The world below
noxious, or of beasts of food for their keepers,--still here at least
was the sun, and something of the stars I knew.
Here too, I had met the only creature with which I had changed thoughts,
however strangely, and to whom I had made a voiceless promise. At the
thought, I rose and went onward.
As I thought of it, the idea that I was in a vegetable garden of
subterranean giants gained in plausibility. The memory of that unrailed
invisible bridge, which to my imagination had seemed as thin and fragile
as a sheet of mica, made me doubt for a moment, till I remembered that
it spanned the whole space without support from beneath or above, and
had not swayed when I crossed it, and that it was of a sufficient width
to give breadth of foothold even to the huge bulk of my recent captor,
if he were able to walk in confidence across it.
With this thought came a wonder of what different world might be upon
the higher level of the cliff-top, which now seemed to me as no more
than the side of a trenched space of tillage, but I knew that my pledged
way was straight onward, even could I have climbed the abrupt wall,
which gave no foothold.
On my left hand, as I went on, the sea of varnished leaves still sloped
downward, stretched away to a now misty horizon, and I began to compare
its sameness unfavourably with that of the familiar world I knew, till I
considered how little I had yet seen, in comparison with the extent of
the probable land-surface which lay beyond me.
If a visitor to my own world, from some distant planet, were set down
for a few days on the Antarctic continent, how different would be his
report from that of one who spent the same time wandering in the Sahara
desert, or amid the steaming heat of the Amazonian forests, or the
cotton-mills of Lancashire. And there were indications already that I
had reached a world where life extended deeply below the surface of the
land, and where the sea had its nations also.
Only the air seemed vacant, and I was soon to see that that conclusion
was premature.
I had come to a place at which the cliff-wall, though still too steep to
climb for the first ten or twenty yards, sloped backward considerably,
so that I had a wider view of the sky above me, and looking up I saw a
flock of birds of the appearance of pigeons, having a similar habit of
flight, but larger, that moved above me, not flying as at ease, but
darting wildly from side to side, as though in avoidance of some deadly
danger.
The next moment the cause of their agitation became visible. There were
a number of huge black flying shapes which pursued them. But the
inexplicable thing was that the hunted birds did not fly from their
enemies across the open sky which stretched away to the horizon.
Rather, as though held back by some invisible wall, they swerved and
dodged backwards and forwards, while their pursuers, with huge black
slower-beating wings stretched across the sky, were always heading them
back, but seemed themselves to be of no mind to follow them closely.
For some time I watched the duel, while the black hunters gradually
closed upon their intended victims, till they had no space left to
manœuvre, and were becoming crowded overhead, yet still with no bird
going over the invisible boundary within which the deadly game was
played.
Then came the last act of the drama. The desperate quarry turned and
tried to dart backward, through the dark line of the beaters.
Many--unless they had other enemies beyond my line of sight--must have
succeeded. Many were struck by the heavy wings, so that they spun
upwards, stunned or dead, and a long neck shot out to snap them as they
descended.
Screams of syren-like exultation deafened the sky.
Then a cornered bird must have crossed the invisible boundary which they
had avoided so desperately.
Like a stone it fell instantly. For a moment, as the glossy leaves
parted, and the pink tongues dragged it in, I had the sight of a
dove-like bird, of a wedgwood-blue colour, but with a very long and
slender beak, curving slightly downward. In size it resembled the large
pigeons, called runts, which are bred for eating in Italy.
It was the most familiar-seeming thing, except the friendly stars, that
I had yet seen.
But I had no time for such thoughts now.
Its attacker, perhaps misled by the error of the bird it followed, must
have got at least one of its wide-spreading wings above that fatal
vacancy. Down it came also, though more slowly, turning in the air,
striving with desperate flutterings to recover balance in a space
between the cliff and the region of its terror, which was too narrow to
give its wings full freedom.
It came down on the path quite near me; the great flapping vans making a
wind against which I stood with difficulty.
Then it closed them, and gained its feet, and looked round, with a
monstrous long-necked head reaching out to either side like a hen’s as
it did so.
It was not black, as it had looked to be in the sunlight, but of a
dull-brown colour, inclining on the head and neck to a dark yellow. It
was not feathered at all, but the skin, which lay in loose folds and
ridges, which it could inflate at will, and which had no doubt served to
break its fall, was of a leathery texture, and the wide-spreading wings
were of a similar material.
It had one eye only, but of two facets, or perhaps I should say that its
eyes were contained beneath one eyelid. The eye, or facet, with which it
looked, would sparkle and light up with intelligence, while the other
remained dull and vacant.
When it saw me first, it had, I thought, an instant of terror, turning
into a vast perplexity. For some seconds the head remained twisted in my
direction.
