Captain Future 07 - The Magician of Mars (Summer 1941) by Edmond Hamilton Page B

the green-lit clearing.
    And a giant Jovian, a Martian and a fat Earthman were rushing toward the unguarded door of the ship of the Futuremen.
    “They’re going to steal the Comet!” yelled Captain Future.
     

     
Chapter 6: Radite Trail
     
    CURT plunged forward with a yell, his proton pistol flashing in his hand. But he knew, even as he and the Futuremen started, that they were too late to intercept the three men racing for the Comet.
    A wiry little figure suddenly tumbled out of the ship, confronting the three criminals with a leveled proton gun. It was tough young Johnny Kirk. He fired the weapon, and its thin blue ray dropped the Martian in his tracks.
    “Good work, kid!” yelled Otho exultantly. “We’re coming!” The “Futuremen couldn’t shoot, for Johnny was between them and the criminals.
    The remaining two criminals, the giant Jovian and fat Earthman, heard the yell and they turned and saw the Futuremen rushing toward them. Hastily the two criminals turned and plunged back to their own ship. Young Johnny Kirk ran valorously after them, brandishing his weapon.
    “Stay back, Johnny!” Curt cried hastily. “Don’t —”
    His warning came too late. The audacious youngster had pursued the two outlaws right to the door of their craft. They turned on him suddenly, and the giant Jovian knocked his weapon aside before he could fire.
    Neither Captain Future nor the Futuremen dared pull trigger for fear of hitting the youngster. As they lunged forward, they saw the great Jovian fell Johnny with a blow that sent the Earth lad reeling into the open door of the criminals’ ship. The door of that little ship slammed shut, and with a screaming roar of rocket-tubes it zoomed up from the clearing into the planet-light.
    “After them!” Otho yelled furiously. “They’ve got the kid, blast them!”
    “If he hadn’t been so crazy daring, it wouldn’t have happened!” Grag boomed. “When he followed them back to their ship, they grabbed him for a hostage. They know we can’t attack them now.”
    “We’re going after them nevertheless!” Captain Future cried.
    He and the Futuremen were piling into the Comet by this time. Curt leaped into the pilot-chair, flicked the cyc-switch. He jammed the cyc-pedal to the floor and pulled the space-stick back. With a bursting roar of rocket-tubes, the ship climbed skyward.
    Up into the green glow of great Uranus they roared, after the fleeing ship of the criminals. They were high above the moon Ariel by now, and the Comet was swiftly overtaking the fleeing craft ahead. But at this moment an amazing phenomenon occurred.
    The fugitive ship of the criminals suddenly vanished from sight ahead. One moment it was clearly in view — the next moment, it was gone as though it had never existed.
    “Hell-hounds of Venus!” raved Otho furiously. “They’ve given us a clean slip!”
    It was the truth. Though Captain Future kept the Comet circling space for minutes, there was no sign anywhere of their quarry.
    “Quorn’s vanishing ship!” Curt gritted, tingling with anger. “It’s gone, and we can’t follow it. All they had to do was to shift it into the co-existing universe, and then laugh at our pursuit.”
    “There’s no doubt now that that is the secret of Quorn’s ship — the power to enter the other universe,” Simon rasped thoughtfully.
    “Not a doubt in the world,” Curt agreed bitterly. “They’ll travel safely through the space of that other universe for a distance, and then shift back into our own universe — millions of miles from here.”
    “Aren’t we going to do anything about it?” sputtered Otho.
    “Calm down, Otho,” Curt advised, repressing his own anger. “We won’t accomplish anything by dashing around space like a runaway meteor.”
    “But they’ve got young Johnny a prisoner!” Otho exclaimed. “I liked that youngster.”
    “So did I,” Curt Newton said. “They’ll pay for it if they harm the boy. But that’s got to come later.