Wanted-7 Fearless Engineers! Part 5

CHAPTER V

_Voyaging to Another World_

During each waking period, Barrow spent many hours in the room with the miniature domes. They were beautiful models, which could be opened or moved as desired, by small levers on the foundation. Wires as fine as hairs were strung from one spot to another, while metal the size of thread represented heavy cables.

Slowly, an understanding of the strange civilization formed in d.i.c.k's mind, and he drew sectional maps of the location of all mechanical equipment. Other maps pictured the streets, so that it would be easy to reach any desired destination. When this was done, Morquil sent one of his men down to make as many copies as desired. Each engineer was to have a complete set.

The earthmen had learned to keep track of the time according to the system on the ship. Each "lix" included the time spent in sleep as well as one waking period. It was twenty-seven hours in length, but they all thought of it as a day.

Each lix was divided into thirty-six "migs." Each mig being just forty-five minutes in length. They were able to keep track of each mig, by their watches, although the time pieces were useless for any other purpose.

One lix, d.i.c.k returned the friendly smile of a member of the crew, and to his amazement the man spoke. "Chickiboo." For a moment Barrow was stumped, then realized that it must be a greeting.

When he was greeted the same way, by a second and then a third man, he tried to imitate the words. The man from Jupiter was so pleased that he almost danced, then spoke again. "Gootmording."

d.i.c.k's jaw almost dropped open; the man was trying to speak _English_!

Suddenly Barrow laughed. Morquil had been instructing his crew in the strange language, as well as telling them to greet the earthmen in their own tongue. He must speak about holding cla.s.ses to learn the language.

They would have to understand it, and the sooner they started the easier it would be.

The following lix, d.i.c.k stopped on the ramp to the machinery hold to listen. McCarthy was humming the tune of a song that had been the rage at home, but the words were "chicki-boo--chicki-boo--chicki-boo."

Barrow smiled as he approached, but the big Irishman didn't realize the reason. He was almost bursting with news.

"I've got it, d.i.c.k! I've found the key! Don't laugh, but I've discovered the working principle of this little machine, and it will lead to the secret of all others. In a month I'll know how this crate runs."

"Don't worry, I'm not laughing, John. I think it's great that you've got this far. I only wish the others would show as much interest. Not one of them has been down here for more than a few minutes, and they know little more than when we started."

"Aw! Don't take it that way, d.i.c.k. It isn't their fault. Didn't you ever see their _wives_? Those women won't let the men out of their sight for three minutes. Your wife and mine are different--they _trust_ us! If we tell 'em the ship's okay, it's okay; but _them_--say, they can't tell their wives anything. The women in their families do _all_ of the talking."

d.i.c.k laughed, but knew that it was close to the truth. The other men in the party _were_ tied to their wives' ap.r.o.n strings. Aside from Dolores and Eileen McCarthy, none of the women trusted the s.p.a.ce ship. They were afraid it might fly to pieces at any moment, although they had overcome their fear enough to find means of entertainment.

Small devices in the cabin showed miniature movies, with words in the tongue of the dome cities. Discovering this created desire to understand the language, and they eagerly attended the cla.s.ses.

One lix d.i.c.k found Jerold Brown examining a piece of machinery. A few lix later Andrew Smith had joined him. Soon every earthman was spending his time in the machinery hold, with McCarthy acting as instructor. He would accept no excuse for being late at his cla.s.ses--and they all arrived on time!

Weeks slipped by as the ship drove on through s.p.a.ce. The earthmen learned to admire the men from Jupiter for their constant good-nature, although they were slightly childish.

The crew of engineers were slowly learning the rudiments of Jupiter's science. Barrow through his study of the domes, and McCarthy through study of the machines, far surpa.s.sed the others. At times both men spent hours in the model room, at others d.i.c.k examined the machines beside the Irishman. They compared notes until each knew the other's findings.

d.i.c.k took all the men into the model room once every third lix, and spent four hours instructing them in the civilization. Each man had his own set of maps, and marked down facts about his future location. d.i.c.k copied their notes on a large map, that covered all the cities. They used numbers to signify different mechanisms, to make it easier to describe equipment that was duplicated in more than one dome.

In a month they were able to carry on light conversation, and from then on mastery of the language was faster. The women far surpa.s.sed the men, due to desire for entertainment.

When he was able to question the crew, d.i.c.k received a terrible shock.

_They knew less about the ship's operation than his own men!_ They didn't understand their own equipment!

