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Norton, Andre, 1912-2005

"Plague Ship"

And at the proper moment he thrust a gloved hand into the
cage and brought out the wriggling thing which struck vainly with its
poisoned talons, holding it above the dark table so that those unseen
watchers could witness the dramatic change of color which made it such a
menace. Dane continued the story of the Queen's ill-fated voyage--of
their forced descent upon the E-Stat.
"Ask the truth of Inter-Solar," he demanded of the audience beyond those
walls. "We were no pirates. They will discover in their records the
vouchers we left." Then Dane described the weird hunt when, led by the
Hoobat, they had finally found and isolated the menace, and their landing
in the heart of the Big Burn. He followed that with his own quest for
medical aid, the kidnapping of Hovan. At that point he turned to the
Medic.
"This is Medic Hovan. He has consented to appear in our behalf and to
testify to the truth--that the Solar Queen has not been stricken by some
unknown plague, but infested with a living organism we now have under
control--" For a suspenseful second or two he wondered if Hovan was going
to make it.


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