Astounding Stories of Super-Science 6

Astounding Stories of Super-Science 6

"What happened?"

 

"No one knows. All that is known is the bare fact that they have not

been seen since."

 

"A kidnapping case?"

 

"Apparently not, in the light of later happenings, although that was at

first thought to be the explanation. The parents waited for some time.

The mother says that she heard faint screams in the distance some ten

minutes after the guide and the children left, but they were very far

away and she isn't sure that she heard them at all. At any rate, they

didn't impress her at the time.

 

* * * * *

 

"When half an hour had passed they began to feel anxious, and the father

took a torch and started out to hunt for them. The usual thing happened;

he got lost. When _he_ failed to return, the mother, now thoroughly

alarmed, made her way, by some uncanny sense of direction, to the

entrance and gave the alarm. In half an hour a dozen search parties were

on their way into the cave. The father was soon located, not far from

the beaten trail, but despite three days of constant search, the

children were not located. The only trace of them that was found was a

bracelet which the mother identified. It was found in the cavern some

distance from the beaten path and was broken, as though by violence.

There were no other signs of a struggle.

 

"When the bracelet was found, the kidnapping theory gained vogue, for

John Harrel, the missing guide, knew the cave well and natives of the

vicinity scouted the idea that he might be lost. Inspired by the large

reward offered by the father, fresh parties began to explore the unknown

portions of the cave. And then came the second tragedy. Two of the

searchers failed to return. This time there seemed to be little doubt of

violence, for screams and a pistol shot were faintly heard by other

searchers, together with a peculiar 'screaming howl,' as it was

described by those who heard it. A search was at once made toward the

spot where the bracelet had been picked up, and the gun of one of the

missing men was found within fifty yards of the spot where the bracelet

had been discovered. One cylinder of the revolver had been discharged."

 

"Were there any signs on the floor?"

 

"The searchers said that the floor appeared to be rather more moist and

slimy than usual, but that was all. They also spoke of a very faint

smell of musk, but this observation was not confirmed by others who

arrived a few moments later."

 

"What happened next?"

 

* * * * *

 

"The Governor was appealed to and a company of the National Guard was

sent from Louisville to Mammoth Cave. They took up camp at the mouth of

the cave and prevented everyone from entering. Soldiers armed with

service rifles penetrated the caverns, but found nothing. Visitors were

excluded, and the guardsmen established regular patrols and sentry posts

in the cave with the result that one night, when time came for a relief,

the only trace that could be found of one of the guards was his rifle.

It had not been fired. Double guards were then posted, and nothing

happened for several days--and then another sentry disappeared. His

companion came rushing out of the cave screaming. When he recovered, he

admitted that both he and the missing man had gone to sleep and that he

awoke to find his comrade gone. He called, and he says that the answer

he received was a peculiar whistling noise which raised all the hair on

the back of his neck. He flashed his electric torch all around, but

could see nothing. He swears, however, that he heard a slipping, sliding

noise approaching him, and he felt that some one was looking at him. He

stood it as long as he could and then threw down his rifle and ran for

his life."

 

"Had he been drinking?"

 

"No. It wasn't delirium either, as was shown by the fact that a patrol

found his gun where he had thrown it, but no trace of the other sentry.

After this second experience, the guardsmen weren't very eager to enter

the cave, and the Governor asked for regulars. A company of infantry was

ordered down from Fort Thomas to relieve the guardsmen, but they fared

worse than their predecessors. They lost two men the first night of

their guard. The regulars weren't caught napping, for the main guard

heard five shots fired. They rushed a patrol to the scene and found both

of the rifles which had been fired, but the men were gone.

 

"The officer of the day made a thorough search of the vicinity and

found, some two hundred yards from the spot where the sentries had been

posted, a crack in the wall through which the body of a man could be

forced. This bodycrack had fresh blood on each side of it. Several of

his men volunteered to enter the hole and search, but the lieutenant

would not allow it. Instead, he armed himself with a couple of

hand-grenades and an electric torch and entered himself. That was last

Tuesday, and he has not returned."

 

"Was there any disturbance heard from the crack?"

