Let 'Em Breathe Space! Page 9

Mullerwas willing to forget until he wanted to take a crack at Wilcox forpunishment. But....

  "I can," I answered. And then, because I was sick inside myself forcutting under Wilcox, I managed to add, "But I--I waive my chance atimmunity!"

  "Not accepted," Muller decided. "Jenny, will you draw?"

  It was pretty horrible. It was worse when the pairs compared straws.The animal feelings were out in the open then. Finally, Muller,Wilcox, and two crewmen dropped out. The rest of us went up to measureour straws.

  It took no more than a minute. I stood staring down at the ruler,trying to stretch the tiny thing I'd drawn. I could smell the sweatrising from my body. But I knew the answer. I had three hours left!

  * * * * *

  "Riggs, Oliver, Nolan, Harris, Tremaine, Napier and Grundy," Mullerannounced.

  A yell came from Grundy. He stood up, with the engine man namedOliver, and there was a gun in his hand. "No damned big brain'skicking me off my ship," he yelled. "You guys know me. Hey,_roooob_!"

  Oliver was with him, and the other three of the crew sprang into thegroup. I saw Muller duck a shot from Grundy's gun, and leap out of theroom. Then I was in it, heading for Grundy. Beside me, Peters wastrying to get a chair broken into pieces. I felt something hit myshoulder, and the shock knocked me downward, just as a shot whistledover my head.

  Gravity cut off!

  Someone bounced off me. I got a piece of the chair that floated by,found the end cracked and sharp, and tried to spin towards Grundy, butI couldn't see him. I heard Eve's voice yell over the other shouts. Ispotted the plate coming for me, but I was still in midair. It came onsteadily, edge on, and I felt it break against my forehead. Then Iblacked out.

  V

  I had the grandaddy of all headaches when I came to. Doc Napier's facewas over me, and Jenny and Muller were working on Bill Sanderson.There was a surprisingly small and painful lump on my head. Pietro andNapier helped me up, and I found I could stand after a minute.

  There were four bodies covered with sheets on the floor. "Grundy, PhilRiggs, Peters and a deckhand named Storm," Napier said. "Muller gaveus a whiff of gas and not quite in time."

  "Is the time up?" I asked. It was the only thing I could think of.

  Pietro shook his head sickly. "Lottery is off. Muller says we'll haveto hold another, since Storm and Peters were supposed to be safe. Butnot until tomorrow."

  Eve came in then, lugging coffee. Her eyes found me, and she managed abrief smile. "I gave the others coffee," she reported to Muller."They're pretty subdued now."

  "Mutiny!" Muller helped Jenny's brother to his feet and began helpinghim toward the door. "Mutiny! And I have to swallow that!"

  Pietro watched him go, and handed Eve back his cup. "And there's noway of knowing who was on which side. Dr. Napier, could you dosomething...."

  He held out his hands that were shaking, and Napier nodded. "I can usea sedative myself. Come on back with me."

  Eve and I wandered back to the kitchen. I was just getting my sensesback. The damned stupidity of it all. And now it would have to bedone over. Three of us still had to have our lives snuffed out so theothers could live--and we all had to go through hell again to find outwhich.

  Eve must have been thinking the same. She sank down on a little stool,and her hand came out to find mine. "For what? Paul, whoever poisonedthe plants knew it would go this far! He had to! What's to be gained?Particularly when he'd have to go through all this, too! He must havebeen crazy!"

  "Bullard couldn't have done it," I said slowly.

  "Why should it be Bullard? How do we know he was insane? Maybe when hewas shouting that he wouldn't tell, he was trying to make a bribe tosave his own life. Maybe he's as scared as we are. Maybe he was makingsense all along, if we'd only listened to him. He--"

  She stood up and started back toward the lockers, but I caught herhand. "Eve, he wouldn't have done it--the killer--if he'd had to gothrough the lottery! He knew he was safe! That's the one thing we'vebeen overlooking. The man to suspect is the only man who could be surehe would get back! My God, we saw him juggle those straws to saveJenny! He knew he'd control the lottery."

