The Project Gutenberg EBook of Let'em Breathe Space, by Lester del Rey

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Title: Let'em Breathe Space

Author: Lester del Rey

Illustrator: Eberle

Release Date: February 16, 2010 [EBook #31286]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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Transcriber's Note:

This etext was produced from Space Science Fiction July 1953.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S.
copyright on this publication was renewed.

LET'EM BREATHE SPACE!

BY LESTER DEL REY

ILLUSTRATED BY EBERLE

Eighteen men and two women in the closed world of a space
ship for five months can only spell tension and trouble--but
in this case, the atmosphere was _literally_ poisoned.

[Illustration]

* * * * *

Five months out from Earth, we were half-way to Saturn and
three-quarters of the way to murder. At least, I was. I was sick of
the feuding, the worries and the pettiness of the other nineteen
aboard. My stomach heaved at the bad food, the eternal smell of
people, and the constant sound of nagging and complaints. For ten lead
pennies, I'd have gotten out into space and tried walking back to
Earth. Sometimes I thought about doing it without the pennies.

But I knew I wasn't that tough, in spite of what I looked. I'd been
built to play fullback, and my questionable brunet beauty had been
roughed up by the explosion years before as thoroughly as dock
fighting on all the planets could have done. But sometimes I figured
all that meant was that there was more of me to hurt, and that I'd had
more experience screaming when the anodyne ran out.

Anyhow, whole-wheat pancakes made with sourdough for the ninth
"morning" running was too damned much! I felt my stomach heave over
again, took one whiff of the imitation maple syrup, and shoved the
mess back fast while I got up faster.