CHAPTER 10

"Hal-loo-ooo!"

Astro's voice boomed out over the tops of the trees, where the birds

fluttered in sudden fright. It echoed through the darkness around him,

where smaller creatures crawled and slithered into the protection of

their holes. The voice of the big cadet was loud, but it was not loud

enough for his mates to hear.

Astro was lost.

He couldn't understand how it had happened. Over and over during the

past six hours he had retraced his steps mentally, trying to visualize

the trail, trying to locate the telltale marks he had made with his

jungle knife, and so find Major Connel, Tom, and Roger. It was dark now

and the big cadet had to face the dangerous jungle alone. He laughed

ironically. Connel had given him the point because he knew the jungle!

And now he was lost.

Astro was a little frightened too. It was his frank realization of

trouble that made him afraid. He knew what was in the jungle, and though

he had been there alone before, he had never been in it as deeply as

this, nor had he ever been lost in the nightmarish place after sundown.

While he was desperately anxious to find his unit mates, he had not

fired his rifle. The threat of exposing his position to a possible

Nationalist patrol prevented him from signaling with the blaster or even

from building a fire. During the last hours of the day, when the

suspicion that he was lost became a concrete fact, the big cadet had

been reluctant even to yell. Now, with pitch-black night closing around

him, he dared to call, hoping it would be heard and recognized by his

friends, or if not, considered the howl of a jungle beast by an enemy

patrol should one be near.

He stood with his back against the rough bark of a teakwood tree to

protect his rear and to face out toward the pitch-black night. More than

once the big cadet felt the sudden ripple of a crawling thing moving

around him, across his toes or down the tree trunk. There was a sudden

thrashing in the underbrush near by and he brought the shock rifle up

quickly, ears tuned for the growl, or scream, or hiss of an attacking

beast.

The luminous dial of his watch showed it to be three thirty in the

morning, two and a half hours to go before the sun would drive the

fearful darkness away. He had been calling every five minutes. And every

time he shouted, the movements in the darkness around him increased.

"Hal-loo-ooo!"

He waited, turning his head from one side to the other, intent on the

sounds that came from a distance; the answering call of the waddling

ground bird that had confused him at first until he recognized it; the

shrill scream of the tiny swamp hog; the distant chattering of the

monkeylike creatures in the treetops. But there was no sound from a

human throat.

Astro called again and again. The seconds dragged by into minutes, the

minutes into an hour, and then two hours, and finally, as every muscle

in his body ached from standing backed up to the tree all night and

holding his rifle on alert, the gray murky dawn broke over the jungle

and he began to see the green of the jungle around him. When the sun at

last broke over the Venusian horizon, the night's frost on the leaves

and bushes danced and glittered like jewels.

He washed his face in a near-by pool, careful not to drink any of the

water. He opened a can of synthetic food, and after eating his fill,

cleared away the brush down to the naked black soil and banking it high

on all sides he stretched full length on the ground. He dared not sleep.

Hungry animals were moving about freely now. A paralo-ray gun and the

rifle, both cocked and ready to fire, were held in his hands. He relaxed

as completely as he could, idly watching the mother of a brood of the

anthropoids scamper through the branches of the trees overhead, bringing

her squalling young their breakfast. An hour later, refreshed, he

started through the jungle again, eyes open for signs of recent

activity, human activity, for the big cadet wanted to return to his

comrades.

Stopping occasionally to climb a tree, Astro searched the sky above the

treetops for smoke that would mark a campsite. He felt that sure if

there was any, he would find Roger, Tom, and Connel, since a Nationalist

patrol wouldn't advertise its presence in the jungle. But there were no

smoke signs. The top of the jungle stretched green and still as far as

he could see, steaming under the burning rays of the sun.

Astro knew that it would be impossible to spend another night like the

first in the jungle, so after searching through the forest until three

in the afternoon, he stopped, opened another can of synthetic food, and

ate. He was used to being alone now. The first wave of fear had left

him and he was beginning to remember things he knew as a young boy;

jungle signs that warned him of dangers, the quick identification of the

animal cries, and the knowledge of the habits of the jungle creatures.

After eating, he took his jungle knife and hacked at a long, tough vine,

yanking it down from its lofty tangle. He started weaving it into a

tight oblong basket and two hours later, just before the sun dropped

into the jungle for the night, he was finished. He had a seven-foot bag

woven tightly and pulled together with a small opening at one end. Just

before the sky darkened, the big cadet crawled into this makeshift

sleeping bag, pulled the opening closed with a tight draw cord, and in

thirty seconds was asleep. Nothing would be able to bite through the

tough vine matting, and the chances of a larger beast accidentally

stepping on him were small. Nevertheless, Astro had pulled the bag close

to a huge tree and placed it deep between the swollen roots.

