IN THE HANDS OF THE VA-GAS
Our first view of the creatures proved beyond a question of a doubt that
they were in effect human quadrupeds. The faces were very broad, much
broader than any human faces that I have ever seen, but their profiles
were singularly like those of the ancient North American Indians. Their
bodies were covered with a garment with short legs that ended above the
knees, and which was ornamented about the collar and also about the
bottom of each leg with a rather fanciful geometric design. About the
barrel of each was a surcingle and connected with it by a backstrap was
something analogous to a breeching in Earth horse harness. Where the
breeching straps crossed on either side, was a small circular ornament,
and there was a strap resembling a trace leading from this forward to
the collar, passing beneath a quite large, circular ornament, which
appeared to be supported by the surcingle. Smaller straps, running from
these two ornaments upon the left side, supported a sheath in which was
carried what appeared to be a knife of some description. And upon the
right side a short spear was carried in a boot, similarly suspended from
the two ornaments, much as the carbine of our ancient Earth cavalry was
carried. The spear, which was about six feet long, was of peculiar
design, having a slender, well-shaped head, from the base of which a
crescent-shaped arm curved backward from one side, while upon the side
opposite the crescent was a short, sharp point at right angles to the
median line of the weapon.
For a moment we stood there eyeing each other, and from their appearance
I judged that they were as much interested in us as we were in them. I
noticed that they kept looking beyond us, across the river toward the
mainland. Presently, I turned for a glance in the same direction, and
far away beyond a thin forest I saw a cloud of dust which seemed to be
moving rapidly toward us. I called Orthis’ attention to it.
“Reinforcements,” I said. “That is what that fellow was calling for when
he screamed. I think we had better try conclusions with the five before
any more arrive. We will try to make friends first, but if we are
unsuccessful we must fight our way back toward the ship at once.”
Accordingly, I stepped forward toward the five with a smile upon my lips
and my hand outstretched. I knew of no other way in which to carry to
them an assurance of our friendliness. At the same time, I spoke a few
words in English in a pleasant and conciliatory tone. Although I knew
that my words would be meaningless to them, I hoped that they would
catch their intent from my inflection.
Immediately upon my advance, one of the creatures turned and spoke to
another, indicating to us for the first time that they possessed a
spoken language. Then he turned and addressed me in a tongue that was,
of course, utterly meaningless to me; but if he had misinterpreted my
action, I could not misunderstand that which accompanied his words, for
he reared up on his hind feet and simultaneously drew his spear and a
wicked-looking, short-bladed sword or dagger, his companions at the same
time following his example, until I found myself confronted by an array
of weapons backed by scowling, malignant faces. Their leader uttered a
single word which I interpreted as meaning halt, and so I halted.
I pointed to Orthis and to myself, and then to the trail along which we
had come, and then back in the direction of the ship. I was attempting
to tell them that we wished to go back whence we had come. Then I turned
to Orthis.
“Draw your revolver,” I said, “and follow me. If they interfere we shall
have to shoot them. We must get out of this before the others arrive.”
As we turned to retrace our steps along the trail, the five dropped upon
all fours, still holding their weapons in their fore-paws, and galloped
quickly to a position blocking our way.
“Stand aside,” I yelled, and fired my pistol above their heads. From
their actions, I judged that they had never before heard the report of a
firearm, for they stood an instant in evident surprise, and then wheeled
and galloped off for about a hundred yards, where they turned and halted
again, facing us. They were still directly across our trail, and Orthis
and I moved forward determinedly toward them. They were talking among
themselves, and at the same time watching us closely.
When we had arrived at a few yards from them, I again threatened them
with my pistol, but they stood their ground, evidently reassured by the
fact that the thing that I held in my hand, though it made a loud noise,
inflicted no injury. I did not want to shoot one of them if I could
possibly avoid it, so I kept on toward them, hoping that they would make
way for us; but instead they reared again upon their hind feet and
threatened us with their weapons.
Just how formidable their weapons were, I could not, of course,
determine; but I conjectured that if they were at all adept in its use,
their spear might be a very formidable thing indeed. I was within a few
feet of them now, and their attitude was more warlike than ever,
convincing me that they had no intention of permitting us to pass
peacefully.
Their features, which I could now see distinctly, were hard, fierce, and
cruel in the extreme. Their leader seemed to be addressing me, but, of
course, I could not understand him; but when, at last, standing there
upon his hind feet, with evidently as much ease as I stood upon my two
legs, he carried his spear back in a particularly menacing movement, I
realized that I must act and act quickly.
