United States or Wallis and Futuna ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
It wasn't even a long one for Coburn, but it was much worse than he'd thought. The crevices for handholds were rare, and footholds were almost non-existent. There were times when he felt he was holding on by his fingernails. Dillon seemed to have made it with perfect ease, but Coburn found it exhausting. Fifty feet up he came to the place where Dillon had vanished.
A lot of the handholds were missing, and he had to throw himself along by erratic leaps. He was gaining proficiency, but not enough to handle himself if the ship blasted off. Time was growing short when he reached the aft bunkroom where the other tubemen were waiting. "Ben," one husky introduced himself. "Tube chief. Know how to work this?"
So he sawed out a little double trap, opening in the center, just big enough for single file, and put on strong spring hinges that open only one way the way in, of course with no handholds on the above side. Then he took a little look inside himself, and came back down the ladder, and the procession started. "No such a collection of our family was ever seen before or since.
"Get me the books and charts from the supplies," Rip directed. "Have Santos take them to the chief analyst. I'm going back and figure our course. No use doing it the hard way on the asteroid, when I can do it in a few minutes here with the ship's computer." He turned and hurried back, hauling himself along by handholds. The ship had stopped acceleration and was at no-weight again.
In another place the slope was covered with slippery grass where it was hard to find either handholds or footholds. The guide said that there were lots of snakes here. The humidity was great, the heat was excessive, and we were not in training.
Mayors reason slowly, but, the well being eliminated, the official mind had to travel toward the standpipe there was no other track for it to go in. The standpipe amply rewarded investigation. The tramp had got even with Moonstone. He had climbed the standpipe by the handholds and let himself down into seventy-five feet of cold water, with his shoes and hat and roll of ticking.
"Shucks, that's swell, Les," Ramos responded, suddenly curious. "Here, also," Nelsen enthused. "Sure," Gimp said. But his smile thinned. In this gravity, going to Lester's place was a floating glide rather than a walk. Along a covered causeway, into a huge dome, up a wall with handholds, onto a wispy balcony. Nelsen and Ramos brought liquor and roses.
Trailer-trucks had their body doors open, and they were packed with the workmen of the construction camp near Boulder Lake. The sedans were jammed with passengers. Dirt mover trucks had men holding fast to handholds, and there were men in the backs of the dump trucks. The racing traffic filled the highway from edge to edge. It rushed past, giving off a deafening roar and clouds of gasoline fumes.
Unlike the soundless discharge of his special gun in the outer airlessness, the blast of air that came into the waiting chamber was like a hurricane in noise and force, as the room filled in a few seconds. He held onto the handholds tightly while the brief but violent winds buffeted him. He turned as the inner door opened. His eyes took in the picture in a fraction of a second.
"Get me the books and charts from the supplies," Rip directed. "Have Santos bring them to the chief analyst. I’m going back and figure our course. No use doing it the hard way on the asteroid when I can do it in a few minutes here with the ship’s computer." He turned and hurried back, hauling himself along by handholds. The ship had stopped acceleration and was at no-weight again.
Word Of The Day