Star Ship on Saddle Mountain by Richard Ackley Page B

Dondee's mention of it had been
a slip.
"It's a secret of your world—about your army and
navy maybe? And that's why the mission was sent to my world?"
"We—we don't have any army or navy, Charles—but,
anyway I can't tell you. I can't tell you anything."
"The Star Project," Charlie repeated aloud, still
looking at the worried expression on Dondee's face. "Tell you what,
Dondee. I'm going to find out about your old Star Project
and—"
Charlie slapped the D2O globe determinedly as he
spoke. But as he did, there was a trampling of feet, a scramble
just outside the control room door. As he and Dondee glanced
quickly toward the entrance, the Commanding Navigator and several
other alien men rushed into the dome.
The angry thought impulses, almost too swift for
Charlie, passed back and forth among the men, but they were all
about Dondee and himself. The alien boy tried to explain, but all
Charlie could get was that they were angry at his mention of the
Star Project. As Charlie watched them, his hand still resting on
the heavy water globe, the Commander noticed it and, with an angry
sweep of his hand, knocked Charlie's hand off the D2O
container.
"Cell them separately—" ordered the Commander, "as
far from each other as there is space on this ship."
"Sir—" Dondee began, "Sir, you have no right to
cell me like an animal, like a—"
"Silence!" came the abrupt impulse. "Aboard this
ship, I am the Primate, young man. You'll have your first lesson in
space discipline, regardless of your father's position. You've not
only carelessly tampered—you and this Primitive—with the D2O
reserve, but have let your thoughts dwell on the Star Project.
You're being celled for this security breach."
"Yes sir."
"That is all."
Charlie glanced in Dondee's direction as they were
separately escorted from the dome. From the disturbed thoughts and
the expression on the alien boy's face, as well as the anger of the
men, Charlie was more sure than ever now that he had happened onto
an important secret of their world. Whatever the aliens had made
that mission to Earth for, it was serious, terribly serious, and
important enough to make them hold it top secret.
     
     
    CHA P TE R NINE
    The Great
Barrier
Taken far down below, tier after tier, Charlie
found himself ten decks below the top control dome. Dondee was far
above, somewhere else. But there was one great consolation now for
Charlie, because he was again with Navajo.
As he thought of it, patting the old horse gently,
Navajo gave another low whinny, to show his pleasure at their
reunion.
"It sure is, Nav! It sure is swell to get locked up
with you, instead of by myself. At least, I know everything there
is to know about you, and I can trust you, Nav. You don't have any
old secrets about Star Projects that you can't let me in on."
Navajo shook his mane vigorously, nuzzling
Charlie's left ear playfully.
"Nav—that tickles!" and as Charlie pulled away, his
face suddenly sobered.
Navajo heard the impulses too, and he stretched out
his neck, his nostrils flaring a little as he sniffed the air, as
when he sensed some danger out on a mountain trip back home.
"Charles—Charles, can you recognize me, Charles?"
Still a little bit sore at Dondee for not telling him the secret,
Charlie wasn't going to answer.
"But I couldn't tell you, Charles," pleaded the
sincere impulse. "I couldn't, Charles, or—or I'd have told you . .
. Charles?"
Charlie reconsidered. After all, Dondee got bawled
out too. Even though he did have strict orders not to mention the
Star Project, he had mentioned it anyway, so he wasn't exactly
trying to hide it from me, Charlie thought to himself. It's just
that he had to do that.
"Charles?"
"Yeah, Dondee, I can hear you all right. I mean,
your thought waves." "Fine! Are you with your animal?" "I sure am!
Nav's right here beside me now." "I am glad of that, Charles. At
least you're better off than I
am." "Why, Dondee?" "I'm up here, alone. On the
central tier. They put me in a
food