Chapter XXI

But Blakeslee, the chief communications officer whose mind and body Kinnison was using, was already armed. Kinnison had seen to that. And as the base commander wrenched open the arms cabinet that happened for which the Lensman had been waiting. Helmuth's private lookout set began to draw current; that potentate himself was now looking on, and the enslaved observer had already begun to trace his beam. Therefore, as the raging commander of Boyssia's pirate base swung about with raised DeLameter he faced one already ablaze; and in a matter of seconds there was only a charred and smoking heap where the commander had stood.

Kinnison wondered that Helmuth's cold voice was not already snapping from the speaker, but he was soon to discover the reason for that silence. Unobserved by the Lensman, one of the observers had recovered sufficiently from his shocked amazement to turn in a riot alarm to the guard room. Five armed men answered that call on the double, stopped and glanced around.

"Guards! Blast Blakeslee down!" Helmuth's unmistakable voice blared from his speaker.

Obediently and manfully enough the five guards tried; and, had it actually been Blakeslee confronting them so defiantly, they probably would have succeeded. It was the body of the communications officer, it is true. The mind operating the muscles of that body, however, was the mind of Kimball Kinnison, gray Lensman, the fastest man with a ray pistol old Tellus had ever produced; keyed up, expecting the move, and with two DeLameters out and poised at hip! _This_ was the being whom Helmuth was so nonchalantly ordering his minions to slay! Faster than any watching eye could follow, five bolts of lightning flicked from Blakeslee's DeLameters. The last guard went down, his head a shriveled cinder, before a single pirate bolt could be loosed.

"You see, Helmuth," Kinnison spoke conversationally to the board, his voice dripping vitriol, "playing it safe from a distance, and making other men pull your chestnuts out of the fire, is a very fine trick as long as it works. But when it fails to work, as now, it puts your tail right into the wringer. I, for one, have been for a long time completely fed up on taking orders from a mere voice; especially from the voice of one whose entire method of operation proves him to be the most pitifully arrant coward in the galaxy."

"Observer! You other at the board!" snarled Helmuth, paying no attention to Kinnison's barbed shafts. "Sound the assembly--armed!"

"No use, Helmuth, he is stone deaf," Kinnison explained, voice sweetly venomous. "I am the only man in this base that you can talk to, and you won't be able to do even that very much longer."

"And you really think that you can get away with this mutiny--this barefaced insubordination--this defiance of _my_ authority?"

"Sure I can. That's what I have been explaining to you. If you were here in person, or ever had been; if any of the boys had ever seen you, or had ever known you as anything except a disembodied voice, maybe I couldn't. But, since nobody has ever seen even your face, that gives me a chance----"

* * * * *

In his distant base Helmuth's mind had flashed over every aspect of this unheard-of situation. He decided to play for time; therefore, even as his hands darted to buttons here and there, he spoke. "Do _you_ want to see my face?" he demanded. "If you do see it, no power in the galaxy----"

"Skip it, chief," sneered Kinnison. "Don't try to kid me into believing that you wouldn't kill me now, under any conditions, if you possibly could. As for your face, it makes no difference whatever to me, now, whether I ever see your ugly pan or not."

"Well, you shall!" And Helmuth's visage appeared, concentrating upon the rebellious officer a glare of such fury and such power that any ordinary man must have quailed. But not Blakeslee-Kinnison!

"Well! Not so bad, at that--the guy looks almost human!" Kinnison exclaimed, in the tone most carefully designed to drive even more frantic the helpless and inwardly raging pirate chieftain. "But I've got things to do. You can guess at what goes on around here from now on." And in the blaze of a DeLameter Helmuth's plate, set, and "eye" disappeared. Kinnison had also been playing for time, and his enslaved observer had checked and rechecked this second and highly important line to Helmuth's ultra-secret base.

Then, throughout the fortress, there blared out the urgent assembly call, to which the Lensman added, verbally: "This is a one-hundred-per-cent call-out, including crews of ships in dock as well as regular base personnel. Bring also the patrol nurses. Come as you are and come fast. The doors of the auditorium will be locked in five minutes and any man outside those doors will be given ample reason to wish that he had been on time."

* * * * *

The auditorium was right off the control room, and was so arranged that when a partition was rolled back the control room became its stage. All Boskonian bases were arranged thus, in order that the supervising officers at Grand Base could oversee, through their instruments upon the main panel, just such assemblies as this one was supposed to be. Every man hearing that call assumed that it came from Grand Base, and every man hurried to obey it.

