THE SECRET EXIT
MIRIAM’S trance was physical only; and the disjunction of spirit from body
was not so complete as to prevent occasional gleams of consciousness from
passing from one to the other. But normal cooperation was suspended. The
spirit, however, was beyond Torpeon’s reach, and his power over the body
was limited to reducing its functions to quiescence. A far greater effort
would be required to bring the living and conscious woman herself under
his control. Such an effort, in the Saturnian environment, must prove
futile; and all his art and ingenuity were therefore bent upon the
enterprise of transferring her to his own place.
The plan of his attempt at the palace had been well and boldly laid, and
Zarga had played her part efficiently. But in failing to consider an
element in the problem so apparently humble as Jim they had committed a
radical error. His devotion to Jack and Miriam was single-hearted and
unreserved, and it had sharpened his insight into possible sources of
danger. Zarga had aroused his suspicions from the first; and the fact that
she was trusted so implicitly by the others served to render his own
watchfulness only the more keen.
He had observed, while Lamara and her party were preparing for departure,
leaving Jack and Zarga alone with Miriam, that one of the attendants, at
Lamara’s direction, had transmitted a signal to the island through a
certain instrument attached to a pillar of the portico of the palace. His
fondness for mechanical devices had caused him to examine this contrivance
after they were gone, and though the principle on which it worked was
unlike anything he had seen on his own earth, he perceived readily enough
by what means it was operated. He now applied himself, without
compunction, to observing as well as he could what was going on between
Jack and Zarga in Miriam’s chamber; and what he saw and heard augmented
his suspicions of the girl’s good faith. He had almost made up his mind to
send a signal to the island, on the chance that it might bring assistance,
when, happening to glance upward, he saw the red planet Tor directly in
the zenith, and, detaching itself therefrom, an object bearing some
resemblance to a parachute, which sped toward Saturn with the swiftness of
a meteorite. He delayed no longer, but with all his force pushed in the
rod or plunger which had seen the attendant use. At the same time he gave
vent to the scream, which Jack had overheard. The next instant he was
bowled head over heels by what seemed to be a blast of fiery air; and he
did not recover his senses until after the ensuing conflict was over.
We follow the movements of Zarga. Terrified and enraged at the miscarriage
of the attempt, and at the ruin involved to her personal hopes, she had
fled away, not heeding whither she went, until she was arrested by the
towering figure of Torpeon in her path.
“Back to Tor, Prince!” she cried, “and take me with you. All is lost
here!” “No; now is our best chance for success!” he returned, with fierce
resolution. “The moment to strike home is when the enemy believes you
defeated. The youth shall be my care; do you follow the woman. She has
been take to the island, where they believe her secure; none can enter
there but the initiates; but you are of the inner circle, and your
privilege has not yet been canceled. Hear my instructions and follow them,
and every end we aimed at will be gained. Throw aside all scruples; your
career on Saturn is closed forever; you have nothing more to lose here.
But I will make you great on Tor, and the man you love shall be at your
feet. You are of my blood; be worthy of your lineage!”
“I fear nothing, because I hope nothing,” replied the girl gloomily; “but
I am willing to make one trial more. He will never love me; but to part
him from the woman he loves will be some consolation. Tell me your plan.”
“With beauty such as yours, and opportunity, no man can resist you,” said
Torpeon; “you will need no help from me; but in serving you I shall serve
myself. Listen to me and I will show you how fortune fights for those who
defy her!”
After conferring together they separated, and Zarga made her way toward
the seashore. Torpeon, after some minutes of intense thought, betook
himself in another direction.