I think the fellow was just on the point of launching his spear at me,
when I fired. The bullet struck him square between the eyes, and he
dropped like a log, without a sound. Instantly, the others wheeled again
and galloped away, this time evincing speed that was almost appalling,
clearing spaces of a hundred feet in a single bound, even though
handicapped, as they must have been, by the weapons which they clutched
in their fore-paws.
A glance behind me showed the dust-cloud rapidly approaching the river,
upon the mainland, and calling to Orthis to follow me, I ran rapidly
along the trail which led back in the direction of the ship.
The four Moon creatures retreated for about half a mile, and then halted
and faced us. They were still directly in our line of retreat, and there
they stood for a moment, evidently discussing their plans. We were
nearing them rapidly, for we had discovered that we, too, could show
remarkable speed, when retarded by gravity only one-sixth of that of
Earth. To clear forty feet at a jump was nothing, our greatest
difficulty lying in a tendency to leap to too great heights, which
naturally resulted in cutting down our horizontal distance. As we neared
the four, who had taken their stand upon the summit of a knoll, I heard
a great splashing in the river behind us, and turning, saw that their
reinforcements were crossing the ford, and would soon be upon us. There
appeared to be fully a hundred of them, and our case looked hopeless
indeed, unless we could manage to pass the four ahead of us, and reach
the comparative safety of the forest beyond the first ford.
“Commence firing, Orthis,” I said. “Shoot to kill. Take the two at the
left as your targets, and I’ll fire at the two at the right. We had
better halt and take careful aim, as we cannot afford to waste
ammunition.”
We came to a stop about twenty-five yards from the foremost creature,
which is a long pistol shot; but they were standing still upon the crest
of a knoll, distinctly outlined against the sky, and were such a size as
to present a most excellent target. Our shots rang out simultaneously.
The creature at the left, at which Orthis had aimed, leaped high into
the air, and fell to the ground, where it lay kicking convulsively. The
one at the right uttered a piercing shriek, clutched at its breast, and
dropped dead. Then Orthis and I charged the remaining two, while behind
us we heard loud weird cries and the pounding of galloping feet. The two
before us did not retreat this time, but came to meet us, and again we
halted and fired. This time they were so close that we could not miss
them, and the last of our original lunar foemen lay dead before us.
We ran then, ran as neither of us had imagined human beings ever could
run. I know that I covered over fifty feet in many a leap, but by
comparison with the speed of the things behind us, we might have been
standing still. They fairly flew over the lavender sward, indicating
that those, which we had first seen, had at no time extended themselves
in an effort to escape us. I venture to say that some of them leaped
fully three hundred feet at a time, and now, at every bound, they
emitted fierce and terrible yells, which I assumed to be their war cry,
intended to intimidate us.
“It’s no use, Orthis,” I said to my companion. “We might as well make
our stand here and fight it out. We cannot reach the ford. They are too
fast for us.”
We stopped then, and faced them, and when they saw we were going to make
a stand, they circled and halted about a hundred yards distant, entirely
surrounding us. We had killed five of their fellows, and I knew we could
hope for no quarter. We were evidently confronted by a race of fierce
and warlike creatures, the appearance of which, at least, gave no
indication of the finer characteristics that are so much revered among
humankind upon Earth. After a good look at one of them, I could not
imagine the creature harboring even the slightest conception of the word
mercy, and I knew that if we ever escaped that fierce cordon, it would
be by fighting our way through it.
“Come,” I said to Orthis, “straight through for the ford,” and turning
again in that direction, I started blazing away with my pistol as I
walked slowly along the trail. Orthis was at my side, and he, too, fired
as rapidly as I. Each time our weapons spoke, a Moon Man fell. And now,
they commenced to circle us at a run, much as the savage Indians of the
western plains circled the parked wagon trains of our long-gone
ancestors in North America. They hurled spears at us, but I think the
sound of our revolvers and the effect of the shots had to some measure
unnerved them, for their aim was poor and we were not, at any time,
seriously menaced.
As we advanced slowly, firing, we made many hits, but I was horrified to
see that every time one of the creatures fell, the nearest of his
companions leaped upon him and cut his throat from ear to ear. Some of
them had only to fall to be dispatched by his fellows. A bullet from
Orthis’ weapon shattered the hind leg of one of them, bringing him to
the ground. It was, of course, not a fatal wound, but the creature had
scarcely gone down, when the nearest to him sprang forward, and finished
him. And thus we walked slowly toward the ford, and I commenced to have
hope that we might reach it and make our escape. If our antagonists had
been less fearless, I should have been certain of it, but they seemed
almost indifferent to their danger, evidently counting upon their speed
to give them immunity from our bullets. I can assure you that they
presented most difficult targets, moving as they did in great leaps and
bounds. It was probably more their number than our accuracy that
permitted us the hits we made.
