[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
The conversation became a technical jargon; because of which, however, the
courses of the flying space-ships changed subtly. The flottila swung around,
through a small arc of a circle of prodigious radius, decreasing by a tenth
its driving force. Up to it the Dauntless crept; through it and into the van.
Then again in cone formation, but with fifty five units instead of fifty four,
the flotilla screamed forward at maximum blast.
Well before the calculated time of meeting the speedster a Velantian Lensman
who knew Worsel well put himself en rapport with him and sent a thought out
far ahead of the flying squadron. It found its goalûLensmen of that race, as
has been brought out, have always been extraordinarily capable
communicatorsûand once more the course was altered slightly. In due time
Worsel reported that he could detect the fleet, and shortly thereafter:
"Worsel says to cut your drive to zero," the Velantian transmitted. "He's
coming up... He's close... He's going to go inert and start driving... We're
to stay free until we see what his intrinsic velocity is... Watch for his
flare."
It was a weird sensation, this of knowing that a speedsterûquite a sizable
chunk of boat, reallyûwas almost in their midst, and yet having all their
instruments, even the electros, register empty space...
There it was! The flare of the driving blast, a brilliant streamer of fierce
white light, sprang into being and drifted rapidly away to one side of their
course. When it had attained a safe distance:
"All ships of the flotilla except the Dauntless go inert," Haynes directed.
Then, to his own pilot. "Back us off a bit, Henderson, and do the same," and
the new flagship, too, went inert.
"How can I get onto the Pasteur the quickest, Haynes?" Lacy demanded.
"Take a gig," the Admiral grunted, "and tell the boys how much you want to
take. Three G's is all we can use without warning and preparation."
There followed a curious and fascinating spectacle, for the hospital ship
Page 117
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
had an intrinsic velocity entirely different from that of either Kinnison's
speedster or Lacy's powerful gig. The Pasteur, gravity pads cut to zero, was
braking down by means of her under-jets at a conservative one point four
gravitiesûhospital ships were not allowed to use the brutal accelerations
employed as a matter of course by ships of war.
The gig was on her brakes at five gravities, all that Lacy wanted to
takeûbut the speedster! Worsel had put his patient into a pressure-pack and
had hung him on suspension, and was "balancing her down on her tail" at a full
eleven gravities!
But even at that, the gig first matched the velocity of the hospital ship.
The intrinsics of those two were at least of the same order of magnitude,
since both had come from the same galaxy. Therefore Lacy boarded the Red Cross
vessel and was escorted to the office of the chief nurse while Worsel was
still blasting at eleven G'sûfifty thousand miles distant then and getting
farther away by the secondûto kill the speedster's Lundmarkian intrinsic
velocity. Nor could the tractors of the warships be of any assistanceûthe
speedster's own vicious jets were fully capable of supplying more acceleration
than even a pressureûpacked human body could endure.
"How do you do, Doctor Lacy? Everything is ready." Clarrissa MacDougall met
him, hand outstretched. Her saucy white cap was worn as perkily cocked as
ever: perhaps even more so, now that it was emblazoned with the
cross-surmounted wedge which is the insignia of sector chief nurse. Her
flaming hair was as gorgeous, her smile as radiant, her bearing as
confidentlyûKinnison has said of her more than once that she is the only
person he has ever known who can strut sitting down!ûas calmly poised. "I'm
very glad to see you, doctor. It's been quite a while..." Her voice died away,
for the man was looking at her with an expression defying analysis.
For Lacy was thunder-struck. If he had ever known itûand he must haveûhe had
completely forgotten that MacDougall had this ship. This was awfulûterrible!
"Oh, yes... yes, of course. How do you do? Mighty glad to see you again.
How's everything going?" He pumped her hand vigorously, thinking frantically
the while what he wouldû what he could say next "Oh, by the way, who is to be
in charge of the operating room?"
"Why, I am, of course," she replied in surprise. "Who else would be?"
"Anyone else!" he wanted to say, but did notûthen. "Why, that isn't at all
necessary... I would suggest..."
"You'll suggest nothing of the kind!" She stared at him intently; then, as
she realized what his expression really meant-she had never before seen such a
look of pitying anguish upon his usually sternly professional faceûher own
turned white and both hands flew to her throat.
"Not Kim, Lacy!" she gasped. Gone now was everything of poise, of
insouciance, which had so characterized her a moment before. She who had
worked unflinchingly upon all sorts of dismembered, fragmentary, maimed and
mangled men was now a pleading, stricken, desperately frightened girl. "Not
Kimûplease! Oh, merciful God, don't let it be my Kim!"
"You can't be there, Mac." He did not need to tell her. She knew. He knew
that she knew. "Somebody elseûanybody else."
"No!" came the hot negative, although the blood drained completely from her
face, leaving it as white as the immaculate uniform she wore. Her eyes were
black, burning holes. "It's my job, Lacy, in more ways than one. Do you think
I'd let anyone else work on him?" she finished passionately.
"You'll have to," he declared. "I didn't want to tell you this, but he's a
mess." This, from a surgeon of Lacy's long and wide experience, was an
unthinkable statement. Nevertheless:
"All the more reason why I've got to do it. No matter what shape he's in
I'll let no one else work on my Kim!"
"I say no. That's an orderûofficial!"
"Damn such orders!" she flamed. "There's nothing back of it-you know that as
well as I do!"
"See here, young woman...!"
Page 118
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
"Do you think you can order me not to perform the very duties I swore to
do?" she stormed. "And even if it were not my job, I'd come in and work on him
if I had to get a torch and cut my way in to do it. The only way you can keep
me out is to have about ten of your men put me into a strait-jacketûand if you
do that I'll have you kicked out of the Service bodily!"
"QX, MacDougall, you win." She had him there. This girl could and would do
exactly that. "But if you faint I'll make you wish..."
"You know me better than that, doctor." She was cold now as a woman of
marble. "If he dies I'll die too, right then; but if he lives I'll stand by."
"You would, at that," the surgeon admitted. "Probably you would be able to
hold together better than any one else could. But there'll be after-effects in
your case, you know."
"I know." Her voice was bleak. "I'll live through them... if Kim lives." She
became all nurse in the course of a breath. White, cold, inhuman; strung to
highest tension and yet placidly calm, as only a truly loving woman in life's
great crises can be. "You have had reports on him, doctor. What is your
provisional diagnosis?"
"Something like elephantiasis, only worse, affecting both arms and both
legs. Drastic amputations indicated. Eye-sockets. Burns. Multiple and compound
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
