"I don't know. Maybe. Maybe not."
"There's light here. There's none in the other cities of the Ancients.
That means the power-source still works here. If we can find it--"
Garth couldn't look at her, knowing they were doomed to die the next
day. He shrugged, turned away, and found an empty corner. Ignoring the
others, he tried to relax on the hard floor. His brain just wasn't
working now. It was fagged out. He had a vague hunch that there might
be a way out--but he was too exhausted to follow it up now. A few
hours' sleep was vital.
But he slept past dawn. When he awoke, he saw the others lying
motionless, their eyes fixed in the blank stare of the Noctoli trance.
Glancing at the chronometer on Brown's wrist, Garth figured swiftly.
It was past dawn. That meant there was little time left in which to
act--provided action was possible. But sleep had refreshed him, though
his muscles still ached painfully. He was beginning to remember what
his hunch had been.
When he and Doc Willard had been captives, there had been guards only
at night. During the long Ganymedean day, none was necessary, for the
Noctoli poison had been active then. By day, the Zarno thought, men of
flesh were tranced and helpless. Unless--
Garth moved quietly to the door. Through the grill he saw the cave,
empty of life. There were no guards. He was glad he had slept past
dawn, so that the Zarno were able to believe him entranced like the
others.
But what now? Escape? To where? There was still power in the lost city;
perhaps the weapons of the Ancients still existed. Weapons stronger
than guns to conquer the Zarno! But, regardless of that, it was
necessary to find a hiding-place. This was the day of sacrifice.
Ironic thought--a hiding-place in an underground city teeming with the
Zarno!
Garth shrugged. The door was locked, he discovered, and it took time
to find the twisted wire Sampson had used. Even then, Garth was unable
to manipulate the intricate tumblers. He scowled, chewing his lip, and
eying the wire. Sampson's skilled fingers were necessary.
He roused the red-haired giant and led him to the door. Sampson looked
straight ahead, his eyes dull. He obeyed when Garth spoke--but that
was all. Was his skill sufficiently instinctive to be used now?
There was only one way to find out. Garth put the wire in Sampson's
hand.
"Unlock the door."
He had to repeat the command twice before Sampson understood. Then the
big man bent, fumbling with the lock, working with agonizing slowness.
Hours seemed to drag past before Sampson straightened.
* * * * *
Garth tried the door. It opened. The first step was accomplished,
anyhow. The others would be more difficult. He was unfamiliar with the
underground city. How the devil could he evade the Zarno and find a
hiding-place? Alone, he would have a better chance. But he had twelve
companions to take with him.
He spoke to each of them. "Follow me. You understand? Follow me till I
tell you to stop. Move as quietly as you can."
Then he led them out of the cell.
The city, as he speedily learned, was a labyrinth. Luckily there were
innumerable cross-passages. And all the cities of the Ancients had been
built along a similar plan. Garth knew the layout of Chahnn, and that
helped him now. But there were times when he had to move fast, and the
others walked as though striding through water.
"Quick! In here! _Fast!_"
And they would follow him, into a side tunnel, while the heavy,
metallic foosteps of the Zarno approached like the drums of doom.
But there was no place to hide permanently. Worst of all, a distant
clanging sounded presently, and Garth guessed what that meant. The
escape of the captives had been discovered.
Gingerly he skirted the huge cave where the dais was, glimpsing the
giant robot in the distance, and shepherding his charges along a
twisting corridor that led down. But the footsteps were growing louder.
Garth was almost certain that they were following.
He increased his pace, with wary glances behind him. Unless he found a
side passage soon, the swift Zarno would speedily overtake them.
"Faster! Move faster!"
The Earthmen tried to obey. Like automatons they ran, their eyes fixed
and staring, while the clamor of pursuit grew louder. Looking back,
Garth saw a flash of shining movement The Zarno!
"Faster!"
There were no side tunnels. They came out into a small cave, completely
empty. It was a cul-de-sac. Light was reflected brightly from three
walls.
The fourth wall was dead black--neither rock nor stone. It was like a
jet curtain, blocking their path. Garth jerked to a halt, knowing the
utter hopelessness of futility. They were trapped now.
The Zarno were pursuing, unmistakably.
Garth took out his useless gun. His face was set in grim lines. What
good were bullets against the silicate creatures?
But waiting helplessly was far worse. At least he could try to fight.
He had forgotten to command his charges to halt. Glancing around, Garth
saw something that made his eyes widen in incredulous amazement. Paula
was walking toward the black curtain--the wall--
She stepped through it and vanished.
Brown followed her. Then another man. And another.
Last of all, Sampson, disappearing like a ghost through the blackness!
Heavy footsteps whirled Garth about. Down the corridor he could see the
flashing gleams that heralded the Zarno. His tight grin was a grimace.
"The hell with you, pals," he said softly--and turned again. He raced
in pursuit of the others.
Leaped through the dark curtain!
* * * * *
There was an instant of grinding, jolting shock that left him blind.
He staggered, caught himself, and saw that he was in a passage that
led toward a distant brightness. Silhouetted against the glow were the
moving figures of his companions.
He sprinted after them. But he did not overtake them till they had
emerged in a cavern unlike any he had seen before.
"Okay! Stop! Stop, that's right."
They halted, motionless. Garth looked behind him, but there was no
trace of the Zarno.
This cavern was lighted like the others. But there were fewer machines.
Row after row of the giant four-armed robots stood like an army on the
dark-metal floor. The walls were jeweled, thousands of pearly disks
studding them. A low humming came from a machine nearby, a tripod with
lenses surmounting a square box.
Garth walked through it. He hesitated, glanced around again, and then
peered through the lenses.
A voice seemed to speak within his brain.
"--invoked the rule of silence. After that, Genjaro Lo declared that
space travel was inevitable and might solve the natural problems of our
civilization--"
It had spoken in the Ancient Tongue. And, at the same time, Garth had
seen a picture of a huge, four-armed being with a bulging, yet oddly
symmetrical head, standing on a rostrum addressing a multitude--
"_Ed!_" The voice rang through the silent cavern. "Ed Garth! You made
it!"
Garth whirled. A man had emerged from a cavern-mouth nearby, a short,
slight man with white hair and a lined, tired face. He ran forward, his
ragged garments flapping, his eyes shining.