He awoke with a start. The ground was shaking violently. He was sweating

profusely and judged that it must be late in the morning with the sun

beating directly on him. Carefully he opened the end of the makeshift

sleeping bag and peered out. He gasped and reached for his shock rifle,

bringing it up into firing position. The sight that confronted him was

at once horrifying and fascinating. A hundred yards away, a giant snake,

easily a hundred feet long and five feet thick, was wrapped around a

raging tyrannosaurus. The monsters were in a fight to death. Astro

shuddered and pulled back into the bag, keeping the blaster aimed at the

two struggling beasts.

[Illustration: _Astro kept his blaster aimed at the monsters_]

The big cadet deduced that the snake must have been surprised in its

feeding by the tyrannosaurus, and was trying to defend itself. There

wasn't a living thing in the jungle that would deliberately attack a

tyrannosaurus. Only man, with his intelligence and deadly weapons,

could win over the brute force and cunning of the jungle giant. And even

that had failed with this monster. Astro quickly saw it was the same

beast that had chased the three cadets out of the jungle!

With three coils wrapped around the tyrannosaurus's body, the snake was

trying to wrap a fourth around its neck and strangle it, but the monster

was too wily. Rearing back, it suddenly fell to the ground, its weight

crushing the three coils around its middle. The snake jerked

spasmodically, stunned, as the tyrannosaurus scrambled up again. The

ground trembled and branches were ripped from near-by trees. All around

the jungle had been leveled. Everything fell before the thrashing

monsters.

Recovering, the snake's head darted in again, trying to circle the

tyrannosaurus's head and complete the last and fatal coil, but the giant

beast lunged, its massive jaws snapping, and the snake drew back.

Suddenly its tail lashed out and circled the left legs of the

tyrannosaurus. Astro could see the beast straining against the sudden

pressure, at the same time alert for the swooping head of the snake. The

pressure on the leg was too great, and the beast fell to the ground,

giving the snake a momentary advantage. Its head darted in again, but

the tyrannosaurus drew its head into its narrow shoulders, then shot out

again as the snake missed. Astro saw the snake quiver and jerk back as

the tyrannosaurus clamped its jaws closed and bit a chunk out of the

green, scaly body.

The snake had enough. It wanted to get away, to slip to the top of the

tallest tree in the forest, out of reach of the tyrannosaurus, and wait

for the wound to heal or for death to come. It unwound in a maddened

convulsive movement and slithered toward the tree where Astro lay. But

the monster was after it, immediately grabbing it by the tail and

jerking it back. The snake was forced to turn and fight back.

Astro knew that if the snake could get away it would head for the

teakwood above his head, the highest tree around, and the tyrannosaurus

would stamp the ground around its base into powder. He had to move!

A hundred feet to the left was a wild thicket of ground thorns, their

needlelike tips bristling. Even the snake would stay away from them. It

was his only chance should the snake get loose from the tyrannosaurus

again. Making up his mind quickly, the cadet opened the end of the

sleeping bag and shoved his weapons out before him. Then hugging the

ground, he dashed across the clearing. This gave the tyrannosaurus its

final advantage. The snake pulled back, momentarily attracted by Astro's

move, and the tyrannosaurus struck, catching the snake just behind the

head in a grip of death.

The thorns ripped at Astro's tight-fitting jungle dress, tearing into

his flesh as he dove into the thicket. But once inside the cadet lay

still, pointing his rifle at the tyrannosaurus who was methodically

finishing off the giant snake. In a few seconds the snake was dead and

the tyrannosaurus began to feast.

Astro stayed in the thicket, watching the monster devour nearly all of

the dead reptile foe and then rise up and move off through the jungle.

Astro knew that in no time the scavengers of the jungle would be

swarming over the remains of the snake. Once again he had to move.

Getting out of the thicket was painful. From every direction the thorns

jabbed at him, and but for the toughness of his jungle suit, Astro would

have been ripped to shreds. After easing his way back into the

clearing, the cadet pulled out the remains of his jungle pack. He then

saw that his suit was torn to ribbons, and the many slashes on his chest

and arms were bleeding profusely. The scent of the blood would attract

the carnivorous creatures, so he stripped off the bloody jungle suit,

dropping it back in the thicket, and hurried away. A short time later he

came to a water hole where he sponged himself off and applied medication

from his emergency kit to the scratches. Finished, he took stock. The

night's sleep had refreshed him, and except for the loss of his

protective clothing, he was in good shape. He shouldered the pack,

strapped the paralo-ray gun to his hips, and gripping the rifle tightly,

he moved off through the jungle once more. He decided to follow the

tyrannosaurus. The beast would leave a path for him, saving him the

effort of hacking his way through the vines and creepers, and should an

enemy patrol be out, it would stay away from the tyrannosaurus. Finally,

he knew Tom, Roger, and Connel would go after the beast if they saw it.

