The Planet Mappers by E. Everett Evans (books for new readers .TXT) 📕

just as they finished eating, Jak suggested, "Take your tackle along tomorrow, Chubby, and we'll chop where the woods meet the river."

"Why, t'anks, pal, you're a good kid." Jon made a fake pass at his brother, who jumped up from the table and yanked the other's chair backward, starting a small scuffle which their mother wisely did not try to stop, knowing that, tired as they were, it would last only a few seconds and would be good for them.

When the boys returned from their expedition the next night, with arms and backs loaded with bundles of stakes, and Jon's creel well-filled with Two's fish-things, she met them anxiously at the lockdoor.

"Did you boys hear or see the ship that passed over us this morning?"

"Ship?"

"No, we didn't see nor hear a thing. Sure it was a ship?"

"No, I didn't see it, either. I thought I heard one, and ran to look out, but couldn't locate anything. Maybe it was just my imagination."

"Spaceship or airship?" Jon asked.

"I couldn't tell you that, either, except that if I did really hear one, it must have been a spaceship to disappear so quickly."

"Unless it was a fast jet—they're just as hard to spot."

They discussed the affair for some time, but could come to no conclusions. If it was a ship, why hadn't it stopped or signalled? And if it wasn't one, what had she heard? Or had she actually heard anything?

Two evenings later the two boys had completed outlining their city site, and were just climbing into the Star Rover when they heard their mother's voice.

"That you, boys? Come in here. Hurry!"

At the urgency in her voice, they ran quickly and found her sitting at the side of their father's bunk. As they got closer they saw his head turn toward them, and recognition in the wide-open eyes.

"Hello, fellows!" His voice was weak but happy.

"Father!"

"Oh, Pop, you're awake at last!"

The two almost fought to be closest to him, but their mother moved a little and both sank to their haunches beside the bunk, each with one of their father's somewhat emaciated hands in theirs.

"Your mother tells me I've been sick quite a long time, and that you chaps have been carrying on. I'm grateful, and proud."

"You should see the way Mom has caught on to doing things," Jon said quickly. "She does almost all our photographing now."

"And Jon has developed into a real astrogator," Jak said.

"Yes, Pop, but you wouldn't be as well as you are today if it hadn't been for Owl knowing how to set your leg and make a cast for it, and giving you the proper medicines and intravenous feedings." Jon turned to smile at his brother, who grew red in the face and tried to stop the compliments, but the younger boy rushed on. "He's really a whiz as a doctor. Knew exactly what to do for you. How's your leg feel?"

"Fine, thanks to you, Jak."

"Oh, it wasn't so much—and I didn't know. I had to study a lot to find out...."

"Anyway, I'm still alive and that shows you did a fine job." Mr. Carver lifted a weak hand to caress his elder son's face. Then he turned toward Jon. "I've had fine reports of you, too, Son. Your mother says...."

"Yes, if anyone deserves praise around here, it's Jon," Jak broke in. "He has done all the piloting and figuring courses, and he even invented a one-man control so he can land and take off without all the trouble and preciseness needed before. Why, he...."

"Nix Owl!" Jon was the one to be embarrassed now. "That can wait until Pop's stronger. The main thing is to report now, so he can tell us what to do next."

"Where are we—and what has been done so far?" Mr. Carver asked. "Your mother hasn't—or wouldn't—tell me, except that we've reached the new system, and are landed on one of the worlds there."

"We're on Planet Two, and we're laying out the city site that the Board requires. This sun has five planets, and Two and Three are perfectly habitable for humans, but no natives above animal level," Jak began.

"There're seven moons—one at Two, two at Three, and four at Four," Jon took up the tale. "We've visited all the planets, and have set out the automatic signal-senders, with tapes giving you the credit for the prime discovery."

"They named the sun 'Carveria' after you, Mr. C." His wife leaned forward, eyes shining with pride, and an arm across the shoulders of each of the boys. "They named the planets after one of us, each, and the fifth one after the ship, and we've given names to the moons, too."

"This world will be swell for people who like it warm, and Three will be just as good for those who prefer colder weather. Both are a lot like Terra at different seasons and sections, and both are rich in soil, water, forests, metals and...."

"And we discovered a cache of that new fuel-metal you thought you saw in the spectroscope," Jon broke in, his voice bubbling with eagerness. "Right here on Two. Not a mine or a vein, understand, but a cache, in a metal box buried in the sand. Must have been some people a long, long time ago, because from the sand drifted inside the box it apparently hadn't been touched for thousands of years. And it showed up on Five...."

"But it's guarded by some sort of sentient flames," Jak burst in.

His father's face lighted up. "Have you tried it yet?" he asked Jon.

"No," The boy's face showed disappointment. "Mom wouldn't let me take any chances when I first wanted to, but now I'm glad—it's very highly radioactive still, in spite of who knows how many half-life deteriorations. It might've blown us higher than up. Maybe, though, when you get better we can study...."

"If we haven't got a small lead box, you ought to be able to make one," his father broke in. "You could probably handle a small quantity of it that way, to bring it in so we can study it. Maybe, though," as an afterthought, "if it's that strong, you'd better wait for me to help before trying any of it in the generators."

