The Project Gutenberg EBook of Brigands of the Moon, by Ray Cummings

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Title: Brigands of the Moon

Author: Ray Cummings

Release Date: August 16, 2006 [EBook #19066]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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Transcriber's Note:

Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the
copyright on this publication was renewed.

_BRIGANDS of the MOON_

by

RAY CUMMINGS

ACE BOOKS, INC.

23 West 47th Street, New York 36, N. Y.

Copyright, 1931, by Ray Cummings

* * * * *

I

Our ship, the space-flyer, _Planetara_, whose home port was Greater
New York, carried mail and passenger traffic to and from both Venus
and Mars. Of astronomical necessity, our flights were irregular. The
spring of 2070, with both planets close to the Earth, we were making
two complete round trips. We had just arrived in Greater New York, one
May evening, from Grebhar, Venus Free State. With only five hours in
port here, we were departing the same night at the zero hour for
Ferrok-Shahn, capital of the Martian Union.

We were no sooner at the landing stage than I found a code flash
summoning Dan Dean and me to Divisional Detective Headquarters. Dan
"Snap" Dean was one of my closest friends. He was electron-radio
operator of the _Planetara_. A small, wiry, red-headed chap, with a
quick, ready laugh and the kind of wit that made everyone like him.

The summons to Detective-Colonel Halsey's office surprised us. Dean
eyed me.

"You haven't been opening any treasure vaults, have you, Gregg?"

"He wants you, also," I retorted.

He laughed. "Well, he can roar at me like a traffic switch-man and my
private life will remain my own."

We could not think why we should be wanted. It was the darkness of
mid-evening when