Ole Doc Methuselah Part 2

"Dart," said Blanchard, "take a run over to that medi-

cal s.h.i.+p and find out what a Soldier of Light is doing in a place like this."

The Martian fumbled with his mask and then uneasily hefted his blaster belt. He squirmed and wriggled as though some communication of great importance had met a dam halfway up to the surface. Blanchard stared at him.

"Well? Go! What are you waiting for?"

Dart squirmed until a small red haze of dust stood about his boots. "I've always been faithful to you, captain.

I ain't never sold you out to n.o.body. I'm honest, that's what I am." His dishonest eyes wriggled upwards until they reached the level of Blanchard's collar.

Blanchard came upright. There was a s.a.d.i.s.tic stir in his hands. Under this compulsion Dart wilted and his voice from a vicious whine changed to a monotonous wail: "That was the s.h.i.+p Miss Elston ran to. I'm an honest man and I ain't going to tell you no different."

"But you said she escaped and I've had twelve men searching for her. Dart, why couldn't you have told me this?"

"I just thought she'd fly away and that would be all there was to it. I didn't think she'd come back. But you ain't got nothing to be feared of, Captain Blanchard. No Soldier of Light can monkey with politics. The Universal Medical Council won't interfere."

Captain Blanchard's hands, long, thin, twisted anew as though they were wrapping themselves around the sinews in Dart's body and snapping them out one by one. He restrained the motion and sank back. "You know I'm your friend, Dart. You know I wouldn't do anything to hurt you. You know it's only those who oppose my will whom I ... shall I say, remove. You know that you are safe enough."

"Oh yes, Captain Blanchard, I know you are my friend.

I appreciate it. You don't know how I appreciate it. I'm an honest man and I don't mind saying so."

"And you'll always be honest, won't you, Dart?" said Blanchard, white hands twitching. He smiled. From a deep pocket he extracted first a long knife with which he regularly pared his nails, then a thick sheaf of money, and finally amongst several deeds, a communication which Mr.

Elston had been attempting to bring to Spico. He read it through in all its d.a.m.ning certainty. It said that the Procyon-Sirius s.p.a.ceways would not use this planet. Then, striking a match to light a cigar he touched it to the

doc.u.ment and idly watched it burn. The last flaming

fragment was suddenly hurled at the Martian.

"Get over there instantly," said Blanchard, "and find out what you can. If Miss Elston comes away from that s.h.i.+p unattended, see that she never goes back to it. And make very certain, my honest friend, that the Soldier on that s.h.i.+p doesn't find out anything."

But before Dart had more than beaten out the fire on the skirt of his coat a youthful pleasant voice addressed them. Blanchard hastily smoothed out his hands, veiled his eyes, and with a smile which he supposed to be winning faced the speaker.

Ole Doc, having given them his "good morning", con- tinued guilelessly as though he had not heard a thing.

"My, what a beautiful prospect you have here. If I could only find the man who sells the lots-"

Blanchard stood up instantly and grasped Doc Methuse- lah by the hand which he pumped with enormous enthusi- asm. "Well you've come to the right place, stranger. I am Captain Blanchard and very pleased to make your ac- quaintance Mr.-"

"Oh, Captain Blanchard, I have heard a great deal about you," said Ole Doc, his blue eyes very innocent. "It is a wonderful thing you are doing here. Making all these people rich and happy."

"Oh, not my doing I a.s.sure you," said Captain Blan- chard. "This project was started by a Mr. Elston of New York City, Earth. I am but his agent trying in my small way to carry out his orders." He freed his hand and swept it to take in the dreary, dusty, and being-cluttered pros- pect. "Happy, happy people," he said. "Oh, you don't know what pleasure it gives me to see little homes being created and small families being placed in the way of great riches. You don't know." Very affectedly he gazed down at the dirt as though to let tears of happiness splash into it undetected. However, no tears splashed.

After a little he recovered himself enough to say, "We have only two lots left and they are a thousand dollars apiece."

Ole Doc promptly dragged two bills from his breast pocket and handed them over. If he was surprised at this swift method of doing business, Captain Blanchard man- aged to again master bis emotion. He quickly escorted Ole

Doc to the clapboard shack which served as the city hall so that the deeds could be properly recorded.

