CHAPTER XXXV
GOOD-BY TO ARITE
Once inside he went swiftly to the room where they had left theirwater-bottles and other paraphernalia. He found them without difficulty,and retraced his steps to the door he had entered. Depositing his loadnear it, he went back towards the room which Lylda had described to him,and in which the food was stored.
Walking along this silent hallway, listening to the echoes of his ownfootsteps on its stone floor, the Very Young Man found himself oppressedby a feeling of impending danger. He looked back over his shoulder--oncehe stood quite still and listened. But he heard nothing; the house wasquite silent, and smiling at his own fear he went on again.
Selecting the food they needed for the trip took him but a moment. Heleft the storeroom, his arms loaded, and started back toward the gardendoor. Several doorways opened into the hall below, and all at once theVery Young Man found himself afraid as he passed them. He was withinsight of the garden door, not more than twenty feet away, when hehesitated. Just ahead, at his right, an archway opened into a roombeside the hall. The Very Young Man paused only an instant; then,ashamed of his fear, started slowly forward. He felt an impulse to run,but he did not. And then, from out of the silence, there came a low,growling cry that made his heart stand still, and the huge gray figureof a man leaped upon him and bore him to the ground.
As he went down, with the packages of food flying in all directions, theVery Young Man gripped the naked body of his antagonist tightly. Hetwisted round as he fell and lay with his foe partly on top of him. Heknew instinctively that his situation was desperate. The man's hugetorso, with its powerful muscles that his arms encircled, told him thatin a contest of strength such as this, inevitably he would find himselfovercome.
The man raised his fist to strike, and the Very Young Man caught him bythe wrist. Over his foe's shoulder now he could see the open doorwayleading into the garden, not more than six or eight feet away. Beyond itlay safety; that he knew. He gave a mighty lunge and succeeded inrolling over toward the doorway. But he could not stay above hisopponent, for the man's greater strength lifted him up and over, andagain pinned him to the floor.
He was nearer the door now, and just beyond it he caught a glimpse ofthe white flesh of Aura's ankle as she stood beside the house. The manput a hand on the Very Young Man's throat. The Very Young Man caught itby the wrist, but he could feel the growing pressure of its fingerscutting off his breath. He tried to pull the hand back, but could not;he tried to twist his body free, but the weight of his foe held himtightly against the floor. A great roaring filled his ears; the hallwaybegan fading from his sight. With a last despairing breath, he gave achoking cry: "Aura! Aura!"
The man's fingers at his throat loosened a little; he drew anotherbreath, and his head cleared. His eyes were fixed on the strip of gardenhe could see beyond the doorway. Suddenly Aura's enormous body came intoview, as she stooped and then lay prone upon the ground. Her face wasclose to the door; she was looking in. The Very Young Man gave anothercry, half stifled. And then into the hallway he saw come swiftly a hugehand, whose fingers gripped him and his antagonist and jerked themhurriedly down the hall and out into the garden.
As they lay struggling on the ground outside, the Very Young Man felthimself held less closely. He wrenched himself free and sprang to hisfeet, standing close beside Aura's face. The man was up almost asquickly, preparing again to spring upon his victim. Something movedbehind the Very Young Man, and he looked up into the air hurriedly. TheBig Business Man stood behind him; the Very Young Man met his anxiousglance.
"I'm all right," he shouted. His antagonist leaped forward and at thesame instant a huge, flat object, that was the Big Business Man's foot,swept through the air and mashed the man down into the dirt of thegarden. The Very Young Man turned suddenly sick as he heard the agonizedshriek and the crunching of the breaking bones. The Big Business Manlifted his foot, and the mangled figure lay still. The Very Young Mansat down suddenly in the garden path and covered his face with hishands.
When he raised his head his friends were all standing round him,crowding the garden. The body of the man who had attacked him haddisappeared. The Very Young Man looked up into Aura's face--she was onher feet now with the others and tried to smile.
"I'm all right," he repeated. "I'll go get the food and things."
In a few minutes more he had made himself as large as his companions,and had brought with him most of the food. There still remained in thesmaller size the water-bottles, some of the food, the belts with whichto carry it, and a few other articles they needed for the trip.
"I'll get them," said the Big Business Man; "you sit down and rest."
The Very Young Man was glad to do as he was told, and sat beside Aura inthe garden, while the Big Business Man brought up to their size theremainder of the supplies.
When they had divided the food, and all were equipped for the journey,they started at once for the tunnels. Lylda's eyes again filled withtears as she left so summarily, and probably for the last time, thishome in which she had been so happy.
As they passed the last houses of the city, heading towards the tunnelentrances that the Chemist had selected, the Big Business Man and theChemist walked in front, the others following close behind them. A crowdof Oroids watched them leave, and many others were to be seen ahead; butthese scattered as the giants approached. Occasionally a few stood theirground, and these the Big Business Man mercilessly trampled under foot.
"It's the only way; I'm sorry," he said, half apologetically. "We cannottake any chances now; we must get out."
"It's shorter through these tunnels I'm taking," the Chemist said aftera moment.
"My idea," said the Big Business man, "is that we should go through thetunnels that are the largest. They're not all the same size, are they?"
"No," the Chemist answered; "some are a little larger."
"You see," the Big Business Man continued, "I figure we are going tohave a fight. They're following us. Look at that crowd over there.They'll never let us out if they can help it. When we get into thetunnels, naturally we'll have to be small enough to walk through them.The larger we are the better; so let's take the very biggest."
"These are," the Chemist answered. "We can make it at about so high." Heheld his hand about the level of his waist.
"That won't be so bad," the Big Business Man commented.
Meanwhile the Very Young Man, walking with Aura behind the leaders, wastalking to her earnestly. He was conscious of a curious sense ofcompanionship with this quiet girl--a companionship unlike anything hehad ever felt for a girl before. And now that he was taking her withhim, back to his own world----
"Climb out on to the surface of the ring," he was saying, "and then, ina few minutes more, we'll be there. Aura, you cannot realize howwonderful it will be."
The girl smiled her quiet smile; her face was sad with the memory ofwhat she was leaving, but full of youthful, eager anticipation of thatwhich lay ahead.
"So much has happened, and so quickly, I cannot realize it yet, I know,"she answered. "But that it will be very wonderful, up there above, I dobelieve. And I am glad that we are going, only----"
The Very Young Man took her hand, holding it a moment. "Don't, Aura. Youmustn't think of that." He spoke gently, with a tender note in hisvoice.
"Don't think of the past, Aura," he went on earnestly. "Think only ofthe future--the great cities, the opera, the poetry I am going to teachyou."
The girl laid her hand on his arm. "You are so kind, my friend Jack. Youwill have much to teach me, will you not? Is it sure you will want to? Ishall be like a little child up there in your great world."
An answer sprang to the Very Young Man's lips--words the thinking ofwhich made his heart leap into his throat. But before he could voicethem Loto ran up to him from behind, crying. "I want to walk by you,Jack; _mamita_ talks of things I know not."
The Very Young Man put his arm across the child's shoulders. "Well,little boy," he said laughing, "
how do you like this adventure?"
"Never have I been in the Great Forests," Loto answered, turning hisbig, serious eyes up to his friend's face. "I shall not be afraid--withmy father, and _mamita_, and with you."
"The Great Forests won't seem very big, Loto, after a little while," theVery Young Man said. "And of course you won't be afraid of anything.You're going to see many things, Loto--very many strange and wonderfulthings for such a little boy."
They reached the entrance to the tunnel in a few moments more, andstopped before it. As they approached, a number of little figures dartedinto its luminous blackness and disappeared. There were none others insight now, except far away towards Arite, where perhaps a thousand stoodwatching intently.
The tunnel entrance, against the side of a hill, stood nearly breasthigh.
"I'm wrong," said the Chemist, as the others came up. "It's not so highall the way through. We shall have to make ourselves much smaller thanthis."
"This is a good time to eat," suggested the Very Young Man. The othersagreed, and without making themselves any smaller--the Big Business Manobjected to that procedure--they sat down before the mouth of the tunneland ate a somewhat frugal meal.
"Have you any plans for the trip up?" asked the Doctor of the Chemistwhile they were eating.
"I have," interjected the Big Business Man, and the Chemist answered:
"Yes, I am sure I can make it far easier than it was for me before. I'lltell you as we go up; the first thing is to get through the tunnels."
"I don't anticipate much difficulty in that," the Doctor said. "Do you?"
The Chemist shook his head. "No, I don't."
"But we mustn't take any chances," put in the Big Business Man quickly."How small do you suppose we should make ourselves?"
The Chemist looked at the tunnel opening. "About half that," he replied.
"Not at the start," said the Big Business Man. "Let's go in as large aspossible; we can get smaller when we have to."
It took them but a few minutes to finish the meal. They were all tiredfrom the exciting events of the day, but the Big Business Man would nothear of their resting a moment more than was absolutely necessary.
"It won't be much of a trip up to the forests," he argued. "Once we getwell on our way and into one of the larger sizes, we can sleep safely.But not now; it's too dangerous."
They were soon ready to start, and in a moment more all had madethemselves small enough to walk into the tunnel opening. They were, atthis time, perhaps six times the normal height of an adult Oroid. Thecity of Arite, apparently much farther away now, was still visible upagainst the distant horizon. As they were about to start, Lylda, withAura close behind her, turned to face it.
"Good-by to our own world now we must say, my sister," she said sadly."The land that bore us--so beautiful a world, and once so kindly. Wehave been very happy here. And I cannot think it is right for me toleave."
"Your way lies with your husband," Aura said gently. "You yourself havesaid it, and it is true."
Lylda raised her arms up towards the far-away city with a gesture almostof benediction.
"Good future to you, land that I love." Her voice trembled. "Good futureto you, for ever and ever."
The Very Young Man, standing behind them with Loto, was calling:"They're started; come on."
With one last sorrowful glance Lylda turned slowly, and, walking withher arm about her sister, followed the others into the depths of thetunnel.