The Red Hell of Jupiter Read online

  CHAPTER II

  _The Pipe-like Men_

  Brand began to slacken speed on the morning of the thirteenth day(morning, of course, being a technical term: there are no horizons inspace for the sun to rise over). Jupiter was still an immense distanceoff; but it took a great while to slow the momentum of the space ship,which, in the frictionless emptiness of space, had been travelingfaster and faster for nearly three hundred hours.

  Behind them was the distant ball of sun, so far off that it looked nolarger than a red-hot penny. Before them was the gigantic disk ofJupiter, given a white tinge by the perpetual fog blankets, itsoutlines softened by its thick layer of atmosphere and cloud banks.Two of its nine satellites were in sight at the moment, with a thirdedging over the western rim.

  "Makes you think you're drunk and seeing triple, doesn't it?"commented Dex, who was staring out the thick glass panel beside Brand."Nine moons! Almost enough for one planet!"

  Brand nodded abstractly, and concentrated on the control board.Rapidly the ship rocketed down toward the surface. The disk became awhirling, gigantic plate; and then an endless plain, with cloudformations beginning to take on definite outline.

  "About to enter Jupiter's atmosphere." Brand spoke into the radiotransmitter. Over the invisible thread of radio connection between thespace ship and Earth, four hundred million miles behind, flashed themessage.

  "All right. For God's sake, be careful," came the answer, minuteslater. "Say something at least every half hour, to let us knowcommunication is unbroken. We will sound at ten second intervals."

  The sounding began: _peep_, a shrill little piping noise like thefiddle of a cricket. Ten seconds later it came again: _peep_.Thereafter, intermittently, it keened through the control room--ahomely, comforting sound to let them know that there was a distantthread between them and Earth.

  * * * * *

  Lower the shell rocketed. The endless plain slowly ceased its rushingunderneath them as they entered the planet's atmosphere and began tobe pulled around with it in its revolution. Far to the west a faintred glow illumined the sky.

  The two men looked at each other, grimly, soberly.

  "We're here," said Dex, flexing the muscles of his powerful arms.

  "We are," said Brand, patting the gun in his holster.

  The rapid dusk of the giant planet began to close in on them. The thinsunlight darkened; and with its lowering, the red spot of Jupiterglared more luridly ahead of them. Silently the two men gazed at it,and wondered what it held.

  They shot the space ship toward it, and halted a few hundred milesaway. Watery white light from the satellites, "that jitter around inthe sky like a bunch of damned waterbugs," as Dex put it, was now thesole illumination.

  They hung motionless in their space shell, to wait through thefive-hour Jovian night for the succeeding five hours of daylight toillumine a slow cruise over the red area that, in less than a year,had swallowed up three of Earth's space ships. And ever as theywaited, dozing a little, speculating as to the nature of the dangerthey faced, the peep, peep of the radio shrilled in their ears to tellthem that there was still a connection--though a very tenuousone--with their mother planet.

  * * * * *

  "Red spot ten miles away," said Brand in the transmitter. "We'reapproaching it slowly."

  The tiny sun had leaped up over Jupiter's horizon; and with itsappearance they had sent the ship planing toward their mysteriousdestination. Beneath them the fog banks were thinning, and ahead ofthem were no clouds. For some reason there was a clarity unusual toJupiter's atmosphere in the air above the red section.

  "Red spot one mile ahead, altitude forty thousand feet," reportedBrand.

  He and Dex peered intently through the port glass panel. Ahead and farbelow, their eyes caught an odd metallic sheen. It was as though theground there were carpeted with polished steel that reflected redfirelight.

  Tense, filled with an excitement that set their pulses poundingwildly, they angled slowly down, nearer to the edge of the vastcrimson area, closer to the ground. The radio keened its monotonoussignal.

  Brand crawled to the transmitter, laboriously, for his body tipped thescales here at nearly four hundred pounds.

  "We can see the metallic glitter that Journeyman spoke of," he said."No sign of life of any kind, though. The red glow seems to flicker alittle."

  Closer the ship floated. Closer. To right and left of them for vastdistances stretched the red area. Ahead of them for hundreds of milesthey knew it extended.

  "We're right on it now," called Brand. "Right on it--we're going overthe edge--we're--"

  Next instant he was sprawling on the floor, with Dex rollinghelplessly on top of him, while the space ship bounced up twentythousand feet as though propelled by a giant sling.

  * * * * *

  The peep, peep of the radio signalling stopped. The space ship rolledhelplessly for a moment, then resumed an even keel. Brand and Dexgazed at each other.

  "What the hell?" said Dex.

  He started to get to his feet, put all his strength into the task ofmoving his Jupiter-weighted body, and crashed against the top of thecontrol room.

  "Say!" he sputtered, rubbing his head. "Say, what _is_ this?"

  Brand, profiting by his mistake, rose more cautiously, shut off theatomic motor, and approached a glass panel again. "God knows what itis," he said with a shrug. "Somehow, with our passing into the redarea, the pull of gravity has been reduced by about ten, that's all."

