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The Space Olympics by A. M. Lightner

The Scout

1

Tyros Vann hefted the round, flat rock in his hand as he stared out across the vast expanse of yellow grass. As far as he could see there was nothing but himself and the flock of animals that grazed below his rocky lookout. Permia was a large planet, the fourth in order around the star Celaeno in the Pleiades. Its horizon stretched far, but young Ty had experienced no other. This was home.

At length his eyes picked out what he was looking for—a movement in the grass beyond the flock. He gave a piercing whistle, whirled about in a swift movement, and let the rock fly. It sailed in a graceful curve through the air, above the heads of the feeding beasts, and Tyros whistled again as it dropped into the grass.

Immediately, the movement he had noted previously turned into a leaping, charging animal that propelled itself straight to the spot where the missile had disappeared. The young shepherd whistled again, and soon a huge, gray beast was visible, plowing through the grass like a swift ship at sea. Joyously, it leaped over the grazing herd, startling them into just the right movement along the plain that the young man had designed. Then the animal scrambled up the rocky outcrop and laid the stone at his master’s feet.

Tyros bent down to retrieve it and to administer an approving pat. “Good work, Wolf,” he said. “Now go on back and we’ll try again.”

But when the dog had disappeared into the grass, Tyros sat down on a rock and dropped the missile at his feet. Let Wolf have a rest, he thought. He could do with one himself. He’d been at this training project all morning and it was beginning to pall. The last throw had broken his record for distance, and Wolf had found it anyhow and had brought it back and moved the flock the desired distance. He had the whole thing down to a science now, and his interest was waning.

Finding a grassy spot among the rocks, he leaned back and squinted at the sun, which was nearing the zenith. Soon he could eat. That would be something to break the monotony. And after that? The afternoon stretched ahead in a desert of boredom. Nothing ever happened here. Even an attack from the predatory permipests would be some diversion. But they only came at night, small, pack-hunting carnivores, and he and Wolf between them had taken care of the last attack.

If he lay perfectly still like this, perhaps he could sight another rocket like the one that had come down three days ago. He had only seen the end of its flight, as it dropped over the horizon, the roar of its motors coming after it like thunder after lightning. The spaceport was too far away from him to see the ships land. Miles and miles away, and not many ships came to this out-of-the-way spot in the galaxy. His father had taken him to Permiaport once, but in all their week’s stay only one ship had put down.

Young Vann grew tired of staring at the sky. The sun hurt his eyes, and he rolled over and thought about food. But he wasn’t really hungry yet, and if he ate now, it would be that much longer till nightfall. Lying like this, with his ear close to the rock, he became aware of a faint vibration. A motorized vehicle was approaching. Probably his father was coming.

He got to his feet and scrambled up the highest boulder. He watched for several minutes before the waving grass told him that he was right. A truck was pushing its way through the waist-high grass. With a sharp whistle for Wolf, Tyros began to run in the direction of its approach.

It was unusual for the elder Vann to come out here at this hour. For a good many years now, Tyros had been trusted with the safety of the family’s livelihood, the flock of sheeplike animals. That he should arrive at this time indicated an exciting prospect of some sort. And when the boy saw the stranger with his father, his anticipation mounted. One of his trading contacts—perhaps even from that space ship!

“Hello, Ty!” called his father, as he alighted from the truck. “Alert as ever, I see. I’ve brought a visitor.”

To the man climbing out after him, he made a quick introduction. “My son, Tyros, Mr. Winkle. Guarding the flocks as I told you. Not much gets past Ty. He must have smelled us coming. This is Barnum Winkle, Ty. Off that ship you were talking about the other day, the Cluster Queen. Wants to look over the flock.”

The spacer approached, mopping his face with the heavy movement of a man unused to Permia’s gravity. “Just call me Wink,” he said, seizing Ty’s hand in a quick, wiry grip. “Can’t stand formality And it’s a wonder to me I can stand upright on this beastly world. How you folks manage to live and be happy here is beyond me.”

He grinned up at the boy, and Ty saw a small, thin, balding man with a puckish face and very sharp eyes.

“Oh, you’ll get used to it,” said the older Vann. “Only one-point-two-five earth normal. Really nothing at all.”

“I can see you’re used to it. But with me just out of ship’s grav—I’d hate to have to do something in a hurry!”

The colonist laughed. “You should have been with us on Gravus. We started out there. It’s about top tolerance, you know, and Ty’s mother couldn’t take it. Got real sick when he was born. That’s why we moved here a few years later. This place is a pleasure to work in after that.”

“Well, it’s a matter of opinion, Scotty.” Barnum Winkle’s dislike of formality had already led him to first-name his host. “But I can see it doesn’t bother your animals. What-do-you-call ‘ems? Can we get down for a closer look?”

“Right down here,” said Scott Vann, leading the way between the rocks. “Merinolas, that’s the local handle. I wouldn’t bother you with the scientific lingo. Bring the flock back this way, Ty, Where’s Wolf got to now? Can’t expect Mr. Winkle to run after the animals.”

“Whenever you think, just call me Wink!” repeated the visitor. “They seem to be pretty well adapted. What did you do? Develop a native type or mutate the genes?”

“Well now, our scientists have been working on it for as long as the planet’s been settled. Done pretty well, I think, but there’s always room for improvement. So they say. We’re pretty well satisfied, aren’t we, Ty? Just feel that wool. Beats anything you’ve come across, I’ll wager.”

“Well… hmm! I won’t say there’s anything thin about it.” Wink ran his hands through the thick wool of the stocky animal that Ty was holding. “Yes, sir. Mighty pretty. And the animals look healthy. Adapted to supergrav! Must be producing all right, from the size of the herd. Tell you what. I might be able to swing a deal with a planet where I trade. Big one like this. Heavy grav. Haven’t developed suitable domestics yet. They’d jump at something like this, and pay a lot for a shipment of embryos.”

“You’d have to take that up with the lab people. No doubt they’d be glad of the credits. All I’m selling is wool.”

“Tell you what. You put in a good word for me at the lab and I’ll make you a good offer for the wool. How much you got ready to ship?”

The two men were moving back toward the truck, the elder Vann towering over the trader, slowing his steps to match the other’s pace. They talked prices and shipments as they went, and Ty followed hopefully behind. Perhaps he’d be allowed to deliver the wool to the spaceport. Maybe get a look inside the ship this time. He was wondering if he dared suggest it to the spacer now, when that individual stopped and looked back at the flock spread out across the plain.

“How are you fixed for predators?” he demanded “They use those horns for defense? As I remember, there’s some pretty nasty customers on that planet I mentioned.”

“Can’t say we’re bothered much here. We leave that problem up to Ty and his dog. Show him how you’ve trained Wolf, son.”

Happy to be called to the trader’s attention, Ty let out his peculiar whistle. Almost immediately the grass erupted on the far side of the flock and shook with a moving ripple as Wolf made his way exuberantly to his master’s call.

“It’s only a dog,” Winkle began. “Though he looks strong enough. But some of these planets have really murderous beasts to contend with.”

“Ah, but Wolf and Tyros work as a team. Very little gets past them.”

“Want to see how I trained him, sir—Wink?” asked the boy. “He’s smart. He learned right away. Watch this.”

Ty selected a suitable stone and flung it out beyond the flock. In a well-aimed arc, it flew to its target. Out, out, beyond the farthest merinola. Before it hit the ground, Wolf was racing toward the spot, but as he nosed about for the fallen rock, Ty gave two quick blasts and the dog, responding to command, came charging back, herding in the straying animals as he came, nipping at their heels. And when they were once again properly bunched, he climbed over their backs to reach his master and the praise that would be his.

“What do you think of that?” demanded Scott Vann. “Pretty smart dog, eh? Pretty smart boy to train the dog?”

Father and son looked at their guest for his reaction, and found him staring at them with his mouth open.

“What kind of a thing did you throw, boy?” asked Winkle.

“Just a rock. Like… like this.”

Ty searched around for a moment and came up with another.

“Let’s see it,” said the trader, and hefted it in his hand. “Great space, it weighs a ton! Do it again!” And he gave a closer look at the young man, who, though approaching his father’s height, still had the delicate, stringy build of youth.

Once more Ty threw the rock, this time toward a second group of straying animals on the perimeter of the herd. Once more Wolf tore away after it and returned when the beasts had been rounded up.

“Got it down pat, hasn’t he?” asked Scotty. “I tell you, there’s no problem in herding these animals. Not around here at least.”

With the prospect of a good sale for his wool and even something for the lab people thrown in, Scott Vann turned away toward the truck. What his visitor said next caused him to stop before he reached it.

“Son, if I was to throw one of those rocks, it’d come down right in the middle of the herd. Likely hit one of the animals on the head.”

“Oh, that’s just the gravity,” said the colonist. “When you got used to it, you’d be able to do better.”

“Can you do better?” the trader shot at him. “Let’s see you heave one of these things over there. Get him one the right size, Tyros, boy.”

“Well now, I haven’t thrown rocks since I was a kid…” began Scotty.

“Come on, come on! Prove it’s only the gravity. You’re adapted to that, too, you know.”

Reluctantly, the elder Vann turned to humor his guest. Nothing must spoil the coming sale! But he turned his back on the flock before he threw. He was taking no chances of hitting one of his own animals.

As the rock whizzed off into the grass, Wolf looked at young Tyros and whined expectantly. Why were rocks being thrown where there was no flock and no commanding whistle? Ty reached down to pat him reassuringly. He could see that his father would no longer make a good shepherd. But Wink was pounding them both on the back in peculiar enthusiasm.

“I knew it!” he cried. “I knew it! Your throw, Scotty, is just a bit better than I could do. Due to your gravity adaptation, as you said. But this youngster! He’s a phenomenon! I’ll wager he can outthrow anyone in this section of the Pleiades. Why, all the time you’ve been training your dog, he’s really been training you! Ever think about that, young Ty?”

“Well, no. That is, I don’t quite see…”

“Here!” Wink commanded, pressing another stone into Ty’s hand. “Throw it again. Once more, just to humor an old man.”

“If you say so.”

Ty stepped back a pace, swung his arm, and threw the rock—even farther than the previous missiles.

“Beautiful. Beautiful. The lad’s got form. With a little training! Ummm!” The trader put his fingers to his lips and blew kisses at the clouds. “Scotty, my friend, you have something here more valuable than all your wool or all the embryos the lab may produce. Do you follow me?”

He stopped and smiled, for Tyros and his father were both staring in evident bewilderment.

“Well, he’s a good boy,” began the father hesitantly. “Always does as he’s told. Never went to sleep on duty yet.”

“Forget about all that,” Winkle told him. “That’s of minor importance. What you’ve got here is a potential champion. And I’m not talking about the rams down there. Ever hear of the Olympic Games?”

“The Olympic what? No, I never did. You’re pulling my leg, Winkle. Come along now and let’s get down to bargaining.”

“Oh, I’ll bargain all right. Pay double your price if you want. I’ll develop a big market for your embryos. I’ll do anything you ask, if you’ll give me just one thing.”

“What’s that?” Scott Vann began to think he was dealing with some kind of a lunatic.

“Your son.”

Scotty looked at him, more puzzled than ever.

“You mean, you want the boy to go along to take care of the sheep… that is, the wool… or the embryos… or what?”

“Galaxy, no! I want him to come along and throw. Not rocks. I’ll show you what we throw. It’s a thing called a discus. Made to specifications, so there’s no difference in size or shape or weight. Got one in my pack. I’ll show you.”

“Dad, I remember about the Olympics now. From that history tape at school.” Ty began to recite in a sing-song of rote learning. “Then came the Greeks, in art supreme, In minds and bodies strong and clean. With laurel wreath and sacred flame, For victors at Olympic Games.”

“Now you remind me, I guess I’ve heard of it, too. But that was long ago. Back before space history.”

“It’s history in the making now. Ever hear of a planet called Arcadia? In the Atlas-Pleione Sector? Been a lot of controversy about who held jurisdiction. Favorable climate, but inadequate minerals. Little of commercial value. A pleasant spot to live but hardly self-supporting. Well, the latest agreement is to keep it for the tourist trade, a kind of unspoiled vacation paradise, and every so often they’re planning to hold these Olympic Games. Athletic meets. Like that bit about the Greeks you just mentioned. Had the first one three years ago. Great success. There’s another one coming up now, and I figure that if I can collect enough likely athletes in this sector, we can have a team to represent us. Won’t be any planets out this far prepared to send their own team yet awhile. But with me to drum up interest and get ‘em together on a sector team… Well, what do you say? I’ll line up some more all along my trade route and we’ll hit Arcadia in time for the next big event.”

Tyros and his father still looked unconvinced.

“But I don’t know anything about athletics or games or anything like that!” Ty protested.

“You will by the time I’m done with you,” said the trader. “I figure on training my boys along the way.”

“You’re gonna teach him how to throw in a space ship?” cried Scott Vann.

“Oh, come off it, Scotty! I don’t need to teach your son to throw. He can do that better than anyone already. It’s a matter of building up his strength and physique and you don’t need a lot of room to do that in. I’ve studied it. You’ll see. I aim to be the top coach before I’m done.”

“Well…” began Scott Vann, scratching his head. “Well, I never did hear anything like it!”

“Of course, he’ll have to perform under a handicap.” Winkle squinted at the far horizon as he figured out the odds. “Anyone raised in this gravity will be able to throw beyond all belief in normal grav. But you do so well here, I figure that’ll be no problem. You wait till you see how far you can pitch that thing on Arcadia, boy. It’ll give you a shock.”

“But I haven’t yet said he can go!” roared the elder Vann. “I haven’t even heard him express an opinion. What do you think, Ty? We’d miss you like blazes here, but I guess we could put the flock in with our neighbor’s. You’re sure he’ll come back from this expedition, Wink?”

“Don’t we come back every season, sure as a meteor shower? Course he’ll come back, and he’ll come back famous. He’ll put this planet on the galactic map. And I’ll promise you something more, He’ll learn more than you can imagine from this little excursion.”

Scott Vann looked at his son. “What do you think, Ty? We’ll have to ask your mother, of course, but I know she’ll leave it up to you. How do you feel?”

Ty stared off across the waving grass, where nothing ever happened, except for a couple of rockets in a season. One rocket had brought this amazing man. This trader who could find his way about the stars. And Ty realized then that more than anything else he wanted to go with him. If throwing a little old rock would get him the chance! Then another thought intruded.

“What about Wolf?” he asked. “I’d have to take Wolf with me.”

It was the trader’s turn to show surprise. “Wolf?”

“His dog,” the father explained. “They’re what you might call inseparable.”

“Why, if it wasn’t for Wolf, I wouldn’t know how to throw at all,” Ty argued. “It was training him… no, I don’t think I could go without Wolf, Mr. Wink. I wouldn’t be able.”

Winkle stared at the boy and saw the stubborn set of his jaw. Quick as his name, he made up his mind.

“Can’t think what the dog’ll do in space. But if I gotta take him to get you, I’ll take you both. Trader’s handshake, boy. And I’ll meet your price for the wool, Scotty. Right now you could get anything you wanted out of me! Can’t wait till the crowd on Arky sees this boy throw! We’re gonna be famous, kid! Our name on every wave length. You’ll see. Ty Vann! Olympic Hero!”

“What I don’t see,” Ty’s father growled, “is what all this does for you. Where do you come into it, Winkle?”

“Why, I’m the scout that discovered him! I’m reviving an ancient and honorable profession. I’m no longer an ordinary space trader. I’m Scout Winkle, for the Arcadian Games.”

The Way to the Games

2

Ty went with his father and Barnum Winkle to help supervise the loading of the cargo. The coach had made good his promise of a profitable trade transaction for the elder Vann in return for his permission to let Ty go to the Olympics. And the boy’s mother, after listening to Wink’s persuasive tale and seeing the hope in her son’s eyes, had added her consent.

Ordinarily, a trip to Permiaport would have been excitement enough, but this time he was going to blast off when the ship departed! He could scarcely believe it, and found it hard to keep his mind on the details of loading and the checking of the bales against bills of lading. At last it was all done, and the shipment of embryos brought by the lab people were stowed in their freeze locker. Ty had a moment then to relax and take stock of his new companions.

“You youngsters better get out there and put in your day’s track work,” Wink told the two young crewmen who were also members of the team. “Last chance on this planet, and remember that one hour planetary is worth two in the ship.”

The scout turned back toward the port buildings for a last chat over refreshments with his trading associates, and Ty followed the two crewmen toward a level spot at the edge of the field. They had been introduced to him as Cuthbert Lanark and Verl Braden, both from the planet Tayo, in Taygete’s system. Bertie, as the first was called, was a tall boy with blond hair that in spite of a close cut still insisted on curling above his forehead. He was a jumper.

“But I can hardly get off the ground on this planet,” he told Ty. “Lucky I wasn’t born here, or I’d never have guessed I could jump!”

“You get used to it,” Ty assured him. “Especially if you’re born here.”

The other boy was shorter, with a lean, bronzed, compact body. He seldom complained about the gravity, but Ty had noticed that he seemed exhausted at the end of each day’s practice run. Still, he kept at it more doggedly than Bertie.

“After all, running’s your business,” Bertie would say, flopping down for a rest.

“Running builds muscles no matter what’s your sport,” Verl Braden replied. “A little extra gravity’s a good handicap to fight against.”

So now the three of them began their running exercises along the track they had marked out for themselves. Ty trotted along easily, relishing the thought that this was the last time. When next he worked out on solid ground it would be a different world, perhaps with lower gravity. What would it seem like to exercise on such a planet, one classed as Earth Normal? Would he be inclined to sail through the air and trip himself up? Wink had assured him there was not that much difference.

“It’s the long haul… the everyday drag of extra grav that gets us down. You’ll just feel exhilarated and ready to go.”

Still he wondered as he trotted around the field beside his two new friends, and when they sat down to rest, he drew up beside them. It was true, he was not panting and sweating as they were.

“Dreadful world!” Bertie grumbled. “Don’t know how you stand it.”

“Don’t let him kid you, it’s not that bad.” Verl was trying to conceal his weariness. “And a lot of it’s the difference from ship’s grav. We only carry enough to be healthy, you know. It takes awhile to readjust to any world.”

“Yeah,” Bertie agreed. “And with that slave driver always after us to ‘take advantage of the opportunity for planetary practice’!” Bertie’s voice took on the slightly odd accent of the space trader.

“Well, we didn’t come on this junket just for the ride. There’ll be little practice time when we hit Arcadia. Come on, only three more laps.”

“Oh, no!” cried Bertie. “I’m still bushed and look at him! Fresh as a comet!”

“Well, then, let’s have a workout with the discus. Did you bring it out with you, Ty?”

Ty produced the thin, flat disc his coach had given him. His fingers curled around it. Already he had begun breaking the records he set for himself. Verl drew a circle on the field and Ty stepped into it and waited while his friend paced off the approximate distances that he expected to cover.

“Watch your form!” Bertie shouted from the sidelines.

Ty made several swings, being careful about the placement of his feet and the movement of his arms, as Wink had shown him when demonstrating the special technique of throwing a discus. Then he paused and whistled for Wolf. The dog left off his exploration of the field and came trotting up, happy as always to do his chore of retrieving. As soon as Ty saw him, he whirled about and let fly his projectile. It soared through the air in a far more satisfying manner than his stones had done, and Wolf ran furiously after it. Ty whistled a sharp command for the animal to leave the discus alone until Verl had noted the distance. Only then did Wolf pick it up and trot back with it to his master.

“Only 175 feet,” said Verl. “You aren’t breaking any records today.”

“Let him warm up,” said Bertie. “He’s just getting the range.”

Ty threw again and increased his distance a bit, and Wolf retrieved the missile in good order.

“You know, I thought Wink was crazy, taking a dog along,” Bertie commented. “But now I can see why.”

“Like heck you can see why!” boomed an irate voice behind them, and they turned to see Barnum Winkle glowering at them.

“You think I’m taking the dog so you can sit on your butt end and let him work? Nothing of the kind. I took the dog because it was the only way to get the boy. Right, Ty? You two ought to be out there running after those discs! If you’re too tired to run, get up and throw! We’ve only another hour before we have to seal ship. Here!” He tossed two more discuses out on the field for the boys to practice with.

Wolf nearly went wild, trying to decide which disc to run after. But soon the boys were taking turns with their throws, while Wink stood at the far end and announced the results and Wolf ran back and forth, returning each discus to its proper hurler.

Ty learned once more that the trader was a stern taskmaster. Time and again he interrupted the boy’s throw until his stance and swing were right, and then when the throw fell short after so much criticism, he would only grunt.

“What’s the matter? Gravity got you, too?”

Finally, he called a halt. “All right. That’s all for that. We’ll have one last race before we shut ourselves up. Line up, all three of you. We’ll do 800 meters and I want you all to try to win.”

The coach paced off the distance and then held up his hand. “We’ll have to do it without the gun this time,” he shouted. “Get ready! Get set! Go!”

Ty knew nothing about the tricks of running, and he was behind the two crewmen at the start. However, he found little difficulty in catching up and soon was tearing down the course abreast of Verl Bertie, he noted, was content to run a few paces behind. But as they reached the last quarter, Ty was taken by surprise as Verl turned on the runner’s sprint. He seemed to rush effortlessly ahead, and by the time Ty waked up and put on speed, it was ail over. He finished a few seconds behind his friend, who now seemed to collapse and to stand panting for breath, his head hanging, his breath coming in quick gasps.

Bertie came in a poor third. Wink scowled at him and then gave a sustaining arm to the victor.

“Good boy, Verl!” he said. “You’ve got what it takes. You’ll wallop ‘em on Arcadia. But as for Bertie, I don’t know. I just don’t know.”

“Aw, Wink, wait till we reach a normal planet. I can’t work against this grav. Anyhow, running isn’t my line. I’ll make it up to you next place we put down.”

“I hope so,” said the coach. “But just in case, we’ll improve your between-worlds regimen. Now come along, kids. No more time for this. You’ll want to say goodby to your folks, Ty, and get that dog properly settled before blast-off. There isn’t too much time.”

He was quite right. The next couple of hours seemed to hurry past like minutes. Ty took Wolf into the ship and fitted him into his acceleration harness. On Wink’s recommendation, he gave the animal a shot of tranquilizer, and after ordering him to stay and wait quietly, he went back to the head of the ramp.

He had dreaded the last farewells, but now he found there was little time for leave-taking. The story of the Olympics had leaked out, and the citizens of Permia were elated to hear that they were sending a young man to compete. More than the usual number of spectators had gathered to see the ship take off, and they swarmed all over the field, bringing garlands of flowers which they insisted on delivering personally to Tyros Vann For the first time, Ty heard his name chanted by a multitude.

“Ty Vann! Ty Vann! Ty Vann!”

At last Barnum Winkle stepped up to the ship’s hooter and called for silence.

“What are you folks shouting about down there?” he demanded. “Nothing to shout about yet. Wait till we come back. Maybe with a few star-bursts to our credit. That’ll be the time to shout. But we’ll do our best for Permia—won’t we, Ty? Here, take this thing and tell your folks what you’re going to do and then let’s get off this world!”

Ty clutched the hooter as he stood at the top of the ramp, and suddenly he was tongue-tied. All words deserted him. After a few crackling coughs on the instrument, he finally managed to get out a brief sentence or two.

“Thank you. Thank you all. I’ll do my best, of course. I don’t know much about it, but I’ll do my best.”

The garlands began slipping down from around his neck and he felt like a fool. He could feel himself getting red in the face and gratefully relinquished the speaker to his coach.

“All right, all right!” Wink yelled. “Now you’ve seen and heard him. He’ll have more to tell you when he comes back. But if we don’t get off now, we’ll miss our orbit and the office will have to recalculate. You know how much they’ll like that! Now make way down there for the athlete’s parents. They don’t want to go along on this junket, you know.”

Ty’s mother threw her arms around his neck and whispered a few last-minute admonitions. His father gave his hand a quick, firm shake. And then they were both descending the ramp, to the renewed shouting and applause of the crowd.

When the lock was sealed, Ty went to check on Wolf’s harness and say a last word of encouragement to the animal. Then he strapped himself down and the Cluster Queen blasted for the starways.

As soon as the course was set and acceleration reduced, ship’s gravity took over, and Ty suddenly found his position with the crew reversed. Now they were at home in a gravity to which they quickly adjusted. Free from the abnormally heavy pull of the planet Permia, they went about their work with ease and a minimum of grumbling. But Ty was literally up in the air. He had never experienced change of gravity—not since his parents had brought him here as a small child. When he took a normal step, it turned into a leap. He found himself grabbing hold of things and sitting down suddenly to get his bearings. His new friends laughed, perhaps remembering the ease with which he had performed in his native gravity, while they were panting and sweating.

“Just take it easy,” Verl cautioned. “You’ll get your space legs soon.”

“And watch it when you pass the salt,” Bertie teased. “We’re not yet at the Games and that isn’t your discus.”

Ty was inclined to blush over his awkwardness, but Wink came to his defense. “You’d do better to help the boy than to criticize him. Remember there’s a greater difference for him between ship’s grav and native than for either of you young rascals. I never saw him be anything but helpful to you on his world.”

Ty wanted to say that he did not mind the kidding and that he needed no defense. But every time he tried to explain this, he only made some new blunder which landed him in deeper embarrassment. In a few days he did find his space legs and ceased to be the cause of merriment. Before long it seemed hard to remember a time when he was not on an equal and friendly footing with the two young men from Tayo.

This first leg of their journey—their new destination was the star Electra and its satellite, a world called Oceanos—was not long as such voyages went. There was little real work to do, once the course had been set, and as the small ship boasted none of the entertainments of a commercial liner, life would quickly have become tedious if their coach had not insisted upon a routine. Ty found that the mornings were given over to study and the afternoons, according to ship’s time, to exercise. This was in addition to their assigned watches for ship’s safety.

The first day, the coach showed Ty the cubicle that was the ship’s library and selected a number of study reels for him.

“Bertie’s going in for atomics,” he said, “and Verl’s picked communications, so I might as well start you on galactic navigation. Don’t care if you never use it afterward. No boy’s going to leave my ship as ignorant as he came onto it. And I don’t have enough books for two to study the same thing at the same time.”

Ty took the spools and a small viewer and retired to his bunk. His schooling on Permia had been pretty sketchy and his father had allowed him to stay home the past year to help with the flock. Now he found it hard at first to concentrate on study.

Exercise, he thought. How can anyone exercise aboard ship? Especially himself, with his silly artificial gravity. He would have liked to ask, but Verl was in the Com-Hole, pursuing his studies there. Bertie was on watch in the Control Room, and Wink was prowling about to be sure everything was shipshape.

Ty snapped his fingers, and Wolf, who had taken up quarters next to his bunk, crept out and jumped up onto the foot of the bed. Ty ruffled the fur behind his ears, and the dog sighed happily and put his nose down between his paws and sighed again out of boredom. Ty reluctantly went back to the viewer. Wink was going to get a shock when he learned how little his protege had absorbed in the assigned time.

But it was the young athlete who was surprised when, after a pause for refreshment, they all gathered in the space that Wink had set aside for his shipboard gym. It was a small cabin and the room was almost entirely filled by a remarkable piece of apparatus.

“Designed it myself for the special problems of my team.” Wink proudly exhibited his handiwork. “Of course, most of the big liners offer equipment of this sort, so that the passengers won’t be completely paralyzed when they land and have to readapt to planetary grav. It’s all yours, Verl. Show our new recruit how it works.”

The only thing Ty could think of as he looked at the contraption was a whirly-cage, a device used by people on Permia who made pets of some of the smaller native animals. The whirly-cage allowed the animal to exercise in a small cage. It ran and ran in a kind of wheel and the wheel turned, so that the animal always remained in the same place. Ty watched in fascination as Verl began to run and the floor of this man-sized wheel slipped past under his feet.

“You do half your time now and half later,” the coach told him. “Meanwhile, I’ll get these two started on their exercises. Everybody puts in five miles a day,” he explained to Ty. “There’s a gadget there that tells you how much distance you’ve covered. Takes the edge off the boredom. You’ll get your turn when he’s finished this lap.”

Ty was wondering how he could start on his exercise while Verl was using the cage, but he followed Bertie to the unoccupied fifth of the cabin and sat down on a bench.

“The cage is all very well,” the trader explained, “but we can’t rely entirely on that to keep up muscle tone. Wouldn’t do for the team to arrive at the Games and collapse from muscle deterioration. Ever hear of isometrics?”

Ty jumped as he realized the question was addressed to him. “I’m afraid not,” he admitted.

“O.K. Show him.” Wink pointed at Bertie.

Bertie sat down on the bench and clasped his hands with his arms resting on his knees. He acquired a look of intense concentration, but as far as Ty could see, he was doing nothing at all.

“All right!” bellowed Wink suddenly, almost jarring Ty out of his seat. “Don’t overdo it!”

Bertie relaxed visibly and his arms dropped to his sides. He looked up at Ty and grinned. “That’s one we call the Newton,” he said. “Opposite force creates opposite reaction, you know.”

“You try it,” directed Wink.

“But… but… what do I do?”

The coach assumed the same pose that Bertie had used.

“It’s like this,” he explained. “We’re exercising one set of muscles at a time. These are arm muscles. Important for you. Follow me carefully and do what I do.”

Ty clasped his hands and tried to concentrate.

“Now push together with your hands. Hard. Push and count… one… two… three… four… five… six. No more than six seconds. Now the other way. Hold tight and pull. Count. In your head. Up to six. Relax. Feel your muscles, boy?”

Ty had to admit that he did. He was introduced in swift succession to isometrics designed to strengthen each important muscle in his body. All while sitting still on the bench. When sometime later he was invited to take Verl’s place in the running cage, he felt that he had already done his exercise for the day. However, he did not want to appear any less devoted than the other two athletes and he jogged doggedly along, watching the numbers move slowly on the indicator till they reached the two and one-half mile point.

By the time all three of them had run the required five miles and gone through the assigned isometrics, it was time for the last meal of the day. When that had been eaten and cleared away, Wink called them into his private cabin and popped questions at them about their morning’s studies. It was conducted in a spirit of fatherly goodwill, but while Verl and Bertie managed to come up with the right answers more often than not, Ty found that he was dismally unable to answer any of them.

