“All I can say, old man, is, that we will

  dining room for lunch. But not for one

  do our best. No one can ask any more of me.”

  moment could I erase from my mind the

  “Have you seen anything of the other

  threatening doom that was so swiftly

  ships?”

  approaching us. Nevertheless I said nothing

  “No, they are millions of miles ahead

  about it to Dana; I still clung to some hope.

  of us. I’m not worried as to the two smaller After lunch we took a stroll toward the

  companies. We can overtake their ships easily library, never saying a word to each other. I enough. It’s that Chicago Company that will

  could think of nothing but the inevitable

  give us a fight.”

  approach to the comet.

  “Cheer up, Roy; this has only started.

  “Are you ill?” Dana was saying,

  Many things can happen before this run is

  showing some concern. “You are very pale.”

  over,” I said, doing my best to cheer him up.

  “It must be something I ate,” I lied.

  “You said a good deal, many things

  “I’ll go out and order some sort of a

  might happen before this run is over—” and,

  stimulant.” With that, she walked out.

  after a short pause, “especially to us.”

  How I wished I could tell her how

  “You shouldn’t be talking this way,” I

  much I loved her. And this danger—I did not

  told him.

  have the heart to tell her. Still—if she knew,

  “I know what you are thinking of, she would be prepared. But Roy had said that Paul. I shouldn’t say these things because there was a possible chance of getting by everything is up to me. I’ve got to see the

  without alarming any of the passengers, so

  humans that are in this ship safely through.

  why frighten her unnecessarily. I decided to But remember this, I’m a human myself and

  keep Roy’s secret. At this point Dana came

  subject to emotions like the rest of you. Deep back.

  The Twenty-First Century Limited 11

  “Dana, if I could only tell you what’s

  “Is there any chance?” I asked,

  on my mind, but I’m afraid—I don’t dare to

  disregarding Dana’s query.

  tell it!”

  “We have lost our one chance of

  “You must be very ill. Is there getting by. We are heading straight toward it!”

  anything I can do?”

  This, to me, was like a giant missile hurled

  “No, Dana, there isn’t anything you

  from a gun.

  can do, and I’m not ill. There is something

  “Is

  there

  anything

  wrong?” again Dana

  preying on my mind.”

  asked, beginning to show alarm.

  “Won’t you please tell me what is

  I led her to the promenade.

  troubling you?”

  “Dearest,” I began, resolved to tell her

  “Perhaps I will tell you later. Shall we

  everything, “I love you, have loved you since go to the recreation room? It might help me to I first saw you!” She was shrinking. “Do not forget—a little.”

  be frightened, I know very well it is sudden,

  “Certainly, if it will help you, but I

  but we may have only an hour to live!”

  wish you would tell me.”

  From down below came soft music,

  “Later,

  perhaps.”

  music that left me shaking; out in the Great In the recreation room, the talk and

  Void the serene stars twinkled and burned.

  noise, along with the games that were being

  They seemed beautiful before, now they

  played, took the place of the quiet of the

  seemed a mockery! Again came the music.

  library. We played a few games of cards and

  Oh, I didn’t want to die now, I didn’t want to some deck games, that were introduced from

  die this way! I began to sob.

  Venus. These few moments of pleasure helped

  Dana sat there spellbound, not daring

  me to forget the fiery body hurtling itself

  to move. Neither one of us spoke for a long

  toward us at uncontrollable speed. The time

  time, then Dana asked with a shaky voice,

  passed quickly in that room.

  “What is the matter, dear, did something go

  It was just five o’clock. I asked Dana

  wrong with the ship?”

  to come to the promenade with me. I wanted

  “If it were only that, we might have

  her to be near me the rest of the day.

  some chance; let me show you.”

  Roy was in the instrument room, busy

  I looked in the heavens but could only

  on some calculations, his face set and very

  see those large, fiery stars, always burning—

  pale. Every now and then he would stop long

  always glowing. I knew none of them was the

  enough to give orders to the men at work on

  comet. I led the way across the promenade,

  the engines.

  and behold, there directly ahead of us, was a Then he studied that very same large, green body. The COMET!

  machine that attracted my attention in the

  The head of this comet was misty,

  earlier part of the day. On the screen I saw two probably all gas. A closer observation showed pin-point dots, one was yellow, the other that it was all the colors of the rainbow, green, slowly moving toward each other at

  blending into one, with green the

  right angles!

  predominating color. The nucleus was in the

  I knew the crisis was near at hand!

  center of this coma, and glowed with a

  greenish tint. Its size was several thousand DANA was speaking: “What is the matter,

  miles in diameter. The tail stretched away as boys; you are acting very strangely?” Roy

  far as we could see. Probably this was fifteen looked up, surprised, for he didn’t know we

  to twenty million miles in length!

  were there.