 

"None at all. A guard was posted with two machine-guns pointed at the

crack in the wall, and a guard of eight men and a sergeant stationed

there. Last night, about six o'clock, while the guard were sitting

around their guns, a faint smell of musk became evident. No one paid a

great deal of attention to it, but suddenly for no apparent reason at

all one of the men on guard was jerked into the air feet upwards. He

gave a scream of fear, and an unearthly screech answered him. The guard,

with the exception of one man, turned tail and ran. One man stuck by his

gun and poured a stream of bullets into the crack. The retreating men

could hear the rattle of the gun for a few moments and then there was a

choking scream, followed by silence. When the officer of the day got

back with a patrol, there was a heavy smell of musk in the air, and a

good deal of blood was splashed around. The machine-guns were both

there, although one of them was twisted up until it looked like it had

been through an explosion.

 

"The Officer commanding the company investigated the place, ordered all

men out of the cave, and communicated with the War Department. The

Secretary of War found it too tough a nut to crack and he asked for

help, so Bolton is sending me down there. Do you think, in view of this

yarn, that your experiments can wait?"

 

* * * * *

 

The creases on Dr. Bird's high forehead had grown deeper and deeper as

Carnes had told his story, but now they suddenly disappeared, and he

jumped to his feet with a boyish grin.

 

"How soon are we leaving?" he asked.

 

"In two hours, Doctor. A car is waiting for us downstairs and I have

reservations booked for both of us on the Southern to-night. I knew that

you were coming; in fact, the request for your services had been

approved before I came here to see you."

 

Dr. Bird rapidly divested himself of his laboratory smock and took his

coat and hat from a cupboard.

 

"I hope you realize, Carnsey, old dear," he said as he followed the

operative out of the building, "that I have a real fondness for your

worthless old carcass. I am leaving the results of two weeks of patient

work alone and unattended in order to keep you out of trouble, and I

know that it will be ruined when I get back. I wonder whether you are

worth it?"

 

"Bosh!" retorted Carnes. "I'm mighty glad to have you along, but you

needn't rub it in by pretending that it is affection for me that is

dragging you reluctantly into this mess. With an adventure like this

ahead of you, leg-irons and handcuffs wouldn't keep you away from

Mammoth Cave, whether I was going or not."

 

It was late afternoon before Dr. Bird and Carnes dismounted from the

special train which had carried them from Glasgow Junction to Mammoth

Cave. They introduced themselves to the major commanding the guard

battalion which had been ordered down to reinforce the single company

which had borne the first brunt of the affair, and then interviewed the

guards who had been routed by the unseen horror which was haunting the

famous cave. Nothing was learned which differed in any great degree from

the tale which Carnes had related to the doctor in Washington, except

that the officer of the day who had investigated the last attack failed

to entirely corroborate the smell of musk which had been reported by the

other observers.

 

"It might have been musk, but to me it smelled differently," he said.

"Were you ever near a rattlesnake den in the west?"

 

* * * * *

 

Dr. Bird nodded.

 

"Then you know the peculiar reptilian odor which such a place gives off.

Well, this smell was somewhat similar, although not the same by any

manner of means. It was musky all right, but it was more snake than musk

to me. I rather like musk, but this smell gave me the horrors."

 

"Did you hear any noises?"

 

"None at all. The men describe some rather peculiar noises and Sergeant

Jervis is an old file and pretty apt to get things straight, but they

may have been made by the men who were in trouble. I saw a man caught by

a boa in South America once, and the noises he made might very well have

been described in almost the same words as Jervis used."

 

"Thanks, Lieutenant," replied the Doctor. "I'll remember what you have

told me. Now I think that we'll go into the cave."

 

"My orders are to allow no one to enter, Doctor."

 

"I beg your pardon. Carnes, where is that letter from the Secretary of

War?"

 

Carnes produced the document. The lieutenant examined it and excused

himself. He returned in a few moments with the commanding officer.

 

"In the face of that letter, Dr. Bird," said the major, "I have no

alternative to allowing you to enter the cave, but I will warn you that

it is at your own peril. I'll give you an escort, if you wish."

 

"If Lieutenant Pearce will come with me as a guide, that will be all

that I need."

 

The lieutenant paled slightly, but threw back his shoulders.

 

"Do you wish to start at once, sir?" he asked.

 

"In a few moments. What is the floor of the cave like where we are

going?"

 

"Quite wet and slimy, sir."

 

"Very slippery?"

 

"Yes, sir."

