THE ARSENAL OF THE KILLERS
The moon had not yet risen, but the starlight was brilliant, as we
climbed the path that led to the stronghold of the Killers.
As we approached it in the darkness it looked larger than it had
appeared to me in the vision, and our task more formidable.
At this high altitude the night began to be cold already, and I supposed
that the temperature might fall very low before the dawn of the next
day. I began to understand why I had found the stillness of the first
night so absolute, and why all creatures sought for rest and warmth
during a night-time so much longer than our own, and in which the change
of temperature might be so much greater.
But I had more urgent considerations to engage my thoughts. To rescue
the imprisoned Amphibian from a guarded prison in the midst of the
stronghold of the Killers, whether it were attempted by force or
strategy, appeared about equally hopeless, but the Leaders had laid this
task upon me, and whether they really believed me capable of performing
it, or had used me as a pawn in a larger purpose, I was equally
committed to the adventure.
My comrade also laid the responsibility upon me, as she clearly had the
right to do. I had her promise of unquestioning aid in anything for
which I might call upon her, and I had learnt to rely more than a little
upon her fearless serenity of mind, as well as upon the abundant
physical vitality which she shared with me so freely.
On the other hand, the more I relied upon her powers of spirit or body,
the more menacing became the fact that I was braving those who had
entrapped one of her own kind, of superior grade to herself, who
apparently could not escape unrescued.
Whether they had received warning of our coming I could not tell, but I
reflected that even though a report should have reached them that the
regiment of the Amphibians had passed into the mountains six score miles
away, they would not only suppose that no fear from that quarter would
be possible for a day at least (or much longer if they should judge by
their own speed of progression), but might not even think that any
hostility to themselves were intended, nor might it occur to them as
possible that an attack would be made in the night-time, when they might
suppose the custom of rest to be universal.
Even if they knew that two of us were wandering on the lower slopes, we
might only appear to them as prey to be sought in the morning, and, I
thought, with a sudden lightening of humour, they might be right in
their estimate.
On the balance of probabilities, I thought the better course would be to
approach them boldly, and try what might be done in secrecy while the
darkness was round us.
Indeed, when we gained the plateau, caution lacked opportunity, if we
were to advance at all. For outside the enclosure it was bare and flat
beneath the starlight, and a rat could have found no shelter.
Having crossed the open space as quietly as we could, we walked for some
distance along the outside of the enclosure. It was a back-sloping wall,
or roof, as I had seen it before, having no door or window in all its
length; but knowing that there were doors along the inner side, and that
the Killers slept within it, and not knowing how lightly they might do
so, or how thin might be the wall that divided us from them, we now
moved very silently till we came to the gateway. Here we paused in
surprise, for it was not only unguarded, but open.
There was a double gate that opened inward. Sockets were faintly visible
in the ground, into which vertical bolts could be driven to secure them.
You know how a fox will use all its cunning to find some illicit
entrance to the poultry house, but will turn away from open door or
window, lest a trap be concealed behind the apparent negligence? So I
felt as I looked, and saw something dimly on the ground behind the
gateway, and hesitated, and remembered that the night was long, and
haste was needless, and asked my companion how soon would be the
moonrise.
In the end, we went back and waited under the edge of the plateau.
It is commonly held that the capacity of the average woman for logical
reasoning is inferior to that of a man, but that she has a compensating
advantage in a superior ability of intuitive perception, and may even
reach a more correct conclusion in some instances by such unreasoned
cognition, than a man will do by the exercise of a superior logical
faculty.
Whatever impressions of femininity my companion might give in other
aspects, it is certain that in this comparison she was more masculine
than myself, and the light which I had given her into the workings of my
own mind--for, in view of our understanding, I had been careful to open
it to her as I had considered the various possibilities which might
affect the success of our enterprise--had aroused a wonder which she now
expressed with her usual clarity.
