The Black Cloud Part 5

'Yes, and let me know how it comes out as soon as you can. You know, Kingsley, while I don't necessarily go along with all you say about politics, I don't quite like the idea of everything going outside our control. But I can't do anything myself. Herrick has asked for the whole business to be put on the secret list, and he's my boss, and I can't go above him. But you're a free agent, especially after what you told him yesterday. So you can look into this business. I should get ahead with it as fast as you can.'

'Don't worry, I will.'

The drive was a long one, and it was evening by the time they dropped down through the Cajon Pa.s.s to San Bernardino. They stopped for an excellent dinner at a restaurant of Marlowe's choice on the western side of the towns.h.i.+p of Arcadia.

'I'm not normally keen on parties,' Marlowe said, 'but I think a party away from scientists would do us both good tonight. One of my friends, a business tyc.o.o.n over San Marino way, invited me to drive over.'

'But I can't go along and gatecrash.'

'Nonsense, of course you can come a guest from England! You'll be the lion of the party. Probably half a dozen film moguls from Hollywood will want to sign you up on the spot.'

'All the more reason for not going,' said Kingsley. But he went all the same.

The house of Mr Silas U. Crookshank, successful real estate operator, was large, s.p.a.cious, well decorated. Marlowe was right about Kingsley's reception. A super-large tumbler of hard liquor, which Kingsley took to be Bourbon whisky, was thrust into his hand.

'That's great,' said Mr Crookshank. 'Now we're complete.'

Why they were complete Kingsley never discovered.

After polite talk to the vice-president of an aircraft company, to the director of a large fruit-growing company, and other worthy men, Kingsley at last fell into conversation with a pretty, dark girl. They were interrupted by a handsome fair woman who laid a hand on each of their arms.

'Come along, you two,' she said in a low, husky, much cultivated voice. 'We're going along to Jim Halliday's place.'

When he saw that the dark girl was going to accept Husky Voice's plan, Kingsley decided he might as well go along too. No point in bothering Marlowe, he thought. He could get back to his hotel somehow.

Jim's place was a good deal smaller than the residence of Mr S. U. Crookshank, but nevertheless they managed to clear a floor s.p.a.ce on which two or three couples began dancing to the somewhat raucous strains of a gramophone. More drinks were handed round. Kingsley was glad of his, for he was no s.h.i.+ning light of the dancing world. The dark girl was engaged by two men, to whom Kingsley, in spite of the whisky, took a hearty dislike. He decided to muse on the state of the world until he could prise the girl loose from the two bounders. But it was not to be. Husky Voice came across to him. 'Let's dance, honey,' she said.

Kingsley did his best to adjust himself to the creeping rhythm, but apparently he did not succeed in gaining his partner's approval.

'Why don't you relax, sweetheart?' the voice breathed.

No remark could have been better calculated to baffle Kingsley, for he saw no prospect of relaxing in the overcrowded s.p.a.ce. Was he expected to go limp, leaving Husky Voice to support his dead weight?

He decided to counter with nonsense of an equal order.

'I never feel too cold, do you?'

'Say, that's darned cute,' said the woman in a sort of amplified whisper.

In a state of acute desperation Kingsley edged her off the floor, and grabbing his gla.s.s took a deep swig. Spluttering violently, he raced for the entrance hall, where he remembered seeing a telephone. A voice behind him said: 'h.e.l.lo, looking for something?'

It was the dark girl.

'I'm ringing for a taxi. In the words of the old song, "I'm tired and I want to go to bed." '

'Is that quite the right thing to say to a respectable young woman? Seriously though, I'm going myself. I've got a car, so I'll give you a lift. Forget about the taxi.'

The girl drove smartly into the outskirts of Pasadena.

'It's dangerous to drive too slowly,' she explained. 'At this time of night the cops are on the look-out for drunks and for people going home from parties. And they don't just pick up cars that are driven too fast. Slow driving makes 'em suspicious too.' She switched on the dashboard light to check the speed. Then she noticed the fuel gauge.

'h.e.l.l, I'm almost out of gas. We'd better stop at the next station.'

