Slaves of Mercury

e Wander

the smiling Earth that rose rapidly to greet it. Only the instinctive ease o

ds in Earth's stratosphere, and out

t was only a dream, and he'd wake up among the unhuman glittering cylinder

en of the grass and the gracious lines of the slender birches as they fluttered their leaves dai

s the only heaven; beyond-that far-flung immensity of planetary orbs-was hell! He

mrades? Five years? God! Had it been so long? Yet here he was, back on Earth again, the kindly, blessed Earth their eyes

rt; Martin had been engulfed in an unholy maw on Ganymede; Dorn was a frozen idol to the spiral beings of Pluto; and poor Hurley,

the sole survivor of t

ory he had to relate-how the Earth people would hang with bated breath upon his adventurings! And Joan-his heart gave a queer leap at the thought of that slender ardent wisp of a girl with

ort his return. He smiled at the stupefaction that would greet him. No doubt he had long been given up for dead. The world had been skeptical of the space ship he had invented; had, except for a faithful f

e controls, sealed the outer air-lock. Hilary Grendon w

apos, some forty miles from New York. Sooner or later, he reasoned, he would strike one of the radia

shining length in ceaseless rush down the narrow valley. Human beings-normal homely Earth men with the ordinary number of legs and arms, with honest-to-God faces and warm living flesh, were seated on the conveyor-benches a

d his way across the graded speed belts until he was o

self at the excited astonishment of this impassive stranger if he should announce himself. How should he do it? Should he remark casually without any preamble: "Pardon me for addressing you, sir, but I'm

him, looking neither to the left nor to the right. It did not seem as if he were aware of Hilary'

tartled him. English was an alien language to his unaccus

onplace introduction; that he might once more hear normal Earth tones

aight ahead, immobile, fixed. There was no slightest tu

he was roaming the spaces? He leaned over, harsh words tumbling for exit, when suddenly he checked himself. There was something strange about that fier

nor did he stir from his unvarying pose. Deaf! The returned Earth

of clenched teeth. Dumb, too! His face jerked around to the direction of Hilary's gentle prodding. Merciful heavens

low to follow; as though it were the last straw on the back of unmentionable former agonies. Hilary shuddered. It was not good to witness such animal fea

had he seen the man before? Suddenly he stiffened, choking an exclamation. The man was bound immovably to his seat. T

y Earth seemed suddenly grown inimical. What had happened in the five long years of his absence? This would have been impossible on

ous pocket he fished a sheathed blade of stellite, tripl

conveyor. But a smothered nearby gasp caused his head to jerk up. He met the incredulous stare of a paunchy, heavy-jowled man

way to unrea

," he called sharply. "Give me

forehead as he backed cautiously away. He tripped over the edge of the seat behind, and fell. Once more he scrambled to his feet, and as if

od Lord," he thought, "does my face frighten

d moving away from there with unostentatious celerity. Hilary surveyed their receding backs thoughtfully. What was there about himself

cal belts, and then he was carried swiftly past. Only one man remained stubbornly in his seat, some fifteen

he bite of stellite upon his fetters. Hilary made soothing sounds, forgetful that he could not hear, and worked stead

ead sharply, saw the landscape blotted out by a huge overshadowing bulk. Five years in a hostile universe had made