“It appears,” she considered, “that there is a difference between the
processes of your mind and mine. When I encounter a difficulty which
requires decision, I reflect upon it systematically and thoroughly. It
may be a long time before I arrive at any possible conclusion, but, when
I have done so, it is final. You appear to make choices, and to decide
plans, without always having recognised your reasons--if such there
be--even in your own mind, and you would be unable to explain them to
another if you wished to do so. This method appears to be the cause of
much hesitation, worry, and discord, by which your mind is drained of
its energy to no sufficient purpose, and of actions which are
contradictory or indecisive. There are even times when you appear not to
be acting either by reason, or by your own will, but to have surrendered
your personality to the body which it inhabits. This is repulsive to me,
because I cannot conceive of a reasoning spirit being reduced to a baser
servitude. Fear is good, and it would be a poor kind of body which did
not give you that warning. But your body is not content with warning, it
attempts control, and if you refuse obedience, you do so with
difficulty. I think that this arises because your mind is not sure of
itself, and your body lacks respect for its weakness. Then your physical
impulses fight among themselves for supremacy, and you have no power to
rule them. When I look into your mind I see also that it has little
knowledge, as it has little control, of the body in which it dwells, of
which the major functions are carried on quite independently of its
volition, and of the existence of which it may even be entirely
ignorant.
“In all these respects you might be considered inferior to ourselves. I
think you are so; and I recognise the admiration you feel for our larger
measure of control, both of ourselves and of the creatures that surround
us. Certainly I would not be like you. It would be as though we should
be eaten by our own dogs. But when I see how your mind endures amidst
such surroundings I am unable to despise you. I seem as one who swims
with a friendly tide, and can make no boast, though she outdistance one
who fights onward amidst contrary and contending currents. Therefore, I
think God may judge you the prize at last, though He has given you a
body that is lower than that of a sea-dog, and a mind that has no power
to control it, and that walks in circles.
“I see further, that your own methods of inductive reasoning, casual as
they are, may be more appropriate to the fluctuating barbarism of the
conditions of life to which you are native than would be those to which
we are accustomed, and I know surely that you can use your own methods
to better purpose than I could possibly do.”
By this time a crescent moon was rising behind us, among stars that
shone with a frosty brightness, and a cold wind moved over the plateau
as we crossed it once more, so that I shivered in the torn and shredded
garments that I had sewn together, as best I might, when the halts had
permitted.
We came again to the vague menace of the open gateway. In the clearer
light we saw that objects lay on the ground immediately within it,
reminding me of the twisted bands of hay which farmers sometimes use for
the binding of fodder, and before them were shallow shining oval
depressions, as though moulds had been lifted from them.
Neither of us could make any guess as to what they were, or of what they
might be significant, but of one thing I was certain, they had not been
there when I saw the Killers draw their roped prey through the gateway;
nor were they appropriate for a free passage.
There is a fear that comes when the nerves revolt from a danger which
they perceive, which my companion had deprecated, but there is another
that arises from a reasoned caution, which it is often well to heed,
though the physical frame would disregard it.
I knew that my comrade’s mind approved, when I turned from that unknown
fear, and continued along the wall to select a spot at which we should
attempt to scale it.
Of itself, it gave no choice, being everywhere of the same height and
smoothness, and leaning at the same angle. Everywhere, so far as my
observation had shown, it was inhabited by the Killers, but whether in
separate cells, or whether the numerous openings led into one common
living chamber, I had no means of telling.
The only choice lay in selecting the nearest spot to our objective
inside the enclosure, and this we did as far as memory and judgment
enabled us to determine it.
The sides of the wall or dwelling, were about ten feet high, and sloping
together at such an angle that the inner floor (without deducting the
thickness of the walls, of which we had no knowledge) must have been
about eight feet in width. The walls inside must have narrowed rapidly
upward, suggesting that the Killers required little space for comfort
during their long night’s rest. Of ventilation there was no sign
whatever.
The outer side, being quite smooth, was far too steep to be climbed, and
we scaled it at last by my companion leaning against it while I mounted
her shoulders and gripped the ridge. When I had a firm hold she caught
my foot and climbed up very lightly, and then, with her help, I was soon
astride the ridge, and the descent was easy. Our only real difficulty
was to do it in silence. We had to move along the ridge for a short
distance before descending, as we found ourselves directly over one of
the apertures by which they entered. It was fortunate for us that we
took this precaution, for when we had reached the ground, and moved
cautiously across the doorway, we found that it was closed by a door
which slid down from the inside, but not entirely so. It came to within
about three inches of the ground, and beneath it protruded three of the
long suckers, which were the mouths of the Killers. Moving onward, we
saw that similar suckers were thrust out from every doorway, which at
least explained in part the omission of any higher apertures by which
air or light could reach them.
