Escape on Venus v-4 Read online

  "How do you like it?" I asked.

  "Fine," he said.

  "Tell me when you want to go back to your village."

  "Go there," he said, and pointed.

  I flew through a pass in the mountains as he had directed. Ahead and far below stretched a broad valley.

  "Go there," he said, and pointed again. "Now, lower," he directed a moment later; and presently I saw a village beneath us. "Go low above that village."

  I flew low above a thatched village. Women and children screamed and ran into their huts. A few warriors stood their ground and hurled spears at us. Yat leaned far over the side as I circled back at his request. This time I heard a warrior cry: "It is Yat, the Timal!"

  Yat looked as happy as a gopher with a carrot. "Go home now," he directed. "Those were the enemies of my people," he said, after a while. "Now they will know what a great man is Yat, the Timal."

  All the Timals of Yat's village were waiting when we returned. "I was sure glad to see you coming back," said Kandar. "These fellows were getting nervous. Some of them thought that you had stolen Yat."

  Warriors gathered around their chief. "I have seen a new world," said Yat. "Like a bird I flew over the village of the Valley People. They saw me and knew me. Now they will know what great people the Timals are."

  "You flew over the village of the Valley People!" exclaimed a warrior. "Why, that is two long marches away."

  "I flew very fast," said Yat.

  "I should like to fly in this bird ship," said a sub-chief, and then a dozen others voiced the same wish.

  "No," said Yat; "that is for chiefs only."

  He had now done something that no one else in his world had ever done. It set him apart from other men. It made him even a greater chieftain than he had been before.

  We learned to like these Timals very much. They were very courteous to Duare, the women especially going out of their way to be kind to her. One would never have expected it in such primitive savages.

  We rested there for a few days; and then I flew Jantor, Kandar, and Doran back to Japal to reconnoiter. As the anotar does not carry more than four comfortably, I left Duare and Artol behind. I knew that she would be safe with the Timals; and, anyway, I expected to be back before dark.

  We circled low over Japal, causing quite a commotion in the streets. Jantor hoped that in some way he might get in touch with some of his friends and learn what was going on in the city. There was always the chance of a counterrevolution that would place him back on the throne; but either his friends were all dead or imprisoned or afraid to try to communicate with him, for he never saw one whom he could trust.

  As we prepared to leave and return to Timal, I circled far out over the lake, gaining considerable altitude; and from this vantage point Jantor discovered a fleet of ships far down the lake.

  "If it's not asking too much," he said to me, "I'd like to fly down there and see who that is."

  I headed for the fleet, and presently we were circling above it—fifty ships of war packed with fighting men. Most of them were biremes, and there were several penteconters, open galleys with decks fore and aft and propelled by fifty oars as well as sails. Some of the biremes had a hundred oars on each side and carried several hundred warriors as well. All had their sails set, and were taking advantage of a gentle breeze.

  "The Myposan war fleet," said Jantor, "and it's headed for Japal."

  "Gangor is going to have his hands full," remarked Kandar.

  "We must warn him," said Jantor.

  "But he is your enemy," expostulated Doran.

  "Japal is my country," replied Jantor. "No matter who is jong there it is my duty to warn him."

  On the way back to Japal, Jantor wrote a message. We dropped down low over the palace grounds, Jantor making the sign of peace by raising his right hand. Almost immediately people commenced to come from the palace, and presently Jantor recognized Gangor and called to him.

  "I have an important message for you," he said, and dropped the weighted note over the side. A warrior caught it before it reached the ground and took it to Gangor.

  The fellow read it carefully and then motioned us to come lower, which I did, circling close above them.

  "I appreciate your warning, Jantor," said Gangor when we were within easy earshot. "I wish you would land. We shall need your help and advice in defending the city. I promise that you will not be harmed."

  I looked at Jantor; so did Kandar and Doran. We waited for his curt refusal of the invitation.

