He was spinning slowly, so that stars ahead of him seemed to crawl across his view. The ship was retreating from him already hundreds of yards away. Mars was a shrunken pill far away.
Then something blinked to one side. He turned his head to stare.
A little ship was less than three hundred yards away. He recognized it as a life raft. Now his spin brought him around to face it, and he saw it was parallelling his course. The ejection of the life raft must have caused the thump3 he'd heard before he was cast adrift.
It meant someone was trying to save him. It meant life!
He flailed4 his arms and beat his legs together, senselessly trying to force himself closer, while trying to guess who could have taken the chance. No one he could think of could have booked passage on the Iroquois. There wasn't that much free money in the villages.[Pg 83]
Something flashed a hot blue, and the little ship leaped forward. Whoever was handling it knew nothing about piloting. It picked up too much speed at too great an angle.
Again blue spurts6 came, but this time matters were even worse. Then there was a long wait before a third try was made. He estimated the course. It would miss him by a good hundred feet, but it was probably the best the amateur pilot could do. The ship drifted closer, but to one side. It would soon pass him completely.
A spacesuited figure suddenly appeared in the tiny airlock, holding a coil of rope. The rope shot out, well thrown. But it was too short. It would pass within ten feet—and might as well have been ten miles for all the good it would do him.
Every film he had seen on space seemed to form a mad jumble7 in his mind, but he seized on the first idea he could remember. He inhaled8 deeply and yanked the oxygen tank free. An automatic seal on the suit cut off the connection. He aimed the hissing9 bottle, fumbling11 for the manual valve.
It almost worked. It kicked him toward the rope slightly, but most of the energy was wasted in setting him into a wilder spin. He blinked, trying to spot the rope. It was within five feet now.
Again he waited, until he seemed to be in position. This time he threw the bottle away from it. It added spin to his vertical12 axis13, but the rope came into view within arm's reach.
He grasped it, just as his lungs seemed about to burst. He couldn't hold on long enough to tie the rope....
His lungs gave up suddenly, collapsing14 and then sucking in greedily. Clean air rushed in, letting his head[Pg 84] clear. He'd forgotten that the inflated15 suit held enough oxygen for several minutes.
His body struck the edge of the airlock and a hand jerked him inside. The outer seal was slammed shut and locked, and there was a hiss10 of air entering.
He threw back his helmet just as Chris Ryan jerked hers off.
Her voice shook almost hysterically16. "Thank God. Dan, I almost gave up!"
"I liked the air out there better," he told her bitterly. "If you'll open the lock again, I'll leave. Or am I supposed to believe this is rescue and that you came along just to save me?"
"I came along to see you killed, as you know very well. Saving you wasn't in my orders."
He grunted17 and reached for the handle that would release the outer lock. "Better get back inside if you don't want to blow out with me."
"It's up to you, Dan," she told him, and there was all the sincerity18 in the world in her blue eyes. "I'm on your side now."
He began counting on his fingers. "Let's see. The spare battery, the delay in arresting me, the choice of Matthews—"
"It was all true." Anger began to grow in her eyes. "Dan Feldman, you get inside this raft! If you don't care about me, you might consider the people dying of the plague who need you!"
"All right," he said grudgingly20. "Spill your story."
She held out a copy of a space radiogram, addressed to Mrs. D. E. Everts, and signed by one of the best doctors on the Lobby Board of Directors.[Pg 85]
Regret confirm diagnosis21. Topsecret. Repeat topsecret. Martian fever incubates fourteen years, believed highly fatal. No cure, research beginning immediately. Penalty violation22 topsecret, death all concerned.
"Mrs. Everts rates a topsecret break?" Doc commented dryly. "Come off it, Chris!"
"She's the daughter of Elmers of Space Lobby!" Chris answered. She pointed23 to the message, underlining words with her finger. "Fourteen years. You couldn't have caused it. Highly fatal. And people are being told it's only a skin disease. Research beginning. But you've already done most of the research. I can see that now. I can see a lot of things."