Kinnison rolled back the partition between the two rooms and watched for ray pistols, as the men came streaming into the auditorium. Ordinarily only the guards went armed--three of them were left--but possibly a few of the ship's officers would be wearing their DeLameters.... Four--five--six--the captain and the pilot of the battleship that had captured the nurses, and a vice commander of another, besides the three guards. Knives, billies, and such did not count.

"Time's up. Lock the doors. Bring the keys and the nurses up here," he ordered the six armed men, calling each by name. "You women take these chairs over here; you men sit there."

Then, when all were seated, Kinnison touched a button and the steel partition slid smoothly into place.

"What's coming off here?" demanded a guard. "Where's the commander? How about Grand Base? Look at that board!"

"Sit tight," Kinnison directed. "Hands on knees. I'll burn any or all of you that make a move. I have already burned the old man and five guards, and have put Grand Base out of the picture. Now I want to find out just how we seven stand." The Lensman already knew, but he was not tipping his hand.

"Why we seven?"

"Because we are the only ones who happened to be wearing guns. Every one else of the entire personnel is unarmed and is now locked in the auditorium. You know how apt they are to get out until one of us lets them out."

"But Helmuth--he'll have you blasted for this!"

"Hardly. My plans were not made yesterday. How many of you fellows are with me?"

"What's your scheme?" demanded the vice commander.

"To take these nurses to some patrol base and surrender. I'm sick of this whole game; and, since none of them have been hurt, I figure they'll bring us a pardon and a fresh start--a light sentence at least."

"Oh, so _that's_ the reason----" growled the captain.

"Exactly. But I don't want any one with me whose only thought would be to burn me down at the first opportunity."

"Count me in," declared the pilot. "I've got a strong stomach, but enough of these jobbies is altogether too much. If you can wangle anything short of a life sentence for me I'll go back, but I bloody well won't help you against the----"

"Sure not. Not until after we're out in space. I don't need any help here."

"Do you want my DeLameter?"

"No, keep it. You won't use it on me. Anybody else?"

One guard joined the pilot, standing aside; the other four wavered.

"Time's up!" Kinnison snapped. "Now, you four fellows, either go for your guns or else turn your backs, and do it right now!"

They elected to turn their backs and Kinnison collected their weapons, one by one. Having disarmed them, he again rolled back the partition and ordered them to join the wondering throng in the auditorium. He then addressed the assemblage, telling them what he had done and what he had it in mind to do.

"A good many of you must be fed up on this lawless game of piracy and anxious to resume association with decent men, if you can do so without incurring too great a punishment," he concluded. "I feel quite certain that those of us who man the hospital ship in order to return these nurses to the patrol will get light sentences, at most. Miss MacDougall is head nurse. We will ask her what she thinks."

"Better than that," Mac replied clearly. "I am not merely 'quite certain,' either--I am absolutely sure that whatever men Mr. Blakeslee selects for his crew will not be given any sentences at all. They will be pardoned, and will be given chances at jobs in the merchant service."

"How do you know, miss?" asked one. "We're a black lot."

"I know you are," she replied serenely. "I won't say how I know, but you can take my word for it that I _do_ know."

* * * * *

"Those of you who want to take a chance with us line up over here," Kinnison directed, and walked rapidly down the line, reading the mind of each man in turn. Many of them he waved back into the main group, as he found thoughts of treachery or signs of inherent criminality. Those he selected were those who were really sincere in their desire to quit forever the ranks of Boskone, those who were in those ranks because of some press of circumstance rather than because of a mental taint. As each man passed inspection he armed himself from the cabinet and stood at ease before the group of women.

Having selected his crew, the Lensman operated the controls that opened the exit nearest the hospital ship, blasted away the panel, so that that exit could not be closed, unlocked a door, and turned to the pirates.

"Vice Commander Krimsky, as senior officer you are now in command of this base," he remarked. "While I am in no sense giving you orders, there are a few matters about which you should be informed. First, I set no definite time as to when you may leave this room. I merely state that you will find it decidedly unhealthy to follow us at all closely as we go from here to the hospital ship. Second, you haven't a ship fit to take the ether, as your blast levers have all been broken off at the pivots. If your mechanics work at top speed, new ones can be put on in exactly two hours. Third, there is going to be a very severe earthquake in precisely two hours and thirty minutes, one which should make this base merely a memory."

"An earthquake! Don't bluff, Blakeslee. You couldn't do _that_!"

