eagerly studied the mysteries of Martian life passing before their eyes.
Neither could yet quite bring himself to a full realization of the fact
that they were actually viewing life upon the planet which had caused so
much conjecture upon Earth.
“I wonder whether we shall pull in on the ‘elevated’ or the ‘subway,’”
grinned Robert.
His question was answered a few minutes later as they plunged into the
darkness of a tunnel. For ten minutes or more they roared swiftly
through the darkness, dimly illuminated by the incandescents in the
ceiling of their car. Then they emerged suddenly into a vast,
brilliantly lighted underground chamber, filled with the din of noisy
bustle, and came to a stop before a large barred area.
Here their hosts politely signified that they should get out.
News of their arrival had probably preceded them. A great, curious crowd
thronged the area. Half of their body of guides led the way through one
of the gates, forcing a passage for them through the dense, curious
crowd. It was here that Robert caught his first sight of the Martian
women. Unconsciously he was expecting to find the golden-haired type of
his dream. But in this he was disappointed, for, without exception, they
were dark-haired, and with complexions of a pale, olive tint, as were
the men.
The women’s garments did not differ greatly from those of their men
folk, in that they wore a variety of loose trousers like those worn by
our Turkish women. Perhaps their garb is best described by stating that
it was strikingly similar to that, of the women in the Mohammedan
harems, without the face veil.
Passing through a massive archway, they walked up a few steps leading
into a large waiting room not unlike one of ours. Through the throng
they continued and entered a roomy elevator which whisked them upward.
Emerging from this they found themselves once more in the daylight, and
in a great vestibule leading to the street.
Outside, several closed conveyances waited, evidently engaged by
prearrangement. Robert and Professor Palmer entered one of these with
two of their beaming hosts, sinking down into the luxurious upholstering
gratefully.
As they rolled along, Robert and the professor studied the scenes around
them in suppressed excitement.
The first feature which struck Robert was the immense height of the
buildings, practically all of which were of ten stories or more.
Buildings of thirty stories were common, while several they passed were
more than sixty stories. The rather narrow streets seemed like miniature
canyons between the tall structures. Without exception the buildings
appeared to be constructed of a fine cement, similar to the metallic
product of which the railroad rails were made.
The street paving and walks were also made of the same material, and
were in excellent condition. No poles or wires were visible; nor were
any street-cars or tracks seen. Evidently with such excellently
maintained pavings made possible by the weak gravity, the Martians
preferred ordinary vehicles for city transportation.
Stores of all sorts seemed plentiful, though Robert could not see what
kind they were, because they did not display their wares as we do. The
Martians apparently bad outlived the practise of wasting window space in
this manner, preferring merely to advertise their wares by signs. These
signs, of course, were wholly unintelligible to Robert and the
professor. The lettering was made up of a number of geometrical figures,
among which the familiar triangle, square and “T,” with variations,
predominated.
Once, when their conveyance was temporarily stalled in a traffic
congestion, Robert got out a pencil and attempted to reproduce the
characters which appeared in relief over the doorway of an
imposing-looking building near by:
[Illustration: Martian words.]
No suggestion of a curve softened any of the characters, each one being
made up of a series of straight lines and angles. In fact, Robert
already had observed that this severe precision was a marked
characteristic of all things Martian. It was particularly noticeable in
the architecture. The impression borne upon him was that this people had
reduced everything to a science of fine mathematics.
* * * * *
A ride of some twenty minutes brought them into a quieter section of the
city. Here the streets were somewhat wider. The tall buildings gave way
to more modest structures, which appeared to be dwellings not unlike our
apartment buildings.
No sign of any growing thing was visible anywhere--not even a blade of
grass. Evidently the painful scarcity of water upon the planet did not
permit of floral culture for merely ornamental purposes. Theirs was a
serious business of scientific economy.
In due time they turned into a broad driveway leading to an immense,
official building of four stories. Here Robert saw the first bit of
ground uncovered by cement or stone since they had arrived in the city.
