behave? We don't know if the controls have been damaged seriously enough to cause another - more destructive - crash." "They're okay, Steve. We've moved her and nothing indicates the ship is incapable of flying again. All we need is power and fuel. Power from the cells and fuel to sustain us on a space journey." I considered his idea. It had merit. It could accomplish a lot - yet, it had drawbacks, too. "Mark, if we lift her the giant will see the rocket flare. Security might see it. Giants in the city could spot the sudden flame-up. We're asking for miracles all the way and that's taking far greater a chance than I'd wish." "Then we're beaten," Mark stated categorically. "Beaten because we daren't venture forward. You know, Steve, I was always one to take every opportunity by the throat and wring success from it. I made a fortune several times over doing that. I've considered where we're going wrong here. We let the fear of giants ruin our thinking processes. On Earth, none of us would quarrel with a scheme like I suggested. But here, even you think how the giants will react first - and afterwards, how it could have helped us if only we'd the guts to make a positive gesture of defiance." I sat in one of the padded passenger chairs, swung to gaze through a small porthole. Grass higher than the ship waved outside in the breeze. Mark was perfectly in order to berate me, anyone else. And, damnation, he was right in his assumptions. We were all frightened of the giants. I could imagine how Jack felt climbing his beanstalk. Fairy tale or no, the author had it down to rights. Jack scared because he was experiencing something outside his limited knowledge and, mostly, because he was so insignificant alongside the gigantic stalk. We were limited in outlook. Space existed within a solar system and, fringe-wise, a few stars happened to be within man's ingenuity to reach. Beyond that - void, black despair. Humanity had not adjusted to accept giants. Especially, us. "Mark, I'm beginning to see what our major task is," I told him as he seated himself opposite me. Funny, I thought, how he automatically selected his own chair. Habit? Or unavoidable choice? I was in a questioning mood and felt better for it. Perhaps, now, I would come to swift conclusions and carry through without resorting to defensive tactics like a general vote. I was the captain - my word still held authority. "Giants are ordinary, slow-moving people. They're bigger admittedly, but nevertheless they're people. They are born, live and die within their atmosphere. They marry and have children. They fight and make friends. They work or steal or laze according to the bank balance, same as our own folk do. We're Lilliputians in a land of Gullivers, not the reverse." He smiled, crossed legs and placed hands behind his head. "So?" he asked quietly. "So this. we stop being afraid. We assert ourselves. We plan and let nothing stop us from achieving the plan. If we face danger we attack. If we." I began to laugh, rocking in the chair. Mark frowned, asked, "You all right?" I nodded, explained, "I just remembered. We have a weapon the giants would never suspect us of having - a gun! One of their guns, fully loaded." Mark slapped his thigh. "You're right, Steve. They wouldn't suspect but," and he soured, grimaced, "we can't use it." "Because it's too large, Mark?" I was still chuckling. "I see." He straightened, eyes bright. "It's working, Steve. On you. On me. We must think of the gun as a weapon we can use. When that is implanted then we get heads together and decide how." "You catch on pretty fast," I grinned. "No, Steve - you catch on, period!" "How, Mark?" "Not how, Steve - is it still there?" He rose, started walking. When he reached the ramp he swung, gesturing wildly, "If it is, it takes all seven of us to pull it along. Who is going to get kicked to blazes squeezing the trigger?" "None of us. Positive thinking, Mark. And, another old Earth saying - think big! Bigger than a giant can think!" "You'll be the death of me with your jokes," he retorted drily. He swung down the ramp as I followed. The door easing shut behind me locked in Earth-bound thoughts. Our minds had to expand - blow up to proportions equal to the planetary girth. We had a lot of old- fashioned Earth-type methods to kick out and a lot of giant-sized planning to do.

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