The Project Gutenberg EBook of Police Your Planet, by Lester del ReyThis eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and withalmost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away orre-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License includedwith this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.orgTitle: Police Your PlanetAuthor: Lester del ReyRelease Date: December 29, 2006 [EBook #20212]Language: English*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK POLICE YOUR PLANET ***Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan, and the OnlineDistributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.netPOLICE YOUR PLANETBy ERIC VAN LHINSCIENCE FICTIONAVALON BOOKS22 EAST 60TH STREET NEW YORKCopyright, 1956, by Eric van Lhin[Transcriber's note: This is a rule 6 clearance. A copyrightrenewal could not be found.]Library of Congress Catalogue Card Number: 56-13313PUBLISHED SIMULTANEOUSLY IN THE DOMINION OF CANADABY THE RYERSON PRESS, TORONTOPRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICABY THE COLONIAL PRESS INC., CLINTON, MASSACHUSETTS
CONTENTSI One Way TicketII Honest IzzyIII The Graft Is GreenIV Captain MurdochV RecallVI Sealed LetterVII ElectioneeringVIII Vote Early and OftenIX ContrabandX Marriage of ConvenienceXI The Sky's the LimitXII Wife or Prisoner?XIII Arrest Mayor Wayne!XIV Full CircleXV Murdoch's MantleXVI Get the Dome!XVII Security PayoffPOLICE YOUR PLANETChapter IONE WAY TICKETThere were ten passengers in the little pressurized cabin of theelectric bus that shuttled between the rocket field and Marsport. Tenmen, the driver--and Bruce Gordon.He sat apart from the others, as he had kept to himself on the ten-daytrip between Earth and Mars, with the yellow stub of his ticket stillstuck defiantly in the band of his hat, proclaiming that Earth had paidhis passage without his permission being asked. His big, lean body wasslumped slightly in the seat. There was no expression on his face.
He listened to the driver explaining to a couple of firsters that theywere actually on what appeared to be one of the mysterious canals whenviewed from Earth. Every book on Mars gave the fact that the canals wereeither an illusion or something which could not be detected on thesurface of the planet.He glanced back toward the rocket that still pointed skyward back on thefield, and then forward toward the city of Marsport, sprawling out in amess of slums beyond the edges of the dome that had been built to holdair over the central part. And at last he stirred and reached for theyellow stub.He grimaced at the ONE WAY stamped on it, then tore it intobits and let the pieces scatter over the floor. He counted them as theyfell; thirty pieces, one for each year of his life. Little ones for thetwo years he'd wasted as a cop. Shreds for the four years as a kid inthe ring before that--he'd never made the top. Bigger bits for two yearsalso wasted in trying his hand at professional gambling; and the sixfinal pieces that spelled his rise from a special reporter helping outwith a police shake-up coverage, through a regular leg-man turning uprackets, and on up like a meteor until.... He'd made his big scoop, allright. He'd dug up enough about the Mercury scandals to doublecirculation.And the government had explained what a fool he'd been for printing halfof a story that was never supposed to be printed until all could berevealed. They'd given Bruce Gordon his final assignment.He shrugged. He'd bought a suit of airtight coveralls and a helmet atthe field; he had some cash, and a set of reader cards in his pocket.The supply house, Earthside, had assured him that this pattern had neverbeen exported to Mars. With them and the knife he'd selected, he mightget by.The Solar Security office had given him the knife practice, to make surehe could use it, just as they'd made sure he hadn't taken extra moneywith him beyond the regulation amount."You're a traitor, and we'd like nothing better than seeing your gutsspilled," the Security man had told him. "That paper you swiped wasmarked top secret. But we don't get many men with your background--cop,tinhorn, fighter--who have brains enough for our work. So you're boundfor Mars, rather than the Mercury mines. If..."It was a big _if_, and a vague one. They needed men on Mars who couldact as links in their information bureau, and be ready to work on theirside when the expected trouble came. They wanted men who could servethem loyally, even without orders. If he did them enough service, theymight let him back to Earth. If he caused trouble enough, they couldstill ship him to Mercury."And suppose nothing happens?" he asked."Then who cares? You're just lucky enough to be alive.""And what makes you think I'm going to be a spy for Security?"The other had shrugged. "Why not, Gordon? You've been a spy for a yellowscandal sheet. Why not for us?"
Search History:
Result 00 of 00
00 results for result for
p.
More From This User
Notes
Load more