“Well, it looks like young Vann will just have to start it all over again,” Wink declared at last, closing his notebook with a snap. “Try a little harder tomorrow, boy, and if you have any questions, ask me. Now you’ve got a couple of hours before lights-out, and the program’s all yours!”

The boys filed out of the captain’s cabin and into the miniature lounge. Bertie and Verl began pulling out the table and setting up a board. They asked Ty politely if he played chess, but he could see that they were anxious to get on with a game of their own.

“I think I’ll go and look at Wolf,” he excused himself. “The poor beast must be bored to death.”

But when he reached his cabin and invited Wolf to come for a romp on the small square of floor, he found that he was too tired for more than a few pats.

“I know what you need,” he told the dog, who was reluctant to let go of his coat sleeve. “You need a session with that whirly-cage. I’m going to see if Wink will schedule an hour for you. We don’t want you collapsing from deteriorated muscles.”

Quite literally then, Ty fell into bed. This trip was going to be anything but boring. Whoever said there was nothing to do in space! Then before he could give the matter further consideration, the young athlete was asleep.

Water World

3

Ty fell quickly into the ship’s routine, and before long, to his surprise, he found that he was beginning to understand and learn from his sessions with the book-reels. No longer was he stupidly tongue-tied when the coach fired questions at him in the evenings. No longer did AU astronomical unit), parsec and orbital velocity and such terms of celestial navigation seem like unfathomable mysteries. And when, as their journey neared its end, Wink invited him into the navigator’s cubicle to help work out the final orbiting, he felt the pride and satisfaction of achievement. This was as exciting as the prospect of the games to come. In a short time he had changed from a shepherd boy on an obscure planet to a traveler through the vast distances of space. And not an ordinary traveler, but one working on the ship and helping to direct its course. All this because he threw rocks for his dog!

Ty was jarred out of his reverie by Wink’s voice shouting, “Seven-six! Wake up, Vann! Did you punch a seven and a six?”

“Yes, sir!” Ty hastily checked over his latest moves on the computer. “Seven and six it is!”

“Well, stay with us till we get her in parking orbit,” growled the trader, whose attention was divided between his manual, his instruments, and the view out the port.

As they approached the star Electra, it was a great brilliant orb. Soon its satellite, the water world called Oceanos, swam into view, almost too bright to look at with the light of its sun reflected from clouds and water. Not until they were in orbit and Verl was in contact with Landing Control did Ty have leisure to study the new world. And when he did, it was chiefly to wonder where they were going to find a place to put down.

At first glance, the whole planet seemed to be one shining, heaving ocean—which, of course, was how it got its name. Many planets, although favorably placed around a main-sequence sun, had too little water in their atmosphere to be suitable for man. Their use, if any, was restricted to scientific or emergency stations.

Oceanos was the opposite. No dead world this, it harbored a teeming life in its waters. But where was there any spot habitable for man? Then as the Cluster Queen moved in her orbit, Ty noticed a chain of little dots. Several chains, in varied patterns. Islands and archipelagoes—the peaks and ridges of submerged mountains—they lay mostly around the equator, occasionally running outward toward the poles. But where was there one large and flat enough to land a spaceship?

Ty felt a hand descending on his shoulder and turned with a guilty start, but the coach only stared out the viewport past him.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Wink murmured. “I never fail to feel the fascination. But I bet you’re wondering where we’re going to put down. It’s a bit tricky, but the field should come into view in about half an hour. I’ll start the retro-rockets in a moment. The people here blew the whole top off a mountain to make their field. Quite a feat of engineering it was.”

“But before that?” asked Ty in some awe, as he watched the changing patterns of cloud and water. “How’d they ever get down to begin with?”

“Oh, the first scouts? I reckon they just splashed in the drink and took their chances. That was a long time ago, boy. A long, long time.”

Ty went back into the control room with the trader and watched as he and Verl, following directions from planetary control, brought the ship to a safe landing. He saw the island, which seemed to be all landing field, loom up out of the watery horizon, and then he went to his acceleration chair to ride out the final descent.

Ty and his two friends sat in the port mess hall and stuffed themselves on fresh food and drink. It was the young Permian’s first experience of the glorious feeling of escape which accompanies planetfall after an interstellar journey. The welcome pull of normal gravity—in his case, just sufficiently lighter than customary to add a feeling of exhilaration—the sweet, fresh air, and the interesting and unlimited food all combined to make him feel that Oceanos was a wonderful place.

True, most of the items on the menu were unknown to him. Remarkable things seemed to go under the name of fish on this world. But they were all tastefully prepared, and Ty was not finicky. He joined Bertie and Verl in putting away his share, until Barnum Winkle walked past their table in the company of several port officials and paused long enough to hiss: “Remember training, boys!”

Ty hastily withdrew his hand from the second cake he was about to pick up, only to see it sneaked off the plate a few minutes later by Bertie, who dropped it into a pocket.

“That’s not fair!” Ty whispered, although Wink was halfway down the room and seemingly paying no further attention. “You’ve had two already!”

“But I’m bigger than you are,” Bertie argued, “and I need more fuel. Furthermore, this is low grav for you. You can practically hop from place to place.”

“Don’t give me that! Do you see me hopping?”

“No, but I bet you could.”

“Oh, cut the argument,” Verl growled. “We all know we should go easy on food right after landing. Time now we got back to the ship to open hatches.”

Ty whistled to Wolf, who came out from under the table where he also had been enjoying his first meal on the new world. The dog was still a bit unsteady on his feet and inclined to get his hind legs going faster than his front ones. This caused considerable merriment, especially with Bertie.

“Don’t, Bertie!” Ty protested. “He knows you’re laughing at him. What he doesn’t understand is why things are suddenly heavier again.”

The three boys went back to the ship and Ty joined in the routine labor of preparing the winches and tackle that would unload whatever cargo the trader was able to sell. That done, they sat down and waited for their boss to return and give orders. Meantime, a lively argument developed over what their new world was like.

“I hear they’ve got cities built under the sea.” said Verl. “That’s something I’d like to see.”

“This island’s supposed to be the largest flat piece of land on the whole planet,” Bertie added, “and it’s not big by any standard.”

“I hope Wink plans to take us with him, wherever he goes,” Ty said. “I don’t know that I care about the cities under the sea. But those floating gardens the waitress was telling us about…”

“Under the sea’s more interesting,” Verl insisted.

“But more dangerous,” Bertie amended.

“Not any more so than a spaceship.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that. If something cracked and the water rushed in…”

“Things can break on the ship, too,” Ty told him.

“So you suit up and fix it. Or if you don’t you’re dead in two seconds. But here it would be slow strangulation.”

The argument was interrupted by the return of the trader.

“What, sitting down and doing nothing!” Wink cried. “No unloading today, so get busy training. I dare say none of you has done your five miles today. I’ve got to hop over to what they call Prime City, but I’ve arranged for you to use the southwest corner of the field for a training area. Won’t be any ships down there for two weeks, they tell me, and by that time we’ll be up and away.”

“But coach,” demanded Verl, “can’t any of us come with you? Two’s enough to guard the ship. We could take turns helping you with the trading.”

“And get into trouble on the side, I suppose. No, this world’s too full of traps for the unwary. I’m not taking any chances with my team. I’m afraid all you boys can see of this world is the island we’re on right now!”

A chorus of wails and protests greeted this dictum. Even Bertie, who had expressed doubts about the water world, joined in the cries of disappointment.

“But coach, that’s practically confining us to quarters!”

“Nothing of the sort. You’ve got this whole station to roam about.” Wink waved his arm, cheerfully ignoring the fact that the barrier of water was visible at every turn.

“But Wink! You’re walking into these traps yourself. What’ll we do if anything happens to you?”

“I’m not going to the Games to compete!” he snapped. “Doesn’t matter if I get a touch of the bends or pick up a water virus. But it could ruin your chances. Furthermore, I’ve been around this place. Let a bunch of youngsters like you loose and you don’t use your heads. Get chasing a pretty girl and you forget all about the required precautions.”

“So they have pretty girls!” Bertie groaned in mock disappointment. “He’s keeping them all for himself!”

Wink’s reply was a friendly cuff on the head.

“Wait’ll you win at the Games and you’ll have all the girls you can stomach. Nothing like a gold star-burst to bring ‘em crowding about. And on Arcadia you’ll find women from every world in the cluster— in the galaxy, for that matter. You’ll wish you’d never heard of ‘em! You’ll be snowed under. Now get busy, all of you. I don’t want any further argument. I’m not going to risk your health in the peculiar environment of these cities. I won’t be gone long, and meanwhile get in your prescribed training. Bertie, I want plenty of jumping this time. Keep records. I’ll read ‘em when I get back!”

So while Wink departed for the shuttle plane that would take him to the mysterious city where he was to negotiate his trading, the three boys made their way to the corner of the field that had been assigned to them for training. Verl marked out an oval track and began trotting around it, and Bertie measured distances and then set to practicing his jumps. Tyros and Wolf went farther away where he could throw his discus without danger of accident. Here there was only hard-packed sand that sloped down toward the island’s edge and the sea. Ty drew a line on the ground to indicate the end of the throwing box and then got out his discuses and hefted one in his hand. He remembered Wink’s careful instructions when he first introduced him to the sport: “Always be sure there is nobody within possible range. The discus is a difficult missile and if not managed properly can go off at an unexpected angle. Even the very ancient Greeks, who invented it, had all sorts of stories about people who got killed with this thing. One of their gods called Apollo made a fatal error and killed his best friend. So you watch what you’re doing and be mighty careful.”

With this warning in mind, Ty prepared to throw toward the sea. If his discus went in the water, he could count on Wolf to fish it out for him.

To begin with he concentrated on style rather than distance. To get his feet planted just right. To swing and turn and tip his head to watch as his arm came up and around and his fingers grasped the circular form and gave just the right twist at the last moment.

Wolf dashed up and down the beach, bringing back the discus in his mouth and dropping it each time at his master’s feet. As Ty felt that he was getting the technique under control, he began to put more power into it, and the missile sailed farther and farther with each toss, until it began to drop into the sea, and Wolf splashed eagerly into the gentle surf to retrieve it.

Ty laughed as the dog came out dripping and paused to shake himself before bounding back with the prize. He even laughed when Wolf postponed his shake until he had run up to Ty and dropped his burden at his feet.

“Hey, don’t get so smart! Do your shaking down there!”

But he was not really angry with the dog. The shower of salt spray was refreshing, and he wiped the water from his face and gave an extra heave, which he felt should produce some kind of record.

The discus did indeed fall farther out, and Wolf was swimming about, vainly looking for it.

“So go on! You can find it!” Ty encouraged him. “That’s what you get for making me all wet!”

He started down toward the shore, where Wolf was alternately swimming in circles and diving down toward the bottom. Wink was not going to like it if he lost a discus. He’d have to measure the distance carefully. A proven record might turn away wrath.

And then, unexpectedly, as though spewn out from the depths, the lost missile came flying back at him. It soared over his head to land a few feet short of where he had been standing. Remembering Wink’s stories, Ty ducked and then turned to see where it landed. Open-mouthed, he turned back toward the sea.

“Wolf!” he yelled. “Wolf!” The idea was incredible.

Wolf came splashing ashore and then ran up and down the beach, barking wildly. Ty walked down to join him and stare seaward in perplexity.

There was a swirl of water out beyond the surf line, and then as a big wave came in, a dark form glided with it and uncurled on the sand at his feet. A slim, lithe girl in a dark green swimsuit picked herself up and grinned at him.

“What a clever animal that is!” she exclaimed. “What do you call it?”

Ty was too surprised to answer at first. He stared at her dripping figure, with the dark hair plastered about her face like some alien elf emerging from the sea.

“Wolf,” he said at last. “That is, that’s his name. He’s a dog, that’s what he is.”

“Oh, I’ve heard of them,” she said brightly. “At least, I’ve read about them and seen them on the off-world reels. But we don’t have them here. Only swimming creatures.”

Ty was beginning to sort things out. “Were you swimming out there? And threw the discus back? How’d you manage to catch it?”

“I didn’t. I just followed it down through the water. You’re off the Cluster Queen, aren’t you? That new spaceship that just put down.”

Ty nodded. “I’m Tyros Vann from Permia. That’s where Wink picked me up. Or us, I should say. Wolf and me.”

The girl laughed. “Wolf. What a nice name. What does it mean?” And without waiting for an answer, she hurried on. “My name’s Devra. I’m from the ftota out there. I heard there was a spaceship in and I wanted to see. I love to watch them, so tall and straight! What’s it like, to ride one out? It must be wonderful!”

Ty had a quick memory of the day he first saw the Cluster Queen, as a ball of fire streaking across his wide horizon. But he didn’t dwell for long on the thought. He was staring once more out to sea.

“Did you mean a ship?” he demanded. “What ship?”

The girl’s eyes followed his gaze. “Oh, Jarvie must have taken her down. But she’s out there and I came in off her.”

“You mean it’s submerged? I’ve heard of things like that, but… well… how far out was it?”

“Most everything on this planet is built to submerge, unless it’s something like a cycle toy. Must be a couple of miles,” she answered his question.

“A couple of miles! You swam in a couple of miles!”

“Well, naturally. I don’t believe in sitting around like a barnacle.”

Ty looked at her. She wasn’t even winded. And he remembered Wink’s caution against chasing a pretty girl. He felt that he’d make small headway chasing this one if she chose to dive into the sea. But she seemed to have other ideas. She motioned him down on the sand beside her and reached out to pat Wolf, who came up to sniff curiously.

“Haven’t you given your dog enough exercise?” she asked. “Let him rest a bit, and tell me what it’s like to be a spacer.”

“You’ve got things turned around,” he told her. “I’m the one who’s exercising. I’m practicing throwing the discus.” He picked up the object Wolf had dropped at his feet. “You see this. It’s an ancient sport. Goes back to the very beginnings on Mother Earth, so Wink says. That’s Barnum Winkle. Our boss. Also our coach. He’s gone to the city to trade.”

“And left you here alone?”

“Well, not exactly. There’s two more of us. Back there, see? They’re practicing, too. Running and jumping. I came down here by myself so I wouldn’t hit anyone with this thing.”

“So you almost hit me!” Devra laughed and stood on tiptoe to see where Verl and Bertie were working out. “How extraordinary! What are they doing that for?”

Once more Ty felt an echo from the recent past.

“Haven’t you heard of the Olympic Games?” he demanded. “On the planet Arcadia? We’re on our way to the Games!”

The Flota

4

Devra did not wait to hear further explanations about the Olympics. She wanted to see the other athletes and the extraordinary things that Ty said they were doing. After all, throwing something for your animal to chase… she could understand that. But running just to run! And jumping!

“Where does he jump to?” she demanded as she followed Ty up the dunes and away from the sea.

Verl and Bertie were no longer practicing when the two arrived at their improvised track. They were relaxing in the shade of a scrubby tree, and when they saw Ty and Devra, they came running down to meet them.

“Hey, Ty! Thought we heard voices! Who’s this? What happened to the training?”

“You’re supposed to be doing it, too,” Ty replied.

“Ever hear of taking a break? You caught us in a rest period.”

“And we were resting. Not chasing girls!”

“Only because you didn’t have any to chase,” Ty defended himself. “This is Devra. I’ve been telling her about the Olympics.”

“Tyros was throwing this little round thing,” said Devra, “but he says you boys are running. Where do you run to? We don’t have much space for running on this world. Everything is swimming. You understand?”

Verl and Bertie exchanged glances.

“It’s not where you run to,” Verl explained. “It’s the time you do it in. Here, you see, I’ve marked out about 100 meters. Bertie has a stop watch and he checks my time. If I want to do more, say 200 meters, I go round the post and come back again.”

As a demonstration, Verl broke into a fast sprint while Bertie clicked the stop watch, holding it out so the girl could watch the moving second sweep.

“This will be about average,” he told her, “but it gives you the idea.”

“But what for?” demanded Devra, as the young man rounded the farther post and came panting up to them. “It seems sort of silly on this world where there really isn’t any distance anyone can run.”

“You don’t ever run here?” cried Verl and Bertie together.

“Well, if you’re in a dreadful hurry. But you get there just as soon walking.”

The boys glanced around the vistas of the island as this idea sank in.

“You must be good at swimming,” said Verl.

“She said she swam two miles in from her boat,” Ty told them.

“Two miles!” Bertie exclaimed. “How fast can you do a mile?”

“Do you have swimming races, then?” Verl asked her.

The girl was bent over Wolf, playing with the soft ruff around his neck. The dog had been sniffing around her legs and now he settled down almost on top of her feet.

“He likes you,” Ty told her. “He isn’t that friendly with everyone.”

Devra smiled and gave Wolf an extra pat.

“Some kids do go in for water races,” she answered Verl. “But I find it boring. After all, you know how fast most people can swim. What’s fun is racing the animals. The sea serpents, for instance, are terribly fast. I hardly ever get ahead of them. The water witches aren’t so quick. I can usually catch them, but they go down deep. If you start going down after them and don’t watch out…”

She stopped as she saw the expressions on the faces of the three young men.

“Oh, I forgot. You’re all off-worlders. You’re new here. Would you like to see a water witch?”

At the general chorus of assent, she turned and started back toward the sea. “Wait here. I’ll have Jarvie bring the flota in closer. You can swim, can’t you? All of you?”

Again there was general agreement, which Ty thought best to modify. “Probably none of us swims the way you do here.”

“Oh, that’s all right,” she cried gaily. “We’re used to off-worlders. As long as you understand the ocean and won’t panic…”

“Wait a minute!” Verl stopped her. “Where are you going? You don’t expect us to go out there with you?”

“Well, you don’t expect me to bring a water witch in here, do you? You only find them in deep water. I told you, we have a flota. You can come for a ride. In fact, why don’t you all come and visit for a few days?”

“No!” Verl ordered, as Devra’s ideas seemed to be exploding in all directions. “We can’t go anywhere. We’re here in charge of the ship. What’s more, we’re supposed to be practicing for the Games. That’s the chief reason we’re on this trip, and if Barnum Winkle comes back and finds us all gone…!”

“But aren’t you going to see our world now that you’re here?” Devra was immediately concerned. “Surely your boss is going to let you have a little time for fun!”

“That’s just what he won’t let us do,” Bertie complained.

“He’s afraid we’ll get into trouble here,” Ty added.

“We’ve got to be fit when we get to the Games, and this planet has health hazards, he says.”

In a chorus of explanations, the boys gave Devra a vivid picture of how Wink had laid down the law. Her eyes opened wide in astonishment and sympathy.

“And I suppose he’s having a wonderful time, wherever he went.”

“Prime City,” Verl told her.

“Oh. Well, that’s going to take him awhile. They’re very hospitable down there. No off-worlder leaves in less than a week. You could spend a few days with us, have rest and fun and he’d never be the wiser.”

Ty found himself torn between anticipation of these delights and the dreadful prospect of disloyalty to Wink. He could see that Bertie was on the verge of quick agreement, and to his relief Verl put a firm damper on the idea.

“We really couldn’t do that,” he said. “Although it’s nice of you to ask us. We can’t leave the ship. We’re responsible for it in Wink’s absence. And if someone came to trade…”

“Oh, don’t worry about the ship,” she said impatiently. “Nothing can happen to it here. And nobody’s coming to trade for the next three days. I guess he didn’t tell you the holiday time’s just beginning. The year-end extra days. He won’t be able to finish trading at Prime City till that’s over. Everything closes up and we have fun!”

“Why, the big bum!” cried Bertie. “No, he never told us.”

“Nevertheless, we’re responsible for the ship,” Verl warned.

“Nothing will happen to the ship,” the girl insisted. “You can lock it up, I presume? We’ll tell the port office you’ve gone for the three-day holiday. They’ll put a force-shield around the ship if you want. Nothing can get to it then. When you come back, they’ll release it, And you’ll be here days before your boss even leaves Prime City. You’ll have plenty of time for practice then. How long has he planned to stay?”

“Two weeks, he said,” Verl admitted.

“So you see. He won’t be back for a week at least. And you come with me for only three days.”

“It sounds great!” cried Bertie.

“I don’t think…” began Verl, and he looked to Ty for encouragement.

Ty was torn by indecision. “It sounds all right, Verl,” he said hesitantly. “Why don’t we go see the port office. If they will put up a force-shield…”

“And if everybody else is on holiday…” Bertie added.

“You go along and lock up.” Devra turned, skipping down over the dunes to the sea. “I’ll meet you here in an hour. I’m going to get Jarvie and the flota!”

Without. waiting for an answer, she ran out among the waves and dove into the deeper water. Wolf chased her to the shoreline, where he stood on the sand barking in frustration. The three boys stared after her.

“Did you see that form!” cried Bertie. “I bet she could beat any swimmer from any other world.”

“Do they have swimming at the Games?” asked Ty, staring where the girl had disappeared among the waves. Try as he would, he did not see her come up.

“Of course, they have swimming events. Very important, too,” Verl said. “I should think it might be smart for Wink to pick up someone like her.”

“There you are!” said Bertie. “We’ll persuade her to join us. We won’t be letting Wink down. We’ll be getting him another athlete.”

“Maybe he doesn’t want a girl,” the runner objected.

“Then we’ll find a boy… this Jarvie she’s been talking about.”

Verl still didn’t like it. “You go. The two of you. I’ll stay with the ship.”

“Oh, don’t be so noble! We’ll come back in three days. Sooner, if you want. Let’s lock up the ship. Come along, we can check things at the port office. About this holiday and the force-shield.”

Verl glanced at Tyros and saw that his friend had gone over to the opposition. Reluctantly, he let himself be led away toward the port office.

The talk with the officer on duty proved that Devra had been right in everything she told them. There was only a skeleton crew on duty at the port Everyone else was off enjoying the holidays. The officer seemed to think there was nothing strange in the idea of locking up the ship and establishing a protective force-shield. There was a slight charge for this service, but when the boys put together the credits Wink had doled out to them, they had enough to pay for it.

“I’d like to see anyone get past that!” laughed the officer, when the shield was installed. “But don’t forget to come to the office and get it turned off before you try to enter your ship. Otherwise, you’ll get a little surprise.”

He collected their money and their signatures, and assuring them that their ship was now perfectly safe, he turned back to other duties. The three young men walked out of the office and paused a moment in the bright sunlight.

Bertie picked up the bag which they had crammed with their few belongings before they had locked up the ship.

“I suppose he thinks we’re going to check out on the next shuttle,” he said. “He’ll be a bit surprised if he tries to figure just where we’ve gone.”

“We’ve got to be sure to be back before Wink comes,” said Verl, still worrying. “Suppose he tried to get into the ship and ran into that shield.”

“He’d just get a little surprise!” Bertie chortled as he thought about it. “Stop worrying, Verl. We’re going to have fun!”

Ty echoed Bertie’s sentiments. For once he was more in tune with him than with Verl. The three made their way to the farthest corner of the airport and then started down over the dunes. Before they reached the shore they saw the ship out beyond the breakers and Devra standing on the sands, waving to them.

The flota, as Devra called it, was like nothing Ty had ever seen before. His experience with boats was limited to river ferries and fishing craft on the small lake where he had learned to swim. His whole life had been passed in the vast expanse of Permia’s grasslands and he had never seen that planet’s seas. Now the heaving, surging ocean of this new world awed and frightened him a little.

His two friends, however, were used to ocean swimming. Already clad in bathing trunks, they dashed down to the water, shouting their amazed reactions to Devra’s boat.

“How do we get to it? Can’t you bring her in closer? Beach her? Got a dinghy or something?”

“Oh, you mean a shuttle boat? Nobody bothers with that. Much easier to swim out.” The slight edge of scorn was evident in her voice.

The three athletes stood together and eyed the alien craft. It was bobbing up and down beyond the breakers, a round, shining, plastic bubble. It looked like some enormous jellyfish waiting for its prey.

“Is that all of it?” asked Tyros. He was beginning to regret a little his decision to come on this junket He remembered Wink’s words about traps for the unwary. Suppose he should drown on his very first venture?

“Of course, that isn’t all!” Devra was becoming impatient. “Jarvie only surfaced the bubble. Don’t you see him there?”

They all squinted against the sun and Ty made out a human form moving around inside.

“How do we get in?” he asked.

“From underneath, of course. It’s easy. Just follow me.”

She ran into the waves, and the others splashed after her. But Ty quickly called a halt.

“Wait a minute. What about Wolf?”

The dog was running up and down, splashing through the shallow water in a frenzy of excitement at the apparent departure of all his human friends. Devra stopped at once.

“Can’t he swim? I thought all animals could swim.”

“Well, not underwater. Not for long.”

“Perhaps we should have left him with the port officers,” Bertie suggested.

“Perhaps I’d better go back with him,” Ty agreed. “You all go on. You can tell me about it afterward.”

Ty turned around, calling to Wolf, assuring him he would not be left alone. But he had hardly reached the dog when Devra came flying back to them.

“Of course, you won’t stay behind! And Wolf won’t either. You want to come, don’t you, Wolf?” She bent down to talk to the dog, giving him quick, encouraging pats and slaps. “Come along now, Wolf. Follow me. We’ll take care of you. We’ll have to activate the side lock.”

She turned back to dive through the breakers, and to Ty’s amazement, Wolf followed right along. He swam strongly behind Devra, rising with the breaking waves to shake the water from his head, and then striking out again after the girl.

It occurred to Ty that Devra had a way with animals. She had practically taken over Wolf, who was something of a one-man dog. And she seemed far more concerned with the dog’s aquatic problems than with any trouble the boys might have. Verl and Bertie were already battling the breakers, and Ty saw that if anybody got left behind, it would probably be himself. He waded out till the water was waist high and then followed his friends with a dive through the last breakers.

All at once he was out of the angry water and swimming in comparative calm. It was only a few more strokes to reach the flota, where his friends were already clinging to handholds, and Wolf was frantically trying to climb the slippery sides.

“Take it easy, Wolf!” Devra’s voice had a soothing quality, as she slipped her arms about the dog and gave him temporary support. “Here, you hold him,” she told Ty. “I’ll get the lock working. Follow me, you two.”

And without a backward glance, she dove down into the water, seeming to disappear beneath the vessel. Verl and Bertie stared at each other.

“Must be something down there. Guess we’d better try. Here goes.”

First Bertie and then Verl turned head over heels and disappeared in the direction that Devra had taken. Ty was left holding a wet and whining Wolf and wondering where to look for the promised lock.

Then a motor inside the vessel shuddered into life. Like a great whale, the flota rose higher in the water, displaying its dripping flanks. Ty struggled to keep a good grip on the handhold and cling to Wolf as well.

As if by magic, Devra was back beside him, and an opening appeared in the ship’s side, below the bubble dome. It was no more than a shallow niche, with water sloshing about in the bottom, but it could hold a man.

“You go first,” said Devra. “Here, give me Wolf, I’ll send him after and you’ll be there to get him. Squeeze in, silly. It’s held bigger people than you.”

Ty crawled in. He had to stand upright, and the water came up to his knees. He was just wondering how he was going to manage, when the thing began to revolve. The sea was shut out, the water drained from around his feet, and suddenly he was dumped, or fell out, rather, into the boat! He landed on a damp deck and hastily pulled his legs out of the way, for the cylinder was still revolving.

Ty let out a startled cry as Verl and Bertie dragged him to his feet. Two seconds later Wolf fell out of the lock almost on top of him. The dog seemed to recover first. He was shaking himself all over the three athletes, while they were still marveling at their experience.

“That’s the doggonedest gadget I ever saw!” cried Bertie. “But you should have seen the way we came in.”

“How was that?” asked Ty, keeping an eye on the lock for the reappearance of Devra.

“Oh, we came in here.” The two boys dragged him over to an opening in the deck of the ship. Water was sloshing up from below, and while Ty was still wondering how and why the boat did not fill up and sink, a slim figure shot up and through the opening. Devra sat for a moment on the edge. Then she reached over and pushed a button. A piece of the deck slid in to close the opening.

“All right, Jarvie! Lower pressure!” she cried.

There was a buzzing sound, and an unpleasant sensation in his ears. Ty looked around for an explanation, but all he saw was Wolf shaking himself Then Devra took his arm.

“Welcome to our flota,” she said. “Come and meet Jarvie and see the rest of our home.”

Jarvie

5

They moved carefully, for the floor was unsteady under their feet and hardly had the hum of lowered pressure ceased when other noises began in the ship’s vitals. Ty found himself reaching out for a firm handhold as the vessel bounded forward in increasing spurts of power from its engines.

“What have you got here? Rocket power?” Verl exclaimed.

“In a way,” Devra answered. “But we’ve also got a speed-crazy pilot.”

She pushed open a hatch to a higher deck and stuck her head up.

“Take it easy, Jarvie!” she shouted. “What’s the hurry? Let our guests get acclimated first.”

Then, “There’s nothing for it. I’ll have to take over,” she told them, and reaching down she grabbed hold of Wolf and pushed and hauled him through the opening to the deck above. She scrambled up after him. The three young men, exchanging doubtful glances, followed her up the ladder.

Ty emerged within the bubble to which he had recently clung on the outside. He looked about and was struck by the panorama of sea in all directions. Already the island with the spaceport was dwindling to a mere shadow on the horizon. He felt a stab of alarm as he realized the irrevocable nature of their actions. There could be no turning back now. No quick return to the port if they didn’t like what they’d got into. And after all, what did he really know about Devra? What did any of them know? She might be the bait to lure them into a trap. This fellow, Jarvie, who seemed set on taking them away at a hell-bent pace… ?

He wrenched his eyes from the vast expanse of water surrounding them and focused on the interior of the cabin. The control room, he immediately deduced, for at the farther side was a seat surrounded by instruments and Devra was already bending over the occupant and actually shaking him!

“All right, Jarvie!” she cried. “I’ll take over now! You heard me!”

She knocked his hands from the controls and the frantic speed of the ship began to slacken. With an apparently practiced heave of her hips she rolled Jarvie out of the pilot’s chair and herself into his place.

