"Eh? What is it, Charlie?"
"How does a guy go about getting rich, like you did?"
"Getting rich? I can"t say; I never tried to get rich. I never wanted to be rich, or well known, or anything like that."
"Huh?"
"No, I just wanted to live a long time and see it all happen. I wasn"t unusual; there were lots of boys like me -- radio hams, they were, and telescope builders, and airplane amateurs. We had science clubs, and bas.e.m.e.nt laboratories, and science-fiction leagues -- the kind of boys who thought there was more romance in one issue of the _Electrical Experimenter_ than in all the books Dumas ever wrote. We didn"t want to be one of Horatio Alger"s Get-Rich heroes either, we wanted to build s.p.a.ce ships. Well, some of us did."
"Jeez, Pop, you make it sound exciting."
"It was exciting, Charlie. This has been a wonderful, romantic century, for all of its bad points. And it"s grown more wonderful and more exciting every year. No, I didn"t want to be rich; I just wanted to live long enough to see men rise up to the stars, and, if G.o.d was good to me, to go as far as the Moon myself." He carefully deposited an inch of white ash in a saucer. "It has been a good life. I haven"t any complaints."
McIntyre pushed back his chair. "Come on, Charlie, if you"re ready."
They all got up. Harriman started to speak, then grabbed at his chest, his face a dead grey-white. "Catch him, Mac!"
"Where"s his medicine?"
"In his vest pocket."
They eased him over to a couch, broke a small gla.s.s capsule in a handkerchisf, and held it under his nose. The volatile released by the capsule seemed to bring a little color into his face. They did what little they could for him, then waited for him to regain consciousness.
Charlie broke the uneasy silence. "Mac, we ain"t going through with this."
"Why not?"
"It"s murder. He"ll never stand up under the initial acceleration."
"Maybe not, but it"s what he wants to do. You heard him."
"But we oughtn"t to let him."
"Why not? It"s neither your business, nor the business of this d.a.m.n paternalistic government, to tell a man not to risk his life doing what he really wants to do."
"All the same, I don"t feel right about it. He"s such a swell old duck."
"Then what d"yuh want to do with him -- send him back to Kansas City so those old harpies can shut him up in a laughing academy till he dies of a broken heart?"
"N-no-o-o -- not that."
"Get out there, and make your set-up for those test runs. I"ll be along."
A wide-tired desert runabout rolled in the ranch yard gate the next morning and stopped in front of the house. A heavy-set man with a firm, but kindly, face climbed out and spoke to McIntyre, who approached to meet him.
"You James Mcintyre?"
"What about it?"
"I"m the deputy federal marshal hereabouts. I got a warrant for your arrest."
"What"s the charge?"
"Conspiracy to violate the s.p.a.ce Precautionary Act."
Charlie joined the pair. "What"s up, Mac?"
The deputy answered. "You"d be Charles c.u.mmings, I guess. Warrant here for you. Got one for a man named Harriman, too, and a court order to put seals on your s.p.a.ce ship."
"We"ve no s.p.a.ce ship."
"What d"yuh keep in that big shed?"
"Strato yacht."
"So? Well, I"ll put seals on her until a s.p.a.ce ship comes along. Where"s Harriman?"
"Right in there." Charlie obliged by pointing, ignoring McIntyre"s scowl.
The deputy turned his head. Charlie couldn"t have missed the b.u.t.ton by a fraction of an inch for the deputy collapsed quietly to the ground. Charlie stood over him, rubbing his knuckles and mourning.
"d.a.m.n it to h.e.l.l -- that"s the finger I broke playing shortstop. I"m always hurting that finger."
"Get Pop into the cabin," Mac cut him short, "and strap him into his hammock."
"Aye aye, Skipper."
They dragged the ship by tractor out of the hangar, turned, and went out the desert plain to find elbow room for the take-off. They climbed in. McIntyre saw the deputy from his starboard conning port. He was staring disconsolately after them.
Mcintyre fastened his safety belt, settled his corset, and spoke into the engineroom speaking tube. "All set, Charlie?"
"All set, Skipper. But you can"t raise ship yet, Mac -- _She ain"t named!_"
"No time for your superst.i.tions!"
Harriman"s thin voice reached them. "Call her the _Lunatic_ -- It"s the only appropriate name!"
McIntyre settled his head into the pads, punched two keys, then three more in rapid succession, and the _Lunatic_ raised ground.
"How are you, Pop?"
Charlie searched the old man"s face anxiously. Harriman licked his lips and managed to speak. "Doing fine, son. Couldn"t be better."
"The acceleration is over; it won"t be so bad from here on. I"ll unstrap you so you can wiggle around a little. But I think you"d better stay in the hammock." He tugged at buckles. Harriman partially repressed a groan.
"What is it, Pop?"
"Nothing. Nothing at all. Just go easy on that side."