_Into the Cavern_
"I felt that our search was at its end when we beheld the two
skeletons, but our observations told us that they were the remains
of two heavy-set men, one of whom had the ball of an old time bullet
lodged in his right wrist bone. We concluded that they had been a
couple of frontier bandits or prospectors who wandered onto the
Manalava Plain and died there of thirst. Sands strode over to the wall
and lifted a skeleton from the pegs. I watched him with amazement. The
rattle of the bones sounded oddly in the crater. He threw one and then
the other into the pool. As we watched, intently, the bones slowly sank
and vanished until there was nothing left. The stuff must have been
horribly thick and viscous to retain it on the surface so long.
"'That's about the best burial they'll ever get,' he muttered. 'I'd
hate to die knowing that my bones would be hung on a wall to frighten
folks away!'
"I agreed with Sands. He seemed a different man altogether from the
wrinkled old gent to whom I had been accustomed. With many of his years
gone, and apparently young again, he was wide-awake to the adventures
at hand. Without further words, he strode lightly to the entrance of
the luminous cavern. I followed, choosing to be led rather than lead.
"Carefully we picked our way into the tunnel which widened perceptibly
beyond the entrance. Inside, the red glow was more pronounced.
Sparkling gems, cropping out of the walls, glittered brilliantly
under the red radiance. A well-worn path led along the center of the
cavern's floor and we followed it for perhaps a hundred yards on a
downward angle of probably five or six degrees. We observed small caves
branching off from the main tunnel, but we continued along the trail of
the larger one.
"Suddenly, as we picked our way along the path, we heard the sounds
of a dismal chant. Steadily the sound increased. The entire cavern
reverberated with the ominous sound and almost from the moment it
reached our ears, we found ourselves in total darkness! The entrance
of the cave which had previously been open to the sunlight and looked
bright and inviting from the cavern's interior, was now totally dark!
The inky blackness was as oppressing as the damp, stagnant air was
nauseating. I reached out and grabbed Sands' arm so that we would not
get separated. At the same time I jerked my gun out of the holster.
Sands grunted when he heard the click of the hammer being drawn back
under the thumb.
"'Don't shoot until you're sure what you're shootin' at, pard,' he
whispered in my ear. 'I think I hear footsteps off there to the left.
Get around me or let me have the hog-laig!'
"'I hear something in back of me, Sands,' I replied, a little
nervously. 'Something seems to be flyin' around our heads like bats but
I don't hear the whirr of wings!'
"'Don't move then!' he advised.
"'That's a hell of a racket, ain't it?' I remarked, trying to control
my agitation.
"We stood closer together in the blackness. The tunnel reeked with an
evil odor that was sweet and lung-tickling. I have smelled something
like that before in caves where wild cats had holed up, but this was a
thousand times stronger.
"'No use standing here, pardner,' Sands whispered softly, 'I can't hear
any more footsteps and the bats seem to have vanished. Suppose you
light up the carbide lamp. I want to look around in here but not in the
dark. Might fall into a hole!'
"'Let's stand still a few more minutes,' I said. 'I'm a little uneasy
about this. I want to get my bearings for a line on that opening where
we came in. Looks like the hole has been closed up.'
"'That hole couldn't be closed without us hearing it!'
"'With that noise down below you couldn't hear it anyhow!' I argued.
'Sounds like a pack of demons thirstin' for blood!'
"'It don't sound any too good, I'll admit that,' Sands acknowledged.
'It might be wind caused by an underground suction, or chlorine gas
blowing out of a volcanic fissure. The stink smells like chlorine gas.'
"We peered into the darkness trying to penetrate a solid wall of
unfathomable black. My eyes ached under the strain. I removed my hand
from Sands' arm to rub them.
"Suddenly a darting light passed like a meteor through the blackness
above, showering green, luminous sparks to the floor of the cave! In
the brilliant light I caught sight of Sands' features. The expression
on his face told me that he had barely missed being struck by the
glaring missile. He yelled loudly to drop down flat, as another light
in the form of a sphere apparently of molten metal, darted over us,
dropping a shower of floating sparks.
"Instantly the meteor-like ball was followed by other bright,
swift-moving lights which passed perilously close to us and raced to
the end of the tunnel toward the entrance. Their passing was marked by
a low, droning hum of a likeness to the drone of the big sphere that
had been shot from the whirling column in the center of the pool.
"Lying flat on our backs on the hard lava floor of the cavern back
there under the terrible Manalava Plains, Sands and I watched the space
above us. Closer and closer came a steady stream of brilliant lights
that permeated the already nauseating air with the odor of burning
carbon! I raised my gun several times to fire at one of the lights but
thought better of it until I was sure of hitting the mark. Meanwhile I
began to think what might happen should I actually succeed in striking
one of them. I asked Sands' advice. He suggested that I try my luck.
