again at Pell. "Tell that idiot to put that thing away," he pleaded.

Pell didn't answer, but looked at the controls for a moment. Then he pressed the appropriate stud and turned to Heintz.

"I'll cover this fellow while you keep that gun ready. Just to prevent anything from going wrong, we'll let him walk in front of us with his hands in his pockets and his mouth shut," he said, nodding meaningly at the prisoner.

Heintz grunted and held the machine-gun at ready as the elevator drew to a stop. The door whined open softly and Pell tensed. Before his startled eyes a swarm of men hurried up and down the corridor, apparently too intent upon their business to notice Heintz and Pell.

He was about to let the door close again when Heintz stopped him. He pointed significantly at an instrument that flashed above the heads of the hurrying men. Like lightning Pell realized that it was a Geiger Counter and that it was registering the presence of Uranium!

"Come on, Pell. They won't notice us," Heintz called over his shoulder as he stepped from the cage.

Boldly he walked into the corridor and melted unnoticed into the crowd of excited, hurrying soldiers. Pell followed him, his hand on the cool, heavy pistol butt and the enemy prisoner preceding him with his hands sunk in his pockets. As the crowd of men jostled and pushed about him, Pell could hear breathless bits of conversation.

"... blasters—yeah, real atomics. Bede will have 'em in shape in a few minutes."

"... hell, not a chance. Not when we turn those blasters loose."

Pell went slightly sick. He saw that the main stream of men were pouring into a corridor with a dead end. Tightening his hold on the pistol butt in his pocket, he shoved his prisoner after them.

Then he noticed that they were waiting at the heavily-guarded entrance of a room and it dawned upon him that they were about to be issued blasters.

Quickly he surveyed the situation, noticing the position of the guards at the room's entrance, and made his decision. Drawing the pistol from his pocket, he jammed it into the captured mercenary's back and began to shoulder his way boldly through the uncomprehending crowd. As he approached the door he saw a surging around it, then suddenly all hell broke loose.

 Prev. P 27/38 next