Nighthawks Hopper

The Cockney popped out of the galley. ¡¡¡¡'Where's that boy? Tell him I want him.' ¡¡¡¡'Yes, sir,' and Thomas Mugridge fled swiftly aft and disappeared down another companionway near the wheel. A moment later he emerged, a heavy-set young fellow of eighteen or nineteen, with a glowering, villainous countenance, trailing at his heels. ¡¡¡¡''Ere 'e, is, sir,' the cook said. ¡¡¡¡But Wolf Larsen ignored that worthy, turning at once to the cabin-boy. ¡¡¡¡'What's your name, boy?' ¡¡¡¡'George Leach, sir,' came the sullen answer, and the boy's bearing showed clearly that he divined the reason for which he had been summoned. ¡¡¡¡'Not an Irish name,' the captain snapped sharply. 'O'Toole or McCarthy would suit your mug a-sight better. 'But let that go,' he continued. 'You may have very good reasons for forgetting your name, and I'll like you none the worse for it as long as you toe the mark. Telegraph Hill, of course, is your port of entry. It sticks out all over your mug. Tough as they make them and twice as nasty. I know the kind. Well, you can make up your mind to have it taken out of you on this craft. Understand? Who shipped you, anyway

Nighthawks Hopper

Either because the speeder had passed out of range or because the second Tuskenhad convinced the other, the two broke off the discussion and scrambled down thebackside of the high ridge. Snuffling and a shifting of weight took place at the ridgebottom as the two Banthas stirred at the approach of their masters. Each was aslarge as a small dinosaur, with bright eyes and long, thick fur. They hissed anxiouslyas the two sandpeople approached, then mounted them from knee to saddle. With a kick Banthas rose. Moving slowly but with enormous strides, the twomassive horned creatures swept down the back of the rugged bluff, urged on by theiranxious, equally outrageous mahouts. "It's him, all right," Luke declared with mixed anger and satisfaction as the tinytripodal form came into view. The speeder banked and swung down onto the floorof a huge sandstone canyon. Luke slipped his rifle out from behind the seat andswung it over his shoulder. "Come round in front of him, Threepio," he instructed. "With pleasure, sir." The Artoo unit obviously noted their approach, but mad no move to escape; itcould hardly have outrun the landspeeder anyway. Artoo simply halted as soon as itdetected them and waited until the craft swung around in a smooth arc. Threepiocame to a sharp halt, sending up a low cloud of sand on the smaller robot's right.Then the whine from the landspeeder's engine dropped to a low idling hum asThreepio put it in parking mode. A last sigh and the craft stopped completely. After finishing a cautious survey of the canyon, Luke led his companion out ontothe gravelly surface and up to Artoo Detoo. "Just where," he inquired sharply, "didyou think you were going?"

Nighthawks Hopper

He neglected in his excitement to consider the possibility that it might not be ofhuman origin. "So I cut off my power, shut down the afterburners, and dropped in low onDeak's tail," Luke finished, waving his arms wildly. He and Biggs were walking inthe shade outside the power station. Sounds of metal being worked came fromsomewhere within, where Fixer had finally joined his robot assistant in performingrepairs."I was so close to him," Luke continued excitedly, "I thought I was going to fry myinstrumentation. As it was. I busted up the skyhopper pretty bad." Thatrecollection inspired a frown. "Uncle Owen was pretty upset. He grounded me for the rest of the season."Luke's depression was brief. Memory of his feat overrode its immorality. "You should have been there, Biggs!" "You ought to take it a little easier," his friend cautioned. "You may be thehottest bush pilot this side of Mos Eisley, Luke, but those little skyhoppers can bedangerous. They move awfully fast for tropospheric craft—faster than they need to.Keep playing engine jockey with one and someday, whammo!" He slammed one fistviolently into his open palm. "You're going to be nothing more than a dark spot onthe damp side of a canyon wall." "Look who's talking," Luke retorted. "Now that you've been on a few bigautomatic starships you're beginning to sound like my uncle. You've gotten soft inthe cities." He swung spiritedly at Biggs, who blocked the movement easily, makinga halfhearted gesture of counterattack.