_How to Escape?_
"She was crying softly, 'It's hard to believe you Robert! I know that
you wouldn't lie to me--but it does seem impossible. Why I'm just the
same as I was when you left me back in Kansas City--I don't seem to
have grown older! Let me look at myself, please dear?'
"Allie walked with faltering steps over to the huge mirror hanging
on the wall, and stared into it, her hands wandering softly over
her features. Sands walked to her side and peered into the radium
reflector. The reflection he witnessed there caused him to leap aside.
For the first time he saw his face since the radio-active qualities
of the radium had restored his youth. Here he was, in reality an old
man who had been suddenly returned to youth. And instead of seeing the
visage of a wrinkled and weather-beaten old man he beheld the features
of Robert Sands as they were when he arrived in California forty years
before! His was a surprise beyond description of words. He ran a hand
over his face incredulously.
"Taking this opportunity to attract his attention, I whistled softly.
He looked up with a jerk and patting Allie lightly on the shoulder, he
came to the entrance of the tunnel where I squatted. Allie was staring
into the mirror, incredulously, as though unable to believe that under
ordinary circumstances she would be in the autumn of life on this
earth--that the beautiful face in the mirror would long ago have become
wrinkled and shrunken!
"'Hadn't we better get Allie's father and try to get out of here,
Sands?' I asked him. 'Those devils might show up any minute!'
"'I plumb forgot about you, pardner,' he said, apologetically. 'I
forgot about everything. Have you any idea how we're going to get out
of here? I haven't! Maybe Allie knows of some way. I'll ask her.'
"'Yes, ask her now,' I advised. 'It's now or never!'
"With that he walked back to Allie. At the scraping sound of his boots
she turned to him, smiling joyously.
"'Allie dear,' I heard him whisper, 'I brought a friend of mine here.
He's standing guard to warn us if anyone comes. I've got him in this
terrible predicament and I want to get him out--get you and all of us
out of here. You want to go with me back to civilization, don't you
dear?'
"'I will go anywhere with you, Robert,' she said, placing her hands on
his chest endearingly.
"'Then, dear, can you tell me how to lead us out?'
"'I know of only one way to get out of here, Robert,' she whispered,
'but Abaris has guards there constantly. I'm afraid we could not get
through them. You needn't be afraid of Abaris, Bob dear. He has been
very kind to me and daddy.'
"'Humph!' Sands snorted curtly. 'He has not been so nice to me! I'd
like to blast him to hell! He knocked me cold when I first saw you,
Allie, out there on the throne!'
"'You saw me there, Robert?' she asked. 'And Abaris harmed you when you
came near me?'
"'He did, Allie! Knocked me plumb out and nearly killed me!'
"'The brute!' she said, angrily. 'Well, maybe we'll find a way out of
here, Robert! Let me call father. He's in the room next to me. Wait
here!'
"Sands returned to the tunnel and squatted in the semi-darkness beside
me. He was breathing hard with excitement, and there was a twinkle of
joy and anticipation that formed crows' feet at the sides of his eyes.
He seemed suddenly a very joyous man and forgetful of the sinister
danger that hovered over all of us. What would happen, I wondered,
if Abaris suddenly came upon the secret love tryst of Sands and his
sweetheart? Would he fly into a sudden rage and destroy us with his
terrible, invisible weapon that shot green, pencil-thin rays and
killed instantly? We sat silently, Sands with his thoughts of love and
happiness--I with thoughts of danger and death.
"Presently we heard a sound like the scraping of feet. Sands and I
shrank close to the tunnel's wall in the semi-darkness. Our fears fled,
however, when Allie came into the chamber followed by her father. Lane
appeared, at close range, to be a man of about forty. His hair was
black and his eyes were gray and penetrating. His carriage was that
of a man in his prime of life, full of power and vigor and his eyes
flashed as they searched Allie's room nervously. Sands got to his feet
and walked slowly into the lighted chamber. Lane stopped abruptly and
surveyed him with an incredulous stare. Suddenly he stepped swiftly to
Sands' side, their hands met firmly.
