The planet of peril
of new trees they could produce in this manner, but by the character
of the surrounding country as well, for any barrier such as a body of
water or a stretch of barren, rocky land would effectually check their
progress in any given direction.
Marking his trail by slashing trees or surface roots with his knife as
he passed along, Grandon started his journey of exploration. He felt
insignificant, a veritable pygmy, as he walked beneath those mighty
spires of wood, treading matted, molding leaves that were nearly as
long as the airship, and climbing over surface roots so thick that
often he could not see over them. After he had traveled thus for more
than half an hour he saw a number of tall, conical mounds ahead of him,
and judged, from the regularity of their construction, that they housed
human beings. As he approached more closely he observed that they were
all dotted here and there with round holes about four feet in diameter.
He arrived within fifty feet of the nearest mound without noting any
signs of animate life, and, concluding that it must be deserted,
stepped boldly forward.
Then, without the slightest hint of warning, one of the inhabitants
appeared. Evidently the thing had been watching Grandon from the
inside, for it darted out suddenly and ran toward him on its six horny
legs with incredible swiftness.
The creature was about the size of a small Shetland pony, with eyes
as big as dinner plates set in a head more than two feet across and
surmounted by two long, jointed antennæ, with jaws not only armed
with sharp, cutting mandibles, but with a huge pair of forceps large
enough to encircle two men. Its entire body was covered with glistening
ivory-white armor. It came at him with its antennæ laid back and
forceps outspread.
Instinctively, his hand sought his tork. He pressed the button again
and again, but the bullets seemed to have no effect whatever, so he
drew his sword and awaited the onslaught.
For all the effect his blade had on that glistening white armor he
might as well have used a willow wand. The forceps encircled him,
crushing the breath from his body, and he was dragged, kicking and
struggling, into the dark hole.
* * * * *
Back in Reabon's capital, Prince Destho, cousin of Vernia and heir to
the throne of Reabon, paced restlessly back and forth on the roof of
the imperial palace. His sensuous mouth twitched, and he nervously
twirled his thin mustache, as he gazed far out over the housetops
toward the point where the north road met the horizon.
"Blood of my ancestors!" he muttered. "Will that sneaking hahoe of a
Zueppa never send me word? Six days since they set out, and no message."
He paused suddenly, and strained his eyes toward a thin streak of dust
which appeared far down the road.
"The car of the princess!" he gasped. "He has failed and divulged the
plot." His face went suddenly pale at the thought. "But, no. It flies
not the standard of Vernia. He has succeeded."
Destho hurried jubilantly down the stairway.
In the great courtyard, Zueppa stepped from the car and dramatically
announced the news that was to shock an entire world. Vernia had
disappeared, together with her four guards. It was thought they had
been killed by wild beasts, or captured and carried off by the Traveks.
Instantly the courtyard was in an uproar. People poured out from
the palace and crowded through the gates to learn the cause of the
disturbance. Loud lamentations were heard as the news passed from mouth
to mouth, for Vernia was popular with her subjects.
The disappearance of the Torrogina automatically placed the regency
in the hands of Destho. He was not especially well liked, and saw an
opportunity to raise himself in the popular esteem. Mounting to the
topmost palace step and clapping his hands for silence, he announced
that he would immediately raise an army of a hundred thousand men and
personally conduct the search for their beautiful young ruler. This
statement was greeted with shouts of approval, and, for the first time
in his life, the degenerate prince was cheered by the populace.
With a knowing leer at Zueppa, the new ruler of Reabon turned and
entered the palace.
CHAPTER XV.
THE VALLEY OF THE SABITS.
Vernia was greatly worried when Grandon did not return after a lapse of
more than two hours, and decided to look around her. She accordingly
stepped out of the airship and climbed the projecting bark of the tree
trunk--rough as the rungs of a ladder or the steps of a stair--for the
purpose of getting a better view of the surrounding country.
After slowly ascending for several hundred feet she was able to see
through the thick curtains of leaves. As the tree in which she stood
towered for some distance above those immediately around it, she had an
unobstructed view in all directions. It stood in a narrow valley not
more than five miles in width at the center and about fifteen miles in
length. The encircling mountains were quite bare of vegetation, but the
valley itself appeared completely filled with gigantic trees--a waving
sea of green that totally concealed all else.
Thus baffled in her attempt to see the surrounding territory, she was
about to descend when her attention was arrested by a most fearsome and
grotesque apparition.
A great, white, six-legged monster was scuttling swiftly up the tree
trunk, tenderly carrying a smaller creature of a bright green color in
its brown forceps. It finally halted its ascent to turn out on the limb
just below her and carefully deposited its burden on one of the large
leaves.
