As for Van Emmon, his experience will have to be classed with
Smith's. That is to say, he soon came to feel that his agent was not
what is commonly called human. It was all too different. However, he
found himself enjoying a field of view which was a decided
improvement upon Smith's. Instead of a range which began and ended
just above the horizon, his agent possessed the power of looking
almost straight ahead.
This told the geologist that his unsuspecting Sanusian was located
in an aircraft much like the other. The same tremendous noise of the
engine, the same inexplicable wing action, together with the same
total lack of the usual indications of human occupancy, all argued
that the two men had hit upon the same type of agent. In Van Emmon's
case, however, he could occasionally glimpse two loose parts of the
machine, flapping and swaying oddly from time to time within the
range of the observer, and at the front. Nothing was done about it.
Van Emmon came to the same conclusion as Smith; the operator was
looking into something like a periscope. Perhaps he himself did not
do the driving.
From what the geologist could see of the country below, it was quite
certainly cultivated. In no other way could the even rows and
uniform growth be explained; even though Van Emmon could not say
whether the vegetation were tree, shrub, or plant, it was certainly
the work of man-or some-thing mightily like man.
Shortly he experienced an abrupt downward dive, such as upset his
senses somewhat. When he recovered, he had time for only the
swiftest glance at what, he thought rather vaguely, was a great
green-clad mountain. Then his agent brought the craft to one of
those nerve-racking stops; once more came a swimming of the brain,
and then the geologist saw something that challenged his
understanding.
The craft had landed on the rim of a deep pit, or what would have
been called a pit if it had not been so extraordinary. Mainly the
strangeness was a matter of color; the slope was of a brilliant
orange, and seemingly covered with frost, for it sparkled so
brightly in the sun as to actually hurt the eyes. In fact, the
geologist's first thought was "A glacier," although he could not
conceive of ice or snow of that tint.
Running down the sides of the pit were a number of dark-brown
streaks, about a yard wide; Van Emmon could make them out, more or
less clearly, on the other side of the pit as well. From the
irregular way in which the walls were formed, he quickly decided
that the pit was a natural one. The streaks, he thought, might have
been due to lava flow.
His agent proceeded to drive straight over the rim and down the
slope into the pit. His engine was quite stopped; like Smith, the
geologist wondered just how the craft's wheels were operated. Next
he was holding his breath as the machine reached so steep a point
in the slope that, most surely, no brakes could hold it.
Simultaneously he heard the hiss and whine which seemed to indicate
the suction device.
"It was a whole lot like going down into a placer mine," the
geologist afterward said; and in view of what next met his eyes, he
was justified in his guess.
Down crept the machine until it was "standing on its nose." The sun
was shining almost straight down into the slope, and Van Emmon
forgot his uneasiness about the craft in his interest in what he
saw.
The bottom of the pit was perhaps twenty feet in diameter, and
roughly hemispherical. Standing up from its bottom were half a dozen
slim formations, like idealized stalagmites; they were made of some
semitransparent rock, apparently, the tint being a reddish yellow.
Finally, perched on the top of each of these was a stone; and
surrounding these six "landmarks," 'as Van Emmon called them, was
the most prodigious display of wealth imaginable. For the whole
queer place was simply sprinkled with gold. Gold--gold everywhere;
large nuggets of it, as big as one's fist! Not embedded in rock, not
scattered through sand, but lying loose upon the surface of that
unbelievable orange snow! It was overwhelming.
The mysterious Sanusian lost no time. Operating some unseen
machinery, he caused three shovel-like devices to project from the
front of his machine; and these instantly proceeded, so swiftly that
Van Emmon could not possibly watch their action, to pick up nuggets
and stow them away out of sight in what must have been compartments
in the hull. All this was done without any sound beyond the
occasional thud of a nugget dropped in the scramble. Suddenly the
Sanusian wheeled his machine about and started hurriedly up the
slope. Van Emmon judged that the chap had been frightened by
something, for he took flight as soon as he reached the top of the
pit. And--he left half a million in gold behind him!
This new flight had not lasted two minutes before the geologist
began to note other objects in the air. There were birds, so distant
that he could not identify them; one came near enough, however, for
him to conclude that it was a hawk. But he did not hold to this
conclusion very long.