 

"In that case before we go in we want to put on baseball shoes with

cleats on them, so that we can run if we have to. Can you get us

anything like that?"

 

"In a few moments, sir."

 

"Good! As soon as we can get them we'll start. In the meantime, may I

look at that gun that was found?"

 

* * * * *

 

The Browning machine-gun was laid before the doctor. He looked it over

critically and sniffed delicately at it. He took from his pocket a phial

of liquid, moistened a portion of the water-jacket of the weapon, and

then rubbed the moistened part briskly with his hand. He sniffed again.

He looked disappointed, and again examined the gun closely.

 

"Carnes," he said at length, "do you see anything on this gun that looks

like tooth marks?"

 

"Nothing, Doctor."

 

"Neither do I. There are some marks here which might quite conceivably

be finger-prints of a forty-foot giant, and those two parallel grooves

look like the result of severe squeezing, but there are no tooth marks.

Strange. There is no persistent odor on the gun, which is also strange.

Well, there's no use in theorizing: we are confronted by a condition and

not a theory, as someone once said. Let's put on those baseball shoes

and see what we can find out."

 

Dr. Bird led the way into the cave, Carnes and the lieutenant following

closely with electric torches. In each hand Dr. Bird carried a

phosphorus hand-grenade. No other weapons were visible, although the

doctor knew that Carnes carried a caliber .45 automatic pistol strapped

under his left armpit. As they passed into the cave the lieutenant

stepped forward to lead the way.

 

"I'm going first," said the doctor. "Follow me and indicate the turns by

pressure on my shoulder. Don't speak after we have started, and be ready

for instant flight. Let's go."

 

Forward into the interior of the cave they made their way. The iron

cleats of the baseball shoes rang on the floor and the noise echoed back

and forth between the walls, dying out in little eerie whispers of sound

that made Carnes' hair rise. Ever forward they pressed, the lieutenant

guiding the doctor by silent pressure on his shoulder and Carnes

following closely. For half a mile they went on until a restrainable

pressure brought the doctor to a halt. The lieutenant pointed silently

toward a crack in the wall before them. Carnes started forward to

examine it, but a warning gesture from the doctor stopped him.

 

* * * * *

 

Slowly, an inch at a time, the doctor crept forward, hand-grenades in

readiness. Presently he reached the crack and, shifting one of the

grenades into his pocket, he drew forth an electric torch and sent a

beam of light through the crack into the dark interior of the earth.

 

For a moment he stood thus, and then suddenly snapped off his torch and

straightened up in an attitude of listening. The straining ears of

Carnes and Lieutenant Pearce could hear a faint slithering noise coming

toward them, not from the direction of the crack, but from the interior

of the cave. Simultaneously a faint, musky, reptilian odor became

apparent.

 

"Run!" shouted the doctor. "Run like hell! It's loose in the cave!"

 

The lieutenant turned and fled at top speed toward the distant entrance

to the cave, Carnes at his heels. Dr. Bird paused for an instant,

straining his ears, and then threw a grenade. A blinding flash came from

the point where the missile struck and a white cloud rose in the air.

The doctor turned and fled after his companions. Not for nothing had Dr.

Bird been an athlete of note in his college days. Despite the best

efforts of his companions, who were literally running for their lives,

he soon caught up with them. As he did so a weird, blood-curdling

screech rose from the darkness behind them. Higher and higher in pitch

the note rose until it ended suddenly in a gurgling grunt, as though the

breath which uttered it had been suddenly cut off. The slithering,

rustling noise became louder on their trail.

 

"Faster!" gasped the doctor, as he put his hand on Carnes' shoulder and

pushed him forward.

 

* * * * *

 

The noise of pursuit gained slightly on them, and a sound as of intense

breathing became audible. Dr. Bird paused and turned and faced the

oncoming horror. His electric torch revealed nothing, but he listened

for a moment, and then threw his second grenade. Keenly he watched its

flight. It flew through the air for thirty yards and then struck an

invisible obstruction and bounded toward the ground. Before it struck

the downward motion ceased, and it rose in the air. As it rose it burst

with a sharp report, and a wild scream of pain filled the cavern with a

deafening roar. The doctor fled again after his companions.

 

By the time he overtook them the entrance of the cave loomed before

them. With sobs of relief they burst out into the open. The guards

sprang forward with raised rifles, but Dr. Bird waved them back.

