cool. The mud-flats steamed undera cloudy sun, the mountains shouldered their way upward through thetilted and riven fields. On the edges of inland seas, the hot shallowswere filled with slimy things that crawled with their bellies dragging.They could hear the ripple of the waters, and the rustle of warm windsblowing through the flowerless and fern-like forests. Gerry could smellthe rank odors of the steaming and primitive jungles. There was apungent taste on his lips. Once he stretched his hand out toward atrilobite that seemed to be crawling up to his feet--and he felt thecoarse surface of the shell before he pulled his hand back again.
The picture changed once more, centering on a ruddy planet that swepttoward them while Portok exclaimed at the sight of Mars in the ancientdays before the planets were built. Men and women walked its smoothfields, among the flaming scarlet flowers. Music and laughter and thevoices of women drifted on the scented winds. But Mars was changing. Itwas drying up. Life could no longer be the same. Some of the people werebeginning to draft the plans for the great canals that were to conservethe planet's failing supply of water, but others took to space-ships andsailed off into the void.
Then, for the first time, they saw the planet Venus as the Martianspace-ships dropped down through the veiling clouds. They saw thosefirst pioneers of space land on Venus, and subjugate the natives, andbuild mighty cities in the plains. But something happened to thebirth-rate, and most of the science of the Old Ones was lost when aseries of great quakes swept the planet. The holdings of the descendantsof those interplanetary travelers of long ago dwindled to only the cityof Larr and the land of Savissa itself.
The humming of the Tempora-scope died away. The big metal disc againbecame blank. The machine had ceased to function, and the illusion ofthe reality of the past was gone. They were simply in a shaded towerroom with a tired old man who sat on a carved throne.
"And that is the tale of the rise and decline of our people, _hiziren_,"he said sadly. "Now the sands of our nation run low. I am half inclinedto believe that the old prophecy will come true, and that this is thetwilight of Savissa and its people. But--enough of that. Raise theblinds again, Rotosa, so that we may have light while we can. And I askyou visitors from afar to dine with me tonight before you go back toyour space-ship."
* * * * *
The banquet table was set on the ground floor of the Arrow-Tower, in aroom where an open colonnade looked out on a walled garden behind thepalace of the rulers of Savissa. A carved wooden table was set withgolden plates. Faint music came from some hidden source. In the gardenoutside, night birds sang softly and there was a constant sound ofrunning water from many fountains.
In addition to Rupin-Sang, there were three of his male attendants andabout twenty women. On this ceremonial occasion they supplemented theirusual scanty garb with long and graceful robes that gleamed like silk.Thin veils were attached to jeweled circlets. Catching a glimpse of thesullen discontent on Olga Stark's face, Gerry suddenly realized that theEarth woman was jealous of her own appearance.
"Probably hating my guts right now for making her wear her uniform!" hethought. "Women are queer!"
To Gerry Norton, that meal was a peaceful interlude between themonotonous strain of the long interplanetary voyage and the uncertaintyof what lay ahead. Though some of the native dishes tasted strange tohis Earthly palate, the food was generally good. Fragrant, heady winesfrom the hill country bordering Savissa were served in colored glassgoblets. A sound of distant singing drifted across the garden.
Gerry was wondering what disaster had overtaken the first expeditionthat had set out to reach this planet, the space-ship _Stardust_ thathad left Earth over two years ago under command of Major WalterLansing. Perhaps it had landed in some less friendly part of the planetand been overwhelmed by the natives before it could get away again.Perhaps it had met some swift disaster in outer space and was nowspinning endlessly in the void--a lifeless and man-made planetoid. Inany case, he would make a thorough search for some trace of the_Stardust_ before he started back to Earth again.
* * * * *
When the meal was over and they all arose from the table, Gerry noticedthat Angus and Olga Stark walked out into the garden together. It struckhim as an odd combination, for Olga was the one person on board withwhom the genial Scot was not friendly. Then he forgot about it.