The sun shone down on the half-naked giant moving through the jungle, a

new white-skinned animal who was braver than the rest, a creature who

dared to trail the king of the jungle.

* * * * *

"It's all my fault!" said Connel disgustedly. "I should have been able

to read his trail signs."

Tom did not answer. He pulled the straps of his jungle pack tighter and

slung it over his shoulder. Roger stood to one side, watching Major

Connel. Both boys sensed what was coming.

"Well, this is the last day we can spend searching for him," said

Connel. "We've already lost two days."

Roger glanced at Tom and said casually, "It wouldn't hurt to keep our

eyes open for signs of him, would it, sir?"

"Now listen, boys," said Connel firmly, "I know how you feel about

Astro. I have to admit I have a liking for the lad myself. But we've

been sent out here to locate the base of operations of the Nationalists.

The best way to do that is to work around the jungle in a given area. We

haven't done that so far. We've put all our time and effort into a

random search for Astro. We can't signal him, build a fire, shoot off a

blaster--or use any of the simple communication devices. We have to work

under cover, for fear of giving away our presence here in the jungle."

He slung his gear over his shoulder and added, "We'll continue our

search for Astro until noon and then we simply will have to abandon it.

And stop worrying about him. He's a big strong lad and he's been in this

jungle alone before. I have every confidence that he can make his way

back to Sinclair's plantation safely."

The Solar Guard officer paused and looked at the two downcast cadets

before him. "None of that sulking business!" he growled. "You're cadets

on an urgent mission. Now move out. I'll take the point first and you

bring up the rear, Corbett." Without another word, the burly spaceman

turned and moved off through the jungle.

Roger hung back to talk to Tom. "What do you think, Tom?"

Tom shook his head before answering. "He's right, Roger. We're on a job.

It's the same here in the jungle as it is in space. We know that

something is liable to happen to any one of us at any time. And the

mission always comes first."

Roger nodded. "Sure, that's the way it is in the book. But this is

real. That big hick might be hurt--or trapped. Maybe he needs our help!"

"I know how you feel, Roger," replied Tom. "I want to take off and hunt

for Astro myself, but Connel needs us. Don't forget that bunch of guys

in uniforms back at Sinclair's. Commander Walters and the others don't

hold conferences like that one back in Venusport for the fun of it. This

is serious."

Roger shrugged and started off after Connel, Tom following slowly

behind. Their march through the jungle was made in silence, each hoping

for a miracle. But as the sun grew higher and the deadline hour of noon

approached, they steeled themselves to the fact that they might never

see the Venusian cadet again. A short time later, when Tom was taking

his turn at cutting the trail through the brush, he broke through into a

clearing. He stopped and called out, "Major! Roger! Quick!"

Connel and the blond-haired cadet rushed forward, stopping beside Tom to

stare in amazement. Before them, a large area of the jungle was pounded

down and lying amidst the tangle of giant creepers and uprooted bushes

was the remains of a giant snake.

"By the rings of Saturn!" gasped Connel, walking forward to inspect the

clearing. Tom and Roger followed, breaking to the side, their rifles at

ready. The two boys had become jungle-wise quickly and knew that death

lurked behind the wall of green surrounding the cleared area.

"It must have been some fight!" Connel pointed to the tracks of the

tyrannosaurus. "The tyranno must have stumbled on the snake while it was

feeding," said Connel. "Otherwise it would have lit out for that tree

over there." He pointed to the giant teakwood that Astro had slept

under. The three spacemen saw the makeshift sleeping bag at the same

time.

"Major! Look!" cried Tom and raced to the base of the tree.

"It's Astro's, all right," said Connel, examining the woven bag. "I

wonder if he was here when those two things were going after each

other."

"Yes, sir," said Roger in a choked whisper, "he was." He pointed to the

ragged remains of Astro's jungle suit dangling on the near-by thornbush.

The blood was stiff on the material.

The three Earthmen stared at the suit, each too horrified to speak.

Connel's face was set in hard lines as he finally found his voice and

growled, "Our search is over. Let's get back to our job."

[Illustration]