"It's in little cubes, a bit smaller than our copper pellets. That's why I'm so sure it's a fuel, and that it was put here by some sort of people who had advanced space travel a long, long time ago." Jon was still excited. "We figure all we have to do is finish laying out the town here, and then we can start back for Terra and put your claim before the Colonial Board," Jon said. "Of course, we all hoped and expected you'd be well enough to check what we've done...."

"But we tried to follow all the items in the papers the Board gave us," Jak added seriously. "And now you're well, we can make sure...."

"You father is far from well yet," their mother broke in, her voice imperative. "We are all so happy he's awake at last, but I can see he's very weak and that all this excitement has been almost too much for him. You boys say 'Good night' to him now, and then run off and eat your dinner, and let him sleep. Tomorrow evening you can finish your report."

Reluctantly the boys obeyed, and went into their living quarters and to the table.

"Golly, I should think Pop'd want to hear all about it now." Jon frowned with disappointment.

"He does, don't you worry," Jak tried to cheer him. "I should have watched him more closely to see we didn't excite or overtire him, but I was just as happy and eager as you were. He'll be stronger after another good long sleep, but we've got to be careful not to expect too much of him for some time yet."

"Yes, I know you're right." Then Jon's face lighted with relief. "But it's sure swell to have him awake so we can talk to him and he can take charge of things again. You did a grand job, Owl, bringing him through."

"That's another thing, you big bum. You go handing out praise like that again, and I'll bust you one."

"Oh, yeh, and who was the parrotfish talking up so big the few little things I did?"

Jak came over and threw his arm across the shoulders of his taller but younger brother. "Both of us were so carried away by our enthusiasm we forgot to belittle each other," he said sagely. "Maybe we do sort of like each other, after all."

Jon pushed him away with rough tenderness, but his eyes were suspiciously moist. His words, though, were an attempted snort, as he picked up his knife and fork.

"What do you want—the next waltz?"

11

When the boys came into the dinette the next morning, their mother was humming happily as she prepared breakfast, and greeted them with a cheery smile.

"Pop awake yet?" Jon asked as he saw her mood.

"No, but he's sleeping so sweetly I know he's all right," she answered.

They sat down and began eating. After finishing, Jak said, "Well, we might as well go out and work some more on our townsite."

"Call us when Pop wakes up, will you, please?" Jon took a last sip of his juice-concentrate.

"That'd be silly." Jak frowned. "We know he can't come and help us, so why should we run several miles back here when we can see him when we get back?"

Jon opened his mouth to reply, his eyes flashing almost angrily, but their mother interrupted quickly with a question, "Boys, just why do you have to lay out such a site?"

"The Board requires it," Jon answered shortly.

"In the early days of exploration," Jak explained more patiently, "some of the space crews used to make their reports after merely flying above the surface of the planets of a new system. In fact, some of them didn't even go that close, and merely made up sketchy reports."

"Then when colonists got there," Jon, who had simmered down by now, took up the explanation, "they often found conditions very different, and many times quite dangerous to them."

"Yes, sometimes there were even intelligent inhabitants who hadn't been reported, so their planets couldn't be used for colonization. So the Board made this new ruling," Jak continued. "Now we have to have so many photos taken from various heights and at different places all over the surface of each planet, and each moon more than one hundred miles in diameter. And we have to lay out a townsite on the most Earthlike planet, mostly to show we actually have been there and spent some time there...."

"And it really doesn't make any difference whether the people who'll come here to live use it or not...."

"But we think they will use ours because we selected a place close to a river and the ocean, close to forests and fairly near minerals."

"Yes, you have done a wonderful job, I know that much about it."

"Well, we'll go out and re-check our lines," Jon said. "I've been studying and experimenting with the theodolite, and I can...."

"What is that?" she asked.

"What's what? Oh, the 'theodolite'? That's the surveyor's telescope. I've learned enough about it so I can tell if our lines have been run straight, and as we were so careful in measuring the distances, I'm quite sure they're fairly accurate."

"Yes," Jak chimed in, "I'll bet none of them are more than an inch off, if that."

"Optimist," Jon scoffed. "I'd take that bet away from you, only it'd be cheating an infant."

Jak started a retort, then thought better of it, and shut up.

They left the ship soon, Jon carrying the surveying instrument over his shoulder, and Jak the marker-pole. Arrived at the nearest corner of their townsite, Jon set the instrument down, while Jak went on to the next stake.

By means of the graduated circle attached just below the telescope, and the plumb line suspended from it, Jon adjusted the collapsible legs until he felt sure it was correctly focussed. Then, as Jak went ahead from stake to stake, Jon took sights to make sure each marker was centered on his cross hairs. The ones that were not, he indicated by hand signals, and Jak reset them to left or right, until Jon was satisfied.

They completed all of one side before lunch, then returned to the ship. They found their mother had opened both lockdoors while they were gone, and fresh, crisp, though warm, air was circulating through the ship, blowing out the old chemically pure yet "stale-feeling" air their purifiers had been re-circulating for so long.

Their father was awake, but still so weak he was making no attempt to sit fully up in bed, although his wife had slipped an extra pillow beneath his head.

"Ho, fellows!" he greeted the boys as