The planet of peril
craft.
Toward morning the noises made by these amphibians ceased, and Grandon
grew drowsy. His head nodded forward on his breast. Suddenly their
craft gave a terrific lurch that rolled the girl into his lap. It was
only his clutching the gills of the toadstool with both hands that kept
them from being pitched into the water.
"What was that?" asked the girl, breathlessly, awake in an instant.
Another lurch followed.
"Hold on and I will try to find out," he said.
Drawing his sword, he crept near the edge while the lurching continued.
He clung to the rim with one hand and prodded the water about him with
his sword, completely circling the craft without encountering anything
other than the rushing waters. It was not until a dash of spray struck
him in the face and he tasted salt that he realized the truth. They
were on a body of salt water, possibly a large lake or an ocean. He
made his way back to where the girl clung, and related his discovery.
"The river on which we were floating," she explained, "empties into the
great Azpok Ocean, the ocean of mysteries, of man-eating monsters and
of terrible storms that destroy the mightiest of ships as easily as the
smallest boats. To navigate the ocean is to court death in many sudden
and appalling forms."
* * * * *
An hour passed before morning dawned. In the meantime the roughness of
the sea had abated a little, making it less difficult to keep their
places. They were riding long, rolling swells that elevated and lowered
their craft with very little lurching. There was no land in sight, only
the blue-green waves and the drifting gray clouds through which the
sunlight filtered, extending to the horizon in all directions. Several
large white birds with red-tipped wings and sharply hooked bills soared
lazily about them, dipping now and again to the surface of the ocean
from which they usually arose with fish in their talons.
All through that long, sultry day and the following night they drifted,
without sighting aught save the birds and a few leaping fish. Grandon
had not slept a wink, and the girl could only compose herself for
slumber for very short intervals. Both suffered intensely from the
pangs of hunger and thirst.
Just before dawn they were rudely startled by a violent tilting of
their craft, followed by a roaring and swirling of the water about
them. Grandon barely had time to seize the girl ere they were engulfed
by a huge wave which capsized the craft and precipitated them into a
seething maelstrom of black water.
Down--down, they went into the dark depths. It seemed to Grandon, as he
struggled to reach the surface, dragging the girl with him, that his
lungs would burst. At last a breath of air; then another enormous wave
that left them gasping and choking, followed by another and another
in rapid succession. The Earth-man fought gamely, but as the minutes
passed the violence of the waves increased and he felt his strength
waning. He realized that, barring the intervention of some unforeseen
aid, the battle against death would soon end in defeat.
With body numbed and hope gone, he suddenly felt the sandy beach
below his feet. He staggered forward, was knocked flat by a mighty
breaker, rose, gained a few steps, and was floored by another. Crawling
painfully onward, driving his flagging muscles by a supreme effort of
will, he finally collapsed unconscious on the dry sand, just beyond
reach of the waves.
CHAPTER XI.
A MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE.
When Grandon regained consciousness it was daylight. His first thought
was for the girl who lay face downward beside him. As he lifted her
tenderly in his arms he gave silent thanks, for she was breathing,
though ever so slightly.
Presently she opened her eyes and, for a moment, there was a startled
expression in them as she glimpsed her strange surroundings.
"Where are we?" she asked.
"I haven't the slightest idea," replied Grandon. "I have no knowledge
of Zarovian geography."
"A prince, and you know naught of geography? That is indeed strange. Do
they not teach it in your country?"
"I am fairly well acquainted with the geography of the planet
Earth--Terra--on which I was born, but the inhabitants of that world
know practically nothing regarding the geography of this one because of
your cloud-filled atmosphere."
She looked up at him in amazement.
"But you wear the garments and insignia of the royal house of Uxpo.
Moreover, you very closely resemble a prince of that house. Tell me,
quickly, who are you?"
"Tam Robert Grandon, of Terra."
His disclosure seemed to startle her.
"Grandon, of Terra?" she cried. "Ah, I recall the name. A Grandon, of
Terra, was recently acclaimed Prince of Uxpo. It was said that he came
in fulfillment of a prophecy from another world. And you are he. Truly
the pranks of fortune are most amazing! Yesterday I made war on you;
to-day I look to you for protection."
"You made war on me?" he exclaimed, startled in his turn. "May I ask
who you are?"
"Can it be that you do not recognize me?"
Grandon was puzzled. There was something strangely familiar about that
girlish face.
"I am Vernia, of Reabon," she said simply.
It all came to him in a flash. The lifelike painting in the shrine at
the marble quarries, the kowtowing slaves, his own narrow escape from
the lash after lingering too long in contemplation of that beautiful
vision.
"How did you happen to be wandering alone and unarmed in the fern
forest?" he asked.
"I did not set out alone. When I started away from the camp I was
accompanied by my four guards, and was armed with a tork and scarbo.