“All right!” she said again, when things seemed under control and Jarvie had picked himself up from the floor. “Stop trying to impress the spacers. You know perfectly well a flota can’t go as fast as a spaceship. Get up and be introduced to our guests. This is my brother, Jarvie, gentlemen. He’s not as crazy as he seems. And this is Ty… and Bertie… and Verl. Have I got the names right? And that’s Wolf, their dog.”

“A dog!” cried Jarvie. “A real dog from Earth?”

Ty had been puzzling over the fact that Jarvie, who recently had held all their lives in his hands, was only half his size. But when he heard that high pitched shout of “A dog!” he suddenly understood. Jarvie was a kid. A little boy. How old? He couldn’t estimate. Size, age, and growth could vary from planet to planet.

“Not a dog from Earth,” Verl explained. “He’s Ty’s dog. From Permia.”

“Permia! That’s the high-gravity planet, isn’t it? What does that do to him… to you, Ty?”

The boy was quick at names and information. Ty was trying to formulate an answer, but Devra spoke for him.

“You can ask him those questions after we’re settled. Now go and rustle up some grub. And stop acting like a brat.”

“Oh, heck!” Jarvie hesitated at the hatch. “What do I get Wolf to eat? He must be hungry, too.”

“Wolf isn’t that particular,” Ty told him. “He prefers meat, but I guess it has to be fish on this world. He’ll eat bread and fruit if he has to.”

“Get him some fish cakes. Fix a nice tray for all of us,” his sister ordered. And then as the boy still hesitated at the hatch, she relaxed her autocratic manner. “Yes, you can pet him, I’m sure. He’s friendly, isn’t he, Ty?”

“Sure, he’s friendly. But all this is strange for him. Come here, Wolf.” And Ty held his pet while Jarvie ran his hands over the dog’s coat.

“Gee, how soft and fluffy! Imagine that, Sis! A pet that isn’t wet!”

Then, with a quick turn, he disappeared down the hatch, his feet scarcely touching the rungs of the short ladder.

Devra made a face at his departure. “You’ll forgive his behavior, won’t you?” she smiled at the three spacers. “He’s really a fan of yours. Anything from space fascinates him. He’s never been off-world, but you’ll find that he knows a lot about it. Every colony in the Cluster, and most of the unsettled worlds.”

“Smart kid,” Verl commented. “How old is he?”

“Sometimes he’s too smart for his own good. He’s eleven, but don’t let him know I told you.”

Devra had slowed the headlong progress of the flota so that now it was lazing along, plowing slowly through the quiet ocean with a barely perceptible rocking motion as it responded to the gentle swells. Ty looked back the way they had come and saw the lower body of the vessel, torpedo-shaped, rising and falling in the spray like some giant fish. Far beyond their wake the bit of land they had left lay like a cloud on the horizon. It seemed impossible that they had come this far so quickly.

The girl followed his glance and smiled. “She’s got nice lines, hasn’t she? Almost as fast under water as above. We don’t use rocket power, but something almost like it—air jets. She rides on a cushion of air. That’s topside, of course.”

Devra locked the controls and motioned them all to sit down. At her touch, the proper number of folding seats sprang up out of the floor and clicked into place against the lower portion of the dome.

“We may be a little cramped,” she said, “but we try to be comfortable.”

“Almost like a spaceship,” Verl commented, as he examined the furnishings and instrumentation.

“A lot of spaceship designing went into our flotas,” she told him, “but we think we’ve added some improvements, too. Not that I know anything about spaceships. But almost everybody here has one of these ships. Bigger or smaller. Some are very elaborate, but we like the simple life.”

“The simple life!” cried Bertie. “For a kid of eleven! Do all kids run about in things like this on your world? Doesn’t your mother worry?”

Devra smiled as she bent over to scratch Wolfs ruff. “I think I told you that Jarvie’s a bit extraordinary. Everybody grows up in the water, of course. You begin with simple boats and machines and work up. Jarvie seemed to work up as fast as I did, even though he’s… er… some years younger. And we don’t have a mother to worry, unfortunately.”

“Oh. Sorry.” Verl apologized for Bertie’s frankness, but the girl was unperturbed.

“Our father’s a big wheel in city engineering and he got us the flota so we’d keep out of his hair. It never occurs to him to worry. He just says I’m responsible.”

Bertie let out a low whistle. “Boy, I’d hate to be responsible for that kid on land! Suppose he ran into something going at such speeds?”

“There really isn’t much he can run into,” she replied. “He was going away from the only land mass in this hemisphere. And we’re off the regular traffic lanes. You can see there’s not another ship in sight.” She swept her arm around to cover the unbroken view to all points of the compass.

“Well, I guess it’s a fairly foolproof place at that,” Verl admitted.

“Oh, Jarvie’s no fool. He’s got us into trouble at times, I’ll admit. But he’s awfully smart about getting us out. Now I wonder what’s taking him so long with the food. Jarvie!”

Devra’s voice rose in volume, and almost immediately Jarvie’s head appeared in the hatch opening, and he struggled up into the dome, carrying a kind of box-tray loaded with interesting dishes and bottles.

“Jarvie, you were listening!” his sister scolded. “Can’t you grow up and act decent?”

“I was not. I’ve been working as fast as I can. Remember, there’s three extra people to feed. Four, if you count the dog.”

The young men were all on their feet “You should have let us help. Just show us next time. Here, let me give you a hand.”

Even Wolf tried to be of assistance. He squeezed into the crowd around the food carrier and poked a sniffing nose among the dishes. But Jarvie was not inclined to relinquish his work of dispensing refreshment. As each helping hand was extended, he shoved a plate and cup into it.

“Here’s yours… and yours… and that’s for Sis. I brought Wolf some crax meat and a bolo bone.”

The boy set a dish down before the dog and stood back to watch his reaction. Bertie and Verl were both trying to serve Devra at once. And Ty relaxed in his seat and took a more careful look at Jarvie.

He saw a tanned, wiry youngster with a shock of red hair, blue eyes, and a mouth like an ocean cavern. He wore only the briefest of trunks and his arms and legs seemed to be all skin and bone. Right now he was concentrating his attention on Wolf and his food problem.

“Go on, eat it,” he urged. “It won’t kill you. It’s what all the animals eat on this world.”

Wolf, having sniffed at the food, suspiciously, apparently decided it was appropriate for dogs, and began to gulp it down.

“There, you see?” Devra said. “He can learn to like our food. Now come and eat your own, Jarvie.”

The boy picked up his plate and cup and kicked up a wall seat, but he kept his interested gaze on the dog.

“Animals?” asked Verl. “You have animals of different kinds in this ocean?”

“We have a great variety of life in our seas,” she said. “But perhaps we should not call them animals. That sounds as though we mean land animals such as you know. And this world never had enough land to evolve more than small, primitive animals. In the sea we have great, monstrous things. But you’d probably call them all fish.”

“But we do have animals!” Jarvie interrupted. “We brought them here.”

“Yes, the early settlers brought some from Earth. They decided that they simply couldn’t do without a steak now and then or a glass of milk. And we’ve done a lot of land-building. My father’s still working at it. While most of it’s been used for cities, a certain amount was put aside for the luxury of cattle.”

“But if you have herds, why not dogs?” Ty demanded.

“Well, the first settlers were hard and practical. Nothing was brought for a sentimental reason, like a pet. And you don’t need herding here. The islands are so small and it’s all scientifically worked out. So much space for cattle, so much for growing fodder. In fact, we’ve developed a native seaweed that’s suitable for feeding cows. Of course, that whole operation’s a great luxury and only for the rich. Jarvie and I were brought up on native food and we prefer it.”

“And we have our own pets, Sis! You forgot about Maki.”

“I’m getting to that. One of the founding fathers hit upon the idea of a sea animal to take the place of the dog. He decided that on a water world, man’s best friend could be a seal. Quite a few seals and sea lions were imported. They’ve done very well over the centuries. In fact, some of them escaped and went back to the wild, so now we have several strains, those we developed by breeding and those that have adapted to our seas.”

Jarvie could hardly wait for his sister to finish her little lecture.

“Do you want to see Maki? What’d you think Wolf will think of Maki?”

“You mean to say you’ve got a seal aboard?” asked Verl.

“What’s it like? I never saw one,” Bertie added.

“She’s not aboard now. At least, I don’t think so. But I can get her!” Jarvie stuffed the last bit of food into his mouth and started down the ladder to the lower deck.

“She doesn’t like to stay out of the water for long,” Devra explained. “But she follows us and comes aboard to sleep. We’re very fond of her.”

They all followed Jarvie to the lower part of the ship, and Ty noticed that Devra flipped the switch for a rise in air pressure and that his ears were soon recording the fact. But he quickly forgot about it when he saw Jarvie slide open the hatch through which the swimmers had entered and push a button that rang a bell.

“It rings both inside and out,” Jarvie explained. “Maki can hear it quite a distance away.”

“She must be a fast seal if she can keep up with the speed you were making,” Bertie commented.

“But we’ve been practically standing still all the while I was getting the food and we were eating. She never lets us get far ahead.”

“Besides, what do you know about how fast a seal can swim?” said Verl.

Ty kept his eyes on the small circle of water where the ocean sloshed about but, surprisingly, did not come into the ship. He hardly knew what to expect, and jumped in surprise when a brown head, decorated with a mass of whiskers, shot up in the center of the hole and two beady eyes looked around at the group.

“Hi, Maki! Come see what we’ve got!” Devra bent over and reached a welcoming hand and the young men gathered around, peering curiously at the sea creature.

Wolf, on the other hand, backed away, barking nervously. This only served to focus the seal’s attention on him. Immediately, she shot farther out of the water, balancing herself on her flippers at the edge of the hole. Her long neck stretched out in Wolfs direction and her whiskers twitched. She gave several coughing seal barks.

“Hey, let the animals get acquainted!” said Verl, motioning them away from the open hatch. “Quit crowding and give ‘em a chance.”

“That’s right,” said Devra. “If we want them to like each other, we’ve got to let them do it on their own terms.”

They all drew back, and Wolf, as though knowing what was expected of him, advanced cautiously toward the water hole. The hackles rose on his furry neck and he stretched it as far as possible, taking in the strange smell without going any nearer than he had to.

The seal rose still higher on its flippers, bringing its nose within an inch of the dog’s. Each animal sniffed tentatively and then Wolf put out a long pink tongue and licked the other’s face. This was the signal for the end of negotiations. With a heave and a splash, the whole seal shot out of the water and rolled on the deck, almost knocking Wolf off his feet. Then began a wild chase, perhaps more accurately a wallow, in which dog and seal rolled, jumped and ran around the wet and slippery deck, until Maki felt that she had had enough and, with one well-timed leap, disappeared into the water from which she had recently emerged. Wolf was left sniffing and barking at the hole.

The human population, which had retreated to the limits of the small space, now returned to the arena.

“Close the hatch, Jarvie!” cried Devra. “Hurry up before she has us all drenched!”

“Aw, who cares! She was having fun!”

“Well, enough’s enough. Perhaps our guests don’t all want to get soaked right after supper.” Devra reached out and threw the switch which caused the hatch cover to close. “Come on. We’ve got to figure out where everyone’s going to sleep.”

She led them back to the upper deck and along a narrow corridor with doors on either side. These proved to open into tiny cabins. The first two belonged to Devra and Jarvie. But the girl assigned the third, with a double-decker bunk, to Verl and Bertie. The last one was a storeroom, and with the boys’ assistance, she moved most of the gear to the end of the corridor and rigged up a hammock in the space thus cleared.

“I hope you won’t mind this,” she smiled at Ty. “There’s room for Wolf underneath. Now where’s that boy got to? He should have been helping me to set things up.”

“I don’t think he came up from below,” Verl said.

“Oh, I suppose he’s let Maki back in. It would be a calamity if that seal didn’t spend the night in the splash room.”

“You mean she sleeps aboard?” asked Bertie.

“Oh, sure. If she wants to. Would you shut your dog out of your house?”

They all looked at Ty, and he shook his head. “No. Definitely not. Wolf sleeps with me. Always.”

“Just don’t let him know that she’s down there. I’ve had enough water flying around for one night. Now if you want to step into the control room, I’ll show you how we secure the ship for the night.”

A couple of hours later, tired and happy, they made their way back to their quarters. Devra peeked into Jarvie’s cabin and they all heard his quiet breathing.

“He’s had an exciting day.” She smiled. “I guess we all have. See you in the morning.”

Her door clicked shut. Ty saw his two companions disappear into their cabin, and called Wolf to follow him into his. When he had patted the dog and seen him curl up in the small deck space, he climbed into his hammock, determined to make the best of sailor’s bedding.

The next moment he let out a yell. The hammock swung crazdly, and he catapulted onto the floor. In the dark he reached for the door, which was only an arm’s length away. The corridor light glowed dimly as he pushed it open and he and Wolf spilled out onto the deck. Around him he saw heads appearing in doorways. All except Jarvie’s.

“What the heck happened? You having a nightmare?” demanded his friends.

“What’s wrong?” cried Devra. “What’s the matter?”

“Something bit me. In there. In the hammock.” Ty held up his foot, hopping ludicrously on the other.

Devra touched a switch, the lights came up brighter and they all saw the angry red blotches on Ty’s leg and ankle. The girl strode purposefully into the cabin and pulled open the hammock. She reached in and held up a dark, squirming mass.

“That boy!” she cried. “That brat! He planted a blue slug in your bed. It won’t kill you, but its sting can be pretty uncomfortable. You’d better come in my cabin and let me fix it for you.”

Reluctantly, he followed her to her cabin, while Wolf sniffed worriedly at the door and his two friends paced the corridor outside. Jarvie, it seemed, was sleeping the sleep of the innocent.

But even after Devra had swabbed, painted, and powdered his burning skin, Ty could not sleep for a long time. His leg continued to itch and his mind retained the impression of the repulsive creature which had momentarily shared the hammock with him.

“Just wait until morning, my boy!” he thought. “Just wait!”

But while his active mind was planning what he would do to that miscreant, his deeper instincts told him that he would do nothing of the sort. For after all, Jarvie was Devra’s brother. And Devra was something beyond all experience in his young life.

At the Shallows

6

The next morning Jarvie was deluged with reproaches, which seemed to slide off his person like water off Maki’s sleek fur.

“Pretty nasty imagination you’ve got there, boy.” This was Verl’s reprimand.

“Jarvie, how could you!” cried Devra. “Our new guests. And you wanted to meet spacemen!”

“Suppose he’d been really allergic?” Bertie said. “You might have killed him.”

“Aw, a blue slug never killed anyone.”

But Bertie’s suggestion had sobered the boy. He shot Ty a side glance and muttered, “I’m sorry. Seemed like a good idea at the time.”

“Forget it,” said Ty. “I’ve read in Wink’s books about ocean planets. They have strange customs and initiations. Just consider us all initiated now.”

“Oh, sure. And I’ll get your breakfast. What would you like? Fried slugs?”

“No!” It was a roaring negative from the three youths.

But Devra smiled at them. “They’re really quite good, and Jarvie knows how to cook them beautifully. He undoubtedly got the one last night out of the fresh fish pen. However, I’ll get you something else and you don’t need to worry. Set the table, Jarvie, and take a look at our position while you’re up there.”

Breakfast was eaten in the bubble, and the spacers had to admit that Devra’s fish cakes were very tasty. Jarvie had fixed himself a dish of slugs which he ate with relish and offered to the guests, but they all with one voice turned him down.

While they were relaxing after the meal, enjoying a drink of exotic kelp juice, Devra began to question her guests about the athletic competition for which they were bound. Jarvie sat up with expectant eyes.

“Sure, I’ve read about the Olympic Games, but I thought they were all ancient history. You mean to say they’re going on now? Right in the Cluster? That’s great! Why don’t we go, Devra?”

“Go?” said the girl in surprise. “A little matter of getting from one planet to another. It’s not like having your own ftota. He’s so used to being able to go anywhere he likes,” she explained to her guests.

“But people will be going,” Verl said. “From every planet in the Cluster. And even from outside, so Wink says. It’s a big thing.”

“Well, perhaps if we asked our father,” she began. “It would be a good excuse for a space trip.”

“I don’t mean that,” said Jarvie in disgust. “Not go and look at them. Go and compete. I bet you could outswim any girl in the galaxy.”

Devra smiled at her brother. “It’s nice of you to say so. But you’ve got to realize that those athletes are professionals.”

“No, they aren’t. I’ve read about it. They’ve got to be amateurs.”

“I mean they’re experts. What do I know about competing? All I do is swim around our ocean as I need to.”

“That’s all!” cried her brother. “What do you have to know?” he asked the three athletes. “She can beat Maki—sometimes. And even Dad can’t catch her if she doesn’t want him to.”

“Well, I don’t know much about swimming,” Ty said. “I know they do have it on the program, but Wink never discussed it with us. The subject never came up.”

“Why don’t we go swimming now?” Bertie stood up and stretched, ducking his head to miss the bubble roof.

“All I’ve seen you do is dive into this ship,” Verl said to Devra. “I know everyone on this planet must be far ahead of us in swimming ability, but I’d like to see a demonstration.”

Devra began clearing the table. “Good idea. A nice swim is something I never turn down. But don’t talk about Olympics. That’s just an idea in the kid’s head.” She held up a hand as Jarvie started to protest. “Let’s take them to the Shallows, shall we? It’s safe there. Easy stuff to hold on to and lots to see. Even Wolf might enjoy it.”

To their eager questions, she explained that the Shallows was an area not far from their present position where the peaks of submerged mountains just broke the surface of the sea. There were reefs and seaweed gardens and multicolored fish to look at.

“There have been many proposals to build it into a new land mass, but because it’s so beautiful and has such diverse life forms, it’s been declared a protected area. Lots of people go there to enjoy the swimming, but we found a spot that’s almost unknown. Off to one side and a bit separate. It’s private and unspoiled. You’ll like it.”

So while Devra cleared away the breakfast, Jarvie set the ship in motion. The two consulted and decided to travel underwater, partly for speed and partly so that no other ship could follow them to their special reef. Ty and his friends watched in fascination as the boy pushed buttons and levers and the flota gradually sank beneath the waves. Then little by little it gathered speed and soon was sliding along through the deeps. The outer covers had been closed over the bubble, but the boys could watch their progress on the sonar screen and on the several dials which indicated depth, speed, and direction through the dark waters.

Devra had described the Shallows as being nearby, but it was not until past noon and a quick midday meal that the flota arrived at its destination. Slowly it rose from the depths until the bubble was again above water and the outer cover could slide back.

The young men from space peered out in all directions, searching for the beauty that had set this spot apart and insured its protection. But the sea stretched away on every hand and appeared no different from the place where they had boarded the flota. It did not even boast an island on the horizon.

Devra saw their disappointed looks. “Of course, there’s nothing to see up here,” she said. “You have to go down below. Let’s all get ready for diving.”

While the young men pulled on their swimming trunks, Jarvie dragged out underwater equipment. “Know how to use diving masks? Well, never mind. You’ll learn.”

He draped the apparatus around their necks and showed them how to fasten the air-packs to their shoulders. “Don’t worry. There’s nothing to it. Even babies do it. Hey, Dewie, we’ve got three greenhorns on our hands!”

Devra appeared in a fancy suit of many colors. “Don’t let him worry you. It’s easy to learn. But we’ll go out the lock, Jarvie. Can’t take Wolf through the bottom.”

“I thought perhaps Wolf would stay here.”

“And miss all the fun! You want to come, don’t you, Wolf?”

The dog was following close at their heels, and as though he understood the question, he began to bark and wag his tail.

“That’s enough, Wolf,” said Ty sternly. “You don’t know what you’re getting into.”

“We’ll set up the platform,” Devra told her brother. “That way we’ll all have something to dive from, and Wolf will have a safe place to stand and watch.”

“The platform’s for greenhorns!” Jarvie hissed.

But he worked hard, pulling a kind of rubber raft out the hatch and fastening it to the streamlined main body of the flota, which had been raised to float just free of the water. When Jarvie and Devra had made all secure, their guests were invited to join them on the raft.

“Send Wolf first, if he wants to come!” she called.

Ty whistled his dog to the open lock, which was well above the water line. He confidently expected him to balk and was surprised when, at Devra’s urgings, he leaped through the opening, landing with a splash in the water. He swam without hesitation to the raft, where the girl pulled him up beside her and he stood, shaking spray in all directions and barking at the others to join him.

“Well, look at old Wolf!” cried Bertie. “Didn’t know he had it in him.”

“It’s time we tried to do as well,” said Verl, and promptly dove through the opening into the sea.

Bertie followed quickly and Ty saw that his turn had come. His experience with the ocean the day before had not instilled confidence in him, but he took a deep breath and jumped. A few minutes later he was climbing up onto the raft atop the ftota, helped by the extended hands of his friends.

It was pleasant on the raft. The sun was warm, but there was a nice breeze to keep it from being too hot. Ty would have been happy to stretch out there and enjoy the feeling of sun and wind and bask in the knowledge that there was absolutely nothing that he had to do. But he was not allowed to enjoy this happy situation for long. All his friends were peering into the crystal-clear water, pointing out the colored rocks and weeds and the beautiful fish that darted in and out.

Jarvie was soon involved in explaining the proper use of the diving equipment, and Verl and Bertie were quick to try it out. Before Ty had settled down for a sun bath, the three had disappeared below the surface. Wolf stood at the edge of the raft and barked his disapproval as each boy went in with a splash and then failed to come up again.

“That’s all right, Wolf,” he said. “They know what they’re doing. They aren’t drowning down there—I hope!”

“Aren’t you coming, too?” asked Devra, poised on the raft’s edge. “It’s fun!”

“I think I’ll stay here with Wolf for a while. I’m not as accomplished a swimmer as those two, you know. I’ll get into it gradually.”

“You don’t have to be a good swimmer. It’s easy with the underwater sets. Let me show you.”

Reluctantly, Ty allowed Devra to adjust his equipment and followed her instructions.

“Breathe in. Now out. Easy… relax… you can’t possibly drown. These things have been developed so they’re absolutely foolproof. And besides, I’ll be with you. You mustn’t be afraid.”

It was this last which pushed Ty into the water. He could not let her think he had any less nerve than his two friends. He slid into the sea after her, and allowed her to pull him down beneath the surface. He could hear Wolf barking in a frantic manner, but he was too busy adjusting his breathing and following instructions to pay any attention.

And all of a sudden he found that it was easy. He was at home in this wonderful underwater world. He could swim and turn in a way that had been impossible on the surface. He was not fighting the water, he was part of it. And as his use of the apparatus became automatic, his eyes began to take in the wonders of this environment.

Around the rocks and grottoes they swam. He remembered that Devra had said they were the peaks of sunken mountains. But how different under the sea! Every rock and pebble had some strange growth attached to it. Some were dull browns and grays, but many had beautiful colored streamers or spines of red and yellow. In and out and around it all swam the many-colored fish. No doubt the fish of this planet had structural and behavioral differences from those that he knew in the lakes and streams of Permia, but they were fish just as surely as the oceans of all worlds spawn fishlike creatures.

Devra swam after them and they fled before her in schools of light. She carried a spear in one hand and she poked into every crevice with it, uprooting wonderful things which she held up for his inspection. Once a large, lumbering creature hove into view, and Devra was after it, grabbing its tail and causing it to put on a burst of speed. For a moment Ty wondered if such things might be dangerous, but Devra seemed so happily at home that he put the idea out of his mind.

Still, he began to think of returning to the surface. He wondered what Wolf was doing by himself. Suppose he had tried to follow? The dog could not swim under water and he would have a hard time climbing back onto the raft, if he should jump in. He put on speed to catch up with Devra and was about to signal his intentions, when he felt something brush his legs. He swung around and came face to face with a bunch of bristly whiskers. Two beady eyes stared at him, but even as he realized that it was Maki and reached out to touch the animal, she was gone, whirling off past Devra at incredible speed.

The girl gave chase, and Ty watched in fascination as she followed every twist and turning of the seal, actually seeming to gain on the animal, though Ty decided it was by astute anticipation of the seal’s moves and a cutting across its path. Finally, the two came together in a swirl of water. Devra had her arms about her pet and they were rolling round and round, down and down. Then Maki slipped from her grasp and the chase was on again.

Ty remembered Jarvie’s estimate of his sister’s swimming ability. “You could outswim any girl in the galaxy.” Now he was convinced of this. The water seemed more truly her element than the land. If only Wink could see her! He was sure that his trainer would be impressed. Why, a girl like this didn’t need training! She’d been doing this since she was a baby.

At last Ty caught her attention and gestured toward the surface. He had no idea where the flota was, but he knew which way was up. He was anxious to get back to his own pet and be sure that he was all right.

The girl and seal followed him up. They broke surface a fair distance from the flota, and Ty was relieved to see figures around it. Jarvie and his friends had returned and Wolf would not be alone. He set out to swim back to the raft. Devra easily outdistanced him, and when he finally came puffing and wheezing up to the vessel, there were many hands again to pull him out of the sea.

Wolf hardly noticed him. He was busy welcoming Devra. It was not until Maki shot out of the water and landed on the raft beside Ty that the dog moved over, squeezing in between them, asking for the attentions which were being given to the seal.

“You’re an old fraud!” Ty said, scratching the dog’s ears. “I practically exhaust myself getting back to you and you don’t pay any attention—till somebody else wants the petting!”

“Don’t kid yourself, he missed you all right,” Verl said. “He was going crazy barking when we came back. Thought we were all drowned, I suppose.”

“Too bad you don’t have underwater gear for dogs,” said Bertie. “Bet he’d have fun going down there.”

“He can have fun on the surface,” Devra said. “I can see that Maki’s dying to play with him, and he swam well enough yesterday.”

Indeed, Maki was frisking about the raft, falling off with a splash to drench them all and coming up to poke her bewhiskered nose in Wolfs face. Wolf leaned farther and farther over the edge, but showed no inclination to go in. He seemed to have become adept at keeping his balance on the gently rolling flota.

“If we had something for him to chase—like my discus,” Ty said, “he’d make no bones about getting wet.”

“Like the discus?” said Devra. “That’s easy.”

In an instant she was off the raft and into the ocean. He watched her going down through the clear water, becoming smaller and dimmer till she vanished among the rocks.

“I can see she’s an expert, like Jarvie here,” said Verl.

“I have to hand it to him, the little brat’s a living fish!” Bertie was giving praise where it was due.

“Aw, we’re brought up on it,” Jarvie grinned selfconsciously. “She’s much better than I am.”

“I can testify to that… at least to her being extraordinary,” said Ty. “Are you boys thinking what I’m thinking?”

Before they could answer, Devra’s head popped up beside the raft and she held out a round, flat shell. “Here you are. Nearest thing to a discus I could find.”

“It’s perfect!” Ty took it from her and showed it to the dog. “Here, Wolf. Go get it!”

The shell sailed out from the flota, and Wolf did not hesitate. He sprang into the sea and began swimming strongly after it. But when he reached the point of impact, there was no missile to retrieve. Perhaps he could see it, falling slowly through the clear water. Several times he bobbed his head in after it, and each time came up, barking his frustration.

“Oh, poor Wolfie!” cried Devra. “Go get it, Maki!”

The seal did not need urging. Already she was on her way down after the shell, and in a moment she was back again, streaking to the raft, where she heaved herself up and deposited the missile beside Ty.

This time he tossed the shell between Wolf and the raft, so that the dog had a clear view and a fair chance of getting it. Wolf plowed through the water valiantly, but just as his jaws were about to close upon the shell, a sleek brown form slid between him and his quarry, literally whisking it out of his mouth.

As Maki again brought back the shell, Wolf was loud in his complaints. It was evident that he felt himself badly treated, and when Ty next threw the missile practically within his grasp, and Maki rushed to get it, he ignored the shell. As the seal grabbed it, he turned and fastened his teeth on her flipper.

There was a mighty swirl of water as Maki turned to meet the onslaught. As the seal pulled him under, Wolf had to let go and come up for air. But Maki had dropped the shell in the excitement. Now she seemed to be torn between getting the shell and dealing with the dog. In the clear water they could see her start down after the missile and then make a graceful turn and come up. She surfaced just behind Wolf, and took a good hold of his tail. The dog let out a yelp and whirled around. But this time Maki gave him no opportunity for a second nip.

At first Ty was worried lest a real fight develop, and all three athletes leaned over the side of the raft, seeking the best views of the contest.

“They aren’t really fighting,” said Devra. “I’m sure Wolf didn’t hurt her, and Maki will never give him another chance. The advantage is all hers.”

As the skirmish continued, Ty was astonished at his dog’s strength and spirit. Back and forth around the raft swam the two animals, and the group was so concentrated on their antics that it failed to notice when the water nearby began to swirl and bubble.

Suddenly a dark shadow slid toward them and the dog gave a sharp yelp and disappeared beneath the waves.

“Hey, what happened to Wolf?” yelled Ty.

“Something grabbed him,” Bertie exclaimed, “and it wasn’t the seal.”

“It’s a devil-fish!” cried Devra. “Hurry up, Jarvie! Get Maki!” And spear in hand, she dove into the sea.

The three young men were left standing on the raft, peering down into the depths. They could see Devra closing in on the dark shadow, jabbing with her spear. Jarvie performed an underwater somersault and a quick roll and attacked from the other side.

“What’s a devil-fish?” asked Bertie, although it was evident that neither of his friends knew the answer.

“But she said there was nothing dangerous here!” cried Ty, feeling useless in this crisis.

“Perhaps we should go help her,” said Verl doubtfully.

The three were at a disadvantage. None of them could hope to perform under water as well as Devra and Jarvie, and anything they did might be the wrong thing.

“Poor Wolf!” mourned Ty. “I should never have let him go in. If I’d known about this… Why, I actually urged him!”

He was also thinking about his own underwater swim with Devra. If he’d suspected there was something like a devil-fish lying in wait! The very name implied all sorts of unknown horrors.

While the three were still trying to see where their friends had gone, two heads popped up out of the water a short distance away. Devra and Jarvie, and they were carrying Wolf between them! Was he still alive? Had the devil-fish killed him?

Had he drowned? Ty knew the dog must be a heavy load, and he lost no time in diving in and swimming out to them. The other two followed, and between them all they managed to get Wolf up on the raft.