The grounds surrounding the building, and its drives, were covered with
verdure similar to a fine clover, closely cut. Some trees grew about the
place, but there were no flowers.
Their conductors were visibly excited as they drew up before a broad
flight of stairs leading up to the main entrance of the massive
building. A pompous person opened the door of their conveyance, and
escorted them ceremoniously up the steps beyond which a small group of
dignified-appearing Martians awaited their arrival.
As they drew nigh the group, a commanding figure of a man detached
himself from it and advanced toward them. At this their escort fell back
respectfully, leaving them to greet this evidently important personage.
In stature this man was several inches taller than the average Martian,
being about the size of a well-built man of our own race. Imperious,
resplendent in rich garments, he easily dominated the smart assemblage.
A smile played over his virile features as he stopped before them.
Strangely enough at such a moment, his odd, square, and particularly
luxuriant beard reminded Robert of a nonsensical little rime which he
recalled, something like this:
Aha, it is as I feared,
Two cocks and a hen,
One owl and a wren,
Have all made their home in my beard.
With an air of kingly elegance, this leader addressed them for several
minutes in his strange tongue as in a welcome. Though it was mutually
apparent that neither understood the other’s words, Robert responded
briefly, thanking him for his evident welcome, Professor Palmer nodding
his concurrence.
Indicating that they were to accompany him, the leader escorted them
through the assembled, obsequious gathering of men and women, through
the broad entrance into the building. Passing along a beautiful corridor
of carved onyx, they presently entered a large, pleasant room with
windows looking out upon the grounds.
Two attendants came forward at their entrance. These the leader
addressed in a commanding tone, indicating Robert and the professor in a
manner which convinced them that these men were to serve them during
their stay at the establishment; and this they found to be the case.
With a few more friendly words their host politely withdrew.
13
Robert and Professor Palmer found that they had been presented with an
entire suite of rooms, the one into which they had been escorted serving
as a sort of drawing room. The two attendants looked after their every
want.
About noon a simple lunch was served them. It consisted of a dish
resembling baked yams, some artichokes (at any rate they looked and
tasted like artichokes), a bit of greens, and some very good wine.
That afternoon they were visited by an intelligent-looking Martian who
quickly succeeded in making them understand that he was sent to act as
instructor in the Martian tongue and also as an interpreter while they
were learning. He signified that the emperor (the striking personage to
whom they owed all this hospitality) had sent him.
The same evening they accepted the emperor’s invitation to dinner.
To their relief, Robert and the professor found that the dinner was to
be attended by few besides themselves. The emperor sat between them at
the head of the table. The interpreter sat next to Robert. But three
other persons partook of the meal with them. These they understood to be
certain learned men, probably astronomers.
The food seemed to be made up chiefly of well-cooked vegetables, several
of which were quite similar to our own. A savory bit of roasted meat was
also served them. This dish puzzled them. It did not seem to be of a
fowl, though it certainly had the flavor of one, tasting much like duck.
Not until some time later did they find out that this meat was that of
an animal identical with our dog! It was, however, considered a delicacy
by the Martians, who raised these animals with great care, they being
quite scarce.
Though conversation was as yet very difficult, they managed to exchange
a surprizing amount of information with the Martians, the interpreter
proving quite resourceful. The emperor, especially, was intensely
interested in them.
So keen was the interest of the Martians, that, after the repast was
cleared away, paper of excellent texture was produced, and Robert and
the professor were urged to do some sketching. Their hosts clearly were
eager to overcome the barrier of languages and to partly satisfy their
curiosity at once regarding our planet. A sort of stylograph was handed
to Professor Palmer, and with it he proceeded first to make a simple
diagram of the universe, showing the Earth and Mars thereon in their
orbits round the sun, and indicating their journey from the Earth to
Mars. This was followed by prompt nods of understanding and ejaculations
on the part of the three Martian astronomers, as if their expectations
had been confirmed. The professor then drew maps of the Earth’s
continents, rivers and seas, and made sectional drawings of mountain
ridges, volcanoes and ocean beds. The Martians’ intelligent minds seemed
to grasp everything with remarkable perception.
