A MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE.
When Grandon regained consciousness it was daylight. His first thought
was for the girl who lay face downward beside him. As he lifted her
tenderly in his arms he gave silent thanks, for she was breathing,
though ever so slightly.
Presently she opened her eyes and, for a moment, there was a startled
expression in them as she glimpsed her strange surroundings.
"Where are we?" she asked.
"I haven't the slightest idea," replied Grandon. "I have no knowledge
of Zarovian geography."
"A prince, and you know naught of geography? That is indeed strange. Do
they not teach it in your country?"
"I am fairly well acquainted with the geography of the planet
Earth--Terra--on which I was born, but the inhabitants of that world
know practically nothing regarding the geography of this one because of
your cloud-filled atmosphere."
She looked up at him in amazement.
"But you wear the garments and insignia of the royal house of Uxpo.
Moreover, you very closely resemble a prince of that house. Tell me,
quickly, who are you?"
"Tam Robert Grandon, of Terra."
His disclosure seemed to startle her.
"Grandon, of Terra?" she cried. "Ah, I recall the name. A Grandon, of
Terra, was recently acclaimed Prince of Uxpo. It was said that he came
in fulfillment of a prophecy from another world. And you are he. Truly
the pranks of fortune are most amazing! Yesterday I made war on you;
to-day I look to you for protection."
"You made war on me?" he exclaimed, startled in his turn. "May I ask
who you are?"
"Can it be that you do not recognize me?"
Grandon was puzzled. There was something strangely familiar about that
girlish face.
"I am Vernia, of Reabon," she said simply.
It all came to him in a flash. The lifelike painting in the shrine at
the marble quarries, the kowtowing slaves, his own narrow escape from
the lash after lingering too long in contemplation of that beautiful
vision.
"How did you happen to be wandering alone and unarmed in the fern
forest?" he asked.
"I did not set out alone. When I started away from the camp I was
accompanied by my four guards, and was armed with a tork and scarbo.
Zueppa sent a messenger from the front to inform me that your men had
broken through our lines and were headed for the camp. He advised me to
leave at once, saying that the guards would conduct me to a safe place
until your army had been overcome. I followed Zueppa's counsel, but had
gone only a short distance when the traitorous guards disarmed me, and
informed me that I was their prisoner.
"The varlets were about to bind my hands when the giant reptile
appeared on the scene. Though the guards were traitors they were brave
men, for they stood their ground to do battle with the monster. He
killed the foremost man with a single snap of his jaws. A second man
met a like fate, almost before I could realize what had happened. I
believe he killed and devoured all four of them, although I am not
certain, as I turned and ran through the forest. Soon I heard the
monster following me, and tried to make my way to the pass, where I
knew the battle was raging, but the storm came, I lost my bearings
completely, and at length brought up at the river's edge, where I
fainted when I saw those terrible jaws poised above me. I presume that
I should have been devoured then and there had the reptile not already
eaten my guards."
* * * * *
"Who is Zueppa?"
"He is one of my officers--a good commander and an excellent
strategist."
"He may be a good soldier, but he is unquestionably a first class liar."
"I don't understand."
"My men did not break through your lines at all until after the storm
had struck, and then only in small, scattered groups."
"Then Zueppa was implicated in the plot. But who could have planned it,
and for what purpose?"
"That, I am unable to tell you."
He looked at her so long and so searchingly that she grew uneasy.
"Of what are you thinking?" she asked.
"I was wondering what fate you would have meted out to me had your men
captured me yesterday."
She smiled, dimpling adorably.
"I should probably have had you beheaded."
"And now--"
"If we reach Reabon in safety I shall make you supreme commander over
all my armies."
"Why?"
"As your reward for saving the life of the princess."
"I ask no reward for that, nor could I accept it, much as I appreciate
the honor."
"It is the second highest office in the greatest nation of Zarovia, an
office second only to my own. Why, any emperor on the globe would be
glad to exchange his position for it."