“I’m sure he’s still alive,” gasped Devra. “But we’ve got to get the water out of him. And… yes… look at that gash along his side!”

Ty looked at his pet in consternation. “What can we do? Will he die?”

“He’s breathing at least.” Devra was manipulating the dog’s sides to give artificial respiration. “We’ll get the water out of him. What I don’t like is that sting. It’s a whiplash, you know. The devil has a long tentacle which it wraps around you. That’s how it kills its prey. It’s got a kind of poison.”

Ty put his hand on Wolfs matted, bloody fur. “Well, do something quick! Don’t just let him die!” Traps, he thought. Just what Wink had said. Only Wolf was the first to be caught.

“Where’s the nearest medic, Jarvie?” the girl asked, as she continued to work on the animal. “We’ve got his lungs empty anyhow.”

“Briny’s the nearest,” the boy said. “But that’s all in the deeps. Anything else is three times as far.”

“We could get there in fifteen minutes. Never mind the deeps.”

“I can do it in ten.”

“Then get going. Hurry up! We’ll stay up here. Just try not to shake us off.”

A round, bewhiskered head popped up beside them and Devra scowled at it.

“Where were you, Maki? You’re supposed to keep the Shallows clear of those things. Bad girl!”

Jarvie was gone from the raft and in a few minutes they felt the engines wake to action.

“Hold tight!” cried Devra. “When Jarvie’s in a hurry, he goes!”

She threw herself across the prostrate body of the dog, anchoring him to the raft, and holding herself with one free hand. Ty grabbed a handle just in time to avoid being thrown off. He now had a vivid demonstration of the vessel’s performance above water. The air jets lifted the hull several inches from the sea and she raced forward on a cushion of spray.

“I hope that kid knows where he’s going!” gasped Verl, clinging frantically to his corner of the raft.

“Oh, Jarvie knows this section inside out… better than I do. And the sooner we get Wolf some anti-venin the better. Just hold fast. It won’t be long.”

It was the longest ten minutes that Ty could remember, but he had to admit that Jarvie lost no time in getting them there. Presently there appeared ahead of them a cluster of tall steel poles rising from the otherwise empty sea. Brightly colored flags fluttering from the tops proclaimed their location at a distance, and among the poles Ty saw a fleet of ships bobbing up and down—small flotas like the one he was on and larger and more luxurious craft of all descriptions.

“Hold Wolf!” Devra ordered, and springing to her feet she rapped on the bubble, motioning Jarvie to come out.

The motor was shut off and the girl was running about, throwing ropes to the men on other craft, calling, “Emergency! Emergency!”

Then Jarvie slid up beside them and Devra was back, taking hold of the dog’s head and shoulders. “I’m taking him down right away.”

“Down!” cried Ty. “But he’ll drown!”

“I’ll take care of that,” she snapped. “Take his rear, Jarvie!” And before Ty could protest further, the two had pulled Wolf into the water and were descending with him into the depths.

“Hey, wait!” he cried. But as the water closed over his pet, he saw Devra take the mask from her own face and hold it over the dog’s.

“Great space! Did you see that!” Bertie shouted.

Ty had seen. The girl was going down without diving gear. Without a thought of hesitation, he plunged in after her. The water here was not clear as it had been at the Shallows. He had to swim fast to keep the two with their burden in sight. Later he wondered how he had adjusted his own mask so quickly. But now he was only aware that they were passing the wall of an underwater building that extended down and down into the sea. Then suddenly the two swimmers vanished before him. He felt a moment of panic till he saw the dark opening where they must have gone. He followed blindly and the next moment his head popped up out of water and he found himself in a lighted room, with people on the walkways around the sides and a ladder to climb out of the water.

Devra and Jarvie were already disappearing down a corridor, carrying Wolf between them. He scrambled up onto the walkway and started after them, aware that Verl and Bertie were close behind.

“There they go!” he cried. “Hurry up or we’ll lose them.”

And then he stopped in consternation, for his voice came out in a high, squeaky garble that even he could not understand. He turned in horror to his two friends to see if they had noticed, and was appalled to hear them answer in the same gobblede-gook. What was the matter with them? Had they all contracted some illness peculiar to this world? Another one of the traps that Wink had hinted at?

He saw the same astonishment reflected from the faces of his friends, as they climbed up on the walkway and took off their face masks. And then he was aware of something else. A crowd was gathering around them, and everyone there was shaking with laughter.

“I don’t think it’s so darn funny!” cried Ty, painfully aware that not a word he said was intelligible.

But the onlookers seemed to understand and one of them took pity on him. “You’re with Devra, aren’t you?” he said kindly. “She went down that corridor. To the medic’s quarters. Third door on the right.”

He pushed Ty in that direction, and the boy was only too glad to get away from his tittering audience. He trotted down the hall and pushed open the third door, his two friends crowding close behind. He saw Wolf stretched out on a table and a man bending over, a hypodermic in his hand.

“Hard to tell just how much we need,” the doctor was saying. “Never saw an animal like this before. What do you call it?”

“A dog,” said Devra. “And here’s its owner. Here’s Ty, Wolf. Right here helping to get you well. Look, his tail’s wagging. That’s a good sign.”

Ty put his hand gratefully on his dog’s flank, but as he opened his mouth to thank them, he knew it was hopeless.

“I… I… You’ll have to treat me, too, doc!” he was trying to say, but the high-pitched gibberish that came out was beyond description.

He looked at Devra, expecting to see consternation—horror—even pity. Instead, what he saw was scarcely controlled laughter.

“Oh, dear! Oh, dear!” she cried, putting her hand up to conceal her mirth. And then she turned angrily upon her brother. “You, Jarvie!” she shouted in exasperation. “You gave out the diving gear. You left off the translators! And at a time like this! It’s not funny!”

For once Jarvie seemed deflated. “But I didn’t mean… I didn’t think… How was I to know there’d be something like this the first time they came into deep helium?”

Sea Cities

7

The argument between brother and sister might well have continued, with the spacemen still unenlightened, but the doctor interrupted. “I think he’ll be all right now, miss. I’ve got a recovery room that’s not in use. Why don’t we put him in there till the sedation wears off?”

“That’s awfully good of you,” said Devra. And then as she saw Ty open his mouth, she held up a finger. “Wait. Don’t try to speak yet. Do you have an extra translator around, doctor? These three men are off the spaceship, and my brattish brother thought it would be funny to sneak the translators out of their gear.”

The doctor grinned. “Oh, so that’s what all the confusion was about? Being initiated into the peculiarities of Oceanos, eh? Well, I doubt that I have three translators, but I might have one spare.”

He stepped over to a desk in the corner and rummaged through a drawer. “Here you are, miss. Try to remember to bring it back.”

“Oh, we will. We’ve got plenty of them aboard our flota.” Devra took the small oblong object from the doctor and began to attach it to Ty’s breathing apparatus where it hung around his neck. “There now. When you speak, just remember to direct it downward toward your breathing mask. The translator will pick it up and make the necessary adjustments.”

“But how… why?” began Ty, relieved and delighted to find that his speech had returned to normal. “I don’t understand.”

His two friends stood in the doorway, their mouths open in amazement, but not daring to utter a word lest they sound like some demented bird.

“It’s the helium atmosphere in the deeper buildings,” Jarvie began. “Better breathing at this depth, but it won’t carry sounds as well. This electronic gadget, which everybody wears…”

“Yes, and you can give yours to one of our guests right now!” his sister interposed. “Hurry up and hand it over.”

“Aw now, wait a minute! Now, Sis!”

But Devra had grabbed the instrument away from him and his further protests turned into angry but unintelligible squawks.

“If you feel that way about it, you can go back to the flota and get enough for all of us!” And Devra turned to show the two athletes how to attach the speaking box. “You’ll have to share it between you till that rascal gets back.”

For Jarvie had already disappeared down the corridor, and Ty fancied he heard the splash as the youngster hit the exit hole.

“So let’s get on with moving the patient,” the doctor suggested.

Ty stepped forward and took hold of the dog’s head and shoulders and the doctor took the rear, and between them they moved Wolf into a small adjacent room and stretched him out on the floor.

“Better there,” said the doctor. “He might fall off the table, and I’m not sure about strapping him down. What planet did you say he comes from?”

“He’s a real Earth-type dog, sir, but he was born and raised on Permia.”

“Oh. That’s the heavy-gravity world, isn’t it? You come from there?” The doctor looked at him curiously. “Tell you what, you let me run some heart and lung tests on you and I won’t charge you for treating the animal.”

“That’s quite unnecessary. I’ve got plenty of credits,” Devra began, but Ty interrupted.

“I don’t mind. I’d be glad to help the doc, after all he’s done for Wolf. Are you sure he’ll be all right? We’ll have to wait around awhile for him to recover, I suppose. You can run tests while we’re waiting.”

“But I wanted to show you the city!” Devra said. “And I don’t know about you boys, but I’m getting hungry. Well, go ahead and make tests till Jarvie gets back. We’ll have to wait for him at any rate or one of us will be distinctly unhappy.”

So Ty followed the doctor into a back room where he sat in a chair and allowed a contrivance of wires and electrodes to be attached to various parts of his body. Then as the doctor went over him with his instruments, he answered questions, while the man smiled and nodded and scribbled in his notebook.

At last Jarvie returned, and everybody was fitted with a translator and the doctor’s gadget was returned to him. Ty stood up to go with his friends.

“Thank you so much,” the medic shook hands.

“And have no fear for your pet. Come back in a few hours and he should be ready to go with you. But don’t hurry. The more rest the better.”

“Perhaps I should stay,” Ty began. “When he wakes up…”

“Don’t be silly! You heard the doc. He’ll look after him, and he’s good for several hours’ sleep at least.”

Ty allowed himself to be dragged from the room, and he followed Devra and the others down a labyrinth of crossing corridors, or “streets,” as she and Jarvie insisted on calling them.

They passed numerous native citizens, hurrying along with fishing spears and nets or tools of other trades. All of them wore diving gear and many were damp or dripping from recent contact with the sea.

Devra and Jarvie held a hasty consultation, and then led them to a large, grottolike room, dimly lit from points in the high ceiling and from the serving kiosk in the center. All about were little tables, and Ty followed the group to one against the wall. Only when he was seated did he realize that the entire wall was of glass, affording an unrestricted view of the ocean depths beyond. The light was kept dim within the room and the waters outside were floodlighted, so that the activities of the creatures of the sea were readily visible.

“This isn’t the best restaurant here,” said Devra. “But it’s famous for its view of the fish. They put out food to attract them, you know, and nobody’s allowed to hunt nearby. We’ll have some light refreshment here and then go on to a better place higher up. Go get us a tray, Jarvie. You know what’s good. And bring me the chit to sign.”

Her brother trotted off obediently and soon returned with a tray of cool drinks and a plate of strange but enticing tidbits. The spacers were quick to agree that food on Oceanos was of the first order. Perhaps because he felt it necessary to make up for his recent pranks, Jarvie went back and forth to the serving table, replenishing their glasses and bringing more orders of food.

While they ate, Devra explained and interpreted the life outside the window. A gorgeous array of many-colored fish, some large, some small, sped past their viewport. Red, green, blue, gold, they were like jewels in a rich crown. But moving jewels that danced gracefully to and fro, in and out.

“If you watch, you may see one of the things that attacked Wolf,” said Jarvie.

“That’s right,” agreed his sister. “They do nothing to clear out the predators. Everything is kept as natural as possible. That’s what makes it fun.”

Ty was so interested in the colorful parade that he had almost forgotten to watch for the black devil-fish, when Devra laid her hand on his arm.

“There’s one now! A little one. A baby. Watch closely, it’s after a fish!”

Ty looked where she pointed and saw a thin black shape, hardly visible among the rocks and weeds. As it came closer he saw that it was taller than it was wide and propelled itself slowly by little fins at the sides. It came to a rounded hump above and had a kind of beak protruding at the front. Extending from somewhere between the hump and the beak were two long, thin tentacles that waved and trailed in the water.

Presently, a little fish passed close to the creature, and one of the tentacles shot out and wrapped itself around it. The fish was almost enveloped in the coils of the whiplike protuberance, which immediately began to draw the victim up to the waiting beak.

Ty watched in hypnotized horror as the black devil began its meal, and he was relieved when at last the creature passed from view behind some rocks.

“Of course, that’s only a baby,” said Devra. “The one that got Wolf was many, many times bigger.”

Ty shuddered inwardly. “I don’t see how you ever got him away in time.”

“Aw, they’re easy to deal with,” Jarvie said. “You just chop off that long tentacle.”

“But don’t they attack swimmers?” asked Bertie.

“They aren’t as dangerous as they seem,” Devra said. “Of course, if it gets its tentacle around you and you get a dose of venom, you have to hurry up and get treated, as with any poisonous bite. Maki’s good at chasing them away. She’s so fast they can’t catch her. But this time she forgot.”

“She was having too good a time teasing Wolf,” said Jarvie.

“Where is Maki now?” Verl asked.

“Probably gone to sleep in the flota,” Devra said. “Hidden away in disgrace. She knew I was angry with her!”

The ocean world, with its bright and exotic inhabitants, no longer seemed so beautiful and desirable to Ty, and he was glad when Devra suggested that they go on to what she considered a better eating place.

They followed her out of the grotto and along more of the city’s streets, climbing up stairs and ramps, till they passed through an airlock and found a different taste to the atmosphere. They entered a room where people were lining up in queues, the men at one side and the women at the other.

“You’ll have to go with Jarvie,” Devra told them. “And don’t let him pull any tricks on you. I’m trusting you, Jarvie! We don’t need our diving gear or translators here. Atmosphere’s normal, as we’re nearer the surface. Less pressure. But we’ve got to get dressed to go to a good restaurant. Jarvie will show you where to stow your gear and get proper clothes.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll look after them,” said Jarvie, happy to demonstrate the customs of his world. “Meet you here in fifteen minutes.”

“Half an hour,” said Devra, and disappeared into the women’s quarters.

It took Jarvie no more than the promised fifteen minutes to get himself showered, dressed and ready for the most elaborate dining. But fitting out the others took longer. The spacers learned that the boy and his sister kept a suitable change of clothing in lockers so that they could occasionally enjoy the good life of the upper sections of the city. Meanwhile, there was clothing for rent for just such visitors as the three spacers, and Jarvie, who had apparently decided to behave himself for the time at least, was helpful in selecting it and arranging for its rental.

Ty presently found himself clad in red slacks and gold-trimmed jacket, more colorful and elegant costuming than he had ever seen at home. Verl and Bertie took advantage of expressing themselves in equally fancy attire, and by the time they were all dressed and returned to the outer lounge, Devra was impatiently awaiting them.

“Fifteen minutes, indeed!” she said. “I’ve been waiting that long for you out here.”

“We had to pick out their clothes,” said Jarvie. “And I was trying to be helpful, as you told me.”

“Well, come along then. I’m starving!”

She led them up along ever mounting corridors, past doors and rooms and alcoves. Ty, following just behind her, saw that she wore an evening gown of very beautiful design. In fact, for the first time he realized that she was beautiful, too. Her hair was no longer dank and clinging, but piled artfully above her head. He was wondering how she could possibly have achieved this transformation and still have fifteen minutes to wait for them, when Jarvie noted the direction of his glance. The boy sidled up close to him.

“Don’t let her kid you. It’s a wig!”

Ty frowned. Were the childish pranks going to begin all over again? But he had no time to worry. Devra swept into a large and elegant dining salon, and was quickly ushered to a corner table. The boys followed her, wondering nervously if they were wearing their new clothes with quite the air of confidence exhibited by their hostess.

When they were seated, Devra and Jarvie went into a huddle over the menu and then the girl gave instructions to the waiter. Presently a succession of delightful dishes arrived at their table, beginning with fruit, which was followed by soup, and continuing through several courses of fish of various kinds. It was all strange to Ty, but he found that he was really hungry, and ate with relish.

While they ate, Devra told them about many of the other diners in the room. Some were famous personages on Oceanos, but many were people whom she and Jarvie knew personally.

“Gee, Sis!” the boy interrupted. “Let’s introduce them to the Dorians. Ban will be crazy about Wolf!”

“Later,” she said firmly. “It’s not polite to run about a restaurant such as this.”

“I only thought… I saw him looking at us…”

“Everyone looks without seeming to do so,” she replied. “After dinner will be time enough. Now as I was telling you…”

While she talked, Ty watched the other tables and realized that they were also being scrutinized politely and covertly. Did they appear that different, even with the native clothes? Had the news leaked out that they were spacemen and strangers here?

By the time the second fish course arrived, Devra had exhausted her store of information. She signaled a hovering waiter. “I think we’d like some entertainment. Can you bring a view-box?”

The waiter nodded and a small table was rolled up, bringing an electronic receiver. He positioned it in front of their table so that they could watch it without disturbing the other diners.

“Get something good,” Devra told Jarvie.

The first picture that came on the screen might have been taken right in front of them. The camera showed a large dining hall, and went down a line of feasting guests, pausing briefly for close-ups of each.

“For space sakes!” cried the boy, and turned the switch.

The picture vanished, but before he could find another, Verl cried out.

“Wait a minute! Get it back, please! Can you?”

“Sure. But whatever for? I can watch that right here.”

“I thought I saw something,” Verl said. “I thought I saw Wink.”

“Wink? Impossible!” said Bertie.

“Get it back for them,” Devra directed.

By the time Jarvie had the picture back on the screen, a man at the head table was making a speech. The man was quite obviously not Wink, but Verl motioned to Jarvie to leave things alone and leaned forward to watch.

“… and I must admit that trading with our friend from across the starways,” the speechmaker was saying, “has been most enjoyable. Yes, enjoyable and profitable for both sides, I’m sure. So now before we begin our performance, I want you all to join me in a toast to our distinguished visitor. To Trader Barnum Winkle! Your health!”

There was a shout of voices and the screen showed the diners rising up all around and extending their glasses. And then the picture zoomed in on one man and there was Wink, sitting as satisfied as a well-fed merinola and beaming at the camera.

The boys all cried with one voice, “It’s him!”

“Hush!” said Devra. “You’ll have everyone looking at us!”

“You mean that’s your boss?” demanded Jarvie. “I can’t see anything scary about him.”

“He’s having a good time now,” Bertie said. “Wait till he gets a mad on.”

But the scene on the screen had already shifted away from the trader, and now it showed a series of swimming girls, diving from various heights and executing all manner of swimming maneuvers.

“You are viewing the entertainment presented last night in honor of Trader Barnum Winkle, lately come to this world from across the Cluster. The Governor at Prime City gave this dinner and celebration in his honor. Now the high back-twist by diver Gloria…”

But Jarvie had reached out and switched the station.

“Aw, Sis can do better than that,” he said. “Besides, all that happened last night. It’s stale news now.”

“If it happened last night,” said Verl, “perhaps Wink’s on his way back to the ship by now. We don’t want him to get there and find us gone.”

“That’s right,” said Ty. “Perhaps we’d better be getting back.” He looked uncertainly at Devra, but the girl only smiled.

“Have some dessert first,” she said. “They make wonderful things here.” She signaled the waiter, who began to clear away the dishes. “Pretty soon we’ll go back and get Wolf. We’ll take you all back to your ship in plenty of time. Won’t we, Jarvie?”

“Oh, sure. That ftota has super speed.”

“I can believe that, with you at the wheel.” Verl eyed the mound of frozen cake that the waiter was bringing. “Well, right after this. But don’t ask me to swim very far!”

As Ty dug into his serving of dessert, enjoying the delicate blend of flavors, he was aware that Jarvie had another station on the screen. A man was talking from a sheaf of notes in his hand.

“Latest news,” muttered Jarvie, with his mouth full. “Not yesterday’s stale dinner.”

As though to contradict him, the man began to speak: “That bang-up dinner, tendered to Trader Winkle last night, may be the last good thing the man experiences on this planet. Latest reports say that he got back to his ship this morning only to be knocked flat by an electronic shield placed around it without his knowledge.”

All at once the cake tasted flat in Ty’s mouth. Jarvie was doubled up with laughter, Devra’s mouth hung open in astonishment, and Verl and Bertie were on their feet, both talking at the same time.

“He’s back already! It’s not possible! Great Space, our name will be mud!”

Devra made herself heard over the bedlam. “If you’ll control yourselves, there may be more to the message. Get the station back, Jarvie! What did you turn it off for?”

“Thought maybe you didn’t want to hear the bad news,” said Jarvie, fiddling with the controls.

The newsman reappeared on the screen, caught in the middle of a sentence. “… and a dog. That’s an Earth-side animal, folks, in case you don’t know it. Where his crew may have gone to, there was no indication. The officer on duty said he thought they were planning to take the shuttle, but the shuttle people had no record. So be on the lookout, folks, for three young men—a little different in appearance, as spacers usually are—and accompanied by an unusual quadruped. They’re wanted.”

This second bit of news was greeted with silence and worried looks. Devra motioned her brother to turn off the screen. “I’m sorry,” she said, “to have led you into this unfortunate situation. I’d no idea it could turn out like this. We’ll get you back as fast as possible. Hurry up, Jarvie, we can’t wait for you to finish that.”

Jarvie was shoveling cake into his mouth at a rapid rate, but the rest of them seemed to have lost interest in it. Devra signaled the waiter and signed the credit slip he presented, and then they all followed her out of the room. They retraced their steps, stopping at the costume lounge, where they resumed swimming attire. Under happier conditions, Ty would have noticed that his shorts were well dried and pressed. But now all he could think of was the reception they would receive from the trader. As they made their way down into the lower sections of the city, he shied from every citizen they passed, fearful that he might be recognized as one of the spacemen who looked “different” and was “wanted.” It would be the final indignity to be arrested and delivered to Wink in chains! If only they could manage to return of their own accord! Well, at least they did not have Wolf with them yet. The dog would be a complete giveaway.

Some such thoughts were in the minds of all of them, for as they approached the doctor’s office, Bertie hesitated.

“Do you suppose he knows?”

“Yes, if he heard that broadcast. He’ll have us all figured out.” Verl was pessimistic.

“Oh, I don’t think so.” Devra paused to give the matter thought. “Perhaps you two had better go on with Jarvie. Get the flota ready to blast as soon as we’re aboard. Ty and I can manage the dog. Hurry, now!”

Jarvie did not wait for a second urging, and Verl and Bertie seemingly had no other choice. They hastened after him, with a quick wave to Ty.

“Come on,” said Devra. “I don’t think he knows. And if he does, I don’t think he’ll do anything about it.”

The girl had guessed right. The young doctor welcomed them with unassuming pleasure and the anouncement that Wolf was practically recovered. They went into the little room and the doctor smiled happily as Wolf jumped all over Ty and Devra, expressing his joy with little yelps and barks and much tail-wagging.

“I can see why the ancients called them Man’s Best Friend,” said the medic. “Take care of him, now. How are you going to get him back to your ship? I imagine he’s had enough of our ocean for a while.”

Ty had been worrying about just that problem, but Devra did not seem to be bothered.

“I thought maybe a rescue cylinder.”

“Good idea. They have them at the lower exit. He should about fit into a number three.”

Devra agreed and shook hands goodby, offering to sign more credit slips for the medical care, but the young doctor shook his head. He had been amply repaid by the opportunity to examine a man from a heavy-grav world.

Great Space! thought Ty. That was another giveaway! He called Wolf and tried to hurry Devra along, but she refused to be rushed and spent several more minutes talking with the doctor. When she finally followed him down the corridor, he was all in a sweat.

“Don’t be so nervous!” she whispered. “He hasn’t heard, and you’ll only give us away.”

“But he’ll know the minute he hears—a heavy-grav spacer!”

“Well, we’ll be far away. Come on, here’s where we get the rescue cylinder.” . It was like a little boat, just big enough for Wolf, with a lid that sealed air-tight and its own compressed-air supply. It took a bit of coaxing to get Wolf inside and the cover shut against his protesting howls. As soon as it was secure, Devra grabbed the handle, pulled her own mask down and leaped into the exit pool. Ty was hard put to keep up with her. But he was getting used to this underwater business. He could not swim or maneuver as skillfully as Devra, but he could at least keep her in sight.

It was a short swim. With a sure sense of direction, the girl made for her ship, and a few minutes later they surfaced inside the flota. Ty helped her pull the cylinder inside and pry out the astonished Wolf. As soon as this was done, to Ty’s surprise, she closed the cylinder and rolled it back out the exit. It would be picked up the next morning on the surface, she explained. Then she pushed the control and the hatch slid shut.

Devra took three steps and shouted up the companionway, “All tight! Full speed ahead!”

Ty had not stopped to think whether the others would be aboard, but apparently they were, and waiting for the signal. Almost immediately the motors roared into action, and he felt the flota leap forward with a force that indicated that Jarvie must be at the controls.

At dawn the flota submerged to make its approach to the spaceport island. Devra had devised a harness of rope for Wolf, with two leads to be held by swimmers.

“Poor Wolf,” she commiserated, “I am sorry we must take you into the water again. Water, water, all is water on this world. I think I’ll go with him to be sure he gets safely ashore.”

“But it was agreed that we’d say goodby here,” Ty protested. “We don’t want to get you into trouble.”

“I think it’s really better if we return by ourselves,” Verl said.

“Don’t worry. I’ll keep out of the way. No one will see me, but I’d like to have a look at this Trader Wink you’re all so afraid of.”

“It’s not that we’re afraid,” Bertie protested. “He’s our boss.”

“Well, I’d like to see your boss. Also Wolfie must get safely ashore.”

“I’m coming, too!” cried Jarvie. “I want to see what their boss is like.”

“You’ll do nothing of the sort,” she declared. “You’ll tend to the flota. Bring it in as close as you can and surface so we can use the side lock.”

“But then everyone will see it,” he protested.

“Not unless they happen to be looking. As soon as we’re in the water, go back out and submerge.”

“Aw, Sis!”

The two stared at each other in a momentary contest of wills, and then Jarvie went back to the pilot’s seat and began maneuvering the flota closer to the shore. At last the forward movement stopped and Ty felt the vessel slowly rising to the surface. When the bubble was above water and they could ascertain that they had returned to approximately the same spot from which they had departed, Devra led them to the side hatch.

“As soon as it’s open, get out, both of you. Ty and I will come last with the dog.”

She pressed the switch and the hatch slid slowly open. Bertie and Verl lost no time in diving through it and striking out for shore. Devra followed them and called to Ty.

“Now throw Wolf out and come yourself!”

Ty seized hold of the reluctant dog, and before he could struggle, heaved him into the ocean. Then he jumped after. He was aware that the hatch began to slide shut almost before his foot left the flota.

Devra already had hold of one of Wolfs leads, and Ty quickly picked up the other. Between them they shepherded the plucky dog ashore. He swam resolutely, but it was evident that his recent experience had sapped his strength. Ty was glad that the distance was not long. Soon he could walk, and he reached out to support Wolf until the dog’s feet touched sand through the surf.

Verl and Bertie were already climbing up the dunes, and Ty ran after them, with Wolf jumping happily at his heels. The morning sun was just beginning to warm the yellow sand. When they reached the edge of the landing field, he turned around, but neither Devra nor the flota could be seen.

“Come on,” said Verl. “The soonest met, the soonest dealt with.”

“Hey, do you suppose the shield’s still up?” Bertie slowed as they approached the ship.

“Not unless he’s gone away and left it again.”

“Maybe he’s gone looking for us,” Ty suggested.

“No. Don’t you see the light in the port?” Verl said. “And the lock’s open. He’s aboard. Probably up and about.”

With dragging steps the three approached. And suddenly he was in the entrance lock, the little man who at times could appear bigger than any of them. For a full minute they stared at each other.

“Well, glory be!” cried the trader. “Where’d you three drop from? Did you know the whole planet’s searching for you? Or were you hidden away in some kind of fourth dimension?”

“We came back as soon as we heard you were looking for us,” said Ty.

“But not in time to keep me from being practically demolished by the fiendish trap you set upon my ship!”

“It didn’t hurt you, I hope!” cried Verl “They assured us it was harmless.”

“They said they used it for all ships,” Bertie added.

“And that you’d be sure to ask in the office and they’d turn it off for you.” This was Ty.

“A pack of lies! The rogues were all off celebrating,” cried Wink. “If you worthless rascals had stuck to your posts, this foolishness would have been unnecessary.”

“We’re sorry,” the boys began to apologize. “We’ll never do it again. What can we ever do… ?”

“You can get to work, that’s what you can do!” their boss exploded. “Right this minute! Unload Number Two hold. I want it empty by noon. The new cargo will be here then. You have the afternoon to load up and we blast by evening.”

“Tonight?” cried Verl. “But we haven’t been here a week!”

“You said we’d stay two weeks,” said Bertie plaintively.

“That was before trading started! Trading’s done with and we’re going. Now get busy all of you, or we won’t make the deadline.”

Reluctantly, Verl and Bertie went through the lock, and Ty was about to follow them, but he turned to call to Wolf. The dog had not come up the ramp. He stood at the foot of the ship, looking expectantly toward the sea.

Wink glanced at him curiously. “So you took the dog with you. How’d you manage that?”

“Wolf always goes with me,” said Ty. But he had a nagging suspicion that the dog’s loyalty was becoming divided.

“Well, what’s he looking for out there?” snapped the trader.

Ty did not feel this was the time to describe their adventures. He countered with another question. “How was the trading at Prime City? Didn’t you get what you wanted?”

Wink looked up at him, and Ty sensed a similar reluctance to go into details. “Oh, the trading went all right. Good as I could expect. But who wants to trade with such insular, narrow, conceited prigs!” With each adjective, his voice went up the scale.

Ty stared at his boss in amazement. “You didn’t like them?” he cried. “Why, it looked to us as though you were having one top-orbit celebration!”

“It looked to you! Were you there, perhaps?”

“On visi-screen,” Ty explained. “They showed the dinner. Everybody drinking your health.”

“Oh. Well, maybe then they showed all those beautiful girls swimming and diving, and such water cavortings as were never seen on any world but this.”

Ty nodded, but the trader gave him no chance to speak.

“Would you believe it?” Wink’s voice was rising again with injured fury. “Not a one of those expert beauties would sign up for my team? They couldn’t be bothered with the Space Olympics. They’d never heard of interplanetary games, or if they had, it meant nothing to them! Then I return to my ship, and it’s a case of adding injury to insult!”