  "Oh, so that's all, is it? Well, what's happened to old Jupe'sgravity?"

  Again Brand shrugged. "I haven't any idea. Your guess is as good asmine."

  He peered down through the panel, and stiffened in surprise.

  "Dex!" he cried. "We're moving! And the motor is shut off!"

  "We're drawing down closer to the ground, too," announced Dex,pointing to their altimeter. "Our altitude has been reduced fivethousand feet in the last two minutes."

  Quickly Brand turned on the motor in reverse. The space ship, as therushing, reddish ground beneath indicated, continued to glide forwardas though pulled by an invisible rope. He turned on full power. Theship's progress was checked a little. A very little! And the metallicred surface under them grew nearer as they steadily lost altitude.

  "Something seems to have got us by the nose," said Dex. "We're on ourway to the center of the red spot, I guess--to find whatever it wasthat Journeyman found. And the radio communication his been brokensomehow...."

  Wordlessly, they stared out the panel, while the shell, quivering withthe strain of the atomic motor's fight against whatever unseen forceit was that relentlessly drew them forward, bore them swiftly towardthe heart of the vast crimson area.

  * * * * *

  "Look!" cried Brand.

  For over an hour the ship had been propelled swiftly, irresistiblytoward the center of the red spot. It had been up about forty thousandfeet. Now, with a jerk that sent both men reeling, it had been drawndown to within fifteen thousand feet of the surface; and the sightthat was now becoming more and more visible was incredible.

  Beneath was a vast, orderly checkerboard. Every alternate square wascovered by what seemed a jointless metal plate. The open squares,plainly land under cultivation, were surrounded by gleaming fencesthat hooked each metal square with every other one of its kind asbatteries are wired in series. Over these open squares progressedtiny, two legged figures, for the most part following giganticshapeless animals like figures out of a dream. Ahead suddenly appearedthe spires and towers of an enormous city!

  Metropolis and cultivated land! It was as unbelievable, on that rawnew planet, as such a sight would have been could a traveler in timehave observed it in the midst of a dim Pleistocene panorama of youngEarth.

  It was instantly apparent that the city was their destination. Rapidlythe little ship was rushed toward it; and, realizing at last thefutility of its la
boring, Brand cut off the atomic motor and let theshell drift.

  Over a group of squat square buildings their ship passed, decreasingspeed and drifting lower with every moment. The lofty structures thatwere the nucleus of the strange city loomed closer. Now they weresoaring slowly down a wide thoroughfare; and now, at last, theyhovered above a great open square that was thronged with figures.

  Lower they dropped. Lower. And then they settled with a slight jar ona surface made of reddish metal; and the figures rushed to surroundthem.

  * * * * *

  Looking out the glass panel at these figures, both Brand and Dexexclaimed aloud and covered their eyes for a moment to shut out thehideous sight of them. Now they examined them closely.

  Manlike they were: and yet like no human being conceivable to an Earthmind. They were tremendously tall--twelve feet at least--but as thinas so many animated poles. Their two legs were scarce four inchesthrough, taper-less, boneless, like lengths of pipe; and like twoflexible pipes they were joined to a slightly larger pipe of a torsothat could not have been more than a foot in diameter. There were fourarms, a pair on each side of the cylindrical body, that weaved feeblyabout like lengths of rubber hose.

  Set directly on the pipe-like body, as a pumpkin might be balanced ona pole, was a perfectly round cranium in which were glassy, staringeyes, with dull pupils like those of a sick dog. The nose was but atab of flesh. The mouth was a minute, circular thing, soft and flabbylooking, which opened and shut regularly with the creature'sbreathing. It resembled the snout-like mouth of a fish, of the suckervariety; and fish-like, too, was the smooth and slimy skin thatcovered the beanpole body.

  * * * * *

  Hundreds of the repulsive things, there were. And all of them shovedand crowded, as a disorderly mob on Earth might do, to get close tothe Earthmen's ship. Their big dull eyes peered in through the glasspanels, and their hands--mere round blobs of gristle in the palms ofwhich were set single sucker disks--pattered against the metal hull ofthe shell.

  "God!" said Brand with a shudder. "Fancy these things feeling overyour body...."

  "They're hostile, whatever they are," said Dex. "Look out: that one'spointing something at you!"

  One of the slender, tottering creatures had raised an arm and leveledat Brand something that looked rather like an elongated, old-fashionedflashlight. Brand involuntarily ducked. The clear glass panel betweenthem and the mob outside gave him a queasy feeling of being exposed towhatever missile might lurk in the thing's tube.

  "What do we do now?" demanded Dex with a shaky laugh. "You're chief ofthis expedition. I'm waiting for orders."

  "We wait right here," replied Brand. "We're safe in the shell tillwe're starved out. At least they can't get in to attack us."

  But it developed that, while the slimy looking things might not beable to get in, they had ways of reaching the Earthmen just the same!

  * * * * *

  The creature with the gun-like tube extended it somewhat furthertoward Brand.

