The Star Hyacinths Read online

"What kind of precautions?"

  Dasinger said, "I'll keep the hypnotic and Quist's bag of dirty tricksuntil we land. You might need those things on the planet but you don'tneed them on shipboard. You and I'll go up to the control section now togive Miss Mines her final flight directions. After that, you and Quiststay in this cabin with the door locked until the ship has set down. Idon't want to have anything else to worry about while we're making theapproach. If my suspicions turn out to be unjustified, I'll apologize... after we're all safely back in the Hub."

  * * * * *

  "What was your partner looking so sour about?" Duomart Mines inquired alittle later, her eyes on the flight screens. "Have a quarrel with him?"

  Dasinger, standing in the entry to the little control cabin across fromher, shrugged his shoulders.

  "Not exactly," he said. "Egavine tried to use a hypno spray on me."

  "Hypno spray?" the young woman asked.

  "A chemical which induces an instantaneous hypnotic trance in people.Leaves them wide open to suggestion. Medical hypnotists make a lot ofuse of it. So do criminals."

  She turned away from the control console to look at him. "Why would yourpartner want to hypnotize you?"

  "I don't know," Dasinger said. "He hasn't admitted that he intended todo it."

  "Is he a criminal?"

  "I wouldn't say he isn't," Dasinger observed judiciously, "but Icouldn't prove it."

  Duomart puckered her lips, staring at him thoughtfully. "What aboutyourself?" she asked.

  "No, Miss Mines, I have a very high regard for the law. I'm a simplebusinessman."

  "A simple businessman who flies his own cruiser four weeks out from theHub into I-Fleet territory?"

  "That's the kind of business I'm in," Dasinger explained. "I own acharter ship company."

  "I see," she said. "Well, you two make an odd pair of partners...."

  "I suppose we do. Incidentally, has there been any occasion when you andDr. Egavine--or you and Dr. Egavine and his servant--were alonesomewhere in the ship together? For example, except when we came up hereto give you further flight instructions, did he ever enter the controlroom?"

  She shook her blond head. "No. Those are the only times I've seen him."

  "Certain of that?" he asked.

  Duomart nodded without hesitation. "Quite certain!"

  Dasinger took an ointment tube from his pocket, removed its cap,squeezed a drop of black, oily substance out on a fingertip. "Mindrolling up your sleeve a moment?" he asked. "Just above the elbow...."

  "What for?"

  "It's because of the way those hypno sprays work," Dasinger said. "Giveyour victim a dose of the stuff, tell him what to do, and it usuallygets done. And if you're being illegal about it, one of the first thingsyou tell him to do is to forget he's ever been sprayed. This goop isdesigned for the specific purpose of knocking out hypnotic commands.Just roll up your sleeve like a good girl now, and I'll rub a little ofit on your arm."

  "You're not rubbing anything on my arm, mister!" Duomart told himcoldly.

  Dasinger shrugged resignedly, recapped the tube, and dropped it in hispocket. "Have it your way then," he remarked. "I was only ..."

  He lunged suddenly towards her.

  Duomart gave him quite a struggle. A minute or two later, he had herdown on the floor, her body and one arm clamped between his knees, whilehe unzipped the cuff on the sleeve of the other arm and pulled thesleeve up. He brought out the tube of antihypno ointment and rubbed afew drops of the ointment into the hollow of Duomart's elbow, put thetube back in his pocket, then went on holding her down for nearlyanother minute. She was gasping for breath, blue eyes furious, musclestensed.

  * * * * *

  Suddenly he felt her relax. An expression of stunned surprise appearedon her face. "Why," she began incredulously, "he _did_ ..."

  "Gave you the spray treatment, eh?" Dasinger said, satisfied. "I waspretty sure he had."

  "Why, that-- At his beck and call, he says! Well, we'll just see about... let me up, Dasinger! Just wait till I get my hands on that bonypartner of yours!"

