Escape on Venus v-4 Read online

  The thing that appalled me most in the split second that I had to think, was the thought of that beautiful creature being broken and crushed against that insensate cliff. I thanked God that I would not live to see it. At the foot of the escarpment we should lie together through all eternity, and no one in all the Universe would know our resting place.

  We were about to crash when the ship rose vertically scarcely a dozen yards from the cliff. As the hurricane had toyed with us before, it did again.

  Of course there must have been a terrific up-draft where the roaring wind struck the face of the escarpment. It was this that saved us, combined with the fact that when I had discovered that I could not maneuver away from the cliff, I had cut my engine.

  Now we rose high above a vast tableland. The vapor, torn to shreds, floated off in little cloud-like wisps; and once more we could see the world below us. Once more we breathed.

  But we were still far from safe. The tornado had not abated. I glanced back in the direction of the cloud rift, but now there was no brightness there. It had closed, and the danger of incineration had passed.

  I opened the throttle a little in a rather futile effort to battle the elements and keep the anotar on an even keel; but we were dependent more upon our safety belts than upon our engine for salvation, for we were so tossed about that often our landing gear was above us, and we dangled helplessly in our belts.

  It was a harrowing experience. A down-draft would plummet us toward the ground with the velocity of a power dive; and when it seemed that we must surely crash, the giant hand of the storm would toss us high aloft.

  How long we were the plaything of the Storm God, I may only guess; but it was not until almost dawn that the wind abated a little, and once more we were permitted to have some voice in the direction of our destiny; and even then we must still go where the wind willed, for we could not fly against it.

  For hours we had not spoken. We had made an occasional attempt, but the howling of the wind had drowned our voices. I could see that Duare was almost spent from the buffeting and the nervous strain, but there was nothing that I could do about it. Only rest could revive her, and there could be no rest until we could land.

  A new world lay below us with the coming of the new day. We were skirting a great ocean, and I could see vast plains, and there were forests and rivers and, far away, snow-capped mountains. I believed that we must have been driven thousands of miles toward the north, for much of the time the throttle had been wide open, and all the time that terrific wind had been at our tail.

  Where could we be? I felt confident that we had crossed the equator and must be in the north temperate zone; but where Korva lay I could not even guess, and might never know.

  Chapter III

  THE TORNADO died out in a last few fitful gusts. The air was suddenly calm. It was like the peace of Heaven.

  "You must be very tired," said Duare. "Let me take the controls. You have been fighting that storm for sixteen or seventeen hours, and you have had no sleep for two days."

  "Well, neither have you; and do you realize that we've had neither food nor water since before we left Vepaja?"

  "There's a river down there, and game," said Duare. "I hadn't realized before how thirsty I was—and hungry, too. And so sleepy! I don't know which I am the most."

  "We'll drink and eat, and then we'll sleep," I told her.

  I circled around, looking for some sign of human habitation; for it is always men that must be feared most. Where there are no men, one is comparatively safe, even in a world of savage beasts.

  In the distance I saw what appeared to be a large inland lake, or an arm of the sea. There were little patches of forest, and the plain was tree dotted beneath us. I saw herds grazing. I dropped down to select my quarry, run it down, and shoot it from the ship. Not very sporting; but I was out for food, not sport.

  My plan was excellent, but it did not work. The animals discovered us long before we were within range, and they took off like bats out of Hell.

  "There goes breakfast," I said.

  "And lunch and dinner," added Duare, with a rueful smile.

  "The water remains. We can at least drink." So I circled to a landing near a little stream.

  The greensward, close cropped by grazing herds, ran to the water's edge; and after we had drunk, Duare stretched out upon it for a moment's relaxation and rest. I stood looking around in search of game, hoping that something would come out of the near-by forest into which it had fled, effectively terminating my pursuit of it in the anotar.

  It couldn't have been more than a minute or two that I stood there in futile search for food on the hoof, but when I looked down at Duare she was fast asleep. I didn't have the heart to awaken her, for I realized that she needed sleep even more than she did food; so I sat down beside her to keep watch while she slept.

  It was a lovely spot, quiet and peaceful. Only the purling murmur of the brook broke the silence. It seemed very safe, for I could see to a considerable distance in all directions. The sound of the water soothed my tired nerves. I half reclined, supporting myself on one elbow so that I could keep better watch.

  I lay there for about five minutes when a most amazing thing happened. A large fish came out of the stream and sat down beside me. He regarded me intently for a moment. I could not guess what was passing in his mind, as a fish has but one expression. He reminded me of some of the cinema stars I had seen, and I could not repress a laugh.

  "What are you laughing at?" demanded the fish. "At me?"

  "Certainly not," I assured him. I was not at all surprised that the fish spoke. It seemed quite natural.

  "You are Carson of Venus," he said. It was a statement, not a question.

  "How did you know?" I asked.

  " Taman told me. He sent me to bring you to Korva. There will be a great procession as you and your princess ride on a mighty gantor along the boulevards of Sanara to the palace of the jong."

  "That will be very nice," I said; "but in the meantime will you please tell me who is poking me in the back, and why?"