"I raise my head a little to look down into the tunnel. Issuing from
what appeared to be a deep hole perhaps a half mile ahead, came a
spinning ball of glaring fire. It hovered for an instant over the
yawning, luminous hole and then darted in our direction at a terrific
speed. I lifted my gun from my hip. When the light was near enough, I
pulled the trigger.
"The sharpness of the concussion filled me with fear, but in the
instant the light was gone. Only a shower of sparks remained to prove
that my slug had gone true. The sparks lay on the tunnel floor, glowing
like lumps of molten copper, green and red.
"We lay on the ground for several minutes more. Then I nudged Sands. We
walked along the path for perhaps a dozen feet and then I realized that
our sense of direction was gone altogether. We were completely lost
in a strange world of blackness pierced only by mysterious lights and
sounds, of whose origin I could not guess.
"Presently we realized that it was folly to wander around when any step
might precipitate us into unknown dangers. I had an unpleasant feeling
of helpless fear that was gradually overcoming my reasoning powers
again.
"At times I looked fearfully to the right and left, but saw nothing
but blackness. The glowing remains of the light had long since died
out and the cave was once again in total darkness. There was no life,
no sound, no motion except for the movements of Sands and me. Allie
Lane at that time was very remote from my thoughts. I was thinking
of personal safety and although I had some assurance in the feel of
my gun in my hand and its effectiveness on the dangerous lights, I
was nevertheless fearful. I felt the panic of utter isolation from
humanity. I was in a different world entirely!
"Sands suggested again that I get out my carbide lamp. I hesitated,
fearful lest our positions be clearly defined in the light, and lay us
open to further danger from the fast floating lights and their sources.
* * * * *
"Stagnation--everything stinking and stale! The cavern smelled of sheer
funk. It curled our nostrils and nauseated our stomachs to such an
extent that I became violently ill temporarily.
"'Let's get out of here, Sands!' I whispered. 'I think we are headed
into the cave and if we turn around we can reach the opening.'
"'We can try it. I'd like to get a breath of air.'
"'Hold on to me then,' I said, 'we'll get out!'
"'Maybe!'
"With Sands holding onto my arm we turned around and began a slow,
deliberate walk back to what we thought was the entrance of the cave,
long since dark. For perhaps fifteen minutes we picked our way along
the cave not knowing what step might sink us into death.
"Suddenly I collided with a solid wall. Around the edges the sunlight
of the outer world flickered and I knew that it was the entrance to the
cave.
"We were stunned when we discovered that the entrance had been closed
solidly with massive slabs of rock! The air was less heavy and stagnant
here and we sat down after a strenuous effort to roll back the rock
wall that trapped us. We rested, motionless on the floor of the cave. I
could not see Sands but sounds of his heavy, even breathing came to me.
We were too exhausted even to speak but I suddenly felt the pangs of
hunger.
"I slipped my pack from my shoulders and felt within it. I handed Sands
several squares of hardtack and a bar of chocolate for which he mumbled
his thanks. Ravenously I devoured my ration; then got out my carbide
lamp and toyed with it.
"As I sat I noticed that the low moaning sounds that we had previously
heard were again issuing from deep within the cave. I shuddered. The
sounds beat terrifically on my brain and in my terror I drew my gun and
fired four shots rapidly toward the interior.
"Instantly the hole was a bedlam! I leaped to my feet to run but
tripped over Sands' outstretched feet and tumbled to the floor.
"'Take it easy, pardner!' Sands advised, softly, his voice quivering.
At his calm words I lay down quietly.
"You cannot conceive my terror. Could I have but known the reasons
and the causes for the many things we had seen and the incidents that
happened, I would have been better able to control myself. Terrified, I
lay on the floor of the cave and it was a long time before I was able
to think. Meanwhile the cavern was in pandemonium. The moaning sounds
had again become a wail which gradually developed into high-pitched
shrieking. I expected momentarily to see another huge whirling sphere
shooting toward the entrance of the cave where we lay panic-stricken.
"To my horror, the cave began to lighten with the green luminous glow,
and a score of yards beyond I saw what appeared to be a sluggish red
stream, thick and mucky, flowing toward us. I kicked at Sands to draw
his attention to it.
"'I see it, pardner,' he whispered. 'What do you think it is?'
"'Lord!' I answered. 'If I only knew!'
"'Let me have your lamp. I'm going to take a chance on lighting it.
We've got to get out of here!'
"My blood turned cold at the mention of the carbide lamp. For the first
time I learned that it was not in my hands! At my attempt to run, I
thought I must have dropped the lamp with my pack. At any rate it was
gone! We crawled around the floor of the cave hoping to feel it. The
murky green glow in the tunnel did not help us any at all. It only
added to the disguise of the cave's interior.