Miriam, in the soft silence and seclusion of the pavilion, drew a long
breath and opened her eyes. Her first thought was of Jack, whom she had
been preparing to meet at the time the trance overtook her. But this room,
with its silvery gleams, was different from the one which she last
remembered. She turned her mind back over the sequence of events since her
arrival on Saturn. She recalled Zarga’s having told her of the planetary
mirror, in which distant events were reflected; it might show her her
lover, who was even then on his way to seek her. Unaware of the conditions
under which alone the mirror could be safely consulted, she had
unhesitatingly entered a small domed structure sunk in the solid rock
which Zarga had designated. There, in the darkness, she had first
discerned nothing; but presently she had seen, set in a metal frame, an
oval object having the appearance of a giant eye, mysteriously luminous,
the inner circle of the pupil black, and enlarging its diameter as she
gazed into it. In those depths there were indistinct movements,
evolutions, glimpse of things approaching and withdrawing, wide wastes of
space; and the shining out of stars; the waving of trees in the wind; the
foam of falling waters. Suddenly the circle of the pupil was filled with a
ruddy glare, and seemed to grow immense; she was looking on the surface of
a planet, wild chasms and pinnacles, the spouting of volcanoes, the rush
of boiling waters. The figure of a man with shaggy black hair and fierce
eyes appeared in the midst of it, sweeping toward her with
incomprehensible velocity, a scarlet mantle waving out from his herculean
shoulders. Now, apparently his actual self stood before her, his gaze
meeting hers; in his right hand he carried a short staff that glowed like
molten metal. He pointed it at her forehead; she felt a sensation like the
touch of flame; she had seemed to sink down, and knew no more.
After an interval, of what duration she knew not, she had revived to see
faces bending over her—Lamara, Aunion, Zarga, Argon; Zarga wringing her
hands distressfully and speaking volubly; the others compassionate and
sympathetic. What had happened?—some inadvertent transgression, some
catastrophe; Torpeon’s Mark! She had put her fingers to her forehead and
felt the circle there. “It is not irreparable—it will pass away!” she
heard Lamara say, in her gentle, reassuring tones.
After that a kaleidoscope of minor occurrences, ending with news of Jack’s
arrival, and his expected appearance at the palace. She was awaiting the
moment of meeting; Zarga had entered. “He is here; come!” She had joyfully
started up and had taken a step forward, when all at once blankness had
closed around her, and her next consciousness had been of this wakening in
the island pavilion. What had intervened? And Jack—where was he? She sat
up and looked about her.
From her present position she could see the fountain in the court, the
singular movements of which concentrated her attention.
The clear waters were molding themselves into the likeness of two human
figures, which appeared as if locked in a desperate struggle. They might
have been carved by a master-hand out of pure crystal, except for the
constant and lifelike contortions and writhings that they exhibited. At
first she had no thought of recognizing in these effigies any resemblance
to persons she had seen before; but as the struggle continued a
suggestion—a persuasion—possessed her mind that she knew them—they
represented Jack and that shaggy giant who had confronted her out of the
planetary mirror! They were engaged in a life-and-death battle; and it
seemed that the giant was gaining the advantage.
No sooner had this impression become fixed than the two figures dissolved
into the natural flow of the fountain, which, for a time, appeared no
otherwise than an ordinary water-jet. But ere long it began to assume
another form, this time of a woman—a young girl, of lightsome and graceful
form who, with arms outthrown and floating hair, seemed to be dancing
joyously toward her. Surely this apparition too was familiar! It could be
no other than her friend Zarga!
What caused these moldings and transformations, Miriam, of course, could
not conjecture, though she knew something of Saturnian powers; but the
second presentation relieved her somewhat of the forebodings stirred by
the first. She had never been made aware of any reason for distrusting
Zarga—quite the reverse; and it seemed probable that if these watery
creations bore any relation to real persons and event, Zarga’s
lighthearted mood portended some beneficent sequel to the menace of the
first scene.
But, on the other hand, perhaps her imagination had altogether beguiled
her! And now the fountain relapsed once more into formlessness.
A snatch of song echoed through the court, and Miriam turned to see Zarga
herself come tripping airily into view.
“Come, come, come!” she sang; “all is ready, and I am sent to fetch you!
