Argosy All-Story Weekly, Vol. 124, No. 3 — page 95: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

THE METAL MONSTER. “ Pll say it’s not!”’ he exclaimed. “ You put it in a nut-shell, Doc. You certainly have sized up the situation with an amazing and original brevity.” I flushed at the broad sarcasm. ‘And at that you’re dead wrong,” he went on. ‘‘ Now is the time for the tm- mortal spirit of man to tap from itself the immortal laughter of the Gods who made him,” he intoned,; drolly. ‘‘ The yeast of laughter that they dropped into the human brew when they made us, Doc. What the hell—if we don’t laugh at it we’re lost, aren’t wer Stuck here in this damn- able magnetic fly-paper—with this after us —Lord knows what’s ahead of us. “ Holy saints! If I only had a barrel of the old familiar brew here I’d sit on it and twine vine-leaves in my hair and sing to that bird to show it just how much better than itself I am. And one thing I tell you—I’m done with being afraid. a All they can do is kill us!” “Don’t think my ‘fear is for myself, Drake.”” There was a stir of anger in Vent- nor’s words. ‘“ And it’s not death I fear for Ruth. It’s what I saw resting on her face. It’s what that witch 1s deing to her— soul!” “I’m sorry, Ventnor,” the mockery fled from Drake’s eyes, he thrust out an im- petuous hand. “I didn’t mean anybody was really afratd—just sort of—well, wor- ried. And we can do nothing by worrying —don’t you see that it will only weaken us, Ventnor?” - “ I know,” Ventnor nodded. ‘“ I know— still—_”’ He scanned the hovering shape, and I saw his trouble submerged visibly in the wave of irresistible scientific absorb-_ tion called forth by its amazing transforma- tions; in my own contemplation of them forgot myself our peril. For the five enormous wheels that crowned the top of the Thing were spin- ning; they revolved madly upon-their own axes, circled slowly around the—sneck—of the Shape itself. wheel tipped over toward us, hung over us, staring down at us with the uncount- able star points even as the Little Thing of the dragoned chamber had stared up at me—and with the same curiosity! Like _-™ And as they spun each | 469 little clouds of fireflies the winking cor- puscles of light hovered around them. - “Tf there were enough of them they could walk across the oceans,” mused Drake. As though it had heard him and understood the Thing lifted gently one of its four stilts, extended it leisurely over us, undulated it, then placed it deliberately . and daintily a few yards ahead and directly in our path. There had been something hideously spiderlike in that movement! “As it thrust over us, not three yards over our heads, I saw plainly the globes and cubes bending and flexing like a monstrous spider’s leg of a thousand joints! | | “ Synchronism raised to the highest pow- er,” muttered Ventnor. “ Perfect, imme- diate realization and manipulation of stresses, contacts, leverages. An urimagin- able cooperation—a mass consciousness un- dreamed! voice shook. “Can you see how it moves?” I asked. ‘The ends of the supports seem to me to be touching the ground—but their progress, as well as that of what we are on, is absolutely smooth and effortless.”’ “T don’t think they quite touch, » ob- served Drake. “They seem to float just a little over the surface. Utilization of mMagnetism,. manipulation of attracting and repelling currents without a doubt.” “ But how?” I gasped. ‘‘ How?” He shrugged, pointed upward. “How does it do that?” he asked. . The supporting stilts were bending, curv- ing. I saw their three formative factors shifting and readjusting themselves, obey- ing the commands from the synthesis of its manifold brains! Lower came the huge body and lower, threatening to crush us! Abruptly two of the legs drew up toward the trunk, joined ends, threw themselves loose from the—hips—and became a vast and sparkling ring, circling it so swiftly that it appeared to be a wide and solid band of polished steel. The five wheels about the top were now only a blur. The legs began a rapid buckling and Straightening, like the flexing of immense springs. There came the curious wailing Man—man, you pygmy!” His. fl OOOLK ~. (CO COLMUC