The Project Gutenberg EBook of Elegy, by Charles Beaumont

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Title: Elegy

Author: Charles Beaumont

Release Date: June 14, 2010 [EBook #32819]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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ELEGY

By Charles Beaumont

[Transcriber Note: This etext was produced from Imagination Stories of
Science and Fantasy February 1953. Extensive research did not uncover
any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]

[Sidenote: It was an impossible situation: an asteroid in space where no
asteroid should have been--with a city that could only have existed back
on Earth!]

"Would you mind repeating that?"

"I said, sir, that Mr. Friden said, sir, that he sees a city."

"A city?"

"Yes sir."

Captain Webber rubbed the back of his hand along his cheek.

"You realize, of course, that that is impossible?"

"Yes sir."

"Send Mr. Friden in to see me, at once."

The young man saluted and rushed out of the room. He returned with a
somewhat older man who wore spectacles and frowned.

"Now then," said Captain Webber, "what's all this Lieutenant Peterson
tells me about a city? Are you enjoying a private little joke, Friden?"

Mr. Friden shook his head emphatically. "No sir."

"Then perhaps you'd like to explain."

"Well, sir, you see, I was getting bored and just for something to do, I
thought I'd look through the screen--not that I dreamed of seeing
anything. The instruments weren't adjusted, either; but there was
something funny, something I couldn't make out exactly."

"Go on," said Captain Webber, patiently.

"So I fixed up the instruments and took another look, and there it was,
sir, plain as could be!"

"There _what_ was?"

"The city, sir. Oh, I couldn't tell much about it, but there were
houses, all right, a lot of them."

"Houses, you say?"

"Yes sir, on an asteroid."

Captain Webber looked for a long moment at Mr. Friden and began to pace
nervously.

"I take it you know what this mi