8 THE GHASTLY SECRET REVEALED

The shocked silence continued for an inordinately long time because, as you can very well imagine, no one had much to say after receiving that news. Steigen-Sterben, knowing how they felt, tiptoed out of the door and left them to their sadness.

"She was a good old girl," Chuck finally choked out.

"A-number-one," Jerry choked in answer.

"Let's go fuel up the plane and rebuild that starboard engine," Jerry suggested.

"Good idea," Chuck agreed, and they left in silence with their misery.

John let them go, knowing they wanted to be alone together, or maybe just alone, or maybe together, with their loss. He felt the loss no less keenly himself, although he had known that wonderful girl only from a distance up until a few days ago. He scuffled about the room dazedly, and when he passed the sealed trapdoor, he gave it a vicious kick and it instantly flew open. At this unexpected event he drew back, his keen senses alert again, wondering instantly what it could mean. Whatever it meant he had to investigate, even if the dark opening were filled with repellent Garnishee – in fact, he would welcome that! Take as many as possible to the grave with him. He remembered that there was an armory in the next room, and he hurried there and seized a heavy sword, then rushed back to the gaping entrance to the netherworld revealed by the open trapdoor. Filled by conflicting emotions, he did not think or reason but hurled himself headlong into the darkness. Something struck his skull heavily, and he was unconscious on the instant.

When he came to an immeasurable period of time later, all was in darkness still, and bis head hurt. Not only that but there was an awful stench in the air, and he knew instantly that it was the Garnishee, he had heard they smelled bad and, wow!, was that rumor ever right. They were close around him, unseen and slithering close, and the instant a wet tentacle slithered down his face, he lashed out with a quick fist and connected solidly, and a really satisfying scream – they screamed like girls – was his reward.

Then there was a sudden flare of light, and he saw that he had been right and he was surrounded by the repulsive Garnishee. Well, half right at least, because the one he had hit was really Sally Goodfellow, who had been stroking his head, who, in return, got a right cross to the eye, wbich was now producing a really interesting mouse.

"You're alive!" he gasped.

"No thanks to you, you monster! You trying to kill me?"

"I thought you were a monster."

"Well, you thought wrong, and gee, thanks."

"We thought you were dead. Steigen-Sterben told us so."

"Old Steigy has said a lot of things that aren't so kosher. Now listen. . . ."

"You listen. I just found out that I am sitting on my sword. When I count to three, you make a break for it, and I'll cut these creeps down. One, two-"

"No, hold on, will you, and just listen for a minute." She dived across the intervening space and hung from his sword arm so he couldn't lift it, and two of the Garnishee quickly disarmed him.

"Why, you ofay dyke, traitor to the human race and-"

"I said listen, not flap the jaw. Listen and learn."

"Weel you tell heem all?" the Garnishee who was holding the lamp said, disconcertingly, because his mouth was just above his waist, where, if he were a human being, he would have had his 'pippick'.

"I'll tell him, Slug-Togath, but make sure your boys hold onto him well. One shiner a day is enough."

"Why, you-"

"Shaddap. Listen and learn, kiddo. We have been had. Steigen-Sterben and his bunch are nothing but a bunch of weirdos who have been trying to take over this planet for ten thousand years from the law-abiding Garnishee."

"Who fed you this line of guff?"

"I did, young man," said Slug-Togath, "so please have the courtesy to permit the young lady to finish before you interrupt."

"Yeah," John sneered, feeling put down. "Your manners aren't so great either, nor is your smell. And your English isn't so wonderful. Where did you learn it, on the radio?"

"It so happens I did. Our powerful receivers have been listening to your radio programs for years. Little Orphan Annie, BBC, Radio Free Transylvania, Buck Rogers, Radio Moscow, the works. Though you apparently have received none of our answering broadcasts, undoubtedly because of the inferiority of your receivers."

Feeling more than a little put upon, John relaxed, although the imprisoning tentacles held firm, and then listened with growing incredulity.

