Clifford Simak - Grotto of the Dancing Deer - And Other Stories

“I don’t give a damn how screwy it is” yelled Hart. “If it’s news we print it.”

“The police didn’t give us the name of this fellow who confessed, but I saw him. He is a big man, a good deal larger than the average man, and his skin is a deep tan, almost black, as if he had been out in the sun a lot.”

“Say,” said Hart, “are you going to tell us what happened or are you going to spend the afternoon just blabbering around? I want facts and the quicker I get them the better it will be for you.”

“All right,” said Edwards, “here they are.

“The man the police rounded up told them that he was not really a Terrestrial. Said he came from Mars and was the member of some secret organization. I got that spelled out. Had the chief spell for me. G-e-n-z-i-k, Genzik. At one time he claimed his people ruled Mars. That was thousands of years ago. But the Martians rose up and ousted them, chased them out. Since then the tribe, or whatever it is, has been living out in the desert.”

“Edwards,” snarled Hart, “that’s all a matter of history. There was a Genzik dynasty on Mars thousands of years ago.”

“Oh, so that’s it,” said Edwards. “I couldn’t figure out that part of the story very well. Anyhow, this fellow told the police that for years and years the Genziks have planned to take over the three worlds of Mars, Earth and Venus. There weren’t enough of them to do any real fighting, so they developed this Hunger Disease bacteria. Seems that it was the bacteria of a disease that at one time almost wiped out all of Mars’ population. They sent their men all over Venus and Mars and spread the bacteria where it would do the most good. The police have sent out warnings to all police stations all over and they are trying to round up the rest of the gang. Far as I could make out, there are several thousand Genziks loose on Venus and Earth.”

“Say,” snapped Hart, “did the chief tell you that the Genziks were responsible for the disappearance of the three ships that left Radium city?”

“Yes,” said Edwards, “I was just getting around to that. And he said they were responsible for the wrecking of the Earth freighter that started out for Venus to get this polka-dot weed. You see, they knew about the polka-dot weed. That was what saved Mars when the Hunger Disease threatened to wipe it out years ago. But they didn’t know there was any polka-dot weed growing any more until they read the New Chicago story in the papers late last night. This fellow claimed that after the Genziks were chased out by the Martians there wasn’t much science or knowledge left on Mars. The Genziks, he said, were the intellectual boys on that planet and had done a lot to help the Martians and that’s what made them so mad when the Martians turned against them. He said that the Genziks came from Earth a long time ago, thousands of years ago. From some place like Atlantic—”

“Atlantis?” asked Hart.

“Yeah, that’s it,” said Edwards, joyfully.

“Listen,” said Hart, “do you mean to tell me you don’t even know the old story of Atlantis? You don’t know enough Martian history to know who the Genziks were. You thought they were some kind of a gang. You figured maybe this was a big story, but you haven’t got any idea how damn big it is. Now, I want you to go back to police headquarters and try not to act too damn dumb. I’ll be sending some of the other boys down and when they get there you come back here. I’m going to try you out as a copy boy and if you don’t make good there, I’m going to bounce you right out on your ear.”

Hart slammed up the phone and switched around to face his assistant.

“You got that, Herb?” he asked, tensely.

Herb nodded.

“All right then,” said Hart, “get to work. Send one of the photographers down to try to get a shot of this bird the police caught. Send somebody down to replace Edwards. He’s too dumb to breathe. Have someone look up the history of the old Genziks and write a feature yarn. Use the revenge angle. Those boys have been hiding out somewhere up on Mars for centuries, frothing at the mouth and planning revenge ever since they were turned out by the Martians. Play up the Atlantis angle. Somebody once advanced the theory that the Genziks were either from Atlantis or Mu. Said they had built spaceships when our forefathers were still swinging around in trees and went out to Mars to establish the dynasty. Can’t remember who it was—but whoever it was got laughed at plenty.”

“I know who it was,” said Herb quietly. “It was our old friend, Dr. Jacob Hansler. Everybody thought he was teched in the head.”

Hart smote the desk with his fist.

“Herb,” he said, “that’s the angle. Old Jake again. Go to town on that story. It ties right up with the polka-dot weed yarn—how Jake found it and everything.”

The editor switched back to his desk.

“I’m going to call the IP chief and find out if he’s taking any measures to protect New Chicago. Hell’s liable to pop there any minute. The Genziks will try to destroy the weed fields or I’m a dirty space-rat.”

But as he lifted the receiver the buzzer rang softly.

Snapping on the visi-plate connection, Hart saw the face of Justice Phillips.

“Oh, it’s you,” he said.

“Yes, Mr. Hart,” said the Justice. “I’m just calling you to tell you that I acted as you suggested. The New Chicago authorities already have been notified of the injunction and instructed to act accordingly.”

Angus MacDonald hitched up his trousers and shifted his chew to the other side of his mouth. “In all my years as marshal of this town,” he announced, “I never enjoyed anything like I’m going to enjoy this job. I sure am going to have a lot of fun kicking those Venus Land babies out of Zeke’s place.”

He doubled up one powerful fist and looked at it admiringly.

“I sure hope they resist,” he remarked wistfully.

He stuffed into his pocket the yellow slip of paper on which his instructions from the Radium City court were typed.

“Going with me, Bob?” he asked.

“No,” said Bob, “I’m going to stay here and wait for the police ships from Radium City. They ought to be here any minute now. From what Hart told me just now we’re sitting right on top of a keg of dynol and I’ll feel a lot safer when the police get here.”

“You want to go, Doc?” asked Angus.

“Nope,” said Doc. “This has been an exciting day and I feel all tuckered out. But I’m a happy man. This news about the Genziks has justified my faith in old Jake. They laughed at him back on Earth when he said the Genziks were the old Atlanteans. And now it sure looks like they were.”

“All right, then,” said Angus. “But you boys are missing a lot of fun.”

Plodding through the ankle-deep red mud Angus started down the road.

“Still a regular old war-horse,” observed Doc. “From what I have heard he sure was an old hell-hound in his day. He damn near stopped all traffic between Mars and Earth thirty years ago. Had the whole Interplanetary Police force on his trail at times. But he had a good ship and he always showed them a clean pair of heels. Old-timers claim he could make a spaceship turn on a dime.”

“Let’s go back to the station,” suggested Bob. “You and Sandy can finish that game of checkers while we’re waiting for the police ships.”

“O. K.,” said Doc.

From far up the road came a hail from Angus.

“Ship coming in,” he yelled.

They stood stock-still, waiting. From the east, faintly, they heard the roar of rocket tubes.

“Right close down,” Angus yelled to them.

Again came the blasting of the tubes, nearer this time.