Rocket from Infinity by Lester del Rey Read Free Book Online Page A

in this world,” she said.
    â€œWhy?”
    â€œBecause that’s how it is. My father worked hard all his life and had nothing but bad luck. This is a cold, hostile world out here.”
    â€œIt isn’t so bad.”
    â€œNo? Just open your shield and step outside and see what happens to you.”
    â€œThat’s silly. It’s a dangerous world, sure. But we have safeguards.”
    â€œThe whole Belt is built to kill you. You’ve got to be on your toes every minute.”
    â€œI think you’re just tired. Things will look different in the morning.”
    â€œWill they be any better for my mother? It wasn’t my father’s fault, but what was he able to leave Mother? An old beaten-up ship, a family to raise, no money—”
    â€œIt’s your younger sisters you’re worried about then? And your mother?”
    â€œWouldn’t you worry? Every miner in the Brotherhood hates us.”
    â€œThat’s not true. They just don’t like the way your mother does things.”
    â€œWell, they can go to blazes!”
    â€œHold it. Let’s not start fighting again.”
    â€œI’m sorry.”
    Pete was amazed. I’m sorry coming from Jane Barry was a big concession. For a moment, Pete questioned its sincerity. But it did sound genuine.
    â€œWhat about your Uncle Homer?”
    â€œWhat about him?”
    â€œDoesn’t he help you? He’s part of the family.”
    â€œIn the first place, he isn’t my uncle. He was a very good friend of my father’s and so we call him uncle. He can’t help much. He has a great deal of bad luck.” Pete was inclined to call it something else. He had a more critical term in mind but, again, he didn’t want to ruffle Jane’s feathers.
    â€œWhat were you doing out in the Belt?”
    â€œI was prospecting.”
    â€œThat’s no job for a girl.”
    â€œI’ve got as much right as anybody else to.”
    â€œNo, take it easy. Of course you have. But you didn’t expect to find anything in the Badlands, did you?”
    â€œWho knows where rich ore lies in the Belt? It could be there just as easily as any place else.”
    â€œExcept that it’s generally agreed that it isn’t. All those rocks came from the same source. It’s a smashed-up planet that drifted into the stream.”
    Jane didn’t choose to argue the point. She was silent for awhile. Her eyes were closed, and Pete thought she was taking a nap. Then she proved herself to be awake by saying, “I’ve got to get this car fixed and then go back and find that crazy ship.”
    She’d certainly seen something, Pete realized. But what had it really been? A ship blundering around in the Badlands would get into trouble immediately and radio for help. A call from a space liner would have brought every miner in the sector, hoping for salvage money.
    Seeking to change the subject and take Jane’s mind off her near-fatal accident, Pete said, “I struck it rich today. I found an asteroid dripping with copper.”
    â€œCongratulations. I hope my call didn’t pull you away from your work.”
    â€œI was finished when it came in. I’d already chartered the orbit and made out the claim form. It’s here in my pocket.”
    â€œNow all you have to do is file.”
    Pete suddenly wished he hadn’t mentioned the claim. He didn’t like the wistful note in Jane’s voice. But then he quickly told himself he was being unfair. Jane wasn’t a thief. Neither was her mother. Then he suddenly wondered if Rachel and her brood were not unjustly suffering from Homer’s reputation.
    â€œYou say that Uncle Homer, as you call him, was a good friend of your father’s.”
    â€œYes. When Father was alive, he depended on Uncle Homer a great deal. They worked together—mined together.”
    â€œI wonder if it wasn’t the other way