The Five Gold Bands by Jack Vance Read Free Book Online Page B

the girl, “through the telescope.”
    Paddy watched. “There’s a couple boats taking off.”
    “Spies.” She crouched in the bucket seat, aimed the boat’s nose at one of the spots of black space showing between the jostle of the suns, planets, planetoids. “Here we go.”
    Paddy jerked forward. “Hey—that’s dangerous, woman! There’s lots of stuff out there!”
    He quieted because already the Thieves’ Cluster was far behind. For a second, two seconds, they flew—then she cut off the power. A relay clicked, the space-drive bar snapped back. Thieves’ Cluster was a lambent blot astern.
    She turned the nose another direction, repeated the maneuver. Thieves’ Cluster was a bright spot. Once again, off at an odd angle—off with the drive and they were coasting out in inter-star isolation.
    The girl left the controls, went to the communicator. Paddy watched her suspiciously. “And now what might you be doing?”
    “I’m calling the Agency—on coded space-wave.” She snapped a switch, tuned down a piercing whistle that rang through the room. She set five dials, and now a voice said: “EA…EA…EA…
    The girl spoke into the mesh. “Fay Bursill, 59206… Fay Bursill, 59206.”
    A minute passed, the voice changed. “Go ahead, Fay.”
    “I’ve got Paddy Blackthorn here in the boat.”
    “ Good work , Fay!” There was exultation in the voice. “Where are you?”
    “Oh—roughly Aries 3500 or 4000. Shall I come home?”
    “Lord no, keep away. There’s a net of ships around the system almost nose to nose and they’re searching every hull that comes near. You’d never make it. But here’s what you can do. Have Paddy—”
    The voice changed to an ululating howl that jarred their teeth, clawed at their inner ears. “Turn him off!” yelled Paddy. “He’s talking nonsense!”
    Fay flung the switch. The silence was like salve.
    “Jammed,” said Fay grimly. “They’re on the frequency.”
    Paddy blinked dubiously. “Did they hear what you said?”
    She shook her head. “I don’t see how they could. The code is changed every week. And it’s easy to jam the message.”
    Paddy said, “We’d better get out of here fast. They might have us spotted.”
    Fay threw on the power. She sat silently, face intent, mouth curved down at the comers. Serious creature, thought Paddy. Odd, fey—that was her name, Fay. Paddy decided it suited her.
    She said frowning, “There’s no place for us to go now. They’ll be watching every port.”
    “If we could only have ducked out of Eleanor without being caught at it,” muttered Paddy. “Then they wouldn’t have known where I was.”
    “Unless they caught the doctor. And in any event they wouldn’t be taking any chances.” She looked at him with eyes half-challenging, half-wistful. “Now—may I see it, this space-drive formula that’s making so much trouble for me? Maybe we can broadcast it to Earth on the code frequency— or we can find a dead little world and hide it.”
    Paddy laughed. “Young lady—Miss Bursill—whatever your name—I have no secret to the space—drive.”
    “ What! ” Her eyes burnt even larger in her small face. They why all the turmoil? You must have it.”
    Paddy yawned. “The five Sons trusted no one. Not even their successors, the new Sons, know what it is I’ve got. No one in the universe knows—except me.”
    “Well, what is it?” she asked crossly. “Or do you intend to be mysterious?”
    Paddy said blandly, “No indeed. I’m surely not the type. Well, for one thing, it’s not any directions on how to mix up space-drive. It’s a key and four little slips of parchment. And all that’s on them are a set of addresses.”
    She stared at him and plain or not, thought Paddy, she had very lovely eyes, bright and intelligent, and her features weren’t as pinched as he first thought but almost chiseled— delicate. Indeed, thought Paddy, he had seen worse-looking wenches. But this one—she was too pale and set,