"Sands cursed me for a fool at allowing the lamp to drop from my hands,
leaving us without a means of penetrating the darkness. My pack, which
I had placed on my knees before me, when digging out our rations, was
gone likewise. Nowhere could they be found. We searched the floor of
the cave minutely in the sickly green light but without success.
"Suddenly the cave became brilliant with light. The suddenness of the
change from darkness blinded my eyes and instinctively my hands shot up
to cover them. It stunned me for a moment and then I looked around.
"I stared incredulously at the sight; then turned to look at Sands. He
was poised on his hands and knees, stopped by the sudden light, in his
search for the lamp and the grub pack. His mouth hung open. I looked up
again.
"Standing around us in a circle stood a score of the strangest man-like
beings I ever beheld. They stood motionless, surveying us. Towering
high above Sands and me, the strangers looked down through great
eyes that blinked slow and deliberate like owls' orbs in the night.
Instinctively my hand shot down to my gun butt. When it neared the
metal it stopped and I jerked my hand away. The gun seemed charged with
powerful electricity! I managed to grin foolishly under the glare of
two-score blinking eyes. Then I made a careful appraisal of the beings
surrounding us.
"Tall in stature--probably seven feet high, they towered above us. With
great heads void of hair, powerful bull necks, barrel chests and long
skinny limbs that appeared to be of rubber like the tentacles on the
weird cactus back on the Manalava Plain, the creatures to the human
eye, were repulsively grotesque! Their arms, thin and sinuous, like
their legs, seemed of rubber and they hung motionless at their sides.
I looked for hands. There were none. At the ends of the tentacle-like
arms, there seemed to be sucker-like cups like the end of an elephant's
trunk!
"For several moments they stood appraising us. Likewise we studied
them. I noticed that above their heads waved two thin, flexible tubes
that curled at the end and were attached to the brows just above
their owlish orbs. Like the antennae on a desert butterfly, the tubes
twitched this way and that! The absence of ears at the sides of their
flat heads added bestiality to their repulsive features, and their
mouths, like the jaws of a toad, were pointed and bony! Each had the
face of a frog and all looked alike except that the creature standing
nearest to me and in front of the rest, was perhaps a head taller. He
wore a brightly-hued belt of metal around his narrow, skinny hips.
"The big fellow's tubes at his forehead were waving nervously. I stared
at him blankly for I had a peculiar feeling that somehow he was trying
to speak to me. I shot an inquiring glance at Sands. He was still in
the same position. His knit brows displayed a growing uneasiness.
Surely, I thought, these grotesque fellows were not hostile, otherwise
they would have made short work of us!
"I crawled slowly to my feet and stood erect in front of the repellant
fellow, who was apparently the leader of the frog-featured beings. His
green, luminous face was tilted down to me and from it radiated the
warmth of radium. He towered three heads above me and I felt like a
pigmy beside him and equally as helpless.
"'Well--,' I managed to say, in astonishment.
"His tubes stood out stiff and motionless. A strange power seemed to
be penetrating into my crazed brain and his attitude made me feel that
he was reading my thoughts. Suddenly my brain was struck with a direct
question, although I heard no voice.
"'What are you doing here?' a strange, silent voice seemed to ask.
"In answer my thoughts asked the same question and instinctively my
lips blurted out the words evasively. The awesome creature snapped his
frog-like mouth and his antennae stood rigid.
"'Answer me!' The silent demand was hostile under the glare of his
owlish orbs.
"My hand hung close to the butt of my gun but I kept my fingers from
touching it. My brain was a whirl of thoughts, making clear thinking
impossible. There seemed to be a peculiar power continually stirring
my brain, building up slowly an explanation for our presence there. I
opened my mouth to speak but the strange power ordered me to keep it
shut and to think. I looked around for Sands. He was standing at my
side, his face as green as the ghastly faces in front of me. I felt
somewhat assured by his presence and then my thoughts raced, omitting
no episode of the long search by my partner for his sweetheart, Allie
Lane. My thoughts told of tracing Allie and her father to the radium
pool and how, on discovering the cave, we had decided to search within
it for some remains of the ill-fated friends of Sands.
"In my excitement I blurted the question: 'Has anyone here ever heard
of Allie Lane--have you ever seen her?'
"The big fellow turned his tubes towards Sands as though to question
him. Sands must have been thinking terrible things about the grotesque
beings who stood around us, for the big fellow reached out a
rubber-like arm and suddenly circled it around his neck. Jerked from
his feet, Sands fell to the floor with a curse.
"'Get him pardner!' he yelled at me. 'Shoot him!'