"First off," Sally explained, "the Garnishee grabbed me and then hit you on the head in the darkness so that the Ormoloo. who monitor our thoughts all the time no matter what you hear to the contrary. would think I had been killed. What really happened was they put a mind shield on my head, your head too, so our thoughts could not be read. See mine." She turned so he could see the golden mesh of wire on her skull, very much like an alien yarmulke, and he became aware, at the same time, of one on his own head as well.

"Once my mind was shielded Slug-Togath explained, with colored slides, the history of this planet. It seems the Garnishee are the only intelligent race here, and since they are millennia older than our Earth civilizations, they are way ahead of us in the science field and that kind of thing. They have a democratic form of government with an elected head of state, that's Slug-Togath here, he is the prime minister, a two-house congress, a supreme court and graduated income tax. All was like unto a paradise on Earth, or rather Domite, until the Lortonoi came along and began this war of extinction. "

"The who?"

"The Lortonoi."

"That's what I thought you said. But what about the Ormoloo, whom they are supposed to be fighting?"

"They are nothing but domesticated animals, like cattle on Earth, whose minds, what they have of them, have been seized by the Lortonoi and have been used for their evil ends."

"Well, that at least explains their eating habits – and that film we saw!"

"I heard about that. That film was made by the Garnishee many years ago. It's a training film for a butcher's school, showing how to cut the Ormoloo up for chops and steaks and things like that. Now shut up and listen, will you, because we don't have too much time. Where was I? Oh, yes, ten thousand years ago the Lortonoi landed on this planet and attempted to seize the minds of the Garnishee and turn them into slaves so they could use the advanced technology here since they, the Lortonoi, have never had any science of their own but only use slave races to do everything. Anyway, the Garnishee resisted, and some unsung genius invented the mind shields which they now all wear from the moment of birth. "

"How can they?" John broke in, becoming more confused instead of less. "They don't have heads but tentacles on top instead."

"They can because they wear the mind shields on their brains, not their heads, stupid, so they don't need heads. Particularly since they have their brains in one of their feet." And sure enough, now that his attention was drawn to it, John saw that each of the aliens had a mind shield on one foot. "So once their minds were shielded they fought back and determined to crush the evil invaders. But this has taken a long time. From their secret headquarters the Lortonoi fiends took control of many of the Ormoloo, causing them to break free of the ranches and fields, to kill the cowboys, and to rise against their masters. By themselves the Ormoloo have the intelligence of retarded sheep, but their minds are now controlled from afar, so they organize into armies, run factories and that kind of thing, and war to the death against the peaceful Garnishee."

It took John a few minutes to digest this, but digest it he did, and his jaw firmed up, and he reached a decision.

"It all makes sense, Sally, and if it is true, then we'd better rush and get hold of Jerry and Chuck because they are in great danger because I am sure that all the Ormoloo want from us is the secret of the cheddite projector. But I must have some proof. I cannot take this all on hearsay, as, you will pardon my saying so, you have. It is one thing to convince a simple, though lovely, girl-"

"Why, thanks a lot, buster! I have a BA in home economics!"

"-it is another thing to show proof to someone of my background and training in spying, warfare, intelligence, brain surgery, proctoscopy, codes and ciphers, blue-ribbon cooking, and murder."

Tentacles waved, and Slug-Togath waved fastest. "Waving tentacles mean agreement, tovarich – or is it mister?" he said.

"Call me John – but that's only for my friends."

"We desperately desire your friendship soon-to-becalled-John. Come this way, for demonstration has been prepared."

He led the way through a labyrinth of tunnels that apparently lay under the Ormoloo fort, to a dimly lit room one wall of which was made of glass.

"Silence," he whispered, "for we can be heard but not seen since that partition is made of one-way glass. If you will look, you will see some Ormoloo whom we have recently taken prisoner."

John looked and gasped. The Ormoloo were down on all sixes, or rather what he thought had been arms had really been legs, which explained the variations in joints he had noticed. They strolled about with empty stares while some of their number ate grass from a manger. One of them mooed lowingly, and the others took up the cry until it sounded like milking time on the ranch.

"But what?" John gasped.

"Look," Slug-Togath directed. "Each of them is wearing a mind shield so it cannot be controlled by the Lortonoi. Now the demonstration. We have a remote manipulating apparatus in the ceiling with which we will remove the brain shield from any of these creatures that you may select. The choice is up to you."