  At that the fish suddenly disappeared. I looked around, and saw a dozen armed men standing over us. One of them had been prodding me in the back with a three-pronged spear. Duare was sitting up, an expression of consternation on her face. I sprang to my feet. A dozen spears menaced me. Two warriors were standing over Duare, their tridents poised above her heart. I could have drawn my pistol; but I did not dare use it. Before I could have killed them all, one of us would have been killed. I could not take the chance, with Duare's life at stake.

  As I looked at the warriors, I suddenly realized that there was something very peculiar and inhuman about them. They had gills, which their heavy beards did not conceal; and their fingers and toes were webbed. Then I recalled the fish which had come out of the stream and talked to me—I slept, and I was still dreaming! That made me smile.

  "What are you smiling about?" demanded one of the warriors. "Me?"

  "I am laughing at myself," I said. "I am having such an amusing dream."

  Duare looked at me wide-eyed. "What is the matter with you, Carson?" she demanded. "What has happened to you?"

  "Nothing, except that it was very stupid of me to fall asleep. I wish that I could wake up."

  "You are awake, Carson . Look at me! Tell me that you are all right."

  "Do you mean to tell me that you see what I see?" I demanded, nodding toward the warriors.

  "We both slept, Carson ; but now we are awake—and we are prisoners."

  "Yes, you are prisoners," said the warrior who had spoken before. "Come along with us, now."

  Duare arose and came and stood close to me. They did not try to prevent her. "Why do you want to make us prisoners?" she asked the warrior. "We have done nothing. We were lost in a great storm, and we landed here for food and water. Let us go our way. You have nothing to fear from us."

  "We must take you to Mypos," replied the warrior. "Tyros will decide what is to be done with you. I
am only a warrior. It is not for me to decide."

  "Who are Mypos and Tyros?" asked Duare.

  "Mypos is the king's city, and Tyros is the king." He said jong.

  "Do you think he will let us go then?"

  "No," said the warrior. "Tyros the Bloody releases no captives. You will be slaves. The man may be killed at once, or later, but Tyros will not kill you."

  The men were armed with tridents, swords, and daggers; they had no firearms. I thought I saw a possibility for Duare's escape. "I can hold them off with my pistol," I whispered, "while you make a run for the anotar."

  "And then what?" she demanded.

  "Perhaps you can find Korva. Fly south for twenty-four hours. You should be over a great ocean by that time; then fly west."

  "And leave you here?"

  "I can probably kill them all; then you can land and pick me up."

  Duare shook her head. "I shall remain with you."

  "What are you whispering about?" demanded the warrior.

  "We were wondering if you might let us take our anotar with us," said Duare.

  "What would we do with that thing in Mypos?"

  "Maybe Tyros would like to see it, Ulirus," suggested another warrior.

  Ulirus shook his head. "We could never get it through the forest," he said; then he turned suddenly on me. "How did you get it here?" he demanded.

  "Come and get in it and I'll show you," I told him. If I could only get him into the anotar, along with Duare, it would be a long time before Ulirus would see Mypos again; and we would never see it. But Ulirus was suspicious.

  "You can tell me how you did it," he countered.

  "We flew it here from a country thousands of miles away," I told him.

  "Flew it?" he demanded. "What do you mean?"

  "Just what I said. We get in it, and it flies up into the air and takes us wherever we wish to go."

  "Now you are lying to me."

  "Let me show you. My mate and I will take it up into the air, and you can see it with your own eyes."

  "No. If you are telling me the truth about the thing, you would never come back."

  Well, finally they did help me shove the anotar among a clump of trees and fasten it down. I told them their jong would want to see it, and if they let anything happen to it he'd be very angry. That got them, for they were evidently terribly afraid of this Tyros the Bloody.

  We started off through the forest with warriors in front and behind us. Ulirus walked beside me. He wasn't a bad sort. He told me, in a whisper, that he'd like to let us go; but that he was afraid to, as Tyros would be sure to learn of it; and that would be the end of Ulirus. He was much interested in my blond hair and blue eyes, and asked me many questions about the country from which I came.

  I was equally interested in him and his fellows. They all had beautiful physiques—smooth-flowing muscles and not an ounce of unnecessary fat; but their faces were most peculiar. Their full black beards and their gills I have already mentioned; these, with their protruding lips and pop eyes, resulted in a facial pulchritude of something less than zero.

  "They look like fish," Duare whispered to me.

  Just how piscine these Myposans were we were to learn later.

  Chapter IV

  WE FOLLOWED A well marked trail through the forest, a typical Amtorian forest, a forest of exquisite loveliness. The lacquer-like bark of the trees was of many colors, and the foliage of soft pastel shades—heliotrope, mauve, violet. Flowering parasitic plants added to the riot of color, flaunting blooms beside which our most gorgeous Earthly orchids would have appeared as drab as a church mouse at a Mardi Gras.

  There are many types of forests on Venus, as there are on Earth; but this through which we were passing is the most common, while the most awe inspiring and amazing are those such as cover Vepaja, the tops of which rise fully five thousand feet above the ground, and whose trees are of such enormous girth that, as at Kooaad, the palace of a king is carved within one a thousand feet from its base.

