Bird Beast Or Fish?

: The Skylark Of Space

"These jewels rather puzzle me, Dick. What are they?" asked Martin, as

the four assembled, waiting for the first meal. As he spoke he held up

his third finger, upon which gleamed the royal jewel of Osnome in its

splendid Belcher mounting of arenak as transparent as the jewel itself

and having the same intense blue color. "I know the name, 'faidon,' but

that's all I seem to know."



"That's about all that an
body knows about them. It is a

naturally-occurring, hundred-faceted crystal, just as you see it

there--deep blue, perfectly transparent, intensely refractive, and

constantly emitting that strong, blue light. It is so hard that it

cannot be worked, cut, or ground. No amount of the hardest known

abrasive will even roughen its surface. No blow, however great, will

break it--it merely forces its way into the material of the hammer,

however hard the hammer may be. No extremity of either heat or cold

affects it in any degree, it is the same when in the most powerful

electric arc as it is when immersed in liquid helium."



"How about acids?"



"That is what I am asking myself. Osnomians aren't much force at

chemistry. I'm going to try to get hold of another one, and see if I

can't analyze it, just for fun. I can't seem to convince myself that a

real atomic structure could be that large."



"No, it is rather large for an atom," and turning to the two girls, "How

do you like your solitaires?"



"They're perfectly beautiful, and the Tiffany mounting is exquisite,"

replied Dorothy, enthusiastically, "but they're so awfully big! They're

as big as ten-carat diamonds, I do believe."



"Just about," replied Seaton, "but at that, they're the smallest Dunark

could find. They have been kicking around for years, he says--so small

that nobody wanted them. They wear big ones on their bracelets, you

know. You sure will make a hit in Washington, Dottie. People will think

you're wearing a bottle-stopper until they see it shining in the dark,

then they'll think it's an automobile headlight. But after a few

jewelers have seen these stones, one of them will be offering us five

million dollars apiece for them, trying to buy them for some dizzy old

dame who wants to put out the eyes of some of her social rivals. Yes?

No?"



"That's about right, Dick," replied Crane, and his face wore a

thoughtful look. "We can't keep it secret that we have a new jewel,

since all four of us will be wearing them continuously, and anyone who

knows jewels at all will recognize these as infinitely superior to any

known Earthly jewel. In fact, they may get some of us into trouble, as

fabulously valuable jewels usually do."



"That's true, too. So we'll let it out casually that they're as common

as mud up here--that we're just wearing them for sentiment, which is

true, and that we're thinking of bringing back a shipload to sell for

parking lights."



"That would probably keep anyone from trying to murder our wives for

their rings, at least."



"Have you read your marriage certificate, Dick?" asked Margaret.



"Not yet. Let's look at it, Dottie."



She produced the massive, heavily-jeweled document, and the auburn head

and the brown one were very close to each other as they read together

the English side of the certificate. Their vows were there, word for

word, with their own signatures beneath them, all deeply engraved into

the metal. Seaton smiled as he saw the legal form engraved below their

signatures, and read aloud:



"I, the Head of the Church and the Commander-in-Chief of the armed

forces of Kondal, upon the planet Osnome, certify that I have this

day, in the city of Kondalek, of said nation and planet, joined in

indissoluble bonds of matrimony, Richard Ballinger Seaton, Doctor

of Philosophy, and Dorothy Lee Vaneman; Doctor of Music; both of

the city of Washington, District of Columbia, United States of

America, upon the planet Earth, in strict compliance with the

marriage laws, both of Kondal and of the United States of America.



TARNAN."



Witnesses:

ROBAN, Emperor of Kondal.

TURAL, Empress of Kondal.

DUNARK, Crown Prince of Kondal.

SITAR, Crown Princess of Kondal.

MARC C. DUQUESNE, Ph. D., Washington, D. C.



"That is SOME document," remarked Seaton. "Probably a lawyer could find

fault with his phraseology, but I'll bet that this thing would hold in

any court in the world. Think you'll get married again when we get back,

Mart?"



Both girls protested, and Crane answered:



"No, I think not. Our ceremony would be rather an anticlimax after this

one, and this one will undoubtedly prove legal. I intend to register

this just as it is, and get a ruling from the courts. But it is time for

breakfast. Pardon me--I should have said 'darprat,' for it certainly is

not breakfast-time by Washington clocks. My watch says that it is

eleven-thirty P. M."



