"You understand, then," said Gravgak. "If anything happens, you'll
swear there was an intruder--one of the savages."
"I'll swear it. I'll say that I--"
"Say that he knocked you down and forced his way in. Like this!"
Gravgak struck him with his fist. The guard tumbled in a heap against
the cavern wall. He lay there, eyes closed. Gravgak tiptoed past my
hiding place. His eyes glinted with purpose. He paused at Tomboldo's
door, weighed the knife in his hand, then sheathed it. He went on
toward Vauna's room.
I skipped to one side of the storage room where I had seen my equipment
coat hanging. Without it I could have been no match for this man.
My fingers caught it off the wall, I got into it as I hurried back.
Automatically my hands checked the contents, everything in place--
Gravgak was conversing with Vauna through the partly opened door. "I
told you I would come."
"You have no right. I told you--" There was strength, not fear, in
Vauna's low voice.
"Your father means for me to win you, if necessary by force."
"You lie. Go or I'll sound the alarm."
"You are in love with that stranger." His voice trembled with rage.
"See, you don't answer. If you want him to live, get rid of him. Send
him back in his silver shell."
"You threaten my father's guest?"
"The great Tomboldo will not live long. I have heard the savages plan
to come in some night soon and murder him."
At that instant old Tomboldo's voice sounded from the next room. "Who's
there, Vauna?"
"Gravgak!" It was Gravgak himself who answered. "I came to protect you,
Tomboldo. There's danger--"
Tomboldo's voice thundered with anger at this unaccountable intrusion.
"What do you mean?"
"They mean to kill you, and if they do--"
"Who?"
"The savages. And if they succeed, I am your successor. Tell your
daughter it's so. Tell her that if a knife blade descends from some
dark corner--_look out_! Someone behind you!"
It was a ruse to cause old Tomboldo to whirl about and turn his back
to Gravgak. Tomboldo didn't whirl. But he must have seen what I saw,
glittering in the dim light--the knife in Gravgak's hand. It flashed
up--
I flung a capsule bomb at the arch. Fire flashed, and the voices were
swallowed up in the concussion.
7.
The swirl of yellow dust sifted through the cavern passages. Coughing
and puffing hard, I fought my way into the heap--in time to catch sight
of Gravgak staggering off toward an exit tunnel.
The three of us stood together. A strange trio. Two Benzendellas, one
Earth man. Bound together in an allegiance that all the space in the
universe could never divide. Vauna was weeping softly, holding her arms
tight about herself, her hands cupped over the fur wrappings of her
elbows.
She said she could not understand Gravgak's behavior. Once he had had
a chance to become the leader. Was it all because he was insane with
jealousy--because she loved me?
Her father thought it was more than this. He had evidently read signs
of disloyalty in Gravgak, even before my coming. Too many plans had
filtered out to the savage enemies. For a long time Gravgak had been
impatient for a chance to succeed Tomboldo; my coming had thwarted the
original plan--the murderous attack on the sunset meeting. Yes, Gravgak
had been twisting the sponge-tree bands into his own schemes even then.
The fine boldness showed in Tomboldo's eyes as he talked. People had
gathered, and they saw clearly the truth of his charges.
But now there were delays in getting ready to go to the better land on
another side of this planet. Part of the delay was caution. Gravgak
would probably lie in waiting for the Benzendella migration to the
serpent river. He would plan an attack. Some waiting, some scouting and
much preparation would be a matter of wisdom. Meanwhile, if Gravgak
could be found, let him be killed on sight.
Several weeks passed. Secret preparations for the twenty mile migration
were completed. I was pleased to hear that Campbell had had a share in
these plans. He had made several night hikes back to the ship, and had
kept watch through the telescope by day, and made valuable observations
by means of infra-red photography by night. He knew where the nests of
the savage bands were located. Moreover, I learned that he and a few
of Tomboldo's choice scouts, under cover of darkness, crossed through
the sponge-tree area to examine the Serpent River at close range and
determine upon a suitable place for getting the Benzendella tribe
aboard.
For these observations, and for an abundance of scientific data which
he picked up about the Serpent River itself, I was deeply grateful. If
this expedition succeeded in its purposes, the success would be to his
credit, not mine.
Nevertheless, when I was at last conducted to his quarters at the end
of one of the tunnels--my long awaited visit--I did not spend all my
time complimenting him for his fine achievements.
"You're going to be ready to make the trip with the tribe, I presume?"
I asked, when we got around to the plans for the migration.
"And leave the ship here? I shall follow orders, Captain, but I should
prefer to stay with the ship, and to proceed with the remainder of the
scientific assignments."
He handed his field glasses over to one of the relief guards, and led
me to a bench in his primitive quarters. A slice of sunlight knifed
through from the out-of-doors, the first I had seen for a long time.
