The Ballad of Venus Nell
By Nelson S. Bond
[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
Planet Stories Spring 1942.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
Oh, the science of Man has narrowed the span
Between the near and the far,
With thunderous roar the great ships soar
From Earth to the dimmest star;
But though in their lust for gold they thrust
From planet to asteroid
The Will of the Great Astronomer still
Is the Will of the cosmic void.
And from Earth's own Sol to the ebon hole
Of the Coalsack's gaping maw
Though Man may jet, he is subject yet
To the Universal Law.
For whoever shall plot for another's lot,
Be he brother or foe or friend
Who seeks his gain of a fellowman’s pain
Has a price to pay in the end.
I
Now, Dougal MacNeer was a pioneer.
Just one of a million such
Who labor and toil in unmapped soil
With shovel and pick and hutch.
He was six-foot-two, and a man whom few
Would care to engage in a fight,
With shoulders as firm as a pachyderm;
A tower of granite might.
He had eyes of gray, and a quiet way
Of minding his own affairs;
He never came down to a commerce town
Save for fueling or ship repairs.
Thus it was that he roused the whys? and hows?
In the minds of the spaceport clique
When he landed at Krull[1] with his tanks half full
And rented a berth for a week.
The cradle-monk[2] stared, then boldly dared,
"By golly, you've struck it rich!
I always knew some day you'd come through,
You lucky son-of-a——"
"Which,"
Asked Doug MacNeer with a smile sincere,
"Is the best joy-joint in Krull?
I've lived alone till my mind's ingrown;
This prospecting life is dull.
"I want to go play from the dusk of day
Till I waken to morning bells."
The attendant said, with a nod of the head,
"You amble to Venus Nell's.