"'I'd given up all hope of ever seeing you again, Bob,' he said in a
clear voice that tingled with excitement. 'It is indeed a pleasure to
have you with us again. I'm sure Allie is glad.'
"'Thanks, Mr. Lane!' Sands returned. 'It's been a long time, but
I've struggled hard for this meeting. You've fared well under
conditions--you and Allie, but we've got to get away from these
frog-faced freaks here. Tell me what you know about a way out and we'll
start at once.'
"'Just like you, Bob,' Lane said, admiringly. 'You always did want
to be the first to get started. Let's sit down and talk it over. I'm
terribly afraid that we'll find it hard to get out, however.'
"'I've gone through a lot,' Sands whispered. 'A little more wouldn't
amount to much.'
"'Maybe not, Bob,' Lane interjected with a frown. 'But this is one time
when you do not know what you are up against. As much as I'd like to
get back home to my friends, I can't see any definite way to escape.
But I'll co-operate to the fullest for yours and Allie's sake.'
"The three of them walked softly to Allie's silken couch and sat down,
Allie close to Sands, his arms about her waist. I heard a faint sound
issuing from the tunnel that led from Lane's chamber. I held my breath
in fear. Was Abaris or some of his Jovians coming upon the scene? My
blood pounded as I listened with my hands cupped behind my ears to
magnify any sound. No more sounds came and I breathed easier. I turned
again to the three in Allie's room. Lane was speaking, his voice, in
muffled tones, reached me.
"'Allie explained to me how you came to be here, Bob,' he was saying,
'so we won't recount it again. These strange people here claim they
are from the planet Jupiter and came here solely for the purpose of
obtaining a great supply of radium. It seems that they have exhausted
the supply on their own planet. Through delicate instruments, Abaris
says, their scientists discovered that this earth contained a great
deposit of the metal. They henceforth set out to get it because life on
their planet depends upon it for existence. If Abaris fails, it means
that perhaps the entire population of Jupiter will be wiped out unless
some other heavenly body is found to contain a deposit.'
"'How the devil did they ever get here?' Sands asked, interestedly.
"'I'm coming to that now, Bob,' Lane continued, softly. 'It sounds
quite impossible but it is a fact that Abaris and his henchmen left
Jupiter in a great spherical machine similar to some of the spheres
that you probably saw on your way in here. This sphere, which is
capable of interstellar travel, propelled by a radium process known
only to their mechanics, is ready at this minute to return to Jupiter
with the greater stock of that metal. For a long time they have been
pumping radium out of the earth and sending it to Jupiter in small
spheres which are controlled and guided by an unknown source of power.
Abaris says that the deposit here is about exhausted and the cylinder
pumps are bringing up the last drops of radium existing in this earth!
"'Abaris expects to halt the pumps very soon and enter the
interplanetary sphere for departure to Jupiter! He has said that we
were to accompany him to his planet and being unable to escape Allie
and I have resigned ourselves to whatever fate is in store for us. I
must admit that Abaris has been very good to us and while we would
certainly like to get back to our people, I hold no animosity against
him, except, of course, that his appearance, as are all the rest of
his kind, is horrifying to us. But we have become adapted to the
environment, yet we must naturally rebel against being spirited away
from this glorious world of ours--to perhaps be regarded on Jupiter
much in the same manner as we have looked upon strange animals here.
"'For some time I have suspected that Abaris in his grotesque way, is
exceptionally fond of Allie! She has wanted for nothing. Her every
wish has been granted, but he will not consent to our appearing before
the multitude unless we submit to being placed under a strange power.
In other words we are forced to undergo hypnotism for a reason that I
have not been able to learn. That is why we did not see you when you
stood before the platform in the throne chamber.
"'As Allie told you, there is one exit from this underground world and
that is guarded constantly either by the Jovians themselves or their
grotesque death-dealing mechanical guards in the shape of a cactus
tree with arms like an octopus. The mechanical Jovians seem to have
all the powers of the creatures themselves, lacking only their mental
faculties. Unless controlled by a living hand they are helpless.
