WE LEARN ATVATABARESE.
This exclamation was a very puzzling phrase to us.
Professor Starbottle said: "It appears to me, gentlemen, before we can
make any use of our prisoner we must first learn his language."
Again the stranger smote his breast, exclaiming: "Plothoy, wayleal ar
Atvatabar."
"Well, of all the lingoes I iver heard," said Flathootly, "this is the
worst case yet. It bates Irish, which is the toughest langwidge to
larn undher the sun. What langwidge do you call that, sorr?"
Professor Goldrock, besides being a naturalist, was an adept in
language. He stated that our captive appeared to be either a soldier
or courier or coast-guard of his country, which was evidently
indicated by the last word, Atvatabar. "Let us take for granted," said
he, "that 'Plothoy' is his name and 'Atvatabar' his country. We have
left the two words 'wayleal ar.' Now the pronunciation and grouping of
the letters leads me to think that the words resemble the English
language more nearly than any other tongue. The word 'wayleal' has the
same number of letters as 'soldier' and 'courier,' and I note that the
fourth and last letters are identical in both 'courier' and 'wayleal.'
On the supposition that both words are identical we might compare them
thus:
c is w
o " a
u " y
r " l
i " e
e " i or a
r " l
The word 'wayleil' or 'wayleal' means to us leal or strong--by the
way, a very good name for a soldier."
At this moment our mysterious friend yelled out:
"Plothoy, wayleal ar Atvatabar, em Bilbimtesirol!"
"Kape quiet, me boy," said Flathootly, "and we'll soon find out all
about you."
"Rather let him talk away," said the professor, "and we'll find out
who he is much quicker. You see he has given us two new words this
time, the words 'em Bilbimtesirol.' Now an idea strikes me--let us
transpose the biggest word thus:
b is p
i " e
l " r
b " p
i " e
m " n
t " d
e " i
s " c
i " u
r " l
o " a
l " r
Here we have the word 'perpendicular.' What does 'Bilbimtesirol' as
'perpendicular' mean? It may mean that the interior planet is lit by a
perpendicular sun, and that we are in a land of perpendicular light and
shadow. See how the shadow, of every man surrounds his boots! Now,
granting 'wayleal' means 'courier' and 'Bilbimtesirol' 'perpendicular,' we
have a clue to the language of Atvatabar. It seems to me to be a
miraculous transposition of the English language thus:
a is o
b " p
c " s or k
d " t
e " i or a
f " f or v
g " j
h " oh
i " e
j " g
k " c
l " r
m " n
n " m
o " a
p " b
q " v
r " l
s " c or s
t " d
u " ij
v " qu
w " y c or s
x " z
y " u or i
z " x
According to this transposition our friend means, 'Plothoy courier of
Atvatabar, in Bilbimtesirol.' Let us see if we can so understand him."
So saying, the professor approached and said:
"Ec wayl moni Plothoy?" (Is your name Plothoy?)
"Wic cel, ni moni ec Plothoy" (Yes, sir, my name is Plothoy), promptly
replied the stranger.
"Good!" said the professor; "that's glorious! We understand each other
now."
I congratulated the professor on his brilliant discovery. It was
magnificent! We could now converse with our prisoner on any subject we
desired.
We had the key in our hands that would unlock the wonders of Plutusia,
or rather Bilbimtesirol, the interior world.
Flathootly turned a dozen summersaults in the air to express his
delight. The sailors spun upon the deck, and threw each other into the
air like jugglers playing with balls, in pure excitement.
"Ec Atvatabar dofi moni ar wail saimtle?" (Is Atvatabar the name of
your country?) inquired the professor of Plothoy.
"E on o wayleal ar Fec Nogicdi, Cemj Aldemegry Bhoolmakar ar
Atvatabar" (I am a wayleal of his majesty King Aldemegry Bhoolmakar of
Atvatabar), said Plothoy.
Atvatabar, then, was a kingdom. We should go there certainly and see
King Bhoolmakar and his people. But where was this mysterious country?
"Yohili ec Atvatabar?" we asked of Plothoy.
"Dohili!" he replied, pointing to a continent in the southwest. The
southwest in the interior world, it should be stated, corresponds to
the southeast on the outer earth. Atvatabar, then, lay underneath the
Atlantic Ocean.
"Yohod ec dohi moni ar dohi miolicd gliod sedi?" (What is the name of
the nearest great city?) we asked.
"Kioram," replied Plothoy. "Dohili ed ec fequi ohymtlit neric tyi
caydoh docd." (There it is, five hundred miles due southeast.)
We looked in the direction indicated with our glasses and plainly saw
the white marble buildings of a large city not three degrees above the
plane of our position. Further off, in the haze of distance, a mighty
continent unrolled its landscapes, until it was merged in the
brightness of the sunlight above us.
All this time Plothoy's companion circumnavigated the ship on his
swift wings. We inquired his name.
"Lecholt," said Plothoy, "omt ohi orca ec o wayleal." (And he also is
a wayleal.)
"What is the name of the sun above us?" we inquired.
"Swang," said Plothoy.
Good! we would sail direct to Kioram, the principal port of Atvatabar.
I assured Plothoy that as long as he was detained by us he would
receive the greatest consideration at our hands. We would do him no
injury, but, on the contrary, amply reward him for his services. He
could understand that, being strangers in an unknown world, it was
absolutely necessary for us to have a pilot, or guide, not merely to
advise how to direct the ship, but to inform us regarding the laws,
manners, and customs of the people we proposed visiting, that we might
accommodate ourselves to such novel experiences as we were certain to
undergo. We told him we had come to Bilbimtesirol as pioneers of the
outer planet, as heralds of the intercourse that would undoubtedly
take place between two worlds separated for ages until now. We assured
Plothoy how indebted we were to him for the information he had already
given, and his great importance to us in a voyage that would affect
the interests of thousands of millions of men ought to reconcile him
to his brief captivity. We could not afford to lose him, and therefore
asked him to remain with us for the remainder of the voyage, and on
reaching Kioram we would give him his liberty.
These words, with the treatment he was receiving, completely
reconciled Plothoy, who called Lecholt to come down on deck beside
him. His companion obeyed, and presently the two strangers sat on the
rail of the vessel engaged in earnest conversation.
Presently Plothoy said that his companion Lecholt would go forward in
advance of the ship to inform the king of our coming, that due
preparations be made for our reception. This was an admirable
suggestion, and accordingly we despatched Lecholt with a message of
profound respect for King Aldemegry Bhoolmakar, saying that the
commander of the _Polar King_ with his officers and retinue would do
themselves the honor of visiting his majesty and people as soon as the
_Polar King_ would reach Atvatabar.
Poising himself for a moment on his wings, Lecholt saluted us with his
sword and immediately swept away in the direction of Atvatabar.