It was only when she came to pay the attendant at the station that she discovered that her handbag was not in the car. Kingsley settled for the petrol.

'I can't think where I can have left it,' she said. 'I thought it was in the back of the car.'

'Was there much in it?'

'Not a great deal. But the trouble is I don't see how I'm going to get into my apartment. The door key was in it.'

'That's distinctly awkward. Unfortunately I'm not a great hand at picking locks. Is it possible to climb in somehow?'

'Well, I think it might be, if I had some help. There's a highish window that I always leave open. I couldn't reach it alone, but I might if you gave me a lift. Would you mind? It's not very far from here.'

'Not in the least,' said Kingsley. 'I rather fancy myself as a burglar.'

The girl was right about the window being high. It could only be reached by one person standing on another's shoulder. The manoeuvre wouldn't be altogether easy.

'I'd better do the climbing,' said the girl. 'I'm lighter than you.'

'So instead of the das.h.i.+ng cracksman, I'm to be cast in the role of a carpet?'

'That's right,' said the girl as she pulled off her shoes. 'Now get down, so I can climb on your shoulders: Not so far down, or you'll never get up again.'

Once the girl nearly slipped, but she recovered balance by knotting her hand in Kingsley's hair.

'Stop pulling my head off,' he grunted.

'Sorry, I knew I shouldn't have drunk so much gin.'

Eventually it was done. The window was pushed open, and the girl disappeared inside, head and shoulders first, feet last. Kingsley picked up the shoes and walked over to the door. The girl opened it. 'Come in,' she said. 'I've laddered my nylons. I hope you're not shy about coming in?'

'I'm not in the least shy. I want my scalp back please if you've finished with it.'

It was nearly lunch time when Kingsley arrived at the Observatory the following day. He went straight to the Director's office, where he found Herrick, Marlowe, and the Astronomer Royal.

'My G.o.d, he looks shockingly dissipated,' thought the Astronomer Royal.

'My G.o.d, the whisky treatment seems to have fixed him,' thought Marlowe.

'He looks even more unstable,' thought Herrick.

'Well, well, are all those reports finished?' said Kingsley.

'All finished and waiting for your signature,' answered the Astronomer Royal. 'We were wondering where you'd got to. Our plane is booked back for tonight.'

'Plane booked back? Nonsense. First we race over half the world through all those d.a.m.ned airports, and now that we're here, enjoying the suns.h.i.+ne, you want to rush back again. It's ridiculous, A.R. Why don't you relax?'

'You seem to forget that we've got very serious business to attend to.'

'The business is serious enough. I'm with you there, A.R. But I tell you in all seriousness that it's a business that neither you nor anyone else can attend to. The Black Cloud is on its way and neither you, nor all the King's horses nor all the King's men, nor the King himself, can stop it. My advice is to drop all this nonsense about a report. Get out into the suns.h.i.+ne while it's still with us.'

'We were already acquainted with your views, Dr Kingsley, when the Astronomer Royal and I decided to fly east tonight,' broke in Herrick in measured tones.

'Am I to understand that you are going to Was.h.i.+ngton, Dr Herrick?'

'I have already arranged an appointment with the President's secretary.'

'Then in that case I think it would be as well if the Astronomer Royal and I were to travel on to England without delay.'

'Kingsley, that is exactly what we've been trying to tell you,' growled the Astronomer Royal, thinking that in some ways Kingsley was the most obtuse person he had ever met.

'It wasn't exactly what you told me, A.R., although it may have seemed that way to you. Now about those signatures. In triplicate, I suppose?'

'No, there are only two master copies, one for me and one for the Astronomer Royal,' answered Herrick. 'Would you sign here?'

Kingsley took out his pen, scribbled his name twice, and said: 'You're quite sure, A.R., that our plane to London is booked?'

'Yes, of course.'

'Then that seems all right. Well, gentlemen, I shall be at your disposal at my hotel from five o'clock onwards. But in the meantime there are various important matters that I must attend to.'

And with that Kingsley walked out of the Observatory.