  As the comet came nearer and nearer

  Amazing Stories

  12

  to the sun, the tail kept shying away from it.

  managed to ask.

  This was natural, because light exerts a

  “Just 200,000 miles away. Now you

  pressure on small particles, which pressure

  two sit down on that settee, I want to have all becomes greater in close proximity, and this this time to myself; just don’t worry.” He

  tail was composed of gas and fine matter that pressed a button, a light flashed, and he turned was cast off the head.

  a small dial.

  Roy knew that we wouldn’t be able to

  “Tell the passengers not to worry and

  head it off, so he decided on a different prepare them for a hard jolt. How are they course. If we continued on our present course acting—as well as could be expected under

  we were bound to be in a head-on collision

  the circumstances, eh? That’s good.” He broke with the nucleus of the comet. Without much

  the current.

  ado, Roy changed the course. If he could only The comet was getting larger—larger.

  make it!

  Closer—closer!

  Dana was in my arms, very pale, trying

  to hide from that hateful scene. We sat down ROY hurriedly pressed another button, fixing on one of the settees in the instrument room, connections with the gravity section on the

  and waited for our escape or our death.

  lower deck. “Open all the forward gravity

  The comet was now a few hundred

  screens wide open!” A few seconds of

  thousand miles away. Another five minutes

  waiting, then—it seemed that the ship was

  would tell the tale. Closer it came, closer and going to pieces; it creaked and groaned so! I closer! Now it seemed to cover the whole

  was knocked to the floor. For a moment I

  universe! Closer—closer. It would be all over thought we had hit the comet, but it was only in a short time. NEARER—nearer! Oh, I the sudden increase of speed. Roy said he didn’t want to die, now that I had found my

  wanted to get as much headway as possible. In love. No, no! Closer— CLOSER! Frantically I

  case of failure to supply enough power for

  ran toward Roy.

  driving her, we could cruise a little way until

  “For God’s sake, man, isn’t there a

  we came to more power, grab it, and cruise

  chance? Is there no hope? Must we die like

  further. It was our only hope.

  common, ordinary—?” a hard lump came to

  Suddenly the nose of the ship tilted

  my throat, I could say no more.

  toward the comet! We had struck one of those

  “Now, just hold yourself in check, old

  “pockets,” one of those empty places where

  man, a little while longer. We’ll get out of there was no power, and we were left without this.”

  any. The comet beckoned to the ship and it

  Dana came to me, much more LISTENED!

  composed than I was. I. felt better with her Then the ship gave a forward lurch,

  near me.

  continued in the direction we were first going!

  In the heavens, the green body was

  She happened to pick up some stray power.

  very close, nearly covering everything else

  We continued to go in this direction for some from view. All the heavens seemed to be on

  time. Then again she lurched and hurried

  fire, but not with the familiar fire I knew on toward the comet.

  Earth. This had a strange luminosity of its

  For a half hour after that we lurched

  own. It didn’t burn the way we know fire to

  and swayed; all the time the ship creaked and burn, it just glowed—glowed with a terrible

  groaned. Even in time of danger, my mind

  meaning.

  was reviewing some of the books I had read,

  “How near are we to that comet?” I

  reminding me of how the ancient sea-going

  The Twenty-First Century Limited 13

  ships acted in a gale.

  though, that this was the worst I ever passed The comet had passed away from us at

  through. Let’s forget it and go down and have last; all danger from that source was over, but a bite.”

  the tail is dangerous too, for all the particles from the head are cast off to form this tail.

  AFTER a good, hearty meal, we went to the

  Roy was speaking into the phone promenade to “work off” the supper. We again. “Direct the anti-gravity screens on the walked for a half hour along one of the gravel comet.” Then turning to us, he said, “That will paths bordering a little brook. We talked of be our only chance. If the atomic rays work on many things that would be of no importance to the comet, we will be pushed out of this relate. At the end of the half hour, Roy danger.”

  excused himself and retired. Dana and I

  For a while nothing happened, the ship

  continued our stroll.

  continued to lurch and move in jerky

  After a few minutes of silence, Dana

  movements. Our last chance had gone! We

  asked: “How long are you going to stay on

  were falling into the tail, now below us and a Venus?”

  little ahead! It crackled and sparkled, and it,

  “I don’t know. Perhaps I’ll leave with

  too, had this same strange luminosity of the Roy on his return trip.”

  head!

