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toward the creeper's
tender. A jump and he was on the tender's treads. He undogged a port in the
side of the tender,
swung the eight-inch thick door back, and plugged in the hoses that trailed
behind him to the moon
creeper; Reaching past the hose connections, Pete pulled out a suitcase of
frozen food.
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'I hope they packed something in this one besides peanut butter sandwiches,'
he said. His cynicism
was lost on the moon creeper. Pete returned. The hoses would automatically
decouple and follow him
when the refueling was complete.
Back inside the creeper things were quiet as usual. 'So much for that month's
work,' Pete said as
he shoved the frost-covered suitcase into its storage place. The moon creeper
didn't comment. A
few minutes later they started moving.
'I gather our present plans are to continue back to Copernicus and help dig
out one of the west
entrances?'
'No, the work crew can handle that. Copernicus Control has directed us to
delay and continue our
current prospecting program until we're called back,' the moon creeper
answered.
Pete sighed. He was anticipating a week end in Copernicus. Now there is some
question whether
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Harvey Reinfield got under cover in time,' the moon creeper continued. 'He was
about one hundred
miles northwest of here, at Mayer A. No one can raise his creeper.'
'Harv?'
'The satellite will check him in about three minutes.'
'Damn! Tap their picture when they get it. I want to see it,' Pete said.
'We are the closest party to him in this area, so we will probably be asked to
investigate,' the
moon creeper said.
Pete leaned over the control console waiting for the new satellite picture.
'Harv's probably just
got communications trouble. Is his tender's emergency transmitter going?'
'No.'
'So either both he and his tender got caught in something together, or he's
O.K.'
A few minutes later the strip map was replaced by a television picture from
the satellite. Rapidly
the camera found the trail leading into Mayer A, and then followed a
particular pair of tracks.
They ended in a pile of rubble at the inside face of the crater cliff. The
tender and another
carrier were a couple hundred feet away. Pete snorted.
'Can the satellite pick up Harv's interphone?'
'Yes, Copernicus Control is trying to break in.'
'Break in?' Pete asked.
In answer to Pete's question the moon creeper switched in the radio system
direct. A string of
profanity was being transmitted. Pete was surprised, and then he smiled as he
recognized Harv's
voice, and settled down to wait for it to stop. He noted several new words and
made a mental note
to ask Harv about them later.
A couple of minutes later there was a temporary lull and Copernicus Control
was so ill advised as
to ask what happened. After detailing the controller's incestuous ancestory,
the answer came.
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'.... What do you think happened? I got caught in this ... slide!'
'I noticed something of the sort. Are you in trouble?' asked Copernicus
Control innocently.
* * *
There was a long silence as Harv assimilated the implications of the question.
He finally said,
'I'd like to tell you to take a running jump, but it happens that I'm in
trouble and I do need
help.' There was a long pause during which Copernicus Control kept silent. 'I
was spiraling out of
Mayer A when I saw a flash reflected from the north wall. I stopped figuring
that the rim would
give me some protection. A couple of minutes later the slide started. I tried
to get out of its
way, but didn't make it. It took off my antennas, treads, and my shield. I'm
now lying on my side,
completely buried. I have three weeks' food and air, with no apparent leaks,'
Harv reported.
'Pete Miller has been listening in,' Copernicus Control said. 'What equipment
will you need to dig
the biggest mouth on the moon out of his rockpile, Pete?'
'What?' Harv said.
'Relax, Harv,' Pete said. 'We'll all do our best to extricate you from this
trouble your stupid
lack of judgement got you into.
'What do you mean big-mouth and stupid?' shouted Harv.
'It looks like I'm going to need a full range of digging equipment,' Pete
continued, ignoring
Harvey, 'starting with blasters, and working down to needle samplers. Some
jacks, a portable spy-
ray, be sure to include a shadow magnetometer, blast shields, a small tractor
beam, something to
haul the creeper back on, since it's too expensive to abandon ...
'Hm-m-m !' said Harv.
'Some sheets of plastic and adhesive, a couple of twenty- or thirty-foot steel
wrecking bars,
cable, a couple small winches, -a dozen explosive anchors, a portable crevasse
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bridge. Make that
two bridges,' Pete said. 'Any idea how deep you are, Harv?'
'Nothing but rock in sight,' Harv answered.
'Have I forgotten anything?' Pete asked.
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'Yeah,' Harv answered. 'A flask of brandy for the poor victim!'
'I'll send the stuff around after our digging party. I think they've already
left. Where do you
want to pick it up?' asked Copernicus Control.
'If it takes only four hours to dig out the first entrance, it'll be just
about as fast to send it
out that way. That'll also give me time to get out to Mayer A and survey the
situation. Then I can
ask for anything else I may need. I can also check the trail from Mayer L on
out for any new
chasms or slides, which means that the man bringing the stuff out will be able
to travel most of
the trail at high speed. I'll need about twenty-four hours plus to get out to
Harv, and the first
entrance should be open at about the same time.'
'We figure twenty-eight hours from now, plus or minus an hour,' Copernicus
Control said.
'It'll take about twenty-two to twenty-four hours after the entrance is open
for him to get to
Mayer A. By the way, Harv,' Pete asked puzzled by a sudden thought, 'what were
you doing out at
Mayer A? It's already been surveyed a couple of times.
'Can't tell you, Pete. Ask the Mayor,' answered Harv.
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'I've got other work to do. Will check back later. Bye,' Copernicus Control
broke in and cut off
Pete and Harv.
'What the hell goes on here?' Pete said. He sat in front of the television
screen where the moon
creeper again displayed a strip map of the area. This was a surprise! Someone,
maybe the Mayor of
Copernicus, had some reason for getting Harv out to Mayer A in such a hurry
that no one had
bothered to provide him with a cover story. Actually, a moment's reflection
told Pete, there would
normally be no reason for a cover story. No one except Harv, the Mayor, and
Copernicus Control
need know anything about the trip. It was only because of the meteorite storm
and the accident
that anyone else knows even now, Pete thought. At this point they can't say
much over the radio,
but they can send someone special out with the digging equipment. They will
probably suggest a
story to Harv. They would not have to say much. Harv was mighty fast on the
uptake, and could spin
out a yarn with the best of them. Except Harv wasn't anything else or anyone
else than Harvey
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