Understanding broke over Tyros. He realized that Wink’s anger was not entirely directed against him and his friends. If a couple of first-class swimmers had agreed to join his team, he could have shrugged off the matter of the electronic shield and the fact that the boys had played hookey.

And in that moment, Ty had a brilliant idea “But if you want a swimmer, I know where you can get the best girl in the galaxy.”

“You do?” Wink raised a suspicious eyebrow “Well, what are you waiting for? Get her here!”

In answer, Ty gave a sharp whistle to alert Wolf “Where’s Devra?” he commanded. “Go get her Wolf!”

The dog cocked his head, barked twice, and ran around behind the ship, to reappear a few minutes later, followed by Devra.

“What’s going on?” she asked. “Did you send him for me?” She looked curiously at the trader, and he in turn was staring at her.

“Is this the girl? I understand you’re a pretty good swimmer, miss. Plenty of speed?”

“Everyone swims on Oceanos,” she replied “Almost more swimming than walking.”

“I believe it. And I also believe any serious statement by Ty Vann. Would you care to join my small team and go with us to the Games? I gather you already know the boys pretty well.”

“We’ve had a good time together. Mr Wink And I’m sorry if we caused you any trouble or worry. As soon as we heard about it, I brought them right back. But as for my leaving Oceanos . .”

“You wouldn’t be leaving for good,” he argued.

“You’d see something of the Cluster worlds, and I’d bring you back, first stop on the return trip.”

From the dunes beyond the field where the spaceship’s shadow still lay darkly, a shrill voice emanated.

“What are you waiting for, Sis? Grab it! Of course, we’d be glad to go, Mr. Winkle.”

All heads turned in his direction as the small, red-topped figure of Jarvie approached the ship.

“What do you mean by ‘we’?” demanded his sister. “Nobody asked you. And why aren’t you with the flota?”

“Oh, the ship’s all right. She’s anchored right where we’ve often left her. I knew if I didn’t come along you’d make some mistake like turning down a chance like this.”

“The boy seems to have the right idea,” said Wink. “Like to be an Olympic champion, sonny?”

“You bet I would! And a spaceman some day.”

“Well, you came to just the right party. Funny what homebodies all the girls on this planet seem to be.”

“Hey, Wink!” called a voice, seemingly from the air. “Don’t do that! If you take the kid, you’ll be sorry!”

Looking upward, Ty saw Bertie standing on the crane hoist as it shifted a huge crate of cargo out over the pad. Verl was leaning from the cargo hatch and it was apparent that both boys had been listening to what transpired below.

“Why will I be sorry?” Wink called, craning his head to look upwards. “Can’t the boy swim?”

“Like a water rat,” said Verl. “But he’ll be more trouble than he’s worth.”

“He put some kind of a fish in Ty’s bed and he made us all talk like unintelligible birds… !”

“We… ell. I don’t imagine that was too difficult. What about it, sonny?”

Jarvie opened his mouth to answer the charges, but his sister cut in first. “He isn’t as bad as all that, Mr. Wink. But I think he must be too young.”

“How old are you?” asked the trader.

“Eleven. Going on twelve.” Jarvie’s voice fell in dejection.

“Well, now, I’ve heard of contenders that young. It’s in the records. Of the ancients, that is. Don’t know of any that young in the Cluster Games. But there’s always a first time and I don’t know of any rule against it. You’d be competing against athletes a lot bigger and stronger than you are. No favors handed out to juniors or anything like that.”

“If that’s so, I’d like to try, Mr. Winkle.”

“There’s just one thing, youngster. We take life pretty seriously in this business. You may not have gotten that impression from these young men, but everybody works hard on my ship. We also train hard and we study. No time and no room for jokes and pranksters. And if you pull anything like that, I’ll whale the hide off you!”

He put his head down on a level with Jarvie’s and hissed the last words through his teeth. But Jarvie never blinked.

“You won’t have any trouble with me, sir. I’d do anything to go into space!”

“Then what are we waiting for? Go get your Dad’s permission, or whatever you have to have. How soon can you two be ready to blast?”

“Wait a minute!” Devra had her face set in a look of stubborn defiance. “Who said anything about going? He’s a minor, and you haven’t convinced me of anything, Mr. Wink.”

“Oh, but you will come, won’t you?” cried Tyros. “You’re just what the team needs. I know you’ll win and you’ll be famous, and you’ll make your world famous… and… and…”

He was running out of words, but at that moment Wolf, excited by the loud, arguing voices, began to bark. He was licking her bare feet, running around her and capering on the pad.

“And how can you bear to say goodby to Wolf?” Ty finished. “You’ll never see him again.”

Devra reached down to pat the dog and her resistance seemed to seep away. “Yes, Wolf,” she said, “Yes, Wolf. We won’t say goodby. Oh well, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to go. Be rather fun at that. If you really think we’re what you want, Mr. Wink.”

“Of course, you’re what we want. I’ll put it to the boys up there. Can the two of them swim?”

“Like nothing you ever saw!” said Verl. “All right. How soon can you be ready to blast?”

“In three days, if my father says we can go. Come on, Jarvie! We’ve got to get hold of Daddy, and there are a million things to get for the trip.”

The two shook hands with Wink and then turned toward the sea and their flota. The spacers watched till they had disappeared.

“Do you think he’ll let them go?” the trader asked.

“Any man who lets his children gad about all over the planet in a vessel like that will never worry about a space trip,” Verl said.

“In that case, let’s get busy, so we’ll be ready when they are. Not quite so much hurry, boys, but we’d better get her unloaded by tonight.”

“You mean to say, we’re back in favor?” cried Bertie from the hoist.

“You sure are. Come on down. We’ll go get some breakfast before we start unloading. And we’ve got to fix up nice quarters for those two.”

A yell of enthusiasm greeted this statement, and the two boys came hurrying out of the ship. Then all four set off for the port buildings and the canteen, talking excitedly about the new plans and possibilities for their team.

A Matter of Gravity

8

As things turned out, it was more than a week before the Cluster Queen took to the starways. When it became known that Devra and Jarvie were going to the Games and that Oceanos would be represented at the Space Olympics, excitement mounted on the water world. Everybody wanted to have a look at the athletes before they departed, and the spaceport island was soon surrounded by vessels of all descriptions, carrying more curious citizens than the port could accommodate. The athletes were showered with gifts and their coach was offered new trading opportunities, so that it began to look as though the ship would never get away.

Regretfully, Wink felt at last compelled to call a halt.

“Just hold onto your bargains till the next time around,” he declared. “We’ll be back, never fear, bringing your pair of young champions. At that time you can show your appreciation by renewing your offers. Now our holds are full, and if we don’t get off, we’ll be late all along the line and maybe miss the Games entirely.”

And so blast-off hour was irrevocably set. The time came, and amid much shouting and cheering and final goodbys, the Cluster Queen prepared to lift from Oceanos.

Jarvie had fluctuated between uncertainty and expectation. First he was afraid his father would say no. That he would let Devra go, but consider his son too young. Perhaps once the busy engineer had given permission to Devra, he could not contemplate the problem of taking care of his lively son in his daughter’s absence. In any event, he agreed that Jarvie should go, only expressing a little surprise that anybody should want him.

Assured of parental permission, Jarvie began to worry lest the trader should change his mind. Maybe all he wanted was Devra, and would now discover that Jarvie was too young to compete. He worried so much that he stopped eating, and when the day of deoarture arrived, his sister began to notice.

“What’s the matter with you?” she demanded. “You look peculiar, and I’ve been too busy to keep an eye on you. If you’re going to be sick, you’d better not go.”

Jarvie assured her that he felt fine, but he got away from her as quickly as possible. He said good-by to his father and retreated into the ship, where he hid himself in his cabin until blast-off. Yet as he lay in his bunk and tried not to count the minutes, he began to wonder if he did in fact feel funny.

He looked about the small, austere room, where everything was designed for utility and compactness. The bunk with the acceleration harness; the built-in, fold-back seat, table and toilet arrangements; the miniature closet for gear. It was all very much like his cabin on the flota and he felt quite at home as he strapped down for blast-off.

He had read enough about space to know what to expect and counted the seconds from the first engine vibrations to the sudden increase of gravity that told him the ship was blasting. It was all as he had anticipated, and soon the motors cut off and the youngster felt himself afloat in a great silence.

Now that the ship was in space, he felt secure and he reached to release the belt. But even that slight movement gave him an unhappy feeling in the pit of his stomach. Jarvie prayed silently that he was not going to be space-sick. It was the boast of Oceanos that a spaceman from that planet, reared from babyhood on its tossing seas, could withstand any rigors that space had to offer. Was he, Jarvie, about to refute that tradition? Such a catastrophe would be too embarrassing to contemplate, and he determined to find out for himself, here in his cabin, before going up to join the others.

Of course, if there were something wrong with him, some minor illness as Devra had hinted before blast-off, she could do nothing about it now. It was too late to take him back, and they’d just have to make the best of it.

Jarvie flung off the belt and in one movement pushed himself up from the bunk and onto his feet. And then a wholly unexpected thing happened. He sailed across the room, narrowly missing the closet, and came to rest against the opposite wall about four feet up from the floor.

The boy grabbed wildly and managed to seize a handhold, probably put there for just such an emergency. He clung to this, assessing the various scrapes and bruises he had received and feeling his stomach turn over several times in a sickening manner. He knew what the trouble was now. He was in free fall. But his new friends had told him that the ship had artificial gravity.

“Bit lighter than you’re used to,” Wink had said, “but you’ll have no trouble. Quite easy to navigate… in fact, you’ll find it pleasant all around.”

Just who was he kidding! Jarvie berated the trader mentally. This wasn’t any light G. This was no G at all! Well, if the rest of them could take it, he could, too. He’d just learn how, right here and now. The boy spent the next fifteen minutes trying to get himself down to the floor and over to the door. Several times he almost made it, and then an injudicious movement in one direction would send him flying off in the opposite direction. He was beginning to tire and in a last desperate effort managed to get back to the bunk, where he hastily clamped the belt across his stomach. Even as he lay there, his body tried to drift off.

It was an eerie feeling, but Jarvie made himself lie quietly and assess the situation. Why would the trader tell him they had grav, if they didn’t? Was he afraid he’d change his mind? Did they really want him that much? For a few minutes Jarvie basked in the thought that the team needed him so desperately that the coach would lie to get him. Of course, they needn’t have done that! He’d have come if they had double grav. If they worked in super heat or bitter cold. Jarvie tried to imagine some other disagreeable environment, but nothing seemed as upsetting as complete zero grav.

As he thought about it, he wondered how Devra was holding up. But of course, she had elected to strap down in the lounge with the rest of the crew. What was she doing now? What were they all doing? It seemed too ridiculous that he could not get to his door to go out and see. Were they going to work the whole trip under these conditions? Or had they just not turned the gravity on?

A slight sound outside his door told him that his sister must have come down to her cabin next to his. He let out a yell calculated to carry beyond the door. The next minute it opened and Devra stood there.

Stood. She wasn’t even holding on. Jarvie craned his neck to look at her.

“What’s the matter, dear?” she asked. “Aren’t you feeling well? Come on up with the rest of us.”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to do. But I can’t get out the door. How do you manage it, Sis?”

“The door?” asked Devra, puzzled. “What’s wrong with the door?”

She took a step into the room and the next minute she was grabbing frantically for the nearest bulkhead. The scream she gave reached well beyond the cabin and the corridor.

“What is it, Jarvie? What have you done to your room?”

“Zero grav. And I didn’t do it. Isn’t it this way all over?”

“Of course not.”

But before she could say more, the doorway was filled with a group of astonished faces, demanding to know what was going on. All the young men were talking at once.

“What’s the matter? Is he sick, Devra? Come out and join the fun, kid!”

They were interrupted and silenced by Barnum Winkle, who shoved them all aside, took one quick look at the room, and bellowed. “Turn on the cabin’s grav, somebody! Who the devil turned it off? This sort of thing’s not funny!”

Nobody owned up as the culprit, but Verl and Bertie quickly tinkered with some dials outside the door, and Jarvie felt his stomach settle down to its proper position within his frame. Ship’s gravity was in operation. Almost unbelieving, the boy got off the bunk and found that his feet stayed anchored to the floor.

“I’m sorry,” Verl apologized. “We fixed the rooms up in such a hurry, what with the reloading and the new trade goods. We must have forgotten to turn on the grav. How about your room, Devra? Everything all right there?”

“Oh, quite all right,” she said, steadying her voice and step as she shepherded Jarvie into the corridor. “But I didn’t know you could have gravity in one part of the ship and not in all of it.”

“You see, we don’t use centrifugal force,” Wink explained. “We don’t spin the ship. It’s applied to the floors, and can be turned on and off like a light. We don’t use it in the storage compartments, unless we carry something that could be harmed by zero grav. And these cabins were storage. As Verl said, we fixed them up in a hurry.”

“I’m sure it was all a mistake,” said Devra “Jarvie understands.”

“Gives you an idea of what things were like in the good old days,” said Bertie.

“Before they knew how to turn on and off the grav,” Verl said.

“Well, now that’s all cleared up, let’s get back to Control,” the trader urged. “Come along, my lad, you’ll want to get a look at your world before we pass out of the system.”

Wink put his hand on the boy’s shoulder and led him away, Devra following close behind. The three athletes stood a moment while Verl checked the gauges.

“Seems to me I remember turning that thing on.” he muttered. “Are you sure you didn’t touch it, Bertie?”

“You turned it on? I turned it on! We both did, and there you have it.” Bertie was very glib with his explanation.

Verl and Ty looked at him suspiciously, and Ty remembered the expression on Jarvie’s face.

“That was a fool thing to do,” he said. “We’ve been dinning it into the boy that there are to be no tricks aboard ship. And now you come up with this!”

“Ah, he had it coming to him! Little brat! Think how he made us sound in front of all those people!”

“Bertie!” cried Verl, horrified. “You did do it! If you know what’s good for you, you’ll never let him know.”

“Who’s letting him know? Think I want to be fouled up with Wink? It was all a mistake, like I said. Only now the kid knows what it’s like to look foolish.”

His two friends exchanged glances.

“This has got to stop here,” said the runner. “We won’t say anything, and don’t you say anything. And don’t you dare do it again!”

“All right, all right,” muttered Bertie, as they made their way back to the lounge. “But you both seem to have forgotten your sense of humor!”

The Cluster Queen continued on her way and the new members of the team quickly settled into the routine prescribed by their coach. Jarvie was delighted at the opportunity to study space science and surprised all his elders with his ability to learn a difficult subject. Devra professed small interest in that, and set herself to study the histories of the various planets in the Cluster.

Both the new members of the team were fascinated with the techniques of exercise during space flight, and applied themselves so diligently to the running wheel that Wink had to reschedule the time periods. By the time the Queen had visited the planetary systems of Maia, Merope and Alcyone and taken on still more young athletes, the apparatus was being used twenty-four hours a day.

On Maia II were added two girl runners, Rhoda and Rita. They were assigned to share Devra’s cabin, and soon persuaded her to work with them for the relay race.

At Merope, the three Krakora brothers came aboard. Kerry, Perry, and Merry specialized in the broad jump, the standing jump, and the pole vault. With Verl, they made up a team for the men’s relay race.

And from the one inhabited planet of the star Alcyone, Wink picked up his only wrestler. He found Yang Brawley battling three other youths over some obscure insult and just managing to stay on top. After breaking up the fight, Wink looked the burly young man over and asked if he would like to go to the Games.

“You’ll have to learn the rules,” he said. “No good getting thrown out on a technicality. But there’ll be time enough on the way, and that’s one sport I can teach aboard ship Not like running or swimming or throwing! And all you need are the fine points You’ve the makings of a champion. I can tell that.”

By this time the Cluster Queen was getting crowded. In fact, on Alcyone IV, her captain had to cut down on his trading. He could no longer afford to take on bargains indiscriminately, and was forced to leave most of his new cargo in a warehouse on the planet.

“Have to consider the comfort of my team,” he said regretfully, as he watched his newly acquired bales and crates being transferred to a storage shed. “I’ll return and pick ‘em up when I bring back your new champion. So mind you keep it all safe till then.”

Even so the crew’s quarters were crowded, and Ty wondered secretly just what Wink meant by the team’s comfort. The whole ship’s company was put on two shifts, so that some could sleep while others worked. Ty found himself squeezed in with two of the three brothers from Merope, while the third was assigned to bunk with Verl and Bertie. Devra had alternate shifts with the two girls from Maia, and by an inspired stroke the wrestler was put into Jarvie’s cabin. The boy took one look at the tall, well-muscled man from Alcyone and decided that jokes were best forgotten for the duration of the trip.

As he never tired of saying, Barnum Winkle ran a tight ship. The schedules of work, sleep, eat, train, study were so precisely worked out for all the athletes on each shift that there was no time for any friction between individuals, let alone for anybody to get bored.

One subject nobody tired of studying was the History of the Olympic Games. Wink had a whole reel devoted to the story, and the young athletes were surprised to learn how differently the contests had been conducted at various periods of Earth’s history.

“Remember, these Games originated back in the dawn of man’s development,” he told them, when they discussed their studies after supper. “It wasn’t like those big shows they put on at the time of the first space flights. No, in the Greek era things were much simpler. Different cities ran their own games, some more famous and important than others. And a good athlete would just set out with his trainer and wander from one to another. Why, there was one man, I read about. He was on his way to a contest and he arrived at a place called Salamis just when they were about to fight a big, important battle. The Greeks were at war with their enemies, the Persians. This athlete figured he’d better get into the fight, and it took so long he was late and missed the Games entirely.”

The trader waited while the laughter and exclamations died down.

“Well, I figure we’re about like the Greeks of that early time. Still simple and not overorganized. In another generation, every planet in the Cluster will have its own team, with elimination competitions and all that. But right now we’re all working together to show this part of the Cluster what it’s all about. And it may depend on each one of you. If you take back a gold star-burst when you go home, your world will be that much quicker to get organized for the next time. Get the idea?”

The young people all nodded seriously in agreement, feeling the weight of responsibility for the future of the Olympics.

“And I’ll tell you another thing,” said Wink. “We’ve got to have a banner—a flag to carry in the big parade. They’ll have flags there from every big world in the Galaxy. But ours has got to represent each one of your worlds. So get busy. Work out a design and the girls can sew it up.”

The making of the flag took many a long evening. But after all the arguments and suggestions, a design was chosen and the girls stitched away at it until a gay banner was created.

And so they came at last to Arcadia in the Atlas-Pleione system. As they swung into orbit about the planet, everybody squeezed into the lounge to watch on the ship’s view-screen. Even the members of the shift that would normally be sleeping staggered out, rubbing their eyes, for a first view of the pleasure planet.

She swung below them, a beautiful, shining orb of green and blue and misty white. As the young people stared, trying to discern the forms and outlines of continents and oceans, Wink stuck his head out from the navigation cubicle.

“Well, there she is, team!” he cried. “What do you think of her? The world where all of you are going to make history! Now get on the job, everyone, and help me put this tin can down there in one piece!”

Docking on Arcadia proved to be complicated. There was far more traffic in orbit than on any of the athletes’ home planets.

“Highest rate in the Cluster,” Wink told them. “May even beat most planets in the Galaxy. They set this world apart to keep it natural and unspoiled for vacationers, and now everybody comes here and messes it up. What’s the matter with Traffic Control, Verl? Haven’t you made contact yet?”

The trader had put his most experienced crew to work on the landing problems, and everyone else was told to sit down in the lounge and keep quiet. Presently Verl made contact and received the number and location of the port where they should dock.

Wink consulted his maps. “That won’t do at all. Tell him we’re here for the Olympics and don’t want to go halfway around their world in order to get to the stadium.”

Verl relayed this information, then replied, “He says everybody’s here for the Olympics. There’s no parking room left near the stadium and you’d better take this while it’s available.”

The trader swore. “Tell him we’re competing in the Games and we’ve got to be near the stadium. Here, let me talk to him.”

Wink hopped out of the command cubicle and into the communications corner, which was so small that Verl had to move out into the lounge, where he stared disconsolately at the picture on the screen.

“Looks like a beautiful place,” he muttered, “if we can ever get down there.”

Mindful of their coach’s positive orders and the general tension that emanated from the little man, none of the young people dared say anything. All watched the scene below them and wondered where the Olympic arena might be, and the spot where the traffic authorities wanted them to land.

Presently, Wink came out of communications, issuing orders in all directions. “All right, take over again, Verl. And come along, Ty and Bertie. We’ve got to put her in parking orbit while they think it over. Here are the coordinates they’ve given us. Don’t make a mistake now, for there’s a lot of stuff flying about up here, even if you don’t see it at the moment.”

There followed another period of silent concentration, while the watchers at the view-screen tried unsuccessfully to catch sight of some other vehicle in orbit near them. At last the maneuver was completed and Wink and his two assistants stepped back into the lounge.

“Well, I guess we can take a breather,” he announced. “Everyone except Verl. You keep right on the channel, boy. Don’t let ‘em forget we’re here. For the rest of us, maybe the girls can scramble up some grub. Anything quick and easy. And while we eat I’ll give you all your first briefing.”

The lounge returned to overcrowded normalcy and Devra and the girls from Maia brought plates of food from the canteen. Verl ate with his earphones on, but he moved them back on his head when the trader began to talk.

“You’ve all had a good look at Arcadia down there,” he said. “Doesn’t look much different from any world in the Cluster. From up here, that is. Oh, there’s a bit more gaseous material in this system. Makes for more spectacular sunsets, prettier twilights. The glowing clouds of Atlas, they call it. One of the things that made the powers that be set this planet aside as something special. But that’s not what you’ve got to watch out for. This world you’re about to land on is very different from the home world of any and every one of you kids. Remember that before you go off half cocked.”

He paused to let his words sink in and his listeners waited and tried to imagine how different this world might be.

A small, imperative voice broke the silence. “How’s it different, Mr. Wink? I suppose it’s got more land.”

“You’re darn tootin’ it’s got more land!” Wink turned upon Jarvie. “But every planet’s got more land than your home. That’s not what I mean at all. What I mean is the people you’re going to meet. The clothes they’ll be wearing, the buildings they’ll inhabit. And the things! You’re going to see more things than you ever dreamed existed. So don’t take a notion that you want something the minute you see it. Remember that you’re here to compete. Put your mind on winning and nothing else. If you win, then you may be able to afford a few of the many things you think you’ve got to have!”

There was a chorus of protest. “Oh, is that all! We don’t want anything. Don’t worry about us, Wink. Who wants a lot of junk, anyhow?”

“I don’t think you understand,” the coach interrupted. “Perhaps I could explain it by saying that Arcadia is more sophisticated than any world any of you have known. It’s cosmopolitan, if you understand the word. Large cities have been banned on Arcadia, and yet you could call the whole planet a city. You’ll see people from every corner of the Galaxy. Not just the Cluster, mind you. And aliens from the far reaches of the universe. And they’ll all have more wealth than you can imagine. Otherwise, they’d not have been able to come. They’ll all be here to enjoy themselves and they’ll look upon you —upon all the Olympic competitors—as just part of their entertainment. Don’t let yourselves be taken in by ‘em. Remember that you’re here to compete in the Olympic Games. An old and honorable custom. Keep yourselves in a world apart and keep your minds on your main purpose: to win for your world.”

There was another murmur of protest and acquiescence, but before definite words emerged, Verl stuck his head out of the cubicle and called the trader. “Hey, that man’s back again. He says if we stay up here for three days, there may be a berth at the Olympic port.”

Barnum was on his feet. “Why, the almighty numbskull! Let me speak to him!”

Verl was again thrust out of his corner and the athletes listened in amazed silence to the string of invective that their coach poured out on the control officer.

“Please remember that we’re competing in your celebrated games!” he cried. “I’ve got a whole team of athletes from around the Cluster. And if you don’t get us down within six hours, I’ll claim damages for lack of practice time. They need time for adaptation, as you well know, and a chance to train in your environment. Do you want me to charge you with bias?” And then more agreeably, “All right, you do that. You look into it.”

There was another long silence, and finally Wink heaved an audible sigh. “Well, that’s more like it,” he said. “How soon did you say? Don’t worry, we’ll be right here. Just give us the coordinates for descent. Forget about Duke Burleigh. He’s got the time and money to get himself about your world in any of a number of ways.”

The trader flung off the earphones and gestured to Verl.

“Take over, my lad. And all the rest of you, prepare for landing. They’re giving us the space reserved for some V.I.P. and we want to be ready to grab it the minute directives come through.”

Pleasure Planet

9

Even when the Cluster Queen was safely down and secured, Barnum Winkle refused permission for his crew to descend to the field.

“All in good time,” he told them. “Let all of you concentrate on packing your belongings I don’t want any last-minute items forgotten and left behind. I’m going to find out about our quarters and what kind of a welcome they have for us. And until I return, nobody’s to go out.”

And leaving Verl and Bertie in command, he hurried down the ramp. Behind him, in impatient ferment, the team divided its attention between last-minute packing and the panorama presented by the viewport.

Devra found Jarvie glued to a lower corner of the window where he could watch the activity on the field.

“Are you sure you’ve packed everything?” she demanded. “You heard what Wink said.”

“Sure, I’m sure. Take a look at the ship that’s next to us. Ever see such a whopper?”

“They got us berthed with all the big bugs. Didn’t you hear?” said Kerry Krakora.

“Yeah, look at the folks coming down her ramp!” cried Yang, towering above Jarvie to peer out over his head. “Must be a mighty fancy bug, if you ask me.”

“Say, look at the clothes!” squealed Rhoda, and a series of whistles issued from the ring of athletes.

Groups of elegantly dressed men and women were climbing up and down a number of the adjacent ramps, or riding past the ship in little cars. Brilliant colors and jewels were much in evidence. Rita admired a golden sheath worn by a statuesque beauty. The gown reached to her ankles and was embroidered with many colored concentric circles, each with a flashing jewel in the center. She wore a furred cape around her shoulders, hanging open to reveal her dress. Rhoda, on the other hand, preferred a young girl in slender striped trousers with a matching jacket and a jaunty cap on her blonde head.

The boys were no less amazed by the masculine attire, for here the men wore costumes as fancy as the women’s, being dressed in satins and velvets and materials such as the boys had never seen before. Many sported long hair and curls and nearly all wore elaborately decorated belts, clasps, and often knives or daggers.

The comments at the viewport rose to a crescendo.

“Boy, look at the knife on that character! I’m going to get me one before I leave here! How about that belt!”

“Have you all forgotten what Wink was telling us?” cried Verl. “Stop thinking about things!”

“I can look, can’t I?” said Rhoda. “Before I go back home, I’m going to get some clothes!”

“But think of the credits!” said Rita. “Those things must cost a fortune.”

“You’d do better to think of your own clothes,” Devra pointed out. “Are these your shorts, Jarvie? They’re too small for anyone else.”

Jarvie cast a hasty look in her direction. “Gee, where’d you find ‘em?”

“In the exercise room. And you don’t have so many you can afford to throw these away.”

“Give.” He caught the shorts as she threw them to him.

“Now go and pack them or you’ll forget them again.”

But Jarvie was not to be lured from the window. He thrust the shorts into a pocket and returned to his observation of the field. Devra sighed.

“I wonder what else you’ve forgotten,” she said as she went off to make a final search of the ship.

She found Ty fitting a collar and lead around Wolfs neck.

“Poor Wolf,” she said. “Release from the ship means confinement for you.”

“I hope there’s a place where he can run free, as on your world. But for the present, with all the people there are on that field…”

“I’m sure you’re right. But he didn’t have such a happy time on Oceanos, did you, Wolf?” She bent to caress the dog, and just then the blower sounded at the lock.

“Ready, everyone!” cried Verl. “Here comes the boss!”

It was the one sound that could tear the young people away from the viewport. They whirled to face the lock, and when the trader trotted in, they were all standing at attention, clutching their various bags and satchels and belongings.

Wink stepped aside and a dapper little man in spaceport uniform followed him through the lock.

“So you’re all ready and waiting!” Their coach was pleased. “Good enough. Meet Officer Trundy. My team, sir. All rarin’ to go and wipe up the competition, aren’t we? Officer Trundy is going to conduct us to our quarters. So get in line, everyone, and be counted. We don’t want to lose anyone out on that busy field.”

“Um—yes!” said Trundy, with an almost military snort. He was only slightly taller than the trader, and all the athletes except Jarvie towered over him. He whipped out a stylus and checkboard and peered up at them.

“Let’s see. Got to check you all off first. Ah, yes. Coach Barnum Winkle. Here we are. Bit late, aren’t you? Now just step over here as your name is called. Braden, Verl, runner… Brawley, Yang, wrestler… Gigg, Devra, swimmer… Gigg, Jarvie, swimmer…”

He paused for a moment to stare at Jarvie and then continued through the list. When he was done, he looked about once more as though to assure himself that there were not too few or too many of them. Then he folded up the checkboard and thrust it back into his pocket.

“Well, everything seems to be in order. Better than with many of the teams. But you’ll have to work to make up the time. Now follow me and we’ll go to Olympic Village.”

They all paraded down the ramp and into a small bus that was parked at the foot. As Ty went to enter, with Wolf at his heels, the officer stopped him.

“Wait a minute. What’s that? I didn’t see him up there!”

“He’s my dog, sir. He goes everywhere I do. Besides, he helps with the practice. I’m a discus man, you know.”

“Hm… yes… well, there’s no provision for pets. One of the other teams had a dragon-pussy from Altair. They made them put it in the zoo.”

“But Wolf’s our mascot!” Devra called from her seat in the bus. “And he’s not a wild animal. He’s a dog. Ask anyone from Earth.”

“Well, get in with him and we’ll see what they say at the Village. But make sure he behaves himself.”

The doors closed and the car began its fast, bumpy ride. As they crossed the field and left the spaceport, they passed more richly dressed people, pushing, hurrying and laughing in holiday mood. Most of them turned to look as the car with the athletes passed, and many called after them.

“Hail, athletes! Good show! Good luck to you!”

The young people called and waved back, but the bus bore them away so quickly that they were encountering a new group before they had done more than wave to the first.

