The Project Gutenberg EBook of Big Stupe, by Charles V. De Vet

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Title: Big Stupe

Author: Charles V. De Vet

Illustrator: KOSSIN

Release Date: May 27, 2010 [EBook #32551]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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Big Stupe

By CHARLES V. DE VET

Illustrated by KOSSIN

[Transcriber Note: This etext was produced from Galaxy Science Fiction
March 1955. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the
U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]

[Sidenote: _Smart man, Bruckner--he knew how to handle natives ... but
they knew even better how to deal with smart terrestrials!_]

Bruckner was a man deeply imbued with a sense of his own worth. Now as
he rested his broad beam on the joined arms of Sweets and Majesky, he
winked to include them in a "this is necessary, but you and I see the
humor of the thing" understanding. Like most thoroughly disliked men, he
considered himself quite popular with "the boys."

The conceited ham's enjoying this, Sweets thought, as he staggered down
the aisle under the big man's weight. At the ship's entrance, he glanced
out across the red-sand plain to where the natives waited.

They wore little clothing, Sweets noted, except the chief. He sat on his
dais--carried on the shoulders of eight of his followers--dressed in
long streamers of multi-colored ribbons. Other ribbons, rolled into a
rope, formed a diadem on his head.

The only man more impressively dressed was Bruckner. He wore all the
ceremonial trappings of a second century Gallic king, complete with
jewel-studded gold crown.

As Sweets and Majesky grunted with their burden across the ten yards
separating the ship from the thronelike chair that had been brought out
earlier, their feet kicked up a cloud of red dust that coated their
clothing and clogged their nostrils.

The dust had originally been red ferric sand. But the action of winds
and storms had milled it together, grain