Zueppa sent a messenger from the front to inform me that your men had
broken through our lines and were headed for the camp. He advised me to
leave at once, saying that the guards would conduct me to a safe place
until your army had been overcome. I followed Zueppa's counsel, but had
gone only a short distance when the traitorous guards disarmed me, and
informed me that I was their prisoner.
"The varlets were about to bind my hands when the giant reptile
appeared on the scene. Though the guards were traitors they were brave
men, for they stood their ground to do battle with the monster. He
killed the foremost man with a single snap of his jaws. A second man
met a like fate, almost before I could realize what had happened. I
believe he killed and devoured all four of them, although I am not
certain, as I turned and ran through the forest. Soon I heard the
monster following me, and tried to make my way to the pass, where I
knew the battle was raging, but the storm came, I lost my bearings
completely, and at length brought up at the river's edge, where I
fainted when I saw those terrible jaws poised above me. I presume that
I should have been devoured then and there had the reptile not already
eaten my guards."
* * * * *
"Who is Zueppa?"
"He is one of my officers--a good commander and an excellent
strategist."
"He may be a good soldier, but he is unquestionably a first class liar."
"I don't understand."
"My men did not break through your lines at all until after the storm
had struck, and then only in small, scattered groups."
"Then Zueppa was implicated in the plot. But who could have planned it,
and for what purpose?"
"That, I am unable to tell you."
He looked at her so long and so searchingly that she grew uneasy.
"Of what are you thinking?" she asked.
"I was wondering what fate you would have meted out to me had your men
captured me yesterday."
She smiled, dimpling adorably.
"I should probably have had you beheaded."
"And now--"
"If we reach Reabon in safety I shall make you supreme commander over
all my armies."
"Why?"
"As your reward for saving the life of the princess."
"I ask no reward for that, nor could I accept it, much as I appreciate
the honor."
"It is the second highest office in the greatest nation of Zarovia, an
office second only to my own. Why, any emperor on the globe would be
glad to exchange his position for it."
"I have been made Prince of Uxpo," replied Grandon, "under my own name
and because of my deeds in behalf of that kingdom. I should rather be
the tiniest twinkling star in the heavens than the most beautiful and
brilliant planet."
"I'm afraid I don't quite understand."
"Planets shine by reflected light--stars by virtue of their own
brilliancy. As your general I should merely reflect the greatness that
is yours."
His answer seemed to displease her, for her manner became icy.
"Perhaps you should prefer to continue the war."
"Infinitely. But pray, let us hold to our truce for the present. Until
we can reach the safety of our own countries we are allies, you know."
"Rather, I am your prisoner of war, for I am wholly in your power. You
place me under obligation to you, then spurn my offer of reward. Pray,
tell me why you risked your life to save mine."
"It was an impulse that I cannot explain, even to myself. I must admit
that when I swam to your assistance I did not even know you were a
woman. I thought you a boy soldier of the Reabonian army."
Could this man do naught save rouse her resentment? Womanlike, she
had been angling for a statement that might serve to placate her hurt
pride. Truly, she thought, this Grandon of Terra lacked courtliness of
manner and smoothness of speech. After all, he was only a rough soldier
who had won the crown of Uxpo with his keen blade. A rough soldier and
plain spoken, yet gentle and thoughtful of her every comfort as he was
careless of the effect of his words on her vanity. To this girl who
had received naught but adulation from the men of her world, he was an
inexplicable enigma.
* * * * *
"We talk much and get nowhere," she said wearily, "I am both hungry and
thirsty. Do you not feed your prisoners of war?"
They walked inland through barren country to the foot of a lofty
perpendicular cliff. Through a narrow fissure they caught a glimpse of
greenery beyond, so they hurried between the frowning rock walls and at
last emerged on level ground.
They were on the border of a small inland lake, the water of which
was as clear as crystal. Ferns, mosses and fungi grew all about its
borders in luxurious profusion, but what aroused Grandon's interest and
curiosity most was the appearance of the bottom of the lake, which was
plainly visible.
It was covered with hundreds of odd, grotesque growths--upright fluted
columns with thick branches of the same pattern curving upward from
the trunks like the arms of candelabra. On the tips of the branches
were great clusters of brilliantly-hued fruitlike globes in an endless
variety of form and color. The effect of the entire lake bottom was
like that of a thousand rainbows fused into one.
A look of terror came into the eyes of the girl.
"Now I know only too well where we are," she said. "This must be one of
the submarine gardens of the terrible flying grampites. I have heard
some of our hardiest mariners tell of these gardens and the horrible
creatures who guard them."
"Let us eat and drink, first, then talk of the grampites afterward,"
said Grandon. "They may be dangerous creatures, but they will have to
go some to outclass that reptile."
A clear, cold spring, bubbling from the rock wall satisfied their
thirst, after which Grandon cut some spore-pods from a near-by fern and
split them with his knife. They were in prime condition, and made a
most pleasing meal for the famished wayfarers.
"It must be," Grandon remarked, "that these underwater fruits are
especially delectable morsels, if men risk their lives for them."