Larson's Luck Read online

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  LARSON'S LUCK

  by GERALD VANCE

  Larson couldn't possibly have known what was going on in the engine room, yet he acted....

  There would be hell to pay; Larson was stunting again.]

  "We moor in ten minutes," I said.

  We were flying at reduced speed because of the heavy fog we had run intoat the outer fringe of Earth's atmosphere. But I knew we were withinforty or fifty miles of the Trans-Space base. I had counted the miles onthis particular trip because of the load of radium we were carrying fromthe Venusian mines. I wouldn't draw a completely relieved breath untilwe were down and the stuff was in the hands of the commerce agents.

  I eased my position slightly to relieve the pressure on my brokenflipper and grinned at the pilot, Lucky Larson, the screwiest, mostunpredictable void trotter who had ever flown for dear old Trans-Space.

  "You've been too good to be true this trip," I said, "and it's a goodthing. The chief told me that if you so much as _thought_ about clowningaround or stunting he was going to clip your wings for good."

  Lucky grinned, an impish, devil-may-care grin that lightened up hisfreckled face and bunched the tiny wrinkles at the corners of his eyes.Then with characteristic abruptness he scowled.

  "That grandmother," he said disgustedly. "Who does he think I am,anyway? Some crazy irresponsible madman who hasn't got enough brains tostay on a space beam?"

  "That's just what he does think," I grinned, "and you've given himplenty of reason to think it. You can't bring your crate in to the basewithout stunting around and showing off and risking your damn neck.That's why he sent me along with you this trip. Just to see that youact like a pilot--instead of circus acrobat."

  "A lot of good you'd do," Lucky mumbled. "You got a broken arm. The onlyreason he sent you is because he didn't want to pay you while you was inthe hospital so he cooks up this trip to get his money out of you. Andsay," he turned to me belligerently, "when did I ever crack up a ship?When did I ever even dent one of the babies?"

  "You haven't," I was forced to admit, "but that's just because of thatscrewy luck of yours. But it won't last forever and one of these daysit's going to run out just when you need it. So just remember--nostunting this trip or you'll be out of the strata for the rest of yournatural life."

  "Aw, that's the trouble with this racket," Lucky grumbled, "a guy can'thave no fun no more. Back when I was with the Space circus--"

  "Okay, okay," I cut in, "I've heard that before. Just fly your ship,now, and forget about the deep dark plot of the company to take all thejoy out of your life. I'm going to take a look-see at the atomic floatsand get the passengers bundled together."

  I stood up and crawled over him and opened the door leading to the bodyof the ship. I could still hear him grumbling as I slid the lightchrome-alloy door shut. I chuckled to myself and headed up the aisle tothe baggage compartments. Lucky Larson was a legend as space pilots go.An unpredictable, erratic screwball but one of the finest rocket riderswho ever flashed through the void.

  Company regulations and interplanetary commissions were the bane of hisexistence. He made his own rules and regulations and got by with it.That is he _had_ gotten by with it. Now they were cracking down on him.He had been grounded twice and the chief had threatened to set him downfor life if any more infractions were charged to him. I shook my headgloomily. He was a great guy, the last of a great and gallant army ofspace adventurers, but he was on the way out. The rules were necessary,vital to safe space travel and the Lucky Larsons would have to live upto them, or else.

  * * * * *

  My mind was a long way away from the cabin of the space ship and maybethat's why I got what I did. I didn't see it coming. One minute I waswalking through the aisle, thinking about Lucky Larson and the nextsecond something slammed into the back of my head knocking me to myknees.

  Through a haze of red and white lights I heard a voice bark, "Toss himinto a chair and grab that good arm of his."

  I wasn't out. Just damn sick. Something like a cold hand seemed to haveclosed over my stomach and for an awful moment I gagged and tried toretch. But the moment passed and I forced open my eyes and focused themon two tough-looking, hard-eyed gents who stood in front of me. Anotherunpleasant-looking little man knelt along side of me, twisting my goodarm behind my back.

  "Okay," I gritted, "what's the gag?"

  The tallest of the three, evidently their leader, smiled at me. "It's nogag," he murmured calmly, "we happen to need the radium you're carrying.We're going to take it. Any objections?"

  "You'll never get away with this," I snapped, "your names anddescriptions are registered with the passenger office. You'll be trackeddown in twenty-four hours."

  I was bluffing, of course, and I knew from their contemptuous smilesthat they knew it, too. They probably had given fictitious names, andthe descriptive information which the bureau required consisted of a fewgeneralities, such as height, weight and the like. I cursed myself for astupid, careless fool. The three men had been the only passengers fromVenus and they had kept to themselves the entire trip. Once or twice Ihad wondered at their reticence and quietness but I had not beensuspicious enough to make a check-up.

  One of the men laughed shortly. "Let us worry about that. We've coveredevery angle that could possibly come up. With the help of your friend upfront, this ship will be flown to a certain deserted asteroid where afew friends of _ours_ are to meet us with another ship. How you come outafterward will depend on how you co-operate now. Clear enough?"