The three technologists apparently would have been content to keep
Robert and Professor Palmer up all night in their zeal for information,
but the emperor had more consideration for his guests, insisting finally
upon seeing them back to their comfortable quarters, where he took leave
of them for the evening.
That night they rested in the welcome softness of luxurious beds. The
day’s travel and excitement had fatigued them, and they slept soundly in
spite of the strangeness of their surroundings.
Robert dreamed again of his maid of the desert. As before, she faded
suddenly away, even as he reached out eagerly to assure himself that she
was real. One vivid impression that he received and retained upon waking
was that she was in peril. The look of entreaty in her eyes, the
repeated startled glances that she cast over her shoulder, convinced him
that she needed him.
But, why should he worry over a mere dream! His practical mind
reasserted itself. Of course the girl did not exist in reality. Still,
there was no denying that the girl of his first vision and of the last
one were one and the same. He could never forget a single detail of her
exotic beauty and charm. For the first time in his life Robert felt the
awakening of real love.
He laughed. In love with a dreamgirl! Nonsense. Nevertheless, his
thoughts returned to her continually throughout the day. Unconsciously
he found himself hoping to see her, somewhere, somehow. And more and
more, in spite of his commonplace reasoning, he came to feel that there
_was_ such a girl.
That day they saw nothing of the emperor. The interpreter labored
faithfully with them part of the morning and again during the afternoon.
Already they felt that they were making some genuine progress toward an
understanding of the Martian tongue.
Their every comfort continued to be administered to. As they sat before
the windows looking out upon the lawn bathed in the late afternoon
sunlight, it required an effort indeed for them to fully realize that
they were gazing upon a strange planet millions of miles from the Earth.
“What do you think we had best do about the _Sphere_, Robert?” asked
Professor Palmer.
“The very thing that has been puzzling me. These people seem to be such
an intellectual race that I can hardly believe them dangerous, though
there is a certain elusive suggestion about the emperor’s face that I
don’t fancy. However, I think the _Sphere_ would be just as safe or
safer here, and with Taggert staying with us.”
“My idea exactly. Now that you mention it I think there is something in
what you say about the emperor, but we’ll have to make the best of
things. Let’s try to find out through our interpreter where it will be
agreeable to keep the _Sphere_ hereabouts and then send a message to
Taggert to bring it.”
So it was agreed. Explanation to the interpreter proved a comparatively
simple matter. A few sketches and gestures and he signified his
understanding. A short while later he returned to inform them that the
emperor had assigned them a structure near the palace in which they
could keep the _Sphere_. Further, that the emperor would be delighted,
not only to view the _Sphere_, but to welcome their companion.
A note to Taggert was dispatched at once by a courier supplied by the
emperor. The courier was instructed to accompany Taggert back in the
_Sphere_, guiding him to the palace. As Taggert had thoroughly mastered
the operation of the _Sphere_ under Robert’s tutelage, during the
watches of their long journey through space, they felt no uneasiness
about his ability to fly it to where they were.
This matter settled, Robert and the professor sat down before a
sumptuous dinner served in their suite. They were becoming accustomed to
the well-cooked Martian food, and they relished it.
The confinement in the building since the middle of the previous day,
however, was becoming irksome. The interpreter had not encouraged any
suggestion about going out, and they had politely refrained from
pressing the matter. Left to themselves after dinner, they decided to
take a stroll outdoors.
Robert had observed a secluded nook behind the palace. The windows of
their bedchamber opened on this enclosure, which was entirely surrounded
by a wall about twelve feet high. Apparently the wall was without any
gate. A number of small trees marked the smooth lawn within, casting
long shadows in the gathering twilight.
It was in this nook that Robert proposed they take a stroll.
As they reached the exit leading out upon the enclosure, one of their
attendants appeared rather abruptly at a door to their left. He paused
there a moment as if about to speak, then disappeared as suddenly as he
had appeared.
