by Robin Hawdon
At his side Dreamer and Joker became aware that something was amiss and they too turned. They stared without speaking at the forbidding sight. Inevitably it was Joker who broke the tension.
'Do you suppose it's a welcoming party?' he muttered.
'Stay where you are,' said Snake's Tongue. He took a few paces forward towards the line of ants and stood alone, waiting.
From the centre of the line a lone red ant stepped forward. Two others joined him, one on either side, and with an easy, authoritative gait the three approached up the slope. As they came nearer Dreamer was able to study these strange creatures more carefully. Fully half again as big as themselves, they had immensely long legs, which carried their elongated bodies high off the ground, and they bore their wide, powerful mandibles and short, thick antennae at a lofty angle, which increased their air of aggressive arrogance. The ant in the centre, who was evidently in command, was slightly larger than the other two and he moved with an easy, athletic grace which, were it not that it boded so ill for an enemy, would have been quite beautiful to watch. The trio came to within a grass stem's length of Snake's Tongue and stopped. Snake's Tongue held his ground and the six ants regarded each other for a long moment. Then the leader of the red ants spoke. His voice had a strange, rasping quality to it, containing none of the undulating musical tones used by their own species, but it was nevertheless not an unpleasant sound.
'You are very small for such fighters.'
Snake's Tongue hesitated, puzzled. 'Fighters? I don't understand,' he said.
'You slew Wide-Jaws the tree-spider without injury to yourselves. That is impressive.'
'Ah,' said Snake's Tongue. 'Is that how you found us?'
'We heard the noise of your battle and sent scouts to see. We have watched your progress here.'
Snake's Tongue nodded. 'That is impressive too. We had no knowledge you were watching us.'
The red ant's antennae hovered questioningly in Snake's Tongue's direction. 'You are either very brave or very foolish,' he said. 'Why have you come to certain death?'
'We only came out of curiosity,' answered Snake's Tongue. 'We mean you no harm.'
The other gave a short, sharp bark of amusement. 'You mean us no harm! And what harm could three such creatures threaten us with?' Snake's Tongue did not reply. The red ant went on: 'Curiosity is a strange motive for such a foolhardy journey. Where have you come from?'
Snake's Tongue hesitated again. Should he discuss the reason for their coming? There seemed little point in not doing so, especially as the red ants already knew from which direction they had travelled. 'We have come from beyond the riverside colony which you destroyed four sun-ups ago,' he said. 'We wished to discover who such fierce killers might be.'
The other stared at him impassively. 'Well, now you know,' he said. 'What do you hope to gain by the information?'
'We have orders to return and inform our Council,' replied Snake's Tongue.
'Your Council?' asked the other curiously.
'Yes. The body that is chosen to rule us.'
'Ah.' A flicker of amusement crossed the red ant's features. 'Chosen. How quaint. Do you have none amongst you powerful enough to rule by strength?'
'Certainly,' answered Snake's Tongue, 'but we do not consider strength to be the only quality necessary for a leader.'
The red ant looked vaguely puzzled. Then he asked, 'And what will your Council do when you do not return?'
'I don't know,' said Snake's Tongue truthfully.
'How far and how big is your colony?'
'That you must find out for yourselves,' he replied.
The red ant studied him contemplatively. 'We shall,' he said. 'Come. It is time for you to meet our own leader. The Spider awaits your presence.'
He nodded to one of his companions, who turned and signalled with his antennae to the waiting line of ants at the forest edge. The line began to move forwards towards them. 'Follow me,' said their commander, and without looking to see if his order was obeyed, he skirted round the three smaller ants and began to descend the ridge. The other two with him indicated to Snake's Tongue to follow. Realizing that there was no chance of escaping and no point in disobeying, he did so, with Dreamer and Joker following and the line of red ants some distance behind.
The commander of the little force was striding out with his long, graceful gait towards the huge mound, and even Snake's Tongue had to run almost flat out to keep up with him.