The green thing had six legs, but in other respects bore no resemblance
to the white one, for its plump body was oval in shape, with the head
set at the narrow end and two short, sharp horns protruding just above
the posterior extremity. As soon as it was put down it uncoiled a long,
slender sucking tube which it inserted in the leaf.
Vernia was both mystified and frightened. She had never seen or even
heard of such creatures on Zarovia, and their formidable appearance
was anything but reassuring. She flattened out on the limb, and peered
cautiously over the edge.
To her infinite terror she saw many more mounting the tree and
depositing their burdens here and there until it literally swarmed with
the white things and their green charges. Glancing across to the next
tree, she saw that it was similarly infested, and shuddered at the
thought that the monsters might soon climb to where she was concealed.
Then, to her surprise, she saw a number of naked, hairy men ascending
the tree. Each man carried a sack slung over his shoulder and fastened
in place by a strap. She noticed that there appeared to be no animosity
between the men and the monsters, and concluded that the great antlike
creatures must have been domesticated by these cavemen.
Her supposition was strengthened by the sight of one of the men
obtaining a white, sticky substance from one of the green things, with
the aid of a white one, which titillated the posterior horns of its
smaller green charge, causing it to exude the material into the sack
which the man carried. All the other men were engaged in the same task,
going from leaf to leaf until their sacks were filled, then carrying
them down the tree.
It was some time before she realized the true situation. A man who
moved more slowly than his fellows was nipped sharply by one of the
white creatures. He gave a cry of pain and hurried his steps. The
horrible realization dawned on her that the men were the slaves and the
monsters their masters!
* * * * *
She was reflecting on this ghastly paradox when one of the white
things, which had mounted on the opposite side of the tree unobserved
by her, took a notion to carry its green charge out on the limb she
occupied. She rose hurriedly and ran toward the swaying tip, but the
creature deposited its burden on a leaf and darted after her with
amazing speed. She had only gone a few steps when the powerful forceps
encircled her.
Her captor appeared able to travel on the rough tree trunk upside
down or right side up with equal facility, and carried her down to
the ground at a terrific rate of speed. When it reached the ground it
made off under the giant trees, climbing over the thick surface roots
with great ease, and at length brought up at the entrance of a conical
dwelling about a hundred feet in height.
It paused there for a moment, touched its antennæ to those of a similar
creature which appeared to be guarding the doorway, then carried her
through a maze of dark runways to a dimly-lighted underground chamber.
It laid her on the floor at the feet of an individual, apparently of
the same species. This new monster had a white body and similar brown
forceps and mandibles, and, in addition, a large pair of transparent
wings. Its abdomen was distended to more than ten times the size of
that of her captor.
Although the girl was nearly paralyzed with fright, she pluckily rose
to her feet and faced the thing before her, momentarily expecting to
be seized and devoured. It looked at her searchingly for a moment,
then vibrated its antennæ noiselessly. Another white creature, similar
to her captor in shape, but smaller, and lacking the huge forceps,
appeared as if in answer to a summons.
Each vibrated its antennæ in turn, then the newcomer pushed Vernia
toward one of the runways. She could not mistake the meaning of this
movement nor had she any other recourse than to comply. Stooping to
avoid the low ceiling, she entered and walked forward in the darkness.
When she had traveled a short distance her conductor pushed her into a
cross-runway that ended in a large, round chamber with a domelike roof.
This room was lighted by a great central opening, and contained more
than a hundred girls and women, who were busily engaged in separating
round white balls about an inch in diameter, which cohered in glutinous
masses, and placing them in small holes that honey-combed the walls on
all sides.
Her guide turned her over to a woman who seemed to be a sort of
superintendent or overseer, and departed.
The woman looked at her curiously, and, to her surprise, addressed her
in patoa, the universal tongue of Zarovia.
"Who are you, girl, and how came you here?"
"I am Vernia of Reabon, and was just now captured by one of those
fierce white creatures with the huge forceps."
"You were captured by a soldier sabit, but it is evident that you are
from some distant part of the world, for here people do not go about
wrapped in brightly colored skins, such as you wear."
Judging from those representatives of the human race which she had
seen so far in the valley, Vernia could well believe this statement,
for neither the men she had seen in the tree nor the women who now
surrounded her were clothed. The women, like the men, were quite hairy.
They were also big-boned, low-browed and coarse-featured, and though
superbly muscled were evidently quite low in the human scale from an
intellectual standpoint.
"I presume my country _is_ far from here," Vernia said, "for I have
never heard either of trees or creatures such as you have in this
locality, although I know all that is known by our people about
Zarovian geography. I have not the slightest idea where I am, or why I
have just now been brought to this room."
* * * * *
"You are in the Valley of the Sabits, which is in the center of the
great salt marshes where my people live. When but a young girl I was
captured by a slaving party and brought hither, even as you were
captured and brought just now, to spend the rest of your life serving