The Hammer of Thor by Charles Willard Diffin
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Transcriber's Note:
This etext was produced from Astounding Stories March 1932. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.
_He could see, above them, the belly of a white ship_]
The Hammer of Thor
By Charles Willard Diffin
* * * * *
[Sidenote: Like the Hammer of Thor was the clash of Danny O'Rourkewith the mysterious giant of space.]
The Director General of District Three, Ural Division of the RussianStates, was a fool. Danny O'Rourke had reached that conclusion sometime before--a conclusion, however, that he was most careful to keepunexpressed.
And then Danny not only thought it; he knew the Director was a fool;and the amazing incident that proved it took place in Stobolsk, theGovernmental Headquarters of District Three. Although Danny's regularstation was on a lonely peak in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in theUnited States, the occurrence was nevertheless observed by him; andthis happened for two reasons.
The New Soviet Government that took over control of all the Russias in1943 wanted, among other things, to install the most modernfire-fighting system, the equal of anything in the world. They turned,quite naturally, to the United States of America for theirinstruction; and this was reason number one why Danny O'Rourke, pilotof the Air Fire Force, was where he was on the morning of June 13th.
The second reason was the tremendous timber wealth in the UralDivision and the threat to destroy it by fire.
Perhaps there might be mentioned a third reason: that this same DannyO'Rourke, red-haired, smiling, and debonair was listed on the Air FireForce of the United States with the highest rating that the A. F. F.has to give its pilots. But Danny would have grinned at such asuggestion and would have countered with a denial that he was betterqualified than "the rest of the boys."
But Danny was there; he had been talking at length with the DirectorGeneral on the technical differences of the hot and cold nitrogenblasts for controlling fires on a wide front when suddenly the big manwas brought in.
* * * * *
The great figure stooped almost double to enter the room, and Dannyran a hand through his shock of red hair and stared open-mouthed atthe giant when he straightened again and towered above the guard ofRed soldiers who had brought him into the high-ceiled room.
He was clothed in a single garment of glinting blue that wrapped himabout and fell in heavy folds to the floor. Danny felt the resemblanceto the shimmering blue of steel that has passed through fire, and hiseyes held to that garment in fascination until his gaze went on and upto the face.
The man's face was red, as if the flesh had been burned; here was oneman Danny could not classify. He had met the people of many lands butnever had he seen one like this.
In one quick staring glance, Danny caught a picture of heavy jaws--aflashing of yellow teeth when the mouth opened to emit guttural,unrecognizable words--nostrils that ran crosswise of the face in anose broad and flat! The forehead above was low and sloping. From thestraggling yellow hair it slanted down to brows that overhungdeep-sunk and cavernous eyes.... And when Danny O'Rourke's own curiouseyes met those of the stranger, they were held in a grip that wasalmost hypnotic.
"Like a dirty, crawlin' snake's!" he was telling himself over andover. "Heaven help us if that boy ever gets rough. Who he is or whathe is, I don't know, but if I was the Director, I'd treat him nicetill I found out."
Danny and the Director were standing side by side. The giant figurefixed a cold stare on Danny and barked short sentences that seemed tothe listener to be an explanation.
But Danny motioned helplessly to the official at his side. "Maybe youcan savvy that," he suggested; "it's new talk to me."
The newcomer repeated the guttural sounds. Upon the Director's facewas a frown of suspicion and puzzled wonder; the Director General didnot like to encounter either happenings or persons he could notreadily understand; it was disturbing to one's official dignity. Thegiant must have read some of this, for he tried to make himself clear.
* * * * *
He repeated the sentences slowly. Then he waved one huge hand in airand pointed upward, and the hand moved up and up as if to indicatesome tremendous distance. He pointed to himself; then brought oneaiming finger down as if he were coming from that far-off place. AndDanny got the significance.
"It's happened!" he told the Director explosively. "I knew it wouldcome some day--I knew they'd get here! And us monkeyin' with ourstratosphere ships and thinkin' we were beatin' the rest of theUniverse!"
The Director regarded the young American with about the same degree ofdisfavor as he had shown the giant. "What is it you say?" hequestioned. "You mean--what? I do not understand."
And, in careful words, Danny explained. He told the Director ofDistrict Three something of his dreams that space might not be aninsurmountable bar; he told him, with enthusiasm driving his words outfaster and faster, that here was a man--or if not a man, a livingcreature of some sort--that had come out of space.
"Where did they find him?" he demanded. "Where is his ship?"
But he ceased to ask questions as he noticed the Director's mirth. Forthat official was rocking with roaring laughter that had a distinctlyuncomplimentary sound. And he added some words in Russian that were asincomprehensible to Danny as the growling talk of the giant man, butthe O'Rourke temper flamed as he saw the other Russians in the roomsmiling appreciatively.
Then: "Take him away!" the Director thundered. "We'll see where hecomes from. Search him! And if he hasn't any passports--" The unendedsentence was suggestive.
* * * * *
But an hour later, Danny saw the giant furnish his own ending to theincompleted order. He had left the Director's room. Across the streetwas the gray stone building where prisoners were held for dispositionby the courts. And once more Danny O'Rourke's jaw dropped inopen-mouthed, unbelieving amazement as he saw a section of gray stonewall fall outward where the edge of it was sharply outlined inwhite-hot, dripping stone.
A great figure stepped forth. In his hand was a rod like an elongatedpencil attached to a heavy butt. And though nothing visible came fromthe rod, Danny saw it pointed back at the building where iron barssoftened till they sent rivulets of molten steel splashing upon thepavement.
A squad of soldiers in the blood-red color of their service stoodnearby. One gave an order, and a dozen rifles were swung toward theirshoulders. But the rifles never came to rest.
Danny saw the quick swing of the slender rod. And he saw the men'smouths opened in screams that were never uttered. For, quicker thannerves could send their message to human brain and muscles, someunseen force had slashed their bodies in two as if a fiery sword hadbeen swung by invisible hands.
The pointing rod lingered upon the huddled bodies for an instant,while that which had been human flesh vanished in a bursting cloud ofsmoke; while the stones beneath turned to a seething pool of moltenrock.... Then the rod moved slowly toward the frozen figure of DannyO'Rourke.
Did the strange being sense that Danny had not been disbelieving likethe rest? Danny could never know. He knew only that he stood rigidwith horror, entirely unable to move, while that rod swung upon him;he knew that the hand that held it released something that clicked,wherefore his life had been spared; and he knew that the savage faceabove wrinkled into something resembling a snarling, triumphant smile,as the rod was returned to its hidi
Danny O'Rourke was to carry that picture clearly in his mind--thefigure that moved unhurriedly on, towering above the others, men andwomen, who scurried fearfully from his path. But he was to retain yetmore vividly the recollection of a group of red-clad bodies that weresevered at their waists as a slim tube swung--then a bursting cloud ofoily smoke, and a pool of molten rock where they had been.
* * * * *
Something of this, perhaps, was clouding the eyes of Danny O'Rourke,Pilot of the A.F.F. a month and more later, as he sat at lookout dutyin a gleaming white tower on a high peak of the Sierras. Not that thejob of lookout was part of O'Rourke's duty, now that he was back inthe U. S. A., but a cylinder of scarlet rested on a great