Chapter 2. IN THE STREET
The three men gathered in the street outside the house. The night wasslightly frosty, but particularly clear, with an east wind blowing. Themultitude of blazing stars caused the sky to appear like a vast scrollof hieroglyphic symbols. Maskull felt oddly excited; he had a sense thatsomething extraordinary was about to happen. “What brought you to thishouse tonight, Krag, and what made you do what you did? How are weunderstand that apparition?”
“That must have been Crystalman’s expression on its face,” mutteredNightspore.
“We have discussed that, haven’t we, Maskull? Maskull is anxious tobehold that rare fruit in its native wilds.”
Maskull looked at Krag carefully, trying to analyse his own feelingstoward him. He was distinctly repelled by the man’s personality, yetside by side with this aversion a savage, living energy seemed to springup in his heart that in some strange fashion was attributable to Krag.
“Why do you insist on this simile?” he asked.
“Because it is apropos. Nightspore’s quite right. That was Crystalman’sface, and we are going to Crystalman’s country.”
“And where is this mysterious country?”
“Tormance.”
“That’s a quaint name. But where is it?”
Krag grinned, showing his yellow teeth in the light of the street lamp.
“It is the residential suburb of Arcturus.”
“What is he talking about, Nightspore?... Do you mean the star of thatname?” he went on, to Krag.
“Which you have in front of you at this very minute,” said Krag,pointing a thick finger toward the brightest star in the south-easternsky. “There you see Arcturus, and Tormance is its one inhabited planet.”
Maskull looked at the heavy, gleaming star, and again at Krag. Then hepulled out a pipe, and began to fill it.
“You must have cultivated a new form of humour, Krag.”
“I am glad if I can amuse you, Maskull, if only for a few days.”
“I meant to ask you—how do you know my name?”
“It would be odd if I didn’t, seeing that I only came here on youraccount. As a matter of fact, Nightspore and I are old friends.”
Maskull paused with his suspended match. “You came here on my account?”
“Surely. On your account and Nightspore’s. We three are to be fellowtravellers.”
Maskull now lit his pipe and puffed away coolly for a few moments.
“I’m sorry, Krag, but I must assume you are mad.”
Krag threw his head back, and gave a scraping laugh. “Am I mad,Nightspore?”
“Has Surtur gone to Tormance?” ejaculated Nightspore in a strangledvoice, fixing his eyes on Krag’s face.
“Yes, and he requires that we follow him at once.”
Maskull’s heart began to beat strangely. It all sounded to him like adream conversation.
“And since how long, Krag, have I been required to do things by a totalstranger.... Besides, who is this individual?”
“Krag’s chief,” said Nightspore, turning his head away.
“The riddle is too elaborate for me. I give up.”
“You are looking for mysteries,” said Krag, “so naturally you arefinding them. Try and simplify your ideas, my friend. The affair isplain and serious.”
Maskull stared hard at him and smoked rapidly.
“Where have you come from now?” demanded Nightspore suddenly.
“From the old observatory at Starkness.... Have you heard of the famousStarkness Observatory, Maskull?”
“No. Where is it?”
“On the north-east coast of Scotland. Curious discoveries are made therefrom time to time.”
“As, for example, how to make voyages to the stars. So this Surtur turnsout to be an astronomer. And you too, presumably?”
Krag grinned again. “How long will it take you to wind up your affairs?When can you be ready to start?”
“You are too considerate,” said Maskull, laughing outright. “I wasbeginning to fear that I would be hauled away at once.... However, Ihave neither wife, land, nor profession, so there’s nothing to waitfor.... What is the itinerary?”
“You are a fortunate man. A bold, daring heart, and no encumbrances.”Krag’s features became suddenly grave and rigid. “Don’t be a fool, andrefuse a gift of luck. A gift declined is not offered a second time.”
“Krag,” replied Maskull simply, returning his pipe to his pocket. “I askyou to put yourself in my place. Even if I were a man sick foradventures, how could I listen seriously to such an insane propositionas this? What do I know about you, or your past record? You may be apractical joker, or you may have come out of a madhouse—I know nothingabout it. If you claim to be an exceptional man, and want mycooperation, you must offer me exceptional proofs.”
“And what proofs would you consider adequate, Maskull?”
