Cornelius waited it out, letting Anglesey storm on while he himself turned over the problem of K-tube oscillation.
They dont understand back on Earth. Even here they dont. Sometimes I think they refuse to understand. Joes down there without much more than his bare hands. He, I, we started with no more knowledge than that he could probably eat the local life. He has to spend nearly all his time hunting for food. Its a miracle hes come as far as he has in these few weeksmade a shelter, grown familiar with the immediate region, begun on metallurgy, hydrurgy, whatever you want to call it. What more do they want me to do, for crying in the beer?
Yes, yes, mumbled Cornelius. Yes, I…
Anglesey raised his white bony face. Something ifimed over in his eyes.
What began Cornelius.
Shut up! Anglesey whipped the chair around, groped for the helmet, slapped it down over his skull. Joes waking. Get out of here.
But if youll let me work only while he sleeps, how can I
Anglesey snarled and threw a wrench at him. It was a feeble toss, even in low gee. Cornelius backed toward the door. Anglesey was tuning in the esprojector. Suddenly he jerked.
Cornelius!
Whatisit? The psionicist tried to run back, overdid it, and skidded in a heap to end up against the panel.
K tube again. Anglesey yanked off the helmet. It must have hurt like blazes, having a mental squeal build up uncontrolled and amplified in your own brain, but he said merely: Change it for me. Fast. And then get out and leave me alone. Joe didnt wake up of himself. Something crawled into the dugout with meIm in trouble down there!
It had been a hard days work, and Joe slept heavily. He did not wake until the hands closed on his throat.
For a moment then he knew only a crazy smothering wave of panic. He thought he was back on Earth Station, floating in null gee at the end of a cable while a thousand frosty stars haloed the planet before him. He thought the great I beam had broken from its moorings and started toward him, slowly, but with all the inertia of its cold tons, spinning and shimmering in the Earthlight, and the only sound himself screaming and screaming in his helmet trying to break from the cable the beam nudged him ever so gently but it kept on moving he moved with it he was crushed against the station wall nuzzled into it his mangled suit frothed as it tried to seal its wounded self there was blood mingled with the foam his blood Joe roared.
His convulsive reaction tore the hands off his neck and sent a black shape spinning across the dugout. It struck the wall, thunderously, and the lamp fell to the floor and went out.
Joe stood in darkness, breathing hard, aware in a vague fashion that the wind had died from a shriek to a low snarling while he slept.
The thing he had tossed away mumbled in pain and crawled along the wall. Joe felt through lightiessness after his club.
Something else scrabbled. The tunnel! They were coming through the tunnel! Joe groped blind to meet them. His heart drummed thickly and his nose drank an alien stench.
The thing that emerged, as Joes hands closed on it, was only about half his size, but it had six monstrously taloned feet and a pair of three-fingered hands that reached after his eyes. Joe cursed, lifted it while it writhed, and dashed it to the floor. It screamed, and he heard bones splinter.
Come on, then! Joe arched his back and spat at them, like a tiger menaced by giant caterpifiars.
They flowed through his tunnel and into the room, a dozen of
them entered while he wrestled one that had curled itself around his shoulders and anchored its sinuous body with claws. They pulled at his legs, trying to crawl up on his back. He struck out with claws of his own, with his tail, rolled over and went down beneath a heap of them and stood up with the heap still clinging to him.