There was a wide bare space between the outer wall in which they slept,
and the buildings we were seeking. Of these there were eight in all,
each of which must have had its place in the social economy of those
loathsome creatures, but we were concerned with two only, and of the
others I learnt nothing, either then or later.
As we had been told that the building in which they stored their weapons
during the night was left unguarded, I had determined to proceed there
first, and if I were able to enter it without detection I had resolved
to remain, while my companion went forward alone to the killing-pens,
and endeavoured to establish communication with her imprisoned Leader. I
calculated that she would be more easily able to do this than I, and the
distance separating us would not be too great for her to communicate
with me, so that I should know exactly what was occurring. If she were
disturbed, she could return to me more quickly than any Killer could
pursue her. If a diversion were necessary, I could easily make
sufficient noise to draw the investigation in my direction. For two to
go in the first instance would double the risk of detection, without any
compensating advantage. If my aid were desirable after the first
reconnoitre, and no alarm had been raised, I could easily join her. If
an alarm were raised, I supposed that they would make first for the
place in which their arms were stored, and in that case it was our only
hope of safety that someone should be there to bar the access.
So I reasoned, not entirely at ease in thinking that I had allotted her
a part which might prove the more perilous, but yet seeing that it would
be a double folly to reverse our undertakings, and content that she knew
my motives, and approved the plan.
I think, in her own way, she was as keen as myself that we should effect
the rescue before the Leaders came to interpose their own methods, or
take direction of those which we had already formulated. I know that it
was in a state of controlled excitement, which approached the ecstatic,
though it left her mind in its accustomed serenity, that she went with
me hand-in-hand across the moonlight space, which we did not cross till
we had reached a point at which the other buildings would hide us from
any watchers at the killing-pens, if such there were.
By this means we reached the arsenal in safety, and stood beneath thick
walls of some smooth hard substance, having a low flat roof, and a door
at one end which showed no handle or fastening of any kind upon the
outer side.
I still think that the plan I made was in itself the best that could
have been devised from the facts as I knew them, but I admit that I was
less cautious here than I had been at the outer gate. Perhaps the
silence, and the fact that we had advanced to this point so easily, had
given me a feeling of too great security. Anyway, I can only tell what
happened, and you must judge it as you will.
I passed my hand down the door, in the shadow of the jamb, feeling for a
catch which the light might be insufficient to show me, when it yielded
to the slight pressure I gave, and opened gently. Then I pushed it
wider, and we entered together. We stood for a moment in the entrance,
side by side, looking into the dark interior, which was only very
faintly lighted by two small windows at the sides of the door. The long
side-walls, the far end, and the roof, were without lighting entirely.
The moon shone through the two small windows, and patterned a bare floor
with the horizontal bars that crossed them.
We stood there for a moment, and then my comrade slipped quietly from
me, and vanished in the shadow of the darker side of the building.
Thinking to sample some of the weapons which I knew to be stored there,
I stepped inward, loosing the door as I did so. Smoothly and swiftly it
closed behind me, with a slight ominous sound, to which the night gave
full value. It had a menace of finality, and my heart paused as I heard
it.
The next moment I recalled my courage and stepped back to reopen it. My
foot sounded loudly in the stillness, and something moved in the dark
roof that was not more than three feet overhead. With nervous haste I
felt down the inside of the door, but, as upon the outside, there was no
indication of lock or latch or handle. I thought to prise it open with
the axe-blade, but it fitted so closely that I could only find the crack
with difficulty and to force the blade in was impossible.
Was I to be imprisoned here till the light came, and then hurried out to
such a fate as I had seen dealt to another of their captives? Or did the
stealthy movement above me imply an even nearer menace? I raised the
axe, and brought it down with all my force on the door, in the hope that
it would split beneath it, and careless of the noise I made. Noise there
was in the narrow chamber and beyond it also, as I was soon to learn;
but the door did not even shake to the blow. It was of so hard a
substance, whether of wood or metal, that I realised that it would be
the axe-edge only which would suffer should I continue.
The movements overhead were louder now, and I had the impression that
something was about to spring down from the darkness. The fear of the
unknown was upon me, which is of all fears the most dreadful.