  I am an inveterate worshipper of beauty; so that even though Duare and I were marching to an unknown fate, I could still be thrilled by that which met my eyes on every side. I could still wonder at and admire the gaily plumaged birds and insects and the tiny flying lizards which flitted from flower to flower in the eternal routine of pollination, but I could also wonder why Ulirus had not taken my pistol from me.

  Perhaps there are few people more gifted with telepathic powers than I, yet I do not always profit by my knowledge. Had I, I should not then have thought about my pistol, for while I was wondering why Ulirus had not taken it from me, he pointed to it and asked me what it was. Of course it might have been only coincidence.

  "It is a charm," I told him, "which protects me from evil."

  "Let me have it," he said, holding out a hand.

  I shook my head. "I wouldn't do anything like that to you, Ulirus," I said, "for you have been very decent to my mate and me."

  "What do you mean?" he demanded. Several of the other warriors were looking on interestedly.

  "This is my personal charm," I explained; "anyone else touching it might die." After all it was not exactly a lie. "However, if you would like to take the chance, you may." I took the weapon from its holster and proffered it to him.

  He hesitated a moment. The other warriors were watching him. "Some other time," he said; "we must be getting on to Mypos now."

  I glanced at Duare. She was keeping a very straight face; though she was smiling inwardly, I guessed. Thus I retained my weapon for the time being at least; and though the warriors showed no further desire to handle it, they did not lose interest in it. They kept eyeing it, but I noticed that they were very careful not to brush against it when they were close to me.

  We had marched through the forest for about a mile when we came into the open again, and ahead I saw the body of water that I had seen from the anotar before I made my fateful landing. On its shore, and perhaps a mile away, was a city, a walled city.

  "That is Mypos," said Ulirus. "It is the largest city in the world."

  From where we stood, on slightly higher ground, I had a good view of Mypos; and should say that it covered perhaps a hundred acres. However, I didn't dispute Ulirus's claim. If he wished to believe that it was the largest city in the world, that was all right with me.

  We approached a large gate which was well guarded. It was swung open when Ulirus was recognized. The officer and members of the guard gathered around us, asking many questions of our captors; and I was delighted that among the first things that they were told was of the magical charm that I carried, which dealt death to whoever else touched it.

  "They curl up like worms and die in horrible convulsions," explained Ulirus. Ulirus was quite a propagandist, however unintentionally.

  Nobody, it seemed, wished to touch it.

  "Now," I said, "I wish that you would take us at once to Tyros."

  Ulirus and the officer appeared astounded. "Is the man mad?" demanded the latter.

  "He is a stranger," said Ulirus. "He does not know Tyros."

  "My mate and I," I explained, "are of the royal family of Korva. When the jong dies, I shall be jong. The jong of any other country should receive us as befits our rank."

  "Not Tyros," said the officer. "Perhaps you do not know it, but Tyros is the only real jong in the world. All the others are impostors. You had better not let Tyros know that you claim to be related to a jong. He would have you killed immediately."

  "What are you going to do with us, then?" I asked.

  Ulirus looked at the officer as though for instructions.

  "Take them to the slaves' compound at the palace," he directed; "they look fit to serve the jong."

  So Ulirus marched us off again. We passed along narrow, crooked streets flanked by one-storied houses built of frame or limestone. The former were of roughly split planks fastened to upright framework, the latter of carelessly hewn blocks of limestone. The houses were as crooked as the streets. Evide
ntly they had been built by eye without benefit of plumb-line. The windows and doors were of all sizes and shapes and all manner of crookedness. They might have been designed by a modernist of my world, or by a child of five.

  The city lay, as I later learned, on the shore of a great fresh-water lake; and as we approached the lake front we saw buildings of two stories, some with towers. The largest of these is the palace of Tyros .

  The compound to which we were taken adjoined the palace grounds. Several hundred tiny cells bounded an open court, in the center of which was a pool. Just before we were admitted, Ulirus leaned close to me.

  "Do not tell anyone that you are the son of a jong," he whispered.

  "But I have already told you and the officer at the gate," I reminded him.

  "We will not tell," he said, "but the slaves might in order to win favor."

  I was puzzled. "And why won't you tell?" I asked.

  "For one reason, I like you; for another, I hate Tyros. Everyone hates Tyros."

  "Well, I thank you for the warning, Ulirus; but I don't suppose I can ever do anything to repay you;" then the guard opened the gate and we were ushered into our prison.

  There must have been fully three hundred slaves in the compound, mostly creatures like ourselves; but there were also a few Myposans. The latter were common criminals, or people who had aroused the ire of Tyros the Bloody. The men and women were not segregated from one another; so Duare and I were not separated.

  Some of the other slaves gathered around us, animated by curiosity, a part of which was aroused by Duare's great beauty and a part by my blond hair and blue eyes. They had started to question us when the officer who had admitted us strode into the compound.

  "Look out!" whispered one of the slaves. "Here comes Vomer;" then they drifted away from us.

  Vomer walked up to me and eyed first me and then Duare from head to feet. His bearing was obviously intentionally insulting.

  "What's this I hear," he demanded, "about something that you ride in that flies through the air like a bird?"