Feline Red Read online

"All right. Iadmit I made a mistake. And I take full responsibility for my actions."

  "You must admit, Mister Jerill, that only a fool would bring an unknownspace beast into a ship."

  "Only a fool would deny that the cats are as valuable as uranium intheir own way."

  "Now, Mister Jerill. Be very careful." There was no mistaking the venomin Elderburg's speech. In his passionless black eyes, viciousness laycoiled. "Your cats have stopped purification of the crude ore for twodays. Two days, Mister Scott. We might have been Earth-bound by thistime."

  Scott leaned over the desk. In a voice quivering with anger, he said:"Listen to me. If you...."

  There was a shocking blast of light. Stunning volumes of white lightpoured from the port behind the Captain's head. It blazed toobrilliantly for the naked eye.

  With a strangled exclamation, Scott stumbled for the port, clutching hiseyes. His fingers clawed nervelessly for the light control.

  There was a sharp snap as the port closed. They felt, rather than saw,the light flick abruptly out. Elderburg tore at the door.

  They lurched into the corridor. Green-yellow lights flashed before theirdazzled eyes. Scott located the wall and began to run, using his fingertips as guides.

  "A magnesium flare!" The Captain's words drove at Scott, hard asfragments of metal. "What fool set off a magnesium flare with the_Kastil_ on top of us?"

  They stumbled through the cool corridor to the second level air lock. Asthey approached, the lock clanged open. A space-suited figure waddledinto the corridor. The helmet opened back, revealing the vivid red hairof Second Mate Vaugn.

  "Light don't bother those cats a bit," he announced. Then his grinfaded. "What's the matter?"

  The Captain croaked, "You set off a flare--when--when the _Kastil_ hasbeen hunting our claim for weeks. When they're right on top of us!"

  Max's face blanched. "The _Kastil_! Scott, you never told me...." Suddencunning swept his face. "Why didn't you tell me the _Kastil_ was soclose, Scott? Why did you tell me to try light on the cats when youknew--"

  "Scott told you!" Elderburg snarled. But at that moment Scott cried outsharply, pointing out through the port by the air lock.

  Two miles beyond the _Bertha_, settled a black cigar. Blue-white fireflared from its base. "The _Kastil_!" Scott gasped. Useless rage floodedhis chest. "The _Kastil_--and she's found us!"

  * * * * *

  Under the hurtling jet, the surface of the asteroid was a jagged tangleof stone. Scott, staring tensely from the observation port, felt a swiftmoment of wonder. Two hours since the IPM ship had landed. And he was introuble with a vengeance.

  As he had left the ship with a party of picked men, he had feltElderburg's cold eyes on him. Eyes that thought--and threatened.

  It was easy enough to read the Old Man's mind. An officer might make onevital mistake. But not two--not introducing the cats into the ship; notpermitting a flare to be set off. Unless....

  Unless he wanted the _Bertha_ to lose time. Unless he wanted the_Kastil_ to find the precious claim.

  Cold raced through Scott's veins. His hands locked white about the spacehelmet he was about to don. He had to prove his loyalty. Had to provethat the accidents were accidents. And little time was left, as the_Kastil_ could load completely in two days.

  "There's the pit, Mister Jerill." The navigator's voice was strained."See anybody?"

  "Not yet. Set her down."

  The cargo jet dipped. The vast peaks of shattered stone sped up at themwith terrifying speed. Scott refrained from closing his eyes, saw therazor-toothed surface of this shattered world streak toward him. Ahead,the bulk of the _Kastil_ loomed. They must have used the ore pits as alanding marker, he thought. And--what was that?

  Motion at the lip of the ore pit.

  The jet grounded hissing on the burnt landing strip. "Watch it," Scottwarned. "We got visitors out there."

  There was an ugly muttering among the men. As Scott threw open the cargodoors and dropped to the rocky ground, he saw the crewmen checkingblasters and the slender polonium tubes that could permanently blind aman.