  "It is my duty," he said to us. "My country is in danger."

  "Don't do it," counselled Kandar. "Gangor is not to be trusted."

  "He would not dare harm me after making that promise," said Jantor; "too many warriors heard him, and they are not all dishonorable men."

  "All those with him are traitors like himself," said Doran.

  "My duty lies there," insisted Jantor. "Will you take me down, please?"

  "If you insist, I'll land you outside the city," I said; "it is your right to risk your life at the hands of a scoundrel like Gangor; but I will not risk my ship and the safety of my mate."

  I circled low above them again, and Kandar exacted a new promise from Gangor that his father would not be harmed and that he would be permitted to leave the city whenever he chose. Gangor agreed volubly—far too volubly, I thought.

  "Bring that thing that you fly in right down here in the palace grounds," he said; "I'll have them cleared."

  "Never mind," I said, "I shall land outside the inland gate."

  "Very well," said Gangor, "and I myself will come out to meet you, Jantor, and escort you into the city."

  "And don't bring too many warriors with you," I cautioned him, "and don't come within trident range of my ship. I shall take off immediately after the jong has disembarked."

  "Bring Kandar and Doran with you, Jantor," invited Gangor. "They will both be welcome; and I promise again that you shall all be perfectly safe the moment that you step foot within the walls of Japal."

  "I shall feel better now that Doran and I are going along with you," said Kandar, as we rose and headed for the plain beyond the city.

  "You are not going to accompany me," said Jantor. "You do not trust Gangor. Possibly you are right. If I die, the future of our country lies with you and Doran—the future of our dynasty. You must both live to bring men-children into the world. If all three of us placed ourselves in Gangor's power simultaneously, the temptation might prove too much for him to resist. I think that I alone shall be safe enough. Neither of you may accompany me."

  "Come now, sir," exclaimed Kandar, "you must let us go with you."

  "Yes," said Doran, "you must. We are your sons; what will the people of Japal think of us if we let our father go alone into the hands of his greatest enemy?"

  "You shall not accompany me," said Jantor, with finality. "It is a command," and that ended the matter.

  I set the ship down three or four hundred yards from the inland gate, and presently Gangor came out of the city and approached us with a dozen warriors. They halted at plenty of distance from the ship; and Jantor, who had already dropped to the ground, advanced toward them.

  "I wish we had never come here," said Kandar. "I can't help but feel that our father has made a grave mistake in trusting Gangor."

  "He seems quite sure that Gangor will live up to his promise," I said. "You heard him ask me to wait and witness the battle and then come for him when it was over."

  "Yes," said Doran, "but I don't share his faith. Gangor has always been notorious for his perfidy, but no one paid much attention to it because he was only captain of a merchant ship at the height of his fortunes. Who could have dreamed that he was to make himself jong of Japal!"

  Chapter XXI

  I COULDN'T HELP but have a great deal of respect for Jantor. He was doing a very courageous, albeit a very temerarious, thing. I watched him as he walked toward his enemies. His step was firm, his head high. He was every inch a jong.

>   I had taken off immediately he left us, and was circling about rather low. Jantor had approached to within a few steps of Gangor, when the latter suddenly raised his short, heavy spear and plunged it through the jong's heart.

  Kandar and Doran cried out in horror. I opened the throttle and dove straight for the wretch; and as he saw me coming, he and his warriors turned and fled for the city. Low behind them, I turned my pistol on them. Several fell, but Gangor reached the city gate in safety.

  Without a word I rose and flew over the city and out across the lake. For some time neither Kandar nor Doran spoke. Their faces were drawn and tense. My heart ached for them. Finally Kandar asked me where I was going.

  "I am going to tell the Myposan fleet that Japal has been warned and is ready to annihilate them."

  "Why?" he asked.

  "It was your father's wish to save the city. Some day you will be jong there. Do you want it conquered by the fish-men?"

  "You are right," he said.

