The Whispering Spheres | Page 6

happiest; and when man invented hell, he made hell his heaven on earth. Couldn't this be a characteristic of all life? Couldn't the spheres be cruel and ruthless, too?
Man, the mighty hunter, had become the prey.
A sphere detached itself from the group and circled toward the car.
"I guess you're right, Masters," Taylor decided as he watched the spheres. "We'd better move."
CHAPTER IV
PREY
Masters unlocked the handcuffs of the two men in the car. He disposed of his short-wave set in a ditch, for it, too, had batteries which might attract the spheres.
"Get out of the car, Orkins," he ordered.
"Watch him, Masters," Taylor warned. "If he starts yelling, choke him."
"But not too hard," Masters added. "If we're going to be rabbits, human values will change. Men who run into holes will live to eat turnips, those who bare their teeth won't. Orkins might be the forefather of a new race--a helluva race. Come on, Orkins. Get out. Hurry up, Father Abraham, or I'll drag you out."
Orkins, cringing, emerged.
Taylor took charge of Norden, who followed Orkins out of the machine.
"I hate your guts, Norden," he said. "You're a dirty, lousy rat and you ought to be shot. But after all, you're a man. You've courage and I admire it, as much as I hate the way you use it. Overseas there's a war between countries. Here there's another war between humanity and a species of alien monsters. Whether we like it or not, we're allies."
Norden's undershot jaw moved in a grin.
"I know about the spheres, Captain," Norden replied. "I overheard your remarks to Mr. Masters. I've listened to Orkins' babble."
"Will you help us?"
"I will bargain with you."
"For your life? You know I can't do anything about that. I'll do my best--I'll speak a good word at your trial, try to save you from the firing squad, but I'm only a captain. That's all I can do. I haven't the power to do anything more."
"Then I will not help."
"Do you know what we're up against?"
"It looks pretty bad, doesn't it, Captain? But consider my hopeless case."
"We have a chance, Norden. I know, more than any other living man perhaps, what those spheres are. I've seen them close at hand. Any hope of defeating them rests in us, using the meager knowledge I've gained from contact. What happens to your fatherland after the spheres finish on this side of the ocean depends on whether we conquer them, or they exterminate us."
Norden stopped smiling.
"When you put it that way, Captain, how could I refuse?" he asked. "I'll cooperate, not to help you, but to help the fatherland."
The moonlight showed a gleam in Norden's deep-set eyes that Taylor did not like.
* * * * *
They moved to a wooded spot in a nearby field. There was a feeling of semi-security as they settled down to rest under the trees. Orkins' moans of fear were silenced by sleep. Norden sat motionless and Taylor could not tell whether he was asleep or awake. Pember removed his pack and used it for a pillow. Masters snored peacefully on the grass.
Only Taylor remained awake. A sphere floated overhead. Taylor, watching, saw the leaves of the tree stir restlessly as the invisible feelers probed toward the earth.
It was a reddish-orange orb, like the setting sun. Taylor once more got the impression of deeply embedded eyes glowering beneath the shining surface.
Were the eyes an illusion? Did the creatures really have eyes, like those of higher forms of animal life? Illusion or not, the eyes seemed to be there, intense, glaring and savage. They seemed to peer into the depths of Taylor's soul.
Taylor sat motionless, almost positive he was under observation. He expected to feel the jerk of the electric shock of the feeler. Instead, the sphere drifted on. The eyes had not seen.
A moment later flame streaked down from the sphere toward the parking lot. There was a roar as a gasoline tank exploded and flame shot skyward.
"There goes the battery!" Taylor muttered.
The others were roused by the explosion. Orkins sobbed hysterically. Masters, Pember and Norden watched the roaring flame.
"We'll never escape them!" Orkins moaned. "They'll find us sooner or later. They can sense us."
"They're not infallible," Taylor said. "Remember I got away from them in the tunnel." He turned knowingly toward the others. "Perhaps, if we dug a cave--"
"Sure!" said Masters. "It's a good idea."
"Yes, sir!" Pember said with a nod. He pulled his trench tool from his pack and handed it to Orkins. "Maybe you'd like to dig, Mr. Orkins. It'll keep your mind off them things."
Orkins seized the small shovel almost instantly. Taylor half-smiled. He had made the suggestion for Orkins' benefit. The cave probably would never be finished. One deep enough to offer a refuge for five men could hardly be dug in a practical length of time.
Dawn was