HUMAN QUADRUPEDS
Of course we did not reach all these conclusions in a few moments, but I
have given them here merely as the outcome of our deductions following a
considerable experience within the Moon. Several miles from the ship
rose foothills which climbed picturesquely toward the cloudy heights of
the loftier mountains behind them, and as we looked in the direction of
these latter, and then out across the forest, there was appreciable to
us a strangeness that at first we could not explain, but which we later
discovered was due to the fact that there was no horizon, the distance
that one could see being dependent solely upon one’s power of vision.
The general effect was of being in the bottom of a tremendous bowl, with
sides so high that one might not see the top.
The ground about us was covered with rank vegetation of pale
hues—lavenders, violets, pinks and yellows predominating. Pink grasses
which became distinctly flesh-color at maturity grew in abundance, and
the stalks of most of the flowering plants were of this same peculiar
hue. The flowers themselves were often of highly complex form, of pale
and delicate shades, of great size and rare beauty. There were low
shrubs that bore a berry-like fruit, and many of the trees of the forest
carried fruit of considerable size and of a variety of forms and colors.
Norton and Jay were debating the possible edibility of some of these,
but I gave orders that no one was to taste them until we had had an
opportunity to learn by analysis or otherwise those varieties that were
non-poisonous.
There was aboard _The Barsoom_ a small laboratory equipped especially
for the purpose of analyzing the vegetable and mineral products of Mars
according to earthly standards, as well as other means of conducting
research work upon our sister planet. As we had sufficient food aboard
for a period of fifteen years, there was no immediate necessity for
eating any of the lunar fruit, but I was anxious to ascertain the
chemical properties of the water since the manufacture of this necessity
was slow, laborious and expensive. I therefore instructed West to take a
sample from the stream and subject it to laboratory tests, and the
others I ordered below for sleep.
They were rather more keen to set out upon a tour of exploration, nor
could I blame them, but as none of us had slept for rather better than
forty-eight hours I considered it of importance that we recuperate our
vital forces against whatever contingency might confront us in this
unknown world. Here were air, water and vegetation—the three prime
requisites for the support of animal life—and so I judged it only
reasonable to assume that animal life existed within the Moon. If it did
exist, it might be in some highly predatory form, against which it would
tax our resources to the utmost to defend ourselves. I insisted,
therefore, upon each of us obtaining his full quota of sleep before
venturing from the safety of _The Barsoom_.
We already had seen evidences of life of a low order, both reptile and
insect, or perhaps it would be better to describe the latter as flying
reptiles, as they later proved to be—toad-like creatures with the wings
of bats, that flitted among the fleshy boughs of the forest, emitting
plaintive cries. Upon the ground near the ship we had seen but a single
creature, though the moving grasses had assured us that there were
others there aplenty. The thing that we had seen had been plainly
visible to us all and may be best described as a five-foot snake with
four frog-like legs, and a flat head with a single eye in the center of
the forehead. Its legs were very short, and as it moved along the ground
it both wriggled like a true snake and scrambled with its four short
legs. We watched it to the edge of the river and saw it dive in and
disappear beneath the surface.
“Silly looking beggar,” remarked Jay, “and devilish unearthly.”
“I don’t know about that,” I returned. “He possessed nothing visible to
us that we are not familiar with on Earth. Possibly he was assembled
after a slightly different plan from any Earth creature; but aside from
that he is familiar to us, even to his amphibious habits. And these
flying-toads, too; what of them? I see nothing particularly remarkable
about them. We have just as strange forms on Earth, though nothing
precisely like these. Mars, too, has forms of animal and vegetable life
peculiar to herself, yet nothing the existence of which would be
impossible upon Earth, and she has, as well, human forms almost
identical with our own. You see what I am trying to suggest?”
“Yes, sir,” replied Jay; “that there may be human life similar to our
own within the Moon.”
“I see no reason to be surprised should we discover human beings here,”
I said; “nor would I be surprised to find a reasoning creature of some
widely divergent form. I would be surprised, however, were we to find no
form analogous to the human race of Earth.”
“That is, a dominant race with well developed reasoning faculties?”
asked Norton.
“Yes, and it is because of this possibility that we must have sleep and
keep ourselves fit, since we may not know the disposition of these
creatures, provided they exist, nor the reception that they will accord
us. And so, Mr. Norton, if you will get a receptacle and fetch some
water from the stream we will leave Mr. West on watch to make his
analysis and the rest of us will turn in.”
Norton went below and returned with a glass jar in which to carry the
water and the balance of us lined the rail with our service revolvers
ready in the event of an emergency as he went over the side. None of us
had walked more than a few steps since coming on deck after our landing.
