By CHARLES V. DE VET
Illustrated by ORBAN
They were trapped on a viciously
primitive planet, by an electronic
bloodhound that was viciously unpredictable!
[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
Infinity September 1957.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
The survey team was seven parsecs beyond the Rim when the bloodhoundpicked up their trail.
Three years earlier the inevitable had happened. The humans of the TenThousand Worlds had met another race with the faster-than-light spacedrive—and an expanding population. The contacts had been brief—andviolent. Each race had set up defenses against the other, andmaneuvered for position and control of the habitable worlds separatingthem. The aliens' bloodhounds formed the outer circle of their defenseperimeter.
The s-tracer continued its bleak chirping as Wallace read the figureson its dial and made a swift calculation. "We have time for one dipinto spacebridge," he informed Saxton, the other member of the team."If we don't find a planet fast when we come out, we've had it."
Saxton nodded. "We'd better backtrack. Set the bridge for that stargroup we recorded yesterday. Hurry. We haven't any time to spare."
Four minutes later Wallace brought the two handles of the bridgecontrol together—and the ship winked into hyperspace. Wallace's bodyjerked upright, and he sat stiff and straight, fighting the impulse toretch that rode his stomach muscles. The room around him took on thevisual consistency of thin milk. The low hum of the ship's instrumentsincreased in intensity through the hands that he pressed tightly tohis head. Mingled with the sound of the small motors was Saxton'shigh-strained muttering: "I can't take any more of it! I can't take anymore of it!"
Then all was normal again. They were out of hyperspace.
Wallace reached for a knob on the board in front of him and beganturning it slowly. Both men watched the vision panel on the front wall.After a minute a blue globe floated in from one side. "We'll have totry that one," Wallace said. "It at least has atmosphere."
"We don't have any choice," Saxton answered. With his head heindicated the s-tracer. Its stark chirping had begun again.
"The hound's closer than I thought," Wallace complained. "We'll have torisk a faster passage to the surface than would ordinarily be safe."Drops of perspiration that had gathered on his forehead joined togetherand ran down the side of his nose. He shook his head to clear them away.
By the time they entered the blue planet's atmosphere the intervalsbetween the chirps of the s-tracer had shortened until now they werealmost continuous. Gradually, as they plunged toward the planet'ssurface, the room's temperature rose. They stripped to their shorts andkept the pace steady. When it seemed that they could stand the heat nolonger the ship paused, and settled slowly to the ground.
Quickly Wallace shut off the drive motors. The only sound within theship was the purring of the cooling apparatus.
"Any chance that it can detect our cooling motor?" Saxton asked.
"I don't believe it can follow anything smaller than our main drive,"Wallace answered. He pointed to the s-tracer. "It's already lost us. Ofcourse we know it won't go away. It'll circle the planet until we comeout and try again."
During the next hour, as the temperature within the ship returnedslowly to normal, Wallace and Saxton kept busy checking the gauges thatmeasured and recorded the elements in the planet's atmosphere.
At last Saxton sighed heavily. "Livable," he said.
"Closer to Earth n