The people of the domes were content to enjoy the mechanical wonders of their ancestors--without bothering about how they ran. They used equipment for every purpose, without the slightest interest in why it worked. The earthmen suddenly realized what a gigantic task they faced.

_Seven men_--to rebuild a civilization!

The men at the controls knew what reaction would take place by movement of a lever, but _didn't understand why_! d.i.c.k became slightly worried about reaching their destination--it was beyond all reason. Earthmen wouldn't have attempted to operate equipment they knew nothing about, by movement of controls to obtain the proper action.

It was no wonder these people had found it necessary to find engineers to run their machines!

Months slipped by as the ship moved steadily toward the giant planet.

Every piece of equipment seemed to be the answer to perfection. This voyage had taught them more about mechanics than was covered in a complete engineering course on earth. It was of a far different kind, with gravity the basis of all operation. Even the s.p.a.ce ship employed some of the same power, drawn from the nearest heavy body, then amplified until it reached enormous proportions.[1]

Peter Yarbro was a practical chemist, and spent many hours trying to a.n.a.lyze the fuel. It was highly inflammable, yet could stand terrific compression without effect. When it was allowed to expand again, it reached the flash point immediately, creating enormous amounts of heavy gas. He believed it might be duplicated from crude oil, properly refined.

When d.i.c.k learned that there was a history of the s.p.a.ce ship, in the metal books, his curiosity was aroused. He could read the language of the domes slightly, but not enough to study the intricate explanations.

It was through these books that the dome men had learned to control the ship, and set the course for any desired planet.

Morquil's aid was enlisted, to translate the text, and he learned some amazing facts. A description of the fuel was given, but the base for manufacture was unknown, being of natural origin on Jupiter. As Morquil read farther and explained sections that d.i.c.k couldn't understand, the earthman felt uneasy.

The crew had abandoned all hope of returning to their home planet, the first time they started from the earth. They didn't understand what it meant to feel responsible for equipment. They manufactured enough fuel for two trips, according to the rating of consumption in the books--but d.i.c.k wondered?

The tanks were filled to capacity before the first trip, and hadn't been tested since. The happy dome people didn't consider that their ancestors might have been mistaken, or that actual operation might vary from the original plan.

For the first time in twenty years, the gauges were examined. Barrow and McCarthy crawled through the dust-coated pa.s.sage beneath the floor of the machinery hold. They found a light switch, but the bulbs were so dust-coated that only a faint glow shed on the surrounding metal. They sneezed and coughed, as the dust-laden air filled their lungs.

"Darned if you don't get the craziest ideas, d.i.c.k. What good will it do to know how much 'ship juice' there is, anyway? We can't _make_ it! This hole wasn't built for self-respecting men to crawl through."

"I don't know, John, but this trip may not be as easy as it appears.

They've been driving at full force for months, when it seems to me that less power might carry us when we're not within the pull of some planet.

I want to make _sure_ that there's plenty of fuel. According to the books, the designers didn't expect the ship to be driven this hard."

John did a little cussing when they located the gauges, and found them so thick with grime that they had to be cleaned. He headed back through the dust for a cloth, with d.i.c.k's laugh following. "Alright, alright, but don't rub it in. Just because you happened to be in front of me, and there isn't room to pa.s.s, don't give you the right to laugh. Some day you'll be eating your share of dust, and will _I_ laugh! I bet that the domes are _all_ a mess."

d.i.c.k wrote down the reading of each gauge, as John cleaned the surfaces.

He couldn't understand the strange numerals, and had to go over them with Morquil. Both men breathed a sigh of relief as they crawled back through the floor of the hold, and dropped the trap door in place.

An hour later d.i.c.k began to worry. According to Morquil, the tanks were _less than one-eighth full_. The big-headed man had gone over the figures twice, and was showing signs of agitation as he checked them again at Barrow's request. When he glanced up, d.i.c.k knew there was no mistake.

"The fuel _is_ low d.i.c.k. According to the other trip, the greatest use of power is at the time we approach the planet, to fight the pull of gravity. Our trip from earth is only half completed, with the greatest need of fuel still ahead. You must think my race very stupid not to have thought of it?"

It took d.i.c.k a long time to answer. His mind was searching frantically for some solution. It was useless to ask help of the crew--they couldn't even _think_ scientifically!

"No, Morquil. I don't think you're stupid, but I do consider your people very foolish. From the appearance of things _we will never reach the domes_!

"Unless something drastic is accomplished, the ship will smash to pieces on your planet. You don't know _anything_ about the ship's operation, and we've only studied it for a short time."