  "Now take it easy."

  "Take it easy! Why should I? I ..."

  "It would be better," Dasinger explained, "if Egavine believes you'restill under the influence."

  She scowled up at him; then her face turned thoughtful. "Ho! You feel itisn't that he's a depraved old goat, that he's got something moresinister in mind?"

  "It's a definite possibility. Why not wait and find out? The ointmentwill immunize you against further tricks."

  Miss Mines regarded him consideringly for a few seconds, then nodded."All right! You can let me up now. What do you think he's planning?"

  "Not easy to say with Dr. Egavine. He's a devious man." Dasinger gothimself disentangled, came to his feet, and reached down to help herscramble up.

  "They certainly wrap you up with that hypno stuff, don't they!" sheobserved wonderingly.

  Dasinger nodded. "They certainly do!" Then he added, "I'm keeping thedoctor and his little sidekick locked up, too, until we get to theplanet. That leaves you and me with the run of the ship."

  Duomart looked at him. "So it does," she agreed.

  "Know how to use a gun?"

  "Of course. But I'm not allow-- I don't have one with me on this trip."

  * * * * *

  He reached into his coat, took out a small gun in a fabric holster.Duomart glanced at it, then her eyes went back to his face.

  "Might clip it to your belt," Dasinger said. "It's a good littleshocker, fifty-foot range, safe for shipboard use. It's got a full load,eighty shots. We may or may not run into emergencies. If we don't,you'll still be more comfortable carrying it."

  Duomart holstered the gun and attached the holster to her belt. Sheslid the tip of her tongue reflectively out between her lips, drew itback, blinked at the flight screens for a few seconds, then lookedacross at Dasinger and tapped the holster at her side.

  "That sort of changes things, too!" she said.

  "Changes what?"

  "Tell you in a minute. Sit down, Dasinger. Manual course correctionscoming up...." She slid into the pilot seat, moved her hands out overthe controls, and appeared to forget about him.

  Dasinger settled into a chair to her left, lit a cigarette, smoked andwatched her, glancing occasionally at the screens. She was jockeying theMooncat deftly in and out of the fringes of a gravitic stress knot,presently brought it into the clear, slapped over a direction lever andslid the palm of her right hand along a row of speed control buttonsdepressing them in turn.

  * * * * *

  "Nice piece of piloting," Dasinger observed.

  Duomart lifted one shoulder in a slight shrug. "That's my job." Her faceremained serious. "Are you wondering why I edged us through that thinginstead of going around it?"

  "Uh-huh, a little," Dasinger admitted.

  "It knocked half an hour off the time it should take us to get to yourplanet," she said. "That is, if you'll still want to go there. We'rebeing followed, you see."

  "By whom?"

  "They call her the Spy. After the Mooncat she's the fastest job in theFleet. She's got guns, and her normal complement is twenty armed men."

  "The idea being to have us lead them to what we're after, and then takeit away from us?" Dasinger asked.

  "That's right. I'm not supposed to know about it. You know what a GrayFleet is?"

  Dasinger nodded. "An Independent that's turned criminal."

  "Yes. Willata's Fleet was a legitimate outfit up to four years ago. ThenLiu Taunus and Calat and their gang took over. That happened to be thetwo Fleet bosses you slapped handcuffs on, Dasinger. We're a Gray Fleetnow. So I had some plans of my own for this trip. If I can get to someother I-Fleet or to the Hub, I might be able to do something aboutTaunus. After we were down on the planet, I was going to steal theMooncat and take off by myself."

  "Why ar
e you telling me?"

  Miss Mines colored a little. "Well, you gave me the gun," she said. "Andyou clobbered Taunus, and got me out of that hypno thing ... I mean, I'dhave to be pretty much of a jerk to ditch you now, wouldn't I? Anyway,now that I've told you, you won't be going back to Willata's Fleet,whatever you do. I'll still get to the Hub." She paused. "So