LOOK TO THE STARS
By Willard Hawkins
The sky is filled with lonely stones--planets
waiting for the first breath of life to warm them.
N'urth was such a world--and the Gods smiled on it.
[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy
October 1950
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
_"Tell me, my queen mother, the story of the gods."_
_"Do you never tire, son, of those ancient legends? But no--let this
not seem a reproof. It is well that a prince of the royal line should
ponder much on those mighty ones, who came from the sun, where dwells
El-Leighi, the source of all, to create a fair world--the world in
which some day you will reign. Shall I speak, then, of Solin-Ga-Ling,
patron of husbandry and Lord of the North, or would you hear of the
gentle Maha-Bar-Astro, sweet goddess who fashions the dreams of
childhood? Or would you know of the mysterious Noor-Ah-Mah, who died
twice, lived thrice, and was both male and female by turns?"_
_"Tell me of them all; but first, mother, who was the mightiest of the
gods?"_
_"Hush, child! Among beings so exalted it would be presumptuous for
mortals to regard one above the other. But know this--for it concerns
you and your pride of race: Splendid legends relate to the strength
and virtues of Maha-Ra-Lin, Lord of the South, sometimes called the
Life-giver. For it was he who created Noor-Ah-Mah from a rock by the
sea, and breathed his own life into her nostrils."_
_"But, mother, was he not defeated in battle?"_
_"It was a battle beyond our understanding--of forces that we cannot
comprehend, and for a purpose beyond our knowledge--though it is said
that in some manner the strife arose over the sex to be awarded the
newly created Noor-Ah-Mah. Maha-Ra-Lin would have endowed the partly
formed being with the attributes of a god, but Bar-Doo-Chan, Lord of
the West, contended for a goddess. In their mighty clash of wills, the
heavens were rent with lightning, the seas were churned, mountains were
heaved by the all-powerful ones across the land. Legend has it that a
single moon shone from the heavens before that event, but a lightning
bolt hurled by Maha-Ra-Lin at his antagonist failed of its mark. It
smote the moon by chance, splitting the heavenly body in twain, so that
two moons now circle the continents of N'urth."_
_"Then Bar-Doo-Chan, who defeated Maha-Ra-Lin, was the mightiest."_
_"Nay, that you must not say. True, at the end of three days
Maha-Ra-Lin acknowledged himself defeated. Yet it is written that
he nobly abandoned the fray out of pity for the helpless creatures
of N'urth, and for the newly created Noor-Ah-Mah, knowing that if
the battle continued they would all be destroyed. And so Noor-Ah-Mah
became a goddess, and in that aspect she is depicted by our sculptors
as a mighty huntress, running with upraised spear cheek-by-cheek with
Bar-Doo-Chan. But Maha-Ra-Lin, the Life-giver, could not wholly undo
his original design, so that at times she reverted to the form of a
male. That is why, in ancient carvings, we sometimes find Noor-Ah-Mah
pictured as a god, carrying lightnings of destruction in his clenched
hand."_
_"Then, after all, Maha-Ra-Lin was the greatest?"_
_"He was a mighty being, son. Yet how can any be considered greater
than Pi-Ruh-Al, to whom even the other gods and goddesses turned for
counsel? Pi-Ruh-Al, the great mother, goddess of beauty, of wisdom,
creator of mortal life...."_
CHAPTER I
The rain settled into a steady downpour. Drenched to the marrow, Dave
Marlin struggled on through the darkness and mire. At times he stumbled
away from the wagon trail and floundered through sodden verdure that
tangled his feet, clutched with slimy tendrils at his clothing, or
lashed his face. Occasionally he stopped to curse the road, the
darkness, the storm; again to heap maledictions on the truck driver who
had dumped him off on this byway to nowhere.
He should have kept to the paved highway. A light blinking through the
rain, seemingly not far up the mountainside, had lured his feet. It had
long since been lost to view, yet he struggled on. The trail surely
must lead somewhere, even if only to a deserted sawmill or mine shaft.
His feet slipped and he went down cursing. As he struggled out of the
puddle, gouging grit and slime from eyes and nostrils, he became aware
of a deeper black looming ahead.
It was the rear of an old-style open roadster. Through the swish of
waters his ears caught the sound of hammering on metal.
