"Perhaps it is all one city built upon both banks of the river," I
suggested.
"No; I do not think so. Skor told me that the people who dwelt across
the river from Kormor were his enemies, but he never said anything
about a city. I thought it was just some savage tribe. Why, that is a
splendid city--far larger and handsomer than Kormor."
We could not, of course, see the entire expanse of either city, but as
we drifted closer it was apparent that the city on our right extended
along the river front for several miles. This we could see because at
this point the river ran almost as straight as a canal for a greater
distance than I could see. But the city on our left, which was Kormor,
was much smaller, extending but about a mile along the water front.
As far as we could see both cities were walled, a high wall extending
along the river side of each. Kormor had a short quay in front of a
gate about the center of this wall, while the quay of the other city
appeared to be a long avenue extending as far as I could see.
We had been drifting for some time opposite the right hand city before
we came close to Kormor. There were a few fishermen on the long quay
of the former city, and others, possibly sentries, on top of the wall
behind them. Many of these saw us and pointed at us and seemed to be
discussing us, but at no time did we drift close enough to that side of
the river so that we could obtain a close view of them.
As we came down toward the quay of Kormor, a small boat pushed out
into the river. It contained three men, two of whom were rowing while
the third stood in the bow. That they were pulling out to intercept us
appeared quite evident.
"They are Skor's men," said Nalte.
"What do you suppose they want of us?" I asked.
"To capture us, of course, for Skor; but they will never capture me!"
She stepped toward the edge of the raft.
"What do you mean?" I demanded. "What are you going to do?"
"I am going to jump into the river."
"But you can't swim," I objected. "You will be sure to drown."
"That is what I wish to do. I shall never let Skor take me again."
"Wait, Nalte," I begged. "They haven't taken us yet. Perhaps they
won't."
"Yes, they will," she said hopelessly.
"We must never give up hope, Nalte. Promise me that you will wait. Even
in the last second you can still carry out your plan."
"I will wait," she promised, "but in the last second you had better
follow my example and join me in death rather than fall into the hands
of Skor and become one of those hopeless creatures that you saw at his
castle, for then you will be denied even the final escape of death."
The boat was now approaching closer, and I hailed its occupants. "What
do you want of us?" I demanded.
"You must come ashore with us," said the man in the bow.
* * * * *
I was close enough now so that I could get a good look at the fellow.
I had thought at first that they were some more of Skor's living dead,
but now I saw that this fellow's cheeks had the hue of health and blood.
"We will not come with you," I called back to him. "Leave us alone; we
are not harming you. Let us go our way in peace."
"You will come ashore with us," said the man, as his boat drew closer.
"Keep away, or I'll kill you!" I cried, fitting an arrow to my bow.
The fellow laughed--a dry, mirthless laugh. Then it was that I saw his
eyes, and a cold chill swept over me. They were the dead eyes of a
corpse!
I loosed an arrow. It drove straight through the creature's chest, but
he only laughed again and left the arrow sticking there.
"Do you not know," cried Nalte, "that you cannot kill the dead?" She
stepped to the far side of the raft. "Good-by, Carson," she said
quietly; "the last second is here!"
"No! No, Nalte!" I cried. "Wait! It is not the last second."
I turned again toward the approaching boat. Its bow was already within
a foot of the raft. Before the fellow standing in it could grasp my
intention I leaped upon him. He struck at me with his dead hands; his
dead fingers clutched for my throat. But my attack had been too quick
and unexpected. I had carried him off his balance, and in the same
instant I seized him and threw him overboard.
The two other creatures had been rowing with their backs toward the bow
and were unaware that any danger threatened them until I crashed upon
their leader. As he went overboard the nearer of the others rose and
turned upon me. His skin, too, was painted in the semblance of life,
but those dead eyes could not be changed.
With a horrid, inarticulate scream he leaped for me. I met his rush
with a right to the jaw that would have knocked a living man down for a
long count; and while, of course, I couldn't knock the thing out, I did
knock it overboard.
A quick glance at the two in the water convinced me that my guess had
not been amiss--like their fellows at the castle, the two could not
swim and were floating helplessly down stream with the current. But
there was still another, and it was stepping across the thwarts toward
me.
I sprang forward to meet it, ripping in a blow toward the side of the
jaw that would have sent it after the other two had it connected; but
it did not. Our movements caused the boat to rock and threw me off my
balance, and before I could regain my equilibrium the creature seized
me.
It was very powerful, but it fought without fire or enthusiasm--just
the cold, deadly application of force. It reached for my throat; to
reach for its throat was useless. I could not choke the life from
something that had no life. The best that I could do was to try to
evade its clutches and wait for an opening that might never come.