  It was late in the afternoon that I dropped down low over the leading Myposan galley, the largest of the biremes. They had evidently seen us from a distance, as the deck was crowded with warriors, all staring at us.

  "Be careful," cautioned Kandar. "They are preparing a rock thrower. If they hit us, we're through."

  I gave the peace sign then, and called down to them that I had a message for their commander. A big fellow whom I recalled having seen in Tyros' palace answered the peace sign and motioned for me to come closer.

  "Tell them to take the rock out of that catapult," I shouted.

  He nodded and gave the necessary order; and after they had unloaded the thing, I dropped down quite low. The anotar is quite maneuverable and can fly at very low speeds; so I had no difficulty in carrying on at least a broken conversation with the ship.

  "Who commands the fleet?" I asked.

  "Skabra, the vadjong," he replied.

  "Do you know who I am?"

  "Yes; the slave who killed Tyros," he replied.

  "I should like to talk with Skabra, if she is not too mad at me," I said.

  The fellow grinned. Their faces are hideous enough in repose; but when they grin, they are something to frighten grown-ups with. Their fish mouths spread across their faces, forcing their gills open. Their countless, sharp fish-like teeth are exposed behind their huge beards.

  "Skabra is not angry," he said.

  "Which is her ship?" I asked.

  "This," he said.

  "Well, tell her that Carson of Venus wishes to speak to her. Tell her I have very important news for her."

  Just as I finished the sentence the old girl came on deck. God! but she's the beauty. She looks like a bloated codfish.

  "What do you want?" she demanded. "Do you want to murder me, too?"

  "No," I shouted. "You were kind to my mate. I would not harm you. I have important news for you, but I can't talk this way. Get in a small boat and row off a little way. I'll come down and land on the water and talk with you."

  "You must take me for a fool," she said. "I'd be at your mercy."

  I had to keep circling the ship and shouting a few words at a time. It was no way in which to carry on a conversation.

  "Very well," I said. "The word I have for you is very important, and I have given my word that I shall not harm you in any way. However, do as you see fit. I'll stand by a few minutes."

  I could see them talking excitedly on the deck for a few minutes, and then I saw a boat being lowered with Skabra in it; so I came down a short distance from the ship and waited. Presently they came alongside. The old girl greeted me pleasantly. She didn't seem to harbor any ill will because I had killed her mate, nor was I surprised at that. You see I'd not only rid her of a most obnoxious husband; but I'd put her on the throne, where she'd rule until the horrid little amphibian monstrosity that was her son grew to maturity.

  "The first thing I'd like to know," she said, "is how you escaped from Mypos."

  I shook my head. "I might be a prisoner there again some time; so I'll keep that secret to myself."

  "Perhaps you're wise," she said; "but if you do come again, you'll be treated well, as long as I'm vadjong. Now what is the important news you have for me?"

  "Japal knows that your fleet is coming, and the city is fully prepared. I advise you to turn back."

  "Why are you doing this?" she asked.

  "For two reasons: You were kind to my mate, and the sons of Jantor are my friends. I do not wish to see Mypos and Japal at war."

  She nodded. "I understand," she said, "but nevertheless I shall keep on and attack Japal. We need more slaves. Many of our galleys are undermanned. The creatures die like flies at the oars."

  We talked a little longer; and then, finding that I could not persuade her to give up her plan, I taxied away and took off. As we approached Japal, we saw that the fleet was fully manned; but remaining close to the city. Kandar wanted to wait and learn the outcome of the battle. It was now late in the afternoon; so there was little likelihood that the engagement would take place before morning, as the biremes would move up slowly so as not to exhaust the men at the oars; they would need all their strength and energy for maneuvering during battle.

  "They'll probably come up to within about a kob," Kandar said, "and lie to until dawn; thus the slaves will be well rested." A kob is two and a half of our Earthly miles.