"The suddenness of the hostile move against my friend naturally forced
me into action and in spite of the peculiar heat in the metal of my
gun, I drew it from its holster and fired point blank into the big
fellow's face.
"I expected to see him fall and the others dash away but the fellow
merely croaked like a frog and tightened his hold upon Sands. A small,
round hole appeared in his face where my slug had struck him just below
the left eye. A yellow liquid that glowed like fire, trickled out of
the hole for an instant, then vanished as the wound rapidly closed up!
I jammed my gun into the holster, amazed and fearful.
"Instantly the circle of strange creatures tightened around us. We were
doomed men, I thought, as I was roughly lifted into the arms of one of
the frog-faced beings!
V
_The Jovians_
"Both Sands and I were carried on the broad chests of the mysterious
creatures far into the cavern. They made several abrupt descents and
the oppressive air told me that we were far below the surface of the
Manalava Plain! Their movements were rapid and forceful and their
long skinny legs bore their weight remarkably well, although they
wobbled like strutting geese. During the entire course, the tunnel was
brilliant with changing colors of various hues from green to red and
vermilion--everchanging.
"As I lay cradled in the tentacle-like arms of the big brute who
carried me, I smelled his evil breath. The odor was the same nauseating
smell that had curled our nostrils and threatened to explode our lungs
on several occasions since we entered the cavern. With each slow blink
of his eye-lids, there was an accompanying metallic click. Occasionally
he opened his toad-like mouth and when he closed it hard, bony lips
snapped like the spring of a trap. Sands was being borne along by a
broad-backed creature in front of me. I could see his head bobbing with
each wobbly step of the beast and I knew that he was unconscious.
"I felt worried about Sands. The grip of the big fellow's arm around
his throat could have broken the spine of an ox without any effort. I
cursed the brutes venomously. The fellow bearing me tightened his grip
around my chest and I was forced to gasp for breath. When I became
quiet he loosened his hold. I felt a searing welt rise across my body.
"Presently we were carried into a great, circular chamber far below
the surface of the Manalava Plain! The chamber was luminous with the
strange, pale green color. In the center spun a huge glowing sphere and
it was surrounded by smaller spheres, each spinning in an atmosphere of
its own--like the earth--with its suns and moons revolving around it.
The huge ball in the center seemed to float in air without any visible
support. The smaller spheres likewise spun in mid-air at perhaps a
forty-five degree angle from the large one. They emitted a high-pitched
whine as they spun.
"My eyes, now accustomed to the luminous glow, searched every corner
of the chamber. To the right, standing on a flat rock platform, were
three massive chairs of green metal that was studded with precious
stones. The chairs were vacant.
"Lined around the circular chamber were several hundred more of
the grotesque creatures who had carried Sands and me far into the
underground world. They stood motionless as though at attention. From
deep in the bowels of the earth came a clanging of bells and each
creature in the chamber, with the exception of the two who bore Sands
and me across their chests, hung their heads. I heard the scraping of
rock against rock over to my right and I allowed my gaze to wander
there.
"A huge circular slab of rock was rolling away from an entrance
into the chamber. I watched it intently until its removal exposed a
glittering doorway. I had become so engrossed in watching the door
that I failed to notice that I was being carried toward the platform.
As I was borne nearer to the three chairs, I observed standing in the
opening the majestic figure of a huge, bestial creature, bedecked in
purple and gold robes of a metal that glistened blindingly. The fellow
carrying me halted before the platform and placed me on the floor. The
tall figure in the doorway moved quickly out of the entrance and walked
stiff-legged toward the chairs.
"From his dignity I at once accepted him as the king or chief of the
grotesque frog-men. I stood erect, my gaze following him. He appeared
not to take the slightest interest in me. I looked around as he neared
what I accepted as his throne. Sands was lying still on the broad
chest of the brute who had carried him in. His head hung loosely on
his shoulders. Disconsolately, my gaze again returned to the majestic
figure on the throne. He sat stiffly, the tubes above his eyes waving
slowly. While my interest was centered on Sands' lifeless body, two
other beings had followed the High Chief onto the throne and sat in the
chairs on either side of him.
"To my uttermost surprise I beheld two human beings sitting beside
the High Chief, one on either side! And one was a young woman, gaily
adorned in brilliant robes of purple and gold! Her wealth of golden
brown hair shimmered in the pale green light of the chamber. Her eyes
were motionless and she looked out over the room like one in a trance.
Her finely cut features and appealing blue eyes caused my pulse to beat
more rapidly than ever before in all my life. My whole body tingled
with exaltation. I had an impression that her features bore a distinct
resemblance to some beautiful face that I had seen before. She stared
straight ahead with unblinking eyes. I was unable to remove my eyes
from her. Where had I seen that fascinating, clear-cut face? Whose
features were they? Ah--I had it!