The astronomers in Herrick's room looked at each other in surprise.

'What important matters?' said Marlowe.

'Heaven knows,' answered the Astronomer Royal. 'Kingsley's ways of thinking and behaving are more than I pretend to understand.'

Herrick left the east-bound plane at Was.h.i.+ngton. Kingsley and the Astronomer Royal flew on to New York, where they had a three-hour wait before boarding the London plane. There was some doubt as to whether they could take off because of fog. Kingsley was greatly agitated until eventually they were told to proceed to gate 13 and to have their boarding cards ready. Half an hour later they were in the air.

'Thank G.o.d for that,' said Kingsley, as the plane headed steadily to the north-east.

'I would agree that there are many things for which you ought to thank G.o.d, but I don't see that this is one of them,' remarked the Astronomer Royal.

'I would be glad to explain, A.R., if I thought that the explanation would commend itself to you. But as I fear it wouldn't, let's have a drink. What'll you have?'

Multifarious Activities

The U.S. Government was the first official body to learn of the approach of the Black Cloud.

It took Herrick some days to get through to the higher strata of the U.S. Administration, but when he did the results were far from disappointing. On the evening of 24 January, he received instructions to present himself at nine-thirty the following morning at the President's office.

'A very queer state of affairs you've come up with, Dr Herrick, very queer,' said the President. 'But you and your team at Mount Wilson stand so high that I won't waste any time doubting what you've told us. Instead I've called these several gentlemen together so that we can get down to settling what's to be done about it.'

Two hours' discussion was aptly summed up by the Secretary of the Treasury: 'Our conclusions seem to me quite clear, Mr President. Any really serious economic dislocation is likely to be prevented by the two favourable factors in the situation. Dr Herrick a.s.sures us that this er, visitation is not expected to be prolonged much beyond a month. This is so short a time that, even if the fuel consumption rate rises enormously, the overall quant.i.ty required to maintain ourselves against the period of extreme cold remains very moderate. There is accordingly no serious problem in building up adequate fuel stocks it is even possible that our present stocks might be sufficient. A more serious issue is whether we can transfer supplies fast enough from stock to the domestic and industrial consumer; whether we can pump gas and oil fast enough. This is something that must be looked into, but with nearly a year and a half in which to prepare there will surely be no difficulties that cannot be overcome.

'The second favourable factor is the date of the visitation. We should have much of our harvest in by mid-July, which Dr Herrick gives as the likely beginning of the emergency. The same favourable situation applies the world over, so that food loss, which would have been really serious had the period of cold occurred in May or June, should also be quite moderate.'

'Then I think we are all agreed on what immediate steps are to be taken,' added the President. 'When we have decided on our own dispositions we shall have to consider the more awkward problem of what help we can offer to peoples throughout the world. But for the moment let us put our own house in order. Now I take it that you gentlemen will all be wis.h.i.+ng to get back to various important matters, and there are a few questions that I would personally like to put to Dr Herrick.'

When the meeting had broken up, and they were alone together, the President went on: 'Now, Dr Herrick, you will understand that for the time being this is a matter that must be treated with the closest security. I see that, in addition to your own, there are three other names on your report. These gentlemen, I take it, are members of your staff? Can you also let me have the names of any others who may be aware of its contents?'

Herrick in reply gave the President a short account of the circ.u.mstances that led up to the discovery, pointing out that it was inevitable that the information should have become common knowledge throughout the Observatory before its importance was realized.

'Of course, that is natural enough,' remarked the President. 'We must be thankful that the matter has not gone beyond the confines of the Observatory. I trust, I earnestly trust, Dr Herrick, that you can a.s.sure me of that.'

Herrick remarked that as far as he was aware there were four men outside the Observatory with a full knowledge of the Black Cloud, Barnett and Weichart of the California Inst.i.tute of Technology but that was practically the same thing and two English scientists, Dr Christopher Kingsley of Cambridge and the Astronomer Royal himself. The names of the last two appeared on the report. The President's manner sharpened.

'Two Englishmen!' he exclaimed. 'This is not at all good. How did it come about?'