  I didn't like the idea very well, as I was anxious to return to Duare and get started on our search for Korva; but it meant so much to Kandar that I agreed to wait. He knew where there was a cove a short distance along the coast, and we flew there and anchored.

  At dawn Kandar awakened me. "The Myposan fleet is moving in," he said. "I can hear the creaking of their oars."

  I listened. Very faintly I could hear the complaining of the wooden oars against the wooden rowlocks. Even a greased oar is not entirely silent. We took off and headed for Japal, and almost immediately we saw the Myposan fleet coming in in three lines of fifteen or sixteen ships each. The fleet of Japal, still lay close below the city wall.

  When the first line of the Myposan fleet was within a hundred yards of the enemy fleet the engagement started. A ball of fire rose from the deck of one of the Japal ships, described a graceful arc, and landed on the deck of a Myposan bireme. The burning brand had been shot from a catapult. Immediately the engagement became general. Fire balls and rocks were hurled from both sides. Many fell into the water, but many found their marks. Three ships were on fire, and I could see men hauling buckets of water from the lake to fight the flames.

  Still the Myposan fleet moved in. "They are going to grapple and board," said Doran.

  Soon I saw why the Japal fleet hugged the shore, for now the batteries on the wall of the city opened up. These were heavier than the catapults of the ships; they threw larger fire balls and heavier rocks. The penteconters had moved up now between the big ships of the Myposans. They were much faster and more maneuverable. Their principal purpose, as far as I could see, was to harass the enemy by coming alongside and hurling short spears through the ports where the rowers sat chained to their benches. Disable enough oarsmen, and you have disabled the ship. A rock from a shore catapult dropped directly into the center of one of these penteconters, killing two or three men instantly and crashing through the bottom of the ship, which immediately commenced to fill and sink. The survivors, leaping overboard, were speared from the deck of the Japal ship they had been attacking. I could hear the dying men screaming and cursing.

  "That was a good shot," said Kandar.

  By now, four of the attacking ships were burning, their crews taking to small boats, of which there were not half enough, while the slaves burned in their chains. Their screams were horrifying.

  Other Myposan ships came alongside those of Japal, and there was hand-to-hand fighting on decks slippery with blood. It was a gruesome sight, but fascinating. I dropped lower to get a better view, as the smoke from the burning ships was cutting down the visibility.
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br />   I dropped too low. A rock from a catapult struck my propeller, smashing it. Now, I was, indeed, in a bad fix.

  Chapter XXII

  MY FIRST THOUGHT, when I saw that my ship had been hit, was of Duare. Here I was, over a battle between two peoples who were my enemies. What chance had I of ever returning to Timal? What was to become of Duare? I cursed myself for my crass stupidity as I glided to a landing. I just had altitude enough to permit me to land about a mile along the shore from Japal. I hoped that in the heat and excitement of battle no one on the walls of the city had seen the accident or noticed where I had gone.

  I had come down close beside a forest, and I immediately got Kandar and Doran to help me push the anotar into concealment among the trees. As I looked back toward the city, I saw that smoke from burning ships hid much of it from my view; and I hoped that it had also hidden my landing from the city.

  Kandar and Doran were most sympathetic. They said that the fault was all theirs. That if I had not been trying to help them, the accident would never have happened.

  I told them that there was no use crying over spilled milk, and that what we had to do now was find some tools and some wood to make a new propeller. I removed what was left of the old one—one blade and the stub of the other.

  As I was explaining to Kandar the tools I should need and the kind of wood, he became very much interested; and asked me many questions about the construction of a propeller, how to determine the correct pitch, and so forth. You would have thought that he was going to make one himself.

  Getting the right wood was a simple matter. The same kind of trees from the wood of which I had made this propeller grew in the forest where we were, but getting tools was an entirely different matter.

  "There are plenty in Japal," said Kandar. "We must find some way to get them. Doran and I have hundreds of friends in the city, if we could only reach them."