"You're on. Okay, that one there that's making like feeding time at the zoo."

A metal arm tipped with claw fingers dropped down from above and whisked the shielding from the Ormoloo's head. Instantly it spat out the grass and stood upright on its hind legs, the light of evil intelligence now glowing in its formerly bucolic eyes. There was a rack of swords across the room, and it dived that way and seized one. Instantly Slug-Togath spoke.

"Put down that sword and surrender. If you don't, we will injure that Ormoloo body you have possessed." His only answer was an evil cackle.

"What care I for this cattle body?" the thing shouted and leaped forward sword raised. "We Lortonoi cannot die, but you Garnishee can, and we will not stop until you are destroyed. . . ."

The metal arm swooped and put the mind shield back into place and instantly a dramatic change took place. The sword clattered to the floor, and the Ormoloo dropped back on all sixes, mooing loudly, then returned to the grass and began to feed again. John had seen enough.

"Slug-Togath, old monster, I have seen enough," he said. "Put her there." And they shook hands, or rather tentacles, or rather tentacle and hand. "From now on we're on the same side. Now let's go get the rest of the gang."

"Might I suggest that discretion is the better part of valor," Slug-Togath suggested. "If it is discovered that you are using mind shields, you will instantly have every Ormoloo turned against you. What is important, and the first order of business, is to grab the cheddite projector. Once you have that secured we will pour out of the tunnels and overwhelm the fort, and you will be safe, as will the Pleasantville Eagle. We will have only this one chance, and we must not muff it, because all our surviving warriors are here in the tunnel, only cripples and children remain at home, since you annihilated ninety-nine point nine percent of our people."

"Sorry about that."

"Not half as sorry as we are, but that is neither here nor there, and within a thousand years our population will have grown again. But now, to work! Darkness has fallen, and we will lead you through this maze of tunnels to an exit very near your flying vehicle. Remember, to the Lortonoi you are invisible since your mind is shielded. But if one of their slave Ormoloo sees you that will be the ball game. So – steal home and hit a home run."

"You hear a lot of baseball games on yoqr highpowered radio?"

"Far too many. Now go! Take these mind shields for your friends, and place this communicating device in your pocket, and once you have the cheddite projector in your possession, press this button labeled 'apritzxer' which can be translated, roughly, as OK."

"I can't read these hen tracks."

"Most annoying. Well, this one then, of the color red"

"You're on."

"Good luck!" Sally called out. "The fate of a world, perhaps of the whole known universe, rests with you." He pressed her hand, then was gone. The Garnishee stumped quickly along on their thick legs, and he had to hurry to keep up. Finally they came to a tunnel that ended in a raw dirt wall.

"Extinguish the lights," Slug-Togath ordered. "We have arrived. Only a foot of dirt remains between us and the surface. My men will now dig it away, and you will emerge. Our hopes go with you."

There was a rapid insufflating sound, and an opening appeared in the raw dirt and was quickly widened. Stars were visible in the dark sky beyond, and aided by a pushing tentacle, John squeezed through and onto the ground beyond. He was in a shallow gully, and when he peered carefully over the edge, he saw the fort, illuminated in the darkness, with the Pleasantville Eagle close by. He crawled that way, seeking what cover he could, drawn on by the welcoming cabin lights. He smiled into the darkness, knowing what kind of welcome his news would bring. Sally alive! What a greeting he would get! Then the gangway was close to hand, and after a quick look around to make sure that the coast was clear, he rushed up it and into the cabin. The door opened to the pilot's compartment, and Chuck came in carrying the cheddite projector.

"Chuck!" John called out. "I have some really tremendous news for you. But first put down that gadget because I don't want it busted."

"Yes," Chuck said, listlessly, undoubtedly still filled with grief about Sally. Was he in for a surprise!

"Now listen, guy – and I'm really on the level. About Sally. . . what are you doing?"

He looked on puzzledly as Chuck straightened up again with the submachine gun in his arms, an evil grin on his features.

"What am I going to do? I am going to kill you, filthy alien swine!"

The gun roared point blank, and darkness instantly fell.