I am rather muscular myself; and I did manage to push the thing from
me for a moment, but it came right back. It didn't say anything; it
didn't make any sound at all. There was no expression in its glazed
eyes, but its dry lips were drawn back over yellow teeth in a snarling
grimace. The sight of it and the touch of those cold, clammy fingers
almost unnerved me--these and the strange odor that emanated from it,
the strange odor that is the odor of death.
As it came toward me the second time it came with lowered head and
outstretched arms. I leaped for it, and locked my right arm about
its head from above. The back of its neck was snug against my armpit
as I seized my own right wrist with my left hand and locked my hold
tighter. Then I swung quickly around, straightening up as I did so and,
incidentally, nearly capsizing the boat. The creature lost its footing
as I swung it about; its arms flailed wildly, as with a last mighty
surge I released my hold and sent it stumbling over the gunwale into
the river. Like the others, it floated away.
* * * * *
A few yards away, the raft was drifting with Nalte wide-eyed and tense
with excitement. Seizing an oar I brought the boat alongside and
extending a hand assisted Nalte over the side. I noticed that she was
trembling.
"Were you frightened, Nalte?" I asked.
"For you, yes. I didn't think that you had a chance against three of
them. Even now I can't believe what I saw. It is incredible that one
man could have done what you did."
"Luck had a lot to do with it," I replied, "and the fact that I took
them by surprise. They weren't expecting anything of the sort."
"How strangely things happen," mused Nalte. "A moment ago I was about
to drown myself in sheer desperation, and now everything is changed.
The danger is over, and instead of an inadequate raft we have a
comfortable boat."
"Which proves that one should never give up hope."
"I shan't again--while you are with me."
I had been keeping an eye on the Kormor quay rather expecting to see
another boat put out in pursuit of us, but none did.
The fishermen and the sentries on the waterfront of the other city had
all stopped what they were doing and were watching us.
"Shall we row over there and see if they will take us in?" I asked.
"I am afraid," replied Nalte. "We have a saying in Andoo that the
farther strangers are away the better friends they are."
"You think that they would harm us?" I asked.
Nalte shrugged. "I do not know, but the chances are that they would
kill you and keep me."
"Then we won't take the chance, but I would like to remain near here
for a while and search for Duare."
"You can't land on the left bank until we are out of sight of Kormor,"
said Nalte, "or they would be after us in no time."
"And if we land in sight of this other city these people would take
after us, if what you fear be true."
"Let's go down stream until we are out of sight of both cities,"
suggested the girl, "and then wait until night before coming back near
Kormor to search, for that is where you will have to search for Duare."
Following Nalte's suggestion we drifted slowly down stream. We soon
passed Kormor, but the white city on the right bank extended on for a
couple of miles farther. I should say that its full length along the
river front was fully five miles, and along all that length was the
broad quay backed by a gleaming white wall pierced by an occasional
gate--I counted six or seven along the full length of the water front.
Just below the city the river turned to the right, and almost
immediately the cliffs shut off our view of both cities. Simultaneously
the aspect of the country changed. The limestone cliffs ended abruptly,
the river running between low banks. Here it spread out to considerable
width, but farther ahead I could see where it narrowed again and
entered a gorge between cliffs much higher than any that we had passed.
They were wooded cliffs, and even from a distance I could see that they
were not of the white limestone that formed those with which we had now
become familiar.
There came to my ears faintly an insistent sound that was at first
little more than a murmur, but as we drifted down the river it seemed
to grow constantly in volume.
"Do you hear what I hear?" I demanded, "or am I the victim of head
noises?"
"That distant roaring?"
"Yes; it has become a roar now. What do you suppose it can be?"
"It must be the falls that Skor told me of," said Nalte.
"By Jove! That's just what it is," I exclaimed. "And the best thing
that we can do is to get to shore while we can."
The current had carried us closer to the right bank at this point, and
just ahead of us I saw a small stream emptying into the river. There
was an open forest on the farther side of the stream and scattered
trees on the nearer.
It appeared an ideal location for a camp.
We made the shore easily, for the current here was not swift. I ran the
boat into the mouth of the small stream, but there was not water enough
to float it. However, I managed to drag it up far enough to tie it to
an overhanging limb of a tree where it was out of sight of any possible
pursuers from Kormor who might come down the river in search of Nalte
and myself.
"Now," I said, "the thing that interests me most at present is securing
food."
"That is something that always interests me," admitted Nalte, with a
laugh. "Where are you going to hunt? That forest on the other side of
this little stream looks as though it should be filled with game."
She was facing the forest as she spoke, while my back was toward it.
Suddenly the expression on her face changed, and she seized my arm with
a little cry of alarm. "Look, Carson! What is that?"