  He stepped away from the jet. And as he did so, seven men detachedthemselves from the shadows about the mine's edge, and strolled towardhim. Seven men--two more than were with Scott. The odds might be worse,he thought with a sense of relief.

  Cautiously, he loosened the blaster in his belt. They were trickyweapons to handle in space gloves, but he'd better be ready to use itfast.

  "Party from the _Bertha_?" The words came thin and metallic into Scott'shelmet.

  "Right," he grunted. "You?"

  "From the _Kastil_. Who gave you a clearance to land on our claim?"

  "We have a prior claim on this pit," Scott flared. "We have it postedand registered. If you're going to mine, find someplace else."

  A giant figure, grimly grotesque in a cumbersome vacuum suit, swaggeredforward. "I don't see any of your claim posts."

  Scott indicated a tall metal stake glittering somberly in the glare ofthe jet's loading lights.

  The tall man laughed easily, his voice thin and far away in Scott'shelmet. "Think of a better story. We just dug that claimer in ourselves.Now suppose you people jet out of here. Ought to be plenty of goodclaims someplace else."

  Scott scarcely heard the sudden bitter burst of protest from his men.His body felt light and cool. The blaster pressed hard against his side."There are plenty of good claims," he said. "You better go find them."

  He swung the blaster up in a single smooth motion.

  The tall man stood very still. They were not close enough to see eachother's faces.

  Then, high on a plateau of stone above the tall man's head, Scott sawthe stars blot out.

  "Scatter!" As he shouted, he took a giant leap to the right.

  A blast of energy seared from the darkness, gouging a vast hole whereScott had stood.

  From behind a boulder he could see the fire of the blaster sweep acrossthe upper edges of the rocks, just at the level where the stars were cutoff.

  For a moment, the cold green line of his fire flicked harmlessly overnaked stone. Then a thick squirt of fire flared quickly. A still-bornscream died in his earphones.

  The men of the _Kastil_ had dodged away into the darkness.

  Scott's voice rang out harshly. "I'll give you men two minutes toorganize and get out of here. If you're not out by that time, we'll spinour jet around and burn you out."

  There was a brief stir off in the shadows.

  "You're in a blind alley there," Scott continued. "There's no way out.And we'll blast any man who tries to climb out over the rocks. Is thatclear?"

  A glowing flash of energy exploded against the rock protecting him.There was no sound, but bits of stone lightly flecked his suit. Scottbraced himself on the rough face of the boulder and worked the blasteraround for an open shot.

  "No more shooting," the heavy voice of the tall man growled. "You_Bertha_ people. Can you hear me?"

  "Yes," Scott said coldly. His eyes probed the shadows for motion.

  "We're willing to be peaceful about this. I'm Captain Randell of the_Kastil_. There's no need for killing when there's plenty of ore for allof us."

  "Not in this pit," Scott answered. "You have one minute."

  "All right." Randell's voice, distorted as it was by the tiny radio,carried a sardonic edge. "We'll go--from here."

  He sauntered out of the shadows, hands upraised. From the tangle ofstone, his men crept out to join him. Without haste, insolent in theirretreat, they crossed over the pit.

  At the far side they paused. "This is the extent of your so-calledclaim." Randell's voice purred in their ears. "Our claim extends fromthis line. And if a man from the _Bertha_ wants a quick blasting, he cancross this line." His radio snapped off with crisp finality.

  Scott stepped from his shelter.

  "All right," he ordered. "You men know the story. The _Kastil's_ downhere ready for work. And it's going to mean work if we're going to b
eather back to Earth. Now, let's go. But watch your step."

  * * * * *

  They worked. Eighteen hours a day they worked. From the steel-likeground they scooped a dozen tons of the dirty black uranium ore and sentit hurtling back to the _Bertha_.

  But in spite of all their efforts, the more modern equipment of the_Kastil_ overtook them in a day. The blackness on their left was riddledwith the flare of digging torches and the slender fire-trails of thejets soaring between the pit and the _Kastil_.

  And now and again, Randell's drawling voice broke into Scott's ears."You're