The Golden Enemy Read Free Page B

”
    â€œ Did you forget to bring me a present? ”
    This was the first time she had mentioned it since he had left. “ I found something for you, ” he replied.
    â€œ Oh, what is it? Please tell me! ”
    â€œ I don’t know, ” he admitted. “ But maybe Emmon can tell us. Meet me there this afternoon. ”
    He glanced up at the approaching cloud bank, which was uncomfortably close. Then he forgot it when he saw the nearness of the trees.
    The overloaded air sled had been using more and more power to stay aloft. Now, as he tried to send it higher, there was no response. Suddenly he realized the solar batteries were not recharging fast enough to make up for the extra drain upon them.
    Doubtful gave a yip of fright as the sled brushed the top of a tree and tilted downward. “Oof! What’s wrong?”
    â€œPower’s failing—we’ve got to land.” He looked frantically around for an open spot, but saw none.
    They brushed through more leaves, scraped over a succession of limbs, and began drifting slowly into the shadows. They touched bow-first and settled lightly upon the deep leaf-mold that carpeted this part of the forest floor.
    Even before they touched, Boy Jaim had ripped off his safety belt and turned to release Doubtful. The dog was trembling and the hair on his neck was standing up.
    â€œDo you whiff it, Doubtful?”
    â€œYes—strong! What are we going to do?”

T he youngest herder sat up with a start, not sure whether he had been dozing and dreaming, or simply imagining things. For a moment it seemed that his star really had a planet, and that he had been given a close look at it. Had he glimpsed people there like himself, and familiar creatures? …
    He decided he had only imagined it, but it didn’t matter. He could pretend it was real. It helped to believe there might be another like himself out there … someone with the same thoughts and feelings, perhaps with troubles like his own …
    If it were man’s old planet, there might be dangerous creatures on it, things that hated man.
    Only, hatred had to have a reason …

2
    ENEMY
    T he first thing to do, Boy Jaim knew instantly, was to get away from this part of the forest, fast. The sled had hardly touched down when he snatched up the towline and leaped from it. Fear, a shattering sort of fear like nothing he’d ever felt before, sent him racing away over the tangle of creepers and fallen leaves, with the white dog scrambling beside him. The air sled, afloat again after being released of their weight, bounced erratically along behind him, scraping against trees and windfalls. It caught finally on a low-hanging limb and jerked him to a stop.
    Trembling, he managed to free it, then crouched beside it while he fought down the panic that had seized him. The small dog pressed close for comfort. This, Boy Jaim thought, was like living through one of poor Doubtful’s nightmares.
    â€œCan you still whiff the thing?” he whispered finally.
    â€œYes,” said Doubtful, pointing with his nose. “It—it’s off in yonder.”
    His arm tightened around Doubtful while he studied the surrounding shadows. Somewhere, surely, there must be a sunny glade where the sled’s batteries could recharge. The entire deck and sides were made up of solar cells, most of which had been covered far too long by his equipment. But an hour in the sunlight, with everything removed, should bring the power up again. That is, if there was any sunlight to be found.
    They were in one of the most tangled areas he had ever seen. Only little speckles of light dappled the gloom, though far off on his right he made out a faint pencil of brightness that might be the sun beating into a glade. But even as he saw it, the brightness vanished and the speckles of light around them faded.
    The clouds had come. It chilled him to realize that the sun might not shine again today.
    A sudden