"This system of time is funny," remarked Dorothy. "I just can't get used

to having no night, and...."



"And it's such a long time between eats, as the famous governor said

about the drinks," broke in Seaton.



"How did you know what I was going to say, Dick?"



"Husbandly intuition," he grinned, "aided and abetted by a normal

appetite that rebels at seventeen hours between supper and breakfast,

and nine hours between the other meals. Well, it's time to eat--let's

go!"



* * * * *



After eating, the men hurried to the Skylark. During the sleeping-period

the vessel had been banded with the copper repellers: the machine guns

and instruments, including the wonderful Osnomian wireless system, had

been installed; and, except for the power-bars, she was ready for a

voyage. The Kondalian vessel was complete, even to the cushions, but was

without instruments.



After a brief conversation with the officer in charge, Dunark turned to

Seaton.



"Didn't you find that your springs couldn't stand up under the

acceleration?"



"Yes, they flattened out dead."



"The Kolanix Felan, in charge of the work, thought so, and substituted

our compound-compensated type, made of real spring metal, for them.

They'll hold you through any acceleration you can live through."



"Thanks, that's fine. What's next, instruments?"



"Yes. I have sent a crew of men to gather up what copper they can

find--you know that we use practically no metallic copper, as platinum,

gold, and silver are so much better for ordinary purposes--and another

to erect a copper-smelter near one of the mines which supply the city

with the copper sulphate used upon our tables. While they are at work I

think I will work on the instruments, if you two will be kind enough to

help me."



Seaton and Crane offered to supply him with instruments from their

reserve stock, but the Kofedix refused to accept them, saying that he

would rather have their help in making them, so that he would thoroughly

understand their functions. The electric furnaces were rapidly made

ready and they set to work; Crane taking great delight in working that

hitherto rare and very refractory metal, iridium, of which all the

Kondalian instruments were to be made.



"They have a lot of our rare metals here, Dick."



"They sure have. I'd like to set up a laboratory and live here a few

years--I'd learn something about my specialty or burst. They use gold

and silver where we use copper, and platinum and its alloys where we use

iron and soft steel. All their weapons are made of iridium, and all

their most highly-tempered tools, such as their knives, razors, and so

on, are made of opaque arenak. I suppose you've noticed the edge on your

razor?"



"How could I help it? It is hard to realize that a metal can be so hard

that it requires forty years on a diamond-dust abrasive machine to hone

a razor--or that once honed, it shaves generation after generation of

men without losing in any degree its keenness."



"I can't understand it, either--I only know that it's so. They have all

our heavy metals in great abundance, and a lot more that we don't know

anything about on Earth, but they apparently haven't any light metals at

all. It must be that Osnome was thrown off the parent sun late, so that

the light metals were all gone?"



"Something like that, possibly."



The extraordinary skill of the Kofedix made the manufacture of the

instruments a short task, and after Crane had replaced the few broken

instruments of the Skylark from their reserve stock, they turned their

attention to the supply of copper that had been gathered. They found it

enough for only two bars.



"Is this all we have?" asked Dunark, sharply.



"It is, your Highness," replied the Kolanix. "That is every scrap of

metallic copper in the city."



"Oh, well, that'll be enough to last until we can smelt the rest," said

Seaton. "With one bar apiece we're ready for anything Mardonale can

start. Let 'em come!"



The bars were placed in the containers and both vessels were tried out,

each making a perfect performance. Upon the following kokam, immediately

after the first meal, the full party from the Earth boarded the Skylark

and accompanied the Kofedix to the copper smelter. Dunark himself

directed the work of preparing the charges and the molds, though he was

continually being interrupted by wireless messages in code and by

messengers bearing tidings too important to trust into the air.



"I hope you will excuse all of these delays," said Dunark, after the

twentieth interruption, "but...."



"That's all right, Dunark. We know that you're a busy man."



"I can tell you about it, but I wouldn't want to tell many people. With

the salt you gave us, I am preparing a power-plant that will enable us

to blow Mardonale into...."