The thing that changed his mind was another aircraft. It approached
from behind, making even more noise than the other, and proceeded to
draw abreast of it. From time to time Van Emmon's agent turned his
mysterious periscope so as to take it all in, and the geologist was
able to watch his fill. Whereupon he became converted to a new idea:
The birds that Smith and he had seen had not been birds at all, but
aircraft built in imitation of them. For this new arrival had been
made in almost perfect imitation of a bee! It was very close to an
exact reproduction. For one exception, it did not have the hairy
appearance so characteristic of bees; the body and "legs" were
smooth and shiny. (Later, Van Emmon saw machines which went so far
as even to imitate the hairs.) Also, instead of trying to duplicate
the two compound eyes which are found, one on each side of a bee's
head, a perfectly round representation of a single eye was built,
like a conning tower, toward the front of the bow. Presumably, the
observer sat or stood within this "head."
But otherwise it was wonderfully like a drone bee. Van Emmon was
strongly reminded of what he had once viewed under a powerful lens.
The fragile semitransparent wings, the misshapen legs, and even the
jointed body with its scale-like segments, all were carefully
duplicated on a large scale. Imagine a bee thirty feet long!
At first the geologist was puzzled to find that it carried a pair of
many-jointed antennae. He could not see how any intelligent being
would make use of them; they were continually waving about, much as
bees wave theirs. Evidently these were the loose objects he had
already noted. "Now," he wondered, "why in thunder did the builders
go to so much trouble for the sake of mere realism?"
Then he saw that the antennae served a very real purpose. There was
no doubt about it; they were wireless antennae!
For presently the newcomer, who so far had not shown himself at any
point on his machine, sent out a message which was read as quickly
as it was received by Van Emmon's agent, and as unconsciously
translated:
"Number Eight Hundred Four, you are wanted on Plot Seventeen."
Whereupon Van Emmon's unknown assistant replied at once:
"Very well, Superior."
It was done by means of an extremely faint humming device, reminding
the geologist of certain wireless apparata he had heard. Not a word
was actually spoken by either Sanusian.
Van Emmon kept a close watch upon the conning tower on the other
machine. The sun was shining upon it in such a fashion that its
gleam made inspection very difficult. Once he fancied that he could
make out a short, compact figure within the "eye"; but he could not
be sure. The glass, or whatever it was, reflected everything within
range.
Was the airman a quadruped? Did he sit or stand upright, like a man?
Or did he use all four limbs, animal-fashion? Van Emmon had to admit
that he could not tell; no wonder he didn't guess the truth.
Shortly after receiving the summons, the geologist's agent changed
his direction slightly; and within ten minutes the machine was
passing over a large grain field. On the far edge was a row of
trees, and it was toward this that the Sanusian proceeded to
volplane, presently coming to another nausea-producing stop. Once
more Van Emmon was temporarily helpless.
When he could look again, he saw that the machine had landed upon a
steep slope, this time with its nose pointing upward. Far above was
what looked like a cave, with a growth of some queer, black grass on
its upper rim. The craft commenced to move upward, over a smooth,
dark tan surface.
In half a minute the machine had reached the top of the slope, and
the geologist looked eagerly for what might lie within the cave. He
was disappointed; it was not a cave at all. Instead, another brown
slope, or rather a bulging precipice, occupied this depression.
Van Emmon looked closer. At the bottom of this bulge was a queer
fringe of the same kind of grass that showed on top of it. Van Emmon
looked from one to the other, and all of a sudden the thing dawned
upon him.
This stupendous affair was no mountainside; it was neither more nor
less than the head of a colossal statue! A mammoth edition of the
Goddess of Liberty; and the aircraft had presumed to alight upon its
cheek!
The machine clung there, motionless, for some time, quite as though
the airman knew that Van Emmon would like to look a long while. He
gazed from side to side as far as he could see, making out a small
section of the nose, also the huge curves of a dust-covered ear. It
was wonderfully life-like.
Next second came the earthquake. The whole statue rocked and swayed;
Van Emmon looked to see the machine thrown off. From the base of the
monument came a single terrific sound, a veritable roar, as though
the thing was being wrenched from the heart of the earth. From
somewhere on top came a spurt of water that splashed just beside the
craft.
Then came the most terrible thing. Without the slightest warning the
statue's great eye opened! Opened wide, revealing a prodigious pupil
which simply blazed with wrath!
The statue was alive!
Next second the Sanusian shot into the air. A moment and Van Emmon
was able to look again, and as it happened, the craft was now
circling the amazing thing it had just quit, so that the geologist
could truthfully say that he was dead sure of what he saw.
He was justified in wanting to be absolutely sure. Resting on the
solid earth was a human head, about fifty yards wide and
proportionately as tall. It was alive; but IT WAS ONLY THE HEAD,
NOTHING MORE.
V