They got an impression of sweet air and bright sunlight. Everything had a rosy tint and the weather seemed perfect for outdoor sports. They passed a group of tall buildings on the outskirts of the port, and then they saw only low, graceful houses with columned porticos, often placed on the crown of a hill, with spreading lawns and flowers and woods between.

The bus passed through a cut in the hills and climbed an incline, and there spread out before them was a verdant plain, stretching down to a shining sea. There were towering headlands where the bay ended, and docks with ships at anchor. And between them and the sea, a charming and colorful complex, were the buildings for the Games. A large oval stadium, with flags flying from the walls and towers, and practice and playing fields laid out around it. And off in the opposite direction, away from the docks and ships, was the Olympic Village. Rows and rows of little houses, with larger buildings in the center, and a tall fence around the whole group.

The car made swiftly for the nearest gate, but hardly had it dipped down along the road to the plain than there was a cry from the back of the bus.

“The sea! The sea! Oh, look!” Devra and Jarvie were both leaning out their windows, breathing avidly of the salty air, unable to repress their excitement.

“Quiet in the back!” commanded the officer, who was too busy with the driving to do more than issue orders. “No leaning out the windows!”

“Sure and obey Officer Trundy!” cried their coach. “I’m surprised at the two of you.”

“But we haven’t seen the ocean for so long!” Devra apologized. “Can we go swimming tonight, Mr. Wink?”

“Nobody goes swimming at night,” said Trundy. “At night you’re all locked into the Village. And in the daytime you’ll be too busy practicing till after the Games. When that’s over, you may drown yourselves, if you wish.”

A murmur went round the bus. “Locked in… locked in!” It seemed that they were exchanging the confinement of the ship for that of the Village. Ty grinned wryly as he remembered his worries about Wolf. It looked as thought he would have no more freedom than the dog.

Just then the car bounced through a gate which swung open to admit them and then clanked shut behind. Trundy turned to the right, around several corners and drew up before a white and blue gate with the word “Femina” embossed above it.

“Here’s where the women get out,” he said.

The riders shifted about so that the three girls, all hugging their bags, could squeeze past.

“Oh, Jarvie!” cried Devra. “I’ve got to leave you. Do be good and do everything you’re asked to do, and… and… we’ll go swimming in that ocean as soon as they let us!”

“Don’t you worry about him!” said Wink. “He’s got seven teammates and a coach to see that he toes the line. And we’ll all get together tonight for supper, I expect.”

The car rolled away to find the quarters for the men, and Devra, Rhoda, and Rita picked up their bags and entered the gate.

The quarters for men and women proved to be much the same. They were clean and comfortable, but spartan in general design. The houses had rooms for one or two and often more occupants, with just space enough for beds and storage for the athletes’ gear. Each group of buildings had its block of showers, and meals were taken at the central canteen, which served both men and women.

Wink saw his boys satisfactorily lodged and then walked back to check on the girls. He was to spend much of his time in the ensuing days trotting from one place to the other, as he checked on the activities of his athletes and asured himself that they were all following his orders.

The athletes themselves soon discovered that they had little to complain of in Barnum Winkle’s regulations. Whatever routines of exercise he prescribed were well below the regimens demanded by other coaches. In fact, for three days, the trader urged his team to go slow.

“First, get adapted to the new environment,” he urged. “We’ll still have a few days left for that final push. And go slow on the eating, too. Don’t let the sight of all these fresh goodies lead you astray. Your stomach’s got to readapt, too.”

Every morning he led the entire group on a brisk walk along the curving bay and interspersed this exercise with periods of rest and a few quick pushups. After lunch everyone was ordered to take an hour’s rest in his room, and then put in two or three hours of training at his particular sport.

His most difficult problem at this time was the two swimmers from Oceanos. The mere sight of the sea, as they trotted around the curving shore, was a magnet to the young swimmers. Wink was continually ordering them back into line.

“Keep your feet out of that surf, you two!” he would bellow from his position at the head of the line. “All swimming must be confined to your pool.”

“But we don’t like the pools!” Devra lamented. “With all this lovely ocean out here waiting to be explored.”

“Pools are sissy!” Jarvie said. “No waves. No depth. No nothing.”

“You’re not here for waves or for exploring,” the trader told them. “I don’t know what’s out there in this planet’s ocean, and I’m not aiming to find out.”

“You’re here to show how fast you can swim in a pool. After you’ve done that you can do all the exploring you want.”

He assigned Yang to the special job of keeping Jarvie out of the sea. But when he looked at Devra, his confidence wavered.

“All right,” he said. “I guess nobody could keep you out against your will. I’m counting on your good sense and the promise that I’m sure you’ll give me. No ocean swimming till after the Games— right?”

Devra looked at the waves and sighed. “Right,” she said in a small, reluctant voice.

As long as he could not explore the wonders of Arcadia, the time Ty liked best was when he could practice with the discus. Wink had arranged for his athletes to do their training late in the day, when most of the other teams had finished. Ty found that he had the field pretty much to himself, and he could turn Wolf loose to retrieve his throws. The dog was happy to have this chance at freedom and ran enthusiastically after every toss.

It was on the third day of this lonely practice that Ty became aware of an audience. A young man was standing at a distance behind him. The setting sun at the back made the figure indistinct. Ty saw only the silhouette, but then Wolf, returning with the discus, began to bark in a worried, unsettled fashion.

As the man approached, Ty saw that it was not a human. Or was it perhaps a different kind of man? An alien? Ty and Wolf stood close together, waiting.

“Don’t stop. I watch only.” The creature spoke basic Galactic with a high, queer modulation.

Ty stared, unable to resume his practice with the necessary concentration. The speaker, he noted, had a man’s bipedal build. A thin man, and he was clothed in quite ordinary garb of boots, pants and tunic, with a loose cloak hanging from the shoulders. But where that cloak ended, the skin of the neck was revealed as coarse, porous, or was it perhaps scaled? The face was too bony for a man’s, with jutting nose and deep-set eyes, and sprouting from the crown of an otherwise bald head was— feathers? hair? fur? Ty could not be sure in the fading light, but he knew that this was his first meeting with a nonhuman intelligent species.

Wink had told them to expect spectators from all parts of the Galaxy. But he had not stressed the possibility of aliens. And now here was one, come to watch him practice! Ty knew he must make some gesture of friendship. He should not stand here like a boor. But what?

“We arrived late, so I have the late hour for training,” he said. “I’m a discus thrower. Not very exciting to watch.”

“And the animal? Does it compete in the Games?”

“Oh—Wolf? No, he’s just my dog. From Earth, you know. That is, dogs came from Earth. But this one comes from Permia. My world. He couldn’t compete. But he helps me practice. He retrieves the discus when I throw it.”

“Ah.” The word was a fading sigh. “Of course, he does not compete. Foolish of me to think so.”

The stranger stood for a moment in thought, and Wolf took the opportunity to approach and sniff around his feet. The alien reached down with the first sign of a smile and ran his hand over the dog’s fur.

“Perhaps I should introduce myself. My name is Endean Vort. I am what you would call a native Arcadian. This is my world, although you might not think so when you see how many of your people are here.”

“But I didn’t know!” cried Ty. “That is, I never heard that there was a native race of… er… people on Arcadia!”

“No, we are not mentioned often in the reports and history books. We live mostly in the mountains now. Too close contacts we find… disturbing. But since they have begun these competitions, these Olympic Games, as you call them, I find it interesting. I come and watch. I would like to compete, and I thought that if this animal was allowed… your dog?” He gave the word an odd, questioning accent. “Then they might allow others that are different also. You understand? But no. It is not so.” He sighed again and looked disconsolately at Wolf.

“You mean to say,” Ty exclaimed, “that you want to compete and they won’t let you? But you’re practically like us—not at all like Wolf. That is, there’s no comparison!” Ty found himself floundering in his effort to express his dismay and not be disrespectful to the alien.

“I’m afraid they don’t think so. They say quite positively we are two different species. Different species cannot compete in fairness, they say.”

“But on your own planet!” cried Ty. “What do you do? I mean, what is your sport? Do you throw?” He held out the discus.

“I would prefer to run,” said the alien.

“I can’t see how there would be any difference between your running and our running. But I’m new here. This is the first time I’ve come to the Games and we only got here three days ago.”

Ty looked uneasily at the stranger, feeling that there was something more he should say.

“Perhaps some day we can change the rules,” he said. “It’s all pretty new anyhow. My name’s Tyros Vann. I’m with Barnum Winkle’s team and any time you want to watch us practice, that’s all right. Come around tomorrow and I’ll introduce you to our runners.”

Vort extended his hand in the human greeting, and when Ty clasped it, he realized that he was right about the scaled skin.

“I look for you in the stadium,” said the alien. “I look for you to win.”

Then he turned and moved quietly away, down toward the sea. Wolf looked after him and whined. It was getting too late for practice, Ty realized, and went to gather up his gear. As he turned back toward the Village complex, he ran into his coach.

“Who was that man you were talking to?” demanded Wink.

“It wasn’t a man. It was an alien. An Arcadian. You never told me there were Arcadian natives, Wink.”

“Didn’t seem important. There aren’t many of ‘em and they live way up in the hills. What’d he want anyhow?”

“He wanted to compete in the Games.”

Wink let out a low whistle. “You don’t say! I hear they’re mighty quick on their feet.”

“But he says they won’t let him.”

“Well, that’s to be expected.” The coach led the way back toward the buildings. “Committee’s got to stick to some sort of rules. If you let the Arcadians in, every intelligent species in the Galaxy might want in. And some of ‘em aren’t as human as this.”

“But after all, it’s their own planet,” Ty protested.

“I know. But they keep pretty much to themselves. That is, they used to. This a new angle. I don’t want to discourage you, son. I reckon you did all right this time. But you’re liable to get a lot of zany folks coming around to watch you practice. Some of ‘em lay bets on you. You watch what you say after this. Don’t get too chummy.”

Wink left him at the door of his house, and Ty went in and prepared for the evening meal. All the time he was wondering what kind of folks could be any zanier than Endean Vort. He managed to get a seat at dinner next to Verl, and as soon as they were eating, he told the runner about the real natives of Arcadia who wanted to compete in the Olympic races.

“That’s all right with me,” said Verl. “If any of them can outrun me, they’re welcome to the prize.”

Where the Money Rides

10

As opening day approached, excitement in Arcadia increased, and more and more visitors poured into the sports area.

Wink felt that his athletes must by now be adapted to the environment, and he increased their training time accordingly. No more morning walks along the bay. Each member would report to his practice field both morning and afternoon.

“I’ll see that you get your share of the time, never fear. You’ll be seeing more of the other competitors, so mind you remember that we’re all sportsmen together.”

The only ones who were kept on the earlier routine were the two swimmers.

“Better you continue to practice in the late hours, where you won’t be seen so much,” he told Devra. “I’m saving you as a kind of surprise. But continue the morning exercises to keep in condition. And no wandering off! No experiments or explorations or fancy eating!”

This last was aimed at Jarvie, whose appetite always seemed to outrun the prescribed diet.

“But practice in that pool’s no good,” Devra complained. “It’s too small to even get going. I haven’t hit my top speed once. Couldn’t we swim in the ocean? There’s nobody there.”

“The pool’s where you’ll be racing, so the pool’s where you’ll practice. You must try to make the turns quicker. But don’t you worry. I’ve clocked the opposition and there’s not a one can touch you.”

“If only they had a marathon for swimming,” she sighed, for she had seen the marathon racers practicing along the bay. “Out to those islands and back.”

“Well, they don’t. And don’t you go thinking about those islands or the ocean. Time enough when the Games are over. Suppose you got drowned. There would go my swimming team.”

“You just think of us as a team,” she complained. “Not as people at all, Mr. Wink. I’ve been swimming all my life in oceans bigger than this. And nothing ever happened to me.”

“Ah, but this is a different ocean and a different world. It all makes for a different environment.”

Between the activities of his swimmers, who practiced at night and had to be watched during the day, and his other athletes, who had to be coached and clocked in the daylight hours, Barnum Winkle was kept busy dashing from one set of fields and buildings to another.

Perhaps if the question of Ty’s handicap had not burgeoned into a major argument, he would not have been forced to leave his swimmers without supervision for so long a period. But when the judges came around to watch the discus throwers and to assign distances, they took one look at Ty’s performance and gave him the farthest throwing box. Wink immediately protested.

“Come, come gentlemen. You’ve got him six points farther than any other contestant. And we all know that Permia is only 1.25 Earth G.”

“Is that so?” said the referee from Arcadia, who plainly did not like to have his decision disputed “I’d have thought it was more like 1.5.”

“Don’t kid me,” growled Wink. “If it was 1.5, you know it would never have been settled.”

“All we want is to even things out a bit,” said the second referee.

“Well, even it out in a logical manner. You have the boy from Earth at the standard pitch. Fine. And Number Ten there, from a light grav, is three paces ahead. And then you move back away for the heavier grav. Number Seven, from 1.1 G, is three paces back; and Number Five, from 1.15, is six paces back. But then you jump all the way to twelve paces back, with three stations in between, and that’s where you put my man! And only 1.25 G for his world!”

“Only!” cried the first referee. “I’d find it difficult to walk on a planet like that. And look how he pitches that thing.”

“You’d walk all right. I’ve been there and I’ve done it. And he throws well because he’s been at it for a long time.”

The argument went on for some time, but finally it was agreed that the box assigned to Ty was only for extreme cases and he was advanced to a point nine paces behind standard. Even so, he was throwing from well behind his competitors and keeping up with them easily.

While this decision was in the making, the two swimmers were sitting on a convenient rock at the beach’s edge, resting from their training and looking disconsolately at the sea.

“After all,” said Jarvie, “he didn’t really make me promise not to go in the water. It was you he was fussing about.”

“That’s because you haven’t argued. He knows your weakness is eating.”

“But why couldn’t we at least get our feet wet?”

“Because then we’d want to get the rest of us wet. One thing leads to another.”

“Somehow, this isn’t as much fun as I’d thought it would be,” sighed the boy, and was surprised to hear a voice behind him say, “Not fun? On Arcadia —the fun planet?”

They turned to see a young man standing behind them. He was gorgeously attired in their estimation, in many-colored velvet tights and a cloak that shimmered like their beloved sea. The costume was designed with an artistry more sophisticated and intricate than anything either of them had seen, even in the elegant upper sections of their undersea city. Brother and sister stared, feeling like uncouth provincials.

“I believe you are both competitors in our glorious Olympic Games,” began the stranger. “I see you running up and down the beach. Why is it that you do not practice on the training fields?”

“Oh, there’s not room for everyone at the same time,” said Jarvie.

His sister nudged him. “We each have our assigned times for practice, but our team arrived late on Arcadia, and we need to put in every minute We were just having a short rest.”

She got up with the obvious intention of moving on, but Jarvie did not budge. He was too fascinated, taking in every aspect of the Arcadian’s appearance. The man had a little pointed beard. His hair curled artfully about his face and the line of his eyebrows had been subtly extended in a curved, masklike outline. He held a velvet hat with trailing plumes, and he now swept this back upon his head.

“May I walk along with you a little?” he asked. “I am so happy to make the acquaintance of young people from other worlds. Which is your world, may I ask?”

“Oceanos!” cried Jarvie in a surge of pride. “You know… all ocean!”

“Ah, then you must be swimmers. I have heard of that world and often thought of visiting it. But all ocean!” He shuddered slightly. “What do you do when you want some good, firm ground under your feet?”

“You don’t,” said Jarvie. “I’ve had about enough ground under my feet to last a long time!”

“Jarvie!” Devra cautioned. And then to the stranger, “We’re not supposed to go near the ocean till after the Games. It gets a little boring.”

“You would like to go out in a boat?” asked the young man. “But that’s easily arranged.”

“Not until after the Games,” Devra was firm. “Those are orders.”

“But then at least you can take some refreshment with me. I insist. You see that house down at the curve of the bay? Serves the best seafood. To eat it is to be in paradise!”

“Seafood!” cried Jarvie. “Something better than the Village slop!”

“Now, Jarvie. I won’t have it!”

But Jarvie was already on his way, walking quickly toward the curve of the bay. The young man, apparently despairing of Devra, was prepared to content himself with Jarvie. He put his arm familiarly about the boy’s shoulders and began to talk about Arcadia’s native seafoods. Devra found there was nothing she could do but run after them.

“I wonder if your fish are quite like ours,” the stranger was saying. “Most of them have a rosy hue, but they say that may come from the luminosity of our atmosphere. We’re right in the center of the cloudy nebula here, you know.”

“Yes, we’ve seen the sunsets,” said Devra, catching up at last. After all, if Jarvie was going to run off this way, it was better for her to be with him. And a little taste of seafood could hardly kill them. She was pretty tired of the athletes’ diet, too.

The young man seemed to accept her change of heart as quite natural. He chattered on in the friendliest fashion, describing life on his world and asking discreet questions about theirs. When he had steered them to a table in the little restaurant, he began discussing what they might order.

“We have a shellfish that’s especially good,” he said. “I understand that on Earth such fish are called clams. But since ours are very sweet, we call them swams. I suggest we begin with them.”

Devra felt her mouth water, and she saw that Jarvie’s eyes were taking on that certain look.

“Well, all right,” she said. “It’s awfully good of you. We’ll try some of them. But that’s absolutely all. Our coach will be very angry if he finds out, and we’ve got to eat our regular supper when we get back.”

So their host ordered the swams, and since this was all they were going to eat, Jarvie did not object when offered a second helping. The food turned out to be as delicious as the young man had promised, and soon they were talking and laughing as though they had known each other for a long time.

The young man said that his name was Fredolph. He was so happy to make the acquaintance of two of the athletes, and hoped that he would see them again soon.

“I’m not allowed in your Village, you know,” he said. “But I’ll be cheering for you in the stadium, and after the Games are over, I hope you’ll let me show you the more interesting points of Arcadia.”

He was not especially interested in the swimming events, although he admitted that natives of Oceanos were sure to take all the prizes. What really interested him were some of the track events, where the outcome was likely to be close.

“I understand that your team has brought a remarkable discus thrower.”

The two swimmers looked at each other and laughed.

“You mean Tyros Vann,” said the girl. “He’s responsible for our being here.”

“Oh, then you know him. How fortunate! Could you… would you perhaps introduce me? I should dearly love to watch his technique.”

“Gee, we’re not supposed to,” began Jarvie. “Perhaps you’re a friend of another team and they want to know how he does it.”

“Jarvie!” cried Devra, in a futile effort to control her brother’s crudeness. “Excuse my brother, but he’s right, you know. We should not even be here.”

“Believe me,” the young man assured them. “I have no connection with, the other teams. It grieves me that you should think such a thing! I am simply delighted to be able to talk to any of the foreign athletes. And if I could add a discus thrower to my list… in addition to two wonderful swimmers…!”

Devra and Jarvie exchanged glances and then their eyes fell to the feast of seafood which they were rapidly demolishing. There seemed to be nothing sinister about this generous, appreciative companion.

“Well,” began Devra slowly, “he should be done with his regular training period by now. But he comes down on the beach to practice very late in the day. Back there where there aren’t any people.”

“In that case, do you think I… or we… would he mind so much if we watched? That is, if you’ve both had all I can offer you in the way of hospitality.”

There was something almost pathetic about the gorgeous stranger’s desire to watch the visiting athletes in action. Devra looked from him to her brother and then to her well-cleaned plate. She felt rebellion mounting inside her. Rules or no rules, she could not be boorish to this young man who had treated them so generously.

“I really don’t see what harm it could do,” she said. “And I’m sure Ty would be happy to meet you. Come along, Jarvie. Surely you can’t get anything more off that plate.”

“Take a few of my fish cakes along with you, kid,” said their new friend, pushing his almost untouched dish towards the boy.

They all moved toward the door, where their guide paused to drop an assortment of coins onto the cashier’s tray.

“I trust you found our little collation to your liking,” he said, as they walked down the beach. “They do this sort of thing rather well in the seaside resorts. But for real elegance in dining, you must let me conduct you on a tour after your labors are ended.”

Presently, they found Ty in the next cove, doggedly working on his stance and throwing technique before the approaching dark should put an end to his practice. While he paused to rest, Devra introduced him to their friend. There followed the usual explanations about Wolf and his uses in discus practice and about Ty’s home planet, Permia.

“Ah, yes, you come from the heavy-grav world,” said the visitor. “I heard about you this morning. They expect you to break records.”

“I don’t know about that,” Ty objected. “This is my first Olympics. It’s all new to me.”

“I suppose you know that the victor in the last Games was our own man, Valencourt. He set what was considered an unbeatable record. But he’s worried now. He’s seen you throw.”

Ty looked embarrassed. “I met Valencourt this morning,” he said. “But I know nothing about his record. My handicap places me nine paces behind him. If he’s that good, I don’t think he needs to worry.”

Ty picked up his discus and moved off preparing to throw, but the stranger followed him.

“Stay where you are!” said the athlete. “It’s dangerous to come closer. This thing can go off at odd angles.”

“Just a word with you.” The young man followed him stubbornly. “In private, if you please. Before you make the toss.”

The two were now some distance from Jarvie and Devra, who looked curiously after them, hesitating to go any nearer and disturb the thrower’s aim.

The stranger pitched his voice to a whisper and Ty replied in kind so that the two swimmers could not hear the conversation.

“What do you think he wants?” asked Jarvie.

“I don’t know.” Devra frowned. “Perhaps we shouldn’t have brought him. Interrupting Ty’s practice when there’s only one day left!”

“He was going to stop anyhow,” said her brother. “He’s just showing off now.”

Devra started to shush the boy, but an outburst from their old friend turned their attention to the two on the darkening beach.

“No! No! Never!” Ty shouted. And then he threw the discus, but not a beautiful, soaring pitch. He threw it violently into the sand, as though it were the only outlet for his overwhelming anger. “And you, get out! Get out!” He continued to yell in uncontrolled fury at the Arcadian even after the man had retreated down the beach. Devra and Jarvie hastened to his side.

“What’s the matter?” cried the boy. “What did he do?”

“He seemed like such a nice young man,” Devra began.

“Nice!” cried Ty. “Do you know what he wanted? What he thought I’d be willing to do?” And as they both looked at him open-mouthed, he went on. “He was trying to bribe me! He wanted me to… to agree to lose! To make a bum throw just so that… that… Valencourt friend of his could win!”

“Why, I can’t believe it,” Devra began. “Why, that’s… that’s…”

“How much would he give you?” asked Jarvie practically.

“Who cares? There’s not enough money in the universe.”

“Fifty thousand!” called Fredolph, who was waiting at a distance. “Don’t talk about it. Just think about it. I’ll be seeing you.”

Ty turned his back and began to walk off. “He said it wouldn’t matter if a little, primitive world like Permia had a winner, but with this Arcadian, he said… he said there was a lot of money riding on him!” Ty seemed to run out of words.

Devra put her hand on his arm. “Don’t let it worry you. You said no. There’s nothing more he can do.”

But they saw the man waiting in the shadows, as though he knew that the lure of money must work in his favor. Jarvie whistled. “I didn’t think anyone had that much money to throw around!”

On an impulse, the boy bent down, picked up a stone and threw it in the direction of the waiting Fredolph. At the same time he shouted to Wolf.

“Jarvie!” Devra jumped to stop him. “He just paid for our meal! You mustn’t!”

“I wasn’t going to bit him!” said Jarvie. “I wanted Wolf to do that.”

Even as they spoke, the dog was careening down the beach after the missile. The stone landed just short of the astonished gambler, and Wolf came thundering after it, ramming into the man like a misguided rocket and knocking him unceremoniously to the ground.

Devra and Ty began to run, but Fredolph had picked himself up before they reached him. He was angrily brushing the sand from his elegant clothes by the time the two arrived.

“I’m so sorry,” began Devra. “My brother does not have very good manners.”

“The dog simply couldn’t stop himself,” Ty explained. “He wasn’t attacking, I assure you.”

He called to Wolf, who was barking and jumping, excited by the anger that he sensed around him.

“It’s quite all right,” said Fredolph in a strained voice. “I knew I had undertaken a difficult assignment when I agreed to approach foreigners from the outer worlds. Still, I hardly expected… I hardly envisaged anything quite like this. An offer’s an offer. To be accepted or rejected.” He shook the sand out of his improbable hat and with a flourish replaced it on his head. “I knew there’d be trouble when they agreed to admit these new teams!” He grumbled as he turned on his heel and stalked off into the dusk.

The three off-world athletes walked soberly back toward the Village, with Wolf trotting behind them. On the way, interspersed with many apologies for having brought the man to see him, Devra told Ty about her own experience.

“He seemed so nice at the time,” she wailed. “How could I know?”

“How could you,” Ty agreed gloomily. “I guess Wink was right when he said not to talk to anyone.”

“Do we have to tell him about all this?” demanded Jarvie, who was beginning to think how his prank might appear to the coach.

“Perhaps we’d better not,” said Devra.

“It would only worry him,” Ty agreed. “Two days before the Games, he’s got enough to worry about.”

By the time the three entered the Village dining hall, they had decided that silence was the best policy. Even so, they soon attracted the interest of their coach, for the two swimmers found it impossible to eat with their usual appetite. Jarvie especially was well known for his ability to put away food, and when Wink noted that he was only pushing it around his plate, he came over at once.

“What’s the matter, boy?” he asked. “Space got your appetite?”

“Just don’t seem to be hungry,” Jarvie muttered.

At the end of the table, Yang pricked up his ears.

“What’s eatin’ you, kid?”

“It’s not what’s eating him, I’d guess. It’s what he’s been eating,” Wink said. “Galaxy! Do I have to keep after all of you at the same time?”

The whole table was staring at Jarvie now. It seemed to Ty that the boy did look a little green about the gills, but that was no more than he felt himself. In fact, he wondered if he’d ever feel like eating again. Of course, he’d known that things like this went on, but he never dreamed that it could happen to him. The awesome wonder of the Space Olympics, with traditions going back beyond the age of space flight, now seemed somehow to be tarnished. He thought of young Valencourt, standing straight and lean, tossing the discus with such perfect form. Only this morning he had appeared the model of all athletes. And now this young poppinjay had smeared him with his insinuations: “There’s a lot of money riding on that boy.”

Still, perhaps Valencourt did not know. Suppose there was money bet on him, Tyros Vann? There was nothing he could do to prevent it. It was in the nature of things that men would gamble. But to expect him to sell the outcome! To peddle his possible victory! Ty felt his stomach turn over as it had done when the man first made his proposal.

He looked across at Jarvie. The boy was staring at his plate. At the end of the table, Devra was trying to explain to Wink.

“But it was a first-class restaurant. That fancy place near the wharf. We only had a dish of something called swams. I ate them, too, and I feel fine.”

At the mention of the seafood, Jarvie seemed to reach the breaking point. “I don’t feel so good,” he muttered. And then he pushed back his chair and ran from the room.

Yang heaved himself to his feet and went after him, with Devra and Barnum close behind.

“We must remember that one man’s swam is another man’s bane,” said Wink. “He’s still but a lad and not yet a week on this world.”

Jarvie was making a straight line for his hut, but he didn’t reach it. Halfway there he paused in the shadow of a bush and bent over, retching violf .ly. Yang caught up with him there and scooped him up in his arms. The wrestler carried the boy into the room the two shared and deposited him gently on his bed.

“Now just you take it easy,” the huge man commanded. “You got rid of the worst of it. You’ll soon be fit as a fiddle.”

“Where’s that Village doctor?” demanded the trader. “No, you stay here with him, Devra. I’ll be able to get action faster.”

Jarvie lay with his face to the wall, his breath coming in deep sobs. “I’ll miss the Games!” he cried. “The blasted space louse! The blasted louse, he poisoned me!”

“Who says you’ll miss the Games!” Yang shouted. “The boy’s out of his head. What’s he talking about, Devra?”

The girl put a cool hand on her brother’s forehead. “You mustn’t talk like that. He didn’t mean it, I’m sure. You’re not adjusted yet to the new food. Lie still now till Wink brings the doctor.”

She knew they were all looking at her, and that sometime she’d have a lot of explaining to do. For Wink especially. But just now she was too worried even to look at the faces peering in the door.

Outside in the corridor, Ty lingered. He felt he was going through much the same agonies as Jarvie, but for different reasons. And the two people with whom he might have discussed it and lightened his load were cut off from him now.

The Victor

11

The doctor held out scant hopes that Jarvie would be back in condition for his swimming event, and none at all that he would appear in the opening parade. Ty would have liked to sit out that first day with him, but was unceremoniously kicked out of the boy’s room by Yang, who claimed that if anyone stayed home with him, it must be his roommate.

Ty allowed himself to be led away by Devra, who looked him over with a critical eye to be sure he was wearing his uniform properly.

“Don’t you suppose I’d prefer to stay with him, too?” she said. “But we can’t all miss the parade. There’s few enough of us as it is to represent our group of worlds.”

“I’m glad someone has the sense to see this straight,” growled the trader. “There’s nothing really wrong with the boy but a case of space tummy. I warned you all against it, but he had to do it his way. Now hurry on, everyone, so we don’t miss our place in the lineup.”

With waving banners from many worlds, the great gathering of athletes fell into line for the march. Excitement was in the air, with spectators streaming to their seats in the stadium. The Arcadian Governor and his officers took their places in the stands, and proclaimed the Games open. As the trumpets sounded and the music pounded in his ears, Ty felt his doubts and discouragement of the past two days fall away. This was the most exciting moment of his life! This was the Olympics, and no amount of underhanded betting and trickery could cloud the honor of taking part in this ancient and glorious tradition!

When his turn came to move out, he raised their banner high. They had promised Jarvie that he could carry it, but now Ty must substitute. The flag had a black field, the color of the interstellar skies, and on it were arranged symbols of the six planets represented by the team. A huge rock in the upper corner symbolized Permia’s heavy gravity, and opposite, a few wavy lines suggested the waves and fishes of Devra’s water world. Three stars halfway down the field were the three Krakara brothers from Merope, while two doves across from it symbolized the two girls from Maia. Yang’s planet in the system of Alcyone was represented by a golden globe, as its large satellite. And Tayo, the home of Verl and Bertie, lying in the outer region of comets, was symbolized by one of those. In the center of the flag gleamed a golden crown, the sign of the Cluster Queen.