'Why is your leader called The Spider?' he asked as they went.
'You will see,' the other tossed back. 'Strength is the only quality he requires to hold his position. You had better pray you don't experience it.' And he quickened his pace as if to discourage further conversation.
Snake's Tongue allowed the others to catch up with him, the two red ants following a few paces behind. He muttered in a low voice, 'Keep a look out. Remember our route. Take note of anything you see.'
'Wish I knew what use it could be,' muttered Joker back.
'You never know,' replied Snake's Tongue. 'Don't lose hope.'
'No talking!' barked one of the red ants behind and the three of them concentrated on keeping up with the leader and observing their surroundings.
Had the circumstances not been so desperate these would have been fascinating. They were travelling a well-worn path through a jungle of high, coarse grasses and heathland plants that were quite unfamiliar to them and it soon became obvious that the amount of activity they had been able to see from their viewpoint on the ridge was only a fraction of what was actually going on within and under this labyrinth. It was dissected by a maze of trails and pathways leading this way and that in all directions, and upon these routes a vast complexity of organized activity was taking place. Working parties of all types and sizes were moving hither and thither; ordered contingents of soldiers marching with measured step; shuffling groups of enslaved worker-ants bearing loads of building materials; lone messengers hurrying on urgent missions. Only on the particular trail by which they had approached had all movement been prevented by the simple expedient of placing guards at strategic points to turn back any who sought to come that way. Their own progress appeared to attract little attention for there were many such parties of smaller ants under the guard of the ruling species around and it was only their relative self-possession and independence of bearing which might seem unusual.
Dreamer found himself wondering how on earth this vast population was able to feed itself, but that question too was soon answered as they drew nearer to the great mound and trails began to converge upon their own at a wider angle, evidently leading from regions far distant to those from whence they had come. Upon these routes they encountered more and more frequent parties bearing food supplies: larvae and pupae from the raided homes of insects of a myriad different species; the inert corpses of small beetles, mayflies, aphid bugs; the dissected segments of an enormous caterpillar; even bodies of the red ant kind themselves who had perished in some distant battle. It was evident that they foraged far and wide for food, systematically stripping the countryside region by region, leaving each totally denuded of insect life before moving on to the next. The ruthless efficiency of the system made him shudder and he wondered whether there was any limit to the population growth of this great colony. For the first time on the mission Dreamer began to experience a real sense of fear. Even the encounter with the spider had been preferable in its urgency and excitement to this cold, silent uncertainty which faced them now.
The party was approaching the mound. They caught glimpses of its towering flank through the grasses in front of them and soon they were climbing its lower slopes where the vegetation was thinning out. The path grew steeper and steeper, making it harder to negotiate the busy traffic upon it. The cliff face of the great ant-made mountain towered almost vertically above them and the flat heathland fell away beneath as they climbed. The black, gaping mouths of tunnel entrances appeared and dropped away below them, at the same time swallowing up many of
the other insects moving about the slope so that the general activity thinned as they climbed higher. Then at last they reached a level shelf or small plateau situated perhaps two-thirds of the way up the mound's flank, and here the leader stopped. The three smaller ants and their two escorts climbed up behind him and also halted. The line of soldier-ants behind had already come to a halt some way down the cliff face, leaving the smaller party to continue on its own. Now the six ants stood on the edge of the level space, staring towards a dark, cavern-like orifice in the cliff side. Half a dozen other senior-looking ants stood grouped around the cave entrance and there was considerable coming and going of various individuals intent on urgent-seeming business.
'Spooky-looking place,' whispered Joker beside Dreamer. 'The Spider's lair, do you suppose?'
One of the ants at the cave mouth came towards them and held a brief murmured conversation with their captors' leader. Then he looked curiously at the prisoners for a moment, turned and went back to the cavern, disappearing inside. The other turned to them.
'You are about to meet The Spider,' he said. 'He will probably wish to ask you some questions. I advise you to answer them and to do nothing to provoke his anger. It is a frightening thing.' And he turned back to the cave mouth again.