“So--we are under surveillance, eh?” remarked Professor Palmer.
“I wonder. He did look at us rather suspiciously.”
“Well, let’s go ahead and see whether they stop us.”
But they were not molested as they stepped out upon the lawn.
The cool dry air refreshed and invigorated them. It was free from the
dampness of the dew which we are accustomed to feeling on our clear
terrestrial nights, while the rarity of the Martian atmosphere was
probably made up by a greater percentage of oxygen, as evidenced by the
ease and enjoyment with which they breathed it. This they later
affirmed. Tubercular diseases upon Mars were virtually unknown. In fact,
the Martians were afflicted with little sickness of any kind.
For perhaps fifteen minutes they walked about, smoking cigars from their
slender store which they had carried from the _Sphere_ in their pockets.
The fleeting Martian twilight was replaced by darkness--that is, if one
can call night filled with the soft radiance of millions of stars
“darkness.” Over the edge of the wall at the western end of the garden
hung Phobus, one-half its disk lit in a dull orange glow. It appeared
about one-quarter the size of our moon.
A strange feeling of oppression, which he could not understand,
possessed Robert. Try as he would he could not shake it off. Then he
realized for the first time the intense silence which pervaded the
night. There was a total absence of the countless sounds of nature which
we are so accustomed to associating with summer nights. Apparently there
were no insects upon Mars, or, if there were, they were voiceless. Their
own voices startled them when they broke the stillness, and
unconsciously they took to speaking in hushed whispers.
A few feet to the right of their doorway the palace wall ran out into
the garden at a right angle for about fifty feet, thence it again turned
off at a right angle to the right. The garden ran around this extension
and back into a recess on the other side like the lower part of a large
letter L.
Suddenly a woman’s stifled scream tore the silence apart. It ceased
abruptly, suggestive of the clapping of a hand over the mouth of the one
who had screamed. The sound seemed to come from the recess at the far
side of the garden.
In a dozen lithe bounds Robert had rounded the wing of the palace, and
was in sight of the far end of the garden. He fancied that he caught a
fleeting glimpse of some light, loose garment in the dark shadows of the
recess. A faint sound as of the stealthy turning of a lock followed and
all was again quiet.
A moment later Professor Palmer joined him.
“What’s up?” he asked huskily, puffing from his exertion of attempting
to keep pace with Robert.
“Don’t know. Imagined I saw a woman’s garment fluttering a moment ago.
Suppose we have a look over there in that black corner.”
A solitary dark window looked out sinisterly from the recess. Robert had
an uncomfortable feeling that they were being watched from it as they
approached.
As they drew close to the wall where it joined the building Robert
caught sight of something they had failed to notice before in the
darkness. This was a massive, closed door in the corner of the wall.
“The door I heard locked a minute ago,” whispered Robert.
He put his shoulder to it, but failed to move it.
The night again was as silent as a grave. In vain they listened for some
sound beyond the locked door till finally they gave it up and returned
to the comfortable warmth of their suite.
* * * * *
That night Robert tossed about nervously until he despaired of sleeping.
He envied the professor, whose measured breathing he could hear from the
adjoining room. Later he dropped off into troubled slumber and dreamed
once more of the maid of the desert.
This time the scene was a different one, the palace garden the setting
instead of the desert. Step by step the incident of that evening was
enacted again with this difference: in some strange manner he could see
all that occurred in a garden which was on the other side of the wall
with the locked door.
A maid--his maid--emerged from a door in the palace and hurried across
the garden. Reaching the wall she fumbled among a mass of vines which
clung to its side. She pulled something from behind them which he could
not at first make out in the shadow. As she propped it against the wall
he recognized it as a small ladder.
This she mounted quickly, looking back several times as if fearing
pursuit. Just as she reached the top of the wall a man ran out of the
doorway from which she had first appeared, and looked around swiftly. He
was immediately joined by another. Both caught sight of the girl as she
paused to drop on the other side of the wall.