"Instantly I decided to look again at the photograph Sands had found in
the old album back at the spring! Perhaps it was the photograph that
had given me the impression of having at some past time beheld the
gentle features of the girl.
"I walked unmolested, over to Sands' limp form and reached inside his
vest. He was beginning to show signs of life when I brought forth the
well-preserved photograph that he said was the picture of Allie Lane
for whom we had been searching.
"Every owlish eye in that great assembly of unearthly beings was
riveted on me as I strode, photograph in hand, toward the platform. The
dignified leader sat motionless on the throne and regarded me through
saucer-like orbs. I felt, even though no sounds issued from his mouth,
that he was conversing steadily with our capturers. The tubes, just
above his broad forehead, waved in all directions as though catching
thought waves being broadcast by the others in the chamber.
"The girl sat in stony immobility. The man on the other side of the
High Chief was likewise motionless, his eyes staring straight ahead.
The man was slightly wrinkled around the mouth though he looked to be
no older than thirty. His jet black hair which had been freshly combed,
glistened as from oil. Was this man Alfred Forsythe Lane, father of
the beautiful girl whose trail led us to the edge of the radium pool?
Hardly, I thought.
"At the edge of the platform I halted, photograph held up before my
eyes. For a moment I was utterly stunned! The photograph showed the
same delicately rounded chin, finely shaped lips and radiant blue eyes
that marked the beauty of the girl in the chair! I stumbled backward a
few steps in my astonishment.
"'Allie Lane!' I must have shouted at the top of my lungs, for I heard
a patter of feet that brought Driftin' Sands to my side. I looked
at him. His face was white even under the luminous green glow that
affected him.
"'My God!' he breathed in amazement. 'It's Allie!'
"With a leap Sands jumped to her side on the platform.
"Instantly the High Chief raised an arm menacingly and a thin shaft
of green light shot from the sucker-like tip at the end. Sands placed
a wearied hand over his eyes, a small round spot, the color of chalk,
appeared on his brow as he sank to the floor heavily. Allie Lane moved
her finely shaped head with its brown hair hanging in thin wisps
curled around her temples, and stared blankly at her fallen lover. She
quivered slightly and raised her dainty white hands to her temples as
though striving to bring a return of memory. Presently she gave it up
with a shudder and continued to stare straight in front of her. The
gaze rested upon me, I felt, and I shifted my own uneasily, helplessly.
The grotesque people of the underground had displayed their protective
powers on several occasions and I was aware of what my fate would be if
I interfered to aid my friend. Whether Sands was dead or merely stunned
I could not guess, but I accepted the former readily enough.
"Expecting momentarily to feel the tingle of radium rays carrying
me into oblivion, I hung my head. I stood limply at the edge of the
platform, full of sorrow over the turn of affairs. Here was Sands, at
the end of a forty-year search for his lost sweetheart--the only living
thing that had kept him alive--and there was Allie Lane, probably
broken in mind and spirit and unable to go to him. Now, I thought,
his life was snuffed out while he stood on the very verge of complete
happiness. I offered a prayer to our Maker to re-unite them again and
let them enjoy the happiness that was theirs by right of nature and
heritage!
"I didn't think how strange it was at the time for Allie Lane to
be sitting there as fresh in the glory of youth as she was when the
photograph had been made of her back in Kansas City forty years ago!
I only knew that we had found her. I looked at Sands. He was lying in
a heap where he had fallen. No move had been made on the part of the
giant tunnel-dwellers to aid him. Certainly I could not! One move and
I would meet with the same fate. I was not ready to die. I strained
hard to think of some way to help him--to learn if he was dead. Some
irresistible influence was smothering all thought. It was then I
realized that I was being questioned by the High Chief on the throne.
I cast a quick glance past Allie Lane at him. His antennae tubes were
pointed straight toward me. I felt the strange power that seemed to
pass from his tubes to my mind. I shuddered for it gave me a terrific
pain at the base of my skull. Nevertheless I steeled myself for the
ordeal of questioning that I knew would follow. A peculiar feeling came
over me. I felt that I was gradually rising out of my physical body. It
was an incredible sensation. Then my brain grasped a vibratory mental
question. I seemed in a trance.
"'You, Man of the Earth, what brings you into forbidden country?'
"The peculiar eerie question gave me a faint feeling that some time
in the dim past I had heard it asked of me through a similar process.
I glanced down at my feet. They were invisible. I seemed to hang,
eyes only, suspended in a murky haze. Before me, on the throne, sat
the three silent figures glowing brightly and tinged with a greenish
hue. Sands' inert body seemed to have vanished! I strove to answer my
questioner. My lips moved but I could hear no words. My brain told
me that an answer was taking definite shape, but it would not be the
answer the monster sought!