I had noticed a slightly peculiar sensation of buoyancy, but in view of
the numerous other distractions had given it no consideration. As Norton
reached the bottom of the ladder and set foot on lunar soil I called to
him to make haste. Just in front of him was a low bush and beyond it lay
the river, about thirty feet distant. In response to my command he gave
a slight leap to clear the bush and, to our amazement as well as to his
own consternation, rose fully eighteen feet into the air, cleared a
space of fully thirty-five feet and lit in the river.
“Come!” I said to the others, wishing them to follow me to Norton’s aid,
and sprang for the rail; but I was too impetuous. I never touched the
rail, but cleared it by many feet, sailed over the intervening strip of
land, and disappeared beneath the icy waters of the lunar river. How
deep it was I do not know; but at least it was over my head. I found
myself in a sluggish, yet powerful current, the water seeming to move
much as a heavy oil moves to the gravity of Earth. As I came to the
surface I saw Norton swimming strongly for the bank and a second later
Jay emerged not far from me. I glanced quickly around for West, whom I
immediately perceived was still on the deck of _The Barsoom_, where, of
course, it was his duty to remain, since it was his watch.
The moment that I realized that my companions were all safe I could not
repress a smile, and then Norton and Jay commenced to laugh, and we were
still laughing when we pulled ourselves from the stream a short distance
below the ship.
“Get your sample, Norton?” I asked.
“I still have the container, sir,” he replied, and indeed he had clung
to it throughout his surprising adventure, as Jay and I, fortunately,
had clung to our revolvers. Norton removed the cap from the bottle and
dipped the latter into the stream. Then he looked up at me and smiled.
“I think we have beaten Mr. West to it, sir,” he said. “It seems like
very good water, sir, and when I struck it I was so surprised that I
must have swallowed at least a quart.”
“I tested a bit of it myself,” I replied. “As far as we three are
concerned, Mr. West’s analysis will not interest us if he discovers that
lunar water contains poisonous matter, but for his own protection we
will let him proceed with his investigation.”
“It is strange, sir,” remarked Jay, “that none of us thought of the
natural effects of the lesser gravity of the Moon. We have discussed the
matter upon many occasions, as you will recall, yet when we faced the
actual condition we gave it no consideration whatsoever.”
“I am glad,” remarked Norton, “that I did not attempt to jump the
river—I should have been going yet. Probably landed on the top of some
mountain.”
As we approached the ship I saw West awaiting us with a most serious and
dignified mien; but when he saw that we were all laughing he joined us,
telling us after we reached the deck, that he had never witnessed a more
surprising or ludicrous sight in his life.
We went below then and after closing and securing the hatch, three of us
repaired to our bunks, while West with the sample of lunar water went to
the laboratory. I was very tired and slept soundly for some ten hours,
for it was the middle of Norton’s watch before I awoke.
The only important entry upon the log since I had turned in was West’s
report of the results of his analysis of the water, which showed that it
was not only perfectly safe for drinking purposes but unusually pure,
with an extremely low saline content.
I had been up about a half an hour when West came to me, saying that
Orthis requested permission to speak to me. Twentyfour hours before, I
had been fairly well determined to bring Orthis to trial and execute him
immediately, but that had been when I had felt that we were all
hopelessly doomed to death on his account. Now, however, with a
habitable world beneath our feet, surrounded by conditions almost
identical with those which existed upon Earth, our future looked less
dark, and because of this I found myself in a quandary as to what course
of action to pursue in the matter of Orthis’ punishment. That he
deserved death there was no question, but when men have faced death so
closely and escaped, temporarily at least, I believe that they must look
upon life as a most sacred thing and be less inclined to deny life to
others. Be that as it may, the fact remains that having sent for Orthis
in compliance with his request I received him in a mood of less stern
and uncompromising justice than would have been the case twenty-four
hours previous. When he had been brought to my stateroom and stood
before me, I asked him what he wished to say to me. He was entirely
sober now and bore himself with a certain dignity that was not untinged
with humility.
“I do not know what has occurred since I was put in irons, as you have
instructed the others not to speak to me or answer my questions. I know,
of course, however, that the ship is at rest and that pure air is
circulating through it, and I have heard the hatch raised and footsteps
upon the upper deck. From the time that has elapsed since I was placed
under arrest I know that the only planet upon which we have had time to
make a landing is the Moon, and so I may guess that we are upon the
surface of the Moon. I have had ample time to reflect upon my actions.
That I was intoxicated is, of course, no valid excuse, and yet it is the
only excuse that I have to offer. I beg, sir, that you will accept the
assurance of my sincere regret of the unforgivable things that I have
done, and that you will permit me to live and atone for my wrongdoings,
for if we are indeed upon the surface of the Moon it may be that we can
ill spare a single member of our small party. I throw myself, sir,
entirely upon your mercy, but beg that you will give me another chance.”