As their contingent came through the gates into the stadium, Ty heard for the first time the roar of the crowd. There were shouts and cries, and waves of applause swept over sections of the audience as the different contingents swept past.

“Yeah! Yeah! Arcturus!”

“The Centaurians! Hey, there. Good luck.”

“There goes the team from Earth!”

Everyone on Arcadia seemed to compete for the flashiest costumes, the gayest, most striking attire. The stands were dazzling with color. Again and again Tyros had to tear his eyes away, to stop staring at the spectators and put his mind on what he was doing. He must keep the distance right. Keep in line and in step, with his flag pointing at the correct angle. They were passing the reviewing stand now, and in the welter of sound, he heard a voice speak distinctly in his ear.

“Good luck, Tyros Vann!”

He turned his head for half a minute and thought he saw a bald head with a crown of strange dark hair. Eudean Vort? He snapped his eyes back to attention and dipped the flag at the exact moment that he passed the Governor.

Then they were past the stand and being pelted with flowers by a group of children in the lower benches beyond. They marched to the seats reserved for athletes and took their places to watch the ceremony of the eternal torch and the raising of the Olympic flags. At last it was over, and they joined the milling crowd pouring out of the stadium. The trader’s team went back to their quarters and regaled Jarvie and Yang with descriptions of the event. The wrestler looked wistful as each topped the next with stories of the day’s experiences.

“I told you to go without me, Yang!” cried Jarvie. “Look what you missed!”

“If I could have believed that,” said Yang. “But it would have ended by my going with you!”

“All right!” Wink interrupted. “Enough is enough. You’re to eat carefully from now on. Walk slowly—I want no twisted ankles. And everyone to bed early. You all know your programs. Just be at your posts in good time.”

Tomorrow the real work would begin.

And begin it did. The Olympics Committee seemed bent on cramming as many contests into each day as the hours of light would permit. The many athletes who had come from all over the Galaxy and the variety of events in which they took part made it necessary to conduct simultaneous contests. The spectators could watch swimming in the beautiful Olympic pool or track events on any of several fields, or team games in one of the special stadiums.

The swimming contests were the first to be completed, unfortunately for Jarvie, who found that his scheduled events were decided by the time he was sufficiently recovered to take to the water.

“Better luck next time,” Wink told him. “There’ll be many more Olympics for you, and no doubt of your winning. Now come and watch your sister rake in the prizes.”

Cold comfort, but Jarvie blinked back his disappointment and followed the coach to the stands around the pool where the women’s events were in progress.

And Devra did not let them down. The young woman from Oceanos burst upon the astonished spectators like a comet from deep space. No other swimmer could catch her. She swept up the prizes, as easily in the short dashes as in the longer races: 100-meter, 200-meter, 400-meter. And when it came to the 1500-meter freestyle, she simply ran away with the show. In her imagination, Devra was swimming once more in the oceans of her beloved water world. Only in this pool there were no waves or storms to impede her progress. As she had chased the water snakes and pursued her elusive Maki, so now she shot through the water with effortless grace and lightning turns to win the prize while all others were several laps behind.

As she climbed dripping from the pool, the applause thundered down around her, and the other swimmers plowed stubbornly back and forth to determine who should capture the lesser rewards. Jarvie ran out from the stands and hugged her, oblivious of the water that splashed over his shorts and jumper.

“You won, Sis! You won four times!”

“You should have won, too!” she gasped, as the photobulbs flashed and a frantic group of newsmen tried to ask questions. “Oh, you poor baby. Are you feeling better?”

“Yes, and I’m not a baby!”

Devra let herself be led away by the proctors, hoping that nobody had noted her exchange with her brother. When he was crossed, there was no telling what Jarvie might do.

She found herself wondering whether Fredolph was in the crowd and what he might think of her victory. He had said that he had little interest in the swimming events, which meant, she now realized, that he had nothing bet on them. Like Ty, she felt a dark chasm of evil opening before her at this hint of machinations behind the scenes, and as she marched past the stands, she thought she recognized a face from the corner of her eye. Two faces. Fredolph and Bertie? She told herself that she was imagining things.

When she stood on the pedestal between the two lesser swimmers, saw her world’s banner being hoisted aloft, and heard the shouts and applause of the crowd, she forgot all about it. She saw the bright star-burst medal in the Director’s hand as he hung it about her neck, and wondered how she would find the strength to walk away from this moment.

But somehow she did, and made her way through the crowds and the reporters to the dressing rooms where she could receive the congratulations of her teammates.

“I told you you’d make history!” Wink declared.

“Never been a victory like this in all the annals of the Olympics. Old Wink knows how to pick ‘em.”

“What do you mean?” cried Bertie. “It was Verl and me… and perhaps Ty, as I remember, told you she and the kid could swim.”

“Ah, but I could see it in the build and the look of the eyes. There’s a winner, I said to myself. Go on and don’t argue with me. You should be thinking about tomorrow when it’ll be up to you to do likewise. You’ll have to go higher than you did today if you’re to stay in the running, Bertie.”

It was just as well for Barnum Winkle that Devra had scored high, for a long period of defeats then set in for his team. Bertie was eliminated in the jumping events the next day, and Yang Brawley got no further than the semifinals in wrestlings. None of the three Krakora brothers was able to score, but in the relay race, with Verl, they managed to come in second. This raised everyone’s hopes for Verl in the 190-meter, but he could do no better than place second again. The two girl runners from Maia II also captured minor prizes, coming in third and fourth in their respective events. It looked as though the Cluster Queen would go home with only one star-burst to its credit.

Bertie took his elimination hard. He had not even reached the final event in his sport, as had most other members of the team, and when Verl made some remark about “not enough concentrated training,” he walked off in a huff.

Wink was too busy coaching his still active athletes to pay much attention.

“Let the boy find amusement if he can,” he said to Verl. “There’s always another day, as I’ll be explaining to the team in the debriefing.” And he went away to watch Yang’s debacle in the wrestling ring.

And then the day of reckoning came for Ty. He had kept ahead in all the earlier run-offs for the discus throw. The final contest was set for late on the last day. There were five of them left, but he knew that the serious competition was Valencourt. One by one the others failed to throw far enough and were eliminated, but the Arcadian stood up there, tall and graceful, and matched each throw that Ty could make. Valencourt, on whom all that money was riding. The boy from Permia laughed softly to himself. Perhaps it had been foolish for the gambler to approach him. Perhaps it was in the cards for Valencourt to win anyhow.

Most of the other contests had been decided by now, and the fans swarmed into the main stadium to watch this final struggle. There were many exclamations at the greater distance from which Tyros made his toss—the handicap worked out for the athlete from the heavy-gravity world. But so far Ty had kept up with the champion from Arcadia, matching each throw from his farther box.

The crowd was sitting on the edge of the seats. At first all the applause was for the native son, with shouts of “Valencourt! Valencourt, well done!” But as Ty continued to throw stubbornly and calmly from his distant stand, a feeling of admiration for his performance, of respect for the disadvantage under which he worked, came over the audience. Here and there a voice called his name.

“Ty Vann! Ty Vann!”

The shouts grew in volume till they seemed to fill the stadium. Ty felt the tension rising. Would he be able to respond to those encouraging cries? Valencourt was the old champion, and Ty had never been able, in practice, to hit his record from his assigned handicap. But here, under the pressure of competition, everything was rising to a peak.

The judges announced that each of the two remaining contestants would now have three throws. Unless there was a tie, this would decide the winner. Valencourt was given the first turn. As he stepped into his box, there was a round of applause and then the spectators fell silent.

The Arcadian took his stance, made several practice swings and then let fly. It was evident that he was nervous, for his first toss went wild and fell far short. A quickly suppressed groan came from the stands.

With greater concentration, the athlete threw again, and this time the discus fell on his own record mark. The fans were registering their love and approval as Valencourt swung for his final toss. The missile sailed out in a perfect arc. Out… out! The audience sucked in its breath. And then the referee’s voice came over the com-system:

“Valencourt has broken his own record! Two inches better than last time! Well done, champion!”

From his place in the pit, Barnum Winkle frowned at this unorthodox reporting. They had practically given the victory to Valencourt before Ty had made his throws. He held up his fist in a gesture of encouragement as the boy took his place in the farther throwing box.

The referee’s report was not lost on the young Permian. Since he had never quite equaled the old record, how could he now surpass this greater record? The stands were beginning to vibrate again, this time to the rhythm of his name. “Ty Vann! Ty Vann!” He still had his friends among the spectators.

Deliberately, he shut it all out. His whole being was concentrated on the missile in his hand and the distance it had to go. Form and stance had become automatic with him. Now everything must go into power. He saw once again the yellow plains of his home world. He felt the tug of that extra gravity. Suppose his flock were out there now, farther away than they should be? And Wolf running about, waiting for a signal? Could he place the stone beyond the flock without hitting any of them?

Almost before he knew it, the discus was flying to the target. He saw the referees running to record it, and then the loudspeaker delivered its verdict.

“Ty Vann has equaled the old record! Good throw, Vann!”

A babble of voices broke out all over the stands, and it hushed again as Ty stood for his second try. And again the referee announced the result.

“One inch behind the new record! One throw to go!”

A wave of sound rippled around the stadium. The audience was rising to its feet as Ty prepared for the last and crucial throw. He could feel the urgent pleading in Wink’s eyes, but he resolutely refused to look in that direction. Then there was absolute silence. All eyes were focused upon him as he went into his swing. “Come on, you fool!” he told himself. “You’ve got to get behind the flock! You’ve knocked off two of them already!”

The discus was flying from his hand. Far, far beyond the imaginary flock. Straight and true. He heard a shout begin from the people in the upper stands. It grew to a roar. It nearly drowned out the vital words of the almost hysterical referee.

“Two inches beyond the record! An unprecedented throw! A new champion!”

Pandemonium broke out. People were climbing over the rails to get at the new champion. Ty stood in a daze, unable to believe that he had won. He saw the blank, stupefied look on Valencourt’s face and felt a surge of sympathy for the man who had believed his victory to be assured. Then Wink had hold of him and was pounding him on the back. His teammates were around him and a wave of fans was trying to push through them, all stretching out their hands to grasp his.

“How’d you ever do it, kid? Well done! And what a handicap! It’s unbelievable! Unprecedented!”

Ty forced himself to concentrate, to try to pick out the words in the babble of sound. And then Wink was pulling him aside.

“That’s all for now, folks! Let the victor claim his prize. They’re waiting for him over by the torch. Come on, come on, you’ll all get your chance later.”

The team solved the problem by hoisting him upon their shoulders and carrying him away. And shortly he was marching up to the stand beside the Olympic flame, with Valencourt on one side of him and the man who had won third on the other. Miraculously, unbelievably, the flag flew, the trumpets blew, and the Director stepped forward and placed the gold star-burst around his neck. The prize that Devra had walked away with so easily, that had been lost to his other teammates, was now actually his. Somehow he remembered the steps of the ceremony. At the right moment he turned and paraded back to the athletes’ quarters with the group, while the music played and the multitude cheered as though he were the only champion on the field.

In the dressing rooms he had to let the reporters ask questions and take pictures. Some of them even felt they should be allowed to feel his muscles.

“What’s it like on a high-grav planet? Say, perhaps I ought to go there. Think it would build me up?”

“You wouldn’t like it,” Bertie answered for him. “Takes it out of you! Boy!”

“Then I don’t see how…”

“He was born there, you dope!”… “Ever hear about adaptation?”

The reporters were getting into an argument among themselves, and Ty was able to turn his attention to his friends. Everyone wanted to hug him, including Devra, he was happy to note. Everyone had to inspect and wonder at the gold star-burst, although they had all done the same with Devra’s prize. Still, that was way back at the start of the Games. Four whole days ago. A lot of disappointments had run under the bridge since.

The reporters were turning their attention back to him. Ty was beginning to tire of the endless questions. Wink should be able to get him out of this. There should be limits to what a champion had to endure. Where was the coach, anyhow?

“Where’s Wink?” he demanded. “Shouldn’t he be here? Where is he?”

“He’s coming right now,” said a reporter on the perimeter of the crowd. “Hey, coach, your champ wants you!”

Wink came trotting into the room, closely followed by two judges. His face was serious and it occurred to several of the reporters that he did not look like a man whose athlete had just won top honors.

“All right, everyone! Clear the room!” he barked. “My boy’s had enough of your gab.”

“Now just a minute,” cried an astute newsman. “Why the two judges? What’s going on? If it’s anything you’ll be giving out later…”

“Let them stay,” one judge directed. “We only have a few questions and everyone’s entitled to know the answers.”

“All right,” said the trader. “Hurry up and get it over with.”

“We’ve just heard a rumor,” the judge turned to Tyros, “that you weren’t born on Permia. Is that right, boy? Where were you born?”

“Well, yes sir,” Ty replied. “I was born on Gravus. But I’ve lived my whole life on Permia. My mother couldn’t stand the gravity on Gravus. We moved to Permia when I was hardly a year old.”

“There you are,” cried the other judge. “Gravus is 1.4G.”

“Why didn’t you tell us at the beginning?” demanded the first judge.

There was a low murmur of astonishment and argument going around the room, but it stopped as everyone waited for Ty’s answer.

“But nobody asked me!” he cried. “Not just like that. You’re asked for your native planet, and I said Permia. It is my native planet. I don’t know any other.”

“It’s all ridiculous!” cried Wink. “A pack of obstacles fabricated by poor sports who don’t want to see their boy lose! Ty won fair and square and you all saw it!”

“It was not fair and square,” said the judge. “We did not have all the facts. I don’t say that it was willful deception. But a man born on Gravus should have a handicap of twelve paces, and if we subtract that much from his winning throw…”

“It’s not a winning throw any more,” put in one of the reporters.

“Exactly. I won’t say that he might not have done it, even if he’d been standing at his true handicap. But under the circumstances, all we can do is to disqualify him. The winner will be recorded as Valencourt.”

There was a stupefied silence as the judge held out his hand. Ty took a step back and clutched the star-burst that hung about his neck. His face was very white.

“No!” he cried. “No, I won’t give it up. I won it. You gave it to me and you’ve no right to take it away. I don’t remember anything about the planet Gravus. I couldn’t even walk when I left that world.”

“If you refuse to give it back,” said the judge evenly, “you’ll still be no victor in the records and you’ll be disqualified from all future Games.”

Brusquely, Wink pushed himself between the athlete and the judge. He put his hand on Ty’s arm and led him aside.

“Give it to me, boy,” he said sorrowfully. “If there’s one thing you must learn in the Olympics, it’s to obey what the judges say. You don’t want to be disqualified forever.”

The tears stung Ty’s eyes so that he could not see. He turned his face aside as he pulled the chain over his head and thrust the prize into his coach’s hands. Then he pushed his way through the crowd and ran from the room. Behind him a hubbub of voices broke out in wrangling protest.

One of Our Athletes Is Missing

12

It was remarkable how quickly the team’s dressing rooms cleared when it became evident that Tyros Vann was no longer the winner of a gold star-burst. The judges were the first to go, and the newsmen all followed after, presumably to the quarters of the old champion, to watch as he received news of his good fortune. Wink and his team were left brooding in silence.

“So come on, everyone!” he ordered. “Get dressed, all of you who aren’t already. Let’s go back to the Village. No need for us to remain here to witness the triumph of unreason. If you don’t think I argued with those two inflexible fools! Well, better luck next time. Then we get everything down in writing before we start.”

“But I don’t understand,” cried Jarvie, who had been pushed into a corner during the recent excitement. “How did they know he was born on Gravus? I never heard him mention Gravus.”

“Neither did I,” said Devra. “It was always Permia. Permia was his home.”

“I never heard of Gravus before,” said Rhoda. “Do people really live on a planet like that?”

“Of course they do,” Yang told her. “But you have to be tough. It’s near top tolerance.”

Verl was frowning at the floor in worried thought. “It seems to me that someone mentioned Gravus just the other day. Yes, it was you, Bertie. You asked me what the gravity was on that world.”

“Why was that?” Wink was quick to ask. “What difference did it make to you?”

“I just thought… I wondered… if Ty came from there, perhaps he was so strong that he could win for sure.”

“So you knew about it! It’s more than I did. I’d been told, but I’d forgotten,” said Wink.

“But how did you know?” Verl was puzzled. “He never told me.”

“One time… after practice. We were talking about our childhood.”

Suddenly, Jarvie burst from his sister’s side and threw himself upon the unfortunate Bertie. “You did it! You did it! You gave him away and made him lose! You beastly traitor!”

“Now hold on!” cried Wink, pushing himself between Bertie and the furious Jarvie. “Don’t go on like that or you’ll be sick again. How could he possibly have told the judges? They hardly know that he exists.”

“He didn’t have to tell the judges. He told Fredolph. I know. Devra saw them together in the stadium. Didn’t you, Devra? Didn’t you?”

“Well, I thought I did,” said Devra in a dubious tone. “But I told you not to tell!”

“Who’s Fredolph?” The question came simultaneously in a half dozen voices.

“He’s that tricky gambler who tried to poison me!”

“Now I don’t believe he had any such thing in mind!” Devra was trying tactfully to steer Jarvie away from Bertie. “He treated us to an excellent meal and you simply ate too much of something that didn’t agree with you.”

“He was trying to pump information out of us. He must have found Bertie easier to pump.” Jarvie glowered at the jumper from behind his sister.

“All right. How about it, Bertie? Did you tell this character that Ty was born on Gravus—or didn’t you?”

“I guess I did,” Bertie muttered miserably. “How was I to know that a simple discussion of gravity…”

“You were told and told to keep away from all strangers! You’ve been nothing but a loss on this trip. You didn’t practice when you should have and so you lost your event. And so you were angry and you went out with this snake in the grass and blabbed! And don’t you be so cocky!” Wink bellowed at Jarvie. “You consorted with strangers, too. You ended up flat on your back and lost us a gold star-burst just as surely as Bertie did.”

“But I was all done with the Games!” wailed Bertie. “I was washed up and finished. I couldn’t see how anything I did mattered after that.”

“You couldn’t see!” said the coach. “Well, and maybe it didn’t. We’ve no proof there’s a connection between this Fredolph and the judges’ decision.”

“Oh, yes there is!” cried Jarvie. “He’s Valencourt’s man. Or at least the gamblers’ man. He told us a lot of money was riding on Valencourt. And he tried to bribe Ty to throw short. Ty was so mad, I thought he’d kill him.”

Wink stared at Devra. “Is this true?” he demanded.

The girl nodded. Wink raised his hands to heaven.

“Why am I never told anything? Why, oh why!”

“We didn’t want to upset you,” she whispered. “Ty said not to.”

“You didn’t want to upset me?” For a moment the coach looked wildly around the room, at a loss for words. And then his mind seemed to register an important fact. “Where’s Ty?” he demanded. “Where is he? Doesn’t anybody know?”

A quick search of the back rooms satisfied them that Ty was not there.

“Come on,” the coach ordered. “Let’s get out of here before that mob leaves the stadium. He’s probably in his room. Let’s get back to the Village.”

But when the despondent little group made its way back to its quarters, they found that Ty was not there. In fact, there was no sign of his having been there. Wolf came hopefully to greet them, but his tail ceased to wag when he looked in vain for his master.

“Don’t worry, Wolf,” Devra said. “He’ll be coming soon. You can stay with me for the time.”

“Sure, it’s enough to put anybody off,” grumbled the trader. “Leave the boy be till he can be reconciled with the verdict. For the rest of you, go get some supper if you’ve the stomach for it, and then to bed. We’ll get off this lousy world as soon as it’s proper.”

Few of them had the heart for a meal. The Village was empty of athletes, for now that the Games were over, everyone was bent on celebrating. But Wink’s team had little to celebrate. They followed his orders and retired early to bed. All evening the little trader sat at his door, waiting for Ty’s return and listening ruefully to the sounds of revelry in the distance.

When Ty ran from the dressing room and the crowd of athletes and reporters, he was barely conscious of where his feet were taking him. His one thought was to get out before he gave way to bitter tears and sobs which, in spite of all his efforts at control, were welling up inside him. Not since childhood had he been thus overwhelmed by emotion. In vain he told himself that he was putting too much importance on his loss. It was unsporting to be a poor loser. Not worthy of an Olympic athlete! But this was worse than losing in the stadium. He had been proclaimed the victor only to have it snatched away at the last minute for no fault of his.

Without thinking, he found his way past the showers, past the massage rooms to a back exit and so out of the stadium. He followed the first path that presented itself. In the distance he heard the electronic voice of the announcer talking to the crowd. Doubtless explaining how Tyros Vann was not the champion after all. That the crown was again bestowed upon their own Valencourt. He shut his mind to the sound and hurried away, down streets and across bridges, farther from the stadium and also from the athletes’ village. He did not notice the occasional curious look of a passerby who saw that he wore the shorts and tunic of a competing athlete. He thought only of getting as far as possible from everyone he knew. And little by little the effort put into this headlong flight served to subdue his emotions and bring about a certain calm. If he was gasping now, it was not from suppressed sobs but because of his rapid pace.

Then as he paused for breath, he took in the scene around him—a garden, a hedge, and beyond a spreading lawn that led to a bridge and more trees. He was away from the buildings of the sports complex. Here were flowers. Flowers everywhere. Arcadia was known as a garden planet, and Ty was looking at a bit of that peace and beauty which he had expected to enjoy when the Games were over, perhaps as a visiting champion. He gulped as he thought how that was now impossible and how all this foreign beauty meant nothing to him.

And then he was startled to hear his name called. He whirled and saw the Arcadian, Endean Vort, standing a few paces away. Ty thought the alien must have moved fast to keep up with him. Or had he only come upon him in the last few moments? The boy felt a certain satisfaction that he could at least look another in the face and feel master of himself again.

“You have been poorly treated,” said the alien. “Your own kind have dealt unfairly.”

“It’s the rules,” Ty blurted. “I guess I broke the rules. I didn’t know.”

“People who deal unfairly with others will deal unfairly with their own kind. I saw you in the stadium. You were far better than Valencourt. There was no doubt. I was in the judges’ stand and they all said so. Even the first handicap was too much. You were unbeatable.”

“Then why… why?” Ty was grasping at a straw he knew was not there.

“Too many people had bet on Valencourt. Almost the whole planet. It’s a peculiar custom of your kind. I’ve observed it often. In your case, they needed an excuse and they found one.”

Ty stared at him. For the first time he remembered Fredolph and recalled his anger at the offered bribe. A lot of money’s riding on Valencourt! Again that sick feeling surged over him. It couldn’t be! Not in the sacred Olympic Games!

“Do you really think so?” he asked.

“Don’t you?” said the other. “Of course, it might be hard to prove. They found the technicality. It’s all legal now.”

Suddenly Ty felt very tired. He wanted to sit down, but here was no place to sit. There weren’t even any houses where you could go in and rest and perhaps have something to drink. He realized that he was thirsty, too. Vort looked at him curiously.

“What are you going to do now?” he asked.

“I don’t know. I don’t even know where I am. I guess I wasn’t noticing. Where are all the houses? Aren’t people living here?”

Vort laughed. “The houses are underground. That’s how we can have so much garden up above. Come and let me show you. There’s a lot that is beautiful about our world, if you just forget a few of the people in it.”

“I ought to be getting back,” Ty muttered. “Shouldn’t have run out, I guess. But thanks. I could use a rest and something cold to drink.”

“But not like that.” Vort smiled. He took off his cloak and offered it to the athlete. “The people are mostly at the stadium now, but they’ll be coming back. It’s better if they don’t recognize you.”

Ty grinned sadly as he wrapped the alien’s cloak about himself. He found that he was grateful for the warmth.

Vort led him to an artfully concealed entrance, where steps led down into an underground dining place. They sat in a corner and Vort ordered refreshments. The room was empty at first, but little by little others began to drift in and soon it was noisy with excited arguments about the results at the stadium.

Ty tried not to listen, to concentrate on what Vort was saying. The alien spoke of his life and how his people had retreated into the mountains rather than compete with the new civilization brought by men. He seemed to know that Ty needed to take his mind off his personal disappointment and concentrate on something else.

“It’s not that we dislike your people,” he said. “We’re quiet and reflective as a race. We like peace and time in which to think.”

“I don’t blame you,” said Ty. “I like peace, too. Another day like this, and I’d be ready to throw in the sponge.”

“Throw in?” questioned the alien. “Ah, yes. An athletic phrase. I find your language quite quaint at times. But you must come to the mountains with me. And my people are not alone there. Up there where we live are the observatories. Where your people study the stars. We work together sometimes. They have let us help them on many projects. The weather. The orbits of satellites and arriving ships. I think you must have spoken to some of them when you arrived.”

Ty remembered Wink’s dispute over the docking arrangements, and laughed.

His friend nodded when he explained. “Ah, yes. Some of the officers can be argumentative. And there is a lot of traffic at this time, for the Games…” He broke off and looked sharply at Ty. “I’m sorry. We were not to talk about that. But one can’t escape it here. This place gets noisy. Why don’t you come home with me now for a rest? Something new for the evening. A break in your routine.”

All at once, Ty was eager to go. “A great idea,” he cried, his usual enthusiasm returning. “But I must at least tell the boss. You know, Barnum Winkle, my coach. Is there any way? He’ll be wondering.”

“Of course,” said Vort. “We’ll find a com-box. But let’s get out of here.”

Outside they found that evening was upon them, and a cold wind was coming in gusts. Ty pulled the cloak tighter around him.

“I think,” said the alien, “that your friends will have left the stadium and perhaps not yet have reached the Village, if that’s where they go tonight. They may, of course, go to some of the many dinners… celebrations… I suggest we call later from my home.”

He set off at a brisk pace, and Ty lengethened his stride to keep up. Vort led him down a maze of crossing lanes and paths and stopped at a gate in a fence. Here he paused to pay in the planet’s currency and pushed the gate for Ty.

“It is too late to walk tonight, so I think we take the lift.”

Ty hardly knew what to expect. An elevator to the underground dwelling? But Endean Vort lived up—up in the mountains. And then he saw before him a line of little cars. They entered one. It had seats arranged facing each other. They were the only occupants, and as soon as they were seated, a bubble roof came down over their heads and the car shot forward along a single rail.

Vort had seated them both riding backward, so that as the car began to run onto higher ground, and soon took off on a cable through the air, the whole panorama lay before them—the Arcadian fields and gardens, valleys and forests, beach and ocean; and the great Olympic complex of stadia and villages and training fields. They watched the stragglers from the stadium, pouring out across the gardens and pleasure places, seeking entertainment for the evening.

And the two saw something else. The celebrations would have to take place indoors, contrary to Arcadian custom, for a storm was rising, and they could see people hurrying for shelter. Black clouds were towering to the east and already the gusts of wind were shaking their gondola car.

“We were lucky,” Vort said. “They’ve stopped all the cars behind us from using the cable. There’s going to be too much wind.”

“I can believe that,” Ty was clutching his seat. “Are these things really safe?”

The alien laughed. “You men from space find an atmosphere hard to take. But we’ll make it. Otherwise, they would have stopped us.”

When the car arrived presently on a ledge near the mountaintop, Ty was glad to get out. The few trees that struggled in the high altitude were bowing and groaning before the wind. His friend called him to follow, and they ran together down a rocky path, up a steep incline and through a mountain cleft toward what Ty recognized as an observatory. Before they reached it, the alien drew him down another path to the door of a house. It was built against the side of the mountain, buttressed by giant rocks, with a sheer drop to one side and open view across a valley to rising peaks.

Even as they ducked into the gate, the rain came down and thunder echoed across the gulf. Ty shook the drops from his cloak and looked around.

It was a pleasant room, such as might be designed for an alpine lodge. A fire glowed in a wide fireplace and comfortable chairs and couches were arranged around that focal point. Everything pointed to relaxation and enjoyment, but they were the only persons in the room.

Vort looked surprised. “Where is everyone? This is just the outer dressing, you understand? Where we receive visitors. The work goes on back there. Well, let’s get you in touch with your friends.”

He stepped to the com-set in the corner, but a moment later he turned back with a resigned shrug.

“Seems to be dead, I’m afraid. It happens up here in storms. We’ll try again later.”

He swung open a door and Ty glimpsed a long corridor with rooms opening off. It must, he realized, extend back into the mountain. Vort called down the hall.

“Hello! Where is everyone?”

A head appeared from one of the rooms and then a young man darted out. A man, not an alien. He looked troubled and harried.

“Thank fortune you’re back!” he cried. “There’s a situation brewing. Didn’t anyone else come with you?”

“No, and they won’t come till morning. The lift’s stopped.”

“Great space! I knew too many of us went. These blasted games! You’d better come to work. Him, too, if he knows computers.”

Vort smiled. “I hardly think… what do you do, Ty? When you aren’t throwing the discus?”

“Me? Do?” It took Ty a moment to think back to his normal life. “Why, I was a shepherd on Permia. You know, took care of the sheep… My father…”

The young man threw up his hands. “Galaxy! A shepherd and a discus thrower and you brought him up here!”

“I did study some navigation on the ship. Wink insisted, you know.”

The young man stared. “Navigation? You mean celestial? That would be computers. Well, maybe we can use you at that. Come along, Vort. Dr. Hubbell said to round up everyone we can get. He’s going to blow a transistor when he knows they’re all marooned down the mountain.”

“Just a minute,” said Vort. “We don’t fly off the handle even if the world’s coming to an end. Allow me. Tyros Vann, Olympic athlete. Quint Rivers, astronomer second class. Now please tell us what’s going on.”

“Nothing—except the world probably is coming to an end! We’ve just discovered that Aster III is on a collision course!”

The Search

13

The storm raged all night. Watching it, Wink could only hope that Ty had found shelter somewhere. He stayed up several hours, expecting a call from the Village communications center, until they told him that something had happened to the power and that the com-box would be dead until morning. Then resignedly he turned into his hut and went to bed.

In the morning the wind was still lashing the sea to fury. Storm flags were flying all up and down the coast. The rain had stopped, but the dark clouds, moving in awesome towers, warned that it might start again.