He broke off as a wireless call for help sounded. All listened intently,

learning that a freight-plane was being pursued by a karlon a few

hundred miles away.



"Now's the time for you to study one, Dunark!" Seaton exclaimed. "Get

your gang of scientists out here while we go get him and drag him in!"



* * * * *



As Dunark sent the message, the Skylark's people hurried aboard, and

Seaton drove the vessel toward the calls for help. With its great speed

it reached the monster before the plane was overtaken. Focusing the

attractor upon the enormous metallic beak of the karlon, Seaton threw on

the power and the beast halted in midair as it was jerked backward and

upward. As it saw the puny size of the attacking Skylark, it opened its

cavernous mouth in a horrible roar and rushed at full speed. Seaton,

unwilling to have the repellers stripped from the vessel, turned on the

current actuating them. The karlon was hurled backward to the point of

equilibrium of the two forces, where it struggled demoniacally.



Seaton carried his captive back to the smelter, where finally, by

judicious pushing and pulling, he succeeded in turning the monster flat

upon its back and pinning it to the ground in spite of its struggles to

escape.



Soon the scientists arrived and studied the animal thoroughly, at as

close a range as its flailing arms permitted.



"I wish we could kill him without blowing him to bits," wirelessed

Dunark. "Do you know any way of doing it?"



"We could if we had a few barrels of ether, or some of our own poison

gases, but they are all unknown here and it would take a long time to

build the apparatus to make them. I'll see if I can't tire him out and

get him that way as soon as you've studied him enough. We may be able to

find out where he lives, too."



The scientists having finished their observations, Seaton jerked the

animal a few miles into the air and shut off the forces acting upon it.

There was a sudden crash, and the karlon, knowing that this apparently

insignificant vessel was its master, turned in headlong flight.



"Have you any idea what caused the noise just then, Dick?" asked Crane;

who, with characteristic imperturbability, had taken out his notebook

and was making exact notes of all that transpired.



"I imagine we cracked a few of his plates," replied Seaton with a laugh,

as he held the Skylark in place a few hundred feet above the fleeing

animal.



Pitted for the first time in its life against an antagonist, who could

both outfly and outfight it, the karlon redoubled its efforts and fled

in a panic of fear. It flew back over the city of Kondalek, over the

outlying country, and out over the ocean, still followed easily by the

Skylark. As they neared the Mardonalian border, a fleet of warships rose

to contest the entry of the monster. Seaton, not wishing to let the foe

see the rejuvenated Skylark, jerked his captive high into the thin air.

As soon as it was released, it headed for the ocean in an almost

perpendicular dive, while Seaton focused an object-compass upon it.



"Go to it, old top," he addressed the plunging monster. "We'll follow

you clear to the bottom of the ocean if you go that far!"



There was a mighty double splash as the karlon struck the water, closely

followed by the Skylark. The girls gasped as the vessel plunged below

the surface at such terrific speed, and seemed surprised that it had

suffered no injury and that they had felt no jar. Seaton turned on the

powerful searchlights and kept close enough so that he could see the

monster through the transparent walls. Deeper and deeper the quarry

dove, until it was plainly evident to the pursuers that it was just as

much at home in the water as it was in the air. The beams of the lights

revealed strange forms of life, among which were huge, staring-eyed

fishes, which floundered about blindly in the unaccustomed glare. As the

karlon bored still deeper, the living things became scarcer, but still

occasional fleeting glimpses were obtained of the living nightmares

which inhabited the oppressive depths of these strange seas. Continuing

downward, the karlon plumbed the nethermost pit of the ocean and came to

rest upon the bottom, stirring up a murk of ooze.



"How deep are we, Mart?"



"About four miles. I have read the pressure, but will have to calculate

later exactly what depth it represents, from the gravity and density

readings."



As the animal showed no sign of leaving its retreat, Seaton pulled it

out with the attractor and it broke for the surface. Rising through the

water at full speed, it burst into the air and soared upward to such an

incredible height that Seaton was amazed.



"I wouldn't have believed that anything could fly in air this thin!" he

exclaimed.



"It is thin up here," assented Crane. "Less than three pounds to the

square inch. I wonder how he does it?"