I had learned something in the lesson of confidence, and I looked back
as steadily, but with a thought that if it wished to come my way it
should have all the space available to pass me in comfort.
Whether it understood my thought I could not tell, but at length it
turned its head away, and from that moment showed no consciousness of my
existence. No doubt its own troubles were sufficient.
It had its head lifted now, and was calling loudly, with a whistling
scream, to which a call replied from the cliff-top, and looking up I saw
that the edge was lined by the great birds, now perched upon it, with
long necks craning over.
I began to recognise its dilemma. For some reason it was evident that
the air above the plain had no power to sustain its flight. Why, I could
not imagine, but the fact was clear. On the other side was the
cliff-wall, and between was the width of the opal path, on which there
would be less than space to have spread its wings if it tried to rise
and fly along it, even if it could rise from level ground, of which it
might not be capable. The cliff here receded somewhat, as I have said,
and I wondered whether it would attempt to scramble up it with beak and
claws, and such help as its wings could give. But the recession was not
regular. There were perpendicular crags which might well have baffled
it. Anyway, after much consultation with its friends above, of which one
seemed to have the most to say, whether from leadership or affection, it
decided to make its way backward the way I had come, where it may have
considered that the width of the gorge, or the easier rocks from which
those frog-faced brutes assailed me, would give it access to the space
it needed.
So it turned from me with a rapid shuffling walk, while its companions
moved along the cliff-top beside it with continued screams of advice, or
encouragement; and it was with no reluctance that I proceeded in the
opposite direction.
CHAPTER IX
THE TUNNEL OF FEAR
The nervousness of the great bird while (as it were) trespassing on the
opal pavement, confirmed my impression of the prestige enjoyed by the
subterranean dwellers, among the creatures of the outer surface of the
world into which I had entered. Its initial terror of myself, until it
had recognised me as something distinct and inferior, was sufficiently
significant.
So far, I had seen only one of these dreaded beings, from whom I had
escaped with an ease which might not be repeated. How often, or at what
times, they were likely to appear on the surface, I could not know, but
I had learnt in that first dream-like interview, that the entrances to
their excavations were of special danger, and I knew that these were not
numerous.
Anyway, I had no choice but to push forward. It was the more urgent
because the claims of thirst and hunger were becoming unpleasantly
assertive--indeed, at this time, had I crossed another of those
subterranean entrances, I think I must have adventured down it at the
call of this primal need, but no such opportunity came, and before the
sun had reached its meridian, I saw the end of this stage of my journey.
I had learnt, in my first instructions, that the path that led down to
the grey beaches was one which must be traversed with the utmost
rapidity. I did not guess its length, nor could I foresee that in all
the strange and dreadful adventures which were before me, there would be
few indeed to exceed its horror.
I knew, from the depth of the gorge I had crossed, that I was high above
the sea-level. I saw that the garden-ground (if such it were) sloped
down, for many gradual miles, to an indistinct horizon. I looked
continually for the break in that sea of pink and glossy green which
would enable me to cross it.
When it came, I did not see at first, my eyes being drawn to the
steaming tank upon my other side. For here the cliff curved backward,
giving space for an artificial lake of heated water, from which a steam
rose continually, such as almost hid the cliffs upon the farther sides.
I found it too hot to drink, but I filled a tin cup which my knapsack
held, and waited for it to cool, till my thirst overcame me.
It had a bitter and unpleasant taste, but I was in too great a need to
be cautious. While I cooled a second cup at greater leisure I looked
round and discovered that I had reached the place I was seeking.
I saw, on my left, the entrance to a long straight tunnel sloping gently
downward. This entrance was reached by a terraced drop in the opal
roadway. The tunnel had a floor of yellow sand, which was divided by a
narrow conduit down which an overflow from the heated tank ran smoothly,
and very swiftly, owing to the slope at which it flowed. The sides of
the tunnel were of a smooth grey material, not concave but flat,
converging upwards, till they almost met at the top, but not quite,
there being a slit of perhaps two inches dividing them, through which a
certain amount of light entered the tunnel.
It had a sinister appearance, and as I sat for a time regarding it, I
considered what I might possibly have to fear if I should endeavour to
penetrate it.
The purpose of the great lake of heated water behind me appeared to be
evident. It must be the source from which the great expanse of ordered
growth was irrigated, and perhaps fed. The stream that came through the
tunnel might be a mere overflow, which was drained off into the sea, or
it might be used for the filling of subterranean pipes lower down the
slope. In either case, it did not greatly concern me,--or so I thought,
not foreseeing how greatly I should need its help in the coming peril.
The yellow sand on either side supplied a sufficient space on which to
walk upright beneath the shelving walls.
It was dimly lit from above, and obscured by the steam which rose from
the water, but I could see that it ran straight on for a long distance.
Actually, it was a length of about twelve miles, as I learnt afterwards.