"I have been made Prince of Uxpo," replied Grandon, "under my own name
and because of my deeds in behalf of that kingdom. I should rather be
the tiniest twinkling star in the heavens than the most beautiful and
brilliant planet."
"I'm afraid I don't quite understand."
"Planets shine by reflected light--stars by virtue of their own
brilliancy. As your general I should merely reflect the greatness that
is yours."
His answer seemed to displease her, for her manner became icy.
"Perhaps you should prefer to continue the war."
"Infinitely. But pray, let us hold to our truce for the present. Until
we can reach the safety of our own countries we are allies, you know."
"Rather, I am your prisoner of war, for I am wholly in your power. You
place me under obligation to you, then spurn my offer of reward. Pray,
tell me why you risked your life to save mine."
"It was an impulse that I cannot explain, even to myself. I must admit
that when I swam to your assistance I did not even know you were a
woman. I thought you a boy soldier of the Reabonian army."
Could this man do naught save rouse her resentment? Womanlike, she
had been angling for a statement that might serve to placate her hurt
pride. Truly, she thought, this Grandon of Terra lacked courtliness of
manner and smoothness of speech. After all, he was only a rough soldier
who had won the crown of Uxpo with his keen blade. A rough soldier and
plain spoken, yet gentle and thoughtful of her every comfort as he was
careless of the effect of his words on her vanity. To this girl who
had received naught but adulation from the men of her world, he was an
inexplicable enigma.
* * * * *
"We talk much and get nowhere," she said wearily, "I am both hungry and
thirsty. Do you not feed your prisoners of war?"
They walked inland through barren country to the foot of a lofty
perpendicular cliff. Through a narrow fissure they caught a glimpse of
greenery beyond, so they hurried between the frowning rock walls and at
last emerged on level ground.
They were on the border of a small inland lake, the water of which
was as clear as crystal. Ferns, mosses and fungi grew all about its
borders in luxurious profusion, but what aroused Grandon's interest and
curiosity most was the appearance of the bottom of the lake, which was
plainly visible.
It was covered with hundreds of odd, grotesque growths--upright fluted
columns with thick branches of the same pattern curving upward from
the trunks like the arms of candelabra. On the tips of the branches
were great clusters of brilliantly-hued fruitlike globes in an endless
variety of form and color. The effect of the entire lake bottom was
like that of a thousand rainbows fused into one.
A look of terror came into the eyes of the girl.
"Now I know only too well where we are," she said. "This must be one of
the submarine gardens of the terrible flying grampites. I have heard
some of our hardiest mariners tell of these gardens and the horrible
creatures who guard them."
"Let us eat and drink, first, then talk of the grampites afterward,"
said Grandon. "They may be dangerous creatures, but they will have to
go some to outclass that reptile."
A clear, cold spring, bubbling from the rock wall satisfied their
thirst, after which Grandon cut some spore-pods from a near-by fern and
split them with his knife. They were in prime condition, and made a
most pleasing meal for the famished wayfarers.
"It must be," Grandon remarked, "that these underwater fruits are
especially delectable morsels, if men risk their lives for them."
"They are, and of a flavor that excels anything else that grows on
Zarovia."
"I will gather some for you," said Grandon, removing his heavy
trappings. "They should be easily plucked."
"No, no!" she cried. "Please don't go. You may be seen and killed by the
grampites."
He laughed at her fears, and stripped down to his loin cloth. Then,
taking his long knife between his teeth, he plunged into the clear
water. Swimming from cluster to cluster, he found one that suited his
fancy, and cut the thick stem.
As he did so, he saw a black shadow move swiftly across the surface of
the lake above him. It puzzled him not a little, for he had seen no
living creature other than his companion when he entered the water. He
reached the surface with a few powerful strokes, and made for the point
where he had left the girl, but the spot was deserted.
An awful fear gripped him. Was it the shadow of a flying grampite he
had seen, and was the girl now in the clutches of one of these dreaded
creatures? She could not have walked far away in those few seconds. He
called loudly, again and again, but there was no answering cry.
Vernia had disappeared as completely and mysteriously as if the earth
had opened and swallowed her up.