Herrick, realizing that the President could only have read a synopsis of his report, explained how Kingsley and the Astronomer Royal had independently deduced the existence of the Cloud, how Kingsley's telegram had been received in Pasadena, and how the two Englishmen had been invited to California. The President softened.

'Ah, they're both in California, are they? You did well to send that invitation, perhaps better than you realized, Dr Herrick.'

It was then that Herrick first realized the significance of Kingsley's sudden decision to return to England.

Some hours later, flying back to the West Coast, Herrick was still pondering his visit to Was.h.i.+ngton. He had hardly expected to receive the President's quiet but firm censure, nor had he expected to be sent home so soon. Curiously the unmistakable censure worried him far less than he would have supposed. In his own eyes he had done his duty, and the critic that Herrick feared most was himself.

It also took the Astronomer Royal some days to reach the fountainhead of government. The route to the summit lay through the First Lord of the Admiralty. The ascent would have been made sooner had he been willing to declare his purpose. But the Astronomer Royal would say nothing but that he desired an interview with the Prime Minister. Eventually he obtained an interview with the Prime Minister's private secretary, a young man of the name of Francis Parkinson. Parkinson was frank: the Prime Minister was extremely busy. As the Astronomer Royal must know, quite apart from all the usual business of state, there was a delicate international conference in the offing, there was Mr Nehru's visit to London in the spring, and the Prime Minister's own coming visit to Was.h.i.+ngton. If the Astronomer Royal would not state his business, then quite certainly there would be no interview. Indeed the business would need to be of exceptional importance, otherwise with regret he must decline to be of any a.s.sistance whatever. The Astronomer Royal capitulated by giving Parkinson a very brief account of the affair of the Black Cloud. Two hours later he was explaining the whole matter, this time in full detail, to the Prime Minister.

The following day the Prime Minister held an emergency meeting of the Inner Cabinet, to which the Home Secretary was also invited. Parkinson was there, acting as secretary. After giving a quite accurate precis of Herrick's report, the Prime Minister looked round the table and said: 'My purpose in calling this meeting was to acquaint you with the facts of a case that may possibly become serious, rather than to discuss any immediate action. Our first step must obviously be to satisfy ourselves of the correctness or otherwise of this report.'

'And how may we do that?' asked the Foreign Secretary.

'Well, my first step was to ask Parkinson to make discreet inquiries concerning the er, scientific reputations of the gentlemen who have signed this report. Perhaps you would like to hear what he has to say?'

The meeting signified that it would. Parkinson was slightly apologetic.

'It wasn't altogether easy to get really reliable information, especially about the two Americans. But the best I could get from my friends in the Royal Society was that any report bearing the signature of the Astronomer Royal or of the Mount Wilson Observatory will be absolutely sound from an observational point of view. They were, however, far less certain about the deductive powers of the four signatories. I gather that only Kingsley of the four might claim to be an expert on that side.'

'What do you mean by "might claim to be"?' asked the Chancellor.

'Well, that Kingsley is known to be an ingenious scientist, but not everyone regards him as thoroughly sound.'

'So what it amounts to is that the deductive parts of this report depend on only one man, and at that on a man who is brilliant but unsound?' said the Prime Minister.

'What I gleaned could be construed in that way, although it would be a somewhat extreme way of putting it,' answered Parkinson.

'Possibly,' went on the Prime Minister, 'but at any rate it gives us fair grounds for a measure of scepticism. Evidently we must look further into it. What I want to discuss with you all is the means we should now adopt for gaining further information. One possibility would be to ask the Council of the Royal Society to appoint a committee who would carry out a thorough probe of the whole matter. The only other line of attack that recommends itself to me is a direct approach to the U.S. Government, who must surely also be much concerned with the veracity, or perhaps I should say the accuracy, of Professor Kingsley and others.'

After several hours' discussion it was decided to communicate immediately with the U.S. Government. This decision was reached largely through the powerful advocacy of the Foreign Secretary, who was not short of arguments to support an alternative that would place the matter in the hands of his own department.