Feeling his way along the side, he came to a man who was muttering to
himself with bitter emphasis while doing things to the engine under the
upraised hood.
"Trouble, buddie?" demanded Marlin.
The other jerked up his head so suddenly that it struck the hood. He
snarled an epithet; then: "Who the devil?"
"Just a wayfarer," Marlin answered. "Just a wayfarer, buddie, out for
a stroll on this beautiful moonlit evening."
"Lay off the comedy!" snarled the other, again diving under the hood.
"And get goin' if you can't help."
"Why don't you turn on the lights?"
"Because she ain't got no lights--that's why."
"Battery dead?" asked Marlin. Receiving no answer, he edged back to the
instrument panel. As he started searching beneath it for possible ends
of disconnected wires, he became aware of a squirming movement under
the hand which rested on the seat.
"Take your paws off me, you slimy fish!" came a tense feminine voice.
When he made no move to comply, the figure which had been slumped down
in the seat became a sudden bundle of fury.
"Easy, sister!" he protested, deftly capturing the small hands in his
muscular grasp. "No use getting excite--" He paused. "What's this? Iron
bracelets?"
The other man sloshed toward him threateningly. "Get out of what ain't
none of your business!" he snapped. "You was headin' up the road. Just
keep goin'--and you'll stay outa trouble."
Marlin felt the slender wrists grow tense within his grasp. The short
length of chain connecting the handcuffs tinkled.
"Sorry, bo," he said softly. "The lady's jewelry intrigues me."
A hard object pressed sharply into his side. "Scram!"
* * * * *
With panther-like quickness, Marlin twisted. The gun barked as his arm
knocked it away. Then the two were down in the sodden grass, flailing
and squirming for advantage.
Either because he was the stronger or because luck favored him in the
slippery rough-and-tumble, Marlin arose with the automatic in his
possession.
"This," he commented, "is better. I've never been good at taking
orders." He considered a moment. "If the car won't start, it won't.
That leaves two courses open to us. We can sit and wait till some one
comes along--which isn't likely--or we can hoof it until we come to
something better. I saw a light up beyond."
"I'm tired of sitting in the car," the girl put in. "Anything's better
than freezing here."
"Maybe you don't know, smart guy," her companion growled, "that you're
tangling with the law." He tapped his chest.
"Detective--eh?"
"Yeah," the girl cut in, "and don't forget to tell him about your phony
stunt--kidnaping me across the state line without extradition papers."
Marlin studied them for a moment. He had no desire to run up against
the law. But if this officer was out of his jurisdiction--
"I get it," he said. "You're pulling something shady--that's why you
tried to make it on this back trail. All right, brother--take off the
jewelry."
Grudgingly, the detective removed the handcuffs.
"Try any funny stuff," he observed, "and it'll go hard with the both
of you. This is Sally Camino," he informed Marlin. "Wanted for workin'
a con game. I can turn her over to the authorities here if I have to.
Won't be no trouble to get extradition papers. I'm just tryin' to save
the state money."
"What's your name?" demanded Marlin.
"Len McGruder. What you so nosey for?"
"Just getting acquainted. Mine's Dave Marlin. Come on, Sal. Any
baggage?"
"This jerk wouldn't even give me a chance to pack a toothbrush," she
returned vindictively.
Fortunately, she was dressed in slacks. After a futile attempt to
negotiate the mud in her high-heeled shoes, she left them sticking in
the ooze.
"I'll take it bare-footed," she observed philosophically.
Less from chivalry than curiosity, Marlin helped her when she stumbled
and assisted her over the deeper puddles. He decided, in the process,
that she was firm-fleshed and well-formed. After the first few yards
she refused his help.
"Keep your muddy paws off of me!" she snapped. "You too!" as McGruder
attempted to thrust his bulk between them.
They plodded on through the mud and drizzle. The road climbed upward
at an agonizing grade. Marlin no longer cursed. In the presence of
companions in misery, he became tauntingly ironical. It was they who
were buffeted and tormented--he was the strong man, unaffected by the
elements, able to "take it."
"We shoulda stayed in the car," growled McGruder.
"Only room for two of us," returned Marlin. "Want to go back with me,
Sal?"
"Not if I know what I'm doing!" the girl snapped, brushing a lock of
wet hair out of her eyes.
Topping a steep rise, they came unexpectedly upon the shelter.