  She frowned. "But ... Paul, he practically suggested the lottery!Grundy brought it up, but he was all ready for it." The frownvanished, then returned. "But I still can't believe it."

  "He's the one who wanted to go back all the time. He kept insisting onit, but he had to get back without violating his contract." I grabbedher hand and started toward the nose of the ship, justifying it to heras I went. "The only man with a known motive for returning, the onlyone completely safe--and we didn't even think of it!"

  She was still frowning, but I wasn't wasting time. We came up thecorridor to the control room. Ahead the door was slightly open, and Icould hear a mutter of Jenny's voice. Then there was the tired rumbleof Muller.

  "I'll find a way, baby. I don't care how close they watch, we'll makeit work. Pick the straw with the crimp in the end--I can do that, evenif I can't push one out further again. I tell you, nothing's going tohappen to you."

  "But Bill--" she began.

  I hit the door, slamming it open. Muller sat on a narrow couch withJenny on his lap. I took off for him, not wasting a good chance whenhe was handicapped. But I hadn't counted on Jenny. She was up, andher head banged into my stomach before I knew she was coming. I feltthe wind knocked out, but I got her out of my way--to look up into themuzzle of a gun in Muller's hands.

  "You'll explain this, Mr. Tremaine," he said coldly. "In ten seconds,I'll have an explanation or a corpse."

  "Go ahead," I told him. "Shoot, damn you! You'll get away with this,too, I suppose. Mutiny, or something. And down in that rotten soul ofyours, I suppose you'll be gloating at how you made fools of us. Theonly man on board who was safe even from a lottery, and we couldn'tsee it. Jenny, I hope you'll be happy with this butcher. Very happy!"

  He never blinked. "Say that about the only safe man aboard again," hesuggested.

  I repeated it, with details. But he didn't like my account. He turnedto Eve, and motioned for her to take it up. She was frowning harder,and her voice was uncertain, but she summed up our reasons quicklyenough.

  And suddenly Muller was on his feet. "Mr. Tremaine, for a damnedidiot, you have a good brain. You found the key to the problem, evenif you couldn't find the lock. Do you know what happens to a captainwho permits a death lottery, even what I called a legal one? Hedoesn't captain a liner--he shoots himself after he delivers his ship,if he's wise! Come on, we'll find the one indispensable man. You stayhere, Jenny--you too, Eve!"

  Jenny whimpered, but stayed. Eve followed, and he made no comment. Andthen it hit me. The man who had _thought_ he was indispensable, andhence safe--the man I'd naturally known in the back of my head couldbe replaced, though no one else had known it until a little while ago.

  "He must have been sick when you ran me in as a ringer," I said, as wewalked down toward the engine hatch. "But why?"

  "I've just had a wild guess as to part of it," Muller said.

  * * * * *

  Wilcox was listening to the Buxtehude when we shoved the door of hisroom open, and he had his head back and eyes closed. He snapped toattention, and reached out with one hand toward a drawer beside him.Then he dropped his arm and stood up, to cut off the tape player.

  "Mr. Wilcox," Muller said quietly, holding the gun firmly on theengineer. "Mr. Wilcox, I've detected evidence of some of the Venusdrugs on your two assistants for some time. It's rather hard to missthe signs in their eyes. I've also known that Mr. Grundy was anaddict. I assumed that they were getting it from him naturally. And aslong as they performed their duties, I couldn't be choosy on an oldship like this. But for an officer to furnish such drugs--and tosmuggle them from Venus for sale to other planets--is something Icannot tolerate. It will make things much simpler if you willsurrender those drugs to me. I presume you keep them in those bottlesof wine you bring aboard?"

  Wilcox sh
ook his head slowly, settling back against the tape machine.Then he shrugged and bowed faintly. "The chianti, sir!"

  I turned my head toward the bottles, and Eve started forward. Then Iyelled as Wilcox shoved his hand down toward the tape machine. The guncame out on a spring as he touched it.

  Muller shot once, and the gun missed Wilcox's fingers as theengineer's hand went to his hip, where blood was flowing. He collapsedinto the chair behind him, staring at the spot stupidly. "I cut myteeth on _tough_ ships, Mr. Wilcox," Muller said savagely.

  The