There was an expectant silence around the little plateau. Dreamer felt a sense of finality, as if this was the last moment left to him of the life he had known, as if the sunlight was about to vanish for ever. He stared down at the distant panorama of landscape presented from this dizzying vantage point. He noted the wild grass rippling into the hazy distance and the clouds galloping majestically across the sky and was reminded of his recurring dream during the Long Sleep, the dream of climbing the high mountain. He almost expected to hear his Voice in reality for the first time, booming from the heights of the peak above him.
But it was a different voice he was to hear. There was a sudden stiffening in the demeanour of the ants around the cave mouth and they began to fall back respectfully to the sides. The blackness of the opening seemed to grow darker still as an enormous bulk filled it. A strange bronchial hiss could be heard echoing within the confines of the cavern as if, for its originator, the very act of breathing was something to be aggressively attacked rather than naturally performed. Then out from the cave emerged the biggest ant Dreamer had ever seen. It was not simply the monumental physical presence which made such an impact, though this in itself was awe inspiring enough. There was also something about the creature's personality – a massive implacability, a total assumption of omnipotent right and authority – which was mesmerizing in its complacency, frightening in its inflexibility. One could see instantly why he was called The Spider. There was that same squat solidity, that same impenetrable doggedness. Even the stance was similar, with the enormous body slung low between wide-splayed legs rather than poised alertly at the apex in the usual manner, as if actual movement were the last consideration; as if it were the world that always came to him, rarely the reverse.
This monster stood for a moment before his cave, peering at the daylight as if it were an intrusion on his sovereignty. Then he looked across to where the little party of trespassers stood with their captors. He moved with leisurely impassiveness towards them, his size seeming to increase with every step. The ant who had led them there stepped forward to meet him and, standing dwarfed in his shadow, muttered to him in a low voice. He then stood aside and The Spider approached until he loomed above them within almost a feeler's touch of Snake's Tongue. The strange rasp of his breathing was curiously hypnotic as he studied the threesome for a long, unnerving moment.
His voice, when it came, was a cavernous rumble. 'They tell me you were sent to find out about us.'
'Yes,' answered Snake's Tongue.
The Spider stared at him from his great height.
'They tell me you defeated Wide-Jaws.'
'Yes.'
Again the stare, again the ominous pause. Then: 'Perhaps you would like to make an occupation of slaying spiders?' The question was followed by a sudden startling bellow of amusement. 'Well?' he asked.
'Only if they threaten our own lives,' answered Snake's Tongue in a calm voice.
The Spider nodded contemplatively. 'Only if they threaten your lives,' he repeated slowly. Then he lowered his gigantic head until it was almost touching Snake's Tongue's, the thick, heavy antennae arched over the other's back. 'Well, do you think you could kill this spider so easily?' he growled in a voice like distant thunder.
Snake's Tongue hesitated. 'I can't imagine there are many ants on the face of the earth who could do that,' he replied.
'You are right.' The Spider withdrew his head from its threatening position and his voice returned to its former tone. 'Where have you come from?'
'Our own colony,' answered Snake's Tongue.
'Where is that?'
'Beyond the riverside mound you conquered four sun-ups ago.'
'How far beyond?'
'That I cannot say.'
There was a pause. The Spider looked down at him without expression.
'How large is your colony?'
'Larger than the riverside one.'
'How much larger?'
'That also I cannot say.'
Again the pause. The rasp of The Spider's breathing seemed to be the only sound in the living world. Then, with astonishing rapidity for one built on such a cumbersome scale, his great forefoot lifted and came down on the back of Snake's Tongue's thorax, flattening him to the ground beneath its weight.
Rapid though the movement was, Dreamer had seen Snake's Tongue's reflexes in action and he knew that his leader could have avoided it. But he chose not to, allowing himself be pinned to the ground, quite helpless. Both Dreamer and Joker instinctively followed his passive example and did not react to the move.