As they entered the flimsy structure a tall prepossessing individual stopped Blanchard and held him in momentary converse concerning a program to put schools into effect.

Ole Doc, eyeing the man estimated him as idealistic but stupid. He was not particularly surprised when Blanchard introduced him as Mr. Zoran, the mayor of Junction City.

Here, thought Ole Doc, is the fall guy when Blanchard clears out.

"I'm very glad to make your acquaintance Mr.-" said Mayor Zoran.

"And I yours," said Ole Doc. "It must be quite an honor to have ten thousand people so completely depen- dent upon your judgment."

Mayor Zoran swelled slightly. "I find it a heavy but honorable trust, sir. There is nothing I would not do for our good citizens. You may talk of empire builders, sir, but in the future you cannot omit mention of these fine beings who make up our population in Junction City. We have kept the riffraff to a minimum, sir. We are families, husbands, wives, small children. We are determined, sir, to make this an Eden." He nodded at this happy thought, smiled. "To make this an Eden wherein we all may pros- per, for with the revenue of the s.p.a.ceways flooding through our town, and with our own work in the fields to raise its supplies, and with the payroll of the atomic plant which Captain Blanchard a.s.sures us will begin to be built within a month we may look forward to long, happy and prosperous lives."

Ole Doc looked across the bleak plain. A two-year winter would come to Spico soon, a winter in which no food could be raised. He looked at Mayor Zoran. "I trust, sir, that you have reserved some of your capital against possible emergencies, emergencies such as food, or the cost of relief expeditions coming here."

Captain Blanchard masked a startled gleam which had leaped into his agate eyes. "I am sure that there is no need for that," he said.

Mayor Zoran's head shook away any thought of such a need. "If land and building materials have been expen- sive," he said, "I am sure there will be more money in the community as soon as the s.p.a.ceways representatives ar- rive, and there is enough food now for three weeks. By the way," he said, turning to Blanchard, "didn't you teU

me that today was the day the officials would come here?"

Blanchard caught and hid his hands. "Why, my dear mayor," he said, "there are always slight delays. These big companies, you know, officials with many things on their minds, today, tomorrow, undoubtedly sometime this week."

Mayor Zoran was rea.s.sured and shaking hands with Ole Doc and Captain Blanchard strode off into the street where he made a small procession of his progress. People stopped him here and there and asked him eagerly for news.

Inside at the desk a small sleepy clerk woke up long enough to get out his records book, but, before the trans- action could be begun, Ole Doc took back the two one thousand dollar bills.

"There are two or three things which I would like to know," said Ole Doc innocently. "I wonder if there are going to be schools?"

"Oh yes, of course," said Blanchard. "I didn't know that you were a family man."

"And will there be medical facilities?" said Ole Doc.

"Why yes, just this morning a s.h.i.+p of the Universal Medical Society landed here. It won't be long before they start work on the hospitals."

"But," said Ole Doc smoothly, "the Universal Medical Society does only research and major planning. Certainly they would not take cognizance of Spico."

"Well now, I wouldn't be too sure," said Captain Blan- chard. "And besides we have the usual common run of physicians here, three of them."

Ole Doc repressed his "humph" at this and smiled.

"Well, I suppose you know more about it than I do," he said. "But what about your water supply? Is it adequate?"

Here Captain Blanchard began to a.s.sume his most expansive and guileless pose and would have carried on for some time about the excellence of the water supply if Ole Doc had not interrupted him.

"You say you have three reservoirs already. Now, are these community owned or would it be possible to buy them?"

Captain Blanchard had not expected that morning that his stars would arise so luckily. His thin white hands began to twitch as though already plucking gold from the pockets

of his victim. "But this would require," said Captain Blan- chard, "a great deal of money. Yes, indeed, a great deal of money."

Ole Doc smiled as though this were an easy matter.

"For the water company," he said, "I would be willing to pay a very reasonable amount."

The sleepy clerk was sleepy no longer. His eyes widened. Here he was observing the captains of industry at work.