We were almost at the ford when the circle suddenly broke, and then
formed a straight line parallel to us, the leader swinging his spear
about his head, grasping the handle at its extreme end. The weapon moved
at great speed, in an almost horizontal plane. I was wondering at the
purpose of his action, when I saw that three or four of those directly
in the rear of him had commenced to swing their spears in a similar
manner. There was something strangely menacing about it that filled me
with alarm. I fired at the leader and missed, and at the report of my
pistol, a half dozen of them let go of their swift whirling spears, and
an instant later, I realized the purpose of their strange maneuver; for
the heavy weapons shot toward us, butts first, with the speed of
lightning, the crescent-like hooks catching us around a leg, an arm and
the neck, hurling us backward to the ground, and each time we essayed to
rise, we were struck again, until we finally lay there, bruised and
half-stunned, and wholly at the mercy of our antagonists, who galloped
forward quickly, stripping our weapons from us. Those who had hurled
their spears at us recovered them, and then they all gathered about,
examining us, and jabbering among themselves.
Presently, the leader spoke to me, prodding me with the sharp point of
his spear. I took it that he wanted me to arise, and I tried to do so,
but I was pretty much all in and fell back each time I essayed to obey.
Then he spoke to two of his followers, who lifted me and laid me across
the back of a third. There I was fastened in a most uncomfortable
position by means of leather straps which were taken from various parts
of the harnesses of several of the creatures. Orthis was similarly
lashed to another of them, whereupon they moved slowly back in the
direction from which they had come, stopping, as they went, to collect
the bodies of their dead, which were strapped to the backs of others of
their companions. The fellow upon whom I rode had several well-defined
gaits, one of which, a square trot, was the acme of torture for me,
since I was bruised and hurt and had been placed across him face down,
upon my belly; but inasmuch as this gait must have been hard, too, upon
him, while thus saddled with a burden, he used it but little, for which
I was tremendously thankful. When he changed to a single-foot, which,
fortunately for me, he often did, I was much less uncomfortable.
As we crossed the ford toward the mainland, it was with difficulty that
I kept from being drowned, since my head dragged in the water for a
considerable distance and I was mighty glad when we came out again on
shore. The thing that bore me was consistently inconsiderate of me,
bumping me against others, and against the bodies of their slain that
were strapped to the backs of his fellows. He was apparently quite
tireless, as were the others, and we often moved for what seemed many
miles at a fast run. Of course, my lunar weight was equivalent to only
about thirty pounds on Earth while our captors seemed fully as
well-muscled as a small earthly horse, and as we later learned, were
capable of carrying heavy burdens.
How long we were on the march, I do not know, for where it is always
daylight and there is no sun nor other means of measuring time, one may
only guess at its duration, the result being influenced considerably by
one’s mental and physical sensations during the period. Judged by these
considerations, then, we might have been on the trail for many hours,
for I was not only most uncomfortable in body, but in mind as well.
However that may be, I know only that it was a terrible journey; that we
crossed rivers twice after reaching the mainland, and came at last to
our destination, amid low hills, where there was a level, park-like
space, dotted with weird trees. Here the straps were loosened, and we
were dumped upon the ground, more dead than alive, and immediately
surrounded by great numbers of creatures who were identical with those
who had captured us.
When I was finally able to sit up and look about, I saw that we were at
the threshold of a camp or village, consisting of a number of
rectangular huts, with high-peaked roofs, thatched or rather shingled,
with the broad, round leaves of the trees that grew about.
We saw now for the first time the females and the young. The former were
similar to the males, except that they were of lighter build, and they
were far more numerous. They had udders, with from four to six teats,
and many of them were followed by numerous progeny, several that I saw
having as high as six young in a litter. The young were naked, but the
females wore a garment similar to that worn by the males, except that it
was less ornate, as was their harness and other trappings. From the way
the women and children rushed upon us as we were unloaded in camp, I
felt that they were going to tear us to pieces, and I really believe
they would have had not our captors prevented. Evidently the word was
passed that we were not to be injured, for after the first rush they
contented themselves with examining us, and sometimes feeling of us or
our clothing, the while they discussed us, but with the bodies of those
who were slain, it was different, for when they discovered these where
they had been unloaded upon the ground, they fell upon them and
commenced to devour them, the warriors joining them in the gruesome and
terrible feast. Orthis and I understood now that they had cut the
throats of their fellows to let the blood, in anticipation of the repast
to come.
