CAPTURED
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 war-like
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 can’t 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 hangings, 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.