A few minutes later Closana took Gerry's arm and led him out into thegarden. Colored lanterns hung here and there along the paths, but mostof the light came from globes of glowing metal that were concealed nearthe tops of the trees. The effect was much like Earthly moonlight,except that the moon was golden instead of silver. Angus and Olga shouldhave been a few yards ahead of them, but both had disappeared. Gerrywondered about it--and then a dim figure rose up in the shadowsimmediately before him. A cloud of choking gas, hurled squarely in hisface from some sort of flask, filled his lungs with the pain of manyfiery needles.
Gerry crumpled soundlessly to the ground. He could see and hear whatwent on, but otherwise he was paralyzed and incapable of sound ormovement. For a moment he thought that Closana was behind some form oftreachery. Then dark figures swarmed around him, lifting him from theground, and he saw the dim light gleaming on gray scales. The Scaly Oneshad penetrated to the innermost sanctuary of the City of Larr!
Gerry's head fell back as they lifted him, and he could see that Closanawas equally helpless in the grip of more of the raiders. A section ofgrass and bushes was swung back on a hidden trap door, revealing aflight of moss-covered stone steps leading downward. The two prisonerswere carried down, and the door dropped hollowly into place above them.
* * * * *
They were in a narrow and very ancient stone passage. Moss and lichenscovered the walls, moisture dripped from the ceiling. On the floor inthe midst of another group of the Scaly Ones lay Angus McTavish,evidently also a victim of the paralyzing gas. Olga Stark stood nearby,her long dark hair loose about her shoulders and an expression of savagetriumph in her eyes.
"Tie them securely!" she snapped to the officer in command of the ScalyMen. His long-nosed, brutish face creased in a grim smile.
"It shall be done, Mistress!"
Closana was stripped to her loin-cloth. A cloth gag was twisted into hermouth, her arms were tied behind her back. Gerry and Angus were treatedin the same way. Control of his muscles was returning swiftly to GerryNorton now, as the effects of the gas wore off, but he was alreadysecured and helpless.
Grim rage filled Gerry then, but even greater than that emotion was hisutter amazement. The thing was completely beyond his understanding. Thiswas no routine raid of the Scaly Ones against the people of Larr, but adefinite attempt to capture _him_! Strangest of all was the part playedby Olga Stark, who acted as though she was in command of the Scaly Men.It just wasn't possible--but it was happening.
The three prisoners were pulled to their feet. Guards gripped theirelbows. At the first bend in the passage a small waterfall came downfrom above and formed a gurgling stream that ran in a deep gutter at oneside. The air was hot, and moist, and heavy with the scent of runningwater and fungus growths. Other jets of water came down from above toadd to the trickle of water until, as the passage widened, a gurglingtorrent ran along beside them. Suddenly Gerry realized where they were.This was the sewerage system that carried away the waste of the city'smany flowing fountains!
At last they came to the main drain, a vaulted stone passage where atwenty-foot stream of black water flowed along beside the narrowfoot-path. Tied up there, looking like a sea-monster in the dim light ofthe lanterns carried by the Scaly Men, was a metal boat that had only anarrow deck and a round dome above the water. A crude submarine!
The three prisoners were forced aboard. Their gags were removed, nowthat silence no longer mattered, but their arms remained bound and theywere chained by the necks to a steel bar as they sat in a row at oneside of the narrow hull. The raiders cast off, came aboard, and closedthe dome behind them.
Motors hummed softly, and then the submarine movedsluggishly down the stream.
At the moment the three of them were alone. They could see the scalyskins of some of their captors busied at various tasks in adjoiningcompartments, but there was no one within hearing. After twistingfutilely at his bonds for a moment, Gerry leaned back against the steelbulkhead behind him and looked over at Angus.
"Well--here we are!" he said.
"Aye--so it seems!" The Scot's broad face was grim. "I should have knownthat black-haired witch had some deviltry in mind when she asked me towalk in the garden with her!"
"But where does she fit into the picture? How does she get her controlover these scaly devils?"
"How do I know?" snorted McTavish angrily. "Ask me some more riddles!What's more to the point is where they're taking us in this queercraft."
"I can guess that," Closana said quietly. The girl was