The planet of peril
"What is it you wish?" he asked, indicating Grandon's extended hand.
"Why--nothing at all. I forgot that our earthly custom of shaking hands
might be unknown here."
"I have never heard of it," said Vangal. "I hope you will pardon the
ignorance which kept me from returning your proffered salute. Show me
how you do it, please."
Grandon explained, and for the first time in the history of that
planet, two men shook hands on Zarovia.
"A very pretty custom," Vangal said. "I shall introduce it in Olba
on my return. I will explain the various forms of salutes used on
Zarovia. When one is presented to a stranger he merely bows slightly
and acknowledges with words. Two intimate friends on meeting sometimes
press their foreheads together. Then there are the military salutes,
the salutes to royalty, _et cetera_. For instance, the reigning
Torrogina of Reabon, or princess as you would call her, would be
saluted thus." He made a low bow and extended his hand as Grandon had
seen the slaves do the day before in front of the shrine.
* * * * *
"In company with my fellow slaves, I bowed thus before a picture of a
beautiful young woman yesterday," said Grandon. "Can it be that this is
the Amazon princess of whom Dr. Morgan spoke?"
"She can be none other than the beautiful and terrible Vernia, Princess
of Reabon, who has ruled that country since the death of her father,
Emperor Margo, greatest of all rulers, and the leader who made Reabon
the largest and mightiest empire in all Zarovia."
"I should like to meet her," said Grandon.
"To say that you should like to meet her is equivalent to saying that
you should like to die; for if you are apprehended by the Reabonians,
you will most certainly be executed. Thaddor, Prince of Uxpo, whose
body you now inhabit on Zarovia, was under the displeasure of her
imperial majesty because he had the temerity to make violent love to
her, and narrowly escaped death in consequence. She sentenced him to
work in the quarries for life; and to run away after such sentence has
been passed is equivalent to signing your own death warrant, in Reabon."
"Nevertheless," persisted Grandon, "I hope some day to meet her. By
the way, friend Vangal, I suspect that you have food and drink in that
long bundle you are carrying, and I have tasted neither since yesterday
morning."
"Can it be possible?" ejaculated the surprised Vangal. "But of course!
You are not familiar with the fern forests of Zarovia. No one carries
food or drink in these forests, for both are about him in abundance."
He drew his knife and cut a branch from the bush-fern under which they
were standing.
"Here. Taste water as pure and delicious as may be found in all
Zarovia."
Grandon put the end of the branch to his lips and drank greedily, while
Vangal gathered several large spore-pods and split them open with his
knife. After he had partaken of this nourishing food he felt greatly
refreshed.
"I shall have to teach you the woodcraft of Zarovia before I leave
you," said Vangal. "But come, we must go as far as possible from
this vicinity at once, or the soldiers of the Torrogina--Princess
Vernia--may find us."
"I am puzzled to know how it happened that you found me before the
Reabonians," said Grandon.
"Because I followed your trail, while they merely ran about in the
forest, guessing at what direction you had taken. The men of Reabon
know nothing of following a trail, which is as an open book to my
people of Olba. But here, I have brought you weapons and trappings."
Vangal unrolled the long bundle which he had been carrying. "Fasten
this belt about your waist and cross the straps over your shoulders,
so. Now let us be off."
The two swung away through the forest glades, Grandon armed like his
companion with tork, scarbo and knife. As they walked side by side,
Vangal explained the use of the tork, and showed Grandon how to insert
the extra clips of bullets and gas which were in his belt. In all, each
man carried five thousand rounds of ammunition.
"What do you call those strange creatures that treed me last night, and
why did you cut their throats after you had already dispatched them
with bullets?" inquired Grandon.
"They are called hahoes, so named because of their peculiar cries, and
are mostly eaters of carrion, although they will seek and bring down
fresh meat when driven to do so by hunger," Vangal explained. "I cut
their throats because the poison in the tork bullets which I used is
effective only for a few hours. It paralyzes temporarily, but does not
kill. I prefer to use this kind rather than those bullets which carry
deadly poison, so that, if I desire to do so, I can overcome my enemies
without killing them."
The sun was high in the heavens when they reached the bank of a small
stream. Here the character of the vegetation changed considerably,
for while large tree-ferns were still in evidence here and there, as
well as the smaller varieties, there were huge fungus growths unlike
anything Grandon had previously encountered. Colossal toadstools, some
of which reared their heads for fifty feet in the air, grew all about
in an endless variety of forms and colors.
"We are now more than twenty miles from the marble quarries and in an
excellent place for a camp," said Vangal. "I will help you build a
shelter and remain with you for a week to teach you Zarovian woodcraft,
and patoa. At the end of that time I must journey to the other side of
the planet, in order to assist your friend, Harry Thorne."
"What is patoa?" asked Grandon.
"It is the universal language of Zarovia," replied Vangal. "While every
nation has its own language, we have, in addition, patoa, which is
taught to the children of every country from infancy. When you have
mastered this tongue, you will have the means of conversing with any
intelligent being you may meet."
