Operation Terror by [pseud.] Murray Leinster
page 51 of 178 (28%)
page 51 of 178 (28%)
![]() | ![]() |
|
We couldn't fight any better for bein' together. We better scatter. I
call that settled. I'm scatterin'!" He crawled to Lockley in the darkness. "Where you diggin'? OK. I got it. Move aside an' give me room." "Everybody agrees on that?" asked Lockley. They did. Lockley was relieved. The chunky man dug busily. There was only the sound of breathing, and the occasional fall of thrown-out earth against the metal of the thing that confined them. The chunky man said briskly, "This dirt digs all right. We just got to make the hole bigger." In a little while the chunky man stopped, panting. The tall man said, "I'll take a shot at it." There was a breakthrough to the air outside. The atmosphere in the tank improved. The smell of fresh-dug dirt and cool night air was refreshing. The moustached man took his turn at digging. Lockley went at it again. Soon he whispered, "I think it's OK. I'll go ahead. No talking outside!" He shook hands all around, whispered "Good luck!" and squirmed through the opening to the night. Innumerable stars glittered in the sky. They were reflected on the water of the lake, here very close. Lockley moved silently. In the blackness just behind him, his eyes had become adjusted to almost complete darkness. He headed away from the shining water. He got brushwood between himself and his former companions. He |
|