"It doesn't look as though we are ever going to find out--he's sure a

bear-cat!" replied Seaton, as the karlon, unable to ascend further,

dropped in a slanting dive toward the lowlands of Kondal--the terrible,

swampy region covered with poisonous vegetation and inhabited by

frightful animals and even more frightful savages. The monster neared

the ground with ever-increasing speed. Seaton, keeping close behind it,

remarked to Crane:



"He'll have to flatten out pretty quick, or he'll burst something,

sure."



* * * * *



But it did not flatten out. It struck the soft ground head foremost and

disappeared, its tentacles apparently boring a way ahead of it.



Astonished at such an unlooked-for development, Seaton brought the

Skylark to a stop and stabbed into the ground with the attractor. The

first attempt brought up nothing but a pillar of muck, the second

brought to light a couple of wings and one writhing arm, the third

brought the whole animal, still struggling as strongly as it had in the

first contest. Seaton again lifted the animal high into the air.



"If he does that again, we'll follow him."



"Will the ship stand it?" asked DuQuesne, with interest.



"Yes. The old bus wouldn't have, but this one can stand anything. We can

go anywhere that thing can, that's a cinch. If we have enough power on,

we probably won't even feel a jolt when we strike ground."



Seaton reduced the force acting upon the animal until just enough was

left to keep the attractor upon it, and it again dived into the swamp.

The Skylark followed, feeling its way in the total darkness, until the

animal stopped, refusing to move in any direction, at a depth estimated

by Crane to be about three-quarters of a mile. After waiting some time

Seaton increased the power of the attractor and tore the karlon back to

the surface and into the air, where it turned on the Skylark with

redoubled fury.



"We've dug him out of his last refuge and he's fighting like a cornered

rat," said Seaton as he repelled the monster to a safe distance. "He's

apparently as fresh as when he started, in spite of all this playing.

Talk about a game fish! He doesn't intend to run any more, though, so I

guess we'll have to put him away. It's a shame to bump him off, but it's

got to be done."



Crane aimed one of the heavy X-plosive bullets at the

savagely-struggling monster, and the earth rocked with the concussion as

the shell struck its mark. They hurried back to the smelter, where

Dunark asked eagerly:



"What did you find out about it?"



"Nothing much," replied Seaton, and in a few words described the actions

of the karlon. "What did your savants think of it?"



"Very little that any of us can understand in terms of any other known

organism. It seems to combine all the characteristics of bird, beast,

and fish, and to have within itself the possibilities of both bisexual

and asexual reproduction."



"I wouldn't doubt it--it's a queer one, all right."



The copper bars were cool enough to handle, and the Skylark was loaded

with five times its original supply of copper, the other vessel taking

on a much smaller amount. After the Kofedix had directed the officer in

charge to place the remaining bars in easily-accessible places

throughout the nation, the two vessels were piloted back to the palace,

arriving just in time for the last meal of the kokam.



"Well, Dunark," said Seaton after the meal was over, "I'm afraid that we

must go back as soon as we can. Dorothy's parents and Martin's bankers

will think they are dead by this time. We should start right now,

but...."



"Oh, no, you must not do that. That would rob our people of the chance

of bidding you goodbye."



"There's another reason, too. I have a mighty big favor to ask of you."



"It is granted. If man can do it, consider it done."



"Well, you know platinum is a very scarce and highly useful metal with

us. I wonder if you could let us have a few tons of it? And I would like

to have another faidon, too--I want to see if I can't analyze it."



"You have given us a thousand times the value of all the platinum and

all the jewels your vessel can carry. As soon as the foundries are open

tomorrow we will go and load up your store-rooms--or, if you wish, we

will do it now."



"That isn't necessary. We may as well enjoy your hospitality for one

more sleeping-period, get the platinum during the first work-period, and

bid you goodbye just before the second meal. How would that be?"



"Perfectly satisfactory."



The following kokam, Dunark piloted the Skylark, with Seaton, Crane, and

DuQuesne as crew, to one of the great platinum foundries. The girls

remained behind to get ready for their departure, and for the great

ceremony which was to precede it. The trip to the foundry was a short

one, and the three scientists of Earth stared at what they

saw--thousands of tons of platinum, cast into bars and piled up like

pig-iron, waiting to be made into numerous articles of every-day use

throughout the nation. Dunark wrote out an order, which his chief

attendant handed to the officer in charge of the foundry, saying:



"Please have it loaded at once."