The boat is prepared; Jack is waiting for you to get aboard; the others
are assembled to bid you farewell. So fair a day might not come again in a
lifetime! But we must make haste! Come, come!”
Miriam had involuntarily risen, and Zarga, taking her by the hand, was
drawing her toward the door of the pavilion. “We must make haste!” she
repeated.
“But how did this happen?” she asked. “Does Lamara know?”
“Lamara! Does she not know everything?” exclaimed the girl, laughing. “And
isn’t this a wonderful adventure! I wish you could have stayed with us
longer—or I wish I might go back with you to your earth! Would any man
there love me and marry me, do you think? Are there any men there like
your Jack?”
“Many men might wish to marry you,” replied Miriam; “but there can never
be but one Jack! Is he well and happy?”
“He will be happy when he sees you; just now he is very impatient!”
answered the other. They had left the pavilion and traversed a
deeply-shadowed path, while these remarks were passing, and were now
descending a slope which led to a flight of steps cut out of the rock.
These terminated in a cavern.
“Why, we are underground!” exclaimed Miriam, drawing back. “Where are you
taking me? Can this be the right way?”
“It is the shortest,” said Zarga, urging her forward. “They are awaiting
us at the other end.”
The cavern was a natural excavation in the rock, winding to right and
left, now narrow and low, now high, expanding into great chambers columned
with stalactite and stalagmite, and sometimes resounding with noise of
subterranean waters. The rocks emitted a dim light, sufficient to dispel
the darkness and enable them to go forward rapidly. But Miriam could not
help a sensation of disquiet; this was a strange beginning of a journey
through space! She observed a feverish excitement in Zarga’s bearing. She
was about to remonstrate when the path, which had hitherto either
descended or proceeded on a level, took an upward inclination, and a draft
of warmer air set steadily against them.
“We’re near the end,” said Zarga; and hollowing her hand before her mouth
she sent forth a long call. It was caught and reduplicated by innumerable
echoes, floating away, to be again and again renewed, as if prolonged by a
myriad vocalists. When it had finally died away there came an answering
note, deeper and stronger, falling upon the ear in rising and subsiding
cadences. Zarga glanced back over her shoulder.
“Your lover answers us!” she said.
The answer had not seemed to Miriam to have the quality of Jack’s voice;
but the echoes might have disguised it. The passage widened out, and the
unmistakable light of day flowed in. But as Miriam lifted her eyes the
first object that met them was the red globe of Tor suspended up yonder in
the sky.
“Are you sure there is no danger?” she asked, halting.
“Come, come!” cried Zarga, dragging her upward almost with violence. “We
are late already! There’s not a moment to lose! Come!”
But a conviction that something was amiss suddenly came over Miriam.
“I will go no further!” she said.
But her determination came too late. They were now within a few paces of
the entrance; and there appeared before her the figure, not of Jack, or of
any of her other friends, but of him whom she could not fail to recognize
as Torpeon. He smiled as their eyes encountered, and extended toward her
the truncheon in his hand. She felt the mark on her forehead burn, and
power to resist forsook her. She was drawn forward in spite of herself.
The aspect of the prince was stately and stern, intellect mingled with
passion in his imperious countenance. His expression softened as she drew
near, and conveyed a desire, the intensity of which made her tremble.
But indignation at the ruse played upon her kindled her to defiance.
“You may make my body obey you,” she said; “but not my soul!”
“I know the limits of my power,” he replied. “I had no means but this. If
I fail to prove my right to you, I am too much a king to take what is not
given. Come to my kingdom, learn to know me, and decide.”
“I can never love you; do not make me hate you,” said Miriam.
His heavy brows quivered for a moment.
“Love or hate—we will prove which is stronger; come!”
Disdaining futile resistance she stepped into the car that awaited them;
he took his place beside her, and they rose in air, headed for the red
planet. Zarga, left below, gazed at them till they were out of sight;
then, with a mocking wave of her hand toward the island she went inland.