As we came to understand them and the conditions under which they lived,
many things concerning them were explained. For example, at least
two-thirds of the young that are born are males, and yet there are only
about one-sixth as many adult males, as there are females. They are
naturally carnivorous, but with the exception of one other creature upon
which they prey, there is no animal in that part of the interior lunar
world with which I am familiar, that they may eat with safety. The
flying-toad and the walking snake and the other reptilia are poisonous,
and they dare not eat them. The time had been, I later learned,
possibly, however, ages before, when many other animals roamed the
surface of the inner Moon, but all had become extinct except our captors
and another creature, of which we, at the time of our capture, knew
nothing, and these two preyed upon one another, while the species which
was represented by those into whose hands we had fallen, raided the
tribes and villages of their own kind for food, and ate their own dead,
as we had already seen. As it was the females to whom they must look for
the production of animal food, they did not kill these of their own
species and never ate the body of one. Enemy women of their own kind,
whom they captured, they brought to their villages, each warrior adding
to his herd the individuals that he captured. As only the males are
warriors, and as no one will eat the flesh of a female, the mortality
among the males is, accordingly, extremely high, accounting for the
vastly greater number of adult females. The latter are very well
treated, as the position of a male in a community is dependent largely
upon the size of his herd.
The principal mortality among the females results from three
causes—raids by the other flesh-eating species which inhabit the inner
lunar world, quarrels arising from jealousy among themselves, and death
while bringing forth their young, especially during lean seasons when
their warriors have been defeated in battle and have been unable to
furnish them with flesh.
These creatures eat fruit and herbs and nuts as well as meat, but they
do not thrive well upon these things exclusively. Their existence,
therefore, is dependent upon the valor and ferocity of their males whose
lives are spent in making raids and forays against neighboring tribes
and in defending their own villages against invaders.
As Orthis and I sat watching the disgusting orgy of cannibalism about
us, the leader of the party that had captured us came toward us from the
center of the village, and speaking a single word, which I later learned
meant come, he prodded us with his spear point until finally we
staggered to our feet. Repeating the word, then, he started back into
the village.
“I guess he wants us to follow him, Orthis,” I said. And so we fell in
behind the creature, which was evidently what he desired, for he nodded
his head, and stepped on in the direction that he had taken, which led
toward a very large hut—by far the largest in the village.
In the side of the hut presented to us there seemed to be but a single
opening, a large door covered by heavy hanging, which our conductor
thrust aside as we entered the interior with him. We found ourselves in
a large room, without any other opening whatsoever, save the doorway
through which we had entered, and over which the hanging had again been
drawn, yet the interior was quite light, though not so much so as
outside, but there were no means for artificial lighting apparent. The
walls were covered with weapons and with the skulls and other bones of
creatures similar to our captors, though Orthis and I both noticed a few
skulls much narrower than the others and which, from their appearance,
might have been the human skulls of Earth Men, though in discussing it
later, we came to the conclusion that they were the skulls of the
females and the young of the species, whose faces are not so wide as the
adult male.
Lying upon a bed of grasses at the opposite side of the room was a large
male whose skin was of so much deeper lavender hue than the others that
we had seen, as to almost suggest a purple. The face, though badly
disfigured by scars, and grim and ferocious in the extreme, was an
intelligent one, and the instant that I looked into those eyes, I knew
that we were in the presence of a leader. Nor was I wrong, for this was
the chief or king of the tribe into whose clutches Fate had thrown us.
A few words passed between the two, and then the chief arose and came
toward us. He examined us very critically, our clothing seeming to
interest him tremendously. He tried to talk with us, evidently asking us
questions, and seemed very much disgusted when it became apparent to him
that we could not understand him, nor he us, for Orthis and I spoke to
one another several times, and once or twice addressed him. He gave some
instructions to the fellow who had brought us, and we were taken out
again, and to another hut, to which there was presently brought a
portion of the carcass of one of the creatures we had killed before we
were captured. I could not eat any of it, however, and neither could
Orthis; and after a while, by signs and gestures, we made them
understand that we wished some other kind of food, with the result that
a little later, they brought us fruit and vegetables, which were more
palatable and, as we were to discover later, sufficiently nutritious to
carry us along and maintain our strength.
I had become thirsty, and by simulating drinking, I finally succeeded in
making plain to them my desire in that direction, with the result that
they led us out to a little stream which ran through the village, and
there we quenched our thirst.
We were still very weak and sore from the manhandling we had received,
but we were both delighted to discover that we were not seriously
injured, nor were any of our bones broken.