Seaton indicated the storage compartment into which the metal was to be

carried, and a procession of slaves, two men staggering under one ingot,

was soon formed between the pile and the storage room.



* * * * *



"How much are you loading on, Dunark?" asked Seaton, when the large

compartment was more than half full.



"My order called for about twenty tons, in your weight, but I changed it

later--we may as well fill that room full, so that the metal will not

rattle around in flight. It doesn't make any difference to us, we have

so much of it. It is like your gift of the salt, only vastly smaller."



"What are you going to do with it all, Dick?" asked Crane. "That is

enough to break the platinum market completely."



"That's exactly what I'm going to do," returned Seaton, with a gleam in

his gray eyes. "I'm going to burst this unjustifiable fad for platinum

jewelry so wide open that it'll never recover, and make platinum again

available for its proper uses, in laboratories and in the industries.



"You know yourself," he rushed on hotly, "that the only reason platinum

is used at all for jewelry is that it is expensive. It isn't nearly so

handsome as either gold or silver, and if it wasn't the most costly

common metal we have, the jewelry-wearing crowd wouldn't touch it with a

ten-foot pole. Useless as an ornament, it is the one absolutely

indispensable laboratory metal, and literally hundreds of laboratories

that need it can't have it because over half the world's supply is tied

up in jeweler's windows and in useless baubles. Then, too, it is the

best thing known for contact points in electrical machinery. When the

Government and all the scientific societies were abjectly begging the

jewelers to let loose a little of it they refused--they were selling it

to profiteering spendthrifts at a hundred and fifty dollars an ounce.

The condition isn't much better right now; it's a vicious circle. As

long as the price stays high it will be used for jewelry, and as long as

it is used for jewelry the price will stay high, and scientists will

have to fight the jewelers for what little they get."



"While somewhat exaggerated, that is about the way matters stand. I will

admit that I, too, am rather bitter on the subject," said Crane.



"Bitter? Of course you're bitter. Everybody is who knows anything about

science and who has a brain in his head. Anybody who claims to be a

scientist and yet stands for any of his folks buying platinum jewelry

ought to be shot. But they'll get theirs as soon as we get back. They

wouldn't let go of it before, they had too good a thing, but they'll let

go now, and get their fingers burned besides. I'm going to dump this

whole shipment at fifty cents a pound, and we'll take mighty good care

that jewelers don't corner the supply."



"I'm with you, Dick, as usual."





Soon the storage room was filled to the ceiling with closely-stacked

ingots of the precious metal, and the Skylark was driven back to the

landing dock. She alighted beside Dunark's vessel, the Kondal, whose

gorgeously-decorated crew of high officers sprang to attention as the

four men stepped out. All were dressed for the ceremonial leave-taking,

the three Americans wearing their spotless white, the Kondalians wearing

their most resplendent trappings.



"This formal stuff sure does pull my cork!" exclaimed Seaton to Dunark.

"I want to get this straight. The arrangement was that we were to be

here at this time, all dressed up, and wait for the ladies, who are

coming under the escort of your people?"



"Yes. Our family is to escort the ladies from the palace here. As they

leave the elevator the surrounding war-vessels will salute, and after a

brief ceremony you two will escort your wives into the Skylark, Doctor

DuQuesne standing a little apart and following you in. The war-vessels

will escort you as high as they can go, and the Kondal will accompany

you as far as our most distant sun before turning back."



For a few moments Seaton nervously paced a short beat in front of the

door of the space-car.



"I'm getting more fussed every second," he said abruptly, taking out his

wireless instrument. "I'm going to see if they aren't about ready."



"What seems to be the trouble, Dick? Have you another hunch, or are you

just rattled?" asked Crane.



"Rattled, I guess, but I sure do want to get going," he replied, as he

worked the lever rapidly.



"Dottie," he sent out, and, the call being answered, "How long will you

be? We're all ready and waiting, chewing our finger-nails with

impatience."



"We'll soon be ready. The Karfedix is coming for us now."



Scarcely had the tiny sounder become silent when the air was shaken by

an urgently-vibrated message, and every wireless sounder gave warning.



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