The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Stutterer, by R.R. Merliss

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Title: The Stutterer

Author: R.R. Merliss

Illustrator: Riley

Release Date: September 5, 2007 [EBook #22512]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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THE STUTTERER

BY R. R. MERLISS

_A man can be killed by a toy gun--he can
die of fright, for heart attacks can kill.
What, then, is the deadly thing that must
be sealed away, forever locked in buried
concrete--a thing or an idea?_

Illustrated by Riley

[Illustration]

Out of the twenty only one managed to escape the planet. And he did it
very simply, merely by walking up to the crowded ticket window at one of
the rocket ports and buying passage to Earth. His Army identification
papers passed the harassed inspection of the agent, and he gratefully
and silently pocketed the small plastic stub that was handed him in
exchange for his money.

He picked his way with infinite care through the hordes of ex-soldiers
clamoring for passage back to the multitudinous planets from which they
had come. Then he slowly climbed the heavy ramp into the waiting rocket.

He saw with relief that the seats were strongly constructed, built to
survive the pressure of many gravities and he chose one as far removed
as possible from the other passengers.

He was still very apprehensive, and, as he waited for the rocket to take
off, he tried hard to remember the principles of the pulse drive that
powered the ship, and whether his additional weight would upset its
efficiency enough to awaken suspicion.

The seats filled quickly with excited hurrying passengers. Soon he heard
the great door clang shut, and saw the red light flicker on, warning of
the take-off. He felt a slow surge of pressure as the ship arose from
the ground, and his chair creaked ominously with the extra weight. He
became fearful that it might collapse, and he strained forward trying to
shift some of the pressure through his feet to the floor. He sat that
way, tense and immobile, for w