"A little sunlight's not a bad thing," I said casually. "I've been
needing a little light."
He looked up at me as if he knew what was coming. "If you've been
hearing a rumor, don't believe it."
"You've heard it too?"
"They say I'm supposed to become the husband of Omosla."
"All I want is your word, Lieutenant Campbell," I said.
"My word. Captain." Split said dryly. "You know I wouldn't break the
Code."
"I believe you.... Okay, we're in a spot. The fact is, the girl's going
to have a baby. When she does, she'll declare you her mate. And the
tribe will be proud. Have you thought this through?"
"I've tried to."
I began to pace. "You know we can't afford to offend the tribe. If you
bluntly deny that you've had anything to do with the girl, they'll be
insulted. They're ready to believe her, not you."
"How soon will the child be born?"
"Within a few days."
"How long have we been here?"
"Long enough."
"Why doesn't her true mate speak up, whoever he is?"
I said, "That's one of the strange circumstances. I haven't heard them
mention any other man but you. You see, Split, you're the hero of the
hour. You're the one they want."
"I hope you're not suggesting that _I_ marry this girl."
"I _haven't_ suggested it, have _I_? But I will ask this: Do
you like the girl?... Love her??... Enough to marry her?"
"Under more favorable conditions--yes. I've never loved anybody before.
But Omosla--from the first time I saw her, that evening, in the
sunset--"
"All right, Split. But you still tell me you haven't made love to her?"
"Absolutely, _no_. You may not know it, Jim, but I was with you
almost constantly for days and nights after your knockout. You came
through the operation--the riskiest thing I ever tried in my life. When
you began to pull out of it, I could have gladly taken you back to the
ship and blasted off for home. But they were giving you care--Vauna and
Omosla--and damned intelligent care, according to my orders. By that
time the savages were knocking on our doors again, and I went onto the
defense job with my pockets full of scare bombs, and the other kind
too. From then on, I couldn't have held to tighter discipline if I'd
been in a planetary war, I swear it."
I beat my fist lightly on Split's shoulder. The fellow was great, no
doubt about it, and I felt like a fool asking him questions about
matters outside the bounds of duty. "You're okay, Split. You could
violate a hundred codes, as far as I'm concerned, and I'd swear before
any court in the world that you're tops. But we've still got a problem
with this tribe--and this girl."
"I'm not asking for compliments," Split said. "For the record I'm
telling you what _did_ happen, and what didn't. And here's what
did." Now it was his turn to pace twice around the bench. "How do I
begin?"
"With Omosla."
"Omosla comes to me often. She brings me food and drink. She hangs
around like a pet. She doesn't touch me--anymore. I put a stop to
that soon after the first time she put her arms around me. Yes, she
did that. I was busy watching the sponge-trees move down the valley.
She was nearby, murmuring words, most of which I could only half
understand. I didn't stop her when she slipped her arms around me--not
for quite awhile. I remember plenty well the way those pins in her
elbow furs scratched my arms. They stuck in like thorns. Look, you can
still see the marks." He rolled up his sleeves to show me the slight
scars on his upper arms, just above the elbows. "I figured either she
didn't know those pins were sticking me, or else it was some sort of
tricky test that girls use on men to test their metal. So I took it,
and didn't wince. Sure, I was enjoying letting her hug me. But after
that one time I always kept my distance. This all happened when we
first came. You'd think she'd have forgotten. Especially if she had a
real husband somewhere on the scene."
I groaned. "Every tribe has strange customs. When the baby comes,
that's when they'll insist on a husband."
"I wonder who it really is."
"Unfortunately we can't prove anything by giving the baby a blood test.
These primitives wouldn't understand."
"Proofs are out," Campbell said.
"However, we still have the eyelash test," I suggested.
"You mean--"
"I mean that you and I are the only two human animals on this planet
with eyebrows and eyelashes. When Omosla's baby arrives without a trace
of an eyelash, that might go a long way toward convincing--"
"You'll help me fight it, then?"
"If you're sure you don't want to change your mind, throw out the Code,
and claim the girl."
A look of disdain was all the answer Campbell gave me, at first.
Finally he said, "You'd had ample reasons for nicknaming me Split,
Captain. But so far, I've given you no grounds for applying the term to
my personality. I prefer to remain a member of EGGWE, in good standing,
and to return to Earth with a clear record. Let Omosla name the true
father, whoever he is."
8.
The whole Benzendella tribe made its way across to the Kao-Wagwattl
with only one casualty reported. Leeger, the short, slight guard who
had once been brutally knocked out by Gravgak, was reported missing.
Everyone else came through without a scratch. It was a triumph for old
Tomboldo. His superhuman courage had carried the day. Children were
delighted over the adventure. Old folks were happy over achieving what
they had feared would be an impossible undertaking. They could believe,
now, that they would live all through to the end of the journey--for
Kao-Wagwattl, the serpent river, was a legendary giver of life.