"You've got me beat then," he said. "I can't see how such a reformed young noblewoman calmly walked over and stole a life raft. I can't see how your brilliant mind concocted24 this whole scheme in almost no time. And to be honest, I can't even see why Medical Lobby decided25 to save me at the last minute and sent you to do the job. You didn't have to spy out knowledge from me. I've been trying all along to get it to your Research division."
She sighed and dropped onto a little seat.
"I can't prove my motives27. You'll just have to believe me. But it wasn't hard to do what I've done. That shuttle pilot was found in a routine check, stowed away on the life raft. I was with Captain Everts when he was found, so I discovered how to get into the raft. And I heard his whole confession28. He wasn't the real pilot. He'd come from the villages to save you. The whole scheme was his. I just used it, hoping I could reach you."[Pg 86]
As always her story had a convincing element she shouldn't have known. The pilot's farewell, addressing him as Dr. Feldman, had been too low for her to hear, but it was something that fitted her story. It was probably a deliberate clue to give him hope, to assure him the villages were still trying. It shook his confidence.
She swore at him, then began ripping off the spacesuit. She turned her back, pulling a thin blouse down from her neck. He stared, then reached out to touch the lump there.
"So you've had Selznik's migraine and know you're carrying plague. And you've decided your precious Lobby won't save you?"
She dropped her eyes, then raised them to meet his defiantly29. "I'm not just scared and selfish. Dad caught it, too, and it must be close to the time for him. He switched to Mars-normal when he was a liaison30 agent and never changed back. Dan, are we all going to have to die? Can't you save him?"
Feldman was out of his suit and at the control panel. There was a manual lever, which Chris must have used before. It might work out here where there was room to maneuver31 and nothing to hit. But trying to make a landing was going to be different.
"Dan?" she repeated.
He shrugged32. "I don't know. They've started research too late and they'll be under so much pressure that the real brains won't have a chance. The topsecret stuff looks bad for research. Maybe there's a cure. It works in culture bottles, but it may fail in person. When I'm convinced I'm safe with you, I may tell you about it."
"Oh." Her voice was low. Then she sighed. "I sup[Pg 87]pose I can understand why you hate me, Dan."
"I don't hate you. I'm too mixed up. Tomorrow maybe, but not now. Shut up and let me see if I can figure out how to land this thing."
He found that the fuel tanks were nearly full, but that still didn't leave much margin33. Mars must have been notified by Everts and be ready to pick the raft up. He had to reach the wastelands away from any of the shuttle ports. They had no aspirators, however, and they couldn't cover much territory in the spacesuits they would have to use. It meant he'd have to land close to a village where he was known.
He jockeyed the ship around by trial and error, studying the manual that was lying prominently on the control panel. According to the booklet, the ship was simple to operate. It was self-leveling in an atmosphere, and automatic flare34 computers were supposed to make it possible for an amateur to judge the rate of descent near the surface. It looked reassuring—and was probably written with that in mind.
Finally he reached for the control, hoping he'd figured his landing orbit reasonably well by simple logic. He smoothed it out in the following hours as he watched the markings on Mars. When they were near turnover35 point, he began cranking the little gyroscope to swing the ship. It saved fuel to turn without power, and he wasn't sure he could have turned accurately36 by blasting.
He was gaining some proficiency37, however, he felt. But now he had to waste fuel and ruin his orbit again. There was no way to practice maneuvering38 without actually doing so.
In the end, he compromised, leaving a small margin for a bad landing that would require a second attempt,[Pg 88] but with less practice than he wanted.
He had located Jake's village through the little telescope when he finally reached for the main blast control. The thin haze39 of Mars' atmosphere came rushing up, while the blast lashed5 out. Then they were in the outer fringes of the sky and the blast was beginning to show a corona40 that ruined visibility.
He turned to the flare computer and back to what he could see through the quartz41 viewport. He was going to land about half a mile from the village, as nearly as he could judge.
The computer seemed to work as it should. The speed was within acceptable limits. He gave up trying to see the ground and was forced to trust the machinery42 designed for amateur pilots. The flare bloomed, and he yanked down on the little lever.