Realizing my natural antipathy for the man and wishing most sincerely
not to be influenced against him because of it, I let his plea influence
me against my better judgment with the result that I promised him that I
would give the matter careful consideration, discuss it with the others,
and be influenced largely by their decision. I had him returned to his
stateroom then and sent for the other members of the party. With what
fidelity my memory permitted I repeated to them in Orthis’ own words his
request for mercy.
“And now, gentlemen,” I said, “I would like to have your opinions in the
matter. It is of as much moment to you as to me, and under the peculiar
circumstances in which we are placed, I prefer in so far as possible to
defer whereever I can to the judgment of the majority. Whatever my final
action, the responsibility will be mine. I do not seek to divide that,
and it may be that I shall act contrary to the wishes of the majority in
some matters, but in this one I really wish to abide by your desires
because of the personal antagonism that has existed between Lieutenant
Commander Orthis and myself since boyhood.”
I knew that none of these men liked Orthis, yet I knew, too, that they
would approach the matter in a spirit of justice tempered by mercy, and
so I was not at all surprised when one after another they assured me
that they would be glad if I would give the man another opportunity.
Again I sent for Orthis, and after explaining to him that inasmuch as he
had given me his word to commit no disloyal act in the future I should
place him on parole, his eventual fate depending entirely upon his own
conduct; then had his irons removed and told him that he was to return
to duty. He seemed most grateful and assured us that we would never have
cause to regret our decision. Would to God that instead of freeing him I
had drawn my revolver and shot him through the heart!
We were all pretty well rested up by this time, and I undertook to do a
little exploring in the vicinity of the ship, going out for a few hours
each day with a single companion, leaving the other three upon the ship.
I never went far afield at first, confining myself to an area some five
miles in diameter between the crater and the river. Upon both sides of
the latter, below where the ship had landed, was a considerable extent
of forest. I ventured into this upon several occasions and once, just
about time for us to return to the ship, I came upon a well-marked trail
in the dust of which were the imprints of three-toed feet. Each day I
set the extreme limit of time that I would absent myself from the ship
with instructions that two of those remaining aboard should set out in
search of me and my companion, should we be absent over the specified
number of hours. Therefore, I was unable to follow the trail the day
upon which I discovered it, since we had scarcely more than enough time
to make a brief examination of the tracks if we were to reach the ship
within the limit I had allowed.
It chanced that Norton was with me that day and in his quiet way was
much excited by our discovery. We were both positive that the tracks had
been made by a four-footed animal, something that weighed between two
hundred and fifty and three hundred pounds. How recently it had been
used we could scarcely estimate, but the trail itself gave every
indication of being a very old one. I was sorry that we had no time to
pursue the animal which had made the tracks but determined that upon the
following day I should do so. We reached the ship and told the others
what we had discovered. They were much interested and many and varied
were the conjectures as to the nature of the animals whose tracks we had
seen.
After Orthis had been released from arrest Norton had asked permission
to return to the former’s stateroom. I had granted his request and the
two had been very much together ever since. I could not understand
Norton’s apparent friendship for this man, and it almost made me doubt
the young ensign. One day I was to learn the secret of this intimacy,
but at the time I must confess that it puzzled me considerably and
bothered me not a little, for I had taken a great liking to Norton and
disliked to see him so much in the company of a man of Orthis’
character.
Each of the men had now accompanied me on my short excursions of
exploration with the exception of Orthis. Inasmuch as his parole had
fully reinstated him among us in theory at least, I could not very well
discriminate against him and leave him alone of all the others aboard
ship as I pursued my investigations of the surrounding country.
The day following our discovery of the trail, I accordingly invited him
to accompany me, and we set out early, each armed with a revolver and a
rifle. I advised West, who automatically took command of the ship during
my absence, that we might be gone considerably longer than usual and
that he was to feel no apprehension and send out no relief party unless
we should be gone a full twenty-four hours, as I wished to follow up the
spoor we had discovered, learn where the trail led and have a look at
the animal that had made it.
I led the way directly to the spot at which we had found the trail,
about four miles down river from the ship and apparently in the heart of
dense forest.
The flying-toads darted from tree to tree about us, uttering their weird
and plaintive cries, while upon several occasions, as in the past, we
saw four-legged snakes such as we had seen upon the day of our landing.
Neither the toads nor the snakes bothered us, seeming only to wish to
avoid us.
Just before we came upon the trail, both Orthis and I thought we heard
the sound of footsteps ahead of us—something similar to that made by a
galloping animal—and when we came upon the trail a moment later it was
apparent to both of us that dust was hanging in the air and slowly
settling on the vegetation nearby. Something, therefore, had passed over
the trail but a minute or two before we arrived. A brief examination of
the spoor revealed the fact that it had been made by a three-toed animal
whose direction of travel was to our right and toward the river, at this
point some half mile from us.
