The Skylark of Space E. E. Smith (top novels to read .txt) đ
- Author: E. E. Smith
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âMassage it a little with the arnica as I move the arm,â he directed coolly, and she did so, pityingly. He did not wince and made no sign of pain, but she saw beads of perspiration appear upon his face, and wondered at his fortitude.
âThatâs fine,â he said gratefully as she finished, and a peculiar expression came over his face. âIt feels one hundred percent better already. But why do you do it? I should think you would feel like crowning me with that basin instead of playing nurse.â
âEfficiency,â she replied with a smile. âIâm taking a leaf out of your own book. You are our chief engineer, you know, and it wonât do to have you laid up.â
âThatâs a logical explanation, but it doesnât go far enough,â he rejoined, still studying her intently. She did not reply, but turned to Perkins.
âHow are you, Mr. Perkins? Do you require medical attention?â
âNo,â growled Perkins from the seat in which he had crouched immediately after eating. âKeep away from me, or Iâll cut your heart out!â
âShut up!â snapped DuQuesne. âRemember what I said?â
âI havenât done anything,â snarled the other.
âI said I would throw you out if you made another break,â DuQuesne informed him evenly, âand I meant it. If you canât talk decently, keep still. Understand that you are to keep off Miss Vaneman, words and actions. I am in charge of her, and I will put up with no interference whatever. This is your last warning.â
âHow about Spencer, then?â
âI have nothing to say about her, sheâs not mine,â responded DuQuesne with a shrug.
An evil light appeared in Perkinsâ eyes and he took out a wicked-looking knife and began to strop it carefully upon the leather of the seat, glaring at his victim the while.
âWell, I have something to sayâ ââ âŠâ blazed Dorothy, but she was silenced by a gesture from Margaret, who calmly took the pistol from her pocket, jerked the slide back, throwing a cartridge into the chamber, and held the weapon up on one finger, admiring it from all sides.
âDonât worry about his knife. He has been sharpening it for my benefit for the last month. He doesnât mean anything by it.â
At this unexpected show of resistance, Perkins stared at her for an instant, then glanced at his coat.
âYes, this was yours, once. You neednât bother about picking up your coat, theyâre both gone. You might be tempted to throw that knife, so drop it on the floor and kick it over to me before I count three.
âOne.â The heavy pistol steadied into line with his chest and her finger tightened on the trigger.
âTwo.â He obeyed and she picked up the knife. He turned to DuQuesne, who had watched the scene unmoved, a faint smile upon his saturnine face.
âDoctor!â he cried, shaking with fear. âWhy donât you shoot her or take that gun away from her? Surely you donât want to see me murdered?â
âWhy not?â replied DuQuesne calmly. âIt is nothing to me whether she kills you or you kill her. You brought it on yourself by your own carelessness. Any man with brains doesnât leave guns lying around within reach of prisoners, and a blind man could have seen Miss Vaneman getting your hardware.â
âYou saw her take them and didnât warn me?â croaked Perkins.
âWhy should I warn you? If you canât take care of your own prisoner she earns her liberty, as far as I am concerned. I never did like your style, Perkins, especially your methods of handlingâ âor rather mishandlingâ âwomen. You could have made her give up the stuff she recovered from that ass Brookings inside of an hour, and wouldnât have had to kill her afterward, either.â
âHow?â sneered the other. âIf you are so good at that kind of thing, why didnât you try it on Seaton and Crane?â
âThere are seven different methods to use on a woman like Miss Spencer, each of which will produce the desired result. The reason I did not try them on either Seaton or Crane is that they would have failed. Your method of indirect action is probably the only one that will succeed. That is why I adopted it.â
âWell, what are you going to do about it?â shrieked Perkins. âAre you going to sit there and lecture all day?â
âI am going to do nothing whatever,â answered the scientist coldly. âIf you had any brains you would see that you are in no danger. Miss Spencer will undoubtedly kill you if you attack herâ ânot otherwise. That is an Anglo-Saxon weakness.â
âDid you see me take the pistols?â queried Dorothy.
âCertainly. Iâm not blind. You have one of them in your right coat pocket now.â
âThen why didnât you, or donât you, try to take it away from me?â she asked in wonder.
âIf I had objected to your having them, you would never have got them. If I didnât want you to have a gun now, I would take it away from you. You know that, donât you?â and his black eyes stared into her violet ones with such calm certainty of his ability that she felt her heart sink.
âYes,â she admitted finally, âI believe you couldâ âthat is, unless I were angry enough to shoot you.â
âThat wouldnât help you. I can shoot faster and straighter than you can, and would shoot it out of your hand. However, I have no objection to your having the gun, since it is no part of my plan to offer you any further indignity of any kind. Even if you had the necessary coldness of nerve or cruelty of dispositionâ âof which I have one, Perkins the other, and you neitherâ âyou wouldnât shoot me now, because you canât get back to the earth without me. After we get back I will take the guns away from both of you if I think it desirable. In the meantime, play with them all you please.â
âHas Perkins any more knives or guns or things in his room?â demanded Dorothy.
âHow should I know?â
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