Captain Future 05 - Captain Future and the Seven Space Stones (Winter 1941) by Edmond Hamilton Read Free Book Online Page B

“We must plot our course of action.”
    “Why not let me go out to the Circus, find Quorn, break him in half, and take the space-stones?” Grag boomed.
    “Attractive, but impractical, Grag,” Curt said. “Quorn will have his four gems cunningly hidden, and he’ll be on guard against any sudden attack we might make on him. Since we still have no real proof against him, we’d be breaking Interplanetary Law ourselves by attacking him.”
    “We’re surely not going to give up and let him get away with Thuro Thuun’s secret!” exploded Otho.
    Curt’s tanned face hardened, and his gray eyes grew bleak. For one of the few times in his career, he felt almost inferior to a brilliant mixed-breed scientist against whom he had matched himself. And Captain Future didn’t like that feeling.
    “No, we’re not going to give up,” he gritted. “It’s going to take time and effort, but I have a plan. We’re sure Quorn has the four space stones and that he’s after the other three. But we haven’t proof yet. He’s traveling with his freaks so he can use the circus as a blind for his activities. We must watch him if we’re to checkmate his scheme and prove his guilt.
    “So the Futuremen are going to join that circus. We’ll be able to stick to Quorn till we find out where he has the stolen space stones, and can prevent him from getting the others. It’s the only way we can watch him all the time, without arousing his suspicion.”
     
    “JOIN the circus as performers?”Otho blurted. “How can we get away with it? I don’t get your wave at all, Chief.”
    “Everyone would recognize us as the Futuremen,” Grag boomed.
    “We’ll be in disguise, you blockheads,” Curt retorted. “Otho can easily disguise himself as the ‘Ultra-acrobat’ from Ganymede, or something. We’ll dummy up Grag with some artificial rubberoid flesh to make him look wholly human, and he can be the ‘Strong Man of Space.’ We’ll hide the Brain inside a phony-looking machine and call it the Thinking Machine. As for me, I’ll join as a wild animal tamer — Kovo, the Venusian swamp man, and his performing marsh tigers.”
    “Marsh tigers?” repeated Ezra Gurney, his faded eyes widening. “Hell, nobody in the System can tame marsh tigers. They’re the most ferocious, vicious, dangerous critters in the nine worlds.”
    “I can tame them.” Curt grinned. “After Otho’s helped me bring them back alive.”
    “It’s more than likely you’ll bring Otho back dead,” bleated the android. Curt ignored him.
    “First thing is to fix up the disguises for Grag and Simon. We others will join the circus separately, to avoid arousing any suspicion.”
    Curt and the Futuremen, with Ezra and Joan Randall, went back to the Comet. There Otho, the master of disguise, rapidly concocted a mass of rubberoid flesh. While it was still warm, he smoothly applied it to Grag’s giant metal body except the eyes and mouth. When the rubberoid cooled, it became firm, pink and elastic as real flesh. Otho put dark spectacles over Grag’s shining photo-electric eyes, and then regarded him with satisfaction.
    “You look almost human now, Grag,” he said.
    “What do you mean — almost?” roared Grag. “I am human, a lot more than you, you miserable son of a laboratory retort!”
    “I’m through with Simon,” Captain Future interrupted quietly.
    Curt had quickly constructed a small mechanism that looked like a rather phony machine, with arms, dials and blinking lights on the front of its cylindrical case. Small wheels stood beneath it. Captain Future put the Brain’s square case inside the cylindrical one, made necessary connections, and then closed the cover.
    “Hides you completely, Simon,” he said. “You can still see through those concealed openings, and listen and speak. Also, I’ve made it possible for you to roll from place to place or use those flexible arms on the side of the case, whenever you wish.”
    “That’s something new —