"Well, perhaps not a regular earthquake, but something that will do just as well. If you think I am bluffing, wait and find out. But common sense should give you the answer to that. I know exactly what Helmuth is doing now, whether you do or not. At first I intended to wipe you all out without warning, but I changed my mind. I decided that I would rather leave you alive, so that you could report to Helmuth exactly what happened. I wish that I could be watching him when he finds out how badly one man rooked him, and how far from foolproof his system is. But we can't have everything. Let's go, folks!"

As the group hurried away, Mac loitered until she was near the form of Blakeslee, who was bringing up the rear.

"Where are you, Kim?" she whispered urgently.

"I'll join up at the next corridor. Keep further ahead, and get ready to run when we do!"

* * * * *

As they passed that corridor a figure in gray leather, carrying an extremely heavy object, stepped out of it. Kinnison himself set his burden down, yanked a lever, and ran. And as he ran fountains of intolerable heat erupted and cascaded from the mechanism he had left upon the floor. Just ahead of him, but at some distance behind the others, ran Blakeslee and Mac.

"Gosh, I'm glad to see you, Kim!" she panted, as the Lensman caught up with them and all three slowed down. "What is that thing back there?"

"Nothing much--just a KJ4Z hot-shot. Won't do any real damage--just melt this tunnel down so that they can't interfere with our get-away."

"Then you _were_ bluffing about the earthquake?" she asked, a shade of disappointment in her tone.

"Hardly," he reproved her. "That isn't due for two hours and a half yet, but it'll happen on schedule time."

"How?"

"You remember about the curious cat, don't you? However, no particular secret about it, I guess--ten duodec bombs placed where they'll do the most good, and timed for exactly simultaneous detonation. Here we are. Don't tell anybody I'm here."

Aboard the vessel, Kinnison disappeared into a stateroom while Blakeslee continued in charge. Men were divided into watches; duties were assigned; inspections were made, and the ship shot into the air. There was a brief halt to pick up Kinnison's speedster; then, again on the way, Blakeslee turned the board over to Crandall, the pilot, and went into Kinnison's room.

There the Lensman withdrew his control, leaving intact the memory of everything that had happened. For minutes Blakeslee was almost in a daze, but struggled through it and held out his hand.

"Mighty glad to meet you, Lensman. Thanks. All I can say is that after I got sucked in I couldn't----"

"Sure, I know all about it. That was one of the reasons I picked you out. Your subconsciousness didn't fight back a bit, at any time. You are to be in charge, from here to Tellus. Please go and chase everybody out of the control room except Crandall."

"Say, I just thought of something!" exclaimed Blakeslee, when Kinnison joined the two officers at the board. "You must be that particular Lensman who has been getting in Helmuth's hair so much lately!"

"Probably. That's my chief aim in life."

"I'd like to see Helmuth's face when he gets the report of this. I've said that before, haven't I? But I mean it now, even more than I did before."

"I'm thinking of Helmuth, too, but not that way." The pilot had been scowling at his plate, and now turned to Blakeslee and the Lensman, glancing curiously from one to the other. "Oh, I say----A Lensman, what? A bit of good old light begins to dawn; but that can wait. Helmuth is after us, foot, horse, and marines. Look at that plate!"

"Four of them already!" exclaimed Blakeslee. "And there's another! And we haven't got a beam hot enough to light a cigarette, nor a screen strong enough to stop a firecracker. We've got legs, but not as many as Helmuth's fliers. You knew all about that, though, of course, before we started; and from what you have pulled off so far you've got something left on the hooks. What is it? What's the answer?"

"Indetectability," replied Kinnison. "We can detect them, but they can't detect us. All you have to do is to stay out of range of their electros and drill for Tellus."

"That's hard to believe, but it must be true. There are nine ships on the plates now: all Boskonians and all certainly looking for us, but not a one of them has paid any attention to us."

"Nor will they. And, by the way, who or what is Boskone?"

"Nobody knows. Helmuth speaks for Boskone, and nobody else ever does, not even Boskone himself--if there is such a person. Nobody can prove it, but everybody knows that Helmuth and Boskone are simply two names for the same man. Helmuth, you know, is only a voice. Nobody ever saw his face until to-day."

"I'm beginning to think so, myself." And Kinnison strode away, to call at the office of Head Nurse MacDougall.

"Mac, here's a small, but highly important box," he told her, taking the neutralizer from his pocket and handing it to her. "Put it in your locker until you get to Tellus. Then take it, yourself, and give it to Haynes, himself, in person, and to nobody else. Just tell him I sent it. He'll know all about it."