 

"There's nothing after us, men," he panted. "We got chased a little way,

but I tossed our pursuer a handful of phosphorus and it must have burned

his fingers a little, judging from the racket he made. At any rate, it

stopped the pursuit."

 

The major hurried up.

 

"Did you see it, Doctor?" he asked.

 

"No, I didn't. No one has ever seen it or anything like it. I heard it

and, from its voice, I think it has a bad cold. At least, it sounded

hoarse, so I gave is a little white phosphorus to make a poultice for

its throat, but I didn't get a glimpse of it."

 

"For God's sake, Doctor, what is it?"

 

"I can't tell you yet, Major. So far I can tell, it is something new to

science and I am not sure just what it looks like. However, I hope to be

able to show it to you shortly. Is there a telegraph office here?"

 

"No, but we have a Signal Corps detachment with us, and they have a

portable radio set which will put us in touch with the army net."

 

"Good! Can you place a tent at my disposal?"

 

"Certainly, Doctor."

 

"All right, I'll go there, and I would appreciate it if you would send

the radio operator to me. I want to send a message to the Bureau of

Standards to forward me some apparatus which I need."

 

"I'll attend to it, Doctor. Have you any special advice to give me about

the guarding?"

 

"Yes. Have you, or can you get, any live stock?"

 

"Live stock?"

 

"Yes. Cattle preferred, although hogs or sheep will do at a pinch. Sheep

will do quite well."

 

"I'll see what I can do, Doctor."

 

"Get them by all means, if it is possible to do so. Don't worry about

paying for them: secret service funds are not subject to the same audit

that army funds get. If you can locate them, drive a couple of cattle or

half a dozen sheep well into the cave and tether them there. If you

don't get them, have your sentries posted well away from the cave mouth,

and if any disturbance occurs during the night, tell them to break and

run. I hope it won't come out, but I can't tell."

 

* * * * *

 

A herd of cattle was soon located and two of the beasts driven into the

cave. Two hours later a series of horrible screams and bellowings were

heard in the cave. Following their orders the sentries abandoned their

posts and scattered, but the noise came no nearer the mouth, and in a

few minutes silence again reigned.

 

"I hope that will be all that will be needed for a couple of days," said

the doctor to the commanding officer, "but you had better have a couple

more cattle driven in in the morning. We want to keep the brute well

fed. Is there a tank stationed at Fort Thomas?"

 

"No, there isn't."

 

"Then radio Washington that I want the fastest three-man tank that the

army has sent here at once. Don't bother with military channels, radio

direct to the Adjutant General, quoting the Secretary of the Treasury as

authority. Tell him that it's a rush matter, and sign the message 'Bird'

if you are afraid of getting your tail twisted."

 

Twice more before the apparatus which the doctor had ordered from

Washington arrived cattle were driven into the depths of the cave, and

twice were the screams and bellowings from the cave repeated. Each time

searching parties found the cattle gone in the morning. A week after the

doctor's arrival, a special train came up, carrying four mechanics from

the Bureau of Standards, together with a dozen huge packing cases. Under

the direction of the doctor the cases were unpacked and the apparatus

put together. Before the assembly had been completed the tank which had

been requested arrived from Camp Meade, and the Bureau mechanics began

to install some of the assembled units in it.

 

The first apparatus which was installed in the tank consisted of an

electric generator of peculiar design which was geared to the tank

motor. The electromotive force thus generated was led across a spark gap

with points of a metallic substance. The light produced was concentrated

by a series of parabolic reflectors, directed against a large quartz

prism, and thence through a lens which was designed to throw a slightly

divergent beam.

 

"This apparatus," Dr. Bird explained to the Signal Corps officer, who

was an interested observer, "is one which was designed at the Bureau for

the large scale production of ultra-violet light. There is nothing

special about the generator except that it is highly efficient and gives

an almost constant electromotive force. The current thus produced is

led across these points, which are composed of magnalloy, a development

of the Bureau. We found on investigation that a spark gave out a light

which was peculiarly rich in ultra-violet rays when it was passed

between magnesium points. However, such points could not be used for the

handling of a steady current because of lack of durability and ease of

fusion, so a mixture of graphite, alundum and metallic magnesium was

pressed together with a binder which will stand the heat. Thus we get

the triple advantages of ultra-violet light production, durability, and high resistance.