
On a desolate Mars where domes cling to a dying planet, patrolman Sisko Rolf finds himself hurled into the darkness of a cavernous underworld after his ship is shattered by hostile outlaws. Trapped in a narrow, water‑less pit deep beneath the surface, he awakens to flickering flames and the cold realization that his only companion, the veteran Garmon Nash, is gone. With limited supplies and a failing torch, Rolf must navigate a maze of sheer stone walls that seem to stretch forever.
Every breath is a reminder of the fragile life‑supporting air around him, and the knowledge that the outlaws below are smuggling precious water to starving colonies adds urgency to his plight. Rolf’s training forces him to improvise, using emergency concentrate bars and his wits to climb toward a faint opening that promises a chance of escape. The cavern’s oppressive silence is broken only by the distant rumble of hidden engines, hinting that danger—and perhaps salvation—lies just out of sight.
Language
en
Duration
~30 minutes (29K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
Release date
2020-10-07
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
1912–2003
A lively pulp-era storyteller, this American author moved easily between science fiction, fantasy, westerns, and detective fiction. His tales first appeared in magazines in 1940, and he became especially associated with adventurous stories for classic genre pulps like Planet Stories.
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