Campbell did not come. That was according to plan. He kept in touch
with me by radio through the final hours of the twenty-mile crossing.
"... Do you read me, Captain? I've drawn them to the north with fire
bombs from the ship's guns.... They've never guessed your course."
"No signs of Gravgak? Or Leeger?"
"Not a sign. The city's empty."
"Keep on the radio, Campbell."
"Right, Captain. By the way, how is Omosla?"
"Expecting. I'll let you know. She still talks about the bravest man on
the planet, someone named Campbell."
"H-m-m. You'll sort of look after her, won't you?"
It was two hours before dawn when the last of the tribe (Leeger
excepted) gathered at the mountainside station to board Kao-Wagwattl.
We waited for daylight. Strange smells filled our nostrils. Smells of
wood fires, sparked to life by friction under the pressures of the
crawling monster. Smells of rocks being ground to powder. Smells of
the saccharine-sweet breathing from the pores of the thing itself, the
giant Kao-Wagwattl.
The faint gray of dawn gradually changed to pink. In the growing
light we could make out the contour of the vast misty creeping form.
Its rounded sides moved along only yards from where we stood. As the
light of morning came on we could distinguish the immense box-shaped
scales that covered its sides. Clouds of sponge-trees rose and fell
around it. Unrooted vegetation would sift downward, to be bumped into
the air again, or to be rolled under. Small fires were continually
being ignited by friction, and often smothered before they were well
started. Sometimes the burning would creep up around the curved sides,
only to be snuffed out by the surface-breathing of the massive thing.
I was relieved to note that the curved top--the "spine", so to
speak--was so gradually rounded that there could be no danger of
anyone's falling off. Its immensity had to be seen to be appreciated.
As to its length, I took the word of Tomboldo and others. It was
endless. It wound around the whole planet like a fifty-thousand mile
serpent that had swallowed its own tail. An unbroken rope of life,
forever crawling.
A gigantic creature? A gargantuan vine? A living thing! I should
not say that it was more animal than plant. When I asked Tomboldo's
counsellors, Was it animal or vegetable, their answer was, Yes. Yes,
_what_? Yes, it was animal or vegetable. They stressed the OR.
Must it be one and not the other? Evidently the Kao-Wagwattl was not to
be compared, not to be classified, but to be accepted--and utilized.
For this wandering tribe it was a means of escape from enemies, and a
mode of travel. With the coming of daylight, they went to work.
Crude cranes. Swinging baskets. Hoists. One group after another was
tossed up into the rubbery purplish-gray scales that covered the
Kao-Wagwattl's spine.
No one cried out. The landing was soft. And harmless. The speed of
the crawl was not great. It must have averaged not more than ten or
fifteen miles an hour. But there were variations, to be taken advantage
of. The outsides of a curve moved swiftly. Foresighted Tomboldo had
selected the inside of a curve for our mounting, where the movement
was sluggish. Younger members could leap across from an overhanging
platform. Once safely in the folds of the surface, they could climb the
rounded wall at their leisure.
Three or four hours were required for the entire tribe to get aboard.
This meant that a long line was formed. Over a span of many miles this
headless, tailless serpent became inhabited with tiny human fleas,
figuratively speaking.
Among the stragglers who boarded last were a few older persons who
had to be coaxed and pampered before they would get into the swinging
basket.
Then, too, there was Omosla, looking very pretty and thoroughly
frightened. She caused a slight delay at the very last by deciding it
was time for her to have her baby.
9.
Finally we were all aboard, and the mighty Kao-Wagwattl, unaffected by
this addition of a few specks of human dust, moved on at its dogged
pace through the mountain valleys.
No lives had been lost. No one had been seriously injured. Tomboldo was
the heroic leader. I went forward over the lumpy slabs of scales, to
find him and congratulate him. He said, "The glad feelings are to be
shared," and he spoke with high praise of my own help and that of my
friend Campbell. "But we are not yet out of danger. Pass the word."
Pass the word. Keep down. Out of sight. For several days we would be
crawling through the lands of savages.
Vauna found me. She had made sure that Omosla and the baby would have
the best of care, and now she meant to look after me. "My dear one,"
she called me.
"Here, my dear one. I have your valuable coat. Come out of sight. The
enemy must not see you."
I glanced up the long curved spine of Kao, moving steadily through the
sunshine. Little groups of Benzendellas could be seen ahead, as far as
the eye could reach. The young children of the party had never had such
a trip before, and the older ones found it a strenuous game to keep
them down out of sight. Following Tomboldo's order, they rapidly ducked
down into hiding. The great rubber-like scales resembled up-ended
boxes, set in criss-cross rows. The deep flexible crevices thus formed
were ideal for hiding.