  It was clear enough all right. Lucky and I wouldn't last long after weserved our purpose.

  The tall man turned from me and nodded significantly to the man standingnext to him and then pointed to the closed door to the pilot's chambers.

  "Take care of the pilot," he murmured, "and tell him if he isn'tobliging we'll take the cast off his friend's arm and--" he smiled atme, "massage it a bit."

  I felt a cold sweat break out on my forehead.

  The thug grinned wolfishly at me and then winked at his leader. "I'lltell him, boss." He dug his hand into his pocket and drew out a stubbyatomic pistol. "If he won't listen to me maybe this'll persuade him."

  Still grinning he turned and headed up the aisle, the gun clenched inhis huge fist.

  * * * * *

  I glanced at the tall figure standing in front of me and saw that he waswatching the retreating figure of his henchman with a saturnine smile onhis face. I thought swiftly. If I could yell a warning to Lucky, hecould bolt the door of the pilot's chamber and then set the ship down atthe Trans-Space base. It was the only way to save Lucky and the radium.I wasn't very optimistic about my own chances. I knew they were zero.

  I opened my mouth, took a deep breath and then, before I could screamthe words that would warn Lucky, it happened. The ship shuddered for aninstant and then zoomed upward, the smooth hum of the rocket motorscrescendoing to a roaring song of power and speed.

  The sudden jolting acceleration hurled me to the tail of the ship and Isaw, like an image in a kaleidoscope, the tangled thrashing figures ofthe space bandits as they were tossed to the floor, a dazedly strugglingmass of arms and legs.

  The ship was lying over on its back in a few seconds, and before I couldcatch a breath it suddenly whipped over and blasted toward Earth in ascreeching, hissing power-dive.

  It was terrific punishment even for this type of space crate but it wasworse for human beings. The three bandits were clutching at theirstomachs as if they were afraid of losing them. Their faces were mottledand blotchy and their eyes were rolling beseechingly.

  I didn't mind the erratic c
onvolutions the ship was making but my armwas burning as if it were on fire. Numbing waves of pain were coursingup and down my entire body.

  I tried to crawl to my knees but the floor rolled under me as the shipwhipped over in a twisting spiral and I crashed forward on my face. Theneverything dissolved into inky blackness....

  * * * * *

  When I came to, I heard a great commotion, then a sudden shot and then ababble of voices booming around me. I remember thinking fleetingly ofcrooks, Lucky Larson and a mountain of radium and then--because nothingmade sense--I passed out again.

  * * * * *

  The next time I opened my eyes I found myself stretched out on a cot inthe chief's office. I turned my head slightly and saw Lucky Larson, thechief and a half dozen other guys staring down at me.

  "It's not very original," I said, "but where the hell am I?" That wassilly of me because I knew where I was, so I said: "Never mind that butplease tell me what the hell happened?"

  The chief laughed and Lucky Larson laughed and then they slapped eachother on the back. "Don't worry about a thing," the chief said, "thosecrooks are under lock and key and there's not a thing to worry about."

  "But how--I mean what...?" My voice trailed off. Nothing made sense.

  "Well," the chief broke in, "Lucky here really deserves the credit forcatching them. And I'm not forgetting your good work either. Both of youwill receive more tangible evidence of my appreciation. But Lucky reallydid the brainwork."

  "Awww," Lucky mumbled, "it wasn't much. Just a little common sense and,uh, a little luck."

  "It was damn fast thinking," the chief cut in belligerently, "you knewyour stunting over the base would drive me crazy. You knew I'd get somad I'd call out the base police and have you thrown in when you moored.And when you did moor and the crooks toppled out we were right on handto receive them. They were so weak from the shaking up you gave themthat they didn't have a chance."

  Lucky rolled innocent eyes to the ceiling. "Sometimes," he remarkedpiously, "stunting has its uses."

  "Congratulations," I said weakly. "You certainly used your head. Caughtthe chief's attention with your stunting and almost knocked the crooksout with it too. That's killing two birds with one stone, all right."Then another thought occurred to me.

  "How did you know I was in trouble?" I asked curiously. "How did youknow we had those crooks on board?"

  "Why--why," Lucky sputtered, "that was simple. I just happened to lookbehind me and I saw those boys piling into you. So I did a little fastthinking and then I whipped the ship into a few maneuvers and, like thechief says, they caught his eye all right."

  The chief was beaming fondly and I turned my head to hide the smile onmy lips. "So you just looked behind you," I muttered. "Well, Lucky, youcertainly are--and were."

  He grinned down at me and winked. "You said it, kid."

  I wanted to ask him a question then, but I decided to wait until we werealone. I closed my eyes and smiled again, thinking of his expressionwhen I would ask him how he had been able to look behind him and see mestruggling with those crooks, _when the door of the pilot's chamber wasclosed all the time_....

  THE END

  Transcriber's Note:

  This etext was produced from _Amazing Stories_ January 1943. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed. Minor spelling and typographical errors have been corrected without note.