"But why not keep it and give it to him yourself? You're coming with us, aren't you?"

"Probably not all the way. I imagine I'll have to shove off before we get back to Tellus."

"But I want to talk to you!" she exclaimed. "Why, I've got a million questions to ask you!"

"That would take a long time"--he grinned at her--"and time is just what we don't have right now, either of us." And he strode back to the board.

* * * * *

He labored for hours at a calculating machine and in the tank; finally to squat down upon his heels, staring at two needlelike rays of light in the tank and whistling softly between his teeth. For those two lines, while exactly in the same plane, did not intersect in the tank at all! Estimating as carefully as he could the point of intersection of the lines, he punched the "cancel" key to wipe out all traces of his work and went to the chart room. Chart after chart he hauled down, and for many minutes he worked with calipers, compass, goniometer, and a carefully set adjustable triangle. Finally he marked a point--exactly upon a small, plain dot already upon the chart--and again whistled.

"Huh!" he grunted. He rechecked all his figures and retraversed the chart, only to have his needle pierce again the same tiny, unmarked dot. He stared at it for a full minute, studying the map all around his marker.

"Star Cluster AC 257-4736," he ruminated. "The smallest, most insignificant, least-known star cluster he could find, and my largest possible error can't put it anywhere else. Kind of thought it might be in a cluster, but I never would have looked _there_. No wonder it took a lot of stuff to trace his beam. It would have to be four numbers Brinnell harder than a diamond drill to work from there."

Again whistling tunelessly to himself, he rolled up the chart upon which he had been at work, stuck it under his arm, replaced the others in their compartments, and went back to the control room.

"How's tricks, fellows?" he asked.

"QX," replied Blakeslee. "We're through them and into clear ether. Not a ship on the plate, and nobody gave us even a tumble."

"Fine! You won't have any trouble, then, from here in to Prime Base. Glad of it, too. I've got to flit. That'll mean long watches for you two, but it can't very well be helped."

"But I say, old bird, I don't mind the watches, but----"

"Don't worry about that, either. This crew can be trusted, to a man. Not one of you joined the pirates of your own free will, and not one of you has ever taken an active part----"

"What are you, a mind reader or something?" Crandall burst out.

"Something like that," Kinnison assented with a grin.

Blakeslee put in, "More than that, you mean. Something like hypnosis, only more so. You think that I had something to do with this, but I didn't. The Lensman did it all himself."

"Um-m-m." Crandall stared at Kinnison, new respect in his eyes. "I knew that unattached Lensmen were good, but I had no idea they were _that_ good. No wonder Helmuth has been getting his wind up about you. I'll string along with any one who can take a whole base, single-handed, and make such a bally ass to boot out of such a keen old bird as Helmuth is. But I'm in a bit of a dither, not to say a funk, about what is going to happen when we pop into Prime Base without you. Every man jack of us, you know, is slated for the lethal chamber without trial. Miss MacDougall will do her bit, of course, but what I mean is, has she enough jets to swing it?"

"I think that she has; but to avoid all argument I've fixed that up, too. Here's a tape, telling all about what happened. It ends up with my recommendation for a full pardon for each of you, and for a job at whatever he is found best fitted for. It is signed with my thumb print. Give it or send it to Port Admiral Haynes as soon as you land. I've got enough jets, I think, so that it will go as it lays."

"Jets? You? Right-o! You've got jets enough to lift fourteen freighters off the North Pole of Valeria. What next?"

"Stores and supplies for my speedster. I'm doing a long flit and this ship has supplies to burn, so I'd like to have my little can loaded, Plimsoll down."

* * * * *

The speedster was stocked forthwith. Then, with nothing more than a casually waved salute in the way of farewell, Kinnison boarded his tiny space ship and shot away toward his distant goal. Crandall, the pilot, sought his bunk; while Blakeslee started his long trick at the board. In an hour or so the head nurse strolled in.

"Kim?" she queried, doubtfully.

"No, Miss MacDougall. It's Blakeslee. Sorry----"

"Oh, I'm glad of that. That means that everything is settled. Where's the Lensman--in bed?"

"He has gone, miss."

"Gone! Without a word? Where?"

"He didn't say."

"He wouldn't, of course." The nurse turned away, exclaiming inaudibly, "Gone! I'd like to cuff him for that, the lug! _Gone!_ Why, the great, big, lobsterly clunker!"