As he spoke he gripped Maskull’s arm. A sharp, chilling pain immediatelypassed through the latter’s body and at the same moment his brain caughtfire. A light burst in upon him like the rising of the sun. He askedhimself for the first time if this fantastic conversation could by anychance refer to real things.
“Listen, Krag,” he said slowly, while peculiar images and conceptionsstarted to travel in rich disorder through his mind. “You talk about acertain journey. Well, if that journey were a possible one, and I weregiven the chance of making it, I would be willing never to come back.For twenty-four hours on that Arcturian planet, I would give my life.That is my attitude toward that journey.... Now prove to me that you’renot talking nonsense. Produce your credentials.”
Krag stared at him all the time he was speaking, his face graduallyresuming its jesting expression.
“Oh, you will get your twenty-four hours, and perhaps longer, but notmuch longer. You’re an audacious fellow, Maskull, but this trip willprove a little strenuous, even for you.... And so, like the unbelieversof old, you want a sign from heaven?”
Maskull frowned. “But the whole thing is ridiculous. Our brains areoverexcited by what took place in there. Let us go home, and sleep itoff.”
Krag detained him with one hand, while groping in his breast pocket withthe other. He presently fished out what resembled a small folding lens.The diameter of the glass did not exceed two inches.
“First take a peep at Arcturus through this, Maskull. It may serve as aprovisional sign. It’s the best I can do, unfortunately. I am not atravelling magician.... Be very careful not to drop it. It’s somewhatheavy.”
Maskull took the lens in his hand, struggled with it for a minute, andthen looked at Krag in amazement. The little object weighed at leasttwenty pounds, though it was not much bigger than a crown piece.
“What stuff can this be, Krag?”
“Look through it, my good friend. That’s what I gave it to you for.”
Maskull held it up with difficulty, directed it toward the gleamingArcturus, and snatched as long and as steady a glance at the star as themuscles of his arm would permit. What he saw was this. The star, whichto the naked eye appeared as a single yellow point of light, now becameclearly split into two bright but minute suns, the larger of which wasstill yellow, while its smaller companion was a beautiful blue. But thiswas not all. Apparently circulating around the yellow sun was acomparatively small and hardly distinguishable satellite, which seemedto shine, not by its own, but by reflected light.... Maskull lowered andraised his arm repeatedly. The same spectacle revealed itself again andagain, but he was able to see nothing else. Then he passed back the lensto Krag, without a word, and stood chewing his underlip.
“You take a glimpse too,” scraped Krag, proffering the glass toNightspore.
Nightspore turned his back and began to pace up and down. Krag laughedsardonically, and returned the lens to his pocket. “Well, Maskull, areyou satisfied?”
“Arcturus, then, is a double sun. And is that third point the planetTormance?”
“Our future home, Maskull.”
&nbs
p; Maskull continued to ponder. “You inquire if I am satisfied. I don’tknow, Krag. It’s miraculous, and that’s all I can say about it.... ButI’m satisfied of one thing. There must be very wonderful astronomers atStarkness and if you invite me to your observatory I will surely come.”
“I do invite you. We set off from there.”
“And you, Nightspore?” demanded Maskull.
“The journey has to be made,” answered his friend in indistinct tones,“though I don’t see what will come of it.”
Krag shot a penetrating glance at him. “More remarkable adventures thanthis would need to be arranged before we could excite Nightspore.”
“Yet he is coming.”
“But not con amore. He is coming merely to bear you company.”
Maskull again sought the heavy, sombre star, gleaming in solitary might,in the south-eastern heavens, and, as he gazed, his heart swelled withgrand and painful longings, for which, however, he was unable to accountto his own intellect. He felt that his destiny was in some way bound upwith this gigantic, far-distant sun. But still he did not dare to admitto himself Krag’s seriousness.
He heard his parting remarks in deep abstraction, and only after thelapse of several minutes, when, alone with Nightspore, did he realisethat they referred to such mundane matters as travelling routes andtimes of trains.
“Does Krag travel north with us, Nightspore? I didn’t catch that.”
“No. We go on first, and he joins us at Starkness on the evening of theday after tomorrow.”
Maskull remained thoughtful. “What am I to think of that man?”
“For your information,” replied Nightspore wearily, “I have never knownhim to lie.”