"'These Jovians are really geniuses in all forms. You have seen the
series of spheres in the throne room with the large hall in the center.
The large sphere is Jupiter in a miniature orbit. The small spheres are
its moons, as _good_ Abaris explained to us. Through these they are
able to watch the progress of their radium spheres as they shoot their
way toward Jupiter. The large spheres show their passage very plainly.
But these explanations of Jovian objects and scientific genius are not
getting us to our goal. So let us consider the possibility of escape. I
have a plan that we may be able to use.'
"I listened intently to the plan of possible action as Lane outlined it
to Sands. Allie's father explained that at a certain time the guards at
the only avenue of escape would be changed and the mechanical Jovians
with their tentacle-like arms, controlled by a remote central, would
be put in their places. Lane explained how he had previously located
the source of control over the mechanical men and was therefore,
perhaps, in the position to disconnect the controlling system and
suspend their activity. This sounded like a very excellent plan, but
how, I thought, would it be possible for us to steal near the central
control apparatus in our attempt to disconnect it? Surely, the Jovians
must maintain a constant guard over such delicate and important
apparatus. But on the other hand, they may not feel a need of it in
view of the fact that Allie Lane and her father had been with them so
long that they accepted them as being harmless.
"At any rate, Sands approved of the plan and it was decided that the
attempt to escape would be made at a time when Lane was to give a
low whistle and we would all meet in Allie's chamber, providing, of
course, that the way was clear. Lane, with his forefinger, drew an
invisible outline, showing the tunnel through which we were to go.
Sands watched him closely and absorbed the information. Meanwhile, I
shot rapid glances around the chamber in its entirety in my part as
guard. Several times my heart jumped when I heard sounds that softly
broke the stillness of the cavern, but the sounds failed to bring what
I expected--the grotesque Jovians.
"Sands was standing in the center of the room now, Allie Lane in
his arms. They kissed endearingly. Allie's father paced the floor
nervously. Suddenly Lane stopped pacing and faced his daughter and her
lover. He opened his lips to say something, thought better of it, then
turned half away. He swung around presently as though he had decided
on some question confronting him, and spoke softly.
"'Allie,' his words, nervous and tense, reached me. 'You love, Bob,
don't you dear?'
"'As well as life, father,' she answered. Sands turned to look at Lane,
puzzled.
"'Suppose, then,' Lane returned, 'that you marry Bob now. It would be a
good thing in the face of whatever confronts us.'
"'I would marry him now, father,' Allie said in a half whisper that I
barely caught. 'But how?'
"'You forget, my dear, that I was a minister back in Kansas City,' her
father smiled.
"'I've waited a long time, Allie,' Sands put in, holding Allie's
shoulder and looking into her eyes lovingly.
"'Then I will marry you at once, Robert,' she said, her eyes shining
with happy tears. 'Father can perform the ceremony.'
"Fascinated, I watched the procedure that followed, forgetting my duty
as guard in whose hands must rest the lives of the happy three. With
my eyes and attention on Allie as she whispered 'I do,' I failed to
notice that Abaris had suddenly come to the entrance of the chamber and
was standing there silently regarding the trio. Lane was saying 'I now
pronounce you man and wife,' when I beheld Abaris' towering form as he
stood menacingly just inside the room. The tubes of his forehead stuck
out rigidly, his tentacle-like arms twitching in anger, and his owlish
eyes opened and closed rapidly. I shrank back into the darkness of the
tunnel, fearful, lest I be discovered. From my hiding place, however, I
could see the entire chamber.
"As though struck by some terrific force, Sands and Lane at once spun
around and faced Abaris. Allie emitted a fearful little cry and shrank
back against the wall. Abaris' tubes were pointed at them menacingly
and I knew that he was speaking to them in his peculiar mental
telepathy. What words flew between them I was not able to catch for I
had learned that I could not receive the wave vibrations unless the
tubes were pointing directly at me.