The rest of the day was spent in building Grandon's new abode. Vangal
found four tree-ferns standing in a square about ten feet on each side,
and they commenced operations by felling another tree-fern which stood
near by and cutting it into twelve-foot lengths. By means of a rope
made from the stem of a climbing fern, Vangal pulled these lengths
up, one at a time, to a distance of thirty feet, and fastened them in
notches he had made in the four tree trunks by wrapping them with the
tough, fibrous roots of the bush-fern. They now had a square framework
on which to lay their floor, which was made from poles cut from the
trunks of smaller tree-ferns and tied in place at the ends.
When the floor was ready another square of fern logs was fastened
about seven feet above it, and the walls were built of the stems of
toadstools, piled one on another and tied in place. An opening for a
door was left on one side and there were two holes about six inches in
diameter on each side for ventilation.
This work completed, Vangal felled a huge toadstool, the cap of which
was nearly thirteen feet in diameter. He cut the stem completely from
it, and they dragged it to the base of one of the tree-ferns which
formed a corner of their house. A fern rope was passed about it, and
the two men climbed to the platform. It was quite heavy, and Grandon
breathed a sigh of relief when they finally had it resting on the
cross-pieces. They cut four grooves in it for the tree trunks and soon
had this solid, rainproof roof in place.
After covering the floor with a layer of moss of the resilient kind
used by the Zarovians for couches, and chinking the walls with handfuls
of another, softer variety, they cut a toadstool with which to close
the doorway at night, and the house was finished.
CHAPTER V.
AN AIRSHIP OF OLBA.
After they had eaten on the following morning, Vorn Vangal said:
"No doubt you are anxious to know something about this country, and
the person you represent on Zarovia. The wild, mountainous kingdom of
Uxpo, of which these forests are a part, is situated at the extreme
southern limit of the empire of Reabon. Uxpo, together with seven other
kingdoms, was originally conquered by the famous emperor, Margo, and
its fierce, previously unbeaten mountaineer people reduced to slavery.
"Upon Margo's death, three years ago, the people of Uxpo entertained
high hopes of freedom. They had learned that the emperor's daughter,
Vernia, a mere slip of a girl, had succeeded to the throne, and felt
that it was the logical moment to strike off the shackles that held
them. Accordingly they revolted and, almost over-night, slew every
soldier, officer and agent of the empire. Their old king had been
executed at Margo at the time of the invasion, but his elder son, Lugi,
was placed on the throne.
"Two days afterward a courier brought news that the princess Vernia
was coming at the head of a hundred thousand soldiers. He assembled
his pitifully inadequate little army of five thousand mountaineers and
went forth to do battle for the honor and liberty of Uxpo. The army of
Uxpo was annihilated, and Lugi was executed for treason. Once more the
fierce Uxponians bowed their necks to the yoke of the conqueror.
"Lugi had a younger brother named Thaddor--your astral double. This
youth was of a mild and gentle disposition, and it was for this reason,
perhaps, that Vernia spared his life and allowed him the privilege of
her court.
"Prince Thaddor, however, mistook the kindly motive of the princess and
fell madly in love with her. He had always found women susceptible to
him, and did not doubt that this slip of a girl would yield; so, when
one evening he attempted to make love to her, he was little prepared
for the storm of anger which followed.
"'Prince Thaddor,' she said, 'for such presumptuous conduct as this
I should have you beheaded. You are the son of a king, and I have
permitted you to live in idle luxury because you appeared gentle and
courteous, and not because of any personal feeling I had for you. Had
my father been living at the time of the revolt, there would have been
but one alternative to instant death, namely: slavery in the marble
quarries. A slave, I brought you from Uxpo, and a slave I return you
thence, to labor in the quarries for life.'
"For some time I had been searching for a man dissatisfied with life
on this planet, to accompany our Prince of Olba on the journey to your
world. I heard of Prince Thaddor's predicament, and experienced little
difficulty in persuading him to make the journey. Some weeks after I
telepathed the news to Dr. Morgan, he advised me that he had found the
prince's physical counterpart. When he reported that you were about to
make the journey I immediately came hither in order to be of assistance
to you. On learning of your escape, I trailed you to the tree in which
you had been driven by the hahoes. The rest you know."
* * * * *
Vangal stayed with Grandon for a week, teaching him patoa and
woodcraft, and the use of the tork, and scarbo. On the evening of the
seventh day he stated that the time had arrived for him to return to
his people.
"No doubt you are anxious to be back among your friends," remarked
Grandon. "Is the journey a long one?"
"Olba is on the opposite side of the planet; roughly, about twelve
thousand of your Earth miles from here."
"And you will go all that distance afoot?"
"Hardly. My airship is concealed in a ravine only a short distance from
here. In one day's time I shall be home. By leaving here in the evening
I shall arrive there in the morning, for it is morning in Olba when it
is evening in Reabon."
"You must have speedy airships on this planet," said Grandon.
"According to your statement, you will travel at the rate of five