Held by some invisible force Robert found it impossible to go to her
assistance. He was obliged to remain merely a spectator.
The girl’s pursuers dashed across the garden and scrambled over the wall
after her. She tripped over her long gown and fell. Before she could
recover, one of them was upon her.
Together they lifted her struggling form and carried it back toward the
massive door in the wall. There they halted while one of them fitted a
key to the lock. A moment later it swung open. Just as they were taking
her through the door, she screamed, and one of her captors clapped his
hand over her mouth roughly. Then the door shut softly, but the sound of
a heavy lock shot home reached Robert.
With the shutting of the door Robert suddenly was released from his
trance. With a mighty bound he made for the wall--only to find himself
standing awake in the middle of the floor of his bedchamber!
The vividness of his dream had left him trembling with excitement. He
felt convinced that he had just visioned a review of the actual events
of earlier in the evening. Prompted by the impulse of the moment, and
realizing the impossibility of further sleep that night, Robert donned
his clothes and quietly passed out into the garden.
He shivered as the chilled atmosphere struck him, and turned up his coat
collar. The glory of Phobus no longer lit the crystal-clear sky, but in
the soft light from the brilliant stars he could make out the wall
running into the recess.
He found the stout door as securely locked as before.
Remembering his increased agility on Mars, Robert decided not to be
restricted by a mere door while his reckless mood lasted. A jump and a
clutching of the cornice quickly put him astride the wall with no
discomfort save a bumped knee. A drop on the other side and he found
himself in the garden of his dream.
“Now that I’ve arrived, what next!” he mused.
Looking round the enclosure he observed that it corresponded exactly in
size and shape to the one on their side of the wall. All windows were
dark. There was nothing to suggest the disturbance of the early evening.
The ladder--if indeed, there had been a ladder there--was gone. But the
mass of vines on the wall corresponded exactly to that in his dream!
“I suppose if I were a real hero I would dash in and rescue the
distressed maiden in some way or other,” Robert muttered, scratching his
head in perplexity.
As if in answer to his quandary a window above scraped lightly. A folded
piece of paper fell at his feet. He looked up just in time to see a
graceful, ivory-white hand being withdrawn. Was it the draperies or her
garments that he saw behind the pane as the window was lowered gently!
The paper was crammed into his pocket and, after a swift glance around,
he hurriedly scaled the wall, realizing the uselessness and folly of
attempting there to read by the light of a match a note written in a
still unfamiliar language.
14
“Boys, howdy,” Taggert greeted them.
The _Sphere_ had been safely brought and placed in the building
provided. Official greetings and curiosity had been taken care of and
the three adventurers were again united and alone.
“Pretty nearly scared that little Martian stiff,” Taggert went on, “not
to mention myself. We hopped off a little bit too strong and before you
could say ‘uncle’ we were almost lost in the old ozone. Guess he thought
I’d decided to kidnap him and take him home. He jabbered something
scandalous. But I soon got things straightened out and we beat it here
P. D. Q.”
The days following were spent chiefly in the learning of the Martian
language by all three. Robert was particularly anxious to master the
Martian code of writing, sufficiently to enable him to decipher the note
which had been thrown to him in the garden. Not trusting the
interpreter, he could not request him to read it to him.
He selected characters and words from the note and tactfully brought
them out during the lessons until he finally had obtained a fairly
accurate idea of the note’s contents. That the girl and her father were
political prisoners by the emperor’s command he made out. Just why, or
what her immediate danger was, Robert was still unable to decipher
accurately, but he got the impression that she was threatened with a
morganatic marriage to the emperor.
Until he could learn the exact contents of the epistle and grasp a
sufficient knowledge of the Martian tongue to discover something about
their political intrigues, Robert decided that any move he could make
would result in more harm than good for her. He longed for some means of
communication with her in order that he might let her know that he was
but waiting the right time to help her. If he could but speak or write
the same language! Then he might at least manage somehow to tell her
that he had not forgotten her. Though he had not yet seen her he
stedfastly believed her to be the girl of his dreams.