  Brand felt a sharp, unpleasant tingle shoot through his body, asthough he had received an electric shock. He winced, and cried out atthe sudden pain of it.

  "What's the matter--" Dex began. But hardly had the words left hismouth when he, too, felt the shock. A couple of good, hearty Earthoaths exploded from his lips.

  The repulsive creature outside made an authoritative gesture. Heseemed to be beckoning to them, his huge dull eyes glaringthreateningly at the same moment.

  "Our beanpole friend is suggesting that we get out of the shell andstay awhile," said Dex with grim humor. "They seem anxious toentertain us--_ouch!_"

  As the two men made no move to obey the beckoning gesture, thecreature had raised the tube again; and again the sharp, unpleasantshock shot through them.

  "What the devil are we going to do?" exclaimed Brand. "If we go out inthat mob of nightmare things--it's going to be messy. As long as westay in the shell we have some measure of protection."

  "Not much protection when they can sting us through metal and glass atwill," growled Dex. "Do you suppose they can turn the juice on harder?Or is that bee-sting their best effort?"

  As though in direct answer to his words, the blob-like face of thebeing who seemed in authority convulsed with anger and he raised thetube again. This time the shock that came from it was sufficient tothrow the two men to the floor.

  "Well, we can't stay in the ship, that's certain," said Brand. "Iguess there's only one thing to do."

  Dex nodded. "Climb out of here and take as many of these skinnyhorrors with us into hell as we can," he agreed.

  Once more the shock stung them, as a reminder not to keep theircaptors waiting. With their shoulders bunched for abrupt action, andtheir guns in hand, the two men walked to the trap-door of the ship.They threw the heavy bolts, drew a deep breath--and flung open thedoor to charge unexpectedly toward the thickest mass of creatures thatsurrounded the ship!

  * * * * *

  In a measure their charge was successful. Its very suddenness caughtsome of the tall monstrosities off guard. Half a dozen of them stoppedthe fragile glass bullets to writhe in horrible death on the red metalpaving of the square. But that didn't last long.

  In less than a minute, thin, clammy arms were winding around theEarthmen's wrists, and their guns were wrenched from them. And thenstarted a hand-to-hand encounter that was all the more hideous forbeing so unlike any fighting that might have occurred on Earth.

  With a furious growl Dex charged the nearest creature, whose hugeround head swayed on its stalk of a body fully six feet above his ownhead. He gathered the long thin legs in a football grip, and sent thething crashing full length on its back. The great head thumpedresoundingly against the metal paving, and the creature laymotionless.

  For an instant Dex could only stare at the thing. It had been so easy,like overcoming a child. But even as that thought crossed his mind,two of the tall thin figures closed in behind him. Four pairs of armswound around him, feebly but tenaciously, like wet seaweed.

  They began to constrict and wind tighter around him. He tore at them,dislodged all but two. His sturdy Earth leg went back to sweep thestalk-like legs of his attackers from under them. One of the thingswent down, to twist weakly in a laborious attempt to rise again. Butthe other, by sheer force of height and reach, began to bear Dex down.

  Savagely he laced out with his fists, battering the pulpy face thatwas pressing down close to his. The big eyes blinked shut, but thefour hose-like arms did not relax their clasp. Dex's hands soughtfiercely for the thing's throat. But it had no throat: the head, setdirectly on the thin shoulders, defied all throttling attempts.

  * * * * *

  Then, just as Dex was feeling that the end had come, he felt thecreature wrench from him, and saw it slide in a tangle of arms andlegs over the smooth metal pavement. He got shakily to his feet, tosee Brand standing over him and flailing out with his fists at an evertightening circle of towering figures.

  "Thanks," panted Dex. And he began again, tripping the twelve-footthings in order to get them down within reach, battering at the greatpulpy heads, fighting blindly in that expressed craving to take asmany of the creatures into hell with him as he could manage. Besidehim fought Brand, steadily, coolly, grim of jaw and unblinking of eye.

  Already the struggle had gone on far longer than they had dreamed itmight. For some reason the grotesque creatures delayed killing them.That they could do so any time they pleased, was certain: if themonsters could reach them with their shock-tubes through the doubleinsulated hull of the space ship, they could certainly kill them outin the open.

  Yet they made no move to do so. The deadly tubes were not used. Thescreeching gargoyles, instead, devoted all their efforts to merelyhurling their attenuated bodies on the two men as though they wishedto capture them alive.

  Finally, however, the nature of the bat
tle changed. The tallest of theattackers opened his tiny mouth and piped a signal. The ring ofweaving tall bodies surrounding the two opened and became a U. Thecreatures in the curve of the U raised their shock-tubes and, withnone of their own kind behind the victims to share in its discharge,released whatever power it was that lurked in them.

  The shock was terrific. Without the glass and metal of the ship toprotect them, out in the open and defenceless, Brand and Dex got someindication of its real power.

  Writhing and twitching, feeling as though pierced by millions of redhot needles, they went down. A swarm of pipe-like bodies smotheredthem, and the fight was over.