  “I believe Roy plans to leave a few

  Suddenly the ship gave a forward jump

  days after the landing. That will give you only and straightened, and we were safe! The a few days on Venus. Why should you rush comet was helping us on our way!

  back?”

  All I could do was to settle, limply,

  “You wouldn’t understand, dear, I

  into a nearby settee. Now that the danger was must hurry back to Earth as soon as possible.

  over, the reaction was too great. It hurt me to I’ll come to see you, Dana, as soon as I can.”

  breathe. Dana sat down beside me. Neither

  “I still don’t see why you should leave

  one of us could speak.

  at all.”

  Far away, as in a dream I heard Roy

  “Please, dear, do not be offended; but I

  speaking, half to himself and half to us, must go back.”

  “Whew, but that was close, the closest I ever

  “If you must, you must, but I’ll be

  came to being a nobody.” He was himself

  lonesome,” she sighed.

  again.

  “Dearest,” I said, “when I can take

  He looked at his speed indicators and

  leave of my duties on Earth, 125,000 miles a informed us that we were going at the rate of minute won’t be any too fast for me.” This

  20,500 miles a minute. “Have her run at was followed by a kiss.

  125,000 miles a minute, Daedeck, while I go

  After a few minutes’ silence, we

  down and catch some sleep. If anything continued our interrupted stroll. We stopped unusual takes place, call me.” Then turning to by one of the windows and looked out at the

  us, he said: “You two didn’t have any supper, majestic stars.

  did you? Let’s go down and have a bite.”

  “See if you can find Earth in this

  It was just 7:10. I took a last look at

  maze?” she challenged.

  the comet. It was receding very rapidly. I

  I looked everywhere, but could see

  sighed with relief. Roy looked at me and nothing that looked like Earth. The stars were laughed.

  in all colors and sizes, from small pin-points

  “My boy, we have had to go through

  to huge brilliant bodies. After looking around other experiences similar to this. I admit, and making weak guesses, I gave up.

  Amazing Stories

  14

  “See that large, very bright star, part of what was left of it.”

  toward your right, in that cluster of stars? That

  “My! When I stop to think about such

  is your Earth, the planet we left this morning.”

  things I feel just a little nobody. Just think

  “Impossible!”

  how large and inconceivable the universe is!”

  “But it’s true.”

  said she.

  “But I can’t see the continents. It

  “You may be a little nobody in the

  seems large enough to show them clearly.”

  universe, but you’re all the world to me,” I

  “How can you see the continents laughed.

  through that thick atmosphere? Even a

  powerful telescope is unable to penetrate it.”

  DURING the following few days, nothing of

  “You win again. Where is your little

  importance happened. True, the ever changing world?”

  views kept Dana and me spellbound. We

  “We can’t see it from here, because it

  could see numerous comets speeding across

  is under the ship.”

  the universe in the far, far distance, their tails

  “Let’s go to the stern, and take a look

  stretching away in various shapes. We could

  at that comet,” I suggested.

  see the binary stars with perfect clearness. The The comet still had a long streak, star clusters were more definite here than trailing behind it.

  when seen through the earth’s atmosphere.

  “I wonder,” mused Dana, “if comets

  Then there were the nebulae with all their

  travel in an orbit, or are they wandering glory, twirling away in their gaseous strangers, who visit us and seeing that they are envelope. And I must not forget the novae.

  not wanted, hurry on, never stopping, just

  At one time, I was watching a race

  traveling—traveling.” She sighed. “Do you between two comets. The space that suppose they have a set path to travel over?”

  intervened between these comets was black;

  “Well, people ages and ages ago not a star pierced that blackness. Suddenly I thought that comets moved in practically could see a small, pin-point light, its hue a straight lines and wandered through space bright red. As Dana and I continued to watch from star to star. But it has been discovered it, it grew larger and larger, all the time

  since then, that comets move in orbits.”

  changing its color. A few minutes had passed;

  “How did they originate?” Dana asked.

  it was the size of a golf ball, and it was now a

 

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