"'Forbidden country here in America?' I answered him silently. 'Why you
must be crazy!'
"At that his saucer-like eyes blinked rapidly. His frog-like beak
opened and a red, fiery tongue flicked out of a luminous opening that
was his throat. The chamber was in stony silence. Only the click of the
High Chief's huge eye-lids broke the stillness.
"'You, Man of the Earth,' the words telegraphed to my brain. 'Dare
you jest with me? Do you know that I, Abaris, second in command of
Jupiter and the entire Universe, have the power and the right to forbid
anything or condemn any world!'
"His words struck me as inexplicably funny. How silly and absurd, I
thought, was this sudden boast of power from such a hideous, grotesque
freak. Had he ever heard of the great armies of the United States that
could fly over the Manalava Plain and annihilate his entire band of
frog-like freaks? Hardly, I thought. I felt my lips curl up in scorn at
his vanity.
"'By what right have you to condemn and destroy?' I asked, more
controlled.
"His flat beak opened in a froggish attempt to laugh. A peculiar
cackling sound, issued from his cavernous throat. He seemed to be
enjoying himself hugely.
"'For a lowly creature like yourself, Man of the Earth, who is doomed,
you speak strong words! What right have I to annihilate you? Why,
ignorant one, I have the right by all the power of the Universe! I
have the power of civilization ten million years in advance of your
aboriginal powers! We, your superiors by millenniums, could condemn
your earth to complete and instantaneous destruction should we so
desire!'
"This lengthy message, telegraphed to my stunned brain, caused me to
wonder what sort of beings these creatures were, from where they had
come and what was their mission here. Certainly, the owl-eyed freak
talked like a military lord. I began to feel that I was the proverbial
mouse and the cat was merely playing with me for his own amusement. The
strange power the High Chief had displayed in striking Sands to the
floor, awed me considerably. Of a certainty, we men on earth boasted
of no such strange weapons that shot pencil-thin light rays and killed
instantly and silently. Perhaps this giant freak was not boasting after
all.
"In spite of my sudden fears that perhaps this tribe of strange
creatures might be able to bring into play powers far superior to our
own, I still felt contempt and scorn for them. To have my partner--my
friend in years of toil and sorrow, suddenly struck down by the beasts
when he had found joy, was enough to bring out my hatred. The fact that
they held captive two human beings like myself, one a woman, under a
strange influence, only piled fuel onto the fires of my fury.
"'What have you done with my friend, O Abaris, Great and Exalted Ruler
of the boundless Universe?' I sneered contemptuously. 'Such a Great
and Glorious Ruler as you must take great pleasure in striking down an
unarmed man!'
"'I smite the hand that harms, Man of the Earth!' his soundless words
shot back, hostilely.
"'His was not the hand that harms, O Brave Abaris! His was the hand of
love and loyalty--with a mind of sorrow and grief!'
"At this juncture I shot a glance at Allie Lane. Her profile was
beautiful as she turned toward the grotesque creature sitting
majestically at her side. Her eyes looked up into the owlish orbs
appealingly. My heart jumped suddenly and I felt a lump rising in my
throat. The High Chief Abaris looked down at her through wide lids.
One of his snaky, tube-like arms writhed upward and encircled her soft
shoulders. His head tubes hung drooped in apparent affection for this
beautiful girl for whom Sands had spent the best part of his life in
constant search. I cursed the huge beast roundly.
"I understood it now. The frightful brute had saved Allie Lane from
a horrible death, and through some process unknown to man, he had
retained within her the youth and beauty that was hers when he found
her at the edge of the radium pool! He must have jealously guarded
that youth through the passing of the years that had made Sands, her
loyal suitor, an old and broken man! What was the secret of the strange
process? Was it the radio-active qualities of the radium that had
retained her youth as well as restored the youth of Driftin' Sands? If
so, then why hadn't I gone through the same change? Then I remembered
that Sands had accidentally dipped his fingers into the radium pool,
burning off the tips. The radium must then have sent life-giving
qualities surging through his veins and restored the worn and frayed
nerves and tissue of his body! The same injection, but through a
different process, I thought, must have been applied to the youthful
body of Allie Lane. Her father, too, must necessarily have gone through
the same procedure, else how could he have been restored to youth? Why
had he been permitted to live at all? Surely, now, his years had passed
the century mark!
"But, I thought, Allie Lane would have been better off had she died at
the pool! With such a beast as the frog-featured Abaris constantly in
her vision and showering her with his affections, a terrible life at
best must have been hers! And Abaris must have read Sands' thoughts,
too, before he struck the man down. He seemed to take great pride in
his possession of the beautiful feminine creature, I felt, and guarded
her zealously from others.
