29

When he fled from Hewitt, Lee Winance went straight to Captain Gourdy's apartment, found him there, and told his story of meeting Hewitt.

Gourdy listened with narrowed eyes as the man's improbable story unfolded. A suspicion grew in him that somehow this person – Winance – whom he had always regarded as a nonentity, was involved in a conspiracy.

Swiftly, the absurdity of such an idea struck him.

'Just a minute!' he said peremptorily. 'Stay right here!'

He walked to the door leading to the captain's study. The moment he was out of sight, he ran headlong for a small private connecting room where the detector system was located... He focused the scanners on the engine room.

For many seconds he gazed incredulously at the apparition of Hewitt and his mobile capsule, and then, as the import of the conversation between the two men penetrated, he listened with increasing thoughtfulness. When Hewitt hurriedly drove off, Gourdy followed him with his scanners and watched him hide in one of the storerooms. Throughout, the only question in his mind was: 'Shall I kill him, or use him?'

He had the abrupt realization that whichever it was would require as a preliminary that he capture the intruder. As he shut off the detector system, intending to return to the outer room, he grew aware that the elder of Captain Browne's two widows had slipped into the room.

'Who is that man?' she asked in amazement.

Her name was Ruth, and she was a patrician-looking woman in her early thirties. He had already developed a strong desire for her, and had restrained himself only because of even stronger political considerations; so now he treated her with the respect of a man who presently hoped to take possession.

He explained about Hewitt but also added that it looked as if Earth had been destroyed, and finished, 'Better get everybody up, eat breakfast, and await events. Looks like important decisions will be made shortly.'

She nodded and went off. Gourdy joined Winance.

He tossed a spare automatic at the other. Winance caught it awkwardly.

'Come along!' said Gourdy.

He headed for the corridor door.

Winance trailed behind him, pale and breathless. 'Where we going, sir?'

'Going to catch that fellow you saw.'

'But he's armed.'

'So are we.'

'Oh!'

Gourdy smiled. The man's reaction reassured him about human nature. Fear still ruled all and, paradoxically, frightened people could still be forced to take risks by someone who was not afraid.

Gourdy said, "You just stand by and do as I say.'

'O.K., boss.'

As they emerged onto the corridor, Harcourt came into view around a distant bend. Gourdy waited for him, and a minute later the three of them headed for the nearest elevator. In the elevator, Gourdy silently read the letter. It was a confirmation of what he had already seen and convinced him that he had better not do anything hastily.

But his plan to capture Hewitt remained unchanged.

When they came to the storeroom in which Hewitt had taken refuge, it was Gourdy who softly led the way inside. His strategy was to take up position beside Hewitt's vehicle and from there call for surrender.

And so he had his first shock when he couldn't find the mobile unit. It was an electrifying sensation, like suddenly stepping from something solid into emptiness. The three men spent ten frantic minutes searching the storeroom. But there was no one in it. The conviction that finally came to Gourdy was that he had somehow been outsmarted, but he didn't quite know how.

'Still,' he thought, 'if we've really slipped into the future, he can't get away.'

Another urge had been growing on him. He wanted to get up to the bridge to see if Earth and its sun really were nearby.

That was where he now headed.

30

After Hewitt left the engine room, Lesbee ostensibly returned to his work on the panel he was removing. But his attention was actually on the flickering spy light.

It stopped flashing suddenly.

He waited to make sure. When there was no longer any doubt, he ran for the viewplate that connected with the bridge, turned it on, and looked through it at the solar system.

The sun was a bright star of the first magnitude. He made a computation on the basis of his measurement of its brightness, that it was somewhat less than a hundredth of a light-year away.

Taking into account what Hewitt had said of the motion of the Hope of Man through the solar system, Lesbee made various readings on his slide rule, and calculated that the ship had been projected from fifty to one hundred and fifty years into the future.

That was something to know.

It defeated any plan Hewitt might have to assert his rights to command the ship.

Lesbee's next act was to tune in on the bridge's radio receivers, which automatically picked up all incoming messages from the surrounding space. Since Gourdy's take-over, no one but Gourdy and himself had had any real opportunity to receive such messages.

The message that came through now was the first Lesbee had heard.

The message began with a simple three-bell signal and was followed by the words:

'Earth calling. Incoming ships use control channel 71.2 meters for initial communication.'

Lesbee broke the connection, shut off the engine-room viewer – and ran for the door. He had to take the chance that Gourdy was preoccupied with Hewitt and that accordingly he would not be seen.

Although it was a dangerous thing to do, he used one of the elevators to go up to the bridge.

Arrived there, he opened the radio-receiver panel, reached in, and tore loose the wires that connected the radio with the enormous aerial network that picked up incoming messages from space.

Hastily, Lesbee replaced the panel and raced down to the alternative control room. Still depending on Gourdy being occupied, he used the scanner system of that complete control board to locate the room where Tellier was held prisoner.

Through the scanner, he saw Tellier lying down in one of the bunks. Lesbee called out softly, and Tellier sat up, then came over to the communicator. Lesbee said, 'Listen, we're going to have to get off the ship fast at some specific future time.'

He explained rapidly what he had done and said that if necessary he would come down and rescue Tellier at the proper time. He finished, 'Don't ask any questions. Just tell me – you'll be prepared to come?'

Tellier was properly responsive. 'Same old Lesbee,' he said admiringly. But there was a strained look on his face as he added, 'John, this is going to be a close thing. But yes, I'll take the chance of going on your say-so.'

Lesbee broke the connection and once more ran at top speed along the corridors. Arrived at the engine room, he sank down in a chair for a few minutes to catch his breath. Then he resumed the phony task of fixing the engines.