kept,but after this you wait on yourself."
Leading the way to Rations, he opened a steel cupboard and reached in.Suddenly anxious, he groped about frantically, then cried, "But thereisn't any water!"
Jasperson swallowed, with dry throat.
"There isn't any water?" he asked plaintively. "But I'm _thirsty_!"
As the hours crawled by, Jasperson sat in the vast emptiness of the boatand stared out at the alien stars. He could not bear to look at the longrows of empty seats, seats that might have been occupied by living men,two hundred and forty-seven silent, omnipresent accusers. His eyes wereglowing coals, his skin sagged in wrinkles over his haggard face, andhis voice was a mere croak.
"Are you _sure_ there's no water?" he asked again. "Are you certain?"
"Yes, I'm certain, as I've told you a thousand times," said StewardDavis. "Don't you suppose I'm thirsty too? If you hadn't been in such ahurry to sneak away we'd have been all right. That man you shot wasprobably getting ready to load the water tanks."
"But you told me the boat was all provisioned!"
"I thought it was, when I saw the tail-end of that truck! But you didn'tgive me time to check. Why did you have to be in such a hurry?"
Groaning, Jasperson turned again to peer at the unfamiliar suns.
"How long will it take us to reach an inhabited planet, do you think?"
"I don't know, because I don't know just where we are. With luck, maybea week, maybe two."
"How long can we live without water?"
"Longer than you'd think. Twelve to fifteen days if we don't movearound. We may be able to land somewhere before then. If not--" Hisvoice rose to a sudden shriek. "_What good are those twenty-fivethousand credits going to do me now?_"
The secretary sat in numb collapse, but Jasperson prowled the room, upand down, up and down, past the rows of empty seats, while Davis sat andwatched him with glittering eyes. Jasperson's head was aching, and hewas aware, all at once, that he was out of breath, as though he had beenclimbing a steep hill under a broiling sun.
"Have to see to this," he muttered. "They can't treat me this way."Stumbling, he lurched down the aisle towards Davis, staggering like adrunken man.
"Got to have more air, Davis. This won't do."
Insolently, Davis got up and looked at the oxygen indicator set in thewall.
"Needle's falling a bit. I'll turn on another tank." He touched theswitch, then sat down again.
Jasperson began to laugh.
"What's so funny?"
With shaking hand he pointed, laughing harder, his sagging cheeksquivering as he roared.
"It's those chairs! Ever see such silly chairs? The way they sit there,and look at you?"
"Hey, man, you're drunk! I wonder...."
He got up to look at the oxygen dial again. The needle had fallen stillfurther.
"Where's that oxygen?" he shouted. He rushed into the inner compartmentand was back immediately, his eyes black with terror.
"No air reserve either! Only that one tank! You great, blundering,condemned fool! A man can live for fifteen days without water, but hecan't live ten minutes without air. We're done for!"
Jasperson giggled.
Davis collapsed, and he, too, began to laugh, a helpless, gasping laugh.They had entirely forgotten the self-effacing secretary, but the noiseof their dying laughter did not disturb him. He had already fallensideways in his chair, and would never wake again.
* * * * *
On the _Star Lord_, Tom and Dorothy sat in the empty lounge, lookingthrough the observation port at the real stars that studded the void.They were holding hands. They were not afraid, and there was nothingthey needed to say.
Some of the doomed passengers sat in the Bar, drinking steadily. Otherssat and stared at nothingness. Professor Larrabee lay in his cabin, hisface turned to the wall, his eyes closed. But he was not sleeping. Hewas thinking of his wife, and a smile clothed his face.
* * * * *
In his cabin Captain Josiah Evans waited alone. His hair was almostwhite, now, his cheeks were sunken, and all semblance of youth had lefthim. Knowing the futility of his action, nevertheless he completed theday's entry in the ship's log, and closed the volume.
As the hours crept by he noticed that the temperature in the room wasrising. Once more, for the last time, he called Operations.
"It's no use, Wyman. Let the Piles alone. It's only a matter of hoursnow--or perhaps minutes."
"Shall I cast loose the other Piles, sir?"
"No, no use in that, since you can't jettison Piles One, Two and Three.When they go, we all go. It's impossible, now, that any rescue shipcould get to us in time. You've done a good job, Wyman. You are nowreleased from duty."
His hands were sweating, his whole body was wet from the high summertorridness of the room. Captain Evans wiped his sticky hands on hishandkerchief and picked up the little red book, _Ley's Space Ships_.Opening the book, he read for the last time the well-loved page. Then hetook up his pen and made a new notation in the margin.
"_Star Lord: Lost, May 26, 2421, on the Thakura Ripples._"
He paused a moment, and then with firm, steady strokes he wrote thefinal entry: "_Destroyed by the arrogance of her owners, and thecriminal pride and weakness of her Captain._"
He put down the pen, and laid his head on his desk.
* * * * *
Hour after hour Boat A circled the dying _Star Lord_, its wearypassengers tense with hope for the all but impossible rescue. Alan satnext to Tanya, guarding the sleeping children.
Suddenly she sat up. "What's that? Out there?"
Over the loudspeaker came Thayer's voice. "We have successfully madecontact with a rescue ship. A space cruiser will reach us inapproximately eight hours."
Tanya scarcely heard him. She was still peering out, her eyes on thefaint lights of the _Star Lord_.
"Look!" she cried.
"Shut your eyes!" shouted Thayer. "Everybody turn your head!"
Far out in space where the _Star Lord_ had been was a brilliant redglow, like many suns. It changed, suddenly, to a blinding light, sobright that it was more blue than white, then vanished.
Man had not yet made himself Lord of the Stars.
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