Willard glanced at the Earthmen, curiosity in his eyes. "You've a bit
of explaining to do yourself, Ed. Are they--Noctoli?"
"Yeah. I worked out an antitoxin, but it was stale." Quickly Garth
explained what had happened.
"I see. Well--got a cigaret?" Willard sucked the smoke luxuriously into
his lungs. "That's good. Five years since I had one of these. Sit down
and let's talk. No chairs, but try the floor."
"Okay. What happened to you?"
"Nothing much. When we staged our fake ceremony--the Zarno are plenty
religious--I headed for that little black temple in the forest. Know
the place?"
"Yeah. That's where they caught us."
"Well, it leads to freedom. There's an underground tunnel that takes
you out in a camouflaged hangar. The Ancients had antigravity. I found
out later, and their flying-boats were hidden there. They're still
good, Ed. They still work. I'd have got away if the Zarno hadn't been
right on my heels."
"So?"
Willard nodded. "The controls are easy. A couple of push-buttons and
a steering-lever. I'd got a few feet off the ground when a couple of
Zarno jumped into the boat with me. They heaved me out and followed.
The flying-boat went off to Mars or somewhere, I suppose--it kept on
going straight up. But there are others. Only I've never been able to
get at them. If I could have, I'd have headed for Oretown, pronto."
Garth's eyes were glowing. "If we could reach that hangar, Doc, we
could escape--all of us."
"Sure. Only we can't. Too many guards. It's impossible to get out of
this city. I've tried often enough. The only way I managed to survive
was by entering the Darkness." His voice trailed away.
"That black wall?"
"It's a vibration-barrier. None of the Zarno can pass it. It shakes
them to pieces--destroys them. The Ancients made it, I suppose,
to guard their library." Willard extended his hand in a sweeping
gesture. "This is it. All the knowledge of the Ancients--tremendous
knowledge--compiled here for reference. If we could only get it out to
the world!"