It could have been worse. They hit the ground, bounced twice, and turned over. The ship was a mess when Feldman freed himself from the elastic43 straps44 of the seat. Chris had shrieked45 as they hit, but she was unbuckling herself now.
He threw her her spacesuit and one of the emergency bottles of oxygen from the rack. "Hurry up with that. We've sprung a leak and the pressure's dropping."
They were halfway46 to the village when a dozen tractors came racing47 up and Jake piled out of the lead one to drag the two in with him.
"Heard about it from the broadcasts and figured you might land around here. Good to see you, Doc." He started the tractor off at full speed, back to the wastelands, while Doc stared at the armed men who were riding the tractors.
Jake caught his look and nodded. "You're in enemy territory, Doc. There's a war going on!"
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
sanity
|
|
| n.心智健全，神智正常，判断正确 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
logic
|
|
| n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
thump
|
|
| v.重击，砰然地响；n.重击，重击声 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
flailed
|
|
| v.鞭打( flail的过去式和过去分词 )；用连枷脱粒；（臂或腿）无法控制地乱动；扫雷坦克 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
lashed
|
|
| adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
spurts
|
|
| 短暂而突然的活动或努力( spurt的名词复数 )； 突然奋起 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
jumble
|
|
| vt.使混乱，混杂；n.混乱；杂乱的一堆 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
inhaled
|
|
| v.吸入( inhale的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
hissing
|
|
| n. 发嘶嘶声, 蔑视 动词hiss的现在分词形式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
hiss
|
|
| v.发出嘶嘶声；发嘘声表示不满 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
fumbling
|
|
| n. 摸索,漏接 v. 摸索,摸弄,笨拙的处理 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
vertical
|
|
| adj.垂直的，顶点的，纵向的；n.垂直物，垂直的位置 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
axis
|
|
| n.轴，轴线，中心线；坐标轴，基准线 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
collapsing
|
|
| 压扁[平]，毁坏，断裂 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
inflated
|
|
| adj.（价格）飞涨的；（通货）膨胀的；言过其实的；充了气的v.使充气（于轮胎、气球等）( inflate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）膨胀；（使）通货膨胀；物价上涨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
hysterically
|
|
| ad. 歇斯底里地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
grunted
|
|
| （猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
sincerity
|
|
| n.真诚，诚意；真实 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
trump
|
|
| n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
grudgingly
|
|
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
diagnosis
|
|
| n.诊断，诊断结果，调查分析，判断 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
violation
|
|
| n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
pointed
|
|
| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
concocted
|
|
| v.将（尤指通常不相配合的）成分混合成某物( concoct的过去式和过去分词 )；调制；编造；捏造 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
decided
|
|
| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
motive
|
|
| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
motives
|
|
| n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
confession
|
|
| n.自白，供认，承认 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
defiantly
|
|
| adv.挑战地，大胆对抗地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
liaison
|
|
| n.联系，（未婚男女间的）暖昧关系，私通 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
maneuver
|
|
| n.策略[pl.]演习；v.(巧妙)控制；用策略 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
shrugged
|
|
| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
margin
|
|
| n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
flare
|
|
| v.闪耀，闪烁；n.潮红；突发 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
turnover
|
|
| n.人员流动率，人事变动率；营业额，成交量 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
accurately
|
|
| adv.准确地，精确地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
proficiency
|
|
| n.精通，熟练，精练 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
maneuvering
|
|
| v.移动，用策略( maneuver的现在分词 )；操纵 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
haze
|
|
| n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
corona
|
|
| n.日冕 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
quartz
|
|
| n.石英 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
machinery
|
|
| n.(总称)机械，机器；机构 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
elastic
|
|
| n.橡皮圈，松紧带；adj.有弹性的；灵活的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
straps
|
|
| n.带子( strap的名词复数 )；挎带；肩带；背带v.用皮带捆扎( strap的第三人称单数 )；用皮带抽打；包扎；给…打绷带 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
shrieked
|
|
| v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
halfway
|
|
| adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
racing
|
|
| n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |