noticed that the gnomes had also heard the sound,for their eyes turned from their intent regard of him, to the castleperched on the mesa in the distance. He could not see their eyes now,yet he was aware that they held fear--cold, numbing fear--fright sogreat it binds the entrails, makes a stone statue of a man, even adwarf.
They held their poses even after the dying sounds of the strange rumblehad passed in the distance. When Jenkins spoke, it took several secondsfor them to bring their attention to him:
"Where am I and who are you?"
Their answering voices were childish pipings, making even less sense ofa confused situation:
"I am Loti ..." said the smallest, who wore a fringe of beard from hisforehead all the way around a pointed, slat-like chin.
"I am Gaino," said the second. He had a hooked nose so long it almosttouched his chin.
"I am Mikas," said the third, who had a round face, a bulbous nose whosecolor was that of a ripe tomato, flapping pointed ears too large for hisface, and a pair of perfectly round eyes.
"Yeah? But where am I?" Jenkins persisted.
"In the land of Gnat," all three piped in unison.
Slowly the brain-fog was clearing for Jenkins. The miracle of hislanding safely was still not quite clear, nor could he understand thepresence of these odd beings. But as reason returned to Jenkins, it toldhim something had happened which would perhaps be unexplainable.
He pointed toward the castle and said: "Who lives there?"
"Lucretia ..." they answered again in unison.
Now there's a familiar name, Jenkins thought, while at the same time ahorrifying idea occurred to him. If it were Lucretia Borgia, he thought,then he might be dead. Suddenly, there was a spine-chilling roar, a vastcrashing in the underbrush close by, and a tremendous boulder sailed byand disappeared over the lip of the chasm. Its crashing echoes could beheard for a long time afterward. When Jenkins recovered his balance, thegnomes had disappeared.
Jenkins' eyes narrowed in search of them, but after one look at thethick underbrush, he turned aside and began to search for a path leadingeither through the brush or down the steep sides of the cliff. Therewasn't much choice, he discovered. In fact, there was no choice at all.
* * * * *
"Ho-ho!" a stentorian voice bellowed, seemingly from at his very heels."Look what we have here!"
Once more Jenkins did a pirouette. Facing him were three men. Theyseemed to come in series of threes in this screwy place, he thought. Butthese were quite different than the gnomes he had first seen.
These were giants, all dressed in the same manner. Each wore the skin ofa wild animal draped about him. Only their middles were covered, andtheir immensely broad and hairy chests and legs, which were liketree-trunks, stood out in naked and unpretty relief. They had not knownthe touch of a razor for a very long time. Their beards reached almostto their waists, while their heads were crowned with a tangled growth ofwiry brush.
Each man was armed with a spiked club, on which he was resting as heregarded the stranger.
"He's mine," one said suddenly. "I saw him first."
"No!" the second said. "You're the youngest. I'm the oldest. I get him."
"And I'm the strongest," said the third. "I'll take him." The last onedidn't wait for a reply, but leaped for Jenkins in a clumsy jump.
Only Jenkins didn't wait for him. He stepped aside as the giant came on,and as he went past Jenkins tripped him by simply putting out his leg.The giant went sailing off into space and as he stumbled over the lip ofthe chasm, his scream of fear was drowned in the roars of rage whichcame from the other two. They came at him on splay feet, their clubsraised high, their mouths opened and their eyes slitted in rage. Butthey were slow and clumsy, and Jenkins danced out of range.
The giants recovered their balance, turned and came at him again, thistime from opposite sides. Jenkins waited until they were almost upon himbefore moving. The two had their clubs raised as they ran, and just asJenkins leaped, they swung their murderous weapons. If it weren't forthe deadly seriousness of the situation, Jenkins would have found vasthumor in it. For in the swinging, both missed him, but one, theyoungest, caught his partner squarely on the skull with the spiked club.The stricken one fell like an ox at the slaughter.
* * * * *
Slobbering sounds of rage came from the remaining giant. His beady eyeswere red-rimmed, and his voice shook in passion as he charged again. Andonce more Jenkins danced away. But this time the smile was wiped fromthe Earthman's lips, as his moving steps struck against a protrudingroot, and he went sprawling backward.
Rage turned to triumph! The club came on high and began its descent. AndJenkins could only watch it in horror. The terrible club gained speed,size, terror in its immensity, as it descended. And Jenkins seemedchained to the earth by a power greater than his will. The club wasinches away, and Jenkins closed his eyes to it and made a silent prayer.
There was a dull thud as the club dropped from the giant's hand to theground. And another thud as the body of the giant landed withbreath-taking force across that of the Earthman. Jenkins grunted inpain. He shoved at the inert figure sprawled across him and rolled it toone side. His breath whistled through his nostrils as he arose andbrushed the dirt from him and he wondered dully how he had been saved.
"They are as children," a voice replied to his unspoken question. "Andlike children, they can't reason ..."
The whistle came from his lips this time, as he did a double-take at thefigure which confronted him. She was standing not three feet from him, atall, lissome figure, dressed in a sheer costume which hid her figure,yet left enough to be seen to entrance the eye. Midnight black hair, abeautifully carved throat, perfection for nose and lips, and eyeshaughty as a queen's, made up the rest of her. He could only stare,open-mouthed in admiration, lost in her beauty.
A faint smile touched her lips as she advanced toward him. He caught themovement of others, also, and from the corners of his eyes saw that shehad not come alone. Attending her were mailed bodyguards wearingsixteenth century armor.
"I thought the other came alone," Lucretia said, "but now I see I waswrong. He is up there. You will be there, too."
"Up there?" Jenkins asked somewhat foolishly, pointing to the castle inthe distance.
"Yes. Up there. Come along, now." She turned and moved away from him,and the mailed men took her place.
This time Jenkins made no move of protest. The long swords and smallknives these men carried in their belts made foolish any attempt tofight them.
* * * * *
It took a great deal less time to reach the castle than Jenkins wouldhave thought possible. Yet, there were no means of transportation otherthan walking. The castle was much like one Jenkins remembered in a moviehe had seen. A huge drawbridge swung down over the wide and deep moatbefore the perpendicular walls of the castle, trumpets sounded andmailed guards ran to appointed places at the castle's entrance. Thebeautiful creature nodded in acknowledgment of their salute as shestepped past them, Jenkins at her side and the eight bodyguards, twoabreast, walking behind. Thus they proceeded up the long and narrowcourtyard through another entrance, and into an inner courtyard whichpreceded the entrance hall proper to the castle.
Things happened at a greater pace from then on. At her signal men cameforward, took Jenkins with them and, from then until his return to thewoman, he was bathed, shaved, and dressed in a wondrously brocaded gown.When he returned, it was to find her in the immense banquet hall.
She motioned him forward and bade him sit at her right. His eyes wentwide when he saw who was at her left--Griffin. And dressed in a gownsimilar to his own.
"Hi, chum," Griffin said. "Nice layout, huh?"
"I like him," Lucretia said, as she signalled for the food to be broughtin. "He has such ill manners and such a boorish way of expressinghimself."
Jenkins swallowed in haste as his eyes took in the rest of the companyaround the tabl
e. Never in all his days of police work had he seen sucha collection of cutthroats. Yet they, as he, were dressed in finery thatwas worth a fortune. They saw his stare and answered him with widegrins, which somehow had the power to make his blood run cold.
"Aah!" she continued. "They like you, I see. Ah, well. It's company fitfor a Borgia."
Borgia--Lucretia Borgia--the infamous poisoner--the most hated woman ofher time. He turned for another quick look and wondered how a woman withsuch beauty could.... He shook his head violently. And again she seemedto read his mind.
"My beauty is something I had nothing to do with. Perhaps you may cometo hate it."
* * * * *
Suddenly a vast anger filled Jenkins' breast. His nostrils dilated inpassion, and when he spoke his