Jarvie rolled out of bed with a sense of urgent loss, and immediately remembered the cause. Had Ty returned during the night? He trotted down the hall to the room that the Permian shared with Merry Krakora, but that young man admitted that he had heard nothing from Ty.

“Perhaps the boss would know. He stayed up later than any of us.”

The two went in search of their coach, who lived with other coaches in an adjacent cabin. They met him coming to find them when they were barely out the door.

“Glad to see somebody’s up,” Wink said. “No sign of our wandering discobolus, I gather.”

“No, sir,” said Merry.

Jarvie chimed in with a worried voice. “I don’t like it, Mr. Wink. I’m going to look for him.”

“Now don’t go off on your own. You could hardly expect him to come back in last night’s storm. That is, if he’d gone very far. And communications are all disrupted, so they tell me. Run along to the canteen while I get the rest of the team up. If we’ve heard nothing by the time we’ve had breakfast, we’ll organize a search.”

The two made their way toward the canteen building, but as soon as the trader was out of sight, Jarvie left the other and went to rouse the girls. He burst into his sister’s room, calling for Wolf.

“What’s the matter with you?” asked Devra. “Don’t you ever knock?”

“Ty’s not back. I’m taking Wolf. He’ll find him.”

“You are not!” cried Devra, hastily lacing up her shoes. “You’re coming to breakfast first. What does Wink say?”

“He says the same thing. Keep calm! Eat breakfast! Who can eat when anything may have happened to Ty?”

“He’s right. Even Wolf wants to eat before he sets out on a job like this.”

Reluctantly, Jarvie followed the girls to the canteen, where he lost no time in getting at the serious business of breakfast. To his dismay, he found that it was slow in coming and mostly cold.

“The power’s still off,” said the trader. “At least, for this part of the planet. That was a full-blast storm, and they tell me it isn’t finished yet.”

“Celestial disturbances,” explained an Arcadian coach from the next table. “Off-world folk don’t realize we’re in a cloud system here. It often affects our weather. They’ll have things back to normal before the day’s out. But I wouldn’t go far afield. Stick to the Village. Storm’s not over yet.”

“You hear that, team?” said Winkle. “Take a look at those clouds when you go out. And the wind. And don’t worry about Ty. He’ll have holed up somewhere safe enough. And I don’t want to have another one to look for when I get ready to blast.”

At his end of the table, Jarvie made a face, which did not escape his sister. He ate with his usual speed, and snapped his fingers at Wolf as he pushed back his chair and made for the door. Devra got up to follow, although she was really not done eating. She caught up with her brother at the gate.

“Just where do you think you’re going? You heard what Wink said!”

“I’m going to find Ty before the storm breaks. Nobody cares but me.”

“Don’t be a little fool! I care. We all care. But you heard Wink.”

“They don’t care enough. Anything could have happened. He hardly knew where he was going when he ran off. I saw him.”

The girl felt that her brother was right. And yet the trader seemed so sure. Still, nobody had thought about Wolf. The dog had been nervous and restless all night. And animals often knew… they could sense things.

“Perhaps Wolf could trail him,” she admitted. “It’s a good idea. Come on, I’ll go with you. Where do we start? At the stadium?”

“The last place we saw him. We get Wolf to smell for his footsteps. I’ve read about what dogs can do.”

They let themselves out the gate quietly. Their coach and team were still at breakfast and there were no guards at the Village gate now that the Games were over.

The wind slowed their progress. Long before they reached the stadium, now closed and deserted, Devra was beginning to wonder at the wisdom of their plan. The sea had an ominous roar and the early-morning sun was being eclipsed by those threatening black clouds. Jarvie went first to the athletes’ entrance and then walked round to the side.

“He didn’t come out the regular entrance,” he said. “He’d have had to go past all those people. He went back toward the showers. There must be another door.”

They found the door and a little path leading away toward the road and the town gardens. Everything was wet from the night’s storm, and Jarvie remembered reading that water could wash away scent on the land. It was different with ocean animals. He led Wolf to the doorway and was pleased to see that the step itself was dry. The curve of the building and a jutting roof had protected it.

“Here, Wolf. Look… smell… Ty, get Ty!”

The dog sniffed obediently, and then he began to whine. He ran up and down, always coming back to the entrance step, where the scent was stronger.

“Look at that!” cried Jarvie. “He knows Ty was here.”

“Good dog. Good Wolf,” Devra urged. “Find Ty. Go get him!”

Jarvie bent and snapped off the chain. “There’s no one around here,” he said.

The dog’s excitement increased. He ran about, crying softly, investigating all the surrounding ground. And then suddenly he raised his nose to sniff the air, and set off down the path, across the road, in the general direction of the town. Jarvie and Devra ran after him.

An hour later, when the first drops of the new storm hit them, Devra was wondering if Wolf really knew where he was going. Perhaps it was just frantic searching for his lost master. Here they were, miles from the Village, from anything they knew, splashing through flooded drains, along muddy paths, with no one around to direct them. The Arcadians seemed to know when to keep indoors, though how they could all disappear into the few buildings she had seen was more than Devra could imagine.

“Really, Jarvie!” she called. “We’ve got to stop a minute… find shelter. I’m exhausted and we’re going to be drenched any minute.”

“But then we’ll lose Wolf. And he seems to know where he’s going.”

“He’s been going that way for hours without getting anywhere. We should have kept him on the leash. This whole idea of yours is crazy!”

Then, just when she had given up all hope and Wolf seemed to be disappearing into the mists, they heard him barking excitedly. He had stopped at a little hill. At what looked like a door going into the hill!

“What in space—do you suppose Ty’s in there?”

“We’d better find out” Jarvie began to pound and kick at the door.

Almost immediately it opened, revealing an anteroom with a larger hall beyond, whence came the sounds of eating, laughter, and songs. The man holding the door had on an apron and seemed impatient to get the door closed.

“Come in, come in! What are you doing out there on a day like this? Oh, you’re Olympians, I see. Off-worlders, not used to our weather. Well, come on in, it’s on the house for athletes.”

Devra was only too happy to comply, but Jarvie stopped, reaching down to snap the chain on Wolfs collar.

“We only wanted to know,” the boy said, “is there another athlete here? A tall man. Sort of depressed maybe?”

“No other athletes here now,” said their host. “But come to think of it, there was one yesterday. Just before the storm broke. Came in with one of the natives. I noticed because you don’t often get the natives down here. Even with the Games on, they stay up in their mountains.”

“A native?” said Devra. “But aren’t you all natives?”

“Naw… you know… a nonhuman native. An alien. Though I guess they think we’re the aliens. They was here first, see?”

“Oh, but I didn’t know there were any…” Devra began, but Jarvie cut in.

“Don’t you remember? Ty was telling us. One of them came to watch him train. Funny-looking, he said. His name was something funny, too. Ort… Vort… Endean Vort!”

“That’s the one!” said the man. “Endean Vort. Comes around now and again. He had this athlete with him, but they both went away before the storm broke.”

“Where did they go?” asked Devra. “Haven’t you any idea?”

“Did they go out this way?” demanded Jarvie. “That’s important.”

“Didn’t tell me where they was going. But now that you mention it, I think they went out the back. Place was filling up then and they was sitting back in the corner…”

“Can we go out the back then?” asked the boy. “Please, it’s important.”

“Well, sure. But wait till the storm’s over. Another big one coming.”

The man led them through the dining hall, now half full of guests. Some of them, apparently fans, began applauding and calling, “Hail athletes!” In the brighter light, their host looked at them curious-iy.

“Say, I know you! You’re the girl won all the swimming prizes! I won a pile of money on you! Why don’t you sit down and have something. On the house! Anything you want!”

“We’d like to,” she said, “but we’ve got to find this man. He’s one of our team and he’s lost.”

“Let’s get to the back door,” said Jarvie, pulling Wolf up close.

The man viewed the animal with some trepidation. “It’s just here to the left,” he said. “But you shouldn’t go out again in this weather. Still, you’re from that water world, I guess. Little water means nothing to you! Bet you’re used to living in storms there.”

“Well, not exactly,” Devra told him, as Jarvie led Wolf out the door. “A storm on land’s much worse. Batters you against rocks and things. At home, we just go down deep where it’s quiet.”

“But what do you do for air?” cried the amazed proprietor.

“We take it down with us, of course,” she replied, as she set off into the murk after Jarvie. He had once again unleashed Wolf and the dog seemed to know where he was going.

Their journey this time was much shorter. In a quarter of an hour Wolf led them across highways and byways to what appeared to be another building, well closed against the storm. More pounding brought an officer of some sort to the door.

“Lift’s not running,” he said. “Not till after the weather clears and then only if the power comes on.”

“We just want to ask you,” Devra said, “if you’ve seen someone. An athlete, probably with one of your natives?”

“Well, come in out of the wet. Don’t make me keep the door open. A few storm-bound folks here. Maybe he’s one of them.”

There were half a dozen people who had been caught at the lift station by the storm. They looked sourly at the two youngsters and denied having seen either Ty or the alien. But after a moment’s thought, the lift guard admitted that he had seen them.

“Last car to go up the mountain,” he said. “That was them all right. Must have spent the night up there.”

“Up the mountain?” cried Devra. “How do we get there?” echoed Jarvie. The man led them to a window, where they could see the single track leading off across the plain toward the mountains, now clouded in mist.

“Goes up on a cable,” he told them. “That’s where the natives live and the astronomers and such, and some folks go for sports, if you like that kind of thing. But nothing goes up now till the power comes on.”

“But can’t we walk?” asked Jarvie. “Oh, sure. Some walk, especially the natives. But not in this weather.”

“Now, look,” Devra was getting ready to put her foot down with her brother. “We know he’s not dead. We know he’s with a friend and that they went up the mountain. I’m exhausted, and so’s Wolf, I can see. Even you are, if you had the sense to admit it. We’re going to wait here till the storm’s over.” Jarvie had met the immovable obstacle. And with her arguments and the probability that Ty was safe, he felt that unbeatable force drain out of him.

“Oh, all right. But you’d think they’d have some way of talking to people up the mountain.”

“When the power comes on,” said the officer monotonously.

Devra sat down on a bench. Just being out of the wind and not having to run was a luxury. She supposed Wink had discovered their absence by now. He was probably building up to one of his rages, but it was something that did not worry her at the moment. Right now she knew more about his star athlete than he did.

Jarvie was pumping the waiting travelers about the mountain and how to get there. It seemed that there was a good road all the way across the plain. You could even hire a car to take you, if you had the credits. Of course, they had come off without that provision! If only they could swim the distance! Then one of the travelers remembered to mention the great canyon that cuts across the plain halfway to the mountains.

“The lift goes up over it, but there’s a bridge if you’re afoot or in a car.”

“And there’s an elevator down into it,” added another. “Of course, that’ll be off now, with the power. But there are trails, too. It’s very beautiful, with a river down there. You should be sure to see if before you leave the planet.”

“We’ll see it all right,” said Jarvie. “I guess we’ll have to go over the bridge.”

By afternoon the storm had passed over, but the power still had not come on. Devra and Jarvie left the lift station, urging Wolf along the road across the plains. The dog no longer had a scent to follow and he seemed disappointed that he had not found his master.

“Come on, Wolf,” Jarvie urged. “We’re going to find Ty. This is the way.”

“I really think we’re crazy,” Devra said, as they plodded along the road that paralleled the rail. “We’ll never get there before dark, and we know where he is, after all.”

But Jarvie refused to be put off by facts. Late in the day they came to the edge of the canyon. They could see the cable now, where it rose into the air and extended across the great rift and on up into the mountains. The road turned to the left, and they followed it toward the bridge, exclaiming as they went over the shapes and colors of the chasm below them.

As they approached the bridge, they found a group of people clustered around the entrance, standing silently and staring. Jarvie pushed and squeezed until he got through and stood beside the tower. And then he saw that there was no bridge there. The road ended in a sheer drop into the abyss, and the dangling cables of the once great suspension roadway were all that the storm had left.

A rope had been tied across the road, and an officer warned everyone away.

“Nobody goes any closer,” he said. “You can see what happened from here.”

“But how’ll we get there?” asked Devra. It was a question she had been asking all day.

“Soon as the power goes on you can go up in the lift. Station back there where you came from.” He looked at them curiously. “You’re off-worlders, aren’t you? Well, I don’t mind telling you, this was a storm to beat all storms. Never blew down the bridge before, and it’s been here the past hundred years.”

Jarvie sat down on a stone and began beating the ground. “Darn! Darn! Something always happens!”

“Lucky nobody was on it,” said an onlooker. “How do you know nobody was on it?” asked another. “Wouldn’t be here now to tell.”

A nervous laugh went round. “Who’d be out on the bridge in a storm like that?”

As though in answer, Wolf began to bark. At first a questioning yip. But then it settled into a series of happy, excited barks, and the dog began to run along the edge of the canyon.

“What’s the matter with Wolf?” asked Devra. Jarvie looked up, and then he, too, began to run. “It’s Ty!” he shouted. “Ty’s over there! He’s trying to say something. Hello, hello! It’s us!”

Across the great cleft they did indeed see Ty. And another was standing with him. The native, Endean Vort. They gestured. They shouted. But the words were torn away by the wind.

“What are they trying to say?” The crowd was all attention now.

“If you’d just be patient,” urged the officer. “Nothing that important. When the power comes on you can all communicate. And you can get across on the lift.”

“Look!” cried Jarvie, dragging Devra after Wolf. “He’s going to throw something. He’s got a message, I bet!”

“Nobody can throw that far,” said the officer. “If you can’t wait, take the trail down into the cleft and up the other side. But that’ll take you hours, and the power will be on again before you reach the top.”

Nevertheless, they all had their eyes glued to the young man on the other side. If he was going to throw, he must think he could do it. And it must be important, for him to go to all that trouble.

“Come on, Devra!” yelled Jarvie. “We’ve got to help him! We’ve got to be ready to catch it. It must be something terribly important to try to throw it this far!”

Even Wolf seemed to sense the urgency of the moment. Poised on the brink of the canyon, he watched Ty’s every move.

And then the athlete stepped back to swing, as he had done in the stadium. Only this time it had to go farther. This time so much hung in the balance. This time it was a matter of lif e and death!

The Crucial Cast

14

Dr. Alexander Hubbell, the astronomer in charge of the station, proved to be a vigorous man with bristly white hair and gray eyes that had a way of looking up suddenly from a chart or photograph to make a keen evaluation of a speaker and of what he had just said. He wasted little time over introductions, but quickly put Endean Vort to work and suggested that Ty act as his assistant.

“Just go with your friend, young man. He knows his way about here. Any assistance you can give him will be appreciated.”

Ty followed Vort to a little office down the hall, where Quint Rivers established them with a small computer and a long tabulation of figures.

“Here,” he said, “see if you can check these for us. We’ve got contact worked out for about five hours from now. But where? That’s the rub. It it falls in the wilds, okay. But if it hits anything like the Olympic complex, the results will be too horrible to contemplate.”

The young astronomer hurried out, and Ty dared ask a question.

“I don’t understand. What is Aster III—this thing that’s going to hit us?”

Vort looked at him quizzically.

“I’m sure you’ve been told since you arrived on Arcadia that we’re in the cloud belt of the cluster. You see it in the sunsets. All very beautiful, but it has its other side. Most of the clouds are gaseous, but there’s a lot of meteoric material as well. The large meteors are classed as asteroids. We try to keep their orbits plotted, but most of them are very eccentric. They appear and disappear. The chance of a big one hitting us is fairly remote. Of course, we get more hits of that nature than the average world. Every few hundred years. Well, that chance seems to have come round again. And just when we’ve had a massive power failure, with communications out all over. Or maybe it’s because of it. The clouds affect our weather and atmosphere, you know.”

“But… but… !” cried Ty, as his mind tried to grasp the situation. “Can’t we do anything about it?”

“Only possible thing is to plot where it’s going to hit and then try to evacuate everyone there. It’s around on the other side of the world right now, so we can’t see it to check our calculations. Here, suppose you punch the machine while I read out the numbers.”

In a kind of numbed, unbelieving daze, Ty settled down to help with the work. The possibility that the meteor might land in a populated area urged him to exert every effort. But he found that the figures tended to elude him. He had put in a grueling day in the stadium, followed by the emotional impact of first winning and then losing the prize. He had run off in a turmoil of emotions, wandered about for an unknown length of time, and finally had climbed up here from the end of the lift cables. Physically and emotionally he was exhausted, although he did not want to admit it in this crisis.

At last Vort picked up the sheaf of papers, studied the figures for a moment, and then hurried out, muttering, “I’ll see how they like this.” Ty leaned back in his chair and almost immediately fell into a doze. When later the alien returned, he looked at his friend with a sad smile. Then he took the boy by the shoulder.

“Come along, Ty,” he said. “We have better places to sleep than in a chair.”

The athlete staggered back to consciousness. “But the work… the meteor…”

“Never mind. There’s nothing more you can do. We think it’s going to hit in the ocean.”

“Oh, good,” he muttered, as Vort led him an another office that boasted a couch.

“I should have remembered all you’ve been through today,” the alien apologized. “Enough for a lifetime, I guess.”

But Ty was already down on the couch, dead to the world. Vort smiled and went out, quietly closing the door.

When he awoke, it was a moment before he remembered where he was. The strange, bare office-like room; and outside the window, swirling clouds, with a few rocky peaks visible through the mist. Then yesterday’s events came back to him: his victory and his loss, his coming here with Vort. How far away the stadium now seemed and how utterly unimportant the contested prize, compared with the threatened annihilation of a whole planet. But no, it was not the whole planet that the astronomers feared for. It was the question of just where the asteroid would land.

Ty threw off the blanket with which someone had covered him as he slept, and went out into the hall. He followed the sound of voices to the larger office, where he found Vort and the two astronomers, looking much the same as when he had left them the night before. Evidence pointed to their having been up all night. There was a tray with coffee and rolls on a table, and the elder scientist motioned to Ty to help himself.

“I must apologize for last night,” he said. “I did not realize how tired you must be. A champion, eh? I don’t often meet one of those up here.”

Ty started to protest, but the older man waved him into silence.

“Endean has told me all about it. Bureaucrats! You get them in every walk of life!”

“It’s not important,” Ty said. “What happened to the asteroid?”

“Oh, it landed. In the ocean, we think. We’re just trying to make sure. If only those idiots would get the power going!”

“The storm went on all night,” said Vort.

“Probably the celebrations as well,” said Rivers. “You know how it is. We’re short-handed up here, too.”

“Bureaucrats! Bureaucrats!” grumbled the older man. It seemed to be his favorite complaint. “At a time like this! It’s possible that nobody knows of this but us.”

“And our station in the west?” asked Vort.

“That goes without saying. I wonder what they’re doing!”

“Well, it must have hit several hours ago, and we’re still here,” said Rivers, leaning back in his chair. “Nothing we can do about it now. Might as well catch up on lost sleep.”

“If it did land in the ocean, as we think,” Vort began, “nobody knows about it or saw it. But won’t it cause an effect… won’t it stir up the ocean?”

Dr. Hubbell hit his forehead with his fist. “You’re so right! If I wasn’t half asleep, I’d have followed through. Of course, it’ll cause an effect. A tidal wave!”

“Of mammoth proportions!” Rivers sat up in his chair.

“Depending on how far away. Get me those figures again, Quint. And the map.”

The three bent over the table. Ty held his breath, not daring to add his head to the group above the map. Then Dr. Hubbell called him over.

“You see here, my boy,” he pointed to the ocean and the coast of the pleasure complex, the shores where Ty had made his practice throws only a few days ago. “We draw a small circle away out here. Somewhere in that area we believe the giant asteroid fell. Now then, the waves will go out in all directions from the point of impact. I draw concentric circles, thus. You can see that some kind of a wave is going to hit our sports area down below. But when and how high? Depending on where in the first circle the object hit. Also depending on the size and mass of the object. We have that pretty well estimated. So now we will take three possible distances and work out the possible hour of arrival and the height of the wave.”

Vort and Rivers each accepted the page of figures that Dr. Hubbell handed them, and then there was silence except for the click of the computers. Ty tried to adjust his mind from a possible collision catastrophe to a more probable tidal wave.

At last the three put their figures together again and compared.

“As far as I can see, gentlemen,” said Dr. Hubbell, “we can expect a tidal wave of—ahem— enormous proportions, to reach our seacoast anywhere from twelve to twenty-four hours from now. The authorities must be warned at once. Everyone must be evacuated.”

“And no way for us to alert the authorities!” said Rivers.

“Give the com-set another try,” said his superior.

Rivers struggled out of his chair and went to the nearby communications instrument. “It’s still dead. I left the relays open so I’d hear if it came on.” He jiggled the keys in exasperation. “Obviously, we can’t wait for this!”

Endean Vort moved slightly to command attention.

“But my friends, nothing is easier. Write out a message and I will take it. All I need is your authority so that they will believe me.”

“Not soon enough,” said Rivers. “To get down this mountain on foot and across the plain. And we’re all fagged out. You slept no more than we did last night.”

“My friend, Tyros, slept,” said the alien. “Let us not waste time. If I could not run fast, I would not have tried to enter the Games. And Ty is an athlete of the first order. We can deliver the message in an hour—two at the most.”

The two astronomers looked at each other, and then Dr. Hubbell went to the desk and began writing hastily on the station’s letterhead.

“We’re too civilized, Quint,” he said. “You forget what can be done without the benefits of science and technology. Here you are, young man. Take this and show it to the first officer you find in the town. Tell him that no time is to be lost. He’ll get you to the Governor or someone in authority.”

Ty stuck the message inside his shirt and followed Vort out of the building. The morning was well advanced and he realized that he had slept late. The sun was burning off the mountain mists, but below them in the valley there was fog and rain. The storm still held sway.

Vort led the way to a mountain trail, down past the cable landing platform, now closed and deserted. He glanced at it as they passed.

“Let us hope that they have that running soon,” he said. “It can be a way of escape for many.”

Then he settled down to the serious business of descending the mountain. This was not as easy as he had made it out at the observatory. The storm had washed out the footing and torn up and blown down trees of all descriptions. When they reached the forested slopes, they found their way badly blocked. Often it seemed easier to go around than to struggle through the tangle of fallen trees and vines. Then they lost time finding their way back to the trail. The two hours that Vort had promised stretched out into three and four. By the time they had stumbled and slid down the steeper slopes and were at last within reach of the plains, the sun was on its way down toward the west.

Eventually, they came to a road where it was possible to run steadily. Ty set the fastest pace he felt he could keep for the remaining miles. But he noticed that Vort was tiring. Little by little the alien fell behind. At last he stopped and leaned against a tree.

“Go on,” he said. “You have the message and the road is straight. It leads to the great bridge across the canyon. Keep going. I’ll rest a bit and then catch up.”

Ty wondered how much longer he could keep it up himself. At least he had slept and awakened refreshed, and had eaten breakfast, if a small one. And he was in good condition. Although running was not his specialty, he had worked at it in his training. Remembering things he had heard Wink say about distance running, he forced himself to slow down to a trot. And as he thought of Wink, he remembered Devra and Jarvie and his other teammates. Verl and Bertie, yes, and Wolf. All down there by the ocean in dreadful danger. If he failed them now, they would be overwhelmed and drowned and washed away by the tidal wave. All Devra’s swimming ability could hardly save her from the killer coming in from the sea.

He had to keep a stern hold on himself not to start running wildly again. And then he came out of the forest onto the plain, and he saw how the road ran straight ahead and then to the right, and there far away rose what must be the towers of the bridge. He heard a shout behind, and saw in a quick glance that Vort had come out of the forest. The alien had gotten his second wind. Ty ran, knowing that the native would catch up soon enough. They pounded on, across the plain, around the curve toward the bridge. They were late, but surely not too late! Then, almost neck and neck, they drew up to the bridge and stopped. And stared in numbed silence at the dangling girders and the roadway that wasn’t there.

“We might have expected it,” said Vort at last. “When we saw the storm’s work on the mountain. Yet there have been great storms before, and always the bridge stood.”

Tyros turned his head away. For the second time in two days he felt tears sting his eyes. He sat down so his friend could not see. But the alien motioned him to his feet.

“No rest now,” he declared. “Come. The path goes over here.”

“Down there! But we’d never make it. By the time we got down there and all the way up again… It’s too late!”

“It’s never too late. They said twelve hours. Perhaps twenty-four. We hope for twenty-four.”

Ty dragged himself to his feet, but he felt drained of all energy. To go down into that canyon and up again would be like descending and climbing another mountain. In his heart he knew he couldn’t do it, and while he tried, his friends would be dying. Wolf, who had come so far with him…

He turned to follow Vort, and then, amazingly, he heard Wolf barking. Was he already at that point of exhaustion where one imagines things? He walked to the rim of the chasm and looked across, and there, running up and down on the other side was his dog, barking and yipping in the ecstasy of welcome.

He called to Vort. “Hey, look! Wait! That’s Wolf over there. And Devra and Jarvie! They must have been looking for me.”

The alien paused for a moment and stared. “No matter,” he said. “They can’t hear you that far.”

“Perhaps we can tell them and they can alert the authorities. See, there’s an officer of some sort with them.”

“I tell you, it’s too far and there’s a wind. You can’t explain at this distance. And besides, they need that letter. The authority. No one will believe without the seal of the observatory.”

Ty looked at him in surprise. “I’d forgotten about the letter,” he said. “That makes it easy. I’ll just throw it to them.”

“Throw it! Over there? It’s much too far.” And then he hesitated as the idea began to take hold. “Well, maybe not for you. Have you ever thrown anything that far?”

“Not quite,” said Ty. “But there’s always the first time. Always a new record.”

He was moving up and down the path, looking for a stone of just the right size and weight. But Vort was still doubtful.

“Don’t throw it unless you’re sure,” he urged. “If you miss and it falls in the rift… It’s bad enough to climb down and up, but to have to search for the letter, too! And we very much need that letter to get the authorities moving!”

Ty picked up a possible stone and hefted it in his hand.

“I’m sure,” he told Vort, while at the same time wondering how he could be sure. Was he a crazy fool? “We’ll need something to fasten them together.”

Vort searched his pockets and brought out some adhesive tape and together they made stone and letter into a compact missile. Then Ty stood at the edge of the canyon and measured the distance with his eye. He was appalled at what he saw, but he put the thought of his mind. At least, there was Wolf waiting on the opposite rim, and his two friends, miraculously come hunting for him at this exact time and place. Surely, it was an omen, a sign that he could do the seemingly impossible now required of him.

He stepped back a pace, shouted to Wolf, and began his swing. Back and forth went his arm, and then the precious missile was flying across the chasm. On and on it went and fell on a rocky outcrop, where for a moment it teetered on the edge. Then Wolf had it in his jaws and was running with it to lay it at Devra’s feet.

He could see the people on the other side come up to Devra, and her pass the letter to the officer, who tore it open. A dozen necks craned as he read, and then he was running about and shouting orders, and the whole group hurried away toward the town. Devra and Jarvie paused long enough to wave and shout greetings. Then they, too, dashed off. Gone to arouse their teammates and the Olympic Village.

Ty sat down. Now that he had done all he could, he felt very tired. Endean Vort regarded him with admiration and amazement.

“You did it! I wouldn’t have believed it possible. If they all escape, it will be because of you.”

Ty stared at the far rim of the canyon.

“I hardly believe it myself,” he admitted. “How far do you think it is over there? Must be some sort of record.”

Epilogue

The blast-off of the Cluster Queen from Arcadia was delayed beyond all Barnum Winkle’s estimates, and his plans for his return voyage had to be rescheduled. But he was not in a mood to complain.

He had used the Queen to help in the evacuation of the pleasure coast, as was done with all the spaceships crowding the adjacent port. With the bridge down and the lift not working, fans and athletes were trapped between the sea and the rift. Evacuation was speeded by the spaceships, which first went into orbit and later landed at other ports as space was found for them.

Wink was forced to jettison some of his bulkier and less profitable cargo to make room for as many athletes as possible. And when the Cluster Queen finally found a berth in the other hemisphere of the planet, there was the problem of sorting out the teams and picking up his discus thrower.

Ty sat out the tidal wave at the observatory atop the mountain. Before the wave struck, communications and power had been restored and he was able to hear of the safe evacuation of his friends. However, it was several days before arrangements could be made to fly him around the planet to the other spaceport.

When at last he was able to rejoin his team, he found everyone busy preparing for the return voyage. Verl and Bertie were refiguring the orbit and others were helping Wink to load cargo to replace what he had lost in the flood. Devra and the other girls were exercising Wolf. But all activity stopped when Ty came onto the field. He was punched and pounded and congratulated. He was kissed by the girls and even Wolf slobbered all over him.

And then Wink shouted for silence.

“We all know he’s a hero,” he said. “The whole of Arcadia knows. And like all heroes, he deserves a prize. I’ve got something for you, boy.”

The coach rummaged through his pockets and brought out a handful of gold that glinted in the sun. “Here it is, son, and don’t let anybody take it away again.” And he dropped the star-burst and chain about Ty’s neck.

For a moment the athlete was without words. “How… where… You mean?”

Everyone burst out laughing and clapping.

“It’s yours,” said Wink. “The Committee reversed those judges. And Valencourt refused to accept it anyhow. Said that a man who could throw across the rift could outthrow him with any handicap.”

Ty held the coveted prize in his hand, but somehow it seemed of less importance now.

“I wasn’t thinking about that when I threw. I was thinking of all the people. Only afterward… I began to wonder how far.”

“It’s a record that will stand for a very long time,” his coach said. “Now quit gabbing and let’s get loaded. We blast in the morning. And there’s a banquet in the city tonight where you’re supposed to be the star attraction.”

The Author

A. M. Lightner became interested in science fiction while her son Christopher was growing up, and she read him science-fiction stories and books. Later, although her early writing interests had been drama and poetry (her poems have appeared in a number of magazines), she decided to try her hand at science fiction. Since that time she has written a number of science-fiction novels, including The Day of the Drones, The Space Plague, The Galactic Troubadours and Doctor to the Galaxy.

Miss Lightner has also published a number of articles on butterflies and animals. She is a member of the Lepidopterists’ Society and the New York Entomological Society. She and her husband live in New York City.