'Then let me tell you,' said The Spider venomously. 'Your colony is just a few sun-ups' journey for my soldiers from here. It is large enough for me to require more than half my fighting force to destroy it. And it has enough larvae in its brood chambers to provide me with many slaves and keep my army supplied with food for many days. That much information we have already discovered from the unfortunate inhabitants of the riverside colony.' The great weight lifted from Snake's Tongue's back. 'So you see there is nothing I need from you. And no reason to keep you alive.'
Snake's Tongue got carefully back to his feet. 'And no reason to kill us either,' he said, looking up at the huge ant.
The other cocked a quizzical feeler at him. 'Why should I not kill you?' he demanded. 'You are less nuisance to me dead, than alive as captives.'
'Then let us go,' replied Snake's Tongue.
'Let you go?' came the amazed reply.
'Why not?' asked Snake's Tongue. 'Unless of course you are afraid to.'
There was an uneasy stiffening amongst the ants within earshot. Something stirred in Dreamer's memory, puzzling him; and then he suddenly remembered Still One's story of the ants and the Giant Two-Legs. Had Snake's Tongue too remembered it, he wondered. Was he consciously putting it to use? He waited, breathless, for The Spider's reaction and was conscious of Joker, frozen, equally expectant, at his side.
The Spider stared at Snake's Tongue for a long, tense moment. Then he roared once more with amusement. 'Afraid?' he bellowed. 'Afraid of you! Why should I be afraid of you?'
'No reason at all,' answered Snake's Tongue. 'We wish you no harm, even if we could do you any. Therefore you have no reason to be afraid. And, as I say, no reason not to let us go.'
The Spider looked round at his subordinates on the plateau. 'Did you hear that, soldiers? This is a clever ant we have here. He says we have no reason to kill him, because we have no reason to fear him. That is a clever argument.' He looked back at Snake's Tongue, his eyes glinting. 'It seems to me that you are so clever we might indeed have reason to fear you. What do you say to that?'
'I say, what is there to fear in another's cleverness? Unless of course you make an enemy of him.'
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Again The Spider paused thoughtfully. Then he asked, 'What do they call you, ant?'
'Snake's Tongue.'
He nodded. 'Very apt. Well, Tongue-of-the-Snake, let me tell you this.' He lowered his head menacingly once again to Snake's Tongue's level. 'Every creature who is not of our kind is an enemy to our kind.'
There was a silence as still as death itself, as the two ants, one as solid as rock, the other as nimble as water, stared at each other, eye to eye.
'That is very sad,' said Snake's Tongue quietly.
The Spider raised his head once more, an expression of irritation on his features for the first time. He was tiring of this game of words which he could not seem to win.
'I will not let you go,' he growled, 'for the simple reason that I do not intend you to return and warn your colony about us. I have plans for your colony.' He glowered malevolently round the three of them. 'For the moment my soldiers are mainly engaged elsewhere, but when I am ready, and when the moment is ripe, then your colony shall learn all about me. I shall look forward to meeting your leaders in person.' He looked at Snake's Tongue for a moment, as if daring him to make a reply. Then he said, 'However, Tongue-of-the-Snake, I shall not kill you immediately. I have further use for you and your rash friends.'
His great head swung round to where the ant who had led them there was standing. 'Fleet, you are in charge of these three. Take them deep down and guard them well. We shall desire more information from them in time.'
'Yes, Spider,' replied the ant, stepping forward.
The Spider's head came back towards Snake's Tongue. His voice suddenly dropped to a dangerously low, calm tone. 'But before you go,' he said, 'I want you to understand, my clever friend, that I am not one to be trifled with.'
Before anyone quite understood what was happening, the huge ant had lifted his forefoot again and taken the end of one of Snake's Tongue's antennae between the twin claws. Then his great mandibles also clamped around the slender organ, and, with a sudden vicious wrench of those tremendous neck and thorax muscles, he snapped the feeler like a dry reed and ripped away the entire end section.