The Weather on Mercury

By WILLIAM MORRISON
Illustrated by VIDMER
Anyone mad enough (1) to land on that crazy world (2) in order to rescue that screwball explorer should (3) have his head examined!
The first thing McCracken did was shoot a Mercurian native. But then McCracken, although he had powerful muscles, was never supposed to be very strong in the head.
The expedition was in the Twilight Zone, naturally, at the time. Without special clothing, which no one had, both the perpetual night of the Cold Side and the furnace heat of the Hot Side were out of the question. The Twilight Zone at this point was about forty miles wide, and the Astrolight had been skillfully brought down smack in the middle of it. Two hours after the landing, having ascertained that the air was as breathable as Kalinoff had reported, McCracken went out and aimed his explosive bullet at the Mercurian.
If it hadn't been for Carvalho, who accompanied him, the rest of the group would have known nothing of the incident. It was Carvalho who reported what had happened to Lamoureux, captain of the expedition.
McCracken, of course, burst into vigorous denials that he had shot a native. You don't think I'd be fool enough to go around looking for trouble, do you?
Lamoureux thought he would, but didn't say so. You did shoot at something. We heard the report.
I tried to hit a dangerous bird.
What sort of bird was it?
Kind of like a penguin, I'd say, but with a broader face. No bill to speak of—
Then don't speak of it, snapped Lamoureux. Did you score a hit?