The Wailing Asteroid

by Murray Leinster
An Avon Original
AVON BOOK DIVISION
The Hearst Corporation 959 Eighth Avenue New York 19, New York
Copyright, 1960, by Murray Leinster. Published by arrangement with the author. Printed in the U.S.A.
There was no life on the asteroid, but the miles of rock-hewn corridors through which the earth party wandered left no doubt about the purpose of the asteroid.
It was a mighty fortress, stocked with weapons of destruction beyond man's power to understand.
And yet there was no life here, nor had there been for untold centuries.
What race had built this stronghold? What unimaginable power were they defending against? Why was it abandoned? There was no answer, all was dead.
But—not quite all.
For in a room above the tomb-like fortress a powerful transmitter beamed its birdlike, fluting sounds toward earth. Near it, on a huge star-map of the universe, with light-years measured by inches, ten tiny red sparks were moving, crawling inexorably toward the center.
Moving, at many times the speed of light, with the acquired mass of suns ... moving, on a course that would pass through the solar system.