* * * * *
"Suddenly my subconscious mind reeled under the pressure of Abaris'
strange power of mental telepathy. He rolled his great bald head aside
and with owlish eyes, languidly regarded me. My gaze became fastened
on his steadily blinking lids. Their metallic clap-clap-clap-clap as
they opened and closed, sounded dismally throughout the chamber which
was now lighted only with a pale green glow. The three figures on the
throne, a deeper green but tinged with a brilliant red aurora, sat
quietly. I wondered what had become of Driftin' Sands.
"Abaris' grotesque features stood out abruptly and seemed almost as fair
as Allie Lane and her father, under the mixture of colors that glowed
from the green and red hues. His great eyes bored into mine so deeply
that I felt a sudden panic seize me.
"'You, ignorant Man of the Earth, have seen the power of Jupiter,
greatest and most powerful planet in the Universe!' Abaris' words,
booming and unspoken, reached my mind. I thought it strange that these
grotesque beings could converse in my own language and by mental
process at that.
"'Yes,' I admitted reluctantly. 'I have seen them! But do you know that
one of our American bombing planes could fly over here and blow you and
your crowd to hell?'
"Abaris' frog-like features parted in a grin. His throat rattled
mirthfully. I stared at him, awed.
"'Hoh, hoh, hoooah!' My mind throbbed under the force of his booming
mental laugh. 'Why, lowly worm!' he shot, his tubes pointing straight
at me, 'If I but minded to I could destroy your entire world with one
little globule of radium!'
"'What do you mean?' I asked with a sudden desire to learn all I could
concerning these strangers and their awe-inspiring powers.
"'Just this!' Abaris said, evenly and with sarcasm, 'We of Jupiter are
so far your superiors that you are but worms in comparison. When your
people were still clinging by their tails we of Jupiter had already
mastered mathematics. During the years that followed and developed you
to your present state, we of Jupiter mastered many sciences--one of
which brings us to your world now. That is radium. We have mastered
radium in all its forms and we are therefore masters of the Universe
and all life in it.'
"'Well,' I said, 'why didn't you destroy us here on earth then if you
are so powerful? How did you get here on this earth if your planet is
Jupiter?'
"'We, Man of the Earth,' he said, amused, as though enjoying the mental
conversation immensely and taking great pride in the vast knowledge of
his people, 'we do not take life without cause, even though that life
is no more to us than your reptiles are to you!'
"'Then why did you kill my friend?' I queried, earnestly. 'Why have you
held these two white people with you?'
"'Your friend is unhurt physically, but mentally he now belongs to
Jupiter! His intentions were doubtful when he leaped up here beside
Eloli, whom your feeble mind refers to as Allie Lane! I should have
killed him instantly!'
"I felt unable to think of anything for a moment, and I stared
fascinated at the features that confronted me. I noticed that the
colors in the chamber were changing again and that the lackadaisical
visage of Abaris was growing more pronounced under the varying hues.
His saucer-like eye-lids continued their resounding clap-clap-clap like
the sound of shutters closing on a camera.
"'I don't believe you, Abaris!' my voice suddenly raised. 'You killed
him because you knew that he was Allie Lane's man by all the laws of
humanity on this world!'
"'What care we Jovians for the laws of your humanity!' Abaris' thought
wave struck me sharply. 'I could have killed you both instantly! You
were trespassing on forbidden ground and I therefore had the right to
remove you from it!'
"'How did you know we were here?' I asked.
"'Our sentinels on the surface informed us of your coming long before
you reached here. We had no intention of harming you unless you entered
the crater!'
"'Then that's why you hung up these skeletons out there--to scare us
away, eh?' I inquired. 'Did you think a few grinning skulls would make
us run?'
"'The skeleton of anything on this earth tends to frighten away
the living!' Abaris declared, nonchalantly. 'Even a dog will run
from the bones of its kind, why not you who are just a step higher
intellectually than the dog?'
"'You're a bragging cuss, aren't you, Abaris?' I shot back with
contempt and sarcasm. 'You've been misinformed as to the status of the
human race on this world! I could think up a better way to frighten a
man than that!'
"'We of Jupiter have many ways to frighten a man if you like to call
yourself such. But you see we are not particularly interested in
whether we frighten or not. You and your friend and these two humans
beside me are the first to have come here since we arrived from
Jupiter. We felt no need of methods to frighten others away!'
"My Lord! I thought, had these creatures come to this world from
another planet at a time when we on this world were crossing the
country in ox-drawn wagon trains? Had they arrived here before Allie
Lane and her father wandered into the Manalava Plain?
"'Yes, Man of the Earth,' Abaris' mental wave reached me in answer to
my thoughts. 'We dropped down from Jupiter, long before your people
began crossing your continent. We have been here exactly one hundred
of your years and we are now ready to return to Jupiter, if that
interests you. Our work here is completed. We return soon to our own
world; four hundred million miles away.'