I could not help but feel considerable inward excitement, and I was
sorry that one of the others had not been with me, for I never felt
perfectly at ease with Orthis. I had done considerable hunting in
various parts of the world where wild game still exists but I had never
experienced such a thrill as I did at the moment that I undertook to
stalk this unknown beast upon an unknown trail in an unknown world.
Where the trail would lead me, what I should find upon it, I never knew
from one step to another, and the lure of it because of that was
tremendous. The fact that there were almost nine million square miles of
this world for me to explore, and that no Earth Man had ever before set
foot upon an inch of it, helped a great deal to compensate for the fact
that I knew I could never return to my own Earth again.
The trail led to the edge of the river which at this point was very wide
and shallow. Upon the opposite shore, I could see the trail again
directly opposite and I knew therefore that this was a ford. Without
hesitating, I stepped into the river, and as I did so I glanced to my
left to see stretching before me as far as my eye could reach a vast
expanse of water. Here then I had stumbled upon the mouth of the river
and, beyond, a lunar sea.
The land upon the opposite side of the river was rolling and
grass-covered, but in so far as I could see, almost treeless. As I
turned my eyes from the sea back toward the opposite shore, I saw that
which caused me to halt in my tracks, cock my rifle and issue a cautious
warning to Orthis for silence, for there before us upon a knoll stood a
small horse-like animal.
It would have been a long shot, possibly five hundred yards, and I
should have preferred to have come closer but there was no chance to do
that now, for we were in the middle of the river in plain view of the
animal which stood there watching us intently. I had scarcely raised my
rifle, however, ere it wheeled and disappeared over the edge of the
knoll upon which it had been standing.
“What did it look like to you, Orthis?” I asked my companion.
“It was a good ways off,” he replied, “and I only just got my binoculars
on it as it disappeared, but I could have sworn that it wore a harness
of some sort. It was about the size of a small pony, I should say, but
it didn’t have a pony’s head.”
“It appeared tailless to me,” I remarked.
“I saw no tail,” said Orthis, “nor any ears or horns. It was a devilish
funny looking thing. I don’t understand it. There was something about
it—” he paused. “My God, sir, there was something about it that looked
human.”
“It gave me that same impression, too, Orthis, and I doubt if I should
have fired had I been able to cover it, for just at the instant that I
threw my rifle to my shoulder I felt that same strange impression that
you mention. There was something human about the thing.”
As we talked, we had been moving on across the ford which we found an
excellent one, the water at no time coming to our waists while the
current was scarcely appreciable. Finally, we stepped out on the
opposite shore and a moment later, far to the left, we caught another
glimpse of the creature that we had previously seen. It stood upon a
distant knoll, evidently watching us.
Orthis and I raised our binoculars to our eyes almost simultaneously and
for a full minute we examined the thing as it stood there, neither of us
speaking, and then we dropped our glasses and looked at each other.
“What do you make of it, sir?” he asked.
I shook my head. “I don’t know what to make of it, Orthis,” I replied;
“but I should swear that I was looking straight into a human face, and
yet the body was that of a quadruped.”
“There can be no doubt of it, sir,” he replied, “and this time one could
see the harness and the clothing quite plainly. It appears to have some
sort of a weapon hanging at its left side. Did you notice it, sir?”
“Yes, I noticed it, but I don’t understand it.”
A moment longer we stood watching the creature until it turned and
galloped off, disappearing behind the knoll on which it had stood. We
decided to follow the trail which led in a southerly direction, feeling
reasonably assured that we were more likely to come in contact with the
creature or others similar to it upon the trail than off of it. We had
gone but a short distance when the trail approached the river again,
which puzzled me at the time somewhat, as we had gone apparently
directly away from the river since we had left the ford, but after we
had gone some mile and a half, we found the explanation, since we came
again to another ford while on beyond we saw the river emptying into the
sea and realized that we had crossed an island lying in the mouth of the
river.
I was hesitating as to whether to make the crossing and continue along
the trail or to go back and search the island for the strange creature
we had discovered. I rather hoped to capture it, but since I had finally
descried its human face, I had given up all intention of shooting it
unless I found that it would be necessary to do so in self defense. As I
stood there, rather undecided, our attention was attracted back to the
island by a slight noise, and as we looked in the direction of the
disturbance, we saw five of the creatures eyeing us from high land a
quarter of a mile away. When they saw that they were discovered they
galloped boldly toward us. They had come a short distance only, when
they stopped again upon a high knoll, and then one of them raised his
face toward the sky and emitted a series of piercing howls. Then they
came on again toward us nor did they pause until they were within fifty
feet of us, when they came to a sudden halt.