DIY History | Transcribe | Hevelin Fanzines | Spaceways, v. 3 issue 3, whole no. 19, March 1941

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Spaceways, v. 3 issue 3, whole no. 19, March 1941

Page 14

14     SPACEWAYS

THE MARTIAN IDOL

breath-taking speed. It turned end over end as it raced straight and true for one of the many invisible geysers about two hundred feet away. There it landed, just on the edge of the funnel-like opening, first teetering one way and then the other.
Elizabeth seem disgusted. "Well! Whatever your fine little scheme was, it must be stopped dead now. Such beautiful aim!" She clicked her tongue depreciatingly. "You missed the hole!"
Jerry didn't seem to mind. His face was wreathed in smiling satisfaction. "Quite the contrary, Betty. I just did what I wanted to do. It didn't have to drop in that geyser's outlet; just getting close to it was all that's necessary. See," he pointed to the crimson and black landscape, "the Monkey-Men are rushing to get their idol. They will leave us alone until they get it. Then the ex..."
The girl never heard the rest of what he intended to say. A terrific explosion blasted at her ear-drums; sheets of flame lashed viciously at the surprised Martians who stood near the idol. For the explosion had originated from the idol. The Martians screamed in superstitious terror as they saw their god belch forth the fiery fires. They stopped their insane scrambles toward it; dug their paws into the sand and fled away as fast as their short legs would permit. Frightened out of their wits, they left scores of their blasted comrades behind.
"We're saved!" cried the girl. She gave a sigh of relief as she watched them go. When the last Monkey-Man vanished into the rocky fastness of the desert, Jerry yawned; mumbled, "Uhuh. Gosh I'm tired."
In the distance they heard the shrill whine of ray guns in staccato operation. It must be the crew returning in time to engage the remnents of the natives.
"What caused that awful explosion, Jerry? It seemed almost like a miracle. To the Martians the effect certainly was demoralizing. To them their god had spoken."
"That was no miracle." Jerry rubbed his eyes to keep them open. "It was the result of a simple chemical reaction, sweetie pie. That hole was just filled with natural hydrogen gas. It was, in fact, a well of it, the atmosphere of this valley is heavily saturated with pure oxygen. And the idol was made of porous platinum, you know. It had the power to absorb those two gases, to allow them to react with each other. Under suitable conditions the heat produced in platinum as a result of that union may be sufficient to raise the temperature of the element to a point where it can ignite the remaining gas mixture. And it did."
"The poor Martians! They ran right into your trap," sympathized the girl. Now that the conflict was over and they were safe she could afford to pity their late antagonists.
"Poor Martians nothing!" growled Scott as he yawned again. "Poor me, you mean. I feel like I haven't had a good night's rest for a week!"

BEACON LIGHT
(concluded from page 7)
page after page of solid black type. Still, when it does present a good tale one hasn't read before, it's nice to have handy. Marvel Stories? Uncanny Stories? In the Thrilling Wonder chain, as it were, though not as good. Science Fiction? Future Fiction? Science Fiction Quarterly? Forget without filing. They have a new editor, the last two, one hears. Don't be deceived; the policy on such magazines is fixed; one may see less outrageous bad yarns, but don't expect real science fiction. If we've forgotten any titles in this resume--we have. And we do apologize. Because Malcolm Reiss' Planet Stories is on our positive list. Not because it's enormously good, but because the editor is really trying to give the readers what they want; and that is, in effect, what the fans want. As above, if we've forgotten, it's not to be wondered at. Wouldn't you?

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14 SPACEWAYS THE MARTIAN IDOL breath-taking speed. It turned end over end as it raced straight and true for one of the many invisible geysers about two hundred feet away. There it landed, just on the edge of the funnel-like opening, first teetering one way and then the other. Elizabeth seem disgusted. "Well! Whatever your fine little scheme was, it must be stopped dead now. Such beautiful aim!" She clicked her tongue depreciatingly. "You missed the hole!" Jerry didn't seem to mind. His face was wreathed in smiling satisfaction. "Quite the contrary, Betty. I just did what I wanted to do. It didn't have to drop in that geyser's outlet; just getting close to it was all that's necessary. See," he pointed to the crimson and black landscape, "the Monkey-Men are rushing to get their idol. They will leave us alone until they get it. Then the ex..." The girl never heard the rest of what he intended to say. A terrific explosion blasted at her ear-drums; sheets of flame lashed viciously at the surprised Martians who stood near the idol. For the explosion had originated from the idol. The Martians screamed in superstitious terror as they saw their god belch forth the fiery fires. They stopped their insane scrambles toward it; dug their paws into the sand and fled away as fast as their short legs would permit. Frightened out of their wits, they left scores of their blasted comrades behind. "We're saved!" cried the girl. She gave a sigh of relief as she watched them go. When the last Monkey-Man vanished into the rocky fastness of the desert, Jerry yawned; mumbled, "Uhuh. Gosh I'm tired." In the distance they heard the shrill whine of ray guns in staccato operation. It must be the crew returning in time to engage the remnents of the natives. "What caused that awful explosion, Jerry? It seemed almost like a miracle. To the Martians the effect certainly was demoralizing. To them their god had spoken." "That was no miracle." Jerry rubbed his eyes to keep them open. "It was the result of a simple chemical reaction, sweetie pie. That hole was just filled with natural hydrogen gas. It was, in fact, a well of it, the atmosphere of this valley is heavily saturated with pure oxygen. And the idol was made of porous platinum, you know. It had the power to absorb those two gases, to allow them to react with each other. Under suitable conditions the heat produced in platinum as a result of that union may be sufficient to raise the temperature of the element to a point where it can ignite the remaining gas mixture. And it did." "The poor Martians! They ran right into your trap," sympathized the girl. Now that the conflict was over and they were safe she could afford to pity their late antagonists. "Poor Martians nothing!" growled Scott as he yawned again. "Poor me, you mean. I feel like I haven't had a good night's rest for a week!" BEACON LIGHT (concluded from page 7) page after page of solid black type. Still, when it does present a good tale one hasn't read before, it's nice to have handy. Marvel Stories? Uncanny Stories? In the Thrilling Wonder chain, as it were, though not as good. Science Fiction? Future Fiction? Science Fiction Quarterly? Forget without filing. They have a new editor, the last two, one hears. Don't be deceived; the policy on such magazines is fixed; one may see less outrageous bad yarns, but don't expect real science fiction. If we've forgotten any titles in this resume--we have. And we do apologize. Because Malcolm Reiss' Planet Stories is on our positive list. Not because it's enormously good, but because the editor is really trying to give the readers what they want; and that is, in effect, what the fans want. As above, if we've forgotten, it's not to be wondered at. Wouldn't you?