"Suddenly I heard Sands' words as he angrily informed Abaris that Allie
had just become his wife and that it was no man's business what he was
doing in the chamber with her. His features twitched with growing anger
as he spoke, his hands were clenched.
"'You, frog-face!' I heard him shout, 'I've searched for Allie Lane for
forty years! Now that I have found her and she has become my wife, you
nor anyone else can take her away from me alive!'
"'Eloli is the bride of Jupiter, Man of the Earth!' I caught the
thunderous vibrations from Abaris' tubes which now waved spasmodically
in all directions. His thoughts were so powerful that they carried to
me where I crouched.
"'Allie Lane is my wife!' cried Sands, hotly. 'We die before she goes
with you to your planet of crazy freaks!'
"'Yes, O Abaris,' Lane put in, weakly, shaking as one palsied. 'Allie
is this man's wife. You cannot take her away from him. It is the law of
humanity!'
"Abaris' frog-like beak opened and then closed with a resounding snap.
I expected him momentarily to bring into play his terrible, invisible
ray of death. His skinny, tube-like legs held up his barrel-shaped
body admirably, I thought, as I watched him from my hiding place. They
seemed like stilts, unjointed except at the hips, around which was
draped a narrow breech cloth of gold-edged purple. His body glistened
oilily and around his bald, misshapen head rested a thin metal band,
glowing luminously green. His antennae tubes waved angrily.
"'Eloli goes with Abaris to Jupiter!' Abaris thundered, his vibrations
reaching me sharply. I shuddered under the force of his powerful
thought waves. 'On Jupiter we have specimens of many planetarial
beings. Our scientists would like to study specimens of the aborigines
of this planet. Therefore the three of you will accompany me to
Jupiter! Eloli comes as the bride of Jove!'
"'We would die there, O Abaris,' Lane parried, dejectedly. 'We of this
earth could not adapt ourselves to your environment!'
"'You do not seem to understand, Man of the Earth,' Abaris' vibrations
said, 'that we of Jupiter have accomplished immortality. There is no
death on Jupiter! Will you come voluntarily or shall I be forced to
resort to other methods?'
"From where I lay hidden in terror, I watched Sands' face. In his anger
his features twisted with fury. I could not help him should he attempt
to attack the huge Jovian commander who stood before him. If I only
could, how gladly I would have gone into the chamber!
"Suddenly I heard a dismal hooting from somewhere behind Abaris, that
gradually grew nearer. I watched the opening of the tunnel behind
him expecting momentarily to see his followers enter the room. Two
abreast they came, their bodies shining with freshly applied oil,
their loins covered with shimmering breech-cloths. Unlike Abaris, they
wore no bands around their huge heads. Like soldiers, their line broke
in the center where Abaris' huge body stood like a pivot, and they
single-filed around the walls of the circular chamber.
"I shot a quick glance at Sands. He stood belligerently watching.
Allie had crept into his arms and buried her head against his bosom.
Lane stared down at the floor, downcast and utterly dejected. When I
first beheld Lane, I was impressed with his flashing eyes and strong,
powerful body and had figured upon his co-operation at such a dire
moment as this. But perhaps, I thought, he realized unlike Sands and
myself, the utter futility of objecting to the demands of the Jovians.
But Sands was of a different mettle.
"Slowly he moved Allie behind him and again faced Abaris. The Jovians
lined around the chamber wall, stood apparently at attention. They
made no move to interfere. Had Abaris ordered them to remain inactive,
relying upon his own power of combat to force the three humans into
submission?
"'Frog-face!' Sands shouted, insultingly, at Abaris. 'You call off your
dogs and we'll settle this right now! I'm not afraid of your crazy
lights and even if I was I'd rather die than submit to you!'
"Abaris' throat cackled with his peculiar laugh. His owlish eyes stared
through unblinking lids. Sands approached him with sinister steadiness,
crouched ready to spring at the bull-like throat of the giant. I stared
at him fearfully. Here was the end, I thought, as Abaris tilted his
huge head to look down upon his insignificant antagonist. I glanced
around the chamber at the froggish Jovians. They continued to stand
silently at attention.