"Four hundred million miles! My mind whirled with staggering figures
and I gave it up.
"'I can understand your mathematical deductions, Abaris,' I said, 'but
just the same I'm from Missouri and you have to prove to me that you
covered all that space just to visit this world. It is hard to believe
that any living thing can exist long enough to do it. It don't sound
possible!'
"'That's one of the failings of you Men of the Earth,' Abaris said,
evenly. 'You think that everything that does not come within your
scope of understanding is impossible. We of Jupiter long ago achieved
immortality. But why should I, Abaris, second in command of the great
Jupiter, explain to a lowly creature such as you, the vastly important
facts of interplanetary travel?'
"'You could tell me so I might inform my fellows on this earth that
it was actually performed. Otherwise I'll have to call you a liar!'
I said, with a false show of bravado. So far no harm had come to me,
and Abaris had informed me that Sands suffered no permanent physical
injury. I could afford to hold up my chin and meet on equal terms, with
the grotesque frog-men of Jupiter! What were they anyhow but unreal,
mechanical freaks?
"'Well, to tell the truth, your world will never learn the secret from
a Jovian, Man of the Earth!' Abaris' thought vibrations seemed to say.
'I might say that some day your scientists may evolve a medium for
interplanetary travel and we of Jupiter do not intend to shorten the
period of time when you will eventually try to visit us. You will not
be welcome!'
"'You're giving us a lot more credit than you have been saying was
due us, Abaris,' I remarked with a grin. 'I'm glad you have come
around to that. It makes me feel better to know that I'm a little more
intelligent than a crawling worm.'
"Suddenly the chamber brightened under the brilliance of the powerful
rays. Small spheres, spinning rapidly and glowing luminously, shot
restlessly to and fro in the far end of the chamber. At the sound they
made I instinctively turned to them for several seconds. When my eyes
again returned to Abaris and his two human companions, they were gone!
They had vanished apparently in thin air during the few short seconds
my eyes had wandered around the brilliantly lighted chamber.
"Save for an inert heap lying on the throne in the same position that I
had seen Sands when he had fallen, the chamber was completely deserted.
The spheres continued their back and forth movement as I dashed quickly
to Sands' side. At the close range I discovered that his body was
tinged with the same luminous glow that I had seen out-shining the
bodies of Abaris, Allie Lane and her father. Sands seemed stunned. He
was breathing but his lungs functioned laboriously.
"'Sands!' I cried, shaking him by the shoulder. 'Are you hurt?'
"From his lips issued a deep groan. I swung his inert body around for
a look at his face. The color of it was a deeper green than it had
been before. I stretched him out flat on his back and rubbed his numbed
hands to restore his circulation, but it availed me nothing. Then I
remembered that on my desert prospects I always carried a square lump
of camphor in my pockets to rub on my lips when they became parched
from the heat. I searched through my pockets for it and was overjoyed
when I found it. It was soft and spongy.
"Quickly I massaged Sands' lips and nostrils. Whether camphor would
serve in the place of the more powerful spirits of ammonia, I did not
know, but you can imagine my joy when his lids suddenly fluttered and
his lips parted. The camphor fumes had actually brought him out of
the faint into which the powerful rays from Abaris' deadly weapon had
thrown him.
"I laughed nervously. 'That's it, old timer!' I said, 'Snap out of
it! The devil said he didn't hurt you! We've got to get Allie and her
father out of here. These freaks are planning to get away from here in
a hurry, taking Allie and her dad with them. Sit still and take it easy
for a minute!'
"Sands sat very still for several minutes, his head resting in his
hands. I squatted on the floor of the platform beside him, my eyes
scouring every side of the circular chamber. To the right, the entrance
into the chamber through which had come Allie Lane, her father and
Abaris, stood open. The huge circular rock which must have weighed many
tons had not been replaced over the opening.
"The most conspicuous thing in the entire chamber was the fair-sized
globe in the center, resting on an axis and revolving rapidly. From the
distance I could see that it was lined with many criss-cross markings
and glowed as though containing a transparent liquid of a beautiful
emerald color, much similar to colored glass globes generally displayed
in drug store windows, in the city. Occasionally the brilliant spheres
that hung, spinning in mid-air, darted suddenly toward the larger globe
in the center. When one of the smaller spheres neared it, the central
ball emitted a peculiar high-pitched hum. The globes, combined with the
darting lights, gave me the impression that they must be used by the
Jovians for some astronomical purpose. The big sphere, I thought, must
represent the home planet of the grotesque beings. What else could they
be used for, I wondered? But I was due to learn much before I got out
of there.